In My 20s Tuesday + Post-It Notes: Still On The Job Hunt

I know I've been super MIA. These things happen, especially in the summer time. My biggest reason for being absent is issues with my laptop. I can't get it to charge. But I've convince my mother to let me make use of hers for a couple weeks til I can figure something out. So hopefully, I'm actually back in action now! I've missed the blogosphere and look forward to catching up on everyone else's blogs as well.

***In My 20s Tuesday is all about things that should matter (maybe) to someone in their 20s. It's about life as we head into real adulthood. It's about laying the groundwork for a life: starting a career, setting up a home, starting a life with someone, etc. It's about things that will affect our lives down the road: politics, current events, pop culture, etc. Well, it's not about all those things at once (that'd be near impossible, lol). But hopefully I'll reach someone in their 20s who's looking for someone to feel what they're going through.***

Today's post comes because I still don't have a job. This is not exactly a surprise because everyone knows the situation in the current job market. Also, I chose to leave medical school during graduation season so I'm also competing with those just entering the workforce for the first time.

But things have changed in the last week. Before, I was only applying to jobs that fit my criteria for my career plan. But once June ended, I expanded. I'm now looking for anything that will enhance my skill set for the job I want. So that basically includes anything I'm qualified for in hospital or clinical setting as well and any office/secretarial job. It's kinda of disheartening to move away from my dream. I'm still applying for research jobs, but that's not enough anymore. I hope I hear something soon from anyone. Because of this doesn't work, then starting in August, I'll be applying for literally anything. I'll even do sales associate. There's nothing wrong with that job, I'm just hesitant to do work that doesn't enhance my skill set for my dream career.

But I've also got something else in the works. My pastor and I have been doing research to put together a proposal to get some of the funding allocated in the health care reform law for clinics. My community could really use a strong medical presence. Having my own clinic has always been one of my dreams, and if I could press fast-forward on that while helping the community I grew up in, I would be just as happy as could be!

Also, I've been up to some interesting things in the time since I've paused blogging, hopefully I can get some of that down in future blog posts!

In My 20s Tuesday + Post-It Notes: The New Types of Families Aren't Readily Accepted By Some Elders

***In My 20s Tuesday is all about things that should matter (maybe) to someone in their 20s. It's about life as we head into real adulthood. It's about laying the groundwork for a life: starting a career, setting up a home, starting a life with someone, etc. It's about things that will affect our lives down the road: politics, current events, pop culture, etc. Well, it's not about all those things at once (that'd be near impossible, lol). But hopefully it will reach someone in their 20s who's looking for someone to feel them and what they're going through.***

This post came to me through a discussion I had with my grandfather over the weekend. I was with my parents, my paternal aunt and cousin, and my paternal grandfather down in South Carolina for my cousin's graduation from high school. It was a lovely experience and we got to spend a lot of time with our each other. We were all grateful for that time since we're spread out between Chicago, Myrtle Beach, and Washington, D.C.

One evening, we went to dinner at Ruth's Chris. That is definitely one of my favorite places to eat. They have a New York Strip Steak with a bleu cheese crust that is my absolute favorite steak on the planet (so far). But I digress.

At dinner, my grandfather and I got into a discussion. I won't go into details because it will make him sound incredibly bigoted (which he might be) and incredibly ignorant (which I'd like to blame on his age and reclusiveness). But he was speaking of his desire to have great-grand children. I told him that with my brother getting married next summer and me seeing someone with a child, he might get his wish sooner than later.

He first expressed his doubt that my brother would actually get married. He felt that such a long engagement didn't bode well for actually ending up married. We had to explain to him that people more likely are engaged for a year plus these days because it takes that long to plan a nice wedding. And my brother's wedding will likely be huge. I'm talking at least 600 people, so having a 18 month engagement is smart for planning and finances.

Then he turned on PT's daughter. He expressed that she would not count as his great-grand-daughter because she's not blood. I was incredibly shocked and didn't know immediately how to react. Then I told him he was going to be sorely disappointed because I also intend on adopting. So if I end up with PT, at least half our kids wouldn't be "blood relatives" of his. My mother, father, aunt, and cousin all told him he'd be the only one who wouldn't readily accept the little girl into the family and he ought to be ashamed. He said he preferred a more traditional family and I told him he shouldn't be surprised that I will not let him near any of my children.

Whether or not I end up with PT is a while from being decided, but I'm so glad I brought it up because I now know how he truly feels about such things. With or without PT, I intend to adopt. It'd certainly be an easier thing to make happen because he's already into the idea of adoption. His brother is adopted. But now that I know my future adopted children will be treated worse than those I give birth to by my grandfather, I know better than to try and have them develop a relationship with them. He's in his mid-80s and I don't know if he'll even be around long enough to wonder why he's not allowed around my children. But I do know that the thought of worrying about a complex he may give my future children gives me pause.

I know that older people are stuck in their ways, but damn! With all the blended families out there, I wonder how difficult it becomes for people who have to deal with other family members who believe in a more traditional family. It's disheartening and a couple of other things I'll not write because it's too disrespectful.

In My 20s Tuesday + Post-It Notes: Are You Really A Grown-Up?

***In My 20s Tuesday is all about things that should matter (maybe) to someone in their 20s. It's about life as we head into real adulthood. It's about laying the groundwork for a life: starting a career, setting up a home, starting a life with someone, etc. It's about things that will affect our lives down the road: politics, current events, pop culture, etc. Well, it's not about all those things at once (that'd be near impossible, lol). But hopefully it will reach someone in their 20s who's looking for someone to feel them and what they're going through.***

I came across a very interesting article on CNN today. It was posted yesterday. It's an article entitled Are You Really A Grown-Up? I had to take a close look at this article and its 10 things you have to do to be a grown-up. Let's see how I measure up.

• Face life's challenges head-on.

I would like to think I do this. I've dealt with the death of my boyfriend. I've dealt with up-rooting my life for a reason hardly anyone else thought was good enough. I (so far) can't imagine backing down from a life-sized challenge.

• Make peace with your body.

I have accepted that I am 5'0". I have accepted that I have fat cheeks. I have accepted that aside from a boost from birth control pills, my breasts aren't going to get larger. Aside from that, I refuse to accept the recent weight gain and therefore am eating better and working out more to fix it. But that's not a crash diet, that is a lifestyle change. I will be such a hot commodity because hardly anyone has a flat stomach anymore.

• Take responsibility for your heart.
I don't think I can claim to have this one taken care of. I often ignore my heart. I guess I just don't trust it to make wise decisions. I've so often regretted the choices I've made based on emotions. I think taking responsibility for your heart means being cognizant of decisions of the heart and accepting all consequences like a grown-up. Yeah... I'm still working on this one.

• Build a meaningful career.
Now that I've sorted out what exactly it is I intend to do with my life, there is much planning and organizing to be done. This one is definitely a work in progress. But I've got the meaningful part down. I just need to get the career part in order. Lord, I need a job!

• Learn how to handle the tough times.
I tend to withdraw into myself when times are tough since I feel I can handle it best alone. I think if I were really doing the grown-up thing, I would learn how to let others help me handle things. This is specific to me, not everyone. I like to have people around and involved in my life, except I shut them out of whatever part isn't going well. If I'm going to be a people person, I think I'd do better to be like that even when I'm not at my cheery best.

• Face your anxieties.
Eh, I sometimes face my anxieties. For instance, bringing up conflict makes me nervous. When someone else brings it up or starts it, I'm all over it. But starting it myself makes me anxious and nervous. I still haven't decided whether or not that's a good thing.

• Take ownership of your finances.
Having a source of income would make this one easier. I do have a pretty good idea of what my working budget would be based on the type of job I want and the type of apartment I want to live in. But that's not the same as actually doing it. I suppose I can claim some ownership since I've already worked out how I'm going to begin to repay my student loans. I only wish I were financially independent. That will come in time, I suppose.

• Master the use of your time.
Nope, never been good at this. I will get lost in a book or in a mall or at a beach and lose my entire day. I tend to work better with strict deadlines. Without them, I work on laissez-faire time, lol. I still get everything done, but I've never felt that I make the most of my times. I wonder if I could change that about myself, would I actually feel more grown-up, or just more stuffy? I suppose it'd be a good skill to learn before I have to balance career, hobbies, family, etc. It would be nice to have good time management when I don't have much to manage.

• Practice dynamic communication.
Listen and respond. Listen and respond. Hitch had it correct when he told his clients to do this. In order to be a good communicator you have to talk and listen. You also have to understand that communication is not just what you say, but how you mean it and how the other person takes it. Without paying attention to all these parts, communication falls apart. Yep, I think I've got this one covered, but like some others, it's still a work in progress to constantly improve my communication skills.

• Find the right level of flexibility.
I think I may be too flexible. But it's usually easier for me to be flexible more so than others. I have the least responsibilities and the most free time. I'd like to think that others would be flexible for me if the situation were reversed. I'm going to say yes for this one.

I think I have about 6 1/2 of these. Not bad. I'm 65% adult, lol. I could be better. How do you measure up?

In My 20s Tuesday + Post-It Notes

In My 20s Tuesday is all about things that should matter (maybe) to someone in their 20s. It's about life as we head into real adulthood. It's about laying the groundwork for a life: starting a career, setting up a home, starting a life with someone, etc. It's about things that will affect our lives down the road: politics, current events, pop culture, etc. Well, it's not about all those things at once (that'd be near impossible, lol). But hopefully it will reach someone in their 20s who's looking for someone to feel them and what they're going through. Here goes!

 

 

This post idea came up in a very roundabout way. My car radio has been off forever because I left the lights on and had to get a jump and Honda has this security thing where the radio won't work if the power is cut. I've been far too lazy about getting it fixed. But while losing my mind in traffic today I finally called the 800 number to get the code to turn it back on.
 

Joyously happy to have radio and CD abilities in my car again, I put in my India.Arie CD Testimony: Vol. 2, Love & Politics and enjoyed her music. Even though I put the album on my iTunes, I mostly only listen to it on CD in my car. As I was singing along, this song same on with the line "it heals me just to hear you say 'I love you' ".

 

Then it hit me. It's been a long time since anyone has told me they loved me and meant romantic love. PT hasn't said it and I'm quite sure doesn't feel it (that works cause I don't love him yet either). This guy I dated off an on after the Ex never said it. The Ex went out of his way to make sure I knew he didn't love me. An ex from high school who popped up a couple years ago still never said it. My rebound guy from Light sure as hell wouldn't have gone there. The last person to tell me they loved me was Light. We broke up in 2006.

 

It's been four fucking years since anyone has been in love with me. I truly understand why that scorned woman bitterness creeps up along the edges occasionally. I try my darnedest not to be, but it's hard. I'm a Libra for Christ's sake! We love to be in love and I've been very deprived for years now. I'm too young for this shit!

 

Okay, rant over. But seriously, doesn't that suck? Someone my age who's enjoying life in her mid 20s shouldn't be love deprived. I'm certainly not man deprived. I must be doing something wrong. I can clearly pinpoint what that wrong thing was with a couple of the men. At certain times, I wasn't looking for love, at least not from them. But since that's what I want now, I need to figure out how to balance being open to that with letting it happen naturally.

 

The last thing I want it to give a Carrie-style speech to PT like the one Carrie gave to the Russian at the end of the Sex and the City television show. That would suck, and be so out of character for me, lol.

In My 20s Tuesday + Post-It Notes

In My 20s Tuesday is all about things that should matter (maybe) to someone in their 20s. It's about life as we head into real adulthood. It's about laying the groudwork for a life: starting a career, setting up a home, starting a life with someone, etc. It's about things that will affect our lives down the road: politics, current events, pop culture, etc. Well, it's not about all those things at once (that'd be near impossible, lol). But hopefully it will reach someone in their 20s who's looking for someone to feel them and what they're going through. Here goes!


 

 
This post is inspired by Classy In Philadephia's blog. She's currently writing a series of blogs about her years of college since she graduates on Thursday! Her blog is great, I think most everyone who reads my blog also reads hers, but if you don't, she's so cute and funny, check it out!
 
I was inspired by her blog to finally post about something really big that happened in my life and has played a large role in defining who I am. Lots of us 20-somethings go through experience in "the college years" that become a part of how we define ourselves. This usually happens whether or not we actually go to college.
 
What happened to me is the story of how Adam and I ended. I've mentioned him a lot more on my other blog, Simply.Saucy.Sexy., than I have on this one or even my blog about my love life. Mostly because my blog focuses a lot on the present rather than six years ago. But, feeling inspired, I am going to tell the story.
 
My freshman year of college was the first time I learned about Relay for Life. I went because I had family members battling cancer, and I was so glad that I had Adam there with me (there's actually a mention of him a couple posts, but the one I linked is probably the most interesting). He and I spent so much time together and I leaned on him to get through feeling helpless by being all the way in Florida while my great-grandmother was in Chicago sick.
 
I went on March 20, 2004 to visit her, basically to say goodbye. Top was supposed to give me a ride to the airport, but she had left her cell phone in her room and had the time wrong. Long story short, I missed my plane. By the time I got to Chicago, it was past visiting hours and I was told I'd have to go the next day. While having breakfast the next morning before going to see my grandma, we get the news that she passed during the night. I was devastated that I never got to say goodbye. But Adam, as always, was there to make me feel better.
 
Adam was from Memphis and I was from Chicago, so when we went home, we knew we weren't going to spend that much time together during the summer. In an effort to alleviate this, I took and internship in Nashville which wasn't super close to Memphis, but was a hell of a lot closer than Chicago. We spent a weekend together and it was lovely. Then we found out the apartment Adam wanted with his friends had come through. I decided to go down to Florida with him to help set up the apartment. His mother was on vacation in southern Florida and she was going to come up too to help get the place settled. His mother and I got along great so it was sure to be a lovely weekend. I wanted to be very considerate and not have him drive over to Nashville to come get me (missing most of Friday because I had class as part of the internship), so I decided to take Greyhound bus down to Florida after class and meet him.
 
On June 25, 2004, I spoke to him about 4:45 in the morning before he got on the road.I was texting him throughout class with no response, and then I called him while I was packing my bags and still no response. I had a feeling in the pit of my stomach that something was wrong, but I shrugged it off. Finally, I had wondered myself into enough to worry to call another one of our friends who was also moving into the apartment to see if he knew where Adam was. He said he didn't know but that one of Adam's old roommates said he had heard something was wrong and I should call his mother to find out if he was in the hospital or something.
 
This really freaked me out, especially since I had just dropped my phone from the third floor to the first floor of the library two weeks prior and didn't have Adam's mother's cell phone number. I called my mother to get it from her and so had to relate the story before I knew the whole story. I headed to the bus station with full intentions of going to Florida (where I assumed Adam was). I told myself even if he had a bad accident and was now a paraplegic, I would still love him and stand by him no matter what. My mother finally called me back with his mother's number. I call her and tell her it's me and the first thing out her mouth is. "My baby is dead."
 
I immediately burst into silent tears as I listen to her tell me the story. About 30 minutes after he and I got off the phone, he got into a car accident. His car hydroplaned and went off the highway and into a tree (that had killed 4 others besides him up to that point. The tree has since been cut down). He died upon impact with the tree. I felt incredibly numb, just sitting there in the bus station. After I got off the phone with her, I went back outside and got a taxi back to campus. There was no need of going to Florida if his mother was on her way to Mississippi to get the body. I just went back to campus. I called my parents and our friend to inform them of what happened. I told my new friends at the internship what happened and then curled into a little ball on the bed all weekend. I did make occasional calls to important people who had lots of other's phone numbers so they could spread the word.
 
It was, to this day, the most painful thing I've ever felt. I cannot describe the hurt I felt to lose the first guy I had ever really loved in such a way. Even now, almost six years later, I can't think about it without wanting to cry, and hardly anything makes me want to cry. It's a very short list: Adam's death so close after my grandma's death, anytime my brother is rude to me, when I feel frustrated that I'm failing at something.
 

But I became stronger because of it. I finished my internship even though my parents thought maybe I should come home for the rest of the summer. I started a book scholarship in his name at our school that went to a member of our graduating class each semester. I worked hard at not being afraid to love again (experience since then has shown I didn't do too good a job of that). I didn't give up on my dreams even though I just wanted to stay curled in that little ball for the rest of forever. Sometimes, when it's just me all alone, I do curl up into that ball, and I forget that there are times when I don't remember how much I miss him.

 
I guess the moral of the story is, bad things happen. It sucks, it truly sucks, but it doesn't mean you can stop living your life to the fullesst. It means you deal with it the best way you know how, and you try and become a stronger person because of it. Anyone who can make it out of their 20s without going through something catastrophic is lucky indeed.

In My 20s Tuesday!!

In My 20s Tuesday is all about things that should matter (maybe) to someone in their 20s. It's about life as we head into real adulthood. It's about laying the groudwork for a life: starting a career, setting up a home, starting a life with someone, etc. It's about things that will affect our lives down the road: politics, current events, pop culture, etc. Well, it's not about all those things at once (that'd be near impossible, lol). But hopefully it will reach someone in their 20s who's looking for someone to feel them and what they're going through. Here goes!


 

 
This post is about the job fair I went to yesterday. It was hectic. I spoke with a woman who had been to the fair before. She said there were almost twice as many companies there offering jobs, but almost five times as many people there applying for them. This job market is crazy. I knew that from talking to Top and Bad about their job searches. But damn! I picked quite the time to stop being a student. I still don't regret my decision, but I certainly didn't make it easy on myself.
 
This fair was very interesting. I've been sure that I want to do clinical research with a university or hospital. But this fair was a chance to see if I could go industry and do laboratory work. There were a number of pharmaceutical companies there with some amazing job offers. If I could start at $23.80 an hour, that would be more than enough for me to make sure I never have to live with my parents.
 
I think people in their 20s who are looking for jobs can understand that battle. It's so hard to figure out exactly where I want to start. I suppose it'd be easier to wait until I have job offers before I consider if I want to go academic, clinical, or industry. Either way will be an interesting route...
 
But one more thing about this job fair: It was the most diverse group of people I've ever seen in one place in my life. Every race, ethnicity, sex, age, religion, etc. was represented, and in comparable numbers. There were about 1,000 people there, so there was stiff competition for every job available. But I'm excited about the future of science and biotechnology if they really are pooling resources from all over.

In My 20s Tuesday!!

In My 20s Tuesday is all about things that should matter (maybe) to someone in their 20s. It's about life as we head into real adulthood. It's about laying the groudwork for a life: starting a career, setting up a home, starting a life with someone, etc. It's about things that will affect our lives down the road: politics, current events, pop culture, etc. Well, it's not about all those things at once (that'd be near impossible, lol). But hopefully it will reach someone in their 20s who's looking for someone to feel them and what they're going through. Here goes!

 
This post is about the moment I decided I wasn't going to be a typical black woman and get offended and upset at the sight/idea of an inter-racial couple, specifically a black man with a white woman.
 
I think this is important because the generations are supposed to get better. The social differences that made the races so divided when my parents were my age (the mid 70s) should improve with time, I think. And this was inspired because I just spent a few hours reading the entire archive of snafu's blog, and that girl certainly has a love for my brothas.
 
Possibly-too-much-honesty-warning!! I had a conversation once with the Ex about how inter-racial dating made me sick to my stomach. His last girlfriend before me was white. And the thought of them together literally made me sick to my stomach. I actually told him this, a sign that we were far too comfortable being completely honest with each other. I guess that was a good thing, whatever. I also had a reaction like that while out with Light (another ex who I've mentioned before on my other blog) to a black man and white woman kissing. I really didn't see any problem with my reaction, I was just one of tons of American black women who felt that way. I wasn't particularly upset about it personally because I didn't specifically know any brothas dating a white woman who I wanted for myself, so I never even though to say they were "taking our men from us".
 
But, the year I started medical school this all changed. I started down in Urbana-Champaign (U of I has a weird process for campuses for med school), the apparent Illinois capital of inter-racial relationships. They were everywhere! I saw all types of combinations of inter-racial couples with blacks, whites, Latinos, and Asians. And they were all ages, teenagers all the way to old as hell. I was confronted with the reason for my bias. It was because I had subconsciously picked up on an explanation for black men's desires to date white women.
 
This book I love that I can't remember the name of but dealth with race relations in post-riot L.A. One of the black men in the book desired to date black women because of rejection he felt by black women all his life because they found him too dark skinned and ugly throughout his youth. That plus he felt like he was making up for lost time of equality as an African-American male. I think that notion disgusted me more than seeing any inter-racial couple ever could. But I realized that was a fictional character in a book, and hopefully (and likely) not even a small portion of black men who consistently dated white women.
 
And when confronted with the notion that I wasn't against all inter-racial couples, I felt like a hypocritical asshole. And then I saw this family in Wal-Mart. They were adorable. They seemed like such a loving, happy family. I had such an emotional reaction to them, wishing for my future and the family I wanted to have. Then I noticed something. It was a white woman with her black husband, and three tiny mixed race children. That was an afterthought. "An afterthought!" I felt triumphant that I had inadvertently conquered this ridiculous bigoted notion I was feeling. I had stopped having a physical reaction to couples. I was just able to see them as regular people who had no effect on my life or my stomach.
 
I have to agree with snafu that there is something so visually appealing about the contrast of skin close together. I'm sort of a mid tone-skinned black woman. My skin looks dark next to a white person or light-skinned black person. But I look lighter when next to a dark-skinned black person. This would explain why I like my white men to look very white, not tan at all (and hopefully with blonde hair and blue/green eyes. And I like my black men to be dark skinned (and hopefully with full lips and soulful eyes).
 
But the point is that I took a step away from the ignorant inclinations of many black women before me. If this starts spreading, perhaps we can take a step forward in race relations in this country that my parents never dreamed of (because they weren't counting their contribution to it, but I digress). And in times like these, where Arizona is losing it's damn mind, it's good to take steps forward, instead of backwards.

UPDATE: I've seen two other really good posts about what's going on in AZ here and here. And not just the posts, the comments.

In My 20s Tuesday!!

So, today is the first one of my In My 20s Tuesday posts! I'm looking forward to seeing how this turns out as I test my new idea of having themed days.

In My 20s Tuesday is all about things that should matter (maybe) to someone in their 20s. It's about life as we head into real adulthood. It's about laying the groudwork for a life: starting a career, setting up a home, starting a life with someone, etc. It's about things that will affect our lives down the road: politics, current events, pop culture, etc. Well, it's not about all those things at once (that'd be near impossible, lol). But hopefully it will reach someone in their 20s who's looking for someone to feel them and what they're going through. Here goes!

I didn't want today to be like yesterday when I thought of a lovely topic to write about and then forgot and had to basically type my way into remembering it, lol. There's actually two things I want to talk about. The first is what's going on with China and their treatment of people who fight for human rights. The other is my friend Bad and his issues at work.

First, China is not a democracy, and their leaders have made it clear that they are not interested in becoming a democracy. Whatever one's feelings about America's need to spread democracy everywhere, most Americans will say they are glad we are in a democracy. Well, that probably excludes some Republicans and Tea Partiers who don't like the direction the people they didn't vote for are taking this country in, but I digress. So China has a lawyer named Gao Zhisheng. He has become well-known internationally (please Google him) for his bringing cases to court that fight for Human Rights. China decided he was subverting state power and took action. His wife and children are now residing in America. They just released him after 3 years. People hadn't heard anything from him and thought he might be dead, but couldn't do anything about it. He is trying to fight now for his right to go join his family. He has given up being a lawyer, and has apologized to the people he feels like he is letting down, citing he isn't strong enough to still carry on this fight and wants to be with his family. I hope no one feels like he has let anyone down. I wonder how some of us would react if the Chinese government basically kidnapped us and tortured us for three years (I'm talking electric shocks to the genitals).

But this is important to people in their 20s because the world we live in is changing. America isn't alone is being this super power that runs the globe. China is making headway. It won't be long before their standing right next to us in influence over global policy. I know America has comparable behavior with the whole Guantanamo Bay thing, but we don't have these types of reactions to our own citizens who are fighting for rights (at least not in recent American history). And as much as China has a government that suppresses some human rights, they also have a rich culture and lovely ethnic variability. I was lucky enough to spend a couple of weeks in China in undergrad. It is still one of my favorite experiences in life that I wouldn't trade for almost anything. I did a lot of sightseeing, food tasting, partying, and visiting medical clinics and hospitals. But I'd hate to think what would've happened had I upset some government official with my love for democracy.

It's important to be aware of the world around us and how it changes. These changes will be happening within our lifetime, and that can affect us and our children educationally, economically, and politically.

The second thing I want to talk about is my friend Bad's job. He works for a non-profit and his job has him in charge of a couple of other people and a couple of programs. He is currently looking to hire someone to head up a new nutritional program they're implementing (which incidentally was developed by the medical students at Harvard medical school, where I have two good friends there!). He is interviewing people for the job and hasn't yet found someone he likes. He either has people with the right personality for the job or the right skills for the job, or some combination of the two that isn't about 80% for either one. He's upset because he feels like there should be a better applicant pool seeing as how so many people are unemployed. He's also reminded how glad he is that he has a job that can become a career. It's nice to have job security when people are beefing up their standards based on a presumed availability of qualified applicants. This particular job is at a center that's on the South Side of Chicago, which means the kids the hiree will be looking for a certain swagger to deal with these school age south-siders. They're pretty hard core (and I'm not talking about violence for anyone jumping to conclusions). By the way, if anyone knows someone with nutrition knowledge who's looking for work in the afternoon who can get to the south side of the Chicago, look for the job offering on http://www.careerbuilder.com/.

But this type of life experience should matter to 20-something people, especially those looking to start their careers fresh out of school. People who actually have the means to hire new employees seem to be raising their standards. Their doing this out of an assumption that the applicant base has improved because of increased unemployment. Make sure your resumes are completely on point. Make sure your interview skills are above par. And make sure that when your interview begins, you don't start with "wasssssuuuuuup." Seriously, Bad told me someone did that today. Sigh. My people, my people.