Asphalt Eden

incurably optimistic!

incurably optimistic!

[info]asphalteden
5/14/08 07:19 pm
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gold in the soul
I've got dives scheduled every Saturday for the rest of the month and I'm pretty excited to give all my new skills and equipment a good kicking. I've got to remember to bring the camera to the quarry this weekend so I can get a photo of myself taken with the full wetsuit, loaded down with crap. It's a bunch of strangers I'm with this time, not the alumni of my class, but they all seem like relaxed and amiable guys. Me, I'm pretty calm and agreeable in these situations and it's nice to go into it knowing what to expect. The third dive of the day is at night, in completely dark water, so I'm a little uptight about that. I have a decent flashlight, so I guess I'll just choke the fear down and try to get into it.

I bought a couple of White Rainbow records, but I have to admit I can't quite get on this guy's trip. I love psychedelic music of all kinds, and I had these pegged as real winners, but it feels a little thin to me, like an ersatz Manny Göttsching with touches of Jon Hassell and Windy & Carl. The albums I got are okay, but I much prefer playing Ashra and Terry Riley and Heldon. The guy's got an MP3 blog with some friends (I cannot get behind MP3 pirate blogs where whole albums are shared, in case you were wondering—I think it's a harmful practice to artists everywhere) where they diss Steve Roach a little while pumping Steven Halpern. It takes all kinds, I guess. There's a kind of ironic vibe toward the original new age community of the seventies and eighties I detect on the blog—who the hell can tell what's sincere any more, because I sure can't. Everybody wears big, ugly glasses and ridiculous thrift clothes now.
Square and puffy, like an overweight brick, wearing his usual mohair poncho, apricot-colored felt hat, argyle ski socks and carpet slippers, he advanced toward Joe Chip, self-satisfaction smirking from every molecule in his body ...
I take back every bad thing I ever said about Philip K. Dick. I've read two of his books in the last week and I'm a believer now. I guess you can see the bricks and mortar of what keeps his books standing, but it doesn't make the edifices any less strong. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? was a stunner and I'm quite enjoying Ubik as well. If only today's crop of practitioners could be half as inventive and audacious as Dick was. I've got the Library of America omnibus and I give it my highest recommendation.

In other news, I need a career reboot badly. Anybody have suggestions for possible [info]asphalteden-style jobs that don't require additional schooling?
  • Current Mood: energetic
  • Current Music: Tim Hecker—Mirages
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  • [info]chocolatebark
    5/14/08 11:21 pm (UTC)
    Ubik is quite possibly my fave. Phil Dick novel. Very fun stuff.

    • [info]asphalteden
      5/15/08 12:15 am (UTC)
      I'm still not sold on his alternate paranoid reality schtick, but the books are entertaining regardless. I think I've enjoyed Androids best, so far.

      • [info]chocolatebark
        5/15/08 12:19 am (UTC)
        His short-stories are quite fun as well. And Androids is a classic for a reason, really. Shame he spent so much of his life paranoid and in poverty, though.

      • mykbev
        5/15/08 11:14 pm (UTC)
        Androids was brilliant. As was Blade Runner :)

  • [info]howard_cosell
    5/15/08 12:03 am (UTC)
    Copywriter, maybe? something like this?

    • [info]asphalteden
      5/15/08 12:14 am (UTC)
      Like I'd get hired at Google. :P

      I'm looking for something totally different and outrageous, but I'm at that point where I don't even know what kind of bargaining chip my skills would even represent. I want to look into working for a non-profit org, perhaps. I can't say the skies the limit, but I'm looking for a change and a challenge, if possible. Getting out of New York City would be wonderful, too, but I daren't dream.

      • [info]howard_cosell
        5/15/08 12:57 am (UTC)
        It might help to start with what you're interested in and then see how your skills can be applied. Is there a specific kind of non-profit org you'd dig? Of course, there may be jobs out there you don't even know about that would suit you -- I wish I could say how to track them down. I had to take a class sophomore year specifically for the "Undeclareds" just so I could figure out what to major in, and I wish I had the materials from that class because somehow (and I have no recollection how) it pointed me towards graphic design, which I knew nothing about.

        haha, in poking around Craigslist for something "totally different and outrageous" for myself, I found this -- http://newyork.craigslist.org/jsy/med/652219431.html -- which I think I would enjoy, except for not being able to pay the mortgage with the $25 stipend.

        You could look into volunteer opportunities as a way to check out various organizations.

  • [info]gurdonark
    5/15/08 02:40 am (UTC)
    Technical writing.

    It's my wife's way from the vicissitudes of publishing into industry.
    Downside: can be a bit about contract by contract.
    Upside: can be a bit about contract by contract.

    • [info]asphalteden
      5/15/08 01:58 pm (UTC)
      That's on the table, but I find a lot of jobs that require technical expertise I just don't have. But I'm certainly keeping it in mind.

  • [info]rajankhanna
    5/15/08 03:45 am (UTC)
    I have no ideas about possible careers, but I may have to pick your brain after you get some suggestions.I need a new career as well. I keep sabotaging my current one because I hate it so much...

  • [info]nyquil_baby
    5/15/08 04:28 am (UTC)
    You should check out VALIS if you haven't already---I think that's by far my favorite Dick, and I've read the ones you've mentioned and several more. I also enjoyed A Scanner Darkly very much.

    I could totally see you as a librarian, and you've mentioned it a few times, but it would require extra schooling to become a full-fledged librarian (sadly, and somewhat unnecessarily, I think). In lieu of that, I could definitely see you owning a really awesome independent bookstore, perhaps one with a sci-fi theme (this is somewhat of a dream of mine, maybe someday if I can save up the money to start one).

    • [info]asphalteden
      5/15/08 02:01 pm (UTC)
      I definitely looked into doing the library science thing, but I just can't justify grad school to myself. I've heard you can sometimes get jobs in libraries without the degree, so I'm going to keep my eye on the classifieds. Sometimes I feel a little typecast as a science fiction editor, like perspective employers feel we're all a bunch of freaks or something, but I hope to break the cycle one of these days.

      • beekeeper

        [info]lostcosmonaut
        5/15/08 07:11 pm (UTC)
        i have a friend who works in th rare books collection w/ no library science degree, but I guess there's a promotion ceiling if you're degree-less:

        http://www.sihr.si.edu/tour/8.html

        --mza.

        • Re: beekeeper

          [info]nyquil_baby
          5/15/08 11:34 pm (UTC)
          Yes, it's worth looking into library jobs that you can obtain with a bachelor's degree---there are a lot of great, well-paying ones out there, even some jobs with the a librarian title. Unfortunately, most people do pay less if you don't have the library science degree, even when you're doing the same exact work (cataloging, ordering books, planning programs, doing reference, etc.). The degree is usually just a lot of busy-work and mostly exists for job protectionism, much like most bachelor's degrees. While I personally enjoyed going back to school for it, I feel like it's kind of sad how it discourages some people from entering the profession.

  • [info]jamezm
    5/15/08 07:55 am (UTC)
    Dive instructor.

    • [info]asphalteden
      5/15/08 01:54 pm (UTC)
      Diving with NAUI certification is a little like the Boy Scouts: they always want you earning new merit badges. I'm not sure I'll go for divemaster anytime soon (I'm probably only going to be able to dive in exotic locales twice a year, at best), but we'll see. I got the fevah.

  • Voice of America

    (Anonymous)
    5/16/08 12:21 pm (UTC)
    You have a wonderful , relaxing voice, my friend. You'd make a great disc jockey for a radio station, and you are so knowledgeable about ambient music...maybe you could wind up at XM Satellite Radio or Sirius. Does that feel like a good fit? You even have some podcasts in your portfolio, so you're ahead of the game.

    Speaking of nonprofits: WBGO or WNYC?

  • [info]ehowton
    5/16/08 09:49 pm (UTC)
    Arthur Fielder LP! Awesome!
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