((((Cindy))))

I'm sorry the movie plans went awry -- but perhaps you will be able to try again next week. . . (hoping that Reel Moms is at least a weekly event.)

Cindy, I'm sorry.

Congratu-fucking-lations, Erin! {{Cindy}}

The job-ma is bizarrely strong today. All around town there are these fliers for Jobs To Save the Environment, so I figured what the hell, I like the environment, let's give them a call. They're some sort of campaign headquarters, because in the spring, they were JOBS for SOCIAL JUSTICE. The organization is PIRGIM, Public Interest Research Group in Michigan. The cause of the day is water use laws.

I was on my way to the post office, and it turned out their office was just down the street, so I stopped in. I wished I'd shaved.

I filled out some contact information, and then the guy explained about the campaign and water issues and how we need the public to write to the legislature about passing water use laws and whatever. I'd never really done anything like it before, but he threw out a scenario about someone who said he'd paid his taxes, he'd voted, he'd done his part, buh bye. So I said that was only a show of general support, whereas this would be a way to show support of a very specific issue.

He said he'd never thought of it like that before, good, which was weird, since it's not like I'm a stultifying bastion of original thought. Then he asked me why he should consider me, and I was all, "Well, you liked my answer there, didn't you?" Then I added stuff about being an English major and being good with words and communication and making complex issues easily understandable to the layperson. He asked for leadership experience, and I mentioned editorial positions on literary magazines and producing halftime shows at Rice.

I was completely going off the cuff here; I hadn't really expected to answer a lot of questions just yet. I hadn't given him a résumé or anything.

But he thought I was a strong candidate, obviously smart (I'm still baffled as to how people get this impression, not that I think I come across as stupid, but I'm not the most articulate improvisational speaker) and good at communicating, and he offered me an observation day so I could see what they did.

Which, aaaaaah. I mean, that's a step away from being hired on sight right there.

Of course, I hadn't expected to be so well received, and I don't know whether I really want to do this. For one, the hours suck. 2-10, Monday through Friday. The base pay is $250 a week if you get an average of $100 a day, plus bonus (fifty percent of the surplus) if your average is higher. And I don't even know whether I'd be any good at this. Yet, I am desperate for money, and I don't know when the hell a real job will get back to me, or if I'll have to move, or when I'll have to move, or anything. And I don't know what happens if I take the job and then I either hate it or find something else. I'm allowed to quit and shit, right? I don't know what to do. It'll depend on what happens on observation day, I guess.

I was thinking of taking a friend's suggestion that I whore myself out to the medical center, offering to write reviews and edit manuscripts...FOR A PRICE. Which, frankly, would probably be more fun and more useful in the long run, if less profitable.

But eeeeee, Jeff just e-mailed me. He's serious about submitting my review for publication. Of course, that means I have to look at the damn thing again.

I've found them in the freezer, in a show, by the toilet.

In a....show? Like Cabaret?

Yay, P-C, I hope it works out for you.

Could you guys send some of today's super strong job~ma to Teacup Guy? He could really use a better job and soon.

{{Cindy}} Sorry for the bad day.

Thanks, everyone. It's all little stuff. Pecked to death by ducks stuff.

I'm glad so much Buffista jobma is coming to fruition, lately.

Thanks, everyone. It's all little stuff. Pecked to death by ducks stuff.

Little stuff can get overwhelming if there is enough of it, especially in this heat.

It's cold now, sj. We had to close our windows. The rain this morning, and then later this afternoon really cooled things off. That's a good thing. I couldn't stay at Ben's baseball game last night, because I was too hot.

The organization is PIRGIM, Public Interest Research Group in Michigan. The cause of the day is water use laws

Avoid this job like the plague, unless Michigan PIRG is radically different from Maryland PIRG, which would surprise me. Basically, you go door to door soliciting for donations (and possibly selling stuff, I don't really remember). You get a cut of whatever you collect. I knew three guys who signed up together in college, and they all quit within two weeks. None of them made more than pocket change. It sounded like the work environment was weirdly borderline cultish.

I mean, try it if you want, but there are better ways to make a buck. Register with a temp agency or take a retail job or something first -- at least then you're inside.