With that, I’m going to find my pillow, I’ll post more about the current project upon its completion, or sooner, if I go quiet around here for too long.

Snuggles the Cat

Monday night, little Snuggles suffered a seizure. A little spooked, we took him to the Vet and they ran some blood tests. They’ve diagnosed him with Feline Infectious Peritonitis, or FIP. All manners of research have told us this is a death sentence as there is no known cure. The dreaded “comfort care” was mentioned at least once as I browsed the web. A term I don’t much care for, as past experiences have left some sorrowful memories. We’re holding out hope that this little guy,who was left for dead once in his life, already, sitting in a taped up box with air holes next to my wife’s car on that night in September shouldn’t be forced to endure something so horrible. The Vets prescribed some medicine to help his immune system and now we’re left with a day-by-day situation, hoping for steady improvement, instead of decline.

If interested, here are some links about FIP:

• Felipedia.org: FIP
• Wikipedia.org: Feline Infectious Peritonitis
• SOCKFIP: Save Our Cats and Kittens from Feline Infectious Peritonitis
• Adorable Rag Doll Cattery: FIP Facts
• Steve Dale’s Pet World: Cat Health, FIP Part 1 & Part 2

Some may seem reduntant, but then again, more information is always better than less. If you would like to pass along links to further information about FIP, please comment on this post or contact me by way of the “Contact Me” page

While searching the want ads, I come across a job as a delivery driver, no CDL required, no experience necessary, yada, yada, yada. The ‘job fair‘ would be today, no times listed, no phone number to contact someone about a definite time, just a company name and address. Every job fair I’ve come across, runs from 9am-5pm or 8am-4pm, or something similar.

I get myself all spiffy and head to the address, arriving at 10:45am, only to find the times listed on the front door are from 1p-5p. I wasn’t pleased with having drove all that way just to have to find a way to kill almost 2 1/2 hours, but managed to do so. Returning at 1:15p, I walk inside, and am given an application. Simple as can be, I complete it in about 5 minutes. Giving it to the receptionist, she hands it back, opens the door and escorts me to an area further back in the office, and asks that I walk to the end of the line and wait. I walk past about 50-75 people, waiting ahead of me. No big surprise there, I kind of expected it. What I didn’t expect was to be waiting in line for almost two hours, as they had all of two people meeting with the applicants. Again, I dealt with that, as well.

When I finally reach the end of the line, I realize that they are meeting applicants in the lunchroom. Now, this is a company of decent size, so that was a bit surprising as I was expecting a conference room of some sort. I sit with the recruiter/HR rep/whatever and we talk for about 5 minutes, I’m praised for having been at my previous job for 9 years and then I’m told “Thank you very much for coming, we will hold on to your application until a later time as right now, we are looking for people with more experience“.

More experience!?! What the hell is wrong with these people! I effectively waste an entire day when I could have been out, putting in applications and resumes to companies I may have actually stood a chance with, but NO. Instead of saying what you really wanted, in the ad, I get to stare at the back of some dudes head for almost 2 hours then walk in to be told that crap. My god, I’m not asking for a job to fall into my lap, just for a chance!

Not to mention, when somebody mentions ‘job fair’ I envision multiple companies filling positions, or at the very least multiple positions at a company, to be considered for. This was an over glorified, weed out session, where they waste every bodies time and if by some miracle they like you, they schedule you to come back and meet with some other schmuck. This ranks as probably the worst time I’ve had, so far, in looking for a job.

When I get screwed, I expect someone to buy me dinner first.

Between my In-Laws running into money issues with the mortgage, etc. and then yesterday having to watch my Dad break the news to my grandmother that we were going to have to put her in a nursing home, permanently because she’s unable to care for herself any longer. My stress level is higher than it already has been over the last 6-7 months or so. I’ve been dropping off resumes left and right and still no luck so far. Going to work everyday for nearly 10 years and now to basically be sitting on my ass for over 6 months, I’m feeling helpless with very little money coming in and my In-Laws in near dire straits. I’m bouncing between stressed and depressed while finding myself dealing with situations I never thought I’d have to. The wonders of being over 30 with a family, in the middle of an economic meltdown.

Oh well, at least it gives me something to talk about.

A sample:

• “You’re gonna run into jerk offs. But remember, it’s not the size of the asshole you worry about, it’s how much shit comes out of it.”

It’s nice to know that in the current economic downturn or whatever the hell they decide to call it now, that someone who was displaced from his job because of it, has found an outlet and a way to turn a bad situation into a good one.

In some small way, it gives me a little more hope that eventually, I’ll end up back in the work force, too. Obviously, the chances of coming up with a unique spin on things like Justin has, and turning it into a moneymaker are quite slim. The hope is still there though, that as the calendar starts over, I will become a productive member of my household again, sooner, rather than later.

PasteMagazine.com Article about Justin Halpern and ShitMyDadSays

There is also a facebook page displaying all of the his tweets, find it here.

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• Guy gets sitcom deal from tweets on his dad’s ‘words of wisdom’ (timesunion.com)
• Sh-t My Dad Says: Coming to a Tv Near You (dailymarauder.com)

Oh well, may as well just stay awake. If I sleep now, I wouldn’t wake up until late afternoon at best and then my whole sleep pattern is skewed. Back to job searching, Facebook games and looking for silly crap to blog about next.

Be warned, if something extremely weird shows up here, blame it on the lack of sleep, or just my warped sense of humor. One or the other, but most likely, both.

A quick note: You may or may not have noticed that I disappeared for about a month. I really haven’t had much to say. I’ve still in job search mode and have had a few leads, but nothing has panned out as of yet. My 31st birthday just passed over the weekend.

Like everybody else in my house, I’m just hoping for a belated birthdaypresent. I’d go sit on Santa‘s lap at the mall and ask him to bring me a job for Christmas, but something tells me old St. Nick from the local Santa’s union wouldn’t be too happy with me.

As is evident by the never ending load of crap the world lays out in the daily paper and all over the internet, I should be back regularly with more stupid crap to waste your time and mine with. Oh,and Happy Holidays!

I started out slowly tonight with some Cardio; 20 minutes on the bike, 15 minutes on the treadmill and that’s all we had time for as it was then closing time. I’ll probably head back Friday, for round 2.

Nine years ago, when I returned to Chicago from Las Vegas, I weighed a whopping 135 lbs. Now, about 60 lbs heavier, I know what everybody used to warn me about, my metabolism slowing down. Slow hell, sometimes I think it might be moving in reverse.

My starting weight is 195 lbs on my 5ft, 8in frame, makng my supposed ideal weight is between 152-172 lbs. Doing the math, I need to lose between 23-43 lbs. So I’m setting my first goal at 10 lbs of weight loss, making my first target, 185 lbs. I’ll post every so often about my progress, wish me luck, I think I’ll need it.