Wednesday, March 30, 2011

All For Naught

All that fussing about my manicure, and I don't think I got the job.  I did catch one of my interviewers goggling at my hands a couple of times, but that's not why I didn't get it.  I'm good at what I do, and my skills are solid enough that most of my former employers have been willing to accommodate my eccentricities in exchange for my work.  It's just that my experience at the last place wrecked my confidence.  I've worked for micro-managers before: owners or managers who like to have their fingers in every aspect of the business, and don't trust their underlings to handle any decisions.  I didn't think they were like that when I was hired, but that's what they turned out to be in the end.

The second half of the interview consisted of the interviewers asking me about hypothetical situations.  I knew what was appropriate for all of the circumstances they asked me about, but I couched my answers in terms of "abiding by the preferences of my managers".  I'd say, "I would do X, but of course it would depend on the company's policy" or "I would work within the brand standards".

We talked about potential pay, but I just don't think I got the job.

After the interview, I looked online and I found an at-home method for removing my acrylic nails, but I don't think that would've made any difference.

Monday, March 28, 2011

Stuck In the Middle

There's no intentional musical reference today, though I forgive anyone for thinking of Stealer's Wheel, and apologize to anyone who gets this song stuck in their head.

I have been out of work since Groundhog Day.  I have been banging out resumes for each and every position I've seen on the web or off.  Two weeks ago I walked six miles back and forth to hand in applications at the nearest hotels to my current residence.  I've even applied in other cities, some two or more hours away, trying to find anything.  Today I got an email from the GM who posted an ad for a full-time front desk agent.  We have an interview tomorrow morning.

After jumping up and down for a moment, I scampered about assembling a suitable outfit for the event: blue shirt, black slacks, belt, tie and black shoes.  My hair's gotten a little long, but not outside the acceptable range for a gentleman in this age.  It's just that my nails have gotten a little scary-looking.

I got my last fill-in in February.  I was hoping to go back to work any day, but that didn't happen.  I wonder now if that last bit of money might have been better spent getting the acrylic removed.  My nails still look good, but the tips reach almost a quarter-inch from the ends of my fingers.  If I had a Dremel (it what they use in the salon), I could grind them down a bit and then file the ends, but I don't have one.

Then again, the gentleman conducting my interview tomorrow is Indian, so he may not have an issue.

I'll let you all know how it goes.

Writing for My Sanity

Almost a month ago, I moved back in with my sister and her family.  I am ever grateful.  They've kept a roof over my head, food in my belly and my computer connected to the web.  I can't ask for more than that.  I really wish, though, that I was back in my own place.  I miss the privacy.  I'd also forgotten how stressful living with three other adults, eight children and assorted pets could be.

In the last couple of days, another conflict has erupted between my sister, her husband and his ex-wife, over their children.  I feel as though I'm head-down in a bunker, with artillery screaming over my head from every direction, and it's escalating by the day.  I started out this post by detailing the whole nasty situation in detail, omitting only the names, but then I decided that would be over-sharing.  I wrote a great portion of it out, just to clear my head, then I deleted the post and started over.  Writing can be cathartic, I see.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Changes Afoot

What's New With Blogger
I haven't been keeping up with this thing like I should.  It's not as though anything is happening with me right now.  I was going to do a post about how there's nothing around where I live, but I decided to wait and see, and now some things have begun to happen.

I logged in a few minutes ago, and I see these links at the top of my Dashboard.  There's a smarmy message about the news being for anyone who didn't get to go to SXSW.  I haven't been much of anywhere in weeks, much less to some overblown music festival in the middle of the desert.  I'm sure it was a blast, and I've seen some nifty video, but I didn't need Blogger to remind me how low I've sunk.

So they're getting ready to change the editing format... AGAIN.  Frankly, I've just gotten the hang of using the current model, and now they want to kick the training wheels off again.  Bastards.  They're getting to be just like Facebook, where the settings for everything change almost weekly.

Once again I've come to let you all know what's going on with me, and I've gone off on yet another tangent.  So sorry.