Tuesday 7/21 I had a job interview in Seattle, the big city that I had only been to once since I made a big move from Arizona to Washington state last fall.

I was a RockStar in Phoenix. When I lost a job, I had another one by the next week. I worked in the mortgage business so it was pretty standard for companies to close and new ones to pop up down the street. That was prior to the big meltdown that has taken a huge toll on all of us over the past couple years...but that's another story.

Seattle is amazing. Washington is amazing. I never wanted to leave...or so I thought. I have come to the understanding that the jobs I had in Phoenix with no degree require a four year degree in Washington state. Maybe it is because in Phoenix there is a higher population of underprivileged people. Maybe it is because in Washington has a better system for preparing high school students for college...who knows.

The fact of the matter is, that I have to start over. I graduated High School in 2001, so the last nine years, I'm sure, may seem a bit like a short synopsis next to the life chapters that some of you may have lost recently. This is the first time in my life that I feel fortunate that I don't have a family to feed, credit card balances looming over me, or a mortgage to pay. Plenty of dog and cat food to buy though. I have come to the understanding that it doesn't matter how much I make or how far I have to travel. I just need something at this point.

Then, I got a call from a temp agency in Seattle. This was for a temp-to-hire position for a mortgage company that was located in downtown Seattle. SCORE!!! This would be for basic, entry level, assistant type work, which is perfect since I have been out of the industry for a few years, not to mention all my experience was in another state with a different set of regulations on rules. DOUBLE SCORE!! The downside is that it was 32 miles away for home for $12 and hour. I didn't care. It was something. Living on ramen for so long is giving me dry skin.

I admit, I almost didn't go. The dark gloomy place wanted me to stay home, in my sweatpants, with my fuzzy eyebrows and not get my hopes up. Again. So many thoughts swam though my head. What if I didn't get the job? What if I did get the job? Would my poor 97 honda be able to handle 60+ miles round trip a day? Could I afford gas to get to and from work until I got my first paycheck? The thought of working in the big city that I had almost never been to scared me too. Most of all, the thought of driving so far for so little made me want to dive right back into the dark gloomy place.

Thank god for my boyfriend, who has been my cheerleader since the beginning. He told me "You ARE going, you may get the job, you may not. If you do, great. If not, every interview you go to after this will be cake."

I got out of my dark gloomy place, took off my sweat pants, washed my hair, made up my face (for the first time in weeks), plucked my eyebrows, painted my nails, and yes (gasp!) I even shaved my legs. This job interview was going to get the best, upbeat, most confident me that Washington state has ever seen.

The interview went fantastic. I had high scores on all the silly "skills" assessments that the temp agency had to offer. Me and my interviewer got along swell. She said she would run a background check and credit check and get back to me the next day, and she had me fill out all of my employment paperwork and said she thought I was a perfect fit. PERFECT! I was excited. I was confident. I was hopeful.

OH! The possibilities of employment!

I missed her call the next day and promptly called her back.

"We got your background check and it looks great, and the company really liked your resume, but unfortunately you just have too many negative accounts on your credit report and they dont feel comfortable with you handling sensitive information. We will keep looking for you though"......wait, what?

SERIOUSLY?! SERIOUSLY? Seriously.

I told her, I have an extensive amount of medical debt and that that should not be taken into account. I have no credit cards, no car loan, no mortgage, and the one car loan I had for 5 years was paid in full with not one late payment. Too bad. So sad. She said she couldn't push them, that's just what they said. Are you kidding me? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!

I was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease when I was 22. I am 27. I have been "laid off" or "asked to resign" from every job I have had since I got sick for missing too much work. And, as a result, have not had health care on a repeated basis and consequently have many medical collection accounts. Being unemployed does not help. This is the first, THE FIRST time I have EVER had difficulty getting a job because of the medical debt on my credit report.

For them to imply that I shouldn't be working with sensitive information because I have bad credit is OUTRAGEOUS. I have been working with sensitive consumer information for 8 years! And not once has the thought ever crossed my mind to steal a credit card number, sell an identity, or whatever.

I am devastated that soulless people seem to have the upper hand in our economy. I lose a job for being sick. I am denied a job for not be able to afford being sick. Will the madness never end?

Needless to say, me and my sweatpants have become best friends again.