One of the hazards of collecting unemployment is having to endure required “workshops” that come along as a stipulation for you to complete in order to see those checks.

I attended my first workshop several weeks ago. It was an orientation for all of the people filing new claims for unemployment. Yes, I will call them “newbs”. So there I was, a newb in a room full of newbs, and what happens? The newb orientation was conducted by a… wait for it… newb. Yes. The person leading the orientation was new to the job. Heck, at least she got one, right?

That workshop was nothing more than a marketing ploy for all the service agencies that offer assistance to people who find themselves out of work. Needless to say, I got credit for attending and my unemployment checks continued to flow into my bank account (although you wouldn’t know it because there are leeches sucking it out as fast as I can get it in there).

Today’s workshop topic was “resume writing”. Uh. Hello?!? I have a resume. I have a kick ass resume. How do I know it’s a kick ass resume? Several recruiters and one employer have told me it’s a kick ass resume, that’s how I know. Sure, I sound cocky, but I’m allowed to, because I have a kick ass resume. When you have a kick ass resume, you can get cocky too, okay?

I suppose the workshop contained valuable information for those who don’t have a resume, but seriously, they have been out of work as long as I have, that’s 2 and a half months. If they don’t have a resume, what exactly have they been doing for the past 74 days?

I was told my resume is a shining example of a “well-thought out, detail oriented, modern day, professional resume”. Yeah, so the guy that told me was a guy who works for the Department of Labor, but heck, at least he wasn’t a newb, right?

I spent the morning organizing all of the notes on my desk, which proved futile. I have been jotting notes while speaking with recruiters and I have scribbled on the bottom of so many different pages I realized that I needed something to organize my job search.

After a quick trip to the store for an inexpensive day planner, I have all of the information I need in one place. I have all of the notes I have taken sorted by recruiter and/or company, and I have all of my contact numbers listed at the front so I can make my follow-up calls without having to turn a page.

I have to jump through another hoop tomorrow morning when I travel over to the Department of Labor for a “resume writing” workshop that I am required to attend. Unemployment checks have been deposited into my account each week for two months and they want me to attend this workshop now? It doesn’t make sense. What do they think I have been using when applying for jobs for the past two months?

I followed up with the two recruiters where I have pending “action” happening. I called the first one to get feedback on the interview I had early last week, and we are hoping to hear about the “second round” of interviews sometime this week. I talked to the second recruiter about that last minute “surprise” interview I had late last week, and it looks promising, but we will not hear anything until later this week as well. I guess I just have to be patient, and anyone who knows me knows that’s not one of my best traits.

We saw what we think is a Cooper’s Hawk down the street today, but it flew by so quickly none of us were able to get a photo of it. We’re planning a stake-out of the creek later this week to catch some shots of that beautiful creature. I did get a photo of a Great Blue Heron tonight, just as he took flight to get the heck away from us. It’s not the best shot, but it shows how big they really are. I will add it to my post tomorrow.

That’s it for tonight. I need to get my sleep so I can deal with going to that “class” tomorrow.

The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.

Lao-Tse

We spent the day stuck indoors, but that didn’t stop us from taking more bird photos. The temperature was in the 40s or low 50’s most of the day, so when the rain stopped I cleaned the windows on the back door and the boys stood inside taking photos of the birds coming to the feeder.

They thought it was amazing how many birds came up while they were standing there, I guess they still don’t understand that the birds could care less as long as they stayed inside behind the glass.

When I wrote my post last night about “Earth Hour” I never imagined that Al Gore would help prove my point. If you still think that “Earth Hour” was meant to change anything last night, don’t you think Mr. Gore should have participated in the evening’s event?

There is no doubt that Al Gore is the international poster child for those suffering from GWDS (Global Warming Derangement Syndrome). He has spent years speaking about the dangers of global warming and climate change. In fact, he makes $100,000 per speech and sometimes more on the subject. It’s obvious he gets paid that much to speak on the subject because he’s an expert on all things related to climate change, wouldn’t you agree?

Well, then why didn’t he turn off his lights last night? In the past, we have learned that Al Gore burns through more electricity in one month at his house than your entire family does in an entire year. The man has a ton of lights at his place, yet he didn’t turn them off to participate in “Earth Hour”.

If “Earth Hour” was meant to send a message or make a difference, you’d think the poster child himself would have made sure every light at his estate was turned off in observance of the historic event.

Turning the lights off for an hour at Al Gore’s estate is the equivalent to turning the lights off at your house for 12 days. You do that math. Al Gore could have helped raise awareness for the cause that is so near and dear to his heart wallet, but instead he chose to ignore that cause while you chose to sit in the dark.

If that doesn’t send a message I sure don’t know what does.

Save the planet! Fight global warming! You’ve heard the mantras for years but what have you done to actually save the planet? What have you done to help in the fight against global warming? Exactly what steps have you taken to make your energy footprint smaller?

If all you did was wait for tonight so you could participate in “Earth Hour” and turn off your lights for an hour to help save the planet, then you fail. You fail big time.

I hate to break the news to you, but saving the planet is going to take a lot more effort than making sure you switch off a few lights for an hour once a year. It’s going to take a lot more work than plastering the bumper of your car with cute slogans and mottos to raise awareness.

Why not just face the facts? You are not going to save the planet by turning off your lights for an hour if you spend the other 23 hours of the day (and every hour of every other day) sitting in your temperature controlled home with your ass planted in front of the television while you are drinking ice cold beverages from your refrigerator and eating popcorn you made in the microwave.

If you’re truly concerned for our planet, it’s going to take a lot more effort than making one symbolic act to show your “solidarity” while you sit in the dark for an hour.

Hell, we aren’t even sure the planet needs saving. Depending on your political position, global warming is either a science, a religion, or just a myth, but no matter which side of the fence you are on (or if you’re sitting on the fence itself) there is no doubt that humans have made a mark on this planet and, in the name of conservation, we could all be doing something to preserve this rock we call home.

Now turn your lights back on and start making a difference. Think of creative ways to help lower your energy consumption, work on a plan to reduce your energy footprint, try for a moment to think for yourself and top sitting in the dark just because someone else told you to.

No news is good news, or so the saying goes.

I didn’t hear anything all day, except that I had to be patient and wait. So, as I said, no news. But that was good, because that means they are most likely checking references and performing a background check.

I started the day quite late today. For some reason I slept in. Could it have been something I ate, or could I have just been exhausted. I’ve been getting plenty of sleep, so I am guessing that my belly was so full that I was content to sleep for a long, long, time.

It’s been raining here for the better part of two days and it’s not over yet. At this very moment there is heavy rain and strong storms headed our way. The local weather “experts” say the storms won’t be here until morning. Looking at the local radar, it’s going to be here long before dawn.

I’ve been testing some of the software packages included in the MacHeist Bundle, and I must say, I am quite impressed with a few of the titles that I didn’t really think I would be too interested in. If you’re a Mac user, you’re too late to get the extra game bundle for being one of the first 25,000 people to get one, and you have just ten more days to grab your bundle.

I want to take the boys on a photo hike this weekend. I just have to decide where and when. With the rain coming in tomorrow, we’ll probably have to wait until Sunday, but that’s cool as long as we get a chance to get out and fill up some SD cards.

Our character is what we do when we think no one is looking.

For now, I will sit back and watch the weather while I plan our day on Sunday. What do you have planned this weekend?

I didn’t do anything all day.

Well, I take that back. I woke up early, because the puppy decided he needed to go outside and relieve himself in the pouring rain. When I let him back in, I was going to go back to sleep, but decided I may as well stay up.

I ran a package to the post office for Gidget, sent follow up emails to 8 different recruiters, and since it was only 10 oclock, I decided to organize the MacBook a bit and clean some stuff off the hard drive.

Yeah, I know, I had a really exciting day. Only three of the recruiters answered my email before 5pm. That disappointed me a bit since neither they nor I make any money if they don’t get my face in front of these employers.

Two of the three recruiters did inform me that it looked like the IT market may be picking back up. One of the problems I have seen, is that companies have implemented hiring freezes because of the economy. If that cloud is lifting some, I am happy. I’ll be happier when I am working full time again.

It rained most of the day and we’re supposed to get more rain tomorrow and Saturday. The rain is going to be awesome for the soil in the garden, which will be ready to plant by Good Friday. WooHoo!

That’s it for today. I am going to finish re-organizing myFarm on Facebook and then call it a night.

Presence is more than just being there