Late August Harrumphs

What have I been up to... ?

It's a solid question and honestly there isn't a very good answer.  I've been applying to jobs in the Westfield, MA area which is a damn sight better than around here.  The Bangor area is honestly completely dead.  If you're a healthcare professional than you are in a good place but for everyone else this place is a job-hunting deadzone.  Don't try to move into a new career in this area because it just isn't possible.  Every available position is snapped at by hundreds of applicants.  I got a Dear John letter from a staffing agency!  The demand is so high for jobs in the Bangor area it is ridiculous.  If you have one then hold on for your life because the search for a new one is going to be frustrating and end badly.  In the Westfield area, which even goes as far as Hartford, there are hundreds of job postings a day.  Many of these require experience I don't have but enough are entry-level that I'm finding it far easier to look for a job 6 hours away than 5 minutes out my door. 

I wish I'd just have gone overseas...

I beat Raw Danger for the PS2.  It's one of the few games I'm playing right now.  I just don't have the motivation to get into video games, which is odd for an unemployed person you would think.  Not in this case.  Gaming is a positive outlet for me when I need to burn off the stress of the world or escape into fantasy, neither of which would do me any good right now.  Raw Danger itself was a fun, quirky game.  It was very Japanese at its heart and made a very odd transition overseas.  For instance every character went from black-Asian hair to blond.  Every single character in the game, aside from a few older people, is blond!  It's like the city is Hitler's vision of the future.  The game is a unique "disaster survival" that you would think could have a huge potential fanbase.  Americans just love their disaster movies so I would expect more games along that line.  Raw Danger is the only one I've seen, though their is a prequel.  It's very limited and held back by a ridiculous side story but was quite fun for what it was trying to accomplish.

We need rain here!  It's so dry outside that the grass is dying prematurely.  The grass never goes before the trees but this year we have full yellow lawns already.  Let's get some rain!  At least it has cooled down because the heat only fueled my misery.  Sitting around day after day soaking in my own sweat, unable to take a shower for the last month.  A bath in such extreme (for Maine) heat is almost as unpleasant as getting pissed on by a giant elephant.

I've set up a new blog that will serve as my HQ for freelancing.  Getting into the freelancing market is a confusing mess that I haven't been able to figure out fully at this point.  So I've decided that creating a blog to show off my writing ability is the best idea.  It's going to have writing samples from a broad range of categories, from sport to travel to technology to business.  Hopefully I will be able to point potential clients at this blog and say "This is what I can do," in the future.  I'm trying to make it look as professional as possible, obviously, and at the same time make it look like I'm tech savvy.  Which I'm really not.  I don't know how to get my goddamn foot in the door but at least if I'm trying to make some progress I can feel better about myself.  Anything would be good at this point.  I've heard that if you can get three paying clients that you aren't a fluke.  I want to make it work and sitting on my worthless ass waiting for some sort of magic inspiration or muse is just being lazy.  I need to make positive progress!

Today's link-o-the-post is... Livestrong's MyPlate application.   As part of my positive progress determination the other day I've decided to start counting my calories.  No more unhealthy overeating.  Gotta be reasonable about this or I'm going to balloon out of control.  Coffee and water.  Daily calorie limits.  This application helps me... well it doesn't help it does all the work towards keeping me in line.  My sedentary lifestyle and certain depression have led to an unhealthy increase in my weight.  Gotta fight that and not just talk about it like all those fat American wanks.  Walking, running and biking... tried them all this Summer.  Followed through with none of them.  It's hard to stay motivated but I KNOW it's possible if I just force myself.  It's a battle of willpower, you see.  I can win that battle because I've done it before.  MyPlate has you put in your height and weight and calculates a daily calorie limit.  You put in what you eat each day and it totals it up for you, charting everything from grams of fat to sodium.  It keeps you in line goddamnit!