I am blessed in many ways, but one of the ways that is demonstrably in my face (literally) is in the area of good eating. My wife was born and raised in the South of France, the Lyon area, which most people will agree is known as the home of the worlds finest cusine. My inlaws are all great cooks, they think about it all the time, they dream about recipes, they talk about it at least once in every conversation, it's a hobby as well as a life pursuit. Unlike most of us who enjoy a good dish, but hate going through the preparation, my wife can turn leftovers into something better than I can get at a multi star restaurant. (which is one of the reasons I prefer to "eat in")
As an example, I offer up last nights menu to which I was the lucky recipient:
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Libation: Vodka tonic
Apperitif: Brie, apple, and walnut croustades
Main Course:
Pan seared shrimp and scallops with lime beurre blanc and cilantro gremolata served with steamed new potatoes.
Libation: South African Chardonnay
Cheese platter with rosemary crackers
Libation: California Merlot
Desert:
Chocolate Truffle Mouse with vanilla scented creme anglaise
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Do you see what I'm talking about here? And she wonders why it never occurs to me to go out to dinner? All this while the kids are asleep upstairs.... no babysitter required.
This is the definition of "blessed"
I love you Veronique!
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Friday, April 11, 2008
On the subject of unemployment
Hearing of layoffs in one sector or another is an almost daily occurrence these days and as such, I am reminded of my recent foray into that world. I had not been unemployed since the company I was working for in the UK went bankrupt (New England Digital – makers of the Synclavier) back in 1992! That’s a great story for another time too. Losing a job is tough indeed, whenever it happens, but finding that new job was a real exercise in writing letters and calling on the phone back in 1992, especially when you consider that I landed my next job in South Africa!?!
Needless to say, the internet 15 years ago was not what it is today in terms of “networking” in social and business terms. That’s precisely what has been so amazing with this recent turn of events. Job websites are filled with promise to be sure, but as everyone will tell you, it’s your own personal network that can get you a job 9 times out of 10. It’s all about building that personal network, or in my case, waking up a personal network that I had largely let sit dormant for many years. Waking up your own personal network is as simple as reaching out to folks and telling them your news and mining for information. I was given some great advice by an employment counselor that you should NEVER ask your “network” if they know of any jobs going at their workplace, as that turns people off straight away. The better approach is to tell them the kinds of things you are interested in, and what you think you might like to do next. Let your network make suggestions and hopefully volunteer information on the subject. He said networking is all about getting information, and if you get a name of someone who might know someone that is exactly the kind of thing you want. Leads! Fresh and new!
For myself, I cast a huge net and largely away from the Pro Audio and Video space I had been working in for the past 20 years or so, because I wanted to try some other things. Being unemployed, you get to think about what you REALLY would like to do if you had the choice, and other than being financially independent, I discovered that I was really into alternative energy and specifically, I was drawn to solar power. So, I went nuts and read everything I could find on the subject. I wanted to be a part of this next wave of clean energy! So, I started researching companies online as you would. I realized straight away that I had no network in this new field and felt myself at a distinct disadvantage. This is where the internet and these new “social” based network sites really come into their own. I used “LinkedIn” to search for solar power and started uncovering “solar” people that were in my area and thanks to that “six degrees of separation” concept I was quickly getting introductions to key players in the business. Wow..
So, in the end, I “almost” got a job at a major solar power company as Director of Marketing. A field I had no prior experience in, but a whole lot of passion about. I worked hard, and survived multiple rounds of interviews from hundreds of candidates down to the final two… me and one other guy… it was like American Idol or something… it really felt like a reality TV show. Anyway, the other guy had a much better “marketing” based resume than me, so I lost out on that job, but it taught me that I could do just about anything I wanted now that I had learned how to really use these new tools for building my network and mining for information. For example, the company I finally ended up at, Russound, I had never even heard of before and thanks the “net” I’ve found a perfect fit for me!
I have to say here that some people I really thought were my friends where surprisingly absent for me during this difficult time, and likewise, people I’d not considered myself that close to went above and beyond the call of duty in their efforts to assist me. Another real lesson that being unemployment teaches you, is that you really find out who your friends are!
So, unemployment for me was an incredibly humbling wake up call for someone who largely had:
• become burnt out and didn’t recognize it
• taken the whole work thang for granted
• no idea how valuable my personal network actually is
• no sense of how powerful the web and social/business networks could be
• had no idea who his friends really were
So, yes, being out of work is a scary thing that I don’t wish on anybody. One thing’s for certain in this life, and that is change, so preparing for it is never time wasted.
Needless to say, the internet 15 years ago was not what it is today in terms of “networking” in social and business terms. That’s precisely what has been so amazing with this recent turn of events. Job websites are filled with promise to be sure, but as everyone will tell you, it’s your own personal network that can get you a job 9 times out of 10. It’s all about building that personal network, or in my case, waking up a personal network that I had largely let sit dormant for many years. Waking up your own personal network is as simple as reaching out to folks and telling them your news and mining for information. I was given some great advice by an employment counselor that you should NEVER ask your “network” if they know of any jobs going at their workplace, as that turns people off straight away. The better approach is to tell them the kinds of things you are interested in, and what you think you might like to do next. Let your network make suggestions and hopefully volunteer information on the subject. He said networking is all about getting information, and if you get a name of someone who might know someone that is exactly the kind of thing you want. Leads! Fresh and new!
For myself, I cast a huge net and largely away from the Pro Audio and Video space I had been working in for the past 20 years or so, because I wanted to try some other things. Being unemployed, you get to think about what you REALLY would like to do if you had the choice, and other than being financially independent, I discovered that I was really into alternative energy and specifically, I was drawn to solar power. So, I went nuts and read everything I could find on the subject. I wanted to be a part of this next wave of clean energy! So, I started researching companies online as you would. I realized straight away that I had no network in this new field and felt myself at a distinct disadvantage. This is where the internet and these new “social” based network sites really come into their own. I used “LinkedIn” to search for solar power and started uncovering “solar” people that were in my area and thanks to that “six degrees of separation” concept I was quickly getting introductions to key players in the business. Wow..
So, in the end, I “almost” got a job at a major solar power company as Director of Marketing. A field I had no prior experience in, but a whole lot of passion about. I worked hard, and survived multiple rounds of interviews from hundreds of candidates down to the final two… me and one other guy… it was like American Idol or something… it really felt like a reality TV show. Anyway, the other guy had a much better “marketing” based resume than me, so I lost out on that job, but it taught me that I could do just about anything I wanted now that I had learned how to really use these new tools for building my network and mining for information. For example, the company I finally ended up at, Russound, I had never even heard of before and thanks the “net” I’ve found a perfect fit for me!
I have to say here that some people I really thought were my friends where surprisingly absent for me during this difficult time, and likewise, people I’d not considered myself that close to went above and beyond the call of duty in their efforts to assist me. Another real lesson that being unemployment teaches you, is that you really find out who your friends are!
So, unemployment for me was an incredibly humbling wake up call for someone who largely had:
• become burnt out and didn’t recognize it
• taken the whole work thang for granted
• no idea how valuable my personal network actually is
• no sense of how powerful the web and social/business networks could be
• had no idea who his friends really were
So, yes, being out of work is a scary thing that I don’t wish on anybody. One thing’s for certain in this life, and that is change, so preparing for it is never time wasted.
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