Damn.

Well, folks, at least I HAD an interview.

However, in Hamilton, even things that seem like an opportunity turn out to be a kick in the head. What was I thinking? Didn’t I know this city wanted (nay, needed) me to fail?

This morning I was again awaken (awoken?) by a phone call. This morning it was not a good thing. I was hitting the snooze button for once too often, at 8.30am (my interview was scheduled for 11am downtown, but I had thought to treat myself to cab instead of the bus, so I was fine). Then the phone.

(Ominous Music.)
It was the secretary at the office of the lady I was to meet that morning.
Secretary: “Ms. P-?”
Me: “Yes.”
Secretary: “I’m sorry, but Ms. S- has to cancel your interview this morning.”
Me: “Oh. OK.” (Grabbing a pen to take down the new time/date).
Secretary: “Yes, she has already hired someone she interviewed on Monday.”
Me: Silence. (Shake of head.) “Oh. Well. OK.”
Secretary: “Yes. Ms. S- wishes you all the best with your continued job search.”
Me: “Uh, thanks?”
Secretary: “Goodbye.”
Me: “Yeah.” (Faint.)
Me: Puts down phone, and laughs a little in wild confusion. (I sat wondering if that was the person hired on Monday. Maybe Ms. S- is so twisted that the first duty of a new employee is to call all the jerks who didn’t get the job.)

So, in what world do you not even pay lip service to the other applicants you have scheduled, and at least try them out, before you just hire the first bozo you meet and cancel the rest? I guess she needed to be at the links today, and I was in her way…

So. There you have it. I am still unemployed. Rats.

Now I find myself in a strange predicament: I’m not sure I want to keep looking. Maybe I should concede defeat and just hide until I move. Last night I did another job hunt and all I could find is a bunch of student jobs for which you must be under 24 to apply, and quite a few jobs I couldn’t even try to do (licensed sand blaster, crane operator, level 4 technical supervisor, etc.) No go there. In addition, delightfully, we have now reached that place in the summer when EVERY ONE in the world already has their job, so the listings get fewer and fewer. By next week, there should be nothing left but a Stage 9 Primate Kidney Stone Remover with a PhD and experience in IT. Yay.

The thing is, we aren’t doing too bad. The fact that I no longer have a paycheck has sent us spiraling into emergency poverty measures: No smokes, limited food, no long distance (whatsoever), no electricity used that is unessential, no bus rides to places within an hour’s walking distance, no major spending (my book an exception), and no purchases without consulting the budget. (It’s like Wartime Britain around here.) Further, we cleared our credit in anticipation of this situation, and got a loan from family until September. As it is, I am doing better then when I had a job, as when I have a paycheck I feel more secure and go wild with the money (i.e. I buy sandwiches freely when I’m on campus).

Therefore, I am considering just giving up and no longer subjecting myself to the humiliation of the Hamilton jerked-meat market. I have a ton of preparation to do for my classes in the fall, and then there’s packing and apartment red tape. I have shit to do. It doesn’t pay, but maybe I no longer care. Screw you Hamilton- I may have given up, but I refuse to curl up and die. I will get out of this town even if I can’t afford a mover and have to carry my crap on my back out of this place. What do you think of that? Huh? Well?

So I give myself three more weeks, making applications every 48 hours when the job site is updated, and then I’m not going to waste one more thought.

That’s what I get for being so happy the last week. Rats.