Chapter 11: The sound of self-destruction

I woke last night to the sound of thunder... how far off, I sat and wondered...?

Ah, Bob Seger.

In seriousness, it was hard enough trying to get to sleep last night without the world-ending thunderstorm shaking the foundation of the house. I've been sick since yesterday, although I believe I contracted the cold from walking around on chilly Saturday morning. My throat is sore, got the jaggedness in the back of my sinuses, which leads to the headaches and general delirium. I was drifting in and out of sanity last night. I was sicccckkk. I'm a little better now but I don't expect to be back at tops until Thursday at the earliest. You know how colds go. But you also know me... I don't ever seem to rest, especially when sick.

Yesterday morning I was out at the mall when I got stopped by this lady at a beauty kiosk, trying to hawk facial cleansers for men. She was really good, to, doing the hard sell on the stuff. It took my greatest charm to walk away without just outright stepping off, which is how any normal person probably would have handled it. I was just so caught up in her thrall. I mean, when you've got a good product, marked down to half price, hey, how can you say no? But I'm me: I'm cheap, I don't have cash for frivolities, and I don't take kindly to the hard sell. If I want to buy something, I'm going to buy it. If I don't intend on buying it, I most likely won't no matter how magnetic the sales girl is.

I was at the mall, it sohuld be noted, to try to get a job. All my college friends are off being successful, finding real gigs in the industry, and I just don't know if I'm prepared for that, especially not with the likelihood of my continuing post-secondary education. So I'm going to grab a minimum-wage job, see how the summer goes, continue to write, and try to go along.

The job I had put my resume in for, they wanted me to complete a phone survey. I'm not a fan of those things, they are highly manipulative. They make things so cut and dried - you either are something or you're not, according to their criteria. I don't like to think I have a personality that can be summed up in a lengthy serious of (generally repetitive) true-or-false statements. Do I make the most of my work time? Sometimes. Do I push my limitations? If need be. Do I put in my best effort? Sure, I suppose. Are these questions redundant? Absolutely. Was I annoyed by the end of them? Most definitely. Do I hope I get the job? Yes, because it's sales in a casual environment where I can be trusted and not get stressed out over anything on a daily basis.

The buzz from my schoolmates is that newspapers are not where it's at, and that if possible you should try to get a staff writer gig at a magazine, which would be nice if they were, you know, widely available. It's a competitive industry. Me, I'm just going to stick to my plan and keep writing until something hits the mark and gets me "in." I'm pretty determined, because it's basically all I've got.

The world is a tough place to try to fit into. With 6.5 Billion and counting, there might not be room for everybody, you know? You've gotta make your time worthwhile.

On the plus side, I did indeed begin a new project Sunday night and I am very pleased with the way it is turning out.

Things are happening. But you've gotta make your move, boyo.

I hope I feel better soon. I've been taking DayQuil to get through the day and other drowsy meds to do the night. Hopefully I level out.

Not bad. Could be better, but not bad. Keep on rockin'
-Scotto