Video Store Blues

I went to see Sherlock Holmes with my family for Christmas, and it wasn’t half bad. While I think that Guy Ritchie’s film making is somewhat stale at times, Jude Law and Robert Downey Jr. can act and made for an entertaining film. I don’t like Rachel McAdams. I saw her on late night with Jimmy Kimmel, and I didn’t like her at all. I would’ve preferred Scarlett….nevermind. The film came across like a broader, more in depth “Prestige” which is something I love. I really like Sherlock Holmes in literature, and this latest film is interesting, but not exactly going to be my favorite of the year.

So what was my favorite film of the year? What did I remember most about going to the movies weekly until I got fired from my lackluster job?

None.

2009 wasn’t a good year for movies.

I don’t recall the year in cinema, because it wasn’t that great. In fact, I feel that I’ve wasted my money this year. Don’t believe me? Here are the films that I personally went to this year while in theaters!

The Unborn, My Bloody Valentine 3D, Paul Blart: Mall Cop, Donkey Punch, Taken, The Uninvited, Coraline, Push, Fanboys, Friday the 13th, The International, Fired Up, Watchmen, The Last House on the Left, Miss March, Duplicity, I Love you, Man, Knowing, 12 Rounds, Adventureland, Fast & Furious, Bart Got a Room, Observe and Report, Crank: High Voltage, State of Play, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Next Day Air, Star Trek, Management, Drag Me To Hell, UP, The Hangover, Land of the Lost, The Proposal, Year One, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, I Love You, Beth Cooper, 500 Days of Summer, Orphan, The Ugly Truth, The Collector, Funny People, Julie & Julia, The Goods: Live Hard Sell Hard, Extract, Jennifer’s Body, Whip It, Saw VI, and Sherlock Holmes.

My 2009 year as a consumer of nationally released films, is a terrible year. My favorites? Wow, I don’t really know if I can even say I had favorites out of all of these. They all just seemed to make me mad. I liked Whip It a lot, the women were sexy. Saw VI was cool. Crank 2 was probably the most fun I had this year at the movies. The rest? I don’t know, they all seem forgettable.

I don’t look forward to a lot of films of 2010. I kind of want to see the new Kevin Smith film, Cop Out, but other than that? I’m not really looking forward to a productive year in film. Nor does anyone care.

On the Job Hunt

I’ve applied to nearly 100 jobs here in Moscow, Idaho. I’ve applied for fast food, walmart, and even part time work, but no one has called me back. I did receive an interesting call from Movie Gallery, but I didn’t get a job interview out of it. I’ve tried really hard to find work, and have even entertained offers from people seeking help with web development, but nothing has really stuck out. I’ve noticed that life is harder than I thought, even with a degree. I went to college and still owe a lot of money, and it never makes me feel better when people tell me I’m not alone in this life.

I’m having a hard time with this.

My mom wants me to join the military. My wife isn’t up for it. If all else fails, I might be able to join the Navy. However, that would end my blogging career for sure. I wouldn’t have a lot of time on my hands.

Friends and Family

I still have no friends here. I have tried to say hello to people, and talked to a few people at churches that I’ve visited, but the fact is, I don’t have any friends. It’s sad to me that everyone I’ve known are gone. I guess that’s what happens, right? Oh well.

My family here is nice. My in-laws are rad. My brother in-law is a jerk, and no one seems to know how to tell him no, or tell him to F-Off. His wife is a saint, that’s for sure.

I guess that brings us up to date. This blog is really depressing to me. Not because of life, but because I remember what I once had with my old site. I had a site with 1800+ posts, traffic, friends, comments, and so much more. Rebuilding that is an impossible task, and I don’t know if I’ll ever regain that popularity or income. It was a nice ride, until I got fired.

I do reflect on my former employer Snowboard Connection, from time to time.

Hindsight is 20/20 of course, but sometimes you’re a cyclops amidst the blind. I was the cyclops for so long, and instead of them talking to me or asking me to take a pay cut, they cut me. They cut me deep too. I don’t harbor ill will or anything. I still hate snowboarding, and hope one day that skateboarding brings me an income. But as for my past? It’s done and done. If someone asks me about them, hey, all good things. In fact, I miss them. I miss my time when I first got there. Working with people that genuinely enjoyed their job. It soured fast when a new owner came in and tried to be cool. That guy, we all thought was an idiot, but you know what? Who’s the one fired? Not him. He’s over there enjoying his position.

Moscow, Idaho sucks. I don’t like this city yet. I can’t find a job, I have no friends, and well…it’s a hard city to love. I guess that’s all for this update.

Life is good. It’s just a little boring right now. I’ll get more movie reviews up, whenever I decided to get around to watching film. I’ve been watching The Office a lot, maybe I miss tech a little more than I’m willing to admit.

After nearly a month of applying at different positions, most that I know would suck to work through, I finally got a call. It also started snowing, which has nothing to do with the call, but I would like to mention that. The call came from a national chain of “psuedo-independent” video store chains. The chain is called Movie Gallery, and it is owned by Hollywood Video. I had previously applied to the video store when I first came here to Moscow, Idaho. I didn’t hear back from them, despite the clerk telling me that there were openings. I guess it just wasn’t meant to be at the time. So a month later I get the phone call….

The call was from a human resources person. A general manager of recruitment of sorts and they asked me some heavy hitting questions. Some of them seemed very interesting, for instance they asked me about my experience selling caskets. Caskets and video stores are two very different sales scenarios and I failed to find a synergy between the two. I stumbled and mumbled and got through the whole thing, but it was tough.

At first I was delighted to get a call back because I might get a shot at the second interview, and maybe get the job at the video store as the manager. However, I started to crunch the numbers and really consider my happiness. For the first time in my professional career I have the opportunity to consider whether or not I will be happy. Being the manager of a video store is fun, when the shop is independently owned and operated. When it’s corporate, there’s a high chance that I’ll get the axe before anyone else, simply because of the salary. I’ve been a manager before, and each time I was a manager I was let go before my staff.

In fact, the last time I was let go, the owners told me beforehand (2 weeks prior) that I should not fear about losing my job. Well, thanks for nothing…but I will digress.

The job sounds interesting, managing a video store. However, they started to talk about sales. They need more sales, and you know what? I don’t care about sales. I don’t really care that much about video store politics. In fact, Video stores for me are love and hate. I love working as a clerk, but as soon as you start running numbers asking for better margins and all that sort of cap, I don’t like it. In fact, that’s the one thing I’ve hated about working corporate, the bottom line is always the most important thing, despite people’s feelings, schedules, and family life. They only care about the numbers. I don’t want to be in that world, and I don’t want to start hating what I have a passion for.

Will I take this job?

I’ve decided that if they call me for a second interview, I’ll go in and see what’s up. If not, then I’m not going to chase it. I have a very good position in life right now. I have the option to take months off at a time without having to worry too much. My wife is working and has already been promoted, and I’m not saying that I’m seeking to be a house husband but she’s got me covered and unemployment is helping out a lot too.

I’m not sure that I’ll be happy with a manager’s position. I feel that I’ve worked really hard the last few years and have battled the depression that comes with having other people’s lives in my hands. I don’t want to deal with that. I want a simpler position, a simpler task at hand, maybe not necessarily simplistic but more so something that will let me be happy at the end of the day. It’s an interesting thing to consider, right? Happiness instead of the dread of going to work? I’m going to try that, it’s not easy to find, but I’m going to try.

Plus, it’s not like I’m the #1 choice for these people.

I’m not looking to be one of those people that works all the time and doesn’t have time for much else. I’ve been there, I’ve done that. My last job had me out of the house from 7 am (walking) to 5:30 pm and left me so tired I barely did anything else. I might have gotten out of debt thanks to that job, but it wore me out like no other. I’m not looking to be that guy, the guy that is never around, because he’s so tired or is working.

But if that’s who I become, heck, that’s who I become…I just want to prolong my summer vacation if I could.

I was blessed in a lot of ways up to this point. Even now, I’m reaping a lot of what I sewed a while ago. I’m not making a lot of money, in fact, I’m still unemployed. I’m trying to make it through, and I’m waking up. Seriously, I’m waking up to see that I need to write more on this site.

So here is a quick update before I start to seriously consider writing a marathon of posts to bring my site to a former glory.

I’ve moved to Moscow, Idaho and I don’t have any job prospects right now.

I am finally getting back into watching movies. I have a few sites set up for that, the links are below:

The Simple Movie Review
Sir Jorge’s Exploitation Film Review
Sir Jorge’s Kung Fu Corner

I will also have book reviews and news coming to my book sites, below:

Reading Rec
Sir Jorge’s Book Sightings

Enjoy those sites for constant reviews and quick hits and misses. This site will have a mixed media feel to it and I’ll not review hardcore like I used to. To be honest with you, no one cared about those reviews and most people abandoned me on the switch.

I went from 150,000 hits a month and more, to about 10 hits a day if I’m lucky. I guess the loyalty I once had from readers is gone. In fact, no one cares anymore, and the less I see in regards to traffic the more complacent I am in regards to making friends.

Oh yeah, “friends”, I have none. I used to have friends, but the further I move away from Los Angeles the less friends I have. Right now I have no one at all. Sure, my wife has family here but it’s not really “MINE”, if you know what that means. I spend a lot of time alone, and in my office, doing nothing. I tried skateboarding this city, but it’s not that skate friendly. There is no core skate shop here either, and the skatepark is flooded with razor scooters.

I feel fat.

I’ve been looking for a church to attend and so far it’s a fruitless endeavor. There’s still a lot of time though…so I think.

I have yet to hear from ANY job. I see “now hiring” signs all over, but after submitting applications to even the most lamest of jobs, I have yet to hear ANY call backs. I hate the feeling of being useless. I have a degree dangit! I am an educated man and I can’t land a simple fast food gig? I suck at life.

That’s it for the moment. I’m on aim a lot….thecorporatehero, that’s about it. Movie reviews are coming sooner than later, and this time it’s no holds barred…well it always was.

I am worth a lot. That’s what I keep hearing from people. Of course I’m worth a lot, but can I land a job? Nope. It’s my second week of searching, moving through the motions and I have applied at all the locations near me. The city isn’t very large and it has only a few opportunities. I’ve applied at even the lowliest of positions, cleaning up throw up, but no one has had interest in hiring me. At this point I’m willing to work at the minimum wage of the state which is under eight dollars an hour. Nothing.

I’m sitting here and am wondering why it is that life has passed me by so quickly.

I’ll be back.

I’m in a new city. So far the job market has been non existent. A friend of mine told me to be flexible, and I have been. I’ve applied at the worst jobs I could think of, because that’s all that is open. One such application really was stupid and that was the almighty Walmart. I went through their application and eventually finished it.

The company has a test that you must pass to be considered in some of their jobs. I unfortunately failed their test. That’s right, I sir jorge failed the Walmart test. I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Interactive Media Design and I’m not good enough for Walmart. Talk about a real downer, I felt like crap.

This new city I’m in sucks. Everyday for me has been a battle of wits, and though some people say that happiness is a choice, I find it to be a lie. You can’t choose it, when your up to your neck in mire.