It's a great day

It must be. GFY just referenced "Derelicte". [Yes, I thought Zoolander was hilarious.]

Today was the first day in the annals of Deb Searches For Gainful Employment.

I woke up when Jeff kissed me good-bye, but went back to sleep and slept in till nearly 8 am. Not an auspicious beginning to DSFGE day, but I faced the world with a smile and got ready. I had elected to wear my pink suit from Windsor (so two years ago, but it's still pretty classy), and I got ready, but realized that my black tank top that I'd bought to match it was a little bit decollete, so I had to switch to my white tank top. Meanwhile, I had to finish my application for adjunct faculty for COS, printed out some necessary paperwork, and also printed out a few copies of my resume. I planned to drop off the application at the COS human resources office, and then make my way to a hiring fair that was going on for the opening of the new Jo-Ann's superstore (there's an explanation as to why I applied there) here in Visalia.

One thing to remember about me is that I'm a terrible people person. I can fake it really well, but the thought of going out and meeting a bunch of new people, while desperately needing to make a positive impression, is one that terrifies me. I also have low self-esteem. And when I think about how low it is, it makes me feel even worse about myself... Thank goodness (and Dad's genes) that I was blessed with chutzpah and some much-lauded acting talent. "And the Oscar goes to... Deb Feely for her performance in Confident Career Woman!!" Anyway, I had to build myself up, give myself a few pep talks, and do some deep-breathing exercises, before I went out to face the world. I had so much pep-talking to do that it took all morning. I decided to eat lunch, and tackle the world while I had a full stomach, and the interviewers were potentially dealing with post-meal sleepiness (all the better to impress them with my seeming peppiness). I brushed my teeth, gathered my stuff together, went out to the car, and left-- Wait, no I didn't! The car engine shuddered and clicked, but refused to turn on. Ugh! I was really stressed. The hiring fair at Jo-Ann's was today only, and Jeff was far away in Fresno. I called him, in tears, and he told me to call his mom and ask for a ride. This was a sensible plan, but I had it in my head that I didn't want to bother Debbie, so he called her for me, and she called me and told me that she'd be happy to come and get me, because she had to go to that section of town anyway.

We set off, and the COS errand was accomplished with not too much trouble (other than parking, which is always bad at COS). Jo-Ann's was just a bit down Mooney, so she dropped me off there and went to look in a different store in the strip mall area. I walked into the building, and it turned out that I had to fill out an application and then wait around till they got around to interviewing me. There were a couple of dozen people already there, most of them middle-aged women or teenaged girls. I was the most professional-looking of any of them, in my pink suit. [Yes, I own a set of pink clothing... a few, in fact.] Well, it was extremely boring for an hour or so; Debbie had returned from her errand, and was sitting around in the parking lot, poor lady, so I ran out and told her to run her other errands, and not wait for me. I chatted a bit with some other folks who were waiting (they chatted me up first), and they really were pleasantly nice, not fake nice, so I didn't mind chatting. People who work at stores like Jo-Ann's tend to be pleasant, overall. Anyway.

I was one of the last people interviewed, and my interviewer was a pleasant lady named Doris who told me that she was the operations manager for the new Visalia superstore. There were some typical interview questions, and I was able to explain that I came from engineering in the aerospace industry, but had recently moved to the Central Valley, and wanted to find a career that didn't involve WMD (no, really). She was impressed with my communication and problem-solving skills, especially when I described how I had approached various problems at my old job, and I explained that I was really interested in logistics/operations-type jobs, where my analytical and administrative skills could be put to good use. Her husband is apparently an engineer (I gathered from what she'd said), so she knew what I meant when I said, "With such-and-such an issue, I'd take an engineering approach..." and statements like that. Well, the upshot of the whole thing was that she told me I was one of the best interviews she'd had that day, and she was going to pass my application on to the HR department at the Jo-Ann's West Coast distribution center, which is also located here in Visalia. There were actually HR people there, helping with the job fair, so I was able to meet one of them and make (I hope) a good impression with my smile and firm handshake. I went out to the parking lot, where Debbie had just come back from another store, and started to get in, and then remembered that I'd had some copies of my resume with me the whole time, and had neglected to give them one, so I ran back inside and gave it to the HR lady, and she smiled and said, "We'll be contacting you". It seemed positive, so it was an encouraging start to the DSFGE process.

It was past 4 pm at that point, so there wasn't much else I could do today. Debbie treated me to Starbucks to celebrate the end of my time at the former job, and we went to my house and chatted for an hour or so. I was going to fix dinner for Jeff, so I asked if Debbie and Jerry wanted to come for dinner and have pasta. As luck would have it, they did, and even though it was somewhat haphazard (because it was short notice, and I didn't have everything started in time to have guests right away), the food was yummy and everything turned out to be okay. So that was that.

Jeff and I went to Costco for groceries and a car battery (to fix the car, naturally), and then just did some chores at home (i.e. Jeff put the new battery in the car). Jeff is now in bed, and I am headed that way as soon as I finish this post and the finish up the lunch I'm making for him (heehee, I'm becoming domestic). I just wanted to record everything for posterity, and also to give my loyal readers something more than a blip every several days.

Yes, I am now a RETIRED ROCKET SCIENTIST. And there was much rejoicing.

Blessings

While things are not 100% better, I have resolved a few things in my life that have caused friction.

-Christina is engaged to be married. I have had reservations about her relationship, but now have seen that she is happy and will be blessed. I am supporting her. She and I had a good chat, and worked out our tensions and worries. We still have to maintain open lines of communication, as is the case with any relationship, but I'm so grateful that we had enough trust and history to be honest about our thoughts and feelings, and enough commitment to work through differences.

-I led a mission trip nearly four years ago, and one of my team members was a young man with whom I had so much friction. We talked about it at the time, and settled our differences, but I recently realized that for some reason, it still sort of bothered me. I saw him online tonight, and we chatted for a while. We were able to talk about the problems we'd had, and I realized that as much as God used my relationship with this guy to teach me a lot, he had also learned and grown through the experience. We discovered that we just have completely opposite styles when it comes to life and leadership, and maturity enabled us to understand how, if we are ever in a similar situation, we can work together with the other person to maximize our strengths, rather than give into weaknesses related to conflict. I was so blessed to hear just a little of what great things God is doing in this man's life, and so blessed to be able to exchange thoughts and feelings, and have peace and joy about the situation.

The moral of these stories: If you have issues, seek out the person(s) that has (whether intentionally or not) contributed to them, and be honest about your struggles. Work it out. If you are an adult, you should take responsibility and be proactive.

More thoughts on personality

I thought about INTJs, who are believed to comprise only 1% of the population. We are quite the persecuted minority! How are INTJs generally portrayed in the media? Well, I came up with some fictional characters that are probably INTJ:

Mr. Spock of Star Trek
Mr. Darcy of Pride and Prejudice
Henry Higgins of Pygmalion/My Fair Lady

Mr. Spock is usually shown to be gentle and thoughtful, even in the extremities of his logic. His influence is almost always positive. However, Mr. Darcy and Henry Higgins are initially portrayed as being arrogant and selfish, and while these faults can be true of an INTJ, things can be misconstrued. Notice how Mr. Darcy's proud and prejudiced manner becomes softened to the reader when the thoughts and motivations behind his actions are understood. Suddenly, he moves from being a negative to a positive figure (remember, for instance, his logical and methodical handling of matters regarding Lydia's marriage in London-- he simply did what needed to be done, because it needed to be done, and no one else was doing it). Darcy is willing to alter an opinion he holds, when given sufficient evidence to convince him. Darcy isn't a different person in the second half of Pride and Prejudice; he just seems more human because he becomes more well-rounded to the reader, and the mind behind the man becomes apparent. Higgins is more brash and sometimes heartlessly domineering, but he is simply driven by devotion to his craft (linguistics), to the exclusion of nearly all else, and not by any desire to be mean; he just doesn't understand why the world doesn't understand. He is willing to reassess his views; when he opens himself up to acquire more information about his subject (Eliza, who he thinks of as a test subject until he notices that she is a lovely and charming young woman), he changes his pre-conceived opinions about her and about his work.

So there you have it. You'll love your INTJ when you understand what is going on in his or her mind, that makes him or her say and do those strange things. But don't always demand to know what your INTJ is thinking; our thoughts are very personal, and if we're not ready to share, it means we think our thoughts (extensions of ourselves) are not yet mature enough to be displayed to the world.

Drama drama drama

The situation in Papua Barat is becoming more and more heated.

Freeport-McMoran's antics are being scrutinized more closely. Will anything be done? It's anybody's guess. I have my reasons for thinking not.

A group of Papuans sought asylum in Australia, fleeing apparent persecution from the Indonesian government. Their fate is undetermined at present.

And a few days ago, some TNI troops allegedly shot some students, at least one of which was related to one of the aforementioned asylum-seekers.

Interestingly, people in Australia and New Zealand seem fairly aware of the goings-on, which are practically in their front yards. Most of the US remain ignorant.

Well, anyway, Jeff and I are staying over with Sam and Melissa. The guys are playing Worms, and Melissa and I are messing around on the computer (including posting on my blog) while waiting to watch some Buffy (I'm going to introduce them to 'Once More With Feeling', after which they will better understand Once More With Hobbits).

Um, let's see. I'm enjoying dreaming of becoming a parasitologist. It will involve much cuteness: See Giant Microbes and Parasite Pals.

In other news

Not much to report. Jeff and I drove down yesterday morning, and I worked all day. Then we met Mike for dinner at Little Java restaurant in Monterey Park (mmmmm, Indonesian food), and had a great time talking. Mike is doing very well right now; I have a lot of hope. Sadly, I forgot to ask him to tell us the story of how the Hari Krishnas stole his TV set.

After dinner, Jeff and I zoomed over to my parents house in LA, where Mom was happily surprised to see Jeff, as she hadn't seen him since Christmas and I didn't tell her that he was coming. We watched Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Dad and I discussed Johnny Depp's performance. Great stuff.

Now I'm at work, taking a well-deserved break.

Birthdays

Several significant people have had birthdays in the past week, and I was remiss in not mentioning them promptly.

January 19 - My beloved adik Michael.
January 20 - My dear friend Christina.
January 22 - My favorite sister-in-law Candace.

Making her appearance on January 20 was someone who I've never met, but she's my cousin's first child, so I sort of care (but not much) - LilliAnne Joy Randall.

So cute

I came into our bedroom just now, and both kittens were sleeping under the bed. Adorable.

We had a fairly slow morning, and went to lunch at Cafe 225 for Candace's birthday.

Laying low

I'm not at my best today. I heard that the school is not planning to hire me. The principal sent me an e-mail. Coward. Bah. I'm still looking for a job. But I'm eating ice cream and watching Sci Fi Friday right now. Oh, that wacky SG-1.

It seems that a significant portion of my life is messed up right now. People, situations, etc.

On the plus side, I'm looking forward to being done with my old job. It is definitely time to move on. I said goodbye to Glenn, as he will be in Ohio next week, so I won't see him again. He gave me a hug, and was all gruff and kindly; he said, "We never had children, but if I'd had a daughter, I'd like her to be just like you." Aw, Glenn. He is such a great engineer and excellent role model.
Next week, it'll be goodbye to everyone else. =(

Best Thing Ever

I love Lord of the Rings (and have for nearly 20 years-- bite me, all you trendy fans who arose because of the movies) and I love Buffy the Vampire Slayer (don't knock it till you've tried it).

Together, they are the best thing ever. Just the thing to brighten up your Monday!

PS If you don't get it, never mind.

Aw

Yet another classic star passes on: Shelley Winters is dead.

Love her or hate her, when she was on, Shelley Winters was ON.

Personality

It's the name of a fun song in Road to Utopia.

It's also something we all possess. I like to categorize people (systemization is a prominent feature of my personality, by the way), especially by the Myers-Briggs classification.

I, myself, am INTJ. Surprised? Read the descriptions of the INTJ personality type under "For more info" in the left sidebar of that linked page. Feel free to snicker at the way the various articles capture my foibles and idiosyncracies, right down to the standoffishness (with people I don't know) and tendency to live primarily within my own head.

So, dear readers, what is your personality? Do you follow INTJ or some other kind of type indicator? Are you attracted to people with similar personalities to yours? Opposite? Complementary?

By the way

Abigail claims it is Delurking Week.

I'm probably not cool enough to have lurkers, but if I have readers, feel free to leave a comment!

This week

I am with Sam and Melissa through tonight. They are addicted to internet Hearts (on Yahoo! Games) and Making Fiends.

Monkeys don't wear shoes.
Monkeys never lose their wallets.

I spent last night with Sherida. It was so great to see her, chat about life, and throw around ideas for her wedding! Sher is such a doll. She is a bit put off about planning the Big Event (she even made a blog about it), but fortunately, she has friends like Melissa, Jeri, and me, who will give her plenty of advice, and even lend a practical helping hand. Love you, Sherida!

The job sitch is not-so-fun, again. I practically had an offer for the teaching job, and had an appointment on Friday to go over a contract, but they called me yesterday, and said they had decided to explore options for filling the position internally. Whatever. I'm still keeping my Friday appointment, which will at least give me an opportunity to impress them further with my charm and expertise.
I'm even thinking about applying at Starbucks. The wage is considerably lower than what I make now, but when one adds in all the free frappucinos I'd be drinking, it would amount to barely any impact at all on net income.

The World of Duh

The people of New Orleans are getting a clue, and turning to the experts in flood control-- the Netherlands.
Great solution. In a word: Duh!

Oh, yes. To no one's surprise, La Pitt and La Jolie have spawned.

Quoth the raven

"I am realizing that term papers are stupid. Why should I write about something that a lot of other people have written? If a teacher wants me to give information on a topic, why can't I just put together a list of relevant articles and books, and hand it to him, saying "These people are all experts on the subject. Read what they have to say, if you care." Why should I waste my time reading repetitive stuff and summarizing in a repetitive paper for someone else?"
-Found in an old e-mail about how much I hate term papers.

Other quotes found while sifting through the BUBBS inbox:

"You say 'ragingly unstable pyromaniac' like it's a bad thing."
-From a post about Guy Fawkes' Day.

"I've also become somewhat convinced that the Pythagoreans were on some sort of hallucinogenic drug."
-From a post about some paper I was writing.

"Last night I dreamed that it was my wedding day all over again (Sweet merciful heaven, didn't I suffer enough the first time?), and my wedding was attacked by terrorists. I managed to escape, but my dress was all ripped up. Luckily, I had a backup wedding dress, but it was at my hotel and my car and keys and everything were at the church with the terrorists. I managed to walk to the hotel, with the side of my dress all torn away, but couldn't get into my room, and the hotel clerk at the front desk (played by VJ Vonk) wouldn't give me another key card until I paid her $1.00 (the amount you have to pay an RA to let you into your room if you get locked out), and I only had 50 cents, but she gave it to me anyway, only it wasn't really a key card, but a Biola ID card that would just get me meals at the hotel restaurant..."
-From a post in Chaos, in response to Melissa posting that she had repeated nightmares about things going wrong on her wedding day.

The world of D'oh!

Notice sent to employees of a major technical company after a rah-rah corporate event during which rah-rah trinkets (trendy colored bracelets, a la Lance Armstrong) were distributed to attendees.

"Please be advised that the [Integrated Leadership Team] Bracelets which were recently distributed at [Integrated Leadership Team] Awareness Week are not allowed while working in [the company's] labs and manufacturing facilities due to silicone contamination.
Thank you for your cooperation."

What we have here is a failure to communicate... and cross-reference appropriate spec sheets.

Here we go again

I am down south again for a few nights this week. I'm staying with the generous and hospitable Guthries. I forgot to warn them that when I'm away from Jeff, I don't sleep very well. In fact, I have INSOMNIA. But it's okay-- my body is used to it.

I had thoughts all day about what I should post on my blog, but now I can't bring any of them to mind. Weird.

If I think of stuff again, I'll just go ahead and post at work.

Life began again

The 2006 season of Sci Fi Friday premiered last night.

Stargate SG-1: More Ori fun.

Stargate Atlantis: More wraith hive ship fun.

Battlestar Galactica: Oh, the drama.


In other news, I have the lovely head cold that's been going around. Blah.

Dropping in

Just dropping in to say to all my homies. I'm quickly posting from work because it's the only internet access I have during the week. Elizabeth doesn't have internet in her apartment (!).

Hope everyone is doing well, their first week back from the holidays.

Happy birthday to Jeff! We almost didn't have a party for him, but Jerry drove the van and parked it along Goshen, where our back wall is. We were able to climb over our wall and drive over to the Feelys' for dinner with them and the grandparents.

We had a busy holiday season, and now it's over. I'm heading south tomorrow for work. I plan to be done with that stage of my life in the next week or so. I'm tired of everything, and life is not easy. Even though it was great to see all my family and many of my friends, I'm just tired.

I'm thinking that I probably will accept the middle school teaching job, if/when they offer it to me. It's the kind of work that I want, and it's only a few miles from home. As soon as I get a contract, I am so out of Boeing.

Till next time, I remain yours truly...

Flooded!!!

It is totally true. Our street is flooded, and we cannot get anywhere except by wading. The Central Valley (along with the rest of the west coast) is experiencing freak weather, with lots of rain. Since we have had no personal or property damage, Jeff and I are feeling free to view it as an adventure. More rain is expected, but just an inch or so.
http://www.pbase.com/jokerz17/flooded

In all honesty, though, I just prefer warm, sunny weather.

Selamat Tahun Baru!

We had a pleasant, low-key New Year Eve party, with the Wrights and the Winters.