My apologies. Anyway. It's been 2 and a half weeks since my fantastic interview, so I think I'm gonna go ahead and pronounce the time of death - Wednesday, March 29, 8:25 p.m. EST.
Naturally when one experiences the death of a loved one, whether the loved one be a person or just a dream, or maybe even a whiff of desperate hope clinging like toilet paper to the bottom of one's shoe, one is bound to start questioning one's life. You start wondering things like, "What the FUCK?!?" I mean, I walked out of that interview thinking that I nailed it; almost positive I was going to get an offer. And then...nothing. How does that happen? And I think you all know, I am not a confident person by nature. Even if I do well I'm pretty sure I suck. So how the hell did I not get this job, considering that by some fluke, some weird astrological alignment of the planets or some shit, I actually left the interview feeling good about myself and the world in general (which is most definitely not in my nature)?
The only thing I can come up with is that, as I mentioned before, they already had someone in mind they were going to hire, OR they liked me, but decided to hire someone with better qualifications, more experience, someone more to their ethnic preference, etc. etc.
I guess it doesn't pay to dwell on it. Except that coming to work everyday is now a literally painful experience and the thought of idling away the first couple years of my career in this insanely boring paraprofessional position is almost too much for me.
But I feel like I'm being a downer, so let's end this post with a happy thought: the only place to go from here is up.
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Saturday, March 25, 2006
Links 'n' Things
Hi y'all (that's my nod to my current place of residence),
Sorry I haven't updated for awhile - as my life continues to be as dull as a cardboard box it becomes more difficult to come up with witty blog entries. So, first things first - I haven't heard back about that fabulous interview I had. Yes, it's now been two weeks. Yes, things look bleak. I'm not going to write it off completely for a few more days, although I get the distinct feeling I'm just kidding myself. Oh well. As time wore on between the giddy interview day and, well, today, I started to second-guess myself and began to think (perhaps correctly?) that maybe the reason the interview went so well was because the interview panel already knew who they were going to hire (not me) - thus their breezy, carefree manner and utter lack of gravity. This would explain why the interview went so quickly (about 30 minutes), and why they didn't grill me on my skills or experience. Or I could just be paranoid. Whatever. As soon as I hear anything, I will post.
So many interesting things in the news lately...Props go out to Cecilia Fire Thunder for saying that she would open a Planned Parenthood clinic on the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota, where she is president. Unfortunately, PP has said they have no plans to build a clinic there, but hey, she tried - Fire Thunder asserts that the reservation is autonomous from the South Dakota state government and thus the state's abortion ban would have no legal footing there. (Link to BoingBoing post here.) I think this is great - go President Fire Thunder! (And really, could there be a better name for a president?)
This is an interesting point of view on the whole pro-life agenda. And here's a great cartoon about Bill Napoli and womens' ability to make their own decisions.
And President Bush has unofficially declared himself Herr Commandant Lord Chancellor on High of the Universe, forgetting, as he is wont to do, that as an American citizen he is obligated to follow ALL laws passed by Congress, not just the ones he likes.
Ok, that about wraps it up for what I have to say today. Should anything interesting happen in my life, I'll let you all know.
Sorry I haven't updated for awhile - as my life continues to be as dull as a cardboard box it becomes more difficult to come up with witty blog entries. So, first things first - I haven't heard back about that fabulous interview I had. Yes, it's now been two weeks. Yes, things look bleak. I'm not going to write it off completely for a few more days, although I get the distinct feeling I'm just kidding myself. Oh well. As time wore on between the giddy interview day and, well, today, I started to second-guess myself and began to think (perhaps correctly?) that maybe the reason the interview went so well was because the interview panel already knew who they were going to hire (not me) - thus their breezy, carefree manner and utter lack of gravity. This would explain why the interview went so quickly (about 30 minutes), and why they didn't grill me on my skills or experience. Or I could just be paranoid. Whatever. As soon as I hear anything, I will post.
So many interesting things in the news lately...Props go out to Cecilia Fire Thunder for saying that she would open a Planned Parenthood clinic on the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota, where she is president. Unfortunately, PP has said they have no plans to build a clinic there, but hey, she tried - Fire Thunder asserts that the reservation is autonomous from the South Dakota state government and thus the state's abortion ban would have no legal footing there. (Link to BoingBoing post here.) I think this is great - go President Fire Thunder! (And really, could there be a better name for a president?)
This is an interesting point of view on the whole pro-life agenda. And here's a great cartoon about Bill Napoli and womens' ability to make their own decisions.
And President Bush has unofficially declared himself Herr Commandant Lord Chancellor on High of the Universe, forgetting, as he is wont to do, that as an American citizen he is obligated to follow ALL laws passed by Congress, not just the ones he likes.
Ok, that about wraps it up for what I have to say today. Should anything interesting happen in my life, I'll let you all know.
Monday, March 20, 2006
Sunday, March 19, 2006
My neighborhood, part II
Welcome back to the walking tour of my neighborhood in Arlington. This is the Arlington County Courthouse, after which the neighborhood has been named. I quite like it because it doesn't look so much like a courthouse, whereas pretty much all the other architecture in this region resembles nothing but courthouses. That brick building you see in the distance is my apartment building.
This is the neighborhood Ben and Jerry's. To my credit, I have only been there twice. However, I have partaken of their product in pint form numerous times, so it is a hollow victory.
This is one of several construction projects going on in and around my neighborhood. They are freaking annoying, but I rest easy with the knowledge that the last laugh will be mine, since the condo market will soon be flooded and they'll be selling these puppies for a lot less than the current asking price. Hehe. I may have forgotten to mention that my apartment building is being turned into condos, thus the reason we are moving to a different building. The asking price for our current one bedroom, 805 sq. foot apartment with no view to speak of? $420,000. And no, I didn't add an extra zero by mistake. Join me in a hearty guffaw, won't you?
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Rally round the whistleblower
I saw this on Boing Boing - apparently a whistleblower for one of those electronic vote-counting companies has turned over evidence regarding his employer's possible misconduct. As is the wont of evil Republican-controlled corporations everywhere, they are now trying to destroy him by charging him with "felony access to computerdata, commercial burglary and receiving stolen property."
So, since we know that my readership is vast and influential, I'm putting out a call to anyone who may be or know of an attorney who would be willing to offer this guy some pro bono legal help. Because even though Boing Boing has about 50 million more readers than I do, there is the remote possibility that they need some help from me to circulate the story.
Anywho. I promise that I will post more photos for my walking tour of Arlington soon (I know you love them so).
So, since we know that my readership is vast and influential, I'm putting out a call to anyone who may be or know of an attorney who would be willing to offer this guy some pro bono legal help. Because even though Boing Boing has about 50 million more readers than I do, there is the remote possibility that they need some help from me to circulate the story.
Anywho. I promise that I will post more photos for my walking tour of Arlington soon (I know you love them so).
Monday, March 13, 2006
The third-world country that I live in, called Arlington, VA
1. A water main broke in Arlington yesterday afternoon, leaving us without water for about two hours. (This did not affect me, as I was at work.) However, when the water was restored, it was dirty and brown and therefore not potable, though I had several things I needed to do last night that involved the use of water, such as washing the dishes, doing laundry, and cleaning the bathroom. None of those things happened, since the water ran dirty and brown all evening.
2. Upon complaining to our after-hours maintenance number, we were told simply to let the water run for a bit before using, which did nothing but cake the bathtub with dirt.
3. Upon waking up this morning, I was cheered to find that the water, though not entirely clear, was at least clear enough that I felt comfortable washing my face and brushing my teeth with it (though of course it was still too dirty to drink).
4. However, about an hour later the power went out. As I was heading off to the gym, I made a snide joke to my BF about lighting some candles in order to take a shower (no window in the bathroom, you see) and left.
5. ...and returned about 40 minutes later, having arrived at the gym to find a sign on the door reading, "Dear Members: We are experiencing some problems. There is no hot water." Well, that was jim-fucking-dandy, since I'd just spent 20 minutes humping around a heavy backpack and shlepping up and down metro escalators to get there. I wouldn't have had enough time to work out and then come back home to take a shower before work, so I simply turned around and went back home (another 20 minutes).
6. I then spent ten minutes waiting for the one working elevator to take me up to my apartment, and proceeded to take a shower in the dark. When I was almost finished, the power finally came back on, but I was too steamed to really care by this point.
7. As a direct result of all this madness, I just consumed a king-size bag of Lay's Potato Chips and a Reese's Peanut Butter cup in the shape of a Christmas tree (both expired items gleaned from the bookstore where I work.)
2. Upon complaining to our after-hours maintenance number, we were told simply to let the water run for a bit before using, which did nothing but cake the bathtub with dirt.
3. Upon waking up this morning, I was cheered to find that the water, though not entirely clear, was at least clear enough that I felt comfortable washing my face and brushing my teeth with it (though of course it was still too dirty to drink).
4. However, about an hour later the power went out. As I was heading off to the gym, I made a snide joke to my BF about lighting some candles in order to take a shower (no window in the bathroom, you see) and left.
5. ...and returned about 40 minutes later, having arrived at the gym to find a sign on the door reading, "Dear Members: We are experiencing some problems. There is no hot water." Well, that was jim-fucking-dandy, since I'd just spent 20 minutes humping around a heavy backpack and shlepping up and down metro escalators to get there. I wouldn't have had enough time to work out and then come back home to take a shower before work, so I simply turned around and went back home (another 20 minutes).
6. I then spent ten minutes waiting for the one working elevator to take me up to my apartment, and proceeded to take a shower in the dark. When I was almost finished, the power finally came back on, but I was too steamed to really care by this point.
7. As a direct result of all this madness, I just consumed a king-size bag of Lay's Potato Chips and a Reese's Peanut Butter cup in the shape of a Christmas tree (both expired items gleaned from the bookstore where I work.)
Saturday, March 11, 2006
Scroll down
...to see a post I created on Thursday but didn't publish till today (Saturday). I thought the date on the post would come up as the date I published, not the date I created. Guess I was wrong. And I can't seem to figure out how to change it. Stupid Blogger.
Friday, March 10, 2006
Finally, something good happens
This morning, for the first time since I began interviewing for post-library school positions, and possibly the first time ever in the history of my life, I actually had a good interview. I convinced myself beforehand that I had no shot at this position, and besides that, I didn't really want to work at the library anyway (very urban, very gritty). So with these low expectations in mind, I wasn't really that nervous going into the interview, figuring I would just blow it off once it was over and forget it ever happened.
But then. Ah, then. I had instant rapport with the interviewers, who were nice, relaxed and professional; I answered all their questions smoothly and intelligently, with nary a stammer; and, unexpectedly, the interviewers seemed charmed by my responses and genuinely impressed with my background and skills. See, you guys? It does pay to have low expectations.
Now you're saying, "Oh, Hack, you practical joker, you." This is all an elaborate set-up for the joke, right? About how awful it was? Nope. I swear to you, it went really well. And there's not even a second round of interviews - one forty-minute chat, and now I just have to wait a week to ten days to find out if I got the job.
The only catch? Ok, there's more than one. First, I haven't told my boss yet that I went on an interview (not after she practically cried the last time I told her I had one). Also, like I said before, it's a public library, and very urban and run-down. It would be a depressing place to work. And I would still have to work rotating evening and weekend shifts, in an area of the city where I would actually feel threatened for my safety walking to the metro station after dark. BUT. It would pay a hell of a lot more money. It would be an honest-to-god librarian position, with lots more responsibility and more interesting things to do than I currently have. I don't think there's really any question that I would jump at this opportunity if it were given to me.
So. Yay. I feel pretty good about this one. I'm crossing my fingers.
But then. Ah, then. I had instant rapport with the interviewers, who were nice, relaxed and professional; I answered all their questions smoothly and intelligently, with nary a stammer; and, unexpectedly, the interviewers seemed charmed by my responses and genuinely impressed with my background and skills. See, you guys? It does pay to have low expectations.
Now you're saying, "Oh, Hack, you practical joker, you." This is all an elaborate set-up for the joke, right? About how awful it was? Nope. I swear to you, it went really well. And there's not even a second round of interviews - one forty-minute chat, and now I just have to wait a week to ten days to find out if I got the job.
The only catch? Ok, there's more than one. First, I haven't told my boss yet that I went on an interview (not after she practically cried the last time I told her I had one). Also, like I said before, it's a public library, and very urban and run-down. It would be a depressing place to work. And I would still have to work rotating evening and weekend shifts, in an area of the city where I would actually feel threatened for my safety walking to the metro station after dark. BUT. It would pay a hell of a lot more money. It would be an honest-to-god librarian position, with lots more responsibility and more interesting things to do than I currently have. I don't think there's really any question that I would jump at this opportunity if it were given to me.
So. Yay. I feel pretty good about this one. I'm crossing my fingers.
Thursday, March 09, 2006
Where I live: Courthouse neighborhood, Arlington, VA
Alrighty, my peeps, here it is, as promised: my photo-rific walking tour of the 'hood in Arlington. The pic you see above is part of my apartment complex - the building there isn't the building I currently live in, but is the one I will be moving into very shortly. My building is just to the left of the courtyard. As you can see, spring has arrived. I predict we'll have about a month of mild, comfortable weather until the heat and humidity become unbearable. You'll get the next installment (photo) later on, since I can't get Blogger to do what I want lay-out wise. If I had more time and web development skillz and a place to host it, I would just make my own web page. But I don't. So here we are.
For the catalogers and anal retentive among us
Hey, I just found this cool new web service called Library Thing. You can use it to catalog your personal library, instead of paying thousands of dollars to buy your own cataloging software and hooking up an OCLC connection (notice how I sound like I know what I'm talking about when really I don't have the vaguest clue?).
Check out the new addition on my sidebar, which will now feature random books from my own collection (I'm doing this from work at the moment, so my collection is pretty tiny thus far - I smell a weekend project!). Unfortunately I need to work on the font sizing. But hey, a good thing is a good thing.
Check out the new addition on my sidebar, which will now feature random books from my own collection (I'm doing this from work at the moment, so my collection is pretty tiny thus far - I smell a weekend project!). Unfortunately I need to work on the font sizing. But hey, a good thing is a good thing.
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
I will have my vengeance
To be specific, I already got it. You know that perv I told you about who sexually harassed me at work? Yeah, well, apparently he asked for and/or tried to give a couple other women (including my boss) their/his digits and they complained to security, so the guy has been banned from the building. Ah ha! Take that, creepy men of the world! 'Course, he hadn't really bothered me since I had to open a can of whoop-ass on him, but the man deserves what he gets. Hee hee.
OK, enough schadenfreude. Not much has happened since I last updated at noon today, although I have been contemplating the idea of boredom as torture. I mean, it is a legitimate form of torture (can torture be legitimate?) -- think of solitary confinement. But I say that solitary confinement has nothing on boredom at work. And I'm not talking about the occasional hum-drums, the "I-hate-filing-and-making-photocopies" kind of boredom; I'm talking excruciating, want-to-use-my-keyboard-to-bludgeon-myself-to-death-so-that-I-don't-have-to-be-here kind of boredom. Because that kind of boredom, the kind where you have to maintain a pleasant and professional demeanor while staring into the middle distance secretly hoping for an airplane to fly into the building, is the worst kind of torture. I can't listen to music or watch DVDs, I can't play games; I can't even sprawl out on the floor and take a nap or mutter to myself like I could if I was in solitary. All I can do is surf the web, which, believe me, sounds appealing but loses its sparkle after about twenty minutes. I can update my blog, but only when no one else is around which means only on the nights I work till ten. Which is torture unto itself, and is not something to desire or look forward to.
Help me.
OK, enough schadenfreude. Not much has happened since I last updated at noon today, although I have been contemplating the idea of boredom as torture. I mean, it is a legitimate form of torture (can torture be legitimate?) -- think of solitary confinement. But I say that solitary confinement has nothing on boredom at work. And I'm not talking about the occasional hum-drums, the "I-hate-filing-and-making-photocopies" kind of boredom; I'm talking excruciating, want-to-use-my-keyboard-to-bludgeon-myself-to-death-so-that-I-don't-have-to-be-here kind of boredom. Because that kind of boredom, the kind where you have to maintain a pleasant and professional demeanor while staring into the middle distance secretly hoping for an airplane to fly into the building, is the worst kind of torture. I can't listen to music or watch DVDs, I can't play games; I can't even sprawl out on the floor and take a nap or mutter to myself like I could if I was in solitary. All I can do is surf the web, which, believe me, sounds appealing but loses its sparkle after about twenty minutes. I can update my blog, but only when no one else is around which means only on the nights I work till ten. Which is torture unto itself, and is not something to desire or look forward to.
Help me.
Oh, there it is!
I rediscovered my moral outrage upon reading yesterday that the governor of South Dakota, the woman-hating bastard, went ahead and signed the abortion ban into law. It will stay tied up in court for years and will I'm sure inevitably end up before the Supreme Court, causing a revisit of Roe v. Wade. I'm sorry, but wasn't this issue ALREADY DECIDED THREE DECADES AGO?!?
OK. I'm done for now. I thought the years-long struggle (some may say centuries-long) for women's rights was nearing closure of some sort, but I guess I was wrong. Everything our mothers (OK, not my mother, the self-righteous anti-abortion Catholic who got married at the age of 19, but other people's mothers), fought for may be obliterated. It just makes me so sad.
OK, now I'm done for reals. I keep making resolutions with myself that I'm going to update the blog on a more regular basis, but then by the time I get home from work I'm so tired that I cannot think of one single interesting thing to say, and if I even turn my computer on it is only in order to watch a DVD. But I've had an idea for some time to take my 2.5 readers on a walking tour of my neighborhood here in Arlington, and last weekend I finally got around to taking the requisite photos. Now I just need to edit them, which is apparently more difficult than I had anticipated, since BF is not around to baby me through it. *Sigh* But I swear it will be coming soon.
On a happy note, we're supposed to have temperatures in the 60s here for the next few days, which I realize is not happy for anyone but me. Now if only I didn't have to drag my ass to work every day.
OK. I'm done for now. I thought the years-long struggle (some may say centuries-long) for women's rights was nearing closure of some sort, but I guess I was wrong. Everything our mothers (OK, not my mother, the self-righteous anti-abortion Catholic who got married at the age of 19, but other people's mothers), fought for may be obliterated. It just makes me so sad.
OK, now I'm done for reals. I keep making resolutions with myself that I'm going to update the blog on a more regular basis, but then by the time I get home from work I'm so tired that I cannot think of one single interesting thing to say, and if I even turn my computer on it is only in order to watch a DVD. But I've had an idea for some time to take my 2.5 readers on a walking tour of my neighborhood here in Arlington, and last weekend I finally got around to taking the requisite photos. Now I just need to edit them, which is apparently more difficult than I had anticipated, since BF is not around to baby me through it. *Sigh* But I swear it will be coming soon.
On a happy note, we're supposed to have temperatures in the 60s here for the next few days, which I realize is not happy for anyone but me. Now if only I didn't have to drag my ass to work every day.
Friday, March 03, 2006
look at me i'm outraged
Well folks, The Man has finally beaten me down. I know that I should be all fired up and ready to kick some pro-life ass over the recent developments in this country o' mine, and yet, I just can't really get up the energy. Which is weird, because lack of anger is usually not a problem I have. I mean, there is some outrage swimming there under the surface - I sigh heavily whenever I see pro-life ads on the subway (and where are the pro-choice ads? Come on, NARAL, let's get on the ball, shall we?). But I'm sort of at the point where I'm just throwing up my hands and saying, "You know what, right wing nutjobbers? Do your fucking worst, because I just can't be bothered anymore. I'm too tired. Just do your thing, wreck the country for us and for our grandchildren, and be done with it. Let me get some sleep." Maybe my mind is just subconsciously resting itself for the big fight ahead in the next couple of years, I don't know.
Here's some depressing links for more on this topic, in case you aren't already depressed enough about your [potential loss of ] reproductive rights:
Post article about correlation between loss of funding for birth control and unintended pregnancies (gee, ya think?!?)
Editorial by former FDA big-wig Susan Wood about the politics behind Plan B
Just ran into this while looking for some good links:
South Dakota Governor Mike Rounds' address, so that you can send him vehement letters of protest:
Office of the Governor
500 E. Capitol Ave.
Pierre, SD 57501
605.773.3212
The poster said that S.D. is worried about potential loss of tourism because of this bill, so if you write be sure to emphasize that you will never set foot in S.D. if this bill becomes law. (Not that you would anyway, but he doesn't know that).
Here's some depressing links for more on this topic, in case you aren't already depressed enough about your [potential loss of ] reproductive rights:
Post article about correlation between loss of funding for birth control and unintended pregnancies (gee, ya think?!?)
Editorial by former FDA big-wig Susan Wood about the politics behind Plan B
Just ran into this while looking for some good links:
South Dakota Governor Mike Rounds' address, so that you can send him vehement letters of protest:
Office of the Governor
500 E. Capitol Ave.
Pierre, SD 57501
605.773.3212
The poster said that S.D. is worried about potential loss of tourism because of this bill, so if you write be sure to emphasize that you will never set foot in S.D. if this bill becomes law. (Not that you would anyway, but he doesn't know that).
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