a job and an iPhone

So I can't remember what I said last on this blog. My head has been snapped at least 5 times in the last 10 days. I have a hard time believing it has been a week since I accepted the tentative offer of employment at Bankers Life and Casualty as an Insurance agent.

I signed up for a cram class that was suggested by the managing agent at Bankers. I picked up the book the same day I had my interview, after all I did not want to waste anytime. I wanted to have read the whole study guide and go to the cram class prepared and ready to ask for clarification. It was supposed to be easy to accomplish. After all there was a plan, my husband was supposed to be home on vacation from his last week of work. So he would watch the kids, I would go to my mothers quiet house and study, study, study. Sounded good and it looked easy.

HA! God has a terribly sick sense of humor. First I got sick eating a can of Chef Boyardee Ravioli. (I was so concerned that I had eaten recalled food, I called ConAgra Foods, they sent me a coupon that I got today.) That sucked. Then my husband went to work, for what was supposed to be the last day.

He got home late that day and told me it was not his last day after all... unless I wanted it to be. He had been offered a split shift in the back room as a back office receptionist/warehouse manager. It paid better than anything else part-time. In a panic about how we were going to pay rent in August, I told him to accept it. Even if the boss man tried to lower the payrate he offered.

Anyway that was nice, but it started right away. Bummer is that ment I would not be able to escape away from the kids and go study. It meant I would be forced to try and read this crazy technical study guide while the kids, screamed, cried, laughed, made a mess, peed on the floor, chased the dog, complained about being hungry and made piles of dirty laundry and dishes. If you are wondering, I never got past the first page!

So I went to the Cram Study class, thankfully without the kids; and now I owe my sitter for her time. Bummer, more cost and not enough income. So I got past the first page and all the way to the last chapter I needed to read. I remembered some of it.

If you did not go to high school with me then you simply don't know how anal-retentive I am. Just knowing a little bit about it, or knowing enough to maybe pass was not enough. So I rescheduled my test which was supposed to be on Sunday. So glad I did. My brain was so fried by Friday Evening that I had failed to check emails or voicemail messages. I missed seeing my step-sister who was in town. Kinda Annoyed about that, but it happens when people assume you are unemployed so you can be called last minute!

So I missed seeing my sister. I missed my Mom's birthday, and I who knows what other fun thing or great opportunity was missed because I had my head so deep in a book that I couldn't tell you if I changed my underwear. Okay, Okay, the point of this tangent?! I realized how much I really did NEED a cell Phone. Not the one I have set up on my iPad, but a real one, that rings when you are in class, or on the loo. So now I have one.

I could have done the responsible thing and found my missing pay as you go Virgin Mobile phone, but after a few quick searches I started looking instead for a better replacement. I looked at other pre-paid services, I looked at all kinds of family plans. I tried to convince myself and my husband that we could get a non Apple phone. I am an elitist snob. I know. I know I didn't need another mobile Apple product. I could have just gotten some crappy phone that only makes calls and sends text messages. It might have saved me the data plan and perhaps a few dollars on the hand set, but I would never have given up my envy, love, and downright obsession with the iPhone I have always wanted.

I know it is too expensive. I know it is a want and not a need. I know it just puts one more nail in the Elitist Snob sign, but hey I don't drink wine and tell you how this one is better than that same one that is grown 2 miles to the north. Nor will I tell you how great I am.... Then again, if I continue on this path and make the type of money I intend on with my new job, no telling how Snobish or Elitist I might become.

!Hot !

!Hot !
Sexy. It feels great even if l didn't exercise this morning, or wake up on time. The bag boy repeatedly asked it l needed help out, then got a bit creepy when he insisted he wanted to help me. No he did not offer to help the less sexy, slightly older woman assistance.

The drive home was nice too! A grungy, smelly construction worker thought I was so hot that he had to let out a cat call so loud, l actually slammed on the brakes and blushed.

So I got a new program for my Ipad. It is called - Write Pad. It is a hand writing recognition program that lam using to write today blog. It is new and l think provides an expansion to the possibilities of an ipad. Imagine, being able to hand write an email or take notes during class.

I think the ipad has changed forever t6 way people will interact with machines forever. It is like the first time porn was_ made available over the internet or the first time it was legal for blacks to own property, or women to show a little skin around the ankle. The way this device influences all other technologies and is exponentially increasing and changing how our children's future will look.

Feeling guilty. Recycling... I see what we throw away everyday and it disturbs me. I want to say I recycle. I know the importance, but I get busy and I lack the space to house a second bin. I often wonder if then is a way for Companies to sell less packaging... What it your can of peas came is a baggie? Would you buy it? Would that create less waste or lead to more recycling? So l try. I take large boxes to the Recycle bin and feel guilty about the rest l toss into the refuse.

I still feel sexy, even though I should an something to change my guilty feelings on the amount of useful material I toss each day. Maybe the trash people could just do it for us. I mean they already sort the recycle, so why not all of it ?

Request to waste -management :Please do it for me. I bet it could be profitable.

-- This message was composed with PhatWare WritePad.

Sent from my iPad

conundrum

first I should say I ate some bad ravioli this morning and threw it up. Gross. I called Chef Boyardee and told them I thought that it made me sick. They apologized.

I found a job yesterday. Not the traditional here is your paycheck type of job. Insurance sales. Actually sounds a lot like my dream job. Don't stay in the office, get to go out and see customers, potential to make lots of cash. Advancement opportunity. the option to grow into additional products to increase money earned. Flexible hours. But the rest is all hard work. You must rely on yourself, there is no guaranteed paycheck from the company, just commissions for business closed.

This morning I received a call back from quicken loans, but I was too sick to answer the call. It sounded potentially good. Possibility that I may weigh two jobs and have a choice about how much risk I want to take to earn some income for my household.

Also kinda stressed, as this is the last week my husband will have a paycheck. So what little money we have left in our savings account will go to pay rent and buy some gas for the car. What will we do when it runs out? No idea. My Mom is out of town as of today so if we need serious amounts of cash to keep the gas tank full or the car dies, I haven't a clue as to how we will fill that need. Scary.

So do I study for the license I need to sell insurance or do I wait for Pamela Smith from Quicken Loans to call me back again. We all know how much fun phone tag is, so maybe I will send her a quick email. Perhaps she is busy, and maybe she has good news that will create the conundrum all job seekers want: having to tell someone no, I took another offer.

Suffering withdrawal

So I was a little nutzo today. I kept checking email, calling people, looking up new ways to maximize social media marketing, checking Facebook, etc, etc! I felt like a caged animal. Nothing was happening on the internet and all my friends were working so they did not answer. After spending the day spinning my wheels in lard on the slick ice of the job search I have concluded I was suffering from withdrawal. No not alcohol or sex addiction withdrawal. The kind of withdrawal sky divers understand. The kind you get from thrills, the very same I have been enjoying in the job hunt from being put on the spot during interviews.

So if you want to help, I am up for an interview right now. Call me.

Dark Circles

Tired? Bored? What is the difference? Both lead to slacking off and then that overwhelming need to rush due to procrastination.

Still looking for a job. Bored took career test on Careerbuilder.com Told me the obvious: "You're a CREATOR" Of course I am! It also says I am an "Organizer". Well duh, anyone that buys an App so they can take inventory of their kitchen and household cleaning things must be an Organizer. Really! You read that right, I have an anal retentive app that allows me to track the cans of Red Beans in my pantry.

That is the best I could get! Info I already know. I know I have taken jobs that are not in my strengths. I know I need a job that allows me to be impulsive, tact-less, intuitive and emotional. Yes I need a job that allows me to do something that has precision and planning. I am good at it. That is what makes me so great at sales. I am candid, rational and irrational at the same time. I sell people things based on the emotional need, that is probably why I was such a good counselor at UOP, I could relate, (they call that empathy, and yeah I got that). And I understand organization, AKA commissions structures, data entry that gets me more and I seem to be accurate with customer orders and a stickler for rules and regulations- (yes, I know that is a contradiction to impulsiveness, but I promise you can be a contradiction and still be fun to work with).

So, the desperate search continues... I submitted an Ad on Facebook and Google Adsense to help get me Hired. Yeah, I have no money, but no one said you couldn't risk it all to get dollar bills.

So tired, yet I danced and sung out loud. I embarrassed my kids, and I was in my own home. Felt good.

I am so bored. I am so bored. Searching for a job is so boring. Okay, I don;t think I am frustrated yet. I think I am having better luck at finding interesting job assignments and getting my resume looked at then most,especiallynif you listen to the news.

Anyway, Thanks CareerBuilder.com I really do like seeing the number of times my resume has been clicked on (10), and sent to a list for a recruiter to search through (93). I also really like careerbuilder keeping track of the number of positions I have applied to (10). Good News is I am really picky. So I haven't applied to that many jobs. I want jobs that are challenging and interesting.

Seriously the recruiters that write these job descriptions need a reality check! Yawn, if you need to take a nap read the want ads. Recruiters should take a creative writing class. How boring! Obviously every job in the world deals with customers. No I don't mean actually calling them or sitting face to face with new ones. I mean every employee has a customer. Sometimes it is your boss that is Your customer, and sometimes it is the accountant/bookkeeper that you give everything too as a data entry clerk. Really everyone has someone else that they need to please and that person is always right. And I really don't need a list of software programs I will use everyday, or the fact that I should have the ability to work with a browser. Really? That is what I hiring manager wants? Cause I haven been messing with browsers since I was like ten.

I am certain that the hiring manager doesn't want me to tell them I know how to use a web browser. I mean I just submitted my resume through careerbuilder.com, a website, I really think the recruiter is smarter than a 6 year old. So duh! Of course I know how to click and type a mouse. Get real. Tell me what you really want! If you want someone who will take a risk, or speak in front of a crowd, say so. Don't give me another boring list of SKILLS that have nothing to do with actually preforming the job of selling your company and product. Realistically, if I can find your job listing on-line, I am already capable of learning new things because the web changes instantly and so do I.

The frustrating part is feeling like you are reading the same job listing over and over. You would think with all the articles about how recruiters don't like reading the same resume would lead to creative job listings detailing what they want. Recruiters should take their own advice and write a job ad that says what they want, just like they want job hunters too. I seriously want to read an AD and say, Yes, that is the company I want to work for. I can already see they have personality and carisma that is a good fit for me.

Fantasy Job AD:

Wanted: Individual with personality, conformist not need apply. We need a person to stand up in front of our clients, looking great, and speaking fluidly about our product/service. We need a person who will not lie, believes in honest and integrity. We want a person of faith or science, that is willing to search out the truth where ever it is. We desire a person who likes to learn, reads interesting books and studies new things, just because it is interesting. We want a person who has a life, and actively participates in the community in any organization, (political and religious okay). We offer a great salary, enough to support a family and enjoy your vacation, health care, dental, life insurance and 401k with employer match after 1 year. We would really like it if you find Dilbert funny and don't judge others by the porn they watch, or the drugs they smoke, or their weird tattoo. Open-minded, fun, eccentric, honest and faithful person sought.

forgot what I wanted to say.

So I have been incredibly busy. Believe it or not looking for the right job is exhausting. I find myself not being very articulate lately. I know what I want... or think I do, but find myself having a difficult time saying it in a politically correct and appropriate fashion. I blurt out the first thing that comes to my mind. Yes, I get giggles, snickers, interviews trying really hard not to laugh, and good conversations with hiring managers.

That is probably a weakness I should work on. Impulsive speech, a problem or a strength? Ummm. I think it depends on what is coming out of your mouth and how accepting your audience is. Should I change how I am and how does one go about stopping obscure and possibly obsence things.

On the plus side of being impulsive, is the shear thrill from the challenge of new things. That is probably why I am searching for sales jobs. I admit it, not just sales jobs, but really well paying jobs, things that are listing potential incomes of 60K to 100K. Sure, I have never made that money. But to be honest I have always been trying to do the responsible thing and make sure there was a steady paycheck, or at least since I have had my first kid. I think that is a problem. I remember back before I had kids, I had jobs that had no paycheck. Yet I made really great money. That I promptly spent on ridiculous non-responsible adult things like clothes, really pretty shoes, taking 5 friends to the movies and paying for it plus dinner and drinks later. Yeah, I am not sure why I have been so risk adverse for the last 8 years. It must be time to stop.

Anyway so I forget to say the really good strong thing that will set me apart as a candidate, but I promise I will stop stumbling over really dumb things, and perhaps stop drinking the tall mocha frappachinno before the interview.