Blossoming Photographer

As you already know my photography website has been launched and I'm getting great feedback from my friends and family. Jason did a wonderful job and I thank him for all his hard work.

We also worked together last night to get a new Ad posted on craigslist. It will hopefully get people checking out my website and new paid gigs will start flowing in. I'm excited to finally start getting paid for my craft, not to say that the unpaid gigs were not great learning experiences. I've gotten website comments like "looks very professional" and "your photos are amazing and different," which make me feel really good. Maybe I can do this, maybe I can be a professional photographer.

I would still like to enhance my skills in the childcare world, start getting my 90 hrs towards a certification.

I can only hope that my confidence continues to blossom and that people continue to dig my work.

Check me out at: luminuouseyephoto.com and my ad at http://baltimore.craigslist.org/evs/1330425475.html

Air Conditioning, Part Two

This week I finally managed to get the security bars off of our front windows and installed the window support brace and our 10,000 BTU air conditioning unit for the first level. As a side note, the security bars were held on by security screws. Devious little bastards designed to easily screw in with a normal screwdriver, and then never come out again. Ever. I mean really. I fought with them, bought special screwdriver bits, tried stripped screw removal bits and ultimately tried drilling straight through the screw head to pop the top off. Nothing worked. The bits didn't make a dent. Eventually I broke down and called a locksmith. That worked. And getting the stupid screws out cost me more than our used, Craigslist AC unit.

But it's in now. And what a difference. Our second floor has been nice, with units in the bedroom and the computer room, and now ceiling fans thoughout. But the first floor, especially when the kitchen stove was running, or we had more than four people here, was not comfortable. The sweat ran like milk and honey during the day, and stale beer by the evening.

Those days are behind us now. It's actually almost cold on the first floor, and I'm glad to say that one unit is managing to cool the foyer, living room, dining room, kitchen, and the back laundry and powder rooms. It's great. I'd prefer central air, of course. But this works fine for now.

Wow Craig, who knew?

I know Jason has already done this entry, but I have to give it props, too. Craigslist.com is the bees knees, meaning it's the best web resource I've ever come across. And, come to find out, not everyone in the world knows about it yet. I was shocked to not see it not on the list of job search sites in yesterday's unemployment class. Why in the world it wasn't listed is beyond me. Then I got the crazy notion to keep the fantastic "underground" site to myself. Ha Ha, I am queen of Craigslist. I know many others are using it as a resource, but the intelligent older lady next to me had never heard of it.

I've been in search of a bike for a while and Craigslist is a great way to find a used cheap one, that hopefully still functions fine. I also have found tons of Administration job ads in there, and even though I've applied to about 30 or so I've only heard back from a few. I don't blame that on Craigslist by any means, I blame it on the enormous amount of employed folks out there.

Craigslist in a wonderful way to find any thing you could possible need. Babysitting services to apartments for rent to a love seat for sale to used camera equipment. I'm a huge fan. Check it out, but keep it on the down low, I don't want the whole world to find out our secret.

The Unknown Journey

It's exciting not knowing what I'm going to be doing yet, where my next job venture will take me. It's cool to apply for a bunch of different positions and see where the bottle lands. The interview portion can be a bit nerve racking, but the searching through Craigslist ads can be interesting. So far I've applied for about a dozen jobs or so and have gone on two interviews. Not too shabby.

None that have responded to my application have really sparked my interest yet. I know the economy is not in good shape, but I still don't want to say yes to whatever accepts me without it being something I feel good about, not to say anyone has yet. Fingers crossed that my next career journey is a satisfying one. I would love it to be a position that helps others in some fashion and is environmentally friendly. I know I can't be too picky, but it's exciting to still dream and hope for the best. Thanks for listening.

Craigslist: Everything You Could Want or Need in One Place, For Free

Kate needs an inexpensive used bike. We want new living room furniture, but don't want to buy new. Kate needs an inexpensive or free way to promote her photography business. I'm looking for other endangered reptile egg juggling enthusiasts, but don't know where to look.

All of these situations, and more, can be solved using Craigslist. I'm sure most of you have at least looked at Craigslist, so I'm not going to explain, except to say that it is the single greatest incarnation of the classified ad the world has ever seen. You can buy, sell, promote, and talk about pretty much anything, for free or very inexpensively. To be honest, I'm not even sure which sections charge. I sold an old weight bench without incurring a fee. I've advertised Sweet Home Renovations and it didn't cost me a cent. Kate's using it currently to get the word out about her photography for free. I bought our Wii off of an ad on Craigslist and paid cash to the seller. Craigslist didn't profit at all.

So I'm sure they're charging someone for something, but I don't know where. For most applications, it's free. And it's local, which other sites like Ebay aren't, so you can check out the merchandise before you buy it.

And there's also discussion boards on a huge array of topics, community resources, and personals, where you can find some of the funniest ads you will ever see. If there's something you could be into, there is likely someone looking for it on Craigslist.

Essentially Craigslist is a perfect microcosm of the planet earth, with all of it's eccentricities, personalities and commerce. Craig, you glorious bastard...thank you.