A New Year

I'm going to try to keep up with this again in 2008. It's not a resolution, just a desire to get back to writing. I enjoyed doing this back when I was writing entries regularly. It's just hard to keep up and find the time. I used to make resolutions, but I really don't any more. Now I view the start of the new year pretty much the same way every year. It *is* a time to do some taking stock, to look both back and forward, to see what I can learn from the past year, and most importantly to do some thinking about where I can take my life in the coming year. Are there any actions I can take to bring myself closer to the person I want to be? Sounds pretty dramatic.

Anyway, stay tuned and we'll see what goes on. The 2007 pictures are below, if anyone is still looking for those.

2007 Pictures

A few pictures of us in 2007. Click on any picture to view a larger version. I've been asked to enter captions and also to tell people how to comment, if they wish: just click on the words "0 comments" (or "2 comments", or however many there are) at the very bottom of this entry.



Julia dolled up for homecoming.

Julia and Katie O'Donohue ready for the Harry Potter release party.

Julia's birthday...she and some of her pals all in a pile.

Sam running in a cross-country meet.

The World's Largest Frying Pan! How can you NOT stop and see this?

Just a few days ago...Julia and Sam in front of our tree.

On top of Mill Mountain in Roanoke.

On top of Mill Mountain in Roanoke.

Missing in Action

Well...it's been a long time since I posted. I've been absent, but busy.

I started at VSAIA on October 8. Since then I have been ...occupied. Even when I didn't have all *that* much to do at work, it was tiring. I'd forgotten how tiring it can be to be in a new job and just trying to soak in as much information as you can.

So far I like it quite a bit. It has many things that are novel to me...structure, clarity of mission, resources. I'm getting to know the staff, and getting busier by the day.

The main reason I'm busy and will be for a couple more weeks is that our major event of the year, Architecture Exchange East, takes place November 7-9.

So far I like all the people I work with. There are a couple with some idiosyncracies, but nothing truly weird so far. Just odd enough to be interesting. The CEO is very smart and very politically astute. I can learn a lot from him.

What else is new? Well, I bought a new laptop. After having one for several years that belonged to my employer, I got really used to having one. Then I didn't have one anymore, and three of us were jockeying for the one desktop computer, and it got to be too much, so I bit the bullet and picked up an HP Pavilion on sale.

Also, I went back to Weight Watchers. When I was going there over the summer, I lost 15 pounds, then I lost my job and started eating everything. So I went to my first meeting again the other day, and my weigh in was 6 pounds up from what I had lost. not too bad, I expected it to be more.

OK, that's enough for now. more later

A Walk In The Woods

Every once in a while I have to go out and walk through the woods. I find it provides me with a certain amount of re-centering of my thoughts, and my attitudes toward life, the universe, and everything. Given everything that’s gone on in the last few months, I had a strong urge to do that this week, and fortunately yesterday was open...the only day this week with nothing else on the calendar. Except hearing Lyra at Christ Church, but I felt I could give that up for my mental health.

I've visited various places depending on how much time I have available and how much I feel like driving, but one of my favorite places to go is Shenandoah National Park. So yesterday I drove up there and got onto the ridge by around 11:00, and the fog was just burning off. I wasn't looking for particularly strenuous hikes or anything, just some places where I could get out among trees and breathe that wonderful air. So I did the first three hikes I came across, Turk Mountain, RipRap, and Blackrock Summit. Probably less than 7 or 8 miles all together, but just exactly what I needed. I am so refreshed today.

Here are a few pics of my wanderings yesterday.

The view from Turk Mountain:



The view from Blackrock Summit:




A couple of deer by the road:




A Mama bear and three cubs! This was so cool!



I walked up to about 100 yards from them to take this picture. A good rule of thumb with bears, or any wildlife, is that if you're close enough for them to notice you, you're too close. I was just about that close. As I was taking the picture, I saw Mama glance up in my direction. I beat feet out of there after that.


If you're interested, Bill Bryson's A Walk In The Woods is a wonderfully funny book about hiking the Appalachian Trail.

Fret factor: Very low

Music factor: Gomez (good call, Nat!), KT Tunstall, Fountains of Wayne, Alison Krauss

My New Job

A quick post now...more later.

This morning I accepted the position of Director of Professional
Development for the Virginia Society of the American Institute of
Architects. I'll be working in one of the coolest buildings in
Richmond, Branch House, at 2501 Monument Avenue.

I start October 8.

VSAIA: http://www.virginiaarchitecture.org/vsaia_index.jsp

Branch House: http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/virginia/richmond/branch/branch.html

Pop!

All of a sudden things took off on the nonprofit front. As many of my two readers may know, I have been taking classes nonprofit management at VCU. I had to skip this semester due to my impending job-free status. I’m not unemployed, I’m unencumbered by work. Anyway, in addition to training/education jobs I have been sending resumes out for nonprofit jobs, and just last week three of them popped. So, I have an interview with a professional society tomorrow (Monday), one with a conservation association Monday the 1st, a phone interview with a University on the 4th, and I’ve been contacted by a homeless-oriented charity who wants to talk to me, interview date TBD.

The positions (in the same order) are Director of Professional Development, Executive Director, Manager of Instructional Design, and Executive Director.

This seems to come in waves. Early last week I had nothing going and I was really getting cranky. Now I have several possibilities, and I’m not as cranky, though I’m a bit anxious. Psyched, I mean. That’s it, I’m psyched.

Fret factor: Dude, you’re harshing my mellow.

Beer factor: Octoberfest!

Music factor: KT Tunstall, Alison Krauss, The Police.

P.S. I’m considering moving this blog to WordPress. For a while, there will be a duplicate blog at the URL below, though I doubt I will keep up the duplication for long…I’ll either make the switch or not.

http://moresignal.wordpress.com

Don't call us...

In the previous post I wrote:

Conventional wisdom says that you don’t get jobs through the newspapers. You’re supposed to contact the companies directly and talk to a person, and do your networking. However, more and more it seems to me that companies are discouraging the direct personal contact route, and asking for seekers to apply through the web site, only for openings that are listed on the web site.

Several of the companies I have called to attempt a followup have responded with something like this: “We get a lot of resumes. We’ll go through them all and we’ll call you if you are one of the people we want to talk with.”

So, how do you get around this and talk with a human?

Tools and Strategies

Here are a few of the things I have done to keep my job search moving along.

Personal Contacts and Networking
As soon as I knew that my job was ending, I emailed almost everyone I knew. I told them I was looking and asked them to keep an eye out for me. I didn’t send everyone a resume, but I did send a resume to anyone who asked. A number of people responded with suggestions and ideas for me. About six weeks later I sent an update to those folks plus a few more, and once again it generated some new activity. I will probably send one more next week.

Beyond those contacts with people I already know and associate with is the other part of networking, which is finding new people to meet and share information with. I’ve done a bit of this, but not nearly as much as I should. Last week I went to a lunch for a local chapter of a professional society. It was a good thing to do. I didn’t make any contacts for potential jobs, but I did meet a couple of other job-seekers, who I may share some information with.

Web sites
Over the past year or so I’ve created a web page with direct links to local companies’ web sites. Where possible I’ve linked directly to the career sections of those sites. Every week or so, I go through and check all of the web sites for new openings.

Lately I’ve had occasion to share these links with a number of folks, so I’ve begun transferring them to del.icio.us so that anyone can access them If you’re interested, this is where they live:

http://del.icio.us/wconners/jobs

Newspapers
I’ve always looked at the help wanted ads anyway. Some people read obituaries, I read the help wanted. So, this is really just a matter of continuing something I’ve always done. Every Sunday, after church, I sit and go through the ads. I have found a number of possibilities there.

Conventional wisdon says that you don’t get jobs through the newspapers. You’re supposed to contact the companies directly and talk to a person, and do your networking. However, more and more it seems to me that companies are discouraging the direct personal contact route, and asking for seekers to apply through the web site, only for openings that are listed on the web site. What do you think?

Alumni Network
I haven’t tapped this yet. The UVA Alumni Association does some support work in this area, and I’ve visited the web site, but I haven’t contacted them yet. I’m thinking they may be able to connect me with some folks in this area for networking purposes.

Recruiters
I also haven’t done anything here, and I really think I’ve dropped the ball in that regard. For one thing, when I look through the yellow pages or through listings on the Interweb, it’s kind of intimidating…I don’t know anything about any of them, so I have no idea which one to contact. I know a lot of them specialize in certain fields, but I haven’t seen any that list my field. Also, I’ve done well enough on my own, getting a number of applications in and more than a couple interviews, so I’ve kept busy enough that I haven’t felt the need.

So, that’s the list. What have I missed?

Plan The Work, Work The Plan

I’d really like to do more with this blog. Originally, I started it just to have something to play around with, and to have some fun writing and working on my narrative voice. I only gave the address to a couple of people. I rarely posted.

Then, my job search began, and I thought it would be a good venue for expressing some of my feelings, working out some things, and keeping friends and family updated. It has worked well for me in that regard. It’s surprisingly therapeutic to just spew out some of the things that are on your mind.

However, I suspect it’s not very interesting to anyone but me. Not even me much of the time.

Since my time is kind of at a premium these days, I don’t have the time to do a few things that I would like with the blog. It’s not really anything more than a day-to-day online diary, and the best blogs are a whole lot more than that.

I’d like to:

Make the design a little more attractive. I’m considering moving to WordPress, which has cooler designs and more flexibility.
Regularly update a blogroll, interesting sites, and media I’m watching/reading/listening to.
Post on something else…anything. Get a little more topical. A little deeper. Spend a little more time on preparation and composition than I do now.

Hopefully, when I get a new job I will have time to do some of this. Right now, I don’t.

This weekend, I have a lot of music to prep for the church picnic Sunday. I have a 45-minute presentation to create for an interview on Tuesday. My son has a cross-country meet tomorrow that I will probably have to skip.

No word recently from the guy I met with last week at Company SJ. It went well, and my impression was that there would be more conversation. He’s a really busy guy, so I’ll be patient and see what comes up. I’m pretty hopeful about this one.

I got a surprise callback from Local University, which is the Tuesday interview. I was very unhappy with the phone interview, but I guess I did something right. Either that or the candidate pool is woeful. I need to get cranking on my Powerpoints for this one.

More on these as they develop.

Fret factor: It’s been lower

Beer factor: Stone Pale Ale...now in 12-ounce bottles!

Boo!

Being in my situation is kind of a roller coaster ride of emotion. I am by turns elated, optimistic, depressed, frightened...you get the picture. Mostly, I try really hard to cultivate a positive attitude about the whole thing, and to project that to the people around me. There’s definitely been an emotional and mental process to this, which I will write about another time.

An interesting challenge I’ve been faced with is a simple one, and a bit surprising: going to my office.

Gradually, I’ve become a ghost. I shouldn’t be surprised, really, and I’m sure that many people in similar situations face this. In fact, I experienced it myself when I left Arthur Andersen in 1994. It goes like this:

I don’t get any more memos, emails, or other communications. I’m not invited to meetings, either formal or the in-the-hall variety. Not only am I not invited, but I don’t know about them until after they happen. Consequently, I’ve become completely out of the loop in an amazingly short time.

My co-workers stop in to ask me how things are going with my search, which is very nice, but they don’t hang around and talk to me about work items, because …well, what’s the point? They are being very nice to me, and that’s wonderful.

They’re all concerned about whether they will get grant funding for the next five years, whereas I’ve gone beyond that.

My boss and I haven’t had a conversation beyond “Hi” in weeks, though we have exchanged some emails.

So because of all this, it feels really weird for me to be at work.

I should mention that since I have a ton of vacation time to use or lose by the end of September, I’ve only been in the office two or three days a week. I’ve no doubt that my absence has contributed to my ghostly status.

Am I upset about this? Not at all. I can see it’s a logical consequence of my status. At the same time, it just feels weird. I mean, I’ve been working there for 13 years, and suddenly I’m a nonentity.

I have four weeks left.

Fret factor: Mild

Labor Day factor: Sitting on the screen porch drinking a cup of tea

Tea factor: Irish Breakfast

Status Report

33 total applications or contacts made

9 either turned me down or I elected not to pursue

24 still active, though some are more active than others

7 interviews

1 offer

1 meeting scheduled (Thursday 8/30)

Fret Factor: Moderate to High

Motivation Factor: Fairly high at the moment, varies daily

Drinking Factor: Pinot Grigio

Game Factor: Wii!

Choices

Since I have been vaguely dissatisfied (will that be on my tombstone? “Here lies Wayne, who was vaguely dissatisfied”) with what I’ve been doing professionally for some time, over the past few years I have considered a number of career changes. I worked part-time for a relative, selling office furniture. I almost got into a position with a software company in Herndon. I went a fair amount down the road toward working with someone I knew in his company, a digital communications startup. As it turned out, both companies folded, so maybe I made the right decisions. I thought about teaching. I took several classes in nonprofit management, and I’m still interested in that field.

There are several other examples of situations I looked at, but the point is, I’m not one of those people who lives their life with a clear idea of what they want to do and why. I like to try different things, and even though I’ve stayed in my current job for 13 years, for much of that time I’ve been poking around, looking for my next situation. None of the possibilities I’ve examined are directly in my current field.

Why this gets interesting (to me, anyway) is because of what happened when I got the word that the Exit door was looming.

I immediately started sending resumes and applications out. Did I send them to new and unusual career choices? No. I’ve sent them for jobs where I thought I could get hired. All the dreaming about new and fun places has gone out the window, because of two reasons, really.

One, the time crunch. It’s one thing to dream about a change when you have a paycheck coming in, and it’s something entirely different when you face the loss of that paycheck in a matter of weeks.

Two, I have two kids who will be in college very soon. Way too soon for comfort. So, any break in the income will affect how much I can put away. I’ve already stopped the automatic withdrawal of a little extra I was putting away for retirement, but kept up the college withdrawals. I have to stop that soon as well.

Now, all this doesn’t mean I’m not still looking for or won’t still apply for something that is out of the ordinary or just looks fun to me. But I do have to be practical and look for jobs that I can get more readily, and that will pay me enough. I was offered one job, teaching computer technology to middle schoolers, which I think would be great fun. But I can’t take that pay cut. Yet. Maybe someday.

I did get a positive communication today, which I won’t write about until I know more.

Fret factor: Rising

Sleep factor: Erratic

Me and Ted Forth

A couple of weeks ago, there was very little activity happening on the job front, and I was getting a bit nervous. I decided to make an appointment to see Bonnie Miller, a career counselor that I had visited about five years ago, when I was thinking of changing careers. I remembered her as very helpful and encouraging then, and I thought she might have some good suggestions to help me pump up my numbers a little. Job searching is a numbers game. I met with her Thursday.

My goals for this meeting were to:
Get some feedback on what I had done so far (the system I had set up for tracking, the web sites I was visiting, etc).
Ask her to take a look at my resume and make suggestions for improvements
Find out her thoughts on how to push my networking a little.
Anything other suggestions for how I could improve my search.

It was an excellent meeting, and I got exactly what I wanted out of it.

She made several suggestions about my resume, and how to make it more focused so that it could grab someone’s attention. She also had a couple of great ideas for ways I could adjust it depending on the job at hand...mostly just by changing the order of things around. She gave me some ideas about how to increase and make better use of my network.

She was very positive about the work I had done so far, and she really liked my tracking documents, and the list of web sites that I visit for opportunities.

In general, I’m very happy I went back to see her, and I’m feeling newly revitalized about my search.

I had three interviews this past week. I had a very short-notice interview with a lady from Company F, a large financial organization. It went OK...not great. I felt very unfocused, which I can only blame partially on the short notice. It seems like a great job and a great company. I hope I get a chance for a second interview to redeem myself.

I had a phone interview with College U, and as I expected, I do NOT have the technical chops for that job. They’re looking for “faculty liaisons”, but the specs are very technical. They want programmers to develop tools, and that’s not me.

Wednesday I met with folks from the VA Dept. of X, and it went very well. While I’m not that enthusiastic about working downtown (a block from my current spot) for a state agency, I could definitely do worse than this one.

I also left a voice mail for the lady from Company H, but haven’t heard anything back yet.

PostSecret Video

Progress Report

23 total applications sent

3 turndowns

1 offer

5 interviews

2 interviews scheduled (Had one today, plus one each on Tuesday and Wednesday this week!)

Beach or mountains?

We’re back from our brief trip to North Carolina. It was fine, but too short and too hot. There was some discussion about whether we were “beach people” or “mountain people”. Why not both? My spouse doesn’t like to spend all day on the beach. She usually wants to bail after three hours or so. I think it’s a combination of fear of overexposure to the sun and the fact that she can’t sit still for any length of time without doing SOMETHING. So, I usually go along and leave, because I could go either way. This time, I probably would have tried to stay longer, but it was so darn hot, it was kind of a relief to leave.

I can be either a beach person or a mountain person. I love them both, for different reasons. Being at the ocean is very cathartic. Whenever I spend time there, even very briefly, I leave feeling cleansed, like I’ve left some baggage behind. On the other hand, when I need a mental health day (which I need far more often than I get to actually take one) I go to the mountains and walk around for a day. This kind of day is also cleansing, but somehow leaves me more peaceful.

Yesterday, after several weeks of absolutely no activity, I had two possibilities start to pop. One is something I applied for a long time ago, at a local university. It’s a faculty liaison type of position, where I would be working with teaching faculty to help them incorporate technology into the classroom.

The other one is with a large financial organization, which I found out through a friend from church. She asked me to keep details quiet, as the information I was given is “internal only”, and as such is confidential, so I will respect that. The HR recruiter there called me yesterday, but we never connected, so I will hope to hear more on Monday.

The good news about both of these is that I have inside connections, which may not give me a huge edge, but should provide some insight into what they’re looking for, which is sometimes tricky.

I also made an appointment for Thursday with a career counselor I met with a few years ago. I want to show her my resume, and go over my strategies so far, so that I can get some suggestions and see what I’ve neglected to do that might be helpful.

This is her company, if any of my three readers thinks they might benefit from this kind of service:

http://brownmiller.com/

Post a comment and tell me whether you're a beach person, mountain person, or both?

Fret factor: Less volatile than the Dow

Vacation factor: Mountain high, beach low

Movie factor: Stardust

Company H

I had a very good interview with Company H last Wednesday.

I met with two women, each for over an hour. They were both very nice, smart people, and I also got a chance to meet the HR person I had spoken with on the phone. Each one of them had been with the company more than ten years, which is a good sign.

It’s a software company, which sells medical software to practices all over the country.

The job is a training and implementation job. The "Project Leader" coordinates the installation and client training for a new installation of the software. This means spending a lot of time at the client site, which are nationwide. So, I would probably be spending two out of every four weeks on the road.

This is probably the only sticking point, as I’m pretty sure they would pay me ok.

I like the folks I have met there so far. They say all the right things about what the work culture there is like, and what their own styles are like. It’s a small company (50-75 staff) which has been in business for 20-plus years, a long time for a software company. I feel like I’ve made a good impression on everyone I’ve talked to so far. The next step is another visit including a presentation (on a topic of my choosing…any suggestions?), then after that a meeting with the president, who likes to meet everyone the company hires.

One thing I’ve always been a little scared of is being in a situation where I have one offer only, that is attractive enough for me to consider but has some negatives, and have nothing else even close to popping. This could be that kind of situation. I have a number of resumes and applications out, but nothing close yet, and if these folks move quickly I just might end up with and offer that I’ll have to entertain without anything else competing.

Since I’m leery of the travel involved, if I get an offer and have nothing else on the horizon I will have to carefully evaluate this job, this company, and any other prospects I have. I really don’t want to travel quite THAT much, but I have the impression that I within two or three years I could move to a position that doesn’t travel quite so much.

I’m heading to the beach on Monday for a couple of days. While I will technically be on vacation, I will be taking my cell phone and computer with me, so that I can stay on top of things and jump if a good opportunity arises. I have several books lined up. I just finished the new Thomas Perry, Silence, and I have a Nelson DeMille that I will take to the beach, and several Stephen R. Donaldson books that Andrew lent me in the wings.

On Monday it’s eight weeks until October 1. Woo-hoo! I keep calling this "My Greatest Opportunity", and "The Best Career Move I'll Ever Make". As long as it happens soon...

Fret factor – Moderate.

Vacation factor - High.

Progress Report Update

This post is about GOOD things. Yesterday, even though I got two turn-downs, I had a GREAT phone interview, that I'm pretty confident will result in a face-to-face.

I learned that I got an "A" in the summer course I took.

I'm halfway through Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and having a blast with it.

And, as Andrew pointed out, Saturday (recording Tempest music) will be a lot of fun, featuring musicians, cast members, and beer. Uh-oh, I'd better hide my daughter. And probably the cat.

Tomorrow night I'm going to see Henry IV Pt.1.

The Red Sox are still 6.5 games up on the Yankees, and the Cubs are making a run.

"So I got that going for me, which is nice."

I really have nothing to complain about and will try to minimize the Eeyore-ishness. Life is pretty darn good, mostly.

Progress Report

Here's where I am today:

I've sent 19 applications out.

15 of them are still active.

I've had 3 interviews. I have a telephone interview today, with a company that does software and services for medical practices. It's a training job, which probably doesn't pay enough.

I've had 1 offer, which I declined. Too big a pay cut, too far away.

It's funny, I'm not hearing from the jobs I'm more excited about, only the ones in which I'm slightly less interested. I made some yesterday, to check status on a few. One told me that they were readvertising with a slightly revised description, and that I did not need to reapply. That *could* mean that they just want a bigger pool, and that I'm one of the pool, or it could mean they've tossed my application.

Much of the time I'm very optimistic and positive about all of this. Some days, like today, I'm depressed. Several different factors affect my general mood. If there is some activity on the job front(new applications, calls from potential jobs, etc.), I'm more likely to be upbeat. Hm. Funny thing. However, regardless of the happenings in that arena, there are days when I can't stave off the fear that October 1 will roll around and I'll be unemployed. That fear can be almost paralyzing. Since I found out about this we've tried to take steps and gather funds to keep us afloat if I don't find a job, and we've done OK, but there's not enough there to last very long.

I discovered something else yesterday that affects me strongly, which was somewhat of a surprise. In staff meeting, Paula started giving an update on things she was doing with the online course program, which is something I built and have run for a long time. I didn't know anything about these actions she had taken, and when she started talking about it I literally felt sick to my stomach. I sent her a note after saying I wasn't sure how many more staff meetings I would be attending. She hasn't responded. There's no real need for her to respond, I guess, though it would be nice if she would express some concern, or even interest.

Anyway, I try very hard to remain positive about the whole thing. I do believe it's an opportunity, a chance for me to move into something cool. I'm doing what I can to keep things moving, and I'm trying to put the rest in God's hands.

I didn't plan on this post being quite so introspective, but I also didn't compose it in advance and edit it, like I do sometimes. This one was supposed to be a brief progress report and turned into more of a stream of consciousness thing. Thanks for being patient.

Fret factor: Moderate to High

Too Darn Hot

I’m in Williamsburg all week this week, working on the Virginia Summer Institute for Addiction Studies. I do this every year, and my job here is mostly to coordinate the AV needs for the conference presenters. This involves periods of intense activity followed by 2 or 3 hours of hardly any activity. One problem is that there are always sessions in other buildings on the William and Mary campus, and it’s always about 170 degrees this week in July, so running between buildings lugging stuff can be pretty uncomfortable. I do enjoy it, though, as it’s a week out of the office and a change of pace. Most of it involves helping presenters get all their stuff together, make sure their computer works with the LCD projectors, etc. One of the presenters today brought his presentation on a floppy disk! I looked and looked and couldn’t find a computer in the entire building that had a floppy disk drive so that I could pull his presentation off and get it onto the computer for his presentation. I don’t remember the last time I saw a computer with a floppy drive…

In other news, I was offered a job teaching middle school computer classes, which I turned down. Too far away, too big a pay cut.

I have another interview this afternoon, which would be software training for Electronic Medical Records/Practice Management software. I’m not sure how much I want it, it would be a lot of travel, but I’m certainly interested enough to talk with them.

Fret factor: Moderate.

Top Nine Ways in which working on The Tempest was cool (in no particular order)

The pre-show curtain speech usually included a comment about how patrons should browse the (tiny) gift shop, where they could find “all things Shakespearean”. ALL things? Truly this must be a wonderful gift shop. Most nights, Andrew and I would lean forward and one or both of us would comment on something Shakespearean that *must* be available in the gift shop. Codpieces, chamber pots, The Tower of London, rats with plague-carrying fleas, the remains of Anne Hathaway...

Lucas Hall in the outfit pictured above (photo by Andrew Hamm).

The incredible talent and professionalism of the cast and crew.

Andrew Hamm and Kevin Neilsen, my two fellow members of the Foolhardy Band. It was quite humbling to play music with these two very talented musicians every night.

Watching the faces of people I knew in the audience. Since I knew the script so well, I knew when something cool or funny was coming up, and I could watch for reactions.

I got to watch (well...sort of. I could see about half of the stage area) the show over four weeks, and observe how it was different each night, which scenes were slushy, and which were sparkling, how the actors’ interpretations evolved or changed based on the energy on stage or in the house.

Stacie Reardon, Graham Birce, Freddy Kauffman, and David White (and the whole cast for one number), who brought Andrew’s music (lyrics by W. Shakespeare) to vibrant life each night.

The pre-show music. Each night (if possible...sometimes rain caused us a few problems…) we would play up to thirty minutes of music before curtain. It was an eclectic mix of stuff, though the prevailing theme was American Roots music. Songs by T-Bone Burnett, Sam Phillips, Ledbelly, Tom Waits, Phil Collins, two different Blind Willies...it was great great fun.

Closing night. Two moments stand out. Pre-show, most of the cast had gathered backstage for the opening scene, and as we played It’s Not Too Late (which we did each night prior to the curtain speech), they all sang along. It was great. Then, after the curtain call, we shortened our usual walk-out music and played Message In A Bottle. Many members of the cast came out and gathered around the microphone and sang along. This was a wonderful moment for me.

Working on The Tempest was so much fun. It was by turns tough, annoying, hot and humid, and overall just a blast. I feel privileged to have been a part of it.

Coming Attractions

Just to let you know I'm not just lazing around...I'm working on several posts for this blog:

Emotional Equilibrium

Welcoming Back the Boy

Ten Ten Cool Things About Working on The Tempest

Stay tuned!

Tools

I’ve begun to get a system in place for keeping the information I need organized. I don’t know if this will be of interest to anyone, but here goes anyway.

On my hard drive I have a folder called Search. Within that folder I keep several versions of my resume, CV, references, and my tracking files, which I’ll explain below. There are also four subfolders: Archive, Covers, Descriptions, and Applications and Admin. Archive contains documents I’m unlikely to use anymore but don’t want to trash. Covers contains various cover letters I’ve sent. Descriptions contains job descriptions of jobs I’ve sent resumes to. I realized that some job sites take down the description when the job is in the interview process, and I wanted to make sure I had the descriptions to help me prepare. Applications and Admin contains copies of any electronic applications I’ve filled out, and any other administrative stuff realted to the search.

I debated using a database or other contact management tool to keep track of things. In the past I’ve used both Access and Outlook to manage similar tasks. I don’t like Outlook, and Access seems like overkill, so for now I’m using three Word documents. Tracking.doc is where I keep the list of places I’ve applied to, contact information, what’s been done or sent, and next steps (i.e., “Follow up on Monday!”). Web sites.doc is where I keep a list of the web listings I go to, and when I visited each last. To-do.doc is just what you think.

I also use my calendar (you may be shocked to learn that last year I went back to a paper calendar!), and paper files here at home to file the paper aspects of this search.

That’s about it at the moment. Any thoughts or suggestions are encouraged!

P.S. Congrats to my brother Dave, who made Chief Petty Officer! Way to go, dude!

Topics

I have a couple of posts in mind that I've started writing. In the meantime, is there anything that you, all two of the readers of this, would be interested in reading about?

Let me know by posting a comment (click on Comments, below this post), or emailing me at wconners [at] gmail [dot] com.

Progress and Patience

I’m starting this post knowing I won’t have time to finish it. It’s late in the afternoon Thursday, weather.com says it’s 97 degrees, and the map shows lots of thunderstorm cells heading our way. So, this evening out at Agecroft for The Tempest, I’m either going to be very warm or very wet, or perhaps both.

Today was not the most productive of days, search –wise. Yesterday I finished off a packet to mail to one place, found what looks like a very good job and prepared and sent an application for that, and met with Paul Johnson. I also got the oil changed in the van. All in all, I felt pretty productive.

Today I don’t feel quite the same sense of accomplishment. I did find a couple of listings that might be promising, and I went to my weigh-in (total loss 13.2 pounds, but I had been hoping for more).

Later...

I had thought I would get back to writing that post that evening, and now it’s two days later...

The Tempest was rained out two nights in a row. Very unfortunate, especially since on both nights the skies opened moments before curtain.

In the comments, hrh asked me about my fretting, and also managed to evoke singing nuns. As you all know, I’m an accomplished fretter. If left unchecked, my fretting can reach epic proportions, causing major insomnia and serious overeating. At the moment, I’m managing to keep my fretting at bay (I use a whip and a chair, like a lion tamer). I suspect that partially this is through activity. If I can feel like I’ve made SOME progress each day, I’m less likely to feel the pressure of moving closer to October 1 and having nothing to show, no prospects.

I do have a couple of what I think are promising prospects. At least, to me they look very suited for someone with my background. Of course, I’d be happier if I had an interview or two lined up. I know that these things take time, and bureaucracies move slowly, so I’m trying to cultivate patience also.

Focus

I’m thinking of focus in a couple of different ways right now.

First of, how do I focus this search? Initially, it was anything but focused. So far, I have tossed the word out in a general sense that I was looking for a new gig, and I have sent a resume and/or application to anything that happened to pass in front of my face. That’s not too focused. However, I have begun to gather resources, web sites, recruiters, etc., into files where I can systematically check them, and keep track of when and how often I check them. That’s beginning to get focused. I originally set a goal of accomplishing at least one thing every day…sending a resume, organizing my work space, whatever. I would like to push that number higher.

Second, what is my focus? This one is tougher. There are a number of different directions I could move in, and each of them seems attractive at different times. Working for a school or school system is very attractive, though not so lucrative. Working for a college has its benefits, and the right position could be wonderful. Going back into the corporate world would be stimulating and potentially very beneficial financially. I think that for now, given the short timeframe, the best option for me is to continue casting a wide net. It’s more important to me to catch something that is the right fit, than just to find a place that will hire me. On the other hand, time is tight (cue Booker T. & the MGs...).

Support

I can’t express enough how thankful I am and how cool it is to have people who are interested in helping out. A number of people have thrown things my way…ideas, suggestions, and in one or two situations, actual jobs. Two people have offered to put my resume in the hands of individuals who do hiring.

It warms the cockles of my heart (what *are* heart cockles, anyway?) to know that there are people out there who know me and are willing to go that little bit for me.

If any of you are reading this who have offered me support in any way, large or small, please know that I appreciate it very much.

In about four hours I have to get up to take my son to the airport. He’s going to New Mexico for two weeks, where he will hike about 80 miles with a pack on his back. I’m very proud of him and happy and nervous for him as well. What a cool experience.

On another note, I found one of these today:

Roland RD700SX

At the dump. For free. It seems to work perfectly. I’m astonished. This is a $2200 keyboard, people. I guess I’ll have to start playing more keyboards.

I'm ok, I'm not ok, I'm ok. No, really.

Emotion. I haven’t even begun to get a handle on this. To start with, let’s assume I’m excited and enthusiastic about getting going on this and finding something new. Many of the opportunities I’m turning up are at least interesting, and at best *really cool*. I think this will only increase as I get deeper into it. I’ve been thinking about moving on for a long time, and going about it, whether voluntarily or not, is pretty exciting.

On the other hand, there is the fear. It’s irrational, I know, but I am regularly consumed by a deep, dark, cold fear that could paralyze me completely if I let it. Why is it irrational? Because intellectually I know that we will survive, even if I have real trouble turning something up. I can always get something, even if it’s not really what I want, that will help up keep ourselves afloat. We won’t lose our house, we’ll have enough to eat, and the kids will still be able to go to college. But that’s my big brain talking. Sometimes, deep in my gut, far away from my big brain, there’s a huge ugly freezing fear that threatens to take total control of me, and I’m afraid I’ll end up huddled in the corner. Silly, I know. It’ll be ok. I've always said, if it gets down to the wire I can work at Blockbuster. How could that not be cool?

Emotions are flying all over, and making me a little crazy. It’s a rollercoaster ride, and I’m just hanging on.

I turned up two new opportunities today, both at universities. I’ve applied for one, and will apply for the other as soon as it becomes available, which should be next week.

Fret factor: Moderate/high.

New Life? Nah, just a new post...

I started writing this post thinking that this would give my blog a new life. Then I thought that seemed like setting the bar pretty high, since it failed before. So, I’m thinking that I would like to write some about what’s going on my life, as there are now massive changes afoot, and maybe this blog is the place to do it.

So what you will get is maybe a new life, but at least a place for me to vent a little bit and share my feelings and my process of looking for a new job.

It’s not really that important to discuss how this came about. The important thing is that I’m now looking for a new job, after 13 years at VCU. I found out about this two weeks ago yesterday, and I have until October 1st. What have I done in two weeks? Not much. OK, maybe a little. I’ve been so busy trying to finish up this class I’m taking and also with the opening of The Tempest that I haven’t had time to get organized.

Here are a few things I’ve done.

The way it was presented to me, I could stay if I could find a grant or contract to fund 50% of my salary. However, The money to support that 50% would not come from the budget, but from the program income funds, which are not inexhaustible. Therefore, I think it’s wise to devote more effort to a job search than a grant search. I’ve sent out some emails asking folks to consider supporting me, but I will not devote much effort toward this. Even if I get the 50% it’s just a band-aid.

I’ve decided to cast a wide net, at least to start with. I have skills and experience that could serve me well in a number of different areas, so for now, I’ve started looking at school systems, training operations, education (higher and lower), nonprofits, corporations, recruiters, etc.

One of my problems has always been that it’s hard to define myself or what I would ideally like to do. I could see myself teaching technology to middle schoolers, or managing a training operation for Goodwill. What’s most important to me is working with good committed people and feeling like I’m making a contribution to society.

I sent emails to as many people as I could think of, asking them to keep an eye out for me. A couple of these are starting to generate some possible leads.

I updated my resume on Monster, which has generated a couple calls from recruiters, for contract jobs. Actually, for one contract job. Two recruiters contacted me, and it turns out to be the same job, an instructional design contract with Capital One.

I created a contact tracking document.

Next steps: I need to fill out some applications for some of the people I’ve contacted, and make a systematic plan for getting out there.

This is going to be something.

Since I finished my final today, tomorrow is when things get moving a little more thoroughly on this get a job thing.

Peace, ya’ll. Goodnight.

P.S. I've lost 12.2 pounds

The Tempest

I'm playing bass in the band for the Richmond Shakespeare production of The Tempest.

Here's a review from the Times-Dispatch:

The Tempest

Lake Superior Warming Rapidly

Lake Superior Warming

Climate Change could bring new Dust Bowl

Climate Change could bring new Dust Bowl

Willie the Shake

I've gotten involved with a theatre company here in Richmond:

Richmond Shakespeare

More to come about this. If you're interested, they're running Twelfth Night right now, with The Tempest and Henry IV Pt. I coming up in the summer.

Time Flies

Now I know why people always write in their blogs: "I just haven't had time to post..." blah blah blah quack quack pop fizzle.

It's true, sometimes life just runs away with you.

Happy New Year, to all two of my readers.

Um, Merry Christmas, also.

My holiday season was quite nice, though too short. It was filled with activity, music, laughter, and food and drink, which is why I'm now on a quest to lose weight, like about a brazilian other people. Exercise, portion control, and calorie tracking, keeps me hungry and grumpy all the day long.

I hope to have more to contribute, soon. But for now, I'm wiped out after a crazy day at work, and I'm ready to go home and drink a very cold beer. A Newcastle Brown Ale, if you must know.