Get a job

When I signed out of hotmail this afternoon, I noticed an interesting article on the msn page I was sent to.

The article is about unemployment, and it begins with a pretty surprising statistic:

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 36 percent of unemployed people -- or 5.4 million -- had been without a job for 27 weeks or more in September 2009.

Wow. That seems pretty crazy to me. Granted, I've been unemployed, or underemployed, or wrongfully employed a lot since I graduated from college. And, honestly, I've been pretty lazy in my job searches. But I can't imagine being unemployed for 27 weeks or more. I understand how frustrating it is to not have a job, and how exhausting and exasperating job searches are. But they're not impossible.

Job searches are really weird these days. Almost everything other than the actual job interview has been made extremely impersonal. Most companies require you to apply online and seem very confused, and often off-put, if you show up unannounced and try to show someone an actual hard copy of your resume.

Here are a few tips (right off the top of my head no less) for getting hired:

1. Confuse someone into hiring you. Everyone's into online social networking these days. Get on Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, build yourself a profile on Monster and maybe even start a blog. When you finally speak to someone in person, use this online information to your advantage (or just fake it). “Oh hey, I know you! Yeah, we talk all the time on myspace, right?” Or, “I've been following you on Twitter.”

2. Get famous on Youtube. Someone will probably care.

3. Find an obscure online job. There are all sorts of online companies out there. A lot of them wont try to steal your identity, and some of them will even pay you. Some come with impressive (or inexplicable) job titles. Find one and pad your resume.

These are just a few of my own ideas. Trust me, though, these are just as relevant as anyone else's suggestions I've read; I've browsed a lot of web sites and read a couple books on the subject. I'm pretty much convinced that no one really knows what's really going on these days. I mean, who has the time to figure that out anyway?

Hotel Murano holiday specials

There's a lot going on at Hotel Murano this month, including free coffee and pastries in the lobby this Friday. Check out my article here: http://www.examiner.com/x-30108-Tacoma-Downtown-Events-Examiner~y2009m11d25-Join-in-the-holdiay-festivities-with-Hotel-Murano

Tacoma Arts Month

Just posted a short article about what's going on the last week of Tacoma Arts Month.

Pretty much all downtown museums and galleries are participating, and so are a lot of bars and coffeeshops.

Assistant Director Skinner

Assistant Director Skinner was born on June 29th, 2009. Abandoned by his mother just days after his birth, Skinner fell in with a rough crowd and spent months roaming the streets of Tacoma with wanton disregard for his own future. He suffered severe tail injuries after narrowly escaping a drive-by shooting at the age of just 4 months. Soon after, he was imprisoned by the Tacoma Humane Society.

Just days before he was marked for execution, Brittany and I rescued him. As he is a marked kitten, we are forced to keep him as an indoor cat.

Brittany has had a soft spot for mangled animals as long as I've known her. And really, who can blame her? She wanted to adopt a 3-legged, 1-eyed dog and name him Tragedy. We eventually reached a compromise and adopted Skinner instead.

Tacoma Glass Blowing Studio

I just posted a new article about the Tacoma Glass Blowing Studio here: http://www.examiner.com/x-30108-Tacoma-Downtown-Events-Examiner~y2009m11d18-Blow-your-own-glass-art

The Iron Gallery at UWT showcases the works of promising young artists

The exhibit is being unveiled tomorrow evening at 5pm. Be there or be not cool. Yeah. I'll be there, wearing a stupid hat, probably. At the very least, read my article about it: http://www.examiner.com/x-30108-Tacoma-Downtown-Events-Examiner~y2009m11d18-The-Iron-Gallery-at-UWT-showcases-the-works-of-promising-young-artists

Third Thursday Artwalk

The next Tacoma Artwalk is this thursday. That's tomorrow! Read The Definitive Guide here.

Getting started

Hello readers, welcome to my new blog. I decided to start it as a way to reconnect with friends and family members, and also as a way to shamelessly promote my articles. Last week I got a job writing for Examiner.com. I have since had 3 articles published. Help me save up to buy a burrito by reading my articles. I am hungry.