Incoherent Scribblings

Some Computer Skills Required

I applied for a job as “Youth Counselor.” It is through a local government program in the area and all the ad said was:

“This position is full-time, 40 hours per week, with travel required [---]. College background preferred with some computer skills required.”

I think I meet those requirements, so I applied. I have an interview Monday. The ad was so brief that I don’t even know exactly what this person will do, but I have a suspicion that it will be working with “at-risk” teens. I don’t know what the pay will be, but I won’t take less than $10 an hour. If it is a government program like I think it is, I should have insurance and retirement, but I need to make sure. And I think I could start May 10 (no earlier).

I wish I could start tomorrow, but with Step-dad out of commission, I feel like I shouldn’t start for at least a couple of weeks. Not to mention that if I get this position, I will quit the Sheriff’s Office and would like to give them two weeks’ notice. I know that I can continue to live here as long as I want, so I am not in too big of hurry to move out, though I would want to do it sooner rather than later.

I still want to work as a librarian, but I just haven’t been too keen on any of the jobs advertised lately. If this is something that interests me, I wouldn’t be opposed to getting an advanced degree and making a change of career if necessary. In fact, unlike the job in the bookstore that I didn’t care about, I plan to take this interview seriously and look at it as a career opportunity rather than a filler for a “real” job.

I can’t believe I am seriously considering staying here longer. I can’t/don’t/won’t believe it is for good, but at least long-term temporarily. It’s rather ironic I think… Staying is what The New Guy dreamed of, but because of his clingy ways, he won’t get to enjoy it if I do.

Protected: 40 is a Good Number

SBQ: The Wagon

Seeing as I have absolutely no stitching progress to show this week, I guess now is as good a time as any to post this week’s SBQ as suggested by Danielle:

Are you on “The Wagon?” If so, how long have you been on and how “serious” are you about it? If not, have you considered it?

As a matter of fact, I am on The Wagon. Technically, I have been on the Wagon since March of 2006. However, I didn’t officially consider myself on The Wagon until about six months ago when budget considerations began guide my stash spending. And though I consider myself a moderate Wagoneer, I am pretty serious about being on “The Wagon.

In other words, when I decided to jump on board, I decided that I wouldn’t completely bar myself from stash acquisition, rather I decided to take steps that would help to limit my spending. For example, I joined the Project Challenge, the goal of which is to stitch from your stash with a few exceptions.

The Helmet Question

Would a helmet have helped?

That is the question I have been asking myself since my step-dad was in a motorcycle accident on Monday.

Unlike seatbelts, motorcycle helmets are not required by law in Iowa. It is a freedom thing and one that I understand, and in principle, agree with. After all, I am a consenting adult capable of making my own decisions. Seatbelt or motorcycle helmet, I don’t believe the government has the right to tell me that I must protect myself.

Obviously, no helmet would have helped to prevent the cracked ribs.

Would a helmet have protected him from the minute skull fracture? Maybe. The fracture was in such a place that it would have largely depended on where the bottom of the helmet was.

Would a helmet have kept him from getting the laceration on the back of his head? Undoubtedly.

Is my step-dad lucky to be alive? Absolutely.

New Blog Structure

As you may have noticed, my blogs have a new, single URL. (I will leave the redirect for now, but please update your feeds and blogrolls ASAP.) Along with this new URL, my blog also has a new structure.

As you probably know, I have been maintaining two blogs, a cross stitch one and a “main” one, for about 2½ years. I originally separated them because I had two distinct audiences and the one audience (that for my “main” blog) wasn’t always interested in my crafty pursuits that I found myself blogging about on an increasingly regular basis.

Therefore, in response to my audience’s wishes, I separated the crafty content and began a second blog. Because I was still maintaining my “main” blog, I decided that my cross stitching blog would only contain posts that were directly related to cross stitching. I figured that any readers that I had that were interested in both blogs could just visit both of them.

At that point in time, I had plenty of time to maintain both blogs and did so quite successfully for quite a while.

However, as my personal situation grew more complicated, my main blog grew rather neglected. The voice of the American expatriate that had been guiding my “main” blog faded and when I officially repatriated, I knew that my expatriate audience had all but disappeared.

As I mentioned yesterday, I have felt for many months now that the voice of my “main” blog has been aimless. However, I also realized that really have no desire to stop blogging; I just need to find my voice again.

Therefore, for the past couple of weeks I have been thinking about new approaches to my blog and this is what I have come up with:

From now on, I will only have one URL… essentially one blog, but it will have two main categories that represent my two blogs. The two categories will be “Stitched with Love and Cat Hair” and “Beyond the Shelves” and each of the two main categories will then be subdivided.

The front page (http://blog.blondelibrarian.net) will contain only my stitching-related posts as I feel this is not only my main readership at the present time, but also because that is currently what I post most frequently about. Clicking “Beyond the Shelves” will take you to what was formerly referred to as my “main” blog and will be devoid of stitching content for those who may still be reading but are not interested in my hobby.

Finally, I am hoping to reinvigorate my blog and find my voice again by writing more freely. Nevertheless, I am still not sure how ready I am for the publication of some topics that I hope to write about, so from now on, some posts will be password protected. If a post is password protected, please do not ask for the password. If it is a post I want to share I will unprotect it when I feel ready.