Today was a good day

Today was great, it was the best day I have had in about 3 weeks. (Yes I do keep track of that sort of thing) My day started off with waking up early expecting to sit for 2 hours in traffic to get to the internship. Today it only took 1.5 hours! And on the way there I listened to a funny audiobook that kept me entertained the whole time. Once I arrived, my favorite parking guard and I had a friendly chat, lamented about homework, and waking up early, I left with a big smile knowing that my plight is shared by many.

I have a friendly chat with my boss before we head off to the meeting. I dance with the computer at the meeting, editing on the fly, and just generally being impressive with my skills, and proficiency. All is well in the cosmos, and the meeting so we start chatting, and somehow we get on the topic that todays google image is the 40^th anniversary of the muppets, and I mention that today is also the 20^th anniversary of the fall of the berlin wall (thanks thomas friedman- world is flat) we talk about priorities, and how on earth i know something like that, since i was only 3 when it happened. After we talk for a bit, the meeting ends 10 min before noon and I head back to class, 45 miles away that starts at 1.

I make it to class on time, receive a test, and get an A- on it. This is great news since the test is worth a huge portion of our grade. I am content, class is boring, but in the second half i contribute many good points and earn my participation for the day.

After class I jet off to CK to meet a friend for Thai Tea, she does not show, nor answer the cell, so I take a walk over to Tally. I enter the store with a basket of clothes I won at a raffle on drucker day. The merchant tells me I can exchange them for 150 of store credit. I look about and ties cost 200. Things are not looking particularly good. I try on a jacket thinking i know the price of a jacket, and 150 off seems resonable, the merchant comes over and helps me find a proper color in size 38. It looks good, however I glance down and the cost is 1018 dollars. I kindly say this is way out of my student price range and give the jacket back. He says on the contrary, this jacket is 70% off, and with your 150 discount it is actually a reasonable 200 jacket after tax, this is great news, he chalks up the jacket, and then I pay with plastic.

I am feeling great, I just scored a Blazer for super cheap! I then decide my friend is not going to show, and go back to purchase a Thai Tea. On the way there I get a text saying that a classmate has come funds for me from work i have completed, as well as petty cash reimbursement. I purchase 2 Thai Teas to suprise my classmate with one. I walk into the office and there are 2 people in it. I offer the Thai Teas to them and graciously one loves boba, the other loathes its sticky, sweet balls. I gift the thai teas to them and do not accept their offers for cash. I say that they are a thank you for all the hard work these people put into drucker week. One individual leaves, and I get paid, sweet, this cash and check had been coming my way for about 3 weeks now so having closure was nice.

While in the office we are chatting all friendly, and the individual laments that there is all this open wine that was opened at the formal dinner friday and is going to go bad unless somebody drinks it. I offer to help, and end up with 5 bottles of wine. SCORE!

I have now rescheduled with my thai tea buddy to come over after dinner and enjoy the free wine so we still get to have our conversation. Today was a good day, and tomorrow, I am going rock climbing, then golfing, then to a dinner party, then get to play cashflow boardgame! Life is soo good to me.

 

The manliest garage

So this weekend I went over to my old roomates birthday party. The Rodeo boys now live in a new location, and have new roomates. Seeing them was great, they are still awesome and still very much the same people as before which is nice. The house they now live is was a typical guy house, dirty floor, same silly dogs, bar on the carpet, pizza boxes in an overly full trash can, a real guys house. The garage is what interested me most. You can certainly judge a lot about a man about his garage, much in the same way you can judge him by what he keeps in his pockets.

The garage at the rodeo house is ultra manly, here is a rundown of what is inside. A race-car. Yea. A full size Lotus race-car with one seat, no windshield, candy-apple red, delicious fast, and not so pristine so you know they actually use it. They Also have a racing Ducati, no lights not street legal, painted yellow. They have a mini motorcycle that has been painted to look like a replica of the larger ducati. They have a huge import street legal bike, as well as many mountain bikes. They have about 10 surfboards or all shapes and sizes. They have a fridge for beer. With a freezer full of meat they killed themselves while hunting. The garage contains boxes of ammunition, toolkits, and hunting gear. There are saddles, bull riding equipment, work boots, gear to climb telephone poles. There are 2 anvils, and the associated hammers and knives and rasps needed by a ferrier. And the piece de resistance, is a forge! No joke they have a forge its a metal box connected directly to a propane tank with asbestos insulation used for heating up horseshoes that then get hit with 1.5 pound long handle hammers on top of an anvil. This is seriously manly. The walls have posters for Jack Daniels, as well as half naked models (who cares if they are photoshopped they look good on the posters).

This garage is the ultimate mans domain, I can only hope to one day have something only remotely this cool. Until then i will daydream about my future garage and the activities that will take place there…

Creepy comedian

Yesterday I went to a concert. It was a local bands first performance. The venu was a dive bar in Anaheim, with mild s&m paintings on the walls, and loads of stickers of past bands. The patrons had tattoos, beer-guts, and I did not fit in at all. I was wearing a Drucker school polo shirt tucked in, my friends did also not fit in, but just because mostly because we were not fans of nectomantics, or having silly haircuts.

Before the first band plays there is a short boy who comes up in the stage area and introduces himself as an amateur stand up comedian. He is wearing a button up short sleve shirt, that is appropriately sized, jeans, and shoes that look like they are made of the skin from dead hoboes. His hair is black, super thin, greasy, and falls into his face. He has a nervous tick where he talks just a bit too fast, and then pauses to fling the hair out of his face when he needs a moment. He begins his routine, and profanity spews from his mouth like water from a fire hydrant hit by an armored car. There is no stopping this torrent of unnecessary non value added profanity that is screamed into the microphone only to blast our ears in a decible that just makes you uneasily think about how much hearing you are losing because of this garbage. His routine is brutal. His first joke is greeted by complete silence, nobody even chuckles. The comedian becomes more nervous, and trys to laugh it off, he tries some impersonations of the joker from batman and then things just get creepy because people are now associating him with that psycho. Nobody is laughing he is screaming profanity and things are looking dyre.

He asks for audience participation, if anybody has a birthday this month, silence builds and I decide to help him out. I say my friend has a birthday on the 14^th (this is a true fact). He chuckles, then asks if anybody here does, gets no response so he calls me up to give me a gift. The present is a Hanna Montana picture book. Im thinking this is awesome, but he should have made a joke of this. Oh well his loss. He then asks again who has an upcoming birthday, only I respond again, he scoffs at how not close it really is, but not having any options calls me up again, and give me another gift. This present is a single trojan condom.

Now I have the pleasure of standing in the back of a dive bar listening to local music holding a hannah montanna picture book, with a single condom, the only thought i can think of is wow I must look like such a child molester. My mind also contemplates the strangest gift ever received by a stranger, this has to be it. Condom- probably unwise to use if not purchased yourself, what if he poked holes in it, 18 years of child support is just not worth the risk or the price of a new one.

Hannah Montanna- too big to fit in your pocket, too strange to use, just creepy to be seen with at night, unless it is a joke.

Together- wow I probably would be questioned by the police, taken overnight, then released in the morning just so they sleep better knowing kids are safe.

Some take aways- local bands are never awesome, dive bars are always seedy, gifts that are not usable are called garbage.

The cottage and the toilet

This last week I completed 6 units of class. They were 2 unit intensive modules, that lasted for half of a term. Since I have completed them I expected to have more time. As it is I have been jam packed with activities and and too little sleep. On monday I had plans after class to go hang out with an old highschool friend who also attends Drucker. I got out of class and received some texts directing me where to go. I showed up and was whisked away to a marvelous “cottage”. Within these walls I was greeted by another old friend, a girl who used to be part of swim and polo at U-high.

Luckily we picked up right where things left off, and It was great not to have to reintroduce myself, my activities, choices, styles, and all those things that define a person. It was truly a pleasure just to be accepted and enjoyed without having to prove myself. The 3 of us shared funny stories, and laughed late into the evening, catching up for the 5 years since we had last seen each-other in person.

The girl who lived there got up to use the bathroom, and I thought nothing of it. That is until she screamed. The noise was a mix of exasperation and terror tinged expelled at the intensity of a bleeding smoke alarm. My first thought was oh no, we really should have called the coast guard for backup… I started chuckling to myself, but nonetheless peeled myself from the couch to see what was going on.

My eyes were greeted with the source of the screams standing in the middle of a tiny kitchen, with an embarrased, frightened look on her face that was pointed directly at the tile floor. The floor had water that was pouring over it! I traced the flows back to arround a corner. She just pointed, and I knew that the flood was still growing because the toilet had not stopped running. I hop through the water making small splashes as i round the corner and enter the bathroom. The toilet is indeed the source of the problem, The bowl is overflowing, and water is cascading down onto the tile, arround the corner, through the kitchen to the living room carpet. That last part is true, the home is a cottage and from toilet to living room might be 30 linear feet. Without thinking I quick remove the top of the toilet, and pull up on the Ball float to stop the addition of water. This was a nice instinctive reaction, thanks Mr. Moss for teaching us about toilets in shop class in Jr. High… I used a spatula to balance the ball float in a position where no additional water will be added to the tank or more realistically the floor.

We then begin to clean up the floor with towels, all the wile our host is looking concerned, embarrassed, and disappointed that she pays rent for a toilet that wont even flush pee… Luckily the water all over the cottage is pee water and not any of the other options. I am glad that pee is sterile as it is on my shoes, hands, arms, and whatever else that got splashed. My hands and the towels make quick work of the drying of the floor. While we clean the floor we talk about how fortunate the situation was, and joke about how it could have ben better. The only way we determined was if her crush was over, heard the problem, ran into the kitchen swept her off her feet, moved her to the living room, removed his shirt, and then stopped the problem. But by far the funniest quote was: “everybody knows the best way to make a boy like you is to pee on him, your scent will last way longer than perfume”

I driving home after the ordeal I could not help but thinking, man being a plumber would be a great job, you get to solve great problems for beautiful women, and your job is not overly technical or political like consulting, but then again you do go home smelling like other women’s pee every day… and this might not be so easy to deal with if thats the best way to make boys like you….

 

 

 

The secret is out

Hey I told a couple of you on the down low, that I would start blogging again. and well I am. However tonight instead of typing my experiences I used skype to make a call to Singapore. Its great how free things can take you arround the world and help you keep in contact.

Either way more updates soon, with real content, not apologies.

Pumpkins are done!

So today I cut the cord on my pumpkin. Final weigh in totals 190 lbs. larger pumpkin weighs 110lbs, and smaller pumpkin weighs 80lbs. I would like to be the first to congratulate myself on such an endeavor.

The larger pumpking is ugly, it has untanned yellow skin, next to regular pumpkin orange, as well as lots of nicks, defects, cuts, scrapes, and other imperfections.The texture is lumpy, and it sits lopsided with what should be the top actually as a side…

The smaller pumpkin is beautiful: top is in the proper place, the color is beautiful orange, few skin defects, and well more importantly no crazy green skin.

Eventually I will post some pictures of them and you can revel in their glory.

I finally get ro ride my bike

So after 2.5 months without riding I finally get back on to my trusty steed. and man does it feel great. The bike still performs about 10 times better than I ever will be able to. stops on a dime, so stable and responsive, and light as a pillow. Either way, Riding was great, I headed out for a quickie over to victoria gardens (mostly flat). I am very out of shape, and today my back pains me in the lower sections how it used to when I first began riding. I know this is from fatigue so I am content and not concerned.

One thing I missed dearly while in singapore was riding. If you know me at all you know I really like bikes, and this was my first time in a long time, and wow, Im pretty sure I just got re-addicted. knoledge says it takes several weeks to form a habbit, however like crack biking got me on my first ride back…

keeping it short and sweet here are some life updates: Employed with the Alumni office, as well as with a consulting firm working for a film distribution conglomerate in Burbank. pumpkin has stopped growing but is tanning up nicely, almost caught up with school, and by caught up I mean just regular behind (you never get ahead in grad school) Switched to just getting an MBA its way cheaper and Economics was very tedious. Climbing on a regular basis just got some baby callus’s forming on the hands, struggin’ with v3’s, trying not to talk to girls since school started.

Killing me Slowly

So just over 1 year ago, I began receiving Phillip Morris advertisements. The first one I received contained an offer for a free key chain ring clip thing. I of course replied right away, and have the key chain right in my drawer, It is red and black and says nothing about smoking.  I now more regularly recieve product discounts, on many tobacco products. I have gotten discounts on pouches, cigarettes that change flavor when you crush the filter, regular cigarettes, high class cigarettes, and loads more that I cannot remember.

At first I thought I was doing my part to help destroy a huge evil company. I don’t like smoke, or smoking, or large companies that deal underhandedly with FDA, and have political influence because their product “might” kill people.  If only millions of people would get their free stuff, and then not smoke or dip, or snort, or whatever tobacco, then logically the company would stop getting new users and eventually collapse. I know it does not work like this and many more people will smoke because its rebellious, good, fun, whatever it may be but at least I did a small part. Thats all I am after: I am not trying to slay a dragon here, but perhaps, offer a grin to the knight who is about to fight it. Whats not to like about this logic, I get free stuff, I dont smoke its simple. They waste revenue trying to convert me to a customer but I never will. Well now that this stuff keeps arriving, I began to wonder if I am really helping make the world a better place. Is my ambition misguided?

I took a quick daydream, and decided that I am about neutral. Here are some things I thought about, The gas on the postage to get this thing to me is probably bad for the planet, I throw the things away since there is no recycle bin in my room (the only appropriate place to read mail and open packages- heard of some strange things being sent, then opened in front of other people and it just gets aquard). 2 bads. Now for 2 goods Many people have jobs that seem important because they sent me stuff, and I get to pretend to help stop the forces of evil.

I dont know how to end this other than I like free stuff that is not tobacco, and philip morris is giving some things away so you might want to sign up. Im sure they have a website or something.

Under valued & un-loved

So recently I was given the opportunity to work with my Operations professor again (yes the same one that helped me get a terrible internship this past summer, making a website, that they have not deployed yet…. grumble, grumble). The Job is to help a Large movie studio with home video sales, learn about Six Sigma, as well as Lean Continuous Improvement. I get to attend meetings and act as a fly on the wall, and watch and take notes. I get to help format, as well as teach the course. I get to do advanced statistical models, and a bunch of other cool noteworthy things. Today I signed some forms, and nondisclosure agreements, and then faxed it the studio in Burbank.

This was my first fax ever, and I just want to say Faxes are soo old school. Literally usless. why do I need to send a form in paper form, and kill trees to do it. Email is way better, and digital signatures are more legitimate than faxes anyway, so just avoid all the confusion, waste and slow speed and processing time and use email. Its about time Fax machines get dropped like IE6…

Well after sending the fax, I received the job offer in writing from the consulting firm. The offer included standard fare and the dates of employment, as well as expected hours, and also the lump sum payment due to me if I accept. The total payment was 2,000.00usd. I did some quick math and at 20 hours of employment from now until the middle of December, the hourly wage turns out to be 8.33usd per hour. This is absolutely ridiculous! minimum wage in California is currently 8.00usd per hour. I was first appaled at the offer. After getting over myself, and the blow to my ego (that the company thought after working for free, they could use me to add value to a project, and pay me only 8.33 an hour) I began to think how tricky it would be to tell them that I am no longer interested in the project.

This is tricky for many reasons. first, pay. I expect to make at least 20.00 usd per hour, this is only 40K per year and not unreasonable in any respect, for any college graduate, explaining this without sounding arrogant will require much tact. Second, I have begun working on the project already, and the professor went ahead and got specail premission to bring me to the meetings, as well as allow me into the training courses at the studio. (well guess who will not be there anymore). And 3rd, I still have class with this professor.

So after much deliberation, I have decided to call him and explain my situation like a grown up. The lesson can glean from all of this is that I will never again start working without a contract, and after a trip to Singapore I am soo over trading wages in favor of learning, since learning does not buy food, pay student loans, or buy new bikes.

Im back

I know it’s typical that about half of all blog posts are about how the writers should do exactly that, but hey life does happen, and things slip through the cracks like people, orphans, and often credit cards.

Life for me is new and interesting back in America. I have declared that I only am perusing an MBA instead of pairing it with a PHD in Economics. I now feel relieved, confident, and happy that each day I may work in buisness instead of derivatives, time values, and other things that I don’t really have a firm understanding of. I also have 2 jobs and will tell you more about them and the activities required.

As of now labor day has ended and I just want to remind you that I have been writing this for quite some time now, and have enjoyed it. Its nice to weave a tale, where most of it is true, and share a laugh, often at my expense. Please keep reading as more serious posts are to begin this week.

As for now- I have work to attend to.