J Bros

Pop quiz. I just bought two tickets for $200 total to see the Jonas Brothers on June 28 at the Tacoma Dome. Why do you think that is?

(a) I'm a closet fan of Nick, Joe, and Kevin and have been dying to see them live in concert! I'm light in the head and weak in the knees just thinking of being in the same arena as them.
(b) My sister loves 'em and I'm being an awesome big brother by treating her to the show. She's probably their biggest fan, like, ev-er.
(c) I lost a big bet to one of my friends and, instead of paying them in cash, I had to buy their Jonas Brothers tickets.

-OR-

(d) I think tickets to this show are going to be coveted and I want a piece of the action. Hopefully, I'll be able to sell my tickets for at least $100 or $200 more.

If you answered anything but (d), you know nothing about me, my family, or friends. Of course I'm trying to make some money! Do I feel bad? Oh, man, yah. I honestly feel horrible. But, it's more like an amusing game to me. I'm so curious to find out if I can make any money off of this. Or, if I'll end up just selling them at face value. I've got plenty of time to get rid of these. Hopefully, I'm able to sell 'em to someone. Anyone.

Sheesh. The though of getting stuck with these is scurry.

How I Met Your Comedian

The DVR is so friggin full. Gotta clear some space for Figure Skating. I mean, c'mon... it's the World Championships PEE-PEL!

(yeah, I'm not really into it... but gotta make room for G's recordings)

Watched a bunch of shows tonight. American Idol, Lost, Heroes, et cetera, et cetera... Also got some good laughs with this past Monday's episode of How I Met Your Mother. HIMYM for those in the know.

(Time to glaze over my post if you're not caught up)

There's a flashback to Marshall doing some standup. His whole bit is based on the names of fishes. And all he says is the names of various fish (like Salmon, Halibut, Bass, etc.) and gives a look like, "Ya know? Right? Right?" Like that's supposed to be funny. Nobody's laughing but Ted & Barney are kind enough to say that Marshall did a good job. Anyway, I'm not describing it right. My point is... it just reminds me of how I want to do some standup one day and how scary it is that I might come up with something like that.

Which brings me to today's inappropriate picture of the day.

Idol of America

Cara from American Idol. She's an idiot. In giving feedback to Adam tonight, she said...

"I got six words for you: One-of-the-best-performances-of-the-night."

Good grief!

Let's break this down.

"I got six words for you..."

Okay. Cara said she's got six words. SIX Let's count, alright?

One (1)

of (2)

the (3)

best (4)

performances (5)

of (6)

the (7)

night (8)

Oh, boy! Someone needs to learn how to count.

Aside from stupid judges (all but Simon), the show's somewhat fun this year. Still feels like a waste of time for the most part. But I think there are four guys who are very solid singers. This week was a Motown theme. The two stars of the evening were Matt Giraud singing "Let's Get It On" and Adam Lambert singing "Tracks of My Tears". Dayammmmm. Both renditions were hella smooth. I'm sure the links below will be gone soon. But, for now...

Random Thoughts

A few things before I lay my head to rest...

Visited my dad's grave today. Put some flowers and wished him what would have been his 65th birhday.

Finally laid out the plans for schooling this year. I'll take two classes in the Spring and two in the Summer to fulfill the education requirement for sitting for the CPA exam. Then, I'll start taking the Becker CPA Review course in September. Hopefully, I'll finish all four parts of the exam by February 2010.

Ahhh.... new pillows. They're so huge & fluffy. Old pillows failed fold test badly. No springing back at all.

I get easily distracted by background folks in the shows I watch. I pay attention to audience members on shows like America's Best Dance Crew or Dancing With the Stars. Or fans waving, "Hi" on the Today Show or sporting events. And, if someone is overly distracting, I always wonder, "Why the hell isn't the director focusing the cameras elsewhere?" I'd like a position to be created just for me on a film crew. To say, "Mr. Director... move the cameras! Pronto! Let's not give those kids the satisfaction!" Cuz maybe that's what irritates me. When there are little punks in the background and they get to be on national tv with their punkish ways.

I was super worried about a birthday party this past Sunday. It was a kid birthday. Number one. Her parents we hadn't seen in so long. And we don't know their friends so much. But, man, ran into a few other people I hadn't seen in so long. And they weren't frontin. They were all just acting normal. Conversating and having a good ol' time. That was nice. I'm glad people are finally maturing and not trying to act all cool and whatnot.

I had one of those "feeling so insignificant" thoughts today. It wasn't a negative thing. I was just thinking how I pass so many people everyday. And each person has their own world of so many other people. And in those separate worlds, everyone's trying to fit in. Everyone wants attention. Everyone wants to feel something. Yet it doesn't matter in all the other parallel worlds. We're all so insignificant. And that's alright with me. 'Cause it keeps my thoughts in perspective and I could care less about fitting in with my people. 'Cause, hell, it don't matter a damn to anyone else except me. Man that makes no sense.

I finished reading "Bone" by Jeff Smith. What a great graphic novel! I can't believe it took me just a few weeks to enjoy a story that took other folks over twelve years to follow. My next goal is to get through the Twilight series then maybe pickup all the "Y - The Last Man" trade paperbacks.

There's this guy at work I'm going to name Herbert. Herb for short. That's not his real name... but that's what I'm going to call him right now. Last month, Herb received news that he was going to be laid off on March 31. Since that time, he's been a bad employee. He's called in sick a lot and has even been absent without calling in. Bad Herb. He's been warned about his behavior. And, he's been written up. Herb doesn't seem to care. That's why Herb's manager decided to let him go yesterday. On Monday March 23. Only a little over a week before March 31. That means no severance package of about eleven weeks salary. But that's what he gets for being a bad employees.

So whaddaya know? Herb can't even show up to work to be fired. Herb's manager and HR go through Herb's cubicle to gather his stuff. OH SHIT! Friggin Herb had a gun in his drawer. No bullets. But a gun nonetheless. Cops come. Herb shows up the next day but is not allowed on the premises. He's given his personal belongings and told not to return. Now Herb's coworkers are freakin out. Thankfully, there'll be added security for the next few weeks. Still, that's just crazy yo. Now we've got a new policy. With all the layoffs in the next few months, people have been told that once they're let go, they won't be able to come back without management approval. Not even to visit old coworkers. Sad. But, hey, Herb's actions has made us all paranoid. And by "paranoid" I mean "scared for our friggin lives!"

Album covers

Last night was another evening of pop culture trivia at Jillian's. This time, G didn't play 'cause she was already home when I found out we needed a sixth person. I didn't want to bother her 'cause it had been a long week and I knew she was resting. Instead, I brought her nephew, Tony. I don't think he got any answers... but I was glad to see him having a good time.

Last night's theme was music. Every single category was related to music - a subject I so don't rock at. I thought I wouldn't be much help. But, dude... I totally scored on two categories: (1) Movie Musicals and (2) NSync.

What's that I hear? Did someone just call me a panzeeeee?

It's all good. Again, I'm fairly secure with my manhood. I even carried around dafodils after lunch. Pike Place Market was handing them out for free today to celebrate the first day of spring.

Back to trivia... there were some of my NSync/Movie Musical contributions:

--Brandy starred opposite Whitney Houston in Cinderella.
--In the movie version of Rent, Rosario Dawson was one of two actors who wasn't one of the original cast members from Broadway.
--Dick in a Box won Justin Timberlake an Emmy in 2007.
--The song Music of My Heart was a song by NSync which featured Gloria Estefan and was in the movie of the same name (directed by Wes Craven).

We missed the following questions:

1. What's the name of Lance Bass' autobiography?
2. What was the name of the 2007 VH1 reality show starring Chris Kirkpatrick and other former boy band members trying to form a new pop group?
3. What's the highest grossing movie musical of all time?
4. Which pop icon played the green fairy in Moulin Rouge?

(answers at the end of this post)

And here's another one: Album Covers.

Name the artist associated with the album covers pictured below. Go ahead. Give it a try. Write your answer on a piece of paper. Don't scroll down too far. The answers will be at the very end of the post. Good luck!


#1:


#2:


#3:


#4:


#5:


#6:


#7:


#8:


#9:








Answers to missed questions:
1. Out of Sync
2. Mission: Man Band
3. Mamma Mia!
4. Kylie Minogue








Answers to album covers:
1. Lady Gaga
2. U2
3. Beyonce
4. Adele
5. TI
6. Akon
7. Paramore
8. Kanye West
9. Chris Cornell

My daughter, Kylie

I told G that if we could somehow be given a guarantee that our daughter would look & act like little Kylie, we'd have kids in a heartbeat. I mean, c'mon... she's four-and-a-half and she's a PC. And so friggin cute!

FYI Emails

I've been looking for my coffee mug here at work for a couple of months now. I had no idea where it was. So, in my attempt to find it, I decided to send this email out to the company via the "AV FYI" distribution list. We're allowed to send non-work related messages to this list:

-----Original Message-----
From: Champaco, Rodney
Sent: Tuesday, March 17, 2009 3:24 PM
To: AV FYI
Subject: Missing: Fantastic Four Mug
Importance: Low

I’m missing my black “Fantastic Four” coffee mug. I’m not quite sure where it is. It’s black and has the characters below.

If you happen to know its whereabouts, please let me know and I’ll come and get it.

Thanks,
Rodney

The image below represents the characters on the mug… not the actual design.

-----End Message-----

I didn't really care that people might think me pathetic or whatnot. I just wanted to give an all-company message a try. Several people emailed me either voicing concern... or letting me know that they thought I was crazy. I was going back & forth with our receptionist and she said, "Are you sure you checked everywhere?"

I thought, "Ummm... duh!"

.............Hmmm. Okay, okay, I'll look again.

This time around, I decided to check every single cabinet in our kitchen. Even places where mugs shouldn't be. I mean, c'mon, am I going to find my mug where only teas and cocoas are stored?

[silence]

Dammit!

What do you know? There was my mug. Yes, I was happy to find it. No, I wasn't happy to realize that I wasted everyone's time. I can be such an idiot at times. But, honestly, today's email isn't the first time I've sent a "ridiciulous" email to the FYI distribution list.

Here's one:

-----Original Message-----
From: Rodney Champaco
Sent: Thursday, June 14, 2001 5:13 PM
To: FYI
Subject: Men's Styling Salon

Need a haircut? Wanna go someplace that’s only a couple of blocks away and geared mainly towards men? There’s a new place called the Buzz located on the corner of 1st & Broad (on the bottom floor of the new condo). Price ranges from $15-25 (depending on the type of cut you want). You’re paying for really good service in a hi-tech barber salon. They offer free Internet surfing, hot towels, and scalp massages. I’ve posted a few $5 coupons in the mailroom bulletin board. Treat yourself to a great experience sometime. I highly recommend it…

Phone: 206.256.0000
URL: http://www.mensgroomingstation.com
-----End Message-----

That was my attempt at getting a discount for referrals. Yeah, cheap me. And then this one:

-----Original Message-----
From: Rodney Champaco
Sent: Wednesday, August 08, 2001 4:16 PM
To: FYI
Subject: Candles at 4:30 in the 5th Floor Lunchroom

At 4:30, please come to the 5th Floor lunchroom to grab some cookies and, hey…what do you know?

Melanie Ness from “PartyLite” is here with a variety of candles, candle holders, and other candle-related items for sale. Please drop by to take a look at the items she has. In addition to regular everyday candle stuff, she’ll have new Christmas pieces for sale. It’s never too early to start shopping for Christmas …

But REMEMBER - Candles cannot be lit in the building…

Thanks,
Rodney
-----End Message-----

I really hadn't thought about how "unmanly" that must have sounded back then. I think that's what happens when you're a little TOO secure with your manhood. I don't know how I got roped into attending a PartyLite party... and, worse yet, how I ended up agreeing to host a party at work. I think I was just trying to help other folks around me score some bonus candles. Then, there was this Pacific Islander-ish message:

-----Original Message-----
From: Rodney Champaco
Sent: Thursday, June 01, 2000 4:06 PM
To: FYI
Subject: for sale: Hot & Spicy Spam

I have one can of “Hot & Spicy Spam” for sale. Yes, that’s right. HOT & SPICY SPAM flavored with Tabasco & exported from the exotic island of Guam, USA. A rarity that can’t be found in any local grocery store. This ONE can of “Hot & Spicy Spam” will go to the first closet Spam fan to respond to my message. ONLY $3! Please don’t all respond at once…

Thanks,
Rodney “This Spam was too hot for me” Champaco
-----End Message-----

Uh-huh. How ghetto was I? But, no. You have to see this message I sent as attempt to see how far one could go with this distribution list:

-----Original Message-----
From: Rodney Champaco
Sent: Wednesday, November 22, 2000 1:47 PM
To: FYI
Subject: FREE: Bone

I have a leftover steak bone (from the Keg) for anyone who’d like to give their dog a treat.

Let me know if you’re interested.

Thanks,
Rodney
-----End Message-----

I swear to gawd... someone actually took the bone! They were so happy for their dog. As another coworker said, just goes to show you can get rid of anything on FYI.

I tried

G's luncheon is today. She's crazy stressed out. I wakeup after she's already showered and go directly to the kitchen to fix her some coffee and a bagel. While I'm at it, I make myself lunch and pack a stale donut for my breakfast. By the time I'm in the shower, she's almost ready to go. I dry off as quickly as possible and see G's completely set to leave. I quickly dress and warmup the car for her... taking her breakfast to the car and setting up Garmin for her drive to Bellevue. Ugh. I wanted a ride to the bus stop but I still have stuff to do. Off she goes.

It only takes me another 5-10 minutes to get ready. I'm just about to leave for the bus when ... FRACK! I realize it's St. Patty's Day! Mind you, I'm not Irish. But, you know, I like to honor the day so I go back to my closet, put on a green t-shirt, and swap out my striped sweater for a black v-neck one. ZOOM... out the door I go. Too bad I had to change. I barely missed my bus 'cause of it. It's all good though. The next one came only tem minutes later.

Fast forward two hours later... People in the office are dressed in bright greens. Our HR manager takes a look at me and totally criticizes me for not wearing green. None of my coworkers defend me. They all agree. I'm not really wearing green.

What. Evs.

I mean, c'mon! I totally put the effort in this morning to wear a shade of green. Sure, it's a very pastel-ee shade of green. And it's quite light and lookin' grey in certain light. But, darnit, give me some props for trying. A little? Please?

By-the-by... I was able to pick me up the last issue of the Seattle PI. Goodbye ol' friend. I used to have a subscription longggggg time ago. I'm not a newspaper guy. But it's sad that Seattle, as big as we are, is down to just one major newspaper. The Seattle Times no longer has competition. I don't think that's ever a good thing. First the Sonics... now the PI. What's next?

...aaaand, final tangent: Conan was in Seattle! Funny quick interview.

It's about time

My head don't feel so good. My hearing's a bit plugged up and I just don't want to go anywhere. Alas, tonight is Lion King at the Paramount. And dinner with good friends. So that's something to look forward to.

G's at work at the YWCA again. Third Saturday in a row. I volunteered for her the last couple of weekends, helping put their centerpieces together for luncheon season. Their first one is on ...

(Little Miss Sunshine is on. Poor kid. The son.)

... this coming Tuesday. I had a late night hanging with some high school folks I hadn't seen in awhile. I didn't drink too many beers. Yet, here I am with a slight headache and feeling a bit off balance. Dangit. I really don't think I can drink anymore. Sad.

(Awww... she's so sweet. Comforting her brother. I like this scene.)

The fellas were really funny. We were just all dissin and cussin at each other. Too fun. It's not something I HAVE to do. I prefer chillin with just me and G. But, when I'm with the fellas or any other group of friends, I do have a really good time. I hope we meet up again in a few months.

So I've been in and out of sleep all morning. Watched a few sitcoms. My usual slacking. But I can't believe I've been able to do a few chores here and there. Psssst.... I did TWO loads of laundry. The last time I touched the washer & dryer was...

ummmm...

. . . .

I...

can't...

remember.

Five years? Oh, my gosh. It might be longer. Poor G. She's too good to me. I'm glad she can come home to a clean house and some fresh laundry. She deserves it since she's been such a hard worker.

(Uh oh. It's almost time for her to perform. All these other little girls are singing and dancing. Little kid pageants are creepy, man.)

Like a Time to Kill... but different

Went to Pop Culture Trivial Night at Jillian's tonight. Dude. We were so close to winning. 62 points for second place. Winning team scored 65. That $100 could have been ours. G was proud of herself answering three questions correctly. I think I got two - well, at least one. The one I'm really proud of. The category was Family Guy. The question asked what was Stewie's email address that later because the name of a MySpace profile.

Right away I remember his email address had "@yahoo.com" at the end. The address "loismustdie" immediately came to mind but I just thought I was imagining things. I made the suggestion to the team but another team member suggested "killlois" and "deathtolois". I stuck with my guns and told them to go with "loismustdie@yahoo.com" And guess what? I was right! The team we were scoring was close... they wrote "loismustdie@hotmail.com" I usually have a very bad memory - so I'm very proud of myself getting this one correct.

At the end of the night, we were waiting our usual ten minutes to hear our scores. Brendon asks if we knew anyone who could design a website. He starts talking about an idea he has for a business. It would be internet driven. People would list video games they have and trade games with other folks who didn't want their games anymore. For the site to make money, each trade would cost $1. After pausing for a bit, he says...

"So imagine the trading games site but, instead of games, it's porn."

HUH?

That totally threw us all for a loop. I started cracking up. He was selling this whole video game site and turned a quick 180 degrees and went with porn. That's two completely different products. Totally reminded me of the end of Time to Kill.

"Can you see her? I want you to picture that little girl. Now imagine she's white."

Get out

Last night, my boss sent out a message to the ten transition employees to let us know how much longer we have:

As I mentioned, the current plan for your extended employment with NECII is four months after 3/31/09, ends on 7/31/09. This will be in your transition offer letter, which should be available in the next couple of weeks.

Of course, today, I compare notes with the other nine folks. Here's how it's gonna work out as far as employment terms:

until 5/31: Sales Support (2) & Invoicing (1)
until 6/30: Accounting Manager (1)
until 7/31: Credit & Collections Manager (1) & Staff Accountant (1) <-that's me
until 9/30: Production (4)

...and my boss, Director of Finance & Operations, is here until 9/30 as well.

I don't think I would have thought of blogging about this but, I must say, I am very unhappy about our C&C Manager being here until 7/31. I mean, I'm so unhappy that I separated "I'm" into "I am". She's frequently out of the office for various personal health and children-related reasons. A lot of those absences appear valid but a lot of times, we're like, "Where ARE you???" And even when she's here, she's not here. She's always asking questions on topics which she should have the answer to. The people she asks, myself included, are alway dumbfounded with her. UGH!

So here... I don't normally cuss on my blogs but here goes.

FUCK!!!!!

I just asked her to help me out with something. It was I.T. related and should have been her area of expertise. But I ask her to help 'cause I'm in the middle of other reporting needs for executive management. What happens? She asks me so many questions as to what I want her to do. And, in the end, I did everything myself.

FUCK!!!!

I'm so pissed at the scenario and so unhappy for other people who are more competent and should be here to help with the transition but, instead, she gets to work here longer for a salary she doesn't deserve. Yes, I'm angry.

But, on a lighter note, it's so beautifully sunny out. [insert smiley face]

From home

Breakfast - cinnamon raisin bagel w/light cream cheese & coffee (brewed at home)
Lunch - turkey sandwich w/cheddar cheese, salt & pepper chips, and yogurt
Snack - yogurt (boston cream pie?)

Look at that. Normal for some? Unusual for me. I'm always buying my lunch. I actually went grocery shopping last night for me and G. On top of saving money, we're saving time of having to find what to eat. I hope this lasts longer than other things I do. For now, we should have lunch through next Wednesday or so...

Tomorrow? Tuna or egg salad sandwich. Take that tough-economic-times!

The Mayonnaise Jar and 2 Beers

An email someone sent to me. Long but amusing...

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 Beers.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him.

When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous 'yes.'

The professor then produced two Beers from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

'Now,' said the professor as the laughter subsided, 'I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things---your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions---and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car.

The sand is everything else---the small stuff. 'If you put the sand into the jar first,' he continued, 'there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls.'

The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

'Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Spend time with your children. Spend time with your parents. Visit with grandparents. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first---the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.'

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the Beer represented.

The professor smiled and said, 'I'm glad you asked.' The Beer just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of Beers with a friend.'

Please share this with someone else.. I JUST DID

Desktop Cleaning

I need to clean my desktop. It's a mess. Wouldn't it be funny if I filled my entire desktop with shortcuts and files? I want that.

Motivation

There's a coworker of mine who is so slow. I mean soooooo slow. Seriously.

s----o--------s----l----o----w

Whenever I see him typing, I see him just pecking away at the keyboard in what I would best describe as slow motion.

One

key

at

a

time.

There's no urgency to anything he does. He's certainly not lazy. For the most part, he knows what he's doing. He's honestly just the slowest man alive.

But, dude... this guy answers trivia questions via email so friggin quickly. I have a calendar of daily Trivial Pursuit Pop Culture questions. I've turned the questions into a fun daily game with eight of my coworkers. The first out of the group to answer correctly gets two points. All other correct answerers receive one point.

My coworker-slow-poco is almost always the first person to answer correctly. I just don't understand it. One day, I'm gonna run to his cube after sending a question and see how the hell he does it. It's incredible I tell ya. I need to setup a spy cam in his office to make sense of it all.

(Did I mention how slow homie is???)

Clockboys

I saw Watchmen over the weekend. Great movie... if you read the graphic novel. If not, I'm not quite sure I'd recommend it. It was awesome seeing it on the big screen. But, you know, the story is a very complex one. A six-hour mini-series would be the best way to completely do the story justice. But, alas, it was condensed into a long two-hour-forty-five-minute-plus movie. Great cinematagraphy, casting, stories, etc... But, as a whole, it was missing certain elements that would have made the movie even better.

I probably would have enjoyed the movie more if I was't too busy thinking about those around me who hadn't read the story. And if I would have stopped comparing the book in my mind with what I had seen on the big screen. I spent six hours over the weekend watching the "motion comic" version of Watchmen. Basically, it was the story in DVD format. Everything was fresh in mind so all I was doing throughout the movie was figuring out the changes and what was missing.

I'll probably end up watching it one more time in the big screen with the $7.50 coupon I got from the DVD. I'll give it another shot. This time around, I think I'll just enjoy the movie without any external interference.

Oh... a friend of mine sent me this YouTube link to a Watchmen Saturday morning cartoon. I think this is a fake cartoon - but it's super funny considering how dark the graphic novel is. "Funny" if you know the story. "Eh" if you've never read it (or seen the movie):

Blankety blank blank

My blog likes to go blank every once in awhile. Hmmm... apparently, it chooses to go blank on Monday nights. New post? Work your magic to make it all reappear!

Flattered

Some NEC execs were in the office on Friday. They're working on some initial issues for the transition to NEC. Speaking of transition, that's right... the Active Voice website will probably have to go bye-bye. That means they're gonna get rid of the pretty picture of me on the website. I'm really gonna miss that lookin-to-the-side-like-a-moron-and-all-messed-up picture. I remember being told I was making a big deal out of nothing back when that was posted. C'mon... I'm looking to my side like I'm up to no good. Very shifty, that Rodney guy.

Anyhoo, around three o'clock on Friday, my boss, Amy, brings Chiung, the Director of Finance for NEC Infrontia, to our department to introduce her to the crew. They stop by my office first. Chiung knows my name from all the reports I've provided her in the past and the support I gave when Amy was on maternity leave. Being ever so kind, Amy starts talkin about how awesome of an employee I am. With a huge smile on her face, Chiung looks at me and asks, "Do you want to work for us? We need another accountant..."

Not taking her seriously, I'm like, "Really?" Giving me the "hell ya" look, she starts talking briefly about the position and how beautiful it is in Shelton, CT. That's right. Connecticut. I humor Chiung by "OOOooo"-ing and "Awwwww"-ing at the right moments. She eventually moves on to my other coworkers.

After the tour's complete, Chiung pops back in my office and closes the door.

Oh no. What the ?

She asks me if I'm really interested. I tell her, "Maaaaaybeeeee..." and she continues on. Oh, man. She was pushing hard! She repeats how great it is in Connecticut. The distinct four seasons are awesome. New York City is 90 minutes away. It's only two hours to Boston. The job would give me so many opportunities for growth. Especially since she's thinking of retiring in the next few years.

For the next half hour, she's back & forth between my office and the conference room where her and the other execs are. She also mentions that they'd pay all relocation fees and help me find a new place. On her final visit, she writes down a number on a small piece of paper. The number I see represents a salary offer. 25% more than I make now.

Jaw drops.

But what do you know? She needed to know by Monday. For a job that starts in April. Only a month away. She leaves saying, "So... what do you think? You're about 80% sure?"

I tell her, "No... 50/50." I thank her and tell her I'll get back to her after the weekend.

The feeling was so awesome. The thought of a new place and a huge jump in salary felt great. I really did think it through. But, in the end, the answer was easy. I couldn't take the risk. What happens if I move there and NEC decides to move their office to Dallas? My boss said that this was certainly a possibility since they offered her the same job... in Texas.

I'd also have to make the change very quickly. G would love the idea of living so close to NYC. But we were always thinking of moving next year... not now. We'd probably have to live apart for a little bit. Which we wouldn't mind. But still. It was just so much, so fast.

'Twas nice but I wrote Chiung this morning declining her offer. I'm gonna take advantage of the six-months severance coming to me at the end of July. How often does something like this get offered? Cali is definitely in the future and I want to stick to that plan. I'm so looking forward to finding something in the Bay area in 2010. Patience, Rodney. Patience...

Lloyd Answers

I've replaced Facebook with a different waste-of-time internet activity. Yahoo Answers. In the past, whenever I've googled certain subjects, I've sometimes been taken to this site.

How's it work?
You can post questions or answer other people's question!

What's the incentive to answer questions?
To help others of course!

No really. What's your incentive?
To earn two points for answering a question. Another ten points if the asker chooses your answer as the best. That's the basic scoring in addition to a few other things.

That's cool! What can you get for your points?
A sense of pride knowing you're a rockstar.

Really? That's what you get? Seriously?
Ummm... yeah. The points just add up to let other people know how much of a contributor you are.

You realize you're wasting your time again, right?
[bowing head in shame] y e s .

GET BACK TO WORK!
Okay, okay. Sorry, Mr. Italicized questions-slash-comments. Sheesh.

By the way, here's a link to my account... Yahoo Answers

Bad POCs

A few weeks ago, our Accounting Manager tells me that our Accounts Payable Dude would be going to France for a friend's wedding. He was only taking four days off, and would be back on Friday, March 6. Today. Three-Six-Nine.

The moment she tells me this info, I say, "Watch. He won't be back until Monday, March 9." I didn't tell her this but I know the way of the POC. People of Color. We always plan for the best case scenario then often fall short of our goals. And he's Jamaican. Man, that's just a given that he won't be back to work the day after his flight.

So what happens? An email this morning from our Accounting Manager:

Dale is out of the office today

Yes. A/P Dude is Dale.

My response to her:

What’d I tell ya? ;)

Yeah, it's a little racist. But it's true. POCs. We can't help ourselves.

Lost & lost

Let's say you're having lunch with a friend in a busy cafeteria. From the corner of your eye, you see someone pass by and drop trash. You're engaged in the conversation with your friend so you just ignore the obvious littering. A few moments pass and you just happen to glance over at the trash and see... wait a minute. That's not trash! It's money.

You pick up the fallen bills and see it's only $7. In an attempt to return the money to the stranger, you proceed in the direction you thought they went. But all you see is a sea of people. You've got no clue as to who the money belongs to. What do you do?

In my case, I thought it fair to give the money to my friend since, heck, he did pay for lunch. I mean, what else could we do? Stick around for someone to finally realize they lost only $7? Put the money at Lost & Found hoping someone will claim it? My friend, who likes to Walk Aimlessly, felt bad for taking the money. And I felt bad that someone lost cash. But, in the end, there really was no other option.

Sorry stranger-who's-lost-money-today! I hope karma brings your money back to you one day...

Buzz

You know what's embaressing? It's embaressing when you get a haircut and then, all of a sudden, your barber puts his clipper in your ear. To trim your EAR hair.

You know what's worse? When your barber does the same thing... to your OTHER ear.

I felt like making a joke about it. A nervous hey-look-at-me-I'm-okay-with-it quip. But I decided that, for once in my life, I would just stay quiet and let it be. I've been learning control lately. I hate this growing up thing.

G'night

Why does my blog show up blank on the main page? Interesting. Maybe posting something new will change that.

The best part of being SO super busy several days in a row is when it all comes to an end. I'm so tired from so much working, class assignments, volunteering, and a wee bit of socializing.

Tie.

Erd.

But, the sooper dooper busy time has come to an end. Now it's time for a very relaxing night of sleep. The eyes are heavy, the bed's feeling oh-so-nice, and I'm off to the land of z's. ZZZ-ZZz-Zzz-zzz-zzzzzzzzzzzzz....

Must be karma

2008 was a horrible year for Seattle sports fans. Sonics play their last season in Seattle and are now the Oklahoma City Thunder. Mariners are horrible. Then football? Ugh. UW was considered one of nation's worst college teams and our pro team falls apart. On top of doing miserably, the Seahawks lose their head coach... Mike Holmgren bye-bye.

But in 2009, things are picking up a bit. Griffey's back for the Mariners, the UW Husky Men's Basketball team are on their way to winning the Pac-10 AND making it into the big dance this March. And, the most recent news, the Seattle Seahawks pick up TJ Houshmanzadahljasfdklj... However you spell his name, he's one of the biggest free agent wide receivers in the offseason. And the Seahawks got him! That's right. Uh-huh. Can't wait for football!!!

side note: sports blogs bore me but I just heard the new pick up for the Seahawks and had to write my excitement.