"Thankful"


It may not be Thanksgiving Day any longer, but, hey, every day should be one of thanks. So, since I didn't post this yesterday, here are a few of the things I am most thankful for this year.

- All of God's countless blessings each and every day!
- Family and Friends who mean a lot in my life.
- My art and acting skills that have provided my paycheck most of the year.
- A computer and the knowledge to use it.
- Hobbies to keep me busy and often distract me.
- JonBaas.com and all the varied work it brings with it.
- The USS Terra Nova PBeM online roleplay sim.
- A roof over my head.
- Food in my refrigerator.
- Food to eat even when my refigerator is not full.
- George W. Bush
- Troops fighting overseas to defend my freedoms.
- A local baseball team to root for.

...and that which I am most thankful for, .... Life!

May the spirit of thanksgiving never end at just Thanksgiving Day!

Your thankful friend,
-Jon
posted by Jon at 10:33 AM  I   I  0 comments

"Recap: Thanksgiving Day 2003"


My Thanksgiving journey to visit with family -- in a small Wisconsin town -- was a wonderful one. The only downside however was that my direct family from Minnesota was not able to make the trip down due to illness. (...I'll see them this coming weekend, though, when they travel down here to see my sister's theatre show in Sheboygan, so I'm not too worried).

The food was delicious though (my uncle certainly knows how to cook-- and his pies are to-die-for!). The company of my younger cousins was enjoyable, and the typical extended-family traditions always a blast. It's a shame the Packers lost though. But, on the upside, I got to see the film, "A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum", and that was a riot! ... And, I got to bring home some of the delicious leftovers! Yay Turkey! :)

But, all-in-all, it was a great Thanksgiving 2003. And I am truely blessed to have such a vibrant extended family to have been able to spend it with.

God's blessings to you and yours this holiday season, and I hope your Thanksgiving was also one full of thanks and happiness. Until later,

Your thankfully blogging friend,
-Jon
posted by Jon at 11:46 PM  I   I  0 comments

"Happy Thanksgiving!"


Well, it's Wednesday night already. I guess time flies when you have a lot to do....

A good bit of news to close out my day though. I think I may have secured for myself a second interview -- an apparently more promising interview -- with another marketing company. I'll have to call them on Friday and see what goes. We'll see. Good news, I hope.

Another brief note from today.... I finished another commissioned art project, so that's now three that are pending addition to my list of viewable recently-commissioned projects of note. This time, it's a partial portrait image for a book cover. I'm liking it too. I hope it proves very useful for my client!

I was thinking recently too.... I think I'm actually going to add a list of all the commissioned art projects I've done to my website within the next week or so. I figure, I have a page for my acting credits, why not one for my rapidly-growing list of art credentials? Besides, instead of a traditional gallery of my artwork (like the one still awaiting completion on my never completed to-do list), a list of credits and available images might prove useful on a number of levels. Stay tuned if you're interested. It'll probably be a long and intruiging list. And I'll drop a note when the page(s) is added to JonBaas.com. :)

But, news out of the way.... It's Thanksgiving tomarrow. Time to head off to bed, get some sleep, and be up earlier than usual to do a little traveling. I could probably go for a little visit with family, and a turkey feast right about now!

Wow, despite the struggles in my life lately, I really do have a lot to be thankful for!

Have a very blessed and safe Thanksgiving all, and I'll see you here again sometime Friday. God bless!

Your thankfully blogging friend,
-Jon
posted by Jon at 10:02 PM  I   I  0 comments

"Baby, It's Cold Outside."


Well, now I know what I need to do. My bedroom windows are poorly-insulated. I'm just going to have to break down and buy that plastic window insulation stuff to seal them properly. Otherwise, my tune will have to change to.... "Baby, it's cold inside."

That just doesn't have the same ring to it.

Oh, well. Have a good one. I'll catch you tomarrow sometime.

-Jon
posted by Jon at 11:32 PM  I   I  0 comments

"Sleep, Sleep, why dost thou torture me so?"


My nemesis lately has struck again. How someone can sleep for fifteen hours and not contiously realize it is beyond me. Yet, that's just what I did.

I actually went to bed Saturday evening at the reasonable hour of midnight. I wasn't so much tired as was just intent on going to bed earlier than usual lately. I didn't set my alarm because, lately, I've been pretty trusting of my uncontious ability to awaken after eight hours of sleep. I didn't think last night would be any different than that.

Unfortunately, though, the next thing I knew, I had awakened to the typical busy daytime sounds beyond my apartment walls. Curious, I rolled over in bed and glanced at my digital alarm clock. As if to taunt me, it boldly showed the time in bright red numbering -- 3:39 PM.

After rubbing my eyes a few times and gawking at the fact that I'd just slept for fifteen hours, I got up and tried to determine why I had slept that long. I recalled waking somewhat in the middle of the night to the soft sounds of rain pattering upon my window. Maybe those soothing sounds put me back to sleep when I should have considered getting up? The dreaming was entertaining. Maybe my subcontious mind was enjoying the theatrics playing mostly unbeknownst to me in my mind? Or, maybe I just needed the sleep somehow, despite a well-rested Friday morning? Who knows.

Ironically, though, the possibilities got more interesting after that. Even the science-fiction intruiged part of my mind decided to join the confused fun. For a brief moment it tossed the idea of a time warp into the mix. Although I shot that unrealistic explanation down rather fast, perhaps the witty side of my mind actually prefers that possibilty. How often can someone say they were the unwitting victim of a time warp? .... Besides, it's more fun to say than the "I slept 15 hours" explanation. And, as far as my chronological thinking mind goes, I did 'instantaneously' lose fifteen hours out of my Sunday.... [raises eyebrow]....

I haven't decided what the 'official' ruling will be yet. But, I do know who to blame in all this -- that annoying nemesis called "Sleep" sitting over in the corner there pointing at me and laughing. Ha! But I'll even the score someday soon.... and he won't even expect it! .... [evil grin].

Have a good Monday all. I'll write again sometime in the afternoon or evening.

Your happily blogging, always musing, and often witty, odd not-so-little friend,
-Jon
posted by Jon at 11:40 PM  I   I  0 comments

"America's Longest-Running Musical"


Well, I learned the hard way this evening. America's longest-running musical, "The Fantastiks", is absolutely horrible translated into a movie! I checked it out from the library earlier today (when I went down there to scan some artwork), and when I got back and watched it.... well, I'll just let these viewer reviews on imdb.com say it for me. :)

In short: An evening of movie-watching enjoyment wasted. Although, I will say this, Jean Louise Kelly was probably the only bright spot in the film. But, then again, I am already a fan of her work and musical talent, so I suppose that is a given.

In other Jon news lately.... Nothing new or concrete yet in the job hunt, but, I continue to look and apply, so we'll see what this coming week will hold. Promise, I hope!

I'll catch you all tomarrow. Have a blessed Sunday!

Your happily blogging friend,
-Jon
posted by Jon at 11:13 PM  I   I  0 comments

"Twenty-Four Hours Later"


Alright. Goal achieved. I've been up for 24 hours straight, and most of my to-do list is crossed off. Still some to go. It can wait until tonight though. For now, I'm off to bed. See you Friday.

-Jon
posted by Jon at 1:45 PM  I   I  0 comments

"First Comes Christmas.... Then Thanksgiving."


Well, I've ended up pulling another all-nighter working on everything from personal marketing and promotion projects (in terms of my artwork) all the way to sending out even more resumes. The to-do list never ends does it!.... [grin].

One interesting thing to muse upon though.... The radio station I'm currently listening to just started playing nothing BUT Christmas music. Yep. Christmas music. Non-stop until after New Years! Heck, it's not even THANKSGIVING yet!!!

Yeah, and the weather forecast for today is in the 60's! How, un-Christmas can it be? No snow, nice weather, I'm still looking forward to the annual Thanksgiving turkey, and, I'm listening to a song about "the Christmas chill in the air and the fluffy white stuff covering everything." Hmm.

Well, have a blessed Thursday. I'm going to get back to work, and see how long I can go before sleep forces me down. So far, I'm at nineteen (19) hours and still running! I'll catch you all at a later time!

Your happily blogging job-hunting friend,
-Jon
posted by Jon at 8:58 AM  I   I  0 comments

"The Job Interview: Nixed."


Well, unfortunately my job interview on Tuesday was officially called off. Two reasons applied. One, it was outside my transportation range, as it is about a mile and a half beyond the end of the city busline. I don't plan to walk that far each morning in the dead of winter just to get to work. And two, apparently this is strictly a marketing job and I would be required to travel to multiple companies each day to do my thing. Thus I would need a car. Currently I don't own one.

So, long story short, following a call to the company, I thanked them for thier consideration, but had to respectfully cancel the interview. I guess I don't feel all that bad about it though, especially knowing that if I had been able to make it in tomarrow, I would have found out the same things I did over the phone -- I'd need a car for the job, the bus doesn't go that far, and it has nothing to do with artistic creativity.

Oh well, at least I can say I tried, right? So, I guess I keep plugging away at the resumes and applications and see who else is interested in my top-notch creative skills. .... [smile].

As always, I'll let you know how it goes. Stay tuned. And, in the meantime, have a blessed Tuesday!

Your happily blogging friend,
-Jon
posted by Jon at 11:51 PM  I   I  0 comments

"Sleep. I have too much. Want some?"


You know, I think I'm sleeping too much lately. I lost most of Sunday to it, and now, after being up for only six hours this morning (since midnight), I'm already debating going back to bed for a short nap. I hardly think I'm bored, and I know I'm not overworking myself.... Maybe I just need to eat more? .... Ideas anyone?

-Jon
posted by Jon at 6:23 AM  I   I  0 comments

"Last Day with Dare to Dream."


Well, today was the last day of my sister's theatre for children class, and, sadly, also my last day involved -- as a 'teacher'. It turned out to be a wonderful full day of theatre though.

The morning class was scheduled as usual, and mostly consisted of preparing for the afternoon performances of the short plays the kids had been working on for the past seven or eight weeks. The excitement was high, and questions a-plenty, but when the time came, I think the kids did great!

For me it ended up being the greater part of my day though -- spending time with the day's events -- but in the end, I was able to enjoy the last class day with the kids, had lunch (pizza was free, so no complaints there!), and watched a fine afternoon performance of Cinderalla, Snow White, and the show I directed -- Sleeping Beauty. And I was surprised to recieve quite a few hugs and even a rose from some of the kids. .... I am going to miss them!

After the performances were concluded, the kids had left, and one of the other teachers and I had cleared up all the props, I returned home, put my flower in a vase, and am now off to bed. Sure, it's only 6pm, but then again, I do need my sleep! Besides, kids -- 20 of them -- can be tiring!

So, update out of the way, I'm off to bed. I'll catch you sometime Sunday. Have a good one!

Your happily blogging friend,
-Jon
posted by Jon at 6:08 PM  I   I  0 comments

"Friday Recap."


Well, Friday came and went. Not nearly as many resumes went out today, but, that was mostly due to other projects that needed my time. More will go out this weekend though. Quite a bit more.

There is one bit of good news though. I was able to secure a job interview on Tuesday -- from one of the nine resumes I sent out on Thursday. Kudos to the company for getting back to me so soon! I appreciate it. ....The job is for a sales/ public relations position, so, yeah, not quite 100% up my alley, but I'll certainly go in with an open mind, and hope I end up in the running.

Otherwise, not a whole lot to write about, and my 'musing mind' is sort of in sleeper mode at the moment, so, I guess that's all for now. I'll catch you Saturday evening.

Your happily blogging job-searching friend,
-Jon
posted by Jon at 11:54 PM  I   I  0 comments

"Score one for sleep."


Oh, what the heck. I'm off to bed. There's no sense in submitting resumes when I'm growing tired. ... The shower was refreshing, but then it took until now to take care of out-going mail before the postman stops by. I didn't even make it back to the resumes.

Oh, well. I'll grab 6-8 hours of sleep, and then return to the task at hand. I'll be more effective rested anyway. And it'll be another overnight too I think. :)

Have a blessed Thursday. See you this evening.

-Jon
posted by Jon at 9:58 AM  I   I  0 comments

"And so it goes...."


Well, it's now five and a half hours since my last post. In that time I've successfully applied for nine different resume jobs, signed up for and explored a freelance jobs listing site for a bit, yawned a few times, searched a number of different company sites seeking new employees, and probably read through at least sixty different job ads.

The highlight of all that though, I think, was one Graphics/ Copywriter job. They asked specifically for creative and humorous writers, and wanted that reflected in the resume and cover letter. So I wrote them a humorous short story instead of the standard cover letter. Either it worked or it didn't. We'll see if they call me. :)

I think it was a productive and successful few hours though. But it's not over yet. I have a few more listing sites I want to go through this morning, a few specific companies yet to look at, and, if I'm still awake around noon, a few places to call from the employment section of the newspaper.

I am determined to find a job that allows me to be creative! I'm definitely doing my part! .... Where are the people that can do something for me?! .... [raises eyebrow].

Well, off to grab a shower, and then back to the grindstone. I'll catch you all again on my next 'break'.

Your dedicated creatively job-seeking friend,
-Jon
posted by Jon at 7:37 AM  I   I  0 comments

"Back at it...."


Yep. Good times; Sitting down here at my computer ready to take on the job hunt again. I've got a nice warm mug of steaming hot apple cider sitting next to me on my desk, the local overnight pop radio station on in the background, and the occassional howl of the wind outside my window. Yep, this is it -- the overnight hours. Best time to work!

I'll stop back and put a post through from time to time. I plan to work through the night tracking down job possibilities, so an occasional blog post might be a nice break. Most of you are sleeping though, so you'll miss the fun, but hey, you've all got day jobs. You need your sleep.

Sleep well. I'll catch you later in the day. :)

Time to get to work!

-Jon
posted by Jon at 1:41 AM  I   I  0 comments

"Resumes Away, Part 1"


Well, it's almost 7 am here in Milwaukee. I intentionally stayed up all night working in many things -- mostly relating to resumes, sending out resumes, and the like. Unfortunately, I didn't get nearly as far as I had hoped to, so, it's now officially an extended work-in-progress.

It's interesting, though, how tasks like this are never really done. Career councelors are certainly dead on when they say seeking out a good job, is itself a full-time job. This week I've set some pretty high goals for myself. I'm trying to find a job position that a resume can get me. I think I need more experience with getting those kinds of jobs anyway, and, to be honest, they just seem to interest me more than the application jobs right now.

So, whether I'm fully qualified or not, a company that lists a position that interests me recieves one of my resumes and joins my potential job rotation. Yeah, I'm choosy, but that's not a trait I'm going to give up -- no matter how much my roomate may hint to the contrary.

Sure, I could probably just keep hitting the streets (like he suggests), looking for one or two of the billions of underpayed and overworked job positions out there. Truth is though, I'm getting very sick of that market. Barnes and Noble kind of turned me off to that whole "make the boss his money and get nary a thank-you" retail nitch.

Statisitically, I'm actually getting more considerate responses (even if it's a polite "no") from resume targeted companies than these rediculous retail jobs. More often than not, I submit an application somewhere, and then seem disappear of the face of their earth! No "Thanks for applying," no "Sorry, we appreciate your interest." Just silence. I hate that.

I'm a number in the retail market. They have very little interest in my skills at all, just my bodily presense for menial labor. Not my gig. Very shallow. There's nothing in it to stimulate what I'm good at -- thinking. I'm a creative person by nature, stimulation, aesthetics, and the whole building process are my forte. You don't get much of that working at McDonalds or the local gas station.

I guess I've learned that I dry up pretty fast in those kinds of environments. My next job will incorporate creativity though, of that I am determined. If I could, I'd keep pushing at this awesome freelance artist gig, no questions asked.... but alas, I do have to pay my bills, and the artwork is a little slow at the moment. Gotta find something else for a while.

So, that leaves me where I am right now.... sitting at my computer, tired, and looking forward to a good day's rest.... Then getting up and plugging away at my determined project once again. I will succeed. I just hope it's sooner than later.

I'm enjoying this resume process though, so I suppose that's a good sign, but it still doesn't put food on the table. Well see what this evening brings. Good news, I hope. We'll see. For now though my night is over. Time for bed.

I'll catch you all later on. Have a blessed Wednesday.... oh, and by all means, stop in sometime soon and join the topics on my message board. Stimulating. I'm all about stimulating.

Ha. Right. I'm off to bed.

Your happily blogging creative friend,
-Jon
posted by Jon at 7:32 AM  I   I  0 comments

"JonBaas.com 2004 Calendar"


Alright, it's been a long, busy week (in many regards), but the artwork I've been working on is now online. You're more than welcome to stop by Shop@JonBaas.com and take a look.

I've added twelve new digital landscapes, additional gift items, and the long-anticipated 2004 wall calendar. I've got a few more items in the works, but I'm not pushing as hard to get them up. Stop by sometime and help support an up-and-coming artist. :)

Have a blessed Monday. God's blessings on a new week.

Your happily blogging artist friend,
-Jon
posted by Jon at 11:49 PM  I   I  0 comments

"A Rainy Art Day"


You know, it's been raining now for at least the third straight day, and I'm not talking about a few showers here and there.... No, I'm talking about non-stop rain for three days in a row! Unfortunately, it doesn't do much towards me getting out and about Milwaukee looking for a steady job (like I should be doing), but, on the other hand, it does provide me an excellent opportunity just to sit down and work on artwork (like I love to be doing).

So, that was today -- a full day of nothing but pure creativity. A day in front of the 'ole computer creating one digital landscape after another. And, when all is said and done, they're looking mighty fine too ....if I do say so myself!

Of course, there is another reason I decided to spend the day immersed in digital landscapes. I'm actually preparing to add a whole new line of of them to my online art store. I'm working to put together a stunning collection for my 2004 art calendar (a project a bit long in the making), a few more framed and unframed art prints, and some additional varied items yet in the works. I figure, if I have the means to create my artwork and share it with others, then I might as well make really good use of my free time, right? .... [smile].

So, starting this week -- hopefully sometime tomarrow (Wednesday) -- you'll start seeing them show up on Shop@JonBaas.com. Feel free to take a look. Judging by some of the positive comments I've recieved so far -- from those that have already seen some of the work -- I think they'll prove to be a nice addition!

It's definitely turning out to be an enjoyable journey. And I do so love the creative process! Now all I need to find are the people that need a good solid artist, and are willing to hire one.... Then I would most certainly be in artist heaven! Oh I know they're out there.... We just need to cross paths. It'll happen. I'm confident in my work, and I figure if others see that, then I'm certainly on the right path towards success.

We'll see what happens though. When you follow your dreams (even if you take the long road), good things can happen. I'm kind of counting on that. Besides, what fun is a life lived in the shadows anyway?! .... [grin].

Have a blessed Wednesday. I'll drop a note when the art is online.

Take care all, and until next time,

Your happily blogging artist friend,
-Jon
posted by Jon at 11:14 PM  I   I  0 comments