Random Rants LXIV: Who's Acting Like a Child Now?
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sophie
Break My Heart
JET: dude. seriously. Do you have any idea how absurdly competitive that program is?! Plus don't give me that crap about you not having the skills to pay the bills. You've taken Japanese classes. My friend got placed in rural Kyushu with exactly ZERO Japanese experience going in. Her first forays into the language were a phrasebook she picked up like, 3 weeks before she left. She's now completing her second year in the program and she loved it. You're going to be fine. Just repeat to yourself: you got into the program. Of the thousands upon thousands of qualified students that apply to the program every year, JET picked you because they felt you were responsible and qualified enough to do the job. It's natural to feel nervous moving to an unfamiliar country on the opposite side of the planet, but don't let that turn into doubts about your suitability. You're going to knock it out of the park.
Friends: Friends that consistently flake on you means that you rank low on their priorities list. Those friends sound lame. Get some new friends. Go to some bars. Enroll/audit some classes. Join a gym. Join some clubs/social groups. I moved to Berkeley with my social life utterly obliterated after my girlfriend and I broke up. I had similar problems to you: what friends I had were flaky as [sex], and most time together I spent feeling belittled for liking esoteric things. It sucked. I moved to Berkeley and made new friends, and I can't tell you how great it is belonging to a group you actually share common interests with.
#fiftychat: Don't worry about feeling pressure. You don't *have* to come on to talk about your problems. Just come on and hang out. If you want to vent, feel free to, if you want to giggle about stupid dick jokes or whatever, we're down for that too. We're an equal-opportunity waffle center.
Stress: Don't let small things ruin an otherwise happy day. Things don't ruin your day unless you let them ruin your day. There's nothing wrong with feeling a bit of stress or pressure: you can use the resulting jitters to shock you into action so you can start the ball rolling on getting things done that you need to get done. But it's important to distinguish between things that are valid to be stressed about and things that are altogether outside of your control. It's fine to feel stressed about, say, not having started the visa application yet. However once you've put in the form the process is officially out of your hands, and any stress felt thereafter is extraneous and unhealthy.
I think for me a big revelation I've had over the last year or so is learning that stress isn't a thing to fear and avoid at all costs. Stress, or at least stress born from anxiety about controllable factors, is rather a tool to be harnessed. Stress is your brain telling your body to wake the f' up and get to work already, ya dingus. And the best, and only way to fight stress is to sit down and formulate a concrete plan for how to complete the tasks that are causing the stress.
Oh, and you should probably see at least a therapist, possibly a psychiatrist too if things still seem to be getting worse for you.
azzaman333
meh
Accidentally deleted 40GB of music off my laptop. I want to die.
dusters
Emperor
Huge props to Owen for that post. Definitely worth a cookie if I could give one here.
azzaman333
meh
I'd rather I didn't dream if my dreams are just going to torture me. What a bizarre couple of dreams...
Ajidica
High Quality Person
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Got rejected for a job I was absurdly qualified for after an interview. The job simply said "college degree appreciated" - not even specifying what type of degree and the only real skill required on the application was "familiarity with MS Office". It was a job I actually am interested in and mentioned in the interview when asked about salary a number that was roughly $5k lower that what the starting pay usually is.
Of the 40+ places I've applied to over the last two months this is only the second place I got an interview at and was rejected. Most places don't even bother with a "we reviewed your application and you don't fit our desired candidate" email.
I mean, I graduated with a double major in 4 years, 3.54 GPA (would have been higher but for some college credits I got in high school), with an applicable major, robust extracurricular activity involvement, and a faculty research project. How the [censored] am I not qualified for a position where any college degree is "appreciated" and the only measurable skill mentioned on the job application or interview "MS Office experience". For every skill mentioned on the application or interview I had a clear and compelling example:
Detail Oriented? Check, my entire job right now which my managed has commended me for is running quality control.
Writing and Speaking? Check. 4 years of Mock Trial and so many essays and research projects I've lost track of.
Team Player/Leadership? Again, check. 4 years of Mock Trial, 2 as campaign, and Staff Editor for American Model United Nations where I oversee 8 writers in compiling and editing the yearly topic briefs.
If I'm not qualified for that job, then what the [censored] am I qualified for?
Of the 40+ places I've applied to over the last two months this is only the second place I got an interview at and was rejected. Most places don't even bother with a "we reviewed your application and you don't fit our desired candidate" email.
I mean, I graduated with a double major in 4 years, 3.54 GPA (would have been higher but for some college credits I got in high school), with an applicable major, robust extracurricular activity involvement, and a faculty research project. How the [censored] am I not qualified for a position where any college degree is "appreciated" and the only measurable skill mentioned on the job application or interview "MS Office experience". For every skill mentioned on the application or interview I had a clear and compelling example:
Detail Oriented? Check, my entire job right now which my managed has commended me for is running quality control.
Writing and Speaking? Check. 4 years of Mock Trial and so many essays and research projects I've lost track of.
Team Player/Leadership? Again, check. 4 years of Mock Trial, 2 as campaign, and Staff Editor for American Model United Nations where I oversee 8 writers in compiling and editing the yearly topic briefs.
If I'm not qualified for that job, then what the [censored] am I qualified for?
Ajidica
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Yeah, it is an entry level job, but it is something I'm interested in (and I did communicate this to the interviewer) and I made sure to mention that I'm looking to gain skills for growth inside the company when they ask that ridiculous "where do you see yourself in 5 years" question. (If I knew the answer, I wouldn't be applying for a new job you bimbo.)
Whenever I've applied to slightly higher "entry level positions" I either never hear back or get rejected saying I'm not qualified.
My current job is really getting to me. I've been there over a year and gotten nowhere closer to a job I actually want to be doing. It is mindless and easy but meets none of my three criteria for a job I want to do: use my skills I paid good money for in college, growth opportunities, and a job description I'm not embarrassed to tell people what I do - especially when they know how smart I am.
Phrossack
Armored Fish and Armored Men
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I'm always here if you need someone to talk to, Joe!
Rant: I really want my city to secede from this idiotic, bigoted state. They hate our guts for being mostly liberal and heavily black, and we hate theirs for making our votes meaningless since we're blue in a red state and generally controlling us while scorning us. We ought to just join Illinois and become West East St. Louis already.
Rant: I really want my city to secede from this idiotic, bigoted state. They hate our guts for being mostly liberal and heavily black, and we hate theirs for making our votes meaningless since we're blue in a red state and generally controlling us while scorning us. We ought to just join Illinois and become West East St. Louis already.
Ajidica
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I wouldn't worry about it. Three of my friends have done JET or similar programs. None of them have any sort of teaching background (two English majors and a History major). While the two that went to Japan had been there for a semester abroad before and speak basic Japanese, my friend who was sent to South Korea couldn't speak a single word of Korean before going there and has thoroughly enjoyed it.Joe said:
dusters
Emperor
Rant or rave, no idea, nothing positive to make it a rave.
44 days till end of the summer, I'm counting. It feels like I have tried every hobby I can afford, watched every half decent movie, now it is just some books left which I plan to grab next week.
I get bored so easily. The short story I published a week ago has gotten almost no feedback. It is about a young woman who isn't satisfied with her nine to five job and joins a sect to spice things up, but gets even more lost in roller coaster of her life in the result.
I feel like living in a vacuum sometimes. Most of the day I communicate with people abroad, I think about issues in the first world countries, while I live in a developing country myself. It isolates me a lot. Nobody here cares about human rights, feminism or gender equality, it's just working 40-60 hours every week and getting drunk in the weekend for people my age.
On the other hand I don't want to desert this place, I want to work, educate, give lectures and make everything better, but when it's 2.5 months vacation time I don't like it here at all.
Oh, and on top of it, I "accidentally" posted in a dating topic in one community about what I'm looking for in a partner and somebody replied. I posted a string of pretty high standard things just for lulz, but turns out there is a person who is just like that. Of course, she lives in California. Had a nice exchange of courtesy letters with her nonetheless, but it made me feel even more lonely, because I know there are no young, decent mannered ladies like her where I live, it's just survival, survival, no time for dreams, thinking and caring about society as a whole.
44 days till end of the summer, I'm counting. It feels like I have tried every hobby I can afford, watched every half decent movie, now it is just some books left which I plan to grab next week.
I get bored so easily. The short story I published a week ago has gotten almost no feedback. It is about a young woman who isn't satisfied with her nine to five job and joins a sect to spice things up, but gets even more lost in roller coaster of her life in the result.
I feel like living in a vacuum sometimes. Most of the day I communicate with people abroad, I think about issues in the first world countries, while I live in a developing country myself. It isolates me a lot. Nobody here cares about human rights, feminism or gender equality, it's just working 40-60 hours every week and getting drunk in the weekend for people my age.
On the other hand I don't want to desert this place, I want to work, educate, give lectures and make everything better, but when it's 2.5 months vacation time I don't like it here at all.
Oh, and on top of it, I "accidentally" posted in a dating topic in one community about what I'm looking for in a partner and somebody replied. I posted a string of pretty high standard things just for lulz, but turns out there is a person who is just like that. Of course, she lives in California. Had a nice exchange of courtesy letters with her nonetheless, but it made me feel even more lonely, because I know there are no young, decent mannered ladies like her where I live, it's just survival, survival, no time for dreams, thinking and caring about society as a whole.
GoodEnoughForMe
n.m.s.s.
Ticked I couldn't go to Pitchfork this year because of work. Have had to watch the stream from home and all I think is how much fun I had at the concerts + hostel last year.
dusters
Emperor
Yeah, studies and a job. As I said it's (only) from September till mid June though.
+1... Ages back I was a young man, fresh out of college, not ready to start any "career" or anything like that... just living in a bachelor pad with a college buddy and wanting a simple job like retail, or any job really, just to pay the rent and raise some beer money. I was striking out, and I was bummed about it.
So anyway I was talking to my mom about my job woes, and she asked me, "Are you putting your college degree on your applications?" to which I replied "Yes, of course", thinking that she was worried that I was forgetting to do that. Instead she said "That's your problem, you're overqualified for the jobs you are applying to. If you're not ready for a job that matches your credentials then you need to dumb-down your resume or applications."
So took her advice, and was hired into the next job I applied for.
While we are talking about jobs: You know, as long as you aren't concerned with having a career or actually being a productive member of society, I think I have a pretty good way to make money without actually doing any work. Just job hop from one entry-level job to another every couple of weeks. This works best if you go through a temp agency.
What you do is accept a job and stay there for maybe a week or so, then move on to another one. Rinse and repeat. What this does is allow you to keep collecting a paycheck without ever really having to do any real work since companies will usually put you with someone for your first week or two to show you how to do things. That means you can just sit back, let your trainer do all the work since he/she is showing you how to do stuff, then collect your paycheck and move on to the next victim.
What you do is accept a job and stay there for maybe a week or so, then move on to another one. Rinse and repeat. What this does is allow you to keep collecting a paycheck without ever really having to do any real work since companies will usually put you with someone for your first week or two to show you how to do things. That means you can just sit back, let your trainer do all the work since he/she is showing you how to do stuff, then collect your paycheck and move on to the next victim.
That wouldn't work with the way I train, I got wise to the game you're describing in my young manager days... you spend a week "training" someone, by showing them how to do everything... basically you do it all and they watch... except they don't watch, they daydream, and after a week they are still calling for manager assistance for the most basic tasks cause they didn't learn squat during training. So the way I train, is I wont do anything for the trainee, not so much as press a single button on a keyboard. All I do is tell them what to do, and they follow my verbal instructions.
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