I don't know if most people out there know it, but for those of us who work weekends, or non traditional hours, the 2 days in a row off is the exception not the rule. Many of the 9 to 5'ers might think, well you just get your two days off in the middle of the week, but that's not the case, for the most part we get a day here and a day there.. I know that's the trade off for the kind of work that I do, and for not having to be somewhere from 9 to 5 every week day, but it wears on you, it grinds you down, and when you land on that magical 2 days off, at least for me, it's as if my body had been completely drained of all energy and with no desire to do much beyond sleep, stare at the wall and surf the net.... and that is my justification for doing next to nothing today... and for feeling like a slacker on the job hunt front... That said I have applied for one job today, and looked at the University of Michigan job site. There were not any new positions that grabbed my attention today, at least not for me.
I checked out the pulm market site, and was not advanced for any of the positions that I was interested in. It's a quandary, there are jobs that I know that I can do, and I have worked retail before (not that I want to spend the rest of my life working retail), but I have never held the position title that they are looking for. I don't want to lie and misrepresent my work history, but their on line system will not let apply for the jobs.
Ok, this is going to be a quick post all around, my goal is to do about 10 a month, and I think I have hit that for January.
On the Road... you know there is some big fest think going on in New Orleans... and I think I might be interested in checking it out..
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Thursday, January 24, 2008
It's a going!
This past week has been pretty light on the job hunt, mostly because I have been working on a application for the Ann Arbor District Library. The question becomes why would I want to work there? Well several reasons, some of them that might seem a little dumb. First I dig the Library it's a big building filled with book, and now they even have dvds and music that you can check out. It's a place where people can gather and where there are community events. The AADL has several branches, 3 of which are fairly close to where I live, and the main branch is with in walking/biking distance (when the weather permits). I have come to see the library as a community recourse, with it's media collections, it's internet access, the library book sales and it's programs, and really I would like to be part of that system and team..... then there is the pay and the whole full time employment with benefits thing as well. I think that's enough about that, I don't want to jinx it...
On the Road. Honestly I would think that the trip though the south at this time of the year would be the lest exciting and eventful for me. Partly because I am chomping at the bit for spring and summer when I could revisit places in the north and northwest that I have been to before. When I last posted I noted that I would be headed west along the gulf coast toward Texas. I hope at this point that I would have just wandered to Mobile, AL and seen the sights. I don't really have a clue what is there, but I would just want to take a look. One place that I would like to check out is Battleship Memorial Park (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battleship_Memorial_Park) as I like that WWII stuff. I think it's that I see the Second World War as a time where things were mostly on track. I a lot of ways it was the coming together of people in the USA, and it helped lead the way to the world we live in with not only the bad stuff, but also the good.
Gotta run, more later.
On the Road. Honestly I would think that the trip though the south at this time of the year would be the lest exciting and eventful for me. Partly because I am chomping at the bit for spring and summer when I could revisit places in the north and northwest that I have been to before. When I last posted I noted that I would be headed west along the gulf coast toward Texas. I hope at this point that I would have just wandered to Mobile, AL and seen the sights. I don't really have a clue what is there, but I would just want to take a look. One place that I would like to check out is Battleship Memorial Park (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battleship_Memorial_Park) as I like that WWII stuff. I think it's that I see the Second World War as a time where things were mostly on track. I a lot of ways it was the coming together of people in the USA, and it helped lead the way to the world we live in with not only the bad stuff, but also the good.
Gotta run, more later.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
More Limbo, Sins of the past, Get me out of here!
I have not forgotten about this blog, I have just been busy. I am still looking for work, only not as actively as I was a couple of weeks ago. Part of the slow down has been dealing with the University of Michigan HR issues.... which I did get some movement on this week. I don't know that I really want to get into all the in's and out's in such an open forum, but I do have some thoughts about having been tagged as 'do not rehire' in a system.
First of all, if that is going to be the case, the employee needs to be told so that they don't come back thinking all is well and that they could be rehired. Now if you get fired from some place, that's a pretty strong message that you are not welcome, but if you leave by your own choice, when you are on your way out, you should have an exit interview and you should be informed at that time that at this time you are not considered a viable rehire. It doesn't have to be a big deal, after all you have left on your own.
The other issue is for how long do you consider someone a 'Do Not Rehire'? The basic nature of life is that people change, their skills change and become refined. The example I have been using when talking to people is let's say that you have a 23 or 24 year old, just out of school, and they are on their own for the first time. They have a tendency to show up a little late often, they don't know how to ask for help, or to get along with the other workers, and after a while they self select their way out of the job, move on and everyone is happy that they are leaving..... and then several years later they return looking for work. In the years since they have left, thing have changed, they have become more responsible, they have settled down, and for the last several years they have had a solid work record of showing up on time and having positive interactions with their co-workers... do you give them a chance? How about just a chance to interview? Also let's say they have gone back to school, they have a new set of skills or experiences do you let them apply for those jobs?
These all seem like questions that I would have, and what I was told by the HR rep, were things that I would have to address in a job interview... which is good advice because a couple of hours before I talked to her, I did apply for a position in my old department, doing what I had done at the end of the 1990's.
When I last left off with my daydream Year on the Road trip, I was in South Carolina. It's a state that has been in the news a lot this week because of the primary that are looming. I have been a tourist in places where elections are about to be held, it was in Sweden of course, and I didn't mind it to much... but I really don't think that I would want to be in South Carolina for this political season, at least not for to long. I think at this point I would start to head west.... but first I would kind of retrace my steps and head to Tallahasee, and from there head west along the coast of the gulf towards Texas. I don't have any places along the way that I would want to see, visit or stop for, and I think I would just take a look at what I saw signs for and what caught my eye.
First of all, if that is going to be the case, the employee needs to be told so that they don't come back thinking all is well and that they could be rehired. Now if you get fired from some place, that's a pretty strong message that you are not welcome, but if you leave by your own choice, when you are on your way out, you should have an exit interview and you should be informed at that time that at this time you are not considered a viable rehire. It doesn't have to be a big deal, after all you have left on your own.
The other issue is for how long do you consider someone a 'Do Not Rehire'? The basic nature of life is that people change, their skills change and become refined. The example I have been using when talking to people is let's say that you have a 23 or 24 year old, just out of school, and they are on their own for the first time. They have a tendency to show up a little late often, they don't know how to ask for help, or to get along with the other workers, and after a while they self select their way out of the job, move on and everyone is happy that they are leaving..... and then several years later they return looking for work. In the years since they have left, thing have changed, they have become more responsible, they have settled down, and for the last several years they have had a solid work record of showing up on time and having positive interactions with their co-workers... do you give them a chance? How about just a chance to interview? Also let's say they have gone back to school, they have a new set of skills or experiences do you let them apply for those jobs?
These all seem like questions that I would have, and what I was told by the HR rep, were things that I would have to address in a job interview... which is good advice because a couple of hours before I talked to her, I did apply for a position in my old department, doing what I had done at the end of the 1990's.
When I last left off with my daydream Year on the Road trip, I was in South Carolina. It's a state that has been in the news a lot this week because of the primary that are looming. I have been a tourist in places where elections are about to be held, it was in Sweden of course, and I didn't mind it to much... but I really don't think that I would want to be in South Carolina for this political season, at least not for to long. I think at this point I would start to head west.... but first I would kind of retrace my steps and head to Tallahasee, and from there head west along the coast of the gulf towards Texas. I don't have any places along the way that I would want to see, visit or stop for, and I think I would just take a look at what I saw signs for and what caught my eye.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Work and Politics
Today was the primary in Michigan.... no I didn't go out and vote. There is a simple reason and it's that because of the state having moved their primary up the Democratic Party isn't going to seat the Michigan Delegates, and the Republicans are only going to have half of their delegates seated... the whole point of moving the primary was to focus attention on Michigan and our Economic problems... this includes the dire job situation in here... There is a lot of talk about bringing manufacturing jobs back to the state, and really I just don't see it. What we need to focus on is bringing High Tech jobs here and educating the people of Michigan to fill those jobs. If we are going to invest in manufacturing it needs to be more than just the auto industry. To me the auto industry's biggest failing has been in being the auto industry and not the transportation industry. The facts are these, people need to get around, and with the cost of gas, the movements towards greener living and towards healthier living that that there are other ways to get around, and we need to seriously look at them. Trains, trams, bike lanes, sidewalks, better mass transit all over would not only leave us a richer, healthier and in someways a happier nation, investment in these things would also provide jobs. Not only in the manufacturing of the products needed to create a mass transit culture, but the services that would go along with it...... if only more people would think more of the community than of their wants and needs... at any rate, I hear all the talk about bringing manufacturing back to the state, and honestly? i don't see it. It's as if Michigan is a boyfriend who has been dumped and can't move on, it's time to let go, it's time to find someone else and it's time start over.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Job Hunt Limbo
It's a monday morning and I feel like I am in limbo in this job search. Really living in Ann Arbor, the best game in town is working at the University of Michigan ... and as I wrote last week I am flagged as 'Do Not Rehire' at the moment. IKEA (my former employer) is a total no-go as well, I have applied for I don't know how many jobs there and am could not even getting the courtesy of a 'we are not interested' response when I was still an employee.... this of course goes against the HR policy as stated in their Co-worker handbook... and now I still get nothing. I did not get the paper yesterday, so I didn't look and see if there was anything of interest there. I have given a quick look at the on line job sources and am not seeing much of note.... maybe I should have gotten a education in the computing field as that seems to have a lot of openings.
The other part of my limbo is that I am working, in fact I have 6 hours today at one of my jobs, but it's not the kind of work that is anything more than filling slots in the schedule and the pay is helping to keep me afloat, but right now I am coming close, but just missing my target earnings for each week.
Ok, onto the fun part of this blog. On the Road, I last left off with the idea of being in Atlanta, and honestly, just as I feel a little bit in limbo about the job hunt, I also feel a bit in limbo about where to go from Atlanta. I figure that after a weekend, I would be ready to wander on down the road. .. I think that Charleston [http://www.charleston.com] would be a solid next stop. I would like to visit Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum [http://www.patriotspoint.org] and to see Fort Sumter [http://www.spiritlinecruises.com/sumter_overview.asp] which was the starting place of the US Civil War.
more later
The other part of my limbo is that I am working, in fact I have 6 hours today at one of my jobs, but it's not the kind of work that is anything more than filling slots in the schedule and the pay is helping to keep me afloat, but right now I am coming close, but just missing my target earnings for each week.
Ok, onto the fun part of this blog. On the Road, I last left off with the idea of being in Atlanta, and honestly, just as I feel a little bit in limbo about the job hunt, I also feel a bit in limbo about where to go from Atlanta. I figure that after a weekend, I would be ready to wander on down the road. .. I think that Charleston [http://www.charleston.com] would be a solid next stop. I would like to visit Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum [http://www.patriotspoint.org] and to see Fort Sumter [http://www.spiritlinecruises.com/sumter_overview.asp] which was the starting place of the US Civil War.
more later
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Hanging On
Start Rant mode!
PDFs, the Internet and job apps/ required forms... really why do companies want you to print out a PDF and fill it out? Would it not be easier to simply have some sort of on line form that you can fill out, and they can print? Or not print? Something that will save them a tree? Now I realize that there is an entrenched culture of the pen and paper application, but isn't it time to enter the information age? I do know that there are plenty of places out there that have on line application systems, and take that information as their first point of contact with perspective employees... and many of these also require you to fill out a paper app once you have been hired, as if my writing my address, and the name of my last boss by hand is anymore valid then having it PRINTED out and letting me sign that document.
I guess my real problem in that I am insecure about my penmanship, the fact that I have trouble spelling sometimes, and when I am nervously filling out a job application it’s especially bad. I also hate the fact that the space that is often given for entering the information is too small for that information. Even things like phone numbers often aren’t given enough space, and if the last company or organization is long, well then that can be a problem as well… think about this, you don’t want to use an acronym (because that’s not professional) but imagine that you have to write something The University of Mississippi Department of Human Resources in a little box. Sure the idea of writing U of Miss. Dept of HR might cross your mind, and I am pretty sure that the person reviewing the application is going to understand what you are saying, but you loose point for not writing out the whole name.
This leads me to another issue, companies and organization ask for you to submit a resume, which is intended to give them an over view of your work history, but then you fill out the application it often times says flatly that writing see Resume isn’t acceptable. Or worse yet that you are not to attach a resume at all. Why not, I know that the resume is not a complete document of all the information that the employer desires or wants to have on hand, but it’s a good starting place. If it’s done right is has at least your current contact information and the names of the employers that you have worked for in the past and the names of the schools that you have attended.
So what is the solution? Other than the already mentioned on line application that would be printed out by HR and you would simply review it and then SIGN that printed document, I think that a generic form asking for all the information that a employer would want that you can bring with you and sign would be ideal. There could even be a space where company specific information could be added.
OK end rant.
So my job search as been moving along slowly I finally got around to setting up the pre employment screening for the University of Michigan only to be told that the status from my previous employment at the university (which ended when the temp job ended in 2002) is set as Do Not Rehire. I have no idea why this is my status as when I left the university I was told by the director of the department that I was welcome any time, when my former bosses all had positive things to say about my employment and two of them even agreed to be listed as my references for future employment. I need to get to the bottom of this, and find out what happened and if there is anyway that I can get it fix. I wonder if this is why I haven’t gotten positive responses (or in some cases any responses) from the jobs that I have applied for at the University in the last couple of months?
This leads to my next thought, how long do you hold a negative experience against someone when it comes to employment? People grow up and change as time goes on, but at what point do you forgive a mistake? Is it the level or severity of the mistake that you look at? Is it a change in personality or behavior over time? I don’t know, I am just asking at this point.
Ok. Now for the fun part.
One the Road, when I last left off I was thinking that I would be visiting Atlanta about this time, looking forward to the weekend in town. I have been to Atlanta before; I was there for the 1996 Olympic games, which was my internship for my degree. I was there when things were crazy and there were a lot of visitors in town, so maybe I didn’t get the whole experience of Atlanta. This time around I would love to revisit the Little 5 points, check out Wuxtry Records (http://www.wuxtryrecords.com) and poke around (I think I went there in ’96) ride the Marta, eat at Johnny Rockets which I know is a chain, but the first time I visited one was in Atlanta. I am sure that I could spend a couple of days in the city, drinking coffee, wandering though the college areas and prowling the record and bookshops. At some point I would have to wander down to Centennial Olympic Park and take a look at it again.
I think that would hold me until Sunday, when it would be time to wander on.
Another thing that I would want to have along with me for a trip like this would be a Mac book laptop. A easy to use and dependable, Wi Fi enabled book to use for posting on this blog, to send e-mails, keep track of the trip, and news… but may be most importantly help with the tunes on the trip. When I travel I like to listen to NPR as much as I can, but there are times when what I carve is music. For a trip like this one the idea of having a new and clean Mac book with iTunes and a iPod (that can dock with the car) to carry that music would be great. I would of course start out with a library of my music (all legal of course, ripped from MY CDs, or downloaded legally from the net); there would also be pod casts for the listening.
Currently I do keep a music blog over at mog.com/iren (hint hint plug plug) and one of the features that I write every month is a overview of the tunes that have caught my ear over the past month. Being on the road would give me the chance to, not only keep track of that project but also to report on the regional and local scenes and bands that I could run across.
PDFs, the Internet and job apps/ required forms... really why do companies want you to print out a PDF and fill it out? Would it not be easier to simply have some sort of on line form that you can fill out, and they can print? Or not print? Something that will save them a tree? Now I realize that there is an entrenched culture of the pen and paper application, but isn't it time to enter the information age? I do know that there are plenty of places out there that have on line application systems, and take that information as their first point of contact with perspective employees... and many of these also require you to fill out a paper app once you have been hired, as if my writing my address, and the name of my last boss by hand is anymore valid then having it PRINTED out and letting me sign that document.
I guess my real problem in that I am insecure about my penmanship, the fact that I have trouble spelling sometimes, and when I am nervously filling out a job application it’s especially bad. I also hate the fact that the space that is often given for entering the information is too small for that information. Even things like phone numbers often aren’t given enough space, and if the last company or organization is long, well then that can be a problem as well… think about this, you don’t want to use an acronym (because that’s not professional) but imagine that you have to write something The University of Mississippi Department of Human Resources in a little box. Sure the idea of writing U of Miss. Dept of HR might cross your mind, and I am pretty sure that the person reviewing the application is going to understand what you are saying, but you loose point for not writing out the whole name.
This leads me to another issue, companies and organization ask for you to submit a resume, which is intended to give them an over view of your work history, but then you fill out the application it often times says flatly that writing see Resume isn’t acceptable. Or worse yet that you are not to attach a resume at all. Why not, I know that the resume is not a complete document of all the information that the employer desires or wants to have on hand, but it’s a good starting place. If it’s done right is has at least your current contact information and the names of the employers that you have worked for in the past and the names of the schools that you have attended.
So what is the solution? Other than the already mentioned on line application that would be printed out by HR and you would simply review it and then SIGN that printed document, I think that a generic form asking for all the information that a employer would want that you can bring with you and sign would be ideal. There could even be a space where company specific information could be added.
OK end rant.
So my job search as been moving along slowly I finally got around to setting up the pre employment screening for the University of Michigan only to be told that the status from my previous employment at the university (which ended when the temp job ended in 2002) is set as Do Not Rehire. I have no idea why this is my status as when I left the university I was told by the director of the department that I was welcome any time, when my former bosses all had positive things to say about my employment and two of them even agreed to be listed as my references for future employment. I need to get to the bottom of this, and find out what happened and if there is anyway that I can get it fix. I wonder if this is why I haven’t gotten positive responses (or in some cases any responses) from the jobs that I have applied for at the University in the last couple of months?
This leads to my next thought, how long do you hold a negative experience against someone when it comes to employment? People grow up and change as time goes on, but at what point do you forgive a mistake? Is it the level or severity of the mistake that you look at? Is it a change in personality or behavior over time? I don’t know, I am just asking at this point.
Ok. Now for the fun part.
One the Road, when I last left off I was thinking that I would be visiting Atlanta about this time, looking forward to the weekend in town. I have been to Atlanta before; I was there for the 1996 Olympic games, which was my internship for my degree. I was there when things were crazy and there were a lot of visitors in town, so maybe I didn’t get the whole experience of Atlanta. This time around I would love to revisit the Little 5 points, check out Wuxtry Records (http://www.wuxtryrecords.com) and poke around (I think I went there in ’96) ride the Marta, eat at Johnny Rockets which I know is a chain, but the first time I visited one was in Atlanta. I am sure that I could spend a couple of days in the city, drinking coffee, wandering though the college areas and prowling the record and bookshops. At some point I would have to wander down to Centennial Olympic Park and take a look at it again.
I think that would hold me until Sunday, when it would be time to wander on.
Another thing that I would want to have along with me for a trip like this would be a Mac book laptop. A easy to use and dependable, Wi Fi enabled book to use for posting on this blog, to send e-mails, keep track of the trip, and news… but may be most importantly help with the tunes on the trip. When I travel I like to listen to NPR as much as I can, but there are times when what I carve is music. For a trip like this one the idea of having a new and clean Mac book with iTunes and a iPod (that can dock with the car) to carry that music would be great. I would of course start out with a library of my music (all legal of course, ripped from MY CDs, or downloaded legally from the net); there would also be pod casts for the listening.
Currently I do keep a music blog over at mog.com/iren (hint hint plug plug) and one of the features that I write every month is a overview of the tunes that have caught my ear over the past month. Being on the road would give me the chance to, not only keep track of that project but also to report on the regional and local scenes and bands that I could run across.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Middle of the week... slump
I am still here, still thinking and wondering about this blog. I don't know if I have stated that I don't intend to post here everyday, but I felt like I needed to post something during this week.
The job hunt, has been on the back burner the last couple of days, mainly because I have been at work. I know that might sound strange, someone looking for work who doesn't have the time because they are at work, but it's true. I have a pair of gigs where I can pick hours here and there. These are the jobs that have kept me afloat the last couple of months. Anyway, I am still looking...
One thing that I do want to take a moment to talk about is the number of jobs I see posted in the area that have been open for months and months. What is going on here? Do the powers that be really want to fill these jobs? Are there not a lot of people out of work and looking? Now I know that some jobs that have very specific skills that are required, but plenty of the jobs that I am seeing and talking about are not jobs that require a masters degree or specialized training... so I gotta wonder, are the bean counters really just trying to hold the carrot out there while expecting their workers to cover for a job that they are never going to fill?
Ok, I have to run out the door here in a moment, but I left off day dreaming about spending time in Savannah Ga, and I would think that about this time in the week I would wander up towards Atlanta, which would be a great place to spend the weekend. So let's just say that I spent my time at the shore and exploring the coast, and then would spend this afternoon heading up to Atlanta. I will have more to say about Atlanta tomorrow.
The job hunt, has been on the back burner the last couple of days, mainly because I have been at work. I know that might sound strange, someone looking for work who doesn't have the time because they are at work, but it's true. I have a pair of gigs where I can pick hours here and there. These are the jobs that have kept me afloat the last couple of months. Anyway, I am still looking...
One thing that I do want to take a moment to talk about is the number of jobs I see posted in the area that have been open for months and months. What is going on here? Do the powers that be really want to fill these jobs? Are there not a lot of people out of work and looking? Now I know that some jobs that have very specific skills that are required, but plenty of the jobs that I am seeing and talking about are not jobs that require a masters degree or specialized training... so I gotta wonder, are the bean counters really just trying to hold the carrot out there while expecting their workers to cover for a job that they are never going to fill?
Ok, I have to run out the door here in a moment, but I left off day dreaming about spending time in Savannah Ga, and I would think that about this time in the week I would wander up towards Atlanta, which would be a great place to spend the weekend. So let's just say that I spent my time at the shore and exploring the coast, and then would spend this afternoon heading up to Atlanta. I will have more to say about Atlanta tomorrow.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
No titles for young men
I have to admit that I am tired at the moment. It's feels like it's been a long day, a day where I spent 6 hours at my part time job. It was fine, I mostly drove around in the truck and listened to NPR. I'm not going to go into all that much detail about what I do at my jobs, most employers don't like you talking about work and I can't afford to anger anyone.... hell who can?
Anyway I just wanted to let all of you out there know about http://www.indeed.com/ which is stumbled on today. It's a site that finds job postings gathered from other sites.... meaning that you will find links to Monster.com (which in all honesty has been pretty useless to me in my various job hunts over the years), Manpower, Yahoo Hot Jobs along with jobs posted by companies on their own sites... for now It's going to be a regular stop on my job hunt..
Another traditional stop for the job seeker is the Sunday paper classifieds. I did pick up my local rag today, but I really haven't had a chance to sit and look through it. The last couple of times that I have looked the pickings have been very slim, it's Michigan what do you want? I plan to look at it tomorrow... at some point.... ok that's enough for today.
As for my daydream of a year on the road.. sundays are perfect for somethings... eating brunch, reading the paper, drinking coffee, visiting friends, and for traveling from place to place. I think that today would have been perfect for the second stop on my trip, driving from the Jacksonville I think that I would head to Savannah Ga. Now I have never been there, and I have no clue what is there that I want to see (and as I go on with this blog there are places that I have been to that I will write about and where I am going to mention and link to specific places of interest). I am sure that there are local beers to be drunk, and sights to see. Tonight, I would have done everything that I could to find myself in a hotel with HBO so that I could have watched the first episode of season 5 of The Wire... but I don't have HBO so I am going to have to just wait for DVD...
Anyway I just wanted to let all of you out there know about http://www.indeed.com/ which is stumbled on today. It's a site that finds job postings gathered from other sites.... meaning that you will find links to Monster.com (which in all honesty has been pretty useless to me in my various job hunts over the years), Manpower, Yahoo Hot Jobs along with jobs posted by companies on their own sites... for now It's going to be a regular stop on my job hunt..
Another traditional stop for the job seeker is the Sunday paper classifieds. I did pick up my local rag today, but I really haven't had a chance to sit and look through it. The last couple of times that I have looked the pickings have been very slim, it's Michigan what do you want? I plan to look at it tomorrow... at some point.... ok that's enough for today.
As for my daydream of a year on the road.. sundays are perfect for somethings... eating brunch, reading the paper, drinking coffee, visiting friends, and for traveling from place to place. I think that today would have been perfect for the second stop on my trip, driving from the Jacksonville I think that I would head to Savannah Ga. Now I have never been there, and I have no clue what is there that I want to see (and as I go on with this blog there are places that I have been to that I will write about and where I am going to mention and link to specific places of interest). I am sure that there are local beers to be drunk, and sights to see. Tonight, I would have done everything that I could to find myself in a hotel with HBO so that I could have watched the first episode of season 5 of The Wire... but I don't have HBO so I am going to have to just wait for DVD...
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Dreaming is free..
Obviously I enjoy writing, even if I need an editor and someone to push me for second drafts, and honestly, don't tell anyone... I have secretly always thought that my profession was going to be writing.... and in a lot of ways it has been, I have just had to earn my living doing other stuff... anyway, today I want to talk about what some people have called the Ann Arbor Dream Job, working at Allmedia.com. This is the parent company for allmusic, allmovie, and allgames dot com. I would love to be able to got the office every day and sort though movies, music and games that need to be watched, listened to or played and write about them, or assign people to do write about them and then review their writing. Sure I know that it's not that simple, but what a job it would be... and if I could do that, and a make enough money to live and thrive, wow, what else could someone want?
That brings me to the real question why don't I go after that job and that life? the simple answer is that I am a bit afraid of it, that the act of writing is so personal, the act of reviewing and saying if you like or connect with something is so personal that the danger to your innerself is so great that most of us avoid it like the plague. It's also a control issue, that if I write for me I have complete control over what I put out there, I determine when something is done, which rules of grammar I can skip or if I want something to be simple or complex... So here I am, spending my time and energy writing about things that I care about or at least things that I am interested in... for the readers out there, charging nothing, and taking nothing in return..... I will come back to this later.... but now it's time to give a few thoughts to...
Traveling. I wrote last time about traveling south and starting out the year on the road in south east corner of the USA. I wrote before that about the car and a little about the set up I was day dreaming about. The one thing that I didn't talk about is having a traveling companion... I have traveled alone, and I have traveled with family... once with a couple of friends... but mostly with just my brother and sister. That is fine for a while, but what I have really always wanted was a special lady friend to share my travels with. Someone who I can stand to be around, and who can stand to be around me, someone who isn't going to suddenly want me to change and settle down to live what I think of as the GI (standard issue) middle class life (what ever that is these days), is going to be ok with the nomadic impulse to see what is over the next ridge and at the end of the road, and maybe even someone that wants to follow that road as much as I do..... Obviously I have not found that woman yet, but I do keep my eyes open to see if she wanders into my life.
OK enough for today... oh and the link for allmedia guide jobs is http://www.allmediaguide.com/jobs.html
That brings me to the real question why don't I go after that job and that life? the simple answer is that I am a bit afraid of it, that the act of writing is so personal, the act of reviewing and saying if you like or connect with something is so personal that the danger to your innerself is so great that most of us avoid it like the plague. It's also a control issue, that if I write for me I have complete control over what I put out there, I determine when something is done, which rules of grammar I can skip or if I want something to be simple or complex... So here I am, spending my time and energy writing about things that I care about or at least things that I am interested in... for the readers out there, charging nothing, and taking nothing in return..... I will come back to this later.... but now it's time to give a few thoughts to...
Traveling. I wrote last time about traveling south and starting out the year on the road in south east corner of the USA. I wrote before that about the car and a little about the set up I was day dreaming about. The one thing that I didn't talk about is having a traveling companion... I have traveled alone, and I have traveled with family... once with a couple of friends... but mostly with just my brother and sister. That is fine for a while, but what I have really always wanted was a special lady friend to share my travels with. Someone who I can stand to be around, and who can stand to be around me, someone who isn't going to suddenly want me to change and settle down to live what I think of as the GI (standard issue) middle class life (what ever that is these days), is going to be ok with the nomadic impulse to see what is over the next ridge and at the end of the road, and maybe even someone that wants to follow that road as much as I do..... Obviously I have not found that woman yet, but I do keep my eyes open to see if she wanders into my life.
OK enough for today... oh and the link for allmedia guide jobs is http://www.allmediaguide.com/jobs.html
Friday, January 4, 2008
Searching in the wilderness..
In the words of The Kids in the Hall, the only thing worse than having a job is looking for one. I got the pretty much official word yesterday that my last shift for my seasonal job is going to be on Monday... and so it's time to kick the job search into high gear. I still have my part time gig, which pretty much as been a couple of hours a week, and I really want to keep that one that way, a few hours here, a few hours there, it's the kind of job that once I have found full time employment is going to be a nice part time thing to make some extra cash... anyway, cause I live in Michigan (which by all accounts has the worse job market in the country right now) and more specifically I live in Ann Arbor, the best bet for stable employment is the University of Michigan. I have worked for them before and left on good terms. I have kept an eye on their employment website (which you can all find at http://www.umich.edu/employ.php ) and have applied for several jobs there in the last year or so. Why not, the pay is just ok, but the benefits are solid and if you are going to be here in town, why not work for them? At the very least I am going to drop an app with their temp agency, (http://www.hr.umich.edu/temps/) and see if they can find something for me in their system, something that will allow me to get my foot back in the door and let me show the University what I have to offer them.
The other thing that I have done to start my job search is make a list of local places that I would like to explore working. I am starting the way that you would start any search, in slow outward circles from the place where you are standing. In this case, I am using my residence as the starting point. Looking at what is in walking distance from my apartment, what is on the bus line and finally what I can drive to easily. Looking around I see a couple of places that I want to explore. My list looks like this
Plum Market- this is at the top of the list and I have already submitted a resume, they are a upscale grocery store opening a new location on the west side of Ann Arbor, near where I live.
Arbor Farms- A long established heath food store also on the west side of Ann Arbor
Kroger
K Mart
Hollywood Video
Blockbuster video
Staples
Bank of Ann Arbor
all have locations in the walking distance...
Speaking of distance, the other part of this blog is to be focused on travel and the places that I want to see or revisit. When I started The Restless Kind blog I was thinking that it was going to be part of a series of blogs each dedicated to a different interest, the first about the job search, and then the second about travel and the third to catch all the other stuff... anyway, one of the things that I had been daydreaming about was spending a year on the road. I was thinking of what would it be like if I could get a free: car, hotels, food, gas, and benefits to spend a year on the road, traveling the country seeing the sites, visiting places, meeting people and checking in with people and places. In this day dream I would have kept a travel blog letting people know about cool places and sites, about events and encounters... but alas, I really have no idea where to start with a project like that, at least not in the physical world, but here in cyberblog land I can daydream and share everything and anything that I would like with pictures and words.
So if I was setting out to start a year on the road, I think that I would liked to have gotten all the last minute arrangements set up, gotten a doctor check up, checked in with my dentist (The best I have ever visited is Quinn Dental 3930 Cedar Grove Pkwy Saint Paul, MN 55122 (651) 452-9660 by the way), taken the car/truck in for a check up/oil change and all of that, and generally spent this week looking over all of the arrangements for my first couple of weeks on the road.
In terms of a car, I would love to have a solid mid sized 4 door, something with good gas mileage, something that is low key, I am thinking a Crown Vic. Of course in my daydream part of the way to get the free car is to use it for advertising, so there would have to be some kind of logos, or website info on the car. I would want it to be tasteful, you know something with the address of this blog on it, and maybe bumper stickers from the companies that provide tires or gas for the car... all of which would of course have sponsor links from this blog. A toyota CRV would also be a potential choice, as the one that I drove at a previous job I thought was pretty nice.
So with everything read to go, everything set up, I would plan the first part of the trip, and this being winter I think that I would head south to start. The temptation for would to be just start south and keep going until I hit someplace kind of warm. Now I am not a huge fan of the heat, and part of my desire to see the south in the winter is more to avoid the summer heat rather than avoid the winter cold. So the destinations to the south that I would most like to see at this point are in the Carolinas and Georgia. I think that starting out by visiting my cousin on the border of Florida and Georgia visiting my cousin and her family, and from there working my way north along the cost.
I think that Jacksonville, FL would be a natural starting point. Maybe checking out the Coast where Florida and Georgia meet. To be honest I haven't been all that impressed with what I saw of Florida, most of which was more tourist and retirement areas of the state. I wonder if it would be different though the eyes of my 35 year old self rather than as a teenager (which was when I last made a visit to Florida).
Is should say a few words at this point about what I look for in a visit to anyplace, Coffee, Beer, Music, Food, Historical Places and museum, are all on the list... but I don't always check all of those out. I also like to check out the local grocery stores, just to see how different they can be, and also to see how they can be the same. I also like to find locals to show me around or point me in the right direction as much as possible.
Starting the trip out this way, a long haul drive south, would also serve as a first run with everything to make sure that the car works out right, to make sure that what ever system or arrangements that have been made were going to work out. By not venturing all that far from the east coast corridor I think that I would be able to work out any of the kinks in my plans. Speaking of plans, at this point I think I would have two choices facing me, go north (which was my first impulse) or go west.... I guess I need a couple of days to think about where I would go next..
The other thing that I have done to start my job search is make a list of local places that I would like to explore working. I am starting the way that you would start any search, in slow outward circles from the place where you are standing. In this case, I am using my residence as the starting point. Looking at what is in walking distance from my apartment, what is on the bus line and finally what I can drive to easily. Looking around I see a couple of places that I want to explore. My list looks like this
Plum Market- this is at the top of the list and I have already submitted a resume, they are a upscale grocery store opening a new location on the west side of Ann Arbor, near where I live.
Arbor Farms- A long established heath food store also on the west side of Ann Arbor
Kroger
K Mart
Hollywood Video
Blockbuster video
Staples
Bank of Ann Arbor
all have locations in the walking distance...
Speaking of distance, the other part of this blog is to be focused on travel and the places that I want to see or revisit. When I started The Restless Kind blog I was thinking that it was going to be part of a series of blogs each dedicated to a different interest, the first about the job search, and then the second about travel and the third to catch all the other stuff... anyway, one of the things that I had been daydreaming about was spending a year on the road. I was thinking of what would it be like if I could get a free: car, hotels, food, gas, and benefits to spend a year on the road, traveling the country seeing the sites, visiting places, meeting people and checking in with people and places. In this day dream I would have kept a travel blog letting people know about cool places and sites, about events and encounters... but alas, I really have no idea where to start with a project like that, at least not in the physical world, but here in cyberblog land I can daydream and share everything and anything that I would like with pictures and words.
So if I was setting out to start a year on the road, I think that I would liked to have gotten all the last minute arrangements set up, gotten a doctor check up, checked in with my dentist (The best I have ever visited is Quinn Dental 3930 Cedar Grove Pkwy Saint Paul, MN 55122 (651) 452-9660 by the way), taken the car/truck in for a check up/oil change and all of that, and generally spent this week looking over all of the arrangements for my first couple of weeks on the road.
In terms of a car, I would love to have a solid mid sized 4 door, something with good gas mileage, something that is low key, I am thinking a Crown Vic. Of course in my daydream part of the way to get the free car is to use it for advertising, so there would have to be some kind of logos, or website info on the car. I would want it to be tasteful, you know something with the address of this blog on it, and maybe bumper stickers from the companies that provide tires or gas for the car... all of which would of course have sponsor links from this blog. A toyota CRV would also be a potential choice, as the one that I drove at a previous job I thought was pretty nice.
So with everything read to go, everything set up, I would plan the first part of the trip, and this being winter I think that I would head south to start. The temptation for would to be just start south and keep going until I hit someplace kind of warm. Now I am not a huge fan of the heat, and part of my desire to see the south in the winter is more to avoid the summer heat rather than avoid the winter cold. So the destinations to the south that I would most like to see at this point are in the Carolinas and Georgia. I think that starting out by visiting my cousin on the border of Florida and Georgia visiting my cousin and her family, and from there working my way north along the cost.
I think that Jacksonville, FL would be a natural starting point. Maybe checking out the Coast where Florida and Georgia meet. To be honest I haven't been all that impressed with what I saw of Florida, most of which was more tourist and retirement areas of the state. I wonder if it would be different though the eyes of my 35 year old self rather than as a teenager (which was when I last made a visit to Florida).
Is should say a few words at this point about what I look for in a visit to anyplace, Coffee, Beer, Music, Food, Historical Places and museum, are all on the list... but I don't always check all of those out. I also like to check out the local grocery stores, just to see how different they can be, and also to see how they can be the same. I also like to find locals to show me around or point me in the right direction as much as possible.
Starting the trip out this way, a long haul drive south, would also serve as a first run with everything to make sure that the car works out right, to make sure that what ever system or arrangements that have been made were going to work out. By not venturing all that far from the east coast corridor I think that I would be able to work out any of the kinks in my plans. Speaking of plans, at this point I think I would have two choices facing me, go north (which was my first impulse) or go west.... I guess I need a couple of days to think about where I would go next..
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Work, Pay, Life.
Strangely it's rarely the work that is the big problem with a job. Most people can learn how to process the paper, or give the training. It's not the day to day nuts and bolts that are what drive people crazy it's; The lies, the old boy network, the dealing with the expectations of others, the bosses that want all the credit for your work and insist that you make them look good but don't care about you, the disrespect of the median, and generally the ego driven and high school reflection of the american work place. I have worked several jobs (yes I have had a few) over the years, where what drove me away wasn't the work. I have even had managers who did everything in their power to stop me from growing and moving on tell me over and over that I did a great job.
Several years ago I was working at the University of Michigan, working as a Housing Security officer, I was doing my rounds (as in doing the JOB) and I passed a young couple who where talking and this is the part of their discussion that I heard
Girl: There are poor people in the world and it makes me sad
Boy: That's the way the world works and there isn't anything that we can do about it.
Girl: but it makes me sad
Now this is a young couple at a very large, very liberal, very social transformation agenda, and someone that is feeling, thinking and showing a desire, or at least the first step towards breaking out of the safe-american-home mode, and her boyfriend just shut her down...
That's just the way that it is.... or at least that's what most people will tell you.... but really what gets me going all of the time is the fact that it doesn't have to be this way. Really you know if people were just a little less greedy, a little more thoughtful and a little more willing to be open and put a little more trust in the guy in the cubical next to them, or behind them or what ever the frustration, apathy and unhappiness in many work places could be lessened.
One thing that is on a lot of peoples mind when they think about work is the pay. Let's face it one of the truths of life is the more money you have, the more you can buy your way out of the tribulations and trials of the world, or lessen their impact... really it all comes down to something that one of my high school teachers said in class one day 'The more bread you have, the less shit you have to eat!" Yes I know that's not an original statement on his part, but it was the point when I heard it and it stuck with me. So a few thoughts about pay.
Pay is a tricky and emotional issue. It's very tricky and it's of great importance to everyone. It's how people put a roof over their head, put food on the table and provide clothes and transportation..... not to mention afford the special little (or big things) that make life worth enjoying.... really for me, all I want is enough to keep me off the streets to pay my bills (which I consider to be modest for the most part) and to afford the non essentials that I enjoy. I have no desire for lots and lots of money, if for some reason I started to make or was give a huge pile of money I wouldn't turn it down, but I am not chasing it. I think that most people really just want what they need to cover the basics and to take care of their other needs.
I was at one of my jobs recently (I am just finishing up a seasonal job and have a very part time other job at the moment) and one of the women asked me what I wanted to be doing in 20 years (or something to that effect) and the best that I could come up with is traveling the world. Obviously, if I could find a job that allowed me frequent travel that would be ideal, I think that it would be a good use of my life and time... and that's the last thing that I want to talk about... life. I have lots of insight to life, and what it means, at least for me. What I realize if that it is simply the time that one has and what you do with that time. Do you chase after pleasure, wealth, power, or simply the ability to live in comfort? I have seen a lot of stuff in my 35 years, not all of it good, not all of it bad, and for me, what I search for seems pretty simple, and that's to enjoy the journey. To follow the road and enjoy, engage and live each stop on the way.
I think that's enough for today. Am I making sense? is there something that I left unfinished? Is there anyone out there? Thoughts, comments, wanna cook me dinner, spare change?
Several years ago I was working at the University of Michigan, working as a Housing Security officer, I was doing my rounds (as in doing the JOB) and I passed a young couple who where talking and this is the part of their discussion that I heard
Girl: There are poor people in the world and it makes me sad
Boy: That's the way the world works and there isn't anything that we can do about it.
Girl: but it makes me sad
Now this is a young couple at a very large, very liberal, very social transformation agenda, and someone that is feeling, thinking and showing a desire, or at least the first step towards breaking out of the safe-american-home mode, and her boyfriend just shut her down...
That's just the way that it is.... or at least that's what most people will tell you.... but really what gets me going all of the time is the fact that it doesn't have to be this way. Really you know if people were just a little less greedy, a little more thoughtful and a little more willing to be open and put a little more trust in the guy in the cubical next to them, or behind them or what ever the frustration, apathy and unhappiness in many work places could be lessened.
One thing that is on a lot of peoples mind when they think about work is the pay. Let's face it one of the truths of life is the more money you have, the more you can buy your way out of the tribulations and trials of the world, or lessen their impact... really it all comes down to something that one of my high school teachers said in class one day 'The more bread you have, the less shit you have to eat!" Yes I know that's not an original statement on his part, but it was the point when I heard it and it stuck with me. So a few thoughts about pay.
Pay is a tricky and emotional issue. It's very tricky and it's of great importance to everyone. It's how people put a roof over their head, put food on the table and provide clothes and transportation..... not to mention afford the special little (or big things) that make life worth enjoying.... really for me, all I want is enough to keep me off the streets to pay my bills (which I consider to be modest for the most part) and to afford the non essentials that I enjoy. I have no desire for lots and lots of money, if for some reason I started to make or was give a huge pile of money I wouldn't turn it down, but I am not chasing it. I think that most people really just want what they need to cover the basics and to take care of their other needs.
I was at one of my jobs recently (I am just finishing up a seasonal job and have a very part time other job at the moment) and one of the women asked me what I wanted to be doing in 20 years (or something to that effect) and the best that I could come up with is traveling the world. Obviously, if I could find a job that allowed me frequent travel that would be ideal, I think that it would be a good use of my life and time... and that's the last thing that I want to talk about... life. I have lots of insight to life, and what it means, at least for me. What I realize if that it is simply the time that one has and what you do with that time. Do you chase after pleasure, wealth, power, or simply the ability to live in comfort? I have seen a lot of stuff in my 35 years, not all of it good, not all of it bad, and for me, what I search for seems pretty simple, and that's to enjoy the journey. To follow the road and enjoy, engage and live each stop on the way.
I think that's enough for today. Am I making sense? is there something that I left unfinished? Is there anyone out there? Thoughts, comments, wanna cook me dinner, spare change?
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Intro... intro.. Go!
Welcome to my new Blog... when I say new I do mean my first here on Blog Spot, but not my first on the web. I of course am a bit of a interloper and keep various blogs at various sites. I have the Myspace thing, but that's mainly for keeping track of my friends in Sweden and the Twin Cities (and a few strays) who don't e-mail or what every, I have my mog (www.mog.com/iren) where I write about music, but that's my music place and everything else belongs somewhere else... I have a multiply account and a Garage Punk Hideout page, but none of those really were what I was looking for when I thought of this new project.
What project is that you ask, well The Restless Kind (when I manage to not type The Restless King) is going to be my blog home for 2 main things, recording my job search and my virtual wanderings. I will sometimes post other stuff here as well, mostly reposted stuff from mog (mostly when I want to reach more I-Balls with something). The plan is to post frequently, often and often with our editing..... I want this to be raw, in the moment and reflective of my moods, be they good bad or what ever.
So the two main types of posts as I mentioned are going to be about work and travel. The work stuff is going to help keep track of my job search, first for a job that pays the bills, second for a job that has benefits and lastly for that all too elusive dream job, the one that satisfies my needs not only in terms of pay, but my sense of fulfillment. In the course of these blog posts you can expect rants, observations, a few stories and mostly like a few links to places that I am looking for work. I am sort of hoping that you out there reading this might also find some use in my job posts with info and tools that I am going to write about. The one thing that I know for sure is that it's not going to be a easy haul, and that even if I secure employment that is ok, I will keep on posting about what else I am looking for, my impressions of the american work world and what I see that is right and wrong. The first thing that I have to say about work is that you owe it to your self to go out and rent The Wire season 2...
The other type of posting I intend to have on this blog is about one of my passions, travel. I have the bug, I am a wander, an observer and interloper in this world. I like to see what is over the next hill, I like to walk the grocery stores of the world, you see and learn so much. I like the streets, the coffee shops, checking out the juke boxes and wandering the book stores. Shopping malls, airports, train stations and I like the open road. I have seen parts of this world that I want to visit again, I have been places that I need to check back in on, and for now, in this semi employed state, I just don't have the cash to really venture into the world... so I am going to do so via this blog. This will take the form of me talking about a place, places or path between places that I want to visit or revisit. There will be links to cities, states, countries websites or wiki pages. I will mention things, places and establishments that I would like to visit and revisit..... you get the idea.. and I will flesh some things as I go along...
For now I think I will start with a few parting thoughts and words for you all...
My name is Eric, I currently live in Ann Arbor Michigan, I am looking for work, I like to travel (mostly in Northern Europe, The Great Lake States and the Pacific Northwest), I am a Rockfiend (as in Rock'n'Roll addict... but I'm not limited to Rock'n'Roll), I and a movie buff, I like good beer, good bread, fresh fruit, pastries, reading, writing, riding my bicycle and spending time with people. Too Much Coffeeman says Addiction is Unavoidable, Choose yours wisely.... I would say that my addiction is Information, and I long to share that information.
Lastly, I want this blog to be readable, I am not a grammar freak, and I can't seem to remember half the rules that they tried to get me to, so sorry if I drive you crazy at all with my writing.... enjoy.
What project is that you ask, well The Restless Kind (when I manage to not type The Restless King) is going to be my blog home for 2 main things, recording my job search and my virtual wanderings. I will sometimes post other stuff here as well, mostly reposted stuff from mog (mostly when I want to reach more I-Balls with something). The plan is to post frequently, often and often with our editing..... I want this to be raw, in the moment and reflective of my moods, be they good bad or what ever.
So the two main types of posts as I mentioned are going to be about work and travel. The work stuff is going to help keep track of my job search, first for a job that pays the bills, second for a job that has benefits and lastly for that all too elusive dream job, the one that satisfies my needs not only in terms of pay, but my sense of fulfillment. In the course of these blog posts you can expect rants, observations, a few stories and mostly like a few links to places that I am looking for work. I am sort of hoping that you out there reading this might also find some use in my job posts with info and tools that I am going to write about. The one thing that I know for sure is that it's not going to be a easy haul, and that even if I secure employment that is ok, I will keep on posting about what else I am looking for, my impressions of the american work world and what I see that is right and wrong. The first thing that I have to say about work is that you owe it to your self to go out and rent The Wire season 2...
The other type of posting I intend to have on this blog is about one of my passions, travel. I have the bug, I am a wander, an observer and interloper in this world. I like to see what is over the next hill, I like to walk the grocery stores of the world, you see and learn so much. I like the streets, the coffee shops, checking out the juke boxes and wandering the book stores. Shopping malls, airports, train stations and I like the open road. I have seen parts of this world that I want to visit again, I have been places that I need to check back in on, and for now, in this semi employed state, I just don't have the cash to really venture into the world... so I am going to do so via this blog. This will take the form of me talking about a place, places or path between places that I want to visit or revisit. There will be links to cities, states, countries websites or wiki pages. I will mention things, places and establishments that I would like to visit and revisit..... you get the idea.. and I will flesh some things as I go along...
For now I think I will start with a few parting thoughts and words for you all...
My name is Eric, I currently live in Ann Arbor Michigan, I am looking for work, I like to travel (mostly in Northern Europe, The Great Lake States and the Pacific Northwest), I am a Rockfiend (as in Rock'n'Roll addict... but I'm not limited to Rock'n'Roll), I and a movie buff, I like good beer, good bread, fresh fruit, pastries, reading, writing, riding my bicycle and spending time with people. Too Much Coffeeman says Addiction is Unavoidable, Choose yours wisely.... I would say that my addiction is Information, and I long to share that information.
Lastly, I want this blog to be readable, I am not a grammar freak, and I can't seem to remember half the rules that they tried to get me to, so sorry if I drive you crazy at all with my writing.... enjoy.
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