Changing Up Is Hard To Do

Ah, the end of the summer.  It’s always a heavy time of year for some reason, and this one’s certainly no exception.  When last we met on these pages, I was fishing around for job openings.  I’m still looking, but I’ve also decided to change tactics a bit.  Sure, the economic climate stinks to high holy hell, but let’s face facts here: even if Obama is reelected and learns how to turn poverty into wine in his second term, it’s unlikely that life will be getting any easier anytime soon for smart folks without degrees.  Time for a new approach, then.

So I’m looking into getting involved in computer/networking certification – probably Cisco, probably CCNA for starters, at least as far as I can glean from what I’ve learned about it all so far.  It seems like a good way to get some professional accreditation in less than the time it would take to get a useful (i.e., not English-Writing Arts) degree, and I’m certainly more than a little interested in the field to boot.  So I’m learning all I can about it, with a goal of getting myself enrolled in classes somewhere sooner than later.  So please excuse one more Turned On Its Ear public grovel: if anyone reading this has some good tips for how to get started down the road to certification, preferably without spending thousands of dollars that I don’t actually have up front, I’m all ears.

So yeah, the fall probably looks something like this: get non-permanent retail job in order to pay for certification classes, take certification classes, and then leave non-permanent retail job in the dust, hopefully very permanently.  (Did I mention that I didn’t mention this blog on any of my recent flurry of applications?)  It’ll be a tough year or so most likely, but it should also mean a greener future filled with, well, greener greenbacks and the sort of fallback skill I’ve always really wanted to have in my back pocket.

Meta-wise, well, Turned On Its Ear updates may remain few and far between for the time being while I get all of my irons in the fire.  If I indeed return to retail – and I’d say it’s probably about an 85% probability right now – they may well pick up exponentially as a coping mechanism, so check back often even if I don’t always reciprocate.  Thursday is Jones Beach’s annual Jimmy Buffett Parking Lot, a longstanding tradition for Rhea and I, and an (ahem) “family obligation” day to any potential employers.  Last year, I toyed with the idea of shooting video-with-commentary of this carnival of aging drunks, but a nasty Island storm put the kibosh on that plan.  I don’t know if I’m in a position to be so ambitious this year, but I also don’t know that I’m not; at the very least, my lovely new iPhone 4S takes half-decent video, so maybe Turned On Its Ear will invade the YouTubes yet.  We shall see.

As for music, I’ve got four words for you: BOB MOULD SILVER AGE.  Out September 4^th, or available in the usual shady parts of the inter-nerd right this very minute.  It’s absolutely brilliant, his best in many a moon.  Sugar/Hüsker Dü fans, the line’s right over there…  Also, I might be seeing Dramarama for free in Brooklyn on Saturday night.  A great band, and singer John Easdale’s perceptive, clever songwriting has stood the test of time marvelously; well worth checking out if RSVPs are still available by the time you read this.  Certainly, you can’t argue with the price.

I was going to snarkily end this post with “see you in September”, but I’ve kind of got a hunch I’ll make an appearance around these parts sometime next week.  Either way, thank you for still clicking on this page, even when the life, love, music, and other shenanigans that make up my life get in the way of the writing.