What Am I Going to Do With My Life?

As the days go by, and I remain unemployed, there seems to be a question that plays like a melody in my head that I can't keep out got me saying like... na na na na everyday, like my iPod stuck on replay.. replay! Ha... Sorry. Anyways, like I was saying, there is a question that tends to pop into my head all the time, "What am I going to do with my life?"

Even as I was pushing paper on the daily grind at my previous place of employment, that question would pop into my head every now and then. What was I going to do with my life? Was I going to be at the same job 5 years... 10 years... 15 years from that point in time? Was I going to find something better? Nowadays, I don't really have a choice. Whatever job I take now has to be better than not working at all. Right?

As much as I know almost any job out there is better than not working at all (barring selling myself to science or working the McDonald's around the corner), I have to be picky with what it is I'm going to get into. For example, do I really want to work 40 hours a week at $15 an hour doing mindless filing and organizing for a company I know nothing about... OR... do I keep holding out for that one diamond in the rough job that I really want to do, all the while, raking in the obligatory Team 860 pay check? It's pretty much the "fine... I'll just work here for now until something AWESOME comes along" or the "dang... it's not bad getting paid to look for my dream job"... Let's create a Pros-Cons list for each scenario.. shall we?

PROS (to picking up the "fine... I'll just work here for now" job)
- WORK!! -- I'll finally be off my ass (at home) and on my ass (at another desk) making more money than I did sitting on my ass at home
- Money in the pocket -- no need for explanation here. I'll finally be making money doing something aside from doing nothing
- Being a contributing factor to society -- nothing feels more wasteful than waking up for breakfast at lunch time and going day by day checking your email hoping the next new piece of mail in your inbox is from an unfamiliar email address that's not a virus
- WORK!! -- Did I mention being able to say "I have a job" when someone asks what you do and being able to respond with the standard cookie-cutter response: "O, *eyebrows raise*. I work for _____. I do ______. The pay is ok and the benefits are fine. Hey... it puts food on the table *elbow nudge to the gut followed by comically fake laugh* Am I right? Am I right?" At least it wouldn't be the automatic "What do you do for a living?" conversation-ender that is unemployment: "I'm unemployed... *blank stare a la Jim Halpert*"
- Occupied Time Till Awesomeness Comes Along -- pretty much all of the above rolled into one... I'll be making money, killing time, learning something (hopefully) and working my networks until that CAREER comes along. As a 25 year old, I highly doubt the next job that I land will actually be my career. O and by the way, there is a difference between your JOB and your CAREER, but that's another post.

CONS
- Settling -- Who wants to settle? As a kid, who responded to the question "What do you want to be when you grow up?" and responded (proudly) with... "I want to be a professional administrative assistant!" (Which of course, loosely translates into "I'm going to be someone's bitch!")
- No More Days Off -- of course, I complain a lot about not having a job, but it is so nice to the freedom to do whatever, whenever I want (barring that it doesn't cost to much to do so). Waking up at 12PM isn't something I always do, but to have that ability isn't such a bad perk overall.
- Working to get paid -- well, it's not so much of a con as it is an addition to the last con.

PROS (to staying on unemployment and raking in free money)
- Free Money!! -- it's like FAFSA all over again. A few of you know what I am talking about. How great was it to take that financial aid check at the beginning of the quarter and just go nuts at the mall upgrading your expiring wardrobe of free college giveaway t-shirts and old hoodies? It's pretty much the same with unemployment checks (except that they go towards rent and credit card bills from college)
- Time -- all the time in the world! I can do anything I want at any given time of the day. I can go to the gym, snowboarding, the mall, your house, your mom's house.. anywhere really. I have the time.

CONS
- Limited Money Supply -- $860 every two weeks only gets you so far... it's not like I can go on a vacation with that money
- Too Much Time -- all the time gets quite boring. Boring enough to start a blog and exhaust every video on Youtube.
- Chauffeur Duties -- "Jum!! I need to go " I have become my mom's personal driver. Not that I don't love my mom, but I would like to use my car for other things -- like driving to my place of employment.
- Looking for Jobs is a Job -- I don't want Craigslist surfing to be my profession

So there you have it... In listing it down, I think I have an idea of what it is I want. Aside from the obvious, I want something that stimulates me. As much as I want a job to actually help take care of rent, I want something that actually keeps me going. For now, I may settle for that job that passes the time, but overall, as many other people out there feel, I want a job that can ultimately become my career. Till that day comes, I'll have to settle with blogging and youtubing till I get there.

And now for your Jersey Shore clip... Enjoy!

Nepotism: Your Golden Ticket to Success

Sometimes the cards just don't fall as you would like to see them. As the clock hits 12:35AM, I find myself still broke, and, for some reason, can't catch any kind of break. All I feel is that all bluffs that I put out are going to be called, and it's going to be a long road to possible "break-even-ness"...

As the day wore on, and Wife Swap started to get interesting (Southern Texas hick husband was about to get into a fight with corporate savvy New York husband), and I got a text message from a friend that had an in with the job that I had interviewed with:

"Dang, Jum, sorry, but you didn't get the job. She went with her niece."

What... The... F***?! How much does that suck that a job that you felt you were perfect fit for actually went to someone who may not have been fully qualified for, but was actually blood-related to the person calling the shots? I asked if she had been a recent college graduate or a recently laid off employee as myself... As it turns out, she's in the same boat as myself.... Even with that, however, it's still a little painful. Who gives a sh*t if she's related to the HR director... I am a better fit for the company than that girl is!!! I know I'll make the company more money...Shoot!

Gah! No matter what happens now, I am still unemployed and scrapping for anything that comes my way... it sucks to be me...

How many times have you gone through the wringer... made it out in one piece... and felt like you had what it took to actually make it as an employee of that company? Well, well, well... today was my day. I felt like that. Went through the wringer... made it out in one piece (actually feeling like I had what was needed to succeed and prosper)... and felt like the employer actually needed me. Well, from first hand experience, nepotism kills every kind of positive feeling that you would have, had you have had the what it took to actually take over the position that was on the table. Have I mentioned that it sucks to be me?

I'm not sure if I'm just whining, but why is it that the next person qualified for the position that I am actually applying for is the niece of the person actually calling the shots for who is getting hired. For some odd reason, that doesn't seem fair. It almost seems as fair as someone going against Van Damme in the final match of a Full-Contact Martial Arts Tournament. WTF?!

Gah!! Screw the system... Cheers to all those who go 0n throughout the weeks waiting for the $860 coming their way...

Now for those awaiting my "Jersey Shore" video of the day... have fun making your hair look as good as DJ Pauly D's...

Well...??

Part of the fun about being unemployed is the suspense of waiting for replies from jobs that you sent your resume/applications to... or follow-ups from interviews that you've recently gone on. Actually, I'm exaggerating. Waiting for replies from employers is probably just as fun as douching your nose or watching paint dry. It sucks (although part of me kinda wants to try neti-potting my nose). There's only so much you can do once you've applied or actually gone on that interview -- much like bugging your ex after she declares "it's over... I don't want to see you anymore... You can pick up you Hanson and Spice Girls CDs in the morning... I'm keeping the dog". Of course, you think to yourself, "Screw you! I still have those pictures you sent me a couple weeks ago... Keep the CDs... I can download their albums later... The dog's not even the same dog that we got 3 years ago -- it's a replacement dog!" (not like this has happened to me or anything).

Ironically, as soon as I published my last post, I received a call for an interview. After going on what I felt to be a successful interview, I sent my thank you letter and just sat back and waited. After an interview, that's pretty much all you can do. Can you imagine instant job results? Imagine a world where you apply for a job... or go in for an interview... and BAM, you come out knowing exactly what the results are. It'd be like the Scantron of job applications -- you go in, do your thing, and *DING* either a "Congratulations, welcome to !!" or a "Tough luck, kid. The anti-social, already-greying, over-achieving butt-kisser got it." Ah, if only.

So now... I sit and wait...


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UPDATE!!!
I didn't get the job... =/

Next post might be titled "Nepotism: Your Golden Ticket to Success"... whack!


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Now, for those of you who enjoyed the Snooki Street Fighter video from the last post, here's a little refresher course on how to become a Guido a la Michael Cera in a recent visit to the cast of the Jersey Shore... Maybe we can turn that whole "Video of the Day" thing into a "Jersey Shore Tribute Video of the Day"... Let's see what happens with that. Till then, Enjoy!

Television-watching is a Skill

In my 7 months of unemployment, very little has changed in my daily functions: I still have a tendency to wake up before any alarms go off; I still keep fairly fit by going to the gym; I still keep up with karate. With all that, the only real difference from the Jumbo now and the Jumbo 7 months ago, is that I had a solid 8-5 job. Considering that very little has changed in my routine, it has been a fairly easy transition into unemployed life -- something I am not too keen on.

Everyone who has had a job has uttered the words "God (or any other deity you complain to), I wish I didn't have to go to work today." Of course, this is assuming you actually liked your job, which I did. If you weren't a fan of your place of employment, you may have found yourself uttering the words "Man (or any other gender you complain to) I hate my job, FML" or something to that nature. In any case, everyone has had a point in time where they wished they could wake up one day and have nothing to do. Well, that is what I, along with 14,194,200 other people in California go through on the daily. Applying for jobs, looking through Craigslist, and calling random phone numbers asking for openings is something I've grown quite accustomed -- so much so, I may even add it to my list of skills on my resume. Along with those skills, I've also become quite the master of the Comcast On Demand remote control.

Now, I've always been quite the television connoisseur (I used to watch hours upon hours of MTV back when they actually played music videos). But lately, especially in these past few months, I've built up quite the appreciation for television shows that may or may not be watched by the masses. Not only are these shows not fully appreciated by most, but the fact that I watch some of these shows might not reflect how much of a tough guy I actually am (just kidding...). A couple of the shows I'd like to admit to watching are the Jersey Shore and Wife Swap. The first aforementioned show is one many feel can be quite irritating and annoying, while the latter can probably be considered a guilty pleasure of mine.

If you've actually taken the time to watch an episode of the Jersey Shore, there is no need for explanation as to why you would watch it. Either you're totally entertained by complete "WTFness" or you actually think the show is actually the best show on MTV (quite possibly of all time of any channel next to the original Iron Chef in Japanese with English subtitles and not dubbed by those awful voiceovers from Food Network).

Now let's talk about Wife Swap (on Lifetime from 12-3PM -- uh... yeah... I watch Lifetime). What can I say?? What a show!!! I know you're probably scratching your head wondering why I would actually put the time into a show like this. But I guarantee you, take in one episode, and you'll see why it's so intriguing. If you haven't seen the show, let me break it down for you. Pretty much, wife from completely nuts family #1 switches places with wife of complete polar opposite family #2. They then live a week in the shoes of the other wife. After a week of torture in the shoes of someone else (not necessarily literally, because some of the women are complete opposites in size as well), they get to change the rules of their new family and try to give them a feel for how they live back in their own convoluted world back home. Ultimately the show builds up to possible life-changing changes (yeah, life-changing changes), and a meeting between both families. After they complain to each other how weird and messed up each other's family is, they all come to the realization that their own ways need some change and that it was a great experience... yada yada yada... blah blah blah...

See why it's a good show? Ok, maybe not the best way to describe it, but whatever. If anything, makes me realize how normal my life is and to be thankful for being a part of a family that isn't as off the wall as some of the families portrayed on the show. Check out the show and let me know what you think.

On top of the Jersey Shore and Wife Swap binging, I've managed to memorize the daily schedule of most channels and know what On Demand at any given time. Anyone who has had a lazy Sunday after a long weekend knows how relaxing it is to just kick it on the couch and watch TV till they pass out, only to wake up when the sun goes down. Imagine doing that everyday? I watch way too much TV. I wake up, check Craigslist for any new job postings, go to the gym, shower, get back into bed (or the couch) and watch hours of TV, periodically checking the Blackberry for any responses to the emails I've sent out. It's all a vicious cycle, day by day that needs to end. Maybe I should apply for a job at Comcast.... hmmm

So as to not bore you completely with my ramblings, I've decided to leave you all with a sort of "Video of the Day" kind of thing. In case you haven't seen the Jersey Shore or are hiding under a rock, here is a video that may possibly sway you into checking out a show I consider to be one of the best shows of the new year... Enjoy!

TEAM 860... wait... what the hell does that mean?!

Well well well... I have succumbed to the blog. I used to have one of these (a few actually) back in the day -- and when I say "back in the day," I'm referring to the days of xanga and livejournal. Anyways, the reason why I've decided to start this thing is to just put my daily thoughts on something more concrete than say, my brain, which tends to fail me after every other binge drinking session that occurs on the weekends. Another reason I wanted to start this thing is to show everyone (or whoever decides to read) that unemployment isn't all that bad. I mean aside from the constant boredom, endless On Demand television and having to run errands like paying the Macy's bill in person or actually going inside a bank to do my deposits just to pass the time, I am living the life.

With that said, you've probably asked yourself, at least once, "Why the hell did he name his blog 'Team 860?'" Well, I'm glad you asked. I was looking for a name that would help put a purpose to something otherwise totally unnecessary. I was looking to possibly create a following and maybe provide other people who share the same situation (not this Situation) as myself something to relate. Considering titles such as Jumbo's Blog, Jumbo's Blogger, Jumbo's Journal, and the runner-up to the current title, Jumbo's Blog About Stuff, I came up with TEAM 860... the few and the proud. Ok, I'm pretty sure you're asking yourself (and me) again, "Ok... Why did you name your blog TEAM 860?!"...

Here's the answer: TEAM 860 is something i just came up with about 30 minutes ago. I wanted to blog about unemployment and the randomness that goes along with being unemployed. If you are in the same boat as me, the number 860 may have some significance. Not looking familiar?? Well for the unemployed, the number 860 represents the number of dollar bills (pre-tax) the government graciously provides individuals who have been "shit-canned," "let go," "temporarily replaced until a new position is available," or simply "laid off". For people who work 9-5s, 860 can mean anything you want it to mean, like the number of degrees you actually rotate on an attempted 900, and crashing and faceplanting, or the number of days you've actually had your current job at the moment you actually started reading this blog (wouldn't that be coincidental and quite spooky?).

So there you have it... TEAM 860. Get it?? For the part about "the few and the proud," I'm pretty sure there are very few people who are actually proud to be on unemployment, but there has to be some. I'm one of the few who are actually quite proud to get paid $860 from Mr. Obama every two weeks... I mean come on... that's 90 weeks of free money. The way I've been looking at it, I'm getting paid to look for a job... Not a bad gig if you ask me. I would much rather do what I do on a daily basis for $10 an hour (which is roughly how much I make per 8 hour day) than work at In 'n Out flipping burgers and smelling of dog-attracting hamburger meat.

As the lone member of this fairly new club, I christen this the first official post, with many more to follow... STAY TUNED!!!