134.

Yesterday I picked up a couple of magazines after attending an informational meeting about working with the IRS as an attorney- not that I am one, yet, but just that I’d like to find out a little bit more about what is available for me as an option.

This happened to be at one of the most reputable law firms in the city, which was quite nice.

And then it happened.  I looked at these people who were so happy with what they were doing and I realized again that I love the law.  That I want to be a practitioner of the law and to be boldly out there.

As I sat there, I had the same feeling I developed when I realized that I would have really wanted nothing more than to be an attorney for punk-rockers, anarchists, and other radical social outcasts in America.  It was thrilling to think of (of course, this is tax-law, here, but the sentiment still applied) how a group of dedicated professionals could really balance quality of life with a passion for their work.

My partner, however, would prefer to avoid the job-search entirely.

I helped her to fill out a form which would make her eligible for the State of New York, which was beneficial.  In truth, however, there has been a budget freeze in hiring and I’m not certain how well that will work out, but I AM trying to get the word out that I will work.

I WILL WORK!

Anyhow, today, while she was out playing with her family for a bit, I revised my resume and sent it to an ungodly amount of legal recruiters.  How many?  About ninety-six.

I basically stated that “I want a job in New York or Beijing” and provided an updated resume.

I will next contact my friend who has an internship to see if maybe he could help with an inside angle in NY.

Nonetheless, back to that meeting-

While I was out, I happened to pick up a number of different magazines regarding the new netbooks which are coming out.  Truthfully, I’m pretty excited about them, and I happen to read a lot about their capacities, etc. at websites like JKKMOBILE and UMPC, so it was interesting enough to pick up a couple of magazines because netbooks are all of the rage now.

Truthfully, from the magazines, it would appear that the best netbooks are the ones which came out last summer: Acer Aspire One, the MSI Wind, and the EEE PC series.  To me, though, that doesn’t really hold true.  First off, no one mentions that there are better mini-pcs out there such as the Kohjinsha SX3, with it touch-screen and dvd-player.  Additonally, the HP mininote 2133 has been replaced with a newer consumer model known as the HP mini 1000, which appears like a really decent alternative to the netbooks already on the market.

There’s a great review of the HP mini note 1000 here. Additonally, you should definitely check out the HP Website on the 1000, which is disarmingly designed to be user friendly.

Even more exciting, however, is that with the price of netbooks declining while the power of netbooks increases, soon I will be able to purchase a LINUX COMPUTER without feeling an OUNCE of regret!  “YAYYYYY/FUCK WINDOWS!” … Maybe.

-begin scene-

::computer slinks off to a corner to cry::

Baby, … Baby, NAWWWW!  You know I was just foolin’ around … Come back … Baby?  Baby? -end scene-

The thing is, while I was oggling the cheaper yet wildly exciting devices, I came across an intersting blurb I would like to share with those in the job-search market: NOTCHUP

Notchup is a website, which pays YOU to interview with interested parties.  In essence, it reverses the paradigm of requiring a headhunter by cutting out middle-men (headhunters) in order to provide savings to the consumers (hiring parties) and to enlist a greater pool of candidates (potential hirees).

While I’m especially excited about this website, the aspect I found most interesting was not that I get paid, but that with each interview, you are provided with feedback about your interview.  (NOTE- they do have a caveat that you could drive a truck through stating that “if you did not take the interview seriously” then you would not be entitled to payment)  That, to me is better than money, if the hiring parties are interested.  I could give a fuck less about the cash right now, but I would really appreciate knowing what my interviewers really thought and how I could improve, which is often enough not provided.

Actually, I received one rejection letter where the fact that they did not select me had to be inferred!- (Assholes.)  Eh, who wants to work for that kind of a place anyhow?

The point is that this is a really great resource that I wouldn’t have found otherwise, and I am using to supplement my jobsearch in this glorious state and Beijing.

I would suggest it to you whether you are employed or not as well because it also provides a great degree of anonymity for anyone joining the site.

Wish me luck!

-A.