Keeping the Trash Can Clean

Our trash collectors are not careful when returning trash cans to the neighborhood. So the other day, I somehow got 2 trash cans. I found out one new neighbor has double. I gave him his back. Then later I found that the can I kept seemed to really stink.

I tried putting some baking soda in there to absorb the smell. It did not do much. This sucks because I used to keep my trash can fresh by double bagging trash. Today I decided to do something about it.

I got some pressure washer cleaner. Used a mop to scrub the inside of the trash can with the cleaner. Then I broke out the pressure washer to rinse the trash can out. Also ran the pressure washer over the outside of the can. Now at least the thing does not smell too bad.

Might have to rinse and repeat a few times. Now it would be a good time to label my trash can. Don't want a repeat of a stinky can.

Little Kat Gets a Job

After graduating from college, Little Kat took a small gap vacation. It lasted about 5 weeks. Then he got down to business applying to jobs. I told him to shoot for at least 100 applications a week. He has been doing this for about 6 weeks.

Little Kat got some online assessments. But aside from that, he has been ghosted. There have been no interviews. I used to think computer science graduates could get 1 interview for every 100 applications they submitted. It seems like it has devolved to 1 interview every 500.

I had some ideas. Little Kat should get some tech certifications. I also started a project with Little Kat that I thought we could pivot into an internship or a position at a company we co-found. Little Kat started on a program to kick off the startup. He found it very difficult.

At school, Momoko was talking with the principal and assistant principal. It seems elementary school teachers are understaffed and are having trouble getting their planning time. Their solution was to create a new computer lab position that would allow them to plan. Momoko told them Little Kat just graduated with a degree in Computer Technology and was looking.

Long story short, Little Kat got the job. It is not his dream job. The pay is good. The requirements are not difficult. He will work for people he knows along side of people he calls friends. The plan is for his to stop job applications and stop the project we are working on. I told him to spend all time before the job starts getting at least 1 certification. We will give him a few months to get acclimated to the new job. Then we will regroup.

The Start of Project X

Little Kat has graduated from his 4-year college with a bachelor's degree. He needed a gap month to rest. Now he is looking for a job. He has recently passed the 500 applications point. He did got 5 or 6 online assessments. However he has not received any interviews.

I knew the market for new grads was poor. I did not know it was this bad. Recently I saw a Reddit post about a guy that submitted 3000 applications and only got 5 interviews. Not sure if any of those translated into a job offer. I doubt it.

For now, I am working with Little Kat on a secret joint mission I call Project X. Today we had our initial meeting. I set some end goals for 6 months from now. I also gave Little Kat his first task. I hope he can finish it in a few weeks. Today I mailed him 10 "data files" for him to process.

Project X will at least give Little Kat a chance to work on a real world project. I think he can use what he learned in college and hone his skills. There is even a chance our project can make some money. Who knows? We might be starting the next FaceBook in our basement.