Wednesday 26 November 2014

Another One For the Books

Hello, all, and welcome to a new post.  I've been trying to make up for the months I couldn't work on my current book.  Five months of not writing because you have no predictable schedule, and are away from home for days at a time creates quite the bout of writers block.  I am back at it though, averaging 1,200 words a day.  Although today I wrote nearly 3,000.  It's not done yet, and I plan on doing a much more thorough editing job this time around.  What I need for that is a new printer.  My old one had crapped out, and though it still works from time to time, it is not compatible with Windows 8.1, so a new one is needed.  That said, with no actual funds in my bank account, it would be great if more people would buy Daemon Infiri.  It's still available on Amazon, at only $2.99!

     With that out of the way, let me get to what's eating at me.  The last couple of months have been hard, trying to find work in this tiny town.  All I want is a full time, first shift, non back breaking job.  Unfortunately, being a small town based on on nothing but retail and failing industry, trying to find something that isn't going to make me want to commit a rash act of homicide isn't very easy, as most jobs are 2nd or 3rd shift, and in crappy working conditions.  Though I'm not the murderous type, I just can't bring myself to go back into retail.  I spent enough time working in a mall where I grew up.  Especially during this time of year, I refuse to get into retail, since 24/7 XMas muzak is enough to drive any sane person over the edge.  It's one thing to spend about an hour in a place shopping.  It's quite another thing working an eight hour shift listening to the same 45 minute loop of strangled holiday music 10 times a day.  Anybody who's worked in an environment like that knows what I'm talking about.
     Then there are temp agencies.  In a major metropolis, temp agencies can be a blessing in disguise, as there are thousands upon thousands of jobs they fill as either temporary, or temp to hire.  In a town this size (less than 70,000 people) those temp agencies really only serve an average of 10-20 companies.  In this economy, all the online job searches I do link me to jobs that one temp agency or another is handling.  Mind you, I have a bad back, and I've been told by several places that they'd never be able to place me in a job because of that.  When I've told them that I have a lot of office experience, and managerial experience, they basically laugh at me, and tell me that they only ever put women in those openings.  I'm all for equality for women, but what a joke to be told that I can't possibly be put into a "womans" job.
      One day I found a fire/flood restoration gig online.  You guessed it, through a temp agency.  I'd applied as a carpenter, as I also happen to have a lot of wood working experience, but I got the job as a cleaner instead.  Well work is work, so I took it.  That lasted a whole three and a half days.  I showed up to work on the fourth day, only to be told that the job was nearly completed, and the crew had been cut in half.  That was it, as I never got called back.  So I went back on the job hunt, and came across exactly the kind of private sector job I've been looking for in the four years I've been living here.  And, it wasn't through a temp agency!  I applied, got called, interviewed, and had a really good feeling about it.  I'd be working with my hands again, building custom things, and making decent money again.  I was told I'd hear back the next week, as there were still many people to interview.  So one week later, I called back, just to remind them that I was still alive, and looking forward to working for them.  I had to do that via cell phone voicemail.  When I didn't hear back by noon the next day, I went back online.  Imagine my surprise when I saw the job posting again, clicked on it, and found that they'd edited it, adding 'Any applicant who calls the company unscheduled will be immediately disqualified from the application process.'  What the hell?  So there went that chance.
     So here I am, back in the holiday season, completely broke, and trying to hang on to hope.  Hope that I'll ever make it out of here.  Out of my parent's house (at least I don't live in the basement!), out of this tiny town, and out of this state.
      Well maybe I'll find a job before years end.  Maybe I'll even finish Mike's Eye before years end.  Though that seems doubtful, as I intend to do an edit and rewrite.  So, maybe that'll be done before next Easter.  I guess you'll have to wait and see on that one.  If you're really looking forward to reading a new book by me, please let me know in the comment section!
     Until the next time, I hope you enjoy(ed) turkey day, and had good eats, listened to your favorite music, enjoyed your beverage of choice, spent time with family and or friends, and didn't forget to laugh at least a little bit!  Peace out, y'all!