Day 0009:

   So, I am having a work dilemma. Over the past two months (at least) I have been applying for jobs. Not only have I been applying for them, but I have been following up in person. I've been calling them and making kick-butt resumes and cover letters for each. I have incredible people to back me up and prove my "worthiness" to work. I've changed my status from job hunting, to job stalking. Why? Because a few days every week I go to businesses and bug the crap out of them about making sure they got my application, and my resume, and making sure they read it. Every week, I get shut down. I have made absolutely no progress in the direction of a job.
   However, I am still receiving income. My parents graciously gave me work to do around the house. I cook dinner every night that I'm home. If I have to go somewhere, I set it up so that all my family has to do is pop it in the oven or re-heat it in the microwave. They also gave me plenty of yard work to do. I have to weed around all the  trees in our yard and surround each with mulch. I have to yard two "gardens". I use parentheses because they are basically spots in our yard that we dumped black dirt and may have planted a small bush or a few flowers, or very unsuccessful potatoes. Both of these spots are now way past the point of over-grown and basically count as a jungle of weeds. I get to mow the lawn pretty soon and I'm sure there are other things, but I can't think of them at this moment. For doing both of these fairly simple, but time-consuming things, I get an average weekly income of $40. It's nothing to make a living off of, but compared to little kid's allowance, it rocks.
   Not only that, but I was talking to a neighbor recently, who doesn't have enough hours in the day to do everything on his plate and play with his humongous German Shepherd. He said to my Dad as I was standing there, that he'd be willing to pay someone to play with his dog for an hour or so a day. I said 'I'd be willing to do that!' and laughed. He looked at me and said 'Are you serious? Because I really will do that.' to which I responded 'Oh-I'm 100% serious.' I intend to walk over to his place today or tomorrow and talk to him more about that.
   My discussion piece is as follows:
   Have you ever been out of a job for a long period of time? Was it because you didn't look hard enough, or because unemployment is/was up? What did you do to make work for yourself? If all else fails, I hope to derive some ideas from this...

Sincerely,
Monotonous Me

Day 0008:

   Last night, my good friend Clayton invited me to go with him and our friend Jalen (Jalen is a boy) to the races. Apparently Jalen races what people call a Micro. Now, I have never been to any vehicular races before in my entire life. Never. Not once. Why? Because I like to believe that I have spent my time involved in more productive and useful activities. Racing has also appeared to be very uneventful. I enjoy Clayton and Jalen's company though, so I decided to go as 'moral support'.
   It was pretty interesting. Any women there are sized up immediately. Racing humor is tossed around the whole time, so someone like myself was left in the dust. The races never took very long. A few races had to be restarted because of collisions with the wall, or smoking engines. The interesting races to watch, were the ones that involved vehicular damage. No one sustained any injuries, so finding it enjoyable is not morbid or cruel (just thought I'd point that out right now so as to avoid any confusion or repulsion).
   Trying to find a topic of discussion for this has been a little difficult, but I found one:
   When have any of you been introduced to a clique outside of your own? Everything seems different. The way people dress, talk, joke, eat, etc. What cliques have you been introduced to, and what did you notice and think of them? Are you still included by these people today, or have you moved on?

Sincerely,
Monotonous Me