If at first you don't succeed...

...change the rules.

( Background )

I think I've crystallized what's wrong with my approach to this whole job-hunting thing:

What employers see: "Zookeeper with an M.S."

What I want employers to see: "Ecology-focused M.S. graduate ...and, hey, she's got some extra experience in zoos."

I know how valuable my zoo experiences can be in a natural resources-based job, and so when I read my resume, I see the latter. In that light, I'm a real catch - a recent M.S. graduate who actually has related work experience. Unfortunately, I'm starting to realize that from an outside perspective, I look like just the opposite - a very specialized biologist who is ideally suited for a zoo-based job, and less so for other things.

So my goal for today is to completely revamp my resume, so that other people will see what I want them to see. Ah, bullshitting. How do I love thee?

I will be so glad when I have a job. Not just because it's a job, but because selling yourself is never fun.

Video Game Anti-Luck Strikes Again

As alliath can attest, I am the proud owner of the worst luck imaginable when it comes to "randomness" in video games. If there is a randomly dropped item or a randomly encountered enemy that is crucial to some side quest, it will take me five times as long to stumble upon said item/person/ukelele. Nameless Urns, Rare Items, and Sir Sometimes Appearing At The Inn are all my worst enemies. It is possible the coding knows of my effect on electronics, and is getting revenge, but my PS2 has a habit of being unavailable for comment on the matter.

Case in point:

I'm currently replaying FF8. I have looked for a Dragon Skin, the final item needed to remodel a weapon, for... oh, the better part of fifty levels. In order to acquire this item, I had to find a Blue Dragon, which randomly drops it about half the time.

One would think, given my difficulty in locating one of these animals, that Blue Dragons had become an endangered species, protected by Cid and Edea Kramer's Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Dragons. I fought Mesmerizes, Bite Bugs, Ruby Dragons, and all manner of other beasties, but the Blue Dragon was nowhere to be found.

And then - hark! What have we here? The striking Blue Dragon, seen in its natural environment! What a special encounter, folks... this may very well be the last living Blue Dragon in the world! Quick, let's sneak up on the beastie and see if we can SKIN IT WITHOUT IT NOTICING. >.<

Soon the mighty Blue Dragon lay slain - because by this time, I was laughing in the face of Ruby Dragons, T-Rexsaurs, and... well, not Malboros, because nobody laughs in the face of Malboros, but they were no longer a threat to me. I had ceased to draw magic from my enemies because I had enough other items that I could just refine anything I wanted. I had ceased junctioning Meteor to my characters because I had better spells than that to use. All I lacked was a Dragon Skin. One teeny weeny dragon skin...

...which the slain Blue Dragon DID NOT DROP.

I finally resorted to going to the Island Closest to Hell and levelling other monsters down in order to get one. (Which was a pain in the ass for another reason: Odin wouldn't quit showing up and slaying my monsters for me at the start of the battle. Stupid helpful GF's!)

Squall is now level 100. Rinoa and Zell are not far behind. Most of my GF's have ceased to learn abilities because they're maxed out on AP. And the Blue Dragon is now extinct.

But, dammit, I've got my Dragon Skin!

It's a damn shame I need four of them.