Something Vague That We're Not Seeing

It feels like my job hunt is just not going anywhere, and I'm the only one to blame. I've scoured the usual resources, i.e. job websites and want ads, and so far I've come up relatively empty handed having only gotten 2 interviews. I feel so inept at this whole process that it just makes me want to give up.

When I last talked about my life, I wrote about an interview with a certain firm. That very firm wrote me back within a matter of days with my very own Dear John letter. While I didn't necessarily want the job, it was certainly disheartening to receive a response like that for a job I felt I'd interviewed so well for. I'm not heartbroken over the whole thing, just a little brought down by it all.

All of this rejection has me thinking about life as one massive series of acceptances and rejections. The menagerie of it all goes into every facet of our lives: socially, professionally, romantically, educationally, and metaphysically. In this, I can't lose hope because of the simple fact that I can't be refused and rejected forever.

I'm just going to keep plugging along until I find some place that will recognize me for the talents I have. Until then, I have to keep my head above water.

The Earth Is a Cold Dead Place

Watching the news while eating a nutritious dinner of Forman Grill-made hot dogs, I saw a story that has me more than a little concerned. Apparently some idiot made a video entitled "How To Kill a Cop" and posted it on that wonderful website youtube.com. He has been charged today with several crimes relating to the video itself, including but not limited to Corrupting a Minor and Making Terroristic Threats.

While guilty of being a complete fuckwit, I fail to see what crime this man has committed. He has simply made inflammatory statements on the internet. Who hasn't heard that one before? Heaven forbid someone say something objectionable on a medium that seems to be tailor made to piss off everyone in the world. This type of thing is just another step towards internet censorship, and we've all heard the phrase "the road to hell is paved with good intentions."

The story can be found here: 6abc.com: "Kill cops" rant lands man in jail 6/27/08

In other news: Jeff Carter has signed a 3-Year-Deal with the Flyers worth $15 million. Oh happy day.

Teenage Angst Has Paid Off Well

While I'm still tweaking and finalizing my Happy Mix, I've begun brainstorming another mix that seems to be a natural progression out of the last one. This time, I went the other way with it and picked songs that just seethe with angst and rage. Though this one has more of a genre focus than the last one (i.e. I'm tapping into my punk reservoirs for most of the tuneage), I feel that these songs can hit the target very well. Here goes (as before, there are some bands that are represented twice, but I'll only use one per artist on the actual thing):

• Brand New "Seventy Times 7"
• Nine Inch Nails "We're In This Together" OR "Wish"
• Pennywise "Fuck Authority"
• The Cure "One Hundred Years"
• Dillinger 4 "Mosh For Jesus" OR "Superpowers Enable Me To Blend With Machinery"
• Weezer "Why Bother?"
• Death Cab For Cutie "We Looked Like Giants"
• Stiff Little Fingers "Wasted Life" OR "Inflammable Material"
  
• Taking Back Sunday "Cute Without the E (Cut From the Team)"
• The Alkaline Trio "Fuck You Aurora" OR "Radio"
• The Smiths "Bigmouth Strikes Again"
• Rise Against "Dead Ringer"
• Strike Anywhere "Infrared"
• NOFX "Perfect Government"
• Cursive "The Martyr"
• Bright Eyes "Let's Not Shit Ourselves"
• Nirvana "Serve The Servants" OR "I Hate Myself and Want to Die"
• Anti-Flag "No Borders No Nations"

The completed track list for this and the Happy one will be forthcoming when I get them hacked down and properly arranged.

The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows

Yesterday's interview went very well, at least from what I could glean from the demeanor and reactions of the guy in charge of giving the thing. As the position is sales related and most of the work will consist of doing business over the phone, my experience in college with the fabled "Widener Fund" should prove to be a big factor in the whether or not I land this job. Stay tuned.

Another beacon on the career front comes in the way of nepotism. A relative of mine happens to be an editor with a magazine put out by Merion Publishing, the very same company I applied to not one week ago. Isn't it funny how these things just work out? Needless to say, this fine lassie is assisting me in getting in the good graces of the HR department and the head of the magazine that has the opening. While this is far from having a foot in the door, I have my fingers crossed nonetheless.

These past weeks spent looking for employment have left me feeling helpless and lost in this swirling world. It's like I'm a bit of drift wood caught in a tidal pull of paperwork and rejection. I long to break into my dream job, but if things keep progressing the way they have I'll have to settle for something much less rewarding. If only to stop living at home.

Sell Out With Me Tonight

I woke up this morning early (for me), and hopped right into the shower. After a thorough scrubbing, I shaved as best I could and began to put on my best suit. Put on deodorant, aftershave, and pulled a comb through my hair.

All this preparation into my appearance is owed entirely to my pursuit of a job. That wonderful, ethereal achievement that comes some time after graduation from college. Today was the day of my interview with J. G. Wentworth, a big firm that I found through a noted job search website. The position was described in completely nondescript terms; it's an entry-level Marketing Representative position.

When I arrived on the scene in Brynn Mawr, I came to the conclusion that the position could be either one of two jobs: a sales position that will require me to make calls to clients and such, or a creative position requiring me to come up with different bits of copy. After the rather brief but promising interview, I've found out that the position is more the former, so whoopee...

Thus ends a rather bland and banal entry of my lovely blog.

A List of Songs to Make Me Happy

An indeterminate amount of time ago, I was talking with my friend online and we came up with an idea that intrigued me to no end. Both of us being fans of boring, mellow indie music, we decided there were certain songs that just made us feel happy and smile (yes Jen, I'm talking about you). Even though the idea passed and our conversation veered into other areas, I began thinking about this "Smile" mix and what would go on it.

So far, I've compiled a list of nearly 30 songs that could make the grade. With a some thought and cutting, I should have a mix worthy of my ludicrously high standards. Here is the list of songs that I have compiled so far (note--there are multiple songs for some artists, but the final will have a one song per band limit):

• The Ramones "Do You Wanna Dance"
• Death Cab For Cutie "Sound of Settling" OR "I Was a Kaleidoscope"
• Beat Happening "Noise"
• Heavenly "Cool Guitar Boy" OR "C Is the Heavenly Option"
• The Cure "In Between Days" OR "Love Cats" OR "Just Like Heaven"
• The Beach Boys "Wouldn't It Be Nice"
• The Shins "Australia"
• The Beatles "I've Just Seen A Face" OR "Oh! Darling"
• The Monkees "I'm A Believer" OR "Daydream Believer"
• The Postal Service "Such Great Heights"
• Dntel "(This is) The Dream of Evan & Chan"
• Muse "Starlight" OR "Invincible"
• Simon & Garfunkel "The Only Living Boy in New York" OR "59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)"
• New Order "Age of Consent" OR "Weirdo"
• The Vaselines "Son of a Gun"
• Belle & Sebastian "Another Sunny Day" OR "Mayfly"
• Oasis "Don't Look Back In Anger" OR "Champagne Supernova"
• The Polyphonic Spree "Running Away"
  

This Is Not a Greeting

In the scheme of things, I guess the creation of a blog for myself was inevitable. It all makes sense given my proclivity towards inane ramblings and my fixation on journalism. Perhaps it makes too much sense. Maybe this is just too easy. Should I reconsider doing something so predictable? I can't do that now since I'm already this deep. Get it together, start making sense.

I'm not going to explain who I am or what I am like, that's simply too narcissistic and completely unnecessary--if you're reading this, then you know me and know what I am like. The thinly veiled attempts at self-deprecating humor I'd no doubt make would only serve to paint me as a pathetic waste digging for complements and ego-massages. It would be almost as easy and predictable as this blog's creation.

I've decided to make begin keeping this blog as a means to vent my feelings to the internet and attempt to make a cathartic pseudo-journal. Future entries will chronicle my life and times as so many blogs before me have done in many different ways: job hunting, movie watching, music listening, romantic failure, and anything else I deem worthy of my meager writing talents.

Peppered in with the verbose and completely pompous words I write will be the occasional obscenity since saying the word "fuck" makes me cool. The aforementioned pomposity will be used because I have a low self esteem and constantly need to make myself feel smarter; ergo I use words like "ergo" to that effect. That and I find it amusing to flex my lexicon at any possible time.

At different intervals of the year, the focus of this blog (that word is just so addictive) will shift to sports or music. This will noticeably happen in the Fall when the ice is freshly Zamboni'd and the puck is set to drop.

With that being said, I shall leave you with the first line of Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis, "When Gregor Samsa woke up one morning from unsettling dreams, he found himself changed in his bed into a monstrous vermin."