Change, Choice and Craniums

The word of the week is steadfast.

October 29 - Nothing Yet

It's been a hard week of job searching, putting in targeted resume's and cover letters, then waiting for something to happen.

So far, not a single callback.

At this rate, I'm looking at taking 'a job' by the end of 2012, just to ensure an income stream. I knew it might reach this point, but I'm still depressed that it's come down to joe-jobbing things. I'm more limited in what I can do because of my arms and that's been unhelpful in my search. It's perversely gratifying to hear that places are looking for people with my( over- )qualifications but can only pay half what I was earning before… yet that's the reality. I search, I prepare, I apply… and I try not to dwell on the silence I've got back so far. WorkBC prepared me for this intellectually, but emotionally I still have to deal with it. Networking is the key, but I don't HAVE much of a network here, despite my efforts to cultivate leads from people I know.

Forget the tooth fairy; I want to know what body part(s) the Job Fairy wants. Anyone know?

October 30 - No more bookmarks?

With my Firefox crashing hard this week, I've looked at how best to protect my bookmarks as well as other programs like TooManyTabs. It's crazy-making to see your daily browsing interests and research go 'poof' of a sudden and vanish beyond easy recall. Fortunately, I managed to restore a backup and start using other methods to ensure that things won't get out of hand like that again.

Yet Mozilla is thinking hard about the whole 'bookmark' thing of late and seems to be interested in changing them for the better. What shape this would take is anyone's guess, but I'm all for a searchable pile of data, which would help me organize and relate things that I've surfed over the years. One thing I do know about bookmarks is that they change constantly as sites go dark or shift their content around. Being able to put my finger on what I need months or years later would be amazing - are you listening, Mozilla?

October 31 - Boo Again

This Hallowe'en( hi Lucas! )was one I didn't do much - well, nothing at all. I've been feeling down and tired the last few weeks, perhaps a remnant of pushing so hard to get my novel's second draft done, so I stayed in tonight. I curled up with some hot tea and watched Monsters Vs Aliens and afterwards their Halloween Special that came out last year, which left me in a much better mood.

So did this: news that Captain Power is being rebooted! I've waxed eloquently about this show before, so suffice to say I'm thrilled that it's going to get a shot at being on television again. Though J. Michael Straczynski isn't involved, a lot of the original creators are aboard and look to be treating the material with some measure of respect:

November 1 - Five years of BC Blogging

Five years in BC. Lots of changes in that time, most good, some so-so, a few bad:

I'm free of the job that was killing me: good. I'm free of a relationship: so-so. I'm not free of debt: bad. My family is taken care of financially: very good. My first novel is done: good. I'm still jobless: bad.

Ruminating on this today, I looked back at my previous entries for Nov 1st since moving to BC. They were both longer than today's, but each contained an interesting nugget or two.

In 2008, I'd been here a year and I was still getting used to the idea:

The urban horror scenario of working at the same job, with no real room for advancement, doing the same things month after month, year after year... I am not sure if you can call it ambition, but perhaps better label it as a need for Change. Some years ago, quite a few in fact, I was struck by a sudden vision: a ten-year veteran of MMart, plugging away at night on a novel, hoping to be published, yet never feeling like I was accomplishing anything or getting any OTHER work or interests covered. Apart for the glow of friends and family support, one year would tend to seem like another.

Last year on Nov 1st 2011, I'd taken myself to the hospital with chest pains. That produced this:

My family is taken care of now, so that I don't have to worry much about their futures - my parents retirement or my sister's prosperity, really. As for me, it's been a strange ride; I have few friends out here in BC, for various reasons, but I do not feel the lack most days, given my mental state. Which is one that deals with stress, and heartache, and loneliness every waking hour. Along with joy, growing stability and a new-found( yet tentative )balance while looking towards the future. A future that is closer now more than ever. I'm looking forward to changing jobs, kicking my writing career into high gear, holding out my hand to offer love, and to try to get ahead in a financial sense so that my stress levels will drop all the more. I've been through a lot, accomplished some impressive things, and still feel I have a LOT more to do very soon, for a very long time.

So where am I in 2012?

At a new beginning, if I dare admit it to myself. I'm a little scared, jobless and alone in some ways… but I have a lot to be proud of, with new careers still to be discovered and free to do what I please for myself.

It's not a bad place to be, after all. I just have to keep telling myself that every day.

November 2 - Locking It Remotely!

Remember last week when I said that tech and I have some… differences of opinion?

Today I was reminded of WHY I love technology: it can make your life easier in COOL ways!

Case in point: Lockitron.com which closed their initial fundraiser today( outside of Kickstarter! )only a few hours after I'd heard about it… and signed up for one! Have a look at the video for why I jumped at a chance to own one of these locks:

There's so MANY reasons to get this. No more forgetting my keys elsewhere and being locked out of my house until I can get back to them or have them dropped off. I can do the same for someone else if I'm not home and they need to get into the place but have forgotten their keys. Wireless entry is a bonus too: even if I have my keys, my smartphone will unlock the door when I get home. And as a renter, I can install it in seconds and remove it easily, with no damage, to take it with me to my next place.

But the biggest reason to get it? Peace of mind: I can just check my phone to see if I've locked the door! Who hasn't had that feeling before, especially as you're heading out on a long trip or vacation? YES!

November 3 - How smart?

Brains have been on my… er, mind, of late. Smarts are not always tied to success, so perhaps that's what's been bothering me. I've never discussed my IQ with other people, tried to join MENSA or otherwise made a lot of what's been upstairs, save to treat it with care lest I lose it through abuse. It's also made it hard to relate to people on some levels, as I can talk about things that many other people can't fully grasp or frankly just aren't interested in… so that's a little frustrating, but I don't dwell on it.

The smartest people in the world right now were recently listed on Yahoo and they're a diverse bunch. Quite a lot of achievers on that list( and some over-achievers too )and I feel a distant kinship… but I also wonder how well I'd do in a Jeopardy contest with them. What does it feel like to be the dumbest genius in the room? Each person has their specialty and as the picture above shows, some people work a lifetime to try and discover where their brilliance can focus best.

November 4 - Dull Endings

I've been living the last week under headphones, as the people upstairs are back again - packing, I hope.

But they're making no effort whatsoever to be quiet and though they've been 'good' about the mornings( ie. letting me sleep until 7am )they've been noisy until near midnight many nights. The daytime crashing / running / whatever-the-hell-we-feel-like-dropping-now is fairly steady, so when I'm not out I'm listening to bass-heavy music and popping headache pills( due to the weather )while thinking that December should be a sweet month of change above… and on the bright side, I've heard many songs from many artists that I haven't before.

Change is what it's about, this time of year. The gloomy weather's set in, the leaves are piling up and the air's no longer warm, but crisp. It's funny how reliant we become on habits, forming them quickly without noticing. This week, as Sandy pummeled the east coast, my fave three websites( io9, LifeHacker and Gizmodo )went down as their servers in NYC went offline. I was surprised that they didn't have a backup plan for just such a thing and double surprised that the internet was such a fragile thing; it's supposed to take a lickin' and keep on tickin' but that just didn't happen with websites or cell phones as the power died in the Big Apple. Change was forced upon people by Mama Nature, like it or not. 

And that's it for this week: a whole lot of nothing going on. I'm hoping for at least one interview from my efforts this coming week, as I can't just keep banging my head on the wall hoping to crack the Job Barrier. See you then.