I do know I'm not supposed to open up spam emails and respond to the offers, but in this instance....have pity on me for my weakness! Am I not flesh and blood!?
Monday, April 27, 2009
Spam of the Day (courtesy of Bootylicious24)
I do know I'm not supposed to open up spam emails and respond to the offers, but in this instance....have pity on me for my weakness! Am I not flesh and blood!?
Friday, April 17, 2009
"Count Me In With the Hollyweirds"
As we all know, message boards on news websites are a cesspool of humanity, bringing out the absolute worst qualities from the laziest cowards in society. To the point where, if I - in a moment of weakness - happen to check in on one, I almost invariably end up becoming depressed at the lack of meaningful discourse. So I generally don't bother.
Except when I can't resist. It's sort of like discovering there's a Vin Diesel action movie playing in your hotel room. Somehow, sometimes, I can't resist just checking in.
So anyway - you can imagine the rancor abounding in the Franken-Coleman trial debates. We know that accusations that fly from ideologues on both sides; but I just happened to check in on a board today and caught one of those one-in-a-thousand amazing comments left by some random guy who addressed that ongoing, strange right wing fury about Hollywood being in the back pocket of liberal politics:
The question one should ask themselves is...
what these donors expect to gain by their contributions. Do Hollywood actors and other celebrities who donate to Franken expect government handouts, or business tax breaks, or federal contracts? Or do they simply think Franken is more likely to promote the type of government and society in which they want to live? Last I checked, these celebrities were not corporate bigwigs looking to receive more favorable tax treatment and government contracts. Nope, but that's what motivates Norm's donors, who would prefer to further bankrupt the government for their own individual good. So basically we have one set of donors who want a more open, tolerant and freer society vs. another set who want to pay less in taxes or garner some other lucrative government contract and think giving a Republican a lot of money will help them get this. Seems pretty clear who I'd rather have in D.C. Count me in with the Hollyweirds.
Well-done, jonnyonspot.
Except when I can't resist. It's sort of like discovering there's a Vin Diesel action movie playing in your hotel room. Somehow, sometimes, I can't resist just checking in.
So anyway - you can imagine the rancor abounding in the Franken-Coleman trial debates. We know that accusations that fly from ideologues on both sides; but I just happened to check in on a board today and caught one of those one-in-a-thousand amazing comments left by some random guy who addressed that ongoing, strange right wing fury about Hollywood being in the back pocket of liberal politics:
The question one should ask themselves is...
what these donors expect to gain by their contributions. Do Hollywood actors and other celebrities who donate to Franken expect government handouts, or business tax breaks, or federal contracts? Or do they simply think Franken is more likely to promote the type of government and society in which they want to live? Last I checked, these celebrities were not corporate bigwigs looking to receive more favorable tax treatment and government contracts. Nope, but that's what motivates Norm's donors, who would prefer to further bankrupt the government for their own individual good. So basically we have one set of donors who want a more open, tolerant and freer society vs. another set who want to pay less in taxes or garner some other lucrative government contract and think giving a Republican a lot of money will help them get this. Seems pretty clear who I'd rather have in D.C. Count me in with the Hollyweirds.
Well-done, jonnyonspot.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Everything I Know About Parenting I Learned From LOTR
Among the lines used in various iteractions with child:
- (when rounding up the girls to get them out the door - with thanks to PGibb) Find the halflings!!!
- Strange that we should suffer so much fear and doubt over so small a thing.
and
- DO NOT TAKE ME FOR A CONJURER OF CHEAP TRICKS!!
others, Gibb? Missing some here? No doubt, but those three came to mind first.
- (when rounding up the girls to get them out the door - with thanks to PGibb) Find the halflings!!!
- Strange that we should suffer so much fear and doubt over so small a thing.
and
- DO NOT TAKE ME FOR A CONJURER OF CHEAP TRICKS!!
others, Gibb? Missing some here? No doubt, but those three came to mind first.
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
Check-In #8
Apparently, the aerial imagery company is calling my references. I've heard from two of them now that they've been contacted and have given their best on my behalf.
If this job was offered (at a living wage) I would accept; and there are definite good points about the company, the industry, and (potentially) the future - were I to end up there.
Cross your fingers on my behalf.
If this job was offered (at a living wage) I would accept; and there are definite good points about the company, the industry, and (potentially) the future - were I to end up there.
Cross your fingers on my behalf.
Thursday, April 02, 2009
Check-In #7
First off, so it doesn't get buried & forgotten - the link to "Proove You Groove" has been updated & should work now.
So...
My second moment of clarity in the past two months has been met with a second kick in the face. The first, if you recall, was when I'd decided that staying with my former employer was a position of power from which I could launch "Plan B" (the future career exploration). And then I was laid off.
This most recent one was laid out in detail in check-in #6. Clarity that I should stick to my bread & butter, and do GIS Specialist work for a local government. And I was really excited about the resume that I'd sent off for a job in a SW Metro county. Well, I got a letter on Tuesday informing me that I was not among those selected to interview. Oof. Beyond bad; this could either be an indictment of my actual qualifications, or an indication of the overwhelming number of people out there trying to get jobs in this field. I had a day where I was nearly literally reeling. The pressure is on - Sharon & I have done the numbers, and it wouldn't make sense for her to go back to work part-time (e.g. in the job she used to have) before Rose gets into Kindergarten. Full day daycare for Rose and extended day for Lucy would add up to about $900/month. Then, by the time you figure in less meals from scratch, car upkeep & gas, etc. etc.; it really doesn't make sense. It's really all on me - which means I have to make a living wage for a family of four.
Luckily, I still have two career counselors in my camp, and they've got me going crazy in the networking thing; I've actually got an informational interview set up today with the guy that manages the GIS operation at that county job, to kind of get a sense of what the deal was, and his insight on how to approach working in the public sector. I'm going to a GIS job fair next week, and will be starting a process of getting involved in local user groups, including one that has membership from throughout Hennepin County. See if there's a way I can, during my unemployment, offer up my help on any collaborative projects across government agencies & get to know people, etc. Not sure if anything can &/or will come of any of that - but something kind of has to.
One of those weird things. I look at where I'm at, career-wise (kind of feeling like I'm almost back to square one), and just think: "How did it come to this?" 16 years out of college. I got these two beautiful little girls, that are completely unaware of my stress, and our overall situation. With one person in our household working, we need to gross 45k, minimum, to make our ends meet. That's with about zero eating out, not having one of our two 12+ year old cars die, etc. And what if that opportunity simply isn't there for me? I mean, I don't take the care to put this into actual words very often, but there's people losing their homes left and right; people that can't find jobs; 20 million kids living in poverty - at what point - how many months from now in fruitless job searching would my family get to some kind of crazy breaking point where there is earth-shattering changes to our lives and lifestyle. Cashing in of 401k. Losing of the house. Living in a shelter. Sounds crazy and insane, but my sense is these sorts of things cascade quickly and you can go from Point A to Point X in an awful hurry. In any event, all manner of craziness enters one's mind late at night, when one is exhausted. And when craziness enters one's mind, one doesn't sleep well, which leads to more exhaustion. Rinse, cycle, repeat.
So...
My second moment of clarity in the past two months has been met with a second kick in the face. The first, if you recall, was when I'd decided that staying with my former employer was a position of power from which I could launch "Plan B" (the future career exploration). And then I was laid off.
This most recent one was laid out in detail in check-in #6. Clarity that I should stick to my bread & butter, and do GIS Specialist work for a local government. And I was really excited about the resume that I'd sent off for a job in a SW Metro county. Well, I got a letter on Tuesday informing me that I was not among those selected to interview. Oof. Beyond bad; this could either be an indictment of my actual qualifications, or an indication of the overwhelming number of people out there trying to get jobs in this field. I had a day where I was nearly literally reeling. The pressure is on - Sharon & I have done the numbers, and it wouldn't make sense for her to go back to work part-time (e.g. in the job she used to have) before Rose gets into Kindergarten. Full day daycare for Rose and extended day for Lucy would add up to about $900/month. Then, by the time you figure in less meals from scratch, car upkeep & gas, etc. etc.; it really doesn't make sense. It's really all on me - which means I have to make a living wage for a family of four.
Luckily, I still have two career counselors in my camp, and they've got me going crazy in the networking thing; I've actually got an informational interview set up today with the guy that manages the GIS operation at that county job, to kind of get a sense of what the deal was, and his insight on how to approach working in the public sector. I'm going to a GIS job fair next week, and will be starting a process of getting involved in local user groups, including one that has membership from throughout Hennepin County. See if there's a way I can, during my unemployment, offer up my help on any collaborative projects across government agencies & get to know people, etc. Not sure if anything can &/or will come of any of that - but something kind of has to.
One of those weird things. I look at where I'm at, career-wise (kind of feeling like I'm almost back to square one), and just think: "How did it come to this?" 16 years out of college. I got these two beautiful little girls, that are completely unaware of my stress, and our overall situation. With one person in our household working, we need to gross 45k, minimum, to make our ends meet. That's with about zero eating out, not having one of our two 12+ year old cars die, etc. And what if that opportunity simply isn't there for me? I mean, I don't take the care to put this into actual words very often, but there's people losing their homes left and right; people that can't find jobs; 20 million kids living in poverty - at what point - how many months from now in fruitless job searching would my family get to some kind of crazy breaking point where there is earth-shattering changes to our lives and lifestyle. Cashing in of 401k. Losing of the house. Living in a shelter. Sounds crazy and insane, but my sense is these sorts of things cascade quickly and you can go from Point A to Point X in an awful hurry. In any event, all manner of craziness enters one's mind late at night, when one is exhausted. And when craziness enters one's mind, one doesn't sleep well, which leads to more exhaustion. Rinse, cycle, repeat.
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