Part-Time Job Search ~Brian McGackin

Wake up, log on, you're life's a mess:
you're on Craigslist hitting refresh.
It is boring you to death,
this part-time job search.

Though all your savings have been spent,
you know your 'rents won't help with rent.
Feeling it'll never end,
your part-time job search.

You're an adult now so don't you think it's cruel?
Forced to take jobs you had back in high school.
JCPenny by day, Chili's by night;
working overtime just to get by.

If I'm with friends and I see you
at Best Buy for an interview
I'll pretend you're shopping, too,
it's not a part-time job search.

You'd do undercover security at the mall,
or work a country club polishing golf balls.
You would take some data entry if you could,
but they won't hire you; your resume's too good.

I've got something I must tell,
you're not alone in low-wage hell.
I've been doing it as well,
a part-time job search.

I get excited when I see
job openings at Dairy Queen;
at least I'll get some free ice cream
from this part-time job search.
Sad to be on a part-time job search
You and me: part-time job search.

Desert Excursions

A photo-montage from what will likely become my regular walking rounds. 

San Bernardino Mountain Range to the Northwest.

Our neighbors. Doesn't look like we'll be borrowing a cup of sugar any time soon!

Some of the more interesting rock formations I stumbled upon.

Just a little further into the canyon was this interesting wind-blown desert shrine.

Girlfriend needs some zinc oxide lip balm. Stat!

A little pink teddy.

A pair of shoes, for emergency use only.

Even in the vast desert of Southern California, the steadfast Canadian Mounty can be counted on to save a damsel in distress!

An intrepid desert wanderer...

The desert is not for sissies and I am no sissy. But that does not mean the desert is for me. 

The mystical beauty of this ancient desert floor is not lost on one who seeks to find beauty in all likely and unlikely places. 

The desert winds blow in a new discovery with every dawn and every night shifting sands hide as many secrets as stars dot the twilight sky.   

Every day one must reclaim territory, reaffirm presence, otherwise the desert will take over. Whether it's sweeping the sand drifts out of the corners or chasing a critter deeper into his burrow, one must make a stand or become a whimper lost to the howls of whining, sand-whipped winds.

Marilyn Monroe Statue in Palm Springs, California

Just about a week before we arrived in Palm Springs, Marilyn Monroe made her official debut in Palm Springs. Well, at least, this sculpted replica by artist Seaward Johnson of the famous subway draft scene  from the classic movie The Seven Year Itch. I love Marilyn but, personally, I think it is the ultimate in tacky kitsch but the locals seem quite taken with her. So I had to do what the locals do and snap some pictures of her, all 26 feet of her!

She is kinda cute, I just hope she's wearing a high SPF!

Life in Palm Springs has proven harder than imagined. And believe me, I never imagined it would be easy. This is the start of a log of (mis)adventures and honest feelings about not just the hardest thing I've ever done but quite possibly the biggest mistake I've ever made in my life.

I will attempt to make a written record of the unmistakable beauty of the place as well as my frustrations in dealing with different personalities of those directly involved in bringing us to the desert.

This saga is just beginning and far from over... (The fat lady hasn't even begun to warm up....)