Lately I have seen a lot of my family. Usually we just get together at major holidays but we’ve had a couple of recent outings.
He’s Gone – my nephew signed up for the Army a few months ago. I’m sure I detailed the day my father and I spent waiting for him to be sworn in. My sister Dee suggested we all meet out at a restaurant and give him a big send-off. We didn’t really toast him or even talk to him that night. He sat at one end of the long table with his friends and the rest of us sat at the other end. We laughed and talked and ate food… which is really what we do when we’re all together anyhow. As we got up from the table to leave, that’s when everyone said their goodbyes. I knew that I would see him tomorrow when I dropped him off at the recruiters before he left for good. The next day as I drove him to the office building, I tried to impart some kind of wisdom on him, to try and tell him the secrets that would make it easier on him. The fact of the matter is: I don’t think he was willing to listen. I said my peace, though.
My Father and Mother – about a week ago my mother went off to the funeral of a distant relative. She and her two sisters flew out to the Midwest to attend. My dad called and wondered what I was doing on a Saturday night and I had to admit I didn’t have any plans. We ended up going out to eat and then saw “Gran Torino”. Let’s just say that Clint Eastwood did more growling than Christian Bale in “The Dark Knight”. My dad (for some reason) has been very involved in my most recent job search. He’ll call up and say “so and so is hiring… did you send them a resume?” He and my mother volunteer at a local hospital and they’re always wondering why I don’t send in a resume for this particular hospital. “They’re not hiring,” I tell them. “Send your resume anyway,” they tell me. So my dad says he was at the hospital one day talking with this guy who owns a computer installation company. My dad asks me to send over my resume to him so he can pass it on to the small businessman. A couple days later my dad calls to critique my resume. Here I am a 40-something homeowner who has lived on his own for quite some time now and my dad is calling to give unsolicited advice. I listened to his advice, which was in total contradiction to what the professionals were saying. He’s from a day and age where a 1-page resume could get the job. This is not true anymore for the industry I’m in. I have to be nice to my parents because if I don’t get a job soon, I’ll be living with them.
My Sister – in order to thank me for the all times recently I have toted one of her two sons around, my sister Dee wanted to take me to dinner. As soon as I dropped off her youngest son for a weekend trip, we were to meet back and my house and go from there. She had to get the oil changed in her car and then we’d head out somewhere to dinner. Everything was going to plan but we hadn’t decided where to go for dinner. So I suggested one place. We walked in and the wait was about half an hour. We left there and walked to another restaurant close by. The wait there was more than 2 hours. 2 hours!?! Who waits 2 hours for a restaurant? We left there and walked to yet another place close by. “How many in your party?” asked the hostess. “Two” said Dee. “By the way, how long is the wait?” we asked. “We don’t have one,” she said. That’s where we ate.
My Job – I’m hesitant to say that I have a couple of hot irons in the fire regarding my hunt for a job. I hate getting my hopes up, but isn’t that what they’re for? I have already started thinking about the changes I’m going to enact once I’m hired. I’ve begun to think about the kind of people I’ll work with. I have put entirely too much thought into the one person in the office I won’t like. It always happens. I don’t like to discuss specifics because I think it will jinx things. I don’t want to mess anything up but I’m glad that there’s finally some action happening. It is really disheartening answering a job ad and then hearing nothing about it. Keep your fingers crossed for me.
He’s Gone – my nephew signed up for the Army a few months ago. I’m sure I detailed the day my father and I spent waiting for him to be sworn in. My sister Dee suggested we all meet out at a restaurant and give him a big send-off. We didn’t really toast him or even talk to him that night. He sat at one end of the long table with his friends and the rest of us sat at the other end. We laughed and talked and ate food… which is really what we do when we’re all together anyhow. As we got up from the table to leave, that’s when everyone said their goodbyes. I knew that I would see him tomorrow when I dropped him off at the recruiters before he left for good. The next day as I drove him to the office building, I tried to impart some kind of wisdom on him, to try and tell him the secrets that would make it easier on him. The fact of the matter is: I don’t think he was willing to listen. I said my peace, though.
My Father and Mother – about a week ago my mother went off to the funeral of a distant relative. She and her two sisters flew out to the Midwest to attend. My dad called and wondered what I was doing on a Saturday night and I had to admit I didn’t have any plans. We ended up going out to eat and then saw “Gran Torino”. Let’s just say that Clint Eastwood did more growling than Christian Bale in “The Dark Knight”. My dad (for some reason) has been very involved in my most recent job search. He’ll call up and say “so and so is hiring… did you send them a resume?” He and my mother volunteer at a local hospital and they’re always wondering why I don’t send in a resume for this particular hospital. “They’re not hiring,” I tell them. “Send your resume anyway,” they tell me. So my dad says he was at the hospital one day talking with this guy who owns a computer installation company. My dad asks me to send over my resume to him so he can pass it on to the small businessman. A couple days later my dad calls to critique my resume. Here I am a 40-something homeowner who has lived on his own for quite some time now and my dad is calling to give unsolicited advice. I listened to his advice, which was in total contradiction to what the professionals were saying. He’s from a day and age where a 1-page resume could get the job. This is not true anymore for the industry I’m in. I have to be nice to my parents because if I don’t get a job soon, I’ll be living with them.
My Sister – in order to thank me for the all times recently I have toted one of her two sons around, my sister Dee wanted to take me to dinner. As soon as I dropped off her youngest son for a weekend trip, we were to meet back and my house and go from there. She had to get the oil changed in her car and then we’d head out somewhere to dinner. Everything was going to plan but we hadn’t decided where to go for dinner. So I suggested one place. We walked in and the wait was about half an hour. We left there and walked to another restaurant close by. The wait there was more than 2 hours. 2 hours!?! Who waits 2 hours for a restaurant? We left there and walked to yet another place close by. “How many in your party?” asked the hostess. “Two” said Dee. “By the way, how long is the wait?” we asked. “We don’t have one,” she said. That’s where we ate.
My Job – I’m hesitant to say that I have a couple of hot irons in the fire regarding my hunt for a job. I hate getting my hopes up, but isn’t that what they’re for? I have already started thinking about the changes I’m going to enact once I’m hired. I’ve begun to think about the kind of people I’ll work with. I have put entirely too much thought into the one person in the office I won’t like. It always happens. I don’t like to discuss specifics because I think it will jinx things. I don’t want to mess anything up but I’m glad that there’s finally some action happening. It is really disheartening answering a job ad and then hearing nothing about it. Keep your fingers crossed for me.