How I Spent The Twentieth Week Of The Rest Of My Life

It has been a really busy couple of weeks it would seem.

Where to even begin.  I'm still unemployed, so I didn't just drop the blog for any good reason.  But I did kick the job search into high gear last Saturday night.  Yes, Saturday night.  One of the jobs I applied for at the Department of Health and Human Services had me take an assessment.  I figured when they said that it usually took about 90 minutes but could take up to three hours, that I'd fall on the low end as usual.  I actually took over three hours because I had to stop when my brain hurt.

It was way harder than the General Service Exam I took after college.  Either that, or I've gotten dumb.

The first section was based on logical aptitude.  Only one question out of the 35 or so proved impossible to solve.  They were mostly based on potential scheduling issues.  I liked that it was real world for an administrative person, but in 11 years of scheduling meetings, I never came across a group of people with so many conflicts.  I used to be good at that sort of thing on the real job.  But I had more than 5:00 to figure out logistical issues.

The next section was on decision making.  It had you listen to scenarios and choose the best and worst possible solution to a problem.  I assumed they were looking for independence, so I usually chose "tell your supervisor" as the worst solution to a problem.  But it didn't feel very real world as the people involved in the personality dispute's attitudes were never fleshed out.

The third section was a giant personality test about your attitudes on work.  There were no right or wrong answers, and I was honsest, but I worry this might weigh me down more than the other three sections.  I kept wanting to say, "I don't like working with others, but I'm amazing at it when I have to."

The final section was reading comprehension.  I actually learned a lot from this section if the theoretical reports in it were true.  I hope my eyes crossing by the time I took it didn't effect my score.

After this, I've pretty much been applying for any job that remotely interests me every evening.  One of these was for the Federal Bureau of Investigations.  The irony was that they turned around and said they were reviewing my applications more quickly than any other agency that I've applied for.  I'm not sure I'm exactly qualified for the job (they're administrative analysis positions), but, hey, I'm not about to complain about speed.

My days have been spent trying to keep busy.  And sleeping a lot.

Here's how I "spent" last week:

TUESDAY, MAY 17 ($39.30)

• 12:33 p.m. Tegeste - $16.00.  I was almost ashamed that it took me over over two weeks to get to my first Ethiopian restaurant in Washington D.C.  The city is famous for this cuisine.  It was worth the wait though.  I probably shouldn't have gotten a veggie combo big enough for two people, but I finished it.
• 2:11 p.m. Lucky Bar - $18.00.  The real reason I was in the city was to watch the last weekday match of the EPL season since I couldn't get downtown on the weekend.  I was hoping to find something closer to where I was, but this bar in Dupont Circle did just fine.  There were quite a few Manchester City fans there.  And that bill included no food.
• 5:20 p.m. Union Station - $5.30.  Taco Bell was just fine for dinner after all of the money I spent.  It was kind of fun to wander around Union Station drunk while most other people were doing so to get home from work.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 18 (Free)

THURSDAY, MAY 19 ($10.00)

• 9:46 a.m. Highlands Cafe - $6.00.  I enjoyed the dinner that I ate here using the Groupon so much that I came back for breakfast.  I just wanted to see if I could get into the city at a normal person time.  And I succeeded.  Though I just got eggs since I made lunch plans on the bus ride to 16th Street Heights.
• 11:50 a.m. Rock Creek Park - Free.  After breakfast, I wasn't hungry for a bit as I explored some more neighborhoods.  I entered Rock Creek Park off of the 18th and proceeded to work myself pretty deep onto the trails.  It was a good time killer even if I was scared I wouldn't get back out in time for lunch.
• 1:19 p.m. Mi Rancho - Free.  I met my friend from college near his work in Silver Spring.  I told him to choose a restaurant that would make me want to live there.  I didn't particular like this one that much, but I did enjoy hanging out with him.
• 3:58 p.m. Starbucks - $4.00.  Not surprisingly, when I couldn't figure out what else to do with the rest of my afternoon, I ended up back at the Starbucks in Columbia Heights.  Maybe if I become a regular, something good will come out of it.

FRIDAY, MAY 20 ($20.97)

• 2:09 p.m. Qdoba - $6.20.  While I didn't believe the Rapture was actually happening the next day, I did play along.  I figured if the world realy were ending, I'd definitely want one of my last meals to be a Qdoba burrito.  And it was great!
• 2:19 p.m. Aldi - $14.77.  The freezer was pretty empty of my stuff so I made a trip to Manassas to replenish it.  This was my first time at this smaller location.  It has less stuff than the one in Woodbridge, but it is next to a Qdoba.

SATURDAY, MAY 21 ($12.00)

• 7:33 p.m. Amici's Restaurante - $12.00.  When the Rapture didn't happen, I figured I might as well get dinner.  This place has a pretty decent cheap Italian buffet.  The sauce on the noodles was pretty amazing.  And the pizza was way above average.  Plus I was carb loaded if the Rapture happened at the last second.

SUNDAY, MAY 22 (Free)

MONDAY, MAY 23 ($14.49)

• 9:37 a.m. Potomac Mills Mall - $1.50.  The warm weather was finally hitting the Washington D.C. area in full force and I was glad the mall had indoor waiting.  I was also glad that I had singles for the bottled water machine.
• 11:43 a.m. Lincoln Park - Free.  After being a stick in the mud about considering Capitol Hill as a neighborhood option, I finally decided to give it a try.  I kind of liked it.  Especially the area just north of the park.  The one thing about this park is there isn't that much shade in it.
• 1:40 p.m. Chipotle - $6.10.  When I was supposed to meet up with my friend visiting from Texas and her brother in Dupont Circle, I feared for my wallet.  Thankfully, they chose the one place in the area that I could definitely afford.
• 2:42 p.m. Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History - Free.  It only took three weeks for me to become the D.C. "local" who only goes to museums when a visitor is in town.  I really should make a point of it to go to at least one Smithsonian a week.  I've just been exploring neighborhoods instead.
• 3:49 p.m. Smithsonian National Museum of American History - Free.  Since we were in the area, we stopped by my favorite Smithsonian.  It's always amazing to see the Star Spangled Banner.  And, of course, Kermit.
• 5:22 p.m. Union Station - $6.89.  Someone mentioned Taco Bell at lunch.  I don't think that I even had any choice but to go to the Union Station one for dinner after that happened.

So that's $96.76.  At least it looks like I'm mostly keeping myself out of trouble and staying on a good schedule for going into the city and actually spending money.  Though I'm really hoping that my increased amount of work on my job search results in an increased amount of reasons to go into the city for official purposes at official times.  I think I'm almost out of neighborhoods to explore.  I'll have to start on museums.  My total money spent since I've been unemployed is $4267.66.