Bone In The Throat

Today has been one of those days where I’ve been busy as heck sitting here at my computer and yet I don’t think I’ve gotten all that much done.

Well, it only seems that way.

In reality I’ve helped the Church Secretary reconnect one of the pastors computer to the main printer. So I was doing a little telephone support.

I put together a justification package for the Insurance lady who was having problems with the home office about me wanting to insure my laptop for almost 1.5 times the cost of the base unit. Well, I never buy a basic Mac. I’ve found over the years that If I buy top of the line, fully loaded right from the beginning I’m happier in the long run and I run the computer for 4 to 7 years. Depending on several  factors. Nevertheless, the insurance home office was asking questions. Frankly, I don’t blame them the disparity must have looked very strange at first glance.

Then I was off to post letters of recommendation to a site where I have applied for a job. Fingers crossed that these folks call me for an interview or even decide that I’m worthy of employment. Mind you I’m not holding my breath, the track record for California businesses calling me back after I’ve jumped through all their hoops is pretty bad.

On the other hand, I’m getting more and more calls from recruiters that want to know if I’m available for positions that are out of California. I’ve had more action on the job front from Colorado and Texas in the past 2 months than from California in the past year. There are 3 applications pending in Colorado now. 

And at least the folks from out of state are polite. They return phone calls and ask intelligent questions. The best inquiry I’ve gotten recently from California is for a 6 month desktop support position in Santa Clara. While I’d love to spend some time working / living in the Bay Area, a 6 month contract position with no option to go perm 400 miles to the North just doesn’t cut it. I’d be living out of a hotel… cause that’s the only way that anything would make sense. Rent an apartments for 6 months? You’ve gotta plan for the worst and in this case the worst is you’ll be unemployed again in 6 months. So if you’ve gone to the trouble of renting a place moving your stuff, and you still have a mortgage on an unsold home in Southern California what are you supposed to do then?

Move back? Break your lease? Live in a Camp Ground? It doesn’t make a lot of sense. I suspect that a lot of people are in the same situation and they’re coming to the same conclusions. If I’m going to move 400 miles North… Why not move 400 miles due East to Phoenix? Or 250 miles Northeast to Las Vegas? Just heard of another former coworker doing exactly that. He & his wife put their house on the market and are headed to the North East. Maryland, Washington DC, someplace like that, considering they’ve both been in sunny Southern California for many years, I’m wondering just how that’s going to work out…

I mention all of this because the Indian recruiter from Sunnyvale seems to have a problem understanding the concept.

I’ve upgraded Microsoft Office, cleaned up my calendar (duplicate entries)

Re-read and will probably delete the last chunk of material I’ve written in the book, (I’m off on a tangent in the weeds… ) I sort of like what I was trying to do, but I think it’s too off topic and meanders too much.

What I haven’t done…

Practiced Guitar yet <– This will happen

Studied the Web coding techniques I’ve been trying to get to for a week

Written in the blog (Well thats happening right now)

Exercised (the Pups would love to go for walkies even if it is 90F) I don’t know if I’m ready to do that…

So I need to establish a schedule and then stick to it. That would add some of the structure that would maybe allow me to accomplish the tasks I’ve set before myself and maybe allow me to fit them all into the day.

There are a number of reasons for this.

Facebook is a real time suck. I have other things to do besides being entertaining on social media.

I also want to honestly be able to tell any prospective employers that I don’t have a Facebook account. 

I believe it’s seriously creepy that so many employers are using Facebook to essentially do a background check by looking at your friends lists or simply reading your timeline.

The same is true of Twitter, and honestly most other social media.

I have nothing to hide but at the same time I really think social media is getting creepier by the day. I don’t want people examining my life via the small window of what I mention on a social media site. By the same token I don’t want to be judged by the people that I’ve “Friended” or people that I follow.

Should I be judged because I was following a controversial person? Or someone in my timeline who used the “F” word in every other sentence? 

I honestly don’t like that my Internet footprint is getting larger instead of smaller. I prefer that my life remain private and see no need to help someone find me, or provide anyone with enough information to steal my identity.

In this world too many people have too much access to our personal information.

Of course this may all be too late. I may simply be closing the barn door after the horses have run away but I’m going to try to regain some of my privacy and at least the illusion of security.

I’ve written this on Friday, then scheduled it to publish on Sunday. Perhaps The account will be gone by the time you read this.

Of course… I’ll have to clear deleting the account with my Mom…