How Could I Forget?

Well, I've just invited another friend (scratch that, now it's 2!) to this blogsite, so I guess I'd better write something. (Hi, Amy and Laura!) What topic today?

There's always politics, but then I risk alienating the few readers I have. Then there's the whole Britney/K-Fed split and custody controversy, but since we all saw that one coming and can fairly well predict the outcome, that seems kinda pointless. I could bitch about my town's "leaf vacuuming" system for leaf removal, but that would appeal pretty much only to me and my husband - loyal reader though he is, he's only 30% of my readership. Since I don't want to circulate pictures of my kid all over the internet, can't post those. Hey, did I mention how much I like the show "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip?" Okay, covered that one. OH, I've got it. Kinda feel like a putz for not thinking of it sooner.

HELLO, it's VETERANS' DAY. How about taking a moment to thank and honor the millions of America's veteran servicemen and -women? I, for one, sleep better at night knowing that there are people willing to lay down their lives to make sure I can sleep better at night. I may not always agree with what our government chooses to do with our military resources, but I know that the individual human beings who sign up to serve do so with more courage and perseverance than I can muster on my best day. I know that many of them have seen things that most of us don't even know enough to be horrified by, much less can we appreciate how remarkable it is that they continue to serve, come home, and for the most part, manage to resume normal existences when their service is over. Whatever our individual politics here at home in our living rooms, the willingness of these men and women to don the uniform and be ready to keep the peace or take up the fight is worthy of respect and admiration, and a heck of a lot more care and attention than we generally give them once their service is complete and their status changes to "veteran". I've seen how poorly we treat our elderly and disabled veterans, as I've watched the ridiculous hoop-jumping my in-laws have had to do to try to get adequate - not exceptional, mind you, just adequate - care for my husband's grandfather, a veteran of three wars who was exposed to Agent Orange and is now wheelchair bound and suffering a wide variety of ailments and illnesses. I know firsthand how quickly we forget that our military is made up of human beings, that we ask and expect of them things most of the rest of us aren't willing to do ourselves, and as the wife of a veteran, I know how important it is that we remember.

So, folks, let's all take a moment today, whether or not at the officially sanctioned hour for moments of silence, and give thanks for our veterans and their service and the relative peace we currently enjoy in this country as a result of their sacrifice. God bless America - and its military veterans.

There's Just No Pleasing Some People

So, I had an interview with that company that called me that I wasn't very impressed with, initially. In spite of having a phone call at 9:00 am with a yelling 1-year old in the background, they actually wanted to meet with me in person - somewhat informally, over breakfast - for a "follow up conversation". It was basically an interview, albeit in a less intense atmosphere than an office. Two of them, one of me, coffee and conversation.

They're a consulting firm. They're a very small consulting firm (10 whole people). I don't want to do consulting anymore. And half of their clients are in an industry in which I have experience but really don't want to work for again, and yet that's obviously what I'd be most likely to do for them. And I was up front with them about both of those facts, as well as the fact that I'm VERY early in my job search - in fact, my husband and I aren't 100% sure that I'm going to go back to work full-time yet (I'd rather not, but money is really tight these days) - but I also very honestly said that it would all depend on the opportunity. Right job, right company, I'd do it, consulting or not, no matter the industry.

I just got the follow up note: "Unfortunately, we've decided not to move forward at this time..." Now, this is a company I'm only marginally okay with (they impressed me more with each subsequent conversation, but it's small, new, and again, consulting), a job I'm less than thrilled with getting back into, and an industry I don't want to work for again. I should be relieved. But of course, I'm disappointed and admittedly, a little insulted. I'm embarrassed, actually. I ALWAYS get jobs for which I interview. Resumes don't always get picked up, that's no big deal. But if I get through the front door, I'm in. Always. ALWAYS. And I wanted to be in this time. I didn't really want the job - or at least, I had not reached the point where I was sure I wanted the job - and yet, I wanted to get the job. I wanted to be in the position to decide, to reject them or accept them. I wanted to know that I could have the job. That I've "still got it," in a sense, and that I'm eminently employable if we decide I am going back to work. I just plain wanted them to like me. This is like reluctantly agreeing to go out on a date with a guy you're not remotely attracted to, just to be nice, and then having him tell you at the end of the night that he just doesn't feel any chemistry and doesn't think you should see each other again. I wanted to be the one to break up!

Of course I'm still employable. I can say with 99.9% certainty that my last employer would happily have me back, and probably even give me my pick of job roles. And I haven't even actually started looking for a job yet, so I'm sure that there are other opportunities out there. And I really DON'T want to do consulting, or in that industry. So, this really should be no big deal. And yet, it is. I hate that they're done with me. I wanted them to want me, and I hate that I failed to make them want me. There's just no pleasing some people - namely, me.