FridayJust write it. Since this new year started I have been tested constantly. Two weeks into 2007 I found out I am out of work while my wife is expecting a baby in a few months. The pressure is on to find that stable career to get this family on the right path. It’s been a month of contacting everyone in the Rolodex and applying to fifty job openings. All those opportunities have lead to two callbacks and one interview. With all the postings requesting no phone calls there hasn’t been a chance to convince anyone with my charm, wit and sincerity. So all the effort goes into the written word attempting to hold someone’s attention long enough for him or her to pick up the phone.
One of the challenges has been to keep a positive mind frame while feeling isolated in this search. So far my positive outlook continues to get me through these days but I’m definitely feeling the need to confirm some employment this week, today. In two hours I have a meeting with a new temp employment agency that I hope will get me back to work quickly.
My other challenge has been a lack of a definitive job description that I am looking for. With a degree in Political Science and years of experience under my belt in the music, financial and real estate industries, it seems that my diversity is possibly hindering my chances of securing work. I remember guidance counselors in high school emphasizing the importance of having a diverse university application that not only highlighted good marks but also demonstrated a well-rounded student. Someone involved in the community and other projects outside school. Although I still believe in what I was told I do wish that I had found something in University to focus on and specialize. At the time my strongest belief was my ability to work in the music industry and help find and develop Canadian talent. There was part of me that thought I would be in the music industry forever; I had truly found my calling, my place in this work world. Like all things in life – things changed.
Of course life has been changing so rapidly in the last ten years and many of us are finding our place, our path in this new conscious world, all of us trying to make the good decisions for the future of our families. Now one’s ‘true calling’ takes a back seat to the realities of putting food on the table and finding a new path.
So why am I writing? It’s who I am.
SaturdayIt’s Saturday morning and the new temp agency passed with flying colours as they secured an assignment for the next three weeks at a financial company. It’ll take care of business for now as the career search continues. We’re serving brunch today at the house of love – time to eat.
Steaming hot coffee coats my teeth and the fireplace warms the cool morning as I open myself to this new day. The blinds are still shut on a wet and – thinking way too much of how these words hit these impulses creating something - a sentence, a phrase and hopefully a story. The words and melodies of the American band
'Of Montreal' make up the soundtrack to these morning inspirations. {Insert your own research on their bio and back up story} At this point I check the song title again, We Were Born The Mutants Again With Leafling, my favourite song from the album Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer? It dawns on me, that this album could appeal to a wide cross section of listeners, of all ages…blah…blah….enough of the album review. My friend Liam went to their show the other night at Richards and Richards in Vancouver and danced like a mad man all night long.
Here I am in familiar territory inspired to write as I listen to new exotic sounds, as if though my ears had left on a tropical vacation filled with adventurous aural pleasures around every corner.
Fujiya & Miyagi’sTransparent Things release continues to unravel unexpectedly with each song building itself up to a subtle crescendo then leaving you wanting more but waiting until the next track mixes in again only to take you back down the gondola – leaving you hanging in the middle of descent in anticipation of what awaits you at the top. Take the journey from Conductor 71 to the title track and witness the enticing grooves of Fujiya & Miyagi.
Mounds of pure Canadian maple syrup pour over my sweet hotcakes accompanying the deep dancing beats from the hip hop sounds of Staten Island vocalist
Eamon. What a smooth and soulful voice delivering infectious songs like Elevator and Heatrise that outshine the first single How Could You Bring Him Home. A few other albums in heavy rotation here at phreeradio this week including a leaked copy of the new
Arcade Fire album – Neon Bible;The Good, The Bad & The Queen (s/t)The Knife (Deep Cuts)DJ Shadow (The Outsider)LCD Soundsystem (Sound of Silver)The Shins (Wincing the Night Away)Malajube (Trompe-L’Oeil)Air (Pocket Symphony)Band of Horses (Everything All The Time)
With your beats fix taken care of for the weekend I’ll move on to some moving images to discuss. Les Stroud is the creator of the Outdoor Living Network program Survivorman, where he is left abandoned alone in a remote location with the clothes on his back and his cameras – no one and nothing else. The program has been insightful and so informative as we’ve witnessed Les survive through some of the toughest situations including the Costa Rican rainforest, the Arctic as well as the Sonora desert. Our good friend Bryan first told us about Les a few years ago when he was writing and recording music with Les.
The other night Brad called us to check out a new program Les had produced that would definitely inspire us beyond belief. The show is called Off the Grid and I highly recommend you all to see it if you can. Basically Les puts his money where his mouth is concerning the environment and our own individual footprints we are leaving all over this planet. Les and his family make the switch from modern living in the city to the new sustainable modern life in the bush fuelled by solar panels, rain harvesting systems and a zest for energy conscious living. Two one-hour episodes of the program have been produced and we’ve only seen the first one. Check it out. If that doesn’t convince you to make a few changes in your life check out the David Suzuki website as the renowned Canadian scientist and environmentalist travels across the country on the “If YOU were Prime Minister Tour’ talking to Canadians about the state of the planet. Canadians are responding in record numbers packing up all his speaking engagements and making their own video messages on what they’d do as Prime Minister. Proving yet again, it is never too late to change.
Less StroudDavid SuzukiPCGThanks for stopping by and reading. Hope you enjoyed this latest installment of Chico’s Observations.
peace,
chico
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