Click here to view old videos.Hope
“Where do you see yourself in five years?” One of the grey haired men sitting in front of me asked.
“I knew you were going to ask that question,” I replied with a giggle. “Well, I’ve always wanted to answer that question by saying I see myself herding sheep in Ireland.”
The above statement is not from a story that I’ve written or a joke that I received in my email. It is part of the dialogue that occurred during the interview I had this morning with two men from the department of English Programs for Internationals at the University of South Carolina. Gee, that was a mouthful. No, I was not trying to sabotage the first interview that I’ve had since I got back from China. I was simply trying to show my personality. Thankfully, both men sitting in front of me realized it was a joke and laughed right a long with me.
The grey haired man chuckled. “Hey, that’s not such a bad thing.” For a brief moment, I think he tried picturing what it would be like to herd sheep in Ireland. He had that look in his eye.
So, yeah, I finally landed an interview this morning after applying for something like 50 jobs. It could be more than that, but I’ve lost count of how many I’ve applied for since I’ve been home. The only reason that I got this interview is because I called them up twice asking about the status of my application. If I hadn’t of done that, I don’t think I ever would have heard from them. I know that you are supposed to show interest by calling, but Phil hasn’t really called anyone after applying for his jobs and he’s had 4 four interviews. I guess people just don’t find my resume interesting enough or something. Although, I have no idea how I could make my resume any more interesting than it is now. I mean, I went from managing One Eared Cow Glass, to reading meters for Bermex, Inc., to teaching English to Chinese students in China. If my boss at a Taste of the South hadn’t been such a jerk and I had stayed there longer than a month, I could have added pecan packer to that crazy list. And if it hadn’t happened so long ago, I could have included dog washer, too. How could someone not notice my resume!? ; )
So, hopefully, in the next 7 – 10 business days, someone will give me a call and say, “Congratulations, you are the lucky winner in this edition of Russian Resume Roulette! When can you start?!”
I guess I can have hope.
I’ll keep my fingers crossed.
And my toes.
As well as my eyes.
And every hair on my head.
God, I am such a sick, sad, desperate soul.
I may be desperate, but I’m not quite this desperate . . . yet. ; )
i’m about to jump off a building. btw. your blog design is fly as hell. damn.
November 10, 2007 @ 3:34 AM
that is.. my job hunt is killer.
November 10, 2007 @ 3:35 AM
@ Zarandi – I’m sorry you are having such a hard time finding a job. I know exactly how you feel, though, and I can honestly say that. I hope something happens for you soon. I forget, did you major in English, too?
November 10, 2007 @ 6:25 AM
Hey, Gab. Good luck with the job hunt. I’m sometimes afraid to follow up with a phone call about my resume because I wonder if that when they finally come around to it, they say to themselves, “Okay, so this is the dick that keep calling.” LOL. You’re right though, it really does show you’re interested. Better than showing up at the office, breaking in through the roof, busting through from the ceiling and asking if they’ve checked out your resume yet.
That billboard ad was crucial. He’s one of the lucky ones that is looking for a job but still had money enough to buy a fucking ad. Anyway — good luck. I expect to read great news here soon.
November 13, 2007 @ 3:07 PM
I don’t know where to start. I began at your old blog and read that you were teaching English in China, and now I guess you are back home. What a cool experience about being in China. I wish I would have discovered your blog sooner. I guess I have some reading to do because I am sure you have some interesting stories. Welcome back home, happy belated birthday, and good luck with the job hunt.
November 14, 2007 @ 3:47 PM
@ Mr. Shife – Thanks for visiting and commenting. I hope you enjoy your time here.
November 14, 2007 @ 6:01 PM
Love to read your articles, especially My chinese headache. More importantly, I might find a good friend from reading your posts. Richard Guo (yuli Guo) may be my college roomrate in Peking university. Much appreciated if you can tell me his e-mail.
November 16, 2007 @ 3:56 PM
@Qihong Zhang – I don’t know how I feel about putting Yuli Guo’s email address here for all to see, but I can direct you to a website that should give you a phone number or an address or something like that. He lives in Beijing most of the time, but he does go to Canada ever now and again. The website is – http://www.wecl.com.cn/ If this doesn’t help you,let me know, and I may put his email here. Hope this helps.
November 18, 2007 @ 6:04 PM