Yesterday I was offered a regular shift at the Audio Journal. A two-hour shift, shared with another reader, one Sunday evening a month, reading the Sunday Worcester Telegram.

A friend wrote to me and asked for more information about the Audio Journal. For starters, their web site is here. In brief, the Audio Journal is a reading service for the blind. Volunteers read local news from a studio in Worcester. The journal broadcasts on a special radio channel requiring a special receiver. The service provides the receivers to any blind person and others who have difficulty reading, such as those with difficulty holding a newspaper. The service is also broadcast on some cable systems and streamed over the Internet. (You can listen here.) The Worcester station provides eight hours of local news a day. Local news includes the Worcester Telegram, daily and weekly regional newspapers, and general interest programming. For the other 16 hours, the Talking Information Center (TIC) provides state-wide and national news sources.

Most programs are one hour, but the daily Telegram program is two hours long. The readers arrive a half hour or so before the program and select stories, including obituaries, editorials, and letters to the editors. One volunteer manages the controls and both will take turns reading, typically in 15 minute segments. Many of the readers are retired school teachers. Some have been reading for 10 or more years.

Reading like this takes practice. I get into trouble when I start reading too quickly. I'll trip over a word or two and then have to backtrack. It's better to read slowly and carefully. Names can be tough, so it's important to review the articles and ask for help on pronunciation; the other reader may be familiar with the names.

So, after a few training sessions, it looks as though I'm going to be a regular. I will then need training on the control board, but that will come in time.

On the job front, I had three interesting phone conversations yesterday, one with a former manager and two with former co-workers. I have an informational interview scheduled for Monday morning. By the middle to end of next week, I may hear more about opportunities as a consultant.

Today we'll go to the camp. I plan to turn on the water and complete the spring opening chores. We'll stay over tonight and return home tomorrow afternoon. Krista will have her first communion on Sunday morning, followed by family festivities. Tess's birthday is on Tuesday.

Today is my mother's birthday. She loved her birthdays. Her birthday is close to Mother's Day, so sometimes the birthday didn't get the full attention that it deserved. On her last birthday, we went out to dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant. The food wasn't to her liking. The vegetarian dish was cooked in too much oil. Sometimes you don't get it right.

The Smart Playlist feature in iTunes is working nicely. I'm continuing to add music to the full library and can select which tunes will be transferred to the iPod.

I'm scheduled to read at the Audio Journal today. I'm quite nervous. I'll be sharing a show with one other person, meaning that I'll be reading for nearly a half hour. The first two times that I read didn't go as well as I'd hoped. I'll practice reading and hope that I'll do better this time.

Today has a few errands in the queue - a trip to DBM, some shopping. In addition, we're getting some estimates on central air conditioning, so I'll need to be around the house for those meetings. We'd started thinking seriously about central air when it looked like I'd be working from home. A few of the job opportunities that have come my way would have me working from home a fair bit.

I'm finding that I'm somewhat out of focus these days. Studied from a distance, it's not surprising. After the early flurry of activity, the pace of my job search has slowed, but not enough that I'm really taking time off. It's an hour here and there before I get anxious and want to return to my email or the phone or editing my resume. Next Wednesday I'm meeting Fred for lunch in Cambridge. I am planning extra time before and after, allowing a real break and a chance to look at some new things.

I've filled up my iPod. Frank Zappa's Hot Rats was the last album that I could load. It now contains 9010 songs on 737 albums resulting in 28.8 days of music. Now comes the bigger challenge: how will I manage the remaining music. I have close about 300 CDs that I need to transfer. Apple provides a feature called smart playlists that will let me tag music that will and will not be copied to the iPod. We have a rule for our attic: nothing goes in unless something comes out. Same rule now applies to the iPod, enforced by software.

We have a cold rain this morning. It wouldn't be surprising to see a few snow flakes mixed in. After several days without, I started a fire in the stove this morning. We're expecting better weather later today.

No word on the Arkansas job yesterday. It could mean something or nothing. I had a first round phone interview for another project management job based in Concord. The president of the company is on vacation this week and into next, so nothing more will happen until late next week.

I'm scheduled to read for half of a show on the Audio Journal on Thursday. I'm nervous. It's more than I've done before. I will schedule some time for practice.

On Sunday I used Mike's deck mower to mow our back yard. It did make quick work (about an hour) of the lawn, but also took its toll on my biceps and other muscles.

Rain showers, slowing us down at the end of a fine, but busy weekend. On Saturday we babysat Lily. We took her, Tess, and Krista to the Davis' FarmLand and had a great time. We spent five hours there, playing, riding, watching, doing. Later we went to Northampton and helped the movers unpack the truck at Diane's new place. There are pictures on our web site of both activities.

So, tomorrow I expect to have a call on the Arkansas job and a phone interview for another project management position. Along with errands it's going to be a busy day.