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
Monday, September 19, 2011
Sunday, September 18, 2011
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
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
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Day 0007:
Wow. It has been quite a long time since I last updated this blog...shame on me! Funny how unemployed 20+ year old women can get busy.
Right now, I'm sitting in my Mother's work vehicle while she has lunch with a client (she's a family and marriage counselor). I know; the gut reaction is to get upset and think, 'the injustice of it all!' but it's really not that bad. I like having time to myself. Better yet, I still get internet connection in the car.
I wasn't always this way. I used to hate being alone. I'm still not a fan of sleeping alone, and I'm a very social person, but being alone means I'll get things done. Things I've probably put off for way too long anyway. So, today's discussion piece is going to be short and sweet as I ease back into making this blog a daily or bi-weekly thing again.
How do you feel about being alone? Does it make you sad, or do you appreciate it? Is it a mixture of both? What do you do with yourself when you're alone? I know for myself, especially right after my divorce, I hated being alone. I hated being alone with my thoughts. It was depression and dangerous. I avoided it like the plague. If I was alone, I'd do everything in my power to go somewhere public with friends so I could be distracted. I realized after a little while that even in public, the sorrow was still there. Just not as potent.
Now I don't mind it. I like thinking things through. I like giving my creativity room to breathe. I'm interested to see the feedback I get on this...
Sincerely,
Anonymous Me
Right now, I'm sitting in my Mother's work vehicle while she has lunch with a client (she's a family and marriage counselor). I know; the gut reaction is to get upset and think, 'the injustice of it all!' but it's really not that bad. I like having time to myself. Better yet, I still get internet connection in the car.
I wasn't always this way. I used to hate being alone. I'm still not a fan of sleeping alone, and I'm a very social person, but being alone means I'll get things done. Things I've probably put off for way too long anyway. So, today's discussion piece is going to be short and sweet as I ease back into making this blog a daily or bi-weekly thing again.
How do you feel about being alone? Does it make you sad, or do you appreciate it? Is it a mixture of both? What do you do with yourself when you're alone? I know for myself, especially right after my divorce, I hated being alone. I hated being alone with my thoughts. It was depression and dangerous. I avoided it like the plague. If I was alone, I'd do everything in my power to go somewhere public with friends so I could be distracted. I realized after a little while that even in public, the sorrow was still there. Just not as potent.
Now I don't mind it. I like thinking things through. I like giving my creativity room to breathe. I'm interested to see the feedback I get on this...
Sincerely,
Anonymous Me
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Day 0007:
I went to a pool party yesterday. I showed up a few hours early to help Bradley set up. We cleaned the pool (who knew pools had vacuums?) and got stuff from Wal-Mart for the grill. We swept off the table and chairs that were outside and set up the playlist. It took all the time we had to get ready. I was way excited for the party to start!
A lot of people showed up. There was Chris, Spencer, and Lauren (Lauren planned the party) and Todd (who the party was thrown for). Stacie showed up with a watermelon for pool watermelon football. Joey (a slightly autistic female) and three other people who's names escape me. Later two of Stacie's roommates showed up as well as a couple. I never heard the girl's name, but the guy's name was Greg. Mike and his friend showed up as well as Adam and his girlfriend Jaycee. It was a full house!
We did lots of different things. We swam and ate hamburgers (obviously), and played 21 and jumped on the trampoline. There was lots of socializing in and out of the pool. Finally, we ended the night with a grand finale game of pool watermelon football. I originally didn't want to play, but my friends Adam and Jaycee convinced me to. Bradley explained the rules, and I was on the team of 4 against 5. I am not athletically inclined, to say the least. I was bad at this game. I did happen to grab it and throw it towards Jaycee. Then I swam closer to the side of the pool where our team could score. I turned around just in time for the watermelon (which was thrown by Greg) to hit me in the face and chest.
I immediately started crying and got out of the pool. Every guy present at the party asked if I wanted a glass of water and apologized and asked if I was going to be alright. I said 'yes' dutifully and sat down and focused on breathing. My chest really hurt like it was going to bruise and it hurt to breathe. I got a headache and proceeded to become very confused. According to Adam, I came back in the house after putting my stuff in the car and was looking for my pants. I asked him about 3 minutes later what I was looking for. At that point he decided to drive me home. Before I could leave, Bradley got his Dad who is a doctor to look over me. He checked my heart beat and asked me what I was feeling. Then he told me that if it hurt too bad to breathe later that night to go to the hospital, but for the time being I was alright. I went to the car to try and drive myself home, and realized I couldn't do it. I went back inside and got Adam and Jaycee.
They drove me home and I was fine. We all tried explaining to Katie and Dave what happened as Katie got me some off-brand ibuprofen. When Katie repeated what we told her, I realized how stupid of an idea it was in the first place.
So, my question today is what have you done, that seemed like a good idea at the time, and ended up regretting it? Was it a game, or something that made sense in your head, that when stated out loud sounded ridiculous? Was it said out loud before, or after you tried said idea? This should be good...
Sincerely,
Monotonous Me
A lot of people showed up. There was Chris, Spencer, and Lauren (Lauren planned the party) and Todd (who the party was thrown for). Stacie showed up with a watermelon for pool watermelon football. Joey (a slightly autistic female) and three other people who's names escape me. Later two of Stacie's roommates showed up as well as a couple. I never heard the girl's name, but the guy's name was Greg. Mike and his friend showed up as well as Adam and his girlfriend Jaycee. It was a full house!
We did lots of different things. We swam and ate hamburgers (obviously), and played 21 and jumped on the trampoline. There was lots of socializing in and out of the pool. Finally, we ended the night with a grand finale game of pool watermelon football. I originally didn't want to play, but my friends Adam and Jaycee convinced me to. Bradley explained the rules, and I was on the team of 4 against 5. I am not athletically inclined, to say the least. I was bad at this game. I did happen to grab it and throw it towards Jaycee. Then I swam closer to the side of the pool where our team could score. I turned around just in time for the watermelon (which was thrown by Greg) to hit me in the face and chest.
I immediately started crying and got out of the pool. Every guy present at the party asked if I wanted a glass of water and apologized and asked if I was going to be alright. I said 'yes' dutifully and sat down and focused on breathing. My chest really hurt like it was going to bruise and it hurt to breathe. I got a headache and proceeded to become very confused. According to Adam, I came back in the house after putting my stuff in the car and was looking for my pants. I asked him about 3 minutes later what I was looking for. At that point he decided to drive me home. Before I could leave, Bradley got his Dad who is a doctor to look over me. He checked my heart beat and asked me what I was feeling. Then he told me that if it hurt too bad to breathe later that night to go to the hospital, but for the time being I was alright. I went to the car to try and drive myself home, and realized I couldn't do it. I went back inside and got Adam and Jaycee.
They drove me home and I was fine. We all tried explaining to Katie and Dave what happened as Katie got me some off-brand ibuprofen. When Katie repeated what we told her, I realized how stupid of an idea it was in the first place.
So, my question today is what have you done, that seemed like a good idea at the time, and ended up regretting it? Was it a game, or something that made sense in your head, that when stated out loud sounded ridiculous? Was it said out loud before, or after you tried said idea? This should be good...
Sincerely,
Monotonous Me
Monday, July 18, 2011
Day 0006:
I feel so out of the loop in Mormon Central over here. Last night I went to FHE (Family Home Evening) and there were dozens of people! Just for a prayer, song, spiritual thought, and another prayer. A few girls and guys got in a water fight. I learned games like Ninja and Lumberjack. Then a small group of us went to Bradley's house where I learned to play scum and to never trust a guy in Twister. He will push you over mercilessly. We had great hot chocolate and listened to music. I learned about EFY (Especially For Youth) and had to teach Mike that flirting with me in front of his girlfriend wasn't a good idea. She was pissed because she thinks I'm pretty and at that point he asked me for my number...that may contribute to the fact that he's hitch hiking to Idaho today...
My discussion piece is as follows; where have you gone on vacation, moved to, or even seen, that's been a huge culture shock for you? Somewhere where you learned a bunch of new things or been a 'novelty item'? My answer is Utah. In Princeton, there's, what? 20 people my age, and I only like about 3 of them. Here there are hundreds of people my age just 10 minutes away. A bunch of Mormons all go to activities to fellowship and because it's the right thing to do. They enjoy the spirituality of church. It feels like back home, only the few people serious about church and the gospel show up. The Granite City Ward is probably 1/4 the size of the ward I'm attending here.
They took a ward photo last Sunday. We had to go to the gym and the photographer had to stand on the other end of the full sized gym to get us all in the picture...we were on bleachers, too. At home, we can all sit in the Relief Society room and occupy half of the chairs and the photographer was maybe 6 feet away.
In Utah, they live so close to each other and church that they could walk if they wanted. In Minnesota, I have to drive 45 minutes to get to church. At least 20 minutes to get to a friend's house (Excluding Maddie, who lives about 5 minutes away).
People in Utah go on dates for fun. People in Minnesota go on dates because they want a relationship. It is rarely just for fun. Not to say people here only date for fun. That's a large part of it, but they want relationships, too. They just focus on having a good time first.
The few people here that I've told about my divorce have a hard time believing me. They think it's so weird that I haven't been to EFY or BYU. They're legitimately confused by my living conditions and religious situation. They're curious, and say they're really gonna miss me...so they intend to party with me until I leave on Saturday. I could get used to this.
Don't hesitate! Please comment on this. I wanna know!
Sincerely,
Monotonous Me
My discussion piece is as follows; where have you gone on vacation, moved to, or even seen, that's been a huge culture shock for you? Somewhere where you learned a bunch of new things or been a 'novelty item'? My answer is Utah. In Princeton, there's, what? 20 people my age, and I only like about 3 of them. Here there are hundreds of people my age just 10 minutes away. A bunch of Mormons all go to activities to fellowship and because it's the right thing to do. They enjoy the spirituality of church. It feels like back home, only the few people serious about church and the gospel show up. The Granite City Ward is probably 1/4 the size of the ward I'm attending here.
They took a ward photo last Sunday. We had to go to the gym and the photographer had to stand on the other end of the full sized gym to get us all in the picture...we were on bleachers, too. At home, we can all sit in the Relief Society room and occupy half of the chairs and the photographer was maybe 6 feet away.
In Utah, they live so close to each other and church that they could walk if they wanted. In Minnesota, I have to drive 45 minutes to get to church. At least 20 minutes to get to a friend's house (Excluding Maddie, who lives about 5 minutes away).
People in Utah go on dates for fun. People in Minnesota go on dates because they want a relationship. It is rarely just for fun. Not to say people here only date for fun. That's a large part of it, but they want relationships, too. They just focus on having a good time first.
The few people here that I've told about my divorce have a hard time believing me. They think it's so weird that I haven't been to EFY or BYU. They're legitimately confused by my living conditions and religious situation. They're curious, and say they're really gonna miss me...so they intend to party with me until I leave on Saturday. I could get used to this.
Don't hesitate! Please comment on this. I wanna know!
Sincerely,
Monotonous Me
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Day 0005:
So, the other day after my new friends and I watched the movie Sucker Punch at Bradley's house (I don't recommend that movie to anyone. It's really dark and there is almost one happy part), I dropped off Adam at his house and went home. A block from home I realized that I didn't want to go home yet, so instead of turning onto our road, I went a few blocks down and went to the park. I found this park on a walk I had taken one of the afternoons I was having a hard day and just needed to get out. Anyway, I ended up staying there for an hour, because they had a swing set that could actually accommodate a young adult. At that time of night, the sprinklers were on, so I sat on the only swing that wasn't soaked, and did what anyone else would at midnight in an abandoned park who didn't want to go home; I pushed myself on the swing and thought.
I thought about a lot of things. Most of them menial and unimportant. What would the park be like during the day? Warmer. What if someone I didn't know came up and tried talking to me? Run to the car and lock the doors. I decided it was cold out, but I couldn't make myself go inside. I could see the moon from my swing. It was beautiful. I thought about my swing set experiences. Most of them have been with friends. Once at night, Anne, Clayton and I went to a park and Anne and I were swinging while Clayton had decided to climb to the top of the set and play king of the jungle by himself. I would swing with Tony and he would do flips off of them while I watched on envious. I would swing with Mark and we would talk, and I would absentmindedly watch us swing in perfect harmony with each other. Then there was the most recent experience...my fiance and I took engagement pictures at a park back home. We were swinging in some of them. Unfortunately they never turned out. Either he wasn't looking, or my hair was in my face. It was such a happy day for me. I was completely blissful. Hanging out with the man that I loved while my best friend Anne took our pictures.
As I thought about this, I decided I didn't want to swing anymore. I held onto the chains of the swing and lay out almost flat so the swing would slow down enough for me to gracefully step off. I watched the sky flip upside down on me and slow down. As I walked back to the car, I thought about today's discussion piece.
Why do some of our favorite memories or activities become bittersweet later in life? I still love swinging. I'm going to go back, but it'll never be the same. I think it became bittersweet for me because I loved my fiance enough to let him in. I let him know everything about me. I let him participate in my favorite things to do with me. I thought it was for life, so I held back nothing. If I could go back, would I change things? Probably not. I'm a hopeless romantic...oh well. Anyway, please share you thoughts and stories.
Sincerely,
Monotonous Me
I thought about a lot of things. Most of them menial and unimportant. What would the park be like during the day? Warmer. What if someone I didn't know came up and tried talking to me? Run to the car and lock the doors. I decided it was cold out, but I couldn't make myself go inside. I could see the moon from my swing. It was beautiful. I thought about my swing set experiences. Most of them have been with friends. Once at night, Anne, Clayton and I went to a park and Anne and I were swinging while Clayton had decided to climb to the top of the set and play king of the jungle by himself. I would swing with Tony and he would do flips off of them while I watched on envious. I would swing with Mark and we would talk, and I would absentmindedly watch us swing in perfect harmony with each other. Then there was the most recent experience...my fiance and I took engagement pictures at a park back home. We were swinging in some of them. Unfortunately they never turned out. Either he wasn't looking, or my hair was in my face. It was such a happy day for me. I was completely blissful. Hanging out with the man that I loved while my best friend Anne took our pictures.
As I thought about this, I decided I didn't want to swing anymore. I held onto the chains of the swing and lay out almost flat so the swing would slow down enough for me to gracefully step off. I watched the sky flip upside down on me and slow down. As I walked back to the car, I thought about today's discussion piece.
Why do some of our favorite memories or activities become bittersweet later in life? I still love swinging. I'm going to go back, but it'll never be the same. I think it became bittersweet for me because I loved my fiance enough to let him in. I let him know everything about me. I let him participate in my favorite things to do with me. I thought it was for life, so I held back nothing. If I could go back, would I change things? Probably not. I'm a hopeless romantic...oh well. Anyway, please share you thoughts and stories.
Sincerely,
Monotonous Me
Friday, July 15, 2011
Day 0004:
I feel the need for a disclaimer. I swear I don't only think or talk about boys. Boys just happen to be acting stupid towards me lately. I guess you could call this perfect timing...
I have a few select guy friends that have dramatic tendencies. They don't go for shock and awe, nothing like that. They're just drama queens when it comes down to it.
Case study #1 - Brandon:
I don't text very often. I'll send one text, then go do something and not answer my phone for at least 15 minutes or so. I text a lot of people, but the frequency of my responses usually unnerve them. I'm especially like this when I'm around other people. I like to focus on the person or activity at hand, and answer my texts later. In my opinion, if it was important, they'd call. If I don't pick up and they leave a message, then I know it's important and excuse myself. But until that point is reached, I leave my cell phone in my purse or pocket. Brandon gets offended when I don't text him first. He'll wait until late afternoon to text me something like, 'Thanks for not texting me. Hope you have a great day...' I would calmly explain that I get busy and that my not texting him frequently is purely habitual and is nothing personal. He less than calmly says, 'This just goes to show that you don't think about me. I'm not important enough to you.'
Case study #2 - Chris:
He is one of those kinds of guys that is flirtatious. I personally don't think there's really anything wrong with that. I myself am very flirtatious without even trying. I'm affectionate with everyone that I'm friends with, whether they be male or female. This tends to get me into trouble. But that is besides the point at hand. Chris will send me affectionate text messages. Call me pet names, and tell me he misses me. He just recently sent me a text saying 'If you were here we could cuddle' I tried to be funny by saying, 'Technically, I could cuddle with anyone; even a stranger.' He didn't find that very funny. He got offended. 'Well, I guess you don't need me.' he responded. I explained that I was trying to be funny and wasn't trying to be mean. Attempts to restore what I had done were in vain. He's still whining about it.
I have found that guys seem to take things more personally than girls. A break up that will affect us as women for weeks, affects them for months. I know a few guys that still look on our dating career together with bitterness. I never understood this.
Discussion piece:
I believe that guys take things more personally than girls when it comes to relationships or the lack thereof. Have you seen this in your life? Do you agree, or disagree? Please share examples...I'm far beyond the point of 'a little curious'.
Sincerely,
Monotonous Me
I have a few select guy friends that have dramatic tendencies. They don't go for shock and awe, nothing like that. They're just drama queens when it comes down to it.
Case study #1 - Brandon:
I don't text very often. I'll send one text, then go do something and not answer my phone for at least 15 minutes or so. I text a lot of people, but the frequency of my responses usually unnerve them. I'm especially like this when I'm around other people. I like to focus on the person or activity at hand, and answer my texts later. In my opinion, if it was important, they'd call. If I don't pick up and they leave a message, then I know it's important and excuse myself. But until that point is reached, I leave my cell phone in my purse or pocket. Brandon gets offended when I don't text him first. He'll wait until late afternoon to text me something like, 'Thanks for not texting me. Hope you have a great day...' I would calmly explain that I get busy and that my not texting him frequently is purely habitual and is nothing personal. He less than calmly says, 'This just goes to show that you don't think about me. I'm not important enough to you.'
Case study #2 - Chris:
He is one of those kinds of guys that is flirtatious. I personally don't think there's really anything wrong with that. I myself am very flirtatious without even trying. I'm affectionate with everyone that I'm friends with, whether they be male or female. This tends to get me into trouble. But that is besides the point at hand. Chris will send me affectionate text messages. Call me pet names, and tell me he misses me. He just recently sent me a text saying 'If you were here we could cuddle' I tried to be funny by saying, 'Technically, I could cuddle with anyone; even a stranger.' He didn't find that very funny. He got offended. 'Well, I guess you don't need me.' he responded. I explained that I was trying to be funny and wasn't trying to be mean. Attempts to restore what I had done were in vain. He's still whining about it.
I have found that guys seem to take things more personally than girls. A break up that will affect us as women for weeks, affects them for months. I know a few guys that still look on our dating career together with bitterness. I never understood this.
Discussion piece:
I believe that guys take things more personally than girls when it comes to relationships or the lack thereof. Have you seen this in your life? Do you agree, or disagree? Please share examples...I'm far beyond the point of 'a little curious'.
Sincerely,
Monotonous Me
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