Write me a Recommendation Letter?

Ok, the job hunt gets quirkier. I saw an ad on Craigslist which has me intrigued. Long and the short of it: they want recommendation letters from people OTHER than current and former employers. And they want creativity.

I figure, calling out to all my bloggy people and then sending a stack of letters from y'all in addition to my more traditional stuff might count toward that.

So, hey, if you want to write me a letter of recommendation, comment and I'll send you my address :)

No Pressure, as they say. Just, you know, if ya wanna.

Thank you, veterans and all who currently serve

I wasn't able to fly our flag today, as it's been raining pretty steadily. I like this web site, though, and thought some of you might want to poke around a bit. We can't all serve, but we can support.

A day for mourning, but also for justice

The Ft Hood memorial is today,


and the chief DC Sniper will be executed tonight.

Yes, there is a connection. God help us all.

It's crap like this that makes me glad I named my blog as I did

The job interview yesterday? A Total Waste of Time. Oy. Good God. Hard even to describe. The interviewer and I basically agree on one thing, and one thing only: Career Builder can suck cheese, in some cases.

On the bright side, today is a new day and I can figure out my next plan of attack, career-wise, while taking our friend's advice and being thankful that for now, at least, I can devote the lion's share of my time to caring for my family and the house.

Also, I spent a few minutes fantasyshopping at The Galleria--and saw this skirt, at J.Crew, that will.be.mine. Oh yes, it will be mine. You know, eventually, when I'm gainfully employed.

Also good: Sons #1 and 2 tore down the old, busted shed in our back yard. Chez Waste of Time is starting to shape up. And at some point the trees will run out of leaves and we can stop collecting them. I may spend some time on that project today. No guarantees.

It's gonna be a bumpy ride

I have a job interview, today. I am not 100% sure I want this particular job, but I am curious enough to make the drive and learn about it, you know?

Since I got the call to come interview (I won't call it Being Interviewed, as I have plenty of information to gather, myself) I have been thinking more than ever about how things are going to change--how they will have to change--once I am employed, and most likely commuting a far piece every day.

Yesterday, a friend stopped by. He saw me folding laundry and commented, "Be thankful. I have to go home and do that, too! I am so busy, now that I have a job again."

He'd been unemployed for several months. It's great to see him getting back on his feet.

"You're right," I said. "It's good I can do these things for the family, now, because when I get a job they'll have to fold their own laundry."

And that is the truth. If I am gone longer than the rest of the family, it is only logical that they will see that the hours I used to spend cooking and cleaning for them just are gone. They'll have to cut into their leisure time, a little, to care for themselves.

It's not like they don't know how. All of the Sons can do laundry, follow a recipe, run the vacuum, take out the trash, walk the dog, load the dishwasher: stuff like that. It's a natural progression, and will serve them all well when they move out on their own, which isn't all that far from now, either.

Hubby whipped his head around to stare at me, open-mouthed. "What? We'll have to WHAT, now?"

Hooo, boy.

Also, Son #4 is home sick, today. I kinda feel like my job interviews are little miniature chances to see what the New Boondocks are going to be.

The mysteries of being part of a largish family

Last night, son #4 was putting the OJ back in the fridge and talking to his brother. "I'm putting this away because I like OJ and I don't want it to go bad...does OJ go bad?"

Yep, put 6 people in a house and you will never have the opportunity to know if orange juice can go bad. It just goes away.

Actually, I feel pretty good about not doing that.

Today Career Builder sent me a list of job matches for which they thought I was qualified to apply. I get these lists from a wide range of job sites every day. Sometimes the matches they give me send me straight to the pits, thinking, "I only WISH I were qualified to do that job! But nooooo, I have a B.A. in English!"

Today, one of my matches was "gastroenterologist". And I thought, "Well, you know, I am not at all qualified for that one. But I think that is A-OK by me."

So, hey, all you gastro guys out there, enjoy your job. I am not about to compete with you for it.

Stuff you learn in public school, these days

Son #1's history teacher: North Korea is not a nuclear power and we have no reason to be concerned about their nuclear weapons program.

Son #2's history teacher: Ronald Reagan was beloved by the American people because he was so liberal.

Son #3's class: Boys are not allowed to express pro-life opinions, because they will never give birth.

Son #4's class: getting pregnant in 7th grade is "awesome", because it means you have already had sex. And using words like "essentially" means your vocabulary is unnecessarily large.

Also: when you tell your parents this stuff? They basically have a stroke.

I should be in North Carolina

Yesterday Son #1 was invited to visit a university, go to a football game there, check out the campus. I drove him: up on the far side of Baltimore.

I got halfway home, when he called to say he'd left his wallet in my car. Because I am a mom (we spell that S.A.P.) I turned around and drove back. Then I drove home.

I drove 305 miles, yesterday. I should be someplace balmy.

But, hey, I get to go pick him up, today.

If I were smart, I would be exercising, this morning, to make up for all the time in the car. As it is, I am eating leftover Halloween candy.