The Saga Continues

If it weren't for my wonderful little family, I think I'd be at my wits' end right now, having still not landed a job.  As it is, things are pretty great, and I'm grateful for every extra day I get to spend with Rob and Olive without work getting in the way, so there's definitely an upside to this unemployment plague.  My interviewers yesterday had assured me of a callback today for a second interview, but no call ever came.  In fact, Rob intercepted my only call today: a telemarketer from Viking Magazine, who he deftly shut down by telling him that "no one by that name lives here," and the woman made a note to take my name off of their list.  Nicely done.  Feeling a little bit discouraged, I set out on bicycle to Shadyside, the quaint neighborhood with several blocks of higher-end shops and restaurants, to enquire - in person - about employment.  I went into at least ten establishments and completed nearly as many applications, and even found myself inquiring about an apprenticeship at a jeweler named Cesar's shop ("Yes and no," he told me, asking me to come see him tomorrow.  We'll see.)  What I appreciated most about this humbling series of errands was that no one made me feel like an idiot or treated me with condescending sympathy; all of the shop-folk with whom I dealt today were really very nice, making my quest almost enjoyable.  I won't go into the details of where I applied, for fear that this kind of exposure may jinx my possibilities of timely employment, so for now I'll hold off until I've been promised a position.  And don't think for one second that Rob has been exempt from the job hunt; he's also been scouring Craigslist for fork lift and crane-operator jobs and submitting his resume.  Having an income again will be nice - helpful, certainly - but I do quite like the way things have been for so long, both of us being home together with Olive (with the exception of the summer).  Moral of the story: Jobs are good, but family is great.