Tru Dat Tom Petty

It's been two weeks since my position was eliminated and I began this busy shuffle to escape the potential horrors of a life lost in jobless zombieland. So far, so good, I guess. I mean, to be honest, reports from the front aren't the rosiest you ever did want to hear about, but I'm not here to dwell on that. Not yet anyway. Believe me, if this blog is still going on a couple months from now, there might be a shift in tone when it comes to the business of getting me a job. For now, though, all is well. There are opportunities, and I'm locating them, and people are helping me with referrals, and I feel fine. Things are cookin', as they say.

Like the soup I made yesterday. Split pea. It always takes a while before it comes together in all its glory. During the early hours, when those peas are still hard and the flavors haven't been fully summonsed from the ham bone, the bay leaf, the mirepoix, etc., it's a lot harder to get excited about that soup. Will it ever be done? Not looking too good... But then, once those carrots are soft, and the peas transform into the creamy, sweet broth you were waiting for, and you ladle it steaming into your bowl on a frigid Chicago evening, on your favorite TV night--the night of Bravo's Top Chef--then you remember. Then, you make a note of that feeling... of comfort.

See, the soup was always going to be okay, even when it was a dried up leaf floating on yellow stock with a lumpy hock in the middle and the peas wouldn't budge.

Tom Petty had it right: The waiting is the hardest part.

Carly Simon had it right: We may never know about the things to come, but we think about them anyway.

Henry Ford had it right: You can't build a reputation on what you are going to do.

What? What's that last one doing in there? Well, I'm a fan of Henry Ford, especially his quotes. I collect quotes, and that guy had a lot of useful things to say. Pretty impressed with how he came up with the car and everything, but it's his quotes that really wow me. Anyway, I included this one, because of the soup. And the anticipation of how good it's going to be. And the waiting, while it goes through its necessary stages to get to its best outcome. And the business of getting me a job.

Follow me: when we eat the soup, we all know I'm good at cooking it, because of how well it turns out. Then I should know, I don't have to worry anymore in the process, about if it will ever be done or if it's not looking too good. So, you see, both my soup and my work reputation are built on what I have already done. And both depend on what I'm doing right now. You can't get to eating up the results of the future until you're there.

Yes, I'll enjoy that feeling of comfort when I do get hired, but Henry Ford's quote reminds me that when this happens, I'll know then that my employment was always going to be okay. Even when I saw some lousy unemployment figures, even when I was submitting my unique qualifications to be scanned by computer programs, even when my resume was being forever versioned so it wouldn't be ignored.

Right now was always going to be the way we have found it to be, too. The best thing we can do is keep it on simmer, check and stir it often, and add more seasoning or liquid as needed. Till done.

PS: Want my split pea soup recipe? Comment below. If I get a couple requests, I'll be happy to share my method, which is pretty yummy, if I do say so myself!

Quickies

I enjoy Wednesdays. They have always been a good catch-up day for me. I like the idea of looking back at Monday and Tuesday to see what I didn't finish, and looking ahead at Thursday and Friday to see what I still have time to complete. Wednesday gives me a chance to make up for time that got away from me lately, and it also gives me hope of carving out some time to do what's important to me in the coming days. That is all good.

If you like this idea for your Wednesdays, please take it and put it to good use, starting now. You don't have to relegate this to just this one specific day of the week as I tend to. Maybe twice-weekly, biweekly or monthly catch up makes more sense for you. But an occasional day for review, planning and checking off a bunch of quickies can be a very good thing. Clears the head and the calendar, so I do recommend. Some of my Wednesday Odds & Ends:

• There was a bill being passed around Congress today, and an effort to stop it, regarding censorship and protection of rights to creative material on the internet. It was nicknamed SOPA and I didn't learn much about it, except it seemed to be written all wrong and many of my favorite and most-used websites were against it, so I felt after a little reading, I was against it too. That was an unexpected To Do for Today--usually I don't plan to research a bill or petition against it. But, check, got that done.
• Actually came to the SOPA info by first visiting craigslist.org. On craigslist I found out that job searches there are much easier than the larger sites I've been spending my time at. Only a couple of possibilities for me this week. Hey, that's plenty: just the right one will do the trick. So, check, learned something important and now I'll visit there more often.
• One of the job postings on craigslist sounded really neat, so I pulled together a cover letter with linked samples to send with my resume, within an hour, which brings up another bonus to local job listings. They are often posted by actual people, requesting a resume sent in direct response, and as such, are easier to apply for than most of what I'm finding on larger online sites like indeed.com, linkedin.com and careerbuilder.com. Check, cool-sounding gig applied for.
• Made sure I saved time for a little yoga practice. Wrote it down for Monday and Tuesday, never did it. Boooo. It's important to me. No excuses for that, I'm in charge of my own time now!
• Made sure I save time for a little personal/hobby writing. Wrote it down for Monday and Tuesday, never did it. Boooo. It's important to me.... --you get the idea.
• Called in a prescription and am now going to pick it up. Tomorrow it will be 0 degrees around here, so why not enjoy the luxury of choosing to get it a day early, when it's a balmy 20 something?
• Started some split pea soup in a big pot. Stock is stewing with veg and herbs and that bay leaf smells fantastic. Good day for soup....brrr.
• Set aside time on Thursday and Friday for more craigslist, yoga and personal/hobby writing. Will surely enjoy leftover soup and my warm home. I'm grateful for it. I know many jobless people aren't as lucky as I am, with a home, and a heat bill they can pay, and spouse's income that will help them survive for long with this measure of comfort. So, I also set aside time to reflect on, and write about, that.