East side walk it out...

While I can't say I'm surprised, I am a bit dismayed. The one job I did have, providing overnight care for Melvin, a very elderly man, has been prematurely terminated. Melvin fell and broke his hip, landing him in the hospital for some time.

When I began to tell other people this, the general response I got was along the lines of, "well, that sucks. Where are you going to get money now?" After getting this response several times, I got so upset that I stopped telling people. Seriously, the issue at hand is Melvin, not my paycheck. This poor old man has seriously injured himself, and is in the hospital now. At 88 years old, I sort of expect that this may be the beginning of the end for him. I called to check on him this past weekend and the girl I talked to says he is not healing well because he is terrified that his family has left him in a nursing home. If he isn't able to start calming down, I'm afraid he really will just give up and die.

I have learned so much about care for the elderly from working with Melvin and his family. This man is almost 90 years old, but he still enjoyed tooling around his house, loving his cat, feeding the birds, and watching The 700 Club. In his prime, he was one of the head professors of the University of Arizona Ag Department. Several of those of us who work with him know that he's still pretty with it. However, his daughter and some of the other caretakers seem to have given him up to dementia, so they treat him like a child, which he obviously resents. I don't doubt that he's anxious about what his family is going to do with him at this point, since they've been less than totally supportive the past few years.

I like to think that I'm pretty active in promoting social justice for people who are unfairly treated. I'm especially good at protesting injustice thousands of miles away. Working with Melvin, however, has enabled me to see that there are likely hundreds of elderly people in Tucson who are neglected, misunderstood, and mistreated, because, hey, they're going to die soon anyway. While North American society may not have the horrible civil wars, class conflicts, and famines that many in the rest of the world do, we certainly do not have time or space to deal with the elderly, or the homeless, or the disabled, or anyone else who is similarly unable to contribute. It's amazing that in other parts of the world, a family may not have food to eat or a roof over their heads, but they have the time and energy to care for Grandpa, or a crippled cousin.

Humbling, really.

In other news, my mother is speculating that I might have West Nile Virus. That's kind of exciting! If it turns out to be something else I will probably be a little disappointed.

They only wanna do you dirt'

It's Get-A-Job Tuesday! Hoooray! Because Get-A-Job Monday didn't work out so well. I anticipate there will probably also be a Get-A-Job Wednesday. Word.

I know it's ridiculous to do so, but my frustration with attempts to find meaningful and productive employment have made me wonder (just a little) what was the point of getting a degree. I don't need one for the jobs I'm looking at, and in fact I missed out on a lot of work experience while I was in school. Boo. I'm not sorry I went to school, I guess. I'm just really upset at my lack of job-finding skills.

In more embarassing news, I think I may be the only educated person in the country who has no interest in the upcoming elections. I have little knowledge of those who are running, I'm not even sure what the issues are. I know names but not faces, except for John McCain, who I'd vote for automatically at this point because he's my senator and Reid says he's not half-bad. I like to think that I'm uninterested because, in the grand scheme of things, the differences between U.S. presidential candidates are so insignificant compared to other elections running around the world, that it doesn't really matter, the same things will happen regardless. But, really, it's probably more because I'm a bit lazy. And my internet sucks so I'm disinclined to spend a lot of time internet researching. I need some inspiration.

Methinks I might find it listening to Justin Timberlake.

Will you still need me, will you still feed me?

So, no job yet. I appreciate the input by all of you guys, especially how it all conflicts and makes things even more confusing for me. Awesome. It's a good thing I wasn't counting on all y'all to tell me what to do.

The one job I do have is killing me. I worked 28 out of the last 36 hours taking care of my old guy. I've slept about 6 hours in the last two days. Last night he was yelling at someone (demons? Muslims? Democrats?) in his sleep, and I got to listen to it for two hours because I have his baby monitor right next to my head. It's also a little rough because he is completely deaf, so I am unable to communicate to him that I already know how to do things, so he explains everything to me two or three times like I'm stupid. I got blamed for doing the laundry wrong, even though I wasn't even in the house when it happened. So I got a ten minute tutorial on clearing the lint guard in the dryer.

I shouldn't complain. It's a good job. But sometimes, when I'm sleep-deprived, it sucks.

On a more cultured note, I am looking for summer reading. Currently, I'm reading The Present Future, which details several issues which are causing the Christian Church culture to become increasingly detached and irrelevant. It's good, lots of food for thought. Any other things I should read? Otherwise, I may be stuck with getting all of my summer culture from Mythbusters, Iron Chef America, and Futurama.

Just trying to keep the customer satisfied...

So, it's been a while. I suppose if I do intend to keep in touch with those of you on here, I ought to post a bit more frequently. I suppose.

SO. I need a job. Something that pays more than minimum wage, preferably. Here are the options I am looking at right now:

- GEICO insurance claims adjuster - Basically, I would look at accidents called in and decide fault, as well as how much to pay out for these accidents. Since I have a college degree, I don't have to do the entry-level stuff, even though I would prefer to...
Ups - $17.50 an hour, within biking distance from my house
Downs - lots of decision making, corporate work environment, and my interview wasn't stellar

- US Postal Service Mail Processor - I really have no idea what this job would entail, but I thought I would give it a go. Who doesn't like mail?
Ups - $17-20 an hour, within biking distance from my house, government benefits
Downs - government job, probably pretty menial, also can take 6 months to get hired

- Bookseller at Barnes & Noble or Borders - I'd work the salesfloor, shelve books, help people out, and get to be around books all day.
Ups - being around books all day
Downs - pay only slightly above minimum wage, farther away from my house

- Overnight care provider for ancient guy - I'm actually already working this job, so it doesn't really need to be included, but I did anyway.
Ups - $10 an hour, including time when I'm sleeping, overnight so I can work another day job
Downs - not a whole lot of sleeping gets done, he's deaf and really fundamentalist, lives about 15 miles away

- Barista at locally owned and operated coffee shop - Since I feel that working for Starbucks would be catering to the Man, I can sleep at night when considering this application. And it helps to prepare me if Mrs. M and I open Just Coffee.
Ups - within skipping distance from my house, makes me a barista
Downs - pay only slightly above minimum wage

Any input or suggestions for other opportunities for employment would be MOST welcome. I have loans to start paying in a couple months...