Let’s see…breakfast, lunch, pizza (times 3), Mexican, and Indian…my short list of restaurants is fairly complete.

At this point, the worst thing about looking for a new job, finding a new job, looking for a new apartment, moving, and starting work is the 148 unread blog feeds in my “feeds” folder along with the 253 unread emails in my “lists” folder. It is an accumulation from over the course of the last month and, even as I devote time to catching up, new feeds and new emails fight back, constantly repopulating folders I am trying to depopulate.

Oh, and new job…very strange but plenty of fun.

And then there are the interviews. From the perspective of the applicant, admist various waves of resumes being sent forth, each interview means retrieval of the original job post as well as the reasons for applying for that job. Why are you interested? What skills do you have that will set you apart from other applicants? Interviews with questions both good and bad, interviews by interviewers both good and bad, all approached with enthusiasm and the hope that the interview changes from question and answer and becomes a real discussion. Interviews and follow-up interviews, and then wham, there it is …a job offer.

Which is to say, I now have a professional, full-time job. Thanks again, j. Of all the searching for the right gig at the right place, all the emails read and the websites browsed, everything came down to a tip sent by a friend…networking.

So here I am, half unpacked in my new home city of Atlanta, blogging from a coffee shop with free wireless. Silenced as I was, squeezing the day for work time and job hunting time, I can say now that I expect there to be much more to come.

Where are those resumes? It is time, I think, to send out another volley.

And thanks, j, for the job lead.

Thanks for the hospitality.

When my car broke down, you were there, providing me with a ride from downtown back to my hotel. When I started looking for a mechanic, you were there, sending me to a repair shop a block from my hotel. And when I really needed pampering, to soothe both the sting of major car work and the middle-end of a bout of tonsillitis, there you were, with a better hotel right across the street as well as an amazingly early check-in time, two real breakfasts, deliciously greasy pizza, cable tv, high speed internet, a king-sized bed, air conditioning, a late check-out time, the most out-going and friendly staff I have had the pleasure to meet, and freshly baked, warm cookies. Oh, and your amazing selection of delicious tap beers deserves a nod of appreciation too.

And really, I should thank you as well for providing one of the smoothest all-around car breakdowns I have ever experienced.

And entertainment! First, record deal over breakfast, the consultants in the late morning, and rambunctious children. Then, the woman from LA asking about the safest room in the hotel and the amused reaction from the front desk clerk. Later, the relief front desk staff trying so hard to convince people to try their cookies still warm from the oven. And finally, the hotel consultant offering to pay for my hotel room if car repairs called for another overnight stay.

Next time I’ll stay for the hot springs.

Thanks for all the good times. You can keep the heat, but I’ll take the rest. If only you weren’t surrounded by miles and miles and miles of Texas.

Next time I will fly.

Oh, perhaps it’s because I have plans to spend 18 hours in the car that day.

Austin, here I come. Phone interview remotely from Kansas City? Hopefully not.

Muse, get to work.

Or maybe my resume is fine, and I am competing against nameless people with more experience and more skills. Does youthful enthusiasm count for anything?

For the second time in six month period, I am approaching the end of a job. Unlike the last time, I’ve known about this ending since the beginning of the job. But even so, as I record due dates for books due now only weeks from my last day of work, I feel a sense of loss, a small amount of sadness, and a great deal of incentive to give my job search every ounce of the seriousness it deserves.