New opportunities

It's pretty certain. Daniel will be working in Mesa. What's not certain is when he'll be going. We've heard it could be any time between the end of June and the end of July. Since Daniel is my only real tie to California, I'll be going with him. And crossing my fingers that the job market in Arizona is better than it is here in California.

And I have reason to believe that it is. As soon as we decided it was realistic that we would be moving to Arizona, I started applying for jobs. A week later, I got a call from an environmental engineering contracting company in Tempe. The job description was almost exactly what I was doing at Aerospace Company X.

After a short conversation with the company's HR manager, I had an in-person interview scheduled for two days later and a flight booked. My first real interview in nearly six months and it was from a company in Arizona, not California. To say I was a nervous wreck was an understatement. I was flying around preparing for the interview, ignoring the radiating back pain in the middle of my back. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to make it to the interview. After three days of increasingly worse back pain, I decided the day of my interview that I needed to go to urgent care instead of Arizona. I was diagnosed with a bladder infection and given all kinds of medication.

Luckily the HR manager I had been dealing with was very understanding (he had suffered from back pain for years). They were looking to hire right away, and the day of my scheduled interview was the last day for interviews; but he said he would keep my resume on hand and keep me in mind for future positions. (Was he just placating me or did he really mean what he said? I guess time will tell.) He also asked me to notify him of my local contact information when I arrived in Arizona.

My first real shot at a job ... and my health gets in the way. I guess it was a blessing in disguise. It would have been difficult if not next to impossible for me to get out to Arizona first. Right now we see things unraveling as Daniel going for work without me, and me staying behind for a few weeks to pack things up and coordinate the move.

I am sick of living in limbo. So is Daniel. But we don't have much choice. That's just the way things are. I'm excited to move to Arizona because cost of living will be so much cheaper. Right now I pay $1200 a month for a one-bedroom apartment in downtown Long Beach. That same amount of money could get me a 3 or 4 bedroom house in Arizona. And even if I can only find a job that would pay me $31K per year, my money will go a lot farther in Arizona then it does out here. And I feel much more optimistic about finding a job in Arizona versus California.

Record-breaking

While driving home from grocery shopping Saturday afternoon, I heard a radio advertisement for a government agency that's currently hiring/recruiting. Back when I had just graduated college, I tried getting my foot in the door at any/all federal law enforcement agencies that I could. With all my effort, I finagled an interview with the Secret Service but never made it past the panel interview portion of the application process. At nearly three months into my unemployment, I decided that I have nothing to lose and everything to gain by trying to reclaim old college dreams. So I sat down and applied for three different positions within the agency (located in Washington D.C.).

Eight hours, one 500-word essay, and two computers later; I finally sent my information off into application oblivion nearly causing an argument with Daniel who was entertaining/grilling out while I fervently plugged away at my application. At one point he came into the bedroom where I'd been all afternoon and evening and told me people were getting ready to leave and I was being rude. I guess I probably was. But at three months into the black hole of unemployment, I'm just tired of being jobless. And socializing with Daniel's friends isn't going to help find me a job.

Knowing my worth

On Friday I received a call from a mush-mouthed woman named Meg from a company in nearby Orange County that manufactures products used in tactical defense situations (think LAPD). Daniel was excited by the phone call because he is familiar with the company and its products (he owns several of their flashllights and laser pointers); and because as an employee, I would get a substantial employee discount.

The position I had applied for via careerbuilders.com was a low-level admin position requiring a high school degree and one year of experience. I reasoned I was over-qualified for the job, and therefore was a shoe-in. However, I have applied for similar positions with similar requirements in the past and have not so much as received a nod, so...

When Meg called she went through a series of quick questions (Do you currently live in Long Beach? Would you be able to commute to Fountain Valley? Would you be willing to submit to a government background test? Easily my favorite type of interview questions.) culminating in: What is the minimum hourly wage you would be able to accept for this position?

Yikes.

Daniel says it's not likely that I will ever again make what I was making at Aerospace Company X (unless I learn a specific skill like design or engineering). I tend to agree. I'm not going to expect this company to pay me 70K a year for a secretary position. But the question is, how low can I go?

I reason that if I got a job making $18 an hour (37.4K per year) I would end up making roughly the same amount of money I currently make on unemployment (if you take into account taxes, medical, etc.). Unfortunately when I told Meg I couldn't accept less than $18 an hour, she said that was out of their price range.

Out of curiosity, what's the figure your company is willing to pay? I asked in exhasperation.

Meg didn't hesitate to resond with, Fifteen dollars per hour.

Again, yikes.

Admittedly, that is not a bad wage for a person who only has a high school degree and one year of experience. More so, that's not a bad wage if you live somewhere where cost of living isn't so ridiculously exorbitant. Given that I pay $1200 a month for rent and have a college degree and seven years of work experience, fifteen dollars an hour is ... (I don't want to say insulting so instead I'll say) un-liveable.

Could I live on fifteen dollars an hour? Sure. If I didn't have rent to pay, bills to pay, gas to put into my car, etc., that would be a fine wage. But the fact remains, I have to have enough money to sustain myself and that wage simply would not cut it. I could make it work for a little while, I suppose. If I knew I was working for a company in which I could grow, take on more responsibilities, and get paid more money.

The thing is, I believe that I am worth more than fifteen dollars an hour. My entire adult life (up until landing the job in aerospace), I have accepted crumbs as wages mainly because I had to! I didn't have work experience or I didn't have the right kind of education so I felt trapped into settling for crap wages.

At 30 years old, I'm not willing to do that anymore. I'm not expecting to make 70K in my next position. But I do refuse to settle for 31K.

The catch-22

Last night after putting $30 worth of gas in my tank and realizing I only had $15 in cash left until God knows when, my mood shifted from fine to terrible. I got home from grocery shopping (Daniel had given me money to go shopping), and Daniel asked what took so long. I had to get gas; apparently so did the rest of Huntington Beach, I said. You should have waited; I was going to fill your gas tank tomorrow, he replied. Yeah, well I needed it tonight, I said in a kind of snarl.

Part of my bad mood I attribute to realizing how little money I had in my wallet; the other part I attribute to the fact that earlier in the day, Daniel had offered to fill my gas tank for me. We drove my car from his place to mine so we could drop his car off at the shop. By the time we got back to Huntington Beach, I really needed to get gas. The $30 worth of gas that I put in my tank didn't even fill my tank.

Daniel's offer to put gas in my tank is like a Catch-22. I really don't have the money to fill my tank. I really wanted Daniel to buy me gas. He sent me grocery shopping at which point I noticed, Damn, I'm really low on gas. The Catch-22 is that I don't want him buying me gas! I do, but I don't. What I really want is my own job. So that I can afford to put gas in my car without a noticeable mood shift from having departed with most of my last $50. I'm lucky he takes care of me; but I don't want him taking care of me. I want to take care of myself. I feel like less of a human being; like I'm sponging off of him; using him. I hate that feeling.

As soon as I got home I dumped the groceries on the counter. He asked if I got a certain item I'd been wanting. I mumbled no, I didn't have enough money. I left him alone in the kitchen and hid out in the office. A few times he walked in to check on me but I didn't want any company. Least of all from Mr. Catch-22 who has no financial strain or worry.

I hid in the office aimlessly job searching and finding nothing. It soured my mood even more. In the kitchen I heard my phone ringing. Like I wanted to talk to anyone in that moment. I ignored my phone. After awhile one of Daniel's dogs stood beside my chair and stretched her little body up and kept putting her paw on my arm. Stop, she was saying. Come join the rest of us in the living room.

So I did. I apologized to Daniel for my bad mood. He said it was OK. We ate dinner. A little while later I grabbed my phone and saw that the phone call from earlier was a strange LA area code phone number. One I didn't recognize. There was also a message. I went back into the office to listen to the message.

Suddenly I shrieked. I popped back out of the office and ran toward the kitchen to find Daniel in a karate-type defensive pose (a reaction to my shrieking). What the hell? he asked.

Aerospace Company S! I shrieked. They called! They have an open position.

Suddenly my bad mood vanished. I was all smiles. The $30 worth of gas I had just spent was long forgotten.

Daniel wasn't quite as excited as I was. I don't think he wants me to get my hopes up. I can see his point.

This morning I returned the phone call to Aerospace Company S. Left a voice message. Now I'm just on the edge of my seat ... waiting for a callback. Crossing my fingers (toes, eyes, and legs).

The pre-interview

Within the first two months of unemployment I have submitted approximately 40 to 50 resumes to various companies for various positions. My resume is so outstanding and extraordinary I have received two calls for interviews. The first phone interview I bombed. (I also happen to think I was only afforded a phone interview in the first place because my friend works for the company.) The second interview is pending (i.e., might not even happen.) Before I reach interview status, I needed to take a test (which I did today).

The bad news about the test is I didn't complete it. There were three separate sections and I was one-third of the way through the third section when I heard the timer go ding signaling the end of the test.

Also, I may have cheated. Slightly. Hey, I may not have either! The rules were rather unclear. But I reasoned that if I were someone who actually had the position, and I was working away at my desk; I would definitely be allowed to do what I did. Before I commited job test treason, I did look around to see if I saw a camera anywhere. I could not locate a camera. This swayed my decision to cheat. And let me tell you, it's a good thing I did. Or I would have gotten the answers wrong.

I find out within days if I move on to the interview round. I have to pass the test with a score of 80% or higher. This seems slightly undoable given I didn't finish the last third of the test. Almost like I'd have to score perfect on the first two parts (which I know I did not) in order to advance.

That being said, I will be thrilled to be called in for an interview. On the other hand, I will not be surprised if I never hear from the company again.

Some loose ends

• This morning I stepped on the scale and sigh my weight remained the same. Actually I was a full half a pound heavier than the lightest I've been in ... well, years. Then I took off Daniel's oversized sweatshirt and my long sleeve shirt. Triumph! I was a full two pounds lighter. I contemplated how much lighter I would be if I took off my pants and underwear but was satisfied enough with the two-pound reduction to walk away from the scale and go make myself some hot chocolate made with whole milk and garnished with cool whip.

• Last night I was gloating to Daniel about how clear my face was looking. Verbatim this is what I said: I don't remember the last time I had a zit. His response? I know! Your face actually looks good!

• I will be enrolling Daniel in adult manners classes as soon as I can find them. Apparently he once told his sister-in-law that he could tell she had gained weight and that she actually looked good. The woman promptly burst into tears. To this day Daniel still does not know what was wrong with that statement and why she took it so badly. Maybe an adult manners course would be inappropriate. Maybe he needs a common courtesy course with the underlying theme of how not to insult a woman when talking to her? Oh. And I woke up this morning with a zit near my mouth.

• Daniel's friend at Aerospace Company S responded. Daniel's prediction was wrong. Darryl told Daniel to send him my resume and a good word because a good word from someone on the inside goes a long way.

• Last week I applied for two federal government positions of the same nature but different pay grades. While I was filling out the online forms and answering the job-related questionairres, I realized I was substatially less qualified for the higher pay grade job and decided to apply for both. Yesterday I got an email with my results and rank. High pay grade: 83. Lesser pay grade: 96. I'm hoping that my ranking number is out of 100 instead of, say, 200. If it is 83 and 96 out of 100, I'm hoping that my 96 and the fact that I'm a woman can carry me into the interview process. I would really be golden if I was ex-military and/or spoke another language. Damnit.

• Cody hasn't attempted to contact me since our big lunch blowout. I wonder if he's realizing he was an ass? Perhaps he thinks I was overreacting.

Possible job opps

This weekend was a profitable weekend for me, the unemployed. You might be wondering how an unemployed person can have a profitable weekend, and that's easy to explain: profitable = possible job leads.

After sending an email to a few friends attaching the link to my blog, I got a response from a fellow newly unemployed Californian turned entrepreneur offering a future writing opportunity with his fledgling company. (Huge shout out to N.!)

Last night I was at Daniel's watching the Superbowl with him, his dad, his brother, his sister-in-law, and his friend. The topic turned to my unemployment and Daniel's brother, Troy, asked me to send him his resume. Like Daniel and their father, Troy also works in aerospace. Give her resume to Darryl at Aerospace Company S. Aerospace Company S happens to be right next door to Aerospace Company X, where I used to work. They are always hiring admin people, Troy explained. And, you should get in there before March 2, when the company goes public. You'll make tons of money from their stock options once the company goes public.

I have to admit my unemployed ears perked up at the thought of making tons of money from stocks (something I know absolutely nothing about except that it would require no effort on my part). Troy and Daniel likened Aerospace Company S going public to Microsoft or Google (when those companies went public). I turned to Daniel and socked him in the arm. You have to get me in there! 

When I got home, I called Daniel. Most of my job searching has been in the comfort of his home, thus my most up-to-date resume is on his desktop. Daniel took a bit of the wind out of my sails in regard to the job opportunity at Aerospace Company S. Darryl has never been helpful in the past when I've tried to get him to get me in at any aerospace company he's worked at, Daniel warned. I guarantee you his response will be to send me the link to the company web site. I could see the figurative money I was supposed to make in stocks at Aerospace Company S slipping away right before my very eyes. Why would Troy suggest giving my resume to Darryl if Darryl is so unhelpful? I whined. Because Troy doesn't know Darryl as well as I do.

When you're unemployed, you absolutely cannot have a bad or negative attitude about job possibilities. That's my philosophy anyway. Or perhaps more correctly that is 'The Secret' philosophy, but I believe it to be true. I have unwavering faith that whatever is supposed to be for me is right around the corner. If not right around the corner, then just around the corner. I have no idea if it will be a writing job, an aerospace job, or something really far out there like getting my novel published or opening up a restaurant or catering company. Whatever it is, I have to keep the faith. Which includes having faith that Darryl will take my resume and pass it along to the appropriate person at Aerospace Company S.