The last few days have been something short of interesting. I've spent a good deal of time on JournalismJobs.com, getting together yet another wave of applications. The job market in print journalism is only growing more competitive as Lee Enterprises and Gannett continue their crusade against competent newsroom and business staff. I'd be lying if I said I weren't a little nervous about gainful employment, but I've stumbled on some promising positions. I just hope some editor likes the looks of my resume.

Silver lining time. I received a writer's agreement in the mail on Friday for a manuscript I mailed off in early November. Seems a certain Minnesota-based magazine wants to publish one of my travel stories in their upcoming summer issue. They're also purchasing two of my accompanying photos, an added bonus in my pursuit of a magazine writing career. I've always hoped to break into the magazine world, working my way there through weekly newspapers and freelance work. Maybe my efforts haven't been in vain.

Sean and I are gearing up for our second appearance as Valkenberg tomorrow night at Sean Kelly's. More original material, more covers. Hopefully we won't be playing such a late set this time. The bar cleared out before we took the stage last week. Pretty disheartening.

Finally managed a break from Missoula yesterday. Sean and I took our good friend John Cribb ice fishing on Seeley Lake for his 23rd birthday. Sean and John competed in the Pike on Ice tournament and I tagged along as chauffeur. I hadn't been ice fishing since my days with Boy Scout Troop Six in Bismarck, when we'd drive up to Bottineau on the Canadian border for long weekends. Those were cold afternoons, even with a warmed hut, and we always had a snowmobile for when the fishing was slow. Saturday proved to be a much different experience. A case of PBR, lawn chairs, a borrowed auger. Only John caught a fish, a gorgeous perch tempted by the smelt on his Disney Princess rod. The weather was sunny, temps around the high forties (it was -30 in North Dakota the same day). As anyone could predict, the day got a bit wild.