dave says a few words

my lordy, first bill o'reilly. now john mccain. leave it to dave, and i guess the rumors about dave are true.

well, he approves this message. i guess i can too, right? guess it's not quite a secret where my allegiances may or may not fall - stay tuned for another video i found funny

star wars turns to real life.

saw this today on a recruiting blog (about viral marketing...go figure). thought it was interesting...

(tried to imbed, didn't work).
http://current.com/items/89204971_death_star_over_san_francisco

'tis the season...

i love this time of year. winding down the summer with fabulous weather here in the pacific northwest - although the last couple of days have left something to be desired. we move slowly from 90 degree days that seemingly last forever to back to school shopping and the dread of the realization that another thanksgiving and christmas will soon be upon us. i love this time of year, not for the reasons stated above, but because these gentle shifts and thoughts are a reminder that football season is upon us. and with that come fantasy football!

yes folks, i am a fantasy nut. super fan really, and while i may not display my inner geekdom (i really don't have any), i do get lost in the revelry of the competition and strategy that fantasy sports has to offer. i average three football teams a year, shelling out a paltry $100 in the process and only twice in the last four years have i finished any better than fourth - in a league mind you that i quickly was kicked out of this year after i left my former place of employment. hacks!

this year is no different. i again have my trio of teams, while honey bunches took over my spot in the former league (might i mention that she too is really into this fantasy thing as well. i've lost a good two days of work trying to analyze the players, develop my draft strategy, and figure out what player on my shitty roster from last year that i'm going to keep - believe me, it's not pretty.

we're hosting a draft party this year (yay for drafting and beer!) - one of the great things about being a commissioner - for the couples league that i started. how fun it was last year to watch newcomers whoop up on the veterans (i finished 8th).

good luck to everyone out there that takes part. should be a fun one this year. i must go out and buy my 3 magazines now. later!

fun times on saturday

so i was set to write about the time left in wedding preparations and how good the soon-to-be-missus and i felt about where we were, but something completely traumatic and eerie and tragic happened over the weekend that i was witness to - and everybody loves one of those stories.

i just hope to do it justice on here.



start the video 16 seconds in (stops at 34 seconds - and the music backdrop is filled w/ profanity, so turn down those speakers if you don't want to hear it), that will provide backdrop...

saturday evening i was to head north to pick up honey bunches from the casino where she had spent the afternoon at the outlets and playing bingo. as i took the normal route to the northbound lanes from the house, i approached a (the only?) gas station that is along the route and noticed a group of folks on motorcycles coming out, or attempting, of the station and into traffic. one man in particular stood out as he was the closest to the street amongst them and seemed to be itching to get going. i remember saying to myself "stay right there, assholes." i mean, they oozed cockiness - "hey look at us, we're a band of cyclists."

moving ahead, as i was merging onto the freeway, i see the reflection of singular lights hurtling up the freeway at well above 70 (since that's what i was going just to merge). there's the leader of the pack, mr red shirt. the one that stood out at the gas station. he and his buddies cut numerous people off, go from 80 to 45 back up and down for about a mile before there are 8-10 of them amassed, all in the left and carpool lanes.

by the time we, i was hanging back with most of the traffic, but keeping pace with them, reached mountlake terrace there was a significant backup behind the band of cycles as they could not decide on a speed to keep steady. they finally decided on 65 i would assume as they didn't leave me and that's what i was going.

when the backup started i remember thinking to myself that a) someone was going to do something stupid and b) this is how people get killed. it just wasn't a safe feeling on the freeway with all those motorcyclists out there. traffic flow was tentative, although moving steady. it was like all the drivers in the cars were thinking the same exact thing, and that's when it happened - someone got stupid. mr. red shirt.

in all his glory, he through his right leg over his bike with his left on the peg and jumped to the pavement while holding on. we're going 65 and this guy is pavement skiing. my thought repeated at least 100 times, "dumbass is going to kill himself." everyone in the area (behind, on the side) moved over and slowed down as mr. red shirt guy sped up and slowed down. 3/4 mile into it, he started drifting almost hitting one of his buddies in the carpool lane. everyone (bikers included) now started slowing and a sense of dread comes over me. he's no longer standing on stiff legs, it looks like he can't pull himself up. and then it happens. mr. red shirt crashes into the metal barrier, going what i would approximate at 55 miles per hour, what's left of his bike, slams into him chest level at the same time his head (wearing helmet) hits the metal barrier. i was fortunate enough to turn my head and had his visor been up i would've seen his eyes at that exact moment.

what happened next while time was slowing down has forever tarnished my faith in 98% of humanity. 6 of the bikes speed up and flee, the two closest to him stop. the black chevy tahoe (i believe) that was next to or just in front of me, slowed down with me, then took off. all other traffic behind me barely slowed. i pulled over and called 911 and waited for the state patrol and aid to arrive. state patrol arrived in 2 minutes, while waiting for the patrol to arrive, i spotted 2 more of the riders walking back to the scene. i waited for 15 minutes (both to ensure that all was kosher, not that i could've done anything - wrong side of the freeway, and to calm my nerves). one of the bikes that stopped left, the 2 walked back, and aid never showed up.

(i stop here because i don't know what happened, i make assumptions based on what i saw and what i saw was someone who lost his life. did it happen? no clue.)

he was smart in one sense, he wore a helmet. stupid in every other.

i'm a fan...

as my loyal .7 know, i'm a fan of alaskan amber, but i wanted to iterate that i am still a fan.

i'm also a fan of jango.com - let me tell you how wonderful it is to go from the nitty gritty dirt band to johann sebastian bach then to kanye west. try it out and make your own station.

that is all - time for me to go play softball.

it's been 11 days...

since i last posted. i only make mention because it seems like it was only yesterday. don't have a lot to say, but i just wanted to post something.

things to do: beer, yardwork, help people move, yardwork, beer, clean house. glad i have some alaskan amber at home.

cheers!

a deviation i just noticed

i think one of the things i wanted to do when i first started this blog was to talk about beer because i like it. a lot of bit. i only bring this up because of the sale of anheuea;flkjagi...um, budweiser. personally, i don't care, but i just wanted to mention beer. i should go get some for tonight, tomorrow, the day after, etc. yay. beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeer. i think i'll buy some dos equis or this stuff that i had on the fourth of july.

sunny days...pushing the - clouds away

i love this weather today. wish i could enjoy it without having to do yardwork. oh well. at least i get to be outside.

on a side note. hoooooray and triple-thumbs up to free cupcakes today. to think, the company thinks we haven't signed a contract with anyone else for our wedding day. too bad. but i'll gladly take their cupcakes

jesse jackson needs his nuts chopped off

i'm sick of this guy. really. he bitches and moans about how racism is still prevelant and the black man should get his or her shot. then he turns around and says that the black man (person) that is getting shot is not doing a good enough job and should have his nuts chopped off. shut your stupid old sorry-ass mouth up reverend. go away and die. we, as a country (and yes, i speak for everyone), are bored to tears with you and sick of you always putting your shit where it doesn't belong. you were not important then, you are not important now.

/rant.

my dad's dad was the sh*t. once upon a time.

the dreams are all but gone for now, but i do still miss my grandfather. it is a weird feeling, i'll admit, being that the relationship i had with him was pretty much non-existent. most, if not all, of my memories were of when i was younger than 16. when i had to visit with my dad and i didn't have a car or better things to do. i think it's the remorse. i think it's the guilt. i wonder what it would be like to see him one more day, not the way that i saw him in the nursing home, but the way that i remember him. like when i was 4 and he brought me a huge stuffed bugs bunny with the wire in the ears. i thought he was the shit then. he was walking home (he didn't live far from our house) and i remember chasing him down the block to thank him a million times over. that man could do no wrong at that point - well, to be fair, he never did wrong by me. that'd be nice, to spend some time with him again.

stay safe sam. we all miss you.
(i wanted to post a picture, i need to find the disc. i'm a bastard)

edit: i found the disk. picture above.

a feeling

i just wanted to write that i'm sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo in love with my fiancé. i have nothing else to report except that. oh, and i can't wait to marry her.

♥

what does it all mean?

i want to tell you all about a dream i had. one that when i woke up the next morning, was as vivid as if it had really happened, quite literally a day or two earlier.


i'm not one that has noticed signs. it's not that i don't believe in them, i've just never constructed moments in my life to foreshadow things to come - or conversly, things that have happened.


there are those that see dreams as a sign, or as some significant meaning. and after this last dream, it makes me wonder if my outlook should turn to include dreams as signs.


background first. my paternal grandfather passed away in october of 2007 of stomach cancer. it was a whirlwind - literally 9 weeks from diagnosis to passing. in april we (my family - the soon-to-be-missus, dad, stepmother, aunts & uncles) flew back to nebraska for his memorial with his surviving brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews (another post for another time i suppose). he was cremated, by the way, and we had to wait for the ground to thaw. so that brings us to the other night where i had the most peculiar dream.


important details:


-setting: church/reception hall - except all the seating was outside
-weather was mostly nice, however it changed (will describe)
-was sitting in the back row, with a space empty next to me. and my dad, i think, sitting on the other side of that open space.
-i can't say for sure what the event was, but i do know that we were all dressed very well - wedding, anniversary party, funeral/memorial - something along those lines.

the dream really started with me staring at the blank space, hearing chatter in th background - nothing specific. i was even turning to take part in the conversation - but again, nothing that i can remember. i do remember wondering why there was the space and why my dad and i weren't sitting next to eachother. the next thing i know there is a large panic coming from the general audience. looking around i see nothing, but i do hear "there is a storm coming." turning my head to look beyond us i see two things: the clouds, dark and ominous, coming closer and my now departed grandfather, sitting in the empty seat, a huge grin on his face and looking dapper in a fancy suit with his signature flat top.

i remember running to him. arms wrapping around him as i got there. i begged and pleaded with him to come, to move out of the way of the storm with the rest of us, but he wouldn't budge. the soon to be missus was pulling me, asking me to hurry and move out of the way of the storm. my grandfather, content as a bug, sat there, not budging - even somewhat shaking me off as if to say "all is fine, you go, i want to stay here."

the rest is a blur, or even non-existant. but i'm curious as to what it means. was it my way of finally letting go or of saying goodbye? i'm perplexed.

for all 1.6 of you that read this you may, or as is most likely the case, may not know that i have a new(er) "job." i'm hesitant to call it a career because i'm pretty sure that i will not be making a career out of what i am doing now - it's merely a stepping stone to a greater calling for me. new skills being learned that i can apply to what i ultimately want to do.

i enjoy the job i do - to a greater extent. i find problems with it on a daily basis, but if we're being perfectly honest, what my job consists of is largely administrative, while the good skill building is quite a bit smaller. roads are being paved to make it less administrative and more fulfilling, but it will take a bit of time to get out "of the jungle and into the desert" - so to speak.

because of this, i have to take quite a few matters into my own hands (i'll get to why). i really have to drive this road myself, it's actually 100% expected of me to do so. and if i don't, i'm out of a job. hell, even if i do, i still may be out of a job (which is also a part that explains the "great extent").

with that said, i need help. it dawned on me today that i need help in learning how to do the fun stuff around here and to put it rather bluntly, my team can only help so much. i have a mentor, so to speak, but by in large, i could use more time with him. my management group is less than helpful in providing tools, but very helpful in providing motivation. what is it that i need help with you ask? well, background would probably help first, eh?

so, i am on a contract at a rather large...well, at what i think is the great state of washington's largest employer. my job consists of making sure that my group of recruiters is in government compliance (thank you ofccp) - that is the administrative part and it is rather easy. the other part of my job is sourcing. and to be quite honest up until recently i was mortified of doing it. what if i sourced the incorrectly? what if what i was providing my recruiters were all shit candidates? how do i discern buzzword heavy resumes from resumes with some meat and potatoes? on top of that, i'm in a tech heavy field. i know nothing, wait. no. knew. i knew nothing about systems engineering, software development, systems architectures, etc etc. needless to say, i'm learning quickly.

coming full circle, that's the type of help i need. i need to be pointed in the direction of blogs or books that will help me learn the recruiting world. i'd like it to be as industry specific, however, i don't want to limit myself. i think learning how to find great talent should be first and i'll learn the business (tech in general) as i go.

so please, if you know of anything, please comment. be it blogs. personal experience. what have you. i'm asking nicely.

revisiting

i'm revisiting the oompa loomp vs munchkin question.

thank you laura for your insight and comment in the last post. i would tend to agree with you; an oompa loompa would definitely win the fight, convincingly. so much so that vegas would be afraid to even put odds down.

but i can't agree that they'd win because of your reasoning.

"The answer is obvious. The Oompa Loompa would win because they reproduce
asexually within seconds and could overwhelm even the largest population of
munchkins."

yes, the answer is obvious. but it's because oompa loompas are fatter. wait. no. thicker. look, you try to tell me that you live in a (ponders whether to curse...............) fucking (my dirty mouth wins) chocolate factory and doing chocolate factory chores - most of which i'm assuming consist of stirring and tasting and carrying bags of corn syrup, cocoa, and food coloring - and you're not going to be abnormally large? plus they sing songs that are borderline demonizing (read dark). and by all accounts don't get laid - major rage. meanwhile, these little munchkin things live in a land of make-believe, just kidding, more like a dream land. they walk crooked. sing happy go lucky songs. probably have munchkin sex (how's the for a nice thought) and strictly from what i've seen, don't eat anything (which, makes me ponder how the hell dorothy made it to oz, you know she was hungry).

no contest - the bigger, more angry group wins.

i don't know. maybe i think about these things too literally?

Points of interest, today.

who would win in a fight? an oompa loompa or a munchkin?

also, my favorite quote of the day: "i don't know about you, but seeing carrie fisher as princess leia was the moment i realized i was a boy" - i know too many people that can relate to that.

it has been a rather slow day in my eyes, so not a lot to write about (this is where i make my "faithful reader" quip). meh.

/goes back to playing packrat

things I miss...

blogging. really. you would think that if i missed blogging, i'd do it more.

with readership down, i guess i could start to gain my audience back.
/insert canned laughter

i'll do what i can.