Wednesday update

Sorry if the posts have been a bit sparse so far this week. I am forcing myself to focus on job hunting above all else, as well as small tasks like paying bills and renewing car registration that I have let slide. Doing my LinkedIn profile this morning got my energy flowing and made me realize how marketable I am. I seem to like writing about myself – I composed a description of my skills in Evernote then pasted it into LinkedIn’s editor, exceeding the maximum number of characters by 2108! I shortened it down and saved it. Also, at the suggestion of my career coach, I went up to my rooftop and shot a photo of Downtown Memphis to use as my cover photo.

Tomorrow I am going to do a longer post talking about the skills that make me stand out, projects I have worked on over the years that have put those skills to good use, and the type of position I am looking for. A blog is not a traditional resource to use to job hunt, but I have it and it’s popular, so I might as well leverage it!

I don’t watch a lot of TV but I have a new TV addiction. My friends and I tend to meet at Blind Bear happy hour to catch up and unwind. Well, happy hour at the Bear begins at 3 – if I have all my job hunting duties wrapped up by then, why not! The Monday-Tuesday bartender puts on Criminal Minds which has episodes on Ion TV at 3 and again at 4. That show is so good! It’s fascinating to watch the FBI agents profile the unsub, the unidentified subject of interest in a pattern of crimes. Understanding how psychopaths think is a useful skill to acquire, even if you don’t know any axe murderers.

Very happy to see one of my neighbors join the Moody Ques this week. “I’ve been wanting to be on a BBQ team for years but have never done it,” she messaged me. That’s exactly the kind of person we are looking to add to the team! If that describes you, hit me up at paul@paulryburn.com or on Facebook. Or if you know another team member better than me, hit them up. We have a vetting process in the case where none of us knows the person applying to join, but unless you’re one of the psychopaths described in the paragraph above, there’s a good chance we’ll take you up to the point where we hit our capacity.

The Gray Canary, the new Hudman-Ticer restaurant inside Old Dominick Distillery, opens to the public today at 5. The Memphis Flyer has a sneak peek.

KFC understands how to appeal to wrestling fans.

DK Hamilton Law Firm is sponsoring a discounted Uber rides promotion Sunday. From 9 to 11 PM following the game, you can get $5 off an Uber ride if you fill out this form. They will discount up to 50 rides during those hours. You know the cops will be out, so why not play it safe?

Trade interest is heating up for Tyreke Evans. The 76ers and Celtics are said to have been showing interest in the past couple of days. Looks like the Grizzlies front office might be able to fetch that first-round draft pick in return for him after all.

If you missed the first Game Day Job Fair at AutoZone Park, the Redbirds are having another one February 12 3 to 7 PM in the Home Plate Club. They’re hiring box office ticket sellers, ushers, bat boys and girls, and members of the Redbirds promotional team. They are only able to hire ages 18 and up. Offers may be made on the spot. More info here.

This is awesome: Work Local, a program that gives the homeless the opportunity to earn 5 hours’ pay and a hot meal while removing trash and blight from our city, is expanding. The program, operated by the city in conjunction with Hospitality HUB, will expand from two days to five, and the amount they pay per hour will go up a dollar. This is a win for everybody involved.

The MBJ reports that the owners of the Benchmark Hotel at Third and Union are being taken to environmental court (no link because it’s behind a paywall). Good. That shell of a building has sat there for 7 years, right across the street from the Peabody and AutoZone Park. It makes Memphis look terrible to visitors. The owners need to develop it or sell it.

Tip for those who are heavy Twitter users on iPhones: Go to the settings and turn off auto-play of videos on both Wi-Fi and cellular use. It’s a huge battery saver. If you really want to see a video of a cat knocking stuff off a shelf all you have to do is hit Play.

Trey Gowdy, chairman of the powerful House Oversight Committee, has announced he’s not running for re-election this year. Sources I follow on Twitter indicate there’s more to that than meets the eye.

That’s it for this post. Back tomorrow.