Maybe I AM An Introvert

I've always thought of myself as a very extroverted person. I'm friendly, talkative, social, all of those things that they say extroverts are.

But I also really value my alone time. I kind of like being in my head. It's a nice place and nobody judges me there. Sometimes I like taking a little hiatus from life, being alone, and not answering phone calls or emails within minutes of receiving them like I normally do. I just briefly lose interest in interacting with my surroundings. Sometimes it lasts for a few hours, other times for a few days. I write better when I'm in one of these moods.

Does that ever happen to you?

I also don't really care for parties. Being around large groups of people is often not something I find appealing. I much prefer hanging out with one or two people to a large group. But with those few, I am open, animated, and engaging.

I have a full face of makeup on today. And very little desire to go anywhere with it. Even places that I would normally find very appealing, like the mall. Hooray for online shopping.

New Stuff

What is it that makes us wake up and decide we need new ________ ?

I've been on the hunt for a new eyeliner brush for a good week now, despite owning tons of brushes. But no, I don't own one like that and I need one.

What makes us decide...I need new jeans. I mean. Really. How many of us buy one or two pairs and then wear them until they fall apart and thus create a real 'need' for new jeans?

But sometimes we just decide... I need new jeans/eyeliner brush/shoes/purse/earrings etc. whatever it is.

I don't know where I'm really going with this one. I just find it funny. If I don't get the new thing I have decided I need, I hunt for it. Thought of it consumes me. For a few days. Then it's just gone because I need something else. Weird, I know.

Job Listings Astound Me

Aside from the obvious listings where companies want people who are REALLY overqualified for absurdly low wages (I was recently interviewed for a managerial position that started at minimum wage for 30 days and then offered the possibility of $13-16/hour based on performance. Manager. Wow. No.) another thing I've seen lately demonstrates such a lack of understanding of social media, and even marketing in general. What I'm talking about is job listings that require a candidate to have a large following on Twitter or lots of friends on Facebook. 


Um, what does how many personal friends and family I am connected to on Facebook have to do with the people I'd be marketing your products to? Running a corporate Facebook account is not as simple as just spamming the crap out of friends and family you are already connected to. I would imagine a lot of my friends and family would very soon remove me from their contact lists if I started to do that. Just because I do social media doesn't mean my Facebook and Twitter accounts are made up with Joe Anyone I can just spam crap to. Give. Me. A BREAK. 


I have Facebook for the same reason any other Joe has Facebook. To keep in touch with people and kill time. When I am managing a corporate Facebook account for a client, I target specific people to become fans. People who oh, I don't know, fit the target demographic? Your product's target demographic is PROBABLY not "oh just anyone our marketing person happens to be friends with". Get real!


I also don't like the notion that just because someone has tons of friends on Facebook or followers on Twitter means that they're some great social media guru. Quality over quantity, people. I'd take a smaller amount of followers who actually engage with me and interact over a gazillion people (most of whom are probably just trying to spam you in the first place) who are following me just to follow me (probably in hopes I'll follow them back so they can spam me with their RSS feeds).

CA Kinda Sucks

The other day I applied for a job only to find out minutes later it's to a company I've already interviewed with. 4 times. Awkward! How does this happen? They're hiring for lots of positions, all of which I'm qualified for (some of which I'm even overqualified for), and being somewhat desperate to get back in the workforce, I apply to all of them. I've had interviews and second interviews for 2 different positions. Sheesh. Maybe I'll get a couple more interviews and yet again be thought of as a great candidate but apparently not great enough. :| What, me bitter?

The jobs/company in question are in Austin, TX. I am in CA. I understand that companies nowadays do not have the funds to provide relo assistance, but now it seems none of them are even willing to talk to you if you aren't already local. Some job listings even specify a certain mile radius in which you must live. I understand where they're coming from, but at the same time how is anyone supposed to MOVE anymore? 

I would like to move outside of CA (ironic since I just started OC Beauty, a blog about local businesses in Orange County) because the only thing higher than our freaking sales tax is our unemployment percentage. The cost of living is nuts here and I want out. I'm young; I'm only 24. But I want to start a family within the next few years. In CA with things how they are right now, I don't foresee my boyfriend and I being able to get married, own a home (yeah right!) and generally be as stable as I'd like to be before starting a family. Not to mention that I'm uninsured, and the medical costs of having a child are enormous even in a pregnancy that goes well. Living here in CA most of our incomes (if we had any!) would be eaten up by rent, leaving little room for saving.

I don't even like having to think about this stuff. Again, I'm twenty-freaking-four years old. And I'm already thinking about this stuff? But if I don't, no one else will, and it's my future here. UGH.

Grown Up Christmas List

A job. Not just a job but something that pays enough where I can move out of my parents' house. Preferably in Austin TX so I can move out of this state.

Health insurance. I have none. It's been over a year since I've had health insurance. I take medications and I have some chronic conditions. I need to see doctors. But it costs so damn much. Right now I pay out of pocket for office visits and prescriptions.

My own place. I moved out of the house when I was 18. It was such a crushing blow to my self esteem to have to move back home at 23. I'm 24 now; I really hope I can get out of here before I see 25 in August, but the longer time goes on, the less hopeful I am.

Extended claim on my unemployment benefits. My unemployment claim is up in February. Of course ideally I'll be employed before then, but if not, I really hope I'm able to get an extension or I am pretty much screwed.

No more debt. Being unemployed sucks. There's shit you need to buy, and very little money to go around. Of course, the several months over the summer that I wasn't receiving benefits for didn't help either. But I'd really like to be able to wipe out my debt.

A job for Mr. Boyfriend. For him it's been even longer since he's been employed, and it stresses him out like crazy. He hasn't had health insurance for a couple years plus. He also has debt he needs to pay off. But he is unable to collect unemployment benefits, so he's even more screwed than I am. There are so many things both of us wanted to do with our lives between losing our jobs and now, but we can't do anything right now. We're stuck in this hellish limbo of bad economics and joblessness.

Oh and by the way if anyone suggests anything ridiculous like getting a job at McDonalds, I will slap you. AS IF we haven't tried.

Just Be Dependable

Keeping a woman happy is really not rocket science. One of the easiest ways to do this is to just be dependable. If you say you are going to call, call. If you say you'll be home, be home. If something comes up and you can't be home when you said you'd be, a quick text message or call is awesome.

Women are notorious over-analyzers. If you leave us to wonder what's going on, we'll probably come up with the Worst Case Scenario and freak out. And then we get mad at you for freaking us out. I'm sure even the most rational, sane woman is guilty of doing this. I mean do we really think you're lying in a ditch somewhere because you're an hour late coming home? Probably not...but the fact that we're left to wonder isn't cool. It's inconsiderate.

So if you really want to keep your lady happy, don't make her freak out. The security of knowing your partner is going to do what he or she says is priceless, and we appreciate it.

Be A Good Example, Marketers!

Like many nerds, when something bugs me I take to the internet.
(It's how we function. It's how fewer things get blown up. Hiss!)


As sports writer Tim Cowlishaw says, you know what really grills my Chilean sea bass? 

(btw holy fucking shit that is scary looking-- no wonder we eat them)

As a marketing professional (shut up, being unemployed does not make me less professional) it really grinds my gears when marketing companies SUCK at marketing themselves. Why would a client give you piles of money to market them if you can't even market your damn self. 

When I'm reading job listings and there is actually company information (oh yes, why the hell do so many ads NOT list the company? stupid.) I actually do some research on the company. We all should. And probably oh, 8 times out of 10, the marketing company that wants a gajillion years of experience for $15/hr can't even market itself. Shocking. Stop being a cheap ass, hire someone who is good at their job (and pay them accordingly), and market yourself. It is both hypocritical and bad business to stress the importance of social media and internet presence to your clients and potential clients and then not follow your own advice. 

But all of our clients are referrals! That's fabulous! We're well connected! Super. But what happens when times are tough, or something causes the relationship to go bad? You know how they say to not do business with friends...? Shit happens! Those same warm fuzzy relationships are also a huge pain in the ass when their accounts are behind on payment. No one wants to go there with a friend or family member. You still need to have a marketing strategy now so that when times aren't fabulous (like now?) you are prepared. 

Even if you never need to delve into the art of bringing in new business because of a great pool of referrals, at the very least you should set a good example for your clients!