Not really looking for advice ... just a shoulder.
I went for a job interview yesterday, and was really well received. I thought I had a good chance at it.
I did ... but it wasn't quite good enough. They called today to say I was one of two finalists, out of 30 applicants, but they were going with the other person.
The caller tried to minimize it by saying "I think you would be wasted in this position." (You're paying me, right? Then I'm not wasted.) He also referred me to somebody else, and advised me to contact this person ASAP and send him my resumes. I have contacted the second person, and he does not at this time need an Administrative Assistant. He would, however, like to work with me for his online blogs (due to my journalism background). He hopes that, as his practice expands, he will eventually need an admin. person.
As pleased as I am at this referral (the primary person also said they would keep everything I had sent him), I have, as the title says, had enough. I have been in My Hometown for two years and not been able to find fulltime work in that time. As the saying goes, "close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades."
We laid Mom to rest today, and immediately thereafter a couple of people came to check out the house. It emphasizes the fact that I am running out of time and options ... at least here.
One of the cousins who came for the service told me (and later repeated the offer to my brother) that she and her husband have a basement apartment and she would love it if I would come live there. The two are retiring from their respective jobs next year and when they travel to visit family, they would love to have somebody in the house to look after it while they're gone. (My cats would be welcome as long as they stayed in the basement. There is no reason why they shouldn't.)
Her husband is a surly bugger (he's a cop, not that the two -- surly and cop -- are always synonymous. But they are in his case). I'm not sure how he feels about this. I personally don't much like him. But with a separate apartment, I wouldn't have to deal with him much. And it would, IMO, be a good interim step: it would get me out of My Hometown but it isn't such a huge jump as Saskatchewan would be. Brother will offer only minimal help; he certainly wouldn't help me bring my worldly goods out west, no matter how much I cull them. If I want to go west with most of my belongings, I must be able to pay my own way.
It did occur to me today that, if I do take Cousin up on her offer, I might never make it out west. There are two other cousins within easy reach of her. They are a close-knit bunch and I have no doubt I would be welcomed into their family circles. I could apply for a subsidized apartment in the same building our late grandfather lived in (how ironic if I were to get his apartment ... ).
The more I think about it, the more I think this is the way I will go. I can work with Lawyer on his blog over the internet ... I don't have to be in the same city. I'm tired of waiting for a job here. And now, with Mom gone, I have nobody here and absolutely no reason to stay here.
I have one more thing coming up -- a pre-interview grammar and spelling test for a job in the city's legal system -- and I obviously will go to that. If that doesn't pan out, I will take that as a sign that it's finally time to say "fuck it like a bucket" and get out of Dodge.
I won't completely stop looking. But if Cousin and I can come to an agreement, I will be out of My Hometown by next spring. I hate the job at The Mothership (I like retail and even cashiering, but NOT fast food, and that's what The Mothership is, despite its pretentions).
If you've gotten this far, thank you for doing so. I had a couple of glasses of wine with dinner, and that, plus everything that went down today, has just piled up on me. It's time to stop pretending I have any future in My Hometown and seriously look for alternatives.
I went for a job interview yesterday, and was really well received. I thought I had a good chance at it.
I did ... but it wasn't quite good enough. They called today to say I was one of two finalists, out of 30 applicants, but they were going with the other person.
The caller tried to minimize it by saying "I think you would be wasted in this position." (You're paying me, right? Then I'm not wasted.) He also referred me to somebody else, and advised me to contact this person ASAP and send him my resumes. I have contacted the second person, and he does not at this time need an Administrative Assistant. He would, however, like to work with me for his online blogs (due to my journalism background). He hopes that, as his practice expands, he will eventually need an admin. person.
As pleased as I am at this referral (the primary person also said they would keep everything I had sent him), I have, as the title says, had enough. I have been in My Hometown for two years and not been able to find fulltime work in that time. As the saying goes, "close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades."
We laid Mom to rest today, and immediately thereafter a couple of people came to check out the house. It emphasizes the fact that I am running out of time and options ... at least here.
One of the cousins who came for the service told me (and later repeated the offer to my brother) that she and her husband have a basement apartment and she would love it if I would come live there. The two are retiring from their respective jobs next year and when they travel to visit family, they would love to have somebody in the house to look after it while they're gone. (My cats would be welcome as long as they stayed in the basement. There is no reason why they shouldn't.)
Her husband is a surly bugger (he's a cop, not that the two -- surly and cop -- are always synonymous. But they are in his case). I'm not sure how he feels about this. I personally don't much like him. But with a separate apartment, I wouldn't have to deal with him much. And it would, IMO, be a good interim step: it would get me out of My Hometown but it isn't such a huge jump as Saskatchewan would be. Brother will offer only minimal help; he certainly wouldn't help me bring my worldly goods out west, no matter how much I cull them. If I want to go west with most of my belongings, I must be able to pay my own way.
It did occur to me today that, if I do take Cousin up on her offer, I might never make it out west. There are two other cousins within easy reach of her. They are a close-knit bunch and I have no doubt I would be welcomed into their family circles. I could apply for a subsidized apartment in the same building our late grandfather lived in (how ironic if I were to get his apartment ... ).
The more I think about it, the more I think this is the way I will go. I can work with Lawyer on his blog over the internet ... I don't have to be in the same city. I'm tired of waiting for a job here. And now, with Mom gone, I have nobody here and absolutely no reason to stay here.
I have one more thing coming up -- a pre-interview grammar and spelling test for a job in the city's legal system -- and I obviously will go to that. If that doesn't pan out, I will take that as a sign that it's finally time to say "fuck it like a bucket" and get out of Dodge.
I won't completely stop looking. But if Cousin and I can come to an agreement, I will be out of My Hometown by next spring. I hate the job at The Mothership (I like retail and even cashiering, but NOT fast food, and that's what The Mothership is, despite its pretentions).
If you've gotten this far, thank you for doing so. I had a couple of glasses of wine with dinner, and that, plus everything that went down today, has just piled up on me. It's time to stop pretending I have any future in My Hometown and seriously look for alternatives.
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