Ahem! (Farmer's Market Cashier Lady)

A discussion with a woman I've named Ahem! who works at the fake Farmer's Market that I like to shop at for our weekly vegetables and meat.  

Me:                 Do you like working here?
Ahem!:           I don't know if I should say. What do you do?
Me:                 I am laid-off. Otherwise unemployed. A loser.
Ahem!:           Oh, is it just you? 
Me:                 No.  Me, the dog, and my boyfriend.
Ahem!:           Oh, so you don't have any children.
Me:                 No.
Ahem!:           Hm. How old are you?
Me:                 How old are the red bell peppers you are trying to sell me? hm, no?  Ok, I am 32.

Ahem!:           You should have children. Before it's too late.

Me:                  I don't really want to have children. I might adopt one.

The whole time I am speaking, she gives me curious looks. Literally she is unsure of what I am.  Am I from another planet?  Why in the world does she not want to have children?  I am uncomfortable with the silence and the curious looks coming from the other side of the register.  And for some reason I feel the need to talk, a geyser of talking.  

Me:     Well, why would I want to make another one when there are SO many others out there                 that need to be loved, that need good homes, you know…all that.

Ahem!: <> you don't want to have it here?

I should mention that this is the International Farmer's Market and one of their "things" is that everyone that works there is bi or even tri-lingual. So there is an ever so slight (not really slight) language barrier here. Although I can see on Ahem!’s name tag that she does speak two other languages besides English. They are not languages that I am familiar with so I am unable to just switch over.

Ahem!: But they will take care of you. When you cannot afford things, they will help you.

I only tried to get her to talk because she looked miserable after the manager guy came over and gave her and the next cashier down a talking to about something that they are NOT supposed to do regardless of whether or not they have a customer with them.

Oye. That's what I get for actually trying to engage someone in a little friendly conversation.

Trying

to find a job

to stay away from the computer once I've done my requisite daily job hunt, email check, bill pay, news read, etc. 

But I find myself drawn back to the laptop for a few things: 1)  I can't stop watching the stock market.   I watch it like a mother hen, crossing my fingers every time it ends the day on the plus side.  2)  I refresh the websites that contain my resume to see how many hits I have had on each.  3) I feel the need to look up RANDOM stuff all day long.  

So more on 3) later on.  

As a part of my 1) I have a tendency to read pretty much every article on CNN.com.  I read an article today about successful start ups.  These are start up companies that have really come in to their own (or even been developed) as a part of this current recession (for the most part, since December of 2008).  One of these new companies has a website called path101.com.  This website allows you to take quizzes, and blog, but it's all career based.  Well, hell, I say to myself.  Self: that's GOT to be better than making buttermilk and wondering if the El Jefe is jealous because I fed a stray cat on the porch.  Well, actually, I had a whole conversation with the cat, including checking to make sure it didn't have any obvious injuries, checked for fleas and ear mites as well as making sure it had claws to defend itself in the wide, wide world of our cul de sac and where ever else it might roam.  So, self and I, we roam over to this site and take the quiz and upload the resume (the best resume I have ever written about myself, I might add).  And what does it say about me?  My top three highest scoring traits are, in this order: Neuroticism, Emotion, and Openness.  My three lowest scoring traits are, in this order: Compartmentalization, Experimentation, and Initiative.  It also told me in no uncertain terms that it isn't actually sure how I got my last job, because "I don't stay in the same place long enough".  I was promoted 2 times in under 3 years.  What the hell?  This is supposedly some great resume "genome" project (like pandora.com is for music).  I like Pandora.  I don't like this website.  I am now off to research a bit more on Neuroticism on wikipedia (who has yet to fail me) and finish making the buttermilk for my banana bread.  bah. 

 

And FINALLY we get a hit!

So, officially, it will be a month on Sunday since I have been gainfully employed.  I have submitted 50+ applications to a variety of different companies.  

I have received one email so far requesting additional information and purporting that I am one of a chosen few that this email has been sent to (with the request for additional information) based on their desire to include me as one of the people they would like to consider for this position.  

I answered the questions, 1 of them required assistance from a couple of additional people including Sol primarily because of the complicated nature of the question.  Basically, the question was: how much was your last salary/bonus and how much do you want to make now?  That is a VERY weighted question at this point in time.  The economy  is in the toilet and will probably continue to get worse.  It's harder and harder to even get noticed on a job site, let alone get a response to an application that is anything other than a computer generated answer.  What has really made this question a difficult one to answer is the fact that they are offering as the maximum salary (according to the job post) approximately half of what I made as of 1 month ago Sunday.  But there are benefits attached to this job.  When I say benefits I mean simply that I would have them again.  I would have health insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, etc.  Something that I haven't been without, October to now being the exception, since I was in elementary school.  

So I answered the question as best as we ALL could.  Sent the email.  And now I will start to wait again. 

Ode to Snow

I live in the south.  And it's snowing.  Not the small quantities that we normally get, but slow, fat snowflakes that land on the ground and stay.  They stay where ever they land!  In the south this is also known as "Apocalypse Snowish".  All bread, milk, eggs, butter (and beer if it weren't Sunday) disappear off of the shelves of local grocery stores.  It is the end of the world as we know it...actually the increase in sirens is a little nerve wracking as I am hearing a lot of them even for our neighborHOOD.  

 Half of a snow man now exists on my back deck because the snow is sticking (not just melting as soon as it touches the ground as it normally does here)!  It's thick and heavy and the PERFECT consistency for snow balls and other snow related activities.  I made two snow balls in the parking lot at the grocery store as I was cleaning my car off.  The rest of the people in the parking lot stood watching me as I brushed my car off with my bare hands.  Snow will not kill you...nor will it instantly turn you into ice.  And when I got home,I took El Jefe outside (both front and back) to play in it.  Me in my jeans and funny hat, and him in his pepper and salt fur.  I did not make a snow angel (too much mud under the snow) but I seriously considered it and El Jefe, who is nearly 78 in our years, jumped in the snow like a jack rabbit.  He also ate every snow ball I tried to round out for the snow man.  He pounced on my half completed snow man and took a huge bite out of the second snow ball... not just once but every time I was almost done.  I tried explaining the significance of snow in the ATL, also tried to explain that it wouldn't last long and that we had to work quickly.  In one furry ear and out the other furry ear.  Instead of a snow man I now have a snow child...or a snow dog depending on how you look at it.  We didn't have any mittens laying around either, so before I started working in the snow I put on large work gloves that are normally used when Sol does the yard work.  They are now all wet and have been laid out on the counter to dry...so much fun to play in the snow even if you don't have the right equipment (such as shovels and snow pants).  My jeans and sweater are soaked from our romp on the deck in the snow.  

A rather large tree branch fell on my car due to the weight of the heavy snow. I think the car is ok, but the tree the branch came from is not.  I am going to investigate the status of the tree to determine if I need to move my car for fear of additional tree limbs coming to visit it.  

It is now about 3 hours after the beginning of our snow storm.  This is not only unusual for this area but I am fairly certain that this hasn't happened in years.  All of the traffic out of the airport has been grounded, a yearly 10K (or some length) has been cancelled, and the ptb (powers that be) are determining whether or not the little ones that are outside making muddy snow men will have to be in school tomorrow morning.  

Oh, how I wish I had a job or was going to school as snow days in the south are few and far between!  I have taken pictures to commemorate the occasion and will post them here eventually.  Ah, and chocolate cupcakes will soon go into the oven!  I guess that's a good way to celebrate the snow.