The mountains were really amazing today, with a snow-line that was as precisely drawn as any elevation curve on a topographic map. I was lucky enough to be near the northern tip of downtown near the Convention Center so that I could capture something. The view in the morning from our balcony was spectacular.
Pam has had a really bad cold for about three days now. Actually, it’s a bit worse than a bad cold, but not as bad as the flu: according to the doctor she saw today and the Biology News we read at his office, it’s ‘Flu-like Symptoms’ (which reminds me of that ridiculous phrase: ‘Weapons of Mass Destruction-Related Activities’ that was the reason-of-the-week that the US was invading Iraq). She’s still coughing a bit on this third day, but her temperature has returned to something more approaching normal, and she’s up and out of bed. We were relieved that it wasn’t pneumonia, which is something that she had many years ago (and laid her up for nearly a month). I’ve been cooking and cleaning and doing most of the running of the house, but she’s nearly back to normal and hopes to return to her job by the end of the week.
This is very unusual; I’m the one who gets sick more often (although I’d say I’m pretty much average; Pam begs to differ). I did have a cold a few weeks ago and it was very bad, making me miserable for the first week. I’m hoping that I don’t catch whatever she has (especially if it’s not the same bug I fought off ), especially with the 3rd Annual Northern Voice Blogging Conference coming up this weekend (actually, starting Thursday night, if you count the kick-off dinner). Just recently we have been dealing with another health issue altogether, and it might also be due to the weather, we’re not sure yet. We’re dealing with a toenail fungus. I don’t who gave it to whom but in the meantime we are already looking at clear nails plus reviews, and it seems like we’re going to need to buy some to get this fixed up.
This year I have not one but two blogs to flog. (Did I actually write that? I should take my own temperature.) There’s this one, and a new blog that I’ve just started. I’ve decided to separate my writing on personal matters from professional issues — User Interface, Information Architecture, Design, and all of the other subjects that fall under the broad moniker of ‘User Experience’. Rather than give it a clever name, I’ve decided to take the opposite approach. The name of the blog is drucker.ca . The URL is, well, what you’d expect.
Actually, for awhile I did write a blog about User Interface issues when I had the consulting company called The Kendall Group, but back then I didn’t know much about writing a good blog, generating traffic or even filtering out Comment SPAM. (It ran on TypePad, which I was only beginning to learn). I stopped writing in it right when I left the US, and now I’ve decided that it’s time to resume something like it. Especially when looking for work.
Yes, that’s right, although I’m not unemployed per se, I am down to part-time at my previous employer, and am looking for a company that needs a full-time UI Architect, or perhaps a company that needs one in a consulting capacity, at least for the time being. There just wasn’t enough work at my employer for someone who does what I do (although I still am needed from time to time) on a full-time basis.
So I have my new business cards, my new URL and new blog, and I’m completely legally able to work in Canada (or the US, although for there, it would have to be via long-distance and/or telecommuting). If Northern Voice doesn’t turn up something interesting, the Massive Technology Show returns in a few short weeks, and that’s what lead not only to my first job here in Vancouver, but also our beautiful condo here that looks northward toward those phenomenal mountains. I have high hopes for either of these networking opportunities to bear some fruit.