I’ve been busy for the last week or so. I was lucky and got to work for 3 whole days last week. I’m scheduled for 3 more days this week and one more day the week after that! That’s the most work I’ve had since I went on that delivery job as AB down to Colombia (in August)! I hope it keeps picking up, but right now it looks like this little spurt will be it for a while.

Offshore things still look pretty grim. I did hear of one company hiring, which is great news, but even tho I’ve sent them my resume, I don’t think they’ll even look at it this time around. Looks like they’ve hired a crewing agency to fill their positions and since I’ve already ‘contacted’ them, I won’t be one of the people considered. 

The crewing agency asks ‘who have I already contacted’ so they can help me. The better question is: who have I NOT contacted? I’ve tried every company in the Gulf, every company in the USA running large vessels (I’m not eligible to work on tugs, so I didn’t bother). I’ve even contacted dozens of overseas companies! I even broke down and signed up to join the union (very disappointed with that so far). 🙁

It’s very frustrating to put it mildly. I spent 2-3 hours filling out an application for Disney Cruises the other day. I spent another couple of hours filling out an application for Texas A&M this weekend. They all ask the SAME questions! WTF can’t they come up with a nationwide application where ALL companies can take a look? Even better, WTF can’t they just read your resume?

If anyone out there is a recruiter or HR staff, I’m not the only job seeker who would really like to know the answer to that question? Why is it so important to answer every question repeatedly? Why can’t you just read the resume? When it says I worked at a company as AB for this time period, WTF do you ask me the same thing again and again in your online application? Why do you not share these online forms?????

Why do you insist on forcing all applicants to spend hours over and over and over again. Day after day after day. Answering the SAME questions that are already there for you, plain and simple right there on the resume!

OK, enough of that! Yes, I’m getting frustrated. I’m getting stressed. I’m getting exhausted.  I spend so much time now looking for work, filling out forms, etc, I don’t have much energy left to do anything else.

Last week I brought some of my paintings and photos in to the members gallery at the Brazosport Art League. I haven’t had a call yet, so my hopes for a sale of something are not looking too good.

I haven’t worked on my paintings since the 31st since I had work on the 7th and will tomorrow. I go to painting class on Tuesday mornings when I don’t have work. I have a couple of them I’ve been working on that I’d really love to finish. They’re really starting to look good. I took pictures of them on my iPod. I’ll upload them onto my Instagram tonight. Check it out and let me know what you think.

I managed to upload a few more photos to the stock agencies over the last week. Most were accepted on Bigstock and Dreamtime, but still waiting to hear from Canstock and 1 out of 3 was rejected on Alamy so I’ll need to try there again. I queried a couple more publications about my Surfside Beach story, so far no one has replied.

After work Thursday, I tried to find someone to talk to at another shipping company who’s office is right next door. I brought my resume over hoping to find somebody around who would be willing to talk. No such luck! I talked to the lady at the front desk for a while, but as seems the norm now a days, there is no way to get through the door anymore but with an online application. 🙁

I spent the afternoon at the zoo. It always relaxes me. I like to watch the jellyfish, the seals, the meerkats and the elephants. I watched a pair of pelicans doing some kind of weird ‘dance’. I think they were doing a mating dance, but I’m pretty sure they both were males.

After the zoo, I headed over to the Black Lab for a meeting of the Nautical Institute. They were having a presentation on autonomous ships. I’ve been concerned about that since they will put us all out of work for good- even if/when the price of oil recovers! I wanted to learn more about the timeline and what kind of progress they were making as far as legal concerns. I know a lot of people are looking forward to it. Eliminate the ‘human element’ and they can save all kinds of money (they think). It scares the hell out of me!

Friday I went to a real estate investing seminar (free) here in Lake Jackson. It was advertised as being from that couple from Flip or Flop. I enjoy watching their show on HGTV when I have some free time. I like to watch a lot of those home improvement shows: Property Brothers, Love it or List it, Househunters, etc. I like to fantasize about all the things I could do if I had the time and money to do it. 😉

In the meantime, those shows give me some good ideas on how to fix up the properties I have already.

So, I went to the seminar with a friend who also invests in property. I have to admit, it was a very interesting afternoon. There weren’t a lot of people (this being Lake Jackson, not Houston). I guess around 20 people, tops. So we all got a chance to ask questions. Their Success Path educational product sounded like it would be a great help to learn how to become financially independent with real estate.

I wish I was still working so that I could justify spending so much money for it! It was actually a pretty hard decision- do I save my bank account now, stringing out every last dollar so that I can survive a couple more months hoping that a real job will open up soon? Or do I take a major chance and try their system to make money with real estate?

I have to say, the fact that I’ve already been investing in real estate is the ONLY thing that’s been saving my ass for the last 17 months since I got laid off. That makes me open to the idea of making real money in real estate investing. I already know for a fact that it’s possible and there’s no reason I can’t make it work (IF I have the time and the money to work it).

So, I did actually buy something  there. Not the most expensive product, but one a little bit cheaper. I thought it might work for me better. It’s about investing in tax liens. I just started listening to the videos this afternoon (between bouts of nodding off- not because the videos are so boring, but because I got only 3 hours of sleep last night).

I went to the Brazoria County fruit tree sale Saturday. I wanted some plants for some of my properties and picked up a couple of apple trees and a pear tree. They’re supposed to be bred for our weather and soil here. I hope they’ll survive. Last ones died in the drought. The same drought that cracked the foundation there and I’m still trying to fix!

I’m hoping the contractors will honor their guarantee and fix it right this time so that I can go ahead and improve the building instead of constantly trying to fix things all caused by the cracked foundation (broken plumbing, cracked drywall, windows not working right, etc). I’m planning to go back to work over there this Thursday after work in Houston is finished.

Hopefully we can finish it up soon and have it ready to rent. Then we can start on the small apartment next door. 🙂

I’ll be working again in Houston tomorrow and hopefully will get Wednesday too. Tomorrow night is my favorite political meeting, we’ve had some new members come join us lately and we’re trying to find ways to bring in more people. Anybody ever around the area, feel free to come. I always enjoy a night out for Italian food and interesting conversations. 🙂

So, that’s what I’ve been busy with this week. What have you been up to?