Sadly, the only thing I’m going to miss is my laptop. I’ve grown very attached to my sweet little laptop, with its wireless internet and Adobe Creative Suite and all my favorite setting just right.

But it’s a small price to pay to be out of here and moving on to something that might actually be fun and stimulating and challenging and interesting and not requiring a logo-embroidered polo shirt and name-tag.

Wheeeee!

So, the saga.

I had the interview, and I thought it went really well, and it seemed like she was impressed by me. After meeting the owner, seeing the store, getting sniffed by her puppies, and hearing more about the job, I fearfully bantered about the term “dream job.” So much variety, and a store filled with goodies that I’d actually like to own if I could afford it, and a boss who seems friendly and laid back.

She told me she’d wait until she returned from a week-long trip to make her decision, so I hunkered down for the long haul. The waiting was killing me. The more I thought about it, the more I desperately wanted this job. I couldn’t stop bouncing and twitching. I threw myself into button-making in a futile attempt to stop obsessing.

Then, on Monday night, I had a girls’ night scheduled with Savannah and Ms. Monkey. I was looking forward to the distraction, or the chance to ramble on and on about the job until my fellow girls’ nighters slapped me silly.

I was to pick up Ms. Monkey at her work. I was running a little early, so I called her when I exited to tell her I’d be there in about 10 minutes. Ten minutes later, I picked her up. In the interval, I got the call, was offered the job, and very nearly peed my pants in glee.

Before the drinking began, after we were back at my house, I had to email the store owner to get some more details, because in my glee I’d neglected to nail down certain vital details, like medical insurance and whether this was actually a full-time job. I knew I couldn’t really accept the job if it didn’t include benefits, so I was once again on edge, waiting to hear from her.

That night, we played the Electronic Drinking Game of Life until the wee hours of the morning. Then, on four hours of sleep, I returned to work to fret and await the email that would seal my fate.  

I finally got the reply about mid-day, telling me that there were indeed benefits, and that it was a full-time job (although she hadn’t initially planned for it to be, but I’d convinced her I had enough varied abilities to fill my time – yay me!).

Shortly thereafter, hardly able to stifle my ridiculous clown smile, I went into my supervisor’s office, closed the door, and told her I found a new job. It went very well, with her advising me how to submit my letter of resignation and wishing me luck.

So, my last day is the 18th, and I start the new job on the 23rd.

Wheeeee!

For those of you who remember my previous post about the three jobs coming along all at once, this is the third one. I think I’ll be Employee #4 or 5, behind the owner, a bookkeeper, and someone who works at the store part-time. Another person’s getting hired at about the same time as me – someone with more retail experience and knowledge, but interested in learning marketing with me. Apparently, I am now in Marketing.

I don’t know what my job title will be yet. The job listing that I responded to called it a Marketing and Events Coordinator. The job will involve a wide variety of tasks, such as:

• Design an e-commerce website with the help of a coder
• Write ad copy, website copy, and item descriptions
• Possibly create and maintain an e-newsletter
• Seek out free and low-cost publicity/advertising opportunities
• Set up a blog or two, and maybe even write one
• Find and implement social networking opportunities, like Facebook
• Oversee entries into places like CitySearch and Yelp
• Coordinate events, such as participation in the Capitol Hill Artwalk and in-store fundraisers for local charities
• Research information on how to start up a nonprofit foundation
• Help out working in the store

I’m so excited, I can hardly stand it. These are all things I’ve been interested in learning and trying out, and now someone’s giving me the chance to actually do it, and get paid for it.

I go a little crazy when something new comes up that I want to brush up on (or learn entirely). So, of course, when I got the word that I officially had this job, I immediately went to the library website. I put books on hold for marketing, web writing, search engine optimization, web design, and just about everything else I could think of related to this job. I know it’s a little crazy, but gathering knowledge makes me feel good, especially when I have a concrete purpose for having that knowledge.

So now I have to get as much use out of the Adobe Creative Suite as I can before my time here is up. There may be Adobe at the new job, but I doubt it’ll be on a laptop I can take home with me for my extracurricular button project.

Once my commute is half as long, and if my house ever sells, I can save up money to buy myself a new laptop (tablet PC – woohoo!) and put Adobe on it myself.

Maybe I’ll pay for it with button empire income. You never know.

I’m too excited and flibbertijibbety right now to really say anything worthwhile or coherent about it, except YAY!!!

This has been a very buttony weekend.

Yesterday I spent a good portion of the day designing new buttons, and then using my brand new circle punch (which is awesome) to cut out the designs that already got printed. Then I used my lovely little button making machine (which is also awesome) to make a bunch of buttons. Then I set up my photo-studio-in-a-box (again, awesome) and took pictures of all the buttons I’ve made so far.

I used little plastic dinosaurs to prop up the buttons. I stumbled on this idea when One-T needed me to take pictures of plastic dinosaurs for him, and I like it. Plus, the dinosaurs enjoy helping out and getting their faces out there. It’s a win-win.

Today, I uploaded the pictures to my photo gallery, then added captions. The captions basically just say what the button says, in case you can’t tell from the thumbnail and you don’t want to click on the link to find out.

Check ‘em out!

I’d love to get feedback on which buttons you like the best, and also if you have suggestions for improvements. Or if you have requests for new buttons. I’ve already gotten quite a few super ideas from Feazle, and they’ll appear in future batches o’buttons.

And some of the buttons are by the Amazing Mr. One-T. I think, if you click on the picture, it should say somewhere in the caption if it’s by One-T. If it doesn’t say it’s by One-T, the default is by Me.

Have I mentioned how much fun this is?

Soon, I’ll post some buttons to Etsy, once I set the prices and write copy and have all the packaging ready to go. I did some mall scouting yesterday and found that significantly less interesting buttons are selling for $1.75-$2.00 in stores. I’m thinking of doing $1.50 each or 4 for $5 to start, and see how that goes. Oh, and I have to figure out how much postage will cost. So many little details!

I’m glad I have this distraction right now, because it’s keeping me from being too obsessive about the job search. The interview I had on Friday was fantastic (at least, it seemed that way to me), and I really REALLY want that job now. But she had another interview to do, and then she’ll be out of town for a week, so I have a long time to sit and fret about it. But I want to get the job NOW so I can start planning and thinking up ideas and getting excited about it.

But this post isn’t about the job search or my inability to stop thinking about that one job. Rather, it’s about buttons. My super neato buttons that are going to make me rich. Or at least entertain me until I run out of ideas. But as I have a list of ideas that’s currently 17 pages long, single spaced, 11-point font, I don’t think that’ll happen any time soon.

I’m just going to enjoy being somewhat sought after, or at least interesting enough to warrant phone calls and emails and meetings in person.

The first prospect is for a catering company that does some pretty fancy events in the region. Weddings, business meetings, and quite a few celebrity events. It involves an intensive training program for the first 3 months or so when it would be only about 30 hours per week. Then it would evolve into a vaguely defined permanent position that would involve some event planning and some other administrative duties, but which would really vary based on how much the company grows and/or whether another event planner leaves the company.

I’ve had two interviews so far (although I’m not sure I’d categorize either as a typical interview), and they said they’d get back to me around mid-April. It’s intriguing because I’m interested in the variety of creative events they put together, and it’s a small company, and their chefs make lunch every day (yum!), but the uncertainty of the training program and subsequent position leave me a little wary. I still have many questions about this job that I would have to ask before accepting an offer, if that’s even going to happen.

The second prospect is a contract job with a major corporation, set to run through the end of the year with possible extensions and/or transition to permanent work. It’s a proofreading job, checking over website and other materials before going to print. Not so much variety and excitement, and it’s another corporate job (which I may or may not be against — I’m not sure yet), but the pay is decent and the recruiting/temp company provides full benefits.

The big worry about this job is the possibility of having to go job hunting again at the end of the year. But I do like proofreading, and I’m good at it, and it would be solid experience on my resume. The recruiter submitted my resume to the company this morning, so we’ll see how that goes.

The third prospect, which I just got today, is being a Jill of All Trades Marketing Whiz for a new company, which is basically a specialty retail store in Seattle. They need someone who can work with their coder to develop a kickass website with ecommerce, including writing copy and content, plan a blog and other social networking goodies, and help out with store and community events. So, basically web design, copywriting, content writing/editing, PR, event planning, and whatever else they might need along the way.

It sounds like a lot of fun to me, because I’d get to learn how a small business is run as well as use all kinds of creativity in writing, planning, designing, and general idea-having. My reservations about this one are due to it being a very small start-up business that may end up dying. But on Friday I’ll be visiting the store and meeting the owner and getting sized up and all that.

It’s really amazing how all three of my job prospects are in totally different arenas, career-track-wise. If I were offered all three right this minute, I really have no idea how I’d decide. They all have their pros and cons, and I guess time will smooth out some of the wrinkles and questions I have.

It’s weird how all this happens at once. I’m desperately seeking any kind of acknowledgement that my resumes aren’t just dissolving when I hit the Send button, hearing not a peep for weeks and months on end, and then three at once, bam bam bam.

That Morton Salt girl sure did know what she was talking about.

• I got a button making machine! Now I just have to figure out what buttons to make and I can begin building my empire.
• I’m going to a crafting party this weekend, which is exciting, but I have no idea what crafty project to bring. I haven’t done this in a long time. Maybe I’ll bring stuff to make a shadowbox, but I’m not sure yet.
• Starting tomorrow, I get to work at the weirdest show I’ve worked at. Northwest’s largest Anime convention, if you must know. I’m looking forward to the helmets made of aluminum foil and the many, many tails attached to butts.
• I’m getting another freelance proofreading job this afternoon, and it has a very short deadline. Yay for money!
• Today’s Happy Bunny says, “I’m writing a song about you. What rhymes with dorkface?” Good ol’ Happy Bunny.

First off, you must know that Company X has a thoroughly entertaining website. Every time you click on an internal link or load a new page, you get this awesome bit of music that I swear came from a scene transition on Miami Vice. A smattering of cool drums and laser noises, followed by a near-silent reverb. Classy.

And the web writing is among the finest I’ve seen. Hyphens have been outlawed at Company X, but it’s okay because they have many resources at their disposable. Oh, and they aren’t eliminating potential employees merely for lack of wok experience. That’s good to know.

So, admittedly, I wasn’t expecting much when I showed up at 10:20 for my 10:30 interview. (I mention the time because I got in to the actual interview at 11:10.) But my low expectations were dashed down a few pegs when I saw that every window of the place was plasted with a Vote for Dino Rossi sign. I did not vote for him, nor would I ever.

Once inside, I was met with dingy white walls, filthy industrial grey carpet, and a cardboard sign bearing the Company X logo leaning on the floor against the wall just past the receptionist’s desk. Oh, and the radio was blaring KEXP radio, which apparently specializes in taking easy listening songs and adding a rockin’ backbeat. And I do mean blaring. The receptionist, when she finally arrived at almost 11, had to yell to be heard over it.

As I sat in the dirty gray-and-chrome chair, filling out paperwork, I sized up my competition. The woman who arrived moments before me was a grandma with helmet hair, a frumpy skirt-suit with a breast cancer awareness lapel pin, and spikey black leather boots. She recently moved here from Atlanta to be near her son and 4-year-old granddaughter, because he was relocated by Boeing. She hates the weather here (more to the point, she hates my weather), and her age has been a big problem in finding work.

And yes, it is weird that I know so much about this woman.

A while after I arrived, another woman showed up. She had a shaky grasp on the English language, and she was very chatty and chummy. She was wearing the very same black/grey/hot pink stripey pants that I own and sometimes wear to interviews. She too was wearing spikey black leather boots, and she had her resume tucked into a magazine that she’d brought along, and when she turned it in, she had to pencil in some information on the top.

A while later, another woman joined our little party. Her spikey black leather boots made me wonder if I’d missed a memo somewhere. She was wearing a black pinstripe suit, and she tried very hard to be hip and hide the fact that she was well past middle age by chatting with the receptionist about Britney Spears.

Ah, the receptionist. You would’ve thought she hadn’t had human contact in years. She went on and on, in an inanely loud voice to carry over the music, about how she just moved here from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where she was forced to become a huge football fan. Apparently there’s a game on Saturday. Oh, and an interesting fact about southern Florida is that nobody who lives there is actually from there.

And the last contestant, who appeared just a few minutes before I was finally summoned to the interview, was a gangly young guy in an oversized and ill-fitting suit. I don’t think he realized the back of his jacket collar was sticking up like he had come straight from a Corey Haim photo shoot. Or maybe he did. I’m not sure which is worse. He had oddly shaped facial features, like a Ken doll that gets pinched in at the ears, and he had one of those wrap-around-your-ear hearing aids. He made a very concerted effort to not make eye contact with the receptionist.

Oh, and then I got to meet Mr. Personality. He made a point of telling me that this was the kind of fun office where the music is blaring, and where there aren’t any “suits.”

The interview went by at a kind of hyperspeed blur. I vaguely remember disturbing phrases about “very small events at QFC” and “the event coordinator position has absolutely no growth potential,” but I was swept up in the surreality of it all.

In my bewilderment, I agreed to a second interview tomorrow at 10am. As I was being shunted out the door, he mentioned that it would be an all-day interview, and that I shouldn’t wear tennis shoes, jeans, or t-shirts, and that I should “check the weather and dress accordingly.” Um…what? Either he thinks I’m too mentally deficient to know how to dress myself, or he’s implying that we’ll be trekking around in the out-of-doors.

So I won’t be going back for the interview. Instead, I’ll sit around wondering why the only people who want to hire me are the ones that I wouldn’t want to work for. It’s like junior high all over again. I was, and ever will be, a geek magnet.

But maybe I should try to put a more positive, hopeful spin on things. Write about what I want to be able to do, write about what I’d like to get sorted out and cleared up. That’s probably a better idea than just listing my complaints. It has an illusion of forward motion, anyway.

So here I am, thinking about all the things that are knotted up in my stomach and my mind, trying to figure out a way to sort them out and give them some sort of direction.

I’m just going to have to whine about everything for a while, to get it off my chest. Then maybe I’ll be able to go back and talk about solutions and plans and all that optimistic crap.

First of all, it doesn’t seem like my house will ever sell. The last house had four offers the first weekend, some even over our list price. Not this time. It’s been on the market for three weeks with nary a nibble. It looks great, and the price is reasonable for the neighborhood and all that. I guess it just takes time. But the longer it takes to sell, the longer I have to contribute to paying the mortgage, and the longer I have to keep living with my mom, because I can’t afford an apartment on top of what I’m already paying for a home I don’t even live in.

The worst part is that my paycheck is so crappy that I only have left about $400 a month to spend on food, gifts, cat supplies, kickboxing dues, cell phone bills, gas, car maintenance, and actually buying anything for myself. And saving money is out of the question. As is slowly buying things I’ll need when I move into an apartment.

So I’m applying for jobs like crazy, but nobody seems to want to hire me. A couple months back when I decided that my current job was not for me, I got a few interviews, but then I was promised a job here that’s apparently not going to exist, and now the job market has forsaken me.

And I don’t even want to talk about my current job. There’s just too much that annoys and angers me here.

Back to a previous topic, there’s nothing horribly wrong with living with my mom. We get along fine, and I get some free food out of the deal. I just need to live on my own. I never have, in my entire life, and it’s time. When I have a bad day, I want the luxury of buying a bag of Oreos and sobbing in front of the TV. Or take a long hot bath with a book. I need to be able to come and go as I please, not checking in with anyone.

Not that I want to do anything particularly shady, but I just need to not worry about worrying anyone by not coming home at a particular time. I don’t want to always explain where I was. Maybe I just want to drive around, or sit in my car in a parking lot and read, or lurk at the library or bookstore for hours. I need that kind of freedom to just do whatever I want to do.

So it’s nothing against my mom or Ed. They’ve been more wonderful than I could have imagined, letting me live with them so long and even letting me bring my cat. But I need a change, and that can’t happen until the house sells. Having an income of $400 a month, when I have a master’s degree and two bachelor’s degrees, is decidedly uncool.

There are all kinds of other things contributing to the feeling of an elephant sitting on my chest, but I’ve probably whined enough for one day. I’ll get back to the getting-in-shape, extra-long-commute, behind-on-charity-auction-helping, stifled-creativity, frustrated-writer-and-crafter, stalled-business-owner, can’t-seem-to-get-enough-sleep issues another time.

And if you actually read this all the way to this point, thank you. I’ll post something positive one of these days, I promise!