Let the sun shine in

My counselor and I have been talking about the importance of getting enough sunlight during the day. (Here’s my non-scientific, possibly inaccurate account of what he told me.) I have heard before that you need at least fifteen minutes of direct sunlight each day, but I didn’t know why that was the magic number: apparently that’s the time it takes for your blood to circulate once through your body. Your eyes absorb the light quickly because the receptors are closer to the skin than at other places on the body, and so your blood cells file past and each get their sunshine booster shot for the day in about fifteen minutes. Did you know that the backs of your knees are another place where light is absorbed quickly? The skin is thinner there, too.

My counselor told me that the fifteen minutes of sunlight also help you sleep better at night, because when you close your eyes, chemicals from the light are released into your body that help you sleep. Or something like that.

So in the interest of my health, today I rode around in a convertible with the top down. No, really. It’s my sister’s car, and we were going shopping (I bought new pants!); she drove, and I enjoyed my daily dose of direct light. I love riding in her car, but I feel like a bit of an imposter. Usually I see convertibles driven by: a) middle-aged men whose jaunty leather driving caps scream both “Balding!” and/or “Midlife crisis!”, and who have custom license plates like MYPORSH; or b) spoiled blondes with expensively manicured nails and rhinestone cell phone covers (both of which are noticeable as they yap into the phone while weaving through traffic). As I am neither of these things, and neither is my sister, what are we doing in such a cool car? She can pull it off, actually. But not me. I wasn’t even wearing sunglasses.

Anyway. Yesterday I took a walk in the park. That’s not just an expression; there’s a beautiful park that I’m ashamed to admit is right across the street from my house, but I’ve only been to it a few times since I moved in more than two years ago. Yeah. I even changed into workout clothes and took my iPod. It was an overcast day, but fairly pleasant. I walked briskly for almost an hour. It’s a beautiful park, laid out on a long grid so that you can walk for some distance in one direction; parts of it are quite narrow and lined with ivy and blackberry bushes, so you feel like you’re in the forest, even as you hear traffic over the hill, and other parts are wide and grassy. I hiked along while my iPod shuffled through the Shins, an aria from The Marriage of Figaro, Joan Baez, and other incongruous choices. I had to skip a few ballads whose sad tempo made me slow to a crawl (I typed “to a shuffle” first: is that why Apple called it that?). ;-) At one point near the end, “Matchmaker, Matchmaker” from Fiddler on the Roof played, and it was all I could do not to break into song. When no one was in sight, I admit I twirled a little with my arms outstretched.

There were a lot of people out for a Tuesday afternoon. I met bikers, joggers, dog walkers, mothers with toddlers, and little boys zipping along on Razor scooters. There were teenagers hanging out at the basketball courts, a young man with a backpack lying in the grass, and a father and son throwing horseshoes. As one fortyish man approached, also wearing an iPod, I could see that he had something in his hand. I squinted and looked closer. Yes, it was: a lit cigar. After we passed each other, I could smell it for at least twenty feet, a stinking cloud trailing behind him. I’m guessing he’s not allowed to smoke in the house.

I am resolved to go to the park more this summer. As long as I’m home and in a position to enjoy it whenever I want, I should take advantage of it. And even if I have a job, I can go in the evening after work because it’s still light.

And no, nothing new on the job front. There’s a local library hiring assistants, which sounds kind of perfect for me, and the wages are decent. I am applying for that, and a few other things. It’s so time-consuming to apply for jobs. My pet peeve lately is that many companies don’t list the pay rate in the ad, and then they say “no phone calls!”, so I can’t even call to find out the pay rate without ignoring their instructions, and I have to either assume it’s low and not apply, or apply anyway and hope they’ll negotiate to something I can live on if they offer me the job. What would be nice is everyone could tell the truth. I would just send in my resume with a letter that says: Hello. I’m Erin. I’m a hard worker. I was let go from my last job because someone thought I didn’t work hard enough, but that’s not true. I will be a good employee as long as you treat me well, but I’m not planning to stay at your company and answer the phones and be talked down to for the rest of my life. I’m loyal, but if something better comes along, I will probably take it.

And the company could post an ad that says: We need someone to file, put up with a crazy boss, and empty the dishwasher in the morning because the executives are too lazy to do it. We’ll pay you just enough so that you don’t quit, and our accounts payable department will gossip about you behind your back. Serious inquiries only, please.

Don’t you think that would make life easier for everyone? We could eliminate all the game-playing, the subtle salary negotiations, and the misunderstandings about exactly what the job will be and how long we plan on doing it.

Also, in a perfect world, companies would CALL ME when I apply for a job, even if it’s to tell me I’m not getting an interview or the job has been filled. Have I mentioned that the endless silence bothers me? It’s just rude never to call. In no other sector of society would that be acceptable. We RSVP for weddings; the dentist’s office calls to remind us of appointments; even the library is kind enough to let us know when a book is overdue. But somehow, it’s not necessary to let me know that the job has been filled and I can stop holding my breath that they might deign to meet with me.

That’s enough of that. I am now going to do some laundry so I can wash my new pants and wear them tomorrow. Yay.