Hello from good ol’ Brooklyn! I write to you with hair slightly damp and refreshed from a shower in softer waters, back in my childhood home to celebrate my little brother’s twenty-first birthday. A couple of Belgian ales and a seasonal offering from 5 Rabbit brewery accompanied me on the flight over, tucked safely inside some clothes and wrapped with socks. I’m excited to introduce my brother to the wide world of craft beers and to give him a taste of Chicago’s beer scene. My stay here is only a week long, but I will happily be spending it surrounded by my family and childhood friends.
I do need a bit of a break. My mood has been dampened somewhat by the e-mail I received earlier today (well, technically yesterday afternoon) informing me that I would not be offered the position at my company. It would have been the first step towards my ideal career, and I was so hopeful that I would get it seeing as I have a reputation for being reliable and diligent and I had the knowledge base that was suggested, if not required, for the job. I’m trying to remind myself that I was one of the final candidates—it was an ego boost to pass the test portion and get to the interview stage—but the disappointment is still there. I feel as if I’m back to square one. Back to being uncertain about where I’ll end up and uncertain about when I will actually break into my field of choice.
Fortunately, the woman who interviewed me is willing to meet for a casual conversation about the field she works in and my application. I’m hoping to glean some information that I can use to improve my chances for the future. I won’t be able to have that conversation until September 9th, as we are both going to be on vacation during the weeks leading to that date. I’m going to do my best not to feel so downtrodden in the meantime. I’m on a path and I might as well keep exploring it. I’m determined to keep this momentum going.
In other news, I’ve been encountering a lot of frustrating technical difficulties. My home in Pilsen is currently without Internet (one of several reasons why I have not had a new blog post for a couple of weeks) and now my version of Microsoft Word 365 keeps crashing and telling me it is an unlicensed product when I clearly have a licensed account with them. I just want to turn off all of my electronics and leave them all off for several weeks, or months. For those of you out there who may think that today’s youth are too in love with their gadgets, let me prove you wrong. I often fantasize about living a smart phone- and laptop/tablet-free life. The issue is that my aspirations (and socialization) are dependent upon these bits of technology.
It’s way past my bedtime, and I doubt I’ll be able to fix my technological woes by staring at a screen any longer. Hugs and sympathy to all of you who are still mired in the search for a job and/or career. To those of you who are happily settled, congratulations. Whichever boat you are in, I hope to write to you, readers of the Internet, again soon.
— S. (a.k.a. AMisplacedPen)
Misplaced Pen 