Volunteering Doesn't Pay

This morning I volunteered with city park maintenance for a couple hours - pulled some weeds, spread some gravel, etc. What was my motivation? No money. No expectation to ever return to enjoy the beautiful landscape. So why did I go? I guess it's hard to justify our actions sometimes.

Mole Mining

My dad set out four traps last night at 9PM, and harvested two moles at 7AM today. This is certainly an unique success in mole warfare. He has tried a variety of traps, baits, and poisons and has concluded that there is no silver bullet. The key is experience and instinct as to where to place the traps. The traps, moles, and a garden gnome (for size reference) are pictured here.

Spring Cleaning/Painting

During the process of reorganizing and cleaning out our garage, my parents and I came across some latex-based paint that we do not want. Although it is not considered hazardous as of January, latex paint can not be thrown out unless it is dried out, nor will these paints be taken as hazardous waste in liquid form. So it becomes our green-compliance responsibility to dry these paints out.

Because we plan to replace the garage doors, my sister and I decided to use some of these paints to make a mural. My plan was to make some kind of pastural scene, with goats, rabbits, and ninja turtles. But the "green" I tried to make was more of a blue, and so it ended up being a seascape. My sister was going for more of an abstract, draw-your-own-conclusions artwork.

Book Report

The silver lining to unemployment is a surplus of time. With some of that time I have read a few books, and feel like I should share my opinions with readers of this blog (who may also like to read books.)
The Kite Runner - good, but not for the whole family.
David Copperfield - too long, and fizzles towards the end.
Reservation Road - builds up to nothing; dumb.
Thomas More's Utopia - wordy and difficult to sort through, but good.
To Kill a Mockingbird - the best one.
Moby-Dick - fun to read, symbolism was too deep for my shallow brain.
The Alchemist - ok, but I disagree with parts of it.
The Great Gatsby - I'm just getting into it, but don't like it so far.

Baby you can drive my ambulance

After weeks of looking for a job in the biotech industry, I decided to take a step back and see the big picture. Sure, it would be great to get a job in R&D or manufacturing, but it seems that the competition for those jobs is ferocious (1000 resumes were submitted for the TGC opening). So I looked into healthcare. I set up an interview over the phone. Next thing I know, I'm an ambulance driver/EMT. Orientation starts Tuesday. The money is not especially attractive, but I will get patient care experience to enhance my applications to PA programs for next fall.
If the title of this post doesn't ring a bell, please check out The Beatles "Rubber Soul" album.

Don't Go to Grad School

A riddle: How can you go from no experience to overqualified without even getting a job? Answer: graduate school. I just got a polite email from the company I interviewed with last week saying how great they thought I was, but that they would be doing me a disservice if they were to hire me because I would be bored with the job in 3 months. Don't most people get bored at their jobs? Whatever. So, if you want to work in the biotech industry, don't follow my example. Don't go to grad school. Just work your way up.

Seattle Underground field trip

I was invited to chaperone a field trip for my sister to the underground Seattle tour. Seattle was built on a sawdust landfill, and there were numerous problems throughout the 1800's with plumbing and sinkholes. So the main level of the city was later built to the level of the second floor. It's still sinking, but the first story is "underground" so it isn't noticeable. After the tour we walked around Pioneer Square and found the birthplace of the United Parcel Service, where there is a monument including a waterfall. The picture shows myself and my sister Penny at said monument.