Work, New Experiences And An Awesome Year In The Making, Or Martian’s Shaped Like Uteri

By Kiki Keane

Well… I finally got another job, which I think I mentioned in a pervious post. I’m very grateful for it and I hope I do well at it. It’s funny though, if you’d told me a week ago that I would be doing sale demos for a very expensive Air Purification system, I would have laughed in your face! The only reason I’m willing to do sales is that I don’t actually HAVE to sell anything. I still get paid and won’t get fired, so the pressure is off. Best part is that the hours are great and so is the money. I’m enthusiastic about it, but a bit nervous. I haven’t done my first demo yet. That might be tomorrow or Saturday. Thankfully, we get paid to practice on family and friends! I guess I’ll see what I’m made of!

Anyway, the week has been busy due to training and trying to memorize the script (Don’t know how that’s going to happen!), so I have very little to blog about… I haven’t watched a movie, read a book or even looked at the news (for shame!).

But I did realize something today: I never thought I would live through a year filled so many new experiences. It’s only the beginning of May and already I’ve been unemployed twice, worked at a call center and become a sales person. September will herald the biggest change of all: a move to the other side of the world to follow a passion and possibly fail miserably.

I also found an interesting site. It’s called Byliner. It is a collection of stories, essays and news pieces from loads of writers. You can search by topic and by author. As an example, here’s a recent piece by Margaret Atwood. I found it amusing. The link is to the original source, just incase you don’t want to join Byliner (you should, though!).

Lastly, today is World Press Freedom Day! Take a moment for those journalist who have been killed and imprisoned. Sadly, there have been 17 journalist killed and 179 imprisoned so far this year.

An Apology, A Question, An Answer And A Heads Up…

By Kiki Keane

Boy! Left to my own devices (Rachel is away on a retreat), I have become even lazier than normal. Rachel is away one day and I fall down on my job. I decided that Journey 2, The Golden Girls, a trip to the library and surfing the Web for adventure books was a far better use of my time than a blog post. Sorry.

Here’s my thought/question of the day:

Have you ever been slapped in the face by the words in a book? Did those words inspire you or push you to make you change your life, or at least part of your life?

I have. It happened last Friday. The book itself is nothing special. I wouldn’t have even picked it up if it wasn’t this months pick for my book club. Bloodland, by Alan Glynn (Limitless), is a suspense novel about an unemployed journalist who is writing a book about a dead celebrity, which leads him to some nefarious dealings of some powerful, shady people. It wasn’t so much the words that made me slap my head and say “Duh,” rather it was a scene. A man, Rundle, is anxious. He should be. Everything he has worked for could come crashing down around him at any moment. It turns out that the anxiety is from fear of losing control. I read that scene and I thought, “F**k!” My situation is nothing like Rundle’s. I’m not afraid of losing control or losing everything. The Duh/F**k moment was the realization that what I have been experiencing that last eight weeks is not nerves, but anxiety. And what I experienced last week was a full blown attack. I have never actually been sick before going to work. I have never dreaded walking out my door in the morning. I have never had to fake a smile. Until last week, that is. I thought I could handle it. I thought I could live through it. It was only for 23 weeks, after all. But I couldn’t. I started to hate people. Not, the people-can-be-so-annoying kind of hate, but the burning, rage-filled hate. And when Rachel became the optimistic one in the group, I knew something had to be done. So, I quit.

The good news is that I don’t hate people anymore. I trust them less, but I don’t hate them. Also, I’m back to being plain old nervous about not making enough money for my trip and falling flat on face, instead of nursing an ulcer. Bad news: back to the Want Ads.

Just an FYI: A new episode of Richard Engel’s Hidden Planet has been released on the Rock Center iPad app. It will be on the website next week. The current episode is about the Saqqara plateau, Egypt’s oldest pyramid complex. Good stuff!

A Workers Lament

By Kiki Keane

I don’t usually like to complain about work. I am well aware how lucky I am to have job. Also, I need the job to make my schemes and dreams come true. I just want to say that for first time in my life I really, truly hate my job. It literally (and yes “literally” is used way to much, so sue me) makes me sick to go to work. It’s the first job I have where I am truly afraid that I will screw something up and get fired. It’s not dealing with the customers. Despite my snarkiness and introverted nature, I actually really like people. I just hate the phone, I hate the feeling that I have no idea what I’m doing and having to pretend that I do. In all honesty, I don’t have any more of a clue than the customer. The only advantage I have is a system that has the answers IF you know how to find them. I have begun to apply for other jobs. I’m even willing to take a pay cut.

On a lighter note, I have actually practiced Arabic a bit this week. I can now ask the question, “What is this?” Now if I could just understand the answer, I would be rockin’!

Here are a few stories I have been paying attention to today:

1) The possible coup attempt in Mali

2) Richard Engel’s report on Cybercrime (actually, that’s only part of the story. The full report can be found on the Rock Center website)

A Bookworm’s Celebration, Or Why I Am One Step Closer To The Poor House…

By Kiki Keane

I try not to blog about my job, but Friday was a good day. I graduated from training and am now moving into the transition stage! This is exciting because it means that in two weeks time, when I become a full fledged Trusted Advisor (what a crock!) I will be paid a dollar more when I work after 6pm and on weekends, I will be allowed to work overtime and get paid for it and I get paid a percentage (a very, very small percentage) on any sales I might make. I don’t usually care that much about money, but I need every cent I can get for this trip. The truth is that isn’t just a trip for me. If I’m successful I will have a new career and a new life!

Having said that, I have to admit that instead of saving all those pennies I made today, I spent them. Well, not all of them. Just half. I decided to celebrate and went on a late night trip to a bookstore. I walked out of the store with an armful of books and an Irish Creme Mocha. I purchased the following: Dark Safari by Paul Theroux, Scribbling the Cat by  Alexandra Fuller, I Dreamed of Africa by Kuki Gallmann and The Fear: Robert Mugabe and the Martyrdom of Zimbabwe by Peter Godwin. I spot a theme…

Here’s the news I’ve been most interested in today:

1) George Clooney’s arrest

2) Soldier’s identity revealed and Karzai’s response to massacre and U.S. Troops’ response

3) Syria