The Perils Inherent
"Chase down an empty street, blindly snap the broken beats. Said it's gone with the dirty trick. It's taken all these days to find you."
Lack of updates is due to time spent job hunting and sloth brought on by the heat. It was over a hundred degrees here yesterday, which is just silly.
Anyway, The Great Job Hunt is now well under way, despite my lack of a Social Security Number. I don't actually need an SSN to work, but most of the bigger companies out here only accept online applications now, and online applications tend to have many disclaimers and warnings around that place where you'd enter your SSN. Considering my status as a resident is on a probationary basis, this makes me a little nervous. I could enter Jenn's number or make one up or whatever, but I've been doing really well at walking on eggshells since I've been here, and I'd hate to fuck that up by doing something as small as messing about with a job application.
I was going to go for a job at Borders, as their online application stated that one could also apply instore. But I walked the four miles or so to Brea on Thursday (muttering "water, water," all the while) only to be told that they "don't do that anymore." Fortunately, my journey wasn't completely wasted. I stumbled on a Gamestop in the same area, and was overjoyed to discover that they're sufficiently behind the times to still be using paper applications. Woo!
All well and good, but by Thursday afternoon, I had covered all the big company bases I could without a Social Security Number. It was time to investigate some more obscure options.
Earlier in the week, Jennifer and I had gone out for burgers at a little cafe not far from where we live. On our way back to the car, I'd noticed a couple of shops I thought might be worth checking out in terms of The Great Job Hunt. One sold soccer goods and sportwear, the other second-hand books. Jenn drove me out there yesterday, and I had a quick chat with the folks in the soccer shop, grabbed an application, then headed next door to the book shop.
This isn't the first time I've posted on the subject of the perils inherent in blindly stumbling into places you've never been before, and I doubt it'll be the last. I seem to have a knack for accidentally discovering many of the world's oddest and/or most unpleasant locations. In this case, I was inclined more toward laughter than terror as I pushed open the door of the second-hand bookshop and immediately inhaled the musty scent that only ever comes from many ancient things gathered together in one location. I coughed and turned my head away from the dust-heavy air I'd disturbed by opening the door. I found myself looking at a large counter, behind which sat this man:
Okay, he wasn't actually the old man from Gremlins, but he looked enough like him that I was suppressing laughter, and when he smiled and said "hello," in a voice that had a timbre and pitch roughly equivalent to a seven-year-old girl on helium, I simply smiled and made my way into the depths of the store, where I didn't dare laugh for fear of getting a lethal lungful of the thick, dirty air. I browsed for perhaps two minutes, long enough to realise that most of the books had probably been sitting there for a very long time, and then I hurried from the store, coughing a goodbye to the old man as I went.
I'll be continuing the job search on Monday, and probably taking a good look through the window before I barge into any odd-looking stores.
Lack of updates is due to time spent job hunting and sloth brought on by the heat. It was over a hundred degrees here yesterday, which is just silly.
Anyway, The Great Job Hunt is now well under way, despite my lack of a Social Security Number. I don't actually need an SSN to work, but most of the bigger companies out here only accept online applications now, and online applications tend to have many disclaimers and warnings around that place where you'd enter your SSN. Considering my status as a resident is on a probationary basis, this makes me a little nervous. I could enter Jenn's number or make one up or whatever, but I've been doing really well at walking on eggshells since I've been here, and I'd hate to fuck that up by doing something as small as messing about with a job application.
I was going to go for a job at Borders, as their online application stated that one could also apply instore. But I walked the four miles or so to Brea on Thursday (muttering "water, water," all the while) only to be told that they "don't do that anymore." Fortunately, my journey wasn't completely wasted. I stumbled on a Gamestop in the same area, and was overjoyed to discover that they're sufficiently behind the times to still be using paper applications. Woo!
All well and good, but by Thursday afternoon, I had covered all the big company bases I could without a Social Security Number. It was time to investigate some more obscure options.
Earlier in the week, Jennifer and I had gone out for burgers at a little cafe not far from where we live. On our way back to the car, I'd noticed a couple of shops I thought might be worth checking out in terms of The Great Job Hunt. One sold soccer goods and sportwear, the other second-hand books. Jenn drove me out there yesterday, and I had a quick chat with the folks in the soccer shop, grabbed an application, then headed next door to the book shop.
This isn't the first time I've posted on the subject of the perils inherent in blindly stumbling into places you've never been before, and I doubt it'll be the last. I seem to have a knack for accidentally discovering many of the world's oddest and/or most unpleasant locations. In this case, I was inclined more toward laughter than terror as I pushed open the door of the second-hand bookshop and immediately inhaled the musty scent that only ever comes from many ancient things gathered together in one location. I coughed and turned my head away from the dust-heavy air I'd disturbed by opening the door. I found myself looking at a large counter, behind which sat this man:
Okay, he wasn't actually the old man from Gremlins, but he looked enough like him that I was suppressing laughter, and when he smiled and said "hello," in a voice that had a timbre and pitch roughly equivalent to a seven-year-old girl on helium, I simply smiled and made my way into the depths of the store, where I didn't dare laugh for fear of getting a lethal lungful of the thick, dirty air. I browsed for perhaps two minutes, long enough to realise that most of the books had probably been sitting there for a very long time, and then I hurried from the store, coughing a goodbye to the old man as I went.
I'll be continuing the job search on Monday, and probably taking a good look through the window before I barge into any odd-looking stores.
posted by Michael at 2:51 PM
5 Comments:
Good luck, and all that.
jams - I love ya but are you so darn busy that you gotta use all those abbreviation. I'm glad to give you SSN but DL's gotta go kiddo. I'm willing to accept simply license...DL is Mr. Hughgly's (sp.) first name.
See, I bet he would have paid you in bear liver, or powdered unicorn horn. I think you missed the opportunity of a lifetime! (Assuming you need powdered unicorn horn, but then again who doesn't?)
Can't you use your tax id number in the application, or whatever that "A" number is they give to aliens before they get SS#s? Just a thought. Also- once you figure it out, the bus systems in America aren't too shabby usually. Better than walking 4 miles in 100 degree weather! :-D Good luck on the job search!
Tax ID number? I am officially looking blankly at you. As for the 'A' number, unfortunately not. As far as Social Security is concerned, I don't yet exist. This is not a problem with some employers, as I have a letter saying I've applied and that it's being dealt with. For the moment, though, it narrows my options somewhat.
Post a Comment
<< Home