Deadline draws nigh

The great job hunt now has a deadline of Monday.

It's either go back to Pole again in the same capacity as last time or go to KU for a Master's in geology. I suppose I could also start over from square one, but that feels pretty drastic.

I'll let some images speak for my inner turmoil.




And why not toss in some quotes for good measure?

There is a tide in the affairs of men, which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune. We must take the current when it serves, or lose our ventures.
~William Shakespeare

The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.
~Joseph Campbell

I'm not quite so self-absorbed as to not be thankful for having options to move forward with in my life. Many people have far less, and I know either way I go will have its own ups and downs. Despite all the other unsuccessful applications I've made over the last 11 months, I still have a relative embarrassment of riches.

Off we go...

Well, this weekend my brother and I got quite a treat that just happened to coincide with his general birthday frivolities. A friend that has a gorgeous Stearman biplane took us up for a ride, which was a first for the both of us. I have wanted to fly in this open-cockpit aircraft for well over a decade, and it was unreal to finally go up and tool around.


We got to see our homestead from the air, as well as fly over town and out to the reservoir and county lake.



The aircraft is in beautiful condition, and the sound of the radial engine was very sweet to the ears.



It was so cool to see these places from the air with the wind whipping by. Getting to roar up the valley past my folks' house, up and over the dam, and on over the county lake like we did was something I've dreamed about from my first beginnings of interest in flight at a very young age.

I hope to find out some definitive things about my job hunt this week. I'm starting to crash up against some deadlines, and decisions will have to be made. It was great to have some spectacular diversion this weekend (I also got to see the new "Star Trek"), because I'm rapidly tiring of certain things remaining up in the air. Sadly, this has not and does not have quite the same cachet as winging around in a biplane.

I fly because it releases my mind from the tyranny of petty things . . .
~Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Critters and floods and greenery, oh my!

Well, things have been greening up quickly, and it's quite a cacophony of bird calls and frogs talking outside here, depending upon the time of day. This little guy paid us a visit, and didn't seem too intimidated by our proximity.



We also seem to have a bunch of stray cats in the neighborhood that seem to make the rounds to all the houses where they can find something to eat.


Thursday night we had some really hard rain, but the storm cleared off quickly. Our homestead is on the edge of a river valley, with drainage from a CCC lake, so we will fairly often have water over the roads in our neighborhood. It was interesting to see how long the water took to rise after the rain, but it also then did not stay flooded for too long. I wouldn't advise trying to drive down the dirt roads, not only because it puts you at risk of a very expensive towing bill, but it also tears the roadbed up so much. These dirt roads are great to go out and walk/jog on, since they are so much more forgiving a surface than asphalt or gravel. Maybe we should all try to be more like a dirt road in our daily interactions with others.




I still do not having anything decisive to report about my work/job situation. I cannot rightly say when I think that will all be settled, but am just trying to let it run its course and be patient.

“I dreamed a thousand new paths. . . I woke and walked my old one.”
~Chinese Proverb