The National!

OK, so I guess there's one more blog entry before my big HireMICHAELforHamiltonIsland.com "Thank-you" entry.

When I was in Penticton yesterday, I got an e-mail from CBC. They wanted to film me while I checked to see if I made the Top 50 for the Island Caretaker position. Unfortunately, I was going to be on the road when the fifty finalists were announced. It's just as well, because I did not make it as a finalist. While I question about a fifth of their selection ("That was better than mine? Really?"), I can't help but think that I should have used my extra 16 seconds to talk about the Great Barrier Reef and maybe score higher in their selection criteria. Oh, well!

As a consolation prize, I was on CBC's The National last night as "This guy from Whitehorse actually took a dip in sub-zero water". While that may be scientifically incorrect, it's also pretty neat to have been on The National (and CBC Newsworld, again).

Mr. Adventure! Second Sucksational Issue!!!

And now for the second installment in the greatest comic book series to hit the blogosphere since yesterday - Mr. Adventure!








So, I didn't get an invitation to participate in the psychographic testing that was sent out to a pool of applicants who were selected as potential "Top 50" candidates. That means one of two things:

1. I didn't make the cut, likely because my application video didn't demonstrate a knowledge of the Great Barrier Reef and didn't demonstrate my ability to speak English.
2. I did make the cut, and they were so confident in my abilities that they're not bothering with the psychographic testing...

Yeah... but what the comic says is true - this really was a whole lot of fun. Sure, it would have been my dream job and, yes, I really do think that Fawn deserves a break, but I'll just have to work on those things another way.

The last installment in the HireMICHAELforHamiltonIsland.com series will be a "thank-you" to a few of the people who really helped with this campaign (at least, those that I'm aware of), either through their encouragement or through their hard work.

Otherwise, it's back to our regularly scheduled adventures on Michael's Meanderings...!

Mr. Adventure! First Fantabulous Issue!!!

I was reading Kennie's blog, Tales from the Arctic, when something caught my eye. Comics on a blog! I just had to try it...

The Rate and Winner!

69 comment entries were received for the HireMICHAELforHamiltonIsland.com Rate and Win promotion. Each entry was assigned a number based on the order in which it was received. Then, a random number generator was used to determine who would get the 1G iPod Shuffle.

Now it's time to announce the lucky winner!

[drumroll] And the winner is... [/drumroll]

Number 23!

[drumroll while checking list] And Number 23 belongs to... [/drumroll while checking list]

McMommy from The McMommy Chronicles!

McMommy earned the 23^rd entry by blogging about my "Best Job in the World" application video.

Now here's the cool part. Instead of keeping the iPod Shuffle for herself, McMommy has graciously offered to continue her support for the HireMICHAELforHamiltonIsland.com campaign by giving the iPod Shuffle to one of her readers!

Right now, we're waiting to see if I'm one of the fifty finalists for the Island Caretaker position (eight days to go!) before she decides how she wants to give it away. Regardless, keep your eyes on The McMommy Chronicles for more give-away fun and your chance to with a 1G iPod Shuffle!

Dear Tourism Queensland,

If you're reading this, it must mean that you're considering me as one of your fifty finalists. 

Neat!

I hope you enjoy yourselves as you explore Michael's Meanderings.  In this blog (in addition to my regular adventures) you'll find an account of the growing publicity that my application video has generated for The Best Job in the World and the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef.

To help make your decision a little easier, I've compiled a few links that are relevant to the Island Caretaker position:

• My Statement of Qualifications (including recommendations from friends, acquaintances, and blog readers that I've never actually met)
• A summary of my media-friendliness: Local, National and International Media Coverage, to date (not including the many blogs that have posted about my application).
• The story behind my first application video.
• An example of what I can do to help promote the Great Barrier Reef's tourism operations.

I look forward to showing you what my supporters and I will do when I make it to the Top 50!

Thanks for your consideration,

Meandering Michael

I have been casted in a pod.

If you don't listen to CBC's "The North This Week", you're missing out on some amazing stories from an unusual and amazing place: Canada's three northern territories.

Last weekend's podcast had a story about some crazy guy who goes snorkeling in a frozen Yukon lake. I can't imagine what that's all about.

You can download the podcast here.

If you like what you hear, you can subscribe to "The North This Week" podcast here.

(Oh, and just in case you didn't already see it on the CBC News site, check out the Video and Audio Highlights on the CBC North website for the video version of the story.)

One more for good measure...

While my application video for Tourism Queenslands "Best Job in the World" was eye catching and entertaining and demonstrated my adventurousness and love of the outdoors, it didn't demonstrate that I could actually speak.  It demonstrated that I could squeal, yes, but not that I could speak.

Just to be on the safe side, I decided to submit a video proving that I can help Tourism Queensland show the world what the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef have to offer.  You can view the newest application video here. (Five stars!)

That video is, of course, a teaser for the full video my family's visit to UNCOMMON JOURNEYS where we went dog sledding.  In case you missed the howling good time we had, here it is again:

Doesn't that just make you want to go dogsledding?  Now imagine what I could do for the Islands of the Great Barrier reef!

Rate and Win - Entry Extension!

The deadline for the Michael's Meanderings Rate and Win promotion has been extended until February 20th!!!

Go to the Rate and Win page here, follow the instructions, and get a chance to acquire a new 1G iPod Shuffle of your very own¹!

And now, just to emphasize the excitement of it all, here are some more exclamation marks!!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!! !!!

¹Subject to contest rules as outlined on the Rate and Win page!!! Yay!!!!

Papers! Papers please!

I imagine you're getting tired of the constant announcements on Michael's Meanderings about the great publicity that the hireMICHAELforHamiltonIsland.com campaign has been getting for Tourism Queensland.  I mean, it has been featured on the Internet, local and national radio, local and national television and now, at long last, a newspaper.

Today's Whitehorse Star had a half-page article on my application and "The Best Job on Earth".  You can read a printable version of the article online.

There are only ten days left for people to submit an application for the Island Caretaker job.  Well over 10,000 videos have been submitted, but not all of them are "tasteful enough" to be put on the site.  I wonder who has the pleasant job of screening them.  I also wonder when someone will make a bundle of money producing a "Wild and Naughty Australian Job Applicants" compilation video...

Snorkeling in support of hireMICHAELforHamiltonIsland.com

Clare, over at The House & Other Arctic Musings, has been a great supporter of the hireMICHAELforHamiltonIsland.com campaign. He even tried to go for a snorkel in Arctic Bay, Nunavut. He wasn't successful, but at least he was able to record the phone call he made to me during his attempt.

Poor guy. He looks so lost out there with his mask and fins. I bet everyone in Arctic Bay thought he had gone off his rocker.



As a former RCMP officer, Clare has experienced some strange and interesting things. If you ever want a great read, check out his "True Crime" stories at The House (scroll down to the bottom of the page and work your way up).

How awesome is this?!

My application for Tourism Queensland's "The Best Job in the World" has been featured on CBC Newsworld not once, but twice! You can view it on the cbcnews.ca website here.

Today's Newsworld segment is a slightly shortened version of the segment that appeared on CBC Northbeat last night, which I've also included here (though the quality on the cbcnews.ca site is much better, so watch that one.):



I still haven't seen the CBC Newsworld interview from Sunday. If anybody has a copy, please let me know!

The proof is in the pudding...

I was pretty happy with how the CBC Newsworld interview went, although I still haven't seen it. It's pretty fun to do an interview when the host is still laughing from watching the video.

I know the segment went to air because shortly afterwards I got a call from a woman asking me about Jade's special diet. She'd heard me mention it in the interview. Her niece's son has seizures and medications aren't working. After seeing the segment, she looked up my number and phoned, wanting to know more about how we're controlling Jade's seizures. Even if nothing else comes out of my campaign to get hired for Tourism Queensland's "Best Job in the World", if that little bit of information helps the kid, then it was all worthwhile.

So, why didn't I watch the segment when it was on?

I wanted to film another video to demonstrate to Tourism Queensland that I can show the world what the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef have to offer. The proof is in the pudding, as they say.

To make the video, Fawn, Jade, Halia, and I went to UNCOMMON JOURNEYS to meet the dogs and ride in a dogsled! FUN!

Here's the video. I love how one of the dogs plays camera hog. I also really like the sled ride segment at the end. I know Jade does too; she kept asking me to play it over and over and over again this morning. And again and again this evening.

Snorkeling in the Yukon

I just received a report from a fellow blogger that people are landing at her site after googling "snorkeling in the Yukon". I can't imagine why...

Have I unintentionally founded a new Yukon tourism sector?

Spotted in the UK...

The publicity being generated by the HireMICHAELforHamiltonIsland.com video has been astounding!

What's equally astounding is how many of you, my readers and supporters, have come forward with your own ideas to help with the campaign to get me hired for Tourism Queensland's "Best Job in the World".

Check out this picture, which was recently sent from a supporter in the UK...

Spotted in the UK...

OK, so the picture is a fake, but the support is real. Every day, I hear from people who are trying to rate the video, but are having troubles with the stars. Every day, I hear from people who are blogging about the campaign or who are passing the link to the video on to their friends and family. Every day, I hear from people with encouraging words like, "I hope you get this job" and "They're crazy if they don't hire you" and "Go for it!" Every day, I hear from people who have seen my campaign on the news or who have heard about it on the radio. Just the other day, I heard from a colleague whose friends in England told him about the HireMICHAELforHamiltonIsland.com campaign.

Lately, though, I've been hearing new things: I've heard comments from some people that they're planning on making their own youtube videos to support the HireMICHAELforHamiltonIsland.com campaign and I've even heard whisperings about public support rallies if I make it to the Top 50.

I've set out to do something daunting. To be the one person selected from 10,000 other eager applicants is no small feat. Your support and your encouragement and your enthusiasm is what's going to make this happen.

You guys are the best.

Mo' Media!

I received several reports this morning that the HireMICHAELforHamiltonIsland.com video was on Canada AM!  I didn't see it, but I'll try to track it down.

If you missed last night's "As it Happens" interview, don't fret. You can listen to Part 1 of the show here.  My interview with Carol Off starts eighteen-and-a-half minutes in.

But, wait!  There's more!

The camera crew for CBC Northbeat came to my house this morning for an interview. Those camera lights sure are bright!  The segment will air on Monday CBC Northbeat. If you don't have access to the CBC North channel on your television, you can watch the Northbeat broadcast online, live at 18:00 MST (20:00 EST).  If you miss that, there's still a window of opportunity.  You'll be able to watch the "latest show" on their site until Monday afternoon.

Also, I just received a call from CBC Newsworld. We're doing the interview tomorrow and the segment will air on their station throughout the day on Sunday.

Neat! I wonder if any Australian stations will latch onto this campaign..? You know, I'm getting pretty darned excited about the opportunity to represent Canada and the Yukon in Australia and about sharing my Queensland discoveries with the world!

Carol Off asks me about "shrinkage"...

I never expected her to go there. I really didn't.

You can listen to the interview tonight on "As it Happens". Tune your stereo to CBC Radio 1 or listen online, starting at 18:30 in Canada (19:00 NT). Barring unforeseen circumstances, the segment should air at 18:45 (19:15 NT).

If you aren't able to listen tonight, don't fret; I'll post a link to the segment tomorrow.

Not-so-shocking never-before-released footage!

Just in case you had technical difficulties that prevented you from listening to the CBC North radio story from yesterday, I slapped together a little youtube video with never before released footage of me getting out of the water! 

"Oh, look.  He's getting out of the water.  Now he's taking off his fins.  Now he's drying off.  This is more action-packed than the Yule Log!"

What I heard on CBC Radio this morning...

Fairy tales do come true...

It might happen. It just might happen.  For real.

How do I know? The HireMICHAELforHamiltonIsland.com campaign just got picked up by CNBC.

HireMICHAELforHamiltonIsland.com IS NOW ON FACEBOOK!

Are you a fan of Michael's Meanderings?

Are you looking for an easy way to share his spectacular "Best Job in the World" video application with all of your friends and family?

Then the HireMICHAELforHamiltonIsland.com facebook group is the tool for you!