you better you better you bet

[llcoolvad]

Better today, sorta. Brian got offered a permanent job! Very excited. He can stop searching! He can stop going on interviews! One and a half years. Man. This economy blows. Anyway, it's a good salary, he's doing something that will interest him, and he'll be working downtown. All good!

Work was ok the last couple of days. It always is like that. I get pushed to a breaking point, and then the pressure eases back. I like my Fridays and Saturdays. I like Wednesdays from home. I loathe Tuesdays and Thursdays (for different reasons). Maybe what I need to do is figure out a way to avoid them!

I finished a huge pile of books. That's a virtual huge pile, as in reality I was reading on my phone.

Since Jan 1, 2011:

1. Gone Tomorrow, Lee Child (13th Jack Reacher book)
2. 61 Hours, Lee Child (14th Jack Reacher book)
3. Worth Dying For, Lee Child (15th Jack Reacher book)
4. The Monkey's Raincoat, Robert Crais (1st Elvis Cole book)
5. Stalking the Angel, Crais (2nd Elvis Cole book)
6. Lullaby Town, Robert Crais (3rd Elvis Cole book)
7. Free Fall, Robert Crais (4th Elvis Cole book)
8. Voodoo River, Robert Crais (5th Elvis Cole book)
9. Sunset Express, Robert Crais (6th Elvis Cole book)
10. Indigo Slam, Robert Crais (7th Elvis Cole book)
11. L.A. Requiem, Robert Crais (8th Elvis Cole book)
12. The Last Detective, Robert Crais (9th Elvis Cole book)
13. The Forgotten Man, Robert Crais (10th Elvis Cole book)
14. The Watchman, Robert Crais (1st Joe Pike book)
15. Chasing Darkness, Robert Crais (11th Elvis Cole book)
16. The First Rule, Robert Crais (2nd Joe Pike book)
17. The Sentry, Robert Crais (3rd Joe Pike book)
18. New York Death, Stuart Woods

and I'm in the middle of another Stuart Woods. I am not feeling the love, there. Need to find some other lengthy series I haven't read before to dive into. There are gajillions of mystery series. I just need to find one I haven't read and that I can stand. Needs to be sorta hard-bitten, but also funny. Woods isn't funny. Maybe I should step back from the series concept. Clearly I get a little focused...

Also finished the first disk of season two of Wallander. Is good. Working my way through "A Touch of Frost" on netflix streaming. That's about as "comfort food" viewing as I can imagine. I'm into season four, now, and we're up to 1996. Since it's Britain, though, it feels like the late 80s. Anyway, it's like having on Law and Order in the background. Frost is fun, and the crime is occasionally gritty (but mostly feels seedy). People look like real people, with paunches and wrinkles and bags under their eyes. Refreshing!

I think I need a bit more reality and a bit less fiction, frankly, but until the weather changes for real, I'm stuck with escapism. Maybe a few more weeks?

Comments

[athenais.livejournal.com]

Congrats to Brian! I have a dear friend who has been out of work for a year and a half and it's a constant worry. What are you supposed to do if no one hires you? I hate this economy.

[llcoolvad.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's been particularly tough. He's never had such a hard time finding something before -- he works in IT. During this period he worked a couple short-term (three month) contracting gigs, but they didn't lead to perm jobs. He worked a couple of grunt jobs (cooking for a BBQ joint, stocking overnight at Target). He did some one-off computer gigs. But there just weren't full time perm jobs out there until the last two months or so. If your friend has been discouraged and perhaps isn't looking as hard as he/she has previously (it gets hard to maintain the momentum when it's all no no no), now seems to be the time to redouble efforts. There are a few things out there. (This could possibly be Massachusetts only; my experiences are limited!)

[athenais.livejournal.com]

My friend could not, as far as I can tell, look any harder. She spends a big chunk of her day sending out resumes, making phone calls, hounding agencies, working with headhunters and going to interviews. But nothing ever comes of it. I'm not sure what else she could do short of magically losing thirty years. At 55 it sucks to be job hunting. No one wants you.