Yet Another LBS w/ WAW

[hongaku]

Thanks, Ste7e. I've been hard looking for a job for over 6 months now that is in line with my professional experience. The job market here is really tough and I'm in a weird place of seeming to have either too much experience (when a younger, fresher out of college person could do the same job for less money even though they don't have the experience), or of having too little experience in key areas to land something. So, today I had an interview at a popular coffee establishment for a position as a barista simply to try and get myself busy doing something and getting a little cash flow until something better comes along. A guy working there was similarly doing the gig as a transitional job, and he had been there for 8 months already - not very encouraging. It isn't going to be enough money to move out of my cousin's place, but he assured me the other day that they're in no rush to push me out the door and that I'm not in their way. I actually often play music with my cousin, who I taught to play guitar a long time ago. The guy is like a younger brother to me (my own younger brother is incarcerated - stay away from meth, folks!). Thanks for the advice though on exploring new music and ideas.

I know that it's a marathon and not a sprint, and there are no shortcuts as you said. The depression itself is under control and I'm just working on undoing the defense behaviors that I developed while in the throes of it. Things like being passive aggressive, cynical, critical and judgmental, with a tendency to highlight the negative over the positive. Working on having a positive mental attitude in general. As all of us here are familiar with though, the pain of the sitch is hard to overcome and it can easily lead us into being self-absorbed and stuck emotionally. It takes a lot of discipline to overcome because it requires an almost constant state of mindfulness. Knowing that you also have to let yourself wallow a little at the right times or the emotional stress will build up too much. I've been doing a lot of meditation/hypnosis meditation lately. It does seem to help me get some level of peace and grounding. Yoga is definitely something to think about, too.