ortland is not known for having a great job market. Even during a healthy economy, its kinda rough out there. Now, with the economy still not out of the shitter, the job market seems to be unbelievably bleak. Seamus has been looking for a decent job in the food sales industry for what seems like forever. Hes well educated with a BS in Political Science and an Associates degree in Culinary Arts. He has some pretty respectable sales experience. He always gets super far into the interview/selecting process, then, invariably, he is told that there was another candidate with MORE this or that. One position he applied for had 19,000 applicants nationwide. Nineteen motherfucking thousand.

Anyway, its really trying my patience and sanity, this whole process. Just discouraging amounts of frustration and bewilderment and disbelief. Being the sole provider in the household and already an incessant worrier... its been rough.

We've had no choice but to settle on a shitty, part time, minimum wage job for him until he can finally, finally land something permanent. Because we are nearing a desperate financial situation (and because he is probably really fucking sick of not making any money), and because every unexpected expense that pops up (flat tire! pulled tooth!) seems like it could mean financial ruin at any moment, we are doing the very thing I said we would not do when his unemployment ran out and I made the decision to support us both - settling for a shit job. There just arent enough jobs out there that arent shit, and there are too many over-qualified people available to take that job that would be perfect for you. I probably took my job from some just-out-of-high school girl who was looking to get her foot in the door at a company she could possibly spend her career at. And thats because engineers were likely taking the jobs that I really wanted at the time and couldnt get, despite my incredibly relevant experience and current education. And thats because project managers were likely taking the positions the engineers were after and so on...

It seems like pretty much anyone who has found themselves out of work between 2008 and now has most likely settled for a job that is below their initial ambitions and for a lot less pay.

A friend of mine who just graduated with a BS in architecture was offered a drafting position for $9 an hour. NINE. Fucking. Dollars. Per. Hour.

Which brings me to another aspect of this shit job market. Greedy fucking hiring practices. I have NEVER heard of a draftsperson earning such a low wage. Business owners who are taking advantage of a desperate pool of candidates can fuck right off.

eing a receptionist means that I talk to people - the general public - a lot. Sometimes (ok, let’s be real: most of the time) it’s hard to believe how clueless people can be. I talk to people quite often that are either pretty damn stupid or are all out of fucks to give, because they can never answer VERY simple questions like "Ok, where are you right now?" THAT is seriously one of the toughest questions I ask people regularly.

"Uhhh... I dont know. By the convention center?"

"Um, Im downtown."

"Uhhhh... I don’t know. I see a few bars near me."

Perfect! That tells me exactly where you are! Then, when I ask what streets they are on, I might as well have asked them to explain Einstein’s theory of relativity to me. Because they never have one fucking clue. Often they are surprised I would ask such a thing of them.

(Deep, exacerbated sigh) “I have no idea.”

I once asked a girl if she had her car valet parked and she didn’t know! I didn’t know how to react. Finally, I was able to pick my jaw up off my desk and ask “Do you remember giving your keys and your car to a stranger who then took off with them?!”

She couldn’t remember.

Bitch, if you can’t remember if you parked your car or gave it to a stranger, STOP DRIVING! Fortheloveofgod, stop operating heavy machinery.

How are people like this still alive?! Have we made society so safe and fool proof that you can survive without any smarts or wits or awareness whatsoever? I believe I personally would appreciate a world where, if you’re too fucking stupid to live, you don’t make it! The thinning of the herd!

Another thing that surprises me is the amount of people who call me and I end up referring them to the internet. I guess I don’t understand putting in the effort to make a phone call if what Im looking for is easily found online. Also, I love having to say “Let me Google that for you” and the common (and correct) response to that is “Oh, I guess I could have done that myself”.

Yes. Yes you could have.

esterday I said in an email “basically, I need to get my head out of the clouds. Yay Adulthood.”

Then I thought about it.

I guess I struggle with that a lot, having my head in the clouds. I feel like maybe I should be more… present? Im often day dreaming or drifting off in thought about what I want to come next rather than experiencing the present.

Anyway I guess I feel like if “adulthood” is having your head out of the clouds then I never want to grow up. It sounds awful. I mean, I want to do adult things like have a career and a house and a family, but I always want life to be a thing that I view as full of dreamy possibilities, and not always be so… practical… about everything.

Maybe that’s something that just kind of happens to a person though, as they go through life and become slowly more jaded. You start realizing that life isn’t dreamy, its shit.

But that isn’t a fair assessment either. I hope.

I’ve been hanging out with some kids that are several years younger than me and maybe its maternal instinct or maybe its just natural, but I feel inclined to offer them guidance. And, while I do, every now and then, offer guidance (when its asked of me), I make sure to preface it with “well, this is my experience and I in no way recommend it for anyone at any time” because Im basically a living set of guidelines for what not to do most of the time, so I feel like someone should be learning from my mistakes if its clearly not going to be me.

The astonishing part is that I’ve fucked up and done it wrong so many times, and yet I seem to finally be headed in a good direction with my life. I mean, I’ve probably been headed in a good direction for some time, but have made many, many terrible pit stops along the way, and maybe what is happening now is that Im taking fewer and fewer pit stops.

In other news, the weather is beautiful today and nothing makes me want to say “fuck it all” and enjoy a day of irresponsibility more than that.

xoxo