My first full time job interview was just the opposite. I probably wouldn't have got the job in short hair & a suit, even though everybody who worked there had short hair & a suit.
http://unclegadget.com/media/signs.mp3It was a high-end audio equipment store & service center.
As a regular there, looking for deals on equipment for the bands or buying odds & ends for them, I was talking to the owner's son (who worked there) about being tired of being on the road with bands, & being shipped out of town working for the pipe organ company all the time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNBMt1Q4yFUI was going to quit it all soon, so I could get to go home at the end of the day.
He asked how soon was I quitting. I said 2-4 weeks notice after I find a full time job just working in the city. He hired me right on the spot... hair down to my shoulders, stubble on my chin, holes in my jeans, & wearing an old Frank Zappa T-shirt.
http://unclegadget.com/media/Zappa.mp4I started working part time there the next day, & full time about 2 weeks later.
I was the only one not required to wear a suit. Technically I was in the service department, but didn't have to wear their blue shirt & blue dress pants uniform either. I just had to dress neat. No old shirts or worn out jeans.
It turns out I was specifically hired to attract bands & radio personalities that were shopping at their competitors for audio equipment. Their competitors wore jeans, not suits or uniforms. It worked too. I already knew a lot of the local bands & radio DJs. So they did come in when I told them I work there. I even got them a sound/lights installation & service contract for Buffalo's first disco.
But looks aren't everything. The owner said I was the most polite & friendly employee he ever had. When dealing with customers, being naturally polite & friendly seems to help.
http://unclegadget.com/media/naturally.mp3Most intelligent people can spot a fake. I also knew all about the stuff they sell or service, so when someone had a technical question, I had a good answer.
Even when I started as a DJ, there was no dressed interview. I was just wearing old jeans & a t-shirt (didn't care much for my boy clothes). Working as an independent installing sound in a club, the owner insisted he wanted me to DJ there. Although I DJ'd some events, I did not want nightclub DJ work, & was not qualified to be a nightclub DJ. And disco was the thing in clubs in those days -- I hated disco. It turns out that's why he wanted me. To attract the rock-club, & alternative types. He just wanted a guy with long hair & beat up jeans in there who had a lot of band or rock friends, that wasn't gonna fry the sound system.
http://unclegadget.com/media/jeans.mp3LOL, a year later I was considered one of the most popular disco DJs in the area, even though I had long hair, & frequently wore a "Disco Sucks" T-shirt on the job. My excuse? In a radio interview (1970s) I said, "I don't play disco, I play dance & alternative music."
http://unclegadget.com/media/grey.mp3Breathing a lot better most days since the humidty & heat is lower. I have AC but it's too small for very hot or humid days to keep up enough with COPD.
But I'm not looking for bigger AC that will run up my electric bill more. With the AC running, & a bigger O2 machine, I just had the biggest electric bills in almost 20 years this summer. The O2 machine gives off a ton of heat, which makes the AC work harder & longer. Also on warm or humid days, air pollution is higher, which is hard on anyone with COPD, the elderly, young children, some pets, & many animals.
Interestingly, in 2017, things had gotten so efficient, that my electric & heat bills were the lowest in my life for almost the whole year. But that all changed when I needed oxygen by Christmas. A little secret -- I almost didn't make it to the new year. That was my third near-death experience.
So even though I'm working more, & earning more again, I'm still in debt up to my eyeballs because it's costing me a lot more just to stay alive.
Hopefully now that it gets a little cooler, energy & other costs will go down for a while so I can catch up with some debts a little. So I welcome the cooler weather. Unless my COPD gets worse again (which it will eventually), I breathe better most colder or cold dry days, & will save a lot of money until it gets very cold.
There's one thing nice about my place. I don't have to take care of the snow. With COPD I can't go out anyway. People drop stuff off for me to work on, or I work remotely online. Editing, mixing, & streaming for work is done at home too. I have people carry stuff up & down the stairs for me. Most days it would be too hard to get up & down the stairs even with oxygen.
So I don't have to deal with snow. I still keep the heat down very low at bedtime, but under the blankets you don't feel the cold. Getting up can be a chilling experience until the place slowly warms up though.
The building's fire alarm went off last week at the worst possible time.
http://unclegadget.com/media/fire.mp3My breathing real was bad. Thinking I might have to evacuate, I grab my wallet, phone, keys, & put on my shoes. By the time I did that, I was so out of breath, I had to sit for 5 minutes on oxygen to catch my breath. It was a false alarm. By the time I caught my breath, the fire alarm was reset. But if it was a real fire, I probably would have keeled over halfway down the stairs, or died in the fire. On a cooler drier day, I may make it out easier.
If things get any worse, I might have to move far out of town to live closer to what little family & friends I have left that are still alive... if I can find some place cheap enough there that allows my cats. Then I also have to find someone to move me & my stuff cheap. I'll probably just leave everything behind but basics. Bedroom, clothes, computers, & kitchen items.
Most rentals come with a fridge & stove so don't have to move them. Maybe move just enough stuff that will fit in a van or pickup truck.
Originally I liked this area because it was close to everything, to work, to the store, & a few friends. The friends have moved away or passed on. I can't go out, & only on a very good day can make it down the stairs. Being close to stores doesn't matter anymore. My work comes to me, is done at home, or online.
There's nothing to keep me in the area anymore except that the place is cheap, & I don't know how I would ever move without a lot of free help -- that I can't find. Because of my condition, it is dangerous, & possibly life-threatening for me to stay here much longer. But wherever I live, I can't take care of snow, or a lawn. I still cook & clean by myself, but it goes slower with COPD, even with oxygen.
If I could find a friendly roommate, they'd have most of the place to their self as long as I had a bedroom big enough for my computers, a small table to sit at to work on stuff, & had a decent closet. Maybe I'd even pay more than my share if they're willing to help more with chores & stuff, or give them extra to assist with my work or projects.
http://unclegadget.com/media/64.mp3
Betty's Pub 20.1
Topic: Is it really the Fall Flickr already? Well, just about. (Read 17110 times)
