nunchuku skills, bow hunting skills, computer hacking skills

Its absolutely true, you gotta have skills.

In a slight change of pace for me I have been going back to listening to a lot of MPR at work and in the evening while making dinner. One of the big hits that has been going on (specifically with Cathy Wurzer & Kerri Miller) has been income inequality and the job market. It has had me thinking about what I can do to further future proof myself and the clear answer is that I need additional Skills.

The great thing about this point in history is that if you want to learn skills there are more avenues than there has ever been before. Last year I went down the route of getting a CAPM certificate through a (somewhat terrible) online class and test. This year I am exploring a MOOC that will, in theory, teach me VBA. The primary difference is that there isn’t a particular goal (beyond the obvious of learning VBA) in doing this mooc other than having a chance to learn something new and use it as means to pad my resume somewhat. Perhaps after that mooc I will continue and try additional moocs, or I might explore yet other methods of learning new skills.

It really is somewhat amazing to think that we really do have that many opportunities to learn skills.

Speaking of skills, I learned some new plumbing skills recently. Its the joys of owning a home rather than renting. A leaky sink followed by an unrelated leaking garbage disposal are both things that I have never really considered in the past however neither proved insurmountable. It felt pretty good actually, to do something and afterwards be able to look at it and go ‘whelp, I did that and I didn’t fuck it up beyond repair. Good job!’ Hopefully in the future I can continue to do a lot of the stuff myself although I absolutely know that there are things that are beyond my ability. But hey, learnt new skills!

I also used some of my existing skills this week to get my motorcycle up and running for the summer. Its not quite time to go riding however I absolutely could tomorrow or even today if I wanted to. Its a pleasant thought and hopefully this year I will be able ride more than I did last year. Between the miserable weather that was around for most of last summer and everything that I had going on definitely kept me off of two wheels more than I would prefer. Hopefully this year I can manage to ride to work as well, which I haven’t done in over a year or maybe longer.

I also have spent some significant time this past weekend using some of my existing skills to get my budget nice, neat and automated. As I had my review last month right before a long weekend away in Florida I had to spend some time figuring out what to do with the financial results that come from that. I won’t know for sure until tomorrow as that will be the first check with additional cash on it but if I am correct I am pretty much spot on which is rather nice. A little bit of additional money put away towards retirement as well as my day to day life. The amazing part of it to me is just how many people I know who don’t have any sort of budget at all. They have a vague idea of money in and out…. even before I started using a true budget I still had a close eye on what my money situation was. Although I suppose if I was Warren Buffett rich I wouldn’t care much…. Different strokes for different folks I suppose. I am not one to throw any stones if it works for other people.

As I mentioned, last month I spent a bit of time in South Florida. While there I read the first two books of Dan Simmons Hyperion Cantos. I haven’t finished the second two books (Which are almost a separate series) but so far I consider it Highly Recommended. It was a great way to spend some time away and spend some time warm. Hopefully my next trip is just as warm…. Although it is getting warm here as well which is pretty great. Its prior to my birthday and already in the 60s during the day sometimes. I don’t think we are going to beat 2012 where it was in the 80s on Saint Patrick’s day but I still think its going to be a pretty good spring.

So heres a toast to Spring.

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