As I worked on a revival project I’ve had on my list for the past two years, I thought about Linda’s Stream of Consciousness Prompt (see the end of the post for the prompt). I found my prompt via the free newspaper sitting next to my cup of coffee.
Trust me, folks, it’s less controversial than looking for my prompt in the book I’m reading, but that’s beside the point.
I bet every one of you will nod your head YES in agreement with me. Because, duh, we need a bit of head-nodding agreement these days. It’s a wonderful thing to have everyone finally agreeing on something, right?
For today, the agreement for us is. . .every business is advertising these same three words, right?
We Are Hiring!
So that got me thinking and sewing. Because those two things go together. Like old towels and new towels. I wondered, have people thrown in the towel on job searches? Why is every business hiring? I know we are hiring where I work, but we are always hiring. It’s a tough industry to work in. Especially the last two years. Many people have tossed in their uniforms and ditched caregiving roles altogether. That’s not a good thing, IMHO. (And ICYMI, keep an eye on Wisconsin election discoveries…).
Back to the project.
As I progressed through my project, I thought that there’s no way I could be a full-time seamstress. I do enjoy how therapeutic sewing is. Until I stabbed my finger, and almost broke my sewing machine trying to push through too many layers. New towels are thicker than old towels. I resorted to hand-sewing two of the towels. Don’t worry, as you can see from the slideshow, all worked out just fine. And my thumb is only mildly sore today.
I even took a stab at mending Mr.’s gloves. That is when I jabbed the needle under my thumbnail. Ouch. And then the sewing project came to an end.
I’m definitely not cut out to be a full-time seamstress. I am still employed (THANK GOODNESS!) and not looking for alternative employment, but, if I had to, where would I start looking? Since every place is hiring, what skills do I have that I haven’t used or don’t use in my current job that I could use to find a different job. . .if I had to?
Hmm…let’s see.
A Quaint Revival (of towels) Artist? Or HomeGoods Merchandiser? The 2 years and 2-hour long project probably indicates not a ton of those jobs available. Plus, procrastination isn’t exactly on the top of the list of valuable skills to future employers.
Or I could be a WordPress Happiness Investigator? I’d point out the trolls. The trolls that boost bloggers’ egos. Like when you get 1000 followers and you’re all happy. Not like a Happiness Engineer (. . . I could never do that job and stay happy). They can’t count either, or is that a mixed message kind of message?
The Happiness Investigator (aka, HI, it’s me) would step in and burst inflated bubbles. Exposing the trolls with the same name, and different numbers, pushing blog stats to the 1000 follower mark. I’m positive that an Online Psych Research company would only follow me to find out how psychologically damaged I am thinking I could be a blogger with 1000 true followers. Whatever – I suggest not worrying a damn bit about it and just going ahead and having fun blogging.
Or I could be a taste tester!? Yeah, I’d like that, I do it every day. For Keto recipes. Mr. and I have been doing Keto for almost 2 years now. We can’t remember 2020, and 2021 is almost over, but we’re pretty sure we started in late January 2020. Imagine if we would’ve started a YouTube channel back then, we could be SO rich? Or broke and censored off the platform, looking for another job? There’s that.
All I know is we have missed eating pasta on occasion. Capellini Pomodoro is our favorite dish. So this week Mr. tried out this guy’s noodle recipe. (Fun side fact – Serious Keto is from Wisconsin too!).
And you know what – the noodles were fantastic and the science involved made them fun to make! And, yes, there were some funny-shaped ones like he said there would be. Who knew you could make pasta noodles out of canned chicken?! We’re looking forward to the next round of making pasta.
Or, I could be a cloud watcher? Do they pay good money for that skill? I dunno? I do enjoy watching the clouds change. They have been weird this year. Could I live on an undetermined chunk of change? Could you? I took a risk on the job I currently have (soon to be 9 years ago), making less than I was when the company I worked for closed. The choice to not be driven by wage helped me as I took the leap of faith that we would survive.
Again, I’m thankful. For each and every sunset I live to see.
Or maybe I could be a cloud dentist in the skies? Is there such a job? Probably not. I swear, these clouds floating by looked like floating teeth. Once you see them, you can’t unsee them, right?
What I do know about job searching is that where there’s faith, love, and hope, the sky’s the limit on job opportunities. What causes people to toss in the towel and give up on job searches? That’s a million-dollar question. If I find the answer, will I make a million dollars and never have to work again? For just an idea?
Hmm. . .where have we heard that before? The psychics?
Time to toss away the towel on this week’s prompt. Stay sane out there folks! See ya all on the flip-side of the coming week!
Post Inspiration – Linda G. Hill’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday – Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “close eyes and point.” Grab the closest printed material to you when you sit down to write your post, open it up (if it’s a book, flyer, etc.), close your eyes, and point. Whatever your finger lands on, use that as your prompt. Have fun!
PS – Do you know of any business that isn’t hiring? What is your best tip for job searchers? What books are you reading?
Job search, job search! I was trying to find work for several months this year but didn’t find something I can do because of physical limits. The Hiring signs are all over Las Vegas too. I quit for now, maybe next year. Your cooking always looks so delicious, Shelley!
And sorry about your sewing accident, ouch! That jerk with the Edward user name was bothering me for about a week, he tried to follow 15 times, I removed him every time. That’s a sign of insanity on his part. What a troll! He was bothering another blog I follow in Canada too.
Troll! Your sunset photos are beautiful! Have a great week, 😎
I’ll keep my fingers crossed that your next job search goes better for you. I can’t think of a place here that doesn’t have a hiring sign.
Thanks on the cooking. We do have fun experimenting with food.
I know it’s a given that I’ll stab myself with the needle when I handsew. It happens every time. Probably why there’s 2 years between big projects.
Oh, man, that Edward seemed like a troll, thanks for sharing that you saw him too.
Thanks for the photo kudos – your sunset photos are always gorgeous. I love the ones with the palm trees! I hope you have a great week too!
Whoever that was, they are a major troll! I don’t understand why “it” tried to follow my blog 14 times, each time it was removed.
That’s insane. I keep a very tight grip on who follows because there are always spam accounts and businesses.
I have never allowed businesses to follow, it says so in the sidebar but they either don’t read it or don’t care. Trolls!
I’ll try after first of the year to find a job. I have other income so things will be OK. Your photos are always really good!
I thought maybe it was just some strange algorithm used? But, that’s way beyond my blogging comprehension. Unfortunately trolls will continue to be part of the blogging world. You’re more on top of it than I am, great job.
I’m glad to hear you have a plan. Hopefully you can do something that involves your photography? Thank you, I appreciate your feedback!
Your welcome! ☺️
So good Shelley. I use those kitchen hand towels al the time, buy them from little old ladies at market stalls or in a local op-shop. 🙂
Thank you, Brian. I felt like one of those little old ladies as I sewed and re-created the fresh new look. The black knit one was a gift from a dear friend, so I had to make sure and reuse that top. I can’t imagine how long knitting and sewing from scratch would take. The hourly rate they get from them doesn’t seem like much. Thank you for supporting the locals!!
They are starting to put the screws on now and some of the doubles are up to $15-20. All of mine have the knitted top and a button on the loop
Wow – I went to a craft show a month or so ago and the booths had $5 – $10 at the most on theirs. I suspect if you’re gifted at knitting you can whip one out pretty fast. That’s not me, of course, but I’m with you on liking the button and loop ones, they’re easier to put on the handle.
Cute towels. Interesting about the noodles. Too much work for me I think. I’ll stick with the Healthy Noodles I got from Costco. LOL
Thanks, Janet. The noodles were messy to make, but fun just the same. If only we had a Costco here, maybe I could find some good healthy noodles. I hope your restart with Keto is going well. Enjoy the healthy food finds!!
I have a feeling more people are asking themselves about elections, and if there are as many “irregularities” in the next election there are going to be a lot of mild-mannered people gathering into angry mobs.
Hi John, thanks for sharing your thoughts. I hope there are more people asking themselves about them too. To me this is our big chance for all of us to say, “Wait a second…if that happened that’s not a D or R thing, it’s a big deal for our country.” But that’s just me. I know from personal experience that the Long Term Care Homes were given instructions on voting for residents, I even listened in on the instructional calls. I work in memory care, it was pretty hard to understand how the folks with activated POAs were to vote. I remember when my mom had dementia, she had no idea who was currently running or who ran for decades. In 2008-2012 she thought GHWB was still pres.
Great job on the prompt, Shelley. I cringed when I read, “…jabbed the needle under my thumbnail.” Ouch indeed.
Thanks, Dan. I cringed too and it’s on the side of my thumb that I use most for typing. I’m reminded of the wound throughout the day. 🤔😉
Those clouds sure are unique Shelley. Back in high school I made most of my clothes because I was tall and they didn’t have “tall clothes” back then. I’d sew pants, jackets and dresses, but my mom hemmed them and set in sleeves – I was not good (still am not good) at hand sewing. I have not touched the sewing machine in years though. I similarly took a cut in pay to work from home – I was offered to return to work after being laid off, but only on a part-time basis and I was not going to deal with the commute to/from the office for a half-day’s work. I suggested working from home and I suggested the cut in pay. Maybe smart – maybe not, but if not for doing that, I likely would not have started my walking regimen, nor the blog, nor a renewed interest in photography again after thirty years’ time.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Linda. I hope you’re able to find tall clothes easily now. It’s nice your mom was able to help you out with the sewing. When you retire, maybe you can get that sewing machine out again?
From what you’ve shared with me about working from home, it seems like a win for you. And us your adoring blog fans – and the squirrels too! 😍😁😊🤗🐿
You will swell my head for sure Shelley. Right now my sewing machine is downstairs in its console and I’ve not touched it since 1983. The last thing I made was a cage cover and matching seed catcher for our parakeet. It was terrycloth on one side, cotton on the other side – no pattern and for once, no hand sewing by my mom. I was proud of that set and made it for a much-loved pet. I remember the year I sewed it as we lost Joey a few months later to a pancreatic tumor.
You’re welcome. It seems that the things we make with our own tools that are for a special loved one bring back so many memories. Joey was a lucky bird, sorry he didn’t live very long.
Yes, they are made with love. Poor Joey was only eight when he died.
😭😢