hoodwinked!

as i may or may not have mentioned before, job hunting is far less fun than pretty much all of the other things i hate:
grocery shopping on sunday afternoon;
arguing with a 3 year old;
moving your entire residence without the help of any sober individual;
listening to hilary talk about how she is going to "let" barack run on HER ticket;
waiting for comcast to attend to a service problem;
running into a significant ex at the gym;
you get the picture...

it's a game. it's like your goofy best friend from high school. it will lift you up just high enough to see over the fence into your kick-ass future, only to pull your legs from underneath you and laugh as you fall to the ground. i think that i've learned to play... the trick is to grab onto the fence before you fall and figure out how to swing up and over. i'm still hanging...

so last week, i got a phone call letting me know that i'd finally scored an interview at the company i've been wanting to work for ever since i went back to school. my interview at ann arbor radio group was yesterday and it went like this: i arrive, feeling good, looking professional and i meet the guy who's going to interview me. he seems like a pretty cool, laid back guy... he's in jeans and a button-up so that puts me at ease since i'm definitely more comfortable with the "casual" crowd. we have what i think is a great interview, although he does throw out a few questions that make me wonder "why did he ask me that?". he wraps it up and asks the customary "do you have any questions?" question. of course i do. i'm prepared. so i go into what it is i do understand about the position and ask if he could tell me a little more about what my responsibilities would be. the look on this guy's face was one of pure confusion and embarrassment. turns out, my resume was passed along to the sales department and he was interviewing me for an ad sales position, unbeknownst to me. let's pause and imagine my shock and dissapointment. i thought this job was going to be my ticket into the radio biz, out of the U, and perhaps into my own condo. i know my great future is out there, i just don't know how to get to it.

another pause, this time for a tom petty lyric: "god, it's so painful when something is so close... and still so far out of reach"

subsequently, i went home with my tail between my legs and drank it away. today, i am able to laugh it off but haven't shaken the disappointment yet. it reminds me of my time in california job hunting and/or soul searching. i went in for a sports marketing interview one morning and was somehow tricked into going door to door in dress shoes for 9 hours in the rain. i don't even remember what the hell i was selling. note to potential employees: if you have to be tricked into a position, you probably shouldn't take it.

although i can say i'm in quite the predicament now. i don't want to sell shit, but i can certainly think of less appealing things to sell than radio advertising. people think they are straight celebrity status once they hear their name or voice on the air. the salary is higher than my current salary and i'd be earning commission on top of that. maybe it's something to think about. when i was first offered an internship at greater media, i originally turned it down. it turned out to be the best thing that has happened to me in the business, and regardless of where i go from here, i will always credit the people i've met there for jump-starting my career. maybe this is another "door close - window open" situation. everything good that's ever happened to me has happened on accident and has been the result of me taking leap of faith. analysis and advice is welcome...

democracy schamocracy

despite the minute percentage of people who discuss politics all year round and will try to convince you to do the same, most folks don't pay any mind until a presidential election year rolls around. even still, the majority probably don't even participate in the primaries/caucuses and will wait until the november election before they choose to exercise their civil right to vote. it is my belief that the ones who exclude themselves from the polls altogether do so because they still think their vote doesn't count. after all, one in 300 million is far less significant than say, one in 100. i am not really passing judgement here - in fact, i rarely vote in local or state elections.

you may be aware that today is the day that michigan is holding its primary election. more likely though, you aren't. it seems as though even the potential democratic nominees (at least the major ones) have forgotten the poverty ridden, economically deficient great lakes state today. but wait. not forgotten as much as ignored. you can't really blame them. the state of michigan has chosen to break DNC rules and push their primary three weeks up, supposedly in order to boost their importance in the race. stadium status. ironically (and more characteristic of the mitten's government), they've succeeded in the exact opposite. most candidates withdrew from the primary, leaving clinton as the only viable democrat on the ballot. my beef? the city of detroit and its many suburban communities will essentially fall silent. the unemployed. the poor. the under-represented. their hopes for change, for a light at the end of the tunnel, dashed. truth be told, i understand where state leaders were coming from... the rules are incredibly stupid... but it seems to me that there must be a better way. now is not the time to sacrifice the vote in order to make a point.

http://www.publius.org/help/jan15th.asp

four years ago, i cast my vote for edwards. two years ago, i was introduced to obama.... by oprah (she changes lives!). admittedly, i was torn between the two this time around. no matter. apparently, i must sit back and let the rest of the country decide for me - i'd be happy with either of the two earning the nomination. but darkening the circle to the right of "uncommitted" today left me with an empty feeling. it was a small step backward for me, one who was jarred by the initial bush election. i didn't vote that day, eight years ago (wasn't even registered), and i learned that evening that every vote actually does count. today i did vote and in reality, it doesn't count for a thing.

sex, lies and city hall

ah, yes, detroit. one of the most infamous cities in the country. we got scandal, we got drugs, we got murder, and perhaps some of the most cocky bottom-feeders in the world. and nothing is more representative of the city's nature than its government. Kwame Kilpatrick, mr. mayor himself, is all wrapped up in court this month over... well, everything. threatening staff members for being snitches, whoring out his corrections officers, whoring the city out for his own personal benefit and, of course, sexual affairs in back rooms of barber shops. but let's get real, people... this has been going on since the days of carlita's navigator and being ejected (along with the entire entourage) from DC's clubs. and you did it, detroit. YOU re-elected him. fuckers. so stop whining and man up for another term. it's called democracy. and guess what? in case you missed it, black folks have been allowed to vote since 1965... and the historical voting foundation is made up of white trash. so get it together, detroit. participate.