Timelies!

Shrift, good luck on giving notice and congratulations for leaving a job it sounds like you hated. Best of luck in future endeavors!

Hec, I've said how I feel before. It sucks. However, I'm really happy you have the book deal lined up, have a little money socked away, and have the great attitude that allows you to view it as an "artistic grant". I think you're going to write a kick-ass book and have a great time interviewing all those luminaries including possibly Waits hisself.

I completely empathize on the not wanting to be an admin stuff. I'm 40 and even though I do so much more than office support work, people view me as beneath them because of doing admin work. Even worse because of my age. They figure I must be a moron if I'm still doing admin work at 40. Nothing like getting looked down on by a 24 year-old with a communications degree from CHICO STATE.

Today is my last day at work. As well as the last day for 7 other people who were hit in this round of layoffs. I'm oddly chipper. While my future is by no means secure (I have no savings and live from paycheck to paycheck), temporarily at least, I feel a great weight lifted from my shoulders. There were things about this workplace I really liked and I'll be lucky if I get those traits in my next job, but my position itself was dead end and completely disrespected. So I got bitter and began having trouble shifting myself out of bed each morning.

I was very resistant to taking anti-depressants again, but it's been a good thing so far. I'm much more positive. I can see the bad points but I don't let them overwhelm me the way they used to. Which is INVALUABLE in my current circumstances. So today I'm feeling a bit up, eager to get out and get on with my life. I have a lot of work ahead as this layoff comes right about the time construction is finishing on the house. I will have a SHITLOAD of cleanup work to do from 1.5 years of lead paint, wood, and other toxic dust as well as having my stuff tossed around the house more times than an irate Skycap could have accomplished. I have lost things I have to find. I have to consult a lawyer to negotiate the weird territory of having renters but being a landlord-on-premises. Then I have to start the always yucky process of looking for housemates. And pray I can find people I can get along with before my money runs out.

Then there’s trying to give my life structure so I don’t fall into depression. Thank god it’s spring. It’s a sunny day today and gorgeous. This will make it easier to go out and take walks and ride my bike. I need to get back into a regular exercise habit and unemployment is the perfect time to do it. I need to make time for my art and this will be a huge challenge because the voices my parents installed in me will be screaming that I’m too broke to afford such fripperies, that I should be looking for a job 24/7 and that I should take anything because everyone works at jobs they hate and why should I think I’m so special as to deserve a job that’s actually fulfilling?

Today, anyway, I feel up. And I feel like it’s possible to meet these challenges.

They can fire you for being white or male?

Yes. They can't discriminate based on sex, race, color, national origin, physical disability (unless, say, you're blind and applying for a job as an airline pilot), religion, age (over 40).

I'm so confused. Now I'm sure that my question wasn't clear. If they can fire you for being white male, then they can discriminate based on race and/or gender.

Ah, well. I'm dizzy enough. I'm letting it go.

To drive a point into the ground, I asked if they could fire you for those reasons and she said "pretty much, yeah."

I believe we are having an epidemic of missing (or mentally inserted) "not"s and similar. Like in Allyson's post, above. I'm pretty sure she means No when she says Yes, given the rest of the post.

This is why the term, "reverse discrimination" makes my head explode. No one owns discrimination.

You're in my brain, Allyson. This is a huge peeve of mine. There is no "reverse discrimination", there's just discrimination.

If yes means no, dating just got a lot more complicated.

there's just discrimination.

It's sloppy. There's discrimination against the franchised, and against the disenfranchised. People just love to forget about the former being essentially the same thing, although rooted differently, and having many other different characteristics.

If yes means no, dating just got a lot more complicated.

Hee!

In other confusing news, the woman who was the biggest hard-ass on my trip (ie, doing school work at midnight when the rest of us were rolling in from dinner and drinks) has been sending all these "fun" emails about hanging out. Dude, seriously? Now you want to hang out?

It's sloppy.

I don't think I understand what you mean.

Dude, seriously? Now you want to hang out?

Seriously!

The meeting dumper didn't show to the meeting, despite his boss's assurance that he would. Neither did the other key player. Oy. Reschedule joy.

Seriously.

OK. I need to take a little walk to get lunch so that at least I leave the house today. Where to go, where to go.

I don't think I understand what you mean.

The term "reverse discrimination." People don't seem to mean "discrimination" before they put it in reverse, so much as "discriminating against the disenfranchised."