not a peep

I've applied to two temp agencies, Manpower and Kelly, which have local offices. I had originally wanted to drive over to their offices to apply, but when I called the Manpower number to schedule an appointment, the lady said that everything is done online these days: you fill out the application and attach your resume, then when a company comes looking for someone with approximately your skill set, you'll receive a call or an email, according to your preferred contact method.

A kind reader (thanks, John) also sent me a job announcement for a proofreading position with Yonsei University; I applied last week. It would be a pretty sweet gig if I could get it: roughly $3000/month salary, and the work would involve polishing research papers written in English by Korean professors looking to submit their work. At this point, I'm getting desperate for some sort of steady, salaried work. My fear, though, is that because the ad was sent to me on February 11, and the job ad itself has a January 25 date, it may already be filled. Another problem is that the ad says that Yonsei is looking for a full-time proofreader who would be on site for them, which is obviously problematic since I'm an ocean and a continent away. In my application, I did what I could to sweeten the deal in hopes of finagling a contract.

At this point, I've written Yonsei three times, and plan to write them once more, possibly today. Will they interpret this as desperation or gung-ho eagerness? (And are these states of mind mutually exclusive?) If there's no response, I'll stop hoping that this job might come through. Right now, I'm scoping the vile swamp that is Craigslist, doing laundry, and getting ready for a much-needed shopping excursion to pick up some human food. My pantry contains little more than carbs, spices, and seasonings.

So! How's your month been?


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