Well, here we are, 3 classes every 2 days (2 MWF and 1 TTh); plus however many hours I squeeze into the door to door sales with Verizon.

Yep, Terry returned to work yesterday, and, predictably, came up with nothing. -___-

For use on males ages 18 - 30, how does the pitch "And besides, anyone who doesn't want FiOS... is gay." sound?

I swerved to avoid hitting another vehicle, hit black ice, lost control, and ended up rolling over in the median of I-81.

I am fine, aside from one scrape.

The car is totalled.

Staying with Zippy until Sunday morning, when I woefully board an Amtrak back for Albany.

School starts for the semester on Monday, work resumes same day.

Fuck.

But before I get to the title subject, some updates from the past week and a half-ish.

I lost my job last Tuesday. After several months of only seeing my immediate supervisor about two hours a day, and an evaluation where more than half my point losses were due to areas I received no training on, which he even admitted, but had to abide by the district manager's ruling.
The whole region was understaffed, and I understand that there was really no valid chance for me to be trained past the bare minimum skill-set. The person in my position in one of our neighboring offices (Schenectady and Troy are a stone's throw from one another) also gave his two week's notice during my time at the Troy office, so I knew the situation wasn't going to improve.
There's a lot more detail I could go into about all the reason I'm glad to be out of that job anyway, but I'm trying to continue the mostly positive buzz I'm on now.

~Interlude~
Spanish 101 (Elementary Spanish II) is kicking my ass. Even if work schedule doesn't conflict, I may have to withdraw from this course until I can take the lower level one, as the expectation is right now pretty much that I recall the content I barely got by with in the '99 - '00 school year of Walter Panas High School.
~End Interlude~

I took the evening of my job loss to just blow off some steam and sulk, and thank you to everyone who offered words of support that night.
The morning immediately after, I reworked my resume, and made an errand run to hit up every temp agency in town to give them an updated copy. I also replied to every eligible listing on Craigslist and CapitalRegionHelpWanted.com . I got a couple callbacks, and a LOT of automated e-mails just phishing for online college applicants. -__- Thursday I was fairly busy with something related to school, if I recall correctly.

Oh yeah, there was also (VERY fortunately) a lot of time spent at my freelance job. I checked in with the guy who runs the club twice a day to make sure if he needed anyone to fill in or not. Made significantly more than enough to cover being unemployed for a week or two. Significantly more. Remember this, I'll get back to it shortly.

I managed to get an interview lined up for Monday when I went out Friday, and that weekend decided to indulge myself with a little pick-me up with the last of my pocket change. I nosed around Toys 'R' Us in seek of the one or two new Transformers I'm still seeking, and, on a whim, went into the video game section as well. Also on a whim, I asked one of the employees "I'm sure you get asked this all the time, but do you have the Wii in stock?" (something Amanda and I have been considering getting for a while)
"No, but come back Tuesday morning. We're getting a shipment then."
@_@
In a college town, where in demand video game consoles are pretty much the biggest selling items, I was shocked that there had been no mention of this in the Sunday flyer, and no signage up in the store about it. Perhaps gripped by madness, I concocted A Plan.
If there was any time to camp out overnight for a purchase, why not do it now, when it's two months warmer than it'll be on Black Friday? Also, at this point, I was looking at the Wii as an investment. If I was still unemployed two months later, I'd be needing to pad my budget a bit, so I could probably re-sell the system for a nice profit. I talked it over with Amanda, and she told me what a good Jew I was becoming.

The weekend completed, back to the schoolwork grind on Monday, followed by an interview with people from Verizon FiOS. I was a little hesitant, as the company was just opening a local office around here for the first time, (they've got a regional center, but that's quite different) and the interview was being held at a Starbucks. (Rrrrrrr.) I sat down with the two interviewers, gave them the usual introduction, and then settled in to the particulars.

~Interrupt~
The REAL screw-job factor of when I lost my job? It was three days past the final add/drop for classes. After I'd taken on a four-mornings-a-week 9 - 10:15 class. Yeah... how do you think THAT looks when seeking gainful employment?
~End Interrupt~

As I talked with the guys, and mentioned my scheduling problem (but also that I was willing to drop the course if necessary), one of them stopped me. "You're looking for permanent work, with room to advance, right?"
"Oh definitely."
"I want you to look this over." *hands me a pay-stub*
*observes what translates to upper 5-figure annual pay* "....I see."
"I can set you up as a sales rep instead of the admin position, and you'll start work at 11 daily, and be making that kind of money in about two weeks."
O_O "Uhm... okay?"

So I ended up being signed on to sell Verizon FiOS door-to-door.

After D&D Monday night, I went by TRU on the drive home, to see no crowds, and no signage. Altering my plans slightly, I went home, got just shy of four hours of sleep, then went out there again. After some hours of dozing in the car, and not nearly a large enough crowd to make me feel vindicated (they've still got them in stock two days later now 0.o [word must not be getting out]), I emerged triumphant with a Wii. And because I was gainfully employed again? I got the extras to go with it. System, WiiPlay w/wiimote, extra nunchuck, Smash Bros, MarioKart, Super Mario Galaxy, Zapper w/Link's Crossbow Training, and two sexy Wiimote wraps; all in my greedy clutches.

Later that morning (Tuesday) and the day after, I had classroom training, and despite my all-consuming fears (I was the second youngest person in the training group, and the only one without prior sales experience) I was told I did very well.

Tuesday evening, Amanda's mom took us out, along with Amanda's brother, to The Melting Pot (fondue restaurant). Epic delicious. Afterwards we swung by Toys R Us again, and Amanda picked out two more games, Spyro and Twilight Princess.

Today I went in to the regular office (small local branch; training was at regional) and met the small crowd of sales reps that are in town for us to shadow for two weeks and learn from. More practice with identifying the demographics we approach, and particulars of the service, and then we had a break for lunch, with various schedules having people wander off for a while. Guy in charge declared a hiatus for the day until four (was about 2 at the time).

And then I hear the conversation topic shifting to "So what are some good strip clubs in the area?"

...que?

I tried to stay out of the conversation, not having anything to contribute, but it became pretty clear that everyone still at the office was going, and I obviously couldn't be left there by myself.

Copy-pasta from giving Zippy the details:
 
LadyMWZip (9:57:11 PM): how goes/
GoggleBoy83 (9:57:19 PM): today was... different
LadyMWZip (9:58:14 PM): oh?
GoggleBoy83 (9:58:19 PM): yeah >_>
GoggleBoy83 (9:58:25 PM): umm... we had a long lunch break, and...
GoggleBoy83 (9:58:38 PM): a bunch of the sales reps went to a strip club and took me with them
GoggleBoy83 (9:58:53 PM): now mind you, I've worked outside one, but this is my first time ever actually BEING INSIDE a club
LadyMWZip (10:02:05 PM): ...... I seee
LadyMWZip (10:02:21 PM): sales reps?
GoggleBoy83 (10:06:28 PM): the guys training me and the other new ones
GoggleBoy83 (10:07:25 PM): copy-pasting from other window
Send Message Failed. Message is too long.
LadyMWZip (10:09:13 PM): ... training you where! @_@
GoggleBoy83 (10:09:25 PM): GoggleBoy83 (10:02:20 PM): the info was pulled out of me that I'd never been to one before
GoggleBoy83 (10:02:43 PM): and halfway through my burger, a very pleasant dancer came up and told me one of the others had bought me a lap dance
GoggleBoy83 (10:03:04 PM): I was too stunned (was as tense as a support post) at that point to object
GoggleBoy83 (10:03:14 PM): but in honesty... it was fun, and I felt a lot more relaxed afterwards
GoggleBoy83 (10:03:39 PM): I gave her the singles I had as an additional tip, and she told me I was adorable and kissed me on the cheek
GoggleBoy83 (10:03:57 PM): and frankly, being that nice a customer felt nice in itself
GoggleBoy83 (10:05:06 PM): I ended up buying a lap dance from another girl that sat down to chat with our table when she asked; since she'd been the one on stage when we came in (the point at which I was still staring around in shock, but was a little too timid to actually walk up and lay money on the stage)
LadyMWZip (10:09:25 PM): I didn't know you'd found a job again!
GoggleBoy83 (10:09:27 PM): GoggleBoy83 (10:05:21 PM): she asked where I got my earcuff and other piercings, and said I probably like to get a little freaky when I'm out of my work clothes
GoggleBoy83 (10:05:36 PM): overall, it was a fun outing, although I don't think I'd ever want to go back during peak hours
GoggleBoy83 (10:05:58 PM): there were maybe ten guys there (3 o'clock), and it was very laid back
GoggleBoy83 (10:06:12 PM): topless only on stage, and no crotch contact for the lap dances
GoggleBoy83 (10:07:17 PM): I hate crowds of "typical" men, that's a big part of why I've never been to a strip club before
GoggleBoy83 (10:09:31 PM): .... I didn't tell you that?
GoggleBoy83 (10:09:39 PM): I should update my journal, shouldn't I? yes.
LadyMWZip (10:10:35 PM): Nooo, you didn't! I'm so glad for jobbing!
LadyMWZip (10:10:47 PM): And ooh, sounds like an interesting experience!
GoggleBoy83 (10:12:05 PM): I'll take you there next time you visit
GoggleBoy83 (10:12:31 PM): wasn't made to feel cheap at all for tipping ten dollars on the second lapdance (the one I paid for myself)
LadyMWZip (10:13:30 PM): Awesome
LadyMWZip (10:13:30 PM): <3

Interesting... isn't it?

So, after all that was concluded, we headed back to the office, got partnered off with the visiting sales reps, and went out to start knocking on some doors. The first door we knocked on took forty minutes, but it was a sale. After that, only a half-dozen more doors, most of which were flat-out no's, or nobody home; with two 'be backs' for tomorrow and Saturday.

So I have a new job, with friendly people. I work outside of an office for all but one hour a day. I can make scabloads of cash, if I'm willing to work hard for it. I make my own hours with how many doors (off a list I'm given at the start of the week) I want to knock at per day, in a six-day work week. It's going to be hard work, but I really think I stand to earn more than any job I've had before.

You hear that? It's the big deep breath before the plunge.

Wish me luck.

I know I still owe you all a more detailed post about my job loss, but I have something else to voice.

If the Republicans win the Presidential election, I AM leaving the country. Most likely for Ontario.

No really, I mean it. I'm not joking in the least.

Zippy, you interested in renting a house for you, me and the precious, and possibly Karen?

ETA: I'll apparently be filing for a temporary separation, as Amanda doesn't want to leave her horse behind.

I can has meme?

Apologies for warping of f-lists. Will put under cut in a couple days.

For the second day in a row, I've found myself spinning in my office chair, throwing my arms up and squealing "I'M GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!"

And then a minute later "And getting married. That too."

Good to see where my brain's priorities are.

And in other happy news, I'm now shooting all juice, no seeds. :D

So yeah, infertile and going to Disney World, and all excited about a party that will be filled with cake and presents. I AM seven! ^_^

Okay, so, I've managed to hold an awesome job for the first month! Go me!

I'm working as a Staffing Coordinator / Assistant Branch Manager for Able Body Labor. It's basically a temp agency, but for grunts. Warehouse work, landscaping, dishwashing, you get the idea. I'm one of only two people in the office most of the time, and it's not uncommon for me to be the only non-temp in the building. I work 9 - 6, with potential overtime due to this one client that our branch serves, and can't afford to piss off (branch turned 3.8 million last year, and 1.3 of that was from the one client). Thankfully, those bastards seem to be automating, and we've gotten enough new consistent clients in the past couple months that I might not have to deal with the fuckers. :D

It's kind of sad how proud I am of having business cards for the first time.

I also had to hit the silent alarm to call the cops week before last when some applicant started flipping out when I told him he didn't have the right forms to verify eligibility of employment. Fun.

--

After Amanda and I left Jen and Roy's wedding reception* rather late Friday night, my mom showed up at 8:30 Saturday morning to help us move. >_< Appreciated, but UGH. Amanda's mom showed up a couple hours later, and then we were OFF. All the stuff we'd been meaning to pack up in the preceding weeks got assaulted by a two mother fueled packing machine. I was essentially the mule.

I'm still trying to figure out what Amanda did.

I tell ya, even though you're SURE you've packed up all questionable materials, there's nothing quite so terrifying as hearing your mother's voice from you and your fiancee's bedroom, calling "Whoever's toy this is, you better come figure out where to pack it!"
It was just my Reno Play-Arts figure, but still! @_@

And even after we all collapsed around 1am, mom still had the energy to get me up at 8:30 SUNDAY as well. -___-

With the help of a further additional car (yay for Amanda's friend James), we probably cleared at least 80% of the entire apartment's contents, including all the heavy items (bed, entertainment center, etc). All that's left now is pretty easily manageable by me and Amanda. It's just a matter of trips whenever we have the time.

Our new place isn't perfect, but it's ever so much roomier and more comfortable. Our queen-size bed no longer takes up 80% of our bedroom!

The kitties seem to approve.




Photo-dump from AnimeNorth coming eventually, I promise!



*I Rick-Roll'd Jen and Roy by asking the DJ to play it. :D Jen laughed and cringed and shook her fist at me when I announced she'd been Roll'd. Roy, sadly, was not hip enough to understand what was happening.

New Hobby: Watching Amanda get consecutively shocked and amused by the developing plot of One Piece.
"....Another nutcase just joined the freak parade, didn't they?"
"Pretty much."

And, with that out of the way, where I'm at currently. :\

Two Mondays ago (last one of January) I got a call from the temp agency that my employment with ValueOptions was concluded. Someone would pick up my personal items from my cubicle for me.
The rest of the week was spent scrambling for more job interviews and generally mentally imploding. Consecutive fails, because of the Monday 4:15 class. After a lot of deliberation, to the point of a stress ulcer over the weekend, and I dropped the course the following Monday, one day before the final day before which to avoid a "W" grade.

Sure enough, that helped open up some more job prospects, interviews were a little friendlier, and I was feeling more confident. Filed my unemployment claim. Last week however, I went to a job fair for an aviation services (ticket checking, wheelchair attendants, etc) company that operates at Albany International. Got offered a three-day per week position on the spot. Only 8 bucks an hour, but I couldn't turn it down and still legally claim unemployment. They asked me to start training on Monday, and so I agreed. The position is only around for a couple weeks though, as changing TSA laws are forcing the independent contractors out of ticket checking jobs. After that, I get a different level of security clearance and start working as a wheelchair attendant (6.25 an hour + tips).

So... yesterday and Tuesday... I started work at FOUR IN THE MORNING at the airport. This was NOT COOL. Mercifully, there was a last minute change of plans for today and I only had to work 12 - 5. <3 Now, for the next two weekends I work 12:30pm - 9pm Saturday - Monday as a ticket checker. It's not a really difficult job, has plenty of downtime to catch my breath, and the 'workflow' is entirely manageable, along with nice coworkers. If not for the lousy pay, I could probably be happy with it for a while.

However, yesterday I got a call back from Hudson Valley Community College, where I interviewed for a Senior Typist position a week or two ago. They said they'd call me back regardless of their decision, so when the secretary said where she was calling from, I braced myself for the worst.

She wanted to schedule an appointment with the department chair. When I had some questions about the nature of the position (they previously asked me as an interview follow-up to fill out an application for a civil service exam related to the position), she transferred me to speak with her directly.

"This is basically a formality, since I'm supposed to have met you in person at least once before you start working for me."

@_@!

She wants to meet me, and then my resume goes before the college's board of trustees, who get the final say, but the dept. chair told me "I basically get to hire who I want."

If I get hired, I start soon-ish, then take the service exam in mid-April, which I only need to PASS (Point of reference: I placed top scores for the five-year block on all the civil service exams I took in Westchester), and then I have secure employment.

This is a CIVIL SERVICE JOB FOR A COLLEGE. Meaning the pay sucks when looking at the larger community (10.019 per hour), but has sweet benefits. But more importantly, job security! Annual raises! Health and dental coverage (which I just lost since I had to drop that class I mentioned before)!

I want this job so bad, but I'm almost afraid to hope for good things to happen at this point.

I can do this job. I can do this job WELL. It's relatively close to home, and still easy enough to get to the SUNY campus from. No nights or weekends.

Want.

After surviving 12 hours and 45 minutes of Best Buy on Black Friday, I emerged victorious, with a decent laptop for under 250, a 500GB MyBook external hard-drive, and a wireless-G router.

For those of you blinking at the time increment, it actually wasn't that bad. Just takes some advance preparation. (I swear I wouldn't do this for a video game system, but circumstances* demanded I get a new laptop, and this was the only way to fit one in my budget.) Multiple layers of clothes, books, comfortable chair, blanket, and DS Lite. I didn't go all out like some of the people that showed up with lounge chairs, sleeping bags, tents, and propane heaters. I swear to you, there was an RV in the parking lot.

Pussies.

Making the 11.5 hours (minus bathroom use) spent outside in Albany November weather (20's-30's) easier was the fact that the people nearest me in line were very friendly, no clusters of children near me (except one little sprog that was there with it's mother to keep daddy company (for a while), and the fact that Hot Dog Charlie's (only place in the foodcourt that is neither chinese nor franchise) opened up the deep fryer between 9 and midnight. Mmm... curly fries and onion rings. Very awesome of the owner to do that.
Had some nice chatting, and watched Leno and Conan with a guy that had a portable tv.

News crews came by every so often to gawk and point, at various points throughout the night. The real fun came around 2 in the morning when people started lurking around the front of the line, just eyeing up where they might cut in. Oh HELL no. But Best Buy apparently does the whole Black Friday thing better than anyone in the area, according to some of the shopping veterans. And sure enough, police cruiser rolled in at 2:30; real police too, not the mall rent-a-cops. No bullshit was allowed.

At a quarter to 3, Best Buy employees came out with the claim tickets for the most limited items, and I just grabbed whatever laptops came near me, handing back the tickets as cheaper ones came along. Even if I couldn't get the one I was looking for, I was getting the cheapest one possible. I was down to one that was 350, when I saw the one I was looking for approaching.. and get sold out four people ahead of me. :(
:D But salvation occurred minutes later when one of my conversation partners from earlier handed over their ticket for that one to me, saying they realized they already had one very similar. This was after a discussion with them earlier where I made them understood I was trying to get a cheap laptop that still had S-Video output, for use at the anime club. Sometimes it does indeed pay to be social I guess. (:

As the doors were readying to open, you could FEEL the tension in the crowd. Oh, worth mentiong before I forget: I was somewhere around 50 (judging by the rate of laptop tickets disappearing) in line, in a line of at least 500 people. I got in line at 5:30pm the night BEFORE. The people FIRST in line, arrived at 9am Thanksgiving Day. @_@ Here I thought I was being prudent just leaving straight from emptying my plate.
The doors opened and it was like Leonidas and the Spartans leading a charge. My ankles got whacked more than a few times by the carts behind me, but I walked it off. There were color-coded stations throughout the store based on the claim ticket you got, and arrows in duct-tape on the floor marking the way to each. Mercifully, the two tech-related sale items that were NOT ticketed were on the way. I also paid the kid of the guy in front of me in line for claim five dollars to run and grab me whatever seasons of House (also on sale) they had on sale. Only had season 1, but oh well. Why not just get it myself you ask? Well, the formula I worked out is that for every minute you spend out in the free range area of the store, is 20 minutes you'll be spending on line. And I believe it.

Got my computer (with all-in-one printer!) and other items checked out, then departed for Target, the other place with the seasons of House on sale. Rather than hunt through the regular parking like a stray dog after Hurricane Katrina looking for a squirrel or unattended child, in search of a parking spot, I just dealt with distance and walked up to the store, which was just letting people in already. Oh there was many a laugh at the steely-eyed shoppers trying to find parking close to the store.
Thanks to the maneuverability I nurtured in high-school hallways, I was in and checked out with my second season of House inside of 20 minutes, tops. Lurched my way back to the car, got on the highway, and got my ass home in time to fall into bed at the tender hour of 7. Amanda, mercifully, waited until I got home from work (Yeah, I had work from 12-4, after 3.5 hours of sleep) to taunt me for being insane. I do not refute this.

So now I've racked up some very nice items, and am left on an austerity budget (holiday shopping aside).
Amanda's now calling me her 'kept boy'. I am amused by this. (:



*My current laptop has been sent off for repairs after finally verbally wrestling with various warranty red tape. However, a consumer report I dug up shows a very high incidence of this company declaring damages being due to being dropped, which warranties don't cover. If they say they can't repair it, I've got this new laptop as a backup.