Thursday Night at the Aladdin

This last Thursday after my job interview the wife treated me to a concert in Portland at the Aladdin Theater. We mostly went to see Keaton Simons, who seems to have grown attached to the women folk of our family. He's a genuine nice guy, good lookin' and has more than his share of talent. We had great seats for his set, at first. We were in the front row and saw Keaton fine, but when the next act took the stage, not so much.

The next act, Raining Jane, an all girl band from California started great from what I could see. Then the crowd filled the space between the stage and the front row and then we couldn't see so much good anymore. Especially when they pulled out the cello and sitar, two of the ladies just vanished from my view because they had to sit. They sounded great, the percussionist was AWESOME, but alas … she was sitting too. All we could see was the girl that was 6 foot tall anymore. Then I think we wondered back on our way to the balcony, but then met Keaton in the hall and had to chat.

The main event, Tyrone Wells, was good. I wasn't too impressed with the songs themselves, but the musicians were good. But when Keaton came out to jam with them, it was quite clear who the better musician was. I swear I could even sense he was holding back to not make the other guitarist look bad. The best song was the Cranberries cover of Zombie.

But the whole evening was nearly undermined by my repeat offense of wearing mismatched shoes. This was the second time I've done this when going to a public event. The first time was when I was going to a musical at a local theater. I don't know what is wrong with me. Sigh

We Would All Like a Job Please

The president's Saturday morning address urged us to compromise, pay attention to what we're doing and act now with purpose ... or all hell will break loose. EEeeeep!

This was very timely since I was looking for a new job this week myself ...
He tells us what's at stake with this plan:

... putting Americans back to work, creating transformative economic change, and making a down payment on the American Dream that serves our children and our children's children for generations to come. -- read more

Just waiting for the call now

Yesterday’s interview went surprisingly well. I was real nervous right before I went in, as I was sitting in the lobby. But after being introduced to the interview board I felt at ease. The entire feel of the place was very calm. Perhaps it was that way because not all the employees were back from lunch or something, but it just seemed like there was less stress going on there. I’ve been in some state agencies where you can feel the tension in the air. This was not one of those places.

As for the interview itself; I tried to remain at ease, even cracking tiny little jokelettes that were pertinent to the line of work I’ve done and would like to do for them. It seems like I expected. It is a high volume, production driven analysis, coding and data entry job. I have to admit, this would be a nice change for me. I want some structure, a sense of duty, mission and some measurable achievements. Meanwhile, I can shine, network, and I will have my foot in the government’s door. That’s where I want it to be, and I think we could have a nice mutual relationship for the future.

This will also give me time to build my portfolio on design and development in my free time as I finish my degree. This more secure government job will also take some of that gloomy cloud that has been hovering over my "free market", job that from my last investigation is down 49% in sales from the this same time last year. Gulp. But I don’t have the job yet. So send some luck!

I have an interview!

I have a job interview this week! Yes, awesome! I know!

I haven’t been on many interviews in my life. But if I think over all the interviews I’ve had and the jobs I got, I think I’ve done pretty well statistically. The truth is I haven’t changed companies very often. I tend to stick around for a pretty long stretch. I like to give a company a chance. Sometimes that chance lasts 5 years, but still … do you really know a company before 4 or 5 years anyway?

I’ve had informal one-on-one interview with very personalized interview questions and lively dialogues and I’ve sat as the subject of six member review boards with pre-constructed interview questions. The one thing I have learned in these processes is that it is a new experience every time. I do my best to be prepared every time, but it’s that moment that really counts. I would say it was almost a chemistry thing. This is easier in a one-on-one interview because there is less ingredients in the mix, but it still seems to me that there requires a connection regardless of what is coming out of your mouth.

I’m a little nervous only because it is a job that seems very interesting to me and that I would love to have. It’s not a job I need really. This helps ease the nerves. I’m there to sell myself. If the chemistry isn’t there or they don’t want to buy what I’m selling for some reason, that’s fair enough. Caulk one up for experience. But wish me luck anyway.

225 lbs Monday 02/02/09

Well, not that you can tell from the spreadsheet below, maybe later it will refresh, but I an down only one pound. Yep, it could be all that burger and steak and mash potatoes and beer this weekend that has slowed my weight loss down a bit. maybe? Yes, probably.

It was probably a bad weekend to expect much loss. Being Superbowl weekend... not that I watched it. Did Dallas win?

I ate a salad for lunch today. But I'm going to eat pizza tonight. I won't lie to you. It's pizza night, and I'm not going to stick to the salad bar.

out.

President is serious dude!

This week's "President's Address in Wordle" brought to you by the word "Recovery":I don't think the president was very happy about the bonuses being pass around on wall street.

"Banks have been extended a hand, but homeowners, students, and small businesses that need loans have been left to fend on their own. And adding to this outrage, we learned this week that even as they petitioned for taxpayer assistance, Wall Street firms shamefully paid out nearly $20 billion in bonuses for 2008. While I'm committed to doing what it takes to maintain the flow of credit, the American people will not excuse or tolerate such arrogance and greed. The road to recovery demands that we all act responsibly, from Main Street to Washington to Wall Street." -- read more