Reagan distrupts my economic life one last time

Even in death, Reagan screws with my life. In addition to irreversibly pushing down real wages, beginning the elimination of the middle class, and putting more homeless people on the street to bother me as I exit the subway, today everything in D.C. is shut down for this never-ending funeral procession (actually, not everyone is off today—the revisionist historians are out in full force), which means I can't contact job leads and schedule interviews until next week. Strike one last blow for the money man.

Cicada report

Well, the little buggers are dying out. I'll miss them, as will Jenny. They are cool to look at, with their little red alien eyes and all. Since they don't sting (unless one flies into your truck window while you're doing 60mph on the beltway—luckily you never get past 35mph in D.C. traffic) we can enjoy their ultra-loud song.

Jenny and I were taking a walk around the block the other evening when we saw this lone cicada (they're almost all gone out here in NOVA) buzzing his head off. We felt sorry for the little guy. I mean he waited 17 years to NOT get laid and then die. That sucks no matter what your species.

The job search update

Well, I interviewed yesterday with an as-yet-unnamed-on-the-blog company, and the interview seemed to go pretty well. The subject matter of the magazine is interesting, and I'd be doing a lot more writing as well as being a "face in the industry." That's exactly the kind of thing I'm looking for, so we'll have to see if they make me an offer after my second interview next week (and if that offer is acceptable).

I also had the interview this mornig with the house restoration magazine in GTown. What they didn't mention in the ad (or until halfway through the interview) was the small fact that IT WAS A FREAKING PART-TIME POSITION THAT PAID $25K. Crap that sucks! What a waste of my time! Oh well, more interview practice, I guess.

Jennifer and I are going down to Williamsburg this weekend to attend her company outing. I'm playing golf with a bunch of other staffer significant others, and my tee time is at 8:05 a.m. Ugh. The good news is that the event is being held at this ultra-posh resort and everything is on Jenny's company, BCG. Schweeeeet!

Feria de Sevilla

Well, on the good news front, immediately before our ill-fated trip to the apartment (see previous post), we attended the Spanish Festival of D.C. (aka Feria de Sevilla) where we visited the Asturias/Galicia/Pais Vasco booth and ate our weight in my favorite Asturian and Spanish foods like empanadas (meat pie), tortilla (Spanish omelet), and arroz con leche (a type of rice pudding dessert). We went with Jenny's new friend, Michelle, who's father is from Galicia. A good time and much flamenco dancer watching was had by all.

Apartment hell + interview purgatory

Our apartment is not going as smoothly as we had hoped, alas. We went to take a look at it yesterday, and the tenants (who had supposed to have been gone by last week) were still there! The management company thought the tenants gave a 30-day notice, when, in fact, they had given a 60-day! Arghhhh..... So...we are working out a plan whereby we stay in another apartment in the building temporarily until July 8, when we can move all of our crap into the real apartment.

The apartment company wants us to move all of our stuff into the temporary apartment, then move it again to the real apartment when it becomes available on July 8. That would mean that we would lose all of our moving company liability protection, though, so no dice. We are trying to get the management company to pay Atlas (the moving company we're working with) to store it in Atlas' warehouse until the 8th. They seem reluctant, and the lowly assistant manager had the unmitigated gall to gave us some attitude yesterday, which did not sit too well with our now-fragile sensibilities. That said, we kept our cool, and are confident that things will work out in the long run. Hassles, hassles....

I have a job interview on Thurs. in D.C. for a home restoration magazine. The subject matter is very interesting, although the Georgetown location could present some transportation problems (no METRO access in GTown). Still, at this point, I'm just happy to get a callback!

I may have another interview this week as well, although the pay scale for that job would have to be seriously negotiated. Wish me luck!