No change on the job front. Haven't heard anymore on either the OfficeMax job or the one at Lucent. Maybe I'll just quit talking about them and let whatever happens happen. That's usually a better way to handle uncertainty - then I can focus on what's in front of me and needs handling now. That's quite a bit. I have my second shift job at Zurich, studying now for two more certification exams, and starting my first MBA classes in about 10 days. Should be an interesting Fall. ;-)
Seen any good movies lately? We've seen a lot! About six weeks ago I signed up for the Blockbuster No More Late Fees program. For $24.95 a month I get to check out two movies at a time, keep as long as I like, then swap them for two more. Kind of like Netflix only I have to do the transportation of the disks. Anyway, it worked out great for us at first 'cause the Blockbuster is next to the grocery store we go to all the time - made the swaps easy. I think we watched over 20 movies the first month - more than we'd rented the previous year! Really got caught up on the movies we'd been meaning to see.
Then, a couple weeks ago, Mary Lynn saw an ad online for Netflix - they have more subscription options now and are boasting better service. Now, we tried Netflix when they first started several years ago, but we were living in downtown Chicago at the time and the turnaround time for disks via the mail was to inconsistent. It would take up to a week for them to get to us and there was a pair of disks that never showed up at all, so we cancelled. I think at that time they only had two warehouses for the whole country; now they have lots more distribution centers so we thought we'd give 'em another chance. Well, turns out the local warehouse is in Carol Stream - just a few miles from the house! Very handy. We ordered up Bubblegum Crisis: Tokyo 2040 - one of our favorite anime series - late in the evening, and it was in the mailbox the second day after that. Since then, we mail 'em back one day, I get an email report when Netflix receives them, and another later in the day that they mailed our next ones, and they're in our hands the next day. I can't complain about a one-day turn-around. Anyway, it's a little cheaper now too - just $17.95 a month for three disks at a time.
The best part is the selection. We were bummed with Blockbuster because once you got through the A-list of new releases and the odd small film that shows up there occassionally, the stock on hand is pretty limited. I have yet to search for an obsure film I've read about and not find it on Netflix.
Ahhh, pizza! We went into Chicago today for doctor's appointments and then went to Connie's Pizza on Archer for lunch! Yummm!! We used to get Connie's all the time when we lived downtown, but it was always delivered - we had never visited the restaurant. Then we moved to Schaumburg and discovered they just didn't deliver that far out of town! Bummer! Anyway, Mary Lynn had the spagetti with meatballs marinara, and I had the chicken caesar salad - then we ordered up a pizza to take home with us. Good plan! Lunch was great, and then I took a couple slices with me to work for dinner - I'm afraid they were gone in the first hour. Too good!
We got three more movies in the mail today. The fun never ends. ;-)
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
Monday, August 15, 2005
Branching Out Into Office Supplies, Maybe...?
So I have a recruiting firm talking to me about going to work for OfficeMax! That would be pretty cool - printer ink at wholesale and all. ;-)
I went for an interview at the recruiter's office last week and it went very well. They want to submit me as a lead or manager position at the corporate IT center - I would direct a dozen or so people and be the go-to guy for second and third level problem escalations. The best part is that this is a direct-hire position - not contract - so I would have bennies! I have zilch as a contractor; in fact, I'm having to pay COBRA fees to continue my insurance from Sara Lee because the plan from my contract firm sucks blue whale. So this would be better.
It's been almost a month since my interview at Lucent, so I'm going to e-mail the manager there to let him know I'm still interested and to keep on the top of his list. It's good to have choices.
Had a really nice weekend. Mary Lynn and I went to the Egg-clectic Cafe for brunch on Saturday - then did a little shopping at WalMart and Sam's Club. At the cafe MLM ordered a patty-melt on sourdough which she said was the best she'd ever had - she ended up giving me half and I agreed! I had an excellent grilled chicken and fresh fruit and greens salad - had to pack up 2/3s of it to bring home "for later." Then to Woodfield Mall for her to have her nails done and pick up her new glasses at Lenscrafters. The glasses look great on her! Oval lenses in thin RED metal frames. Also, instead of getting the photo-sensitive lenses this time, she got magnetic clip-on shades like I have. We are both very cool now. Then we went to dinner. We'd been talking about trying new places for a while so since we were at the mall Mary Lynn suggested Red Robin (the world's greatest gourmet burger maker), and it was really great! The atmosphere was fun and noisy - lots of families and rock music in the air. Huge, tasty burgers and appetizers - MLM took over half her burger home and I took over half my hot wings appetizer "for later." Anyway, good fun food - we recommend it. ;-) We were going to go to a movie but the day was shot by now and so were we, so we went home to relax.
Took some movies back to Blockbuster and picked up two more that were lots of fun! We recommend Kung Fu Hustle and Guess Who? Check 'em out! If I have time I'll discuss them on a later post. Gotta go for now.
Oooh, it's the ides of August. Everybody watch your step!
;-)
I went for an interview at the recruiter's office last week and it went very well. They want to submit me as a lead or manager position at the corporate IT center - I would direct a dozen or so people and be the go-to guy for second and third level problem escalations. The best part is that this is a direct-hire position - not contract - so I would have bennies! I have zilch as a contractor; in fact, I'm having to pay COBRA fees to continue my insurance from Sara Lee because the plan from my contract firm sucks blue whale. So this would be better.
It's been almost a month since my interview at Lucent, so I'm going to e-mail the manager there to let him know I'm still interested and to keep on the top of his list. It's good to have choices.
Had a really nice weekend. Mary Lynn and I went to the Egg-clectic Cafe for brunch on Saturday - then did a little shopping at WalMart and Sam's Club. At the cafe MLM ordered a patty-melt on sourdough which she said was the best she'd ever had - she ended up giving me half and I agreed! I had an excellent grilled chicken and fresh fruit and greens salad - had to pack up 2/3s of it to bring home "for later." Then to Woodfield Mall for her to have her nails done and pick up her new glasses at Lenscrafters. The glasses look great on her! Oval lenses in thin RED metal frames. Also, instead of getting the photo-sensitive lenses this time, she got magnetic clip-on shades like I have. We are both very cool now. Then we went to dinner. We'd been talking about trying new places for a while so since we were at the mall Mary Lynn suggested Red Robin (the world's greatest gourmet burger maker), and it was really great! The atmosphere was fun and noisy - lots of families and rock music in the air. Huge, tasty burgers and appetizers - MLM took over half her burger home and I took over half my hot wings appetizer "for later." Anyway, good fun food - we recommend it. ;-) We were going to go to a movie but the day was shot by now and so were we, so we went home to relax.
Took some movies back to Blockbuster and picked up two more that were lots of fun! We recommend Kung Fu Hustle and Guess Who? Check 'em out! If I have time I'll discuss them on a later post. Gotta go for now.
Oooh, it's the ides of August. Everybody watch your step!
;-)
Monday, August 08, 2005
Lionel's New Catalog!
Oh, Boy! The new Lionel 2005 Classic Train Catalog Volume 2 is online!
And look! there on the cover! The C&O Allegheny! My favorite engine of all time! One of the biggest, most powerful reciprocating steam locomotives ever built! I actually saw one of the only two still in existence back in 1996 when Mary Lynn and I were in D.C. and visited the B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore. We have a photo of me hanging from the grab iron on the rear of the tender!
This one is a special Joshua Lionel Cohen commemorative issue with full TCC, sounds, and computerized speed control - along with a host of other features. Which I guess one would expect on a model retailing for $1700! Ackk! Oh, well; Chistmas is coming. Every year, thank goodness. ;-)
Someday... It will be mine...
Someday.....
(sigh)
And look! there on the cover! The C&O Allegheny! My favorite engine of all time! One of the biggest, most powerful reciprocating steam locomotives ever built! I actually saw one of the only two still in existence back in 1996 when Mary Lynn and I were in D.C. and visited the B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore. We have a photo of me hanging from the grab iron on the rear of the tender!
This one is a special Joshua Lionel Cohen commemorative issue with full TCC, sounds, and computerized speed control - along with a host of other features. Which I guess one would expect on a model retailing for $1700! Ackk! Oh, well; Chistmas is coming. Every year, thank goodness. ;-)
Someday... It will be mine...
Someday.....
(sigh)
Friday, August 05, 2005
Takin' Another Step
So today is my last day at CCH. This was the three-week day job that I've been on for two months now. Everyone is sad to see me go and wishes I would tough it out a few more weeks so they can get the project finished. It's really nice to be appreciated. The people I've worked with here are from Perot Systems or consultants working for PS - PS does all of CCH's IT work. Everyone is top-notch and I'll miss them too!
The night job at Zurich is working out very well. The second shift often has little to do other than be available in case something crashes so I am putting in a lot of time studying. Last night I had an interesting issue with a pair of web and data servers that I got put into a conference call with several folks trying to resolve it. I was the guy actually doing all the analysis on the servers and came up with a solution that worked slick as can be and everyone was happy. It was fun! Other than that, it's pretty quiet and I can study for Network+. My co-workers there are pretty cool as well - IT night staff tend to be an unusual crowd so it's very pleasant there - nobody is uptight or under much pressure (except this one manager but we all know he's got issues). It's going to be great to work there until the Lucent (or something even better!) job comes along.
So with the night shift job I have to change my plans about where to go to get my MBA - did I mention I was going for my MBA? Maybe not. Anyway, I was on track to go to Northern Illinois Univ 'cause they have an excellent night program but that won't work with my current job. So I checked around and found that ITT has an online MBA program - with a tech focus of course - so I've started the process of enrolling there. The classes are rated at four hours and they're on the quarter system so I'll actually finish a lot sooner than at NIU. Wah-Hoo!
My Dad is coming to visit on Monday! He's flying into O'Hare and renting a car to visit us for a couple days before driving up to Milwaukee for the annual reunion of his old army outfit (WW-II). He was in the Normandy invasion and the Battle of the Bulge and all that and I'm really proud of him. I just wish he'd get his C.O. to approve a purple heart for him. He was injured in the leg when a truck he was in was blown off the road by artilliary, and though he was offered the medal he didn't persue it because he wasn't actually shot or maimed (and working with a mobile hospital unit he had seen plenty of the worst), but I say, hey, it was under fire so you should have it. I think he might ask this time but who knows, he is a humble man.
I returned the train set Dad gave me but haven't ordered anything to replace it yet. The website he used doesn't have a lot of Lionel stuff right now - they expect a lot of new things in the Fall so I'll probably wait till then.
Last weekend we celebrated Mary Lynn's birthday (it was the 30th) and had a really nice time (Happy Birthday, Sweetheart!). She had to work but got off at 3:00, so I met her then and we went shopping! She got a 'way cool Tinkerbelle wrist watch and some clothes and some new makeup at Sephora that looks great on her! I am very glad that our money was stable with plenty available to give her a nice celebration - God knows she deserves it! I have been known to really FUBAR the checkbook at just the wrong time to screw things up - but not this time, and not anymore.
So this weekend I get to clean out the closet in the guest room - Yea! Should be fun, sorta, I know I've been wanting to do it for weeks but have not had the time.
Later.
;-)
The night job at Zurich is working out very well. The second shift often has little to do other than be available in case something crashes so I am putting in a lot of time studying. Last night I had an interesting issue with a pair of web and data servers that I got put into a conference call with several folks trying to resolve it. I was the guy actually doing all the analysis on the servers and came up with a solution that worked slick as can be and everyone was happy. It was fun! Other than that, it's pretty quiet and I can study for Network+. My co-workers there are pretty cool as well - IT night staff tend to be an unusual crowd so it's very pleasant there - nobody is uptight or under much pressure (except this one manager but we all know he's got issues). It's going to be great to work there until the Lucent (or something even better!) job comes along.
So with the night shift job I have to change my plans about where to go to get my MBA - did I mention I was going for my MBA? Maybe not. Anyway, I was on track to go to Northern Illinois Univ 'cause they have an excellent night program but that won't work with my current job. So I checked around and found that ITT has an online MBA program - with a tech focus of course - so I've started the process of enrolling there. The classes are rated at four hours and they're on the quarter system so I'll actually finish a lot sooner than at NIU. Wah-Hoo!
My Dad is coming to visit on Monday! He's flying into O'Hare and renting a car to visit us for a couple days before driving up to Milwaukee for the annual reunion of his old army outfit (WW-II). He was in the Normandy invasion and the Battle of the Bulge and all that and I'm really proud of him. I just wish he'd get his C.O. to approve a purple heart for him. He was injured in the leg when a truck he was in was blown off the road by artilliary, and though he was offered the medal he didn't persue it because he wasn't actually shot or maimed (and working with a mobile hospital unit he had seen plenty of the worst), but I say, hey, it was under fire so you should have it. I think he might ask this time but who knows, he is a humble man.
I returned the train set Dad gave me but haven't ordered anything to replace it yet. The website he used doesn't have a lot of Lionel stuff right now - they expect a lot of new things in the Fall so I'll probably wait till then.
Last weekend we celebrated Mary Lynn's birthday (it was the 30th) and had a really nice time (Happy Birthday, Sweetheart!). She had to work but got off at 3:00, so I met her then and we went shopping! She got a 'way cool Tinkerbelle wrist watch and some clothes and some new makeup at Sephora that looks great on her! I am very glad that our money was stable with plenty available to give her a nice celebration - God knows she deserves it! I have been known to really FUBAR the checkbook at just the wrong time to screw things up - but not this time, and not anymore.
So this weekend I get to clean out the closet in the guest room - Yea! Should be fun, sorta, I know I've been wanting to do it for weeks but have not had the time.
Later.
;-)
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