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.

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!