As of last month, I've been unemployed for two years (I graduated from university but haven't been able to find a job because I live in a cesspit devoid of occupational opportunity). I routinely check job listings but haven't been able to find anything that 1) I'm qualified for and 2) wouldn't detest doing (it seems like everything is medical, heavily industrial, or truck driving). My unemployment has become even more frustrating because a number of my former classmates are either continuing their education with more advanced degrees or already have really good positions. For the last month or two, whenever I saw something someone posted about their amazing job, my reaction was to go check the job listings again. And - of course - because I was already checking them almost everyday, nothing new (and certainly nothing good) came up.
Recently, I thought that I should redirect this impulse and make it productive. I eventually came up with this: every time I see something that reminds me of my shameful unemployment, I'm going to practice a scale. I already delineated a cycle of the twenty-four scales (I'm following the order in Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, even though I've never heard it, much less played it) on five instruments (piano, bass, guitar in open D tuning, mandolin, and guitar in standard tuning). For the fretted instruments, I'll start one fret higher every time I repeat the cycle of twenty-four scales.
Last week, I reviewed the left-hand finger positions for playing piano scales because - despite a semester of piano class - I didn't remember them (I did remember the right hand). In doing this preliminary practice, I realized that I should actually give this project some more structure, so I'm going to practice a scale everyday regardless of unemployment woes.
I'm sure that relentlessly practicing my scales won't help me get a job, but music (in one form or an-other) is something I've been intensely interested in for the past few years, so drilling myself in one of its most basic structures surely can't be a waste of time (maybe I'll finally develop some more advanced keyboard skills too). My chances of actually getting a job in music are astronomically minuscule (although that also seems to describe my chances of getting any sort of job), but I'm sure it'll always be a hobby for me. In fact, if I do ever get a job, I'll still probably put more effort into my various musical endeavours than my professional work.
I'm not sure for how long, but I'll be documenting what scales I practice on my Twitter feed.
