Catching up: More photos of Palm Springs

More photos from Palm Springs and the area. From the ride down the aerial tramway. Solid rock. Glad those cords held.

Zippy really liked this, so I figured I'd take a photo.

From the top of the mountain. I wished I'd seen some animals but they weren't out.

The 30-degree temerature difference meant there was snow -- most of it frozen solid at this point -- at the top.

This is a long-distance shot of what seemed like a million windmills. They were everywhere in the valley.

I found the camera cord

The camera cord's been located, so I am now free to post photos of Palm Springs and D.C. Plus I can send our photo to that Havana Herald that shows us reading the paper in Palm Springs. Ha.
Here's Zippy at the Palm Springs aerial tramway, which is a 10-minute, 2-mile ride up a mountain in a little car that holds 82 people. The floor of the car rotates slowly so you can see all around as you pass through zones.

We didn't see any animals, but you could see over to the dessert and up the mountain. There was something like a 30-degree difference in temperature between the bottom and top. I think it was about 10,000 feet.

Here's the way down on the tramway. I was kind of crammed in the back on the way up and couldn't snap any photos in that direction so I'm sure this is headed back to ground level. You can see the little tower (really a big tower) where the tram went over. When it hit the other side, it wobbled in the wind.

View from 10,ooo feet. I think this was in the direction of the desert, or at least that's what I was aiming for.

We were that close to Pasadena, so I we figured we might as well stop by. This was Valentine's Day and they'd already trimmed the rose bushes.

My pet peeve, or one of them. I am so convinced men are the sole designers of bathrooms like these. It's not the first time I've seen them, but God, it's annoying.

My church in Detroit built a whole new building and the first time I used the bathroom, I banged my leg on the TP holder. I've used other ones where I my knees bumped the door. There's just not room to sit down without banging the crap out of your legs.

So I'm sure it's men who design the things like this. Obviously, it's far easier to use if you don't sit down.

I had a hell of a bruise on my leg from smashing the beejeezus out of it. Come on architectural gurus, leave clearance for the TP holder!

Kung POW!

Remember the Seinfeld episode when George ate the kung pao chicken? Holy cow, that’s me today.

I made it to DC for the RPCV career fair. I decided it’s a good thing when the weather folks freak out over storms, because that means there’s nothing to them. I was concerned about the 7:30 a.m. departure to Atlanta and then connecting to DCA, but it turns out everything went smoothly.

Zippy and I arrived in our nation’s capital around noon and got checked into my Hotwire find, the Capitol Inn Suites. It’s sweet, too. Microwave, fridge, dishes and a sofa bed. I might move in. And they even had a room ready around noon even though check-in wasn’t until 3 p.m.

Before hitting the botanical gardens and American Indian museum, we stopped at a greasy spoon called Pete’s Diner. They had kung pao on special, and I’d never had it. Since it involved chicken and rice, I didn’t see a downside.

Oh, my. I wasn’t really sure how hot the little pepper things were but WOW. It was fantastic, don’t get me wrong, but those suckers had far more pao than kung and over seven hours later, I am still feeling it.

Foolishly, I wolfed them down whole, which, in case you need to know, is very wrong. I am not sure how you’re supposed to do it, but I’d strongly advise against whole, especially if it will touch your teeth, gums, tongue or esophagus going down.

Even if you could manage getting it down without burning yourself, it will still rebel against your intestine and stomach. I ate about 6-7 of them and believe me, I am acutely aware of each.

No regrets, though, but if I did it again I’d go for water instead of tea to accompany. The sweet tea came loaded with lemon and it didn’t go well with the POW.

Obviously, I returned from Palm Springs, and I am really behind in posting. There’s not a lot to say about the LA area, though. It’s overpriced and has gorgeous weather all the time. No earthquake disrupted us, and gas was $3.50 a gallon.

We took the Palm Springs aerial tram and I took a bunch of pictures on the 10,000-foot ascent, but I can’t find the cord that attaches my camera to the computer, so I can’t post them right now.

We saw no celebrities, but went all the way to the Santa Monica Pier. For those keeping track, I’ve now driven practically across the United States. I lack from Tallahassee to Jacksonville (although I’ve been up to Augusta) and from St. George, Utah (near Las Vegas) to Palm Springs. Everything else I’ve done.

The job situation is extremely bleak. I’m not loving life at all right now and hope this little career seminar helps, but the reality is it might be worse. With the new hiring processes in place, the federal government has suddenly decided NCE status is useful and the agencies at this job fair want RPCVs who have it to apply for their openings. Sadly, mine ran out Nov. 20. They didn’t want it last year and now that it’s coveted, I no longer have it.

I am looking forward to seeing some friends here and meeting some new ones. It’s an effort to remain positive.

False start

I had a rough, rough 24 hours.

First, I took Dodger and Kocur for a walk and Kocur’s leash broke. As I was swapping them out – I’m far less concerned with DDog running loose than Kocur – a Volvo pulled to the end of their driveway and a woman got out to check her paper.

Kocur went nuts. She ran up to the woman, snarling, and circled her while nipping. She nipped her pants, but thankfully didn’t do anything worse. I was completely freaked out and apologetic. The neighbor was shaken up and her husband jumped out of the car to see if she was OK.

She was, I think, but it was just a bad start to an even worse day. I’d known the walk was way too much for Kokey, because about six cars passed up, exciting her widely. Normally, only one or two cars pass us.

So the day didn’t improve. I was working at Florida Law Weekly, happily stuffing envelopes and Bob came in and said I needed to check my car. Baffled, I asked why. He said he’d run into it while backing out. No one ever parks in the spot next to him and he just forgot to look.

I have a huge dent over my wheel well and my rearview mirror is toast. Honestly, I’m just not going to worry about the dent – no paint was broken – but the mirror has to be replaced.

It’s annoying, but this is the hand I got dealt. The really depressing thing is I’m flat-out too busy to take my car around and get estimates. I’m just too involved in this job search.

Which was another depressing thing yesterday. I got four rejections, two of which were local and two were in federal jobs I was overqualified for.

One was incredibly frustrating because I’d interviewed before Christmas and told they’d be in contact. I sent polite emails or voice mails asking for an update every week or so but heard absolutely nothing.

Finally, this morning, I received a response. All it said was, “You should have received an email from human resources informing you this position has been filled.”

It made me feel sub-human. The person who’d interviewed me WAS in HR, and that person is the one I’d been sending emails to. It became rather clear to me awhile back that I was not going to get a second interview, but is it too much to hope for that someone follows through with what the say? I was really qualified for that position and don’t think it’s asking too much to get a somewhat personalized reply.

Or hey, even a generic “thanks for playing, please try again.” But it’s just so wrong to specifically say, “I will contact you next week” and then ignore me for 6-8 weeks.

Honestly, just because I am unemployed doesn’t mean I shouldn’t be treated with respect. It’s just tiring being swept under the rug.

So I really needed a vacation, which was fortuitous because today is the departure date for Palm Springs.

When Zippy planned this trip, I was kind of lukewarm on it because I’m just not a California girl. But for $100, it’s a nice break.

However, by today, I realized how much I need a break from the job search and just everything right now, so I was glad to get away.

Except we haven’t actually gotten away.

Right now, I am hanging out in the Holiday Inn on Apalachee Parkway and Magnolia, awaiting a Delta early morning flight. We got bumped.

I’ve never successfully been bumped, so it’s kind of cool. What’s a little bizarre is when we checked in online, the website told us there was a chance the flight was oversold and to, if we were interested in getting bumped, name our price.

So, knowing the tickets cost a total of $450, I said to put in $300 each, not thinking it’d actually come through. I’ve never seen people “bid” to be bumped.

It didn’t work. Or they just didn’t consider it, or something. But we were sitting at the airport, enduring a weather (or some kind of) delay and wondering if we were going to make our connection when the gate agent came on to say they needed three volunteers for $400 each plus a hotel and dinner.

Sold. We jumped up and got it.

It’s not all it’s cracked up to be, though. We had to cough up tip money for the shuttle driver and learned there’s no early-morning shuttle, so we have to pay for a taxi. And I’d Hotwired the hotel tonight so I am out the $65.

But in the long run I guess I’ll still be ahead.

Finally, something in my favor

Breaking news: I'm still unemployed

Although I really feel like I'm thisclose to finding a job, I am still unemployed. I'm doing everything I know to do, including going into every event I can at the local Workforce office. I'm even trying to work in a five-week Microsoft certification course, although I am far too busy job searching to schedule it.

And this week, the Tallahassee Democrat was investigating under/unemployment in the area. They ran a blurb -- unseen by me -- asking for anyone who was un- or underemployed to call or email the reporter.

The morning it ran, I had a job interview and I didn't see it. Zippy, however, reads the entire paper every day (thank God some people still do) and when I called her after the interview she told me about the story and said I'd call.

I figured I would, but at the time I was headed to stuff envelopes at FLW after a lunch with Beth. During my lunch, she called me again. Apparently the reporter had called Workforce to ask if they had a suggestion for the story and my name was at the top of the list.

So I ran by WF and emailed the guy, who called me back almost immediately (and as I was preparing to clean a building.) We set a time for him to call me the next day, which was right after this networking meeting.

Oh, the meeting. Let's break here to mention the biggest boob I have met in a long time.

OK, this networking meeting is just a group of unemployed people who bounce ideas off each other. It's the first I've been to, and it involves Krispy Kreme.

It also involved some loudmouthed guy whom I vow not to put up with next time. I think his name was Bob, but to me, he was just Arrogant Ass.

There were a dozen people at the meeting, two of whom worked there. Two of the job seekers were male and the other eight were women. When I came in, I noticed most of the women sitting on one side, across from a man who had at least two empty seats of each side of him.

I later learned there was a reason for that, but I ignorantly sat down beside him so the sides of the table would be more even and we could facilitate discussion without having to crane our necks or raise our voices.

Well, none of that was needed, because AA commanded ALL of the attention.

Ten minutes in (he allowed us to get through the introductions unscathed), he absolutely took over the meeting. The WF woman tried hard to reel him in, but he just raised his voice over anyone who attempted to speak.

He was all about self-promotion, taking (or, more correctly, making) every opportunity to talk about his past achievements, which, to hear him tell it, were bountiful. He was smarter than everyone who'd interviewed him, he made six figures, he began several businesses. Oh, and I think he died for our sins.

I got fed up with it after about five minutes but stuffed myself with three Krispy Kremes in an effort to play nicely. I was refilling my OJ when he was bragging, "I traveled halfway around the world," and I couldn't help but mutter, "So what? I went all the way around."

He insulted interviewers, their businesses and practically everyone in the room. He's brilliant, to hear him tell it, smarter than everyone.

And he of course can't figure out why he doesn't get offered jobs left and right.

Well, I was proud of myself for making it through without bloodshed, but I decided if he was ever at another thing I attended I/he wouldn't be so lucky.

On the little survey we fill out, there's a little line for how to improve the seminar. I filled it out.

After the meeting and after my interview, I heard the WF woman burst out laughing from her office. She came out, holding a paper. She held it up for me and asked if I'd written it:

"Shut that guy up."

Yes, I said, I did. And I told her if he was in attendance for anything I went to, I'd leave. She told me she'd talked to him extensively about his bragging and asked him to stop. She's even called him out, politely, in meetings.

So I changed my mind. I told her if I ever see him in another meeting and he pulls the same "I'm so much better than everyone, I don't understand why I'm not getting job offers" I will, *not* politely, tell him why he's not getting them.

Heck, if I was AA's interviewer and he was just 10 percent as asshole-ish as he acted with us, I'd end the interview. No one wants to work WITH someone who acts like he's better than everyone else. I can't imagine considering hiring him to work FOR me. No. No, no no.

So part of me -- a very large part -- is stoked about showing up to some event with him there and being able to tell the guy to STFU.

Yeah, it's not usually a good thing to burn a bridge, but AA isn't the kind of guy who's going to help anyone but himself, so I figure I'd be doing everyone a favor.

Anyway, back to the Democrat.

I'd sent the reporter a list of work I've done since COSing from PC:

• ghost-written a book for a motivational speaker


• written stories for Michigan Hockey Magazine


• overseen kids baseball and softball games for Parks & Rec


• worked at Camp Indian Springs for $37 a day all summer


• worked as a prep cook at a dude ranch in Wyoming


• returned to Morocco to set up a travel program for high school students


• came back from Morocco and finished that budget, thought I was hired permanently and then wasn't


• helped my aunt with her catering business in South Carolina


• babysat my nephews here and there


• done odd jobs for my old boss in Tallahassee, which has included stuffing envelopes for the business, cleaning out the storage building and doing cleaning work in general

We talked for awhile and I told him everything I'd done in trying to find a job. He asked what else I could do and I was at a loss. I mean, I've talked to career counselors who've been unable to give me new ideas.

He said I was the most "compelling" person I'd talked to and he'd have to lede with me. Not sure whether to be flattered or a bit freaked out over that.

So here's the lede, from http://www.tallahassee.com/article/20110206/NEWS01/102060323/Rate-of-under-utilized-workers-has-nearly-doubled-statewide (you have to have a subscription to view, so I'm posting just my part.)

(Insert my name here) has taken just about any job she can find since returning to Florida in late 2009 after a two-year stint with the Peace Corps.

She worked as a part-time park supervisor in Tallahassee during baseball season last year, and when that job ended, she worked a couple of months at a YMCA camp that paid $37 a day. She was a prep cook at a dude ranch in Wyoming, earning $8 an hour. More recently, she spent a couple of months working to establish a travel program in Morocco, where she was based during the Peace Corps.

Lately, she's been taking odd jobs with a former employer, working only a few hours a week cleaning an office building and stuffing envelopes. Were she not living with her parents in Havana, she would probably be homeless, she said.

"It's been very frustrating," said Wartenberg, who spent a decade working as an editorial and administrative assistant for the Associated Press in Detroit. "There are times when I'm very optimistic, and there are times when I'm really, really depressed."

She is one of hundreds of thousands of Floridians who are considered under-utilized workers, which includes people in the labor force without jobs, discouraged workers who want a job but have given up active searches and people who are working part time who want full-time employment.

It goes on later to say:

Trying to find a full-time job has been an exasperating experience for many Tallahassee residents. (My name again), 41, has gone to job fairs in Tallahassee and Atlanta. She puts in about 10 applications a week for jobs in town and across the country. She went to four interviews over the past two weeks.

"I'm doing everything," she said. "I don't know what else to do."

Wartenberg has a bachelor's degree from Florida State University and a master's degree from the United States Sports Academy in Daphne, Ala. Her resume includes volunteer work for the American Red Cross and a week of service helping HIV-positive street children in New Delhi, India.

So that's the news from today. Literally.

Please turn off your cell phones, sit back and enjoy the show.

In a PS from the last post … My Superlube deal got even better … I won an entrée from BoneFish. More free food!

Hopefully, it’s an indication my luck will soon turn. I’m not holding my breath or anything, but the odds have to fall in my favor sometime, right?

I had another interview today, applied to about five other jobs (including a part time one) and have a call in about some temp work. I’m stalking jobsites all day long. Basically, I’m at a loss as far as what else I could do.

So to kill time, I’m checking out movies. Not necessarily good ones – right now “Home Fries” is on, courtesy of Netflix, and Luke Wilson isn’t enough to save it – but the quantity is there.

My father hooked up the Netflix to some new electronic equipment, and now he can run movies directly through the TV instead of putting a hole in the wall and hooking his keyboard up to the big TV. (The hole’s still there.)

Kocur and I watched “Where the Red Fern Grows,” and yesterday I saw the classic “Diner.” Holy crap, Kevin Bacon looked like he was 18, and I realized Steve Guttenberg – remember him? – looks a lot like Paul Reiser, who’s also in it. I could barely tell their characters apart.

Although I’d seen “Diner” one time before, I really didn’t remember it. I definitely appreciated it more this time around, although to me, it was just an all-male “St. Elmo’s Fire.” Yes, I know “Diner” preceded “Fire.” Heck, the film was made when Mickey Rourke looked like he was from Earth.

The find of the week, though, was this little documentary called "My Date with Drew." It was some aspiring filmmaker's journey to get a date with Drew Barrymore. He'd won $1100 on a game show (to which the answer of the winning question was "Drew Barrymore") and decided that he'd find a way to ask her out.

He wanted to see if, essentially, a nobody would be able to find and meet her in order to ask. He gave himself 30 days (he rented a video camera with the intention of returning it), but it wound up taking longer.

Using degrees of separation, he gave it a shot but didn't succeed. After returning the camera, he made a website and eventually got some attention from media. And Drew found out and had her people contact him.

It was just a cute idea. Netflix has some bizarre stuff.

In the non-Netflix film category, Zippy and I cashed in some My Coke Rewards and got movie passes.

My choice: “True Grit.” And luckily as well as unexpectedly, Zippy is a Coen Brothers fan. We had watched “Fargo” in the log cabin in Utah and “Burn After Reading” a few weeks ago. She disavows any knowledge of ever seeing John Malkovich before; I don’t understand how that’s possible.

I will have to dig up my copy of “Raising Arizona” to show her at some point. That’s still my favorite. And Nicolas Cage’s best work, by far.

Anyway.

Tuesday at the almost-abandoned Tallahassee mall isn’t the most popular time to see a movie. (Although Belk’s was a place to be, with Zippy nabbing two pairs of pants for $10 each.) We sauntered in with our free movie tickets and super-sized Cokes courtesy of My Coke Rewards, taking a mid-level middle seat.

There couldn’t have been more than 20 people in the theater, and that’d be padding it a little. Everyone was seated in groups of two, and we watched the usual coming attractions.

Note: I honestly don’t think there are any new movie ideas out there. Another “Transformers”? Seriously? I can’t remember seeing anything – even Johnny Depp as a gecko/iguana/whatever – that remotely interested me. (I suppose by that assertion it’s obvious they didn’t show a preview of “Pirates” 4.)

I’d never read the book True Grit, and even though I am confident I saw the John Wayne version, I have no memory of it.

I swear, I laughed throughout the movie, even at the hanging. I don’t know who the actor portraying the third criminal – the condemned Indian – was, but the voice was John Redcorn from “King of the Hill.” (Jonathan Joss - I looked him up.) He only had about half a spoken line – no one in the West, of course, cared what the Indian had to say so he got bagged and hung quickly – but I know that was the guy.

I laughed so loud so many times I thought everyone else must think I was some sort of mean-spirited individual. But the whole thing was just so funny. I loved Mattie Ross’ style of speaking and bargaining, etc. “Well, one would be as unpleasant as the other.” “I do not care a thing about guns. If I did, I would have one that worked.”

And no one else laughed. Ever, I don’t think. But I figured it out. Everyone but me was in the “older” category and I don’t think they kept up with the rapid speech, nuances, speech patterns and the digs. I tried to explain the “f-e-u-d-a-l” instead of “futile” to my mother afterwards and she didn’t get it. She didn’t get a lot of it, but she did enjoy it.

It sucks getting older. My brother, who hits 40 this year, texted Zippy to ask the time of day he was born. Zippy assumed it had something to do with his philosophy class (which, I think, is the bane of his existence right now) but when she asked him he said no, he just wanted to know exactly how much time he had before he hit 40.

And we’re all inching up there. Proof of age pops up when you’re not expecting it.

Sunday, I went to church. It’s only my second Sunday and I don’t know anyone, so I planned on slinking in unnoticed. I timed it to come in during the singing, which is traditionally after the “Find someone you don’t know and make them more comfortable! spiel, which really makes me more uncomfortable.

I got there during the last song, which meant I stood in the stairwell (the balcony is less conspicuous) so as not to walk in during the singing. This is common in sports – well, it SHOULD be common in sports – and apparently, this church respects the etiquette, too.

As I stood in the stairwell, another man came up. He was a tad older, with salt and pepper hair and distinct Indian features (the Asian kind, not the American kind.) Not bad looking. At all. We nodded at each other and proceeded to wait out the extraordinarily long worship song.

A bit later, a family of four came up the stairs to wait, too. Apparently coming in late isn’t restricted to uncomfortable guests. After the obligatory nods hello, I stole another glance at the really good-looking guy.

Just as the newly arriving husband shook his hand and asked, “So, how’s the grandbaby?”

No such thing as a free lunch, but with dinner you get a bonus

The updates are few and far between, I realize. Sorry. I’ve yet to fall into an unemployment routine, though I’m not sure if that’s good, bad or irrelevant.

I do have a job interview Friday, near Orlando. I’m not really positive of what the job is, but when I did a “skills match” search, it popped up.

The weeks are a bit blurry because I have no concept of what day it is. I mean, when it’s all off time, it’s not like it makes much of a difference. I sort of have a vague idea of either the day or the date, but not usually both in the same 24-hour span.

At the moment, I’m in the greater Tallahassee area but I have no idea how long it will last. Through January, I’m fairly confident, I’ll be around but I’ve got some travel planned for February.

First, there’s a softball tournament in Palm Springs, Calif., and Zippy found a Left Coast-ish team that will have her. She also has a Delta companion ticket, so I get to be a hanger-on for Old Lady Ball Feb. 10-14. Happy Valentine’s Day!

I suppose that sounds sad, but hey, it’s a mostly-free trip to sunny (inchallah) California. I’ll take it. I’ve never been to Palm Springs. I hear it’s where Elvis and Priscilla honeymooned.s

Then there’s a career fair for RPCVs later in the month (not too much later since the month is so short). I’ve registered and bought my plane ticket up there, but am holding out on the ticket back because I’m trying to decide if I should crash any offices and beg them to hire me.

In between, I’d love to score some work for the Wings-Lightning game, but I’ll have to check on that and see if anyone I know needs help.

So I’m not really getting into a routine just yet. I’m not sure if I should, but I do want to look into the French class again. Especially since I still have custody of the textbook, which I neglected to return.

I like taking classes and learning new things. It’s a lot of fun. I’m a little bummed my Red Cross class got canceled last week and I can’t do this week’s because I have to go to Orlando for a job interview.

So, in poking around for things to do, Zippy ran across this women’s car care clinic, put on by Super Lube. It was free, so we signed up to go. I never saw the announcement, but Zippy is one of that declining breed that reads every column inch of the newspaper and she ran across it.

This afternoon, we scrambled to figure out exactly where it was and in doing so, discovered that we were getting free pizza for dinner! Since part of the day’s plan involved the task of trying to figure out where to go to eat, that helped out right there.

The little maintenance class was informative for most, although I pretty much could have taught it. For some reason, I thought they were going to demonstrate how to change the oil – which I already know – but once we got there I realized it would be silly for Super Lube to empower a bunch of people to take their business. Instead, we got a lesson on the fluids, air filter and tires.

We also got some tasty pizza with side dishes and soft drinks, which made the trip worthwhile in itself. But as if that wasn’t enough, we also got both a token for a car wash AND one for an oil change – over $35.

Man, that was just the best deal I’ve had in a long time. (Especially if you consider Lester’s semi-indecent proposal.) We got dinner, a free car wash and a free oil change in return for standing outside in the cold and getting a refresher course on how to top off fluids in the car.

Heck, I could have made do with just the reminder to check my tires before leaving for Orlando tomorrow.