Out Of Date - 4.24.12

Jacket: East 5th / JC Penney (2012)
Top: The Limited (2009)
Pants: The Limited (2010)
Earrings: "borrowed" from my mom (2008)
Necklace: Old Navy (2011)
Pumps: Nine West / amazon.com (2011)

I had a follow-up assessment / skillset test today at a company I interviewed for two weeks ago (my contact there finally got back with me late last week). It did NOT go well. I'd even go so far as to call it an EPIC FAILURE. See, I am trained extensively in Microsoft Office Suite 2007 & 2010. Emphasis on Access, Excel and Sharepoint. I would even consider myself an Access whiz. I was told the assessment would be given in Access and Excel, so I was stoked. I even went to Barnes & Noble last night to thumb through some Access and Excel books just as a refresher. (I haven't worked with them in three plus months now, after all.) I felt good going into this today as I pretty much knew the content of the books from cover-to-cover. So, I got there and the lady who interviewed me gave the intstruction sheet which basically said to take two files and create a database, get certain info and then summarize it into a report. Okay, good as done! Then... I turned on the PC to find ACCESS and EXCEL 2003. Now, for those of you unfamiliar with the Microsoft Office Suite of products, 2007 and 2010 are very similar. The 2000 and 2003 versions are also very similar. However, 2003 and 2007 are WORLDS APART. I never even used 2003 - I trained on 2007. Needless to say, I was taken aback. Completely thrown off my game. Totally lost. I said to my husband later, "This is like if I knew fluent Spanish, was told that I'd be testing in Spanish only to show up and have the test be in Russian." The kicker, though, folks? The company uses 2010. They haven't used 2003 in years - in fact, the testing PCs are the only ones still using 2003! So BASICALLY I was being "assessed" on my skills at using OUTDATED software that the company itself did not use for real work. DOUBLE-YOU TEE EFF. It took me TWO AND A HALF HOURS to work up this results set and I couldn't even finish it! Totally, completely, appalling. Embarrassing. Ridiculous. I was LIVID when I left out of there. The whole situation is SO stupid. So to modify my above statement to my husband, not only was it like I was under the impression I'd be testing in Spanish, the company itself speaks Spanish, but the test was in Russian! I just do not get it. Unfair much? Someone else was coming in after me to take the same test - and if by some chance that person is all schooled in 2003 they will blow me out of the water. Even though it is COMPLETELY IRRELEVANT to the actual WORK that this company does. I hate to think that my chances at this position are diminished because I don't know how to use software that the company doesn't even use. How stupid is that?! Anyway. I don't really want the job ANYWAY because they wear JEANS to work which is SO LAME.

Okay, maybe I'm still more upset about this than I thought I was. Deeeep breath.

Check out this adorable boucle jacket I scored for $8 off a Best Price rack at JCP the week before last!

...and one without the jacket. I just wanted to show off this top - I love a sleeveless shirt that has nice, thick straps that cover up the ole' bra, don't you?

I need a haircut. Shoot, I need a hairstyle. I hate it right now - I got it cut last about six weeks ago and I don't think my stylist went short enough. Additionally, I HATE the color of it currently. It either needs to be lighter or darker, not this weird in between shade of blah. I can't believe that it has been 11 months since I last lightened it and there's still so much blonde in it! I may as well go back blonde again - what do you think? I miss it. I decided to grow it back out brunette for a change and I am over it already. I think a re-blondening is in the cards in the not-too-distant-future!

Off to investigate... my oldest son has been in the bathroom for about ten minutes and that is never, ever a good sign. Wait - he just yelled, "HEY MOM MAYBE ONE DAY I CAN BE A NATURE DETECTIVE?" God only knows what that child is doing in there! Wish me luck.