The first month is down, no job, no real prospects yet. Looking back what have I accomplished in the last month?
Job Wise
Have made the transition. This involves all the little things to move from working to being unemployed. Setting up insurance. Getting unemployment going. Getting my personal processes together to do the searching and looking for work.
In the searching department here are my number and the changes since last time (Day 25 – May 19th)
April 23rd LinkedIn group 25 (+1)
Boeing Inside Jobs 31
Jobs applied for outside: 33 (+3)
Interviews: 6 (+1 )Rejections: 43 (+3)
These aren’t too bad considering the other stuff I have been doing, but I would like to increase the number of applications that I am getting out.
Psychologically getting called for phone interviews in the last couple of weeks was a big boost. I get a similar feeling when someone responds or makes a comment on this blog. After a while without comment I wonder if anyone even reads this, or have I taken an inadvertent left turn onto “Choke Me With A Spoon Drive” and lost everyone. With the blog, much of the reason for the blog is for myself; with the job applications, it is all about getting the other person to respond. I can only go so long before my mind starts to fill in the blank spaces. Do I need to remake my resume? Maybe I should read it one more time just to make sure there are no grammar mistakes. Maybe I’m being too picky and should apply to more places. Maybe I should stretch my qualifications a bit more. Maybe it is the opposite, I should be choosier, get much more directed. And on and on. Getting the phone interviews has assured me that I am at least in the ball park of the ball park. Wholesale changes are not needed at this time.
Also this month, I have started a couple of networking activities. I started working with the ITIL local interest group. This is a IT process group concerned with international process standards used by many (probably most) of the top corporations. And I started attending the WorkSource professional networking group. This second one is more of a place to learn about networking, than actual networking, at least that is my impression after attending once.
So over all in the job search area I feel pretty good. I haven’t found a job yet, and the prospects are low, but I feel that I am on the right path and it is just a matter of time and finding that right employer.
The other areas
Another plus overall was in getting clarity about what I wanted to include my my transition. This was finalized in my last days on the job. In my entry on Day 1 – transition I noted the following:
My priorities are:
- My family and being a stay at home Dad
- Finding a job
- Losing weight and getting in shape
- Remodeling the house
- Building Community Bridge
My family and being a stay at home Dad
Here I think I am doing well. My wife has gone to working full time from being a full time stay at home Mom. She was excellent at this, and did a much better job than I could hope to do, but I am trying to maintain her high standards.
I have not taken on all of the duties that she performed. Paying the bills is something that she as an accountant is better able to handle this. She also did a lot more interfacing with school, and she is still doing this, though it may be at a somewhat lower level.
In the area of keeping the house clean, I think I have done great. Starting out cleaning too much in many areas, I have been working to lower the amount of effort while still maintaining cleanliness. This learning process is working well, I expect the amount of effort to continue to decrease over the next couple of months.
The other big effort is in the Menu planning, grocery shopping, and cooking of meals. My family has not come down with any stomach illness or started any hunger strikes in retaliation for what is coming out of the kitchen. I have managed to put food on the table and in a timely manner. I am still learning how to plan the meals so that they coincide well with our family calendar of activities; with everyone going every which way, this is not a trivial matter.
This is also an area of reducing the level of effort as I learn to do better meal prepping, better use of leftovers, and can coincide grocery shopping with other routine trips. I have tried to introduce a more healthy diet and I have had some success with this. One of my future measurements, but one that I have paid little attention to in this initial period is the overall cost.
Big triumph this weekend as I hosted my Son and his girlfriend for a family dinner. They were home for the weekend from college and had Sunday dinner with us. Not as good as my wife’s cooking on one of her bad days, but passable. I was happy, though I still have pretty low standards here (no reported illnesses or refusal to eat the food, no totally destroyed food that I had to dump instead of serve).
I have been thinking about why this area is important to me. Family has always been of the greatest importance to me. In some ways I needed a way to still be giving to my family at a high level in a way that accentuated the importance. I have gone from bread winner to bread butterer; and this is an area that I feel good about my ability to support my family as my traditional way has been pulled out from under me.
Losing weight and getting in shape
One pack. It is faint and at first I thought it might be a trick of lighting. Over the last couple of weeks a little bit of definition has started to appear. A slight line is appearing. It is by no means a six pack, but there is a rib that is starting to appear. I have a one pack started.
Amazed that after a month, I am seeing some muscular definition in my legs, my arms, my chest, and around the edges of my belly. Yes the belly is still there and will be for a while, but it is headed in the right direction.
Yesterday, I pulled out the tape measure and recorded body measurements and compared them to what I had recorded as thyme baseline. This was a fun activity. My weight has come down about 4 pounds, it is not the biggest loser 15 pounds this week type activity, but this not what I want—wanting instead, steady progression and changing behaviors. This 4 pounds, indicates I’m on the right track. This has been done with no dieting, and not paying much attention to the intake side; mainly just the exercise side. Though through the meal planning, I have been trying to make healthier eating easier.
The results: my arms have increased about 1/2 an inch; chest remained the same; gut (1 inch above navel) has decreased 2 1/2 inches (this I feel the best about); waist has stayed the same; and my thighs have decreased 1/2 inch and 1/4 of inch. I am happy with the change and it confirms what I have been noticing in the mirror.
Using the Air force fitness measure I went from a dismal 27.45 to 67.4. Still failing, I need to 75 to pass, but a fantastic change. I’m starting to feels the affects of the training in decreases in joint pain and better lung capacity. Body composition, loss of gut measurement accounted for 13.5 of the point change, and 14.5 of the point change was from the time in the 1.5 mile run. I was able to run under a 10 minute mile last week (well it was a run, then walk, run, then walk).
It isn’t much weight loss yet though, I think, impressive gains fitness wise. It was a low bar to begin with; I have a long way to go; but all indications are I am on the right track.
This area directly supports my self confidence and my ability to perform. I am happy with my progress in this area.
Remodeling the house
We have been mostly in an expected hold pattern as we arrange for materials that we need to order in and for getting my the previous areas covered as they are higher priority that this.
Last week my daughter and I and one of her friends tore apart the laundry room. This was a first step, felt good to get something done that I could see the physically change and see that part as completed. I was excited to be able to use this time to be with my daughter.
I believe I should be able to devote more time to this area as I’m able to lower the time involved in the previous three areas.
In the next month looking to: complete the majority of the ordering and planning processes; continue the deconstruction of the upstairs master bath and in the basement; and maybe even start on some installing some of the dry wall.
I haven’t made great progress, but I am near where I expected to be, maybe slightly behind in the planning.
Building Community Bridge
I hadn’t planned on doing anything with this until the remodeling was well under control, but an introduction was offered, and I needed to follow up on it. I met with a person and we talked for a couple of hours. She is a community builder from Bellingham.
So, I see this as progress, and it has enabled me to focus a bit in this area. It has raised a lot of questions that I am slowly dealing with.
I expected nothing in this area, so I’m way ahead and happy with my progress or lack there of.
Well that is my update. I’m happy where I’m at. I happy I have in place measures to pay attention from a more systemic perspective at what is going on. I have to watch the more subjective areas to make sure that I’m not just fooling my self into thinking that I’m doing good. It is easy to fall into this pattern of self deception.
The AskOxford word of the day is:
extensometer
• noun an instrument for measuring the deformation of a material under stress.
I wished had an extensometer for measuring my own deformation.
Emotionally, I am in a much better place than I was four months ago when this all started. I have noted over the last month how there are emotions that are riding just under the surface that I have noticed contributing to how I approach things. By paying attention to these I may be able to head off some “over reactions” I believe I am prone to right now. I feel the need to let decisions set for a little while and then come back to them before acting. This is a new feeling, but one that has been helpful in the last month and not just in the job search area.
Today’s Quote:
"You cannot dream yourself into a character; you must hammer and forge yourself one."
- James A. Froude
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