Cleaning and Clearing
I continued on with my cleaning and clearing out project this morning. I didn’t have much chance to do much of anything on the weekend since I was working. I managed to fill some of my closet with the clothing I had taken out of it when it was being repaired. I was able to prune some of it down and put it in my donation bags.
I still have a long way to go but as long as I keep at it, I should be able to meet my goal of discarding a lot of it by the time my clutter organization class ends in early December. My next step will be to clear out my entertainment unit and place a free ad in Craigslist.
Ran to Police Station
I desperately needed a run today. I hadn’t been able to run for three days and I was chomping at the bit. I had to apply for a criminal record check at the police station so I thought I’d do the short run there. It was a fairly flat course and I was able to run at a nice pace.
I needed to get the criminal record check in order to volunteer at a school for Junior Achievement. This was the first time I’d ever needed a criminal record check. I guess this particular school where I am going to make a presentation requires them. The BC government just announced that volunteers will no longer have to pay for these types of criminal record checks but it won’t come into effect until after I need it.
Free Movie Screening, Dallas Buyers Club
I ran to the movie theater that was screening the free movie preview of the Dallas Buyers Club. I really wanted to see this movie because there has been a lot of Oscar buzz for the performances by Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto. They both lived up to the hype.
This movie is based on a true story. Matthew McConaughey lost 50 pounds and Jared Leto lost 30. They both play AIDS patients. They made a remarkable transformation into the people they portrayed. I’m really glad that I got to see this movie.
Chat with Old Co-worker
I invited my old co-worker to the preview screening so that we could catch up. We hadn’t seen each other in almost a year. The last time we had talked, she had been completing her studies and working on a contract position with the federal government.
Now, a year later, she has completed her course and the contract has ended, so she’s looking for a job. She hasn’t started her job search in earnest yet. I thought I’d get some tips from her about job hunting. We are both over 50 years old and have several years of experience in the financial services industry. We face the same kind of challenges.
We both used to work together in the financial services industry many years ago. After our firm closed the office in Vancouver, she went to another firm. She was there for four years before getting laid off. This was at the start of the recession.
She got a package from the firm and then was able to collect employment insurance. By the time she decided to start the job search, it had been a year and a half since she last worked. With all of her contacts and experience she was able to get six interviews. Unfortunately, none of them turned into job offers.
What she did say was that she discovered that work gaps were the worst thing to have on a resume, recession or no recession. She was told by somebody that job seekers who had just gotten out of prison had a better chance of getting a job than those with long periods of unemployment. We laughed about that but that really startled me. If that’s the case, then I’m in trouble.
Despite 14 years of experience in the financial industry, she was discouraged that she couldn’t get a job there anymore. She said that the industry had changed so much. There were so many mergers lately which turned into loss of jobs. Of the positions that remained, the people were required to do much more work to make up for the lost positions. She decided to go back to school so she could get into another industry.
So here she is now. She finished her program and is now looking for a legal administration position. What amazes me is her sincere optimism. She has the wide-eyed positive attitude of a young grad. I could really learn from her. If any employer can recognize what I see, they’ll be glad to hire her.
fiftyandunemployed 