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.

A Google search on “Mark Turner” used to put my pages buried in the last of the 29,100 web pages referencing “Mark Turner.” A check tonight lists this page as number six. I’ve even surpassed the original Mark Turner page, MarkTurner.com. Not that this is a competition, of course.

At any rate, I’m happy to be in the Internet “phone book” now. I also plan to add links to my friends’ and family’s blogs so we can all keep in touch. Woohoo!

It has been a pleasant surprise to discover how often my humble little page gets read. It’s a pleasant surprise to hear from family and friends when they’ve seen something here and want to discuss it. What began as a way of keeping track of Hallie’s progress has taken on a life of its own, opening up avenues of self-expression I never knew existed.

To everyone who tunes in here, I wish to say thanks. Your encouragement and discussion have made this into an incredibly fun project, inspiring me to spend even more time describing the world from my point of view.

If what I write isn’t always exciting or noteworthy, I will at least try to always keep it real. You’re free to disagree with me. In fact, you’re encouraged. I don’t claim to know all of the answers. But the thrill in life is in discovery, is it not?

Thanks for being a fellow explorer!

It’s a new day today. The sun is shining. Birds are chirping. Flowers are in bloom. All this, and I am spending the day with my beautiful wife and my beautiful daughter. Life could be a lot worse.

Lulu is officially in the past. After a restless night of sleep, I’ve decided to put it to rest.

I enjoyed most of my time at Lulu. I think I could have helped take it to new levels of growth. Yet I had already begun the process of leaving it when yesterday’s news struck.

My lunch appointment with Bart was a test I set up to see if he would take time to listen to my concerns. It appears that he would rather not. So be it. It was yet another of my efforts to make Lulu a better place, and yet another unacknowledged.

I am a pretty low-maintenance employee. I am typically cheerful: I do not complain about my work. I am punctual. I work overtime when needed. And I am extremely flexible, doing anything that is required. Yet the thing that truly motivates me was always missing at Lulu – recognition for my work. In the five months I was there, I can recall just one time my manager ever praised my work. Just one. And about half the time he never bothered responding when I would email him with questions.

In short, he could not have been a worse manager for me.

Last night I thought a lot about the saying “there’s nothing wrong with me; therefore, there must be something wrong with the universe.”

There is nothing wrong with me. Therefore, there must be something wrong with Lulu.

Found a webpage that seems to indicate that CNN amplified the boos from the Academy Award audience after Michael Moore’s speech. Audio clips from ABC’s live broadcast can be compared to CNN’s rebroadcast.

You can listen for yourselves here. But then again, the media wouldn’t distort the news, would it?