We lovessss them, the preciousesssss

[gwyn]

First off, I had a lovely dinner with tiashome last night, the first time we'd met, and she is every bit as delightful in person as she is online, and has the most wonderful laugh ever. I of course did my usual thing for when I meet new people, which is babble relentlessly and make an ass of myself by nearly choking to death in the restaurant. I can't be let out of the house, I think.

Second, I got my Vividcon DVDs last night and am going to sit down tonight and watch them, even though I should be working on this fic. Because squeee!! Tons of wonderful things to see again and pay more attention to, and tons of stuff I never got to see, including the challenge show vids. Preciousssss... I'm very, very excited. I love vids -- I love watching them, making them, all of it. Vids make me happy -- or, at least, good vids make me happy. Yes. I just wanted to give a shoutout to killabeez, astolat, flummery, and Carol and everyone else who worked on these things, not to mention the whole con itself. You guys did an amazing job and for $10 this is sooo cheap considering all the incredible hard work you guys put into it. Three cheers!

And third, thanks to everyone who has been so kind about my work situation. I honestly don't know what to do. There's very little steady staff work for editor types here in Seattle, and I can't afford to quit and hope and pray i could get contract or freelance. The other editor who left in Feb. during our layoffs then has been bouncing around from agency to agency and he told me a while ago that it's really kind of scary and haphazard. I have the health issues so benefits are a big deal, and then there's my constant fear of losing my house. I know the First National Bank of Dad is a very lenient mortgage holder, but I can't expect that to last for a long time if I was out of work. People seem to think I have too much experience and am therefore expensive (I want to shout, I will work for peanuts! I'm working for that right now!) or that since I haven't worked in that specific area before, I can't obviously work in it now (which is just the dumbest thing, but it pervades the editing field). Last time I sent out resumes, I had a new job in less than a month, even though they were afraid to call me initially because of potential salary issues; now I've not even had so much as a bite in the entire year I've been half looking. I don't really know how to use the online world for job hunting, though, so that's something I really need to bone up on. And the new head guy recently forced out the woman who was the heart and soul of our office because she was unhappy with some of the changes he'd instituted and spoke up; so I don't think griping about the conditions is going to get me much more than unemployed, which, while a better possibility, does make it even harder to get a new job. I want to be positive, but... there's little to feel positive about. But it's easier when I have such kind friends here who say nice things.

Comments

[onetwomany.livejournal.com]

I have no career advice to give - being stuck in a slightly similar position myself - but I do hope you find something better soon. You definitely deserve to!

[klia.livejournal.com]

It's worth checking craigslist.org, if you aren't already, and definitely put the word out on C-L and among your friends.

Your new head guy sounds a lot like the nimrod who took over the books division back when I worked for the publisher. He literally made life so miserable for the women in the office that I think all but one of us quit within 6 months. He was the meanest, most hateful and spiteful queen ever. I went so far as to file a complaint about him with HR, and when I finally quit, I told them he was the reason, and spilled lots of things they had no idea about. Not that I imagined anything would happen to him. People like that, well... SHIT FLOATS.

::hugs and more hugs::

[caille.livejournal.com]

Oh, jeebus, have you articulated the new economy or what?

I saw a headline today that said something like "Job Slump May Be Over", but I didn't have to go too far into the article to note that the brand spanking new jobs were primarily in the service sector. Paper or plastic? Caf or decaf?

Years ago I visited Russia when it was still the Soviet Union. They were very proud of having achieved "100% full employment". Yup, you can do that when you send out legions of working grandmothers to sweep the snow off of Red Square using twig brooms.

That was apropos of very little, huh.

[tiashome.livejournal.com]

It was lovely to meet you at last too, Gwyneth! Babbling? What babbling? I really enjoyed our chat :-)
And thanks for the fic recs btw. I bookmarked all the ones you mentioned last night and will start reading them tomorrow.

The Seattle job market sucks right now, but hang in there, chica. Hopefully the Powers That Be will soon notice that the new head guy's driving out good employees and will give him his walking papers.

[klia.livejournal.com]

My former acupuncturist was a doctor in China, and when she came here, boy, did she have a rude awakening. She couldn't get a medical license because she didn't speak English well enough, so she figured she'd just do something else, not realizing different professions paid different wages. Because, you know, communism, so the old grandmother sweeping the snow off Red Square with twig brooms made the same as the doctor who treated her for frostbite.

Yeah, service sector. ::shudder:: I'd rather stick needles in my eyes than *ever* go back into a service industry. Talk about thankless jobs.

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the info. I didn't even think about craigslist. Well, I never think about it, but I really need to go there and explore.

the worst thing about new guy is that I think he means well, but he just isn't open to understanding how it feels to work in a shooting gallery. And so if you can't go along with the program, then he thinks you'd be better off elsewhere. All he cares about is the aesthetics - he doesn't want monitor backs sticking out and showing everywhere, so we have to instead stare at a wall and have our backs to the open. Because, you know, it doesn't affect *him*. I've told him repeatedly it's disturbing, but he keeps saying "San Francisco (our head office) does it this way." And I'm like, yeah, but they have fricking half panels in a U shape so that their back isn't wide open. Does not get it.

[klia.livejournal.com]

There's no comparison. A U or L shape workspace offers a hell of a lot more options.

It really does amaze me how often people who "manage" others have zero management skills or knowledge, or even decent people skills.

I really hope you find something else soon! And seriously, ask on C-L. You never know. I think that's how Shoshanna got her job.