#because if there's been qualified applicants (=me) they wouldn't have to do that)

[theflyingfeeling]

aaaarrghghgh 😭

[honeyjars-sims]

Episode 11: Figure it Out

As Parker showed Lucy around the Rainy Day campus, her skepticism began to fade.

"This is what Damien refers to as The Rec Room," she told Lucy as they walked into a large room filled with various recreational items. There were arcade games, a chessboard, and even a ping pong table.

"And this is the kitchenette. There aren't many people here right now because most of them have left for the day," Parker explained.

"Already? But it's only 4PM!" Lucy exclaimed, incredulously.

"Damien believes in maintaining a flexible work environment. If your work is done, there's no need to to sit around here for 40 hours just to look busy," Parker said.

"As a new mom, flexibility sounds great!" Lucy told her. So far, she liked what she was hearing. "So, what's the catch?"

"I understand it all sounds too good to be true," Parker acknowledged. "There is something that could complicate the matter. Come with me."

Parker led Lucy to what she explained was the new wing of the company. "We were renting the space I just showed you, but Damien recently purchased the entire building," she informed her as they peered into the vacuous space. "He has some big plans to expand the company beyond creating video games. That's where the new position would come in."

"That's what I'm not understanding," Lucy lamented. "What is the new position? What would I be doing?"

"Damien isn't one to give a lot of direction. The only catch here is that he's very selective in who he hires. You have to be qualified, and you have to work hard. The right person for the job will be able to figure out what needs to be done and delegate. Basically, the position is whatever you decide to make it."

"That sounds like a big responsibility," Lucy sighed. She was looking for a challenge, but this seemed like biting off more than she could chew.

"It is," Parker sympathized. "So far, none of our applicants have decided to continue with the process. The only question I have left for you is if you're still interested."

Lucy thought for a minute. This was unlike any other job she'd had, but she would be able to utilize her skill set. She had always been a self-starter, and it was an excellent way to get the collaboration with others that she craved. "I think--no, I know I am," she responded.

"Great!" Parker was unable to hide the enthusiasm and surprise in her voice. "We'll be in touch with the next steps!"

Lucy gulped and hoped she wouldn't regret her decision.

Previous | Beginning | Next

[classicslesbianopinions]

how do you even go to grad school, i have two years of undergrad left and i'm already so scared. i have this fear that they will see that i passed all my exams not because i know stuff but because my writing is good enough and they will all laugh at my poor little collection of credits i got from my poor little college lmaoo

well my college closed and a global pandemic hit partway through my degree and my final transcript is from a college that straight-up does not offer latin or greek and i've been recommended for admission at a phd program so. anything's possible really.

anyway first of all if your writing is good enough to pass your exams, 1. that's a sign that you do know stuff, because it's really hard to write well without knowledge to back it up and also 2. writing is a huge part of academia and good writing is something programs will be looking for. like good writing is a selling point in its own right, completely separate from your knowledge.

secondly like... i had a lot of the same worries when i was applying, i graduated in december 2020 and it took until december 2022 for me to actually get any applications in. because i went to a tiny liberal arts college that closed, and because i spent my last semester working almost entirely independently at a school that did not offer anything in my field, i was worried my degree and coursework wouldn't be enough, and that i didn't know enough to get through. i applied to one masters and two phd programs and have been rejected from one phd program and recommended to the dean for admission (but not officially offered admission yet, i'm still waiting to hear) at the other (the masters had a later deadline and i haven't heard officially but i did have an interview). i thought basically if i didn't get into the phd program i could do the masters for a stronger foundation, which is still my plan, but i was also told by my current greek instructor that my language background looked strong enough without it (i have four years of high school and two years of university-level latin, and four-ish years of greek) and i would be a competitive candidate. i still don't necessarily feel like a competitive candidate, but honestly this field just breeds so much impostor syndrome that at a certain point you've just got to assume you're underestimating yourself.

but like... no one has laughed at the poor collection of credits i got from my now-defunct college, both programs i interviewed with took me seriously as a candidate and an academic, and also like... if it doesn't work out for me this year for whatever reason, i'll probably just work on my application and apply again next year 🤷‍♂️ there's no shame in applying multiple times, it can be a bit random where and when you actually get accepted.

also to answer the practical question of "how does this work": you pick out programs you would like to apply to-- i just went through this list of graduate programs in north america from the society for classical studies, although if you don't want programs in north america you will have to look elsewhere (and probably ask someone else. i live in the us and applied solely to schools in the us, and i know it works differently elsewhere). decide if you're applying to masters or phd programs or both. a phd program will include a masters as part of the program. masters programs are shorter and might prepare you to get into a phd program or to do other work in the field, and phd programs of course take a long time and qualify you to be a college professor and also let you put "doctor" in front of your name, which kind of rules. i picked programs by size and location (i do best in small communities), and i also was told to make sure that when applying to phds i could see faculty in the program that i could see myself working with, and to mention a faculty member's work in my statement of purpose for the school. so i actually might've applied to more phd programs if i had found more faculty whose work interested me, but honestly i pretty much knew where i wanted to go from the start and it's very likely that that's where i'll be next year.

check to see if the programs you want require the gre, mine were gre optional but i sent the scores anyway because i'm really good at standardized tests. but also taking the gre was a very dehumanizing experience, so like if it's not required and you don't test well, just skip it. and make sure to ask faculty for letters of recommendation a few months in advance. (they might also want to look at drafts of your application material, so i would recommend having that pretty far in advance.) every program i applied to asked for a statement of purpose to say "this is what i want to do and why i want to go to your school" and a recent writing sample (which was hard for me to find because of the haphazard nature of my last two semesters). i also attached my cv because i've done a lot of stuff outside of school in the last two years, and i held a lot of leadership positions when i was in college. also purdue owl has a page about applying to graduate programs, which was really helpful to me and might be to you!

if you're still in undergrad, also, you probably have faculty you can ask for advice etc-- part of my problem was that i was a year out of college when i tried to apply the first time, and the second time it was two years after i graduated. and i didn't have any way to contact any of my past classics professors. so if you have an advisor or just any professors you like and get along with, you should talk to them about this as you start researching programs and planning out your applications! you'll need their recommendation letters anyway, but also a lot of the time people are really glad to help. anytime i've asked for help i've been met with support. (and remember that it's pretty normal for professors to be asked to help with this sort of thing! it's something you're doing for the first time but they've almost definitely helped tons of people with it, in addition to doing it themselves.)

anyway i don't know how much help this is, but just know that you are almost definitely way more qualified and competent than you think you are, and grad school applications are super intimidating but incredibly possible.

[skruffie]

anyway, mom and I had a phone call earlier today because she was texting me whilst I was sleeping. One of our cousins tried to enroll with the Yurok nation and got denied, so he's working on getting an appeal done and another cousin was like... explaining the whole situation and asked if there was something mom could do. Mom said that *I* might know because I've been the one kind of in charge of compiling the Yurok ancestry and cultural information for the last several years, including sorting through genetic cousin matches.

We talked a bit about enrollment and something that we've discussed a few times before but not quite in earnest: posthumously enrolling her great-grandpa if that's something that's possible. We have this weird situation where our relatives are listed on the Index to the Census of California Indians including one we are lineally descended from but by the time the index was finalized it would have been posthumous for her. Her son and I think one of his siblings are on there but the son we directly descend from is not. Neither is the other son that our cousin is a direct descendant of. His relative moved to Seattle and ours to San Bernadino and didn't seem to maintain a close cultural connection to our family in northern CA. I was suggesting that looking into posthumous enrollment might help because it can then establish a more solid connection.

The tribal constitution does have a clause for extreme circumstances that can be considered for enrollment if an applicant doesn't meet the other criteria, and I think that would be the best bet. I'm mutuals with one of the council members on twitter and back in like... November?? he was posting a thread about identity and mentioned there's a number of enrolled members that don't have a drop of blood in them but still qualified under the constitution, and it has to have been from the extreme circumstances. Finding that out made me feel very strange, like I could hope for real that maybe enrollment is a path I can take someday.

I told mom "if we can, like if that's possible, that could be a way to lead you to enrolling and maybe your siblings, and maybe [my first cousins]" and she was like "that's right" and then I paused. I have to give consideration to the other portion of my ancestry through my dad, where we have ties to the Little Shell tribe. I don't know if they have more enrollment officers now because of federal recognition, but back when I was focusing my research on that branch I exchanged emails with the (at the time) sole enrollment officer. She's my cousin, and even though I already started with "hey I'm not eligible for enrollment but I'm just looking for information on my family" she sent me copies of the supporting documents I'd need for enrollment. It felt very much like I would be considered for it despite the BQ requirements. Here, with either avenue, I'd have to decide which one to go with but I wouldn't be able to enroll in both. Thinking about it, I feel more like identity as Métis is more specific than Little Shell because my family came down from Canada and being enveloped into the Little Shell came later. Yurok is something that I've always known we were somewhat but didn't understand it.

The conversation kind of shifted after that and we talked a bit about racial and ethic identity. Her and I have a lot of overlapping feelings about it and specific little thoughts and events from our lives that didn't seem to really mean anything else or--and this could be funny--would sound utterly insane if we just casually dropped it in a conversation.

[22degreehalo]

Actually speaking of which

So, the library I'm volunteering at opened up applications for a casual library officer!!!!!

This is the same place I've been helping out for like?? Two years??? More????? at this point???? But last year when I applied they didn't even give me an interview. Like I was literally doing almost the exact same thing I would be doing if I worked there, and I hadn't had any complaints, but they wouldn't even consider me.

I was REALLY bummed and considered giving up this path altogether, but thankfully I did get hired by another library, where I'm working right now!!! And I found out afterwards that another guy who was also volunteering alongside me ALSO applied for that other job where we were volunteering and ALSO didn't get considered (and now ALSO got a job at this new library, thankfully).

I talked to the librarian I'd been assisting and she was really mad on our behalf?? Said she'd heard something about how they were looking for people with retail experience specifically, which is... strange. Like, are they TRYING to run it like a business instead...?

I've still kept volunteering with them, though (albeit I quit part of what I was doing because the schedule turned out to conflict with my new job too much; it was very sad tbh), because they need people, and it's an important role that apparently doesn't get many volunteers, and it's only two hours every other week, and it's still my local council so. It's the most convenient to get to and all. I still hoped they might reconsider hiring me.

And, as I began this all, now they've opened up applications again. So I applied.

But. I don't want to *stop* working where I am; it's genuinely a really great place and I've even become a bit attached to the other people there!! (not something that happens easily hahaha)

Apparently it's normal to have multiple casual library jobs at the same time. So that's been my goal for a while.

But... could I really do that? I'm already not the most organised just with my one job... I know it's normal, but I am neurodivergent... I need to remember that that is a true thing about myself that I can state as a fact...

I don't know. Obviously I could just keep working at this current place until I can get a permanent position somewhere... Though I still don't really feel qualified to do any of it... ugh.

Is it really okay if things just stay as they are...? I've said before that this is an okay minimum, or something like that. I don't *desperately need* to change anything. But is it okay not to even especially try...?

I could go back to TAFE... but part of me thinks that I should go back to uni instead and study cataloguing, because that'd definitely help me get a position, and I'd love to have a part in shaping the non-fiction sections specifically... (god, just walking through the non-fiction shelves is soooo refreshing to the soul <33) But that'd be really expensive, and I already have two degrees I'm basically not doing anything with...

Ugh. Again it feels like giving up on the goal of moving out. But there are already a lot of question marks around that.

Welp. They might not want to hire me anyway. If that happens, I might just finally give up on the volunteering... or at least consider volunteering somewhere else. My library hires people to do the thing I'm volunteering for there (in fact, *I* am one of the people paid to do the thing I'm doing as volunteer at my local library!!); they should consider that, too, if they can't find anyone after me.

idk sorry this is such a long post. I'm not sure how to feel about it all right now...

[foxgirlmoth]

The constant Feels Like I'm Going Nowhere that has persisted for years really fucks up your brain huh. I haven't:

Continued electrolysis in pursuit of bottom surgery (No healthcare for a while, and now currently I have no income)

Gotten my associates. Granted, this is something I'm (hopefully) finishing this semester. I should have been done so last semester but health issues and disabilities severely limit how much I can do a semester. I had to basically drop 2 classes last semester. I've been in college for 6 years.

Related to the above statement, watching the industry I started my degree for constantly burning more and more each year has worn me down. 2 years of experience in my field doesn't qualify for a starter position apparently, nor does it seem like applications even get viewed most of the time.

Moved away from family. It is actively harmful in this 'home'. Family constantly belittles and insults me. No money + paying off a car for several years has limited what I've been able to do money wise. One of the few times I could have saved up I was paying rent to my family (except they had me mark it as not rent, so they wouldn't get taxed for it) for pretty much all my extra income. This should be resolved this year when I move in with the loml who has been the best and I can't go into detail without bawling about my love for her and how she helps just being around.

Past jobs have also fucked me over. Becoming the only manager of a medical/retail mix at the age of 19 stressed me out to the point I had breakdowns weekly. 2 years working at a sbux wore my physical body down to the point I'm still having issues 2 years later. I did all this with misdiagnosed fibromyalgia since I was 12 (Idk how a past fucking dr thought I had a certain other 6 WEEKS MAX condition when it had already been years). I'm just so tired. I don't even know if I can get on disability, I feel like I'd be rejected. I hardly know what I could even do for work at this point. I left my last job because of harassment from all the way up to the VP. That job was just sitting around half the time and my pain was so bad I missed weeks of work regularly for a couple months. I just feel so lost half the time. Being in the workforce for 10 years has just made me a broken husk devoid of passions.

[kim-ruzek]

As someone who wants to adopt one day I find your comment strange (don’t be offended, I’m really curious what you think of it). You said that because Brett was adopted she is more qualified then most of people on show who did adopt. I wasn’t adopted but I want to - I don’t have any medical conditions, I could give a birth but I’ve always wanted to adopt a baby and give them a chance. I think it’s the only thing that important- not if anyone was adopted before. Emotional maturity is one of the effects of the way parents (biological or not) bring up their kid, but it’s not the only factor. I think Brett has the same ability to adopt/foster a baby as Cruz and Chloe did or Kim Burgess or Casey

And please keep your fingers crossed for me to one day adopt a kid 🙏🏻 I might now be Brett but I’ll do my best

Oh no, please, I completely and totally believe that a whole range of different types of people no matter the background can and are qualified to adopt. I don't think that only those who are adopted themselves should adopt.

What I was saying is that there's been so much negativity from some people about this storyline or towards Sylvie's want for doing this. Which some points I do see their validity, but others I do not. And a lot of comparisons to other adoption storylines.

I was just simply making a point that if we're going to boil these adoption storylines down to being just very one dimensional and talking about the possible unethicalities of it, that that isn't the gotcha card people think it is. Because Sylvie being an adoptee herself means she has a perspective the others doesn't and if we're going to boil it down just to that one dimensional factor that she is the first more qualified impulsive prospective adoptive parent in comparison.

But obviously reality is that it's not just down to that one thing, there's many factors and many unique pieces to these storylines, which means that while Sylvie definitely has a perspective the others maybe don't, doesn't necessarily mean the others aren't great adoptive parents. I was just raising a point that if we get that pedantic then the arguments still fall short as Sylvie is an adoptee and the others were not.

And the point I was making was especially because how these adoption storylines always go is that it's sudden. They meet the kid they connect with, and that's who they seek to adopt. Opposed to planning to be an adoptive parent, going through all the checks and applications and classes and everything to prepare to maybe one day get a kid placed with you (whether that's through fostering or private adoption).

And usually in that process, especially nowadays, now we know more about how to address adoption, the prospective parent will educate themselves and learn perspectives their kid may have-- especially if they are very true and pure about their intentions in the adoption and act in the best interests in the child.

So like you, you know you want to be an adoptive parent one day. So you want to do right by that kid-- I can tell that by the things you just said. You want to give them a chance and want to be a good parent towards them and presumably will be open to facing the challenges they face with them and in your journey to become a parent you'll learn what that may be. That will qualify you.

But these characters often have barely thought about parenthood let alone adoption when these storylines happen, which means before getting the placement they usually don't go through the processes and the learning that other adoptive parents do. Which is a helpful and needed thing. But Sylvie has a first hand experience of what they'd learn, she's already one of those voices herself so as far as impulsive adoption storylines go, she's uniquely qualified in that way.

But say all these storylines happen with the characters going through the usual process, that wouldn't necessarily set her apart too much from the others.

And also at the same time, Sylvie's not qualified in other ways. This baby she is connected too in a way because they're similar. But if the baby wasn't a white baby, then Sylvie would fall short in areas as Sylvie doesn't have personal experience in transracial adoption trauma.

So yeah. I agree-- the number one and honestly if we boil it all down to just one thing, the most important thing for an adoptive parent to be qualified is for their intentions to be in the best interest in the child. None of the other stuff matters if that, the want to care for a child, and do right by them, isn't met.

And for the record, I think you'll be a great adoptive parent. The important thing is to want it, especially not to see it just as a plan b, and to just love a child who otherwise would possibly spend their life in an unforgiving system. And I will most definitely keep my fingers crossed for that one day being your reality.

Thank you for asking! 💖 And thank you for prompting me to expand and clarify because I really wouldn't want people thinking that I believe only adoptees can adopt, because that's not at all true.

[theflyingfeeling]

sending you a lot of hugs! 🫂🫂🫂

everything’s gonna be alright again! 🥰

please don’t be too hard on yourself. even if you reapplied to the job - you had your reasons and they should respect it. that doesn’t make a fool out of you.

here have an orca who has fun splashing in the water:

I hope this cheered you up a bit 🥰🫂

awwwww a cute orca 🥺 thank you 🖤

I'm afraid it's a little more complicated than that (gonna put this behind a read-more)

I less worried what they might think of me for reapplying after having turned them down once already. I'm more worried about my employement agency person calling them to make sure I did actually apply and that I do actually have an interview with them, in other words, that I haven't been lying about it. IF the people from the workplace I'm applying to find it odd or off-putting or suspicious that someone from the employment agency is asking after me to make sure I haven't been dishonest in what I've told them (even though I haven't!), they might not want to hire me? Is that something they could do? If I'm otherwise qualified? I mean, I could live with not being hired, but then I'd have to worry about the employment agency deciding to cut off/suspend my unemployment daily allowance, because I had declined the first interview that I was invited to. Because I guess they could very easily do that, since I've been neglecting my responsibilities as an unemployed job-seeker (at least this is how my wrteched brain sees it lol).

I'm not sure if this makes any sense to anyone 🤷‍♀️ I'm just so scared of having screwed things up.

(As a side note, in Finland the current system is that if you're an unemployed job seeker, you're required to apply to 4 jobs every month or in other ways show you've been "an active job-seeker". You do this by filling in a form online in which you explain what you've done during each 4-week period (there's a deadline for it too). It's mostly about applying for jobs or looking for job opportunities in other ways (e.g. sending out open applications to employers; I'm not sure if you're supposed to tell them you've been in a job interview or if it counts as "activity", but at least there's no clear option for that in the online form). And I have fulfilled this criteria every fucking month, this month well in advance actually, so on that part they'd have no reason to cut off my allowance, but I also assume not going to an interview would be enough of a reason for them to do so 🤷‍♀️

Furthermore, on my first meeting with my employment agency contact person I asked how they make sure one really has done all those activities they have reported, and she said that sometimes they do check-ups, but not usually not needed and that she's never had to do it. In my case I honestly wouldn't be surprised if she decided to do a check-up and call the place, especially because I've been sort of passive and gloomy whenever we've talked (because I'm just so stressed out and anxious about being unemployed. I had to hold back tears the whole time during our first meeting; the rest have been just phone calls but I did silently cry during one of them too), so I have no idea what kind of impression I have given of myself to her.

[somethingusefulfromflorida]

Last week I sent out a Hail Mary application for a job as a library specialist in my old college town, and I fully excepted to be ghosted or sent a form email with the word "unfortunately" in it, but today I was told that I had been selected to move onto the next hiring phase. They want me to come to the library for an interview and a written test, and it pays two dollars more per hour than my current job (if I got a full 40 hours, that'd be $650 or $700 extra per month after taxes). This would literally be a dream come true were it not for the fact that they scheduled my test for this coming Wednesday, August 17th.

Problems:

I am 400 miles away.

I have no car.

I have a job to which I am currently employed and expected to show up on Wednesday.

"To ensure fairness for all candidates, requests for alternate or makeup assessment dates will not be granted."

What do I do? Do I pass this up, or do I throw away everything for a chance at a career. Not even a guaranteed career, just a chance, with who knows how many other applicants vying for the same position. I could quit my current job, take a coach bus up there, crash with my sister for a few days, take the test, and they pick someone else. Then what? It's high risk/high reward, but I'm not a betting man and I can't possibly be the most qualified person for the job (I'm an English major who has exclusively worked retail and customer service since high school).

I'm trying to convince myself it's not worth it to continue, but then why did I apply in the first place?

I want it.

I want it, but it's just as much luck as it is skill, and I can't afford to go for it and fail. If I do this, I either move on to the next phase of my life, OR I wind up stuck at my parents' place for a very, VERY long time. The job I have now is perfect for my mental health because it's easy, low stress, low stakes, and my boss doesn't care what I do in my considerable amount of downtime; I am basically paid to browse tumblr for hours and occasionally answer the phone/door. I'm never gonna find another job like this down in the Keys, it's lightning in a bottle, so if I give it up and don't land the library gig, I'll have to go back to bagging groceries or some shit. I can't do that again. I can't stand for 8 or 9 hours a day. I can't return to the "the customer is always right" mindset when my current boss knows the customer is very often wrong and expects me tell them so. I can't do it. I won't. Certainly not for less than I make now (my job pays well over minimum wage; most jobs down here do not)

My boss is pretty lenient, but I don't think she's lenient enough to give me multiple days off, on such short notice, for the express purpose of finding another job. She wouldn't let me come back after that. I can't unburn that bridge.

I don't know what to do...

[ideas-on-paper]

Monster Hunter Tri Diary, Part 4: Hunting for mushrooms

For previous entries, search for #monster hunter tri diary

Disclaimer: Text is paraphrased from my localization and might slightly deviate from the English version.

Moga Village (day)

With the ore I gathered on my last trip to Moga Woods, I finally have enough to make myself a Great Sword. Well, let's get to it - one Iron Sword if you please, dear smith.

And he is really putting in work! He even swings his hammer multiple times! (In 3U, he only swung his hammer once, which was always funny to me since it seemed like he brought the pieces of equipment into existence by just one strike of his "magic hammer".)

Smith: "Take good care of your equipment. Armor is family!" Well, I suppose anyone who's ever played Monster Hunter will know the truth of those words. I'm always very attached to my weapons and armor sets - I ought to, with all the blood, sweat, and time I invested to get them. ^^ (Do you have any idea how long I spent farming for two Rathian Rubies in Freedom Unite just to make myself the complete armor?)

Outfitter: "The new armors were top-notch in my virtual test." I'm sure this speaks for their excellent quality.

Village Chief: "At least you have good lungs... Or so I've heard!" Actually, now that you mention it, the hunters in Monster Hunter Tri are able to hold their breath for a long time. And all of that while attacking, dodging, and doing all sorts of underwater acrobatics. Just what kind of preliminary training do you have to go through to even qualify as a rookie hunter?

Chief, giving me payment: "I had to scrape together the last money from the piggy bank." The Chief has a piggy bank? Actually, if the MH universe has piggy banks, would they look like Poogies? (If they do, can I have one, please? ^^)

Also, the Village Chief mentions subquests for the first time and explains how they work. From what I know, MH Dos also had subquests, but they didn't bring them back until Tri (only to remove them for the following titles and reintroduce them in the fourth gen). Anyway, it's interesting to see where many of the features of modern MH titles originated from.

Item vendor: "Where have you been? We had an agreement that you would come to me daily and I wouldn't have to run after you!" What do you mean? I relentlessly bothered you for extra dialogue the last time, like all other NPCs. That wasn't enough?

Item vendor, trying to sell me Books of Combos: "You have to make space in your item bag, but on the other hand, you don't have to carry around so much garbage. Think of the environment!" Well, at least she's eco-minded, apparently. ^^'

"Household tip: Saps plants are ideal for dusting off shelves." How does that work? Do you just stick the plant to the end of a rod or something?

"Of course, I almost always have to think about you brave hunters. At the thought of armor, air..." Okay, armor I get, but why the hell would think about hunters when thinking of air? (Is it because they always land so elegantly on their feet, even when falling a large distance?) Seriously, this lady is starting to creep me out...

Gossip Lady: "My brother is a hunter in the city!" Oh, that's interesting - that has to mean her brother is working in Loc Lac, right? (Also, this vaguely reminds me of that one lady in Kokoto who also had a brother who was a hunter in the city.)

I think it's kinda cute how the Fishmongress gives you cooking advice (like how to make fish filet and sushi rolls). I haven't tried it out in practice, though.

Meanwhile, the Guild Sweetheart is absolutely over the moon because she finally heard from the Hunter's Guild! Aaaand, my first quest is… to gather mushrooms. Of course - what else would it be? xD (Since the first quests almost always are about gathering mushrooms, this seems to be something like the standard “application” for new hunters.)

"Do they think we aren't capable of ANYTHING?!" It's sweet how she gets mad on my behalf, though. Not to worry - I'm used to the drill. :-)

"Let's just show them that we're doing a good job. And with "we" I mean you!" Of course - I mean, it’s not like there are any other hunters around here.

"There's a big city out in the desert. Of course they have different monsters there! Now you'd like to go there, wouldn't you?" *nods enthusiastically* (Seriously though, I can't wait to finally see Loc Lac with my own eyes. ^^)

Farm Felyne: "Don't just eat meat! Vegetables make shining fur and sharp claws!!" Important advice - be sure to remember it, kids.

Chamberlyne: "Through the window comes a lovely breeze, but you can look inside. You're like a fish in a bowl, even when changing clothes. That could make for a fine scandal." They aren't that big on privacy in Moga, I suppose... (Just... do me a favor and don't tell the item lady anything about it, okay?)

"The sea breeze is pleasant... Unless you're made of iron! I have to polish all metal pieces in the room daily so they don't start rusting." Oh dear, the Felynes really do have the most ungrateful jobs... Listen: I'm gonna earn a bit of money on my first quest, and when I get back, I'm gonna give you a raise for all the hard work you're doing, okay?

Quest: Harvest 'Shroom

I just love the humor of the MH writers right down to the quest names. In this case, the translation didn't quite carry over in my localization, but the English name gave me a good chuckle.

Clan matriarch: "The mushrooms around here are nothing special, but the ones from the Deserted Island are quite good!" Seems like local mushrooms are a bit of an insider's tip among mushroom enjoyers.

I'm gonna attempt to deduce some things about MH society from the quest descriptions: In this case, the quest giver is a clan matriarch, which means that somewhere in the MH world, there are people who are organized in clan-centered societies. I imagine there are various indigenous cultures, and by themselves, they are all autonomous peoples and tribes. However, the Guild acts as a middleman if they want to hire foreign hunters to do jobs for them. (Since the Guild’s network is pretty extensive, that would also give them a lot of control.)

Btw, the Moga Woods are dubbed "Deserted Island" in all Guild quests. I suppose this is probably the official name for the region they agreed upon, so it's used in all Guild documents. It's kind of funny if you think about it, though; I wonder if the Guild envoys just came here, took one look at everything, and said "Well, this is pretty deserted. So, "Deserted Island" it is!" However, to the people who actually live here, this isn't just a "deserted" island - it's their home, and the environment that sustains their daily life.

If you want to go hunting in the Moga Woods, you have to go to the right, to the path that leads out of the village. If you accept a quest, however, you have to go to the left, down the pier. This implies you leave for the Guild quests by boat. Nice detail.

The base camp has an integrated stove, by the looks of it.

Guild Sweetheart: "Since the camp is in tip-top shape again, nothing speaks against the profession of the hunter. An absolutely crisis-proof job!" Yes, I can imagine that. (In fact, I'd say there's probably more work for hunters in times of crisis than under normal circumstances.)

But before we go hunting monsters, the Sweetheart gives us the quest (heh) to hunt for the "three elusive wonders" of the base camp: the blue box, the red box, and the bed. Good thing I have a lot of experience with that.

As usual, we got the standard supplies in the blue box: first-aid meds, rations, mini-whetstones... and paintballs. (You know, paintballs? Those things you have to throw onto a monster so you don't lose it if it runs away? Because there's no such thing as, say, a lamp with bugs that points you in the right direction.)

Guild Sweetheart when finding the red box: "Oh, you're good at this!" Yeah, right? Almost as I've done this before.

When you select the red box, it actually shows you a list of stuff you can deliver. In case of a gathering quest, you have to hand in the items for the subquests (unlike in 4U, you can actually have two subquest in Tri) and the main quest separately. I have to say, I kinda like this since you can't accidentally deliver the items for the main quest first, and lock yourself out of the rewards for the subquests that way.

Sweetheart: "Yes, that's a bed! Your furniture-hunting skills are unmatched, hunter!" You know, where I live, there's literally a furniture store whose name translates to "furniture hunter". I must say, I had to chuckle a bit about that. xD

"If you sleep in the bed, your health is restored and any poison is cured. You wake up feeling as if you were born anew!" I wish my bed had a feature like this.

Also, there are two separate options when selecting the bed: take a nap and finish via subquest. So, instead of hitting the sack immediately as usual, you have to press confirm again to take your all-curing nap.

Btw, there's a small boat at the pier in the base camp. I suppose this is how you get here? (Presuming you don't start out from Moga Village, but from somewhere else.)

Okay, let's get down to business. The way to get Ripened Mushrooms is basically to wait until the Altaroth go to the gathering spots, let them pick up the mushrooms, and then kill them. You get the Ripened Mushrooms as shiny drops.

NOOOO, one Altaroth got away! :( (Seriously, you have to be quick about killing them; the hole where they spawn/despawn isn't too far away.)

Sweetheart: "That's one of those Unique Mushrooms! I should know, since I like mushrooms a lot." Well, why didn't you say so sooner? I would've brought you some mushrooms instead of a molid.

Okay, Ripened Mushrooms are delivered, extra reward from subquest A is in the bag - now for the rest.

Other than attacking them, snatching away their gathering spots makes Altaroth really pissed.

You get Dragon Toadstools from the gathering spots with the blue mushrooms. A bit surprising to find them on the very first map, since they’re usually an item you get a little later (e.g. in desert/volcano areas).

Btw, you can tell apart gathering spots by their color in Tri: From orange/reddish you get ordinary stuff, while the blue gathering spots give you rare items.

The mushroom gathering spots respawn fast. In fact, I probably have enough mushrooms from just area 2 to finish the quest, both sub and main.

I got a Waterblock Seed near the waterfall. Fitting I guess, and yet another one of the elemental berries.

I'm gonna deliver the Choice Mushroom for subquest B, and then I'll go to a few other areas to gather some stuff. A bit of a pity you can't deliver non-quest related account items to the red box. This actually makes me kind of miss 4U's auto-delivery; you automatically dropped all account items you held into the box, so you could go back and pick up more. (I guess each system has its perks.)

Also, you get lots of additional supplies from the subquests. I guess I could've left my own potions and steaks at home. xD

There are maaany ore gathering spots in the cave.

And here I go having to throw away all the free meds and rations again. xD (It's always the same when I'm at full capacity; I tend to get rid of the account items because you don't keep them anyway.)

And here we have our first Machalite Ore! Wohoo! (I'm never, ever gonna not appreciate Machalite Ore again after MH1.)

So, Earth Crystals are "crystallized microbes". I suppose that means the MH world has quite advanced microscopes. (Because otherwise, they wouldn't even know microbes exist.) Also, Earth Crystals are "prized as an abrasive when forging weapons". I wonder what gives them such good abrasive properties?

Godbug: "An insect said to live 1000 years—but no one's lived long enough to prove it." Are you sure about that? Wyverians get pretty old if I remember correctly. Also, couldn't you just hold it in a terrarium or something and keep tabs on its age?

The Sharqs are tougher than ordinary fish. I tried to stab them with a harpoon several times before realizing I have to weaken them first so I can harpoon them. (I believe I can very faintly remember having the same experience back in 3U; guess I'm a bit out of practice. xD) You can easily see when you've weakened them enough though, since they start "limping" afterwards.

Underwater combat with a Great Sword definitely takes some time getting used to. I just spent about two minutes killing a single Sharq. It looked a bit like a very clumsy waltz, for the lack of a better term.

You can carve Immunizers from the Sharqs. Curious, since that's an item you normally have to combine; actually, I could do that with the Dragon Toadstools I found. (There was this rumor once that sharks are immune to cancer. I wonder if this is kind of inspired by that?)

Anyway, I got some nice booty from my extended gathering tour: Ore, bugs, and way more stuff than I could carry. Time to return and deliver those mushrooms I've kept in my pockets the whole time.

Moga Village (night)

Guild Sweetheart: "How did you like the Guild rules? Did you think they were very annoying? I know, I know... That slowly approaching time limit; you faint three times and are already considered too weak. Just cruel!" Haha, don't worry - I'm used to it. :-)

"People admire hunters precisely because they can deal with absolutely anything!" Well, given what kind of bullshit the old MH games like to throw at you, I can confirm that if you've been through that, nothing can shock you.

On a more serious note, I love the irony of the hunters being seen as something like folk heroes who slay the "big, bad monsters", but in reality, they're just mercenaries who get paid to slaughter wild animals. Really good example of how "heroes" often aren't determined by morality or good deeds, but popular opinion.

"You could also do the monster guts first." Ah yes, peacefully carving the innards of harmless Epioth - what could possibly go wrong? (If only the Lagiacrus wasn't interested in taking a bite…)

"I love Giggi because they're so slippery. I could just... Oh dear, what are you thinking of me now?" Well... I wasn't exactly expecting a lewd joke, if that's what you mean. xD Though remembering the Guildmarm from MH4U, it seems like many of the Guild receptionists have a thing for weird monsters.

"Employees of the Guild are provided three sets of this uniform. But they're really slow to dry... This one is starting to get icky." Oh dear... I can't imagine the humid climate of Moga exactly helps with that.

Gossip Lady: "Monster guts are sooo delicious! And it never hurts to have something in your stomach!... Okay, that one really was a liiittle gross." I love how of the queen of word games got disgusted by her own joke. xD

"The Chief has a son, right? So he must've had a wife once. I wonder what Mrs. Chief was like..." Well... maybe we'll hear about that at some point. (I believe I remember that she was killed by a tsunami, though I don't recall if that's actually brought up in the game.)

In the most sibling kind of way, the two brothers are now holding a Goldenfish fishing competition. Incidentally, each of them tells you one of the ingredients for the Goldenfish bait (Firefly + Snakebee Larva), and the little brother - who is quite the bookworm, apparently - says he's read that the Goldenfish are found in Area 10. Well, thanks boys - that's gonna be quite helpful for the Goldenfish quest later. (Once again, I appreciate how they incorporated gameplay tips in such an entertaining and creative way.)

Little brother: "Supposedly, there are fish you can only catch if you weaken them with a normal weapon." Yes, I already had the pleasure of that experience. xD (Would've been nice to know beforehand, but oh well.)

Btw, one thing I find really cute is how the villagers occasionally remark on the time. They'll say stuff like "Isn't it getting late?" and "Isn't it bedtime already?" when it's night, or "Remember to take a break!" I guess this is a little fourth wall break to remind you to take breaks from time to time. xD (Similar to the little heads-up when you start up MH4U.)

Smith: "There's a trick how to use whetstones. You have to put your heart into it!" I just love how invested the smith is in his work - he really is an artisan with body and soul. ^^

I could already make myself one part of the Jaggi armor (the vambraces), but since I don't desperately need the defense and would rather keep my other skills, I'll wait for now.

Farm Felyne: "The import costs are so high that our farm is more important than ever." Note: It's a good idea to produce life-essential goods (like food) yourself in case of rising import costs or supply shortages.

Okay, so the Head Farmer tells me they have a problem with Jaggi rooting out the harvest. I've got one question, though: Why should Jaggi - carnivores - have any interest in digging up vegetables? That seems very strange...

But the Head Farmer seems to be convinced it'll make the Felynes feel more safe. Well, alright then - if there's the potential that we'll get an additional Felyne (and thus, and additional farming slot), let's go take care of it, shall we?

To be continued

[miaobae]

I hate job hunting.

I hate filling out the same application 100 times just to never hear back.

I hate having to tell job recruiters no I'm not interested because that job is on-site and literally across the country.

I hate having to compete with insanely over-qualified people for each job posting.

I hate that it's been over a year of applying and I haven't landed a single interview.

I hate that the company I'm currently at refuses to pay me a fair wage increase, so that I wouldn't have to do any of this.

I hate it all.

[peergrowth]

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[kirstenlinae]

Manifesting New Opportunities

My boyfriend made us french toast this morning :) I had sugar free syrup with mine and a glass of 1% milk. It was so delicious. Plus, it's the thought and sentiment that counts; very nice of him to think to make us breakfast this cold Friday morning. Also-- I really did not want to exercise this morning but, I figured not wanting to is a sign that I really need to. So I finished a 30 minute ride. It always makes me feel better to accomplish that every day.

Last night at work I peeked at the anticipated check-ins for today. It's some ridiculous amount like 47 or something. I took the liberty of assigning rooms to all of those check-ins so that I wouldn't have to do it today. I swear, no one every does anything to maintain the front desk during first or third shift. It all usually falls on second shift, which means me >< I am growing so tired of working at the hotel. It's not that it's a bad job, it's just not for me. I want to get back into healthcare. I've been applying for jobs like crazy the last few days at the major health systems in my area. Yesterday I applied for two positions (these are the positions that I REALLY want) and I applied for eight positions today. One of the biggest health systems in the area has like over 100 job postings that I'm qualified for but, their application requires a cover letter so, the process can get time consuming writing one specific to every job I apply for. I'll keep working through them over the weekend. Since my boss cut my Saturdays this month, I have more free time to look for another job. Joke's on them.

I want to work in another healthcare system again mostly because I want the benefits. While the health/dental/vison is nice (obviously), I'm really focused on the tuition assistance. If I get one of the two jobs I applied for yesterday, that health system offers full tuition assistance for nursing students who go to their college affiliate (which I already earned my BS from). Plus, being that I'm about to turn 31 in December...it's high time that I begin contributing to a matched 401k if I ever want the chance of retiring before I die. The free life insurance wouldn't be a bad thing, either all things considered in this day and age. Currently, I have none of those benefits working for the hotel. I get Medicaid since I work part time which is obviously awesome for medical care and prescription meds but awful for vision and dental, although still free. Even though my boyfriend does a phenomenal job of supporting us while I work part time to prep for surgery, I can't help but feel as though we could be going so much farther in our lives, both personally and financially, if I worked a full time job with full benefits.

I am praying for this. I know that maybe right now wouldn't be the best time to make a job/career change. I should probably wait until after surgery but, I am growing restless with my current situation. I want to move forward in big ways. I know that if God sees fit, he will bring it to my feet.

Thanks for reading if you got this far.

Until next time.

[clockworkzombies]

I'm getting so frustrated that every thing I try to pay for school ends up falling short

I can't get financial aid because the school I go to put me on financial aid suspension until I complete 67% of my attempted classes or I attempt to appeal it with this condescending form (and I'll probably get denied anyways because I've attempted many classes and only completed 2). AND my application isn't even considered complete because they want my parents info even though they're not the ones who will be paying for it.

I've tried applying roughly 5 different loans and keep getting denied because I have terrible credit from when I was 18 and opened a bunch of credit cards and made bad decisions, and I don't have a cosigner on top of it all (my parents won't even do it for a car).

I don't qualify for DEAP since my dad didn't die for service related injuries (no, just y'know, cancer).

Any HEERF awards I get are $100 and a slap in the face.

And they don't tell you went the payment plans open up, so I tried to sign up late and they want over $3,000 paid for in 2 installments + a down payment, and it wouldn't be a problem if I didn't have e to have this all figured out by September 4th.

I would have been able to make their absurd $1,000 payments if I had just signed up a little bit sooner. I also just started a new job 3 weeks ago, so I JUST got my FIRST paycheck.

Life's really fucking rough rn financially.