Sunday evening: The "I am alive!" edition . . .

Please note, this was originally titled "Wednesday evening:" That's how busy things are . . .

1. This tells the story, too: Welcome to petranella,  attilia_auborne , spoon_o_doom , cfram , niee87 . I would welcome reginaldao , but he/she left already.

2. Clearly, people notice when I am not posting.

Monday,evilnicola called, and when I picked up, she said, "Oh, good. You're not dead." Mind you, I had talked to her Saturday or Sunday, and I had posted on Facebook.

Less than an hour later, a dear friend PMed me, asking if I was there, and was then glad I was alive.

OK, so I am posting more.

3. The reason I have not been posting much is that in the last 11 days I have:

Written stores for four different newspapers, including four in four days over Thanksgiving Weekend.

Flown to Maine in my father-in-law's plane and driven my mother-in-law's old Subaru back.

Had at least one nosebleed, and that lasted from New Hampshire, through Vermont and back to New York.

Cooked a turkey and a variety of other things.

Gotten the Subaru and registered.

Worked a couple of day at a weekly newspaper, editing and getting myself set up to work as a reporter.

All the stuff I listed earlier today.

Cleaned the bedroom and dining room and cleaned the kitchen a number of times.

Yeah, busy Liam is busy.

4. That was as of Wednesday.

Since then, I have:

Completely emptied the truck.

Dropped the truck off at Jerry Brown Auto Parts and deposited the $100 check for it.

Gotten the new tires (another gift from my in-laws) put on my wife's car and had its oil changed.

Spent another day learning about beautiful Whitehall, NY.

Covered a Christmas tour at a Victorian house, a multi-stop "Christmas In The Country" shopping tour and the "Toys For Tots" train.

5. About the car: My mother-in-law, who is a visiting nurse, recently bought what she refers to as her "last new car ever." It's a Subaru, an Outback, I think. She and Dad gave me her 2002 (I think) Outback, which has about 173,000 miles on it. They also gave me new tires for it. (Did I mention my in-laws rock?).

What you have to understand is that dad is an engineer, and he handed me a folder with documentation from every service visit the car has ever had. I even have the original sticker. It appears to be in great shape, and now I do not have to borrow my wife's car if I want to drive more than an hour.

6. About the job hunt: I have been doing some part-time work for several newspapers, and it seems as though that might may pay off.  Right now, I am filling in for a reporter who just left a weekly group I work for. I am covering the small village and town of Whitehall, NY, for the Whitehall Times, part of Manchester Newspapers. I have known John Manchester for three years, we have similar sets of news values, and I have worked for him in the past. We are already planning to discuss whether the two of us want to make the arrangement permanent.

Meanwhile, the city editor at the local daily asked if I wanted to apply for a position that just came open there. That would rock! I would enjoy either job. The key is, I have been doing part-time sports stuff for the paper, the Glens Falls Post-Star, for almost three years, and I have been covering two to four stories for them most weekends since June. I think they like what they have seen.

Please say prayers, think good thoughts and keep your fingers crossed.

7. While I am still commenting fairly regularly on the SCA, my palns are still to be on hiatus until Birka, then likely for another month until Winter War in Northern Outpost.

Sunday evening: Resumes, gift lists and more . . .

Yes, it has been a long time since I posted. So here is the second post of the evening . . .


1. Although I am hoping to land a full-time job fairly soon, I am continuing to do resumes and other writing.

I have gotten several inquiries from folks asking what I charge and what I need, so I figure I will lay it out here.

What I need is a copy of your old resume and information on anything you have done that's not on it.

(Basic resumes information includes name, address, phone number, a professional-looking e-mail address, college degrees and attendance and volunteer experience.)

I need a list of 10-15 specific skills and strengths that you have that qualify you for the types of jobs you are seeking.

One of the things I think I can do well is translate volunteer experience, including the SCA, onto the resume.

I will produce:

Up to two resumes targeted at different fields.

A generic cover letter and two job-specific cover letters.

Any advice you might like to ask me.

If you wish, send me 3-5 references, with all appropriate information, and I will do a reference sheet also.

As some of you know, my most recent full-time job was as an employment and training counselor at the local One-Stop, which is basically the New Uork version of the unemployment office.

I can do resumes for most professions. I am especially strong on teacher resumes, writer resumes and non-traditional resumes.

Since anyone here is either in the SCA or a friend of some sort, the charge for this service is $125. That includes the SCA/Friends discount.

If you are currently unemployed (I know *that* story) or in other straits, please let me know, and we can talk.

Oh, and yes, I believe in the barter system.

I also write letters, newsletters and articles and can help with social-networking. The address is: toscano.bill@gmail.com .

2. OK, I find it really odd to follow that with this, but several people have asked about my wish list for the holidays. (Yes, they really have. I always shake my  head when people say that, too.)

In general, the stuff at my Amazon List will work. You can ignore the order of things and the pricey stuff.

I also greatly appreciate local stuff, like beer glasses from your local brewery, bar or other site of interest.

3. For those of us who remember the early days of Magic The Gathering back in the early 1990s, it is with great interest that we see Wizards of the Coast come out with a new, official, multi-player version called MTG: Commander. The fascinating part for me is that this comes out of home-grown rules known as "Elder Dragon Highlander."

4. Yes, I failed miserably at NaNoWriMo, but I am glad I started it. I have about 10,000 words on my military space operare which my wife refers to as "Kennedys In Space."

How am I gonna write 50,000 words when I cannot keep LJ updated.

5. If you want to keep up with what I have been writing for the Post-Star, and an eclectic set of stories it has been, you can look here.

6. Winter is on the way! There are snow showers forecast for a couple of says this week and lows in the teens and possibly as low as 9 degrees (F) later this week. I am glad we do not get lake effect snow.

7. I had an epiphany yesterday while I was covering a Victorian Christmas tour at a local historical house.

I think there's something to be said for connecting Victorian-era houses and museums with folks doing Steampunk. Primary source research in some ways!