Anything you are excited about?
I have an interview coming up in a few weeks that could very well be everything I was hoping for to start my career in the financial industry. It would put me in my ideal city (potentially) doing work that would support a cause that I believe in. It would take stress off of my spouse and it would make me feel like I was finally contributing to something, instead of sitting on the sidelines.
Other than that, there isn’t really anything I can think of that I’m excited about.
Until tomorrow…
Category: NoJoMo
I started doing this on the now-defunct OpenDiary in 2010. I’ve done it every year since.
11.26.17
Do you ever feel conflicted when someone you admire comes under controversy?
Yes, I do. I don’t think that I couldn’t sit and wonder about whether or not it makes me a bad person to listen to Michael Jackson’s music or still enjoy shows with Kevin Spacey in them. They both made mistakes in their lives, but I feel as though I am supporting the art and not necessarily the person behind it. Yes, it is their art, but much more went into it than the deeds they are accused of.
I do still struggle with it though, from time to time. Everyone makes mistakes, but some are just greater than others. But supposedly, time heals all wounds.
Until tomorrow…
11.25.17
Do you prefer to be an educated, opinionated person, to just be an opinionated person?
Yes, I prefer to be an educated, opinionated person. I feel when you are better educated in your argument, you can make a better argument and it is easier for people to understand your point of view, as long as they are willing to learn it.
If there is a person who is dead set in there ways, no amount of facts or logic will help them to see a different way of looking at things. These are the people who “know” things and it drives me absolutely crazy.
They hear from such and such, who is the most credible person ever, and that is the way things are. They don’t need to research because they know that the person knows what they’re talking about and that’s all that matters.
Until tomorrow…
26
Going through some of these is mildly amusing.
Glad to see the picture is still working, here.
NoJoMo Day 26 – 11/26/2012
Rather dull day tying up loose ends at work. Will give it a good 4/5. Much of the work I do might seem like it amounts to mental masturbation, but it’s ultimately important. Why? Because it’s far too easy to spend copious amounts of money just to accommodate someone’s whims.
Essentially, I have to figure out what someone needs to do to finish his job, and ensure he gets tools to accomplish those tasks. What the final product is might not be what he/she imagined, but it’s what he/she needs — for the lowest cost possible.
This is a common graphic used for what I do:
But it’s not completely right, because sales and marketing get the customer to request the thing in the first frame. Isn’t it pretty?
Complicating matters is that many of the “engineers” i deal with are a bit like this guy (pops).
Onto the prompts….
1. Post your favorite recipe.
Five parts dry gin
One part dry vermouth
Ice
Three pitted, stuffed olives.
Pour vermouth over ice in a shaker. Swirl to coat. Add gin. Stir. Strain into cocktail glass, or serve in rocks glass with ice included. Skewer olives. Add to cocktail. Drink. Relax.
2. List 3 things that went right today.
1. Woke up on time.
2. Did some actual work.
3. FRescheduled conflicting doctor’s appointment for next week to a better time.
Post your favorite recipe.
Five years ago I posted a recipe for a gin martini. While I still really appreciate that, finances have really curtailed my imbibement. The maybe one time in the week that I have a cocktail, i’ts normally a Manhattan. One part sweet vermouth, two parts whiskey. A less-than-stellar review. A couple of dashes of bitters, a cherry. Stir with ice, strain, and drink.
Sarah makes a lot of good stuff, but, during the week, I’m eating pretty much whatever my mother wants.
As it gets colder, I’m going to miss some of her cold-weather cooking.
I don’t have many of those to link, unfortunately. I’d probably screw them up if I attempted. My skills have deteriorated.
11.24.17
Do you take things too personally?
I do more than I wish I did. There have been certain times in my life when I thought that people were only doing something in order to attack me. I feel less like that nowadays, but there are still times when I wonder if someone is just trying to hurt me, even if it is through a very small, insignificant gesture.
I think we all have times in our lives when we are going through a course of bad luck and therefore, anything that happens to us during that time has to be the work of someone who is purposely trying to get us.
During my time in college, I was unable to get an internship with one of the major accounting firms in the area. Some people close to me started to speculate that someone who I considered a friend was going into these firms and telling them about what a terrible person I was. To me, there are two things that seem very wrong with that theory:
- Have you considered how that would make the person look to the company? Who would really want someone to work for them that comes in with a bad attitude like that and who in an interview immediately starts talking crap about someone? No one, because nobody wants a problem employee.
- How awful of a person must you think I am that people would be so quick and willing to start spreading lies about me?
I think the truth about the internship situation is that I don’t interview well and I learned too late that even low-skilled jobs still count for experience in the professional world because it gives the firms a point of reference as to what they can expect from you.
There is only one firm where I believe I was not given an opportunity because of a vendetta, but that wasn’t from someone in my circle of friends. It was an employee who felt slighted by me for something I was involved in.
I honestly think that nothing opened up for me here because the universe knows that while I love where I live (the city at least, not a particular fan of our building), I really want to be somewhere else. As of now, it looks like things might be moving in the right direction for that to happen in the coming year.
Until tomorrow…
24
As promised, Thanksgiving recap…
Yesterday morning was spent trying to get this repairman up to my mom’s house.
((long backstory deleted))
They finally got things into working order yesterday morning.
I cooked a turkey. It went well, though I had to finish it in the oven so it’d be up to the correct temperature.
My wife’s dessert was the real winner.
We got home just before 2100, and tried to watch some of the Giants-Redskins game. At halftime, we gave up and went to bed.
Naturally, that early bedtime found me awake way too early this morning. *yawn*
After glancing away to look, the Redskins did win. Doesn’t look like we really missed too much, though. With the Redskins playing on Thursday, we’ll probably get the Saints’ game on TV Sunday. I’m okay with that.
So, back to familytime…. My wife and SIL were having a good time talking about girl stuff, while I was worried about cooking. Talks about various things; my brother and I agree that there was one video that was the peak of MTV’s video library. You might say that it as Epic.
I’m very close to finally getting this virtualization host working the way I want it. Maybe once I”m finished with that, I’ll get to doing the prompts for the rest of the month. My head is kinda spinning right now.
Not sure if I mentioned, but with the old diary site coming back, I did look more to see if my “lifetime” subscription is going to be honored. Amazingly, yes it will be.
11.23.17
Do you find it more pleasant to spend the holidays with a few select people or do you prefer large gatherings?
I think I prefer a little of both. I don’t mind being around people, but I hate putting on clothes and going somewhere. I would be perfectly okay with just staying in my pajamas all day and cooking a two person feast. If I am cooking myself it means I can experiment with new recipes that I know other people may not be open to. My husband is generally open to trying new recipes, unless they are really out there. Although he has developed a taste for tofu and soy chorizo, so maybe I could get him to try a cauliflower turkey? Not really interested in that myself, but I like the occasional challenge in the kitchen.
Really tired today because I decided to take a nap at 9:30 last night and then wake up and bake a dessert to take with us. Ended up staying up until 5am so that it could properly cool. Then to get up at 9:15 this morning and yeah it is more than a little draining.
Currently getting snubbed by my MIL’s pekingese and hoping that my fantasy football team can come up with something today. We shall see.
Also, waiting until 6pm for the ULTA Black Friday sale, because I need to add to my collection of a couple hundred lipsticks.
Until tomorrow…
23
One more week, and I guess that’s something for which I can be thankful.
Up early, despite being awake late, because I’m dealing with this guy I’d hired to do some repairs at my mom’s house before her guests arrive.
He made one of the repairs after I gave him cash to go buy parts he needed. Another repair he was supposed to finish this morning, but he was supposed to be at her house an hour ago. I spoke to him before seven. He was supposed to call when he got there, but I haven’t heard from him.
More than a little steamed.
And after a glance away to call him, no answer. Really?
Apologies for the distraction, but this is what’s on my mind right now, along with trying to cook a bird this afternoon, amidst watching the Lions’ game.
Minnesota at Detroit
Both of these teams are actually rather entertaining this year. I’m expecting a low-scoring game until the end.
Los Angeles at Dallas
Not sure what, really, to make of the Chargers. Dallas, of course, is all about injuries and suspensions.
I think with what’s been happening with some of the Cowboys’ issues, you do really start to see how some of the now-deceased owners kept things together. Jerry Jones isn’t my favorite person, certainly, but what he did to a rather moribund franchise after buying it is rather incredible.
The Rooneys and the Maras, along with their redheaded spokeschimp, have really changed it into something that’s a bad product in places.
I can think of few things worse than watching a Colts-Niners game. Even Hugh Culvehouse and Bill Bidwell couldn’t have come up with worse products.
New Jersey(A) at Washington
Nudge to Gregg Easterbrook on the snark about the Giants. With fans like Carl, there is a bit of a soft spot. What they’ve done the past few years, since they fired Tom Coughlin, is pretty rotten football. At least the defense is somewhat interesting with Steve Spagnuolo’s return.
So, in-and-out on the Lions’ game, may catch most of the Cowboys’ game, and a night game that will be completely meaningless if the Giants beat the Redskins.
But at least there’s an AFC team playing.
Tomorrow, I’ll wrap up what happened while I’m munching on leftovers, maybe I’ll find some writing leftovers to help carry this through the final week.
Right now, I’m listening to a Reason podcast on net neutrality. I do have to recommend yesterday’s Fifth Column dispatch.
11.22.17
If you could be in any career field, what would it be? (Assume anything you choose, you are the best in the field.)
If I could do anything, it would have to be a college professor of history or a writer. I think I could actually be both, given the fact that anything I want to write about would have to do with research about something in the historical area.
History has always been interesting to me, but I have never been encouraged to take that path as a career. I can still have it as a hobby though.
On second thought, dream career would be working at the Smithsonian Institute in the American History museum. Yeah, it all ties together and I think you see where I am going with this.
Until tomorrow…
22
November 22nd is an important year for many in the previous generation. When I was very young, around the 25th anniversary, I took keen interest in it. Later, there was the Oliver Stone movie.
As I’ve aged, however, I’ve become more convinced that the worst thing to come out of that was LBJ’s presidency.
Kennedy may well have been re-elected. Maybe not. He did get us in to Vietnam, which fans seem to gloss over.
How do you feel about people’s need to post every detail of their relationships on social media? Are you guilty?
I tend to tune it out, for the most part. In my vacuum right now, I really don’t have access to social media. When I worked there, previously, I did check in on Facebook to see what was going on with my dad’s family after my uncle had suffered a severe, ultimately fatal, stroke.
After my abrupt departure from my last situation, I did do more on Twitter and Facebook. Not so much with my health issues, but with current events.
I do talk about my wife sometimes, occasionally quoting her, often without attribution, but it’s normally not about anything serious.
People might get some amusement about the conversations we have. I do enjoy being alone with my wife. Other things, both personal, and mundane, aren’t really anybody else’s business.
I am committed to my wife. Even if that changed, I would never air our laundry. If someone cares, ask. If you’re someone who might want, or need to know, I’ll share.
I don’t know what I’m going to write about tomorrow, Thanksgiving. At least there is some AFC Football this year. The Los Angeles Chargers playing in Dallas seems appropriate, though with the Jerrydome, there wouldn’t be snow falling. *checks forecast for Dallas* Hmph. Even if God was watching through the roof in Texas Stadium, tomorrow looks like it’ll be a nice day, there. No Leon Lett moments, anymore. (Interesting seeing Eagles’ Head Coach Doug Peterson, there….)