2010 Is Going To Be "Interesting"

In my experience "interesting" is never a good thing. And so may go 2010, but it's only one year, right?

First off, I need to thank everyone who commented on my last post. Your encouragement, suggestions and feedback was very much appreciated.

I had a great talk with my sister over coffee today. She had some career planning questions for me which, surprisingly, I was apparently very helpful with. I know, right? "Those who can't do, teach." She also helped me clarify my plan for the year. I am going to make an effort to work the plan I outlined below. I have an idea for my first story, I just have to track the guy down, but I should be able to do that in January. So I am thinking that if I can find a unique event or person every couple of months and then write the story and market it, I will be happy with that.

This leaves me a lot of extra time which I will fill either looking for another job or actually working. What will I be doing? Well at this time I am thinking I would like to find a job working at a running store, bike store or someplace like REI. It might be Starbucks for all I know. I just need to get out of my house. Another opportunity might present itself as an architect friend of mine, recently laid off, and I are going to get together after the first of the year and see if we might want to put a little residential practice together. It's an interesting opportunity as we would be able to keep the overhead super low and we collaborate very well together. We'll see.

So maybe you, my 10's of readers (that might be a little presumptuous,) can make some suggestions of races or events that might be interesting/entertaining. I would like to find some in the Minnesota or Chicago area in the first quarter of 2010 as it will be easier to get to these. When the first few stories are successful (think positive, right?) I will then look at other areas of the country. First I need to make it through the holidays. I really find the whole thing rather tedious and stressful. Just a couple more weeks, I think I can make it.

What's Going on Wednesday

As I am sure you have all been wondering, what is going on with me? So this Wednesday I will tell you. (Thus the title of my post.)

OK, admittedly that first sentence was just ridiculous. Hopefully it's not an indication of how the rest of this post will go.

Hunting Season

The kids are back in school, so summer is officially over. With that being said, hunting season is now upon us. Or at least me. Which season you ask? Job hunting season.

I found a position that sounded interesting at a "major" corporation in town. I contacted a couple of people that I know who work in the company and networked a contact with the head of the department.

This could be a sweet job. According to the job description - minimal supervision, proofreading, writing, directing internal communications.

So I send over my resume to my friend. She sends it off to the department head and then I wait. Later in the evening I get another email from my friend. She very nicely points out that I might want to take a look at my resume. Seems I have a - wait for it...

Typo! I am applying for a PROOFREADING job and I have a typo in my resume. Not buried in the minutiae of my education or something - in the THIRD FRICKING LINE! (I spellchecked it and everything - apparently "quaterback" is a legitimate word in Microsoft Word's world. It should have been "quarterback.")

Needless to say, I don't anticipate a call back on that one.

Job hunt #1 = FAIL!

Road Trip

This weekend I am heading to Madison, WI to volunteer at the Ironman Wisconsin triathlon. On Monday MS, CS and I will stand in line to sign up for next year's race. I think we are all excited to volunteer and anxious about actually signing up for the race next year. The mere mention of it sends my wife into a tailspin of anticipatory resentment at the perceived training load I will be taking on. I am, however, not going to SWAG (Scientific Wild Ass Guess) the training for this race (as I have for others.) I am going to hire a coach and get on a program with one of the main goals being to remain somewhat happily married before and after the race.

Brush with Fame (or Infamy)

Turns out that rumors that have been circulating around the neighborhood are true. Brett Favre's daughter is going to school at the same school as my kids. She is in the same class as our neighbor's daughter - who is a grade ahead of E. It will be interesting to see which social-climbing couple tries to become fast friends with the Favre family. It's all a little "Real Housewives of Edina" for me.

Marathon Training

I am about a month away from Twin Cities Marathon. Training has been going well. The injuries and set backs from earlier in the training cycle seem to have abated. I have two more 20+ mile long runs before taper. I have been feeling good, but I am nervous about running as fast as I have been told I can for 3+ hours. I know I shouldn't make predictions about race day while in the middle of my highest mileage & intensity training block. All indications are that I can run that fast, now I just have to believe it.

Sonofabitch!

Right now I am sitting in the coffee shop and I feel a little tickle on my shin so I reach down to scratch it and WHAM! I get stung by a fricking bee! I freak out trying to kill the thing and get it out of my pant leg. Anyone looking at me would think I was having some sort of grand mal seizure and praying that I don't start choking on my own tongue. How it made it up my pant leg is beyond me. I did get the last laugh as I summarily executed it with an overly enthusiastic, rather effeminate dance on its black and yellow thorax. Take that, MoFo!

(Oh, and you will all be happy to learn that I am, in fact, not allergic to bees so you can all continue to look forward to more moderately entertaining, mostly migraine-inducing posts. Although I suspect there is at least one person out there who would just like me to go away. Mom.)

La Dolce Vita

A few posts back I hinted at a possible upcoming trip. Well, I am prepared to provide the details as I know them now, because I just booked my flight - to Milan! To recap for those of you with short memories or who have misplaced your log of everything that is, has or will happen to me - While I was walking the dog about a week ago, I ran into a furniture rep who lives in my neighborhood. We got to talking and I asked about his travel schedule and he said he was just finishing booking flights to Milan for iSolani and a bunch of other furniture and lighting fairs that take place there at the end of April. "Hey, do you want to come with?" he asks. Well who wouldn't? So I propose this to my wife. And, if you can believe it, she gives me the OK! I am shocked. I continue to pursue it and A keeps asking if things are finalized, have I booked the flight yet, what are the dates again? I almost get the feeling that she is going to move the family to an unknown destination while I am gone. 

You may be asking yourself, is this just some sort of boondoggle? No, it really is a great opportunity on several levels. I get to see a different side of the interior design industry. I have considered repping if I found the right company or lines. This will give me a chance to see what is happening at ground level rather than looking through the pinhole I currently have as a frame of reference. I am also pursuing freelance writing and this trip will give me a lot of good stuff to write about - interior design stuff, travel stuff, running stuff, etc. (Know any magazine editors? Send me an email address and I will send them a proposal.) 

We are still nailing down accommodations. We might be staying about four blocks from the Duomo (which I love.) Or we may have to stay by the train station and fight off hookers to get to our room (which I also love.) Oh, the stories I will have to tell.

Sometimes It Just Doesn't Matter

Last week I attended a coffee for unemployed interior design professionals set up by three local sales reps. It kind of surprises me that this hasn't been done sooner or by other reps, but it was a great event. I knew only a couple of people there, but I was familiar with all the firms represented and surprised by some. I was probably the person laid off the longest ago, but then I have been exploring other avenues and not looking exclusively for design jobs. Lately, I have avoided architecture and design firms all together, because no one is hiring, they are only downsizing and my time has been better spent pursuing other interests and opportunities. 

The people I met and talked to had a wide variety of experience and expertise. A few had been in the industry for over 20 years and had been with their previous firm for 15 or more years. There were partners, vice presidents, senior designers, junior designers, new grads. There were people with project management experience, advanced degrees, advanced certifications, specialization in healthcare design, casino design, commercial and residential design. 

One woman I talked to - actually she talked to me, or more precisely at me - illustrates just where the job market is right now. She told me she was working on a big casino project (that I was familiar with) and described her responsibilities (all of this unsolicited by me, which was kind of annoying, but whatever.) She was young and, for the most part, project managing the interiors portion of the job. She had gotten her certification, become LEED accredited (sustainable/"green" design,) trained on and become very good with the most advanced architectural CAD program out there (which the industry is rapidly adopting as the standard,) was involved in company initiatives and committees. Basically, she was doing exactly what so many job search "gurus" are recommending - make yourself invaluable. Be seen. Be involved. Be improving your skills. And she got canned anyway. 

When you are doing what you should be doing and can't stay employed it is difficult to understand the reasoning for getting laid off. Sometimes it just doesn't matter. Sometimes it becomes so much about protecting the bottom line and just staying in business that good people are let go even while less qualified or less talented people are retained - for the time being. This has all been seen before. None of this is new. It has been a long time since we have seen it to this extent, but the country survived then as it will now. It ain't easy. It sucks! But it will get better. Eventually, someday, soon.

Money, Money, Money

Last night at dinner with my sister, brother-in-law and a couple of mutual friends, we got to talking about how I waste my time - also known as writing in my blog. Everyone encouraged me to write for a living. (My wife rolled her eyes.) Granted, a bottle of wine had been consumed (mostly by my wife), so there was much excitement about this idea. (Sober, I took it with a grain of salt.) I would love to do that! I have a writing degree that has never been put to good use. I know when to use a period and I sometime string some words together that make people laugh. Or cry. Or wince uncomfortably. Anyone want to pay me to write something for them? I work cheap. Just thought I'd throw it out there. 

What is WRONG with me?

I am sitting here, the kids are in bed, A is playing Bunko and I am watching The Biggest Loser and just polished off about eight Oreos.  I have been eating the house and am sitting here still hungry.  We only ran three miles this morning, which is fine.  I have been lifting weights as well, so I hope that has something to do with it.  I have had some job search set backs - the job that I really wanted was put on hold (thanks economy) so that is the second time I have had a position put on hold.

Is it the combination of these things along with the days getting shorter and the weather getting colder that makes me want to eat everything that will fit in my mouth?  I don't know - I will think more about it while I eat this apple.

Caged

So I have been training for a marathon for like a year.  OK, it's really only been about 16 weeks or so (thank you L.) but I started running about ten months ago.  When I started running and how long I have been training really has nothing to do with this post so just ignore the previous information.  Anyway, Grandma's Marathon is finally upon us (this Saturday).  I have done the training with a great group of gals (I'd call them "ladies", but the way they talk, they don't qualify), I have been working my own weight program and doing cross training (for some triathlons I am doing - more on that on another post) and now I am in the middle of tapering.  Oh and about two months ago I got laid off.  Now I feel like a caged animal.  Up to a few weeks ago, if I felt pent up or anxious, I could go lift or hop on my bike, or go for a run.  But not now, not this close to the big race.  It's driving me crazy!  The job search goes slow, or actually about as expected considering the amount of energy I have invested thus far.  I feel like I really should be doing more (again, that subject will be tackled in a future post.)

Someone let me out of this cage!