Not having a job could be worse. After all, I could have a job, uh, “arming cows”

Somebody out there loves me! I just got a call this morning on a tantalizing job in Burlington. It would be as an all-around Linux guru for a nice, profitable company. In short, it’s right up my alley. I’ve got a phone interview Friday afternoon and we’ll take it from there.

My friend Tanner Lovelace just forwarded me a Sales Engineering position with his West Raleigh company. Being a sales engineer at Netraverse was probably the most fun I’ve had in a job. Of course, working for the illustrious Alan Boyd had a lot to do with that, too.

After lunch I’m off to visit with a friend’s boss to chat about becoming a network consultant for her company. I’d be farmed out to their clients’ offices to set up software and whip their networks into shape. It’s probably a lot of Windoze work, so I’d have to bite the bullet, but it could grow into something interesting.

All in all, things are not as bleak as I was making them out to be earlier this week. I’m getting over a cold (same one Hallie has) and my mood is improving now that I’m feeling better.

Lots of possiblities ahead!

Another SARS case is in the Triangle. This time the victim didn’t travel to southeast Asia. She picked it up from a visit to Toronto.

Unless the woman was visiting someone in a hospital setting, this story makes me think the virus is now on the loose in Toronto. By now word should have circulated among Toronto citizens about the virus – and this woman still brings it back.

Looks like it’s “ready or not, here I come” with SARS. It may be mere days away from a full-blown outbreak in your neck of the woods.

This is my first Monday morning in 5+ months that I haven’t spent at the office. It’s weird not going to work on a Monday, when everyone around you is at a desk somewhere. Mondays when you’re not on vacation, that is.

I’ve spent the day sending out resumes in emails in response to positions, none which have the feeling of “dream jobs” but some which do have some appealing aspects. It’s tough for me to feel fired up about myself right now, and that’s something my cover letters desperately need.

I woke up Saturday morning in a bummed mood. It was a combination of the chilly weather and the thought that Saturday would be just another day as long as I stay unemployed.

“Are you all right?” Kelly asked me on our way to Durham to visit friends. “I’m just trying to figure out my future,” I mumbled while staring out the window, as if a fantastic job would drop out of the drizzly gray sky.

I had hoped to have found a place I could stay last time around. Something stable. It’s frustrating to find myself back at square one. Job-searching sucks. I’m not looking forward to running this gauntlet again. Yeesh.

Job searchin’ has begun in earnest. Well, that was the case on Day One of being unemployed. I’ve responded to about a half-dozen positions and have heard back from … none.

Something that should have been obvious occured to me today in the midst of my searching. I’ve been cruising Monster.com for new jobs, since that’s where everyone goes. After digging into a few interesting positions, I’ve discovered that the perception of there being all these jobs available is just an illusion. What actually happens is one big-name company farms a position out to multiple headhunting firms and each one writes their own description and publishes it under a different title.

The job descriptions I’d been reading for some network security positions seemed way too similar for them to be different positions. Thus, about one of every three or four results I get from Monster.com is a legitimate job.

Couple this with the fact that $FORMER_EMPLOYER got 200+ resumes back for just two openings and you see just what an uphill climb I might be facing. Still, I’m confident I’ll find something interesting, and soon.

I still think the best way to find a good job is to get a referral from a friend. Word-of-mouth still rules. Thanks to everyone who has sent leads my way. I do appreciate it.

It was five years ago today. The spring breezes carried the air of new beginnings (in addition to numerous, nasty allergens, but I digress). Kelly and I had been dating all of six months. My family was visiting my Aunt Pat and Uncle Arthur at their beachhouse in Garden City, near Myrtle Beach.

It was a sunny Tuesday morning. My brother Jeff and his then-girlfriend Suzie were also visiting. I’d been whispering to them that “it” would happen that week.

Kelly and I went for a morning walk along the sunny beach, holding hands and taking in the great outdoors. As we approached the Kingfisher pier , a landmark for me since I was 8 years old, I took her on a detour into the local arcade.

I tried to buy a toy ring at the counter, but the lady behind it told us we couldn’t buy it; we had to win it by playing one of the games there. Kelly and I fed money into the Skee Ball game until we’d collected enough tickets. (Like many things, Kelly excels at Skee Ball, for the record.)

Having earned our prize, I walked, somewhat erratically, back to the pier, my mind racing and my palms sweatier than they had a right to be under the early-morning sun. Kelly asked me what the heck I was doing, but I remained mum until we’d gotten back to the sand.

I then pointed at a rock near the pier. “Sit,” I said, and she did. Her typical response to this would be to tell me to jump off the end of the pier, but I guess she was too befuddled to consider this. Anyhow, I got down on one knee and slipped the toy ring over her finger.

Our lives changed forever when she said yes, though we kept it secret until the next morning. I had fun eating breakfast and pretending nothing had changed until Kelly finally prodded me into announcing the news.

Five years ago, we became engaged when Kelly took a seat on that rock. It was the last time she did what I told her. 🙂

I love you, Kelly!

I was thinking about my former employer yesterday and humming along to this song by Ironic Mullet, the redneck spinoff band of Cracker.

I’m sure it was just coincidence.

Ironic Mullet, by the way, will be opening for Camper Van Beethoven next Thursday at the Brewery. Not to be missed!

Like he does every Easter, Ibiblio-hosted Dr. Fun is featuring a week of comics on Peeps, the ubiquitous Easter marshmallow candy.

The guy’s comic is truly wack, but some of the best humor can be found way out there.

I had heard rumors that aluminum had been found in high concentrations in the brains of Alzheimers victims. Now an Italian study seems to find a link between aluminum in water and Alzheimer’s Disease.

I’ve never really understood why aluminum (a toxin) and fluoride (another toxin – and byproduct of aluminum manufacturing) have been added to municipal water suppplies. My thinking is that somebody, somewhere got paid off. But then, I’m the suspicious type. 🙂

I’ve recently switched from regularly drinking tap water to drinking spring water. My choice wasn’t so much because of fear of chemicals, it was taste. The spring water we buy at our local Lowes Foods grocery store is probably the best-tasting water I’ve ever had.

I’ve watched the minds of too many relatives waste away from Alzheimer’s disease to not be deathly afraid of it. I am willing to take nearly any precaution to keep it from happening to me.