The Web That Is My Own

I didn't get the interview.  It was a job I thought I was totally, perfectly qualified for.   It was a ray of hope in an otherwise very uncertain time.  I wanted it.  A lot.  And it hadn't occurred to me I wouldn't even get interviewed.  Now I'm wondering why.  Slightly paranoid:  does someone there not want me there?   More realistic:  As requested, I'd stated my salary expectations.  Were they too high?   Also more realistic:  I'd sent off my cover letter and resume when I was extremely fatigued and didn't explicitly (but I did implicitly!) spell out how I met their requirements.   In any case, it's thrown me.  I have about 6 months to find work before things start to become quite concerning.  That's a long time, I know, but still...

I didn't get the job I wanted.

I'm disappointed.

But I'm not disappointed about the job but rather what it now means. What it means is that I will begin to look for employment outside of the organization I currently work for. My plan was to do a lateral move within the organization. It did not happen. Time to move on. So for now, I'm keeping my eyes and ears open for new opportunities. But there's more...

I also feel betrayed. This is because one of my references was not only part of the interviewing panel, but was also part of today's meeting telling me I did not get the job. WTF?!

Why would someone accept to be my reference when they have no intention of advocating in my favour?

What a fucking bitch thing to do, eh?

Okay.

I am just callous in thinking that people on social assistance should not have pets?

I know someone raising their three kids while on social assistance.  They have three dogs, two cats, a bird and now they are getting a little rodent as well.

Couldn't their social assistance money be better spent? 

About 4 years ago I took a job on the other side of the country. It
was too far from family so I only lasted 6 months before I moved
closer to my family.

I was working as an IT consultant for a large company but my team was
very small, our client quite specialized so we needed a little extra
tech support. I got along well with my main tech support guy but we
weren't social - never went for lunch or coffee together or anything,
I don't even think we talked at the Christmas party. He did seem a
little more chatty my last couple weeks, I thought cause I was moving
so far and most of my co-workers were lifetime home town kinda people
- it made me interesting.

So last year this tech guy finds me on LinkedIn - cool, I wanted to
build up my contacts from that job, I may not have been there long but
I left with glowing references and they were sad to lose me.

Then he started following me on Twitter...

Then he tracked me down on Facebook...

I didn't think anything of it but it is progressively getting strange...

He direct messaged me to say Happy Valentine's Day, I tweet that I'm
craving chocolate and he Facebooks a picture of chocolate to me, I
mention being out dancing and he direct messages that he'd dance with
me... so I ask if he treats all past co-workers this way? He
responds, "only the cute one".

I double check his Facebook profile - engaged with 2 young kids.

He can't seriously be flirting with me from the other side of the
country? Can he?

What is he doing? Should I be flattered or uncomfortable?

Makes me think I share too much online. If someone were to read all
my tweets they'd know me pretty well. I vent, mourn, rejoice and share
mundane details of my life. Only keeping a few relationships private.
My instinct was to tweet about this guy but he follows my twitter...

I've had bizarre people crush on me in the past but this is new
territory for me. Should I delete & block his online view of my life?
Is it harmless? Should I just continue with the status quo?

...but I couldn't think of a metered rhyme for "they can all go fuck themselves."