S*** just got real..

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Paige had an interesting post on Monday about feeling overwhelmed and needing a break. What resonated the most was when she said 

"I don't prance around thinking my life is all unicorns and cupcakes--though that would be awesome. Some blogs only look at the brighter side of life, and that kind of irritates me. Nobody is perfect, your business is never perfect, sometimes you look fat in your jeans--whatever"

I think sometimes us bloggers want to discuss the awesome parts of our lives.  We don't want to talk about the bad or boring parts of our lives but that is very misleading. Our blogs aren't Facebook, we don't have to only post or write about the sunny cheery parts of our lives. Sometimes it is nice to read about the hard times because then you don't feel so alone in your problems. I have problems, you have problems, lets talk about it. 

So lets talk about it. 

I work at a shitty job. If you follow me on twitter you might have come across some of my tweets on the foolery I have to deal with.  I accepted the position because I had no other opportunities in Charlottesville. I had been applying for 2 years for jobs and nothing popped up except for this one. I was happy and fortunate and really didn't care about how much I made until a few months later when I realized that I.. don't.. make .. enough money. I don't make enough money to cover my food  and if it wasn't for the fact that I live with my boyfriend who is able to take half of the expenses and cover a little bit more, I would be screwed. 

I accepted my position because I thought it would lead to greater opportunities within the company. It's been over  year and that hasn't happened yet. I could stay and be patient but I just can't afford to stay at my job. It's interesting how you can't afford to stay working somewhere.  So, I have been back on the job hunting grind. So far it's been a year since I've started looking (yes, I started looking after 6 months after starting my current job) and I haven't had a single call back. Not a single phone interview. 

I graduated college in 2008 which was the worst time EVER to finish a degree. I then went off to graduate school and left in 2010. I had hoped that 2 years would have been enough time for the economy to recover but I was wrong. Even so I was overconfident in my skills and degree and assumed that I would be able to find a job at a decent income with NO problems. I was wrong again. I was cocky in my skills and I had to learn a harsh lesson.

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Charlottesville has very limited job sources. They have the hospitals and university and scattering of other companies but no one is hiring or they are hiring for such highly skilled  or over-experienced people that there is no way I can get a job. I have noticed over the past few years that companies are no longer hiring 'entry-level' people. They are hiring people that have already been trained. They are not trying to train you.

After the first year of being unsuccessful I started to really get sad and depressed about my job prospects. I kept on thinking there was something wrong with me. Was I dumb? Did I really not have any job skills. I can learn anything. (yes, but they aren't trying to train newbies). I've had less than 10 interviews since I've moved to Charlottesville and only one of them stuck. I guess I should be happy because there are so  many people who have had a lot more interviews and none of them stuck however I also decided to take a shitty job. 

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It can be really hard to do my job because of the assholes I deal with on the daily. I really enjoyed reading this post from this European on his experiences in America especially when he mentioned American consumerism. When people spend money in this country they feel it gives them 'right' to act like douchenozzles. People don't care how their behavior may affect the person they are talking to over the phone or in the store. They don't care that if they complain about the most insignificant thing they are risking someone's livelihood.  Yes, companies do fire employees when customers complain and Yes, you are potentially ruining someone's life so I hope when you do complain it's worth it. 

It's very conflicting for me because I would like to own my own retail business. I want to sell items and make money just like any other American in this country. However, I don't want to be an asshole while trying to do this and I don't want people to be an asshole when they buy things from me. You have choices in this country and if you don't like my prices or policies then you have the right to exercise your choice to go somewhere else. I shouldn't have to sacrifice my policies to make you happy.  

When you uphold your policies they whine and complain and say you are being unfair. I mean really? Don't you remember rules when you were kid in school? Don't you have rules at work? Why do you think that rules do not apply to you because you are spending money? 

What customers do not understand is when you go against your shop or business policies; it's like you are going against your beliefs. You are going against the beliefs you created when you decided to create a business for yourself. This is something sacred that some people don't seem to understand. This is why I decided to create a customer support shop series. I figured I needed to provide some information out there to arm shop owners against the nutty customers out there. 

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Even though I am few thousand dollars above the poverty line, I spend all of my free time working on growing my business. I make items, sell items, promote myself, I'm teaching myself web code so I can have my own website, etc. I am doing whatever I can to make sure that this 'poverty' thing is only a phase and I will not live this way forever. Once I do make my millions I will certainly make great efforts to remember where I came from and not be an asshole when I spend a few thousand dollars like it's pocket change. 

Have you've gotten real on your blog lately?? Maybe you should, it's kind of cathartic. 

Happy Wednesday! 

I'm also happy to announce Holly from BookandBird is the winner of our giveaway!! Congrats!! 

I will be contacting your soon!