HausFrau, Inc.

Talk about an eye opener! One of my Brussels friends (TGirl's maternal unit, TMom) sent me an invitation by email to join her online professional network. No problemo. With as much as we move around, this could be just one more way to keep in contact.

So, I clicked the link & the registration page popped up.

First Name: (Easy Peasy) HausFrau
Last Name: (Easy Breezy) Rockin'Bauer
email: savvyhausfrau@aol.com
Password: ********

I am currently: (choose from a pop down menu)

• employed
• a business owner
• looking for work
• independently working
• a student

Huh? Well, don't that beat all? Where's the selection options for unemployed, not looking, other, not applicable, contemplating what to do next, currently filling-out-sub-application-but-secretly-hope-they-never-call?

What kind of professional loser am I?

Do you have to be a professional with job ambitions to join this exclusive circle? Currently, TMom and I are professional polar-opposites. She has been gainfully employed with the military for 20 years & has a HausHusband to do the whole domestic-kinder thing. Me? I work off & on when the opportunity presents itself or when Man decides he can tolerate a little domestic discomfort. Maybe I don't belong in this network of hers. How about let's just keep each other's email addys? Or, hook-up on MySpace?

Back to the registration form. I debated "independently working" vs. "employed" and decided to just go ahead and bald face lie about my circumstances.

employed

Company: uh, well, there's not actually one of those. Oh, OK, I know. The company's name is "Unemployed". I am currently employed with Unemployed. It's flexible & gives me time to blog. And, scrub toilets. And, cook schnitzel.

Industry: I actually thought I might have better luck with this one. I clicked on the arrow for my pop-up options & lo and behold, there were about 200 of them. I elevatored right on down to the "E" in search of "Education". Nope, not there. The only option was "Education Management". What? Plain old teaching doesn't count? You have to be an administrator? But, I even have a master's degree! And, experience.

Deflated, I continued to explore my options & came up with several industries to which I could belong, degree or not:

• arts & crafts (seriously, it's an industry?)
• consumer goods (spending Man's hard earned money everyday)
• entertainment (HausFrau is entertaining, right?)
• food & beverages (need I explain?)
• health, wellness & fitness (I'm going to the gym. Next week.)
• hospitality
• import & export (just imported Winkler Brau across the border)
• individual & family services
• Internet (Total Junkie)
• leisure, travel & tourism (The cruise is booked)
• libraries (Story Time Lady, that's me.)
• philanthropy (volunteer: thrift shop & library)
• primary/secondary education (there it is!)
• research (Just name a topic . . .)
• supermarkets (does the commissary count?)
• wine & spirits (and, just what are the professional requirements?)
• writing & editing (Does spell check count?)

OK, so Domestic Goddess wasn't an option. I look at it this way: that fact gave me a blog topic for the day AND I actually got a huge ego boost. Those professionals with career ambitions and actual jobs with paychecks quickly checked their ONE industry and didn't think twice about their limited and precise job skills. On the other hand, I effortlessly found 17 industries in which I have skills, talents, experience and savvy.

And, I was limited based on their menu options.

I think I'm going to fine-tune my wine & writing skills. I have professional ambitions of taking my blog to a whole new level. Stay tuned.