Another Interview

Sitting in the office of a staffing company.  I have a digital portfolio on a thumb drive. I don't bother carrying my old portfolio book most of the time unless someone requests it. Nearly all companies only want to know what software and systems I am familiar with and an online portfolio slide show or Acrobat file is sufficient. 

I am waiting for my interview when another person, obviously seeking the same job, walks in. She is a foot taller than I am, long blonde hair, in a new dress and high heels and a recent graduate. She has a large bound book with her in a plastic case. It looks like 16 x 20, with huge black letters on the front that say "Thanks for looking!" 

I realize I don't have a chance, even on my perkiest days, to compete with that. 

*sigh*

(Otherwise, my interview went quite well it before it was her turn, so at least I can still moderately impress people with what I can do.)

This might have been a big mistake... but what could I do?

My household relocated from Atlanta, Georgia in November 2015. I took one for the team and dropped out of my life - I was already underemployed but busy enough to fill in gaps in the budget - so MonsterMustDie could keep his job when his employer closed their Atlanta showroom and warehouse to consolidate things in High Point, North Carolina, where they opened their first production site in the USA.

Previously I worked as an art director and graphic designer in print, publishing, and advertising; also worked in numerous roles in the film industry as a graphic designer, background extra, production assistant, and makeup artist. Now, I am trying to find a place for myself where all my experience and professional relationships don't matter. The main industry is either banking and manufacturing or education.

High Point is a ghost town; a WASP retirement community wrapped around an Ivy-League university. I am too old to be attractive in the service industry and too young, bored, poor to retire. I told myself I would give this at least a year before any more changes were made in my life. I am thinking this move was not what I should have done. I think I should have found a cheap room with friends or family, making just enough in the film industry, until I could go back to living in the city. I long for my friends and all the great cultural events and activities I was part of. This place has been a series of doors slammed shut. 

yard thoughts

Modern. Native. Edible. Functional. Social.


We live in an older, traditional neighborhood so I know the front yard needs to have to traditional green turf and neat landscape. We are trying to keep a clear view outside the windows with low-growing shrubs and plants like heather and dwarf conifers. We'd like to add a few more large rocks to those arrangements.

I cut out and pulled up a ton of English ivy off the trees, fence and house, where it once festooned every tall tree. We removed the tacky plastic non-functional shutters from all of the windows. A few of the windows need to be replaced due to cracked glass. We plan to build or install as large a shed as we can in back to become a mini-workshop and tool storage building. John wants to have a compact woodshop with a small outside deck that he can work at. We also need the space to store large things like ladders. We still desperately need house numbers either mounted on brick or posted in the front yard and on the mailbox.

We would like to use mostly native plants and edible landscaping for the back yard, which has a wood fence that we plan to replace. We also have a laid stone retaining wall on one side at the back of our lot that needs to be repaired, preferrably using all the original stones so that we don't have to purchase too many more. I think 2/3 of the wall could be original stone - maybe more. We had crepe myrtle trees that had been attacked by ambrosia beetles that have been cut down along the rock wall side of the house that now have stumps that need to finally be removed/ground down. My guess is that some sort of new plants and shrubs need to go along the rock wall to help with erosion control.

NO English Ivy! I am still removing it everywhere I can, mostly concentrating on taking it off the trees. My neighbor shares my hatred of overgrown English ivy. She's working at ridding her yard of it as well. I am also taking it upon myself to pull out poison ivy where I see it. Slowly, the old roots of the poison ivy are going away and I cut down any flowers/seeds from the poison ivy when I spot it trying to reproduce, whittling way at it as best I can. I am a one-woman ivy-killing warrior. I'm not agains all vines - just those troublesome invasive or poisonous plants. Grapes are cool. Muscadines are cool. Grapes would be great. I even turn an occasional blind eye to Virginia creeper if it's not in my way.

The inside of the back yard is mostly mud, mulch and shade. We have new plantings of edible and/or native plants like elderberry, chokeberry, blueberry, trillium, ferns, golden seal, jack-in-the-pulpit and I'd like to add more variety so that I could have year-round blooms for bees and birds (and humans). I have a dinky herb garden that I am still figuring out.  We are also planning to place a small fire pit/grill and seating area to the side of the future shed.

And the drive way needs to be repaved - preferably with some sort of simple roof added at the top for the cars. The car shelter is not a priority but it is something that would make life a lot nicer.

extortion?

Oh, North Carolina, why don't you love us? Should we have been prettier, richer, funnier, younger?
I got a phone call this afternoon from someone at a business named R3Z Solutions, who was calling to offer one-on-one classes for deactivated Uber Drivers at $100 a class. I told him I had no interest in his company's services unless Uber was willing to pay for it. Good riddance.


Speaking of scams, I was also walking around with our next-door neighbor yesterday evening and looking up in amazement at the horrible job someone did on her roof. She hired someone who actually was recommended by an associate and came home to a roof full of holes made by nails far too long to use in roofing. The nails on the shingles went all the way through the plywood and moisture barrier under the shingles and came out the other side about a quarter inch. The roofer insisted that this was just the way it was always done and then tried to reprimand her, saying he didn't expect her to be "so difficult". I think women get taken advantage of by contractors a lot. Everyone does get the bad end of a deal with builders now and then but, just like mechanics, everyone assumes if your female, you're an idiot. *sigh* It makes me sad looking at her roof.


MonsterMustDie just found out his employer is hiring a new supervisor for the department that he is in charge of. In other words, he is being demoted or replaced by a guy in a suit. He says he is not worried about it but I do not trust any employer that much. So, on that note, I really believe we need to be dedicating every weekend solely to finishing this house that he has taken apart, just in case we need to unload this financial burden and relocate again soon.

A New Low

Looks like Uber has fired me.

I did not get any calls this week. Uber just a text explaining that since my ratings fell below 4.3 out of a possible 5, I have been dropped.  There is no reason given for the rating. There is no phone number to all or any source for feedback or debate. So, one more possible source of income gone but, on the plus side, no more college students to take to four at a time to multiple locations that they don't input on the client app all around the Triad area.

I must resign myself to being a stay-at-home housewife here.

Not feeling the love this week

So far, this has not been a good week at all.

I've had only one job interview this week on Tuesday, at another temp staffing agency, for a creative position that would actually be close to home. I showed up for the interview, on a very hot day, in office casual attire - dark slacks and a long gray boyfriend-style shirt. The job is budgeted for $10 to $12 an hour, depending on how good a fit the employee is. The interviewer advised me, if I wanted to work in this area, to dress differently and to change my hair style to something natural. I have no idea how I am supposed to look here. I can guess that my hair should be shorter and a light natural brunette or ash brown - easy enough to do. Not sure how to dress, especially with no budget for new suits.  I told the interviewer I could look any way they wanted me to for the client interview. This interview was just with the staffing agency and I would still have to meet with the client later.

The staffing company phoned me today and, as it turns out, I didn't get the job because I have no experience in QuickBooks, an application I have never been asked to use before. It seems like I can't win here. I probably will go ahead and change my hairstyle for a more conservative area anyway just to see if that improves my chances. I can not see myself wearing high heels or skirts so that is not going to happen. If I could find an affordable lightweight linen or cotton weave suit, that would be good too. It's hard to invest hundreds of dollars in new clothes that might not get me anything in return.

As for office software, I have a copy of MS Office 2011 but anything outside of those apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) is something I don't know outside of graphics work. Most of what I use is in Adobe CS (Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, DreamWeaver).  So, it looks like the only work I can get here is driving for Uber. The summer will suck because most of the Uber business is High Point University students. This is the last week of the semester and graduation ceremonies are this Saturday, so there will be a long dry spell in student business after that.

Lastly, I was looking forward to driving down to Atlanta for Mother's Day, hoping to finally visit a few friends as well this week. I spoke to my mother this morning about her plans this weekend. I am trying to schedule a day to go out to eat or just visit her. She doesn't want anyone to see her home these days because she is not physically able to maintain it. She said she is having dinner at my brother's house on Sunday, which is good, but that excludes time with me on Sunday. Many of my friends are going to a big wedding this weekend that I am not invited to, probably because of hard feelings with MonsterMustDie and the groom over facebook sociopolitical rants on both sides. The rest of my friends are mostly going out of town to visit family or tied up with their own families.

Next week, MonsterMustDie will be working in NYC and I will be here alone with no work. I really hope something good pops up between now and then.

Sunday Morning

MonsterMustDie finally made a good treasure find yesterday while we were out shopping in Greensboro. He found a George Nelson serving cart someone had just brought in. It needs a little restoration but he already knows someone he'd like to do the finishing work for him.

After that success, we swung by WholeFoods and picked up a few things to take with us when we had dinner with new friends at their house. Beautiful home, friendly pets, and brilliant children. I really like this couple and I hope we spend more time together.


It rained all day on Saturday, a cold mist, while we were out. It is forecast to be a bit on the cool side today. MonsterMustDie is now back to some of the interior projects in our house today, painting and changing fixtures in the mud room and main bathroom. I can hear him cursing from the other end of the house as I write this.
Ah, the sound of progress...

Spring Market Week

This is my first experience living in High Point during the Market. A lot of the empty, locked up store fronts, restaurants, etc. suddenly become alive. Most of them sport some sort of temporary signage - usually a giant banner or a portable sign of some sort - and are open for business. It amazes me that High Point thinks it is perfectly acceptable to exist only two weeks out of the entire year but this is exactly the case here. Showrooms are re-filled and become active all over downtown High Point, only to close down all of the storefront buildings immediately after the Market closes, staying empty and deserted until the next High Point Market.

For lack of anything else to do to make money here, I became an Uber drive last week. I only get 3 or four trips a day at best - yesterday, I had two side-by-side for people going out to eat - and I believe I will not see any more of the Uber ride business after this week. Today is the last official day of the High Point Market. My big paycheck for Market Week is $37.09, most of it going to gas.

This city and state are not working out for me. I will hang in here a while longer, now that I have gone through the work of moving all of my legal registrations here (taxes, car registration and drivers license, insurance, etc.) but I am miserable, broke, friendless and lacking even in the ability to have a space of my own at home to do things freely. I hate my fucking so-called life now.

Still the same

Today's positive notes: 

1. Everyone got home safe and sound in Connecticut after their 10-hour drive home on Monday. 

2. I went to a very enjoyable meeting this evening at The Forge in Greensboro for the Art + Tech group. The discussion this week was about "projection bombing" projector street art. Most of the tech and 3D rendering aspects of the discussion are far over my head but I still found the meetup very encouraging and inspirational. Good group of people, these creative geeks. 

Mother's surgical procedure went well but my uncle sent me photos of her under anesthesia in the hospital with the words "You should be here." No one would expect that of my brother or sister-in-law, who live only half an hour from her. I know she wants me to come back to Georgia and live with her in the retirement community flat. I know I can not do that. 

I had a job interview on Monday for a possible position at a signage company that also does fabrication. I was more-or-less told that I could expect a call back on Tuesday morning if they decide to bring me in. It's late Wednesday night now and I never heard back from them. I sent out "available for work" messages to temp agencies and have only heard back from one this week, just a phone call to touch base and let me know I am not forgotten. 

MonsterMustDie is woebegone over his taxes and dwindling finances but there is nothing I can do about that either, since I have no work coming in. 

Easter weekend

We got the kitchen and bathroom sinks functioning just in time for the arrival of our weekend visitors from New Haven CT. Time ran out on putting up the mirrored cabinet in the main bathroom so everyone had to make do without checking their look on anything larger than the small shaving mirror in the shower. Other than that, we had a lovely visit with R&R, who were contemplating the possibilities for the future, including relocating themselves and looking for work. She is losing her job as an art professor at the university. Fortunately, he is still gainfully employed at a corporate job. She is facing another round of surgery in a couple of weeks. It seems like a never-ending series of fixes to her skeletal and circulatory systems and it is getting harder  to keep calm before each surgery, anticipating the recovery period of very limited movement. Still, it is so much better not to have to face each crisis alone. We made trips to Greensboro, where we checked out the local art space at Elsewhere, and Winston-Salem, where we had some a very nice dinner together at The Honey Pot. I wanted to go back to The Forge, a maker space, and some nearby artist studios but everyone ran out of time and energy.

While we were in Greensboro on Saturday, they also introduced us to a couple of friends, Lonny and Jennifer - a very nice couple with two amazing daughters. They spent Easter with them and the girls, decorating eggs and making Easter bonnets. The Easter Bunny even made a surprise visit to them while they were there. I saw lots of pics of crafting girls and adults in paper bunny ears. One sign this is a couple I'd like to know better: at one point, Lonny wondered aloud how to make black dyed eggs and his oldest daughter said "Like your soul?" I consider that a sign they are doing it right. R&R say they are two of the most well-adjusted and smart children they have met. I'm sure they are.

It is a 10-hour drive from Connecticut to North Carolina. I think MonsterMustDie found their willingness to travel very inspiring. He started to suggest driving 5 hours to Atlanta just for the Scott Antique Show and then, rather than staying overnight or visiting with anyone, turning around and driving 5 more hours home the same day. I told him that did not seem worth the effort at all to me. I am still sad that I had no time for any social activities other than a very impromptu lunch with Chaz & Sandra last time we were in Georgia. He is welcome to only drive down to the Scott show and back on his own if he wants to. He would certainly enjoying picking and treasure-hunting around friends of his who are also dealers of Mid-Century Modern antiques. Maybe he could even bring back some plants sold by Beech Hollow Farms, who have a booth outside the Scott show sometimes. It would just kill me to be "so close, too far" again.

Meanwhile, my mother has surgery tomorrow to install an implant for her dialysis treatment. It is a very routine procedure but things are always complicated by her diabetes, anemia, and age. Every time I talk with her, all she does is cry. She is in a very dark place these days and there is nothing I can do for her. Sadly, I think she would much rather pull me down into the pit with her instead of let me try to pull her out of it.

Sometimes you just have to call in a professional.

The pedestal sink in the main bathroom is up now and the faucet appears to be working with no leaks.

However, now we have a non-functioning kitchen sink. It started when we decided to replace the broken sprayer before we had guests from Connecticut here this coming weekend. I had the sprayer in my condo sink replaced a couple of times and it seemed like a very fast, simple, cheap thing to do. I wanted to ensure there were no crazy messes if either of our guests tried to use the malfunctioning sprayer. However, everything under the sink is so old, dilapidated, and cobbled together that I just ended up turning off the water supply to the sink until we can get a plumber in. We were able to schedule a visit on Thursday – one day before our guests arrive. Hopefully, this will go smooth and quick.

I have been feeling especially sad from having no work but perhaps, just this week while things are going on at the house, it is fortunate that I can be home to deal with any contractors who need to come in.

Looking out the kitchen window

I don't see what they have to mow other than a few wild onions. That,  and they are tearing branches off of small trees instead of cutting or pruning.

another whirlwind tour

We returned home yesterday around 6:30 pm from a weekend trip to the old neighborhood, with very little notice ahead of time for planning any schedule of visits and activites. We spent the weekend staying in the old neighborhood with John & Cindi again, who are excellent hosts every time we are able to come for a visit. I had two very good dinners with them that included things I can not get at home - good Vietnamese food and Indian food. I had been craving curry this week so I was happy to go to one of our favorite Indian restaurants on Saturday night.  Sunday, we were able to have an impromptu lunch meetup with Chaz and Sandra & her mother at So Ba in EAV. I would really love to be there on a late night some time when it metamorphs into the Octopus Bar, an after-hours hangout for bar & restaurant industry employees. Kinda reminds me of how everyone would meetup at Back Street on late nights after the clubs and restaurants closed years ago.

We needed to accomplish two things on the trip: 

1. Deliver a very large piece of hard-to-ship furniture to the Atlanta showroom from his company facility in North Carolina (the main reason for the trip).

2. Visit my mother, who is in declining health.

The only thing we accomplished was the delivery. I kept the rest of our time in the city on hold, trying to schedule a visit with my mother, but she would not see me. She has no energy to do anything for herself because of a combination of kidney disease, diabetes, and anemia. She refuses to let anyone visit her at home because it is a wreck, including anyone in the family (again) who might want to help clean and maintain her home because she is so ashamed of it. The anemia leaves her so weak she doesn't want to get out of bed. So she refused to let me come to see her. After waiting all weekend to visit her and being otherwise without a car of my own (I drove MonsterMustDie's car down to meet him at  the U-Haul lot), I spent most of the weekend just hanging out and waiting on everyone else to do something.

MonsterMustDie was too exhausted to do anything after loading, driving and unloading the truck. There was one birthday party involving a group of friends I have not seen in a very long time that I wanted to join in but I could not make that happen. Everything else would have needed more long-range planning with people who have active lives in circles I am no longer a part of. And then, I have no real budget for entertainment, anyway.

I never felt so much like a ghost.

Cause for concern

... so I was talking to John tonight on the phone at the airport in Atlanta, waiting for his 10pm flight to Greensboro, and it is obvious that he is quite drunk.

I said I wanted to pick him up at the airport but he insisted he would be fine to drive home when he arrives. 

Update: Yeah. He made it home okay without having to phone me. Quite late.