Unemployment and Employment

Today I have to attend an unemployment seminar. I'm sure those of you who have been unemployed know about these. For those who've never had the joy or privilege, in essence, it is a 2 hour sit around and find out how to find a job seminar.

It is mostly effective for people who need to learn office skills because they've been machine operators for 10 years. They will train you on all the basic computer software platforms so you can get an office job when manufacturing jobs are vanishing.

Office jobs are vanishing too, but that's beside the point.

That's going to be at 10am. At 3pm, I have a job interview at the college where I used to work for a web/graphics design position. I am not sure how I feel about the prospects of going back that way. I'm certainly not sure I'll make the final cut. I don't have that kind of cocky Prodigal Son sense that I will come back there and be embraced. I know I would be by several faculty and the friends I've maintained. But I'm not sure the administration will see it that way.

I've greatly missed the academic vibe. In addition to this job, I have submitted my resume to the Colleges of The Fenway system in Boston for a position at Emmanuel doing exactly the same thing. I'd gladly take either, although I'd have to figure out what to do about the huge commute from here to Fenway. I keep telling myself that we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. If I get a call for an interview. Should I get an offer...

The way the college where I'm interviewing does it is they have a search committee go through the resumes and rank them as yes, maybe, no way jose. The maybes get a closer look to weed out a possible yes or no. Then they go through the portfolios of the individuals, ranking the designed sites on a scale of one to five... five being the best. Then, of those people, they bring in the 3s and up.

From 90 resumes the first pass down to about 10 people. And I made that 10 people cut.

I know the four members of the search committee. Some very well, others in a close acquaintance and huge respect and worship from afar (the webmaster for the school of business is on the committee--I think he is tremendous and a very smart and creative designer. He awes me, and I feel shitty in his shadow). I have no doubt I will make it past these four to the next step, interviewing with the person I should have been if I'd stayed at the college -- the Director of the web team.

He was hired after I'd been gone for a while. I've met him socially. He has no baggage when it comes to me, and I have no history with him, so it will be very much like a regular interview. If I make it past him, it's up to the CIO if I get hired.

I left on less than perfect terms when I bailed. There were a lot of hurt feelings, mine especially. I'm not sure if I look like I'm slinking back there begging for scraps for work or if I look like the kind of person who left the nest, developed great skills and learned many things and now wants to come 'home' to continue the good work. I don't know how he'll see me. I don't think he liked me. He certainly didn't give me that impression, but he's hard to read. I'm really nervous and scared to go into that part of the interview process if I make it that far.

I feel that I've grown up a lot in the last four years. I learned a lot more at the internet company where I bailed to in 2000 than I ever could have learned if I stayed there. I know that this job is sort of a low man on the totem pole position, but it pays over 10k more than what it paid when I was there last, and there is about 1/3 the amount of work that needs to be done because the old job I had was split into several pieces.

This could be the best job ever, it could be "You can't go home again." We shall see.

Whatever it is, I have to take my stuffy nose, sore throat, sort of a fever thing into there and shine so that I'll be passed on to the next level. Wish me luck. Send me mojo. Cross your fingers. Here goes nothing.

On the subject of stuffy head/cold/nose/throat things... I noticed the other day that we all successfully made it through the fall and winter without catching anything. All four of us. That, my friends, is unheard of in this house. Especially with two school aged children and a man who works in a nursing home, where all sorts of evil, vile germies and viruses attach themselves to unwitting bodies and come home with.

Geoff had a bit of a runny nose and cough a week or so ago. Right after the play ended Jessica succumbed to something which put her in bed one afternoon and she slept until the following school day. Her body looked as if it was going to give up the fight before the play ran, but she held on and gave in the following Monday. She went through this past weekend miserable, but she's much better now. Doug caught it for a little while, mostly the sore throat sneezy/stuffy head thing. And now it's my turn. Just in time to go interview.

Hopefully it will clear up before next week. We've decided to go to Western PA to visit Doug's family. Actually, we decided a few weeks ago but were met with resistance as to staying at his folks' house (long story). So we were going to go to perhaps Washington DC. Geoff wanted to go to A & M's, which is where we go when our family doesn't love us or want us. (Two February vacations ago this exact same thing happened, so we went on what we called "The Northern Hospitality Tour" where we were welcomed with open arms and shots of whiskey at the door).

We are going to stay at a hotel with a pool, and we're going to geocache our fat asses off, and we're going to have boatloads and pantloads and bucketloads of fun, and no one is going to stop us, damnit!

I chaperoned a field trip yesterday for Jessica's class. It was a really good time. We went to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and there were two chaperones to eight kids, boys & girls mixed, and a tour guide.

It took 90 minutes to get there. The bus driver drove through Beacon Freakin' Hill and we got stuck trying to turn a corner behind the State House. I was sitting there freaking out because you don't take a school bus through Beacon Hill!!! Oh my GOD!

But he 90 point turned and got us out of there, to all the beeping and consternations of the people in front of and behind us. I swear this one guy was going to drive his Mini Cooper up on the sidewalk and around us. THAT is a car for Beacon Hill.

The kids are studying Ancient Rome and Greece, AGAIN. They did this in fourth grade.

I'll save my comments for that for my next entry.

Regardless, the kids seemed to really enjoy the tour, and the tour guide did a great job with them. She was an older lady, but not too old, and very interested in hearing from them and talking to them.

We had two boys in our group with ADHD, and both of them stuck with it as long as they could. I could tell it was overwhelming to one of them. He did things that Geoff does. And I can see me chaperoning this trip again in 5 years with Geoff.

We walked through an area where one girl refused to go. It was the mummies and sarcophagi (??? spelling) and she was afraid, so I walked her around. She was honestly shaking, and told me that the room creeped her out so bad last time they came here that she passed out.

Wow.

Anyway -- my daughter was Smitty Smartypants through the whole tour. She knew the answer to every question posed to the group by the guide. Why do you think they designed it like this? Who is this man in this carving with the lion skin over his shoulder? Is this statue realistic or idealized and why?

That kid. I tell ya. Eventually the guide had to pick other kids. And the kids didn't answer the questions. You know how kids are -- "Well, when my grandmother was buried, she was put into a mausoleum." That's nice Joanna, but why is this...

Funny ancedote for you -- before leaving for the field trip yesterday, I dropped the kids off and ran back here to have my breakfast. I threw my money and my camera batteries in my front pocket because I didn't want to bring my entire pocketbook. After a few minutes of running round the house here, my pants started to feel hot and very burny. My front pocket was about to catch on fire.

Never put batteries and pennies in a confined space together. Doy???

So I had to change pants, and I was late. I got on the bus and announced that to the kids with a big goofy face and double thumbs up. Everyone laughed hysterically. All the boys were asking me why it happened and how they could do it. I encouraged them not to but still explained why.

It was a big hit.

Anyway. I'm in need of getting in the shower so I can get ready for this unemployment thing. It's 1/2 hour from home. I have 20 minutes to shower and dress. I was going to color my hair for my interview, but... We all over slept this morning.

For some reason none of our alarm clocks went off. And because of Daylight Savings, our human alarm clock, Geoff, got out of bed on his own at 7:40. A week ago he would have been up at 6:40 making all his Geoff noise. If he hadn't been all door slammy and mad a the toilet lid, we might all still be asleep and he'd be sitting on the couch playing Sly Cooper.

More later, peeps.