Also work has not been going as well as I would like I feel like I am at a dead stop and not able to move anywhere. I have still be applying to jobs on the market, but I have yet to get a call back from any potential employers. So I am thinking that if this keeps up over the next couple of months, I might end up going back to school and moving out of Kingston as there just are not the tech jobs like in Toronto or Ottawa. I’m even thinking that I might not even stay in Ontario and go where the jobs are. Now that I am single, nothing is holding me to a particular place. I have also been flirting with joining the Military as an Officer but right now I am in a holding pattern as I have to wait until September before I can start applying to Civilian Universities and to the Regular Officer Training Program (ROTP) to see if I would be eligible.

Work seems to be getting the best of me. It is draining, even though I don’t do a lot and working shift work is just not for me. The constant switching from 12 hour day shifts to 12 hour night shifts just does not work with my body. Some people are cut out for it, but I am not sure I am. Well, not in this position anyway. I have been getting out and about Kingston more as I no longer have a desire to sit at home and watch TV or play on my computer for long periods of time. I have taken up biking and I am really enjoying it. It allows me to get around town in a decent time and with all the hills in Kingston, gives me one hell of a good work out. If it was not for the winter months, I think I would have no need to buy a car.

I’m really hoping that I can get out of this funk in my life and go meet new people. Start doing the things that I enjoy and try to ignore all the shit that is going on in my life. I really need to start enjoying life and what it has to offer.

Short of that though, life is going really well. I have been trying to get out of my apartment more and been trying to pry myself away from sitting infront of the computer as much as I do. I want to get into golfing and into shooting for sport, aka Target practice. I am also working on some other ventures that would help me get back into flying again as well as doing some things around the house to make life a little more enjoyable.

Today for instance I went to Home Depot with my Grandmother and ended up getting two large totes and filled them with soil so I can start a garden on my balcony. I don’t too many plants in them right now as it is still the very beginning of spring and there is still the occasional frost warning. But I’m hoping that in about a month or so I can get my hands on some baby veggie plants and grow them. Hopefully this summer will be better then the last!

So what does a Computer Print Operator do you ask? Well, I am responsible for looking after the 5 huge printers we have, that combined, print over 8 million pages a year. I am also responsible for looking after the mainframe and the servers. Among the many things I do on the server, the one that takes up most of my time is running COBOL and JCL jobs for the other departments working at Empire Life. it’s neat being able to have so much power and yet at the same time it worries me because I don’t want to mess up and do the wrong thing and cause a huge problem for Empire Life. I have some pictuers of my work place over on my flicker account. (Empire Life has kindly asked me to remove my pictures from my flickr account. Sorry everyone)

I’m sure I will be making more posts about this place as time goes on. I also want to start posting more on this site as I feel like I am letting my cousin David down by not putting this site to good use. Since he is paying for the server and I think still is paying for the domain name, I feel like I need to keep this updated to show him I am getting value out of this site. Thank you very much David!

Many have even given the thought of being there own boss. I have started more and more thinking that this might be a good way to go. But sadly, I don’t know if I am willing to put in the 10-13 hour days, 5 to 7 days a week, in order to get my name out there. I am by no means a business man, so I would not be starting a store front business of my own, but rather as a freelance writer/ web specialist. After knowing two people that have been doing this sort of thing for years and both of them telling me how hard and frustrating things are, it really makes me wonder if this is something I want to do.

I have also given the thought of possibly doing this as a side project and still trying to find a job working part time somewhere. But after putting out at least two dozen resumes to different companies and not hearing a work back from ANY of them other then to let me know they received my electronic application, I am starting to give up hope of ever finding a job. I know that a majority of my content on this site has been all over the place and about my personal life. This is mainly because I can’t think of one thing I am really good at that I might be able to capture a niche market’s attention with. I think what I need to start out doing is possibly picking two or three topics that I like writing about, and try finding which one I have the most success with and go with it. I know that in order to get my name out there I will need to use application such as Twitter, Facebook, del.icio.us , digg, reddit and many other social media/bookmarking sites. I don’t know if I want to start doing that though. It all sounds very easy, but to put good content out into the world that people are will to read is another story. So the question is, should I start small, only working on one site and get that up and running while I continue to look for a new job, or should I just go all in and work on two sites and promote the heck out of them and see about making that my permanent job?

My ONLY grip about sending out resumes is that employers do not need to contact potential employees if they are not selected. This means that I could apply for a job and never know if anything went wrong with my application or if I was not what the employer was looking for. I really wish it was mandatory for employers to contact ALL potential employees that submit a resume and let them know either way. This would eliminate the constant worry that I have been doing something wrong. I mean, I have taken the time to apply to your company, the least you can do is give me a 5 minute call stating that, “Sorry, we are not interested in continuing with an interview.” Give a very brief explanation why: “Over qualified”, “Not enough experience”, “Not the right fit”, etc. This would cut down on people calling in to the company to find out what is going on. Yes, I understand that not everyone takes rejection well and might have a million questions as to why they were not considered, but then the employer can just say that they wish not to discus the issue further and wish the now unsuccessful candidate a good day and hang up. This way people are not left hanging in nowhere land.

Working at a minimum wage job for 40 hours a week just wont pay my bills. I will go farther and farther into debt and that is not somewhere I want to be at this point. And it seems such a shame to have wasted four years of my life learning something I may never use in a job.

Another problem is the fact that I don’t have a car and would have to rely on the Kingston Bus system to get me to and from work that may be to far to walk. So it makes it hard to find jobs just slightly outside of Kingston.

“What about going to another city?” Well there in lies another problem. I don’t want to leave Ontario or really the Ottawa – Kingston Area. I like both cities and would like to start a life in either one. But finding a permanent full time job with good pay in Ottawa is hard. Or I have found it to be.

An old co-worker of mine suggested that I send my resume to “head hunters” because a lot of companies turn to consulting firms before going to the public to find a job. So I think in the next week I will be doing some research on a few firms and see what they have to offer and if they are able to help me find a job.

If there is anyone that knows of a place looking for a computer programmer or computer networking & technical support specialist in Kingston or Ottawa, please leave me your email and I will get back to you as soon as possible

• Edyy was put down due to contracting Feline Infectious Peritonitis. (FIP)
• I was layed off from my programming job at the Ontario Ministry of Health & Long-Term Care
• Amy and I purchased a new kitten and we named her Lily Marie Fox
• Amy and I are now engaged. No date has been set yet, but are both very excited about it
• I had an interview with the Information Management Systems with the Correction Services Canada Regional office at Collins Bay Penitentiary

So far I have not heard back for CSC, but am hoping to soon. I a going to try and start updating my site more as I have more free time. I have been very depressed because of losing my job and the loss of Edward but I am trying to look on the bright side of things and am glad that I still have a roof over my head and good health.

To start things off, I will send you to xfep.com to read a funny little story about how the WordCamp Toronto 2008 hash tag battle happened. So in the end, my hash tag that I came up with in the morning before the event came out on top for both days! I think I should have one a prize for that. But no worries. At least I know that I created the hash tag for WordCamp Toronto 2008.

For those of you that have no idea what WordCamp is, I will take the next few minutes to explain WordCamp to you as best I can. WordCamp is a conference build around the blogging software called WordPress. Markwood.ca and many other personal and professional blogs are based on this software. So WordCamp is a place for people that use this software to find out new things coming up with WordPress as well as learn different ways to use WordPress from other presenters. There are topics such as WordPress Gallery with Rannie Turingan, WordPress Security with Mark Jaquith, WordPress and Podcasting: The Good, The Bad and The Audible with Charles Hodgson, Running Your Blog Like a Pro with David Peralty and a few others that I will mention at the end of my post.

There is so much to learn at these events that I thought I would record them all for myself so that I can refer back to them on a later date, but then I thought, “Why hog these sessions for myself? Why not post them online for everyone to see?” So that is exactly what I did. I attended ever session (except for the last panel because I had to get a cab to make it to the train station on time for my train.) Being a novice at blogging and wanting to get into the world of professional blogging, this event was very useful for me. I hope that other people will take the 6 hours plus needed to watch all these videos and really use them to improve your blogging abilities or to get into the world of blogging.

WordCamp Toronto Schedule:

Day One
10:00 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. – Blogging as a Cornerstone of Social Media with Joseph Thornley
video: The Video
11:00 a.m. – 11: 45 a.m. – ‘State of the Word’ with Matt Mullenweg
video: Part A, Part B
1:15 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. – WordPress Gallery with Rannie Turingan
video: The Video
2:15 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. – WordPress: Beyond A Blog with Jamie Oastler
video: The Video
3:15 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. – WordPress and Podcasting: The Good, The Bad and The Audible with Charles Hodgson
video: The Video

Day Two
10:00 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. – WordPress Security with Mark Jaquith
video: The Video
11:00 a.m. – 11: 45 a.m. – Running Your Blog Like a Pro with David Peralty
video: The Video
1:15 p.m. -2:00 p.m. – Video Blogging with Mark McKay
video: The Video
2:15 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. – Making the Most of Plug-ins with Brendan Sera-Shriar
video: The Video
3:15 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. – Entertainment Blogging: A Panel Discussion with Frank Yang, Tim Shore, Chris Budd and Jonathan Dekel

If you would like a copy of the presenters slides, please go to the WordCamp Toronto Wiki

I was a little nervous, as I mentioned in my last post, that I was not going to be graduating with distinction. But I ended up graduating for a second time with the prized word on my Diploma. “Distinction”. What an amazing word. I would later find out on my Official Transcript that I graduated with a 3.599 (3.6) average for 4 years of college. Not bad in my mind. I could have done better, but there were some hurdles and some teachers that made a perfect 4.0 nearly impossible.

I would like to thank All of my family for helping me with my 4 long years getting a higher education and for all the support they have given me over the year. Thank you.