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To Be or Not To Be
Jul. 10th, 2020 09:39 amI really love the cover of the Blu-Ray, but I want the DVD version, which has the more traditional movie poster cover.
Steam Powered Giraffe
Jul. 5th, 2020 10:41 pmThey lost a band member, and not due to some illness, but instead on bad terms.
I would like to applaud them for their pro-action.
( Details as posted by one of the band members as a pinned comment to the below song that was just re-edited to remove the offending band member. )
I would like to applaud them for their pro-action.
( Details as posted by one of the band members as a pinned comment to the below song that was just re-edited to remove the offending band member. )
I couldn't resist sharing this article about a man whining on behalf of his wife regarding a shredded cheese incident. Considering I am a cheese junkie myself, I get it, but I also get the backlash, given what the rest of the world is going through, both with the virus and with the Black Lives Matter v White Privilege. This is a prime example of someone out of touch and in his own little cocoon world.
Shredded Cheese Incident at Allen Mi Cocina
In other news, I had carne asada last night (which required NO shredded cheese) while at dinner with a couple of co-workers. They wanted to celebrate my birthday, and I obliged, knowing that all of us are working from home and limiting our overall exposure on a regular basis. I'm both instantly regretting it (going out when I am otherwise refusing to dine-in anywhere, to include bringing home sushi) and feeling guilty for enjoying it (OMG, it was so tasty). We had the entire main dining room area to ourselves until the last 5 minutes or so when other diners were being seated. Most everyone else that came to dine sat outside on the patio. I said it was too windy for the patio when we first arrived, and I'm glad I did. There were at least 4 tables of folks on the patio, most likely 6ft apart, but it still looked "crowded" to me. Had there been more diners inside, I would have suggested we take the food back to someone's house, or even I might just head straight home and eat it.
So that's my biggest exposure to-date since Lockdown (it's its own proper noun now in my world). Considering how anxious I felt, I won't be dining out again for quite some time. At this point, I'm betting on whether or not I will feel comfortable enough going to see Black Widow in the theaters, which was pushed back from a May release date to Nov. I have a feeling Nov will still be about like how it is right now - hopefully not worse, but probably not much better. I was very much looking forward to seeing Black Widow, The New Mutants, and, strangely enough, Maverick, the Top Gun sequel that I was planning to see as my "birthday movie". There are typically new releases of "summer blockbusters" near my birthday just in time for the July 4th holiday, so I try to pick one each year, similar to another friend who's birthday is near Christmas when holiday hits are being released, although her and her twin sister's tradition include dressing in pajamas and taking blankets to a late movie so they can come straight home and to bed afterwards. Good plan. That reminds me of when License to Drive was my OMGOMGOMG I HAVE TO SEE THIS MOVIE for my birthday. That was in ... 1988.
I feel old.
Shredded Cheese Incident at Allen Mi Cocina
In other news, I had carne asada last night (which required NO shredded cheese) while at dinner with a couple of co-workers. They wanted to celebrate my birthday, and I obliged, knowing that all of us are working from home and limiting our overall exposure on a regular basis. I'm both instantly regretting it (going out when I am otherwise refusing to dine-in anywhere, to include bringing home sushi) and feeling guilty for enjoying it (OMG, it was so tasty). We had the entire main dining room area to ourselves until the last 5 minutes or so when other diners were being seated. Most everyone else that came to dine sat outside on the patio. I said it was too windy for the patio when we first arrived, and I'm glad I did. There were at least 4 tables of folks on the patio, most likely 6ft apart, but it still looked "crowded" to me. Had there been more diners inside, I would have suggested we take the food back to someone's house, or even I might just head straight home and eat it.
So that's my biggest exposure to-date since Lockdown (it's its own proper noun now in my world). Considering how anxious I felt, I won't be dining out again for quite some time. At this point, I'm betting on whether or not I will feel comfortable enough going to see Black Widow in the theaters, which was pushed back from a May release date to Nov. I have a feeling Nov will still be about like how it is right now - hopefully not worse, but probably not much better. I was very much looking forward to seeing Black Widow, The New Mutants, and, strangely enough, Maverick, the Top Gun sequel that I was planning to see as my "birthday movie". There are typically new releases of "summer blockbusters" near my birthday just in time for the July 4th holiday, so I try to pick one each year, similar to another friend who's birthday is near Christmas when holiday hits are being released, although her and her twin sister's tradition include dressing in pajamas and taking blankets to a late movie so they can come straight home and to bed afterwards. Good plan. That reminds me of when License to Drive was my OMGOMGOMG I HAVE TO SEE THIS MOVIE for my birthday. That was in ... 1988.
I feel old.
Another 2 Months Gone
Jun. 18th, 2020 08:04 amAnother blood donation given.
I was supposed to schedule my next blood donation for the first weekend in June to give at Carter BloodCare, but I got lazy and put it off. I'm glad I did. American Red Cross announced this week that for an unspecified limited time they will be testing all blood donations for COVID-19 antibodies and giving results to donors. It takes 7-10 days, but I applaud both the knowledge and the reason to encourage more people to donate. I really wish Carter BloodCare did the same. I would much have preferred going to them with their brick-and-mortar locations and very large numbers of time slots across the board. I really just prefer them in general.
For the first time, the blood donation actually affected me. A couple hours after giving and after having eaten a late lunch and relaxed on the couch, I went into the bathroom and proceeded to do everything in my power to keep from fainting and falling, including beckoning one of the roommates in to watch over me for a moment. I tend to get low blood pressure dizzy spells that cause me to temporarily loose my eyesight in the mornings, usually after picking something off the ground or bending down to put away clean dishes in lower cabinets, but those only last a couple seconds. This went on for a few minutes and was worrisome. Boy, did my face get pale. I blame not having breakfast and then eating lunch too quickly and too soon afterwards. I agree with the roommate that it probably had something to do with all the blood going to my digestive processes and not enough left over for standing-up-straight processes. Overall, it took a couple of hours and lots of water (as recommended after a blood donation) to start feeling normal again.
Right now, bi-monthly blood donations are about the limit of how much I'm tracking time.
That plus at work I go from one month-end crunch time (which in accounting terms is what occurs right AFTER month-end until all the bookkeeping gets closed for the previous month) to the next.
I've been informed that I do still have a job at Six Flags, but despite them reopening tomorrow, I only have a single shift of approximately 5 hours scheduled for July 3rd. Again, so much for trying to earn extra income to jump-start my savings from late fall and winter expenditures.
I should still give thanks for having a job and a meager 2nd job, where some have none.
I am currently having hiccups while typing this up. This is the 3rd time in 24 hours. I typically get hiccups when I'm nervous, so I wonder what I'm nervous about.
This sucks.
I was supposed to schedule my next blood donation for the first weekend in June to give at Carter BloodCare, but I got lazy and put it off. I'm glad I did. American Red Cross announced this week that for an unspecified limited time they will be testing all blood donations for COVID-19 antibodies and giving results to donors. It takes 7-10 days, but I applaud both the knowledge and the reason to encourage more people to donate. I really wish Carter BloodCare did the same. I would much have preferred going to them with their brick-and-mortar locations and very large numbers of time slots across the board. I really just prefer them in general.
For the first time, the blood donation actually affected me. A couple hours after giving and after having eaten a late lunch and relaxed on the couch, I went into the bathroom and proceeded to do everything in my power to keep from fainting and falling, including beckoning one of the roommates in to watch over me for a moment. I tend to get low blood pressure dizzy spells that cause me to temporarily loose my eyesight in the mornings, usually after picking something off the ground or bending down to put away clean dishes in lower cabinets, but those only last a couple seconds. This went on for a few minutes and was worrisome. Boy, did my face get pale. I blame not having breakfast and then eating lunch too quickly and too soon afterwards. I agree with the roommate that it probably had something to do with all the blood going to my digestive processes and not enough left over for standing-up-straight processes. Overall, it took a couple of hours and lots of water (as recommended after a blood donation) to start feeling normal again.
Right now, bi-monthly blood donations are about the limit of how much I'm tracking time.
That plus at work I go from one month-end crunch time (which in accounting terms is what occurs right AFTER month-end until all the bookkeeping gets closed for the previous month) to the next.
I've been informed that I do still have a job at Six Flags, but despite them reopening tomorrow, I only have a single shift of approximately 5 hours scheduled for July 3rd. Again, so much for trying to earn extra income to jump-start my savings from late fall and winter expenditures.
I should still give thanks for having a job and a meager 2nd job, where some have none.
I am currently having hiccups while typing this up. This is the 3rd time in 24 hours. I typically get hiccups when I'm nervous, so I wonder what I'm nervous about.
This sucks.
Still Tired
Apr. 28th, 2020 08:16 amNature's 4:30am wake-up was just rude.
Damned thunder and hail storms.
Looking at the radar, Mother Nature just wanted to taunt the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Nowhere else. Just us.
Damned thunder and hail storms.
Looking at the radar, Mother Nature just wanted to taunt the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Nowhere else. Just us.
The world has turned upside-down.
Our house has turned upside-down.
I can't sleep.
Too many to-do things on my mind that I either can't get to or don't have the willpower to take care of once I'm off work.
( Wall-O-Text )
Our house has turned upside-down.
I can't sleep.
Too many to-do things on my mind that I either can't get to or don't have the willpower to take care of once I'm off work.
( Wall-O-Text )
Let Me Summarize For You
Apr. 9th, 2020 08:32 amImportant man in today's time has been stabbed in the back too many times before.
Important man in today's time tells his story to the news paper media.
Important man in today's time gets his story out to the entire Dallas-Fort Worth area. (The story I posted about 2 days ago.)
Important man in today's time gets noticed by Dallas higher ups.
Important man in today's time gets noticed by the state.
Important man in today's time lands a contract that is at a minimum acceptable to him for the time being.
Here's to hoping that contract was a decent one and not based on threats by the state that if he didn't start producing there would be trouble.
Important man in today's time tells his story to the news paper media.
Important man in today's time gets his story out to the entire Dallas-Fort Worth area. (The story I posted about 2 days ago.)
Important man in today's time gets noticed by Dallas higher ups.
Important man in today's time gets noticed by the state.
Important man in today's time lands a contract that is at a minimum acceptable to him for the time being.
Here's to hoping that contract was a decent one and not based on threats by the state that if he didn't start producing there would be trouble.
Blood Works
Apr. 7th, 2020 07:47 amI donated blood on Saturday. It's the first time I've done so since I was 18. That's because I've been lazy and thought it would take a while to schedule.
Nope.
At least here in North Texas, Carter BloodCare has many locations open 6 days a week (some are closed Tues and some are closed Sun). I was able to register and schedule online in about 10 minutes the night before, do my questionnaire the next morning in about 10 minutes while eating breakfast, and donate, which took a total of an hour including drive time, prepping, and refreshing, all before my hearty lunch the next day.
I'm type O-positive.
Whatever your type, your blood is in demand. Go donate.
I'm now putting it on my calendar for every two months (the most often I can donate if I give whole blood). I opted for whole blood because it's the best for giving the most amount of overall material when you don't know your type, which I didn't before I walked in, and you donate regularly, which I now plan to do. If I were O-negative, I would probably give double reds (once every 4 months max) to decrease how often I would donate. However, now that I know I'm not O-neg, I think whole blood will do the most good.
Nope.
At least here in North Texas, Carter BloodCare has many locations open 6 days a week (some are closed Tues and some are closed Sun). I was able to register and schedule online in about 10 minutes the night before, do my questionnaire the next morning in about 10 minutes while eating breakfast, and donate, which took a total of an hour including drive time, prepping, and refreshing, all before my hearty lunch the next day.
I'm type O-positive.
Whatever your type, your blood is in demand. Go donate.
I'm now putting it on my calendar for every two months (the most often I can donate if I give whole blood). I opted for whole blood because it's the best for giving the most amount of overall material when you don't know your type, which I didn't before I walked in, and you donate regularly, which I now plan to do. If I were O-negative, I would probably give double reds (once every 4 months max) to decrease how often I would donate. However, now that I know I'm not O-neg, I think whole blood will do the most good.
There Are Flies On The Windshield
Apr. 5th, 2020 08:38 amYou know it's bad when the call is coming at 3am.
My schizophrenic uncle died last night.
He's the same one that I posted about, what ... a year ago maybe ... as being on his death bed.
Mom wants me to go with her to finalize the arrangements that luckily my grandmother set up for him before she passed away. They have a double plot where one casket is buried deeper and a second casket buried on top. My grandfather and another uncle are buried the same way in a nearby plot. She's trying to see if her brother (yes, in case you're keeping count, poor woman grew up with 3 brothers, 2 of which are now dead) wants to go with her instead, although I'll probably suggest I go. I just stopped by their place yesterday to pick up some mail and have already had within-3ft contact with my parents recently, rather than having my mom and uncle also within range of each other. I know how the six degrees of separation works, which is the entire point of the social distancing.
I hope this is the only death I have to face until at least the fall.
EDIT: I went back and looked, and it's been two years. He had been in and out of the hospital with various forms of pneumonia and levels of this side of death for just over two years. They will not be doing an autopsy due to all of his previous complications and him not having any symptoms of anything (still talking and watching TV, no complaints, etc.). Without any symptoms of COVID-19, they are not even testing for that. For all we know, it was a heart attack or brain aneurysm and had nothing to do with his previous issues. We've been on and off pins and needles for two years, and as a family we're not that morbidly curious. (Okay, yeah, pun was totally necessary that time.)
Also, my cousin is actually friends with the funeral director, so she's already talking with them by phone for the arrangements.
My schizophrenic uncle died last night.
He's the same one that I posted about, what ... a year ago maybe ... as being on his death bed.
Mom wants me to go with her to finalize the arrangements that luckily my grandmother set up for him before she passed away. They have a double plot where one casket is buried deeper and a second casket buried on top. My grandfather and another uncle are buried the same way in a nearby plot. She's trying to see if her brother (yes, in case you're keeping count, poor woman grew up with 3 brothers, 2 of which are now dead) wants to go with her instead, although I'll probably suggest I go. I just stopped by their place yesterday to pick up some mail and have already had within-3ft contact with my parents recently, rather than having my mom and uncle also within range of each other. I know how the six degrees of separation works, which is the entire point of the social distancing.
I hope this is the only death I have to face until at least the fall.
EDIT: I went back and looked, and it's been two years. He had been in and out of the hospital with various forms of pneumonia and levels of this side of death for just over two years. They will not be doing an autopsy due to all of his previous complications and him not having any symptoms of anything (still talking and watching TV, no complaints, etc.). Without any symptoms of COVID-19, they are not even testing for that. For all we know, it was a heart attack or brain aneurysm and had nothing to do with his previous issues. We've been on and off pins and needles for two years, and as a family we're not that morbidly curious. (Okay, yeah, pun was totally necessary that time.)
Also, my cousin is actually friends with the funeral director, so she's already talking with them by phone for the arrangements.
I didn't get the better-paying job. I was told that I was one of their top two candidates, but they went with the other person who has more high-level corporate experience.
I'm pretty crushed, and I keep getting reminded that given the rest of the world's situation I shouldn't be. That doesn't change how I feel.
I'll get over it in a couple days.
So, I still have the accounting consulting job and am now working from home even though our cubicles are easily 6ftx6ft each. The better to limit human contact in general. Even walking past someone in the hall from another department or touching the coffee machine buttons risks cross-contamination, not to mention touching the elevator buttons and door handles in a 40-story building.
Like most people, I'm apprehensive. I have one less weight on my shoulders (interviewing for another job), but again, I'm crushed, so there's a slight hint that my brain would like to go into a depressive tailspin right now, but I'm not one to let my brain do such things.
Yesterday morning (before I got the bad news) I thoroughly enjoyed my morning, sipping coffee by an open window with a nice breeze, listening to the neighbor's kids playing, them doing yard work, the smell of them grilling for lunch, and even their damned rooster was pleasant sounding. I'm hoping this morning will help get me back into a similar headspace. I gotta buckle down and focus on my actual job instead of daydreaming about a no-longer-potential job. I'm missing that coffee/tea machine at work, and being able to actually talk to my coworkers in person rather than slow group chat and/or email, but at least we've got a group chat, and we send little jokes a few times a day and talk about our lunch plans.
Head Count: One roommate working from home in the living room. One roommate on furlough for two weeks, because he took the previous week off due to sinus allergies to be nice and not worry his co-workers, but they aren't trusting him to not still be sick/contagious/whatever, even though he never ran any fever nor coughed during that time and no one else is being furloughed - he's pretty sure they have it in for him. Third roommate is in a small handful of folks volunteering to still go into his place of work since instead of 150 people in the office there's now only 5 of them, and he's worried about our house bandwidth with 3 people working from home. I think he's also worried about being cooped up with all the roommates for so long. Of all of us, he'd probably be the one to go stir crazy first.
I'm already tired of the news about the virus and what's going on with other countries and all of the daily predictions regarding how things are going to go moving forward. Good thing my job takes me back to dealing with debits and credits and even more debits and credits, and a few debits and credits on the side. With a whipped debit and cherry credit on top.
I'm pretty crushed, and I keep getting reminded that given the rest of the world's situation I shouldn't be. That doesn't change how I feel.
I'll get over it in a couple days.
So, I still have the accounting consulting job and am now working from home even though our cubicles are easily 6ftx6ft each. The better to limit human contact in general. Even walking past someone in the hall from another department or touching the coffee machine buttons risks cross-contamination, not to mention touching the elevator buttons and door handles in a 40-story building.
Like most people, I'm apprehensive. I have one less weight on my shoulders (interviewing for another job), but again, I'm crushed, so there's a slight hint that my brain would like to go into a depressive tailspin right now, but I'm not one to let my brain do such things.
Yesterday morning (before I got the bad news) I thoroughly enjoyed my morning, sipping coffee by an open window with a nice breeze, listening to the neighbor's kids playing, them doing yard work, the smell of them grilling for lunch, and even their damned rooster was pleasant sounding. I'm hoping this morning will help get me back into a similar headspace. I gotta buckle down and focus on my actual job instead of daydreaming about a no-longer-potential job. I'm missing that coffee/tea machine at work, and being able to actually talk to my coworkers in person rather than slow group chat and/or email, but at least we've got a group chat, and we send little jokes a few times a day and talk about our lunch plans.
Head Count: One roommate working from home in the living room. One roommate on furlough for two weeks, because he took the previous week off due to sinus allergies to be nice and not worry his co-workers, but they aren't trusting him to not still be sick/contagious/whatever, even though he never ran any fever nor coughed during that time and no one else is being furloughed - he's pretty sure they have it in for him. Third roommate is in a small handful of folks volunteering to still go into his place of work since instead of 150 people in the office there's now only 5 of them, and he's worried about our house bandwidth with 3 people working from home. I think he's also worried about being cooped up with all the roommates for so long. Of all of us, he'd probably be the one to go stir crazy first.
I'm already tired of the news about the virus and what's going on with other countries and all of the daily predictions regarding how things are going to go moving forward. Good thing my job takes me back to dealing with debits and credits and even more debits and credits, and a few debits and credits on the side. With a whipped debit and cherry credit on top.
“All of this says that what we need right now is a government-backed Strategic Toilet Paper Reserve,” Wolfers added.
“The Strategic Toilet Paper Reserve removes the incentive to stockpile. It ensures that even if you see others running to the store to stockpile toilet paper, you no longer need to try to run to beat them,” he said.
“You can relax, knowing that you’ll still be able to wipe your bum.”
Source: Why people are buying so much toilet paper amid coronavirus outbreak
“The Strategic Toilet Paper Reserve removes the incentive to stockpile. It ensures that even if you see others running to the store to stockpile toilet paper, you no longer need to try to run to beat them,” he said.
“You can relax, knowing that you’ll still be able to wipe your bum.”
Source: Why people are buying so much toilet paper amid coronavirus outbreak
In-person interview with better paying job went well. I got the impression that the COO was quite impressed with me just from my previous phone interview and was doing her best to make sure the owner got to meet me. The CEO was pretty forward with his questions and never gave me any indication that I wasn't meeting his expectations with my answers, so I was either hitting the nail on the head, or he's got a great poker face. I'm actually crossing my fingers on this one. It's not in a 40 story building with 3 monitors set up just for me, and I'll most likely have to go back to emptying out my own trash again*, but I think it will be a much better fit for what appeals to my creative brain.
*As a note, this contract job is the first place I've worked where I do not have to empty my own trash bin (or at least be responsible for making sure all trash was emptied by an employee I supervise) since I worked at the Administrative Offices of the YMCA in 1996. It's one of those weird things that I don't typically think about, but it did cross my mind when I was still in the office at 6pm when a cleaning crew came in to empty the trash and sweep and vacuum the floors.
Six Flags closed yesterday due to the all-day heavy rain, and then announced in the afternoon it will follow suit and stay closed through the end of March due to the virus. This means I don't have to spend a second week on this side of sleep deprivation, but I'm also not getting the extra income either.
The current client I'm working with has finally given me a list of tasks to be working on. It only took them two weeks to get there. Despite being a non-employee contractor, I had to sit through a one-hour All-Hands meeting of around 100 people in a cramped meeting room on Monday so that the CEO could officially announce that they acquired another company that will bring their employee count to around 3000 and their expected annual (income or profits, can't recall which) to around $900MM. Given my level of sleep deprivation this week from working at both this job and Six Flags, I was having a hard time keeping my eyes open and keeping from doing the sleepy-bobble-head thing. That meeting was, of course, before the country went COVID-19 crazy and has started implementing self-quarantine measures even if you are not sick. THAT'S OKAY! If any person at the company was a carrier, we just finished turning ourselves into guinea pig sardines well before Armageddon was announced, so it's all good. Thursday morning, after virus-preventative announcements started going out, my supervisor at the company went Lysol crazy in the office, so much so that I couldn't breathe and the back of my throat stayed raw until about noon on Friday. If a virus doesn't kill me, not being able to breathe will most definitely do the trick.
So now I'm less stressed about sleep dep and interviews, but I'm still on pins and needles waiting to hear back on whether or not I got the job. I hope I get it. It would mean getting a position now that I was hoping to achieve after a couple of years doing consulting work.
*As a note, this contract job is the first place I've worked where I do not have to empty my own trash bin (or at least be responsible for making sure all trash was emptied by an employee I supervise) since I worked at the Administrative Offices of the YMCA in 1996. It's one of those weird things that I don't typically think about, but it did cross my mind when I was still in the office at 6pm when a cleaning crew came in to empty the trash and sweep and vacuum the floors.
Six Flags closed yesterday due to the all-day heavy rain, and then announced in the afternoon it will follow suit and stay closed through the end of March due to the virus. This means I don't have to spend a second week on this side of sleep deprivation, but I'm also not getting the extra income either.
The current client I'm working with has finally given me a list of tasks to be working on. It only took them two weeks to get there. Despite being a non-employee contractor, I had to sit through a one-hour All-Hands meeting of around 100 people in a cramped meeting room on Monday so that the CEO could officially announce that they acquired another company that will bring their employee count to around 3000 and their expected annual (income or profits, can't recall which) to around $900MM. Given my level of sleep deprivation this week from working at both this job and Six Flags, I was having a hard time keeping my eyes open and keeping from doing the sleepy-bobble-head thing. That meeting was, of course, before the country went COVID-19 crazy and has started implementing self-quarantine measures even if you are not sick. THAT'S OKAY! If any person at the company was a carrier, we just finished turning ourselves into guinea pig sardines well before Armageddon was announced, so it's all good. Thursday morning, after virus-preventative announcements started going out, my supervisor at the company went Lysol crazy in the office, so much so that I couldn't breathe and the back of my throat stayed raw until about noon on Friday. If a virus doesn't kill me, not being able to breathe will most definitely do the trick.
So now I'm less stressed about sleep dep and interviews, but I'm still on pins and needles waiting to hear back on whether or not I got the job. I hope I get it. It would mean getting a position now that I was hoping to achieve after a couple of years doing consulting work.
Danger, Will Robinson
Mar. 14th, 2020 11:52 amOf all the COVID-19 emails I have received from places of business in the past 48 hours, the one from Barnes & Noble came off rather cryptic, as though it's really a secret spy message in need of being decoded.
Most of them probably copy/pasted from someone else and talk about how they've been following the news, health and safety of patrons and employees matters, and then specifics of what they have implemented within their business and/or closing info.
Some of them include special discounts for the weekend and free delivery to encourage continued patronage.
Here's B&N's:
-----------------------------------------
Dear Reader,
We’re living through turbulent times together. Our booksellers are your neighbors, your friends and family. Your stories are our stories, and we know how resilient our communities are.
Sincerely,
The Booksellers of Barnes & Noble
-----------------------------------------
Um...yeah...okay.
Most of them probably copy/pasted from someone else and talk about how they've been following the news, health and safety of patrons and employees matters, and then specifics of what they have implemented within their business and/or closing info.
Some of them include special discounts for the weekend and free delivery to encourage continued patronage.
Here's B&N's:
-----------------------------------------
Dear Reader,
We’re living through turbulent times together. Our booksellers are your neighbors, your friends and family. Your stories are our stories, and we know how resilient our communities are.
Sincerely,
The Booksellers of Barnes & Noble
-----------------------------------------
Um...yeah...okay.
My foreseeable schedule
Mar. 3rd, 2020 07:27 amWednesday 3/4 = Shadowplay @ Haltom Theater
Friday 3/6 = Panoptikon
Saturday 3/7 = cleaning up files at old job / evening Six Flags job
Sunday 3/8 = self-training on SAP utilizing Robert Half's SkillPort access and possibly SAP's own free online training / evening Six Flags job
Mon-Fri next week 3/9-3/13 = RH job - 6F job - maybe some sleep, maybe
Sat-Fri 3/14-3/20 = rinse and repeat through Six Flags' 2nd spring break week - maybe get caught up on sleep Sat/Sun mornings
Then back to RH job M-F and 6F job on weekends until summer hits.
Friday 3/6 = Panoptikon
Saturday 3/7 = cleaning up files at old job / evening Six Flags job
Sunday 3/8 = self-training on SAP utilizing Robert Half's SkillPort access and possibly SAP's own free online training / evening Six Flags job
Mon-Fri next week 3/9-3/13 = RH job - 6F job - maybe some sleep, maybe
Sat-Fri 3/14-3/20 = rinse and repeat through Six Flags' 2nd spring break week - maybe get caught up on sleep Sat/Sun mornings
Then back to RH job M-F and 6F job on weekends until summer hits.
Work, Bitches!
Feb. 29th, 2020 10:40 amI got my new job!
I start on Monday!
I'll be an accounting consultant with the SPS (Salaried Professional Services) wing of Accountemps, which is a Robert Half company, so that's who I'm technically working for. It means being able to go around to different companies learning new accounting systems, and I'm excited about their learning and tuition reimbursement program. I just might go for my CPA license after all.
My first contract is with an oil and gas company in downtown Fort Worth that could be anywhere from 2 -12 months long. The position I will be filling is Staff Accountant, and a 2nd consultant will join me in 2 weeks after her current contract finishes up. I'll be on the 21st floor of one of the high rises! This fact alone makes me squee.
It required 5 interviews with a total of 7 people, and there's still others for me to meet with eventually, but it only took a couple weeks in total. There was only one other job I interviewed for, but it's in an office with only 4 (soon to be 3) other people, and I'm a bit tired of small offices at the moment. I want to get out and be a bit more social.
Also, I'm picking up weekend and evening shifts working at Six Flags in their cash control office. I have to build back up my savings due to surgery, pinched nerve issues, car getting scraped, and other misc emergencies that the roommates have run into that I've been covering for them. I also have to spend a little extra on a few more professional outfits, since the last time I had to wear any sort of penguin suit to work was back when I was 18-19 and working in the administrative offices of the YMCA. I enjoy Six Flags, and this side job is fun (to me), inside for 95%-100% of the work shift, we HAVE to wear plain clothes so as not to be identified as employees since we're vault staff, and we even have our own restrooms and break room to discourage leaving our building too often. It's a tight knit little group of co-workers, most of whom are like me - older than your typical Six Flags employee and using this as a second job. So we tend to talk about our day jobs and families a lot.
I'm excited and actually looking forward to working this year at both places.
I start on Monday!
I'll be an accounting consultant with the SPS (Salaried Professional Services) wing of Accountemps, which is a Robert Half company, so that's who I'm technically working for. It means being able to go around to different companies learning new accounting systems, and I'm excited about their learning and tuition reimbursement program. I just might go for my CPA license after all.
My first contract is with an oil and gas company in downtown Fort Worth that could be anywhere from 2 -12 months long. The position I will be filling is Staff Accountant, and a 2nd consultant will join me in 2 weeks after her current contract finishes up. I'll be on the 21st floor of one of the high rises! This fact alone makes me squee.
It required 5 interviews with a total of 7 people, and there's still others for me to meet with eventually, but it only took a couple weeks in total. There was only one other job I interviewed for, but it's in an office with only 4 (soon to be 3) other people, and I'm a bit tired of small offices at the moment. I want to get out and be a bit more social.
Also, I'm picking up weekend and evening shifts working at Six Flags in their cash control office. I have to build back up my savings due to surgery, pinched nerve issues, car getting scraped, and other misc emergencies that the roommates have run into that I've been covering for them. I also have to spend a little extra on a few more professional outfits, since the last time I had to wear any sort of penguin suit to work was back when I was 18-19 and working in the administrative offices of the YMCA. I enjoy Six Flags, and this side job is fun (to me), inside for 95%-100% of the work shift, we HAVE to wear plain clothes so as not to be identified as employees since we're vault staff, and we even have our own restrooms and break room to discourage leaving our building too often. It's a tight knit little group of co-workers, most of whom are like me - older than your typical Six Flags employee and using this as a second job. So we tend to talk about our day jobs and families a lot.
I'm excited and actually looking forward to working this year at both places.
More asses
Feb. 27th, 2020 07:21 amYesterday I was given another assessment to take. QuickBooks 2010. It has some multiple choice, a couple drag-n-drop matches, and some QB-simulators. The simulator only allows for possible clicks that lead toward a correct answer, and if you click in the wrong direction the first time, it will give you the option of Retry, which indicates immediately that you were heading in the wrong direction with that last click. If you don't get it the second time (or do get it, but you'll never know for sure until you get your test results), you just have to click the Answer Complete and move on to the next question.
Note that I said QB 2010. A system that is now 10 years out of date and doesn't have the same menu structure nor helpful user-friendly interface as what's currently available.
I wanted to pull my hair out, I felt so much like an idiot suddenly incapable of tying her own shoes. I still haven't seen the test results, but I did contact the person asking me to take it and let him know how much that test hurt my sensibilities, and was there any chance he could send me a more current QB test version, even if the client is using 2010? I'd like to be able to show that I'm not a complete moron when it comes to this program.
He sent me QB 2019. Oh thank the blessed gods. As far as I could tell, only one simulator question gave me a problem, but everything else was fine. I should be getting my results today.
Note that I said QB 2010. A system that is now 10 years out of date and doesn't have the same menu structure nor helpful user-friendly interface as what's currently available.
I wanted to pull my hair out, I felt so much like an idiot suddenly incapable of tying her own shoes. I still haven't seen the test results, but I did contact the person asking me to take it and let him know how much that test hurt my sensibilities, and was there any chance he could send me a more current QB test version, even if the client is using 2010? I'd like to be able to show that I'm not a complete moron when it comes to this program.
He sent me QB 2019. Oh thank the blessed gods. As far as I could tell, only one simulator question gave me a problem, but everything else was fine. I should be getting my results today.
More Places to Know
Feb. 22nd, 2020 11:50 amAdditional Seattle places I visited not listed in previous post (mostly for my own memory):
The Confectionery - I love the name of that place - they make 4-bite individual cheesecakes in so many flavors, and they also offer to cut 4 flavors into quarters so you can purchase a sampler mini cheesecake, which I can attest would probably be worth it, as 4 mini cheesecakes split between 2 people was too much for me and my friend
Tamarind Tree - "Provincial Vietnamese Restaurant" - think Vietnamese fancy fusion - SOOOO yummy
So Much Yarn - guess what I bought there? - I was planning a tapestry crochet dragon piece that I started while on the plane heading home - I'm still working on it in my spare time
Pike Market farmer's stands - I found two stands selling rambutan, which I couldn't find while in Hong Hong Market here in Texas when I went to celebrate Lunar New year - the oranges were ridiculously high priced everywhere I went in Seattle
Molly Moon's Capital Hill - ice cream parlor in the gay district - they are hiring with starting pay at $18/hr, just to give you an idea of the cost of living in Seattle
Premier Meat Pies - was on the docks just by the Argosy Cruise we took for the harbor tour
Dough Zone Dumpling House - Q-BAO, soup dumplings, green onion pancake, sweet and sour cucumber that looks like two tiny dragons curled up on your plate, and some pot stickers - I really wanted to try either the mango pancake or the brown sugar pudding, but I was stuffed
The Confectionery - I love the name of that place - they make 4-bite individual cheesecakes in so many flavors, and they also offer to cut 4 flavors into quarters so you can purchase a sampler mini cheesecake, which I can attest would probably be worth it, as 4 mini cheesecakes split between 2 people was too much for me and my friend
Tamarind Tree - "Provincial Vietnamese Restaurant" - think Vietnamese fancy fusion - SOOOO yummy
So Much Yarn - guess what I bought there? - I was planning a tapestry crochet dragon piece that I started while on the plane heading home - I'm still working on it in my spare time
Pike Market farmer's stands - I found two stands selling rambutan, which I couldn't find while in Hong Hong Market here in Texas when I went to celebrate Lunar New year - the oranges were ridiculously high priced everywhere I went in Seattle
Molly Moon's Capital Hill - ice cream parlor in the gay district - they are hiring with starting pay at $18/hr, just to give you an idea of the cost of living in Seattle
Premier Meat Pies - was on the docks just by the Argosy Cruise we took for the harbor tour
Dough Zone Dumpling House - Q-BAO, soup dumplings, green onion pancake, sweet and sour cucumber that looks like two tiny dragons curled up on your plate, and some pot stickers - I really wanted to try either the mango pancake or the brown sugar pudding, but I was stuffed