About a hour to kill / thoughts on the plan.
I'ts been a interesting week for "the plan" on where I'm going with my life. I'll try to summarize.
Wednesday my step dad emails me (we chat now and again) and he asked me for probably the third time if i've applied to work for UPS. I know it makes sense to him that I should get a job there, It's a stable business that is always hiring and has room for long term growth within the company. Catch is I know that the starting position (while it pays well) is part time, 4 hours a day 5 days a week, loading trucks at the ungodly hours of the dawn. The real kicker is that I knew a guy at COC that blew his knees out doing that job, and another guy from camp (greg) that just physically couldn't hack it and had to quit after just a few weeks. Hence I'm a little reluctant. I'm ok with jobs that are physical to a degree... but regular and predictable injuries?
In the shower the next morning, I'm thinking about my predicament in general (I'm strapped for cash, no eta on when the IRS or wells fargo is going to pay me what they owe me (or in the case of wells fargo IF- tangent story), the only reliable source of green is about to run dry (about 5 weeks left of unemployment checks I can count on- another tangent rant), and of the 7 places I applied this Monday and Tuesday- Only the Jewish temple in Valley Village has acknowledged that I've applied (though non-automated means). Maybe Im supposed to take that kind of swallow my pride job? Worst case I end up riding disability instead of unemployment and I have a excuse to be a lazy ass.
So, Fuck it. I decide I'm going to central park and run barefoot as long as my feet can take it (3 "laps" around all of the grassy parts, took about 28 minutes- and I got the blister on my toe to prove it). I'm going to go to REI and get me a pair of those Five-Finger shoes ('cause me knees feel better after I run barefoot- it's awesome!) so I can run locally and have less excuses to avoid running- damn the fact that I really shouldn't be spending money and they are rather expensive. And after that, I'm coming home and getting a crappy job that Isn't going to pay me enough to get buy, and I'm going to take it up the ass like a grown man and just do the best I can to make ends meet.
Of course what actually happens, is that I go running and on the way home jenji wants company to CSUN (which is where I'm going anyway) and the day gets consumed by one errand or another until it's supernatural time- Was a good day ( jenji and rusty are welcome company) but I have to laugh at the fact that my "fuck it" list (which grew to include a trip to ross- another tangent rant) only got so far as "go running" that day- Shoe and clothes shopping both defeated me that day (but darn, REI is a nifty sore!)
Fast forward to friday afternoon- Couldn't sleep that night, sinuses were bothering me that day... I was miserable again, so I take the shot of whisky and a benadryl nap (which are mighty helpful I must say- but use sparingly!) and while I'm negotiating couch space with chole (long conversation with my self made short) I think... Na, I'm pretty sure that I want to go teach general science.
Seems to me that with all the misinformation out there, critical thinking is a life skill that a great many people could use more of. Ok, beyond the basic knowledge of how things work- most people aren't going to use the things they learned back in science class all that much. but the method! The method is what matters- Teaching people, young people, to go from observations to hypothesis and make predictions and design tests, to make new observations and see if they match predictions and reject/ accept the conclusions and hypotheses... That's a darn good way to spend life.
So that's the plan now- Find out how I make that happen, find crappy but physical job to keep me active and some cash flowing, and make it happen. I'd share more but I need to be back at the ranch for a shift soon... So more on that research later.
Wednesday my step dad emails me (we chat now and again) and he asked me for probably the third time if i've applied to work for UPS. I know it makes sense to him that I should get a job there, It's a stable business that is always hiring and has room for long term growth within the company. Catch is I know that the starting position (while it pays well) is part time, 4 hours a day 5 days a week, loading trucks at the ungodly hours of the dawn. The real kicker is that I knew a guy at COC that blew his knees out doing that job, and another guy from camp (greg) that just physically couldn't hack it and had to quit after just a few weeks. Hence I'm a little reluctant. I'm ok with jobs that are physical to a degree... but regular and predictable injuries?
In the shower the next morning, I'm thinking about my predicament in general (I'm strapped for cash, no eta on when the IRS or wells fargo is going to pay me what they owe me (or in the case of wells fargo IF- tangent story), the only reliable source of green is about to run dry (about 5 weeks left of unemployment checks I can count on- another tangent rant), and of the 7 places I applied this Monday and Tuesday- Only the Jewish temple in Valley Village has acknowledged that I've applied (though non-automated means). Maybe Im supposed to take that kind of swallow my pride job? Worst case I end up riding disability instead of unemployment and I have a excuse to be a lazy ass.
So, Fuck it. I decide I'm going to central park and run barefoot as long as my feet can take it (3 "laps" around all of the grassy parts, took about 28 minutes- and I got the blister on my toe to prove it). I'm going to go to REI and get me a pair of those Five-Finger shoes ('cause me knees feel better after I run barefoot- it's awesome!) so I can run locally and have less excuses to avoid running- damn the fact that I really shouldn't be spending money and they are rather expensive. And after that, I'm coming home and getting a crappy job that Isn't going to pay me enough to get buy, and I'm going to take it up the ass like a grown man and just do the best I can to make ends meet.
Of course what actually happens, is that I go running and on the way home jenji wants company to CSUN (which is where I'm going anyway) and the day gets consumed by one errand or another until it's supernatural time- Was a good day ( jenji and rusty are welcome company) but I have to laugh at the fact that my "fuck it" list (which grew to include a trip to ross- another tangent rant) only got so far as "go running" that day- Shoe and clothes shopping both defeated me that day (but darn, REI is a nifty sore!)
Fast forward to friday afternoon- Couldn't sleep that night, sinuses were bothering me that day... I was miserable again, so I take the shot of whisky and a benadryl nap (which are mighty helpful I must say- but use sparingly!) and while I'm negotiating couch space with chole (long conversation with my self made short) I think... Na, I'm pretty sure that I want to go teach general science.
Seems to me that with all the misinformation out there, critical thinking is a life skill that a great many people could use more of. Ok, beyond the basic knowledge of how things work- most people aren't going to use the things they learned back in science class all that much. but the method! The method is what matters- Teaching people, young people, to go from observations to hypothesis and make predictions and design tests, to make new observations and see if they match predictions and reject/ accept the conclusions and hypotheses... That's a darn good way to spend life.
So that's the plan now- Find out how I make that happen, find crappy but physical job to keep me active and some cash flowing, and make it happen. I'd share more but I need to be back at the ranch for a shift soon... So more on that research later.