The search continues

I interviewed today for a Customer Service position with LimoLink.  It would be a phone job, the company seems good, and the more I learn the more I like what I hear.  Now we just wait and see.  The interview started off with HR.  After talking for a while I was taken up to interview with the department manager.  After this interview I sat with a current employee and listened to a phone call.  I then went and interviewed with yet another manager.  The whole process was about an hour and a half long!  This seems like a long time to spend deciding if someone is a good fit for the company/position.  But what do I know.  The last interviewer stated they have a group of new people starting on Monday, and another group next month, so I'm not sure when/if I'll hear anything from them.

***UPDATE***

Well, I heard, and I got the job!  My days of freedom are over.  I start training on Monday, and hopefully it will be a great match.  I guess it was an hour and a half well spent yesterday.

Contentment

I recently posted a book review for King Solomon's Mines.  Something that has been on my mind since then is the attitude of one Sir Henry.  He goes on a quest to find his brother.  The quest, if successful, promises vast wealth, but Henry declines this wealth.  He states that if it is acquired it be shared equally by the other members of the group excluding himself.  Now the reason given is that he is already independently wealthy, and he truly only wants his brother back.

This seemed very unlikely to me.  Now did the English of the 1800's truly  possess the ability to be content with what they had?  I know if this story were written today (or more likely made as a movie) the characters would all be motivated by greed with at least one double-cross in the movie.  In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the movie concluded with the "team" killing each other.

So was this character poorly portrayed by the author?  Was he given magnanimous characteristics contrary to reality?  Or is today's American truly so far removed from our more noble roots?  It certainly seems that our wealthy work hard at becoming more wealthy.  And in general the stories that I see regarding large gifts of charity seem to be redistribution from the middle class on down. 

Could this have to do with our shortened attention spans due to the immediate gratification supplied by television and cell phones?  Could this have also shortened our viewpoints where we no longer think about our effect on posterity, but rather only our immediate happiness?   Is this still a bounce back effect from the Great Depression?  People who grew up having nothing are now hoarding everything - including money?  Are all of the non-profit organization giving people the excuse that they no longer need to help?  Or is it simply a lack of morals? A socialite purchased a dog house for $325,000.  This is more than 6 times the average American household income.  With 15% of our population under the poverty line just think what that dog house could have done for these families! 

Please don't get me wrong.  I am not against people having nice things and money - I just feel like it's become an obsession, and if only we could learn to be content with a little bit less everyone could benefit. 

King Solomon's Mines

  King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard

First things first.  This book was written by an English author in 1885.  The edition I read was 236 pages long - and it is an easy and exciting read.  There are even a few pictures!  It is fiction, and has been made into several movies.

King Solomon's mines is an adventure story written by it's main character Allan Quatermain.  It tells of his search for King Solomon's Mines, and the diamond horde that is rumored to be still stored within.  He has two main companions in this search, Sir Henry and Captain John Good.  Sir Henry is in search of his brother who was last known to be in search of these mines two years ago. The adventures along the way keep the reader entranced and the story is delivered in such a manner that you can take as much, or as little, away as you wish.

Criticism of the book includes it's potential sexist and racist views which I did not find as disturbing as many readers seem to.  First of all the book starts with the following dedication:

This faithful but unpretending record

of a remarkable adventure

is hereby respectfully dedicated 

by the narrator,

Allan Quatermain,

to all the big and little boys who read it.

It comes as no surprise that many a big and little girl felt left out when reading this.  And in fact felt all the more excluded when the book itself has only 2 female characters both in very minor supporting roles.  Can I please remind the offended that at the time when this was written the audience Haggard appealed to was predominately male?  Can I also point out that adding female roles to most of the story would have only ended in adding more corpses.  And that the addition of female characters by the various movie studios did nothing to increase the value of the movies.  At any rate  I felt the sexist point of view could be easily forgiven.

As for the racist perspective, the story takes place in southern Africa.  Much of the geography is created by the author for the purposes of the story, so no particular accuracy was necessary.  Very smart move by Haggard.  However the relationships of the English to their African servants is taken from history.  Were their racial prejudices at that time, absolutely!  So how can you fault the book for showing you a viewpoint that existed?  Isn't this half of the fun of reading a book?  Let's take a closer look at this as well.  The general viewpoint is a bit racist, but if you look past the language to the actions of the characters it is easy to see that there is a love that develops surpassing the racism.  I would in fact argue that the racism displayed in fact shows the dichotomy involved in those racist thoughts.  

If there was anything in the book that I found offensive it was the hunting for sport done by the Englishmen.  But again, this is something that is unfortunately true in mankind's history.    Society's changes can perhaps be measured by the amount we are offended in being reminded of our past.

Long story short I loved the book and I am sorry to have to return it to the library.  I recommend you check this one out for your next vacation read!

Spring seems to have struck!

Here in CR we are putting up record numbers for temperature!  I can't say that I am sorry.  Being unemployed for the first time in a long time I can't help but feel like this is the perfect opportunity to enjoy the seasons to their fullest!  I am not sitting in an office longing to be outside, I can enjoy the sunshine to its fullest. 

The fun all started on Sunday.  I took a couple project items outside and spray painted them.  It was a bit windy, but when I found a good sheltered spot things just came right along.  I now have a wicker corner shelf in use, as well as a circular basket.  There was also a trip to Menards, for supplies.  Spencer built a light fixture for a seed sprouting area in the basement, and I hung a new floating shelf in the dining room.  If I were good at this whole blogging thing I would have come equipped with pictures, but I'm not so you'll have to use your imagination. 

Yesterday Spencer and I (but mostly Spencer) worked on the garden.  There is a buried trashcan in the yard for dog poo now.  Spencer read online that this is the most eco friendly way to dispose of waste.  The bottom of the trash can was removed.  He dug a hole and buried it. Then there was a test to be sure water drained out (not that we were worried living on a hill as we are.)  The bottom is covered in rock then in goes the poo!  Add some septic tank enzymes and things are breaking right down!  Next goal will be to teach Fletcher how to open it and poo directly into the hole!  We also made a new garden under the bird feeder.  Today I went for an outdoor jog, but that ended in blisters on my heels so tomorrow I'll have to wear different shoes. . . of course it's the perfect excuse to wear flip-flops today!

The good weather is supposed to continue all week, so maybe I'll have more good times to share soon!

Restarting

I'm at a crossroads.  I feel it.  Having been unemployed now for 2 months, with little true hope of finding a rewarding career, I find myself asking a lot of questions.  What is it that I am truly looking for from a job?  I have never been motivated by money, and I have never been power crazy which seem to be the two driving factors in most people's search for employment.  Having removed myself from this category what is left?  Anyone who spends 5 minutes with me knows that I do not have the patience, or temperament for a career driven by "helping people."  I do however like to help the earth, and other "treehugging" activities.  Unfortunately finding a job post for Captain Planet hasn't panned out for me so far.  Do I need to accept that I will just bounce from one unsatisfying job to the next  for all my remaining work days?

And lets look past this for a moment.  When I look back on my life what do I want to have accomplished?  I don't intend to have a lot of children moving out into the world to prove my existence.  While I appreciate art, literature and music, I do not have the aptitude for creating it myself so I probably wont leave behind any original works to enlighten future generations.  Is the rest of my life to simply be for my own satisfaction - and then the end?  Where is that greater picture I was promised where God had a plan for everyone?