Clips from a Cute Cottage

So yeah... I can't sleep!  I'm working this great gig as a tour guide at a haunted museum taking groups of people throughout a revolutionary war era town... Very exciting to be performing again. However. However? However. I can't sleep.  This is my first year in our little abode and I was really stoked about getting to hand out candy to little chillins!  Adam and I have carved jack-o-lanterns 'Maryland' style - complete with carved flag & crab but alas we won't be home to enjoy it.  In my sweet dream land I wanted to leave my carved, lit (by LED lights) lanterns outside for people to see but I thought if they were lit people would come looking for candy.  I thought I'd do the whole 'leave a bowl - please take one' kaboodle but Adam assured me that the candy would be gone in 30 seconds.  I asked him what he thought about me including a bible verse and/or 'do unto others as you would like done to you.'  He told me that when he was a kid those bowls with the 'please take one' were the ones they especially targeted as a free for all.  This saddened me. Saddens me.  Leaving treats outside and asking for people to take one isn't us being cheap it's so that one and all can have a little sugar num num. Ridic. So then I had this amazing idea... What if I make it a little tricky for these kids to get their candy... Instead of a bowl of treats I'll string a piece of candy to our dead tree using fishing line.  Don't worry about telling me your opinion on this on whether or not I should do it.  I've made up my mind.  I've even made signs promoting my haunted walk for the trick or treaters.  I'm tying the sign postcards to the pieces of candy and of course I'll make them in reach of the children!  I really want kids to have a good time but if they're going to over indulge? They're going to work for it creatively! :-)

    

 

 

As many of you know, I left m great-paying office job because of internal issues that couldn't be resolved.  I also left in the pursuit of something more creative i.e.: event planning and interior decorating.  Unfortunately I've been unable to get a break and  I need a job.  I need to feel as though I helped and contribute to this society.  After being formally turned down from 10+ jobs sand having a bitter taste in my mouth, at the end of the day I still want to do good for others.

I tweaked my resume and tailored it to the government administration world.  I even wrote a little 'About Sarah' section.  Feeling high and confident I decided to go to a special job fair.  This job fair is only open to those who hold government security clearances.  After 8 brutal hours of answering personal questions and 6 months later I was graced with the esteemed 'Secret' clearance.  Having this clearance made me feel as if I had a golden ticket to endless possibilities.

I was getting ready for the fair (my first one ever) so I thought I should Google some research on what to be prepared with.  The site I found told me not to steal too many freebies, don't dress like a 'slore' (slutty whore), don't chew gum, and don't ask salary questions!!!  The site said I should be able to walk up and be able to introduce myself, a Plummer, and my area of expertise.  I thought these notes were stellar.  I couldn't wait to meet these prestigious companies who all demand golden tickets!

I picked out a perfect ‘Sarah’ outfit.  I couldn’t just blend in with the masses and wear a boring black suit.  But I also didn’t want to go the ‘slore’ route.  I chose a fuscia dress complete with wide synched belt and snakeskin peep toe pumps.

I got to the fair a little early.  I checked in, made a name tag (complete with sunshine drawing) and found a place to people watch.  Suddenly I was scared.  I never have had to put myself out there and basically beg for work.  I didn’t want to come off as desperate but I was willing to really take any type of job including a receptionist position.  I needed to calm down.  I went to the bathroom to see if makeup needed a touch up.  It didn’t but by that time nerves had set in and I was a sweaty, hot mess.

I was trying to cool down when a nice looking woman came in.  Although I was nervous, I couldn’t help myself from being friendly.  The woman was wearing a company polo so I instantly knew she was a recruiter and that she needed to know me!  I said ‘Hi’ as an ice breaker.  I let her know that I had taken the train and that I’m melting (because I’m so hot).  She asked if I was here for the job fair.  Didn’t she see my nametag? My sunshine drawing?  I told her I was and that this was my first one.  She instantly gave me the ‘up and down’ look like ‘obviously you’ve never been to one of these.’  She was about to just give me that look and leave me so I took the reigns of friendliness back and I  asked her if she was a recruiter.  She just answered ‘yes’ and I replied ‘You can always tell the recruiters.  They’re always the nicest and friendliest ones of companies.’  She mumbled ‘thanks’ and walked out.

OK So maybe not all the companies’ recruiters will be judgmental and not very friendly.  I walked into the fair.  I had never been to one of these so I assumed it was companies with booths set up.  There weren’t as many booths as I had envisioned.  Even though booth numbers were in short supply I wasn’t deterred.  I assumed these job fairs were like the county fair.  Recruiters saying ‘Step right up. Have we got a position for YOU!’  Definitely not the case here.  I was actually surprised.  Every booth I approached I was met by an awkward stare back at me.  This confused me.  These companies were here because they were the ones who had positions to fill.  Why where all of them, every single one of them so stand offish?  Even though I was blind sighted by all the awkward unfriendliness I thought of my googled site.  These people don’t know you, make them know you.

Every booth I went to I made the first move.  I introduced myself and I was returned with 2 of the same questions: What type of clearance do you have and what is your salary range?  Ah I was confused all over again! Clearance? Type? There are different types.  This I know.  Secret through top secret and then variations of the top secret (such as polygraph, non polygraph).  In my 2+ years working at a government contractor we probably had 10-20 top secret positions.  600+ were just secret.  Still holding my golden ticket I proudly announced ‘Secret clearance’ to whoever asked.  I was sadly returned with the same response ‘We’re actually looking for someone with a top secret.’

I went up to a booth and wasn’t asked what type of clearance I had but rather if I even held one.  I joked to the recruiter that everyone had to have one to  be invited to this job fair so of course I have one.  He asked what kind and I proudly said I had a secret.  He responded with ‘ You can always tell children of government employees.  They come to these things but all they have are secret clearances.’  I laughed and told him that I am no child of a government employee and that I got to where I am all on my own.

Suddenly it hit me what this whole thing was about.  Top secret clearance equals more pay.  More pay for an employee equals more commission for a recruiter.  Of course they don’t want to waste their time with a lowly girl who holds only a secret clearance.  And of course by me not wearing a boring suit and being a bubbly go getter probably was a big red ‘not top secret’ flag in their books hence the awkward stares.

Wow after all this scrutiny over our lovely golden tickets that so many of us held, I was beginning to have a bad taste in my mouth.  The only thing to make that taste worse was the salary questions.  Because my researched site said not to discuss it I hadn’t thought of sassy, smart responses.  Instead I was blind sighted.  Having the Midwestness of morals instilled in my blood I’m a firm believer that people should be paid what their jobs are worth.  Government contractors are paid a huge amount of money.  Teachers need to be paid way more money!

The first couple recruiters that asked me salary questions I gave honest ranges as to what I feel I’m worth.  After being asked it so much I didn’t know what I was worth and started saying really high ranges as well.  I asked one recruiter why they ask a salary question to someone they haven’t even interviewed.  He flat out told me so they aren’t wasting time.  Sour taste.  Sour taste in the mouth.  I had to leave.  I put my heart and soul out there and was clearly not what any of these companies wanted.  I felt I just wasted their time and vice versa. 

After feeling completely useless to society I was trying to stay positive and I had a great thought.  I’m a big people person.  These people working the job fair registration have to interact with people.  I found the job fair coordinator and I asked if her company were hiring.  I told her that I love interacting with people and that her staff was so helpful.  I joked to her that she probably gets a lot of people asking her for jobs.  She just answered, ‘A lot of people do ask. We’re not hiring. Thanks, we’re flattered.’ I mean that was it.  So awkward.

So what a day.  After attending this ‘special invitee only’ function and feeling inadequate and ill prepared I did find out from the coordinator that these job fairs for government are all alike.  Job fairs that state a security clearance are only seeking specialized person with not secret, but rather variations of top secret clearances.  Top Secret JAVA Software Engineers?  The government contractors want you!

One great example of our eventful noneventful life is our little arguments that end in our sides hurting from laughing so hard.  Our motto in our relationship is either 'win win' or 'lose lose' as is evident in this little slice of heaven.

As you all know my mind has been bonkers with 'Autumn'.  I was lying in bed trying to go to sleep.  I usually think of positive rainbow & sunshine thoughts when I'm trying to go to sleep.  Decorating always brings happy thoughts my way.  I was trying to think positive when I had a thought about my sofa in the living room.  I thought that instead of changing the green pillows to the usual red for Autumn and Winter I could use these great brown pillows I had on the guest bed... Except for the fact that I changed the bedding in the guest room... 'Where are those brown pillows,' I thought. 

Suddenly I couldn't just fill my head with lovely thoughts to put me into a quiet slumber.  Suddenly my mind was racing.  I had to think of where those brown pillows were so I could decorate the sofa tomorrow with them.  I quietly had a melt down... Did I put them in the attic?  Noooo I hadn't been in the attic.  Were they in the office closet? Noooo I just organized the office closet for 'fun' and there definately wasn't room for the brown pillows.  I don't understand.  I literally changed the bedding the day before and how could I not remember where these fabulous brown pillows were.  I couldn't take it anymore...

I asked Adam who was in his slumber. 

 "Adam do you know where the brown pillows are?" I whispered.

"What brown pillows?" he asked.

"Ya know, the brown pillows that were on the guest bed.... Ya know... The ones with the gold threading!" I exclaimed.

"I don't know... What brown pillows? I don't know what pillows you're talking about. We have brown throw pillows?" he questioned.

'Yeeeees! Of course we have brown pillows, you picked them out to go with the bedding!!! Brown pillows! We just changed the bedding and I was going to use the brown pillows in the guest room for the sofa and an Atumn look, but I can't remember where they are; and we must find them!' I cried out.

I couldn't  take it anymore.  Now I had to prove to him that we even owned brown pillows.  I said that we had to find them.  He jumped out of bed with me and I thought they had to be under our bed in the box spring storage portion.  We had to lift the bed up and low and behold... Nothing. No brown pillows.  Now I started freaking out.  There's no way they could be in the attic or in the super, just organized office closet.  Adam went in the office shuffling through my organization. I couldn't understand why he was in my beautifully organized closet.  I took inventory and there was no possible way they could be there.  I thought he was going to start going through rubbermaid containers!

I said, "No!" (Which are stored in the organized office closet along with sheets and bedding)

As soon as I spit that out I exclaimed, "Of course they are!"

He asked, "What are? The pillows in the shams?"

Suddenly it hit me.  I changed the bedding and was going to throw the brown pillows on the bed but instead stuffed them into the shams on the bed because it looked better.  We immediately went to the guest room and I pulled out the brown pillows.

''See! Brown pillows with gold threading!'' I exclaimed.

"Ooooh Yeah thooose brown pillows.  Can we go back to bed now?'' Adam said.

This to me was a win win.  Adam figured out we had brown pillows and I figured out where they were. Success!  This was followed by side laughter and a blissful sleep sleep time.

So much goes on in our spicy life that I can't be a lazy bloggette anymore.  I'm officially back again.  This weekend Adam and I talked about how eventful our uneventful life is and how I should blog again so here I am.... Except I can't remember anything I was going to blog about.  But I'm going to start again and see what happens.  I guess I could tell you all I'm in decorating mode again.  Being that I feel it is officially fall (based off the temperature change), I have begun changing home things to autumn looks.  I've been receiving beautiful Potterybarn catalogues but my budget will not allow me to make such extravegant purchases.  That said I can definately be creative.  After coming up with some ideas I went to Michaels and saw even more ideas.  Michaels had some craft projects already done... Isn't the point of Michaels to do projects? Not buy the completed project?  I did a good job taking mental notes on the completed projects and then proceeded to buy supplies that cost less than half of what they were charging.  I need to do some housework but when I have a moment I will show you all my fabulous decorating idears for Autumn... and Halloween!

 

Until then America....

I'm being really blog lazy.. I have a lot more house pics to show you all, but alas it is such a pain to add them to this new layout on MSN Spaces... So I ask you to visit the photos portion for great photos and greater captionsesesness.