Wednesday, January 13, 2010

The Quest for Work

Things are finally looking up. The job market seems to have loosened up and there is a lot more activity on the job boards. I am primarily looking for consulting jobs in the domestic US, but have not ruled out international consulting.
Yesterday, I was on the phone with recruiters in Omaha, Charlotte, Raleigh, Dallas, and Fort Worth and Plano. A couple of the jobs seemed promising, so now I wait. That is not to say I do not apply anymore....the search stops only when I have something in my hot little hands that I can sign.

I have been in job-search mode for 13 months now.... and I haven't gone crazy yet!!! I have driven my wife (DW) and step daughter (SD) over the edge, but I have maintained my sanity...what little I possessed to begin with.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Slacking

Ok, so I am a slacker....haven't posted anything new in 3 days. Well, I really didn't want to promote boredom, so I didn't blog anything, cause there was nothing to blog.
I am trying to bring new energy and focus to my job search this new year. I am really having a tough time doing that, because I feel that I have already been doing everything that I can do.

On the positive side of things, I treated myself to dinner at the Rockfish Seafood Grill in Mckinney on Monday evening. It was good to get back to my favorite watering hole and, as ususal, the food was great, service was excellent, and the drinks hit the spot.

I will post again when I get truly inspired...... or when I feel guilty about not posting....

Monday, January 4, 2010

The Holidays Are Over

Well, it is official. The tree and all the decorations are down and in storage for the next 11 months. It was a 4 hour effort, but our house is now devoid of its Christmas garb, which is kind of sad, because it was a good Christmas with some truly special moments. Now, I have to try to get back to generating a strong focus on getting myself gainfully employed.

Saturday night, my step-daughter and her boyfriend treated me to drinks and dinner at the Urban Crust, a gourmet pizza joint with a twist. I had a great time! The setup is on three levels, with the bar being on the 3rd floor. It is called The 32 Degree Bar, and the back half of the bar top is a flat block of ice the sits flush with the rest of the bar top, which is a perfect spot to park your drink….really a nice effect. Here is a link to their web site.
http://www.urbancrust.com/. This place is definitely worth the trip.

So far, my good intentions about not being so negative this year are holding true, with only a couple of slip-ups. Hey, I’am only human!!

Me and a better 2010

I promised myself that I would reflect on what I could do to make 2010 a better year for everyone in my life.

Over this last difficult year, I have found that the growth of my personal negativity is exponential when I am stressed: Everything and everyone has something wrong with it. So to battle this distressing trend, I am going to try a few techniques that I have learned but never truly believed (possibly because I didn’t actually try them!!).

•Put a smile on my face, even when I don’t feel like it (alcohol helps ;-} ). The conscious act of smiling can distract the mind from the foul thoughts that are smoldering.
•Start every day with the activities that will get me employed again, then balance my day with activities that will contribute to my family’s well being and my own mental and physical health.
•Try to remember that I can help my family to be closer by having a positive attitude.
•Focus on what I can do to make things easier for my loved ones, and not feel used every time they want me to do something.
•Force myself to be healthier with exercise and a more balanced diet.
•Respect the individuality of my loved ones, and accept that they can function quite well without my intervention or control.
Well, if I can manage all of that, I should quality for sainthood!! Realizing that I have spent 6+ decades building the me that I am (flaws and all), I should probably temper my expectations with the thought that “any improvement is better than none”.

New Years Day -- 2010



Up, Up, and Away!!

I glanced out my front door, and this is what I saw:

A harbinger of good things to come for 2010

Truly Inspired

OK, this is the start of my blog. My step-daughter inspired me to push my inner "me" thoughts out into the ether. I can just see my words out there...unread...floating...long after my ashes get blown to some other continent. This blog will have no focus or mission, and will likely be a mix of random, perverted, philosophical, heretical, mundane and, on rare moments, enlightened thoughts.

In the spirit of total randomness:

Synaptic Whiplash -- that which happens to you when the person you are speaking with changes topics randomly, without rhyme, reason, or segue. A total state of "Huh?!!"

My dear spouse drove me to come up with that one, although she will say that it is because of my selectively bad hearing, and I didn't hear the segue or topic shift.

My next installment will be looking at what the hell I can do to make 2010 a better year for me, mine and everyone who dares come in contact with me.