I’m living in a strange new place, almost a different planet. So close but so far from the bay area that I grew up in. Life here is generally slower, unless you are a tweaker, which seems to be a problem out here. People are friendlier, calmer, just going about their day. There are lots of flies too. Though I admit I miss the pace and anxiety that the bay area offers, I am learning to enjoy the pace out here. Maybe I’m just seeing everything wrong because classes haven’t started yet, and I haven’t found work yet.

I’m job hunting, searching the internet and applying for all sorts of retail and food service jobs I may or may not be qualified to handle. This is all an online process that benefits me because I do not have much funding for gas money at the moment. The way it works with all the companies I have applied for is that they use another company to administer what is called as ‘Assessment Test’, basically a test of my personality and what I would do in certain customer related situations, or if an employee is doing something unethical or against corporate policy. Most of these question are repetitive and brain-draining, but every once in one hundred I find one that makes me snicker.

These are mostly rated on a scale of Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree, so when I see ‘You have no problem telling someone off’, I laugh, because who is really going to put Strongly Agree? Another asked me ‘Which percentage of politicians I thought are corrupt, as if I have any real clue. I assumed the question was alluding to the question ‘Which percentage of management do you think is corrupt?’, my reply 0%-5%. In my experience management is not corrupt, they just cannot comprehend the situations of the little guy they oversee. Management is generally ignorant, but that’s alright, as long as they’re still trying.

Figuring out these questions and what their true concern is takes a bit of time, but I’m figuring the correct answers. In a way they really confirm who you are as a person, to make a stand on your beliefs with questions that are never asked otherwise. One of these places needs to call me back, especially Starbucks, I’ve been making their drinks long enough to be able to perform the job with ease. I suppose its just a waiting game, time to chill, relax, take all of this change in and adjust to the new lifestyle because it’s going to last a while.