Busy...
Wow!! I haven't been this busy in awhile. I can spend a good 8-10 hours a day and still find things that I didn't get to at the end of the day. I've been at work for 3-1/2 hours now and I still haven't started on my daily list (what am I doing here? you ask...). I'll work on my list during my 11:00 conference call...
Still need to fill the engineering positions in Dallas and Seattle. After talking with the client yesterday, I'd better find someone with decent technical skills...
BACK TO WORK!!!
Chi-town...
Just got back (late) last night from Chicago. I went out there to meet with one of the engineers and meet with a client key manager and a couple of his staff engineers. It was a good trip IMO. I think we started knocking down a few barriers. It will be key for me to show my face out there regularly.
Some of the work rumors that have been going around for the past week or two have me concerned. Not about my job but about reallocation and restructuring of resources (how's that for management speak?). Same 'ol - same 'ol when working in large organizations...
I'm exhausted!! I worked late on Tuesday and winding down took me to about midnight before I could fall asleep. I woke at 5:30-ish on Wednesday and things started happening immediately. I worked on a few escalations until 3:00 when I left the customer site and headed to the airport.* I got to the airport and hung out and followed up on the escalations until I got on my 8-something flight. Got home at around midnight and had to wind down a bit before I could get to bed. Got up around 6:30. I have a 6:15 softball game tonight. I hope I'm up for it....
* The asterisk. It seems that either I got very lucky with the traffic in Chicago or that Chicagoans overestimate the traffic. It took me less than 45-minutes to get from Chicago (O'Hare) to Vernon Hills on Monday and the same getting back. I was told to expect 2-3 hours due to traffic so I set my schedule accordingly. Traffic is much worse in Seattle and Sacramento - although, at this point, I'd say that Sacramento is the worst of the three...
The pics in the previous post came from my flight to Chicago. I thought the river one looked cool. The airplane one was taken during the descent into Chicago. Thought the plane coming out of the thick clouds looked kind of cool also.
Whew...!
Another busy weekend. We had another open house yesterday. Two couples seemed pretty interested. we'll see... Dad took the kids out to McDonalds and to the park (where I passed by the softball diamond undergoing "truf renovation"... Put some steaks on the grill and surfed the net all night....
Momma's out today taking in a movie while I sit home fixing her computer and watching football. Oh, yeah... and watching the kids too.
My Raiders are very disappointing this year. Today was no different. What does it take to not make so many stupid mistakes at critical times? Roughing the passer on 3rd and long, facemask makes it 2nd and 20 instead of 3rd and a yard, ... 13 penalties for 94 yards. Janikowski missed from 42 and 37. Collins (24/42 345 yards) is something like 3 and 18 since joining the Raiders. We're 0-3 now...
Bummer...
Northstar at Tahoe is shutting down the mountain biking on the 25th to prepare for the winter. I didn't make it up at all this summer - after planning to go up once or twice a month...
Work is crazy busy. There never seems to be enough time to do everything. And to think...before I got there, my boss was doing it all...
I did get out for a 6:15 softball game tonight. We got back on track with a 20-4 win. They called the game in the 6th. My pitches were high, deep, and on the mark. My hitting sucked. In the final inning, I made the first and the last out... We went out to the G Street Pub after the game. We must be getting old though - I made it home by 10:35 - after dropping Tony off at his house.
Meetings and Interviews...
...I'm starting to not like people (j/k). It is exhausing though. I was losing my voice in the last interview - had to keep chugging water throughout. I got to talk to some really good candidates though. Maybe I can get these positions filled soon so I can move on to other things...
Hey Nanny, what happened to them 'Boys last night? They had the game in the bag and lost it in 2 minutes... Did you go to the Grad? I actually did nothing but sit and watch the game last night.
Well... Aly's on antibiotics for her ear infection. Last night, after one dosage and some Motrin, she told momma "ear getting better." What a cutie. Hopefully, she'll continue to get better...Mitch is missing his playmate....
My diet has sure taken a downturn lately... Pizza for lunch
and dinner yesterday and pork and rice for lunch today (the pork was excellent - it reminded me of my grandfather's bbq...)... I need to eat salad for a month....
Gotta go shoe shopping tonight... Yesterday, I found that the soles on both of my shoes were split from one side to the other. I'm glad it's not raining...
Back in the office...
Well... I'm back in my office today. It's nice to be close to the action - easier to get a feel for the importance of each project. Easier to communicate because you can read a person's body language too. Busy day... Still trying to fill a position in Dallas and starting on the Seattle position...
Not sure I like my choice for pic hosting... the size and resolution seems to be getting changed...
More testing
Today...
Poor Aly woke up with a fever and general malaise. This changed our plans for the day. Lisa had planned to go out for a movie and drinks while I took the kids to a park and out to dinner. Instead, we did yardwork and hung out around the house. Aly had a few times where she felt better and would play but, for the most part, she wanted to relax. I think we watched 6 episodes of
Dora the Explorer...
Hopefully, the family can get out and do something fun tomorrow...
Testing...
WHOA! What the heck happened to the pics...?
Looks like my pics are disappearing... Don't know what's happening. Time for some tech support.....
Get off your high horse...
Softball this season has been pretty good. One game lost in games that I pitched during the spring season. One game lost in the 4th of July tournament. No games lost last season and only one team that scored over 10 runs. Well... I was feeling pretty full of myself for the double-header. Then... Some humble pie. We won our first game. However, the final score was 20-18 and the winning run made the final out. The next game didn't go so...um...good. 18-6 was the final score I believe. I don't think the opposing team won a game this season. I was serving up meat and they were taking big bites...to the tune of 36 runs over two games. So much for a triumphant ride into the sunset...
I'm tired.....
I was up after midnight last night gathering, writing, and formatting interview questions last night (both standard questions and technical questions). I firmly believe that it is a lot easier to compare candidates if you ask the same questions and listen to the responses. This morning, I was up at the regular time and logging in at 7:30.
Today has been meeting day - one conference call after another. Good stuff though...I feel like I'm starting to get the hang of things and I'm getting more involved. My boss is starting to hand things off to me. This place is very quiet. I'm not sure what they do here but it doesn't involve a lot of conversation. When I'm talking on the phone it feels like I'm echoing throughout the building...
Man! I'm tired! And, I've got a softball double-header tonight...
I haven't found a place to host my pics yet. I'll put that on the weekend agenda. Lisa's going to spend one of the afternoons with Christie so I need to think of something fun to do with the kids this weekend too. Maybe all of us can do something one of the days...
Oh, man...
I'm up to my limit on the picture storage. This means that I have to find a place to host my pics and link to them... I need to find someplace that's fast and cheap... Stay tuned....
You're outta there......
Well... My final work ties to Sutter Health were severed this evening when my email access was shut off. Kinda sad. It felt like the only thing keeping me in touch with some of the friends that I worked with for the past 3 years. There are some top notch network engineers there and a few up-and-comers. Put a few of them in a room with a problem and the perfect solution would come out in no-time. Put a some of the others in a room with a problem and nothing would happen...(kidding).
Some memories...:
- Networkers New Orleans - great training and a couple of shots...Bourbon Street Blues Club...
- Comdex, Networld+Interop, and Networkers Las Vegas - great training...and a couple more shots...oxygen bar...cigars...Coyote Ugly...the piano bar...wth is in the PowerShot?
- Man! Jester can put away the food.
- TK, how's that swing holding up?
- Did Driskill get that operation yet? You know.... (just kidding)
- The stress ball fights...and the resulting coffee spills, broken picture frames, ...
- Never throw a ball and knock Baker's coffee outta his hands at 7:00 in the morning - poor whiteboard...(man! I thought DL was laid out...)
- Will CM ever get any help?
- I still haven't had Togo's since we had it every other day at Granite Park...
- Projects - wireless, VPN, network management, WAN redesign, regional monitoring, UPSs, Storage, ... weren't we supposed to do something with out-of-band management?
- "I'm gonna take a #$*% and not flush the toilet..."
- "Don't ever do that again or I'm gonna come down there and get you!" "Are you threatening me physically?!" "No... I'm gonna come down there and get you so I can talk to you..."
- The emails....and emails....and emails... I gotta get my hands on that one that was mistakingly sent to the wrong Larkin (the reply)...
- The initiatives - eICU, eMap, EHR - life-saving stuff...made me very proud to be working for a company that put such a value on peoples lives
I'll miss everyone.
The Phone...
OK. So it's not a huge deal...but I've been using an old Nokia for several years... The bluetooth works really well. The phone itself has so many features, it'll take me awhile before I use most of 'em. I need to figure out how to get pictures from the phone to the computer (without using the wireless Internet feature, which costs $15/mo.).
Busy Weekend...
Well... It probably cost us an arm and a leg for all of the cellphone calls over the past couple of weeks. So, Lisa and I decided to get on the same plan (with unlimited IN calling...). Since I already had Cingular, we stopped by the Cingular store first. The store in Natomas has to be the worst - we've never had luck with service there. This weekend, no difference... The store wasn't even open 10 minutes after opening time... So, we walked over to Verizon and got new service and phones. Since Verizon and MCI are merging, we're supporting my company too... So far, I'm really happy with the phone (I got the video phone with bluetooth and a bluetooth headphone) - although, I've already used up 250 minutes (220 minutes for work...). Might have to up the plan.... Lisa took her phone back today and got one with more features...
Sunday, we had another open house. I took the kids to Davis and hung out at Community Park for a few hours. The kids had a blast. Afterwards, we went to McDonalds then on a long drive. The open house was not very successful. Next time....
Well... I didn't take off to Chicago as planned. I moved the trip out. So, I contacted my company's local facilities person to see if I could set up a workspace at one of the local facilities. I was lucky enough to get one close to my house in Natomas (yeehaw!). Now, if I could just get a phone instead of using my mobile....
I'm back...
I flew in last night. I got home too late to see the kids but just in time to see the wife before she went to bed. The kids were a little shy when they first saw me but warmed up by this evening. We threw some steaks on the grill for din...mmmmmm. Aly turned into a chatterbox while I was away. Her vocabulary is excellent and her voice is so cute. Mitch still talks very well and loves to wrestle. With Lisa, Aly, and Mitch...well...dad can't get a word in... Aly looks to be about 4-inches taller than Mitch right now...
Twelve days in Seattle... What a beautiful and clean city. There are a lot of panhandlers - like in any large city. And things get a little wierd after dark. But, all-in-all, I really like the place. Work is fun - but it's gonna keep me busy.
I'm gonna take the kids to Davis tomorrow. We'll go to the park then out to lunch.
Happy Birthday...
...to my brother Robert!
Watch where you park...
...it took all of 8 seconds for this guy to write up the ticket and get back in the cart. Another observation: don't step out in the street when the sign says "don't walk" - that usually means that someone is going to be ripping through the intersection at 50...
It was another busy day at work. I had a lot going on and an orientation that lasted 3/4 of the day. I have to interview an engineer candidate at 5. Hopefully,
Gold's Gym will have my travel pass issues worked out this evening... I'm in the mood for a workout.
I've read that this is the fittest city in the world. It's not hard to believe. Everybody seems to walk everywhere and most people appear to be in average to good shape. I'd better get that travel pass issue worked out - 'cause I could stand to lose a pound or 20... I'll bet I dropped 4 or 5 in the past week-and-a-half...
The Kids...
Aren't they beautiful!! Wait a minute...those aren't new trucks are they...?
Busy Day...
Man! I was swamped today. I only had a couple of meetings. I spent most of my time looking over resumes, contacting recruiters, and familiarizing my self with the workload. It didn't help that I left my badge in my room. I had to walk and pick it up at lunch. This is when I did some people watching and noticed some fashion trends... I work in the financial district so everyone is in business attire. Women wear the standard sweaters or long-sleeved blouses and slacks or skirts. Pin-striped slacks are all the rage. While waiting to cross the street, I noticed a group of about 10 or so dudes - eight of them were wearing blue shirts and black, navy, or charcoal slacks. I thought they must all work for the same company or something. Nope. That's the norm...black and blue. Button down, long-sleeved shirts...which I have none of...are typical. Polo shirts...which I have plenty of...are non-existent. Shows you how much I know about fashion...
Finally got some pizza for lunch. I was craving it bad. What a disappointment though - I really need to find a good pizza joint...
OK...Busy day at work...slow outside of work...
Chillin'....
Well... Today was a lazy day. After the long walk, I relaxed for a bit then hit the gym. I got back around 4 and found that there was a marathon of
American Chopper on TV. I watched for awhile then went out for a quick bite. I had some Ahi tuna with the hottest wasabi mustard I ever had. I was sniffling and crying after the first few bites.... Then, more American Chopper and a little
Sportscenter.
I'm looking forward to work tomorrow...
Meanwhile, the kids are growing up so fast.
Sam Gump...
I woke up early again today, turned on the TV, and watched Zoolander. The first time I saw this move, I thought it was lousy. The last couple times I thought it was pretty funny… I went down for breakfast at 9:00.
After breakfast, I went for a walk (another shocker!! – my walks usually consist of walking from the house to the car…). I felt like Forrest Gump (which I watched on TV last week). Instead of running though – I walked. I kept walking and when I got to where I was going, I turned around and walked some more. Then, all of a sudden, I didn’t want to walk anymore – man I wish I wasn’t so far away… I drug my tired feet a couple miles back…
There's hardly anyone out on the streets today...
It does rain...
Sunday, September 04, 2005
I woke up early Sunday but laid around watching TV before jumping in the shower at 8:30 (I probably haven’t watched this much TV all year…). Brian called me around 9:00 and said they were coming up for a little bit before the baseball game. Brian and Mike picked me up at 10. We went to the pier and took a 1-hour cruise. What a very fun and interesting time. I think I’ll take the 4-hour one next time.
After the cruise, we headed to the ballpark for a minor-league game. I scoped out some of the areas during the ride (gotta stay in the right mode…). Brian finally found someone who'll listen to him at the game. We each got a Mountain Dog (the only hotdog that rivals the Dinger Dog…). After the ballgame, the brother-in-laws dropped me off and headed out. I turned on the TV (again) and caught The Last Boy Scout. After the movie, I went to Gameworks and watched part of the A’s/Yankee game (Zito got rocked early) and got something to eat. I wasn’t in the mood for video games (shocker!!) so I turned on the TV and watched Rush Hour 2. Lights out at 10:00…
BTW. It was coming down for a couple of hours today - so I guess it does rain....
Man! After eating great all weak, I really blew it this weekend. I ate so much junk today that I woke up from my sleep and up it all came…seriously…
...
Checkin' it out...
Saturday, September 03, 2005
Nate took me all over the place so I could scope out different areas. There are some very mature areas around here (homes built in the early 1900s) and a lot of interesting architecture. What stuck out the most though was that the grass was dead (some call it dormant) everywhere. Because of the weather, I expected lush, green lawns. The streets are very narrow too.
My favorite area was a newer neighborhood with a new elementary school and a 15-acre sports and play facility. The only problem with this area was that the commute to work would be 45 minutes to an hour (or more) via public transit. I’d like to keep the commute down around 30 minutes, which would put me in one of the older neighborhoods.
We looked around until after 5:00 p.m. Man! I was exhausted. I watched Ray (the Ray Charles story) and went to bed around 9:00.
Working out...
I found a Gold's Gym nearby. I've been bustin' my rear this past week. Pretty cool location....
Well, the first week is over...
It hasn't been too bad. I can tell that there will be a little travel as my team consists of the onsite engineers located in a couple of places across the US. So, that means that I'll have to visit every once-in-awhile. Nothing too bad. Chicago and Dallas are first on the list (actually, Fremont, CA is but that's just a day trip).
No pics today. Might take a few tomorrow. Looking forward to a long weekend.
Did I mention that it's always raining?
Not!
Yyyyyaaaaawwwwwwnnnnnnn....
Man, I'm tired! Maybe I'm getting too much sleep - I got 8-hours last night and the night before... I was introduced as a new manager today. The people at work greated me warmly but the customer seemed a little apprehensive. Got my badge and access to some of the systems today. So, I've been a little more busy. Had meetings from 9-2, including through lunch. Got my first escalation too (not sure what I'm going to do about it...yet).
Mitch loves his Las Vegas Harley Davidson hat... Aly's learning the fine art of eating a popsicle and waving at the same time...
