Sick and Tired

That's right. My Better Half is sick and I am tired of not working. That title, though, reminds me of the old Bill Cosby routine talking about Bill and his brother, Russell. Do you know it? You can hear the 'sick and tired' part at about the 5 minutes mark in this video.

OK, there are a couple of promising opportunities on the job front. First is a phone interview next Wednesday afternoon with ASU. A starting phone interview is not unexpected as that is how we started the process at both Apollo and US Airway. It is a first step, though, so I will do some refresher studies on Monday and Tuesday of possible questions and rehearse my answers.

Another is a position at Wells Fargo found through the placement company. I contacted a friend there and he said he would put in a good word with the hiring manager. Good things I was nice to that dude back in the Motorola days, huh?

I was playing in Photoshop the other day and converted this photo

to Sepia. Which version do you like better?

I will tell you about this year's North Pole Experience next week. I blogged about it last year here and here. So, that should whet your appetite for the details next week.

OK, back to job searching or whatever it is that I do each day. I hope you have a pleasant weekend and we'll visit more next week.

Sharing Shots and Showers

Let's start with some photos, although I did not do any clean up nor Photoshop magic on them.

The GRANDS stayed with us last Saturday night. Here they are in front of the Christmas tree.

And we always save some ornaments for the GRANDS to place on the tree.

And, on Saturday, we took our annual trek to ZooLights. See.

Well, sure, that looks the same every year, and I take another shot of it anyway.

What is new is the dancing light show is now out in the lake so everyone can see it, not only in the tree-lined walkway of previous years.

And this is from 2005 when it was still only in the trees on the walkway.

As far as crowds for lights, this year wins BIG TIME. As far as impact by being surrounded by dancing lights, the walkway wins. I wish they would do both, or reintegrate the walkway into the lake-based lights.

OK, but what about the shower? Take a look at this.

We were sitting around, minding our own business, when this wild man comes in and start destroying the shower stall. I mean, sure, the wild man is Dad and I did give him permission, but what a mess. Now, the challenge is to make it leak proof with the minimal rebuilding effort. First, though, we need to remove the lower tiles so we can build in a vinyl pan.

Nothing new on the job front. Well, I submitted some more applications yesterday, but no jobs or interviews scheduled yet. Having heard nothing from most applications yet, I went back to see if the posting were still listed. If that is any indication, four of them were already filled. Come on, companies. Let us applicants know that we are not a candidate anymore.

Remind me to tell you about the new canvas photos Dad gave us next time we talk. Clever wording, huh? It should be tomorrow, but I sneakily avoided saying what day it would be.

Fine! I'll Update the Blog!

Well, I was called out by Preacher Bro. Apparently, he actually checked the blog and noticed there has been no update in the last week. That's because there has been no change in the last week. Still, let me give you the particulars of what no change entails.

I have found 13 jobs of interest and have applied for 11 of them. I will apply for the other two and check for more after I finish this post. I know. I've only found 13 that match my skills. That is a bit depressing, although I am not actually depressed...yet. I have only heard back from one of them (I told you a couple of weeks ago that they are hiring from within). I still search the boards everyday (dice, indeed, careerbuilder) and if I see something close, I also go to that company's site to see if any others are posted there.

Dad came by and started destroying the shower in the Master Bath. No, that's a good thing. It has not been working for over a year, so we need to rebuild it. I was originally thinking to have it professionally redone, but that was shelved once I lost my job. So, since Dad and I both need something to do, we started to pull off the bottom three rows of tiles so we can install a vinyl pan. You can see what the tile looks like in the shot from when we had it installed. Unfortunately, I did not know to watch for the installation (or actually, lack thereof) a pan. So, it leaked into the bedroom and ruined the carpet and the wall, and would sometimes leak into the kitchen on the other side of the shower stall. We've been using the Guest Bath since then.

Since we started working on the shower, I did not take time yesterday to play with photos, so here is a montage of photos from our 2004 UK trip. I created a couple of pages towards the end of the photo book to include photos I had not used in the previous pages. Notice a photo in the middle of the page showing that we visited the 2004 Loo of the Year. Yeah, baby.

We are heading up to Flagstaff for North Pole Experience this weekend. UPDATE to the update: Ali is going. I originally said she was not because I knew we did not need to board the animals. Instead, she is going and Dad will come over and care for the animals. END UPDATE. And in two weeks, the fam will head over to Disneyland for the annual Christmas/Birthday trip. I will not be going (a little too expensive since I don't have an annual pass like the rest of them). In between all of this, the East Valley Chorale is beginning its busy season of concerts. Who has time for work, right?

Once I do go back to work, the dog will be sad. Right now, he goes in and out maybe 10 times a day. Whenever he goes to the door, I let him out and he'll stay outside for 30 min or more in our nice weather. Oh well, he'll have to get used to it. And I will have to adjust my exercise schedule, since I head over there at 7:30am right now and it is so empty. It's really nice and it gets it over for the day.

I will try to get around to updating before another week passes. I'm glad someone noticed, even if it was my brother.

Now, I'll Get a Job, For Sure

I just got back from applying to renew my fingerprint card so I could substitute teach while I look for a job. I had to cough up $67 to apply. Now if that doesn't ensure I will get a job immediately, then Murphy's Law has been repealed. It takes about four weeks to get a card right now, so I can will be available to teach starting after Christmas break. I also added myself to K's insurance. Another sure sign that I will get a job soon.

There was one troubling question I had to answer on the application. Hair color. Can you guess why it was troubling? Should I write brown or the color it mostly is now? I chose brown, but may write something else next time.

I talked to the placement firm yesterday and my contact said I should go ahead and apply for any job listings I find. Hmm. Then why am I even working with them? Luckily, I did not pay anything for their services. So, I applied for two yesterday and have another four or five to complete today.

A lot of today's cameras offer in-camera effects that can be applied, even without post-processing. This came straight out of Preacher Bro's camera after applying a sepia tone (pronounced see-pee-ah) so it looked like an old photograph. I suppose no one should have smiled, huh?

I see that they are canceling Last Resort on ABC. I am not surprised, but I did like it. CSI:NY seems to be on its last legs, too. However, our Wednesday guilty pleasure, Survivor, keeps on plugging. Of course, it is a reality show, so they have different rules.

We are starting a new study in Sunday School about What Jesus Demands From the World by John Piper. The Nehemiah study we just finished was good, but not as fun for me as past studies.

Well, I need to get those job applications submitted, so I will leave you...probably until after Thanksgiving. Have a great one and remember to give God thanks for all your blessings (and I am sure there are many we take for granted. Well, that's true for me, anyway).

Officially Unemployed Now

I am now living on savings. Yes, I will get severance that will fund us through Christmas, so I have a hard target for getting a new job. Once that runs out, I can start receiving unemployment. I still only know of one of my team that has a job. The rest of us are still looking.

So, what jobs have I applied for? ADP decided to hire from within. BofA wants someone with prior BofA experience. No response from Freeport-McMoRan or AMEX or Scottsdale Healthcare or one other for which I applied online but they did not send me a confirmation email. Today, I have interesting options saved to my desktop for which I need to craft a focused cover letter: ASU (we could go for our Masters'), City of Phoenix, SRP (local electric utility), and GetWellNetwork. I heard from a friend that Apollo Group is willing to contract with some of us that were let go as a Project Manager, but it is on a program a) under that dude that did not want to hire me a couple of months ago, and b) it is on a program that I thought was going to be unworkable when they identified the scope. So, for now, I think I will pass on it. Still, I will keep it in mind during the next two months.

So, what's coming up? We will spend Thanksgiving here and head over to the folks' for the big meal. We have the North Pole Experience coming up with the GRANDS. I will get my fingerprint card renewed in case I need to substitute teach to keep some money coming in. I drop a note to the placement firm every other day to be sure they keep me in mind (maybe I am like this widow?).

Oh, and after Thanksgiving, it is time to set up the Christmas tree. Here is last year's tree.

And the rest of the family will take the annual trek to Disneyland for the Christmas decorations. I will not so that we can save $200-$300. Here is last year's Disney tree.

Did you hear about Hostess saying they will close the company? Now, I have not had a Twinkie or Cupcake in many years, but the idea that they may no longer exist is weird.

As all of you know, what we see in photos is only part of the story. Here is a shot of what we all did trying to get Jack to smile (or even face the camera) in a family photo.

It is time for me to actually start today. My first activities are some non-job-related web surfing and creating a blog post. Now, I will take my shower and do today's job searching and applying. I also need to go to the credit union to replace a lost debit card (I have no idea how I lost it). And then, apply for that fingerprint card. And I need to open my request for state unemployment (even though I am not eligible until severance runs out).

You may have already started your day, but it takes me a bit longer without the pressure of a job, so I will sign off for this week. See you in a few days.

How Good is Your Memory?

Do you remember what I said I did yesterday? I met with a recruiting firm in the morning and hoped they would be able to help me in my job search. Well, they sent me a job posting yesterday afternoon that does indeed look interesting. So, as long as they feed me opportunities like that, it seems like an effective pairing. I told them to go ahead and send my resume to this firm (BofA, BTW).

And then, in the afternoon, we met with a financial planner at our credit union who talked about the importance of a will/trust and kicked our backsides about the debt load we still have. He's right on both fronts. So, as soon as I have an income, we will set up a will and consider a trust in the future.

I did go to Chorale practice last night and sang some, although I am not 100% yet. I should be even better in time for our concert Sunday afternoon. This is probably our last non-Christmas concert of the year.

Here is a nice shot of us with the GRANDS in Pinetop. I lifted it from Lyndsay's Facebook page.

Don't you hate it when you misplace a debit/credit card? I filled up yesterday on the way to the recruiting interview and then, last night, I could not find the debit card. So, I had to call and cancel it and order a new one. I checked the account and no charges were made, so we should be safe on that. It also probably means that i will find it some time today, right?

Hey, what is with all this secession talk? And TX and AZ are right in the thick of it. Pretty silly. Whether I agree with the election results or not, this is a dumb idea. I cannot imagine all the unrecognized benefits we gain by being a state in the union.

Well, my media naranja left me a Honey Do list, so I need to shower and get started. Thanks for your time.

Snowing and Chilling

Well, we are back from our foray to Northern AZ. We spent a long weekend near Pinetop, AZ with the GRANDS and family. It was a great time. It snowed our first night and no more, so we got to have fun in it, but still clear skies that allowed us to go outside and sled and walk a little. We had a recreation center at the resort we stayed at (thanks, Lyndsay and Groupon) that included a pool, a hot tub, racquetball, basketball, ping pong, pool table and weight room. We played games every night (including one that I do not have - Clue Mysteries). We drove over to Greer one night for dinner. It was a great weekend and a nice diversion from my current day-to-day activities.

Surprisingly, this is not the first time we have stayed here. We were here about 15 years ago when the kids were young teens. We didn't know it was the same place until we arrived. We enjoyed it just as much back then.

You can see the snow here.

It was cold outside, but Jack and I were chilling inside the cabin.

Photos involving snow and shadows are always challenging. Here is Kendall heading downhill on a small, round sliding disk.

Here is the fireplace at Molly Butler Lodge decorated for the season. You can see this same fireplace with all of us posing over on Lyndsay's Facebook page.

On the job front, I met with a placement/contracting firm this morning and feel good about the opportunities they can offer. Now, we will see how quickly they can help. I will keep you informed.

Barkapaloosa

When Molly comes to visit, our always barking schnauzer gets even more so, and their dog joins in, turning our house into a Barkapaloosa. Every sound, even the A/C cycling on and off, gets them going again. It is craziness, I tell you. Craziness.

I will be meeting with a contract house on Tuesday to see about using their services to help me find a position. As I told them, my first concern is what that would mean for insurance, for job permanence, pay, etc. I am still applying for jobs I am finding through monster.com and careerbuilder.com. I did finally hear a response from one of the jobs I applied for (it was a no as they are filling it from within), and that helps even though I did not get the job.

Today's photo is one for those of you who enjoys TV programs about serial killers who also work for the police. 'Nuff said.

Oh wait. I have some better news about camera than what I reported yesterday. It seems that the camera still works and the lens kind of works. What broke was one of those UV filters on front of the lens. Now, it looks like it may no longer autofocus, and it seems kind of wobbly on the front, but it may still be usable. I guess I will find out this weekend. I will use Lyndsay's camera for any shots of the GRANDS that I know can never be replaced. I will use mine for landscape or group shots and see how they turn out.

No, I did not exercise yesterday, and no, I did not change my diet yesterday. Yes, I should, and I will. Somehow, things are not following any standard activities right now.

Listen, it is Friday and the weekend is upon us. A change is coming. I can feel it. Can you? Let's just keep praying and see what God has in store.

If It Weren't For Bad Luck...

I'd have no luck at all. Remember that old song. I first heard it on a corny country-themed TV program (Hee Haw for you oldtimers out there) back in the day, and it seems to fit the situation. What happened to make me say that? It seems the cat knocked my camera off a shelf last night and broke my lens. So, we will need to rely on Lyndsay's camera to capture the weekend.

I am contacting a placement firm this afternoon at 2:30pm. It can't hurt. I did submit an application for another PM job yesterday. I saved a couple to my desktop last night that I will review again once I finish this post.

OK, enough bad news. Let's check out some photos That I played with yesterday afternoon after I finished the laundry and my job search.

Here is a shot of us in Telluride (actually, Mountain Village) processed to look like a fashion high key photo.

There is an inexpensive camera out of Russia that has captivated worldwide interest called a Lomo. Some enterprising people figured out how to replicate that look in Photoshop and I have replicated that here in this shot of stairs in an abandoned house in Ironton south of Ouray. BTW, Preacher Bro, Architect Bro, Paps McGruck, you can see the suspended bridge in Google Maps once you move down the gully from Ironton. Check this link.

What did this shot look like before I processed it?

Which do you like better? Yeah, me, too.

I got my final report back from the Mayo about my physical. It reminds me that I need to get back to the gym (I have sort of neglected it since becoming unemployed), and I need to research exactly how to follow the Mediterranean Diet.

This post is not that long. It just looks that way because of the three photos I included. Still, you've suffered enough for today. Let's go do other stuff for a bit, OK?

Four More Years

OK, America has called for Obama to continue his policies. Aren't we lucky to know that God is in control of our leaders? All we can do is lift him and all leaders up in prayer each day.

And all I can do is lift up my job search to the Lord, also. Well, what I mean is that I have to trust Him to guide me to the right position for me. I still search job boards, contact former coworkers, and apply to interesting looking jobs, but I want His Will.

Hey, did I tell you that one of my team members starts her new job today? That is great news for her, and good news for me since it means people are hiring, and now I have another contact at another company.

I will take a break from this over the weekend as we head up into the mountains with JV+KLIK. That will, hopefully, be a nice diversion from the anxiety of unemployment.

And I will take a break tonight as we head over to the Survivor party. That TV show is one that must be shared to be enjoyed. I mean, when you are sitting there alone watching it, you never yell out, "What? He's changing his alliance to THEM?"

I have begun building a book with photos from this summer. However, I am not sure I will use iPhoto's tool to print it. It works OK to help me chose the photos to include and find ideas for the theme of each page, but it limits me in combining text and photos, so I may move back to Blurb. I'll let you know. Lyndsay uses picaboo a lot, but it was not available for Mac (although it looks like it may be now). Here is a cover design I may use.

It looks like I have babbling a bit today since my thoughts are all over the map. I will stop yammering now and let you get back to your lives.

Vote Today!

I hope you take a few minutes today and vote. Or maybe, like me, you voted early? However, if you are not voting the same way as me, pretend I did not mention it.

We are supposed to reach 92˚F today. So, here is a shot from when we were in the sleet a couple of weeks ago. Can you see it? Look at the white marks between me and the dark colored building.

My plan for today is to send reminders to my contacts at those places in which I have submitted job applications. Well, I mean, I will still keep checking the job sites, and I will cruise back by AMEX and BCBSAZ, too, since they are my strongest contacts.

How am I feeling today? A whole lot better. As I write this, I am not coughing at all and I have not taken anything since last night at 7pm. I am thinking I can go to Chorale practice, but maybe not sing.

One thing that I remembered today is how I felt last time I was unemployed. I don't really enjoy the time because I feel guilty if I am not spending enough time just looking for a job. I am feeling that same way again. I don't even know how to avoid it. So, today, I will take some time to work on a photo book of this year's vacation. My goal is to choose which photos are the best candidates.

And since I do not have Visio on any home machines, I have not done any Clarity of Vision cartoons since my layoff. I may need to rethink how to do them. Then again, I have not felt very inspired since then. We'll see what happens.

I just saw an ad for the new 007 movie, Skyfall. It looks pretty good. Any movies you want to see? Hey, #NZGirl, how quickly do US movies make it down there?

You've been kind to read all of this. We'll visit again soon. I promise.

TWI

I am typing while intoxicated. My coughing started acting up last night right at bedtime. Don't you hate that? Finally, around midnight, I decided to take something so I (more importantly, my lovely wife) could sleep. I decided on Nyquil so it would knock me out. Well, it worked and because I took it so late, I am still feeling the effects.

We have a forecast high for 92˚ today, which makes me long for those cool days up in Ouray a few weeks ago. Here is a shot from one morning during a nice gentle rain.

Thanks for your prayers yesterday. I made it through my Sunday School lesson with a minimum of coughing. Oh, while I am thinking of it, I checked what range my voice is during this cold/allergy/whatever and I can go down to a low F right now. Normally, C or maybe B is my lowest note. Anyway, I did use my recent layoff as fodder for the classroom discussion and suddenly, we took a detour into supportive discussion and God's guidance in my life. Overall, though, I used the example of how the lesson (Neh 10, remember?) kept chiseling away at my gray areas of life. For example, one of the discussion questions was "When in your life have difficult circumstances motivated you to recommit yourself to the Lord?" Another that I added was "would or could you give up your annual salary every seventh year to show that you truly trust God to support you?" Anyway, it was a good morning.

I am better (at least this morning), but not yet over this. I may end up finding a doctor tomorrow if it is not significantly better by this evening. The girls did not get to spend the night Saturday night because of it. I will see them this coming weekend, though, so that will be fun.

Linkedin.com offered a deal of one free month of Job Seeker advanced membership, so I grabbed that. I was looking last night and see at least one more job at CVS/Caremark that looks interesting, so I will apply once I finish this. I have already applied for another job at CVS and do have a former coworker there, so I will let her know that I applied. It cannot hurt, right?

OK, I have monopolized your time enough for today. Thanks for sitting a spell.

Sick of What?

It seems my lovely wife and I are not feeling lovely right now. I have a serious cough, sore throat, and almost no voice. And she has a stomach problem but could not stay home because the school already has six teachers out today for a conference, so there are no substitute teachers available. Does that mean we cannot keep the GRANDS tomorrow night? Maybe. Does it mean I cannot teach Sunday? Like Kathie today, there are no substitutes ready, so I am sure I will teach. Does it mean we cannot keep the nursery during church? Most likely. We don't want to get anyone sick. Does it mean I cannot sing in the Chorale concert Sunday night? Also fairly likely. We had hoped to catch a movie tomorrow morning. Right now, not likely. AND my doc has not returned my call, so I guess I won't get in this week.

I was thinking to swing by and see the folks today. However, since we don't want to get anyone sick, I think I will not.

Did you remember that I told you that Preacher Bro and Preacher Wife met us in Ouray this year? Each of us took about 750 photos during the week. Here is one of mine capturing him capturing one of his. You can see one of the myriad creeks/rivers falling over rocks behind him. And you can see the beautiful gold mixed in with evergreens all around.

LWW, I did travel to Malaysia many times in the 80s and 90s. I used to stay in Kuala Lumpur, but the plant was in Seremban (SE of KL). I have also been to Melaka, Port Dickson, Singapore, and Langkawi. I attended church with a friend there at least once, but I cannot remember the name of the church. Susheila, if you still read this, remind me where we went.

OK, it is finally time for the profiterole story. When Kim and I traveled to Scotland, we always stayed at the Crutherland House. So, we got to know the staff fairly well. And one of the things that they knew we both liked was profiteroles for dessert (after EVERY meal...even breakfast, I think). Anyway, when we would go out exploring on weekends, they would even leave a bowl of profiteroles and some cream (yes, whole cream) in our rooms if we were away during normal mealtime.

So, one time, the maitre d' decided he would pull one over on us. He brought a huge bowl of profiteroles to our table (apparently their entire night's supply) and had a great laugh at our expense. And it truly was funny since we knew him and the servers. However, when he walked away, I thought of a way to turn the tables. I snuck into the kitchen and asked the cook for another bowl of the same type, but smear it with chocolate and a splash of cream so it looks as if we ate the whole bowl. I also gave them back the original bowl. When the maitre d' returned, he was shocked that we had eaten all of the desserts. We laughed boisterously, as did the kitchen staff now in on the joke. As you might imagine, the maitre d' (I cannot remember his name, so I keep using his title) was embarrassed at his own gullibility and our guile and did not joke with us for several days.

When I met recently with Kim, we remembered this story together. We remembered a time when we were up at the Loch Ness (no monster), drove into Inverness looking for a place to eat, did not find anything, and drove (sped) three hours down to the Crutherland and had our usual meals there, including profiteroles.

Whew. I ended up with a whole lot of words for you today. Sorry. I know you are hoping I get well quickly just so I will not spend so much time sharing, huh? OK, have a great weekend. Do NOT get sick, OK?

All Saints' Day Means Halloween is Over

I heard back from my friend at Blue Cross Blue Shield and found the link to apply for the Supervisor job. So, I did apply for that yesterday. I have not heard back from any of the positions for which I have already applied. I searched this morning and see a PM job at ASU. That would be good because I could work towards my Masters. It may not pay as well as a private company, though. Still, I pray that God will lead me to where I should be right now.

As I find interesting concepts about photography styles, I will share them with you. For today, I recently saw an article about making a photo have the Orton Effect. So, here is a shot of my better half in Telluride tweaked to use this effect.

I found some links giving me info about Nehemiah 10, including some sermons. This John MacArthur study guide has some questions in it, and last time, I did not make it through all of those, so I think my primary goal for today is to gather those answers. Example: What circumstances motivated the Israelites to make and sign a written agreement?

A few months ago, I replaced the action on the guest bath toilet with one of those two-button affairs so you use less water on liquid waste than solid. However, the buttons are a bit difficult to press, and even more so for the GRANDS, so I will put a standard lever flush back on it. Maybe today. I said maybe.

Speaking of GRANDS, Lyndsay put a photo of them up on Facebook yesterday. They looked so cute. No, we close our door, turn out the porch light and do not give out candy or anything. In fact, during prime time, we were at the folks' for Survivor Night. Yes, the folks' do give out candy, at least until later when the bigger kids start their trick-or-treating. Here are the GRANDS in full regalia (as downloaded from Facebook).

Cinderella and Merida

And a monkey.

Before we end this, let me tell you a story. A number of years ago, Dad carried much of the family on a cross-country trip. We drove up to Yellowstone, across to Mt. Rushmore, down to Sioux Falls, and back home. It was a great trip with some 20 of us. Anyway, while we were at Yellowstone (some 1000 miles form home), we were walking between geysers and I heard a voice that sounded a lot like Kim, a guy I used to travel to the UK with. Sure enough, I went back and it was Kim. He is about 6'5" and I didn't even see him, but I recognized his distinctive voice.

This blog post is long enough already, so the profiterole story gets slipped one more day. Plus, maybe that will help build suspense. However, as you saw from the above story, even at their best, they are just not that exciting.

Did you vote yet? If you have a ballot already, better get it in the mail by tomorrow morning so it will count. Come on, sluggards.

Thanks for reading. I'll be back tomorrow to share whatever comes to mind. Hey, comments are always welcome.