STC planning meeting

I’m off to a meeting of the Toronto Society for Technical Communication executive council, to help plan the meetings or “events” for the coming year.

What to do while unemployed

This came up in a BookCrossing discussion. My answer follows.

• Plan your garden? If it’s warm enough, plant a few things. Tell the people at the garden store that you’re looking for a new job.
• If you have TV, turn on some of the daytime exercise shows and bounce along with them.
• Start a daily stretching session- it will make you feel years younger. (Whartons’ stretch book is good–active isolated stretching or some such.)
• When you can leave the house, walk at least 3 miles a day (1 hour at a reasonably brisk pace) - but start off with five days of 20-minute walks and 5 days of 30-minute walks to get acclimatized.
• “Edit” your closets by passing along things you don’t wear, things you always put back for next time, things that itch, shrink, wrinkle at a hard look, or simply don’t flatter you. Compare them to clothes worn by people in the next level up of your profession.
• If there’s a public pool, swim. Tell the people you meet at the pool that you can swim during the day because you’re between jobs right now, and you’re looking for a new opportunity.
• Review what’s going on in your industry or one you’d like to be in and find out what skills you’ll need over the next few years.
• Phone your employed friends, meet them for coffee, and ask what’s going on in their lives. Let them know you’re looking for work. Maybe they’ll have heard of something.
• Learn to draw.
• Mend things that need mending or throw them out.
• Re-write your résumé.
• Find out what school at The Boy’s next level of school is going to need by the time he gets there, and work with parents who are there now to help provide it. Mentiond that you’re looking for work.
• Once Boy is well, run round and do all your long-term errands such as dentist, doctor, floor polishing, renew professional memberships, plan next year’s vacation. (Pitch tent in backyard? Need tent!)

I talk a good game, don’t I?

Formatting an HTML letter

I have a little project: formatting a letter in HTML that will be sent by e-mail and perhaps shown on a Web site.

Tier 1 images:

Apple 8GB iPod Nano 130 x 150

Armani Men’s Tank Bracelet Watch (Model AR0243) 130 x 150

Esquire Ladies’ Venture Watch (Model 7100905) 130 x 150

Tiffany’s Heart Tag Charm Toggle Bracelet 150 x 150

$300 Gift Certificate for Coach wallet and handbags 150 x 150

$300 Keg Steakhouse & Bar Gift Card
gift card 150 x 130

dessert 150 x 130

steak 150 x 130:

$300 Loblaws Gift Card 150 x 130

another image 130 x 150

$300 Future Shop Gift Card
150 x 130

130 x 150

Another image 150 x 150

Return to Tiffany Oval Tag Necklace 150 x 130

Panasonic LZ10 10.1MP Digital Camera 150 x 130

Spa Certificate to the value of $300, 150 x 130

Another image:

Or you can elect to receive $300 cash, to spend on anything you like!

Tier 2 images

Xbox 360 Pro Console 130 x 150

Play Station 3 40GB Hardware 130 x 150

Tom Tom ONE XL GPS Navigation System 150 x 130

Apple 160 GB IPod Classic -Another image iPod Nano or Classic

Apple 16 GB iPod Touch V2

450 Keg Steakhouse and Bar Gift Card

450 Loblaws Gift Card

$450 Future Shop Gift Card

Spa Gift Certificates to the value of $450

$450 Gift Certificate for Coach handbags and wallets (Use the same Coach link as above)

$450 cash

Tier 3 images

Toshiba 26″ 60 Hz Widescreen LCD HDTV (26HL37)

Return Air Ticket between Toronto and Montreal

another image:

$600 Gift Card from Keg steakhouse and Bar

$600 Loblaws Gift Card

$600 Future Shop Gift Card

Spa Gift Certificates to the value of $600

$600 Gift Certificate for Coach handbags and wallets (use same link as above for pictures of Coach bags)

$600 cash

Whither STC?

Bill Swallow’s Waxing TechComm is hosting a continued discussion of the direction of and appropriate strategies for the Society for Technical Communication.

Back at work

If you notice a decline in the number or quality of my blog entries, it’s because I’ve started a new contract and expect to be very busy for the next little while. It’s difficult to be perky and attentive at work, learn a new raft of acronyms, faces, office maze, systems, and methods. I tend to come home and crawl into bed right after supper, neglecting chores such as hydrating the cat or digging up vital paperwork. Blogging has to come third or fourth after important family tasks, especially until I get into the rhythm of a new project.

New contract forthcoming

In between running back and forth to visit my dad, I’ve been sending a few resumes and going to interviews. Happily for me, one of them has come to roost and I will be starting a new, short contract, not quite full time, which suits me perfectly at this moment.

I’m skipping the technical writers’ meeting tonight to stay home and snuggle in for the next winter storm. My dad died on the tenth, and somehow I don’t feel like socializing.

On the road again

The Ministry of the Attorney General changed its mind and decided not to interview me. So I’m no longer reserved for them. I work happily in in any one of several genres, media, industries, or subject areas.

I’m looking for a contract in the Toronto area as a documentation consultant, which for me includes these designations among others:

• Technical Writer
• Documention Specialist
• Technical Editor
• Content Analyst
• Web Content Writer
• Plain Language Editor
• Information Designer
• Information Architect
• Web Site Designer
• Document Designer
• Editor
• Usability Tester

LavaCon is my fall conference

I won the door prize! I went to a meeting of my professional organization tonight, where the speaker, Mr. Jack Molisani, was offering a seat at a conference as the door prize. To my surprise, I won. It’s not til next fall, but the conference is packed with good information about documentation project management, content management, XML, perhaps DITA, new tools and techniques, and a host of other topics. After three days I’ll be reeling and muttering, “My brain is full.”

I have to find transportation myself. It’s normally held in Hawaii (hence the name), which would be much harder to pay for. New Orleans, here I come!