Thursday, April 30, 2009

Some Times A Great Notion

I managed to keep my self awake last night, both as I was going to sleep, my mind went in to over drive and some where between 3 and 4 in the morning. I got stuck on the usual point of contention for myself. Where I am how I got here and the big question how do I get from here to there. So now I shall try to reconstruct the thought process had at 3am.

Firstly where I am and how I got there. It is pretty much common knowledge that I got laid off at no fault of my own in October last year when the finances of the company I was with took a hit, making me an early adopter of the global economic melt down. At that time I was happy to be laid off, I has been there for nearly 2 and half years of work with the same firm. My rotations were nearly always 6 weeks long and my breaks a brief two weeks off. That lack of balance and the broken social life that comes from that left me tired. The work, though partly my own fault for not challenging the job enough and asking for more, had grown too routine and was only adding to the strain. So when I got the notice I was going home early I was happy, a chance to catch up on living. I chose to do this living based out of Nakusp where the cost of at least the housing could be minimized.

I had made a choice at the start of this lay off that I would not search for work right away. I had my fill I wanted to relax, I had made money and had healthy savings, there was no rush for me to head back into the world. I told my self two months and then I would start looking for work in earnest, well the two months stretched out a little to fit in the Christmas season, so it came in at closer to three months. The first chunk of this time was well spent. I had picked up a chain saw and went about securing my fire wood stash. That kept me feeling satisfied. As the stash grew and the weather got colder I dabbled at winterizing the cabin. This was moderately successful, ultimately to bring that place up to a truly livable space is beyond my skill and the amount of cash I am willing to sink into things.

I had promised myself that during this time off prior to my job search that I would take the time to truly think about who I am and what I want to do, and from there how to get there. I did not. I dabbled at things, never once did I sit down with a pad of paper and get my thoughts together. I did as the new year came along get my resume together, and have altered it slightly along the way since. I was briefly slightly hampered by the temporary brake down of my computer. So by the time I had my first resumes hitting the internets it was nearly the middle of January. I followed a hap hazard method of googling firms in an area of interest, sending slightly altered versions of a boiler plate resume and cover letter to these firms, with less then consistent follow up calls. This pattern has remained largely consistent, broken up with a few trips out of town in hopes of making connections through the visiting of trade shows and offices.

Non of this would have been possible if we did not get the high speed connection installed in the first week of January. It is alternately one of the best or worst things to have happened here. For all parties involved it is a good thing, every one staying here is addicted to information and we were all relieved to be rid of the painfully slow one computer at time dial up connection. It was this connection that convinced me I could conduct my job search for Nakusp. Without it the rate at which I could gather information and send out my own information would be too low and the demand on the main computer was too high to allow me to spend the needed time on it. But it also reenforced the sheltering bubble that living outside of Nakusp on a nice plot of land full of outdoor recreation options gives.

Though the reward for success in my job search will indeed be high, I find my self faced with the lack of a cost of failure. I was asked more then once why Nakusp, I did not have a solid logical answer, because I can, because its cheap, but realistically because there was no risk. Though moving to Nelson or Castlegar would have placed me in location both central to the region and to people in my life I choose instead the least risky path. Now this made sense when I was in the play phase right after I was let go and did not want to think seriously about life nor take action towards any goals but is it the right thing to do when I am looking for the next opportunity.

I have had a handful of small success in this search, one telephone interview, a handful of contacts, one or two notices that I am considered for a post but nothing that has moved me forward. As my frustration grew I started to look at other options and added plan B to my coarse of action. School, a return too. Right now I am aiming for a Geographic Information Systems Advanced Diploma, it should take a year, it could open things up and give me more access to jobs that let me have the work life balance I want. In considering what plans to follow I reached out and spoke to a career advisor from UBC-Okanagan, my old school, it was the morning prior to that conversation, in the act of preparing for that conversation that for the first time since October or even farther back, but certainly since the lay off that I stopped and thought and wrote about my options.


Stimulus response Stimulus Response, Don't You Ever Think

Up until that time it was all stimulus response, I had ignored my own desires and just jumped with little pattern from one dead end to another. Getting discouraged by the continued response of dropping resumes into the void. This is bringing me back to the question of Nakusp. and a few questions I have asked my self. Did I move to Nakusp so that if I the job search took too long I would not run out of money or did I stay in Nakusp so I could take my time with a job search? Or as I was thinking in the wee hours of the morning, am I just disorganized or am I shooting myself in the foot sub-consciencely. Perhaps both is the only fair answer.

More then once this month I have entertained the notion of packing a back and leaving town for an extended time. Time enough to land me a stop gap job and a stop gap place to live. I have not committed to that coarse of action. I think perhaps I should give it stronger consideration. I have had no risk and the results have been monumentally bland. There is the secondary reasons for leaving Nakusp, I can not predict what will happen when I live in a large town, but I know that the likely-hood of profitable chance encounters increases. Out here I am confined to creativity I can put in to search terms and the email addresses I can dig up, but how much am I missing. What could I come across in person. The answer is I don't know.

I do know that I have been told by professionals that my resume is fine, and that I have employable skills, some specialized some much more transferable, I also know that historically I have only gotten jobs, thought either, luck, having walked in the right door on the right day, or through connections having gotten contact information through colleges. My current methods nearly exclude that first path and the second path is hampered by the fact that the contacts I do have are in an industry that is suffering badly from the current economy. All of this leaves me unhappy and unfulfilled. I want the process over so I can start living again. Perhaps that is the appeal of school, I have more control over my success, I can get into a program and feel that something is happening. Now I have to ask what can I do before then to keep interested and busy.




Captain I am not a Merry Man.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

And I shall Call it Newton

As the winter came to an end it became possible to drive the full length of the driveway allowing me to park closer to the cabin. I think in retrospect that I started making that drive too soon as I drove over too soft ground and carved some ruts. This morning I was using some of the sheared of sod from the last time that part of the drive way was plowed to fill in those ruts. In the act of lifting the largest of these clumps of earth I came a cross a little critter. One escaped my last attempt at photography. It escaped because I forgot to get my camera running away was not an issue. This time I picked up the salamander and felt like a little boy with the critter.

Though I am not a fan of over cast days it proved perfect for photographing the little critter, the flat light and lack of meaningful shadows played into my needs perfectly. I placed the little critter on an old moss covered rotting log, at just the right hight to make getting the camera to its level easy and well the results speak for themselves.





After I had enough photos to have gotten a few good ones out of the mix I let the little beasty free, I did not take it back to its old hollow but slipped it under the log it ran under it and was gone.

Monday, April 20, 2009

Slocan Lake and Stimulus Package



This post goes out to Mike from UCRadio, my source of new music and seemingly intelligent social commentary. For no apparent reason I got sent a new T-Shirt the UC Radio Stimulus package. I also Spent some time out on Slocan lake where I was quite pleased to see the remains of a steam locomotive near the shore of the far side of the lake.




Road Trip Part 2

This was originally going to be the second half of the previous post but it is easier to start a new post then add to an old one. In road trip part one I loosely covered my travels from Kamloops to Penticton, a journey that includes Sex part three and Hoofing It. Here I am going to go east and north taking photos where I have never taken photos before, the East Kooteneys. This trip was a retreat to the Hotsprings at Fairmont with a few side trips to the Panorama resort and Radium.
I was saddened though pleased to learn that Radium is not radioactive. In this post you will see Big Horny Sheeps, ELKS!, no Moose, Snow falling down mountains and mountains.









The trip back from the hotsprings saw delays at Kooteney pass as they did some shelling to dislodge the snow pack. The detonation could be clearly felt a few Kilometers away. The delay was not long and the trip resumed without much delay. Though it is not easy to make out one can see signs of movement in some of the images, maybe.



Friday, April 17, 2009

Road trip the other half

Greetings Bloggies.

I have treated you folks to the wonders of flowers and landscapes from my visit to Penticton, I have failed to share with you the other half of my trip. A trip that took me from Nakusp north by west to Kamloops south to Penticton and East and north again to Fairmont. A trip that crossed at least 3 climate zones and as many administrative boundaries. Included pesky Albertans and friendly wildlife, hot springs and cold air. A trip that caused me to take so many images my memory card got filled up and I had to miss out on some potentially good shots. So here are a few highlights.





Above part one of the trip, Kamloops, a little too hazy to make for good photos even with the great view. Too much dust and air pollution. Also in this set, I was stopped in traffic waiting for the construction delays out side of summer land.

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Macroland or Sex Part 3




Greetings again.

As I was composing the last post I realized that I had far to many beautiful macro images of flowers and other plant bits to fit in to one post. They are worthy of their own space on the web. So enjoy my favorite form of photography and what is perhaps the one type of photography that my Canon G9 excels at.









Hoofing It

Greetings All

After my trip to Kamloops I have made a diversion south to Penticton to catch up with some people. As a result of this I ended up going on a hike outside the Dominican Radio Observatory. The facility is tucked away in a small bowl shaped valley. This creates a radio quite zone and also creates great hiking. Since I had a case of dead batteries the last time I was up there I was eager to start shooting and document the whole area. Which I did. Now I have to figure out which ones I want to include in this post.

Ohh but the things I go through for you dear bloggies, in my quest for pretty pictures I sat on a cactus. A small price to pay for art?







Saturday, April 4, 2009

Out and A boat

Last week I backed down from a venture out on to the lake due to unfriendly conditions. This week did not see me facing such extremes. The lake was calm and flat with the biggest waves coming from the rare passing motor boat. I may have gotten a little sun burt from the light reflecting off the waters but it was well worth it. The highlight was perhaps seeing a pair of otters. I was slow to identify them. I wished I had my telephoto lens with me but I lack a means of safely carrying on Wessel so I refrain from packing it.



The Launching point, Go and No Go Conditions.

Some landscapes and wildlife




Friday, April 3, 2009

Sex Part II



This unfortunate Blog has to wait almost a year before it can have a second sex blog. Now I do intend to and have kept the blog with a G rating. Sex posts are a seasonal thing as I am farther south this spring so the season comes sooner and with more energy. The plants come out quicker with more energy and don't wait for all the snow to go.



Up north the snow went slowly and the temperatures rose even slower. The ground would be bare of snow but there would still be a strong chill. Now in the south I find truly comfortable temperatures even as the snow lingers on the ground. The level of heat through that this latitude achieves was fully felt as I lay on my gut to shot some flowers.





Flowers the only Naked sex organs you can give to your grandparents.