Jobless on Labor Day

Like nearly 15 million other Americans I am without a job come Labor Day. This is first time in three years that I can make that claim. The last 2+ years have been tough and yet rewarding for me. I made a decision to get out of a bad situation that eventually I would have been laid off or worse fired from. In making that decision I empowered myself to take control of my career, my finances, and ultimately my life. And yet, I am unemployed once again. The Unemployment rate has reached nearly 10% and that is really a misnomer. In reality there are probably around 12-15% of Americans Unemployed. That means that anywhere between 1 - 1.5 in 10 people are out of work. Just thinking about it I can count off at least 5 people I know that are highly qualified and yet out of work just like I am.

What questions does this raise? When you have been out of work for 2+ months, and see less and less jobs popping up anywhere, and more and more people out of work you start to wonder where the next job will be and who will I be competing with for that job? Also when you don't get return phone calls or emails on resumes for weeks on end and it seems like interviews are few and far between you start to wonder what is wrong? The frustration is that while there are some things that you can do to refine your process, there is really nothing wrong with you. I have equated job searching with dating lately. The more desperate you are, the less appealing you become. The more needy you are, the less likely you are to land an interview. And yet people around you are still getting married and love is found all the time. And a few people you know have landed great jobs of late. That means that there is hope. That there is a silver lining, and that remaining positive and having some sort of faith will carry you through. I don't mean faith in a higher power like God. I don't personally follow organized religion and do not have a relationship with any God. But I do have Faith that something better is out there. It has to be. With my car being out of commission, being under penalty with Unemployment for a misunderstanding, and seeing calculated risks blowing up in my face I have to believe that somehow the work will pay off and things will work out. I have to.

So my fellow job seekers I give you this advice. You are good enough, you are smart enough, you are good looking enough, and dog gonnit you WILL find that job you are looking for. I believe in you, I ask you to believe in me. Let's have faith for each other.

Parents Angry at Obama?

You know I really don't get it. I don't understand why people would NOT want the President of the United States talking to students. In this article on Yahoo! http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/20090903/pl_ynews/ynews_pl888_1 it is discussed how the President of the US will be holding a press conference on the internet for students k-12 on September 8th, 2009. Republicans from the state of Florida (read Texas East) have decried this as potential brain washing and poor form of the bully pulpit. They have rallied support from parent groups (read intolerable whack jobs) to force (or Bully) school districts into not taking part in this.

Not speaking R or D or even Independent for a minute here, I really don't get it. Ronald Reagan and George H Bush BOTH talked to me on television when I was a kid. And they told me that Marijuana was bad. Of course now I am a grown up and know that that particular argument is a fallacy. But I digress. President Obama wants to talk to kids about staying in school and furthering their education. Things that this Country NEEDS if we want to survive into the future. I don't even care Democrat of Republican on this issue. When George W. Bush was in office, even though I KNEW that the election had been rigged, I still supported the guy because he won the election. It seems to me that with health care, claims of socialism and now this, that Republicans are dealing from the bottom of the deck and pulling cards from up their sleeves (as usual) in not respecting the Democratic process. The President is not going to brain wash your kids. Trust me, 90% of the kids will barely even watch the video, and another 50% will not even care. What are these ignorant people SO afraid of? That education will make their kids less Right Wing Christian? Not to lump in an extra argument there, but these are the people that give Republicans, Parent Groups, and Christians a bad name. Your ignorant whack jobs. And scarily some of you are friends and family. *shudder*

Yo Jill! or How Gi Joe taught me that girls kick ass too

So I recently picked up GI Joe Season 1 Part 1 from SHOUT. Now I had the last DVD release for this a few years ago from RHINO, but I needed money and sold it to DVD store years ago. Sorry, sometimes you make hard choices and have to live with them. Anyways, I watched the first 3 GI Joe "movies" on the DVD and thought to myself how much the females in the GI Joe Universe kick some tremendous ass. I then watched the new GI Joe Rise of Cobra movie and had the same impression. And unlike a Jim Butcher Harry Dresden novel where the females kick ass and then show moments of uncharacteristic weakness by crying, the women of GI Joe cartoons kick butt while exuding feminine instincts. I guess maybe GI Joe had more of a positive affect on my childhood then just being something cool. I came to respect girls a little more out of as well. Even if it was subconscious. Take Scarlett for instance. In the first GI Joe cartoons she is shown as a tough as nails fighter, while at the same time able to trade barbs and one up the boys. Baroness is a skilled fighter and master of disguise who uses those abilities to constantly one up the Joes and find cracks in their armor. Lady Jaye is also a master of disguise, but also able to take on multiple opponents at once, flies a jet, and still manages to be feminine and attract the attention of Flint while laughing with the boys. There are other characters that are female and tough and feminine in the GI Joe Universe, but on that first DVD those three ladies each shown through at a different time. And never once do they come across as helpless when being up against the enemy. And I know that it is a TV show for kids from the 80's, but at least no gets raped to show how ruthless and evil one of the bad guys really were.

Keith Olbermann, great job sir

A calling to the carpet of Republican and Democrat congressmen and women who are working for the Health Insurance companies and railroading the Health Care reforms on the house floor.

Anticipation

I don't have anything new to add to the blog today, but I felt like getting some things down just to get them off my chest. Can't go into a lot of details either, so just bare with me. Had another interview yesterday and I think it went okay. I mean I hope it went great, but whose to say. I was so excited for the interview that I was literally bouncing around the house all weekend in anticipation. That was the worst thing that could have happened. Because unless I was handed a job right on the spot, which would have seemed super surreal the let down factor was huge. I literally came home after the interview and moped for about 3 hours because I had built so much energy into the pre, that the post was like coming off a high. So thinking positive thoughts today and seeing what I can do to still land this job, and if not, looking for the next interview. I WILL be successful in this City, in my dreams, and in my aspirations and on my terms. I just need reality to catch up.

San Diego Comic Con 2009

Had a blast at Comic Con this year. Went with the roommates Matt and Cindy and took my 16 year old cousin Matt for his first comic con ever. We had a ton of fun. Took a lot of pictures. Our day started at Perry's Cafe in Old Town for breakfast. We then hopped on the trolley and felt like tourists in our own city. Very novel. Toured the show floor for about two hours and then headed upstairs for hours and hours of panels. Great way to save money, kill time, sit, enjoy A/C, and see a lot of cool stuff. We walked in on the Spartacus panel which is a new show on Starz starting in January. Lucy Lawless was there. Very cool. Stayed for the Marvel Cup O Joe Panel. Very cool to see Marvel's EIC and some of the writers and operators and have them answer questions about why comic book prices have risen. No real announcements from that panel. Only negative thing is that 3 times I saw Joe Q and yelled out praise or hello or encouragement from like 3 feet away and not once did he acknowledge my presence. Ouch. Thanks Joe.

We left that hall but came back in for the Eureka panel, which had some really great actors having a good time hamming it up at comic con. And we saw the announcement that they are being picked up for 22 more episodes and a 4th season and the genuine reaction of the actors. That was cool. Stayed for the Marvel Animation Panel and saw the new animation for The Black Panther, Wolverine Anime, Iron Man Anime, Planet Hulk, Iron Man Adventures, Wolverine and the X-Men, Thor Tales of Asgard and more. That panel was just jam packed with announcements and great writers and people. Even Warren Ellis and Madhouse animation studios made an appearance. Last was the DC Animation Panel, and while I was geeked out for Green Lantern First Flight, Superman/Batman, Bruce Timm, Andrea Romano, Clancy Brown, Kevin Conroy, and Juliet Landau, I was underwhelmed by the announcements compared to the Marvel panel. Just one of those years I guess. Then we went home. Long, fun day.

You can see photos at the bottom of the page. Enjoy.

Comic Con and Thank You!

Tomorrow kicks off Comic-Con in San Diego. I cannot wait. I think I am going on Friday. Which should be fun. Friday and Saturday are always monster days as far as panels go, and I just heard there is an Adult Swim party at 4th and B Friday night. I may just go if only to meet the creators of the Venture Bros.

Back on the job front I got GREAT news this morning. An old friend of mine called me out of nowhere to tell me about a job opening that she thinks I would be great for. I was so thrilled I could shot milk out of my nose. Of course I have not had milk in over two weeks so that would be impossible. But the sheer thought of someone else thinking of me just made me feel like a good person. So I sent my resume over and am following up with a phone call as soon as I get the job's phone number. There is already a good word put in, and sometimes that is all you need in business and in life. So even if nothing comes of this, the fact that someone thought of me, called me, and said nice things about me for a great job has got me giddy and sitting on Cloud 9 of positivity today. Smiles. OH! And I am hosting Musicpalooza Singers (winners) at Anthology tonight. Should be a great show. :)