Windy’s Blog

I’ve been reading the local newspaper since I’ve been in the Midwest because: 1) I have the time and 2) I look for jobs and relevant news articles in them.

One thing I’ve noticed here is that the obituaries are different. More than just the boilerplate language such as “John Doe, 45, of Anytown, died yesterday at Our Medical Center,” the obituaries here are much more detailed.

Some obituaries actually resemble short stories, detailing the life of the person who died in a more personal manner. Such stories begin like “John Doe, beloved father and brother, went to be with his precious Lord after living a wonderful and long life here on earth.” Then the story continues with the list of accomplishments and sometimes Thank You’s to people who helped the person throughout his life. I never thought I’d say this about obituaries, but the ones here are actually an interesting read, and I don’t even know the people!

Other news that makes the newspapers here are also quite interesting.

There’s been an on-going situation here with a woman who lost her cat. Actually, the cat isn’t lost as much as it was stolen. Apparently the woman’s neighbor didn’t like the cat. After the cat went missing, the neighbor was overheard telling someone that she “trapped” the cat and took it miles away, then dumped it near a lake in the area. The cat owner called the police and the neighbor has been charged with a misdemeanor. The case hasn’t gone to court yet, so I’ll keep you posted on the outcome!

SIDE NOTE:  I probably won’t keep you posted on that, but aren’t you curious now?

There was an article in the paper about a man who was in jail on drug possession and distribution charges. He shared an apartment with another guy. When the police came, he told them that the drugs were not his, but his roommate’s.

The unusual part of the story is that the man is a lawyer. Well, I guess I should state that he “was” a lawyer. He’s now lost his license to practice law in the state and is due for trial soon. Word to the wise, if your roommate has drugs in the house, you are also “in possession” of those if you pay the rent.

Another story involving drugs (marijuana this time) struck me as funny. A man was driving his car and was pulled over for failing to stop at a stop sign. The police discovered that there was a lot of marijuana in the car. The man was arrested and charged with possession. He told the police that he “used to sell,” but doesn’t any more and that he simply “forgot” the pot was still in his car! Now the man faces drug trafficking, intent to distribute and many other charges!

But one of the oddest stories came with today’s newpaper. It was an article about a woman who used checks from her ex-husband’s checking account. The excuse for her fraudulent checks? Her dog ate her checks, and she needed to buy some things!

A few of the advertisements in the papers are quite interesting also. Today I saw an ad for Ghost Busters.

I’m not kidding. You can make this stuff up, but I didn’t. It was all there among the black and white pages of the local newspapers.

This last week has been yet another strange one. The deaths of Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson and Billy Mays were all entwined with my fruitless job searches. In case you didn’t recognize the name, Billy Mays was the guy who did all of those Oxy Clean info-mericals. He always reminded me of the character from Home Improvement. 

I think that many people of my generation will remember the day that Michael Jackson died. The phrase “where were you when you heard the news” will be asked.

As for me, I was getting ready to go to the local fair here in Geneva (called Swedish Days). I received a text from my nephew that Michael Jackson was in cardiac arrest. Five minutes later we were in the car on the way to the fair when the radio announcer stated “Michael Jackson, dead at 50.”

That news hit me hard. Michael Jackson was a Pop Icon. Yes, he was strange, and could have done some very bizarre things in his life. But he also was the musical genius who brought so much to this world. No one had ever seen anything like his video “movies” before. Certainly no one had used such talent as Martin Scorcese, who directed his “Bad” video!

When I was in my freshman year at college, I took an aerobic dance class as an elective. Each student had to come up with an aerobic routine and the class had to do it, as part of the grade. I choreographed my routine to the song Thriller. It was a great success.

I was watching television when he performed his Moonwalk on the Motown anniversary tribute. I remember being awed by his dancing, just as the celebrities in attendance for that event were.

Now I’ve been watching the tributes and news updates each night about his death. It’s sad.

Today in church the message was about faith (go figure, right?). Amid the deaths, in spite of not finding a job, and knowing that I may even lose many things because of lack of finances, I have to keep my faith.

The world seems a little crazy right now. But I will press on, believing that something good will come my way.

Last evening I attended a meeting sponsored by a local group called TUG (Tri-City Unemployment Group). I had read about the group on a blog from an employment agency recruiter, Elyse  here near Geneva, IL.

TUG was formed in 2001 by “several concerned community leaders of several St. Charles [Illinois] churches as an ecumenical and grass-roots effort to help address the needs of St. Charles and tri-city residents who were unemployed or underemployed.”

“The Mission of the Tri-City Unemployment Group is to provide career management services, job-seeking skills, education and training in an environment that encourages and facilitates networking, mutual support, and maintaining a positive attitude, with the ultimate goal of meaningful employment.”

“Tug provides its services free thanks to the dedicated support of its many volunteers and generous donations from the community, business and individuals.”

You can find much more information about this group and its efforts to help the un-employed on their website: www.tricityug.org.

I’ll admit that I was a little skeptical about attending the event, because I had the pre-conceived notion that it would be a room of about 30 attendees, all of whom were stuck up and competitive and not willing to share any information at all, only receive it.

How wrong I was!

I arrived and was greeted warmly by a gentleman who directed me to the right area of the building, where I registered and put on the name tag. I then walked into a room of about sixty other people and took a seat at one of the tables.

The guest speaker for the evening was Mr. Jim Kacena, a Career Management Consultant. Mr. Kacena spoke for almost an hour and a half about The Art of Interviewing. I was pretty confident that I knew all there was to know about the interview process, especially since I’d been both the interviewer (in my HR and Manager positions) and the interviewee in my current un-employed state.

Again, I was proven wrong. Mr. Kacena’s perspective on interviews centered on keeping control of the entire process from beginning to end. It was a mixture of “old school” and “mainstream” for me. He touched on certain topics that I’d forgotten about in my desperation to find a great job. Things like remaining a professional even when we feel like we are totally not one.

Sometimes durng the job search process you can get so discouraged that you become desperate to please any employer, even if you don’t want that job. Mr. Kacena helped remind everyone to remain a professional and not let that inner wimp surface.

After the speech there was an hour of networking. I’d never attended a networking event before, so I had no clue what to expect. The TUG volunteers had a table set up for “newbies” like me, and I took a seat. It was another good experience.

The discussion at the table was lead by Mr. Jerry Gendron. He talked about the networking process at TUG and how the most important thing to remember was that we were all there to help each other. It was more than just a time to get a list of contacts for job prospects. This was a group who wanted to foster an environment of encouragement and resources to its members. I was very impressed.

I am going to add a new section to this blog site and hope to list resources for those who are seeking work. In the meantime, check your search engines for local networking groups in your area. You never know who you will meet. Even if you don’t get any contact names for jobs, you might be able to help someone else!