You're not the only one

First off, sorry I haven't blogged in a week. I took a temporary break to check on some other important aspects of my life - namely career (interviews), friends (guys :o ) and family (Hurricane Ike devastating the Gulf Coast). So, since everything in those areas is now manageable I'm back!

I've definitely gotten past the whining phase of job hunting. No more, "Why is this happening to me?" "Why do all my friends have jobs and I don't?" "Doesn't God still love me and want me to be financially stable?"

THERE ARE SO MANY MORE IMPORTANT THINGS IN THE WORLD BESIDES MYSELF!!!

And before you form an opinion of me, yes, I already knew this. I just needed a perspective check.

Today, for instance, I went to the Social Security Administration office to get a replacement SS card and realized how fortunate I am to be a native of a country with a stable government and economic system. Notice I didn't write economy. That sucks here right now. To even be allowed entrance to the room where the customer service reps were I had to stand in an incredibly long line for an hour. Then I went through a metal detector, went upstairs and had to wait in another line for 10 minutes. While I waited I listened to stories people at the windows were telling the reps. Most had recently immigrated from countries in Africa, South America or Eastern Europe. Half had problems communicating with the reps because they and/or the reps didn't speak "perfect" American English. Another fourth were turned away and told to "try again" because they had incorrect or incomplete application documents. I thought to myself, "Why would people go through all this hassle for a flimsy paper card? For that matter, why would they take such a big life gamble - moving to a new country with limited knowledge of the culture and not a lot of resources (I'm just assuming here)?" The answer, of course, is always to gain a better foothold in life than the one they had before, whether that be through education or employment...

Also today, the proverbial shit*ake mushrooms hit the fan at Lehman Brothers. Not a big concern if you don't follow Wall Street or invest outside of a 401k. But a life-altering concern if you work(ed?) there. A couple of people from an organization I'm an alumna of were directly affected. Imagine graduating from one of the nation's best universites in May, with the assurance that you'll start a job at a prestigious 158-year-old investment firm in late summer - way more job security than any media job ever can give, only to be let go a couple of months later. Back in the job market. The words of my boyfriend this morning: "You know how they say it's better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all? Somehow I don't think it's the same with jobs. That sucks." Yes, yes my friends, that does suck.
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So, in light of my thoughts on those topics, I've moved on to 'fierce warrior mode'. Tonight I'm going to a Ed2010.com networking event, tomorrow an interview and the NAMIC Diversity in Communication Career Expo and Wednesday another informational interview. Let's get it!

*UPDATE:

• Lehman Brothers's employees may not be out of a job yet. A foreign company may soon bail them out. Yay for them :o )
• In other news, the Social Security office still has slow lines and somewhat peeved workers :o /
• But entertainment companies are doing just fine, thank you. None of them were heavily financed by the sinking company.