Happily, I have been feeling much better the past couple of weeks. I've been working my way through my fabric stash, so I'll have some sewing projects to post about soon. I've pulled out the autumn decorations and I have been rejoicing in the cooler weather.
My main priority has been my job search. It was going very slowly because there weren't many good opportunities posted. Most employers are looking for 2-5 years of experience; I have 15, which means I find myself in the predicament of being "overqualified."
I finally made some progress this past week. Last Sunday, I applied online for six positions. By Tuesday evening, five of them had contacted me. I also got calls about two positions I'd applied for earlier. By the end of the week, I'd had seven phone interviews and three in-person interviews, with a fourth scheduled for this coming Tuesday. I'm now feeling better about my chances of finding a decent position within a reasonable amount of time.
In the midst of this, I've been dealing with a pet health issue. About a month ago, I took my dog Bean Sidhe to the vet because a lump on her shoulder previously diagnosed as a lipoma (a benign fatty tumor) had suddenly grown much larger. The vet checked it and said there was no need for concern. Then last Tuesday, it was suddenly obvious that there was a problem. It turned out to be a cyst which was badly infected.
Bean Sidhe's now on a course of antibiotics and seems to be healing well. Luckily, the cyst isn't painful, so I'm able to tend to it easily.
I can't help but wonder about the vet's diagnosis that the lipoma grew larger a month ago and then became infected this past week. In my mind, it seems more likely that the lump grew larger because it was infected. If that's the case, the infection raged on for a month before being discovered. I feel guilty because I was concerned about the way the lump looked -- not just larger but bare of hair -- but I didn't press the point hard enough with the vet. And now I have this nagging concern about whether I can trust the vet 100%... which is too bad because he's been Bean Sidhe's vet for three years and I've always liked him.
On a happier note, my favorite season of the year has arrived. Of course, it's the worst possible timing to be unemployed in October, when all the fun Halloween and autumn goodies are for sale. :P But I have allowed myself to buy a few things. To no one's surprise, I couldn't resist buying some fabric, which I'll post about later. I also bought some T-shirts and a set of bat salt & pepper shakers.
I love your salt and pepper shakers! Good luck on finding a job, it's a tough place right now. The job market is the scariest thing about this Halloween season ;)
ReplyDeleteHa-ha! Indeed! Some of the salaries and commutes are particularly terrifying.
DeleteSending you lots of love and luck for this new phase in your life. Aw, poor little Bean! Sending lots of healing energy to the little pup.
ReplyDeleteMany thanks from both of us! :)
DeleteYou sound like you are on the right path with your job search! I'm so glad to hear that the future is opening up for you. Good luck to you and your dog.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much!
DeleteDon't feel guilty about Bean's lump. Animals are so good at hiding illness, and those fatty tumors can get bigger for no reason without being infected. Mine are always thinking up new ways to hide real illnesses, and freak me out over the petty stuff. Good to hear you're feeling better!
ReplyDeleteThank you. Bean Sidhe likes to periodically scare me with a sudden illness or incident -- spinning around disoriented or falling off the back of the sofa or swallowing a piece of plastic spoon -- and then promptly act as if nothing happened.
DeleteYayyy on the interviews, and good luck with landing something you like! :-)
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, vets can't always tell what's going on with a pet right away, no matter how good they are. We've had problems with some of our pets that got out of hand before anyone realized what was happening. I'm glad you checked again and found the problem.
Thank you!
DeleteIt's tough for vets because animals can't tell them how they feel or what hurts. The vet did a fine needle aspirate of the lump and found nothing at the time... but I still have this nagging feeling of uncertainty.
That's different. If you feel like THAT, start looking around for another vet... follow those instincts! Maybe you can ask friends or neighbors who they use, and try new ones until you find one that clicks. Then, even if you decide to stay with your current vet, you'll have places to go for second opinions.
DeleteIt's hard to know what to do. I hate the idea of changing vets because this one has seen Bean Sidhe many times and knows her history, which is fairly complicated. But I also hate having any trust issues... especially when I don't know if my concerns are unfounded.
DeleteThere's a vet we've seen at the after-hours clinic who would be a good resource for a second opinion. We can see her if I have any doubts about future issues.
Bane, so glad you are feeling better! It is tough to be in the dumps. I hope little bean is better soon! It's awkward when you or a loved one has a medical condition that seems simple to diagnose for a doctor and then they just blow it! Don't feel bad at all. Plus the whole medical system is totally set up so that patients and caregivers don't question the doc. So glad that a correct diagnoses was finally made!
ReplyDeleteYou got some great scores for Halloween. Love the tshirts!
Congratulations and best of luck on your many interviews!
Thank you! Bean Sidhe had had some incidents of vomiting, but the vet didn't connect those with the lump growing larger. It's possible they were indeed unrelated, but now I wonder if she was vomiting because of an infection. Hindsight is always 20/20, of course. The challenge of an older pet is that they can have a whole collection of health issues and it's impossible to know if or how they relate to each other.
DeleteThanks so much!
Okay, this might seem crude, but I am seeing parallels with caring for an older parent. So many things are going wrong and some things just might not be fixable. So we love them where they are and try to show them love and a good time.
DeleteI don't think it's crude. In both scenarios, we are caring for a loved one and we want to give them the best we can during their golden years. :)
Delete
ReplyDeleteOuch, I hope Bean Sidhe will get well soon! Maybe it's not the vet's fault, the cyst would have shaped up in the meantime, but I'd ask anther vet to take a look at it too...:(
I'm glad you're feeling better and there seems to be some advance in your job search. While I have the opposite problem - I have done so many different things, tried different jobs, but I don't have 2-3 years of experience in anything relevant... - , I'm sure you'll find something suitable with all your experience soon. I guess, for you it's worth to wait for the right job! ^^
Thank you. It's entirely possible that the vet was right... but looking back at the sequence of events makes me wonder. Without a time machine, I suppose there's no way to be certain.
DeleteWork experience is a conundrum. In the beginning, the issue is you can't get experience without a job, but you can't get a job without experience. When you finally get a few years past that problem, you might find yourself in the "overqualified" situation. :P
I guess the only real solution is to win a lottery or inherit a small fortune from a distant relative. ;)
Nice to hear that you are on the mend :). Thats great that there is lots of jobs to seek for. I will propably never work in that profession I was studying for. I'm sure you'll soon get a job.
ReplyDeleteOh I wish I could find cool thirts like these.
Poor little Bean, I hope she will get well, and that it's nothing more severe than the infection.
There are lots of jobs in my field, but the challenge is that it's a very broad field. In one company, "Executive Assistant" might mean printing documents and answering the phone for $12 an hour; in another, it might mean managing the CEO's entire life for $35 an hour. Most jobs turn out to be on the low end, but there's no real way to know in advance.
DeleteI ended up in this field more by accident than design. Looking to the future, I think I should go back to school so I can move into a better profession in 3 or 4 years.
The shirts came from Wal-Mart, a store I don't really like. I rarely shop there, but I do make a point of stopping by in October because they always have lots of Halloween shirts.
Thank you. It doesn't seem to be anything more severe, and she seems to be healing well.
Firstly, congratulations on getting so many interviews, hope they all go well and you think one of them will be the right job for you =]
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to hear about your darling Bean Sidhe, I hope she makes a speedy recovery - I''m very glad that the cyst isn't painful for her.
I love the t-shirts and salt and pepper shakers. I really want to visit the states in October with an empty suitcase and bring home some cool Halloween stuff. We just don't have as much quality stuff here!
Thank you! A couple of them seem pretty promising.
DeleteI was happily surprised that the cyst wasn't painful. Bean Sidhe doesn't seem to feel a thing when I'm cleaning and tending it, which makes the process SO much easier.
Sometimes I'm so disgusted with our government that I want to leave the states... but I would miss having access to all the Halloween stuff. ;)
So glad to hear that you are feeling better! And I'm sending healing thoughts to your little Bean and good luck thoughts for your job search.
ReplyDeleteI almost got those bats myself! I got the eyeballs instead. :)
Thank you very much!
DeleteI stood pondering the selection for a minute myself. :)
I'm so happy you're feeling better! I hope Bean Sidhe is on the mend. I have an appointment this Friday to take my beloved rat Lydia to the vet for a similar issue, she has a lump, which I am praying is not cancer (rats are prone to cancer). Can't wait to see the amazing things you sew! If I was not in the same sad situation of being unemployed in October, I'd be all over your Etsy shop right now!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I hope you get good news about Lydia.
DeleteI'll try to get some pictures posted of the new things I've sewn. I'm hoping to get a job with an open dress code so I can wear them. It would be a shame to have them collecting dust in my closet!
Hello I follow your blog quite but have finally decided to join this is my favourite to follow. I heard about you feeling depressed but its nice to here your feeling better and life is picking good look with your interviews But can I ask where you got your tee shirts from Thank you .
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! The shirts came from Wal-Mart.
DeleteYeah, I had that 'overqualified' issue too ... but ended up finding a job in an unrelated field where my experience has come in handy! The 'right' job finds you, I really believe that ;)
ReplyDeleteI hope so! I am being selective about what jobs I apply for -- I don't want a nightmare commute, and there are some industries I won't work for -- so that limits the options. But I'd rather wait for the right job than take one I'll be unhappy in.
DeleteSo many interviews sounds very promising - I hope one of them ends up being the job of your dreams, Bane! Poor little Bean. It's awful when a pet or a small child gets sick - neither of them can tell you what's wrong, and you feel so helpless.
ReplyDeleteThose S&P shakers are calling my name. Please tell me they aren't available in Canada, okay? ;o)
Thank you. I hope to find something soon. The job search process is exhausting!
DeleteOkay. They aren't available in Canada. Of course, I have no idea if that's actually true... ;)