What should I call this post?

I'm tired right now. I've spent the entire day running around doing stuff and on top of that I made a couple of Apple-Pear Crisps. Let's see what did I do? Hum I did laundry, ironed, tidied up the living room and my room, ran a couple of errands, ran mom over to Kaiser, so now I'm pooped. If being unemployed means that you sit around doing nothing then I don't fit the profile. I do stuff every day. Tomorrow at least I get a couple hours of pampering at the hair dresser. I sometimes have down time but even then I find things things to do. Even sleeping in isn't really on the table. For some reason I can't really do the sleep in thing. Getting up at 7a is already late for me. Spending time watching television during the day-no. Today was just a preview of the next several weeks. By that I mean Passover is coming up.

As I previously mentioned I genuinely hate Passover and the running around doing errands is just part of. if it were only just shopping, cleaning, and cooking no problems-like Rosh HaShana. But not Passover. Passover is its own torturous beast because it's more than running errands and cooking, it's a total upending of everything and everyone. I won't even start right now on the seders. Daily exhaustion-fun. Right now I'm vegging out in front of the television just trying to unwind. I can see why people do this. After a busy day you need something that doesn't require much thought. I can deal.

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Getting busy

It's starting to get busy again around the old homestead. Passover falls out at the end of March this year so that means preparations start early. I mean they start early all the time but because this it seems like a real sprint rather than a middle distance race things have to get started quickly. By things I mean the cleaning and the shopping. Truth is I really hate Passover with a vengence. I hate the fuss, the upset schedules, the bland tasteless food, the late nights, every single thing. I have never had a good passover experience. Of course in between all this I send out resumes and get grad school sorted out. I mean I get the point of Passover but to me it's devolved into a forced exercise in family get together. Truth is I'd rather stay home and eat a light meal and go to bed early than stay up until 2:00a and pretend to enjoy myself. Even the thought of community seder doesn't appeal to me at all. I just hate Passover.

In the meantime there's all the cleaning and shopping to do. Yech!! Everything is so overpriced. The markets are crowded and people behave like animals. I wish there was a way to just avoid all of this. Sure i could just go away to someplace like Italy or Spain but that would mean sitting through a seder with strangers. Although the up side is that I could blow everyone off and go sight seeing on my own. I'm just dreaming because if I had a thousand dollars I could pull it off. It's been suggested I go to New York to visit family for Passover but again I would have to sit through a seder-no thank you. If there was only a way to just avoid the whole thing to begin with that would be great. Hum.

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Legal Holidays and Other Holidays

Today is President's Day. This is the day set aside to honor all past and present American presidents. Really it's February 15th. This day is an outgrowth of both Washington and Lincoln's birthday (born February 22 and 12 respectively). Someone decided that it would be better to set aside a day to honor all U.S. presidents and designated the third Monday in February as that day. Personally speaking I don't care one way or another, it's just another day on the calendar for me. That's pretty much the way I feel about any holiday legal, religious or otherwise. I suppose when you're single and unemployed things take on a grey tinge that make supposedly happy days seem not so great. I know this sounds pathetic but really that's the way I feel. I have some joy but it's not the same as someone else's. Other people look forward to holidays as a day of rest and relaxation. I just see it as another day.

I try to find some way to enjoy holidays. For example, this past High Holiday season, I baked and cooked up a storm and my contributions were appreciated. Sis actually asked me for the recipes. But it still felt hollow because every one was sitting around the table and who did I have? Grandmama oh boy. As much as I crab about marriage these days, it's nice to have a person to come to who isn't going to complain and whine all the time or obsess about a four year old all evening. I'd like to find someone to spend not just holidays with but every day. That person doesn't seem to be anywhere insight. I feel like the odd person out. So every day is just another day on the calendar for me.

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Another quiet afternoon

I actually enjoy quiet week day afternoons because I have time to get things done like, I don't know, send out resumes or check on the status of my USC application. About that one, it would seem that San Jose State University and I had an amicable parting of ways recently. This parting was due to the fact that my intellectual and professional interests changed. Instead of focusing on Western architecture, I wanted to focus more on Japanese. Specifically, modern Japanese. Also, I want a really useful degree. Given the fact that post-secondary education has been getting the short shrift lately I decided to look and see if there was a way I could get into architecture without having to go through a M.Arch program. As it turned out USC's Master's of Historical Preservation program was just the ticket. So I wait.

Another thing about a quiet afternoon is that I can get somethings done around the house without a child running around or grandmama whining and complaining. In the quiet afternoons I've been able to clean the house, fold and iron the laundry and prepare dinner. Mostly, I'm able to peruse the job listings for something to do. That is a bit of work since I'm not actually finding something that really grabs my attention. Most of the jobs I send resumes for are jobs that I can do until I figure out what to do about grad school. it's sort of like being in limbo, you're neither here nor there, just in between. Writing this blog gives me something to do other than mindlessly wander the malls or watch television.

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Slow Day

Despite the fact that I had to do a bit of running around today, it was a slow day. Actually a slow and wet day. I took grandmama to an appointment this morning then came home to find out that little nephew had to be picked up from school so I had to wolf down a perfectly good lunch and run to get him then stop at the store to pick up a few things for dinner. After that it slowed down and I actually got a couple of things done and had a chance to rest and freshen up. I then made a pretty terrific dinner. Nothing special but it was really good.

Being unemployed I've managed to pick up a skill or two like cooking. You won't be seeing me on "Iron Chef" anytime soon but I can manage in the kitchen. I actually find the process to be quite fun. It's yet another creative outlet for me and it makes people happy. I especially like to bake I think that's because I have incurable sweet tooth. Thank goodness for Weight Watchers recipes. To date I've baked two honey cakes, batches of cookies, an Apple-Pear Crisp, and a Linzer Bar cake. Cooking wise, I've prepared whole meals. One thing I really love to prepare is a Paprika-Garlic Rubbed Chicken. It's ridiculously easy to prepare and the smell when it's in the oven it sick (a good thing). The other I like to make is a Greek inspired Chicken. Chicken thighs and red potato wedges are marinated over night in lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, oregano then cooked then next day at 350. Yum.

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Sitting on your hands

One of the worst things about being unemployed is that you have allot of time on your hands. Oh sure you devote a chunk of it to the job search: emailing resumes, going to interviews when you get them, and so on but the rest is down time. It's the down time that can be a killer. Some use the that time to do housework. Others just sit mindlessly in front of the television. Still others find activities to fill the void. It's the nature of those activities that can lead to positive or negative things. I've heard of jobless folks taking up a hobby such as knitting and later turning it into a business. That's a positive thing. Going down that route has both good points and bad points. The good is it's something you enjoy and other people appreciate your handiwork. I know that feeling. I took up knitting a few years ago (I really want to get back into it) and for Chanuka I made niece and older nephew each a scarf and hat which they and their parents loved. The kids still have them and use them. I need to make something for little nephew. Another good point is going to the yarn store and touching the different yarns and checking out the patterns. You might think that running your hand over random skeins of yarn sounds a bit weird, unless you're a knitter yourself, but cashmere definitely feels different than cotton. The patterns allow you to imagine the endless possibilities. The bad, is the cost. The cost of materials can be a bit prohibitive but there ways to get around it.

For me, I try to fill my down time with different activities. First there's Avon. I've doing that for almost a year. It actually takes some work because you are you own manager, marketing department, bookkeeper, inventory control, and sales force. For those of you interested it's www.youravon.com/llowen if you want to check it out. Also, I have a pile of books that I've either read or am reading. I just finished "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez and just started "The American Future" by Simon Schama. Also, I have an application into USC for their Master's of HIstoric Perservation Program, hope I get in. I started to take an active interest in the teaching ESL. For that I have to take at least the CBEST. I think this might be the course I follow for now. The key here is finding time to study and then after I pass it, find an ESL training course. I keep putting it off for no real reason other than I can. I really have no clue as to why. I mean it's not like I like sitting around all day and moaning about the state of affairs or lusting after things (really they're just things). All right, resolved I'll get back on the CBEST trail and insist on time to study.

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A bit of a week

This past week has been a bit of a week. It started Monday with granny and her cell phone issues. Granny's cell phone died on Sunday and so I went to the store to get a new, free one. Well the one I brought home wasn't working aesthetically: the buttons and the screen were too small. I picked this one out after granny, being her usual indecisive self, couldn't pick something. So the next I went back to the store to try to get the one she wanted. They didn't have exactly that one so I thought maybe get the same one in pink instead of black or purple. As it turned out it wasn't going to be free after all, but what is? So I got a loaner phone which I thought was rather nice. That still didn't meet her approval. It was granny's lifelong lack of decision making skills that really got me the most frustrated and angry more so than anything else. If it were me needing to replace a cell phone I know what I'd want and get it. Anyway, the end of that story was I ordered granny a new phone online and now she's pestering me about its arrival. Some people are just spoiled impatient children.

Tuesday and Wednesday went pretty smooth. As I mentioned, Tuesday was the appointment at the recruiting firm. Prior to going to that appointment, I sent my resume to the residence association in my complex as well as to a dental office looking for help. I felt a little guilty about that one because if I get it, it would be like cheating on my really nice dentist. The only annoying thing about Wednesday was that younger nephew acted up in the park. Granny took the boy to the park while I went to get the groceries for the week. When I came to pick them up, he wanted to go to the library and walk home. Normally I wouldn't mind them going to the library but they were there for over an hour and, despite the fact that granny refuses to wear a perfectly lovely watch she bought, could plan their time better. I think he was a bit tired from pre-school so I let slide the almost tantrum.

Today, younger nephew thought he was some type of animal because he got out of his car pool nipping at granny and me. Then we went into Coffee Bean for his daily fix. At the coffee place, he got a straw for his drink and started using the straw as weapon. When I tried to stop him he started hitting, kicking, and scratching. Of course in granny's universe, that kind of behavior gets rewarded. If it were up to me, I would've taken him out of the store and not let him come back until he learned to behave. After depositing them at sis's house everything went fine. Fortunately, I don't have to experience them over the weekend. Two weekends in a row is more than enough.

More later.

The Recruitment Firm

So today I drove to South Pasadena to finally meet with this recruitment firm that I was supposed to meet last week. The drive itself was rather nice and I made good time, a rarity in Los Angeles. After filling out the requisite paperwork I sat down with the person and we talked for a few minutes. Basically what I told I'm looking for something that matches my interests and in a location that I can reasonable expect to make it in on time. Those are two big criteria for me. One of the many things I've learned in the working world is show up on time and don't simply accept work because someone else cajoled you into. I think it's a monumental waste of my time and the employer's time when you train for a job that you know that you're not qualified to do but a friend or relative thought "oh what's the big deal? You can do this." I firmly believe that no one is able to do every job. Just because someone is good at one thing doesn't mean they're good at everything. Personally, I suck at working in an office typing, filing, and answering the phones. I especially suck in working in highly structured and formal environment such as banks and law firms. I more suited to creative situations. Does this make me short sighted? Maybe? but as the great bard once said "To thine own self be true." So that was that. I think the firm can do something for me because they deal with architecture firms and museums so this is a good sign. We'll see what happens.

More later.