The Rafting Adventure

Now that I am only about 12 hours away from the fifth rafting trip of my lifetime, I feel I must mention what a humbling experience rafting has always been for me. I remember my very first rafting trip, in June of 2008. I was quite excited mixed with a bit of nervous about this trip. I did not go on a lot of outdoor adventures when I was growing up.

But when we arrived at the Vermilion River in a small town in Illinois that afternoon, and I got a good close-up look at the river before our instructors/guides gave us some final rafting tips and instructions, I wanted to turn around and go back home. Looking down at that vast, awesome river from above, I felt so small, so in awe of the wonders of Mother Nature. 

And when I put that life jacket on and was teamed up with some other students with whom I would share a raft, I realized this was for real, and there was no turning back. 

Three hours and many, many screw-ups later, I felt like I could conquer anything. You see, I signed up for this rafting trip because it was something I had never done before. But I learned much about teamwork and cooperation, and got a look at nature the likes of which I never had before!

Tomorrow’s rafting trip will be the fifth of my lifetime, and the fourth at the Vermilion River. I’ve been telling people for years that I love that river, but the truth is I think what I really love is not so much the river, but the turning point in my life I experienced there. I think that’s one of the many wonders of nature-based adventures whether they be on land, air or sea: nature-based adventures test our limits, allow us to be taught valuable life lessons by the Master (that is, Mother Nature) and stretch our ability to take risks.

While we all want to do our best to ensure our safety on these wild adventure trips, perhaps a little danger is just what the doctor ordered!

The Scourge That Is The Big City Rush Hour Rail

Riding the rush-hour rail is virtually unbearable. Trains run like it is slow time in a small city. And stations fill and refill to full capacity in increments of less than five minutes.

The masses wait on an overflowing station for a train that is already filled to capacity. People who need to get to school or work or other urgent appointments are forced to choose between waiting at the station – just standing idle while the next three to five overflowing trains pass them by while watching the clock “tick-tock” before their eyes – or squishing, squeezing and sandwiching themselves into the railcar, riding crotch-to-butt, sweaty-faced and sweaty-assed, belongings smacking each other in the legs, balls and face.

Customers need to stop allowing this to happen. They need to start getting pissed and/or advertising their pissed-off-ed-ness. How much longer are you going to stay quiet while bending over with your pants down, as someone continuously and mercilessly flogs you?

And what about establishments? Don’t they know anything about human nature? Human beings want and need SPACE. People do not like being cramped shoulder-to-shoulder with everybody else in the room, catching that whiff of everybody else’s funky breath, deodorant depravation and butt-hole crust.

Establishments – that is, if they give a damn – probably just think people are trying to claim their own spaces because they are afraid of one another. Not true. People are not afraid of each other, they just want their own space. Now does that mean if you’re holding a convention for one hundred people, you should make space for two hundred? Absolutely not. Just make enough room so people won’t have to step on a whole lot of toes while French kissing and crotch-raping everyone else in the vicinity!

If you want more adventures through big city public transportation like this one, check out my book The Great American Adventures of Modern Big City Railroading: http://www.outskirtspress.com/bigcityrailroad/

You Say You Want A Job, But What Are You Doing To Get One?

In this day and age, the job market is an extremely difficult place in which to get a foothold. You may believe you have all the right education and experience. Yet you may find yourself turned down in favor of someone who has a connection on the inside. 

Let’s face it, folks, education and experience simply do not carry the promises they used to. You may have more than enough, yet get blown out of the water because of someone who has neither.

Now knowing the right people has always put job candidates at an advantage in the realm of job hunting. But while yesteryear knowing the right people simply gave you the upper hand, today knowing the right people is a minimum requirement. Sorry folks, but this ain’t the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s or 90’s anymore. Nobody is impressed with that advanced degree or the fact that you have ten years of experience. Employers want to know what and how much you have to offer them. And they want to know NOW. Right now, right here in the interview room. Not after they “hire you and see what you’ve got”.

You can read and regurgitate all the advice you can from periodicals and online articles on how to tweak your resume, twerk your cover letter, and present yourself as the most beautiful and confident candidate they’ve ever seen. God knows there’s a ton of them out there!

Or you can do something far more valuable to any employer: SHOW them what you’ve got. And because most of us aren’t fortunate enough to have the “right” people in our families or circles of friends, the best way to strut your stuff for an employer while at the same time meeting the “right” people who can get you paid is to volunteer.

I know, I know. Volunteering is such a dirty word. I have proposed volunteering to just about everyone I’ve ever known who has struggled to secure a job. This even includes people who have seen with their own eyes how I’ve secured not one, not two, but FOUR jobs at two different hospitals as a direct result of my work as a volunteer! And that doesn’t even include connections I’ve made for many things outside my line of work!

Why such a simple way to “get in the door” escapes consideration for so many people is mind-boggling. You’re out of work and not making any money anyway. Why won’t you not make money while doing something constructive while gaining skills, making connections, building contacts, talking to different people (which could lead to your pursuing careers you may never have dreamed of) and, most important of all…GETTING ON THE INSIDE AND BEING ONE OF THE PEOPLE EMPLOYERS KNOW!

Because that’s who wins today, ladies and gentlemen. When I was growing up in the 1990’s the winners were the people with the advanced academic degrees. But in the 2010’s the winners are the people who know people on the inside. That’s the bottom line. And by the way, while you’re strutting your stuff using the advice that online job interview article taught you, your employer is trying to find out how you’re going to serve their…BOTTOM LINE!

I authored a book that offers much advice I’ve gained from my pain and suffering in the resume-writing/job interview world, as well as how I remedied the situation for myself, which resulted from taking a family member’s advice to become a volunteer. The book provides suggestions on the who, what, when, where, why and how of volunteering. Take the advice in this book, and I guarantee you will not remain unemployed for long, regardless of how much competition there is or how unqualified you think you are. (Meaning you may be more qualified than you think!)

http://www.amazon.com/Why-Volunteers-Get-All-Breaks/dp/1440144745/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1401795417&sr=8-1&keywords=why+volunteers+get+all+the+breaks