Grateful

I was hired for the training job I've been after, so I am a happy camper! As the interview process went on (and on and on!), I was pleasantly surprised to make it to each new level, and I finally was presented with the offer. What a blessing - I think this will be a great fit for me, and I'm very much looking forward to getting started. This job was been freed up from our current hiring freeze, and I'll be starting after Christmas.

I came very close to not applying for this job at all, because I didn't think I had enough Bank experience for it. But experience is a relative thing - my lack of experience with The Bank is rather unimportant compared to the wealth of experience I have from the USAF as an instructor and training program developer. Those strengths are what got this job for me, and I'm very grateful!

When I first started submitted my app for this job, I blogged about a former mentor's quote: If you never ask the question, the answer is always 'No'. Indeed! As the interview process progressed, I believed more & more that this was a good fit for me, and I fought hard to get it. I'm very happy that it worked out - I'm excited to join this new team!
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Now playing: st etienne - join our club

Things I learned today:

1.) ALWAYS check to make sure power is removed/unplugged before you touch an electrical circuit. Fortunately, my socket wrench & the thermal fuse took the brunt of that volt attack.

2.) Apparently, simply taping together electrical connections that routinely see 20+ amp flow is not a good idea. The repair man gave me a ...errr... I'll call it a disappointed look when he saw my handiwork with that. He was a great guy though, and I appreciate that he was willing to nicely explain some basic electrical stuff to me.

3.) My plain-jane dryer is a time-tested, well-respected, and extremely durable Kenmore-branded Whirlpool model (it's been through a lot!). But Energy Star compliant, it ain't. During parts of its cycle, it draws as much power as my central air conditioning unit. Yikes.

4.) Calling in a pro may hurt the ol' pride and pocketbook a little bit, but peace of mind is priceless ;)
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Now playing: peter gabriel - shock the monkey

Good day!

Whew - I made it through everything today fine!

My webinar presentation (for my interview) went very well, IMHO. It was well received, so that's encouraging. If I make the cut as one of the final two contestants, I will have to do one more interview with a boss higher up the chain, but I won't know either way until next week. I'm just happy today's presentation went well; this has been a most educational & helpful interviewing experience so far. What happens next is in God's hands...

The tree is finally GONE! Wow - there is a lot of sawdust all over my yard. And my neighbor's yard. Oh well, better some sawdust than a busted dead tree smashing through their roof ;)

The dentist appointment also went well - no repair work there needed at this time. Woot!

Tomorrow, the dryer repair guru comes. Hopefully that goes well too!

I'm looking forward to some time off now to clean up the yard, and get some stuff done around the house. Nice!
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Now playing: new order - world in motion

Thug squirrel pic

Yes, that is pepperoni pizza he's eating. Apparently, he's evolved up from simple acorns, to tortillas, and now pizza. He's getting crazy fat these days. Winter's a-comin'!
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Now playing: the dust bros - stealing fat

Busy week

...but a great week.

Next Weds, I have the final interview for the training development job I'm pursuing. I have to create and present a topic via webinar. It will be challenging since I don't use those collaboration software tools in my current job. I'm excited though - I'm confident that I will do well (as long as the software cooperates!) We are still on a hiring freeze, and it could well be that this job opportunity gets yanked at some point due to all of that, but this is all still welcome experience for me - I'll take what I can get!

I've been blessed to have another experience this week that has renewed & refreshed my outlook on relationships. This particular experience would be difficult to capture in a blog post, so I won't tackle that... I'll just say that it's beautiful to have an affirming, kind, and mutually respectful relationship where the give-and-take between each other is genuinely beneficial and equal in reward.

I suppose that doesn't seem like a lot to ask or expect (from either friends or potential significant others), but it seems so hard to find these days!

We are at different stages of our lives in many areas, and primarily because of those things, we had agreed up front what the expectations were. Our friendship began not out of the potential to 'get together', but instead to simply to be kind and affirming to one another at a time when we both needed it (and who doesn't? :) Everything was plainly out on the table from the start, with no pretense or posturing whatsoever. How refreshing that is!

It's amazing how quickly you can truly get to know someone when the silly fluff, wasteful posturing, and dodgy gamesmanship of mainstream gettin'-to-know-ya is bypassed. It's easy to get stuck or lost in those things and either not even realize it, or convince yourself that you are somehow further along (been there, done that!)

Our brief correspondence has evolved over the week to different level (hard to explain), and we won't communicate as much going forward now, and that's both OK and appropriate. This experience has been a valuable re-centering for me, and I am blessed and grateful for it.

I will certainly approach future relationship opportunities in a new manner!

A work in progress...
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Now playing: beck - where it's at

Happy Veteran's Day

... to all my uniform-wearin' bros and sisses out there (past & present). Thank you for your service to our great nation!
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Now playing: dos gringos - the legend of shaved dog's ass

Laziest. Weekend. Ever.

And I'm lovin' it.

I do miss last weekend's lovely weather though - this is quite a change! What I dislike most about wintertime running is trying to figure out how to dress for it. I own a respectable spectrum of cold-weather training gear, but it's hard to know what the right combo is on any given day. Meh, if that's my biggest gripe right now, I'm doing OK ;)

Thug Squirrel and his posse must be getting holed up for the winter. Yesterday, he apparently found a stash of tortillas in the neighbor's trash. He came running across the street 3 times with a big 10" tortilla in his mouth. It was funny to watch, because he couldn't run well or even see with it - he kept tripping over it dashing across the street, and then he twice bonked into my handrail trying to run up my front steps (he always takes the steps when invading my yard - it's rather strange!). But he wasn't letting go of them for anything. On his last trip, I chased him around the front yard a little bit just to hassle him, and he would not drop that thing despite being in a panic. Crazy squirrel.

I now have a date set for the tree coming down, so that'll be good to have done. I'm hoping it's a little warmer that week - I've taken a couple of days off work to do one final yard cleanup & gutter clearing after the tree is gone.

I fully resigned my USAF commission this week, and I am now 100% out of the military - no more oddball 'Reserve' status or anything like that. Although I was never really worried about getting called back up for anything, it's certainly a nice feeling to have all of those cords finally cut for good!

No news on any job stuff, but I don't expect to have any soon. Across the board, we are on a hiring freeze right now (lots of reasons), so I think I'll stay where I'm at for the foreseeable future. And that's fine - I'll just continue to keep my eyes open for opportunities.

Stay warm!
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Now playing: social distortion - cold feelings

Yikes

This is a bummer of a run. I'll keep my run-related whining in check now...

Tonight was a great run - it's gorgeous out!
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Now playing: moby - flying foxes

Vote. But vote smart.

OK, one political post and then I'm done.

We are a nation at war. We are a nation facing our lowest levels of international confidence and support. We are a nation facing wide and deep domestic crises wreaking damages unseen for generations.

None of these things are insurmountable for our great nation if swift and decisive corrective actions are taken.

So please don't be stuck on stupid with your priorities going into the booth tomorrow. I got news for y'all: McCain's priority ain't gonna be overturning Roe Vs Wade. And Obama's priority ain't gonna be gay marriage.

Our next president and congressional leaders have urgent & looming challenges to address. And they're big ones. Bigger than most of us have ever seen in our lives.

I don't care who you vote for tomorrow. Just please vote smart - pick the right people for the right reasons.
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Now playing: kid rock - american bad ass

Life in the trenches

Over this weekend, my department at work moved to a new building. I went in this afternoon for a couple of hours to help set up my area. I like the new location! I've got a bigger cube, a huge window view (woot!), and a fancy new Aeron chair (comfy!).

The new digs really are very nice - it's a big improvement over our old location. No skimps by the brass with regard to setting it up well.

However, I'm starting to get that itch to move on to new challenges. Realistically, that may not be likely for another year or so (just a matter of establishing more experience), but I've been tweaking my resume, and I'm starting to send in apps to see what nibbles I get.

Fully understanding that my specific experience level with this company is the long pole in the tent for me, I'd be happy to just get some interviews under my belt for now. I learn so much from each interview I do, and each one helps me prepare more and be stronger for the next. So far, so good - I've got a phone interview this week for the first app I sent in. As part of the phone interview, I had to answer a comprehensive pre-interview questionnaire. Those too are hugely beneficial - it asked some great questions, and I'm glad to be challenged with thinking about those types of things once again. Putting that hat on helps me give due attention the ever looming "Am I on the right path to get to where I want to be?" question.

Of course, I will be thrilled if any of my current & future apps turn into an offer here in the near future, and who knows... Stranger things have happened! As a wise mentor once told me: The answer is always 'No' if you never ask the question.

Another gorgeous day here - it's been a wonderful weekend of running & mountain biking for me, and I'm grateful for it.
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Now playing: marty & elayne - staying alive

I say bollocks to "Endless Summer"...

... gimme "Endless Fall"!

This weather is effin' amazing! Great day today - much has been accomplished. I'm a happy camper. And I beat the onset of my cold - I was going to be one sad monkey if I wasn't 100% over this gorgeous weekend.

I'll post up more in the next day or two. Don't forget to fall back tonight!
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Now playing: the smiths - how soon is now