Deerkill

This week I participated in a local public dialogue on guns. It was a civil conversation. Because  it continues, talk of guns, I am sharing again.

Deerkill

traffic inching, mind rushing
anxious tempos that traffic does not halt
then doe in a heap -- as carcass comes into view.
already, traffic news warns
deerkill is slowing traffic to a standstill on a daily commute paved through wild life, far to the south,
same route
others are slowed by 12 hundred pound alligator
sunbathing

slowed by innocent
crashing
over white line
into white tail
waking stomach, mind, recall --
the men in Vermont had a deer camp
and bright orange vests that kept them
from shooting each other.  This I remember
as the topic turned
to guns
words
declared over beer
Using guns
against deer is shamefully unfair.  A deer
will feed my family for a winter, maybe more
It is a sport.  It is an industry.  It is food.  It is
an excuse to own a gun.
Opinions emerge.  Positions unify.  Energy clarifies.  Stark disconnects
speak through a congested atmosphere.  The private
school down the road has a rifle range - good
marksmen get credit toward graduation.  A boy
I knew got credit, he said he would never
kill deer

It does not take expertise to kill.
Passion, fear, retaliation are killers.
When paths cross, bullets, roads, knives,arrows
cut to the quick .  The archer
had killed deer many times
with a bow and arrow.  Said this was more fair for the doe
then guns...he trained his aim for hours, days, weeks, seasons
of deerkilling,
this hunter without a gun.  He could not buy a
gun, he knew accidents happen.
He knew.

I saw a deer by the highway shoulder
out of range of guns, arrows, and for the moment
cars
I looked back as traffic slowed over concrete, the super trail filled with rushing hearts
stopped
by one dead doe.  Accidents
happen. Can't buy a gun. Can't practice for credit.
Fear stops me. Like the alligator, my blood runs to warm
in the sun.

 

Originally posted in a thread 12.24.12 because of Newtown Shootings. ` -- claiming innocence and rattling our sense of humanity.

Glitter, Gluttony and Gut

Glitter, a chaotic bedazzling metaphor, invokes for me this sentiment:  In order to make life nice, one merely has to brighten it up with sparkle.  Bursts of color in fireworks or a glitter splash, do dazzle; but what can be said of a preoccupation with glitter which is often affiliated with showy superficial attractiveness. This particle often reflective material infers glamour and disengagement with reality and its complexity. Used for absence of restraint in the moment, if habitual can become gluttonous. So what is the role of our gut (habitat of courage, slang for an audacious fortitude) in response to bedazzle. Enchantment can become blinding?   

My mind is thinking of next year's Red Ribbon Week based on this year's Reflections & Connections. 

Since Drugs do what they are intended to do --- maybe the posters showing 93 neighbors lost to drugs need to be covered next year in Glitter. The focus could be on what we need to understand about the bedazzle. I know a Glitter supplier.  

Unable to respond due to long running script....

The title of this blog was the LinkedIn error message I got this morning. The script revealed itself as the media mavens trying to backdoor connect my social media together. This connecting of connections is something I am not sure I want.  But if you are interested here is the message it pre-made for FB and Twitter.

Check out my professional profile and connect with me on LinkedIn. http://lnkd.in/PaaKBX

My FB participation is actually a necessity of work.  It was also a sanity valve as I had access to my spouse's to carry on the functions of my sabbatical project (which may become encore work if nothing pops soon.) Anyway, his constant contact with a part of what was to be our lives - depressed me.  Truth is: I felt much more sane and civil after a few weeks of disconnection from the narcissism and shallows.  But I found it in the balance of FB where it is less personal and mostly makes me (censored by self).

My social media: LinkedIn is truly a professional network.  Here I am connected with people that I have had solid work relations or with whom my seredipitious connections may be of value.  Some family is connected here too,  but not all; just those whose work I respect and value.

Twitter has been a means for me to keep abreast of media & news commentary.  My connections here initially started as about the work as I did not intend to ever join FB; and G+ is just not getting any real traction. I do not accept all invitations on any of the media.  For example I will not allow my FB to be infiltrated by those whose presense was removed by the spousal disconnect. 

Ironic words ... because so far that too has been far too real.

It is going to rain today.  Will I have the courage to breathe the cleansed air?

The last cover letter I will write...

The experts and counselors tell you to tailor a letter for every job.  So when a job looked interesting, I did.  I have applied for hundreds of jobs, all of which I could have done and a few that might actually have been a good fit. The vastness of the applications processed was due to the conditions of unemployment compensation.  I believe for all those in which I got processed beyond acknowledging resume receipt (and there were a dozen) the better candidate was chosen. I actually enjoyed learning about each prospective job and getting most of my interviewers to smile, laugh or get a good take-away. It showed me that while on sabbatical I got back some of the self I lost in the intensity of my last decade of work. 

I actually did get what I thought was my dream job...but within 3 weeks severely broke my ankle and could not do the requisite 1.3 mile walk to client meetings. Ironically, I did this same type of work thousands of miles away from clients previously; but, culture does matter. And this experience provided lots of insight into this fact and helped be clarify my own expectations of a work environment that is conducive to success.

Each serious pursuit provided me with a take-away; be it a new connection or interesting new resources found while preparing for the interview. Many enabled me to improve the results of my Sabbatical Project. For example: Applying for an HRIS position prepared me for writing job descriptions.  A Congregational Admin process jump started improvements in the Social Media Campaign I needed to manage. A BIA job interview reminded me of the true nature of my breadth of experience. Etc. Etc.  I also got to see some people I remember fondly creating work results with, in their new work locations. 

Correct, Sabbatical Project means I never stopped working I just stopped being compensated monetarily for work. I did modify my hours (maybe not enough for good health outcomes) and I did have more satisfying people & content outcomes much of the time; but not always.

I am once again seriously seeking a day job that comes with pay & benefits. What I am looking for as the interviewee is the opportunity for an authentic experience, in which I am accountable, can push some of my personal boundaries and make a difference with an idea, conversation or infectious sense of commitment.

And today I took inventory of the process I have been engaged in for two years and discovered how I want to present myself for the next job regardless of what it is that I am applying for. So today I wrote my final cover letter. It will be used for all future job applications. If it resonates with those on the other side of the prospective table; then it signifies a good start for a potentially successful work relationship. I am deleting all other versions from my files today.  This is the letter that will get me a job if that is what is suppose to happen next.

To Talent Acquisition Team:

Within my substantive career as an analyst at WellPoint I was often sought out for new product initiatives. I provided business and system solution support for operations; and within large scale mergers and cross-functional projects supported data integrity, cost containment, user training and vendor integration outcomes.  I often found solutions by becoming familiar with the data, its uses and connections. My breadth of knowledge enabled me to support enrollment, provider services, web, and print as a Subject Matter Expert. I have experience in all aspects of SDLC. 

With early assignments I could easily assess the bottom-line return on my solutions. As the nature of the work changed with the complexity of the organization I was a key contributor in the delivery of reliable compliant results on-time and within budget.  Most recent accomplishments are best reflected in how my teams have valued my contributions.

Serving side by side with many stakeholders from patients to doctors, cable customers to legislators, ex-offenders to police, enrollees to data administrators, operations experts to system developers with peers either sitting in the next cubicle, working the night shift or off-shore and more recently a telephone call or interactive chat away in a telecommute position spanning four plus years; new and improved processes have succeeded in meeting the primary mission – serving the end user.

Most recently I have explored new technology platforms including video storytelling which compliments my interests in developing satisfying end user engagement. Understanding content, both qualitative and quantitative, is at the core of what I do ~ achieve solutions with teams committed to sustainable, engaging and responsive outcomes.

My business analysis acumen is uniquely augmented by my community experience. From the beginning there has been an underlying passion for evoking solutions for data, or with data, within a team environment that fosters collaboration and is driven by creating reliable, sustainable and responsive outcomes.  I look forward to assessing with you how I can contribute to teams with opening for someone with my experience, skills and expectations.

Kind Regards ...