threewillcomehome.com

We cannot believe it but last weekend, LiLi turned 3. I cannot believe how old she is getting. She now pretty much talks to you all day long and walks with almost a constant twirl or arabesque. Skirts remain her favorite thing to wear and it is getting harder and harder to put her in pants even for her father. She also loves her nightgowns which I have to admit I do not understand because I don’t ever remember thinking they were comfortable to wear. LiLi, of course, like I believe most if not all 3 year olds likes to do things by herself and if you do it instead, we often end up with a small temper tantrum but thank goodness those are usually short lived. Her imagination is also blossoming which is wonderful to watch. She often takes her animals to the store or the zoo and right now is going off to school with a suitcase full of toy food a book you can write in and a net for catching bugs. Her imagination has also conjured up some monsters. These monsters seem to come around when it gets dark and like to hang out in the bathroom(that way someone can go with you to wash your hands) and when we have been caught out of bed at the top of the stairs. I believe three is going to be quite an exciting year.

We had a small birthday party for LiLi with our babysitter, her husband and their to children for dinner followed by cake with Margaret and Peter. LiLi appeared to have a wonderful time. Since animals remain one of her favorite things, we went with an artic cake after Mommy found some polar bears on sale at Pottery Barn.

Opening birthday presents

Birthday cake

Blowing out candles

One candle kept relighting although they all came out of the same box and no where did it say they were relighting candles but LiLi thoroughly enjoyed blowing it out over and over again

Ice cream and cake

When you live in the smallest state in the nation you usually don’t see or hear about Little Rhody unless it’s a comparison to a country, city, or even a ranch. As in “…(fill in the blank) is as big as the state of RI” or “(fill in the blank) is about 1/2 the size of RI but has XXX many times more people.” The comparison’s are endless and easily made. After all RI is a state where it’s still not unusual to find people in their 60’s who have never left the state – this in a state where 45 minutes in any direction puts you into CT or MA.

So it was with mixed emotions that I read today’s story from the NY Times.

It hits the nail on the head – we’re small and about 1 in 10 of us are unemployed and no one really seems to know why. My guess is that Boston’s gravity pulls and retains many companies which might otherwise settle in RI. Who knows but the story is worth a read and illustrates what is happening in many communities across the country. -t

Now, more than ever, Li Li is full of herself but she is so darn cute. In the mornings now when Catherine is doing a crossword puzzle, Li Li likes to do her own puzzle as well. Either that or she is already shopping for her first car. We are doing well, the job search is moving along and I’m getting more time with Li Li – which is good for both of us.

She does have a winning smile, doesn’t she?

She enjoys her morning crossword puzzle as much as the next person.

Sometimes you just have to take a picture, even if it’s been done a million times before.

We’ll post again soon.

Many of you know that once again the vicissitudes of employment have seen fit create another career change opportunity for me. I’ve used some of my new found free-time to update this blog, I’ve also started twittering under the name @jobhuntin www.twitter.com. Logon and start following me. I’m also blogging on my professional web site www.thommitchell.com , so stop by and see if you find anything interesting.

I’ve been skeptical, and still am, of twitter because really who cares what someone is doing every minute of the day but as a haiku fan I think there is something worthy in a short-form message. The 140 character limit imposes discpline reminiscent of the inverted pyramid lede. I’ve found that the journalistic heuristic is a wonderful guide for twittering and it’s saved me far too often when sending a message in email, and now twitter. The rhythm of who, what, when, where, why and how is still useful over 20 years after I first put into practice for a newspaper.

I chose my user name for a specific reason – i’m @Jobhuntin so most of my twitters will be on that topic – or tangentially related to it. So I’ll try to make my posts worth reading – mostly the posts will be links to a story or blog entry worth reading – but some will track my path to my next career move.

In honor of that move, here’s a job search Haiku.

resume written
cover letters customized
only waiting now

I realize most of you only come here for pictures of Li Li, and rightfully so, therefore I’ll try to post one at least one picture a week in addition to my occasional musings. -t