Mad sandwich skills

I guess if push comes to shove, I can always fall back on my mad sandwich-making skills learned running the high volume deli cart in the cafeteria at Harborview Medical Center back during high school and college. As this picture and J.'s kudos can attest, I still got it. I can't wait to do Ava's lunches for school. They're going to ROCK.

Times are hard on the boulevard

In an example of how hard times are out there, Tacoma Public Utilities recently advertised a job that drew more than 1,400 applications. Of those, 1,300 were invited to take a test for the job and more than 800 showed up for the exam. Was this some six-figure, perk-laden position? No: meter reader. Story here.

Seattle Times recently wrote a short piece on a recent job fair at Qwest Field. 2,000 more people than expected showed up for a smattering of jobs that were being offered. 

J. is looking for a new gig too and checked this one out. His two word summary? A waste. He reported that most of the positions were starter-level and not really geared at mid-career professionals. To add insult to injury, when he inquired about a couple jobs with the TSA, the representatives stopped suddenly and said, "Wait, how old are you? 39? Cutoff for these positions is 37." 

Wow. It's not like he showed up to the event on a walker with tennis balls on the back legs and an oxygen tank. Imagine how harrowing it is out there for folks in their 50s and 60s who still want or need to work. The hunt continues. Meantime, he'll continue coaching basketball and training basketball playing clients.