The (Job) Hunter Games: The first Day is Nigh

Monday I officially start my new job at a local funeral home. Extremely local. Literally 2 minutes from my home (unless I'm at one of the other two locations). And not a bit two soon. My greenback stack is getting kinda slack, to borrow a Flanders-ism.

Wise words.

So, what does this mean for the future? Well, my free time will be back to pre-unemployment levels, and I'm okay with that. Just the prospect of getting a job got me working on my manuscripts and Wedding stuff. So actually having less time will make me more motivated. Or so the past has shown.

Other than that...Well, I don't know yet. I'll know more after Monday; how things work, what I'm expected to do daily, all that good stuff. I'm super excited.

In other news, I'm in day five of the week long separation from my fiancee, AKA his Florida vacation. In coming years when my employment situation is solid, I'll be able to join him. For now, just slogging through the last few cold days. At least I've been busy addressing invitation. Super fun.

Well, gotta go: I'm heading out for a brief visit with an apparently adorable bulldog. :D PUPPY!

The (Job) Hunger Games: the odds were in my favor.

I'm employed.

Next week I'll be working part-time two days a week, and on call for 6, at three local funeral homes.

If you read my last blog, you'll already know my feelings on working at a funeral home. 

I'm so happy to be employed again, even if it is part time. Essentially, it depends on how many people need their services. So, here's hoping for booming business!

Not that I want more people to die.

Practically, it means a few life-style changes. No more going to sleep at 2am. Not as much time to mess around Tumblr and Tickled. I won't be able to cook and clean like I (mostly) have been.

But I think this is just what I need to get writing again. I'd always feel the drive to write when I was at work, ideas flying into my head. Then, I'd go home and sort them out. This might just get me motivated again.

And if not, at least I'll have some money coming in. Even part-time is better than nothing.

So, next week, it starts. Thank you to everyone who helped me, and wished me luck over the last month and a half. And don't expect these blogs to stop: it's only part time, after all.

For now.

The (Job) Hunter Games: DoA?

Well Maria, you always said I'd wind up working at that funeral home in Keego. And now, it may be coming true.

Let me back up a bit.

A long time ago, when proto-hominids walked the earth, and my friend Maria lived 10 minutes away, I was in high school.

I'm not that old. I'm not even as old as this poster!

Well, near my home there's a small funeral home. None of my relations were ever memorialized there, and I've never been in the place. But I pass it every day. It's literally a half-hour walk from my home, and even closer to where my friend Maria used to live. We saw it every day in high school.

And with my fascination with all things dead and dreary, Maria would joke "You should work there!"

I only have 122 horror movies on this shelf ALONE (the tall one).

I would laugh and smile, but didn't take it seriously. I was going to college. I was going to be a teacher. I didn't need to work so close to home!

Now I've applied for a part time job there. My teaching aspirations are long since tucked away (no regrets there, not in this job market), and a part-time position with on-call possibilities sounds like a great way to get back into being employed.

I'm an approachable person, I'd like to think. The kind somebody would feel free to talk to if they have a question or an issue. I think that would translate well to the memorial industry. I've been to enough of them: I know the atmosphere of quiet dignity and grace. I think I could do that.

I think I could help.

I'm not gonna bring you down much longer, promise.

That's what it really comes down to, in all the positions I've had. Help. Help answering questions, approaching hard to approach people, finding a table, finding a file, getting drinks, getting figures, getting the right info to the right people. I can help. I am a good helper. I am a person to ask for help.

I miss that. I've been unemployed long enough to miss things besides the money. I miss people. I miss getting them answers and hearing 'thank you'. I miss being helpful.

I don't know if being helpful is 'What God put me on this earth to do', or anything that lofty/pretentious. But there are a lot worse ways I could spend my time here.

So. I'm off to seek jobs, post silly pictures, and clean the house. Maybe it'll help someone, maybe not. 

Maybe it'll just help me.

Post-Christmas Non Hangover

Usually after Christmas I'm a wreck, just coming off all the joy and adrenaline and stress and awfulness and wonderfulness that's wrapped up in the holiday.

This year, everything is moving at a glacial pace, and I'm ecstatic.

So far I've spent my days hanging at Grizz's house with his family, watching TV, eating pizza rolls, and playing World of Darkness (like D&D, more vampires and faeries). This is what we all should get after the holidays: time to recover. A vacation from the vacation. I know I'm not the first to say it, but it's still a great idea.

If I could just stop having nightmares about not being prepared for the wedding, it'd be perfect. That and the end of the world. But that's pretty normal for me. Zombies. Nameless monsters with yellow eyes and my friends faces. Normal. For me.

So, back to blogging, applying for jobs (a few interviews and such are coming up, hooray!) and writing. Started the morning with a rejection letter from a flash-fiction site. Well. At least I submitted something. It's a step forwards. 

What's on the agenda for today? Maybe seeing The Hobbit with the family. Maybe more. Maybe something worth writing about that doesn't make me sound lazy and spoiled. Well. Besides my in-character notes from gaming last night. That felt good. Very good.

I'll keep this short, as most people besides me are busy. Happy holiday hangover. Hope this helps:

A Green Christmas for me?

Or rather, a green post Christmas, perhaps. I have a possible job starting in January with a local school district, and an interview being set up with a local irrigation company in a week or so! I'm very excited about the 2nd one, as they reached out to me, and the location is closer. Here's hoping!

All I really want for Christmas is a new job. And this stylish piggy bank!

In other news, SAVING MR. BANKS is AMAZING.

I went with Bahamute and another friend. Bahamute and I cried. A lot. But it was good crying. He just sat there muttering 'Stupid Tom Hanks.' I said 'It's fine to cry if it's Tom Hanks. It's like how it's not gay if you're attracted to a 10 of your own sex. They're just so good, you can't help it.'

He didn't think that was as funny as I did.

Other than that, it's been pretty quiet around here. Today is gonna be a real house-wifey day: cooking and cleaning. Baking for Christmas, really. I have a super Jam-Thumbprint cookie recipe that I may share with you all in the near future.

Not much else to report. I'll have to do something more interesting today than a Narnia movie marathon.

Psst. Special kudos if you're here from my Tumblr: over 100 followers! :D

The (Job) Hunter Games: One Month

It's been one month since my internship at the law firm ended. In that time I've applied for over 35 jobs, had two interviews (one with the County, one with a local school district), and a few small pet sitting things. I've eaten into my saving set aside specifically for the purpose, but I'm not out of money just yet.

I've learned to cook, bake, and scrape together a good meal with stuff around the house. I've worked on a few writing projects, cleaned a bit, and lost a little weight due to not wasting money on snacks and fast food.  I read books on how to interview, write a resume, and a cover letter; I have a few more checked out on screenwriting. If it wasn't for the money issue, I'd be perfectly happy to be a homemaker.

I feel ambition-less. You can only clean, cook, apply for jobs, and write so much before you run into a wall. Or at least, I can only do those things so much. I feel guilty when I see my fiancee go to work, and I'm at home doing so very little. I always try to have something to show him when he arrives: a newly-cleaned spot, a home-cooked meal, a blog post or youtube video. Anything to show I'm not just sitting here, being lazy while he works.

Guilty. That's how I feel. He's working and I'm here...doing this. This week I've got a pet and house sitting gig: the money is paying for our Christmas presents to the rest of the family. At least I can do that much.

He knows how I feel, and we're talking about it. But nothing is going to make me fell better. Not until I start bringing in income again. I've been the financial head of the family since my Dad died in 2009. I've had a job since the age of 16. I'm over the novelty of time off. I want to work again.

For today, it's back to applying, reading up on how to better present my resume, and pet-sitting with two adorable huskies. Maybe I'll even do a little more writing. 

Job Hunter Games: LifeHacks experiment

Back in my day, "LifeHacks" were known as "tips." Or maybe "Household hints." Aside from the name,  what is so intriguing about these new tips?

Well, some are obvious.

This rates right up there with buying insurance and extra toilet paper. It's not a bad tip, but honestly, if you have to be told this kind of thing, the rest of the hacks are probably beyond your grasp.

Some are semi-inspirational dribble.

What can I add to...that? Oooh, all I have to do is move on? Thank you blue background and black text!

Then there are useful tips from cooking to cleaning to defense to techno trouble. 

The actual tips are the ones I find myself enjoying, even if I don't use all of them, or ever see myself needing them. And frankly, how are we supposed to verify any of these things work without trying them?

Well, I'm right in the middle of trying out this LifeHack: "Put two capfuls of vanilla extract into the oven at 300 for an hour. Your house will smell amazing!" It's about 20 minutes in, and yes, the house is starting to smell like vanilla. My unwitting fiancee, who has no idea what I'm up too, hasn't mentioned the smell yet. It's not the most cutting-edge tip, but it's a good place to start. 

Now I just have to kill time until the hour is up. Hm. Well, I guess I could...read...more LifeHacks. Well, since I'm jobless, let's look at the money-savers!

That's...pretty dishonest. I don't have money to go out drinking anyway.

I'm still waiting to get my decal, so the jury is out on this one.

THAT'S what I'm talking about! Free ice cream. Yummy!

Yummy and practical. But so very bad for you.

Being rewarded for basic human decency with delicious pickles? Score!

Fifteen minutes to go, and my fiancee still hasn't said anything. Granted, the vanilla smell isn't particularly intense. Time to step up my game. I just told him there was more pizza in the kitchen if he was hungry. When he goes in to get it, we'll see if he notices. If the fifteen minutes are up. So, I guess I'll just keep writing.

Hey, that seems like a good idea. Now, where the hell can I get a sticker...

Wonderful. You can pair it with this:

Ah, here's one I did try:

I am now the proud owner of new shoes, and gave my old too-small ones to a friend. Didn't seem to work for me at all. Granted, I had those shoes for over ten years, and my feet grew. Still, not bad for character shoes. There's a variant of this, where you fill a small ziplock with water, put it in the shoe, and freeze it. Maybe that works better.

Nearly the end of cook time, and the house doesn't reek of vanilla, which I suppose is a good thing. Maybe when my Mom gets back she'll notice. It could be that we've been sitting in the house and don't notice. 

Time's up! Well, let me just get the pan out of the oven...

JESUS THAT'S VANILLA-Y!

The smell was definitely stronger when I opened the oven. Fiancee STILL oblivious. Or at least, blivious, but not talking about it. Still, smells better than it did. I guess it's a success. Maybe next time I'll try more vanilla, or a different cooking vessel (a small cast iron pan). Well. Time to start looking for my next LifeHack experiment. And a job.

P.S.: some LifeHacks are HILARIOUS.

The (Job) Hunter Games, day 4

Day Four. So far I've:

1. Washed the dishes.
2. Watched a bunch of Penn and Teller's Bullshit!
3. Cleaned the living room.
4. Written 700 words for NaNoWriMo

Now I'm sitting with Bahamute, writing, and killing time until my friends come over for pre Catching-Fire Hunger Games viewing.

I'm feeling better about life today. All the proto-work done on the living room paid off today, and now there's a visible difference. I'm a very visible learner, so seeing results makes me happy. I even gathered the wherewithal to use the lovely hair fork my future in laws brought from Florida.

Like this, but black and with a pretty seashell

So, why blog? Ehh, I'm hitting a bit of a wall with the book. Just a bit apathetic with physically getting it on to paper. At least it's just about a thousand more words and I'm done for the day.

Super excited about seeing Catching Fire tonight. I enjoyed The Hunger Games books, but feel they were written expressly to be turned into movies. It'll be nice to see the intended end product.

Plus lil Thor.

Yep. Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep.

Also organized the library books, which I'm gonna hit tomorrow. For real. Swear it. Also, putting it online and having to report on it will provide incentive. Heh. No pressure.

Well, I can't stall any longer. Back to the NaNoWriMo slog. Eh.

The (Job) Hunter Games, Day 3

Things accomplished since the beginning of the week:

1. Totally clean bathroom
2. DVDs cataloged and (mostly) back in their proper cases. Alphabetization still in the works.
3. Food in the kitchen inventoried and sorted. A little. Kinda. Ongoing work.
4. Area by the green chair cleaned up. A bit.
5. NaNoWriMo kept up on. Still working on words for today.
6. Baked a cake.

I am not as optimistic as day one.

Day one I was super productive, and setting the interview helped with that. I finished the bathroom in under an hour. After that, hours of work spent on other areas of the house with so little (visibly) accomplished is very depressing.

Which is not to say I'm about to give up. It's just hard when you don't have immediate progress.

Today, we're going to visit my future brothers in law for a hangout (thus the baking of said cake). It's good to get out of the house for a while and relax. Be with people. Tomorrow we'll be seeing Catching Fire with a few friends at Midnight. They're coming over, so that's further incentive to get the living room clean.

Now it feels like a waiting game. Wait while Bahamute is at work to show him all the things I've done since he left. Wait to go to the store for essential commodities. Wait to do something. Anything. Kill time cleaning and planning.

I'm also working on wedding stuff. Finally booked the caterer. Got the guest list ready. Going shopping Saturday with my big sister for a veil. Productive. Doesn't feel like it. The wedding is well into next year. It feels small and far away next to not working.

So here I sit, listening to Bahamute sing 'The Sadder but Wiser girl for me' while we drop off keys and run errands on the way to his brother's place. It makes me feel better. He's very talented. I always like to hear him sing. Even when he sings the wrong lyrics of Bad Moon on the Rise, just to make me laugh.

I feel like I've let him down. He's worked in a job he's hated much longer than I did, without quitting. Then I up and leave. The responsible one, fiscally and in almost every other facet of life. The planner. The reliable one. I quit.

He's not a wild and crazy guy. He has plenty of responsibility too. But out of the two of us, I'm the one who keeps a level head and takes care of things. And now, I have nothing to take care of but the house and him. At least among my many plans, I planned for a loss of job, and saved accordingly. We won't starve or anything. Hell, we're going out to a movie tomorrow. I haven't touched the money in the bank yet. Hooray for self control.

So, here I sit, typing on a bumpy road, making lists of things I still need to do. Read the library books. Clean all the rooms n the house. Write the last f my NaNoWriMo words. Start a hot new line of horror for grade schoolers ALA Goosebumps and make millions.

That last one may be a bit optimistic. But I'm still gonna try.

The (Job) Hunter Games, Day 1

Well, my first day of joblessness is off to a smashing start. So far I've

1. Watched an episode of Star Trek TNG

Star Date: -309119.1459601725. My back hurts and I'm cold.

2. Cleaned the bathroom.

Too bad I'm not Catholic.

3. Scheduled a job interview with the County in two weeks.

And a few assorted other things, making lunch for Bahamute, etc. But I'd say day one is off to a good start.

Now, the County thing is by no means assured, but I feel a lot better having this interview than not. I passed the first part of the screening process a week or two ago, and now go on to an interview and a typing test. Well, you remember I just picked up some books that may help, and have an abundance of time to bring up my typing speed. It's not too shabby right now, thanks to NaNoWriMo, and this blog.

So, that just leaves the rest of the day.

Well, I still have to finish my 1666 words for NaNoWriMo. Yesterday, thanks to Spamalot, I found myself two days behind. I made up, writing over 3k over the course of the day, in between killing Orks.

It's just like this.

My house is in desperate need of cleaning, so every day I'm not paid, I'll be working to get the house in order. I will keep myself busy. I will keep to a schedule and not let myself sleep all day, just because I can. It'd be far, far to easy to let myself be slothful during this time. That would only lead to despair.

Well, I'm off to work on the novel, take care of the neighbor's dogs, and begin work on another room...maybe the loft (aka Harley's person room, stay out Humans). Wish me luck, internet.