Tick Tock

Tick tock the game is locked and nobody else can play; for if they do, we'll take their shoe, and keep it for a year or two. Hickory, Dickory Dock the mouse ran up the clock, the clock struck one and down he run Hickory Dickery Dock. Time, where does it take us; towards death, and then what? Time is of the essence. The hands of time move as the world turns. There’s the timely death, time robbers, Time Barons, Time magazine, time to call it a day. His time was up .It’s Time to come home to papa, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme (no wait that doesn’t belong here).
I sit and watch the clock go, while I wait for calls about my resume. Tick, Tick, Tick, Tick. The program 60 minutes has nothing on my wait. That stop watch ran out a long time ago. I ran out of time to wait. Yet it still marches on and there’s not much else I can do. You see after a certain age and certain amount of education, time is not on your side when looking for a job, because the game is locked. Good jobs are only for those who have them. And it can take a year or two to luck into something. I thought more education would make it easier to progress. I thought I could get a better job. But, I’m too old now. My experience isn’t in a good job area. So, I’m over qualified or under qualified, or have no experience. I’m no longer picked by either captain. I’m not last, I just can’t play anymore. Or so it seems.
So I watch the time go by. I have a lot of resumes to send every day. But as I’ve mentioned before, the phone just doesn’t ring. When it does its an insurance company wanting me to sell for them. I don’t want to sell insurance. Insurance is another game people can’t play, they can only pay. If you do play or don’t pay enough then you’re locked out and they keep your shoe…the money you spent with them they are investing and making more money than you’ll ever see with.
I watch my 1 year old and his biggest concern is who is watching him now. What can he get away with next? Where is his security blanket? Where is mine. Unemployment rots a marriage, because not only do you have no self confidence any more, but no one else in the family has confidence in you. Well the one year old does as long as you keep his pants changed. But it isn’t long before he will think you can’t possibly know anything. I’ve learned how to let them think that. It makes the teens feel better. I don’t have anything to prove anymore. I did my time in school and have a GPA to be proud of, but I can’t get a job because I don’t have “experience.”
Interesting thing about experience, you can learn tasks anywhere on any job, but you can’t learn that certain wisdom that comes with putting your time in. I don’t really care what position it is you had, as long as you had it, and learned from it. True there are some things that must be learned before you do them, but for most jobs you can learn that on the job and pretty quickly. How you survive in a job though, that is what experience brings you. That takes time. I’ve had plenty of time in positions of all kinds. But the game is locked. I’m not the best candidate because I didn’t do this or that or don’t know a certain program. The fact programs are easy to pick up and this or that is too has no bearing on the decision, but it is the measure.
I’d give up if I didn’t have to feed the family. The one year old is someone else’s major responsibility, but they’re playing in the game. So I get to watch him while their off playing. Me I’m watching the hour hand go around. Typing up my complaints for no one to read or care about, and waiting for my time to be up. I’m waiting for someone else to determine my fate. I can only look and network and apply. Someone else gets to decide.