floorpie

When you’ve been unemployed as long as I have, it’s hard to stay up. When 470,00 job seekers just stop looking out of frustration, it makes it even harder. It is in those times that I take a long shower, sitting at the bottom of the tub with my arms wrapped around my raised knees and my head hanging in the water. There I think about things.

How did I get here?

How much longer will I be here?

What else can I do?

Shoulda? Woulda? Coulda?

It’s the last one that bites the hardest. For instance, should I have taken that job in Canada? One thing is for semi-sure: if I had, I would be employed. The fact that a large reason I didn’t take the job was the relative weakness of the Canadian dollar to the American one is both ironic and sourly laughable now. “I won’t,” I reasoned, “be able to move back the U.S. in a few years, as I would most assuredly want to, because all of my Canadian savings would amount to only half as much in U.S. currency. I’ll be stuck there!” Which I learned from my visit, is not an absolutely awful place to be stuck.

Having said that, though, I think of all the things that I would have missed. Living where I live, spending time with ADG, pursuing my dream of working in a field that is obviously impossible to work in… though there is some spiritual value in the pursuit, etc, etc. All things considered, I’d say it’s been more than worth it, if only to save myself from saying, “eh?”.

Sometimes (not often, but sometimes), you go to open your microwave; in which, you intend to put an amalgam of refried beans, tortilla chips, and unmelted cheese which will shortly become (in a manner of 60 seconds or so) nachos. When you open said microwave, sometimes (not often, but sometimes) you find not the usual expected sight of an empty microwave platform, but instead a bit more than half a dozen carrot-cake cupcakes, like so many magic mushrooms that have sprouted in the interim between the present moment and the last nacho-creation.

It is in those times that you remember, while admiring the cupcakes in all their frosted goodness, why your girlfriend is the best.

So there’s this contract job I’m looking into. Pays a lot. It’s with a company I may like working for. It’s a job first and foremost.

And it’s in Tennessee.

Wait, what did he say?

Yeah, it’s in Tennessee. There are the obvious issues of not-California, far away from ADG, far away from the beach, far away from friends… closer to family, granted, but Tennessee? Of course, I’ve never been there (Knoxville, specifically), so any judgment of mine is based mostly on hearsay and King of the Hill episodes (yes I know it’s not set in TN, but you get the idea). Anybody out there with firsthand experience have any comments? Anybody out there without firsthand experience have any comments?

Is it just me, or is OPEN TRENCH redundant?

Let me tell you about satisfaction (Which I demand, by the way… the satisfaction being that which I demand. Forget it). Satisfaction is growing something in your front 3’x10′ grassed in area yard successfully enough to actually get to eat it… like last night at 11:00 when ADG and I got home and did so. That’s satisfaction.

The fact that this level of defeat over Mother Nature should only come to me at the ripe old age of 28, somehow does not diminish the sweetness of my victory. Nor does the fact that, as a younger lad, I planted many a watermelon seed in the arid Texas ground, and “grafted” many a pine and citrus tree together with Scotch-tape in the wild of Southern California to no avail.

Not that I ever monitored them after setting them up for failure, of course; somehow I considered spitting watermelon seeds into the dirt in my backyard more than enough effort to produce stunning results.

But I digress. I have achieved victory, and it tastes… tomatoey.

October 7th marks the day, here in California, when Governor Gray Davis will face re-election a recall vote. I have mixed feelings.

On the one hand, I am certainly not happy with the state of my, err, state. Beautiful place to live? Yes. Worth $38 billion in debt? Umm, I don’t know any place that can justify that. Gray, by the way, has lamely suggested that the $36 million it will take to hold this recall/election is a waste of money we can’t afford. Pardon me, but I don’t want any money-saving tips from him in particular.

On the other hand, I don’t think electing a (presumably) Republican governor is going to suddenly make a budgetary surplus materialize. We will have the same problems, and it will most likely take several terms of a variety of governors before that elephant is paid down.

Of course, Arnold Schwarzenegger can do anything, so…

I also think this recall could set a dangerous precedent. What’s to stop any like-minded, wealthy, citizen from doing the same, and ousting someone he or she doesn’t like? It’s not as if Gray committed any kind of actual crime (that we know of, anyway); which would be a recallable offense. Instead, his constituents (such as myself) are mad and frustrated. If our government were based on the temporary whims of the people, we’d have new leaders every other week!

So, where do I stand? I dunno; but I have three months to figure it out…

Caption this blank area

Meaning, make this post your post and comment something blog-worthy. For those of you without a blog, consider this a dry-run. For those of you with a blog, consider this yet another medium on which to vomit your thoughts…

Ummm, what?

From: ???
To: THE webmaster

I am contacting you about cross linking. I am interested in floorpie.net because it looks like it’s relevant to a site that I am the link manager for. The site is about US Navy Seals products including: Navy Seal training, workout videos, manuals, survival gear, Luminox watches, and fitness books.

I keep the web address confidential and will send it to you only if you give me permission to do so. Just let me know if it’s OK, and I’ll send you the web address for your review.

Looking forward to your reply.

It’s really fortuitous that this should have come this morning, as I was just thinking about how so Navy this site is.

I hate the weekdays where I’m too busy and have too much work to post.

Which reminds me, I gotta go…

I like the weekends where I’m too busy and having too much fun to post.

Which reminds me, I gotta go…