Winter Thoughts

First of all you have to understand that I was 15 before I ever saw snow. Matter of fact I was that old before I ever saw ice that didn't come from the refrigerator. Yeah, I read about it in books but I also read about big white whales and dogs that could talk too. Growing up on the Gulf Coast, things like snow and mittens were just words that you had to learn how to spell. They had no reality or substance to them. In my world Winter was when you wore a jacket to school and forgot it when time to go home came around. Then you got the standard lecture about money growing on trees as your parents drove you back to school to get it. Yup, school and Winter kind of went together (yuck) like potatoes and beans. Summer was what we all lived for. Summer was freedom.



Now that I'm all growed up, Summer still means the same thing. The only difference is now I live a few hundred miles further north (still in the best state ever) and Winter brings at least one or two bouts of snow or ice. Today is an example. I am already kind of depressed because I had to winterize the trailer for the season. Also getting laid off just before the holiday season didn't exactly put me in a joyous frame of mind. And just look what I got now.

Ain't that a kick in the pants? Yeah, yeah... I know. All you yankees are squeezing in around a fireplace right now saying, "So what?? I see that every day". Well let me tell you that you mix this ice stuff and 100,000 Texans in pick ups and you got a menu for disaster. Right now out on the highways there is more color blending going on using fenders as paintbrushes than ever went on in any art school you could name. I've seen growm men commit truckicide. When I kick the dogs out to go potty, they look back at me like they were being punished. Have you ever seen a dog trying to walk on tip-toe?

Well I want Summer back. And I'm just gonna hold my breath and turn blue until it happens. Y'all come on down and take this stuff back on up North where it belongs now. Ya hear me?

That's it. Over and out. See ya...

It's All About Perception

Looking back at previous posts I get a sense that my attitude may need adjusting. Sometimes I make announcements as if I received them in stone from a higher power and therefore they are true. In reality most of the time it is just my opinion and is just as likely to be wrong as the next guy. Hey if I was right all the time then I would not even be looking for work. I would be sitting on a beach somewhere counting my money that I made from all my incredibile investments.
In reality, I am tossing darts at the board same as everyone else. But at least they are MY darts. I am not letting some "financial planner" stick his hand in my wallet. Hey if they were all that good, they would be on the beach counting thier money. Even worse maybe thier name is Madoff.
Wow, this is really getting morbid. I think I will sign off until I feel a little more upbeat
Save me a seat on the bus.

The Job Search Continues

There is no real news here. Just some thoughts.
I should have been a Mortician. Let's see them outsource that one!
The only jobs left in the U.S. are service jobs.
I am not impressed with the quality of the job search assistance firm I have been signed up with. The things they want me to do seem to be junior high level. You know, make lists of things you want in a career and check off the entries. Create lists of friends and contacts. Waste of time... By my age if you are undecided then it is way too late. I am in software. That is not a people person industry. You spend 99 percent of your time reading obscure manuals and wrinting and testing code. You only come to the surface to breath and announce victory over the problem.
I would be better off going through the paper and looking for what is really out there.
OK, I made an entry and have my endorphins...Bye

Yet Another Learning Experience

This is a re-post from a forum entry. Actually I am just too lazy to compose something new.

Got in a "one last trip" over Thanksgiving holiday. Learned some new things and re-learned some old ones. First we were without water or electricity and about a mile from the nearest human being so all the anti-generator nazis can just keep a lid on it.
1. All sorts of nasty things live in the woods. All of them would rather be in your RV with you.
2. Parking a Tow Vehicle between you and a cheap generator can make it as quiet as an expensive one.
3. Cheap generators break pretty easy.
4. A 5th wheel cannot make it for 2 days and one night on a single charge with one battery.
5. When the battery quits it will be between 2:00 and 4:00 in the morning.
6. You will know when it quits because the C02 alarm will start sounding.
7. Trailers cool off a lot faster than they warm up.
8. Your Significant Other will somehow think it is your fault.
9. A 3500 Chevy Dually makes a poor substitute for a generator.
Added next day after bailing out to do some chores...A fun time was had by all. 2 grandkids, 2 dogs, 1 daughter, 1 DW ( Thank you Lord for only one of those). The rig is filthy, the TV is filthy, and I was beyond recognition. Somewhere in the East Texas Pines there is a bare spot where the grandkids scraped every living thing into a pile and moved the pile into the RV. Sand, Leaves, Trees, Critters (Dead or Alive) ... made no difference to them. They were all treasure. Now I gotta clean things up so we can go again BTW I had no idea you could dig that big of a hole and move that much dirt with a little bitty plastic dump truck...

While there we did some maintenance which involved cranking up the tractor, Gator, and 4wheeler. The DW took the Gator, The Granddaughter adopted the 4-wheeler, and the 3 year old Grandson fell in love with the tractor. I had no trouble finding them at any time.

Granddad got to play with the chainsaw.

See Ya Out There...

Resolution

Looking back I see that I do a lot of whining about not posting more frequently.
I hereby resolve not to gripe or make excuses for not posting on a regular basis.
Only Doogie Houser ever did this kind of thing without missing a beat. And they had to pay him a whole crap pile of money for each episode.
Wait a minute... that is an idea. All I need to do is to find some fool...er... "rich" fool...uhh..."well endowed philanthropist" to offer me a whole ton of money for each and every Saturday installment.
Hey, it could happen !!

Well, I'll be dipped...

Here we go again. I am suddenly unemployed again and back on the job hunting trail. I swear I did not do a bad job or do anything wrong. Heck I got the project operating 800 percent faster than thier experts said was possible. I solved the last problem less that 3 days before I was told I was laid off. Maybe I should have left it un-fixed. This time around I may try the Contract Employee approach. That way there are no committments on either side and no expectations of loyalty on either side.
If they don't like the way I do things tell me to quit showing up. If I see a better offer elsewhere I quit showing up. That sounds fair right?
As far as benifits go, just give me the equivalent in money and I'll buy my own insurance as needed. Most employers are cutting back on benefits anyhow. And besides, the government is starting to treat medical and other benefits as taxable income. To those of you that have not run into it yet, beware the terminology "imputed income". It income that you did not really receive. However the taxes you pay on it comes from the money that you really did receive.
Don't get me started. They estimate what you would have had to pay for the medical coverage, life insurance, and any other benefits they can spot. Then thay add that amount to your real income and tax you on the total.
So you might as well go ahead and get sick or they will make you wish you had.
OK, back to the main thread of insanity here. I need to get my resume back in shape and start networking like crazy.
Maybe that's what I get for not posting here on a more regular basis.

Some Days are Just Survived

Well things have conspired to keep me from updating this as often as I should. I am making myself a promise to do better. However this one is gonna be brief.
Life has been normal lately. Good things. Bad things. Some in-betweeners.
Summer in Texas is hot. Big surprise...Huh?? More later