Tag Archives: family

Rallying to Restore Sanity and Fear

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We started out expecting a fairly average day in the capital of the nation. That was not to be. Who knew that when you hold a rally with 215,000 people (as estimated by aerial photographers [Citation: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20021284-503544.html]) most of whom were traveling into the city from outside of it, it puts a strain on the transportation systems?

The roads were fairly empty once we got past mile 62 on I-66. According to WMATA, they set a Saturday record of 825,437 trips. That’s compared to 350,000 on an average Saturday. [Citation: http://www.wmata.com/about_metro/news/PressReleaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=4717]

We left Broadway just after 7:30am. Kelly and I and our friend KBru took our car and headed North, making a brief stop at McDonalds in Newmarket for breakfast before getting on I-81. We were right on schedule for the Vienna/Fairfax Metro exit at about 9:15am when we reached the queue. It stretched back about 2 miles, and after sitting in it for 20 minutes we decided to try our luck at one of the next exits. This turned out to be one of the three best decisions we made that day. It proves that prior basic knowledge of the system works in favor of those trying to use it in ways they never have before.

We got to the West Falls Church exit at about 9:45 (literally just a couple of miles down the road). We found a parking space in record time, and proceeded to the station. It was at this point that we went back to waiting, and shortly afterward I started taking photos on my ‘new’ cell phone, received the day before. (It’s a certified pre-owned, and it replaces the Nokia that I washed a few months ago. It also has a camera!)

10:12am: West Falls Church bridge over I-66 East. The bridge is crowded by the line to the ticket machines. The road underneath is practically empty. The view back two miles on the same road is VERY crowded.

10:13am: We got bored and did what we usually do – take photos of ourselves.

10:25am: We’re getting close to the ticket machines. This lady we saw a couple of times, she looked like a white lady, and was wearing a big sombrero that said something like “I-legal, fear me!” on it.

10:29am: This is the set of lines for the ticket machines. KBru has started knitting in line. Kelly is off to the side as per the request of WMATA. She rejoined us not long after this.

10:45am: We made it on to the platform.

It was shortly after this point we made the second of our best three decisions of the day. Every train coming into the station (the third on the line) was crowded. One or two people were getting on. After about three trains we decided to try doing the non-obvious. We got on a train going the other way. This spawned our catchphrase for the day – “Backwards is the new forwards.” Someone on one of the trains had yelled out the door that they had boarded a train headed away from the city and stayed on it. After all, once they reach Vienna they just go straight back in to DC, and the trains were pretty empty going that way. When we got to Vienna we found (as we expected) that the trains were full leaving there.

The journey into the city was fairly uneventful. Almost every stop had someone with a hilarious costume or sign (a couple of Waldo characters, at least one person wearing a grape costume, I even saw a TARDIS cutout. The one sign I remember said something along the lines of “Three words that will solve the economy: Gay Bridal Registry”).

12:27pm: The museum of American History (if I’m reading it correctly). Those of you who know the Smithsonian will know that at this point we are practically there. This guy also has a really cool improvised drum kit, and he plays really well. Unfortunately I didn’t get a video at all.

Here is just a stream of photos I took while on the mall. I don’t remember enough details to caption each one. There are a few doubles of things, mostly cool signs I saw. We took a photo of KBru outside the Canadian Embassy, and there are photos of the several thousand people who just walked up one of the streets (I forget which, it was headed towards Chinatown).

I run out of photos about now because my camera battery died, but we walked through Chinatown looking for a place to eat, but they were all really busy. We walked up to Union Station – not a bad idea but not great. We ended up eating standing up, having been sitting on the floor in an alcove and being asked to stand as we were considered a safety hazard. Being reasonable and understanding people, we complied – there was nothing we could do to change the minds of the people enforcing the rules, they appeared to think the rule in particular was stupid anyway. We took the metro from Union Station back to Metro Center, where we made the third and final “best decision” of the day, taking the Metro towards Maryland a few stops and then heading back through the crowded city.

The trip from there was uneventful – I remember a little girl who was obviously tired who I talked to briefly about “coming out from the ground” – she had said it and then thought it was a silly thing to say, I told her it wasn’t. We disagreed politely.

A brief stop was made outside of DC (I always forget what it’s called, but there’s a Sheetz and a McDonalds right beside each other, and we almost always stop there on the way out of DC either for food or gas or both..). We were all in need of a bathroom break and some snacks for the ride home, which brought as back to Broadway at around 9pm. An enjoyably sane day in the city of Washington DC.

The Greatest Form of Flattery …

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From Wikipedia:

Flattery (also called adulation or blandishment) is the act of giving excessive compliments, generally for the purpose of ingratiating oneself with the subject.

Historically, flattery has been used as a standard form of discourse when addressing a king or queen. In the Renaissance, it was a common practice among writers to flatter the reigning monarch, as Edmund Spenser flattered Queen Elizabeth I in The Faerie Queene, William Shakespeare flattered King James I in Macbeth and Niccolo Machiavelli flattered Lorenzo II di Piero de’ Medici, ruler of Florence and Duke of Urbino, in The Prince.

They say that the greatest form of flattery is imitation. I hope so, because I’d like to introduce my brother, ZeKeSbRo. He started a blog recently, and the similarities between his and mine are remarkable 😉

I’m sure he’ll have some interesting things to say and things that bore the poop out of you, just like mine. Only time can tell.

In other news, my wife and I are looking at buying another car, probably purchasing on Monday.

It’s a 1997 Subaru Outback, it’s black, it’s a 5-speed manual, and ran great when I test-drove it. It is the limited edition – leather seats and a few other things I probably haven’t spotted. It’ll match our 1998 Subaru Outback nicely!

Of the Feline Persuasion

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EDIT: I wrote this two days ago, and while I could swear I clicked “Publish,” apparently I didn’t..

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Olive “Fishy” “Stanky the Bulldog” “Bolivia” Gilbert died last night, assumed to have been hit by a car at some point between 7pm and 1am on South Sunset Drive in Broadway, VA, aged 1 (human years). Olive was a friend to most, albeit from a distance, and the only cat in the house to really like Crash, her ‘brother.’ Found by her dad on his way home from work, collected and placed in a paper bag and cardboard box by her grandpa, to be buried in a small ceremony this evening.

I don’t really like cats. They are kinda weird. But they have grown on me, and while it seems odd to think about, she was my cat. The last memory I have of her was her laying on the couch in the living room, resting. I kicked the end of the couch a couple of times and she just glared at me, knowing I was the cause of the sudden vibration that was disturbing her sleep. I passed her in the truck when I got home from work, some time just after 1am, and wasn’t sure it was her. I came inside the house and ran a quick sweep, looking in vain to see if I could see her somewhere. When she was nowhere to be found, I let Kelly know that I thought I’d seen her on the road. After we checked the house a little more thoroughly, I got in the car to go and take a closer look. I don’t like dead things, so I didn’t get too close, but from the first side it looked like a generic tabby cat, but slightly Olive-like. So I got back in the car, and turned around and took a look from the other side, and I saw it. The mitten. The single feature of her body that would allow us to identify her to anyone, anywhere. Not wanting to touch her, I drove home to deliver the bad news. At about 1:30 my inlaws were woken, and my father in law and I walked down the road to collect her. She was rather stiff, so it had been some time. Judging by the way she had been laying on the road, it had also been a quick death – a small consolation to a terrible event.

This afternoon I dug a hole, about 1.5 feet deep before I hit too much clay and rock to get past. She will be buried tonight. RIP, stanky kitty.

Rest in Peace, Sir.

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Soldier from Harrisonburg killed in Afghanistan

The Defense Department says Specialist Brian M. Anderson died Saturday of wound he received when his vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device. Anderson was 24 years old.

Disclaimer 1: This is one of those awkward posts, where I’m not entire sure of my thoughts, feelings or beliefs on this whole situation. I have a deep respect for anyone who goes to war to fight for what they believe, even if I wholeheartedly disagree with what they believe. However, I fully understand that a lot of people will disagree with what I think. It’s one of the downsides of living in a country where liberty is a major piece of the foundation, and where freedom of speech is one of the pillars. I have the right to believe anything I wish, FOR SO LONG AS it doesn’t interfere with your right to do anything you wish. I also have a poorly formed opinion on soldiers and how they should be remembered in death, as well as in life, and I have a right to voice that opinion, whether you like it or agree with it or not. If you like what I think, good for you. If you don’t like what I think, that’s your right. I am not forcing you to read what I write, it is by your choice. It’s what freedom and liberty are about.

Disclaimer 2: The only reason I know his name is because he died in the service of his country. I have nothing but respect for the men and women who are prepared to lay down their lives for what they believe. This post has nothing to do with those brave soldiers who volunteer their services to the armed forces of their countries, and I mean no disrespect to any degree to the men or women who have fought and died, fought and lived, who are fighting now, or who will fight in years to come for the ideologies instilled in them by their parents, their friends, and their political leaders. This post is also not aimed explicitly at Specialist Anderson or at his family specifically, this is about my observations of the people in this town and their reaction to the news that a Broadway man had been Killed in Action. May he rest in peace, and be appropriately remembered for his life and for his service to the United States of America.

This is my situation. It quite possibly applies to many others living in this country right now, and more than likely applied to others in some form or another in decades past. Friends and family, classmates and workmates, many people knew him or knew who he was. I am not one of those people. The only reason I know his name is because it was in the newspaper, because it was on facebook, and because people have been talking about it. The only reason I know how he died is because it was in the newspaper, because it was on facebook, and because people have been talking about it. But I can’t help but wonder if the only reason I know who he is now, is because he is dead.

For many soldiers, returning from war alive is not a big thing. Only once have I seen a veteran publicly thanked by another man for his service outside of an event intended for their memorial. I was leaving Burger King on Route 33 in Harrisonburg one day, and I noticed a man who looked to be in his 40’s approach an older man wearing a shirt signifying his participation in an armed defense force (I think it may have been the Marines, but I don’t remember). He asked the elder man if he had served, and after receiving a positive answer he asked which war. I believe the answer was Vietnam, after which the younger man offered his hand and said (..something along the lines of..) “Thank you for your service to our country.” It is something I think should happen more often. For all of the men and women who come home in coffins, many more come home breathing. The ones who die deserve our respect and our remembrance. But if anything, we need to give more to the ones who return alive – they are the ones who have suffered the effects of war and have to deal with them beyond their discharges from the military units they served with. The ones who return alive are the ones who, at best, have to deal with the mental and emotional effects of being in battle and losing buddies, or in some cases, more lasting physical problems resulting from injuries sustained in combat.

While I don’t entirely agree with the notion that we are fighting for American Freedom by being at war in Iraq or Afghanistan, the soldiers who are fighting in it have nothing less than my respect and my support. The people responsible for them being there are a different story entirely, and I would like little more than to see the leaders making more public moves in terms of steps to getting the men and women of the American Military out of the warzones and to see more rebuilding in the shadows of destruction that we have seen over the last 10 years.

“Wait, he’s not even American. Why should I care what he says?” — You’re right. I wasn’t born here. I don’t fully understand or like or agree with a lot of the cultural things that go on here. In many ways I’m torn as to how I think I should feel about a man I didn’t know who I feel is only famous now because he died serving a military branch overseas in a time of war. Had he come home alive, I doubt as much attention would be cast on him. But he did die while fighting for something he believed in, and for that alone I feel he deserves my respect.

This is not a political thing for me. I could care less who started for war, or who was in power during its time and who brought it to an end. My feelings on “bringing freedom” to the people of Iraq and Afghanistan is another issue entirely. I just hear a lot of people saying things, and see a lot of people doing things, and I wonder why. I don’t know any family members of any men or women Killed in Action to know how they feel when they are offered condolences for their loss by people who didn’t know their son or daughter, when the only reason anyone is remembering their child is because they died at war. I can only imagine that I would also feel torn between being honored as the parent of a young man or woman with a name, with feelings, with opinions and thoughts of his or her own, that his or her friends and other family members will remember and talk about for years to come, and being honored as a parent of a child brave enough to fight for what they believed, who is remembered because their name is on a plaque along with hundreds of others who served and died. The struggle is deepened, I suppose, because both circumstances are equally honorable. I just thrive on personal interaction, and when I don’t have a connection to an individual I don’t care to the same level as if I had known them.

So with that in mind, I wish to offer my condolences to the families of the many men and women who have died in service to their country, whether it be the United States, or the United Kingdom or one of its many allies. May they rest in peace, and be long remembered by the people and beliefs they died fighting for.

And more-so, I offer thanks to the men and women who fought and lived. Especially to the allied veterans of World War One, and World War Two, but also to those who fought in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. May you be remembered in life and in death for that which you have given to your country, and to the people and beliefs that you bravely fought for.

My Old New Toy

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It doesn’t really make sense, does it? Either it’s an old toy, or it’s a new toy. How can it possibly be both? Well, dear reader, it can, and it is. My most recent recreational requisition (how is that for alliteration in context?) is an Olympus OM-10 SLR camera.

Designed in 1979, I acquired it a week ago on Craigslist. In fully working condition, it came with a Soligor MK32A flash unit, a 50mm lens, a 70-210mm lens, and another which I’m not sure of. It also came with an auto-winder (as yet unused) and a 2x telephoto converter. Just in playing around, I’ve gone through a roll and a half of film, yet to be developed. I also need to take apart the lens of unknown focal length, as the link to the aperture eye doesn’t work, so I probably have a couple of over-exposed photos having set the aperture below the max width and taken photos.

One might ask – why in this world of digital technology would you buy something so old? Two reasons. Firstly, it’s cheap. All of the above cost me $125. I would pay $600 for a worthwhile entry-level DSLR without any lenses. Secondly, it’s about going back to where I came from. You see, I learnt how to take photos on an Olympus OM-1 with a single non-zoom lens plus a 2x teleconverter when I wanted to get closer without getting closer. That was something like 10 years ago. Since then I’ve owned 2 SLR-like digital cameras, and used a few others. But it’s not quite the same. There is something about the feeling of manually focusing a scene and feeling the “thunk” as you click the trigger. My Fujifilm S9600, while it takes awesome photos, is also designed as a multipurpose camera (as it should be – it has a single non-interchangeable lens) and so the effects that can be achieved with different lenses are simply impossible. Adjusting the aperture gives a depth-of-focus effect, but nowhere near to the same degree as a true SLR – it’s one of the things I’ve been playing with the most with this camera.

Don’t despair, I’m not ditching digital. I realize that film is more expensive, especially in the way I use the photos I take (generally online) but I’m planning on enjoying the 35mm for as long as I can justify it.

Crime and Punishment

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A few times recently I’ve noticed that people have very different views on how criminals should be treated based on age, the crime committed, and various other factors. The truth is, different people respond differently to the same events – this is evident from children growing up. In the same style of household, one child may grow up to be particularly loud and one may grow up to be particularly quiet, and we attribute both to being the same cause (an overly loud parent, for example). Some people grow up close to busy roads or rail lines or emergency services buildings, or with constant noise in the house. The result may be a child who can never fall asleep without noise, or a child who enjoys falling asleep to silence because they never got the opportunity. Likewise, a person may need 10 years in prison for stealing to achieve the same reformation as a murderer realizing their wrong-doing (and subsequent reformation) after just 2. I think as law-abiding citizens it is all too easy for us to sit back and say “this is how it should work” or “this is how long a person should be imprisoned for their actions,” when really we have little to no knowledge of the situation.

This is what I think. I think there should be a strike system based on the crime committed, and once that limit is reached, no more chances (a minimum of one, and a maximum based on the severity of the crime and the history of the criminal). The result of striking out would be life in prison. Period. Additionally, if a fine has been paid and the individual re-offends then a prison sentence should be mandatory.

I also think that while there should be minimum punishments for crimes, unless a prisoner can prove their reformation at the end of this time to a jury of peers (like those that sent him (or her) there to begin with), they should remain pending further reformation and subsequent court hearings. Psychological analysis could also be a useful tool in determining appropriate time periods and other punishments with regard to reformation.

As a Christian, it is a hard line to walk in terms of lining up my beliefs on forgiveness and reformation with maintaining justice both for those who believe as I do and for those that don’t, as well as allowing people to feel safe from the average criminal. This is why I believe in offering a chance to criminals who can prove to a jury of peers that they have reformed and are ready to go back to life-as-normal with checks and balances in place to help keep them on the straight and narrow path of a law-abiding citizen.

I am aware, however, that this will probably never happen. Why? It’s too expensive. It would undoubtedly see an increase in prisoners over a short period of time costing the tax-payer millions. It would also cost in terms of psychologists for evaluations and so on. It will also generate outcries from the families of criminals who believe (right or wrong) that the individual is innocent. And it means change. And no-one likes change. Especially those who took the idea that a mass murderer could see daylight after just a few years and ran with it. Or that a thief could be imprisoned for 30 years (despite the likelihood of re-offending being low or high on release, respectively). Or that they could face prison time for speeding twice.

(Disclaimer: This is a not-well-thought-out idea. Feel free to add your comments and agree or disagree.)

Dear Mr. President

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Dear President Obama,

I am writing to you in this public form to appeal not only to yourself, but to others in power who may stumble across this.

Allow me to introduce myself quickly. I am 23 years of age and I live in a small town in Virginia with my wife of 20 months, our 1 year old Golden Retriever “Crash,” our 7 month old kitten “Olive,” and my wife’s family – her Mom, Dad, Brother, and their 3 cats.

Since moving to the United States in April 2008 I have held 2 jobs, one as a Camp Counselor at a Christian Camp and one as a Program Leader for a local Boys and Girls Club Unit. I have also done casual work for another camp in the area, hardly enough to call a job in most senses of the term and I am presently unemployed. My wife works at a Day Care Center as a teacher for 3 year old children, and enjoys it a lot.

However, we are stuck in a position where a lack of job openings in the local area as well as high fuel costs are preventing me from finding or accepting job offers. Just a week ago I had to turn down a well-paying offer to work in Northern Virginia because we couldn’t afford the gas to allow me to work the first day, let alone until the first pay check. I also stopped by the local Food Lion (supermarket) last night to inquire as to whether there were any open positions and how I could apply, only to be told that they are cutting their employees hours – they simply aren’t making it themselves.

I feel that “free” health-care, paid for by the taxpayer, is an important issue – especially having moved from a public health care system in New Zealand. I know that if our health insurance bill was lowered or indeed gone then my wife and I would be a lot closer to making our personal financial ends meet. I am also very much aware that the mainstream media have done a very good job of scaring us all with what might unfold if that were allowed to happen here. I feel that stimulating the economy is important too, especially because it seems a lot of people have little money to spend. I know if American products could better compete in price-wars against imported products then I would be more inclined to purchase the “home-grown” version. I am also very much aware that what most people are spending their money on are imported goods from overseas – simply because they are so much more affordable to them.

I wouldn’t mind if my job was providing technical support to a foreign organization that purchased a product from a US source, while I went to a store during my break and bought meat imported from outside the country for a meal, but from what I can tell there are very few things of worth being exported from the United States compared to the vast amount of things being imported. What the people need is employment to provide them with an income and the US economy with a profitable product, and what the economy needs is an increase in exports and a decrease in imports in order to create a balance.

Perhaps this means increasing taxes on imported goods intended for sale, or imposing limits on how much an individual or an organization can import every year. Perhaps this means increasing and reducing taxes on individuals and organizations who refuse to produce in the United States or who take the initiative to create jobs and products in America for Americans (and others). Whatever the solution, it needs to come quickly.

I am not an American, I am certainly not someone to tell you how to do your job or what this country needs. In all honesty, I don’t know. Maybe a start would be some form of inspiration to lower gas prices. To increase the desire of Americans to buy American. To foster the ideas of individuals or organizations who have something of exportable value and help them to bring dream to reality.

Kind Regards,

A Concerned Legal Alien.

The Chicken and The Egg

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To quote Chicken Run:

Nick: Here’s a thought. Why don’t we get an egg and start our own chicken farm? That way we’d have all the eggs we could eat.
Fetcher: Right. We’ll need a chicken, then.
Nick: No… no, we’ll need an egg. You have the egg first, that’s where you get the chicken from.
Fetcher: No, that’s cobblers. If you don’t have a chicken, where are you going to get the egg?
Nick: From the chicken that comes from the egg.
Fetcher: Yeah, but you have to have an egg to have a chicken.
Nick: Yeah, but you’ve got to get the chicken first to get the egg, and then you get the egg… to get the chicken out of…
Fetcher: Hang on, let’s go over this again.

Once again, I have a predicament. I came to a small realization today, and that is I have no formal qualifications or certifications in IT, and while I am getting interviews with my current skill-set and experience, I still come out underneath in terms of finding a position to utilize them in.

So I was looking around at A+ and wondering what it would take to become certified. I found a couple of “free” online tests that would allow me to see if I could (in theory) pass the exams. Turns out that with a little training it wouldn’t be all that hard. The reason I say “free” is because it asked me for contact information, and I knew as soon as I clicked “submit” that I’d get a marketing call asking if I’m interested. Turns out I am! But once again we have a chicken-egg scenario.

The organization in question have a (limited time) offer whereby if I am unemployed they can take off 40% of the cost of the program, taking it from $1000 down to $601 (so.. 39.9%?). They also offer the possibility of an interest-free and non-credit-checked payment plan, and have testimonials of specific people who got jobs within a few days of signing up to take the class (simply based on the prospect that they would have the certification within X days).

Once again my problem is having a job with which to fund such a proposition, and requiring the certification that it would provide in order to land said job.

Clearly I need to sit down and reanalyze our options, and maybe drive up to food lion or something for an application there. I just feel bad (and worried in terms of resume) about holding short-term jobs while trying to get “the big one.” At the same time, I can’t just sit around doing nothing while waiting for it either.

Update on the Job Front

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To those of you who have been praying for Kelly and I with my job search, thank you! I have an update and an addition to this request, but it requires a little background so bear with me!

I live near Harrisonburg in Virginia, about 100 miles from DC via Interstates. In November I interviewed for a job near Dulles in the DC Metro Area and was offered it but I turned it down because a) at the time I had a part time job, b) it was working 5pm-1am and c) it was paying $36k/yr maximum. C wasn’t so bad, but B was the big killer, as I’m married and my wife works 9:30-6 and we would never see each other except on weekends.

On Friday I got signed up with a staffing agency and did a days work (one day assignment) yesterday, but future assignments aren’t incredibly hopeful based on the number of people they need to assign work to and the amount of work their clients have.

Today I talked with a lady who goes to my church who tipped me off about 2 positions with an insurance company and was also going to make calls to the Sheriffs office and the Courts (she’s worked for them before and knows people) to see if they have a need for an IT worker.

I also got an email from the company in Northern Virginia to say they had another opening from 7am-3pm, this time offering a $36k base salary with up to $6k in bonuses.

This seems, on the surface, like a no-brainer, except that for it to work several things need to fall into place, and this is what I’m asking for prayer for.

If this is what I am meant to do and where I am supposed to be, I am going to need to either get a car loan and find a car (not likely to happen because I have $0 for deposit and fairly bad credit), or find someone willing to lend me a car for a month until the first pay check comes in and my wife and I can sort our financial life out. I’m also going to need to find a room in Northern Virginia within 15 minutes or so of Dulles for when I am on call around one week a month, and again we have $0.

It is a rather bleak outlook at this point, but I believe that if this is the door that God is opening then the means to pass through it will also be shown to us shortly, and that if this is not the way then the door will be closed and I’ll continue down the hallway of life looking for the next door that is wide open (or slightly ajar..)

Yesterday Was a Long Day

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Wow. 8 hours is a long time to spend alone in a car.

I misreported on facebook via twitter that I had driven for 6 hours and gone 260 miles during my work day yesterday, while I visited 18 convenience stores on a list that had me testing (as part of the training program, rather than getting people in serious trouble) whether I would be carded when trying to buy tobacco products.

Unfortunately my tired brain was incapable of basic time-math and thought that 11am-7pm was 6 hours. No, it’s 8. I am aware of this now. My first stop was at 11:10am and the last one was at 5:10pm, but then required a nearly 2 hour drive from West Virginia over US-33 back to Harrisonburg and up to Broadway. This involved a near miss with a deer (a couple had run in front of me, and one stopped short of running into the side of the car while I was doing ~ 55mph), and several near misses with 25mph turns over 33, which when they said “25mph” actually meant “You should probably do 25mph, not the 40mph that you could do one the 25mph turns further down the mountain..” It was on these that I really felt the vibration of the brakes that really needs to be looked at soon, as well as the transmission error light that has been coming up for a couple of weeks. I really hope that is just a faulty sensor that needs replacing and not a serious transmission issue, but who knows. I’m about 75% sure that the vibration issue is a warped brake disc on the front left wheel, but it is too cold to try looking at it and even then there is no guarantee that I could spot it. With our luck recently, if the car breaks it is probably an indication that we are about to get a job or something to keep us barely-floating still, rather than providing a useful means to dig ourselves out of this hole we are in.

In better news, and still on the job front, I’ve been talking to a lady from church who knows a lot of people (IE: companies/organizations) who are or may be in need of IT people. She gave me one set of contact info and was going to call around today and tonight and give me another call to let me know if she came up with anything. It really seems to be a case of not so much what you know (although it certainly helps!) but who you know.