Hanging on by a Thread

Ok, here's what's happened since you last heard from me:
1.  The staffing company who rejected me after I completed their personality index assessment called me about an available position at their client company 45 minutes away (of course I'd applied for this same position about a year ago and was rejected, so I didn't bother when I saw it posted again recently because what's the point?)  They told me they wanted me to start the very next day.  Um...ok?
2.  Due to a breakdown of communication between employees of the staffing company that rejected me for employment I was given the incorrect pay range when they initially contacted me which resulted in some discomfort during my initial meeting with their client company.  I will be paid significantly more money as a result of this miscommunication and due to the fact that their client company was in a desperate situation.
3.  Here's the situation:  There are two employees and an executive director.  The two employees both quit and their final days were last Friday and today.  This allowed me exactly five training days before being thrown into the lion's den.  Also, there was to be a second temp and she was a no show.  Here's the bad part:  While I was fortunate that they were in a desperate situation and basically forced them to pay me something other than the poverty wages to which I've become accustomed, this is a temporary position.  Although it has the potential to become permanent, I'm highly aware of the fact that they could probably hire a permanent employee more cheaply.  I sure hope they don't eventually expect me to train that person...because I won't. 
So, basically, I may or may not have a job, permanent or otherwise, within the next 12 weeks.  The precariousness of the situation does come with certain benefits, however.  It gives me a chance to earn some money while I continue looking for jobs and I don't have to feel bad if I leave after two months because it's only a temp position.  Also, it gets me out of the black hole of death and into another community for the time being, which is very important because keeping track of all the trails was becoming an unmanageable task (not that certain trails don't exist in my current situation, but they're much harder to prove).  So, here I am, still hanging on by a thread.  And the irony in the fact that the job I might actually end up with is a job I didn't even apply for is not lost on me. 
Tomorrow's my first day in the lion's den.  All alone.
PS:  Apparently doing semi-tacky things at an interview doesn't increase your chances of getting hired like I thought.  I didn't get a second interview at the company I really, really, really want to work for although they did send me a personal email (not automated) again letting me know that they were really impressed with my qualifications and that they were going to be posting another position in that same department within the next week and they encouraged me to apply for it again.  Um....why?  So they can tell me again that I don't meet their qualifications and they're electing to proceed with other candidates?  Fuck that.  This is the third time this has happened.  Why would I continue applying?  I'm going to have to conclude that, apparently, I'm not qualified to work at this company because they're too busy hiring people with high school diplomas and people with degrees that are unrelated to the positions they hold.  If I happen to hear that this company does one thing that makes sense (this is a long shot, trust me) then maybe I'll apply there again one day.  If not, I'm sure I'll have a wonderful temp job somewhere pulling the guts out of dead turkeys.

The Case for Weed and Cable

Oddly, I received an invitation to interview for a position I wasn't even going to apply for at the company I really, really, really want to work for because I thought I wasn't qualified for it and it seems arbitrarily difficult from the job description.  I interviewed a week ago and haven't heard anything about a second interview, so I'm sure they just interviewed me to pad out the process and make it look fair.  This is a high exposure position with a substantial learning curve so I'm not going to cry myself to sleep if I don't get hired for it.  I looked at the interview as an opportunity to experiment by doing some semi-tacky things I don't normally do.  For example, I took my big and cheesy purple, patent bag inside with me.  I also wore a semi-gaudy piece of cheap costume jewelry which promptly broke and caused me to jump and said "Oh my God!" when I saw one of the beads laying on my file folder and thought it was a bug.  I'll let you know the outcome of any further research along these lines.  Also interesting, there are two more requisitions open for the job I really, really, really wanted and am qualified to do, but for which I was immediately rejected.  I applied for both.  This means that they have three of this particular position available and I'll probably be rejected for the other two which will result in a triple-hate whammy.  I also applied for an HR internship they have available which would only be for the summer but would give me some HR experience and would be a way to get my foot in the door, which is apparently made of high-strength steel.  I applied for one other position there that's semi-related to my education and experience as an experiment thinking that their recruiting and hiring practices make absolutely no sense, so maybe I'd have a chance, but no dice. 
Today I received hate mail (my term for rejection letters) from the company who sent me the personality index assessment to complete for the $10/hr job I've applied for three times in the last two years (see example 2 in post What does it all mean?).  Apparently my credentials are not sufficient to meet their needs.  What the fuck do they expect for $10/hr? 
My unemployment account is empty and I received no instructions regarding applying for extended benefits as their website indicates I should have and when I log on to my account there is no option to apply for extended benefits so I'm sure for whatever stupid fucking reason I don't qualify.  I was really hoping to avoid ruining my summer by working some horrible job I could have had in high school and burning yet another bridge eventually, but it looks like that's not going to happen.  It's pretty sad when you can make a strong argument that doing nothing but weed and channel surfing (if you are lucky enough to be able to afford weed and cable) for several years would have yielded better results than pursuing higher education and gainful employment.  This revelation, I'm afraid, is the beginning of the end for me, folks.  Peace out.