Animals Matter.

 I was thoroughly disgusted this weekend when I read an excerpt from South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem's upcoming book where she talked about putting down a 14-month-old puppy. Noem was apparently upset at it because it wouldn't be a good hunting dog, so she put it down. The dog could have been surrendered to a shelter or given to another family as a pet, but instead, she chose cruelty.

This is a sore subject for me because I've always believed in being kind to animals (and to all living beings, for that matter). I grew up with a black lab, a goldfish, a pair of rabbits, and dozens of cats living in the country in Central Minnesota. Having animals around regularly taught me a lot about caring and compassion for others. 

It made me think back to when we rescued a cat that had wandered into our garage. The poor thing had its legs and tail duct taped to its torso by a cruel farm kid. We coaxed the scared feline cat out from under one of the cars and my dad carefully cut the tape from its body. The black cat (which we later named Schwarz, which means "black" in German) ran away for a bit but soon came back and was a faithful family pet for many years.

I've always been more of a cat person than a dog person (mainly because of the sheer number of cats that we had in my youth and because cats are typically more self-reliant), but I usually make time for other people's pets whenever I visit them. Most animals are pretty tame. I remember a few times when stray cats and cats that belonged to other neighbors would come to visit out of the blue and find their way to me asking for attention. I didn't mind that at all.

I understand having to put an animal down if it's sick or injured. We had to put one of our cats down after it had been hit by a car. One of its ribs had punctured its skin and we knew that it didn't have long to live. The feline was breathing poorly and could barely move on its own. It wasn't an easy decision, but a necessary one to put it out of its misery, unfortunately. She left behind a new litter of kittens, which with the local veterinarian's advice we learned how to take care of. They grew up to be very happy, healthy cats. However, this situation is quite different than that.

I just can't see cruelty as something that would make me like the particular person who was cruel. I know that Noem's trying to appeal to the MAGA base, but it's not surprisingly turned a lot of conservatives against her. She tried to justify the horrific act by explaining that she also put down a goat that same day and that she's also had to put horses down from time to time, but it seems like she just keeps making things worse for herself with every explanation that she tries to make. 

It's very interesting that both Republicans and Democrats are actually agreeing on this issue. Animal cruelty never has been and never will be acceptable. Now if we could just get them to agree on other important aspects...

Well, that's all for now. Until next time, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.

Job Hunting Blues

 Hi everyone,

it's been a while since I've made a blog post. Been busy trying to find a good, stable full-time job with decent compensation. I have a few freelance gigs lined up, but job-seeking is different from what it used to be. In fact, it's gotten considerably harder for most of us. I'm fortunate to have only gone about 5 months since my last full-time job, but I know others who've been without a full-time job for twice that long, if not longer.

The process itself is much more complicated than it used to be. Long gone are the days when you could simply stop in a business with your resume. Almost everything is now online. You have to fill out an online application, and often take an assessment or other additional steps as well. Also, you now have to compete with other applicants worldwide in many instances.

It's pretty common nowadays for companies to require applicants to create new accounts just to apply for jobs on their website. The problem is that after enough time, you have too many user names and passwords for those sites to keep up with. That's why I try to keep such experiences like that to a minimum.

There are also a lot of scams out there. I've seen more than my fair share of them. If I receive a message saying that I'm automatically approved, am asked to download an app to communicate with the company or if I can't find the actual company website, it's usually a scam. 

Some employers ask candidates to complete a task. Common examples that I've seen are writing samples, case studies, and so forth. My general rule of thumb is that if a task takes more than a half hour to complete, the applicant should be fairly compensated for their time and effort. If a company isn't willing to accept that or other previous samples in the candidate's portfolio, then they're an organization that you're probably better off not working for. NEVER, ever work for free. 

The puzzling thing to me is the amount of ghosting. It seems to have accelerated after COVID-19 began. I've had some very good interviews recently and made attempts to follow up with the employers, only to never hear from them again. I was stunned a few weeks ago when I stumbled across one such interviewer's social media page and discovered that they filled the job that I'd applied for a week after my interview. They went radio silent after what I knew was a very positive job interview for both me and them. I know it isn't anything personal, but that doesn't always make the rejection any less difficult to swallow.

I'm still doing well enough to keep myself afloat, and I'm confident that I'll find something good before too long. I just wish that the process was easier. If it were up to me, I'd ensure that things were transparent and simple. There's no reason to keep people in limbo. After all, people's livelihoods often hang in the balance. Do the right thing, companies. 

Well, that's all I have for now. This is the last quiet weekend I have until June. Got lots more writing, job hunting, and a few fun things planned for May. Until next time, have a great weekend, and don't forget to be kind to one another.

I've Never...

 I've Never...

An impromptu essay by Aaron D. Backes

I've never been on a cruise, but I've never really had any interest in going on one. If I'm going to be on a boat, I'd rather take a ride on a lake to relax or go fishing.

I've never been to Disneyland or Disneyworld, but one day I'd like to.

I've never been to an NFL game. Maybe someday I will.

I've never been to an MLB game outside of Minnesota. Maybe that will change, maybe it won't.

I've never had lobster. Don't know if I'd enjoy it or not.

I've never received a birthday gift from a friend. I've given plenty, but to the best of my recollection, I've never received a real, thoughtful or meaningful birthday present from a friend, at least not as an adult, anyway. I've received gifts from friends before, just not on or for my birthday.

I've never had a birthday party as an adult. I think the last party thrown for me was for my high school graduation, which was just family. Hell, nowadays, I have a hard enough time just getting a few local friends to join me for a meal on my birthday, but I realize that's something that for some strange reason is fairly common. Many people don't really honor commitments or friendships like they used to, I guess.

I've never truly been in love. I've dated a few women at different times, but there's never really been someone special that I've wanted to spend the rest of my life with yet. I'm not looking now. If it happens, fine. If it doesn't, I won't lose any sleep over it.

Well, that's all I can think of for now. It's early in the morning and I'm still not quite fully awake just yet. If I think of more to add to this, I will. If I can't, well then, until the next article I write, have a great weekend, everyone!