Next Courses of Action

At this point I've applied for a couple of dozen jobs.  I've also made overtures to people in various organizations of interest -- not specifically looking for jobs, but merely to learn more about a field of interest or the kinds of problems facing an organization.  Most of the time, companies and potential contacts do not respond.  I think, perhaps, this is a sign of the times.  All the books I've been reading suggest or state that people are generally gracious in trying to share knowledge even if they are not looking to hire someone.  Perhaps people are just really stressed and any interruption of routine is viewed as a problem.  I don't think it's particularly useful to analyze it too much, but it leaves me with some choices:

1. Mr. Spock's wisdom aside, keep doing what I'm doing and hope for a different result at some point.
2. Try something different on the job front.
3. Put the job search on hold and learn some new skills

Now I'm getting pretty good at the job search activities -- efficient and all that.  So I could see continuing on at perhaps a reduced level of intensity.  Friends have suggested that many organizations have imposed hiring freezes even if they're advertising open positions.  Perhaps after the election.  Perhaps the economy will get better in six months.  

There's a different job search path, however.  This would be one that emphasizes local companies.  After all, I am managing to teach 5 yoga classes per week.  What if I got some more training related to personal fitness (say nutrition or senior fitness or personal training)?  Upside: possibility of more hours of work at the PTAC.  If I get enough hours, we'll be able to be fine for a long time.  After all, our expenses are low.  Downside: spending money on new, fitness-related skills only to find this is not of interest to the management of PTAC.  Also, what if the economy goes so far south that PTAC starts shrinking.  Even if they'd like to branch out, they may not be able to.

Still, it is probably good to look at significantly different career options.  PTAC has good vibes.  The people who work there are friendly and upbeat.  There is a sense of belonging that I haven't felt in my work life for many years.

Still farther afield, I have been seriously considering radical changes.  I have been collecting information on blacksmithing and welding.  If I didn't have to work at all, this is the direction I'd go.  I don't think I'm artistic enough to do beautiful metal work, but I could certainly imagine making some nice gates for the garden.  I have been thinking about both of these crafts for many years.  Is now the time?

One other factor to figure in: what if the recession turns into something worse? What if things get bad enough (or transportation gets expensive enough) so that economies are fragmented towards a more regional model?  Under such circumstances, a guy who could cast nails from scrap metal might have a decent trade even if he's not much of a sculptor.  I'm not saying that I think things are going to get that bad, mind you.  It's just a factor in the equation.

My friend Lee, who is an experienced blacksmith and artist, tells me that I could start messing around & making stuff for not very much money, so in my mind the big thing to consider is time. If things just got a little bad, being a welder would be pretty good.  People would want you to fix things that they'd ordinarily just dump when they broke. If things got seriously bad, you wouldn't be able to get modern welding supplies, so one would have to fall back on blacksmithing skills.

I am making very good progress with getting the property ready for winter.  The weather is supposed to be good for the next few days, and it's likely that I will be able to taper off the yard & garden work pretty soon.  This will free up some time.

Interestingly, I'd always thought that if I didn't have my high-tech job, I'd play music all the time. This hasn't been the case. It took me a while to figure it out, but I am sure this is because I've always been a "work, then play" kind of guy. Now that I have no work, I have a very difficult time playing. Interesting.

Anybody have an opinion on which choice(s) to pursue?