Rant #1,819: Get a Job

Congratulations to Downtown Disney, which celebrates its 16th anniversary today.

During numerous vacations to Florida, my family and I spent many happy times in this area, going to the different shops, eating in the different restaurants, just walking up and down its environs.

It is a shopping area, but really, it is a true expansion of Disney World and the resorts attached to the Disney theme park in that area, and some of my family's nicest times on past vacations were spent there.

Now for the reality: we won't be going back to Downtown Disney for awhile, if ever, because of various circumstances, and as far as my employment possibilities, I am not going to mince words, I am a bit scared about the whole thing.

Now weeks into my job search, I have absolutely nothing to report.

And I do mean nothing.

I have had exactly two interviews after sending out resumes for probably about 100 jobs, and one interview was a total sham and the other featured someone interviewing me who was completely, totally unprepared.

So right now, after applying for all of these positions, I am literally right back where I started from, at square one, and I don't see any light at the end of the tunnel.

I am considered to be an older person in a dead industry, and when I apply for something and expand my reach a bit, potential employers look at my resume, see that I have worked old school, figure out my age, and I get rejected.

Yes, it is simple as that.

I know that they are looking at my resume, because numerous job services actually tell me so, but I think the fact that I am where I am in life, mixed in with the background that I have, is dooming me.

I knew it wasn't going to be easy, but I have come to the realization that when the time actually does come that I need a job, I am going to be in a real pickle.

All indications are that my current job is not secure, nor is the company's future, and once, just once in my career, I want to leave a job on my own terms, not be forced out because of the frailty of the company or because someone decided that they didn't need me anymore.

But it does not look like that is going to happen. I guess I will be going down with the ship again, but this time, it will happen when I am in my 60s, and it will be just that much harder to find something, find a good fit, and find a good fit salary-wise too, which is certainly another issue.

I remember that when I was out for 18 months in the 1990s, I did lots of freelance work, and let me tell you, that was very difficult. You never know when your next assignment is coming, or what you will be writing about, and, of course, it is not really a steady job, just something you can pick up a few dollars here and there with.

And there are some freelance jobs out there right now, but not very many.

So right now, Downtown Disney is just a nice memory for me.

I don't think I will be visiting there again, or at least not in the foreseeable future, and the way things are going, I hope my next vacation is not a permanent vacation, if you know what I mean.

Get a job? Good luck.