First (Half)Week Down...

Well - the first half-week at the new job is done. Lots to learn and the feeling of overwhelm is still there, but it's not that bad. Lots to learn, lots to read, lots more to learn.

Of course, I'll work hard and I've given my new boss some new ideas that we're going to talk about next week.

Lots of meetings and trainings next week so it should go quick and be fun.

This is going to be a good thing!!

Now to swing a plan into motion to get some of the people I used to work with on board.

Four Games and Still In It!!

The Colorado Rockies are down to their last 4 games of the season and still in the thick of this wildcard race in the National League...

Four weeks into the NFL season and we're still talking baseball in the Rocky Mountains - it's strange in some ways.

It's too bad the SF Giants couldn't hold on to their lead in the ninth inning 2 nights ago or else the Rox would be tied for that position with San Diego...

True, the Rockies need help from others, but they've done pretty good by themselves with this 10 game winning streak going into tonight's game with the Dodgers. Longest streak in franchise history - what a great time for them to string together a bunch of wins.

When all is said and done - with or without the playoffs - I think the Rockies have generated some interest for next season already. Now let's hope Dan O'Dowd doesn't go screwing with the roster too much and bring the whole house of cards tumbling down again...

We got a winning team in Denver now - DON'T SCREW WITH IT TOO MUCH!!!

GO ROCKIES!

Good Beginnings...

After 2 days on the new job, I feel pretty good...

It's a sense of overwhelm, but in a good way. Yesterday on day 1, I was introduced to what seemed like half the company! Yeah - like I'm gonna remember that many names so quickly :-)

Everyone is nice and I had sent out an e-mail to my new group letting them know that I was going to set up 1:1 meetings with them all so they can get to know me and I can get to know them better. I also want to ask questions and let them ask me some questions also. The VP of the group got the message and told me that she liked it...

Lots to learn - process, procedure, product.... lots of training classes coming up now over the next few days and I'll start to listen in on the phones with some of the folks as well so I can hear what they hear and see how they operate.

I have a good feeling about this...

New Job - New Beginning

Well, tomorrow is the big day!

New job, new opportunities, new chances to renew my own faith in myself after working in that hell hole for 17 months and getting no support, respect or recognition.

Many people I had worked with are gone from that place and of the remaining ones, I will try to "rescue" some of the better ones that are left.

I'm nervous like it's the first day in a new school. I hope I can sleep OK tonight. It's a good nervous though.

I'm excited to meet the different people I'll be working with, my new team and getting involved. I know I have a lot to bring to the table - I just don't want to show up with my tail between my legs after the beatings we all took at the old place.

Time to go have a beer, relax and watch the Rockies try to make some more noise in the NL West!

Wish me luck!

(PS - Hey Fluff, I'll let you know what's happening as far as hiring is concerned! I want to have a 1:1 w/my boss before the week is out so get that resume ready!!)

When You Play With Fire...

Well it happened... the Broncos showed their true colors today and Jason Elam's famed leg wasn't going to save them this week...

No way, no how... I called it out last week in a previous post. See Living on the Edge.

They couldn't get the job done this week on either side of the ball and I'm not surprised. They're not THAT good of a team. They couldn't go in for the kill in weeks 1 and 2 like a good team should, letting weaker teams hang around until the last second heroics by Elam each week.

You can't survive in the NFL by winning games in the last second (not against weaker teams, that is). Against those teams, you've got to recognize the blood in the water and destroy them.

Until today, some of the local media have been optimistic about the team and seemed like they thought the first 2 weeks were flukes. Nope - the Broncos will struggle this year and easily could be 0 - 3 instead of 2 - 1 on the young season.

The thing that may save them is that they are playing in a more surprisingly weaker AFC West. Let's see what happens moving forward.

Unbelievable Guitar Work - Bohemian Rhapsody

A friend of mine came across this on YouTube. Edgar Cruz is a guitar player out of Oklahoma who has a talent for taking the sound of an entire song and bringing it down onto a guitar.

In this clip, he does Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen and gives a lesson on how it's done as well. Beautifully done.



Here's another of him doing Dream On by Aerosmith. A few dropped notes here and there, but still pretty damn good.

Papa's Got a Brand New Bag!!

It's been a very long week. Multiple interviews, lots of phone calls and one big payoff!

While I was in one interview late this afternoon, my wife got a call at home from another outfit saying that they had just e-mailed me an offer!!!

Hot damn. I rushed home to check my e-mail (probably the ONLY time I've wished that I had a fucking crackberry with me!!) and scope out the offer.

Open it up and the $$ are right (a little below the last place, but livable), decent benefits and a start date of Wednesday the 26th!

Shot an e-mail right back accepting the position.

The wife is happy, the oldest child is happy, and I'm definitely happy. Hell - I even called my mom back east because I know that she's been worried. My dad's been telling her over the past 2 months not to worry - "he's got the education, he's got the experience, he's got the work ethic - he'll be fine".

(I have my parents to thank for the education and work ethic - wonderful examples and I hope I am only half as effective with my kids as they were with me and my sister).

That's a load off my back and I grabbed a 12-pack and celebrated with a couple of beers.

I think I'll go watch a ballgame and have another beer.

Another Good Interview

Had an interview this afternoon and they've already invited me back for a 2nd interview as well as for my references.

Hopes not up, but this one seems like a good fit also (much like the last one that I thought I had nailed about a month ago).

Casual environment, down to earth people and a little more mature than the last place I worked. It's a technology organization so they appreciate their IT/support people.

I'm cautiously optimistic. Meeting with the VP of Support on Thursday - fingers crossed!

Living on the Edge

Week 2 of the NFL season. Play looked a little better than week 1 for the most part from what I was able to see on TV, but looking at the home-town Broncos, I'm still not convinced this is a championship caliber team.

Last week's last second victory was non-impressive in that they seemed to be a little frazzled at the end of regulation, barely getting the snap off with 1 second left. But if you listen to the home-town media, it was a great win, all part of the plan. Never mind the defense looked a bit choppy - especially in the middle.

Today, they need overtime and a missed field goal opportunity from the Oakland kicker to give Jason Elam another chance at heroics.

I wasn't impressed - especially since they weren't able to hold a 17 point lead in the 2nd half. I'm sure the homies will all consider it a great win, regardless.

In a way, they're right. Better to have a 2 - 0 record than be 0 - 2. It doesn't have to be pretty, as long as it's a "W".

The Thrill of Victory

Game 2 of my 12 year old's soccer season... the past 2 seasons have been painful - close games, winable games, but nothing to show for it for the kids. They play their hearts out but would always seem to come up just short...

Today - different. There was something about them in this game (and last week's also) that gave me and the other coach a good feeling. The "attitude" was there. They were loose, but ready to play (well most of them anyway).

After going down 0 - 1 they came back and scored two goals in the 2nd half to win the game 2 - 1. The score wasn't important, but it was the way they won it. Last second work, deep in the other team's defensive zone. One pass, two passes, shot - GOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLLLL!!!

When I looked at my watch - 3 seconds left. The referee let the other team touch the ball at the kickoff and blew the game down.

The girls had done it. It took a lot of work on their side, but now they see that it is all worth it and I'm sure they'll still be talking about it on Monday at practice.

This should be the start of a good, upward spiral for a bunch of talented kids who just needed that taste of victory.

The Psychology of Pain

There's a parallel between physical pain and emotional pain.

My physical pain is less than that of others with serious issues (auto accident injuries, cancer patients, etc) - mine for the most part is even self-inflicted in some cases. Not because I go out and hurt myself on purpose, but because of the sports activities I take on weekly...

Last night for example - softball game at 9:00 and indoor soccer game at 11:15 (yes - PM!)...

Nursing a bum shoulder, worsening knees and stiff and contorted fingers from multiple injuries over the past 30+ years of playing various sports, I've been asked why I continue to put my body through this.

Simple answer is that I still enjoy it... when you're playing, there is no pain and you're having fun. You play to win - that's what I was taught at an early age. You don't have to be the best athlete on the field, but you have to give 100% and execute. If you do the little things right, you can win.

Last night's soccer game was a struggle for me because my fitness level isn't where it needs to be. We played a better team; faster, stronger, fitter; and we got beat (badly). Every shift I played, I tried to stay just 30 seconds longer, always moving, always trying to contribute. Wound up assisting on a goal so I guess it was OK. That's where you cross the mental/physical line. You start arguing with your body to push more - "get there faster you bastard!" "Block that shot dumb-ass".

Paying for it this morning though. Stiff knees, shoulder sore, limping badly. But it's only temporary. No pain killers, not even aspirin. Work through it. It hurts, but it's not debilitating. It hurts, but I can function. It hurts and it helps me focus on other things.

It's been said that pain is weakness leaving the body. If you have some pain, there's an injury somewhere and that part of your body is weak - work to strengthen it.

The same can be said of the mind - pain, hurt - dig down and figure out what and why. You may have to remove something (or someone) from your life to fix it, to get stronger. In the end, you'll be happier.

Take care of the pain - listen to it, but don't let it run (or ruin) your life. Surround yourself with people who love you and can help (physically and mentally).

People who suffer alone, suffer greatly. People who suffer together share the burden and can help lessen the pain for each other.

The Mail ...

Daily ritual - get the mail... not that I look forward to the deluge of junk mail (even with opting out of credit card solicitations, I still average 3 or 4 a week) and bills, but today was different for some reason.

Go across the street, open the cluster box and grab a stack of "stuff", come back to the house and start sorting... junk, junk, bill, junk, (hmmm - this is a good day - only one bill so far)

Then...

Something that I took as somewhat a personal message in a spiritual sort of way. I won't say exactly what it was, but I can tell you that I think it was sent to me for a reason and I'm going to try to channel that energy and maybe relearn something that was taught to me many, many years ago.

I'll close by thanking God for my family and my health... all else in due time.

Too Much Going On...

Hard to concentrate... too many irons in the fire... The bastards are coming at me from every direction! Like the opening scene in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (Johnny Depp did a great job with that film).

Tomorrow I fix the flat tire on my bike and pedal somewhere... don't know where, but I'll just go.

Need to decompress more...

Job search, bills, phone calls, job search, e-mails, job search, writing, job search, (can you see where this is going?)

Anyway, tomorrow I will take off, relax, take a ride and get refreshed before playing softball and soccer tomorrow night. If nothing else, I'm trying to stay active.

9/11 - Never Forget

I know I can't...

Growing up in the shadows of those 2 buildings on the other side of the Hudson made that day 6 years ago that much more chilling.

Knowing that my college roommate worked in one of those towers made it that much more frightning. (He had changed jobs 2 months before and wasn't there thank goodness)

Knowing my friend had been in Boston just a week before was more than I could take...

Having to explain what happened to a bunch of 13 year olds on my soccer team who had been very close to another tragedy just 2 years earlier (Columbine) was un-nerving. These kids had seen 2 tragedies of unbelievable proportion in just 2 years and at such an early age and no one should even see just one like that! One of the kids was directly impacted because she knew the child of one of the pilots. All we did was talk for 90 minutes - no one could think about soccer. We were there for each other.

So many lives were touched and changed on that morning in NYC - people just don't realize how many...

The first time I went back east and drove north on the NJ Turnpike and didn't see the towers made me cry. I expected not to see them, but I didn't think I'd react that way. To see that big empty space in the skyline was too much.

Shortly after the tragedy, the Bergen Record offered the now-famous picture of the firefighters raising the flag at Ground Zero taken by Thomas E. Franklin for donations - naturally, I send my check and have that picture hanging in my home office. I will eventually get another to hang in my office after I get a new job. They are available for sale at allposters.com

That picture is a reminder to me and my way of never forgetting.

Don't you forget either.

Fluff - They'll Miss You When You're Gone

Trust me... now that you and I are both out of there, they are in some trouble. They just don't know it yet... Pig-fuckers that they are, they're in denial! The bastards let so many good ones go and it will cost them that much more to keep new people coming in. They're idiots!!!

Pretty soon they'll be approaching 100% turnover in the group but it's the wrong part of the group! Management (aka - Greed-Heads as Hunter S. Thomson would call them) should suffer (and I hope that they are) but the axe won't fall on them - oh no... they should all be brought out to the parking lot and castrated with dull, rusty butter knives and have rusty railroad spikes laid into their temples with huge pile-drivers!!

Keep your head up, keep writing and keep in touch! There's still so much better out there!!!

They Call This FOOTBALL?!?!?

Time for a little babble about week 1 of the NFL season - or should I say "WEAK" 1???

Denver is such a football-mad town, it's unbelievable. When I first moved to the area 15 years ago I couldn't believe how they would lead off the evening newscasts... hell - even in the off-season they'll lead off if something is happening (like someone tripped over his friggin' dog walking down the stairs like Brian Griese did when he was with the team)...

Anyway, the games I watched over the weekend were sloppy, mistake-riddled and just plain sad. Everyone (or most everyone) in this area is happy that the Broncos won, but they should be GREATFUL because they stunk up the place in Buffalo. They sucked - plain and simple. Offense, defense and special teams were all horriffic and the only reason they came away with the win is because Elam was able to hit that last second field goal (after missing 2 others in the game).

Other games I saw were equally awful. Giants/Dallas? Please... The NFC East used to be such a powerhouse but now they're as mediocre as the rest of the league.

No wonder the owners push (read that as hijack) the season ticket holders into buying the pre-season tix as part of the package each season now...

NFL football is going downhill and that's a shame... let's hope that Weak 2 is a little bit better.

The Crumbling Empire?

Got a call this morning from one of the people who used to work for me... she was calling to say that she has resigned and will be starting a new job in the near future.

By my count there are 5 (out of 12) openings in the group I used to have and at least 7 others in the entire department that used to have 100+ headcount.

That's over 10% understaffed with a 41% understaffing in my old group... and the department was understaffed to begin with...

Seems like the empire is crumbling a bit. It's unfortunate too, but I'm not surprised.

When the resignation was given, my guess is that my former boss was happy on the inside but is shitting his pants as well. He wasn't fond of this person and was very open about it with certain individuals. But inside I know that he's thinking that he's lost another warm body - oh shit - another person gone, more overtime, what's happening???? He needs those warm bodies now. Who the hell is going to answer the phones? Since the company doesn't like paying OT, there's some big shit gonna hit the fan here pretty soon...

These people aren't leaving because I left - no - they are leaving because they are over-worked, under paid and under a hell of a lot of stress trying to live up to the unachievable goals set for them. Again - unfortunate. Signs were there that the goals were unachievable, but were ignored. Gotta push ahead and deliver the undeliverable... Yeah - right. At who's expense?

The saddest thing is that the upper management that is trying to run the company will see little to no repercussions mainly because they will just replace the previously under paid (yet talented) people who left with equally under paid "warm bodies".

The exit interviews are all the same - "the company is broken, the department is broken and upper management doesn't give a rats ass..."

The spiral continues... and it's about to hit critical mass because a lot of the knowledge that is walking out the door does so without anything documented behind them.

If a couple more key people leave then there's a major implosion about to take place - there won't be enough people to man the phones and train all the new suckers - I mean employees - who walk into the slaughterhouse.

As for me - meeting with a number of recruiters next week and have contacted a number of companies this week... the search continues for a company that really cares. One of these recruiters is actually trying to find my replacement... Now THAT should be an interesting conversation!!!

NJ Officials in Corruption Sting

So 11 public officials and one private citizen were arrested new NJ on corruption charges today.

See article in Bergen Record for details.

Surprised?

Shouldn't be... the state's riddled with corruption. Why the hell would there be any other reason for people paying $14000/year in property taxes? Shit - you can't tell me these people are getting that much in services and that it costs that much to haul the frigging trash!

Somebody's getting paid off and someone's getting screwed - guess which is which.

Did He Really Say What I Think He Said?!?!?

Watching PBS this afternoon (Lou Dobbs, business report) and he was talking about Mexican President Calderon's weekend comments that essentially encouraged illegal immigration and sloughed off any responsibility or accountability for what's happening in his own country - the one that HE was elected President of in order to help fix things...

I almost fell out of my chair when I heard the comments and I agreed with Lou Dobbs on his response - Fix your stuff Calderon and we'll gladly accept LEGAL immigrants from your country; those that want to contribute to our economy in the correct sense - pay their taxes, work the jobs, and NOT sponge off the rest of the American taxpayers and the liberal scum in office who want to GIVE away our money to support them and their kids with our healthcare and school systems.

Lots of chatter on this one.

Check out wakeupamericans

Can You Live a Fantasy Life?

(Anyone remember that old Aldo Nova song?!?!)

Fantasy football is back... my 2nd season playing and we went through the draft on Sunday...

Could have been better - got stuck with the 10th pick overall (out of a 12 player league) and all the best running backs and some of the QBs went before my first pick...

Such is life...

As we were going through the draft, there was a lot of chatting going on with the people I used to work with (those that are left anyway)... people wondering if I've landed anywhere yet, wondering what the hell's happening over there and why they're still hanging on...

For some of them, I just don't know why they are still there - the hours suck, management sucks, the pay isn't that great... when I land somewhere, I will certainly be keeping these people in mind as I hear of other positions open ...

It's the least I could do for them...

Some of these people would even make my "dream team" of people to work with - maybe not the most technically sound in the world, but some big hearts and sincere people who work hard...

Where the Fluff is Fluff??

So Fluff?

Where you going? When's the last day?

What's the plan?

Be sure to keep in touch!

Why Do People...

have to insist on rubbing shit in your face when you're down?

Why can't you just sit back, shut up and listen every now and then without turning the subject back to yourself?

In my situation do you really give a rat's ass if you were able to go to the game on Thursday night? Hell - I haven't bought myself a beer in over a month! Don't get me wrong, I want you to be happy, but it seems that whenever I need to talk and vent, the subject always switches back to you...

And then YOU get pissed at me when I try to tell you that I called someone that did listen??

I know - we're both going through a tough time again right now. It's harder since we can't see each other and the phone calls just don't cut it anymore... we both need a hug (from each other) and we both need to step back and remember why we're friends.

I do love you ... never forget that...