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Beyond the Sea of Stars
Yesterday, I went in to a placement agency, and found myself taking all manner of tests. My typing speed is up, just from a few weeks ago (now at 47wpm) and I finally took a 10key test, though I don't know if my score (1971spm) was any good or not. I managed to get 70% on both filing and dictation, and a whopping 98% (no real surprise there, considering my major, the first time through college) on spelling.
But when it came to talking with them about what any limitations were, or where I thought I might like to work... as well as past employment... I found them really hard to determine whether or not my answers were helping pigeonhole me for employment in something that's currently available or not. It's a bit disconcerting when I go in for placement, and they tell me that they'll be looking around for something that will meet my qualifications and then point out that I should really work with their (or several) temp agencies to gain more experience in the field. What's wrong with the four years I've had in office work, already? Does it not count because I wasn't called by a particular title in my workplace, but was referred to as another title instead?
I guess I just don't get businesses, these days, and how they operate.
On another note, I'm rummaging through storage boxes, and finding all manner of old treasures! I knew I'd find some good stuff towards the bottom of the stack, if I just took the time to look.
Current mood:
okay.Current music: Sci-fi's Greatest Themes CD.
Something to distract you ferret-brained types while I run through things that went on this weekend, can be found right here:
visited 37 states (74%)
Create your own visited map of The United States or determine the next president
For the rest of you, I'll just let you know that Saturday was something of a bust for me. I found myself too distracted by online activities to get any real game-planning, typing up of important documentation of the SFI chapter information, or even finishing my character for
![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
purrzah's JadeClaw two-parter completed. I also wound up injuring myself. Not badly, just a pulled muscle in my neck/right-shoulder area. It was either that or drop a bread machine on my foot as I had to move it from one side of the kitchen to the other. I was lucky I caught it, as it started to slip out of my hands, unfortunately, I caught it one-handed and the end result was pulled muscles. Needless to say, I decided not to bother with standing there to make the chocolate bread I had intended to.Sunday was a load of fun, though! We had Velvet_paw and PND226 over for a nice lunch and bit of a visit. They love playing our board-games with us, and just chatting. Both are big-time geocachers, so we discussed that a bit, and their involvement in going out with us when we do group geocaching events. And yesterday, they surprised me a bit with saying they'd like to try out doing RP with Purr and I. So, we made arrangements for running them through a fairly easy system and decided that FASA's Star Trek would be a good one. It's simple (using standardized percentile die rolls) and is something that both said would hold their interest compared with the numberous systems and genres we mentioned. Our evening ended early, with them, as VP had been up since 4am, and it was nearly 12 hours since awakening at such an ungodly hour.
After they left, Purr and I watched National Treasure, which she compared to the likes of The Mummy or more closely relating to The Davinci Code, only not quite as suspenseful or bloody. So, she liked it incredibly well, while I saw the villains and heroes as fairly polarized as Disney tends to do no matter if it's animation or live-action. I enjoyed it for what it was, though it isn't something I'm likely to watch again unless someone happens to plug it in or have it running when we visit them. We also have NT2, which I'm wondering how similar of storyline it is to the first movie. It's in the plans to watch that one this evening, while having dinner.
Tomorrow, I go for another interview with a third temp-agency. None of them, so far, have anything for me to do. We'll see if it's different with this new group; though judging from their website's options, it isn't likely.
Current mood:
blah.Current music: 'net radio (Sirius 70's).
Today, we're off to see the wizard... or something like that, anyway... whatever the case, we are both heading out as of NOW. So, it's just a quick post to let others know that yesterday was pretty good. I didn't get a lot of job searching done, but I did manage to get a couple of things taken care of that needed to be. And I got to spend time with several people I'd wanted to. Later, my lovely wife did some nice dancing with, and for, me. So, life is good.
This evening, we'll be at a friend's send-off/congradulatory dinner as she's getting married and moving over seas (I think). Whatever the case, it'll be fun. Today, I go check with the temp agencies, in person, and also check on things with WorkSource.
Current mood:
busy.Current music: The songs in my head.
Yes, today is a little bit better for me. I've found things to smile about, dispite the garbage that's been thrown my way.
purrzah's a bit mopey, for good reason, but I hope things I've been talking about have helped her attitude a bit. If nothing else, my new icon should do the trick. I've also got a few new images in my photo gallery, if anyone is interested in seeing what my JadeClaw character, Tomada Nukada, looks like. I know Purr will want to see them when she's home.I managed to get the extra pair of wings for free, from a nice wolf-type I met on SL named Shady. He's one who likes to dance and party, so I mentioned Club Ari-Sen to him. He said he'd check it out, though he does have a current favorite place for such things. I also met up with another fellow (the constable shown in picture four) who invited me to join in their RP group in the area where I was sitting. He seemed a very nice, interesting fellow, and if I find I have enough time I might take him up on it. Particularly since I don't need to be a warrior like most of them area, but could be a healer or teacher, there. He liked my avatar so much, he went and bought one himself, which was funny, since I had liked Saros's avi so much that I had decided to get one for myself as well, when I'd first joined SL.
I also had the opportunity to chat with Whitefang, and he managed to help me locate the sword I'd been looking for, but it was way too expensive, so I didn't get it. I already have a pair of blades, and they're just going to be for show anyway, not like the blade I was looking at. Besides, I'll have enough things to spend credits on, with trying to get the USS Aurora built on there. I'm doing laundry, today, since I'll be out all day tomorrow. I am going in to work with Purr, and then heading downtown for a while. But afterward, we'll be going to have a celebratory dinner with an old friend who's going to be getting married soon. Saturday Purr has plans to go visit her folks, and I'll be spending time with another friend of ours while she's away, and Sunday we have a couple of other friends coming to our place for a visit. So, it's a busy time for us.
Current mood:
mischievious.Current music: Dr. Demento/The Frantics - Boot To the Head.
Lots of bad stuff going around today.
purrzah and I are both feeling under the weather, I was even sick to my stomach this morning, which didn't help matters at all. She did go to work, though, but will likely leave early if she can.Several friends are going through the wringer, too. It's tough all over, and it's hard to help them when I'm having trouble, myself. But, still I always try, even if I get a bit over my head at times. I'm only hoping that things settle down for everyone I know, before long.
IF not for the troublesome stuff going on with friends, my job situation, and (currently) the yechiness that Purr and I are both feeling, life would be fantastic. I'm having fun on SL, and spending time on IMVU once in a while. I've got good conversation going on with a guy who makes Klingon costumes, so I can help a couple of our SFI chapter members figure out how to do them for themselves as well. I'm in communication with both Legend and Walksfar on a more regular basis, which I love. And I'm learning how to do my own designs on SL, so that eventually I'll be able to sell things on there; maybe even build my own Nova Class ship, if I can just get a few details sorted out.
Life could be better, but it could also be much, much worse.
Current mood:
ill, but otherwise okay.Current music: Star Trek Generations Theme.
I've been feeling like I should be on the warpath, lately, when it comes to looking for work. I've been a lot more aggressive, and can tell it just from glancing over some of my cover-letters again. But whether I'm mellow or aggressive, it seems my skills aren't what employers want. Two more let-downs came in, today. I'm looking at the distinctive possibility of going to work in a dead-end job for the rest of my life, at this rate. I don't have ambitions to claw my way to the top (or nearly so). I don't care so much about money, only in that I have enough to provide for my and
purrzah's needs, and a few of our wants at a given time. I dislike the political infighting in most workplaces, and the cliquishness that often accompanies it. And I strive to work hard at what I do, especially if I feel the end result is worthwhile. Yet I'm one of those people who has just enough disability to qualify for nothing but keeping me from doing a job I used to do... and very well, I might add... and live the life I actually enjoyed living.This is why I've been burying myself in pet-projects, from trying to do fun things online, and RPGs or other activities with local friends, to building a new chapter/ship for SFI (ie: STARFLEET - the Star Trek International Fan Association). I'm trying to find something fun, and that helps me feel better about myself and the world around me. I'm struggling with concepts like greed and cut-throat ambition because they're completely foreign to me, and trying to find others in this wide world who don't seem to possess those qualities. It's a difficult search, but I have found some of them. Unfortunately, I still find many more who do possess one (or both) of those qualities, and that leaves me feeling sadder than I had thought it initially would. For every one I find of the former, I average locating at least 6 of the latter, and that's what's so disheartening.
So, what to do? Bury myself in the superfluous pet-projects, continuing to try to locate a job... any job... that will allow my wife and I to get by with a small margin of comfort? Or turn my thinking to be more cut-throat? It's not in my nature to do the latter. It's alien to me, and I have cast it aside when the darkest times of my life have allowed the shadows to creep quietly up beside me and whisper such ideas and thoughts of embracing those ways. The shining light in draconic form, that came to me so long ago, blazes all the brighter from within, chasing back the shadows again. Pheonix, Aurora, Beacon, Lantern, Angel... call it what you will... I am a child of the light, I have been for all my days. I will be after I've left this world. The material is important, only for now. More key to my well-being is the comfort and wisdom I can offer to the lives I touch. That is like a ripple in the water, it will continue to spread outward, affecting much more than what is in my immediate surroundings. In the end, that is what matters most.
Current mood:
okay.Current music: The Rocketeer ST.
First, I have to say Happy Birthday! to
tyryt. May your special day be full of wonderful things.Now, I can tell you a good story.
One of the kids I know was confused about my positive attitude about conflicts within my life. There's my need for a good job, with decent pay, and yet I'm struggling with the temp agency I'm trying to work with as they continue to try to set me up with assignments I'm not capable of either doing because of the physical demands or getting to because it's not within range of any bus routes or walking paths. And there are issues with personal life and friendships that just have had me really frustrated and flustered at my wits end at times, lately.
I love talking with younger people about the power of positive thinking. Actively striving to focus your will to achieve what others do not believe you are capable of doing, or tolerating bad situations that seem to get worse yet you wear a smile despite them. The adolescent was amazed, to say the least; he admitted that he was wondering if I were some guru with a laptop, up on some mountain, getting free wi-fi from the Starbucks at the bottom of the incline. I had to laugh at the imagery and comparison. Some people I know wonder why I love kids, but it's for these exact reasons... that I can help shape them into the adults they will become, being a positive, knowledgeable role-model for them; and that they come up with some of the most intriguing ideas and imagery.
This was why I was thinking so hard about what type of chapter to set up for Starfleet: Star Trek International Fan Association. I wanted to model it on something more futuristic, to help spark and generate fresh ideas and ways of thinking. I wanted to bring in people who would share a renewed sense of purpose and idealism; I was looking to encourage the young to join us, and carry the ideal forward of striving to unite together to make our world a better, more friendly place. So they could carry those same principals, hopes, and dreams into a time that will stretch far beyond where I (and my fellow members of SFI) can reach with my own physical presence. It's not just an idea I have, or an ideal I'm trying to push forth, it's about living a better life now, and using that as a way to encourage others by example.
Believing is one thing, acting is another, when used in conjunction we can move mountains. There is the basis for keeping a positive attitude. We believe that something is in the way, and we will act to destroy it. But when we believe that something can incorporated or changed in a way that benefits the whole, we will soon begin to act in a way that coerces it to do so. That is the lesson I taught this morning. The best part is, the one I taught it to was actively listening. Together, we will ride the winds toward the future.
Current mood:
Enlightened.Current music: U2 - Numb.
This week has been filled with sunshine and warm breezes. I miss the rain. I know that'll be different, come fall... it's not the rain I don't like during that time, it's how it stings when the winds whip it so hard (and make it so cold) against the skin. But, on a lighter note (no pun intended) I found yesterday not too bad while we had three others with
purrzah and I here at naAibhion Landing. I had planned to run the Star Trek RPG, but we found ourselves chatting it up, instead, and sorting out finishing touches on character creation.When we do get into the meat of the game, I'm thinking it'll be a load of fun! We've got four players, and a couple of them have very little experience with RP, while one has several years of doing online RP... and then there's me and Purr. Calculating last night, when discussing how long we've done this sort of thing for, she's coming on her 30th year and I've been doing it for 34 years now. >.< (That makes me feel SOOOO old!) Yes, D&D (in it's basic inception as Chainmail) has been around just a year before I began RPing.
As it was Trek, one of the players brought his TOS shirts with him, as well as his laptop to offer music and sound effects. He didn't know we have the discs with such things, already. But, he forgot, we're not starting with TOS era, we're starting with Enterprise, just about 10 years after Enterprise had launched for the first time. It's something that each of the players were already enjoying to a degree, as we were just discussing it. I was wishing we could have gotten into play, more, but I'm still re-familiarizing myself with the rules, and was having trouble looking up particular aspects of the game that I had thought were dealt with. It looks like I'll have to put some place-tabs in the book, though. Next session, we'll start into the more involved RP... I've already promised myself that.
I'm just thankful it wasn't too hot. And while I'd like to see the rain again, soon, I'm hoping it won't come down this afternoon or this evening, since it's our First Contact party/meeting, at Legend's place, for the SFI crew we're putting together. Everyone will be there, except
nylima, who has previous commitments. (You'll be missed, but we know you're there in spirit, Mousi!) I'm happy to know that walks_far will be coming all the way from the Kitsap Peninsula, as well as the fact that our members in Kent will be able to make it, too. I was hoping a few others might join us, to see how things work and allow them a better feel of what it will be like, but perhaps it's best they aren't coming, since we're still putting some aspects together. Still, it's a shame they'll be missing out on a viewing of Mars, Jupiter and even Saturn's rings, as Legend shows them tonight through his telescope, on the big-screen monitor he has it hooked up to.
Current mood:
quixotic.Current music: Phil Collins - I Wish It Would Rain.
I've put in applications for four jobs, earlier this week. Today, I'm adding two more to that list, for a local hospital group Swedish Providence. They're not a bad outfit to work for, if you can manage to get on with them, and they focus a lot of attention on cancer research, as much as trying to find cures for various childhood illnesses. I'm really hoping something finally works out with one of these, though.
I got another letter yesterday that had turned my down for an entry level administration job with Regency Blue-Shield. It just seems I'm not able to get office work with anyone except the school districts... and there, I'd rather be teaching because they really don't treat their office workers very well... so I'm hoping for something much more readily available through the hospitals or some other business. With the government bringing forth the "No Child Left Behind Act", I've fought to try to get back into teaching, but now they're just this side of demanding a BA, even from the para-educators (teacher's assistants); whenever I've been turned down, it wasn't for my lack of experience or credentials (my references give excellent feedback), it's because I don't have the BA... "only minimal secondary education"... as they have a habit of telling me.
I really can't afford to go back to school. That would take another two years, and in the meantime, I only have a couple months unemployment benefits left... and my wife can barely scrape together the money for rent and bills we have (sometimes, not even that), without what little I'm bringing in as well. We'd never survive. So I'm at a loss for options other than having to drop what I love doing, most, and strive to find another form of rewarding work. That means trying to get a job in the health care field again, that pays a little more than minimum wage.
Current mood:
Fighting to remain hopeful.Current music: Christopher Cross - Ride Like the Wind.
Listening to a bit of Electronica/Indie/Scream-Punk on MySpace. It's actually pretty good, a group called Breathe Carolina. On top of that, I don't normally like remakes of original songs, but this one actually strives to keep the tune while "dancing it up" a bit... so I'm even enjoying the remake of U2's With or Without You. This is the type of music I expect to hear on SecondLife, particularly since I hear a lot of Techno, Trance and Indie played in various areas as I'm exploring there.
I've been enjoying talking with
walks_far on there, when he's able to be online. And Saros as well. Yesterday, I even got a chance to visit a little bit with Tomae too! That was a nice surprise; I keep forgetting that the silly otter is all over the 'net. And while purrzah can't do much on there with the way her video card acts up, she does get the chance to come on and chat with one or two people at a time, as long as there's not a lot of motion or too many forms in the place.One image I thought was pretty spectacular, that I managed to get last night, was my Pheonix alt on there after it was dark. You could see his aura so clearly it was just mesmerizing. I'll be putting it into my lj photos, along with other shots from SL, today. Watch for it! :)
I'm also going to be doing some stuff offline, later on, as I need to get things ready for Friday night's Star Trek RP; and I want to do a bit more prep for Purr's upcoming JadeClaw game... such as getting my character ready... as well as reading a bit more of the D&D4E books that Saros was kind enough to pass along to me. The system feels nice, in principal. I'm looking forward to running it, once I get the hang of the changes in the rules, just to see if I do like how they've cleaned it up. I can only hope they won't keep releasing manual after tome, time and time again, in a huge explosion of pages - like they did with 2nd ed and 3E.
Current mood:
content.Current music: Breathe Carolina - Diamonds.