Just Another Rider

Hey all, we have beautiful large snowflakes coming down here this morning, the kind romantics sing songs and write poems about. We have been blessed and the snow didn't start until after the first of the year. The snow has been the light fluffy kind, so it is easy to shovel accept for the hard stuff the snowplow leaves piled up at the foot of mom's driveway, thankfully I am healthy enough to clear it out without being down in the back or shoulder.

I have been restless most of this week but not irritable and discontented. The restlessness comes from my old friend impatiences. It hasn't even been 2 weeks since my dismissal but I am wanting answers NOW. The main answer is, will I be getting paid unemployment which makes a big difference on which jobs I apply for and forecasting a budget for February. I could probably get a part time job to get some money coming in but I don't like the thought of someone hiring me and then turning around and quiting because a full time job comes open, I just feel this is unfair to the employer. I haven't received a call for an interview from the couple of jobs I applied for either so this was irritating me. Since I can't go outside and mess around working in the yard or just walking in nature, I have a bit of cabin fever. This was how I was until yesterday. I was and am thankful I have a warm apartment, vehicle to drive, cash on hand, little dog to keep me company, laptop, books, movies and music, so I didn't get on my pity pot. I kept reminding myself, if I do the footwork something will come up. Just saying!

Thursday morning I did a job search for jobs in the Kearney area, my old home town. I hadn't gone there before because I don't want to break my lease and also move away from mom. First let me say, North Platte is run by the Union Pacific railroad, the only other major employer is the WalMart distribution center, so jobs are limited here, especially with my background in manufacturing and industrial purchasing, with no college degree I am also limited. Kearney is a more progressive town, there are quite a few manufactures in the area, there is a university also, so the town is more geared toward manufacturing and wholesale services.

My search showed there were indeed jobs in the Kearney area which I was more qualified for. I talked to mom and she accepted I might have to move back to Kearney, if it happens we will just have to make arrangements for someone to do her mowing if I can't make it here. She is also thinking about moving to an apartment complex for the elderly, something with less upkeep. She knows if I move I will stay in constant phone contact and drive down in a heart beat if she needs assistance with anything.

I weighted the pros and cons of moving and the pros won. First is work. Next I have pretty much called Kearney home since I moved back to Nebraska in 1992, I like its vibe and it likes mine. My AA roots and friends are grounded there, my home group, service work, the people I hang with which includes my happy camping friends. Of course Mich and the babies are there. With Mich it is a catch 22, if I move back I will make it clear to her, I am not an on-call babysitter, nor am I a bank. It would be nice though to have the kids spend the afternoon with grandpa or even the night on occasion. My lease is up in April, so I would only be breaking it by a couple of months. Rent in Kearney is the same as here, so there is no added expense. Shopping is actually cheap because you have more stores to choice from which means more competition for better pricing.

Thursday I applied for a buyers position online which one of the employment agencies had listed. I decided Thursday evening I would go to Kearney on Friday and fill out applications with the employment agencies, Kearney has 4 of them. My first stop was at the agency I sent the resume to, the person I emailed was gone Thursday so hadn't looked at the resume until I came in. She said she was impressed with my resume and skills. She told me the buyers job was in a town 30 miles southwest of Kearney but the employer was only guaranteeing the position for 18 months. I told her to go ahead and send it, when I go for the interview, which there is no reason I won't considering I have over 10 years experience as a buyer, I will ask them if at the end of the 18 months will they be offering me another position within the company and take it from there if I am offered the job. If the job is offered and the money is right I will live in Kearney and commute, since rentals are rare in the town where the job is located.

The lady also showed me an opening for another job she felt I was qualified for. It for a Safety Coordinator for a large cattle/feedlot operation, for those of you who don't know; a feedlot is where cattle are sent to be fattened up for, how to I put this gently, well there is no way, slaughter. The feedlot probably covers 10 square miles, lot of cattle, mud and poop. Ninety percent of what they are asking for I can do pretty much right away, the other 10% I can easily learn. The pay is very good which is attractive, as much as my hippy non-materialistic ass hates to admit it. Here is the kicker; I would be moving to a small town 1 hour from Kearney and 1 hour from North Platte. I love the town though and always have. It is the pretty little town of 3500 people, nestled on the edge of the sand hills. It has an old fashion town square and has always had this nostalgic feel to it. I looked up apartments for rent last night, the same company which manages the apartment I live in now manages one in this town, by the way the name of town is Broken Bow, so if hired and there is an apartment available I could possibly roll my lease. There is a country back road which takes you through some of the prettiest canyons and ends up just outside of the town I went to school in, so I know the area. Actually when I joined the Army National Guard it was in this town some 32 years ago. I would be working with real cowboys, guys who use ride horses to check pens and herd cattle with, so my earring would have to come out for work. Weird thing is, Broken Bow has the best damn rock radio station in the state, it is owned and operated by a couple of guys who love good music. They play a mix of old and new, blues, folk, alternative country, alternative rock, punk, funk, reggae, they don't play the same old classic rock stuff all the time, after 40 years Jumpin Jack Flash, Purple Haze, and Stairway to Heaven get old and worn. They play the classic rock artist but are more inclined to play off the wall tracks from classic albums or live cuts of popular songs. In other words they play the music I love. Can you tell I am excited about this prospect. Oh yeah, I know people in AA up there too, this is good old fashion AA, very strong and fellowship related, these are the people who will load up a car and road trip to a meeting 25 miles away in a dinky town to lend support. I am going to email the lady at the employment agency and tell her, if the cattle operation is interested I would like to interview there first, that way if they offer me a job I will gladly take it and not have to concern myself with what will happen 18 months down the road. I know you are all saying breath Wolfie, don't get your expectations up and I am not, I am staying in the moment with a touch hope added in for good measure. If it doesn't materialize then it doesn't materialize.

I spent time with Mich and the kids yesterday too, of course it was wonderful. Had lunch with 1 AA buddy and later picked up another and we went to a 5:15pm meeting together. I have to be back in Kearney on Wednesday for an interview with an employment agency, so I am hooking up with another buddy then, he has the day off. It is nice to spend time with old friends who I haven't sat down and talked with in a couple of months.

The title for the post comes from the new Gregg Allman album, simply brilliant album if you like Gregg's great voice. It is pure old school blues, with a dash of rock and jazz. It sounds like all the musicians are in the same room together during the recording, you get the wonderful echo from the classic albums of a time long forgotten. It was produced by T Bone Burnett, who also kicked ass in producing Mellencamp's last album and also the album Elton John and Leon Russell did together, which is the best music either of them has done in years. Burnett also produce the top selling album by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, which I own but don't care for. I love Alison but sorry folks, Plant hasn't moved me since Led Zepplin disband.

Seems like a lot of the bloggers I read are going through changes right now, some major some minor. We are all riders on this road campers, some days we ride in the smooth comfort of a brand new Caddy, other days it is a beat up pickup truck feeling every pebble and dip in the road, once in awhile it is the wind in our face feel of a soft tail Harley. Most of the time though it is the comfortable feel of the family sedan, it has some rough spots but it is dependable and gets us where we need to go safely, anyway this is how I think of life. I hope you too can find a comfortable sedan ride in on the road of life.

Peace Love and Light
Scott