Toilin' Trouble: The job search

I’ve been looking for summer work. Oh, how I hate looking for work. I hate commuting from Woodward to Des Moines, but that’s where most of the jobs are. Also challenging? Finding a job that pays enough to make it worth commuting from Woodward to Des Moines. It’s about thirty miles, and about 45 minutes depending on traffic. If the car gets 20 mpg, that’s three gallons of gas a day, or nearly $12. For some jobs that’s two hours of work. For other jobs it’s just one hour. Ugh. I’ll probably end up working for some temp agency like I did during summer vacation of my junior year at BVU.

My friend Kelly filled me in on one job possibility that is as improbable as it is awesome. You see, her news station is looking for a new reporter. If the person they pick isn’t immediately available, they may need someone to fill the gap. As a result, I spent a few days putting together a resume, cover letter and work sample. I also took a trip to the mall.

The dressy outfits I brought with me all involve dresses or skirts, and my legs are BRUISED. Some of the bruises are from hauling my 50-lb. suitcase around New York, some are from choring, but the biggest, grossest one is from when I was trying to disassemble farrowing pens -- left from the old farrowing house, which blew away in the tornado. (For my city readers, a farrowing house is where a pig gives birth.) The pens are rusty and surrounded by debris. I was balancing on some bent steel to loosen a bolt, and the metal slid, so I slammed my shin into the raised foundation. I managed not to cry and even kept working until a rusty bolt got jammed in the socket wrench. Oh, but back to topic, whatever job I interview for, I need something professional-looking to cover my legs.

I went to the mall trying to make choices that would work for the reporting position (on the long-shot that it might actually work out) but that would work for my everyday life, too. I found one pair of black pants that looked good and worked with my price range and two pairs of shoes at Payless. The shoe thing is actually a miracle. I found a pair of black dress shoes with a closed-toe and low heels that actually STAY ON MY FEET! They’re rather plain, but my other dress shoes are either knee-high boots (which aren’t right with skirts and are too high-heeled to wear for long periods) or strappy sandals (which aren’t right for the workplace). I also found a pair of brown wedges which, though peep-toed, seem work-appropriate. Yay!

I then went bra shopping. (Karen, I know you love it when I give bra updates!) I actually had a slight underwire injury (a wee bruise under each arm) from wearing the wrong size. I love you, wireless Ipex!

And, most excitingly, I chopped my hair off! I was loving my uber-long hair, but it had its drawbacks. It was getting a bit split-endy (It hadn’t been professionally cut since December), so I had to trim it myself every now and then. It was getting HEAVY, and it took forever to dry. In Iowa in August, it may well have been unbearably hot to ever wear down, and with 99% humidity it would never have dried. My hair would have developed mildew. Heh! And ew. Also, if the long-shot reporting job came about, long hair just would not do.

My hairstylist put my hair in three ponytails, one on each side and one in the back, measured each to ten inches, and chop-chop-chopped! All for you, Locks of Love (a charity that makes wigs for children who lose their hair from illness). My hair is now just down to my shoulders. I can wear it straight or naturally wavy, the stylist claims, though we’ll see once I let it dry naturally. My hair looks very smooth and healthy now.

That’s been the fun part of the job search. The not-fun part? Looking through job ads and not seeing anything that looks fun and challenging (or at least nearby) for the summer.