I suspect that my initial postings have led readers to assume that I'm a crankypants who doesn't consider anything seriously. Not true. However, I did initiate this blog (at least in part) to purge some thoughts so that I might have some relief from dwelling on the annoying.
Certainly there are numerous issues that I believe are cause for concern: the state of politics in the U.S. (ugly stuff!), the lack of civility in the general population, the cost of nearly everything, and the job market. You see, I am seeking employment. THAT is the issue that fills my mind in nearly all my waking moments. The other topics are mostly distractions.
If you've ever been unemployed you probably know how I feel. The hollow feeling in your gut when you pay bills and see the bank balance shrink with little going in to replenish the funds; the despair that results from resume after resume going out to businesses with nothing so much as an automated response in return; the clenched jaw that is the consequence of reading page after page of job listings, all of which seem to require ONE THING that you do not have in your skill set. It's agonizing. It's frightening. As the days, weeks, months pass with no job offer (hell, no INTERVIEW!) the stories in the news about people being denied jobs because they've been unemployed too long (OY!!) just give me nightmares. Friends tell me that I've got so much to offer...but yet, job apps produce nothing.
Evidently there are tricks in resume composition that will "help." I've worked with consultants who emphasize the words to be used for success in getting your resume noticed. But they've also said that if you don't have a connection at desired place of employment you can pretty much forget about generating any interest through a "cold" submission. It's all about who you know. And I always thought a fierce work ethic, extensive education, and proven track record had something to do with it! Alas, appears not.
My brother told me that he figured my multiple degrees (BA, MA, PhD) really weren't much benefit in finding work. I racked up a ton of debt and now can't get work. No matter that I've worked without pause for more than 20 years.
Hm...this posting IS thoughtful and it's really depressing me. I need to stop writing now and see what I can find on the job boards. Keep your fingers crossed, ok? I could use the help!
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Blogging Really DOES Help!
In my initial post I mentioned that I was having trouble sleeping. Partly due to the fact that my brain would not shut up at night I though perhaps some "scribbling" here might help unload the abundance of STUFF in my head! As it happens, the night after posting my first entry I slept TEN hours!! Coma-like! It was awesome. Honestly, I have no idea if there is a correlation between the writing and the sleeping, but it was fun to think so.
I'm pretty sure that I have reached the point in my life when I can be labeled a curmudgeon. Or maybe a misanthrope. People just PISS ME OFF! As far as I'm concerned I have good reason, too. I live in Southern California. Lots of people, lots of cars. Lots of people IN cars going someplace. All the time. Traffic is horrid. All the time. Unless you've lived here you don't understand why people don't talk about how FAR (like in miles) someplace is but rather they talk about how LONG it takes to get someplace (like in hours). Before I moved here I was baffled by the fact that no one would share a distance to a place. They'd tell me how long it'd take me to get there. And it wasn't until I had to commute to Los Angeles (for 11 hellish months!) that I got it. I had to drive 35 miles and it might take me 30 minutes. Or it could take me 2-3 hours. Nuts! The 405 is hell on earth. Back to people pissing me off.
You'd think that with as much time as folks spend in their cars they might be good at getting around. Drive like you want to get someplace. You'd think. But NO! Can cars saunter? People drive around like they've got nothing but time. Especially if I'm behind them and need to get someplace soon. Like this year! Of course the other thing drivers do is run red lights (when they're not going too slow they are going too fast - through intersections, running red lights or cutting others off in traffic). Bad drivers and awful traffic: item #1 in why I'm cranky most of the time!
Item #2: noise. When I was a kid I was told it wasn't polite to impose YOUR noise on others. Talking too loudly, playing music with a bass thump that rattles windows, or intruding on anothers personal space. Not surprisingly, I encounter violations of these nearly every day. I live on a corner lot with a four-way stop at the intersection. Nothing like having cars stop at the corner with sub-woofers thumping so loudly that I think Godzilla is storming the neighborhood! Is it a car, Godzilla, or just another earthquake that is rattling the windows? I half expect drivers of offending vehicles to bleed from the ears. Must be why they insist on driving around with the car windows rolled down: they are staving off damage to their ears while assaulting those of innocent inhabitants of adjacent homes. Like me. <sigh>
It was not my intention to have a rant blog. I wanted to post thoughtful, ponderous paragraphs that would strike a chord with readers. Maybe I will sometime. But clearly not tonight! Is it just me? Or do we live in a time when there is less civility and consideration for others? Help me out and let me know if I'm alone in my curmudgeon-ness or whether any of you have had the same reactions as I have.
Ok--bed time. Maybe another great night of sleep now that I've gotten some "grrrrrr" off my chest?
I'm pretty sure that I have reached the point in my life when I can be labeled a curmudgeon. Or maybe a misanthrope. People just PISS ME OFF! As far as I'm concerned I have good reason, too. I live in Southern California. Lots of people, lots of cars. Lots of people IN cars going someplace. All the time. Traffic is horrid. All the time. Unless you've lived here you don't understand why people don't talk about how FAR (like in miles) someplace is but rather they talk about how LONG it takes to get someplace (like in hours). Before I moved here I was baffled by the fact that no one would share a distance to a place. They'd tell me how long it'd take me to get there. And it wasn't until I had to commute to Los Angeles (for 11 hellish months!) that I got it. I had to drive 35 miles and it might take me 30 minutes. Or it could take me 2-3 hours. Nuts! The 405 is hell on earth. Back to people pissing me off.
You'd think that with as much time as folks spend in their cars they might be good at getting around. Drive like you want to get someplace. You'd think. But NO! Can cars saunter? People drive around like they've got nothing but time. Especially if I'm behind them and need to get someplace soon. Like this year! Of course the other thing drivers do is run red lights (when they're not going too slow they are going too fast - through intersections, running red lights or cutting others off in traffic). Bad drivers and awful traffic: item #1 in why I'm cranky most of the time!
Item #2: noise. When I was a kid I was told it wasn't polite to impose YOUR noise on others. Talking too loudly, playing music with a bass thump that rattles windows, or intruding on anothers personal space. Not surprisingly, I encounter violations of these nearly every day. I live on a corner lot with a four-way stop at the intersection. Nothing like having cars stop at the corner with sub-woofers thumping so loudly that I think Godzilla is storming the neighborhood! Is it a car, Godzilla, or just another earthquake that is rattling the windows? I half expect drivers of offending vehicles to bleed from the ears. Must be why they insist on driving around with the car windows rolled down: they are staving off damage to their ears while assaulting those of innocent inhabitants of adjacent homes. Like me. <sigh>
It was not my intention to have a rant blog. I wanted to post thoughtful, ponderous paragraphs that would strike a chord with readers. Maybe I will sometime. But clearly not tonight! Is it just me? Or do we live in a time when there is less civility and consideration for others? Help me out and let me know if I'm alone in my curmudgeon-ness or whether any of you have had the same reactions as I have.
Ok--bed time. Maybe another great night of sleep now that I've gotten some "grrrrrr" off my chest?
Friday, September 30, 2011
Back Again!
Two years ago I created a blog called Dr. Deb's Random Passages. I liked the name and the intro post I wrote, which just said "hey howdy I'm here" but promised more to follow. Took me two years to follow and now Google seems to have changed everything, I can't access my original blog, so here I am starting over. Glad I never wrote much on the earlier effort!
So the "No Vacancy" reference....my brain is full and I need a data dump. No more room to shove more random info into head, hence "no vacancy." Of course, you know, there IS more room but I'm trying to be clever. <sigh>
I'm finally giving this blog thing a try because I can't sleep. No, not now, it's not that late, but at "bedtime." I lay awake until 2am or later, piles of ideas racing through my head. Can't shut the damn thing off. So I thought if I let some of the excess processing spill into a blog perhaps - PERHAPS!! the mind might allow me to shut down and rest at night. Sure hope so.
I'm going to follow this intro up with something more focused over the weekend. Come visit if you're inclined. Hard to say what topics might be covered. I'm sorta all over the map these days. Let's see where that takes us.
G'night!
So the "No Vacancy" reference....my brain is full and I need a data dump. No more room to shove more random info into head, hence "no vacancy." Of course, you know, there IS more room but I'm trying to be clever. <sigh>
I'm finally giving this blog thing a try because I can't sleep. No, not now, it's not that late, but at "bedtime." I lay awake until 2am or later, piles of ideas racing through my head. Can't shut the damn thing off. So I thought if I let some of the excess processing spill into a blog perhaps - PERHAPS!! the mind might allow me to shut down and rest at night. Sure hope so.
I'm going to follow this intro up with something more focused over the weekend. Come visit if you're inclined. Hard to say what topics might be covered. I'm sorta all over the map these days. Let's see where that takes us.
G'night!
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