Isn't Austin a great city?

That's what I am asked when I lament having to move back here. And truth be told, it is. If I had never lived in Chicagoland, I would be 100% content being here. But now, it feels small, has traffic that practically rivals that of Chicago anyway (and public transit isn't much of an option), lacks the cultural attractions that Chicago does, and OH YEAH, the job scene here leaves something to be desired.

Austin is always on the lists of "Best Places to Live", etc. And Texas has not been as hard hit by this recession as many other states have. And Austin is even supposedly a place with great job growth. Well, not in my business. Blah. I feel like I'd be so much better off in Dallas or Houston.

I feel like there are so many people here in meetings and events who have worked with their respective organizations for an eternity, and they are just not used to new blood. Chicago has people coming and going all the time, so it's easy to jump right in and not be so new after a while. I just don't think that's the case here, and since I wasn't involved in the industry when I lived here before, I feel screwed sometimes. Sure, people are plenty nice and all that. That's not an issue. It's just rough.

Anyway, tomorrow starts a new work week and who knows what the next few days will hold. Hopefully progress/good news on the job front. I'm ready for it.

This is not how I pictured it.

Today is Scott's birthday. Even though we both don't care a lot about birthdays, I wanted to do something nice for him. So I am making dinner tonight. Wow-that's 4 nights this week.

Anyway, I had to get up early today and dress nice for job club. So, I put on a dress and I decided to keep it on because how often does this man get to see his wife showered, with makeup and hair done and decent clothing to boot.

I ran out to Target a bit ago to get a couple of forgotten things I needed for dinner. Got poured on on my way out. Hope that's a front coming through instead of just crappy weather.

Anyway, came home, made ganache for cracked cheesecake, put King Ranch Chicken in the oven. Am working on cleaning up. Sweating like a whore in church.

Why did I think I should cook in a dress?

And no, I am not wearing pearls. I actually took off my necklace, as it's a 7-strand acrylic monstrosity and it would just make me sweat more.

Hope the cheesecake is good...it's not nearly as pretty as the pumpkin one I made for our anniversary but that's basically covered in ganache, so I doubt it matters.

He should be home any sec...I don't hear the doggies crying yet...

Oh yeah...the Big D

As in Dallas. So, there are just lots more jobs in my field (and probably in most every field?) in Dallas than they are in Austin. And if I can't live in Chicagoland, that's really where I'd like to be in the great state of TX.

Scott has been working A TON lately so last night I tried to convince him that he needed to look for jobs in the DFW area so that we could move. After all, there are more jobs for him up there, too. It didn't work.

I thought I was being so clever.

So, like it or not...Austin it is, at least for now. At least he didn't say "Hell no you crazy woman!". He is from Dallas and I know he's not crazy about it, but I am just glad that he may be open to it in the future. Perhaps that's the middle ground between where I want to be (Chicagoland) and where he wants to be (um, not Chicagoland).

I do have to admit, though...I do love having my mom, dad, and stepmom just a short drive away. I guess Dallas to San Antonio is still better than buying plane tickets.

Dear I-35, I hate you.

Way too many random thoughts running through my head for a Facebook post!

First of all: Dear I-35, I hate you. You suck. You are the only interstate highway in this city, and that just sucks. And I could actually go into a whole rant about how this city has two fairly decent North/South corridors, and only one East/West corridor, but I'll not go there for now.

Second: I love it when it's pretty obvious that my dogs want to go out, and then I ask them if they want to go out, and they look at me and act like that's the BEST IDEA EVER. But not in a sarcastic way. Because they are dogs. They are SO CUTE and I love those girls and I would be even more batshit crazy than I already am without them to keep me company.

Third: I hate those Seven for all Mankind jeans that have actual "7"s on the back pocket. They are fug.

I think that's it for now.

This week is better than last week.

It just is. Because no funk could be like the funk I was in last week. Well-maybe so (thinking back to when we first moved to Chicagoland), but that was more along the lines of I was just a freaking hot mess.

Yesterday I had a phone interview. I've found maybe 4-5 jobs to apply for this week so far, whereas I have considered finding three jobs in a week a good number for me. These things help. Last week was all about crappy rejections (and one nice one).

Two more days to go...let's see how this week ends!

Today, I thanked someone for a rejection e-mail.

Because this e-mail was from an actual human, not an automated system. And this person responded IN THE TIMELINE THAT THEY ORIGINALLY STATED. Go figure. So, it was a rejection (fourth of the week) that was actually personable and classy. Imagine that.

So in other news, my sweet baby sister sent me a Sephora gift card for my birthday. I am not quite sure when it got here, because most of our mail goes to Scott's office and he's not alway so great about brining it home, but I noticed a pile on the kitchen table yesterday that had two cards for me in it, both from her: 1st one was a thank-you note from her shower, 2nd was the birthday card w/the Sephora GC. I am having such a shit week that don't you know it, that GC made me cry. I call her and get her voice mail and am all "You shouldn't have done that. That was so sweet. You're about to have a BAAAAAABY!" Punctuated in sniffles and all.

She had a doctor's appointment yesterday afternoon, so we didn't chat long, but probably from this point she'll be going to the doctor every week. Even though she's not due until the beginning of next month, she could be a mommy at any time now! Which is just crazy to me but I am looking so forward to it. I just wish that that baby (oh, and the parents!) didn't live all the freaking way in Boston!

My dad and Nancy are giving me a RT ticket on Southwest to go visit at some point, so the up side is that if I don't have a job next month (perish the thought), I can go see my niece or nephew pretty soon after its arrival. Which is basically the only thing I have to look forward to if I don't have a job. I will be a much better auntie when I DO have a job. After all, how am I supposed to BUY THINGS FOR THIS BABY? I figure the kid isn't going to know me very well, unless I can be The Aunt who Sends Cute Things. ;)

Anyway...TGIF. This week has sucked. Bye-bye, sucky week. Next week has to be better. Right? RIGHT.

Job searching SUCKS.

I. HATE. Being. Unemployed. And I hate even more the fact that I left a city with lots of meeting/event planner jobs to come to Austin, where somebody basically has to die for a meeting/event planner job to open up and even if that happens, often the successor has been hand-picked anyway. And I hate that the salaries here are so much lower than in Chicagoland, generally. Yes, the cost of living is lower here, but many of the job postings I see show salaries that are disproportionately lower. :(

Throughout this whole thing, I have been doing my best to STAY POSITIVE but sometimes I just need to gripe. I know I am not the only job-seeker out there, and that I have not been unemployed the longest.

What really started this need to rant was a job rejection e-mail I just got. It went as such:

Dear Ms. MORGAN: Thank you for your application and interest in opportunities atthe University of Texas at Austin. We have reviewed your application based on the job related criteria for the posting, XXXXX. We regret to inform you that you were not the candidate selected to fill the position. We appreciate your interest and encourage you to pursue otheropportunities as they become available atthe University of Texas at Austin.

What I wish I could say back to them:

1) Of course I was not selected for the position-I wasn't even interviewed for it.
2) I was seriously overqualified for this position anyway.
3) It would have been a 50% salary cut from what I was making in Chicago.

The one positive thing-this is the fastest response I've ever gotten from any job w/the government. And I've gotten to where I like canned rejection notices-at least it is a status update. A status update of any sort these days is not the norm.

I am sure ranting as such is unprofessional, but I am sorry-this job search is really tearing me down right now.

Add to this the realization that if I don't get a job this month, it's probably not going to happen until 2011. Yikes.

So besides trying to browbeat my husband into returning to Chicagoland, which is futile, I move on and keep on looking and doing the things I know I am supposed to be doing. And I keep hoping.