Tuesday, May 31, 2016
I have been listening to all this rhetoric concerning the celebrities who have decided that they no longer want to go to North Carolina to perform, due to the HB2 law on the bathroom and other rights issues that the state's legislature has passed. I have seen the list and I find the misuse of their position in "taking a stand against the hatred of the LGBT. AreIn't they doing the same? Isn't their cancellations of concerts that were contractually signed, showing a hatred toward anyone who doesn't agree with their opinion??? I don't seem them standing up for the rights of the women, a great majority of them, who have lost the right to use the restroom without a man....walking into the restroom and using it right beside me? It doesn't matter whether I feel threatened.......let's take our rights to a little privacy or at the very least just feeling uncomfortable using the restroom with the opposite gender standing right outside the door waiting his turn or in the stall next to me....and give consideration to a group of people who have decided to change genders. If they truly are transgendered and I couldn't tell then what did it matter anyway. However, if it's that important to them that they would put their rights over mine as a woman born that way, then why don't they take the steps to change it on their birth certificate? I realize that the HB2 law is suppose to be about more than just the bathrooms, but much of that has been that way for awhile.....in most states. I think that it's these celebrities who have cancelled engagement who have forgotten how they got to where they are. There are fans in all states....and I would bet that they wouldn't agree with all the laws of every state...but they haven't cancelled engagements in every state. They would risk losing the fans who have obviously been forgotten and disregarded, to "stand in the gap" for a few? Shame on them.....Ringo Starr even cited that"We need to take a stand against this hatred. Spread Peace and love
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Sometimes you want to go, where everybody knows your name!!
I have mentioned before that one of my biggest hobbies is doing Karaoke and it just so happens that one of our local restaurants has Karaoke every week. I am usually there with friends and some family members, and quite often I arrive before any of the others as was the case a couple of weeks ago. I no sooner walked into the place that the D.J. looked up and waved to me and our normal server came over and informed me that she was off duty, but another server was on her way with my usual Diet Pepsi....as I walked to our usual table. It occurred to me at that moment that I have my very own "Cheers". Oh the characters have different names and quirks, but we still have our regulars none the less with our own time frame. I show up around 8:30 each week, with my cousin arriving a short time later. Sue and her people show up around 9:00 and Barb rolls in around 10:00 or so. I am sure they are greeted with the same type of welcome I am. It's nice to walk into the room and hear the D.J. announcing the Karaoke rotation and your name automatically added. My Karaoke buddy Steve, will often show up as well and the D.J. will announce that Steve and Kim are in the house. It's probably not that big a deal to most people, but it truly is nice to go where everybody knows your name and they're always glad you came. Shelly (our server) is always so excited to see us come....and tells us so each week as well as taking good care of us. Of course it probably helps that we have Santa with us on occasion! He does not sing, but he enjoys himself just the same. Don't worry, so far no one is on the naughty list! We are not a rowdy crowd.........just a few people who enjoy singing songs we know well....(most of the time) unless the D.J. hits the Kamikaze button.....then it's every man/woman for themselves.
Sunday, January 27, 2013
God is seldom early and NEVER late!
Wow, I have really dropped the ball in keeping up with this blog. I can't believe I didn't post that Jon got a job.....yep...back in November! God has provided so much and His timing has been spot on every time. I guess I got caught up in my Awe of Him as well as the holidays that I didn't take time to post. Well, here's a brief update.....(yep..I know, I can't do anything brief, but I will try).
Back in Sept. we ran into a guy from the place he had previous been employed for just short of 24 years. In fact, he had left there to go to the place that downsized him. At the time he left we felt God pulling him there and of course, when he was let go I felt like maybe we were wrong, but ultimately realized that God has His reasons for leading us in the paths he chooses. I tried to hang onto that knowledge for the entire year he was unemployed. It wasn't easy....but God proved faithful. As I was saying, back in Sept. we ran into this guy and he tried to get Jon to come back for a position that he said Jon would be perfect for. Well......it just didn't feel right to him. He struggled with the possibility of a sure thing job wise, yet feeling like it just wasn't right. Something was tugging inside him. Much of it was the fact that the same upper management was still there; a big factor in his leaving in the first place. I could see the tension rising up in him as he contemplated going back there and while the thought of having a regular paycheck and insurance was very attractive to me, the thought of him having to live daily in a job that was making him miserable wasn't! So I told him that it wasn't right for him if he was having such a struggle with it. Jon isn't the kind of guy who brushes off work simply because it was unpleasant. No...this was God telling him to just wait....be patient....and hard as it was, we did!
Turns out God knew exactly what He was doing! Surprised? No....Amazed? Absolutely! It was about six weeks later that he spoke with a hunting buddy of his and found that they not only still needed people, but the old management was no longer there. So....on a whim Jon called up another buddy of his that worked there just to find out what was going on and if he should now consider trying to go back. After speaking with him it did indeed seem like the right time...so a few days later he stopped in to talk further with him and with a copy of his resumé in hand he ended up having interviews right on the spot and basically walked out with a job. There were other things that were playing out throughout this process that were even more amazing not the least of which he started the very week he received his last unemployment check....his unemployment had run out! God truly has perfect timing. I still keep hearing the words of our former associate pastor ringing in my ear; "God is seldom early and never late!" That phrase kept me going for the entire year....and beyond!
Back in Sept. we ran into a guy from the place he had previous been employed for just short of 24 years. In fact, he had left there to go to the place that downsized him. At the time he left we felt God pulling him there and of course, when he was let go I felt like maybe we were wrong, but ultimately realized that God has His reasons for leading us in the paths he chooses. I tried to hang onto that knowledge for the entire year he was unemployed. It wasn't easy....but God proved faithful. As I was saying, back in Sept. we ran into this guy and he tried to get Jon to come back for a position that he said Jon would be perfect for. Well......it just didn't feel right to him. He struggled with the possibility of a sure thing job wise, yet feeling like it just wasn't right. Something was tugging inside him. Much of it was the fact that the same upper management was still there; a big factor in his leaving in the first place. I could see the tension rising up in him as he contemplated going back there and while the thought of having a regular paycheck and insurance was very attractive to me, the thought of him having to live daily in a job that was making him miserable wasn't! So I told him that it wasn't right for him if he was having such a struggle with it. Jon isn't the kind of guy who brushes off work simply because it was unpleasant. No...this was God telling him to just wait....be patient....and hard as it was, we did!
Turns out God knew exactly what He was doing! Surprised? No....Amazed? Absolutely! It was about six weeks later that he spoke with a hunting buddy of his and found that they not only still needed people, but the old management was no longer there. So....on a whim Jon called up another buddy of his that worked there just to find out what was going on and if he should now consider trying to go back. After speaking with him it did indeed seem like the right time...so a few days later he stopped in to talk further with him and with a copy of his resumé in hand he ended up having interviews right on the spot and basically walked out with a job. There were other things that were playing out throughout this process that were even more amazing not the least of which he started the very week he received his last unemployment check....his unemployment had run out! God truly has perfect timing. I still keep hearing the words of our former associate pastor ringing in my ear; "God is seldom early and never late!" That phrase kept me going for the entire year....and beyond!
Sunday, September 9, 2012
I Wonder If Inept Drivers Can Play Kazoos?!
Ever since Kyle, our extraordinary grandson, was born, we have noticed that he has always been ahead of his age in strength and intelligence. I know, I know...everyone thinks that their grandchildren are exceptional....and that's the way it should be, because they are! It's just that Kyle seems to be able to do things that most children his age and size wouldn't and shouldn't normally be able to do. The other night he moved his rocking chair in front of the television so he could see better....this isn't just any child's rocking chair, it's very sturdy, a bit larger than most and very heavy. I have trouble moving it when I vacuum. Not that I can't...but I don't pick it up and move it a couple feet off the ground...it's more like an elevated scoot. Kyle, though grunting a bit while doing so, moved it a few feet from where it was sitting to a place in front of the Television. Since he's only 2 and almost 1/2 I was amazed!! I am amazed at a lot of thing; many of them are not Kyle related.....and not all of them are amazing in an awestruck kind of way. For instance, I am amazed at many drivers in this area! Some of them couldn't figure out how a 4-way stop works if their life depended on it...of course some of them can't figure out how stop lights work either!
Tonight Crystal came home from a birthday party for one of our friend's son who is turning 2. Kyle had gotten a Kazoo at this party...and was serenading us as he came through the door. I didn't pay much attention at first to what he had, until he came upstairs to say hi and starting playing his kazoo. Now I know that a Kazoo is simply an instrument that magnifies your own voice and adds a buzzing sound to it (which many people find more annoying than anything)....but it can work really well if it's done right....and by right I mean if it's done at all. He had figured out how to use this instrument and while you wouldn't think that it's that difficult, you'd be surprised at how many school age children who can't figure out how to make them work. I am referring to the time I worked in another building in the after school care program in which the children were given prizes for games like Bingo or rewards for various things that they should be doing just because it is a reasonable expectation of them. I am talking things like cleaning up after themselves when they make a mess...such as eating their snacks....sweeping up their own mess should not merit a reward.....it's called being responsible for your own actions....cleaning up a game and putting it away should not merit a reward.....in our house, if you don't clean it up you don't play with it the next time...there's the reward....you get to play with it again! It should be a given...you make a mess, you clean it up! Rewards should be given to children who do things that are above and beyond what is expected! If a child is told to clean up a mess they themselves made and they immediately ask, "Can I get something from the prize box?" There is a problem...you might just as well reward them for making the mess to begin with...
"Oh look Jimmy....you made a mess...WOW! and what a fine mess it is, you just go and get yourself something from the prize box, because that's an award winning mess if I ever saw one...and while you are at it, pick out something for breathing too...because you are just so darn good at it!"
Of course, when Jimmy goes to get a prize from the box, he can't figure out what to get because he's already gotten several of each item in there for various messes he made, cleaned up and good breathing, but eventually he digs to the bottom of the box and finds a couple of kazoos that either had been added because they were found in a cupboard somewhere or no one else wanted them, mostly because they were "broken". It amazes me how many kids returned the kazoos because they were defective....yep....they blew into them and they didn't make any noise..so they must be broken. When told how they actually work, some will take them, but most don't because finding out you have to add your own audio is just to much work! Imagine the same kids who can't be quiet when the request to do so is given, to the point of having to blow a whistle to bring some kind of order to the room, finds a kazoo and the need to manually add your own audio to make it work is just too much effort! To be honest, some of them just can't coordinate making noise and blowing at the same time! Oh, but if they ever do we would have to give them another prize, because the effort of manually making a toy work is just so above and beyond what they should have to expect from a toy...even a toy that was given to them for breathing in and out to begin with! I am not saying kids are dumb.....on the contrary....they are probably so smart that a kazoo is just to primitive for them. But isn't it sad that we have become a society of rewarding people/kids for things that should just be common practice. We have taken the reward of clapping for our toddler children when they accomplish something noteworthy way past the limits and we haven't stopped as they get older. Thus, I give you the "ME" generation! Probably explains why no one wants to wait their turn at stop signs...Ironically, they were probably the kid in school who whined the most about other kids "Cutting" them in line!
Tonight Crystal came home from a birthday party for one of our friend's son who is turning 2. Kyle had gotten a Kazoo at this party...and was serenading us as he came through the door. I didn't pay much attention at first to what he had, until he came upstairs to say hi and starting playing his kazoo. Now I know that a Kazoo is simply an instrument that magnifies your own voice and adds a buzzing sound to it (which many people find more annoying than anything)....but it can work really well if it's done right....and by right I mean if it's done at all. He had figured out how to use this instrument and while you wouldn't think that it's that difficult, you'd be surprised at how many school age children who can't figure out how to make them work. I am referring to the time I worked in another building in the after school care program in which the children were given prizes for games like Bingo or rewards for various things that they should be doing just because it is a reasonable expectation of them. I am talking things like cleaning up after themselves when they make a mess...such as eating their snacks....sweeping up their own mess should not merit a reward.....it's called being responsible for your own actions....cleaning up a game and putting it away should not merit a reward.....in our house, if you don't clean it up you don't play with it the next time...there's the reward....you get to play with it again! It should be a given...you make a mess, you clean it up! Rewards should be given to children who do things that are above and beyond what is expected! If a child is told to clean up a mess they themselves made and they immediately ask, "Can I get something from the prize box?" There is a problem...you might just as well reward them for making the mess to begin with...
"Oh look Jimmy....you made a mess...WOW! and what a fine mess it is, you just go and get yourself something from the prize box, because that's an award winning mess if I ever saw one...and while you are at it, pick out something for breathing too...because you are just so darn good at it!"
Of course, when Jimmy goes to get a prize from the box, he can't figure out what to get because he's already gotten several of each item in there for various messes he made, cleaned up and good breathing, but eventually he digs to the bottom of the box and finds a couple of kazoos that either had been added because they were found in a cupboard somewhere or no one else wanted them, mostly because they were "broken". It amazes me how many kids returned the kazoos because they were defective....yep....they blew into them and they didn't make any noise..so they must be broken. When told how they actually work, some will take them, but most don't because finding out you have to add your own audio is just to much work! Imagine the same kids who can't be quiet when the request to do so is given, to the point of having to blow a whistle to bring some kind of order to the room, finds a kazoo and the need to manually add your own audio to make it work is just too much effort! To be honest, some of them just can't coordinate making noise and blowing at the same time! Oh, but if they ever do we would have to give them another prize, because the effort of manually making a toy work is just so above and beyond what they should have to expect from a toy...even a toy that was given to them for breathing in and out to begin with! I am not saying kids are dumb.....on the contrary....they are probably so smart that a kazoo is just to primitive for them. But isn't it sad that we have become a society of rewarding people/kids for things that should just be common practice. We have taken the reward of clapping for our toddler children when they accomplish something noteworthy way past the limits and we haven't stopped as they get older. Thus, I give you the "ME" generation! Probably explains why no one wants to wait their turn at stop signs...Ironically, they were probably the kid in school who whined the most about other kids "Cutting" them in line!
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
To Sing or not To Sing....that was the question, among others!
I don't know if you have ever felt like you walked into a parallel universe, but it happened to us and some friends last weekend. There were 8 of us who wanted to go to one of our newest usual spots to do Karaoke last Saturday night. We arrived in time to eat and then planned to stay for Karaoke, but as it turned out, The manager made the decision to suspend Karaoke for the evening for "The Game." Now to us, "The Game" meant Notre Dame was playing, however, a few miles up the road, which is where we were, "The Game" meant Michigan was playing! So......3 out of 8 of us had smart phones and were frantically looking up places that might have Karaoke.... none of them seemed to be having much luck! UNTIL....Steve remembered seeing this little hole-in-the wall place, the neighborhood bar if you will, that had Karaoke 6 nights a week. So.....6 of us decided to check it out, after we ate. We couldn't be rude and just have soft drinks and water then up and leave....even if they did leave us high and dry on Karaoke...it just wouldn't be right.
With Dinner over with we headed up the road to the neighboring town on a quest for Karaoke! We found the little place and finally got parked and went inside. Of course, we couldn't help but notice the little crowd outside the building and I verbalized to Jon that it might be a good idea to go take the face plate off of my car stereo! He disagreed.....and this was one of those rare moments that I decided not to go back and do it myself! As we entered the place it was like stepping into a time warp of some sort. Seating was in an L shape sort of, with a pool table in one corner. The tables were all pushed together in rows for the most part so we politely inquired of some people at one end of a table facing the Karaoke stage if we might share the other end of the table. Once we worked out the seating Steve was ready to jump right up and put our names on the list to sing. I am not usually timid about that, except in the case where you have obviously crashed a party that goes on 6 nights a week and all eyes are on you wondering where you came from and how the heck did you end up here....and furthermore whatever possessed you to come inside!? Oh wait...part of those thoughts were mine! I felt like a teenager again.....like I was going to some forbidden place that I might get into trouble for.....but this time my parents knew about it and let's face it...I am well past the age of having to report to my parents. Oh I forgot to mention that there was a black light on the ceiling...and of course, we had to notice that Jon's shoe laces on his new shoes were glowing, as was the white part of the design on Cheryl's shirt. I did notice that the pages in the karaoke book glowed as well making really easy to read the song listings.
I usually like to listen to the music that people are doing if I enter a place that has karaoke already in progress....just to see what kind of music they are into, but it didn't take long to figure out that the chosen genre was "Country" and not just Country, but "Old Country". I almost expected Patsy Cline to come out of the ladies room....with Loretta Lynn right behind her...and while Patsy did not make an appearance, one lady did her own rendition of "Sweet Dreams" and it was pretty darn close to the real thing. Now our usual observation in Karaoke is that even with a large crowd, only a percentage of the people actually sing, but not in this case.....I would say over half the people in that little place sang...not only did they sing...but most of them sang rather well; a pleasant surprise I might add. I was still feeling a little weird though and all I kept thinking about was the song "Hotel California" not that I wanted to sing it, I was just feeling like we might be living it! You know.....like the little Karaoke bar that time forgot.....or some ancient buried city that you have to accidentally stumble across....only we did it on purpose....which makes it more like "Hotel California." But much to our surprise, the people, who obviously knew everyone else there except for us, were very friendly and they love to sing Karaoke as much as we do, and oddly enough their language and their actions were less offensive than some we have encountered in our usual places that are more up to date and close to home, which was another pleasant surprise!
At some point in the evening the music did a 180 and turned to Rock! They were now singing stuff like "White Wedding" by Billy Idol.....but there were some that did not deviate from Country.
I don't know what these people's stories are, what their lives are like, but they like to sing...a lot..and with 6 days a week to practice it was probably one of the best kept secret little Karaoke hideaways......but now we know about them! We probably won't venture that far from home on a regular basis, but we have another option when our usual places let us down! Especially now that we know that not only can we go in, but we can leave anytime we want!
With Dinner over with we headed up the road to the neighboring town on a quest for Karaoke! We found the little place and finally got parked and went inside. Of course, we couldn't help but notice the little crowd outside the building and I verbalized to Jon that it might be a good idea to go take the face plate off of my car stereo! He disagreed.....and this was one of those rare moments that I decided not to go back and do it myself! As we entered the place it was like stepping into a time warp of some sort. Seating was in an L shape sort of, with a pool table in one corner. The tables were all pushed together in rows for the most part so we politely inquired of some people at one end of a table facing the Karaoke stage if we might share the other end of the table. Once we worked out the seating Steve was ready to jump right up and put our names on the list to sing. I am not usually timid about that, except in the case where you have obviously crashed a party that goes on 6 nights a week and all eyes are on you wondering where you came from and how the heck did you end up here....and furthermore whatever possessed you to come inside!? Oh wait...part of those thoughts were mine! I felt like a teenager again.....like I was going to some forbidden place that I might get into trouble for.....but this time my parents knew about it and let's face it...I am well past the age of having to report to my parents. Oh I forgot to mention that there was a black light on the ceiling...and of course, we had to notice that Jon's shoe laces on his new shoes were glowing, as was the white part of the design on Cheryl's shirt. I did notice that the pages in the karaoke book glowed as well making really easy to read the song listings.
I usually like to listen to the music that people are doing if I enter a place that has karaoke already in progress....just to see what kind of music they are into, but it didn't take long to figure out that the chosen genre was "Country" and not just Country, but "Old Country". I almost expected Patsy Cline to come out of the ladies room....with Loretta Lynn right behind her...and while Patsy did not make an appearance, one lady did her own rendition of "Sweet Dreams" and it was pretty darn close to the real thing. Now our usual observation in Karaoke is that even with a large crowd, only a percentage of the people actually sing, but not in this case.....I would say over half the people in that little place sang...not only did they sing...but most of them sang rather well; a pleasant surprise I might add. I was still feeling a little weird though and all I kept thinking about was the song "Hotel California" not that I wanted to sing it, I was just feeling like we might be living it! You know.....like the little Karaoke bar that time forgot.....or some ancient buried city that you have to accidentally stumble across....only we did it on purpose....which makes it more like "Hotel California." But much to our surprise, the people, who obviously knew everyone else there except for us, were very friendly and they love to sing Karaoke as much as we do, and oddly enough their language and their actions were less offensive than some we have encountered in our usual places that are more up to date and close to home, which was another pleasant surprise!
At some point in the evening the music did a 180 and turned to Rock! They were now singing stuff like "White Wedding" by Billy Idol.....but there were some that did not deviate from Country.
I don't know what these people's stories are, what their lives are like, but they like to sing...a lot..and with 6 days a week to practice it was probably one of the best kept secret little Karaoke hideaways......but now we know about them! We probably won't venture that far from home on a regular basis, but we have another option when our usual places let us down! Especially now that we know that not only can we go in, but we can leave anytime we want!
Sunday, April 22, 2012
"Don't call us; We'll call you!"
So my last post was about being unemployed and the annoying third party sites that are used these days to screen potential applicants. Well....not much has changed. Jon is still unemployed and still getting the same old job listings from these sites. I think he recently unsubscribed to some of them, since they had nothing new to offer. I think that would be a sign that any companies with openings aren't using them. Of course, there was the one that had the education button to click....which sent all his info to all these schools calling our home phone hoping to get a new enrollment. It did stop for awhile and then picked up again. Of course, it's political season so it's hard to tell which ones are schools and which ones are political calls. We finally got fed up with them calling because the wouldn't just leave a message and be done..they would hang up and call back another time. Of course, we didn't answer then either. Finally, Crystal got tired of them calling so they gave the phone to Kyle. She prompted him to say "Hello" and he would....then stand there with the phone to his ear. They could hear the person on the other end asking for someone and then wait...and she would tell Kyle to say "Hello" again. This went on for a few moments until the person got frustrated and hung up. The calls have slowed up now and Arizona and Wisconsin haven't called in a while. Florida hasn't called much lately either. So hopefully those on the other end have passed the word along that it's pointless to call our number. They are only going to get a 2 year old who has nothing more to say to them than "Hello!"
As far as Jon's status goes...he is still looking and hoping.....he has something promising on the line, and is hoping that it will work out. We still do not have insurance and of course, I can't get it at my place of employment; a source of extreme frustration for me...but I won't even get into that. I do tend to get on my soap box as you can see from other postings, and well there just isn't enough room in this post or any single post for that matter for all the injustices in the world. I know, I know....I have to remember that God is bigger than any of this...and the best time to see just how Big He is, are the times you stare at what seems like an impossible situation (for us it is) and watch God make it all work out, and not just bring you to the other side, but bring you through with style and grace!
As far as Jon's status goes...he is still looking and hoping.....he has something promising on the line, and is hoping that it will work out. We still do not have insurance and of course, I can't get it at my place of employment; a source of extreme frustration for me...but I won't even get into that. I do tend to get on my soap box as you can see from other postings, and well there just isn't enough room in this post or any single post for that matter for all the injustices in the world. I know, I know....I have to remember that God is bigger than any of this...and the best time to see just how Big He is, are the times you stare at what seems like an impossible situation (for us it is) and watch God make it all work out, and not just bring you to the other side, but bring you through with style and grace!
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Wow...I really need to get on and write more often! I can't believe it's been another 10 months since I posted anything. It's not that I don't have anything to say....people who know me know I always have something to say! It's more like I just didn't have time to say it. Well....I have a moment and of course, I have something to say!
If you have never been unemployed or helped someone who has you will most likely not be familiar with the job hunting sites. Lucky you! 2011 was not the best year for us losing our dog Mocha and Lucy not handling it well...(we finally had to start crating her when we leave), but to top it off the second week of November Jon lost his job. Thanks to a "downturn in customer demand" translation...the government cut defense spending and like the Hummer Plant his company was hit hard and some one had to go! I of course, did not handle this news well. The last time he lost his job was back in 1983...another recession in progress and his company closed. It took 2 months for him to get another job, and even then you had to know someone to even get an application turned in. This time it's not that easy! Employers don't pay attention to their employees any longer. They don't care that a good employee with an impeccable work ethic may know of someone who can help their company as well. The only thing that employers care about is the bottom line.....!! No matter how hard you work, how much time you give them (and if you are salary you know it's much more than 40 hours) or how much you go out of your way to make things work the way they want it to (impossible though it may be) if you make too much money or they listen to the wrong people, the best person for the job may be the one who goes! Yes...I am a bit biased...but I am also married to a person with an impeccable work ethic who will also go out his way to make things work the way his employer wants it to. He has succeeded in pretty much every task ever given him by his employers. His biggest downfall? He doesn't have a piece of paper that says he knows what he is doing. Experience apparently doesn't count for much without a piece of paper that has a degree listed on it....no matter how successful you are! Someone once said to me that a degree doesn't say that the person knows how to do the job...it says they can be taught!! Well....I say the person with a successful record of 20+ years doesn't have to be taught....at least not how to do the job.
Anyway....that is not where I had planned to go at all! My beef this time is with the job search sites. You know...those third party sites that employers seem to be using these days. They screen the applicants and the pass along the resumés to the companies that listed their job openings with them. However, the sites that are suppose to be helping people seem to be more of a pain in the butt!!! They send and resend and resend again the same old job openings day after day week after week....including the ones you have already applied to....or to top it off they send you job postings that have already been filled by the time they even send it to you!! They waste your time by linking you to places you don't want to go. They even get you stuck on questions that are irrelevant, but you have to answer in order to go any further in the application process. One such site asked about furthering his education. Jon clicked on it thinking that he had to and then realized that he didn't have to do that when they said clicking on this will not hinder your application...so he clicked off of it....TOO LATE! even though he never hit send on this option he got a call from them...they seemed impressed with his resumé, but still tried to push the education stuff. The result??? We never heard from the company...not necessarily their fault....however, it does leave one wondering if they company ever got his resumé after all when he turned down the education part of things...(we need a job..people) that's why we applied to this posting!! However, what we did get was one school after another calling us.....at all hours of the day...and evenings including weekends!!! I didn't think we were ever going to stop getting calls from these schools! This went on for weeks...not sure if we still get them...since we have caller ID and most of them just hang up now instead of waiting for the machine and now that it's political season I suspect that we will not stop getting calls from all these strange numbers till after November!
So anyway...Jon gets on his e-mail regularly and of course, as I said....new postings in the subject line..only to find they are the original jobs listed back 2 1/2 months ago! Oh there was the time they were so gracious to send him a birthday greeting! Yep.....thanks for thinking of him...how about a legitimate job posting!!?? There was even the one site that linked us to a job application process that had to be bogus! Jon began the process of filling out the application on line only to put in the area code for our phone number and it said it was invalid. So...he tried again...and again "invalid." Hmm...I told Jon to put in the former area code and it took it. We haven't had that area code for at least 10 years probably longer! Wouldn't you think that a valid site would know that the area code was indeed valid? Especially after 10 years or more?? Not a site I would want to list my job postings with and certainly not one I would trust to have my personal information!
What happened to companies accepting and screening their own applications??? What happened top listing the jobs in the newspaper and letting people come to the company itself and either filling out the application or dropping off the resumé? Oh wait....they have downsized to the point that they don't have the manpower to read all the applications and resumés themselves. They would rather pay for a service company to do the screening for them....all the while they are making a buck on the side as well by linking to all these other obscure sites and taking applicants to who knows where? Is this how they screen? They send you into cyber space and if you manage to get back to them without getting stuck in cyber world or have your computer lock up entirely...you get your resumé successfully sent to the company...and even then I would be skeptical. I am sure they get kick backs from schools, insurance companies etc. In fact, one site actually listed a job for the Post Office.....a janitorial job, but it required you to still take the Post Office exam. Of course, you had to pay $39 for the study guide and they even had a button to click for you to purchase said guide....How Convenient! I have to say I wouldn't want to purchase anything from these sites and I wonder how many companies trying to save money by outsourcing the service of screening applicants are actually being taken to the cleaners by them!?!
I am not saying that all of these sites are crooked....but I have my suspicions that a good number of them are!! I mean how do we know that they didn't just copy the info from another site, list the job just to sell you something or get your personal info?? I think if companies want to get the most for their money and know they are getting what they pay for...they need to check out all the sites, use only one or two sites and list those sites under a heading on their own websites. It would save the person looking for a job a bunch of headaches not to mention time...and would most likely save the company a lot of money!
Well....as you can tell it's a very frustrating and exasperating experience. I wish I could say those days are done and Jon is now employed again...but that's not the case! If you have never experienced this...again...lucky you. It's unnerving to know that you have a steady paycheck one day and the next it's gone....and along with it, all financial stability not to mention insurance! In this economy it's not likely that Jon will even come close to the wage he was getting at least not from where we can see! However......our God is bigger than all of this....He can take an impossible situation (and believe me we have one) and fix it as quickly as it was all taken away!
Someone I admire and respect has a phrase he always uses and it fits for this situation for sure. "God is seldom early and never late!" I keep holding onto that as we continue on this scary journey through unemployment land! I can't say that I am always confident in it.....in fact, if I let myself see the reality of it all I am scared to pieces (so to speak). But then there are times when I am sure that God has a plan in all of this and I almost get excited to see where it will lead. I can't say that I am elated about having to go through this....not at all. And the days of getting excited about him applying some where or submitting his resumé in hopes that they will call are diminished. I want to believe they will call and I wish they would call, but the skeptic ( or realist as I like to refer to it) in me says don't get your hopes up.....you know there's not much chance they will call. I want to believe that God will fix this soon.....but sometimes I feel like soon isn't soon enough! Yet....God is bigger than all of this and impossible situations are His specialty! After all He can turn water....plain old water into the most delicious wine!! He took something with no flavor and made it the best tasting part of the celebration!! If He can do that....He can most certainly pull victory out of the jaws of defeat! After all "God is seldom early and NEVER Late!"
If you have never been unemployed or helped someone who has you will most likely not be familiar with the job hunting sites. Lucky you! 2011 was not the best year for us losing our dog Mocha and Lucy not handling it well...(we finally had to start crating her when we leave), but to top it off the second week of November Jon lost his job. Thanks to a "downturn in customer demand" translation...the government cut defense spending and like the Hummer Plant his company was hit hard and some one had to go! I of course, did not handle this news well. The last time he lost his job was back in 1983...another recession in progress and his company closed. It took 2 months for him to get another job, and even then you had to know someone to even get an application turned in. This time it's not that easy! Employers don't pay attention to their employees any longer. They don't care that a good employee with an impeccable work ethic may know of someone who can help their company as well. The only thing that employers care about is the bottom line.....!! No matter how hard you work, how much time you give them (and if you are salary you know it's much more than 40 hours) or how much you go out of your way to make things work the way they want it to (impossible though it may be) if you make too much money or they listen to the wrong people, the best person for the job may be the one who goes! Yes...I am a bit biased...but I am also married to a person with an impeccable work ethic who will also go out his way to make things work the way his employer wants it to. He has succeeded in pretty much every task ever given him by his employers. His biggest downfall? He doesn't have a piece of paper that says he knows what he is doing. Experience apparently doesn't count for much without a piece of paper that has a degree listed on it....no matter how successful you are! Someone once said to me that a degree doesn't say that the person knows how to do the job...it says they can be taught!! Well....I say the person with a successful record of 20+ years doesn't have to be taught....at least not how to do the job.
Anyway....that is not where I had planned to go at all! My beef this time is with the job search sites. You know...those third party sites that employers seem to be using these days. They screen the applicants and the pass along the resumés to the companies that listed their job openings with them. However, the sites that are suppose to be helping people seem to be more of a pain in the butt!!! They send and resend and resend again the same old job openings day after day week after week....including the ones you have already applied to....or to top it off they send you job postings that have already been filled by the time they even send it to you!! They waste your time by linking you to places you don't want to go. They even get you stuck on questions that are irrelevant, but you have to answer in order to go any further in the application process. One such site asked about furthering his education. Jon clicked on it thinking that he had to and then realized that he didn't have to do that when they said clicking on this will not hinder your application...so he clicked off of it....TOO LATE! even though he never hit send on this option he got a call from them...they seemed impressed with his resumé, but still tried to push the education stuff. The result??? We never heard from the company...not necessarily their fault....however, it does leave one wondering if they company ever got his resumé after all when he turned down the education part of things...(we need a job..people) that's why we applied to this posting!! However, what we did get was one school after another calling us.....at all hours of the day...and evenings including weekends!!! I didn't think we were ever going to stop getting calls from these schools! This went on for weeks...not sure if we still get them...since we have caller ID and most of them just hang up now instead of waiting for the machine and now that it's political season I suspect that we will not stop getting calls from all these strange numbers till after November!
So anyway...Jon gets on his e-mail regularly and of course, as I said....new postings in the subject line..only to find they are the original jobs listed back 2 1/2 months ago! Oh there was the time they were so gracious to send him a birthday greeting! Yep.....thanks for thinking of him...how about a legitimate job posting!!?? There was even the one site that linked us to a job application process that had to be bogus! Jon began the process of filling out the application on line only to put in the area code for our phone number and it said it was invalid. So...he tried again...and again "invalid." Hmm...I told Jon to put in the former area code and it took it. We haven't had that area code for at least 10 years probably longer! Wouldn't you think that a valid site would know that the area code was indeed valid? Especially after 10 years or more?? Not a site I would want to list my job postings with and certainly not one I would trust to have my personal information!
What happened to companies accepting and screening their own applications??? What happened top listing the jobs in the newspaper and letting people come to the company itself and either filling out the application or dropping off the resumé? Oh wait....they have downsized to the point that they don't have the manpower to read all the applications and resumés themselves. They would rather pay for a service company to do the screening for them....all the while they are making a buck on the side as well by linking to all these other obscure sites and taking applicants to who knows where? Is this how they screen? They send you into cyber space and if you manage to get back to them without getting stuck in cyber world or have your computer lock up entirely...you get your resumé successfully sent to the company...and even then I would be skeptical. I am sure they get kick backs from schools, insurance companies etc. In fact, one site actually listed a job for the Post Office.....a janitorial job, but it required you to still take the Post Office exam. Of course, you had to pay $39 for the study guide and they even had a button to click for you to purchase said guide....How Convenient! I have to say I wouldn't want to purchase anything from these sites and I wonder how many companies trying to save money by outsourcing the service of screening applicants are actually being taken to the cleaners by them!?!
I am not saying that all of these sites are crooked....but I have my suspicions that a good number of them are!! I mean how do we know that they didn't just copy the info from another site, list the job just to sell you something or get your personal info?? I think if companies want to get the most for their money and know they are getting what they pay for...they need to check out all the sites, use only one or two sites and list those sites under a heading on their own websites. It would save the person looking for a job a bunch of headaches not to mention time...and would most likely save the company a lot of money!
Well....as you can tell it's a very frustrating and exasperating experience. I wish I could say those days are done and Jon is now employed again...but that's not the case! If you have never experienced this...again...lucky you. It's unnerving to know that you have a steady paycheck one day and the next it's gone....and along with it, all financial stability not to mention insurance! In this economy it's not likely that Jon will even come close to the wage he was getting at least not from where we can see! However......our God is bigger than all of this....He can take an impossible situation (and believe me we have one) and fix it as quickly as it was all taken away!
Someone I admire and respect has a phrase he always uses and it fits for this situation for sure. "God is seldom early and never late!" I keep holding onto that as we continue on this scary journey through unemployment land! I can't say that I am always confident in it.....in fact, if I let myself see the reality of it all I am scared to pieces (so to speak). But then there are times when I am sure that God has a plan in all of this and I almost get excited to see where it will lead. I can't say that I am elated about having to go through this....not at all. And the days of getting excited about him applying some where or submitting his resumé in hopes that they will call are diminished. I want to believe they will call and I wish they would call, but the skeptic ( or realist as I like to refer to it) in me says don't get your hopes up.....you know there's not much chance they will call. I want to believe that God will fix this soon.....but sometimes I feel like soon isn't soon enough! Yet....God is bigger than all of this and impossible situations are His specialty! After all He can turn water....plain old water into the most delicious wine!! He took something with no flavor and made it the best tasting part of the celebration!! If He can do that....He can most certainly pull victory out of the jaws of defeat! After all "God is seldom early and NEVER Late!"
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