Blog Master G

SF GATE MORNING FIX

THE SAN FRANCISCO FACTOID
***********************************************
How did Nob Hill get its name? It’s colloquial for ‘nabob’, meaning
anyone of great wealth.

THE DAILY WORD — Learn it, use it, spell it
***********************************************
gambado – noun – pl gambadoes also gambados [modif. of F gambade] (1820)
1) A low leap of a horse in which all four feet are off the ground
2) A leaping, capering or gamboling movement

Usage example: And the small children became quickly embarrassed and
deeply disturbed as Junior giddily mounted up Colin Powell and spanked
him with his cowboy hat and made him prance around the room and gambado
over the presidential seal in the Oval Office, making horsey noises,
just like at the ranch.

sick

interesting

dumbasses
(fox gets worse and worse. notice the only thing they say in response to this.)

SF GATE MORNING FIX

THE DAILY WORD — Learn it, use it, spell it
***********************************************
farinaceous \’far-e-‘na-shes\ adjective (1646)
1) Having a mealy texture or surface
2) Containing or rich in starch

Usage example: And then came the indescribably horrific and
soul-curdling nightmare in which Rosie O’Donnell and Lynne Cheney were
knocking it out in some sort of loud sloppy farinaceous sex romp which
should never be mentioned ever again, ever.

From an email from Karen Humphrey on March 4, 2002:

“You hang in, get prepped for the new job, and carry the torch that I think your
grandmother is in the process of passing to you. I really admire your ability
to support all the family in this very difficult time but I hope you’re doing
what you need to sustain yourself, and Jen. Our best to both of you–we’ll be
in touch.”

Nana’s condition continues to be the same. It’s incredibly difficult to see her this way. She’s basically gone already. She has lived an amazing life and touched so many people. She will be with us. Always. She will soon be in a better, more peaceful place.

In true yin & yang fashion, I received my verbal offer from Autodesk on Monday, March 4, 2002. Yesterday (March 5) I received my official offer letter. I start March 18 as eServices Learning & Training Producer. My last day at Financial Finesse will be next Friday, March 15, exactly one year to the day since Headlight went under. Working at Financial Finesse has given me the chance to explore and discover what I really want to do — and what I’m passionate about: technology and learning. At Autodesk I’ll get to do just that. I’m ready for change and excited to make it happen.

The journey continues.

I have some really good news: It looks as though I’m going to be getting an amazing job offer today to be production manager for a company called Financial Finesse (www.financialfinesse.com). I found the job on craigslist last week (I was going to give you the URL, but it looks like they’ve already pulled down the posting!) and heard back from them on Monday — and was told that I was one of the top-tier candidates. I filled out this really long questionnaire for the CTO and heard back from him yesterday. Out of more than 200 candidates, he told me, I was one of the top 5; of those 5, he said that my answers were the best. So we talked for an hour and a half yesterday morning, and I was in the office by 1130am. I met with just about everyone and was there until just before 5pm. They all but handed me the job yesterday — told me that they’re just going to check my references today — and make me an offer. They even told me what they’re going to offer me and where my desk is going to be. 🙂 I just heard from Glenn that they contacted him, so it probably won’t be long before I get the official offer. I’m really excited about it, and had a really good feeling about all the people. They want me to start on Tuesday!

Job hunt was slowing down for awhile, but suddenly (as of today) seems to be in full throttle again. I’ve had only one interview to date (Intuition/BizQuiz), but have two scheduled for tomorrow. I also got an email today from a Palo Alto-based company that’s interested in meeting with me (Minds and Technologies). I met this morning with a training company in Fremont that offers Oracle DBA certification programs, which I’m seriously considering pursuing. Of course, whatever pans out in the job department will impact my decision in that area.

Jen’s parents have been in town the past few days, so we’ve been really busy entertaining them. And suddenly, it seems as though I have a lot going for me in terms of job prospects!

Headlight is no more. It’s the end of an era. For me, anyway. At 2pm today, during our regularly-scheduled all-hands meeting (albeit a couple hours early), we were informed, simply, that the company has run out of money and cannot afford to pay us. So it goes.

On to the next bigger and better thing. It was great fun while it lasted and I’m happy I hung on until the end. I always said I was planning on sticking around until “something major happens.” This is major enough. I just didn’t know it would come so soon.

Yesterday, however, I did have a really strong feeling that today would be the last day — at least for me. But alas, the entire company is no more. It does, of course, put each of us in an awkward position in dealing with partners — who, hopefully, will not hold the resentment against each of us individually — and talking to them about the news. But I just feel badly for everyone who put so much faith in the company. I sure did.

But in a way, it’s a big relief. My world is now a blank slate, and there’s so much I can do.

My lower back was really hurting this morning. I’m not sure what has sparked it, but as soon as I got out of bed, it was driving me mad. Simply standing, sitting, or even bending over hurt. It’s not so bad now, so I hope it will stay this way.

Last night Jen, Johnnie, and I went out to dinner at House of Nan King. I love that place. Best Chinese food there is. Afterward, Johnnie and I proceeded to the 7:10 p.m. showing of “Quills,” the story of the Marquis de Sade around the beginning of the 19th Century. Unbelievable movie. Very good.

During this time of uncertainty and possible transition in my career, I’ve slowly but surely been taking notes about myself — who I am, what I can do, and what I’m after. I’ve found that thinking about changing jobs has forced me to examine a much larger question in my life: What are my passions? What is it that makes me tick? Why do I have such a hard time focusing on just one thing, and what exactly is it that I want to spend the rest of my life doing? I don’t know. But each day I’m beginning to get a more clear picture of that vision. My vision. As I put in my TechieGold profile tonight:

My strength is in my diversity of skills and my ability to learn quickly. I can put my nose to the grindstone to crank out code for a database-driven Web application, or I can stand before a large audience to deliver a PowerPoint presentation on the intricacies of designing and deploying Web-based training content. I am a passionate technologist and a dedicated leader, a writer at heart and a team player by nature.

Sure, I’d like for my next job to pay well, but to paraphrase what Enoch recently said: If you’re doing what you love and you’re challenged, then the pay won’t be an issue; it will be “up there” anyway.

We also had the best haiku last night (according, at least, to the loud approval of the crowd), but they had to give the best haiku award to another team, since we cleaned up in every other department. For the history books:

Grandma voted Gore
Her vote did not count for shit
Damn the hanging chad

We kicked ass at trivia last night. Not only did we win first place and take home the $30 prize (which, of course, was promptly cashed in for a round of kamikazee shots), but we won (again) for best team name: Democrats Prefer Hand Jobs Over Bush. The name was all Jen, although she claims it was my idea. I can only take credit for having inspired her idea with my “Let Monica Do the Hand Job.” In any case, we won a round of shots for our winning name as well. It was fun. I didn’t contribute much (as usual), but I’m there for the moral support.