Really, I say, what is the point of ranting (about the sad state of things). I know a few people who have it a lot worse than I do. If they complain more than I do, I don't hear about it.

It's been a very rough week. I spent too much time scanning DICE (and other sites) trying to find IT jobs that I am at least marginally qualified for. Sometimes that alone is enough to start me on a downward spiral. It gets worse when I either get no response at all, or responses like:

• "The position is on hold."
  
  
• "You don't have the required skills."
  
  
• "They really need someone who can hit the ground running without a lot of teaching."
  
  
• "I know it says Entry Level, but the minimum experience required is three years."
  
  

Despite reports to the contrary, things are not really improving. People are still losing their jobs, and companies are very slow to hire. The main cause of this, I believe, is uncertainty. Nobody knows what lies ahead, so everyone is just waiting to see.

It's not much better for peoople who have jobs. Colleagues of mine who are still employed are being overworked, and not being treated nicely. The implied threat being: "If you don't like it, go ahead, try to find another job. Ha ha ha ha ha."

I don't have the answer. But it seems that the people who can affect things are people who are making a lot of money despite (or because of) the present conditions. So they don't really see that anything needs to change.

Well ... it's Friday. And I am going to try and get my mind off things and try to get some fiction writing done.

Wishing you all a great weekend.