The interview went well. As usual I am overqualified for a secretarial position. I really like the company, but am hesitant. Not to kvetch, but I don't want to have to pick up anyone's dry cleaning or get lunch for everyone but me. That sucks. I don't want to waste my talents on that.
Some people have pointed out that a job is a job. This is true. And that we all have to do some unpleasant things in life (like working retail on Xmas Eve, but that'sanother story for another time). Work is where we spend a majority of our waking hours and I don't want to spend that time doing things that do not seem as though they will help me climb the ladder of success. I'm trying to think long-term here.
The problem is that I like this company. I believe in what they do and have long wanted to be a part of something like that. But how much growth is there really in a firm of nine people (including assistants)? Growing form receptionist to office manager is not my idea of real growth potential. Growth from receptionist to office manager to executive is more of what I have in mind.
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
The Muzak plays on
The screwed up to the amount of $32. The state took taxes out of my check, even though in both my onlie application and actual paperwork I elected to have taxes withheld. And then the bitch hung up on me when I tried to ask a question about something on the application.
Muzak
I'm on hold. I have been for 19 minutes and 33 seconds. And every time the Muzak stops I get excited and think a person will finally answer, but nope, its just the Muzak changing over to an unpleasant voice reminding me that I can file for unemployment benefits online.
I had to call the darn Department of Labor and Training because my unemployment check came today (a good thing). Unfortunately it's not the amount that they promised me in the official paperwork (a bad thing).
I had to call them yesterday and ended up being transferred to a DLT rep (Tele-Serve wasn't working right or was missing some of my info or something). I of course waited forever yesterday as well. And then was finally connected to someone to whom English was not a first or possibly second language. These people are making the airlines look good.
Gotta run...Someone actually picked up!
I had to call the darn Department of Labor and Training because my unemployment check came today (a good thing). Unfortunately it's not the amount that they promised me in the official paperwork (a bad thing).
I had to call them yesterday and ended up being transferred to a DLT rep (Tele-Serve wasn't working right or was missing some of my info or something). I of course waited forever yesterday as well. And then was finally connected to someone to whom English was not a first or possibly second language. These people are making the airlines look good.
Gotta run...Someone actually picked up!
Monday, July 18, 2005
Tomorrow, tomorrow...
I have a job interview tomorrow morning! It's for a not so exciting Admin Assistant position but is at a local real estate development company that is known for its adaptive reuse of historic structures.
I suppose you could say that Historic Preservation is my 'cause of choice'. I volunteer at the local preservation society and almost went to grad school for it. I'd like to eventually take what I learn in media and marketing and work as a consultant to preservation non-profits, as some of them really need help with getting their message out (I consider the Preservation Society of Newport County a success at this).
The only thing is that the job description on Monster says that the applicant must have recent secretarial training. I don't really have any. At my last job I answered the phone at the front desk when the receptionist went to lunch (some really funny stories forthcoming about that aspect) and occasionally my boss would ask me how to spell something. That's about as close to secretarial experience that I have. And I can't type very well (spellcheck is my friend).
I suppose you could say that Historic Preservation is my 'cause of choice'. I volunteer at the local preservation society and almost went to grad school for it. I'd like to eventually take what I learn in media and marketing and work as a consultant to preservation non-profits, as some of them really need help with getting their message out (I consider the Preservation Society of Newport County a success at this).
The only thing is that the job description on Monster says that the applicant must have recent secretarial training. I don't really have any. At my last job I answered the phone at the front desk when the receptionist went to lunch (some really funny stories forthcoming about that aspect) and occasionally my boss would ask me how to spell something. That's about as close to secretarial experience that I have. And I can't type very well (spellcheck is my friend).
Biding my time
I'm trying very hard to spend my time efficiently during the day. This means filing for unemployment, getting around to making at appointment at Lee Hecht Harrison (part of the severance agreement is career guidance or something), and working on a few small writing projects. I've been pretty successful and not spent too much time goofing off and watching TiVo'd episodes of the Gilmore Girls and West Wing.
I spent last Friday running around doing various errands, including bringing my roommate to an eye doctor appointment because he was not able to drive after the 2 hour test that his doctor had scheduled. We were the youngest people in that office by 40 years., as they are mainly specialists that deal with eye diseases at this practice (he was sent there by the regular optometrist). It is apparently rare for people younger than 40 to have serious eye diseases. So while he was being examined and tested I was forced to sit in the waiting room and listen to conversations about the following (and I'm not making these up)-
I spent last Friday running around doing various errands, including bringing my roommate to an eye doctor appointment because he was not able to drive after the 2 hour test that his doctor had scheduled. We were the youngest people in that office by 40 years., as they are mainly specialists that deal with eye diseases at this practice (he was sent there by the regular optometrist). It is apparently rare for people younger than 40 to have serious eye diseases. So while he was being examined and tested I was forced to sit in the waiting room and listen to conversations about the following (and I'm not making these up)-
- how what "these kids" do today is not dancing, they couldn't do the Lindy Hop or the Charleston if they their lives depended on it
- the etiquette (for lack of a better term) on getting from the wheelchair to the toilet
- how one senior gentleman was there to see the "Polish lady doctor", he also had a Polish ear doctor for his hearing who was excited to hear about the man's Polish eye doctor and wanted to meet her since they were both Polish
- various detailed discussions about diabetes
Friday, July 15, 2005
$$$
I sat down with my financial advisor this afternoon. Between the severance package and my unemployment check I should be OK for a little while.....if I spend very carefully. No more gratuitous shoe shopping for me.
The Entrepreneurial Spirit
I've always admired those who, like Ann, decide to strike it out on their own and build a business from scratch. (Apparently now is a good time to do this.)
The mother of one of my best friends has taken her long time business to a new level with the website for her company- Hippo Creek Safaris. For as long as I can remember, she has been in the travel business and one day decided to strike out on her own, specializing in luxurious African safaris. What a great way to combine one's worklife and passion in life.
The mother of one of my best friends has taken her long time business to a new level with the website for her company- Hippo Creek Safaris. For as long as I can remember, she has been in the travel business and one day decided to strike out on her own, specializing in luxurious African safaris. What a great way to combine one's worklife and passion in life.
Thursday, July 14, 2005
Boards
It was an exciting meeting this morning for the small local newspaper whose editorial board I sit on. Firstly, we had a new format (less copyediting, more discussion about future story planning and drafting bylaws). And the other noteworthy thing was that I finally got to stay until the end of the meeting.
Our meetings have always been at 8AM, every other Thursday. Being that I had to make it to work by 9AM I'd have to leave the meeting by 8:35 or 8:40, thus missing any discussions or votes that happened towards the end.
Today I was there long enough to have gotten myself appointed to the sub-committee in charge of planning our new website. There are some on the board who do not seem to understand the importance of having a website for a newspaper that only comes out two times a month. I feel that a website is important for us because it can help bring in a younger demographic. If large newspapers like The Washington Post are having trouble reaching younger readers, you can imagine how tough it is for the rest of us. With a website we suddenly have the ability to reach every kid who grew up here and is now away at college. Sure they can stay on our mailing list and receive the paper a week or so after it's published, but with a website they can have their news now. The same goes for people who have since moved away but would like to keep in touch with what's going on in our quaint New England community. With such a small staff and the a paper only coming out twice a month we can do so much with a website during that interim time between publications. We'll have more room for obits and wedding announcements and pictures of new grandchildren. And dare I hope for some sort of web exclusive?
I have to admit that I have reservations about the fact that they want to premiere it on July 22 and then go back and tweak it as needed. I'm not certain that I feel confident in the release of a product that may or may not be ready (in my opinion). As a member of the editorial board my name is attached to this website, whether or not it is of good design quality and usability (I'm fairly sure that the content will be fine). Such a quick launch gives our sales people no time to sell it and there is less time for working to ensure that the branding and identity of it are something that we, as a board, wish to stand behind.
Our meetings have always been at 8AM, every other Thursday. Being that I had to make it to work by 9AM I'd have to leave the meeting by 8:35 or 8:40, thus missing any discussions or votes that happened towards the end.
Today I was there long enough to have gotten myself appointed to the sub-committee in charge of planning our new website. There are some on the board who do not seem to understand the importance of having a website for a newspaper that only comes out two times a month. I feel that a website is important for us because it can help bring in a younger demographic. If large newspapers like The Washington Post are having trouble reaching younger readers, you can imagine how tough it is for the rest of us. With a website we suddenly have the ability to reach every kid who grew up here and is now away at college. Sure they can stay on our mailing list and receive the paper a week or so after it's published, but with a website they can have their news now. The same goes for people who have since moved away but would like to keep in touch with what's going on in our quaint New England community. With such a small staff and the a paper only coming out twice a month we can do so much with a website during that interim time between publications. We'll have more room for obits and wedding announcements and pictures of new grandchildren. And dare I hope for some sort of web exclusive?
I have to admit that I have reservations about the fact that they want to premiere it on July 22 and then go back and tweak it as needed. I'm not certain that I feel confident in the release of a product that may or may not be ready (in my opinion). As a member of the editorial board my name is attached to this website, whether or not it is of good design quality and usability (I'm fairly sure that the content will be fine). Such a quick launch gives our sales people no time to sell it and there is less time for working to ensure that the branding and identity of it are something that we, as a board, wish to stand behind.
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
"So, what do you do?"
I knew I'd encounter that question over and over at the wedding I was at this past weekend. I did derive amusement from the faces that some people people made when I answered "nothing" or "I'm currently unemployed". They seemed confused for a second and you could see the wheels turning- "What do I do now? Should I ask her is she's found a job yet? No wait, what if she hasn't and is upset about that? Now I look silly because I'm just not saying anything....". So I spent a lot of time reassuring people that I'm not too damaged by my situation.
Some people reacted in a manner that I had not expected. When I told them of my new status in the Land of the Unemployed they answered "Oh, that's good!That's good, right?". I wasn't really sure how to respond to that, so I said something like "Yeah, sort of", and then tried to immediately extricate myself from the conversation. What I really wanted to say was "Good? Why would this be good? I've got bills and no more steady paycheck! What could possibly have made you think that this is good?". It's one thing if I say that this will be a good time to regroup and etc...but for some reason it bothers me when other people seem to assume that unemployment is a good thing.
Some people reacted in a manner that I had not expected. When I told them of my new status in the Land of the Unemployed they answered "Oh, that's good!
I'm Official! I'm Official!
The mail just arrived, complete with my official paperwork from the state Department of Labor & Training saying that they received my application for unemployment benefits and that they plan to give me a weekly check (not a big check, but enough to keep me from picking through dumpsters). Now I'm Officially Unemployed. (Go me!)
Friday, July 08, 2005
By The Dawn's Early Light
It is 3 am.
I cannot sleep and it has nothing to do with the fact that I'm in my childhood bedroom at my mom's house with many of my old stuffed animals staring at me. During week 1 I've learned that the first thing that happens during unemplyment is that I'm now caught up on all of my sleep. It's easier to get a full 8- 10 hours of sleep a night when you have nowhere to be at 9 am. (At least there's a good rerun of Conan with guest David Duchovny. I have no problem admitting that I'm an X Phile. I've seen every episode. Every. Single. One.).
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
How My Job Disappeared
Ann got me thinking that I might do a better job of explaining how I came to be the Involuntary Slacker (without using any names so as not to be sued for libel).
Media Company A owns 33.2% of Media Company B. They have something called a Joint Sales Agreement (JSA), which basically means that they pooled (mainly sales) resources, as Company A is a media giant and Company B is a much newer network (about 7 years old). They had a fairly contentious relationship due to many things (I consider the behavior of the founder of Company B be a big one). In an effort to get Network B to become more profitable Company A was to help them get some new programming up and running in hopes that the fledgling TV network would get better Nielsen ratings and thus be able to charge more for commercial time .
This did not turn out to be very successful.
Low Nielsen ratings = Lower Priced Commerical Spot Times = Less Revenue
I worked for Company A and was assigned to work for their local TV station of Network B*. (See JSA form above). We shared a building and office space with the local Owned and Operated station of Network A. This worked out well, people (generally) got along and the JSA made good money, at least at our local level.
One day, actually on Good Friday**, those of us who were employees of Company A assigned to work for Company B were told that corporate from Company B had decided to do away with JSAs in all local markets. No real explanation was given. But it's not like it was a huge shock. {In January Company B fired a large portion of the corporate-level staff at its HQ. That night I went home and updated my resume}.
I am the child of divorced parents. They were pretty good about not putting me into the middle of their petty arguments, not perfect, but good. Working for these two companies I felt more tug of war over me personally, as well as contention about 'intra-company cooperation' in general than I ever felt having divorced parents. As sad and frightening as unemployment seems, there is a measure of relief now that I won't have to deal with that anymore.
* There were three of us who worked for A and were assigned to work at B. There were also three (direct) employees of Company B.
** Good thing I'm Jewish or that would've been a crappy Easter for my family and me.
Media Company A owns 33.2% of Media Company B. They have something called a Joint Sales Agreement (JSA), which basically means that they pooled (mainly sales) resources, as Company A is a media giant and Company B is a much newer network (about 7 years old). They had a fairly contentious relationship due to many things (I consider the behavior of the founder of Company B be a big one). In an effort to get Network B to become more profitable Company A was to help them get some new programming up and running in hopes that the fledgling TV network would get better Nielsen ratings and thus be able to charge more for commercial time .
This did not turn out to be very successful.
Low Nielsen ratings = Lower Priced Commerical Spot Times = Less Revenue
I worked for Company A and was assigned to work for their local TV station of Network B*. (See JSA form above). We shared a building and office space with the local Owned and Operated station of Network A. This worked out well, people (generally) got along and the JSA made good money, at least at our local level.
One day, actually on Good Friday**, those of us who were employees of Company A assigned to work for Company B were told that corporate from Company B had decided to do away with JSAs in all local markets. No real explanation was given. But it's not like it was a huge shock. {In January Company B fired a large portion of the corporate-level staff at its HQ. That night I went home and updated my resume}.
I am the child of divorced parents. They were pretty good about not putting me into the middle of their petty arguments, not perfect, but good. Working for these two companies I felt more tug of war over me personally, as well as contention about 'intra-company cooperation' in general than I ever felt having divorced parents. As sad and frightening as unemployment seems, there is a measure of relief now that I won't have to deal with that anymore.
* There were three of us who worked for A and were assigned to work at B. There were also three (direct) employees of Company B.
** Good thing I'm Jewish or that would've been a crappy Easter for my family and me.
Monday, July 04, 2005
Sunday, July 03, 2005
"Do you have any plans?"
People keep asking me this. Truthfully, I'm kind of tired of it. I feel like shooting back "if I had a new job, don't you think I would've told you about it?". But I'm far too polite to say that. Instead I say "I'm going to take a few weeks to clear my head and take some well deserved vacation time".
Or I was until the airlines decided that the amount frequent flier miles I have are not enough to get me form New England to Pesacola, where I was to visit a friend for a few days and then we would've been off to New Orleans to visit another friend of mine. But, alas, I am not in the 50,000 mile AAdvatage club, only approaching the 25,000 (which are already taken up by other 25,000 customers, damn those who planned 10 months in advance!). And being unemployed it is probably not wise to spend $500 on airplane tickets, as I think my landlord would agree.
Or I was until the airlines decided that the amount frequent flier miles I have are not enough to get me form New England to Pesacola, where I was to visit a friend for a few days and then we would've been off to New Orleans to visit another friend of mine. But, alas, I am not in the 50,000 mile AAdvatage club, only approaching the 25,000 (which are already taken up by other 25,000 customers, damn those who planned 10 months in advance!). And being unemployed it is probably not wise to spend $500 on airplane tickets, as I think my landlord would agree.
Week 1
It is Sunday. The first week of my unemployment.
Last night I went out with some friends. I was introduced to a friend of a friend who inquired as to what I did. "Nothing" I replied. My new acquaintance looked at me quizzically and repeated "Nothing?". "Yes" I responded "I'm newly unemployed". The look that greeted my statement was a mix of shock, embarrassment (for having asked? It was an innocent question), pity, and curiosity. Then I had to explain the whole situation (apparently 'corporate restructuring' is not a good enough answer for some people). Sigh. It's going to be a long week.
Last night I went out with some friends. I was introduced to a friend of a friend who inquired as to what I did. "Nothing" I replied. My new acquaintance looked at me quizzically and repeated "Nothing?". "Yes" I responded "I'm newly unemployed". The look that greeted my statement was a mix of shock, embarrassment (for having asked? It was an innocent question), pity, and curiosity. Then I had to explain the whole situation (apparently 'corporate restructuring' is not a good enough answer for some people). Sigh. It's going to be a long week.
Blank
Aside from my fears of not finding a new job by the time my money and/or health insurance runs out I've now got a new thing to worry about:
The blank page.
Will what I write about be interesting to my readers? Will I have any readers that are not people I've actively told about this blog? Will I remember all the thoughts and feelings I had during my time away from the computer so that I can chronicle them here?
I've always been a good writer of term papers and other forms of academic writing. I've never really been great at the art of the personal essay. I hope that by challenging myself with this blog that you are reading right now I will emerge from the Land of the Unemployed with a new job and a new skill.
The blank page.
Will what I write about be interesting to my readers? Will I have any readers that are not people I've actively told about this blog? Will I remember all the thoughts and feelings I had during my time away from the computer so that I can chronicle them here?
I've always been a good writer of term papers and other forms of academic writing. I've never really been great at the art of the personal essay. I hope that by challenging myself with this blog that you are reading right now I will emerge from the Land of the Unemployed with a new job and a new skill.
Friday, July 01, 2005
Day 1
It feels kind of surreal. Today seemed just like any other weekday off. I'm beginning to think that it will really hit me in two weeks or so when I realize that I don't have to return to work from my (upcoming) vacation.
Last Day
It was sad. I almost cried several times. It was a miserable rainy day, which just contributed to the drama that was our exit.
Yesterday I said goodbye to a group of people who have made it fun to go to work for the past two years. I wish I'd gotten to see all of them, but that's what happens when you work at a TV station and people work all kind of strange shifts. They really did make me feel like a part of the (dysfunctional) family. I don't blame a single one for what happened to my job (not even the HR manager- she's really been quite wonderful about this whole situation). I blame the two companies who jointly owned the company and could not work out their differences.
Yesterday I said goodbye to a group of people who have made it fun to go to work for the past two years. I wish I'd gotten to see all of them, but that's what happens when you work at a TV station and people work all kind of strange shifts. They really did make me feel like a part of the (dysfunctional) family. I don't blame a single one for what happened to my job (not even the HR manager- she's really been quite wonderful about this whole situation). I blame the two companies who jointly owned the company and could not work out their differences.
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