Unemployed

Yea though I walk through the valley of unemployment I shall fear no creditors. What does that mean? It means I lost my job after six years. I’d worked for a home builder and made it through thirty-two rounds of layoffs. I was part of round thirty-three. But I was given a decent severance package and my vacation was cashed out. I’ll be fine for a few months.

This coming week I’ve got interviews scheduled and I’m using my last two weeks of insurance for dental and medical check-ups. I’m also trying to get to the bottom of what’s making me itch.

I’m looking forward to see what the future holds. My lease on my apartment is up so I won’t have a lease to break and if worse comes to worse, I will move back in with my parents. While I don’t relish that idea, its nice to know the door is open. And it’s a nice door to a nice house in a nice neighborhood. I won’t lose my car and I’ll be surrounded by people (and a cat) who love me.

Perhaps I’m not scared of this next step because I don’t have children to feed or clothe and no mortgage to stress about. I’m more concerned for the others that were also let go from my former company that day. They’re young mothers, sole breadwinners, wives to out of work husbands. I’m told the atmosphere of my former office is library quiet, some women quietly crying at their desks, scared if they are the next to be among the jobless.

This uncertainty isn’t keeping me awake at night like this incessant itching is. I’ve got great friends who were stunned with the news that I was out of work.

Though I do have a question, one that someone could answer if they were so inclined. Its not a question borne of bitterness or resentment, just one that I would like explained. Why are the lowly paid hourly employees the first to be let go when there’s a glut of middle management? Would it not be more prudent to let go of those employees making $60K+ a year instead of those making $30-40K? Who are these people middle managing? There’s not many left. In the case of my former employer, middle management wasn’t tasked with taking on the added responsibility of those let go. The tasks I used to complete were given to those hourly employees like I was. And they’ll tend to those tasks diligently, hoping the axe isn’t dropped on them. My former company is still too top heavy and I’d like to know the reasoning behind keeping the more expensive employees. Wouldn’t it help the bottom line more if those receiving larger paychecks were thinned from the herd?

Today’s lie: The economy will get better very soon.

Are You Not Entertained

Ah the 1980s. I remember them well. Gorbachev had torn down that wall, Mary Lou Retton was a fresh-faced teenager and Madonna had taken over a channel called MTV. I also remember the 80s as the decade I first threw a hissy fit about politics. I had never heard of Gary Hart’s Monkey Business and knew nothing about the Iran Contra scandal. I was just a small town girl (I wasn’t small the town was) when I came home from playing My Little Pony with a friend and turned on the television before dinner. There weren’t remote controls at that time so it took a few minutes for the TV to warm up. I settled onto the couch in the den and prepared to watch The Cosby Show. It wasn’t on and I was instead introduced to someone named Regan who looked older than my grandparents who was talking. Endlessly. The same old man was talking on all the ‘good’ channels at once? How can this be? My parents, always looking at any situation as a teaching moment, told me that back in their day the political debates were on all the major networks and there weren’t any other channels so I should be happy there were other options. God bless my parents for trying but when you’re six and all you want to do is watch the Huxtables, a lesson on being thankful for what you have just won’t cut it. I’ll have to confirm with my parents but I think it didn’t matter what other channels had to offer because my acting like such a brat ended television privileges for the night.

See what politics does? Takes a mild-mannered person and makes them a whiney six year old. It’s a scientific fact! Much like Michelle Bachmann stating this week that HPV vaccinations cause mental retardation. Huh, is that what her problem is, she got the shot?

I’m no longer that whiney six year old. I have Direct TV, Play Station 2, the internet or even a book.  I take advantage of all of these diversions but I find I have to use them more often in this campaign season. Shouldn’t there be a time limit on this sort of thing? A year in advance and already the GOP debates have been on several times. The Democrats will run Obama so there’s no Democratic debate other than what the hell happened to our party?

 I’m not complaining because I’m against Republicans; frankly I’m not dazzled by Democrats at this point and the current administration is way too weak for my taste. Are these Republican candidates looking for their next job and not doing the job they already have sworn to uphold? Or maybe it doesn’t matter. I know here in AZ when John McCain ran twice we didn’t notice because he was ineffectual even when he was in town.

Perhaps I’m being too harsh. The political debates have given Jon Stewart, Bill Maher and SNL endless things to discuss. So I’ll tune into the debates enough to know what they’re mocking. Then I’m turn into that whiney six year old girl simply because of what is coming out of politicians mouths.

Today’s lie: politicians are not out for themselves but sacrifice everything for the good of the nation.

The Receptionist Blues

Since I’m combing the want ads on a daily basis, I see receptionist wanted on a daily basis. This got me thinking about my time in that position. Today I’ll be discussing the cons of it, tomorrow the pros.

The title of receptionist is bestowed on a person (usually female) whose sole function is to sit at the front desk of the office and direct calls, sign for packages and distribute mail. That’s what I also started out as when I was given my first ‘real’ job. It was pretty straight forward. It gave me time to do homework, it was clean and I learned how an office works.

That was thirteen years ago and judging from the ads I see, the position has certainly evolved. The person must be now proficient in Microsoft Office, order office supplies, arrange and attend various meetings, take dictation, data entry, while simultaneously answering the phone, the fax and respond to email. Oh being bilingual is also a plus because this is Arizona. The requirements for the position are at least three years’ experience with these tasks and a college degree. For $9.50 an hour. That’s less than I made at my first real job.

I understand the ads need to include the job duties but what I don’t understand is why the receptionist position has turned into a dumping ground. Let me explain: the above tasks don’t usually take an entire day so a receptionist finds herself with time on her hands and being a good employee and wanting to show she’s better than her current position, she asks for more work. However when other employees learn the receptionist wants more work, they begin handing over the menial tasks they don’t have time or desire to complete. Pretty soon the receptionist desk becomes a dumping ground for other employees work and her time is spent working on those tasks, not the ones originally assigned to her. However she (and it’s almost always a she) continues to juggle the added workload because it’s what she asked for.

I think at times the people doing the hiring lose sight of the original purpose of a receptionist because answering the phone and signing for packages is so basic and that’s what they’re looking for. But I would argue that position is so much more. The above job description is one that I read every day. I have all of those skills and more but I’m insulted at the $9.50 an hour. Minimum wage is AZ is $7.35 so yes $9.50 is a nice increase. But when your ad states an individual must have at least three years’ experience, pay them accordingly. The receptionist position has evolved into all things to all people, depending on what sort of office you work in. At my old company she also did accounting. At the company before that she (meaning me) did all the hiring. The place before that the receptionist also was responsible for marketing of all things!

My point is, stop insulting the job force, or reminding them they should be grateful for $9.50. I’ve been turned down for those positions lately because I have so much experience that companies know I would leave for greener pastures when possible.

Today’s lie: is actually a truth. I’m way over-qualified for receptionist positions but the admin positions I apply to don’t want me at all.

I'm Back to Being ME!

I've finally made it back here! Its been too long and I allowed myself to get distracted. What's taken place? I lost my job over a year ago, moved into my parents house, got a new job, broke up with a boyfriend, got a new college degree (please hold your applause), paid off all my bills (ok there's a massive student loan now), lost over 85lbs, moved out of my parents house and into a lovely apartment that's near work.

Next month I start covering these grey hairs with a great shade of deep chestnut. Who knew that a dark color suggested by a man I dated would be a good choice, according to my hairdresser? I've got a mean pixie cut that suits me better than any other hairstyle I've ever had.

Today I'm hiding from the heat of 120 degrees and spending the day writing. Yea, how I've missed it; writing something that wasn't a term paper for school or lengthy proposals for work. Wait, I also forgot to tell you I joined a writing group and wouldn't you know a coworker who also loves to write is in the same group! We're into totally different genres; she's all about horror and sci-fi, I'm all about the thriller and murder mystery. But we do cross sect with historical intrigue so we've compared authors and introduced one another to even more.

Oh! I almost forgot, as an added bonus I managed to pick up a stalker! Its a minor thing and most surprising! Its a man I've never dated but yet he actually sought me out after many years by calling my parents house. And then he proceeded to call my and text me numerous times in the span of an hour. Yup, he's a creeper.

Now, onto why I'm back here: my observations of today's news source landscape.

I have a question: when did national news anchors start delivering the news with a breathless voice, making the listener feel there was a scandal afoot? This morning the CNN and HLN anchors did that, MSNBC did it to a slightly lesser extent and it was only the BBC-America who gave me the headlines without eye-rolling, hints of some sort of cover-up or potential scandal. And without "breaking news" which anymore is a relative term. Save that for a president getting shot, Congress performing self-immolation, something like that. Its like news anchors are being told to sensationalize everything under the sun, which to my ear makes everything sound unimportant.

What's with the editorializing of things? Why is Robin Meade telling me her second album came out when she's supposed to be interviewing Pistol Annies that are standing next to her? Why is Beverly Navarro telling with me with narrowed eyes and a tone of surprise that the jury selection for the Zimmerman case is taking place? That's not breaking news, that's the judicial system working, however slowly, on the Constitutional rights of all parties involved in that case.

And can someone tell me why the female anchors on news shows all now look the same: tan, blond, way too much makeup, while the men look bland but are taken more seriously? What would happen if the men were told to deliver the news in their nest Marilyn Monroe impression? Not that I don't think the male anchors aren't being given poor instruction also. I feel an almost physical reaction to Wolf Blitzer that I didn't used to; he too is sensationalizing every story instead of just giving me the facts. That's a vast change from when I was in my early twenties watching him.

But while news anchors are being given directions from their producers to editorialize everything, Faux News has taken to having all on-air talent use each and every talking point as an op-ed piece. Brit Hume didn't used to give his opinion on the news he was reading. Shep Shepard has taken to making smug remarks when speaking about the president. When did this become acceptable behavior to convey the news?

 

Now that I'm back on here and feeling more of myself, I'm off to work on other pieces that I haven't given enough attention to. But now I'll start posting regularly again. What's today's lie I tell myself? That I haven't changed at all when instead ots more of a rediscovering myself.