Errrgh! And other stuff

Here is an excerpt from a RANT I sent to Paul via email on Friday morning:

“Can I just say that I am sick and tired of looking for a job?

I have spent every morning this week searching the internet and other sources for jobs. I carefully review each possibility and find that I either need to speak Spanish or settle for a stupid position that requires only a high school education. Not only that, but my licensure in MN is worth virtually nothing here. I had to take a test in MN, they don't even ask for that here. I may or may not get credit for the hours of supervision I had, and I have to pay $15 just to have the State of MN verify that I had any licensure at all and that I not in default or being disciplined in any way.

Today, I spent a crapload of time filling out a tedious skills, education and employment history form for the State Employment Agency online. They matched me with 6 jobs, two of which required only a H.S. education. One job looked really promising, so I called about it: It was with Outside In, one of the homeless youth agencies in Portland I've been following. The employment agency told me to call Outside in directly. I thought it was weird that this job was posted and I hadn't applied for it yet, so I looked it up on their website. Sure enough, the position was not listed. Then I called them and found out it had been posted (and filled) in July. (I forgot to ask what year). The girl I spoke to was so confused, she had no idea what I was talking about because it had been filled so long ago. UGH! And then I remembered why I hate the State Employment Agency. I used to have to bring people there when I worked for the Lao Association. We would spend hours completing paperwork only to find out that there were 20 jobs posted two years ago and filled two days after that. WhatEVER! It is a complete waste of time!

NEWS BULLETIN: WE INTERRUPT THIS RANT TO INFORM YOU THAT THE AUTHOR JUST RECEIVED A PHONE CALL AND AN INTERVIEW!!!”

True story! I was in the middle of this email to Paul and got a call from one of the agencies I'd applied to a couple of weeks ago. The woman I spoke to had been given my application for a position that had already been filled. She called to see if I would be interested in interviewing for a similar position with a slightly different clientele. The job sounds very interesting and the wind up is that I will interview on Tuesday and see if it is a match. The only glitch so far is that it is a full time job and I was aiming for part-time. However, they seem to be very flexible with how you fulfill your hours so it just might work. I'll check into that very carefully during the interview.

Saturday. Well, this is probably too much information for you, but it will help to put things into perspective. Saturday, I woke up and realized I'd gotten my period. Usually no big deal, but today, I could feel the hormones coursing through my veins. Someone was going to pay. I very graciously warned Paul that I was a living time bomb and bit his head off because he had slept in to prove it. Then we decided I should do something else for the day so no one else got hurt.

I decided I wanted to go get a load of some free gravel that I'd found on Craigslist. I plan to make a path in the garden and this was the very material I wanted to use. I went to the computer to double check the address but the wireless mouse was out of batteries and so were we, so I was off to Target first. I got the batteries and stood in the longest line there for no apparent reason. Got home, got the address, and off I went.

Or crawled, I should say. What is up with the traffic on T.V. Highway? It was Saturday! Why was everybody on the road?! So it took forEVER to get there. As I watched my gas gauge go down, I began to wonder if it would even be worth it. By the time I got there and back, I would be paying the same amount for gas as it would have been to have an entire load dropped off at the house. Sure enough, I got to the place and it was mostly dust with a little bit of gravel. But I loaded a bunch anyway just to save face and figured I could at least get a start on the path.

When I got home, I started to unload the rock out of the van. Yes, I'd used the van, lining it with tarps to protect it. This worked pretty well, but it was a total pain to empty it out. In addition, the dog was underfoot and wanted to play ball. And it was dusty and I was irritated because it was so not worth it. By about the fourth wheelbarrow load, I wanted help badly so I went in to get Paul. He was in bed again and the kids were vegging and fighting in front of the t.v. NOT GOOD! So I stormed out and finished on my own, then came in, took a quick shower, bit Paul's head off again because he was in bed and left for the store because it was dinner time and I needed ingredients. At least it was my night to choose the meal (Cuban Chicken Paella).

Fairness Update: Okay, so Paul has been sick with a respiratory thing lately and has had a cough (Bark? Hack? Gasping wheeze?) for about a week. He keeps saying he is getting better and he actually sounded pretty good on Friday. It turns out he'd given himself four doses of "Non-drowsy" cough suppressant throughout the day and was completely wired. So Saturday rolled around, he wasn't medicated, and he crashed. At least that's the story. (He's going to the doctor on Monday).

Sunday. Whew! My hormones are back in order and it's a brand new day! Thank God for that, because NO ONE had fun yesterday.

Funny story of the day: Paul and I have decided to check out the "Community Groups" they have at our new church. These groups are larger (30 - 50) and designed to allow people to get to know others at the church on a more personal basis in addition to having a time of prayer and study. The fellow who was leading it mentioned that he'd gone to school in Northeast Tennessee. When he said that, I thought, "Well the only place in Northeast Tennessee is the Tri-Cities, where my dad is from. I wonder if that's where he was?" So after the meeting, I asked him and he said sure enough, that was the case. Then I told him my dad was from there and he said, "How did he ever get out of there? No one ever leaves!" And I kind of laughed, because my mom always jokes about saving my dad from "that incestuous bunch" (Ha! It's a joke, people!). Then the fellow explained that he'd led a bible study for a group of women in their 60's when he was there and that none of them had been further away from home than Gatlinburg, TN, so he figured no one ever left. Then he said, "And you know what the other funny thing is? EVERYONE knows who Daniel Boone is and they are all related to him!" To which I calmly replied, "Actually, I'm related to him by marriage. (True!) I've even got a book detailing my family history that has it in writing." Maybe I'll bring it next time to show him...