Still Looking
I haven’t updated my blog in a while. I’ve been looking for a new job and about a month after being laid off, went to work as a contractor for the very same company that me go. It was a bit odd going back to work in a place I thought I would never see again. Pulling up in the parking lot the first day I had to laugh to myself, but I went back to work like I never left. My computer was still there and nothing had really changed.
During my time looking for a different job I created a new website with the domain name, www.paulhatfield.me, to keep my work separated from my blog. The website URL ends with “me”, because “com” was taken. My resume and screen-shots of the work I have done can be viewed on that website.
Also in my spare time I’ve been working to port the screen saver that I worked on several years ago to Linux and I have also been geocaching. A trip or two ago Alexis and I ran into more inhabitants, which will probably increase as things become greener. This will be our first summer geocaching and we expect the heat and humidity to rise. Our plan is to hit the trail early in the morning and hope things are much cooler.
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- Crazy Looking Lizard
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- Wise Long Horn
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- This is what Poison Ivy looks like.
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- A Travel Bug
March Madness
If you haven’t already heard, I was laid off at BRIT Systems earlier this month. I’m not happy about it. I enjoyed working with the people there and the work that I was doing. The guys I worked with have been very supportive, offered to be references, and passed my contact information to others. The last two and a half weeks have been decent as far as phone interviews and one in-person interview. My motivation and spirits are high for the most part. I’ve kept a schedule similar to what I had on the days I worked from home, except now my job is to find another job. So I’m being productive; sending resumes, talking to recruiters, and networking.
Setting the depressing aside, last weekend we drove over to Lake Lavon and geocached along the Trinity Trail. The trail stretches 25.5 miles along the west side of the lake and only allows hiking and horse back riding. We only walked 2 and a third miles of it before making the hike back to the car. Our walk took us through some nice wooded areas, a farmers field, and lots of mud. Crossing the field was strange and felt like a mile walk in itself due to the mud and horse tracks which made the ground uneven. Overall on the first trip we netted 10 geocaches. We could make four more trips and still have more to find. So we will certainly be back.
February is the worst
Mother Nature and my immune system have been giving me fits this month. Alexis and I are in recovery from a cold that’s been going around. She ended up with the worst of it. The weather is conspiring against us with snow, rain, and chilling winds. When I was young I would pray for snow, now it’s just the opposite. Despite it all we have managed to get out of the house and do some geocaching. On Saturday, we had a little adventure in a undeveloped area in McKinney. The parks department decided to put a paved trail in the middle of nowhere.
I’m assuming that they anticipate a neighborhood to spring up around it. We had a heck of a time trying to find parking as the trail doesn’t connect with the surrounding roads. Our final parking spot was at a nearby school which was within reasonable walking distance. Our walk to the trail led us past some abandoned farm buildings.
Then we crossed an overpass with rushing water underneath.
Unfortunately our trip only had a 50:50 success rate. We noticed that some of the trees and brush had been cut or simply removed. Despite the “Did Not Finds”, the trip was fun and we enjoyed ourselves.
