Ugly Me

I started watching Ugly Betty last year. When I saw previews of the show in the past, I thought it was certainly something I would not be watching. Instead, I've found that the quirky and creative nature of the show keeps me coming back every week. And it seems that weekly, my life is more of a reflection of the show's storyline than I could have foreseen.

For instance, a few episodes ago a blackout struck New York City just when Marc needed to get his presentation to lower Manhattan in order to be promoted to an editor position. The building super had just installed an electronic lock on the main floor, and because of the power outage no one was able to leave the building. (Suspend reality enough to ignore the fact that in a power outage the door would be unlocked.) "Oh please," I said. "If it's that important, ask a first floor neighbor if you can climb out of their window."

Cut to last week when I was at SeaTac's building and we needed to get to the train. We went to the first floor and the magnetic lock was stuck. Would not budge. In fact, the entire door frame was about to come loose when we pushed on the door. We went back upstairs to call the management company, then went back downstairs about ten minutes later to try again. Finally, by pushing my fingers into the space between the door and the frame, I managed to pry the two apart. Ridiculous. But I wasn't about to knock on 1A's door and ask if I could climb out of her window.

In the following episode, Betty is informed that she has just won a Blobbie Award for her blog. (No, I have not been informed of any awards for my blog.) After asking her boss to introduce her at the ceremony, they hit a rocky place in their relationship and she decides to blog a rant about her boss and the situation. Of course the information in the post gets out to the masses, which goes very badly, and it turns out to be the worst idea for a blog entry ever.

Upon beginning my blog two years ago, I decided that I would keep it upbeat and positive as much as possible, and I plan to continue in that spirit. Last week I had an unexpected development occur and I now find myself back on the job market. I will not be writing much about that development, but I will most likely be writing a little bit about my newest experiences in the world of unemployment. And I will keep it upbeat. I would not like for my life to parallel the Blobbie Award storyline.

Despite the nature of this new adventure I find myself in the midst of (if you've ever been unemployed, you know what I mean), I am feeling mostly good about a chance to start again with a fresh perspective. Even though this means that I will not be moving anytime soon, I still feel a sense of renewal. In that spirit, I spent much of today rearranging my bedroom furniture while watching the snow fall all day long outside my window. It was a great day. Tomorrow I will be updating my resume and applying for jobs. Let's hope some of today's good feelings carry over into tomorrow's tasks.

Through the course of the TV series, Betty has gone from an underling at a major magazine to an associate editor. I wouldn't mind my career following the general path of her career's storyline. You never know. It could happen. After all, Marc did manage to get out of the building and he did get his promotion.