Re: jobs

Ossum, Jef! I hope you enjoy your new job. Or at least . . . can stand it.
I mean, these days, just being able to *stand* a job seems more than we have
a right to ask.

And structure can be so good for us mentally. I frequently suffer various
problems due to the lack of structure -- or predictability, or even
stability -- in my free-lance work life. Bruce does, too. But we've
managed to get our little routines going as best we can. His involves
getting up early to bake and work in the garden. Mine involves staying up
late working on whatever emergency hit whichever client at the end of their
day. Lately, my primary time-filler has been needlework -- it used to be
reading, but reading has taken second place lately to embroidery,
needlepoint, quiltmaking, rug-hooking. I settle down with a good movie and
keep my hands busy -- and I get to see a finished product. I'm not saying
they're *good* finished products, but they're something tangible, anyway.
Unlike this incredibly arcane and abstract writing from which I derive my
actual income.

I know what you mean about "being out of practice in dealing with people in
an employment setting." Been there. Am there. Poking myself into a suit,
packing my briefcase, and going to a meeting feels like, I dunno, trying to
launch the space shuttle or something. But the actual people skills are
still there, to the extent I ever actually had any, and rusty though they
may be. Having met you repeatedly in person, I can assure you that you're a
charming guy, and that's bound to translate into the workplace. Except
maybe that little problem you've described about your clever sense of humor
going over some folks' heads like a tent. Been there, too. :-D

Best wishes on your new jobs, guys!

ep oooooooof




"Jef." <jefo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:XpKdnQTa--39-5PVnZ2dnUVZ_uCdnZ2d@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Kathleen" wrote
... they called to offer me the job.
Whoohoooooo!

Whoohoooooo, indeed! Add a "Hot damn" to that, girl!
Very nice, Kathleen. Congratulations! I hope it's rewarding, and you enjoy
it.
One can always find some bit of good news here, if we look for it, eh?

I've also just been hired at what will be my first (to quote Michael
Madsen in RESERVOIR DOGS) "...you know-- regular, job-type job..." in --
well, forever!
Not counting the God-awful, seasonal, retail gig I had around Christmas
time, it's the first full-time, out-of-the-house, working-stiff gig since
shortly before my father died.

Great timing, there...
I got really down, depressed, sick, and missed a lot of work taking care
of him back then, and the Smithsonian just canned my ass. No warning, no
discussion. Bastards didn't want to hear about Alzheimer's or stress or
hardship or anything from me. A week and a half later, he died. That was
one helluva month.
I'm still not sure how I avoided going on a tri-state, headline-making,
shooting spree...

I start work on the 31st. I'm not entirely sure *exactly* what they'll
have me doing, because it's a brand-new venture, but it's real work-- for
pay. The kind where I wake up, get dressed, leave the house, get on the
bus, go somewhere and... actually do things-- and they pay me for it, you
know? Yikes! I damn near forgot how to do that. Very out of practice
dealing with people in an employment setting. Gotta work on smiling and
pretending I care what anyone says...

Hooray for us!



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