The search goes on … and on …

While I’ve been rather busy over the past week or two, I’m still on the hunt for additional and/or better work than what I have now. There are still lots of jobs being posted, but some of them are repeats (across different job boards and occasionally within the same), and oh so many of them are above my current skill and experience level. The job market is still horrendous from where I’m sitting, and it’s probably a bad thing that I’ve gotten used to rejection. I probably mentioned the office-minion job with a local publisher that I had been contacted about – things kept coming up, and I’m still waiting for a call or email that Madam Editor said she’d be dropping me. I may try sending her another email in the morning, and if she doesn’t respond I may have to give that up as a lost cause, much as it breaks my heart.

Lunacon was fun this past weekend. Attendance was down a bit from last year, probably due at least in part to the economy. This year’s Guests of Honor are great folks, and I look forward to reading more by Lawrence M. Schoen and possibly collecting more of Rachael Mayo’s art as the opportunities arise. I’m sad that I had to miss Eric “In the Elevator” Zuckerman’s interview session, but I’m sure I’ll find the video(s) on YouTube or his website later on. Also, next year’s Guests of Honor have been officially announced, and I’m proud to be able to post it here: Author John Ringo (insert my happy dance here), Artist Howard Tayler, and Young Adult Author Tamora Pierce!

Exotic pets and toxic waste …

Did that get your attention? Good! I’m currently enjoying a little book called Buffalito Destiny by Lawrence M. Schoen. The basic concept is that after liberating a pregnant buffalito (think a lapdog-sized buffalo able to eat anything and through-process it into oxygen) from a non-human culture and using the pups to start a mega cleanup company back on Earth, Our Hero winds up trying to stop an ecoterrorist group from destroying the planet while continuing with a big toxic landfill cleanup plan that the group had been rabidly protesting. I sincerely recommend this book as a fun read.

Why bring this up? We’re a tad over 2 weeks out from Lunacon, where Mr. Schoen is the Author Guest of Honor. Aside from sitting on various panels and participating in other festivities, he will be using Lunacon as an opportunity to launch his new book, Buffalito Contingency, sequel to Buffalito Destiny. I’ll be attending the Convention, and if Mr. Schoen is willing, I may have a video of the book launch party to share afterwards.

In other news, the job hunt continues. One of my recent applications was to be the ship’s librarian for a local maritime academy’s upcoming training cruise. It would be a short-term position, but it’d be interesting and I’d get to travel a bit. If they take me, I could hope there’d be something waiting for me on shore when we got back, but in the meantime I wouldn’t have to worry about room and board. And I’d be in charge of movie nights …

Another week in the life

The search continues, as ever. I’m plugging away at my retail job to help pay the bills and dreaming of a full-time library job with benefits. I found a listing today for a part-time librarian with the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City. I applied to it because it looks interesting, and I won’t deny being a foodie. I haven’t been watching much TV lately, but I used to really enjoy watching the Food Network. Alton Brown is my culinary hero – he’s made it big playing with his food!

Lunacon, my favorite local science fiction convention, is four weeks away. For all you fellow book nerds out there, the Author Guest of Honor is going to be launching his new book at the Convention, and I fully plan to be at the launch party. I’ve been asked by the Con Chair and Vice Con Chair to post the following information:

For Immediate Release:

 

Lunacon 2011

Dates: March 18 – 20, 2011

Website: www.lunacon.org

 

Location:

Hilton Rye Town

699 Westchester Avenue

Rye Brook, NY 10573

Room Rate: $132.00 per night

 

Come to Lunacon in March, and you’ll join hundreds of Science Fiction / Fantasy readers, writers, and fans for discussions and debate about books and films, science and art, politics and religion, all in the context of the strange and the fantastic. You’ll also find author readings, writing workshops, an SF/F art show & auction, a costume masquerade (newcomers welcome!), a dealer’s room with genre merchandise, and of course, a variety of fannish social events during the evening hours.

 

Author Guest of Honor:

Hugo Award Nominee Lawrence M. Schoen

 

Artist Guest of Honor:

Rachael Mayo

 

Special Guest:

Eric “in the Elevator” Zuckerman

 

Membership Rates

Through Feb 20, 2011: $50.00

At the door: $60.00

 

Day Rates

Friday: $30

Saturday: $45

Sunday: $30

More of same …

Sorry for the late post this week – I let myself get distracted yesterday. I have been continuing my search and application process, and I’ve been expanding it to include some administrative-type jobs along with librarian positions. For example: over the past week I applied to the positions of File Clerk for the Veterans’ Administration in the county where I’m currently living, Library Clerk for the Library of Congress down in Washington, and Librarian with Cornish College for the Arts out in Seattle. I’ll keep going, and hopefully someone will decide to hire me soon. The job I have right now isn’t that bad, but it’s not that great either. I need something full-time that will help me pay my bills (rent, loans, etc.) and give me benefits like health and dental insurance.

I’ve been attempting to maintain my relative sanity in my usual ways: reading and listening to music. I haven’t really watched TV since November, but I can’t say I miss it. My two current books are Ashes of Victory by David Weber and Abundance by Sena Jeter Naslund. Ashes is the ninth book in Mr. Weber’s Honor Harrington series, and I’ve been finding it to be fully excellent. I’ve got the rest of the series through Mission of Honor waiting for me on my shelves, along with the first four Worlds of Honor anthologies (More Than Honor, Worlds of Honor, Changer of Worlds, The Service of the Sword), and Crown of Slaves and Shadow of Saganami from Wages of Sin and Saganami sub-series of the Honorverse. Sena Jeter Naslund is well-known for her book Ahab’s Wife, which gave an excellent alternate view to the vengefully obsessed captain from Herman Melville’s Moby Dick. Her book Abundance deals with Marie Antoinette, the Queen of France and wife of Louis XVI, both of whom were beheaded during the French Revolution. Ms. Naslund says in her Author’s Note that she attempted to be as true as possible to Marie Antoinette by drawing on actual letters and accounts of her from the period. She also says that the famous quote “If they have no bread, then let them eat cake” was actually said by the wife of Louis XIV and wrongly attributed to Marie Antoinette. Either way, Abundance has given me a new view of the French Revolution.

Lunacon is five weeks away, and I’m getting excited. This year’s Guests of Honor are author Lawrence M. Schoen, artist Rachael Mayo, and special interviewer Eric “In The Elevator” Zuckerman. It’s going to be a good time – at least, I hope so.