So I went in for an interview at Starbucks last week. Not exactly my career path, but something to do while I'm looking for my next move. And they offer health insurance and free coffee!
The interview was pretty cut and dry. Obvious they were trying to gauge my temperament and if I would get there on time, be reliable, etc. She read the questions straight off a card; first time I've ever seen that before.
I felt kind of strange because, well, basically I have zero service industry experience. I have never worked in food or retail. The closest I can come to it is when I used to volunteer at the Humane Society in Boulder.
So all these questions come up like "tell me about the last time you had a complaint from a customer" and I have to answer with things like "well in my engineering job".... it was pretty obvious that this was just a stepping-stone for me. She saw right through me. Although, I think I was pretty honest by saying that I wasn't in it as a career move and the money wasn't all that important to me either. Why lie about it, when there's a good chance I could get hired somewhere else next week and have to quit? Well, not that good of a chance, but the possibility is there. It's only fair they should know what they'd be getting in to.
Needless to say, I didn't get the job. I wasn't really all that surprised; and actually not really disappointed. It would be nice to have the extra money, but I don't need it, and when I think about it, it would seriously cramp my social life, haha
So for now I just continue searching for that next great science gig. And with the holidays coming up, I'm wondering if it wouldn't be better to just put it off until after the new year, when I can really focus without too many family engagements. Ah, procrastination...
Monday, November 15, 2010
Friday, October 22, 2010
Old books
The funny thing about not having a job is how your sense of time gets completely thrown off. That great dividing line separating weekdays from weekends essentially disappears, and every day becomes like Saturday. Except that most of my friends, who do have 9-5's, are only available 2 of those Saturdays a week.
This leaves me with a great deal of time to catch up on things. Like television. The internet. Sleep. And books. Lovely, wonderful treasure troves of knowledge they are.
What is it about reading that makes it feel more honorable than watching TV? I suppose you could argue that it takes more imagination to dream up the universe presented to you in a book than to watch it on television, but really, you're spending time you could be doing something else, immersed in a story. Or, on those rare occasions when you're feeling particularly ambitious, perhaps educating yourself. Which I have routinely said I was going to do since I came home, and especially since my study materials finally arrived from Japan, but somehow have managed to avoid.
I was looking at the pile of books I have on the floor of my bedroom this morning. A smattering of travel stories, books on philosophy, science, religion, quite a few sci-fi adventures, and one humble, beat-up, old novel that is by far my favorite of all of them.
Anybody who has read "All Creatures Great and Small" by James Herriot knows it's a classic. Humorous, witty, charming, and well-written, it's the semi-autobiographical story of how he started out as a vet in northwestern England. It's one of only a few books that I find I can read more than once. Usually, once I've finished a story, I feel no need to pick it up again. In fact, I'm a big fan of passing books along once you've finished them, so you can share with others the types of things you're interested in. But this book, is different. I've read it more times than I can count over the years. It never fails to amuse me. And what's really amazing to me, is that I prefer to read the exact same book that I've been reading since I was a child.
I first picked this one out of my grandmother's modest library, one summer day in my childhood. I can't remember how old I was at the time, maybe 11 or 12. I was the only grandkid at the cabin that day, and I was bored. So I started a book.
I can't remember exactly how I ended up with it, but it might have been that I didn't manage to finish it before it was time to go back to Colorado. At any rate, I ended up with her 1973 copy, which I kept. My mom eventually bought a newer one so that I could send the original back to the its owner, but for some reason, I didn't want to part with it. So, Gramma got a new book and I ended up with this one.
The cover is literally held together with a piece of scotch tape, slowly disintegrating after years of use. It's been my travel book on many trips, making it's way, stuffed into bags and pockets, from country to country over several different continents. The pages are worn, the paper is old and faded, and you have to be careful when you read it not to tear them.
And still, it's my favorite. Perhaps because we have this long history together. Certainly because it's a good story. And very likely because inside the front cover, hiding unassumingly in the top-left corner, and almost completely obscured by the battered condition of the paper, sits her name. Neva Peterson.
Of all the things I inherited from my grandmother, save perhaps for a fabulous turquoise ring, this is my favorite. 13 years she's been gone, and I still have that connection. Through one beat-up, humble, and fantastically entertaining old book. That will have to fall to unrecoverable pieces before I'll ever part with it.
This leaves me with a great deal of time to catch up on things. Like television. The internet. Sleep. And books. Lovely, wonderful treasure troves of knowledge they are.
What is it about reading that makes it feel more honorable than watching TV? I suppose you could argue that it takes more imagination to dream up the universe presented to you in a book than to watch it on television, but really, you're spending time you could be doing something else, immersed in a story. Or, on those rare occasions when you're feeling particularly ambitious, perhaps educating yourself. Which I have routinely said I was going to do since I came home, and especially since my study materials finally arrived from Japan, but somehow have managed to avoid.
I was looking at the pile of books I have on the floor of my bedroom this morning. A smattering of travel stories, books on philosophy, science, religion, quite a few sci-fi adventures, and one humble, beat-up, old novel that is by far my favorite of all of them.
Anybody who has read "All Creatures Great and Small" by James Herriot knows it's a classic. Humorous, witty, charming, and well-written, it's the semi-autobiographical story of how he started out as a vet in northwestern England. It's one of only a few books that I find I can read more than once. Usually, once I've finished a story, I feel no need to pick it up again. In fact, I'm a big fan of passing books along once you've finished them, so you can share with others the types of things you're interested in. But this book, is different. I've read it more times than I can count over the years. It never fails to amuse me. And what's really amazing to me, is that I prefer to read the exact same book that I've been reading since I was a child.
I first picked this one out of my grandmother's modest library, one summer day in my childhood. I can't remember how old I was at the time, maybe 11 or 12. I was the only grandkid at the cabin that day, and I was bored. So I started a book.
I can't remember exactly how I ended up with it, but it might have been that I didn't manage to finish it before it was time to go back to Colorado. At any rate, I ended up with her 1973 copy, which I kept. My mom eventually bought a newer one so that I could send the original back to the its owner, but for some reason, I didn't want to part with it. So, Gramma got a new book and I ended up with this one.The cover is literally held together with a piece of scotch tape, slowly disintegrating after years of use. It's been my travel book on many trips, making it's way, stuffed into bags and pockets, from country to country over several different continents. The pages are worn, the paper is old and faded, and you have to be careful when you read it not to tear them.
And still, it's my favorite. Perhaps because we have this long history together. Certainly because it's a good story. And very likely because inside the front cover, hiding unassumingly in the top-left corner, and almost completely obscured by the battered condition of the paper, sits her name. Neva Peterson.
Of all the things I inherited from my grandmother, save perhaps for a fabulous turquoise ring, this is my favorite. 13 years she's been gone, and I still have that connection. Through one beat-up, humble, and fantastically entertaining old book. That will have to fall to unrecoverable pieces before I'll ever part with it.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
My name is Jen
Wow, a new blog! I kind of don't know what to say. The first post is always a little awkward. You know where you want to go with the project, eventually, but how do you start it off? Long, rambling self-introduction? Poetic discourse on the day's events? Some intelligent, witty remarks about society?
Personally, I suck at poetry. And I've been away from the U.S. for so long that I'm fairly behind on even the most mundane and common knowledge about culture and current events. So... I guess I'll go with option 1.
My name is Jen. I used to live in Japan. Before that, I lived near Denver, and I worked as an environmental scientist/ geologist for a relatively large consulting firm, for 2 years. Before that, I was in graduate school, and before that I was in college. I don't think we need to go any further back, it's essentially the same story every American has, and will eventually lead to a hot steamy night (or possibly afternoon, morning even) in the summer of 1979 that I'd really rather not think about...
Aaaaanyway, like I said, I've been living in Japan for the past 3 years. After much soul-searching, and consideration of the potential damage my science career had already taken, I decided not to renew my contract and returned to the U.S. in August of this year. For those of you unaware of, and interested in my exploits in Japan, I did keep a blog while I was there, which you can find here. This is, of course, assuming there actually is anyone reading this, which I would be surprised and amused by, considering I intend not to advertise it beyond putting up a final post over on the Japan blog about moving on...
So what's the point in creating this one? Well, basically, I have a lot of time on my hands. I came back from Japan and found myself, like so many in my generation, jobless, 30, and living at home. I've been networking, got my "profiles" out there, resumes up, troll the job boards, all that. But in this lovely economy, it's just going to take time.
I'm lucky in that I find myself in a situation where I can be picky about what I apply for. I saved a decent amount when I was in Japan, and living at home my expenses are pretty low. I'm well-educated, have some experience, and know what it's like to live abroad. I've decided I'm not going to apply for something unless it really piques my interest and gets me excited about it; which means, basically, that it might take me a looooooooooong time to find something.
So, in the meantime, here I am. There's only so much time you can spend in a day looking for work, especially when there are so few good ones to be found. I haven't had this much time off since I was in college. And once we get into November (and pass that 3 month mark), it will have been since before I started school... which I really can't remember anyway. I always said when I was in school, and then when I was working, that I couldn't wait to be retired. And now that I'm basically living that life, I find... it's kind of boring. Perhaps this endeavor will help to alleviate that, if only a little bit ^^
And so, welcome to my blog!
Personally, I suck at poetry. And I've been away from the U.S. for so long that I'm fairly behind on even the most mundane and common knowledge about culture and current events. So... I guess I'll go with option 1.
My name is Jen. I used to live in Japan. Before that, I lived near Denver, and I worked as an environmental scientist/ geologist for a relatively large consulting firm, for 2 years. Before that, I was in graduate school, and before that I was in college. I don't think we need to go any further back, it's essentially the same story every American has, and will eventually lead to a hot steamy night (or possibly afternoon, morning even) in the summer of 1979 that I'd really rather not think about...
Aaaaanyway, like I said, I've been living in Japan for the past 3 years. After much soul-searching, and consideration of the potential damage my science career had already taken, I decided not to renew my contract and returned to the U.S. in August of this year. For those of you unaware of, and interested in my exploits in Japan, I did keep a blog while I was there, which you can find here. This is, of course, assuming there actually is anyone reading this, which I would be surprised and amused by, considering I intend not to advertise it beyond putting up a final post over on the Japan blog about moving on...
So what's the point in creating this one? Well, basically, I have a lot of time on my hands. I came back from Japan and found myself, like so many in my generation, jobless, 30, and living at home. I've been networking, got my "profiles" out there, resumes up, troll the job boards, all that. But in this lovely economy, it's just going to take time.
I'm lucky in that I find myself in a situation where I can be picky about what I apply for. I saved a decent amount when I was in Japan, and living at home my expenses are pretty low. I'm well-educated, have some experience, and know what it's like to live abroad. I've decided I'm not going to apply for something unless it really piques my interest and gets me excited about it; which means, basically, that it might take me a looooooooooong time to find something.
So, in the meantime, here I am. There's only so much time you can spend in a day looking for work, especially when there are so few good ones to be found. I haven't had this much time off since I was in college. And once we get into November (and pass that 3 month mark), it will have been since before I started school... which I really can't remember anyway. I always said when I was in school, and then when I was working, that I couldn't wait to be retired. And now that I'm basically living that life, I find... it's kind of boring. Perhaps this endeavor will help to alleviate that, if only a little bit ^^
And so, welcome to my blog!
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