Surviving Unemployment

   Although I haven't worked in a little over two weeks, at times it feels much longer. There are some things That I am discovering that seem to help relieve some of the stress and boredom that accompanies the job search process.

    First of all, jobs don't come looking for you, you have to search them out. I've been treating my job search almost as if it was a treasure hunt or the latest video game. I'm finding that the old methods of job hunting no longer apply. With the advent of the Internet age and social media, a lot of companies want you to apply online. In some ways this helps to expand the job search; I'm not restricted to pounding the pavement in one small locality. I look at other job markets and locations. Of course, if you don't have the freedom to move from one location to another, this could limit your job prospects.

   The second thing I've found is it that it is extremely important to have a hobby or two. For myself, as I have mentioned previously, photography is something that I have an interest in. I find myself spending a little time each day working with my photographs-scanning more into my computer, organizing them or digitally editing them. To take a rough photo and work with it until you create something that brings satisfaction, helps me deal with a lot of the stress that goes along with being unemployed.

View from Mt. LeConte , GSMNP, TN (original)

 Here on the left is an example of a photo as it was when the film was developed...

View from Mt. LeConte, GSMNP, TN (edited)

 

  ...and then on the right is the finished product using a couple of online editing  programs.


    Looking for employment can be a tedious and mentally draining process.It helps me though, to have something to turn to when the process becomes overwhelming.

Looking For Work In All The Wrong Places

     It is amazing how difficult it is to find a job these days. I was in this same situation a little over a year ago and was unemployed for all of 2010. It makes life a little bit tough at times. I have been putting out applications this week for positions in different places. Admittedly, it is primarily for the purpose of keeping my unemployment responsibilities in line, but I never know where lightning might strike. There have got to be jobs out there somewhere, people are still being hired.

Where are the jobs?

    The biggest struggle I have is trying to figure out how to market myself. For someone who has spent a good part of life building trails, I have to get creative when trying to figure out how my skills might fit into a vacant job position that I would like to apply for. Grounds maintenance, a tree service company or even an outdoor retailer are positions I could see myself qualified for. But there aren't that many of those type positions available right now. So what to do in the meanwhile?

     I think that I have decided to stay here in Luray until at least the end of January 2012. I have a place to stay and there are some important loose ends that I still have here. If something turns up, job wise, all the better. I suspect I might have to take a position in Harrisonburg, about 30 miles away, but it is a larger college town with a couple of distribution centers for large retail chains. Also, Miller Coors has a plant about 20 miles south of here, so there are some options. But how exactly do I land one of these positions when I know I have no qualifications for that type of work?

An Amateur Photographer

     Over the past 15 years as I have travelled around,one of the things that I have enjoyed is documenting my travels with pictures. Until a couple of years ago, they remained nothing more than a collection of 35mm prints, organized by year and held together by a rubber band. Their home was a $4.00 plastic container purchased from Wal-Mart and they went with me wherever I went. When I switched to digital a few years back, I started adding to that box a collection of CD's with digital copies of my photos I had taken. It wasn't until 2009 that I purchased a computer and was able to unlock some of the memories that they held.

     I have never owned a high end camera. All of the cameras I have owned have been point and shoots, although I am hoping next year to make an upgrade. I have discovered a couple of photo editing programs that have allowed me to make some improvements to the some 4000 pictures I now have in my collection. I almost have everything scanned into my computer now and every one brings back memories from the past.

The first picture I took that made me think that I might have an eye for composition was taken during the time I worked at LeConte Lodge in the Smokies. I was a winter caretaker up there and for several month, it was as if I was living inside a snow globe. To this day, I've not applied any edits to this picture. The original makes me smile every time I look at it.

I have used GIMP as well as the built in edits in Google Picassa to make most of the changes to my pictures. Most of the improvements have been in contrast and lighting, but every change that is made seems to enhance the memory that much more. I can still feel the excitement of having climbed Saddleback Mtn in Maine in 2001 whenever I see this photo.

Other times I will make artistic changes in hopes of evoking a particular emotion I may have felt. Such is the case whenever I hike in my favorite location, the Roan Highlands of upper East Tennessee. On this particular hike, I felt as if I had the entire mountain to myself. It was unusual for there not to be other people around but I had this feeling that I was in an ancient place.

Developing a hobby like photography has been vital to maintaining my sanity. I'm not able to always go back and see the areas I have been to before. But the     photographs have served has timepieces to mark a particular moment in time for me. I know that when my body totally gives out, at least I will still have the memories!

Unemployed...again

      It appears as if another chapter in my life has come to a close. As of today, I am no longer employed. I was terminated from my position at Shenadoah National Park this afternoon. They said they felt I wasn't suited for the position. I have my own ideas as to why things didn't work out but at this point, it really doesn't make any difference. The question is-where to now?

     Given the economy, this is a tough place that I find myself in. Luray is not a large town by any means, and Page County has one of the highest unemployment rates in the state. If a job is to be found around here, more than likely it will be a minimum wage position. I also haven't made many friendships in the area so I have no real connection here. I do have an apartment, but with no income, that wouldn't last very long.

     I think I am left with two options. Being a veteran, I could take advantage of the services offered through the VA. I spent a year in the hospital in Johnson City and do have a few friends there. There is also a VA hospital in Martinsburg, WV that I understand has a fairly good job placement program. I'm not sure that would be the most beneficial move, but it is an option.

      The other option would be to try to find a place where work would be available and attempt to locate a position there. Searching for work in this economic environment can be a rather depressing endeavor. It is not something I look forward to again. Wish me luck; I'm gonna need it.

Financial Stress and Unemployment

     I don't deal good with stress. As I've gotten older, it seems that the stress triggers in my life have only become more numerous. Luckily, they rarely pile on me all at once, but as soon as I get one under control, another rears its ugly head. I rarely have time to catch my breath in between crisis moments.

     Right now, the biggest source of stress in my life is financial. When I was younger, I had thought that at this point in my life things would be somewhat stable. It seems though, that like everyone else I know, a lot of people, myself included, live paycheck to paycheck. The size of the paycheck doesn't appear to make any difference.

     Even though I work for the Park Service and have what most people would consider a good job, my position  call for a furlough period anywhere from 4 to 26 weeks. Furlough means that you don't work for a certain period of time without pay. Most benefits are suspended, with the exception of health insurance.This year, I have twelve weeks off with no income. I'm having to rely on unemployment, something I have only collected once before in my lifetime.

     This past Monday, I applied for benefits at the local office. I had a good case worker, so I was aware that there might be some speed bumps along the way. Today, I received a letter from the state benefits office and my claim has been rejected. Apparently, there is a problem with the way the Federal Government communicates with the state as to my earnings. I've made enough to qualify, it just hasn't appeared in state records yet. I'm pretty sure that eventually I will be able to collect but this is a delay I don't really need.

     Even though I've made more money this year than I ever have before, When I look at my leave and earnings statement, it's surprising how little of it I see. After taxes,health insurance, child support and other little expenses are deducted, I brought home exactly half of what I earned. I still had to pay rent, groceries, gas, phone, Internet, car payment, and the list goes on. So needless to say, I didn't have much to fall back on at the end of the year. I'm going to have to look at how I can reduce my expense next year so I don't wind up in this same situation a year from now. And so the stress continues.

     Does this qualify me for being part of that 99% I keep hearing about?

The Beginnings of My Meanderings

Tricorner Knob Shelter, Great Smoky Mountain NP, July 1997

I started hiking when I was 35. I took it up as a means of losing weight, plus to help escape an unhappy marriage situation. Prior to this point in my life, I had spent many years in the retail industry and had lived a rather sedentary lifestyle. As a result, my weight had ballooned to over 300 lbs and I did not feel healthy at all. Walking seemed easy enough, I'd been doing it all my life!

There were plenty of trails in the Smokies from which to choose, so naturally I started out easy. I think my first hike was less than a half mile in length. The more I walked, the more I wanted to see. I wasn't content with just doing short strolls on the same trails. There were over 900 miles of trails for me to explore!

Finally, in 1997, I did my first multi-day excursion. I backpacked the 70 miles from Fontana Dam to Davenport Gap-the entire length of the Appalachian Trail through the Park. Never had I considered doing anything of this sort, but afterwards, I knew I was a changed person with a new zeal for life. This picture was taken at a trail side shelter I stayed at on July 4th, 1997.

My new found love for hiking shortly took me into a whole new direction in my life. I was determined to find some way to make a living doing what I loved. Most people, it seemed, woke up in the mornings only to go to work at a job that they really didn't enjoy. They simply did it for the paycheck. I wasn't sure that I could accomplish this goal, but I gave it my best shot.

The first several years weren't easy. Luckily, at the time, I had no bills, and after my marriage fell apart, no commitments. The first two years, I worked as a full time volunteer with the Forest Service in Southwest Virginia for fifteen bucks a day and a place to stay. Even though I was poor, I was happy. I was hiking every day in some one of the most beautiful areas in the southern Appalachians. I was also beginning to learn some of the fundamentals of building and maintaining the same trails that I was hiking on.

Fast forward to today. I have a dream job with the National Park Service building and maintaining trails. Everything seems to be relatively stable at this point in my life. At 50, though, I find I don't quite feel like I did at 35. The aches and pains are more frequent and the recovery time is longer. I tend to favor a slower pace these days. Some of my weight has come back. Finances continue to be a source of stress. Even though I'm making more money than I have before, my bills are also larger. I have glasses, hearing aids and dentures. The stuff of old people.

Mary's Rock, Shenadoah NP, Jan 2011

I am trying to age gracefully but I don't always feel like I am succeeding at it!!!

A Brief History Of Time; Pt. 1

Meander:
       1.)To follow a winding and turning course; streams tend to meander through level land
       2.)To move aimlessly and idly without fixed direction; vagabonds meandering through life



To say that the past fifteen years of my life has taken a meandering characteristic would be an understatement. Starting after the dissolution of my marriage in 1997, I took to living a lifestyle similar to that of a vagabond, blowing about with the seasons of the year while pursuing a passion of hiking and outdoor adventure. I was 36 years old when this new phase of my life began and I had never expected it to become a career path.

Initially, I worked at a wilderness lodge in the Great Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee near my hometown of Sevierville. Time and opportunity took me to places as varied as the swamps of south Florida to the boreal forests of northern Maine.

For the better part of 14 years, I found myself living in either a tent, a vehicle of some sort or in some sort of employer provided lodging. In 2010, I officially became homeless and wound up at a VA hospital in a program for homeless veterans. It was at this point that I started the process to attempt some changes that were long overdue.

As of the first day of 2011, I began working for the National Park Service in Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. There have been quite a few changes as a result of this position, and reaching the milestone of my fiftieth birthday this past April has caused me to pause, reflect and evaluate on not only where I have been, but where I go from here as well.