Out of Time

I hate my resumé. It's like the picture of Dorian Gray.

I wish I could travel back in time and change it.

"Come with me if you want to work…"
"School of Engineering?!"

Odysseys may be glamorous in books, but they are suspect on resumés.

Alas, time machines don't exist. I have to somehow parlay my past into an alternate future.


Five years ago, when I wanted to move to Chicago, my parents asked a fortune teller to read my fortune.

"You're best-suited to live in the northwest – Seattle, Oregon, Vancouver. Next best would be the northeast – New York, Boston, New Jersey. Any of those places are better for you than Chicago. Your luck is poor in the midwest."

I scoffed at his reading and moved to Chicago anyway…where my luck was poor.

Granted, I [sigh] did not try very hard to overcome poor luck, but my experience planted a seed of doubt in my head.

What if the fortune teller was legit?

"I know you frequently make rash decisions and come to regret them."


I've been applying for jobs slowly, partly because tailoring cover letters and resumés is a slog – how do some people apply for 5+ jobs in a day? – and partly out of caution.

I can ill afford to fuck up my next move.

"But you're still young!"

2006: "But you're still young!"

2002: "But you're still young!"

Maybe I am Dorian Gray.


"Between 2007-2016, you should continue educating yourself and acquiring degrees."

I accepted my previous job in 2007…

"You will make the most money in your life between the ages of 45 and 54."

…and never received a raise over three years.

Was my reading a flash forward? Should I return to school in Seattle or New York and apply for internships?


I'm hesitant to move elsewhere before securing a job, but fear that if I don't, I'll just end up tied to another job in the Bay Area, and I see no future here.

1 Comment

  1. Aaron 08 May 10 at 13:22

    Everyone's luck is poor in Chicago.

    Reply

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