WYFP is our community's Saturday evening gathering to talk about our problems, empathize with one another, and share advice, pootie pictures, favorite adult beverages, and anything else that we think might help. Everyone and all sorts of troubles are welcome. May we find peace and healing here. Won't you please share the joy of WYFP by recommending?
Welcome to this week's edition of WYFP and boy, do I have a treat for you! Instead of going for the typical "pick one issue to talk about," I decide to list a Top Ten of the issues bothering me (space prohibits all of them) so that seeing them in one blast like this will actually make feel bad about complaining (or maybe send me leaping off the nearest bridge). Enjoy!
I'm still jobless: No news here -- this is one my more familiar complaints. I was foolish though, I really thought I'd have some sort of job by now. And yet, I can barely get called for interviews. Even when I think I do well on interviews, nada -- I never even heard back from Bank of America and I thought I did a solid job. The only positive is that I had another phone interview with Citizens Bank which went well enough that it seems likely I'll have a face-to-face with the branch manager. The downside is that I'm competing with a couple of internal candidates he has already interviewed.
I've been gaining weight: After losing a significant amount of weight and maintaining it for a while, I've been creeping up (by about 10 pounds). A lot of that is the whole jobless thing -- I'm not moving around as much and even with regular exercise and attempts to get out my apartment, it's hard not to snack. The stress I've been feeling hasn't helped in this area.
My back is still driving me crazy: A few years ago I pulled a back muscle moving my futon when I bought a real bed and it's never been right since. That particular aspect feels better recently, but it seems like while one side feels better, another muscle is pulled -- right now I'm dealing with lower back. Heat therapy is what has been keeping me going; I recently wore out the heating pad I had.
My computer is dying: I've been getting BSOD's disturbingly often (most related to a modem issue) and it's been running slowly. Recently, and error has disabled my virus protection so everytime I log on it spends time downloading. While I'm going to try system restore again, I know I could just bring it to Best Buy and let them look at it. I'm just concerned about being away from it when I rely on it for job searching and want to find a way to back up my files first.
I don't know if I'm going to get into graduate school (or pay for it if I do): An update to this is that I heard from Boston University and they waitlisted me (again). I'm beginning to think they do that to everyone instead of giving outright rejections. And an MBA is important since it's going to help me transition from a retail career.
I miss books: Maybe a minor issue, but after spending nearly two decades in book retail, I really hate being out of the loop. I barely recognize anything on the bestseller lists anymore and I hate not being able to see a new title that would interest me. On the plus side, I just got a library card and just took out three books I would have normally read long before this.
I can't sleep: Well, that's not completely accurate. I eventually do, it's just the getting there and staying there that's a problem. Finding a comfortable position is also a problem; if I even stray from being on my back, the pressure builds up in a particular spot and I have to shift. And by the time I'm truly fatigued, it's time for me to get up.
I constantly stress out over stuff: A lot of it is autonomic -- particularly nervous stomach before any important action (like a job interview). But there's also the constant "post-game analysis" I do after an interview or meeting when I constantly pick apart everything I should have done.
I can't seem to write anything substantive: Not only is this on a personal level, where I've had trouble doing a follow-up to the novel I published years ago, but just on a Daily Kos level. For a while, I was contributing comments regularly, but now can't think of anything to add, let alone any diaries. I just wish I could find something that inspired me.
I can't escape Miley Cyrus: Okay, this may seem frivolous, but I listen to about three digital music channels and I run into that damn "The Climb" song about half a dozen times daily. My brain will soon be dribbling out of my ears.
Whew. Thanks for sticking with me through this. Ultimately, I don't have any problems remaining optimistic. Especially on a day like this where I can bask in the glorious weather, I still look forward to the next day and always have a plan B to work on when things don't pan out. I just have to believe with a bit of effort on my part, this too will pass.