Got back to Perth on the 3rd of Jan and it was bloody hot coming out of the airport, especially as I’d been in either air conditioned comfort or the freezing UK air for 3 days.
Was nice to get back home though and one of the first things I did was to skype the kids.
Poor Henry, being small, burst into tears when I spoke to him and wanted me to cuddle him (we’d being doing lots of that and I miss it too). They’d had the remainder of their presents and were pretty happy.
The next day, Monday 4th I had to prep for an interview (sorry if any work people read this – its true, its not that I’m really unhappy with my job or company, it just pays to explore the market every now and again – if I get the new job, I’ll be over the moon as its a good opportunity, if I don’t, its a shame but I’ll carry on and continue to focus 100% on my current job – does that cover my arse enough?) which was a pain – it was a presentation on stuff that I don’t know anything about, so I had to put in 1/2 days work to get to grips with what I had to do.
The interview the next day went well I think, although I haven’t heard yet – its always hard to gauge what an interview panel really think - I’ll let you all know what happens as soon as I know anything.
So, we’re almost upto date – back to work this week already although very little is happening at the moment as a lot of people are still away. I have a big project to take part in this month, although I’m not sure what my active involvement as technical architect will actually be as this is going to be a hands on exercise, I’ll find out on Monday.
Well, thats a load of text without any pretty pictures..so, to remedy that..here’s some I took the other night
Its another beautiful day today, so I may pop out to get some photos this afternoon
Due to certain circumstances (mainly, the Progesterone kicking in on the first day!) we are officially calling this Day 1. Now starts the rotating meds, etc, and we’ll have labwork done on Day 22. Gib goes tomorrow for his lab test; wish him luck (although I think he needs more “happiness” than luck!). I worked 7a-3:30p, then went back for 3 hours, 7p-10p, and am now heading to bed to get a few hours before working 7a-3:30p AND 11p-7a tomorrow . . . whew, makes me tired just typing it! Emptied the pill box for today: check; brushed my teeth: check; down to wishin’, and hopin’ . . .
This week, listening to the news of the French Belgian radio (RTBF), I heard a new about a pessimistic forecast about the unemployment in Belgium for 2010. Following a study led by Philippe Defeyt, economist and member of the board of directors of the IDR – Institut pour un développement durable (Sustainable development institute), the unemployment rate in Belgium should reach a historical level in 2010 compare to 1970, with a rate of 14,6% of the working population, representing a number of 750.000 unemployed people.
The IDR analyzed few macroeconomics variables from 1970 until now. If the number of jobs increased of 17% compared to 1970, the total number of working hours done by this working power is lower compare to the number in 1970 (less 5% in 2010 compare to 1970). During 31 years, the working population increased of 1,3 million of people, but the available jobs increased only of 650.000 units, it means only the mid of what should be necessary to give a job to everybody.
These are few elements included in the study. But what was amazing, is the reaction of the minister of employment, Joëlle Milquet about the figures related to the unemployment forecast. She told that these figures were totally overestimated, giving a worse picture of the situation. Really ?
Here is the question about the definition of an unemployed people. Following the minister of employment, the definition of unemployed people includes the workless people looking for a new job. It means that the unemployed people who are 58 -60 years but not looking for a job because considered as too old, are not taken into account. Following Philippe Defeyt, the two categories are included in the statistics, as they are facing the same problems when they are looking to their bank account at the end of the month.
It is a bit difficult to understand why a category of unemployed people are not taken into account by the statistics of the government, when such government includes political parties defending social values, and when they are claiming to develop social politics to decrease the poverty. Belgian is one of the countries where the rate of unemployed 50-60 years old people is the lowest. It is totally senseless to ignore such people from official statistics.
By reading this, I remember my studies, where one of my professor of statistics defining statistics as ‘the Best way to lie”.
Institut pour un développement durable – http://www.iddweb.eu
ok, i am happy in my job. i can deal with the usual ups and downs, but i enjoy what i do and i think i’m doing pretty well at it.
so why, oh why am i looking at these job offers? i don’t understand. i shouldn’t be doing this. i’m making myself unhappy by longing for a job that’s unattainable for me, and i’m not even talking about the qualifications needed. there will be a ton of other people applying. the more qualified, the more educated, the always-better-ones.
i shouldn’t have clicked on that website. stupid me.
plan for 2010: improve my skills so that maybe next year i will be a good fit. one of that skills will be language. so should i learn spanish (no knowledge but i sort of speak portuguese) or should i improve my french (it’s a basic level and benefits from my portuguese)?
shit, i can already tell i will not get much sleep tonight because this will be running over and over in my head…
Look for services that cater to pet owners.
Pet-friendly hotels make it easier than ever to bring pets with you on the road. Many offer amenities such as pet sitting, dog walking and even pet-pampering spa treatments. Do research ahead of time to find the perfect hotel that fits your needs. Be sure to ask about their policies — for instance, many hotels require your pet to be on a leash at all times and never be left unattended in the room.
Also, check with your car insurance company to see if your pets are covered. With Progressive’s Pet Injury coverage, your dog and cats are covered — at no extra charge — if they’re hurt in a car accident and your Progressive policy has Collision coverage.
Get your pets used to the car and make them feel comfortable.
Often, the only time pets ride in the car is when they’re visiting the vet or groomer — so they may not always associate a car ride with positive feelings and may even be afraid to ride in the car. Teach them instead that car rides can be fun by taking them for short road trips to a dog park, a friend’s house for a play date, or just to a new place to take a long walk.
If your pet’s anxiety persists, consider over-the-counter products that can help reduce stress and anxiety.
If you plan to keep your pet in a travel crate while riding in the car, it’s important that you familiarize your pet with its crate by having it rest inside the crate around the house — the more familiar pets are with their surroundings, the more comfortable and secure they’ll be once inside the car.
Some pets tend to get car sick. Try not to feed them for a few of hours before the trip.
Make sure your pet has proper identification.
Just in case he or she gets lost while traveling, you want to be sure your pet is wearing up-to-date ID tags. The most important thing that needs to be listed on the tag is an emergency contact phone number, but it’s also a good idea to mention if you’ll offer a reward if someone returns your pet to you or if your pet needs any medication.
Prepare a doggie bag.
A pet travel pack is a great way to make sure you’re prepared for anything — and is something that can remain stocked, so it’s ready to go with you at a moment’s notice. Make sure it contains cleanup supplies, a towel or bed to serve as a comfortable resting place, portable feeding/watering bowls, food and water, a pet first aid kit, and lots and lots of toys to keep pets busy and well behaved!
To Keep Tails Wagging in the Passenger Seat
Restrain your pets for safe car travel.
Free to paw their way around the car, unrestrained pets can be a distraction to drivers and can get injured if the car makes a sudden stop or is involved in an accident, even if it’s just a fender bender. Secure your pet in a crate or with a harness to keep it safe.
Don’t let your pets ride with their heads out of the window.
While most dogs love to hang their heads out of the car window and feel the wind in their fur, it’s best not to indulge them. They can easily be injured by debris flying into their eyes.
Never leave your pets unsupervised in the car.
Just like people, dogs and cats are susceptible to heat stroke — even if it isn’t that hot outside or the car windows are left open — and can even be stolen. Make sure you know where your pet is at all times.
This story is written as a narrative so I think it is very easy to “picture” the reading. The verse that popped off the page for me was vs. 5 Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular custom. Hmmm, the Lord keeps talking about the state of the heart TO ME.
In the first 2 chapters God tests Job not just once but twice, and he did not sin against the Lord. Then we meet Job’s 3 friends:
Eliphaz the Temanite, he is a descendant from Esau (yes of course we will read this in genealogy pages later ) No wonder he gives bad advice, look at Esau!.
Bildad the Shumite, a descendant of Abraham so he will appeal to family traditions
Zophar the Naamathite, not sure where from, will use his own point of view to explain God.
Today we read the first conversation with Eliphaz who suggests that Job is suffering because he is being punished from a sin he must have committed, and that if he takes his case to the Lord and repents all will get better. Don’t think for a minute we can’t be Eliphaz! Job is in the pitt of his life and Eliphaz is pointing out all the possible stuff that may have gotten him there. Eliphaz says “Who, being innocent has ever perished?” God eventually will rebuke Eliphaz for his false advice.
There is a difference between Trial and Consequence for Sin. The Bible repeatedly talks about purification through fire (trial) ! Burn out the impurities! It refines us! Pure gold when in a fire, becomes more valuable, and yet moldable by its handler!
A craftsman was once asked when purifying silver “How do you know when the metal is Hot enough in the fire” The craftsman said, “when I look at it and can see my own image in the reflection” God is the craftsman.
Well well. It’s been a long time, hasn’t it? So long that I don’t quite know how to start. Or start again, rather. I’ve been wrestling, lately, with deciding what to write and what not to write. I know (having heard it again and again) that the less I write and the more I just put out videos, the easier it makes everything seem, and thus the “better” at all this I must be, right? Well, ya know what? I think that’s a load of bullshit. I think damn near everyone struggles, wrestling art out of the birth canals of their imagination and into the real, corporeal world. So, I’m just going to go ahead and be honest about it, otherwise I don’t know how I’d start this dialogue up again.
Getting funding through Kickstarter was a wonderful, affirming experience, and I am so grateful to everyone who helped out. I truly, truly, and deeply am. Without diminishing that, it’s also a bit of a double-edged sword. Before the funding came through, this was just my little, process-oriented project. It could be good, it could be bad, and it could most definitely be ugly. I could stop whenever I wanted, and I had no one to please but myself (ha… saying that now I’m not sure I truly believe it. Even if it’s true, it never really felt that way). Suddenly, though, when the funding came through I had backers. Producers, if you will. I felt like, suddenly, I was answerable to someone, like I had a boss, almost. I think this was mostly in my head, but I suddenly felt a ton of pressure.
While recognizing that A) this pressure was almost entirely coming from myself, and B) that pressure isn’t necessarily a bad thing (I generally function really well when I have a deadline), I still let it get to me. I stressed out about this and that, the details, the minutia. I imagined that my audience would now be far more critical than they were before, after all, many of them (more than 150) were now a paying audience, and some of them had paid quite a lot. I wanted everything to look and sound perfect for them. I wanted to start back with the perfect episodes. Well, waiting for “perfection” is both maddening and fruitless. It’s an idea, a concept we strive for, but I’m not sure that it exists outside of our imaginations.
I also have spent a lot of time focusing on details I’d never thought about before. A lot of this came from trying to “upscale” the show. My attempt to make this project bigger and prettier starting with my first episode back opened the door for many more logistical complications than there had been before. Some of these may have been necessary (i.e. I had to learn how to use my new camera, which is about 50x more complicated than my old one), and some of them may have been seemingly extraneous (I attempted to build a greenscreen in my living room with just a greenish sheet and a couple cheap lights). I think, in one way or another, I learned some lessons from all of these things, which will likely prove very valuable down the road, and that’s a good thing. That said, it very much distracted me from the point and purpose of this project. It’s not about stunning HD video, or special effects, or something like that; it’s about character, and it’s about story-telling. That is the very soul of this project, and I lost track of that for a bit. Finding that again, and realizing that that’s pretty much all that matters, was a big, big relief.
It took getting distracted and losing my way for me to take a step back, survey the landscape, and regain sight of what is vital. As far as my investors go, I’m incredibly grateful to them, and am no longer scared of “letting them down”. Why? Because I’ve made it this far into this project, and I’ve done a lot of work I’m really proud of. Getting back into it, it’s not about doing what you think everyone (or the majority of people) will like, it’s about doing the best work I can, to satisfy myself, to judge the ideas/episodes/comedy based on my own standards, and to learn via the experience. Same as it always was.
Staring down the barrel of twenty-five more episodes is incredibly daunting. It’s easy to look at that and feel overwhelmed or unequal to the task. What I need to remember, though, is that when I first started this project, twenty-five episodes ago, it was incredibly daunting then, too. I didn’t know how I was going to do it. I didn’t have a map for how I would get through it, and I didn’t really have a plan. I just held my breath and jumped in. I learned how to swim by swimming. So, I’ve been out of the water for about three months. It’s not that I’ve forgotten how to swim, it’s just hard to motivate yourself to jump back into the water when you know how cold it is, and you know how turbulent it can get. Human beings, however, are survivors, and once we’re in a situation, we adapt. We develop new skills to get us through different conditions. We have learned not only how to stay afloat in heavy water, we’ve learned how to surf the waves.
