14 votes

Topic deleted by author

20 comments

  1. [3]
    cptcobalt
    (edited )
    Link
    So, I'm job hunting—time for better pastures. This week, I'm finally finishing up a creative portfolio and overhaul of my resume, and will go hard on another round of targeted applications later...

    So, I'm job hunting—time for better pastures. This week, I'm finally finishing up a creative portfolio and overhaul of my resume, and will go hard on another round of targeted applications later in the week. This process has been slow going and failure prone, and makes me realize that hiring is completely broken for both candidates and companies. Can't there be a better way?

    I get daily emails from indeed and linkedin and such, telling me to apply to be a budtender, park ranger, or firefighter—completely irrelevant to the engineering or design roles I'm searching for; or even telling me to pay them for more visibility to recruiters. I've had way too many friends that make casual suggestions that basically amount to hours of extra work with zero clear chance of it leading me anywhere. I'm even trying to leverage connections in other companies with other people that I know, and that's not getting me any success either. The entire process is confidence breaking and soul crushing, and yet we all seem to happily deal with this not-at-all broken system.

    To top this off, my parents are coming into town a the end of the week to visit, which I'm dreading. After a strained childhood, we have an okay-ish relationship today. I can happily handle short visits with them every few months, but I'm definitely not the call every week type of kid. Usually, I can deal with the parents just fine—it usually leads to fun dinners and different experiences, but with my mental health being astoundingly low at the moment because of all this job stuff, I feel like I'd rather climb Mt. Everest than put on a fake smile this weekend.

    9 votes
    1. tunneljumper
      Link Parent
      If it makes you feel better: you only need to get hired once. That rush of endorphins entering your brain when you hear "we think you're the right person for our company" flushes out any sort of...

      If it makes you feel better: you only need to get hired once. That rush of endorphins entering your brain when you hear "we think you're the right person for our company" flushes out any sort of bad thoughts and disappointments you had before, at least it did for me.

      7 votes
    2. DustyGazongas
      Link Parent
      I really feel you on this. In the last two months I did a resume overhaul and started mass-applying. Probably put in 15 apps in the last four days alone. I've got an job in the periphery of my...

      I really feel you on this. In the last two months I did a resume overhaul and started mass-applying. Probably put in 15 apps in the last four days alone. I've got an job in the periphery of my specialty. But that's the problem...it's just adequate. I did zero work today. They paid me close to $40 an hour to play Pokemon Go, write a discussion post for one of my graduate classes, drink three beers on lunch, and dick around with two of my other coworkers who also do basically nothing all day....one of which makes almost double what I do and he does even less...somehow.

      I really love my career field. I hate not being productive in it. I only took the job because I need the salary bump while my wife came off active duty. Now that's over and I'm calling in every favor I can to get a job that actually means something to me. Only one callback so far and it turns out the posting wasn't accurate. Ugh.

      3 votes
  2. [2]
    Hypersapien
    Link
    Packing a ton of my stuff into boxes, taking some to Goodwill, and putting some of my furniture on Craigslist in preparation for moving in a few weeks. Moving, by the way, immediately after coming...

    Packing a ton of my stuff into boxes, taking some to Goodwill, and putting some of my furniture on Craigslist in preparation for moving in a few weeks.

    Moving, by the way, immediately after coming home from spending a week at Pennsic. And driving four hours home on the evening of my birthday.

    And arranging for painters and flooring people to start work the day after we're moved out. So there's a better chance of selling as soon as possible.

    Also, I just had a job interview today that I think have a good shot at getting.

    God, I'm tired

    7 votes
    1. [2]
      Comment deleted by author
      Link Parent
      1. Hypersapien
        Link Parent
        We're purging a ton of stuff, including some big pieces of furniture, at my girlfriend's urging. And I know she's right. I've gotten into the habit of being way too much of a pack rat. I've...

        We're purging a ton of stuff, including some big pieces of furniture, at my girlfriend's urging. And I know she's right. I've gotten into the habit of being way too much of a pack rat. I've accumulated way too much useless shit.

        Yeah. That's the Pennsic I'm talking about. It's my first time going. She went once years ago but we have a bunch of friends that go that we'll be meeting there and camping with. Imagine a giant fan-run Renaissance Faire with a ton of different classes on medieval arts and culture. People camp there and it goes on for two weeks. We're only staying for one week though. We're driving home for four hours on the evening of the 4th (which is also my birthday, so that sucks) and moving into the new apartment the next day. I wish I could have arranged the schedule differently, but this is the only way I could figure it working out. We do have the whole rest of the week off since we weren't sure what days we'd actually be going.

        Oh, and I got that job. I start on the 12th. I'm giving notice today.

        2 votes
  3. [6]
    acdw
    Link
    I'm still working away on my year-long challenge of doing something creative each day. Today I'm going to try for a collage. Our one foster dog is getting adopted, so that's exciting. The family...

    I'm still working away on my year-long challenge of doing something creative each day. Today I'm going to try for a collage.

    Our one foster dog is getting adopted, so that's exciting. The family seems really nice, too -- I'm so happy for them.

    7 votes
    1. [5]
      thejumpingbulldog
      Link Parent
      Man that seems impressive to do something creative everyday. I currently have a ton of insightful tabs open and I can't will myself to read them.

      Man that seems impressive to do something creative everyday. I currently have a ton of insightful tabs open and I can't will myself to read them.

      5 votes
      1. [4]
        acdw
        Link Parent
        I know what you mean -- I have a self-hosted Read-it-Later thing set up and I just dump articles in there. I haven't read one for....like, 2 months? The list just keeps growing. As for actually...

        I know what you mean -- I have a self-hosted Read-it-Later thing set up and I just dump articles in there. I haven't read one for....like, 2 months? The list just keeps growing.

        As for actually doing something every day, it's actually helping me to turn off my internal editor. Like, I have to do something every day, and it has to have the title that's been generated, so that's that. Some I'm pretty happy with, but others are really not very good. But that's okay -- I did it. And I forgive myself the bad ones.

        I'm hoping to eventually parlay that kind of thinking into a real, publishable (by someone other than me) work, but who knows.

        5 votes
        1. [2]
          Comment deleted by author
          Link Parent
          1. acdw
            Link Parent
            Sure! It's called Wallabag, and it works basically just like Pocket or (I'm assuming) Read it Later. There's browser extensions, and they say they can interface with RSS readers (I did have it set...

            Sure! It's called Wallabag, and it works basically just like Pocket or (I'm assuming) Read it Later. There's browser extensions, and they say they can interface with RSS readers (I did have it set up with TinyTinyRSS once, but not for a while now)
            and e-readers, too. OH and there's apps!

            I installed it once by hand on a NearlyFreeSpeech.net instance, which was a little finicky (I wrote about it if you're curious how I did it), but I got one of those push-button hosts and it had Wallabag able to install just by clicking a link. Using it is really pretty easy, too. Not that I use it that much, at least on the reading end :)

            2 votes
        2. [2]
          thejumpingbulldog
          Link Parent
          I honestly had a bit of fun with the Vault Guard. Either way, I give you kudos for going on strong with it. I've been meaning to write a blog or further pursue my endeavors with photography (I...

          I honestly had a bit of fun with the Vault Guard. Either way, I give you kudos for going on strong with it. I've been meaning to write a blog or further pursue my endeavors with photography (I have a lot of interests). Maybe I might after my summer class ends, but so far calculus has been eating my time.

          2 votes
          1. acdw
            Link Parent
            Thanks for the appreciation! Definitely go for it with a blog or website -- the great thing about having your own space is that you can follow any and all interests you have. I hope you let me...

            Thanks for the appreciation! Definitely go for it with a blog or website -- the great thing about having your own space is that you can follow any and all interests you have. I hope you let me (us!) know about your site when it's set up! If you need any help, feel free to message me somehow and I'll try my best to help out :)

            2 votes
  4. [2]
    alyaza
    Link
    i have a baseball game to go to today, which is bound to be fun since we're in the part of the year where it's 95 degrees outside and rains every afternoon sometime between 3pm and 8pm, and these...

    i have a baseball game to go to today, which is bound to be fun since we're in the part of the year where it's 95 degrees outside and rains every afternoon sometime between 3pm and 8pm, and these games usually take at least 2 hours and 30 minutes, most of which will be between that prime real estate of time.

    5 votes
    1. alyaza
      Link Parent
      update: it was hot, we did get rained on, the game took 2 hours and 20 minutes, and we spent 25 minutes in the parking lot because there are exactly three exits and absolutely no public...

      update: it was hot, we did get rained on, the game took 2 hours and 20 minutes, and we spent 25 minutes in the parking lot because there are exactly three exits and absolutely no public transportation in and out of the area. we did win though (and i have pizza now), so that was cool i guess.

      6 votes
  5. unknown user
    Link
    Good morning! Just woke up half an hour or so ago in an overnight train from İzmir to Ankara, both inTurkey. ATM we just approached the Eskişehir station. I was lucky enough to find a room with a...

    Good morning! Just woke up half an hour or so ago in an overnight train from İzmir to Ankara, both inTurkey. ATM we just approached the Eskişehir station.

    I was lucky enough to find a room with a couple beds in it while I was riding the thing: got on it on on 6 pm yesterday, had a normal seat. Then half 10 I notice that a room was vacant---possibly someone just cancelled right before departure---so I rushed and bought it.

    Eskişhehir is a nice little students' city with two decent universities and a lovely river. After I get my exam sorted in the morning, I will come back here on the HST to spend a couple hours before departing for Istanbul again.

    This is the last of my exams. Day before yesterday I left home 6:30am, took the "sea bus" (a fast ship like a large catamaran) from Istanbul to Bursa, spent a few hours there visiting a relative of mine, and then got on a bus which took me to Izmir in 5-6hrs. I stayed at a nice hotel and the next day, yesterday, I got my stuff sorted in Izmir. All in all, it was a disaster there, the staff were lazy and disrespectful, and I missed my 14:30—22:30 bus to Ankara. Luckily I had gotten this train ticket as a backup earlier in the day.

    All in all I hated Izmir, particularly the Buca district. It is crowded, traffic ridden, totally improvised, hot, and in general frustrating. I didn't get to see the nicer parts tho, but where the school is hell on earth. Ankara is way better it seems.

    Now we are moving slowly through fields—guess mostly wheat and maize—with the Porsuk river up north with trees surrounding its bed, and the whole scenery is engulfed by the Anatolian steppe and mid sized mountains far behind. Bulky rays of sunlight perforate a thick layer of clouds. It is beautiful.

    5 votes
  6. [2]
    Comment deleted by author
    Link
    1. [2]
      Comment deleted by author
      Link Parent
      1. gpl
        Link Parent
        This is a little offtopic, but are there many advantages to using GitLab over GitHub? I've been seeing it more and more lately and might make the switch. Or are the two complementary in some way?

        This is a little offtopic, but are there many advantages to using GitLab over GitHub? I've been seeing it more and more lately and might make the switch. Or are the two complementary in some way?

        3 votes
  7. tunneljumper
    Link
    Well I could hear /something/ falling apart on my car on the way home from work tonight, so I'll mostly be working on that.

    Well I could hear /something/ falling apart on my car on the way home from work tonight, so I'll mostly be working on that.

    2 votes
  8. Icarus
    Link
    I'm going to go on vacation to Lake Tahoe. The plan is to ride my bike everywhere for three days and enjoy some good food. Coming back on Sunday but I decided to take off Monday so I will spend it...

    I'm going to go on vacation to Lake Tahoe. The plan is to ride my bike everywhere for three days and enjoy some good food. Coming back on Sunday but I decided to take off Monday so I will spend it recovering from vacation.

    2 votes
  9. gergir
    Link
    Trying to fill a 7-week empty summervacation. I pestered someone to take me on his sailboat through the Mediterranean for 6 days and he gave in. Heading for Menton, but may loop back later,...

    Trying to fill a 7-week empty summervacation. I pestered someone to take me on his sailboat through the Mediterranean for 6 days and he gave in. Heading for Menton, but may loop back later, because I've not been east of Ventimiglia yet. Ahoy!

    2 votes
  10. mftrhu
    Link
    Dodging a funeral - my grandmother died yesterday night - and bracing for the drama that might follow, as her children, and their families, come back to pay their last homages. I'm curious what...

    Dodging a funeral - my grandmother died yesterday night - and bracing for the drama that might follow, as her children, and their families, come back to pay their last homages.

    I'm curious what some of them might say when seeing me - last time it was in 2014, and things have certainly changed since - but still, I'll probably hide away with a book. Maybe Malazan, as I just finished the Mistborn trilogy. The ending was not very satisfactory, though.

    1 vote
  11. nachodorito
    Link
    I'm on winter vacation, the first week (this one lmao) I didn't do anything, except today. I went out with my friends and it was good! I don't know what to do next week though.

    I'm on winter vacation, the first week (this one lmao) I didn't do anything, except today. I went out with my friends and it was good! I don't know what to do next week though.

    1 vote