August 30, 2009
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Update...
I came home and tackled the job of cleaning my room successfully, even getting into "flow," which is the technical term for getting so absorbed with what you are doing you become amazed at how much you are able to complete with your time.
In July I battled bed bugs. (If you really disdain someone, the curse of all curses is: 'I hope you sleep with a heavy bed bug infestation for the rest of your life.' Really.. I'm making light of this, but in fact from what I can tell the emotional/psychological effects are real.) I took the brunt of it because they were in my bed, but they're now gone.
My job search went on for about a month, and I learned that:
- a cookie-cutter resume of the Microsoft Word template kind can get you a job (it has gotten me two, now);
- to not give out references before asking their permission;
- to not be afraid to ask for more clarity regarding the job description if the information hasn't been provided.
As half of the summer passed by, I celebrated my birthday with a dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. It was my first time eating there. My rating is a 6.0 out of 10 because the pasta I ordered was too oily and the service was only all right. I would go again if I went with a large party because I think the atmosphere is suited for lively conversation.
I spend the majority of my time when I'm not at work with my parents. My dad and I started talking walks around the neighborhood, a couple of times a week. It's a pleasant surprise when we spend time together because our relationship, in my opinion, isn't built on a lot of history, only sporadic highlights in my life. As for my mom, although I will never see things from her point of view, I'm learning to take less of her speech and actions personally, realizing she is being herself, with no other intentions.
My social networks are primarily online these days (twitter, facebook, xanga, blogs), but that doesn't mean snail mail, phone conversations, or meeting up for a lunch/dinner is out. Now that I'm back in LA, I have thankfully more opportunities to see my grandparents. This summer I saw them twice --when relatives flew in from NY and we had a mini-reunion, and for 8/8, which in Mandarin sounds like, and therefore can pass for "father's day" (it's supposedly a Taiwanese thing), celebrating of course, my grandfather, who turned 80 (or 82, depending on how you count age) recently.
Comments (10)
It's nice to read your update and see what you've been up to these days!
your life sounds like mine except i study as my job and you have a job. i spend a lot of time with my parents too. sometimes i feel like a loser because i don't have much social interaction outside my family but then my parents are the people who love me most in the world so i don't mind. we just celebrated my grandmother's 80! good luck with the job!
*GASP* I just realized I think I forgot to wish you a Happy Birthday! SOOOOORRY!!!! HAPPY SUPER DUPER BELATED BIRTHDAY!!!
and yes, don't underestimate the bedbugs... vicious creatures...
u mean u didn't ask if the person would mind being a reference in general? or didn't tell them u had applied for a job w/ them as a reference, like let them know someone might call them?
btw, how are u getting so many jobs??! hahaha i wanna know ur secret!.. is it like madisyn and the volunteering?
@five_twenty - yea.. i know what you mean.. "i get to spend time with my parents... but why not?" it's what i think. congrats to your grandmother!
and G/L with your test.. it's coming soon, right?
@pandaxiong -
hahah.. it was a weird birthday. it didn't even feel like my birthday
until a few hours before the day of -- i don't know about you but
usually i kinda notice it's coming up like a week in advance..
they are!! ... umm i don't remember if i asked all of them to be
references when i was still working/interning there.. but i think they would have been agreeable to it.. I was more talking about giving their information w/o letting them know I applied (so the latter one). oh! you know what.. it's also because they were on my resume and sometimes people aren't necessarily asking for other references, they just want to contact your previous employers..
hmmm.... i don't know.. i was pretty serious about it, just made sure i kept up with the new postings and wrote a cover letter and a resume specific for each one..
haha i usually notice it coming up and totally forget the day of until someone says something or there's actually a bday event. but i still tend to forget it's my bday...
ooo got it... hmm were most of ur apps in person then? cause i've been doing a lot of online ones cause they're like big, chain companies. haha i also don't know how to tie my resume to each one cause my stuff is pretty not applicable but figure i should just give it anyway...
@pandaxiong - i applied for everything through email.. i think i only looked at job postings online.. hmm well i tended to apply for things i thought i could possibly qualify for, just playing up the aspects of how something i learned at one job (/hobby/internship/volunteer activity) would relate to their position.. i would highlight in my cover letter three main reasons why i was a good fit for the job (and for me, these were the reasons why i was spending time sending these people an application, and not other people..) ...but your situation's probably different right? it sounds like you're filling those application forms out, with the blanks and stuff..?
yea, mostly application forms like the paper ones, but online.. and then sometimes "personality tests" too which are such a time waster haha. but yea... i think the experience i have isn't very varied whereas the stuff i've been applying for is like all over the place so it doesn't quite work :-/... kinda hard to break out of a mold once it's been set huh...
@pandaxiong - wellll that's true but someone's gotta start somewhere, right? =)
yaaa... and if someone'll let me start at their company then i'm set!
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