Updates 7-21-2026

Not too sure how long this will be as unlike my normal of start writing on Saturday and add bits in here and there until Monday evening, I am writing this at 18:35 on Monday 😕

The job search is moving along still.  I won't bore you with how many resumes I have sent out but suffice it averages 5 a day.  I have been amazed how many scams hide in regular job postings and equally surprised that the bulk of them are on Linked in.  I have had immediate responses asking me for my social security number and banking info--no I did not fall off the turnip wagon yesterday so I can see a scam.  I have had two places that listed as admin positions turn out to be "travel agency" places that want you to listen to a job pitch that is exactly like a time share sales pitch.  I had some wack a doodle call me at 18:30 on a Tuesday saying she got my info from Linked in and wanted me to sell insurance...she was not happy that I had seen their ad on a job board and looked them up as it sounded shall we say fishy?  Found several forums that the over all sentiment of the posters was "RUN! DO NOT ENGAGE JUST RUN!"  I have not heard back from her.   Had one in my spam bin this morning that like several others used a legit company name, even had an address that when put into Google Maps showed the address to be a ranch house on a lake in Missouri and not in fact a pharmaceutical company out of California--scammers are dumb to me as it takes me just a few minutes to verify, and the Gmail return addresses don't help them any 🙄

 

I am taking some marketing classes online that will in a few days give me a certification to add to my credentials.  From there will probably be an SQL class as a lot of admin work asks about SQL experience so a cert in that can't hurt anything.  I've had a few suggestions about home inspections and real-estate sales, but the problem with both of those is they are time and money intensive--not to mention I backed out of the idea of home inspections entirely when I fell through a floor last year and broke  two ribs.  So I am hoping to line me up a nice office job or a work from home admin or project manager job.

I have the issue that my experience level causes job boards to recommend Director, Senior, or VP, roles that just don't get past a person and I think it is because of my job having mostly been blue collar.  For 33 years I have done project management as that is all maintenance really is, but getting an executive recruiter or an HR manager to see that is not easy.

 

I've been working a bit on my photography of late, trying out some things and working toward a new portfolio.

I have signed up to make some User Generated Content (UGC), which sounds fairly simple and straight forward...it is not, but I currently have the time to invest and there is a potential for it to actually make close to if not what I was making before so no harm in trying it.  So far the only outlay is time experimenting and building a portfolio site--still building actually.

 

Basically I am spending my days hustling and trying to get out of the physically demanding blue collar world, away from being assaulted, threatened, falling through floors, having to climb 40 foot ladders to get onto roofs, etc.  If anyone has ideas on how I can parley my experience into something safer feel free to let me know, and my experience is up on my main website so you can always be a bit nosy and see if you think of something I have not.

Maura Out

 

“When all the trees have been cut down, When all the animals have been hunted, When all the waters are polluted, When all the air is unsafe to breathe, Only then will you discover you cannot eat money”
― Cree Prophecy