Pyramid Schemes

So the other day, a friend of mine from college I haven't spoken to in a couple years facebook chats me.  I haven't talked to her in quite a while and it seems rather out of the blue, but I always liked her.  The conversation goes something like this.  Let's, for now, call her Sara (not her real name).

Sara:  Hey!!

Jaime:  Hey girl!

Sara:  How are you?

Me:  Good, how are you doing?

(insert a little bit of what have you been up to, where do you live these days, where do you work, etc)

Me:  I work at a small ad agency, how about you?

Sara:  I work at XXX company and I have my own business as well.

(Editor's sidenote:  Yes, I immediately see the red flag as well.)

Me:  How is that going?  Do you like that?

Sara:  XXX Company, no.  My own business, yes.

Me:  (Hmm, what do I do here?!)

Well, one out of two ain't bad?

(The conversation seems to have it a lull.  I should have let it die its own peaceful death on its own, but fool that I am, I thought we were just catching up.)

What kind of business do you have?

Sara:  Let me tell you all about it!  Do you have 20 minutes?!

Me:  Uh, no.  I was just gonna go return a phone call.  Maybe you can give me a one minute synopsis.

Sara:  How about we talk tomorrow.

Me:  Uh, ok.... (At this point I don't know what to do.  I'm not averse to talking to her again, but not for the obvious reasons she wants to talk.)

Sara:  What's your phone number?

At this point, I passively close the chat, get up, and walk away from the computer.  I don't feel too bad about it because she clearly doesn't feel bad about harassing me to try to join in her pyramid scheme.  I was afraid I would have to block her from chatting or, awkwardly, be pretty blunt that I don't want to hear about her business opportunity.  I do some further facebook research and I see, from her page, that she's clearly been suckered in.  She's found a solution to all her problems in this wonderful get rich quick scheme she's found. She will soon be a wealthy, independent business owner.  And she has quite the network of people who are in this with her.  I see people commenting on the fact that she's gotten suckered.   I see people who've also gotten suckered defending their ways and criticizing the others for 'being cynical and negative!'

What I was most surprised about is, knowing this girl back in college, she seemed like a reasonably smart, logical girl.  I know she has a college education.  She, in theory, is has potential for doing so much better than this.  Is it the bad economy?  Have people gotten desperate?  Have people gotten hopeless?  The other day in a coffee shop, I heard someone pitching a pyramid scheme to a poor innocent sap.  From some facebook posts made by other friends, it seems as though this friend might not be alone.  Is it easier in these times to get suckered into something?  Does anyone actually like being in a pyramid scheme?  Does anyone enjoy harassing their friends/family/people they know?  I am not sure I am someone who is up for cold calling in general; I'd be very hesitant to cold call on my own personal network (as opposed strangers holding roles in businesses).  Is there anyone in a pyramid scheme who is actually happy?  (Other than the obvious one person at the top.)

Abercrombie & Fitch

Whatever happened to Abercrombie & Fitch?  I know the store is still out there because I see it at all the major malls.  Is it still popular?  Is it still expensive?  Is it still making sales despite the economy?  I feel like I don't see their clothes walking around on people much - maybe it's that they changed their style.  Maybe it's that I'm no longer in high school.  I don't know.  Maybe the company was started by some wealthy individual and isn't necessarily intended for profit - someone just enjoys keeping it running, even if it ends up in the red.  Does anyone know?

My Favorite Thing I Saw in NYC....

They are a corporation. They are incorporated. They went down to City Hall (or whatever government office) and stood in whatever necessary line, filled out whatever necessary paperwork and paid whatever necessary fee to become their own business. They are serious about this!

I appreciate their honesty. Basically, they just need to get paid. It's a rough economy - I'm not judging. Let's call a spade a spade - either a) Corporate America doesn't work for them for some unnamed reason (perhaps they don't like to have to answer to authority; perhaps they don't like the obligation to shower daily - again - who really knows) or 2) the unemployment ran out, the interviews didn't go well and they have given up.

I'll be moving in a couple weeks. I wonder if they charge extra for long distance jobs. I should warn them I don't provide transportation.

What's with the Libraries?

Ok. So I have two close friends who are librarians. I have another close friend who works in a library. I probably have like six or seven, let's say, 'facebook friends', who are currently going to library science school or looking into going to library school. Realistically speaking, I probably know around ten librarians/aspiring librarians! That's more people than I know in almost any other line of work, with the exception of my own.

Is it just me? Am I some weird exception to the rule going on where I personally know a large chunk of the library industry by chance, or is there a sudden surge of popularity with this career path? If the latter, why so? I certainly have no criticisms of this line of work, it does seem to me to be more of a niche interest. Is this a growing area of the economy? Is there a demand for more librarians? Is it a lucrative field? Anyone else out there know a lot of librarians?

Vacation Time!

So my company has decided I need to take a week off (well, it decided this for everyone). I think they thought I needed the break (they can sense burnout). Oh, did I mention the week off is unpaid?

Well, anyhow, desperate times call for desperate measures (right Emily?). So I'm not gonna bitch and moan about this - there's nothing I can do so I'm going to be excited about the break. The weather is getting nicer so it might soon be a good time to have some time off. Anyhow - it's coming up in about a month. What should I do with this time? None of my friends are going to have a week off at this time. Should I travel by myself? Is that weird? A good friend of mine suggested doing a tour of Chicago - all the touristy things like the Shedd Aquarium, etc., that are here but we never do. I think this could be a good idea. Anyone else have any suggestions?

Pimpin' the Blog

Due to our current economic situation, I need to turn to alternative means of making money. And the traditional industries for 'alternative means of making money' are also suffering in this current economic crisis, so get your mind out of the gutter. Long story short - this blog needs to be more profitable. If anyone has any suggestions on how to make this happen (specific ones), yours truly would greatly appreciate it. Also, as always, I love it when people click the ads. ;-) Much appreciated. Thanks.

Drinking Games for Anyone Who Reads Women's Magazines or Shopping Related Articles

Recessionista.

I will be happy when this economic downturn is over, if for no reason other than this term disappearing. It's not that there's anything wrong with it, other than the overkill.

Guilty Pleasure

So I am a closet Fleetwood Mac fan. I don't regularly openly discuss the subject. They are part of what I was referring to in the 'obscurities on my ipod' post. I'd admit to liking them, but my parents would probably make fun of me for that, and really, I don't think I could emotionally handle that. I don't remember exactly how or why I came upon them initially - I think it was at some emotional time in high school when I was searching for some music that understood me better than N'SYNC. Well, anyhow, they were in town this past week in concert.

Well, my work gets a lot of tickets to every major event (sporting and concerts). Long story short, a coworker of mine lost a pair of tickets on the behemoth of his desk. I was told by management that if I could find them, they were mine. Well, I woke up at 5 the next morning and, sure enough, I tore this coworker's desk to shreds! He won't be able to find ANYTHING come Monday. But that doesn't matter. What matters is I found the tickets!! (I told my mom I had to go in early to help with a project - said project was 'find the Fleetwood Mac tickets'.)

Anyhow. The show was amazing. The prices of drinks and tchotchkes showed that Fleetwood Mac fans CLEARLY don't care about the state of the economy. Well, I helped the economy last night with the purchase of multiple tchotchkes. I feel good inside - I honestly did my part. That, and I felt a bond with Stevie Nicks through the night - she changed outfits four times in a period of three hours. That, and apparently, she's had the same 'bangs' hairstyle for the past 30 years. I don't know her personally, but at this moment, I felt like I did.

New Career Possibilities to Consider during this 'Economic Downturn'

From an ad on the side of Gmail:

Need Someone to Talk To?
Call Mandy, a Professional Listener A Sympathetic Ear Ready to Listen
www.sympatheticear.net

In case the field of 'life coach' is saturated....or, perhaps, for those who wanted to become psychiatrists but didn't have the patience for graduate school

Bush, on the Economy....

Box Office Winner

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, this weekend's box office winner was the one and only "Paul Blart: Mall Cop". Not Slumdog Millionaire, not Marley and Me (go ahead and argue that these movies have already been out whereas the former was just opening). In this rough, hurting economy and torrential weather, we Americans went out to the theatre and spent our hard-earned ten bucks on a movie about a mall cop.

I didn't even know there was a market for movies about mall cops. Although, if there is - let's face it, this movie had a monopoly of it. Now, granted, I know Kevin James has a fan base and I've seen him on tv doing some good, humorous work across from Stacey Carosi, but seriously, the trailer for this movie LOOKED mind-numbing for your average stoned ape. (I have not actually seen said movie, so I cannot give a fair and balanced critique. I say this only as my reaction to the first impression.)

Anywho - I can't help but think this says something about the mindset of the American people. Has our taste been so dumbed-down by everything in pop culture that this is our new brand of humor - or - are we so down in the dumps and depressed at the current state of affairs that we need some good low-quality slapstick humor to put a smile on our face? Maybe it's that, no matter how sorry our own current state of affairs are, well, they look pretty good in comparison to those of a mall cop.

At This Point, Everyone Probably HATES These Posts

Subject Line:  Overcoming Anxiety in Stressful Times

Hello,

 

Today's economy has resulted in higher levels of stress and uncertainty for more people than ever before. Many are anxious about what the future holds and are not sure what steps to take.

 

In Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard detailed the full mechanics of what anxiety is composed of and this is something everyone should know in order to achieve peace of mind in troubled times. It has everything to do with the ability to make decisions and increasing your certainty in life.

 

Please join us for an introductory lecture entitled "Certainty and Decision" based on the book "Handbook for Preclears" by L. Ron Hubbard.

 

This lecture will be held on Saturday the 17^th of January at 1:00 pm. Please confirm your attendance by replying to this email or calling 847-824-62**.

Take comfort in knowing that as you are sick of Dianetics posts, I am sick of receiving e-mails from them.  

 

Thoughts for These Tough Times

(It all started when I was born....

Resume, not Autobiography)

Ok, so there are unfortunately a lot of people out of work for the first time in a long time - some of whom had previously been with the same company for many years.  For a lot of people, interviewing for a job takes some practice.  There are, of course, some people who are very hard-working and talented but just don't interview well.  Conversely, there are people who are very good at interviewing but not so great of employees.  

Actually, if you think about it - people who are constantly between jobs or trying to get a new job before getting let go probably have a lot of experience with interviewing and have really developed their skill.  Perhaps an employer should be wary of the excellent interviewee.

Those who have been employed at the same company for 10+ years haven't been on an interview (most likely) in that amount of time (or a least not more than a handful of them) and are most likely out of practice.  Even if these people interviewed for promotions within their companies - internal candidate interviews are much more direct and less nerve-wracking - since the person is already known, less is overanalyzed.  

Now, to protect the guilty, I won't get too into it - but in my past, I have definitely had experience with working alongside what must have been the 'professional interviewee' - some real George Costanzas, if you will.  I believe a good friend and loyal blog reader Emily will vouch for having had a similar experience.  The individual was nice and pleasant upon first meeting; it was quite understandable how the person could get through the requisite hour-long first impression.  However, the complete and total lack of any basic understanding of how to do said job combined with whatever ignorance, incompetence, and/or lack of effort that prevented him or her from becoming good at the job made for a workplace problem.

Perhaps it's not the interview that really determines who will be a good hiring choice, although the interview definitely seems to be a necessary part of the hiring process.  

Poor Detroit....

It's been a rough year for the residents of Michigan - first the collapse of the US auto industry, now the Detroit Lions completely winless season.  Ouch.  And, let's be honest - it was probably already hard enough having to be a Detroit resident to begin with....

Poor Tots :-(

poor kiddos :-(

It's been a rough year for many.   :'(