Did you watch the first episodes of the new series Life this past Sunday? If not – you’re not missing anything. The filmmaking is amazing and Nature – as always – is a great subject. Unfortunately, Oprah is doing the voiceover and she kills the show. Even Chris looked over at me while we were watching and said, “I keep expecting her show to come on.” Oprah is too big. We hear her voice too damn often for her to fade into the background. You might as well have had Homer Simpson do the voiceover.

But the footage shows all the rituals of the animal kingdom (and plant and insect). How they feed, how they mate, how they protect themselves. A later episode will include humans and how they find a job in this economy. It is a ritual – sort of like courtship.

It didn’t used to be. The last time I looked for a job (almost a decade ago), it happened quickly. You set up the interview, you meet with Human Resources or whoever was doing the initial interview and, if they liked you, you would be back next week to meet the principals. A week after that – you could be hired. NOW? I had a second interview yesterday based on an initial contact in January. There may be – if I’m lucky – a third interview after April 1st. When a decision will be made is unclear. But what other options are there? In the industry itself, there are no quick decisions. No one wants to commit only to have something bad happen again – like say JP Morgan defaults or California falls into the sea.

In the meantime, this is all I have. I have not even been able to find part-time work. So the ritual – the dance, the plumage (ties), making the right noises – will have to be followed.

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