And The Winner Is...

Lists, lists everywhere.  They are my only means of staying sane of late, of ordering the chaos, of remembering who to pick up, at what time and where.  With that in mind, I have decided to try something different today and to utilize my list-making skills on the blog and so I bring you the top 5 reasons why I have become an unemployment shrew. I hope you enjoy the new format and, as always, please feel free to comment if you do. Of course, if you don't, I would ask that you not share your opinion as one, I am already cranky enough and, two, this format will not be a permanent change to my blog. Thanks (insert smiley face emoji).

1.  The interview that keeps on giving.  Simply put, one goes on an interview or two or three, gets amazingly positive feedback, and then never hears from the company again, despite following up via email and phone.  Okay, so clearly the applicant did not make the cut, right?  Why complain?  I'll tell you why.  I feel it speaks to the de-personalization of the process as a whole.  Back in the day when snail mail was the only game in town, responding to all interviewees might have been a real issue, but with the advent of email, this truly becomes a moot point.  Additionally, I am not expecting that a company respond individually to anyone who applied for the position, but merely to the group who made it to the final round of interviews.  At most, maybe 5?  How tough would this be.  To make life even easier, how about a quickie email to only those few who bothered to follow-up, you know, the still-interested candidates.  It might be a nice gesture plus it offers closure. Common courtesy.

2.  Updated job boards.  Yes, I now that only about 2% of all job seekers actually find a job through a job board listing, but for the other fools who check them constantly (that would be me)  in the hope of being part of that small group, it might be nice to see positions that are still open and/or viable.  Perhaps I am over-simplifying the boards' maintenance, but somehow I doubt it.  Purge, people, let it go!

3.  The crazy questions from disbelievers.  First, let me say that I am right there with you.  No one and I do mean no one, can believe that we are going through this for the third time and that my husband is still out of work, more than I can.  Talk about being incredulous!  Jeesh!  That said, if one more person questions how hard my husband is looking for work, I think I may just scream. Do they think we enjoy living with all this stress?  lack of money?  fun? Even if we did, is it any of their business at all? Ah, no.

4.  Financial stress.  Enough said.

5. What to continue to tell the children.  I could go on and on about this one, but I think I will just keep my thoughts to myself.  Trust me, you are all better off for it.   

So there you have it, my vent for the day.  Apparently, the gloomy, rainy day is working on my oft sunny disposition. C'mon on, I could not even type that with a straight face please don't tell me that you could read it with one.

Social Media Mayhem

Choose happy.  Start your day with a smile.  So blessed.  I could go on but my brain does not work well when on optimistic overload.  I much prefer to write in my own reality even when it is far more real than I may want it to be at times.  Perhaps I am being too blunt when I ask if people really, truly believe the quotes they post daily, but after having read more than my fill in the five minutes I was perusing my mostly fashion-heavy Instagram feed, I cannot help but wonder.  Why do so many people feel the need to share all this motivational inspiration?  Do people who post these quotes believe that people don't choose to be happy or that they start off cranky everyday?  Are they gentle reminders or scream in your face demands?  I wonder.

Despite what you may or may not read on my blog, I genuinely do choose happy each day...it just seems that of late, happy does not want to be chosen by me or, rather, we are frenemies instead of BFF's depending on the day. Some days, I resent being told to start my day with a smile because it implies that I may have forgotten to do so or that I start my day with a scowl, which I don't (at least not often enough to mention).  I suppose I have to keep in mind  that the majority of my virtual blogger friends are far younger than I am, mere neophytes in the world of marriage, children and life in general.  At this point in their lives, they haven't a clue about what it takes to stay married for 26 years, all while navigating through ups and downs, good times and bad...and worse.  While I certainly know that problems do not exclusively belong to those who have lived longer, I think we can all agree that life's challenges certainly can color one's perspective and outlook.

That seems to sum up my rant du jour. Today, my black and white manner of dealing with life has reared its ugly head and I am craving some Jimmy Choo and Rag and Bone and the like.  That is inspiration enough for me to choose happy (at least for a little while).