Sunday April 29, 2007

Sunday April 29, 2007 11:11 AM

Kids are still at church, I’m on the bench swing in the backyard while Brandy makes coffee.

On Friday Jerry and I both shot pretty poorly on our 9 holes of golf. It was our first time playing from the yellow tee boxes but that didn’t affect our scores much. We both played some shitty short game and putted like we’d never dropped a putt before. He ended up one stroke better than me but that’s not saying much.

Last night we ended up playing poker at Rudy and Natalie’s where there was supposed to be 16 people and only 9 of us showed up. SSDD right? We really couldn’t afford the $10 each buy in but coughed it up anyway because we knew that I would win it back. In fact, Brandy ended up playing me heads up for the first place so we didn’t have to sweat out the end. She played really good: conservative when she needed to be; aggressive when she needed to rake chips. I still don’t think Rudy and Natalie realize the skill level involved. They must think I’m pretty lucky to keep winning. ;)

Today we have to take the kids somewhere. We kept them home all day yesterday as we cleaned and they need to get out of the house besides church. At some point we are planning on watching Hot Fuzz with Jerry, Carrie, and Jarrod but I’m not sure if that’s this afternoon or sometime tonight.

Well, I guess it’s time to start enjoying my last day off.

Emovienews

A good friend of mine has started up an excellent site for strictly movie news.
He is a writer for Mania.com and always has excellent insight into the film industry.

check it out: Emovienews.com

Order of the Phoenix trailer

The international trailer for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is online

Here's a direct link to the quicktime version

enjoy :)

Week in Review Again

Well, this is getting a little pathetic. I haven't really been online all week and the only computer time I've been getting has been at work. Thus, all of the following journal entries are once again being mass grouped and uploaded at the same time.

At least this time I didn't wait until Sunday to catch up the journal itself!

Monday April 23, 2007 8:22 AM

Well, I got here with plenty of time to spare. I left at 7:35 just in case traffic was stagnate and it was pretty bad but I saw more than a few ways to go around it. The only stretch that you have to suffer through is 288 between Beltway 8 and 610. Still, it wasn't that bad. Tomorrow I don't have to be here until 9:30 so I probably won't leave until 8:30. It's only 15 miles but I'm driving at the wrong time. Hopefully it won't be too bad tonight. 288's eventing rush hour is usually one of the worst but I don't get out until 6:30PM so maybe it will have cleared up by then. We'll see.


Tuesday April 24, 2007 9:21AM

Working 10-6:30 now with a half hour lunch. Yesterday I went in at 8:30 to use the restroom and found out that was when they were expecting me. My recruiter told me 9AM at least twice. I even called to confirm on Friday. Well, I got out at 5PM so it worked out good.

For some reason my badge won't let me into the parking garage today (it worked fine yesterday afternoon) so I hope it doesn't get towed. I'm going to have to stop by HR on my way in to clear it up.

I like the company. There are so many stages to the operation and Joaquin, one of the floor supervisors, was nice enough to give me a full walkthrough. Technically I am a temp hire for 90 days and I got the feeling that he doesn't do that for every new temp but Brian spoke highly of me and he made it clear that he loves what Brian brings to the table. I will not disappoint.

Right now I'm just trying to get myself into the flow of the system. I sat in and saw what I will be doing mostly but they were caught up in our department and behind elsewhere so I pitched in wherever they need me. I'm pretty sure in 90 days I'll be able to walk in and know immediately what I need to get done.



Wednesday April 25, 2007 9:25 AM

I'm digging the new schedule so far. Last night I didn't get out of here until 7PM but Brandy and I got home within 5 minutes of each other. For the most part, I'll be getting home close enough to when I was before when I had to wait for Brandy to finish up. The difference is now I get to spend time with the boys in the morning as well. Aidan and Nina made cinnamon rolls for breakfast and I sat and ate with them after Brandy took Rowan to therapy. I can tell that Aidan loves having me home in the morning. He crawled in bed with me and cuddled after my alarm went off.

With the ability to sleep in I have been staying up late as well. I think I'm going to limit that to when I'm reading a good book, though. I haven't been doing anything other than flipping channels so it's really just wasted time. If I get to bed earlier I can make myself get up early and start charting out a workout routine for myself and Brandy. I need to quit smoking and start running. I'm not getting any younger. At 31 if I don't start healthy habits now I may not be around past 75.

Everytime I light a cigarette Aidan gives me shit. On the one hand it's cute coming from a 4 year old, but I get sharp guilt pangs everytime he says something because it shows how much he loves me and wants me to live forever. When he says it it's not the usual cute kid comment where they say things because they know they'll get a reaction. He says it in full sincerity and honesty. In times like this I can see the future father and future leader he will be. Make no mistake: Anyone who spends a full day with Aidan knows he was born to lead. He reaons out problems and makes firm decisions. The boy is way ahead of his meager 4 1/2 years. I'm a very lucky father.


Friday April 27, 2007 9:31 AM

Friday at last! Yesterday was beautiful, today is nice, and yet it's supposed to rain all weekend. Same story different day right? Arien wants us all to go to the Deep Ella show tonight but no one wants to go. I was trying to talk Jerry into watching Hot Fuzz now that his theater is carrying it. Let's see: spend money for a ticket and drinks to see a show I could care less about or go see a movie I've been waiting for for free. I hope he decides to not go with Arien.

This weekend is going to be a clean house project. We've been slacking at it and can't afford to do anything anyway. Besides, if it rains all weekend we won't have any excuse to ingore the mess in our house. It really isn't that bad but living with two toddlers makes it easy to get trashed and yet makes it that much more important to keep clean. I've been putting off small maintenence issues for awhile and need to get them caught up.

Work is going well. I'm starting to learn where I fit in and where I can contribute. There is always a ton of stuff that needs to be done so I'm never short of finding work. I had an issue with one project yesterday where files were out of order and I didn't catch it until almost leaving but managed to fix the problem and get out at 7PM. Lesson learned. From now on I'll double check everything before I scan it and make sure everything is in the correct order. Come on weekend!

Well, we didn't go to the show or the movie. I ended up getting out of work early so I don't go over 40 hours and Jerry got out early also so we went and played 9 holes of golf!
Great start to a weekend if you ask me :)

Week in Review

Sunday April 22, 2007 2:21PM

Taking a break at the Autism Fair. It's been a week since my last post but it's to be expected considering the week.

Starting with Monday: We went to the parent support group in Angleton directly after leaving Brandy's work and as we were leaving BACH I noticed we had a flat tire. We ended up driving the 50 or so miles up 288 on a tiny spare at 50 mph. It was 9:30 at night when we finally got home.

On Tuesday: Brandy didn't finish up work until 6PM and only then remembered she was going to try and clear up a tax issue for her grandmother so that took another 2 1/2 hours and we weren't home until 9PM.

Wednesday evening Brandy went to NotSuoH for poetry but first had to accompany her brother to a car dealership to prevent him from making another stupid mistake. I stayed home, ate dinner early, and played with the boys in the backyard until sundown. Wednesday was nice.

Thursday my buddy Kevin and I played 18 holes of golf in La Marque and took way too much time. We didn't finish until 7:30PM and me and Brandy didn't get home until 8:30. It was well worth it, though. I needed the experience and I won't be getting any more opportunities to play during the week. I played bad: I shot a 111 but I progressively got better. Front 9 I shot 25 over par but on the back 9 only 14 over, and four of those were on the 10th hole where I shot a quadruple bogey. The last 8 holes I had 2 double bogeys and 6 bogeys. Much better! Plus I had a couple of 300+ yard drives for the first time. It did wonders for my swing. Which leads me to...

Friday: Played 9 holes after work (my last day at Coffee O!) I warmed up with a bucket of balls and immediately noticed a difference. I shot 3 pars, 5 bogeys, and double bogey'd hole 8 for 7 over; which isn't my best score but close to it. The big improvements were how straight and clean I hit the ball and distance. I dropped 2 or 3 club lengths for most holes. On hole 5 (148 yards to the pin) I used to hit a 5 or 6 iron depending on the wind. Friday I over hit the green with an 8 iron. Now I just need to work on putting. I'm still mostly 2 putting, which is good, but I've missed out on some great opportunities for birdy due to this. Rarily will I sink a putt 5 or more feet from the pin and I want to change that. I need to if I want to lower my scores.

That night was nice as well. We played Scattergories with Brandy's grandmother and she really enjoyed it. It was nice. We should make a game night so she has something social to look forward to besides church. We all had a good time.

Saturday was the best laid back day of all. The weather was beautiful so we spent the whole day in the backyard with the kids. We even ate breakfast outside. I set up the kiddie pool and the kids had a blast just playing with Mommy and Daddy. That night we went to Kevin and Nikki's for a party. Burger's and beer in the backyard with great adult conversation. It was fun and reminds me of how much work we need to do at our house to get it back in shape for our own Spring/Summer evening parties.

That's pretty much it, but a pretty busy week all in all. So far the Autism Fair has been relatively small but it was expected. We're just trying to do as much as possible to get the word out. It's early yet so we'll see how the next couple of hours go.

Tomorrow I start out at MRC and I'll admit I'm a little antsy. I know I'll be fine and it's normal to have jitters before starting a new job. I'll do my best to make a good impression and learn my duties as quick as possible. What else can I do until I've actually got it down? I'm probably more nervous about how the Rockets do in the playoffs this year.

Sunday Morning

Sunday April 15, 2007 10:10AM

One of the great qualities of having such a large backyard is all the area to practice pitch shots. I'm halfway tempted to install a putting green near the back. Not one of those astroturf kind either, but a real grass sodded putting surface. It can't be that expensive or complicated can it? Keeping it maintained (as well as making sure the kids don't tear it apart after a rain) should be the largest concern. Jerry's right. We should just build our own course.

We went out last night with Brian, Kevin, and Francesca and got in early at about 1:30AM so I decided to watch a little T.V. Once again I fell asleep on the couch! You'd think my body would be screaming at me by now but I actually feel quite refreshed. I woke up at 7AM just before the boys and as soon as they pulled out of the driveway to go to church I fired up the lawnmower and cut the backyard. Hence my pitch shot practice: There's just something about fresh mowed grass that makes me grab my clubs.

I don't know what to make of this new bio-rhythm. Maybe I'm just getting old. Last night made sense. Even if I wasn't tired when I decided to stay up, at least I had been drinking. But all the other nights I just seemed to pass out the moment I got a little peace and quiet. One thing is for sure: even after sleeping on the couch I've been waking up early and feeling refreshed. This weekend I've enjoyed the morning relaxation as opposed to sleeping in until 10 or 11, or worse: having Aidan wake me up at 7:30 after only 2 or 3 hours of sleep. I've been getting up before him.

Saturday Morning

April 14, 2007 8:20AM

I fell asleep on the couch again last night. That's about the fourth time this week that I've passed out as soon as the kids were in bed. The thunderstorm woke me up at 4AM this morning so it hasn't been all that bad. It was nice to be up so early and able to relax with some peace and quiet. I've needed it after this week.

I am so glad I only have a week left at Coffee O. It's amazing: just the known fact that I am leaving has already started the place spiraling into shambles. Rusty is freaking out and can't seem to pull it together. Everytime I offer him solutions he comes up with more problems. Mostly they're stress induced but a lot has to do with the fact that he knows he's not only going to have to work shifts but train someone on managerial duties.

I hate to see him this way. He's been so happy the last couple of months with profits increasing 23% for my tenure but we all know that it won't be long for them to plummet again without the efficiency that I bring to the table. Still, it's his own doing. He should have been looking for someone the moment I took the job. I told him that it would be temporary, that I would continue looking for something better, and if an opportunity arose I would jump on it. He's got one week left.

On the new job: my position has already changed. No longer will I be working intake. They are starting me off as a scan clerk. Brian says that it could work out great because they are going to be looking for a team lead in that department soon. All the more reason to master it quickly. It's nice knowing that not only will I get holidays off, benefits, and better pay but there will still be room to advance. As underpayed as I am now I still make far more than anyone else employed by Rusty. I make more money in straight pay than any of my employees would working time and a half. (But then again, I don't think Rusty pays anyone overtime unless they threaten to sue him like John, Ryan, and I did.) And even if I don't advance it's still a better job and I'll be getting valued experience. One more quality to add to my resume'.

On the homefront: everything, with the exception of money which is quite tight right now, is going okay. Aidan has been a bit whiney lately, though. He'll cry over little things if he doesn't get his way. For example: last night Brandy cooked dinner but he wanted me to, and he got so mad that he started to cry. Brandy says he's being manipulative and I agree. We made him sit in his room until he "decided to be happy."

Other than that he's great. He's growing up so fast. There's this little girl in his class that he has a crush on and, knowing he's only four, I asked him if he liked her and he said, "Daddy, I love her." Love? I thought. He probably doesn't know the difference. So I asked him, "How do you know it's love?" And he replied, "Because my heart beats hard when I'm near her." Oh my God, I melted!

Rowan is showing tons of improvement socially and verbally, I decided that I am going to speak to him as though he is normal in one on one situations. He doesn't always respond to questions or directions but is doing so increasingly more often. Whereas before he wouldn't respond at all. Even when he doesn't respond he usually indicates that he understands my requests but is choosing not to comply. It's still a major step.

It seems like not that long ago that I would come home from work and he wouldn't even lift up his head to look up at me. Now he comes running from the other side of the house as soon as the door opens, and demands hugs and playtime for the next hour. He needs and craves our attention. As long as we continue to nurture and encourage this behavior he might make leaps and bounds with other people outside our immediate household.

Here, too, is another great aspect of my new job. Working 9:30 AM to 6:30PM the boys will see me in the morning and at bedtime. It looks like it should work out for everyone except Rusty. One more week!

Beer Bike Race Today!

Don't forget that the annual Beer Bike relay is going on today at 2PM at Rice University.

Here is some background information on the event if you are interested.

There is not going to be a parade this year because the race was initially supposed to take place on March 31 but was postponed due to the sudden collapse and death of junior Parker Robert Redman on the day of the race.

Previous years statistics

Markets Suffer After Russia Bans Immigrant Vendors

MOSCOW, April 13 — From a stall inside the Rizhskiy vegetable market, Rustam K. Umarov conducts an illegal trade in oregano, cinnamon sticks, peppercorns, saffron powder and shish kebab marinade...

from the New York Times

“They think that they will take this work from us, that when we leave, they will have this work,” he said. “But they cannot work like us.”

Police detain Kasparov at Moscow march

MOSCOW — Russian opposition leader Garry Kasparov, the former world chess champion, was detained by police Saturday as supporters of his organization tried to hold a forbidden protest march in central Moscow.
read more

Job Interview

April 5, 2007 9:09 AM

Sitting at a Starbuck's off Bissonet. I have a job interview at 10:30 just down the road but I don't have too much time to write. They want me there half an hour early to fill out paperwork.

I wish I could have gotten the whole day off but ended up having to switch shifts with Jessica so I'm closing tonight. She's working with Marywyn so I bet that's going over lovely. I don't care. I wasn't going to miss this interview for anything.

It's for a medical information company and for some reason I can't even remember their name. Brian is a manager there and he says they are hiring for two immediate positions and there are four of us being interviewed with me and a girl as the prime candidates. It looks pretty much like the position is mine to lose. I told the recruiter that I have to give two weeks notice but I may slide on that if it means the difference in getting the job or not. I better remember to tell her that. I don't want to totally screw Rusty but I need a better paying job with benefits and the benefit package is excellent. Brian loves the company and if I get the job I'm sure I'd advance just like everywhere else I've worked.

On another note, I left my phone in the car last night so my battery is pretty low. I hope they don't have any catastrophes at the shop today. I should try to get Spencer to cover my shift tonight seeing how the kids have Good Friday off and he's losing hours because of Easter. I shouldn't get my hopes up though. Man, I can't wait to get paid vacations, holidays off, and personal days! I've spent way too long at a short staffed and undermanned company. It wears down everyone. Rusty will never learn how to properly take care of and hold on to his employees. Even one's who think it's cool at first grow tired of the place. Well, gotta go.


9:31 AM


Well, that was a short drive. I'm here with 30 minutes to spare. I figure I'll chill for 15 minutes or so and go in a little early. I'm parked in a visitor's space that says,"Parking for a maximum of 1 hour." I hope it's not going to be an issue. My interview is slated for an hour from now.

The company,by the way, is called Medical Research Consultants: MRC. I'll google them when I get home. I know they are a relatively small company, and there is probably only so far you can go without a college degree, but one can keep his hopes up, right?

They reside in the fourteen story Chase building off the West Loop and Bissonet. It's a shorter drive than the Seabrook shop for sure but Brandy and I will no longer be able to car pool. I need to work on her getting a better job. She makes $9.50 an hour but no benefits. I keep telling her that even places like Target offer benefits and not much less in income. Oh well, one step at a time. I know she wants to go back to school and if I hadn't left Universal she'd probably be looking at Fall courses already. I just want her to be happy and our family to be secure. As long as we are always looking to improve we should get there sooner rather than later.


5:34 PM


At work. I called Spencer and left a message but I'm pretty sure I'm here for the duration. We close at 10:30 so I think I'll switch duties with Chelsea to make sure we're out no later than 11PM


11:18 PM


Well Spencer never called me back and this is the first chance I've had to write anything

I'm at Dixie's Diner getting some grub before bedtime. All I've had today was two doughnuts on the way intown and a cookie from the batch I baked this afternoon.

I got the job - they still need to do a background check but it's pretty much sealed up. Brian said they told him I start in 2 weeks. Rusty didn't seam pleased but I think he figured it was coming once I told him I had an interview. The way I see it he should have been planning on this day since I took over Seabrook. I told him I didn't want to manage and that as soon as a better opportunity came I'd be gone. I guess he didn't think it would be so soon.

Well, I've had a long; full day and I have to be back at work in six hours so I'm going to cut this entry short. Besides, my food just arrived :) Man, I'm starved!

Autism Conference et. al.

The following journal entries are from today's trip to the Woodlands Methodist Church for a conference on non-verbal types of autism. Let's just say that Brandy and I would have had a much better time taking the day off to do just about anything else.


April 02, 2007 11:47 AM


We're having lunch at Chipotle Grill in the Woodlands open air mall. The mall is pretty cool. It almost feels like a mini village. This is supposed to be the same design for the mall they are building near our house. Pretty cool.

We're up here to attend a conference on non-verbal types of autism which starts in a little under an hour. Hopefully we learn something or at least get a work book. I have always been pretty dubious about the impact of conferences and how they may initially change behavior but old habits kick in and most people revert to the way they were before attending. If we actually learn something that could help Rowan hopefully we can make it a part of our daily routine. If not, at least Brandy and I got the day off together.


12:41 PM


The conference is about to start and I'm already feeling a bit drowsy. I should have warned Brandy that I have a tendancy to fall asleep in these things, but, then again, she signed me up without asking me.

It took us awhile to find the right hall. The church is a series of mazes that reminds me of department stores trying to keep customers in. It's not surprising seeing how they both operate the same clientele with pretty much the same general type of merchandise. (items people really don't need yet feel they cannot live without). Brandy remarked that it felt like a museum and yet I thought it more resembled a fancy mall.

It seems everywhere I look people are spending tons of dough on unneccessary things but everyday we have to eek it out just to put gas in the tank to get to work. I need to find a better way to increase income and, at the same time, micro-manage how we spend it. Benefits would help tremendously. It seems as though we always get hit all at once. Last week we had three doctor visits and one dental plus medicine for all. It's not cheap. I know I made the right decision for the boys in leaving Universal but the income was triple what I make now and the benefits were excellent. Well, no sense pondering over the past. I need to move forward from this point on.


1:01 PM


I am one of only three men in a room filled with chattering women and that's not counting the fact that one of the other two looks girly enough to not count as a man. This is going to be a long three hours. At least Brandy secured us seats directly next to the coffee and snacks. Side note: unless I have an earth shattering experience, make sure Brandy deosn't sign me up for anymore of these estrogen extravaganza lectures. (deep breath)

Some lady informed us a few moments ago that the campus (as she referred to the church/mini-mall) is non-smoking. Like the words of some Methodist late 40's Woodlands soccer mom means jack shit to me. I would have to walk 3/4 of a mile just to leave the grounds. (At least I should be thankful that they didn't make us pay for parking. It wouldn't have surprised me)


1:35 PM


I have read the entire work book and the speaker is still on page 6. It is a mixture of listed procedures (for the first 10 pages or so) and worksheets for running clinical tests. (the last 20 pages or so) The most interesting aspect is in the first few pages where it breaks down forms of communication: how we communicate both verbally and non-verbally. That should give us an outline of ways to work on Rowan's communication. He is already doing many of them but not on any consistant basis, and then only for items he really wants.

If she doesn't go over material not in this book I probably won't sit in here for the entire lecture. It's been on for about half an hour and I'm already bored to death. All of this information should only take 30 minutes to get across.


2:37 PM


Taking a smoke break. I warned Brandy to wake me up if I start to snore when we get back in there. The speaker was going over procedures to get a non-verbal child to repeat simple sounds. None of which apply to Rowan. Brandy said that this was just a beginning procedure and I directed her to the handout/outline which shows that this simple procedure will make up the next two hours of the lecture.

It's too bad. I wish we were at a lecture more specific to Rowan's needs. I should just stay in the car and take a nap. It's too bad I left my book at home.

"America had better start getting used to dealing with somebody who understands power"

It looks like people are finally starting to notice these things:
Putin increases power

"It's definitely [gone] way back to the Soviet Union," says Berezovsky. "Not in the sense of ideology, but in the sense of the organization of power."