For the few of you that follow my blog of career flops, economic woe, and frustration I would like to thank you for letting me vent for the past few years. I'm happy to say I may have figured it all out. For the first time in a long time I feel hopeful and excited about the future instead of feeling crushing anxiety. Now that I am married, single friends ask me "Well how did you know he was the one?" and when you know - when the answer is right in front of you - its not a leap of faith. It is a logical continuation of something you innately feel works. Perhaps that doesn't sound romantic but it is: its something that comes so natural you don't question it. Finding my mate was simply a matter of recognizing a good fit.
A "good fit" is surely an oversimplification and I do not mean to infer that when you meet the right person everything is then easy. But recognizing when something in your life works well is not as effortless as it sounds. Perhaps it's my stubborn nature, but looking back over my array or jobs the last five years I can see a pattern of trying to make a job work that I wasn't cut out for. Not to say I wasn't good at it, but it may have not been challenging enough or I found I was putting in enormous effort and getting nothing in return. I also have a problem with inefficiency. When I see it and I am not given the tools or authority to fix it I go crazy. We work so hard to make things easier right? To make money and manage tasks as smoothly as possible? So why do we put up with broken systems or processes that make our life harder when we are capable of changing what's wrong? It's trying to pound the proverbial square peg into a round hole. And I am so done with the square peg.
So I have decided to scrap what doesn't work in my life. I have found that working for corporations is not for me. I cannot abide by rules that are unethical, illogical, or exist for the sake of existing. If you see a problem, you fix it in a reasonable amount of time. People are living, breathing, and thinking organisms - they are not a legion of robot slaves that punch in and punch out on command. Human beings, like the rest of the natural world, are constantly evolving and over coming obstacles to be better than we were yesterday. Sitting at a cubicle day after day with a set of problems that never change is not evolution, it's a recipe for misery and a stagnation of your strengths.
After many years of trying to make myself become a good worker bee I have rejected the hive. I have decided to focus on what I am good at and offer my expertise as a freelancer. This means I pick my projects, I use my proficiency in ways that best benefit me, and I have the freedom to use my time as I see fit. No more waiting for the clock to hit 6 pm with nothing to do. My time is valuable and I choose to spend it in ways where I advance the best. My accomplishments do not go into the pocket of some CEO that doesn't know my name.
It hasn't been a cake walk. Starting your own company is stressful. Small businesses do have their pitfalls. Clients don't magically appear wanting to hand you money. But I'm figuring all this out and I feel good about myself and what I am doing. I work on projects I actually enjoy. My commute is to the kitchen in the morning and then to my home office in the room across from my bed room. I have time to fix a nice dinner from scratch while I do research and write articles. I get to spend more time with my beloved Akita who is getting up in years. It is true: Life is what you make it. And I am creating my life how I see fit. Never again will I force myself into a structure that doesn't suit me.
Showing posts with label jobs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label jobs. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Why I'm Not Voting For Ron Paul
Let's just go down his issues one by one:
1. Pro-life: So the guy's a baby doctor, I can see why he might choose this. However, he is not a woman. It's a woman's choice. There so many reasons a woman would choose to end a pregnancy. Here are a few: conception as a result of rape, living in an abusive environment that the baby would be brought into, teenage pregnancy. These are just my opinions here. The second part of this argument is that SCOTUS will never overturn Roe v. Wade no matter how many people dislike it. They just don't do that sort of thing. So the whole pro-life debate is bunk. It merely exists to polarize the populace. A President cannot force the Supreme Court to do anything.
2. Healthcare: Well there's a few things I like here: provide tax credits and deductions for all medical expenses and guarantee that the tax dollars allotted to Medicare and Medicaid is not raided for other purposes. Other than that, he doesn't supply a remedy to getting every American insured. I'm uninsured. I'm lucky if I have the money to see a doctor.
3. Economy: Well he wants to end the death tax. The tax that only effects 10% of the population. That would be the super-rich. This tax will never effect me and I will never have to pay it as things are now. Does he propose any real solutions to the economy here? No.
4. National Defense: Here I almost agree with this guy 100%. He wants to avoid long and expensive land wars, he's against the Patriot Act, and he wants to follow the Constitution by asking Congress to declare war before one is waged. But he wants to get rid of the TSA. I feel safer with the TSA at airports. I think it's an important part of our security
5. Ending The Federal Reserve: That's just crazy. An overhaul would do.
6. Taxes: I can't argue with a flat tax
7. Homeschooling: Is that the alternative to fixing our nation's public school problems? How many families can afford to do that? That means one parent goes to work and the other becomes an in home teacher - an unqualified one at that. Bad idea.
8. Immigration: He wants no amnesty for the people already here illegally. How much will it cost to deport all of them?
10. Gun Rights: He wants to appeal the ban on assault weapons. Seriously?
11. Worker's Rights: According to Paul, they won't have any. He supports a right to work state, and wants a right to work nation. The term right to work is misleading - it really means you can fire someone for no reason. It protects employers, not workers. He's also VERY anti-labor union. Don't call your self a believer in workers rights when you just want to protect the businesses.
12. Energy: He want to allow drilling offshore. That's already being done. My dad is working offshore in Louisiana at this very moment. He also wants to lift government road blocks to coal and nuclear energy. I guess he doesn't care if the energy is clean or not. And he wants to eliminate the EPA. So the corporations can ruin our country's landscape without any repercussions. Great.
All in all, this sounds like a recipe for disaster. But please feel free to comment! This is the United States and everyone is entitled to their opinion. I would like to hear others feelings about this candidate as well.
1. Pro-life: So the guy's a baby doctor, I can see why he might choose this. However, he is not a woman. It's a woman's choice. There so many reasons a woman would choose to end a pregnancy. Here are a few: conception as a result of rape, living in an abusive environment that the baby would be brought into, teenage pregnancy. These are just my opinions here. The second part of this argument is that SCOTUS will never overturn Roe v. Wade no matter how many people dislike it. They just don't do that sort of thing. So the whole pro-life debate is bunk. It merely exists to polarize the populace. A President cannot force the Supreme Court to do anything.
2. Healthcare: Well there's a few things I like here: provide tax credits and deductions for all medical expenses and guarantee that the tax dollars allotted to Medicare and Medicaid is not raided for other purposes. Other than that, he doesn't supply a remedy to getting every American insured. I'm uninsured. I'm lucky if I have the money to see a doctor.
3. Economy: Well he wants to end the death tax. The tax that only effects 10% of the population. That would be the super-rich. This tax will never effect me and I will never have to pay it as things are now. Does he propose any real solutions to the economy here? No.
4. National Defense: Here I almost agree with this guy 100%. He wants to avoid long and expensive land wars, he's against the Patriot Act, and he wants to follow the Constitution by asking Congress to declare war before one is waged. But he wants to get rid of the TSA. I feel safer with the TSA at airports. I think it's an important part of our security
5. Ending The Federal Reserve: That's just crazy. An overhaul would do.
6. Taxes: I can't argue with a flat tax
7. Homeschooling: Is that the alternative to fixing our nation's public school problems? How many families can afford to do that? That means one parent goes to work and the other becomes an in home teacher - an unqualified one at that. Bad idea.
8. Immigration: He wants no amnesty for the people already here illegally. How much will it cost to deport all of them?
10. Gun Rights: He wants to appeal the ban on assault weapons. Seriously?
11. Worker's Rights: According to Paul, they won't have any. He supports a right to work state, and wants a right to work nation. The term right to work is misleading - it really means you can fire someone for no reason. It protects employers, not workers. He's also VERY anti-labor union. Don't call your self a believer in workers rights when you just want to protect the businesses.
12. Energy: He want to allow drilling offshore. That's already being done. My dad is working offshore in Louisiana at this very moment. He also wants to lift government road blocks to coal and nuclear energy. I guess he doesn't care if the energy is clean or not. And he wants to eliminate the EPA. So the corporations can ruin our country's landscape without any repercussions. Great.
All in all, this sounds like a recipe for disaster. But please feel free to comment! This is the United States and everyone is entitled to their opinion. I would like to hear others feelings about this candidate as well.
147 Companies Run The World And What To Do About It
What does it mean when 147 countries run the global economy? It means a single decision on the other side of the world can bring us down here. We are so interconnected now, that if one company falls, they all do. That is an oversimplification of course, but it only takes a few to ruin it all. We all still remember the mortgage crisis of 2008. Researchers have found that since such a small group of companies run the global economy, it creates a very unstable environment. It's like playing Jenga with the world's economy.
So what do we do about it? Not much. No one will be able to stop this trend from continuing. But you can do little things like putting you money in a local bank, shopping at non-corporate stores and farmer's markets. I personally have not shopped at Walmart in 5 years. If going global turns out to undo humanity as we know it, go local. No Starbucks, no chain restaurants, no fast-food. Think about who you're giving your money to. Corporations are OUT.
So what do we do about it? Not much. No one will be able to stop this trend from continuing. But you can do little things like putting you money in a local bank, shopping at non-corporate stores and farmer's markets. I personally have not shopped at Walmart in 5 years. If going global turns out to undo humanity as we know it, go local. No Starbucks, no chain restaurants, no fast-food. Think about who you're giving your money to. Corporations are OUT.
Monday, October 17, 2011
It's Not My Fault. Right?
One of the hindrances I face getting a job is my resume. More specifically my job history. One year here, six months there, its horrible. I wouldn't put it on the top of my stack of prospects if it came across my desk. It's not my fault, its a good run of bad luck. But how do you convey that to a prospective employer without sounding like a sob story?
In the summer of 2007, I landed my dream job: Data Manager for one of the largest Meals on Wheels in the country. I finally got my break and got out of retail, which I had been doing for nine years while in high school and college. I found that I was quite skilled at number crunching, conducting data integrity analysis, hitting deadlines early, and not losing sight of the big picture. That big picture being that if the monthly reporting had errors in it, the county could cite us, citations led to loss of funding, and that would result in 3,000 impoverished senior citizens not being able to eat every day. I took my job very seriously.
Unfortunately, I had to resign after a year. At the time, I was engaged to a veteran of the Iraq War. He came home from the Middle East with a serious case of PTSD. His condition caused him to abuse alcohol and ultimately physically abuse me. So in order to protect myself, I resigned from my position and moved to another city so he couldn't find me. I knew I had a great thing going at Meals on Wheels, but I had to get away for my own safety. It was a very scary time.
Fortunately, I landed another job in the non-profit sector within three days of moving here to San Antonio. What great luck. My new position was as a union organizer for a very large labor union. Since I had studied labor unions in a class called the Politics of the Middle Class in college, I was thrilled and jumped at the chance. I learned more about life there than I had ever before. This time I was not behind a desk, but working in the field talking to workers, encouraging them to fight for their rights in jobs where they had no say in what was going on. These workers weren't asking for anything unreasonable. They wanted affordable healthcare for themselves and their families, a fair system of getting raises (there was a lot of nepotism going on), and the right to sit down with their management to discuss the dangers of their jobs to find solutions that would make their jobs safer.
They weren't asking a lot, but to their management it as like asking for the moon. It took a lot of work, a lot of early morning site visits to talk to workers, late night phone calls to discuss how to better their situation, and a lot of boldness on my part. It's difficult to empower a group of people that had been put down in their jobs for decades. Convincing people that had lost all hope that they could make a difference was a challenge. But in the end, the workers came together and were able to save 1/3 of the jobs on the chopping block by asking the company to find these workers jobs in other sector of the company. It was a great win for all of us. When this campaign was coming to a close, however, I was asked to relocate to California, a state that had lots of unions. Texas does not. Not only did I want to continue to fight for workers rights in a place that was so deprived of solutions, I didn't want to leave this city I felt safe in. My family lives here, and having been through such a scary personal ordeal not even six months passed yet, I still needed their support. So I turned down the relocation.
This took place in the beginning of 2009. I started my job search looking for more non-profit work. I couldn't find anything. In fact, the exact same position I had with Meals on Wheels (MOW are all independently run, there is no umbrella organization) was open in San Antonio. But now they required a graduate degree. I hadn't even completed my bachelor's when I was hired as Data Manager before. So I lowered my expectations. I found a recruiting job with a small, family owned employment agency. The pay was considerably lower, but I was happy to be helping people find work. It didn't last long however, the economy had really taken it's toll on the company and I was let go after a month. It was a sad parting, the owner was even in tears when she told me they just couldn't afford me at that time and I really had respect for them. They were great to work for.
So, there I was again on the prowl for a new job. Two weeks later I was hired at the only locally owned hotel in the city as a front desk agent and was quickly promoted to Revenue Manager. My pay was low, but if I could hit my revenue goals I could make a good commission to make up for it. But the economy was sinking lower and no one was going on vacation and business were cutting back on going to conventions. I did not get one single commission check. Having been told by the owner that they would not be allocating any money for advertising, I launched a social media campaign to get the hotel's name out there. I generated a lot of buzz, but it couldn't make the difference in actual dollars spent at the hotel. And then I figured out that the hotel wasn't really there to make the owner money. They didn't even want us to succeed in driving in business. The hotel was a tax write off for the owner's other, very successful companies. I had been mislead from the very beginning. And only making $25,000 a year. I was furious. I quit.
Two weeks later, I had found a new position as an office manager for a locally owned (do you see a pattern here?) medical device company. I really liked it, the company was making great strides with new, innovative products and I received three raises in six months. Then the other shoe fell. The owner had made some hasty business decisions and could not afford me. They could of laid me off, but instead they made up some story about an error I had allegedly made. But they wouldn't allow me to prove my inculpability in the matter (I had emails and documentation that would prove them wrong), they fired me. Later, the owner told me that I did not have the skill set he needed. However, I met all the requirements laid out in my job description. That was the summer of 2010.
Since then, I finished my bachelor's degree and I have been searching for a job. So far, no luck. My job history is terrible. I take responsibility for some of it, but I really got dealt a bad hand. Several times. So what do I do now? Do I doctor my resume? Not only is that illegal, but I can't bring myself to lie. Especially since I didn't do anything wrong. I guess I just have to keep on doing what I'm doing. I know my job history is holding me back, but there's nothing I can do about it. Ideas?
In the summer of 2007, I landed my dream job: Data Manager for one of the largest Meals on Wheels in the country. I finally got my break and got out of retail, which I had been doing for nine years while in high school and college. I found that I was quite skilled at number crunching, conducting data integrity analysis, hitting deadlines early, and not losing sight of the big picture. That big picture being that if the monthly reporting had errors in it, the county could cite us, citations led to loss of funding, and that would result in 3,000 impoverished senior citizens not being able to eat every day. I took my job very seriously.
Unfortunately, I had to resign after a year. At the time, I was engaged to a veteran of the Iraq War. He came home from the Middle East with a serious case of PTSD. His condition caused him to abuse alcohol and ultimately physically abuse me. So in order to protect myself, I resigned from my position and moved to another city so he couldn't find me. I knew I had a great thing going at Meals on Wheels, but I had to get away for my own safety. It was a very scary time.
Fortunately, I landed another job in the non-profit sector within three days of moving here to San Antonio. What great luck. My new position was as a union organizer for a very large labor union. Since I had studied labor unions in a class called the Politics of the Middle Class in college, I was thrilled and jumped at the chance. I learned more about life there than I had ever before. This time I was not behind a desk, but working in the field talking to workers, encouraging them to fight for their rights in jobs where they had no say in what was going on. These workers weren't asking for anything unreasonable. They wanted affordable healthcare for themselves and their families, a fair system of getting raises (there was a lot of nepotism going on), and the right to sit down with their management to discuss the dangers of their jobs to find solutions that would make their jobs safer.
They weren't asking a lot, but to their management it as like asking for the moon. It took a lot of work, a lot of early morning site visits to talk to workers, late night phone calls to discuss how to better their situation, and a lot of boldness on my part. It's difficult to empower a group of people that had been put down in their jobs for decades. Convincing people that had lost all hope that they could make a difference was a challenge. But in the end, the workers came together and were able to save 1/3 of the jobs on the chopping block by asking the company to find these workers jobs in other sector of the company. It was a great win for all of us. When this campaign was coming to a close, however, I was asked to relocate to California, a state that had lots of unions. Texas does not. Not only did I want to continue to fight for workers rights in a place that was so deprived of solutions, I didn't want to leave this city I felt safe in. My family lives here, and having been through such a scary personal ordeal not even six months passed yet, I still needed their support. So I turned down the relocation.
This took place in the beginning of 2009. I started my job search looking for more non-profit work. I couldn't find anything. In fact, the exact same position I had with Meals on Wheels (MOW are all independently run, there is no umbrella organization) was open in San Antonio. But now they required a graduate degree. I hadn't even completed my bachelor's when I was hired as Data Manager before. So I lowered my expectations. I found a recruiting job with a small, family owned employment agency. The pay was considerably lower, but I was happy to be helping people find work. It didn't last long however, the economy had really taken it's toll on the company and I was let go after a month. It was a sad parting, the owner was even in tears when she told me they just couldn't afford me at that time and I really had respect for them. They were great to work for.
So, there I was again on the prowl for a new job. Two weeks later I was hired at the only locally owned hotel in the city as a front desk agent and was quickly promoted to Revenue Manager. My pay was low, but if I could hit my revenue goals I could make a good commission to make up for it. But the economy was sinking lower and no one was going on vacation and business were cutting back on going to conventions. I did not get one single commission check. Having been told by the owner that they would not be allocating any money for advertising, I launched a social media campaign to get the hotel's name out there. I generated a lot of buzz, but it couldn't make the difference in actual dollars spent at the hotel. And then I figured out that the hotel wasn't really there to make the owner money. They didn't even want us to succeed in driving in business. The hotel was a tax write off for the owner's other, very successful companies. I had been mislead from the very beginning. And only making $25,000 a year. I was furious. I quit.
Two weeks later, I had found a new position as an office manager for a locally owned (do you see a pattern here?) medical device company. I really liked it, the company was making great strides with new, innovative products and I received three raises in six months. Then the other shoe fell. The owner had made some hasty business decisions and could not afford me. They could of laid me off, but instead they made up some story about an error I had allegedly made. But they wouldn't allow me to prove my inculpability in the matter (I had emails and documentation that would prove them wrong), they fired me. Later, the owner told me that I did not have the skill set he needed. However, I met all the requirements laid out in my job description. That was the summer of 2010.
Since then, I finished my bachelor's degree and I have been searching for a job. So far, no luck. My job history is terrible. I take responsibility for some of it, but I really got dealt a bad hand. Several times. So what do I do now? Do I doctor my resume? Not only is that illegal, but I can't bring myself to lie. Especially since I didn't do anything wrong. I guess I just have to keep on doing what I'm doing. I know my job history is holding me back, but there's nothing I can do about it. Ideas?
Symptoms of Unemployment
Do you have any of these symptoms? If so, you might be unemployed. It's an affliction affecting a little over 4 million Americans.
- Lower back pain: from hours spent in desk chair searching for jobs, emailing resumes, composing cover letters
- Trouble sleeping: from fear, worry, and wondering what to do next
- Headache: tension headaches from stress
- Dizziness: from the speed at which life is passing you by
- Depression: because life sucks
- Excessive crying: because everything you're trying to do to get another job just ain't working
- Food cravings: stress eating
- Low self-esteem: because after awhile, it seems like all this is happening to you because you must suck
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Fliplife
I have found a solution to the boredom that comes from being unemployed. It's a game called Fliplife where you can choose a career, work, gain money and skills, shop, and buy a house. So far, I live in a tent and I'm a Senior Hack Writer, but you got to start somewhere. This game is great! I get to do all the things I wish I was doing in real life!
This game almost has a placebo effect. I can earn money, get rewarded for hard work, accomplish tasks. It's funny, I seemed to have forgotten how good it feels to finish something. There's satisfaction in knowing you've done something really well. I've spent so much time reflecting on the negative aspects of being unemployed lately. I've forgotten about all the positive attributes of employment. I never realized how much having a job affects your mental well-being.
Sure, work causes stress too. There are evil co-workers to deal with, deadlines, unreasonable clients, and so on. But man, I would be all to happy to put up with all that again if I could just get a job. I miss my schedule and paychecks, but I really miss feeling like I'm good at something.
This game almost has a placebo effect. I can earn money, get rewarded for hard work, accomplish tasks. It's funny, I seemed to have forgotten how good it feels to finish something. There's satisfaction in knowing you've done something really well. I've spent so much time reflecting on the negative aspects of being unemployed lately. I've forgotten about all the positive attributes of employment. I never realized how much having a job affects your mental well-being.
Sure, work causes stress too. There are evil co-workers to deal with, deadlines, unreasonable clients, and so on. But man, I would be all to happy to put up with all that again if I could just get a job. I miss my schedule and paychecks, but I really miss feeling like I'm good at something.
Monday, July 5, 2010
Land of the Free?
Sunday night I watched the fireworks at Randolph AFB here in San Antonio. How American, sitting on a blanket in a baseball field while the wind carried well-known patriotic songs across the field. As the finale came down, I could hear the Star-Spangled Banner and one phrase sort of struck a chord: the land of the free. I don't really feel free, do you?
Perhaps that's a terrible thing to say - after all, my own father is a Vietnam veteran and he suffered a lot because of his time served for this country. However, I can't help but feel locked into some sort of system, a system that works against me. I've done what I was supposed to. I got good grades in high school, went to college...a lot. I can't find a job. I'm hoping that my unemployment goes through and I'll get a check tomorrow, but for now I'm just waiting for something to happen. I've been quite diligent in my job search; job hunting is a relentless task. So far, no dice.
I'm not free. I am held down by credit card debt, by ever increasing bills, and by a job market that has tanked. I'd be lucky to get a job that pays $12 an hour right now. I'm trapped. I couldn't even afford to move to a cheaper apartment! The only thing I have going for me is my decision to go back to school and get more education because trust me, I've looked and the only jobs out there are non-skilled (i.e. poverty level wages) and jobs that require graduate degrees. The middle ground has disappeared along with the middle class.
Who are these richest 1% of Americans that control the rest of us and just who the fuck do they think they are? Democracy my ass. This is slave labor. Minimum wage is still under what economists agree is a living wage. Minimum wage in Texas is $4250 above the federal poverty level for 2010.
When I was a union organizer here in San Antonio I was shocked how many people I came across that couldn't read or write. It was embarrassing for them, but I knew why they were illiterate. It might surprise most people, but our poverty problem still causes 15 and 16 year olds to drop out of school to help the family get make ends meet. Such was the case with these guys.
Although "union" is such a bad word in the South, I think it's the only thing that will save us. I don't mean union as a entity that you pay dues to, but union as a group of people working toward a common goal. Goals such as a strong middle class, closing the gap between the rich and the poor, elevating people from poverty through education.
In business school you learn that to improve production you fix your weakest link in the supply chain. America's weakest link is it's inability to diminish poverty and our selfish nature to just look the other way. We forget that on our Statue of Liberty it is written: "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free." We don't need to look across the ocean for these huddled masses. They are in our own backyard and they want a way out of their slavery.
Perhaps that's a terrible thing to say - after all, my own father is a Vietnam veteran and he suffered a lot because of his time served for this country. However, I can't help but feel locked into some sort of system, a system that works against me. I've done what I was supposed to. I got good grades in high school, went to college...a lot. I can't find a job. I'm hoping that my unemployment goes through and I'll get a check tomorrow, but for now I'm just waiting for something to happen. I've been quite diligent in my job search; job hunting is a relentless task. So far, no dice.
I'm not free. I am held down by credit card debt, by ever increasing bills, and by a job market that has tanked. I'd be lucky to get a job that pays $12 an hour right now. I'm trapped. I couldn't even afford to move to a cheaper apartment! The only thing I have going for me is my decision to go back to school and get more education because trust me, I've looked and the only jobs out there are non-skilled (i.e. poverty level wages) and jobs that require graduate degrees. The middle ground has disappeared along with the middle class.
Who are these richest 1% of Americans that control the rest of us and just who the fuck do they think they are? Democracy my ass. This is slave labor. Minimum wage is still under what economists agree is a living wage. Minimum wage in Texas is $4250 above the federal poverty level for 2010.
When I was a union organizer here in San Antonio I was shocked how many people I came across that couldn't read or write. It was embarrassing for them, but I knew why they were illiterate. It might surprise most people, but our poverty problem still causes 15 and 16 year olds to drop out of school to help the family get make ends meet. Such was the case with these guys.
Although "union" is such a bad word in the South, I think it's the only thing that will save us. I don't mean union as a entity that you pay dues to, but union as a group of people working toward a common goal. Goals such as a strong middle class, closing the gap between the rich and the poor, elevating people from poverty through education.
In business school you learn that to improve production you fix your weakest link in the supply chain. America's weakest link is it's inability to diminish poverty and our selfish nature to just look the other way. We forget that on our Statue of Liberty it is written: "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free." We don't need to look across the ocean for these huddled masses. They are in our own backyard and they want a way out of their slavery.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Out of Balance
In case anyone was wondering, first day on the job was great. Waiting tables has not changed much since 2005. Short walk from my loft. Everyone was really friendly. Pretty laid back owner. I received the honor of being the oldest server at 28 years old. That would have really annoyed the old Grace. Now, older = smarter so they better watch out as I fly right past them.
I keep on thinking about my descent that has lead me to wait tables. Sure, I should have finished my degree already. Just two classes to go. But even if I had done that, my job prospects wouldn't be that much different. What does this mean when college educated people can't get jobs? I would conjecture that it is because this recession has greatly weakened the middle class. I'm not middle class anymore. I am a college educated waitress.
I don't think people are giving this recession enough thought. This economic state that we are in is going to affect is greatly in the long run. This morning in Paul Krugman's NYT column he said we'd lost 8 million jobs since the recession began and at the rate we are adding new jobs it would take us 5 years for employment to get back to pre-recession rates. Wow. I really hope that doesn't mean I'll be waiting tables for five years.
It just seems like the world has turned on it's head. Having an education was supposed to mean you could get a good job. I can't. I've been trying since last February. I can't make more than $12 an hour. It's really frustrating! If it really takes the job market five years to get back in order, will there be any middle class left?
I keep on thinking about my descent that has lead me to wait tables. Sure, I should have finished my degree already. Just two classes to go. But even if I had done that, my job prospects wouldn't be that much different. What does this mean when college educated people can't get jobs? I would conjecture that it is because this recession has greatly weakened the middle class. I'm not middle class anymore. I am a college educated waitress.
I don't think people are giving this recession enough thought. This economic state that we are in is going to affect is greatly in the long run. This morning in Paul Krugman's NYT column he said we'd lost 8 million jobs since the recession began and at the rate we are adding new jobs it would take us 5 years for employment to get back to pre-recession rates. Wow. I really hope that doesn't mean I'll be waiting tables for five years.
It just seems like the world has turned on it's head. Having an education was supposed to mean you could get a good job. I can't. I've been trying since last February. I can't make more than $12 an hour. It's really frustrating! If it really takes the job market five years to get back in order, will there be any middle class left?
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