All about Ben
By Ben Robinson

I know I’m unemployed, so getting sleep should not be a a problem.

It’s tough to be late for a job I don’t have.

But lately I have been giving my nephew Kevin a ride to work. That’s no problem. I don’t mind, because I’m hoping I can somehow convince my car that I’m going to my job, not Kevin’s, just so it doesn’t get discouraged like I do.

And when I pick Kevin up, he usually has five or six places he needs to stop on the way home, which never are actually on the way home. But I drive him around anyhow, because it’s not like I have any other place I need to go.

Between Kevin’s work schedule and the time we waste after his working hours, I’m not getting as much sleep as I had been. Kevin’s 20 years younger than I am, so he doesn’t require as much sleep.

Right now, I’m waiting for his call to come pick him up from work, as I try to write a column for this week. He said he may get a ride home from his girlfriend tonight. If he does, I’ll be ready to welcome the young lady into our family right away.

I’m not sure how I developed this aversion to sleep. I remember growing up and seeing my parents come home from work exhausted, ready for a nap. I promised myself that would never be me. Of course, I didn’t mean that the only difference would be that I did not work that day.

Of course, looking for a job can be more exhausting than working at times. I’m trying not to get discouraged, but after a while you begin to wonder if somehow everybody is in on a “Don’t hire Ben” plan.

Somehow I’m either over-qualified or under-qualified for every position in the state. The under-qualified I can understand. I’ll even agree that I probably shouldn’t perform surgery. And me fixing a car would be even more of a stretch.

But me — over-qualified? Let’s face it — I’ve spent the past 25 years writing down the first thing that pops into my head each week. You don’t get much simpler than that. I’ve covered events, such as public meetings and high school sports, but honestly it does not take much talent to do so. It’s not like I ever had to make my stories rhyme — “County council met Tuesday night; Over the new tax proposal they had a fight.”

So let’s be honest — there’s not many jobs for which I’m over-qualified.

So I’m hoping in the next few weeks I can find a job that’s challenging and exciting, but not overly complicated. But I need to make sure I’m not yawning during the job interview.
They take that as sign of a poor work ethic.