Bright Idea Outdoors Weblog

Career Opportunity: Junior Accountant

The Davidson Group, a professional consulting and tax firm, is seeking a motivated, dependable individual available to work approximately 15-20 hours a week. Must have experience with A/P, A/R, and G/L. Payroll knowledge would be useful. Please send your resume and salary expectations to info@profitprofiler.com

Help Wanted--Tax Preparer

I should be writing about all the fish we caught at the beach last week and what a great time we had in Sandbridge.  Or I should at least say something about yesterday's earthquake.  But I can't justify writing about that kind of stuff while I'm "on the clock."

So instead, I'd like to post a link to a job description for a position I'm seeking to fill.  Please let me know if you or anyone you know have experience with individual and business tax preparation and are interested in a part-time position.

Click here for more information.

A New Piece of Equipment

Before yesterday, I'd never owned an umbrella in my life.  I always just put on a hat or a hood or both and never really let rain bother me.

But today is a rainy day, and I've got a meeting to which I can't wear a hat.  It's a meeting that could, in fact, change the way I dress much of the time.

It's not exactly a job interview, although it feels like that.   It's more like a sales call, trying to pick up a new client but a very different type of client than most of the ones I currently serve.  It could be the beginning of a process of a "re-inventing" myself.

Wish me luck!

First Week on the Job Comes to a Close

Wow; here I am at the end of the first week on my new job.  I think that's the case anyway; not sure if I'm supposed to work Saturday my first week or not.

Looks like we've got another rainy weekend ahead of us.  Of course, I'm hoping to get some hunting in, but I'd also like to spend some time in front of this computer if it's raining too hard to hunt.  If that's the case, I'll write an update on what I'm doing and what my new job actually is.  I'll also work on some new pages for this site that I've dreamed up this week.

Good luck to all who are hunting this weekend.  Stay safe and be patient; if the bucks aren't already on the move in your area, they will be soon.

Good luck also to anyone who will be engaged in a sport other than hunting.  My son's football team has its first playoff game tomorrow, and we're hoping the rain holds off for that.  He's still a young kid playing "C League," but, no matter what level you're at, have fun and play hard!

Wish Me Luck

I slept late this morning; 6:30.  The first thing to go through my mind when I opened my eyes and looked at the clock was: This time tomorrow I'll be on my way to work.

Not that I didn't get up early while I was self-employed.  There's just something different about getting up early by choice versus getting up early because someone said you had to be somewhere by a certain time.  Still, I'm thankful to have a job to go to and excited about the new opportunity.

I could say that with the start of my new job will come the end of a dark period in my life, but that wouldn't be true.  Every day that I was without a full-time job was like an adventure, a hunt for the next chance to make things better.  But I wouldn't have been able to keep such a positive attitude without the help I got from family and friends.  There are many many people who deserve my thanks, but I want to thank my mom in particular for her help, Sassy for hiring me to build this patio, which got my landscape "company" started, and my wife for keeping her cool and standing by me through all of this. I'd like to thank my dad for passing on to me his tendency toward hard work (dare I call it toughness?)  Most importantly, I thank God for giving me the strength to do what is best for my family and to carry on in the face of adversity.

And to anyone who is without a job now or who may lose a job in the near future, I'd like to pass on the following pieces of advice:

• Don't limit yourself to looking for a job just like the one you lost.
• Don't sit around the house all day looking at the Internet; yes, there are good jobs online, but, again, don't limit yourself.
• Get out and talk to every person you can; set up meetings with people even if it's for no particular reason; I originally met with my new employer about something totally separate from the job I'm about to start.
• Swallow your pride: in the last two months I've borrowed money, borrowed vehicles, accepted gifts that felt a lot like charity, dug ditches, scraped up roadkill and am currently driving a tiny Nissan pickup truck with a purple stripe.
• Be innovative: who'd have thought people would pay me to haul dead deer out of their yards?
• Lean on your church; if you don't have a church, think about trying one out.
• Go hunting (or the recreational pursuit of your choice): You will need the time to collect your thoughts, and all I know is that I shot my first deer of the season and got a job the next day.

Of course, the new job will probably cut into my hunting time, but that's why they call it "work."  Check back soon; I may even reveal the name of my new employer.

Tick Tock, Tick Tock

Here it is mid-October.  The weather is as cold as it's been yet, and we're supposed to get rain the next several days.  Guess I should have gone hunting this morning, but I've got to much to do and too much on my mind.

The clock is ticking down to the start date for my new job.  Hopefully, I'll be able to get at least one good hunt in between now and then.  I'd also really like to take some time and chronicle everything that's happened to me since late July.  It's been a real roller coaster ride, and I think I could offer some insight to others who have lost or may soon lose their jobs.

Yeah, I'd like to do that; I'd also like to fix the shelf in my closet, fix the drywall in my garage, clean my carpets, change my oil. . .  The list goes on-and-on, and time keeps ticking away.

A New Job

I've been trying to find the time to write a well-thought-out post on this, but, with no luck on that, I'll just say it:

I got a new job!

More details on what I'm doing later, but I will say that it involves wildlife.

Meanwhile, I'm going to stay in business with what I've been doing since losing my job in August but will focus more on the consulting side of it as opposed to the landscape contracting.  Check back later this week; I'll get to that book review I've been promising soon.

Monday Morning Update

I had planned to hunt this morning; got up at 4:30 and put on my camo.  Then I just couldn't bring myself to do it.

Since I'm working for myself now, I've got the flexibility to hunt when I want.  I have work to do today but nothing that has to be done at a specific time until 1 p.m.  Still, with the freedom of self-employment comes uncertainty; and especially in my particular field, landscaping, winter will bring a level of uncertainty and stress that may be difficult to endure.  The deer aren't going anywhere, and I just feel like I shouldn't be in the woods when I could be making money.

But maybe, if I can get everything done, I could go this afternoon. . .

Meanwhile, speaking of working for myself, I went ahead and put an ad in the Leesburg Today last week and have already gotten four inquiries as a result.  I had really wanted to do some more work on the new website and blog www.coughlinconsulting.com before going public with it locally but decided listing a basic website in the ad would be better than no website at all.  Please take a look at it and let me know what you think. . .

This week, I'll be doing a planting project at a property just west of Leesburg and consulting with a local municipality on a multi-site turf renovation.  As far as this blog is concerned, I hope to have some hunting to write about, and I will review Jerry Genesio's new book Unseen Hazards that Threaten Hunters, Campers and Hikers.  The book is an 86-page guide to Zoonotic diseases, which Genesio defines as "those diseases that can be transmitted from animals to humans and from humans to animals."

Genesio covers Rabies, Tetanus, Rabbit Fever, Brucellosis, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and my personal nemesis, Lyme Disease.  In advance of my review, here is an excerpt from the author's press release:

"There are UNSEEN HAZARDS in forests and fields that threaten those who enjoy hunting, camping and hiking.  Pathogens commonly found in wildlife can inflict unspeakable suffering and even death...  But knowledge and simple protective measures can shield even the most vulnerable.

"Jerry Genesio has written an 86-page book containing vital information about these perilous pathogens.  Each is described with symptoms, treatment, history, carriers, geographical risk areas, and significant incidence reports.  The book also contains advice provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, on how to avoid vectors such as ticks, and how to properly remove ticks."

I should also note that the site linked above is a blog, and that Genesio is a supporting member of the Outdoor Bloggers Summit. . .

With that, like a squirrel putting away nuts for the winter, I'd better get to work!

Thanks Again

No time to write anything much right now; I'm off to pound the pavement some more.  Actually I'll be driving on it, not walking, thanks to the Captain and Chief who were nice enough to lend me one of their fleet vehicles.

Thanks guys!

And I don't want to sound like a broken record, but thanks again to everyone who has offered a helping hand and/or kind words to me and my family over the last couple weeks.  Things are starting to improve for us--at least it looks like they might--and your support has meant everything.

Considering it's been nearly 100 degrees for the last few days, it's hard to believe deer season starts two weeks from tomorrow here in Loudoun County.  Hopefully I'll be back to writing about deer hunting instead of job hunting soon!

Tests

Sometimes not having a job can keep you even busier than having one.  I'm finding that out this week and once again am struggling to find the time to write blog posts.

On top of all I'm doing to find work, my eight-year-old started practice in his first season of full-contact football this week; well, he sort of started.  He was sick and missed the first practice then felt better the next day and went to practice only to realize that he was still sick.  The two of us talked about it at the kitchen counter last night.

"It seems like everything was going good for both of us for a long time," I said.  "Now all of a sudden things are getting hard."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Well, you looked forward to football all summer, and now that it's starting you're sick.  I had a good job for a long time, and now I don't have a job or even a car...  I think God is testing us."

"But I thought God was good."

"He is good," I said.  "But it's just like with your football coach; if he makes you do something hard, it doesn't mean he's a bad guy.  It just means he's trying to make you stronger.  God is trying to make us stronger right now."

With that said, I know the tests we face are nothing compared to the hardships millions of people go through around the world every day.  All I can do is thank God for the many blessings He has bestowed upon my family, especially the wonderful wonderful people He has brought into our lives.  I continue to be humbled by the support I've gotten from my family, friends and neighbors.

Thanks be to all of you and praise be to Jesus!

Now to go and try to pass this test. . .