Can't Fight the Inevitable

So, an update.  Still working at the same terrible job, only things are getting progressively worse, which I didn't think possible until the end of last year.  I've been unable to land so much as an interview despite applying for nearly 200 positions in 4 states over roughly 10 months, despite well over a decade of experience.  I'm well below despair, and have reached the conclusion that my career will never improve from the utter shit it is now mired in.  I have simply given up.  I have no hope of finding another job.  I despise the job I have and everything about it, but the fact is that I cannot afford to switch careers and take a huge pay cut due to commitments made before things went to the lowest hell there is.

This career has cost me 2 marriages, helped me become an alcoholic, and has most recently begun to have seriously negative effects on my health.  But there's nothing I can do to change this situation.  I can't find any other job without risking financial ruin.  I wake up every morning dreading the day to come, and leave the office angry about 95% of the time when my day finally ends.  Inevitably, this job is going to kill me.  And there's not a damned thing I can do about it.

Your results may vary.

Backing Away

Sadly, I must back off from blogging due to ongoing real world problems.  Plus, there's not much more I have to say right now beyond the usual I-hate-my-job and my boss is an annoying prick.  The chief reason I slowed down this year was mostly that every day is the same pathetic slog, and I have nothing interesting to write about.

The site is staying up, and I will post occasionally if something worth writing about occurs.  In case anyone wants to contact me for questions, advice, etc., I will keep my email, aparalegalslife@gmail.com, up and I do normally check it several times a week.

This isn't good bye, not by any stretch.  I've put 3 years into this, and recently broke 100,000 pageviews. This blog gave me an outlet that helped during some really bad times in my life, and I've made some good online friends in the process.

Keep an eye on my Twitter feed @grumpyhumbug, I'll put alerts of any new posts there.  Or just do it old school and check here occasionally.  See you later!

GH

In case you were wondering...

I did promise to write more often, but life seems to keep getting in the way.  My current job is running me ragged with ever-longer days, and my personal life has managed to disintegrate into utter chaos.  Topping it off, I've been fighting a low-level flu for the past couple of weeks (probably due to the prior 2 things I just mentioned), so it seems all I do is work and sleep.  My back yard looks like a jungle scene from Apocalypse Now.  Somehow, I'll get through this.

Twitter Interview

This evening, starting around 8:00 PM Eastern, I will be posting questions people ask me on Twitter and e-mail.  I don't expect there will be much, but hey, I'm new to this.  I'll update this post off and on through the evening as things come in, so check back if you want to, or just wait until morning and read the whole debacle in full.  Hey, it's the internet.  So here we go...

Another Day in HappyFunVille

So the tedium continues in HappyFunVille, a/k/a my current workplace.  Two inescapable and intertwined conclusions have become quite clear.  (1) I will never like working in this office, and (2) it is the most inefficiently run, badly organized law office on the face of the earth.

Object Lesson in How Not to Be Competent

After enough time, and a drought of job openings that I am overly qualified for, I have reluctantly accepted the fact that my current job will be where I suffer for an undefined, unknown and interminable period of time. During which my life will suck as set forth below...

Day by Day

The new job is going OK, although there have been some potholes along the way.  New firm, different practice, completely different work culture.  It has been a struggle to handle the stress without resorting to my old method of stress relief (aka vodka).  I'm glad to be working again, and not broke, but this isn't where I want to spend any significant amount of my career.  The overtime is nice, since I'm actually getting paid for it here, but the sheer volume means I have no outside life 5 days a week.  Everyone I know has had to adjust to the fact that they are only going to see me on a weekend, and don't even ask if I'm available on a weeknight.  Don't get me wrong, I'm used to long hours, just not every day for 12-14 hours a day with no letup.  I'm still looking for another job, even if it means leaving the legal field entirely and taking a pay cut.  In the meantime, I'm banking the overtime pay and trying not to rock the boat.