Sh-h-h ... I'm Job-Huntin'

*Sigh*

I so wish it was as easy as it used to be.

I used to be young.  I used to be more patient. I used to be ambitious. I used to be ... hired.

Now, I'm the opposite. I'm old, impatient, un-ambitious (is that a word?  It is now.) and un-hired.

I look terrific ... on paper.  I keep updating and improving my resume. But, for whatever reason, I'm not yet hired.

I have the dreadful feeling that I may end up having to accept some entry-level job.  There are certainly a lot available. In a couple of weeks, all the students will be returning to their classrooms, so maybe I ought look a bit deeper into the entry-level positions.

I still feel as though I ought follow my education and training and experience and continue to look for Secretarial work.That's what I'll do, for now, anyway.  Continue looking for secretarial work.

Motorcycling Update

I have actually become a "Biker Chick"

I have learned how to ride a motorcycle.

I have a motorcycle: It's a Harley Davidson Sportster, 1200, Low (Which has been "slammed" to a lower, Low)

I was first learning, and ... well, I drove into the ditch. I was trying to turn onto main street: I was looking at the ditch, rather than onto the road where I wanted to go. I did learn quickly that you go where you're looking.  Fortunately, it wasn't a deep ditch. Unfortunately, Mike had to get it out. He was able to.

After this, I had taken a motorcycling course. It was from Vanderhoof: E & R training. They provided motorcycles, helmets, and safety vests. They had plenty of bikes, none of which were very tall. (Which was a good thing) It was 2 and a half days of training. And, we received our 2nd test. Which I passed! yay!

So, after learning how to ride, I decided to go and try it out on my very own bike. Big mistake. I went to get it out of the shop ... and dropped it.  I vaguely remembered seeing and reading a little card at the Harley shop: pick it up with your legs, not your back. I attempted repeatedly; it didn't work. I ended up going into town and asking Colin to come out and pick it up and train me to do so. Once he showed me the technique, it made a lot more sense than the way that the motorcycle pick-up card said.

Later, I was able to ride all over the Valley (The Bulkley Valley: Topley to Smithers, Topley to Burns Lake, Topley to Prince George.) It was a lot of fun. When I had asked Colin to pick up the Bike at the beginning of the summer, it had 119 km on it. When I parked it after the Biking Season ended, it had over 7000.

I failed the first time that I attempted the final test. For some reason, I became completely unglued. Nerves, bad habits I'd developed, probably more nerves. Further self-training and I tried one more time. I made it that time. So, now I'm licensed for class 5 and class 6. My new license states "Class 5,6."

Since becoming a motorcyclist, I have found other women locally who ride. It seems to have become something that women just decide to do. There is a terrific age range: My great-neice is 14 (and has been motorcycling for 2 years) all the way to over 60. I've met women in their early 20s and early 30s who motorcycle.

It's a very fun thing to do. I appreciate it. My husband says that I look good on a bike. Many others are surprised that I decided to take it up.

Mike's "Man Cave"

Before Christmas, I was wandering around our local Canadian Tire store, and saw a neon sign for sale: it was an outline of a "mountain" with a "cave" outlined in the bottom of the mountain. The caption, also in neon tubing said "Man Cave". It amused me, and I would have bought it for Mike ... except for the price.

For the last few days, he has been calling his shop his "man cave". He's become attached to the title for his shop.

So, I am assigned to find out from a store or two here in Prince (George) what a sign similar would cost. He has a specific idea for what he wants it to look like. I have the "specs" written down. I hope that it'll be less than the one available in Canadian Tire. If it isn't, I'll call M. and see if he doesn't just want to purchase the one that is in C. T.


Update:, August 6, 2013

Well: even though I'd thought it was just a "flash in the pan" type of idea, apparently it has caught on --- hard. If you enter "Man-Cave" in the search bar on Google Search Engine, you can get pages and pages of 'images' of a "Man Cave". In the internet search, you get 36,000,000 results (in .18 seconds).

I didn't know that it had caught on and gone as large as it has. I presumed that it would remain being a shop-type of area, place where guys 'hang-out'. Where they can do 'boy-stuff' --- no girlz alowed! However, when you do look on the image-section of Google Search Engine, some of the "man-caves" that are out there rival some of the fanciest restaurants that I've been in. Many are built around a "theme"; sports, bars, cars, motorcycles, basketball courts, pools ... many of the images are incredible!

Of course, Mike, being himself, hasn't let moss grow under his feet either. He has built an "office area" in part of his shop; our daughter calls it a stage. Either description fits. He will be using it as an office, but at the moment, it does resemble a stage. Beneath it, Mike has built it into a storage area.

This past spring, he hired a guy to do the painting that he wanted done. It's now Dark Forest Green and Blue-Gray.

Plus, he has been collecting various things for the decor: the "Man Cave" sign (pic above) being one of the items. I have also purchased a couple of other items, with "Man Cave" written on them. Plus, he's bought a couple of posters (to be framed), and had ideas kicking around for various other elements that he wants to do in his shop.

Calling the area a "Shop" almost seems to be a misnomer, now. He's cleaned the entire place up, and has organized his "Storage Area" so he can find stuff when he looks. He has plans to have an Office Space there. He plans this, that, and the other thing. I don't doubt for a moment these things will come to pass.

December 28, 2013
Our daughter has been home for a short time for the Christmas Season. She has seen Mike's "Man Cave" for the first time. She's really impressed. She can "see" in her imagination whatever Mike tells her what he's going to be doing in the future.

January 23, 2013
This Saturday, Mike will be holding a Prayer meeting/Study in there. He's cleaning it up, and going to be getting more chairs and arranging an area for this meeting. As far as I know, there's Henry coming. Some of the other neighbors have been invited. It's a very exciting thing.

Here's a link to the Wikipedia information:
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_cave

Becoming a "Biker"

It isn't actually certain for sure.

I brought it up to my husband: I might like to try to becoming a motorcycle driver. He said that was completely unexpected. (Undoubtedly) He had some concerns: accidents, incapability to balance well enough, incapability to avoid animals ... accidents.

It was unexpected, no doubt. But if I like it, it will be something that he and I cans share. It isn't because I feel "pressured" by Mike, nor because I feel as though I need it to "keep our marriage together". Nor is it because I want to become a "bad biker b****h", or I feel "left out" of part of what Mike likes.I want to simply try it out; if I like it, great; if I don't, well, I gave it a try.

The plan, so far, is to buy a used "dirt-street" bike, for me to learn on. As it stands right now, I know nothing about how to ride. Like, totally, nothing. Seriously. Further on, down the road, if I like it, our current plan is to purchase a Matte Black, Low, Something Harley Davidson motorcycle. He thinks that it would be great for me, because I have... vertical impairment. And he's thinking a "Soft-tail". (I have no idea what that means, but it sounds vaguely obscene.) I have warned him, repeatedly, that if I do end up liking this new thing, I will be wanting THE most blinged-out Harley Davidson in the Valley, if not the province. (Maybe even in Canada.) But, first things first: the used "dirt-street" bike to learn on.

Spitting

Spitting is one of the yuckiest things I have ever witnessed, or seen the results of. The most unlikely person I have ever heard of spitting is Jesus Christ, Lord God Almighty.

Mark 7:33: "After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man's ears. Then he spit and touched the man's tongue.
Mark 8:23-25 : "He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the mans eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, "Do you see anything?" he looked up and said, "I see people; they look like trees walking around." Once more Jesus put his hands on the man's eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight restored, and he saw everything clearly.

John 9:6, 7: "Having said this, He spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man's eyes. "Go." He said, "Wash in the pool of Siloam." (This word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.

So, I suppose that not ALL  spitting is disgusting; but any spitting done my anyone that isn't the Lord God Almighty is disgusting.

Children

First off, let's start by my saying that children are not my favorite creatures. They are noisy, they leak, they can be disobedient.

I'm currently sitting in Safeway. There are a pair of younglings noisily running about. The girl is okay. She's not that loud. The boy is hell-on-wheels. He's not obedient; he's noisy; he is noisily dis-obedient.

The mother, who looks like she might be out of her teens; by a short time. (Possibly only this year...) is shopping with her mother. Her mother looks harried as well.  Also, the mother, who looks quite young, is a compact, small person. For now, the children are smaller than her ... for now. She doesn't look like she's trying to hang onto her youth, and isn't really the adult. She does look like she's the one in charge. It's possible that she's the stepmother. (The mother of the 2 children commented to her mother "her father isn't even here" indicating the young girl.) The boy may be being disobedient because she "isn't really his mom", but I think he's actually about 2 or 3 years old (I've observed 2 or 3 year old boys; I would never want one.)

The grandmother in this scenario was attempting to get the younglings out to the vehicle, but didn't have any fortune in doing that. they may have left by now; I don't hear them (i.e. the boy)

It's a sad state of affairs in the world when children don't know who their father or mother actually is. That goes down a rabbit trail that has nothing to do with the subject at hand, so I'll leave it alone at that.

The Latest Fashion/Fad

I never much paid attention to "fashion" before. However, currently, there is a fashion that drives me absolutely bananas! I thought fashion couldn't get worse than the plumber-look with waist-bands around the knees. Or, the chains everywhere, or .... a lot of things.

However, the latest fad is wearing a cap and putting a hoodie-Hood over it. I'm uncertain where this actually started, but it's likely to have begun with some rapper. However, it looks like the ultimate in foolishness. (I'll even be politically incorrect: It looks mentally retarded!)

Whoever began it, seems to have thought: "Let's see: how can I make my followers look un-utterably silly? I know! I'll wear a cap, and pull a hood over-top of it!"

I wish there were some way to let these rap-artist-wannabe's know how foolish they look.

Some rap artist has some serious followers. There are a lot of rap-artist clones out there. I'm unsure whether it's because they want to look like a rap artist, or because they agree with the lyrics of the rap-artist songs. (Do rap songs HAVE lyrics?) Why would they want to agree with rap song lyrics, or rap artist lives, or what they perceive rap artists to be? I just don't understand.