Success, at Last!

In an earlier post, I mentioned that I need to think up a snappy reply to the often asked question "So what do you do?" The thing is, I can think up plenty of witty, interesting and downright fascinating replies to that question, but I don't really like to outright lie. So, I have been diligently thinking about this (well, I thought about it at least twice), and have continued to come up cold, until now. What prompted me to solve this dilemma is that I once again have NOT gotten a job I wanted. This is really beginning to annoy me. I have to confess, I was feeling quite optimistic that so much time had passed without being rejected. There was a secret little part of me that was supremely confident that this job was mine and that the delay in notifying me was simply a glitch in the Federal hiring system. Hmmmph.

But, on the upside, since I still can't say "I work for blah blah doing whatsit", I have come up with this: The next time someone asks me what I do, I will say (hold on...this is really good) I am doing research for a book. After the questioner makes all the usual and appropriate expressions of admiration, they will invariably ask "What is your book about?" To which I shall reply "the impact middle aged women who are unemployed have on the economy" or some other horribly uninteresting topic I know lots about. This should cause the questioner to suddenly spot an old acquaintance across the room with whom they simply must go speak to, and they will happily flee before I can even begin to expand on the more interesting facets of my research. Now, while I am not ACTUALLY writing a book, I certainly could be. I mean, everyone knows someone who is some day, going to write that novel, or screenplay, or cookbook. I will simply join the ranks of all the other wannabe writers. And, it is not really lying, because technically, I am researching what impact I have on the economy when I talk to shopkeepers about their business, or request credit line increases or by buying stuff. I am, just as actors engage in "method acting", engaged in "method research".

So, now that I have my snappy response, I am really looking forward to trying it out at my next social occasion. I really feel like I have accomplished something here...