My piano-playin' girl

Our daughters have this anxiety over talking to people. That's what makes this short video amazing to me. This is our oldest daughter playing "Ode to Joy" at our church... in front of about 50 people. The girl can't bring herself to say "thank you" to a bank teller who offers her a piece of candy, but she can play the piano in front of a church full of people. Taken with a fuji finepix j10. It does pretty good in a  dark church. Most of the still pics on here will have been shot with an old Nikon D50. It has no video capability and, though I've owned nothing but Nikons since my dad bought me an FG for my birthday, I'd definitely suggest a Cannon for the auto focus.

Lighting

I'd like to say I took these with some real sepia-tone film, then developed them -- truth is I used Picasa. I love the lighting in this coffee shop. It's an old downtown department store with big windows facing west I believe. The interior is dark colors making for some nice lighting.

Tic Tac Toe!

The girls like a giant tic-tac-toe board at a local coffee shop. We spent time there getting some pictures Saturday.

large format

If you've ever seen a picture of Ansel Adams taking a picture -- he used this large box with a wooden tripod. The whole thing looked like the guy was hiking through the desert with a microwave oven and accompanying stand on his shoulder. I've been interested in photography since I was about 12 years old, but I saw my first large-format camera this week. A crusty old guy was taking a picture of a local church with one. I'm not sure how you would even go about finding a developer, but it was so neat to see someone doing things the old fashioned way. I don't miss the anger that came when you got that little Kodak pouch and found you'd left the exposure compensation was off-set by three stops and a 24-exposure roll was ruined. I think he can keep the plates and long hours in the darkroom -- I'll keep my D50 and ability to delete my bad shots.

Still no work

I've got some pictures of the girls to post. I just don't have a card reader at the moment.
I have not posted anything here lately for two reasons.
1. I had a deplorable internet connection. I was lucky if I could get e-mail.
2. I'm out of work. The only thing -- other than my kids -- that I can talk about is the state of my tan...
It's kickin'
I've been running a lot. It's a great antidepressant. The local manufacturer turns down your third application -- go for a run. You hit two months since a single call-back -- go for a run.
The down side -- by mid July, I started looking like a beach bum. Sure, I got compliments, but employers don't hire based on your tan.
Now, I've got a prospect.

New guy

My son was born this week here in Ohio. He started out at 9 pounds, 4.9 ounces, but lost traction and left the hospital at about 8 pound, 10 ounces. He's been trying to make up the difference ever since, eating about every hour and a half -- day and night. The wife is doing well. We all went out for a short walk Friday night, just hours after she was released from the hospital. I think she regretted it later -- but she's ready to go again today. The girls love the little guy. They both fawn over him just like he is one of their dolls. We've got pictures here.
I've got more on Picasa, but I'm still working on those.

Greenville Park

It's your birthday!

Our oldest is having her seventh birthday today. She is so excited. The lucky girl happens to have a b-day that falls during Poultry Days (yes poultry days. I don't understand it either, but it is sort of a big deal here). So her grandfather is taking her to Poultry Days to ride a fair ride. I scouted the rides with her Friday afternoon to see which she is tall enough for, and which ones look the most fun. Her height is sort of a big deal too. The kid eats raw spinach because it's on her mom's list of top 10 best foods to make you tall and strong. Until our move, we had an Ultimate Pull-up Bar. Each night, we would do pull ups and she could sometimes knock out three or four -- an accomplishment for a six-year-old girl.
She's seven now. I can still vaguely remember holding her in my arms when she was a newborn. I also remember having to walk with her through the streets of Norton, VA at 2 a.m. because she refused to sleep. Now the little genius reads whole books and worries about the plight of the rainforest. She's still often mean to her sister, and refuses to share any of her toys. Her birthdays are always hard. She gets so much attention, and so many sweets -- that I often end up dolling out some punishment on her special day. We have a couple job leads, but no interviews scheduled. One of my BOLC classmates was killed in Afghanistan recently. He wasn't a regular part of my platoon, but he was one of my TCs when I was a platoon leader in COE. He did an excellent job. The stories about his death are conflicted (one states it was an IED during a firefight, the other an RPG during an ambush) but I know he did all he could for his platoon. He'll be missed.

The Beach

In the past month, I've lost my job, moved to another state, started job hunting, driven to SC for my grandmother-in-law's funeral, then continued on to the beach for a vacation. Yeah, I'm on a vacation while unemployed. I know what you are thinking, but it was planned and paid for before the job loss, and (with the Internet access here) I'm able to continue my job search. I explained up front that, a request for an interview, could mean I have to return to the Buckeye state early, but I didn't have anything scheduled when we left for the funeral. I've talked with my wife about vacations -- to her, they are an essential part of life -- something you plan for every year and MUST include a beach or cruise. I, on the other hand, had a total of two vacations that I recall from growing up. One to Kentucky... I saw Mammoth Cave and a lot of horse farms. The other was to California. I was very excited to go to the beach there and play in the ocean. Unfortunately, I only ever got to see the ocean from a parking lot. I and my sister went to Sea World, but we only stayed for about 10 minutes after our great aunt started popping nitroglycerin tablets soon after entering the front gate. We turned around and left.
So the word "vacation" to me does not have the same sunny associations that my wife feels. But I'm enjoying this. I sat on a clean, sandy beach with my wife and daughters. We dug in the sand, and buried them up to their necks. We played in the waves later went for ice cream. After putting them to bed, I got to go for a run on the beach at sunset and swim laps in an empty pool under trees draped with Spanish moss. It was a great day. Not one I'll remember a year from now. But, hopefully, one I'll be able to reproduce with my family next year.

Tossed clips

As a former reporter, I should have known better than to throw them out.
I used to have a box of old newspapers -- just the news sections.
They were often the compilation of years' worth of work. I'd write a story, bring home a copy of the paper it was published in, and drop it in the box. Occasionally, I'd go through and cut the stories out for either a job interview, or an upcoming writing competition.
Those clips disappeared when I joined the army, so now I am reduced to finding my own clips on the Internet. What shows up in a search, however, is often different than what I would look for.
This morning, I applied to a prominent university seeking a PR representative. I had to send a PDF of a waste treatment plant that was behind schedule and over budget. I wrote it about two and a half years ago -- a lifetime as news stories go. My other options were two stories from more than three years ago -- one about a medical center opening (yawn) and the other about tombstone vandalism.

Ironies

A couple of ironies for you.

I updated my facebook status last week. Yes, I have a facebook status. And I check it regularly, thank you very much for asking.

Anyway. I was initially listed as single and available -- or so my wife told me. On her... suggestion, I changed my status to married. I saw the other blanks for such things as "favorite movie," "favorite book," and so on. It asked my religion and when I started typing "Christian," (because I'm a Christian). It tried to auto-fill "Christian-Amish."

If you are not aware, the Amish sect is (I believe) a break off from the Baptists, originally called the anibaptists.  This was way, way back, and done because of the liberal theology of the baptists. The Amish (basically) adhere to a lifestyle that prohibits them from owning certain machinery, having electricity in their homes, and encourages farming as the true calling of Christ. There are different off-shoots. Some drive cars but paint the bumpers black. Most ride in horse-drawn buggies, but some have buggies with rubber wheels, while others feel those Amish are going to hell because of their new-fangled rims. 

While many think Amish are backwards because of their lifestyle, those people would be wrong. I've seen an Amish farmer fix a tractor that the owner could not. I've seen an Amish teenager pick up a friend's cell phone and use it to call for a ride. If you live in the right area (Branson, MS) you've probably seen Amish taking vacations in vans or buses to get away from the cattle, corn and wheat for a while.

And the Amish are avid library patrons. I'm guessing that many use the public computers there. I've seen families who own pay phones attached to a pole in their front yard. They could own them -- just couldn't have them in their homes. So I can understand that they may be plugged in to the Internet. But all the same, I'm curious how many Amish are on facebook.

As for my Wiki-like history of the Amish, it is based on a book I read about three years ago. If there are any errors (or you're Amish and just don't like my tone) feel free to comment.

As for the second irony, a little less fun. We are now residents of Ohio. Unemployed residents who are applying for unemployment checks. The irony is, the process is taking so long, that I've had to put off calls to potential employers and recruiters. I might be able to get to some of them Tuesday afternoon, depending on how everything goes tomorrow.

Rejection

After almost nine years of marriage, my dating life is a distant memory. What I do recall, is a lot of rejection. I think I was rejected by girls whom I never even asked out on a date. I always wondered if there could be a point to all that rejection. Now I know -- preparation for a job search.
Although I spent Monday thinking about all the parallels of the two situations, I realized there are some significant differences.
Maybe it's just this stage in my life, but I don't take rejection personally. 
Second, I'm more prepared. Kristen laughs at me because I'm reading "What Color is Your Parachute". But I'm able to study -- not only about job search strategies -- but also about the position I'm trying to land. With the Internet, I can research a company's strength in the marketplace and if I could benefit the organization.

Unemployment

I know I'm not alone in being unemployed. The rate is hovering just below 10 percent according to an upstanding Internet-based news source. Lots of people are in my boat right now, but it is still painful. I started working part-time at 16. I was flipping burgers at a McDonalds along I-94 in Michigan. Since then, I've spent a total of about two weeks unemployed... Two weeks over 21years. As days go by, it gets harder to remain focused on the areas I have experience. My pessimistic side keeps suggesting that my degree, my experience, all my accomplishments -- just aren't that important.

Headhunters

I was turned down by a prominent headhunter today.
My military service didn't meet their expectations. So I'm off their list of potential executives. It was a blow to my self esteem, but not insurmountable. If I'd done my homework on the firm, I would have discovered that I have different goals, anyway.
We took the girls out to Bridges of the Past on Wednesday. It is a trail through part of Ft. Knox. It used to be a major route through the area for early pioneers. Now it's a quiet walking trail. The trail follows a creek that cuts through a valley on the North side of the base. You can walk south for about a mile-and-a-half or two miles before running into the fence that keeps hikers out of the Ft. Knox training area. We didn't make it all the way to the fence. There's a small waterfall there that -- after all our recent rain -- is likely a torrent. But it is also up a steady incline that we didn't feel like climbing.
I have another headhunter. At the moment -- he seems interested in my head. I have never dealt with a go-between for a job before. But I'm not opposed to their help.

Preparing to move

We took down our bird feeder Tuesday. It sounds like a normal part of moving, but it was really pretty emotional. We've loved feeding our feathered friends while living here.

Facebook

As part of my job search, I've joined the ranks of the facebooked. I've got my own account -- instead of sharing my wife's, and I'm on Linked In too. I spent Monday evening learning how to post a status (I'm well, a little gassy. I'm putting off that first cup of coffee for a couple minutes to build some anticipation into my morning). I couldn't help wondering though -- does anyone care?
The bright side of all this, I get to spend time with Kristen and the girls. We made a couple water balloons, yesterday. At 5 and 6 years old, my girls were more interested in caring for their water balloons as if they were newborn kittens, than throwing them at their father or each other.

Tickelish

 

The first day of the rest of my life

The last time I posted a blog was in June, 2009 immediately before leaving my wife and kids for a 10-day field exercise (that turned into a 12-day exercise).
I failed that final test and now -- 10 months later -- am paying for my mistakes at Ft. Knox, KY. I was given an honorable discharge from the Army, but not much else. I've got a host of friends I made at Officer Candidate School, BOLC II in Oklahoma and here at Knox. I learned a lot about leadership, team building, planning and many facets of logistical support. After 10 months, there is less sting in my failure to pass the Armor Officer's Course gauntlet, but I still feel a little misty when I see an M-1 tank on television or Army billboards. Shooting that main gun was a thrill, and commanding four tanks on the hunt is something I'll never forget.
Now, I've got to get back to civilian life; and look for a job.