Today was the first day of fall. It started and ended with rain, which isn't what I normally think of for fall. Spring perhaps...
Equal day and night today, yet the day felt so short. They only get shorter from here on out.
Fall is a time for gathering the harvest and reaping the rewards of summer's labor, of being thankful, of spending evening time with family before the nightfall of winter...
Yet this morning I applied for a job online. It was the second one--there was also one I applied to Tuesday. In Lake Zurich, nonetheless. I'm not feeling thankful for much right now.
One of the bigger RV dealers in the state laid off half their staff. Dealers all around are seeing sales and traffic going down much sooner in the year than normal. As it is I'm not making what I need.
I haven't the stockpile to make it through winter. I feel like a squirrel with too few nuts piled up. So maybe the commitment to get another job will make me succeed in sales in time. I'm halfway considering car sales. I've got half the skills already, and there are dealerships offering salary+commission with signing bonuses (boni?). Or a regular 9-5 job. I was writing when I had a 9-5/8-5 job. I had time for things back then. Now my commute is too long. Add that to working until 6pm and there just never seems to be any time.
So, it's time for something to change. I'm getting sick of ending my thoughts with "we'll see."
Since we basically forgot about it this year, I'll share the following dumb joke in honor of Talk Like a Pirate Day:
How does a pirate go on a camping trip?
In an Aarrrr-V.
Yeah, I know. You needn't say it.
I watched a few episodes of the Crocodile Hunter in those first few months with Jareth when it seemed I lived on our recliner.
He was hugely enthusiastic and passionate clearly loved what he was doing, educating people about wildlife in his own unique way. It was never just a documentary with him, he made the wild hands-on and up close.
I can only say it's fitting he died doing exactly that. Some people you just know aren't going to die in their sleep. He wasn't hit by a drunk driver or something stupid like that. And, no, it wasn't even doing some stupid-seeming animal stunt like I think a lot of people expected him to die. He was stung by a stingray--just an accident while filming at the Great Barrier Reef.
But I don't have anything profound to offer. I never met him, although I would have liked to. He would have been a fun person to just hang with. Too many people never experience passion like that.
Thank you for not holding back, Steve. Maybe your next life will be something wild, too.