WHOOO-HOOOO!!! HAPPY DAY!!!!
The INDIANA JONES TRILOGY released on DVD today!! I have waited for this for years! You see, Raiders of the lost ark was sort of a cult religion for me. Raiders (for me) WAS the end all-be all movie of ALL time! Followed closely by StarWars of course.
Way back when....My only reason for buying my first VCR ($800 & change) was to FINALLY own a copy of Raiders Of The Lost Ark on tape. A tape that I STILL own to this very day! It's gonna be a GREAT INDIANA WEEKEND!!
On to other topics...
COMMAND & CONQUER GENERALS. I will kiss the feet of the person that invented this game! I have literally killed HOURS building my army and decimating my opponents! I need to go out and pick up the expansion pack ZERO HOUR! I killed my son multiple times this weekend... hehehehehehe.... I'm such a good dad!!
Well, gonna go downstairs and watch the bonus pack to the Indiana Jones Trilogy!!!
I'll catch up with you laters!!
PEACE!!
Tuesday, October 21, 2003
Saturday, October 18, 2003
Didn't sleep a wink last night. For some reason I was up worrying about these reviews I have to take care of on Sunday at the office. It will be my first time doing them and my boss threw me a curve ball. She wants an incentive packet prepared and presented to each member of your staff. And THEN document their reaction to the incentives in your weekly reviews. Did I mention that weekly reviews have to be completed and turned in on Sunday? It's not like I let this sit on a back burner. She tasked me with this on Thursday afternoon about an hour before going home time. Unbelievable.
On a better note- I picked up Matrix Reloaded last night! I'm so jazzed. For me, movies are always better when you watch them a 2nd or 3rd time. Also dying to check out the special features. As I was walking through Suncoast (DVD Store) I came upon Cowboy Bebop - THE MOVIE. For those that don't know, Cowboy Bebop is a great Japanese anime series. I highly recommend it if your curious about anime. It's not as mind numbing as some of the hardcore anime series like Neon Evangelion or Ghost In The Shell. It's an all around great flick.
While on the subject of movies, yesterday I decided to watch ALOT of them in one sitting. Grand total of movies watched on Friday October 17, 2003 - 6 movies! Those would be in order: Wing Commander, Star Wars Episode I, Star Wars Episode II, Matrix, Matrix Reloaded and finally Jason And The Argonauts. No need for applause.... I'm proud of it.... :-)
I'm thinking about taking in Lord Of The Rings- Fellowship of the Ring and Two Towers along with Cowboy Bebop today!
Well, Gonna grab a cup of joe and surf the web a bit. Till next time, take care and as always....
Peace-
On a better note- I picked up Matrix Reloaded last night! I'm so jazzed. For me, movies are always better when you watch them a 2nd or 3rd time. Also dying to check out the special features. As I was walking through Suncoast (DVD Store) I came upon Cowboy Bebop - THE MOVIE. For those that don't know, Cowboy Bebop is a great Japanese anime series. I highly recommend it if your curious about anime. It's not as mind numbing as some of the hardcore anime series like Neon Evangelion or Ghost In The Shell. It's an all around great flick.
While on the subject of movies, yesterday I decided to watch ALOT of them in one sitting. Grand total of movies watched on Friday October 17, 2003 - 6 movies! Those would be in order: Wing Commander, Star Wars Episode I, Star Wars Episode II, Matrix, Matrix Reloaded and finally Jason And The Argonauts. No need for applause.... I'm proud of it.... :-)
I'm thinking about taking in Lord Of The Rings- Fellowship of the Ring and Two Towers along with Cowboy Bebop today!
Well, Gonna grab a cup of joe and surf the web a bit. Till next time, take care and as always....
Peace-
Friday, October 17, 2003
Ahhhhhh Friday Morning
I'm kicking back in my backyard. It's still dark out and the ducks are still sleeping out on the lake. It's my FAVORITE time of the day! I thought it only proper to grab the laptop and jam a few lines.
So- TOP item on the agenda today? BUY THE MATRIX RELOADED!! I've been putting it off all week as I've been too tired to do anything but go straight home and sleep after those grueling work days. Also planning on doing a happy hour at my favorite mexican restaurant this evening. Other than that? It's SLUG time. I've got NO plans (I love that....)
On to a thinking point- Why do we sleep?
I was watching a TV show the other day about Narcolepsy. The condition of suddenly falling asleep. As this condition was being researched the question arose - Why do we sleep? What an interesting question! I pondered it and could not arrive at an answer. It seems some of the world's top scientists couldn't either. (Makes me feel better!)
Anyhow- after years of research scientists have found the lack of a chemical in the brains of narcoleptic patients called orexins. Orexins are basically neurotransmitters that regulate things like hunger and (you guessed it) arousal/consciousness. Now back to the question: Why do we sleep?
In continuing with their studies, researchers stumbled on a very interesting discovery- The natural state of ALL living things is asleep! Scientists should have been asking the question: Why are we awake? It is by some quirk of nature that at certain intervals (mornings) orexins in the brain become stimulated and you gain consciousness. In the evenings, this stimulation calms down and you return to a more normal unconscious state. Bottom line, it appears researchers are on the verge of curing narcolepsy.
Sorry- went off on a tangent. I do that sometimes. I thought that was extremely cool!!
Well got to go get another cup of coffee, get these Orexins flowing and enjoy my morning. Till next time -
Peace-
I'm kicking back in my backyard. It's still dark out and the ducks are still sleeping out on the lake. It's my FAVORITE time of the day! I thought it only proper to grab the laptop and jam a few lines.
So- TOP item on the agenda today? BUY THE MATRIX RELOADED!! I've been putting it off all week as I've been too tired to do anything but go straight home and sleep after those grueling work days. Also planning on doing a happy hour at my favorite mexican restaurant this evening. Other than that? It's SLUG time. I've got NO plans (I love that....)
On to a thinking point- Why do we sleep?
I was watching a TV show the other day about Narcolepsy. The condition of suddenly falling asleep. As this condition was being researched the question arose - Why do we sleep? What an interesting question! I pondered it and could not arrive at an answer. It seems some of the world's top scientists couldn't either. (Makes me feel better!)
Anyhow- after years of research scientists have found the lack of a chemical in the brains of narcoleptic patients called orexins. Orexins are basically neurotransmitters that regulate things like hunger and (you guessed it) arousal/consciousness. Now back to the question: Why do we sleep?
In continuing with their studies, researchers stumbled on a very interesting discovery- The natural state of ALL living things is asleep! Scientists should have been asking the question: Why are we awake? It is by some quirk of nature that at certain intervals (mornings) orexins in the brain become stimulated and you gain consciousness. In the evenings, this stimulation calms down and you return to a more normal unconscious state. Bottom line, it appears researchers are on the verge of curing narcolepsy.
Sorry- went off on a tangent. I do that sometimes. I thought that was extremely cool!!
Well got to go get another cup of coffee, get these Orexins flowing and enjoy my morning. Till next time -
Peace-
Monday, October 13, 2003
Today was a milestone! Today marks my first day being on my own at my new job! Up until now, I always had a peer with me showing me the ropes. From what I'm told, the normal training period is 1 month. I started on the 1st and already they have me managing the floor. I guess that's good! I officially have 14 technicians that report to me. And it's funny, it's all starting to fall into place. I had serious concerns whether I was going to fit in or not. This customer service nonsense is alien to me. But I can lead. And that's what I am doing.
I've gotten a ton of feedback from my website - www.sjnstudios.com! And I'm happy to report that it is ALL positive! I thank you all for your continued support. Without you, I'd be wasting my time. Keep writing in. I read each and every email. If any of you have any recommendations or ANYTHING that you would like to see, just yell. I aim to please!
Well, I got to get back to work, I'm trying to squeeze in some cartooning time now that my schedule has so drastically changed. Once everything calms down a little, I should be able to swing it. Again- THANKS for the continued support, you all keep me inspired!
Peace-
I've gotten a ton of feedback from my website - www.sjnstudios.com! And I'm happy to report that it is ALL positive! I thank you all for your continued support. Without you, I'd be wasting my time. Keep writing in. I read each and every email. If any of you have any recommendations or ANYTHING that you would like to see, just yell. I aim to please!
Well, I got to get back to work, I'm trying to squeeze in some cartooning time now that my schedule has so drastically changed. Once everything calms down a little, I should be able to swing it. Again- THANKS for the continued support, you all keep me inspired!
Peace-
Saturday, October 11, 2003
Whew!! Been pretty busy today! I FINALLY got my domain registered and hosted! From now on, if you want to go to my site, just head over to http://www.sjnstudios.com. It's sooooo nice to get that behind me. I've been tossing around the idea for awhile. When I lost my job the idea went out the window. I made a point to get it done FIRST THING once I got to working again!
I updated a bunch of stuff over there so hope you enjoy it! This blog is linked there as well so everything is in a nice neat package. I anticipate that I will make some more changes there in the not to distant future as I'd like to bring the page down to a certain theme. Mainly my cartoons.
Well, I'm going to go off and enjoy the rest of my Saturday! Think I'll crack open a few beers, kick back and watch Jason And The Argonauts! (So I'm a Ray Harryhausen fan!!!)
Peace-
I updated a bunch of stuff over there so hope you enjoy it! This blog is linked there as well so everything is in a nice neat package. I anticipate that I will make some more changes there in the not to distant future as I'd like to bring the page down to a certain theme. Mainly my cartoons.
Well, I'm going to go off and enjoy the rest of my Saturday! Think I'll crack open a few beers, kick back and watch Jason And The Argonauts! (So I'm a Ray Harryhausen fan!!!)
Peace-
Wednesday, October 08, 2003
Greets my fellow Chronicleees! Had a FULL day of training. From 8am to 5pm. It was brutal. And for those that know the Phoenix metropolitan area, 5pm is NOT a time to attempt to venture home! I jumped into my truck and began heading through downtown Phoenix. On the radio, the deafening words crackled to life- "Five Car Pile-UP on State Route 202"... Just friggin great. No freeways for me tonight. I proceeded to wind my way through surface streets all the way home. 2 hours and 15 minutes later, I pull up into my garage. Fortunately I stopped at the local convenience store for some ice cold beer. Gonna need it tonight.
Remember last post, I mentioned that my hours were going to be 7 to 4? Well scratch that.... THEY GAVE ME THE HOURS I WANTED! They gave me 5am to 2pm! For those that don't know me, I'm a notorious morning person. My normal wake up time is 3am. Even on Saturdays. I'm most active during the early morning hours. I fade out fast past 8pm. Gonna start those hours beginning Sunday with Friday & Saturdays off. I can deal with that.
Well, gonna surf for a bit and head off to bed. Got a ton more training tomorrow. Everyone take care and until next we meet: Peace...
Remember last post, I mentioned that my hours were going to be 7 to 4? Well scratch that.... THEY GAVE ME THE HOURS I WANTED! They gave me 5am to 2pm! For those that don't know me, I'm a notorious morning person. My normal wake up time is 3am. Even on Saturdays. I'm most active during the early morning hours. I fade out fast past 8pm. Gonna start those hours beginning Sunday with Friday & Saturdays off. I can deal with that.
Well, gonna surf for a bit and head off to bed. Got a ton more training tomorrow. Everyone take care and until next we meet: Peace...
Tuesday, October 07, 2003
Wow- How time flies! Suffered through a brief bout of depression the past couple of days. I'm attributing it to the culture shock and lack of a set schedule I'm experiencing over the new job. It's such a 180 degree turn for me. I'm not joking, yesterday I was literally nauseated at the thought of having to go back to that place. I'm better now. I believe things are starting to settle in.
What do I mean by culture shock you ask? Well, let me tell you a little about call centers:
Where I came from, we were a gaggle of engineers. We didn't deal with people too much and when we did, it usually wasn't a pleasant experience (for them). Bottom line, we, as engineers, are more comfortable in the company of hardware rather that wetware(people). So, with that being said, we had a tendency to be a bit on the uncouth side.
Enter the Call Center-
Now this is an environment that has taken customer service as well as phone etiquette and dissected it to the point that every word, every phrase, every detail is logged, analyzed, and improved upon to the point that you actually feel like you are in Disneyland when talking to these people! The happiness abounds. It's unbelievable. And that's just the customer service side of the house! The helpdesk technicians are an amazing breed. As I walk around the place, you hear conversations that eerily repeat themselves from cubicle to cubicle. There are "canned responses" to every possible scenario that could possibly come up during a typical call. Should anything deviate, you call a supervisor and the supe will get things back on track.
The name of the game is call volume in these places. And literally thousands of calls are handled every month all to the glee of the helpdesk technicians. It's a sight to behold. I keep waiting to see some poor sap stand up and yell at the top of his lungs - #%$@#!%#!^@!! &*#$^#%#$$@#!$(!@&#$)(*#@! &$^$%@$!@#!$*%&#*#()!!!!!!!!! Because I KNOW I would have by now. I just can't be that "happy" all of the time. And I think that is the crux of my problem.
But like I said, this was only my fourth day on the job and as I said earlier, it's getting better. Today my hours are 11:00am to 8:00pm. And for the record, THOSE HOURS SUCK BIGTIME! But good news! I was told yesterday that my hours will be 7:00am to 4:00pm. And I would possibly work 1 weekend day each week something like a Tuesday through Saturday or Sunday through Thursday. I can deal with that as long as I get days!!
Well, now that I got that off of my chest, I feel much better now. Things are looking on the up. Everybody take care out there, it's a rough world and we are all in the mix together. Till next time:
Peace
What do I mean by culture shock you ask? Well, let me tell you a little about call centers:
Where I came from, we were a gaggle of engineers. We didn't deal with people too much and when we did, it usually wasn't a pleasant experience (for them). Bottom line, we, as engineers, are more comfortable in the company of hardware rather that wetware(people). So, with that being said, we had a tendency to be a bit on the uncouth side.
Enter the Call Center-
Now this is an environment that has taken customer service as well as phone etiquette and dissected it to the point that every word, every phrase, every detail is logged, analyzed, and improved upon to the point that you actually feel like you are in Disneyland when talking to these people! The happiness abounds. It's unbelievable. And that's just the customer service side of the house! The helpdesk technicians are an amazing breed. As I walk around the place, you hear conversations that eerily repeat themselves from cubicle to cubicle. There are "canned responses" to every possible scenario that could possibly come up during a typical call. Should anything deviate, you call a supervisor and the supe will get things back on track.
The name of the game is call volume in these places. And literally thousands of calls are handled every month all to the glee of the helpdesk technicians. It's a sight to behold. I keep waiting to see some poor sap stand up and yell at the top of his lungs - #%$@#!%#!^@!! &*#$^#%#$$@#!$(!@&#$)(*#@! &$^$%@$!@#!$*%&#*#()!!!!!!!!! Because I KNOW I would have by now. I just can't be that "happy" all of the time. And I think that is the crux of my problem.
But like I said, this was only my fourth day on the job and as I said earlier, it's getting better. Today my hours are 11:00am to 8:00pm. And for the record, THOSE HOURS SUCK BIGTIME! But good news! I was told yesterday that my hours will be 7:00am to 4:00pm. And I would possibly work 1 weekend day each week something like a Tuesday through Saturday or Sunday through Thursday. I can deal with that as long as I get days!!
Well, now that I got that off of my chest, I feel much better now. Things are looking on the up. Everybody take care out there, it's a rough world and we are all in the mix together. Till next time:
Peace
Saturday, October 04, 2003
IT'S SATURDAY!
Let's be honest here. I'm damn glad to be employed but that doesn't mean I gotta miss being in the office. I'm just enjoying getting up in the moring and having to do - - - - Nothing. I admit it, I'm a slug...
So the "experts" are saying the economy is finally on track for a rebound. Unemployment is down which caused a surge in stock prices yesterday. That was definately welcome news! With the holidays just around the corner mixed with the current optimism about the market, things are looking pretty bright for us stateside Tech workers. Now if we could just keep these damn corporations from migrating all of their IT infrastructure over to these low-life third world countries. Mark my words, they will see the error of their ways. No one can manage global networks and SUCCEED like us Americans! Don't like that? Deal. Us Americans succeed in everything we do. Thats just the way it is. Today's corporations will realize that. They'll be back.
Okay, I'm off my soapbox.
I'll be back in a bit, I need to get something off my chest about the environment of these so-called "Call Centers". But I want to approach the subject appropriately. If ya know what I mean. Let me think about it and then I will put pen to paper...
Peace-
Let's be honest here. I'm damn glad to be employed but that doesn't mean I gotta miss being in the office. I'm just enjoying getting up in the moring and having to do - - - - Nothing. I admit it, I'm a slug...
So the "experts" are saying the economy is finally on track for a rebound. Unemployment is down which caused a surge in stock prices yesterday. That was definately welcome news! With the holidays just around the corner mixed with the current optimism about the market, things are looking pretty bright for us stateside Tech workers. Now if we could just keep these damn corporations from migrating all of their IT infrastructure over to these low-life third world countries. Mark my words, they will see the error of their ways. No one can manage global networks and SUCCEED like us Americans! Don't like that? Deal. Us Americans succeed in everything we do. Thats just the way it is. Today's corporations will realize that. They'll be back.
Okay, I'm off my soapbox.
I'll be back in a bit, I need to get something off my chest about the environment of these so-called "Call Centers". But I want to approach the subject appropriately. If ya know what I mean. Let me think about it and then I will put pen to paper...
Peace-
Thursday, October 02, 2003
For some strange reason, I am spent. I could crash out right here and now. It's probably just information overload. I am cramming some serious training in. I had to sit in on these "introduction sessions" today. The manager would gather about 7 or 8 technicians into a conference room and I had to do the whole introduction thing. It went surprisingly well. More introductions are in order tomorrow.
Enough about the office.... I want to discuss LUNCH. I learned something. If you work downtown, pack your friggin lunch! I ordered a HALF of a chicken salad sandwich on wheat today. Cmon, guess how much... SIX DOLLARS!! Now I could understand if the bread was fresh baked and the chicken salad was made right there in front of you... But NOOOoooo!!! It was Rainbow wheat bread (bad carbs...) and some kind of SafeWay deli day old chicken salad... I was absolutely floored. That'll be the LAST time I buy lunch there! I'm brown baggin it from now on. Tomorrow's menu: smokie sausages, string cheese & pork rinds! (Can you tell I'm a no carb kind of guy?)
Now for some "me time..."
I went out Wardriving tonight. For those that don't know what this practice is, It involves driving around the city with a special software loaded on a laptop and locating 'hotspots' where you can get free wireless Internet access. As a matter of fact, I'm coming to you live from Almaschool Road & Warner Road in Chandler, Arizona! When will people learn to enable WEP and disable SSID broadcasting? Oh well, it's more fun for me! Heading over to Mesa Arizona to some spots I found the other day.
Till next time,
Peace
Enough about the office.... I want to discuss LUNCH. I learned something. If you work downtown, pack your friggin lunch! I ordered a HALF of a chicken salad sandwich on wheat today. Cmon, guess how much... SIX DOLLARS!! Now I could understand if the bread was fresh baked and the chicken salad was made right there in front of you... But NOOOoooo!!! It was Rainbow wheat bread (bad carbs...) and some kind of SafeWay deli day old chicken salad... I was absolutely floored. That'll be the LAST time I buy lunch there! I'm brown baggin it from now on. Tomorrow's menu: smokie sausages, string cheese & pork rinds! (Can you tell I'm a no carb kind of guy?)
Now for some "me time..."
I went out Wardriving tonight. For those that don't know what this practice is, It involves driving around the city with a special software loaded on a laptop and locating 'hotspots' where you can get free wireless Internet access. As a matter of fact, I'm coming to you live from Almaschool Road & Warner Road in Chandler, Arizona! When will people learn to enable WEP and disable SSID broadcasting? Oh well, it's more fun for me! Heading over to Mesa Arizona to some spots I found the other day.
Till next time,
Peace
Thu Oct 02, 05:14:06 AM
AHHHHH RESTED! I slept much better last night. Still a little nervous but that is to be expected. Just got to get this coffee down me so that caffeine can start kicking in.
Was going through my closet this morning. I NEED CLOTHES! The population of business casual attire has severely waned since being unemployed. I now seem to have an influx of jeans, cargo pants and various hacker/gamer/geek T-shirts. Gonna have to go get some new spiffy duds here pretty quick!
Oh well, it's too early to be creative and write something awe inspiring so I'm going back to my coffee and work on this consciousness thing.
cya tonight!
AHHHHH RESTED! I slept much better last night. Still a little nervous but that is to be expected. Just got to get this coffee down me so that caffeine can start kicking in.
Was going through my closet this morning. I NEED CLOTHES! The population of business casual attire has severely waned since being unemployed. I now seem to have an influx of jeans, cargo pants and various hacker/gamer/geek T-shirts. Gonna have to go get some new spiffy duds here pretty quick!
Oh well, it's too early to be creative and write something awe inspiring so I'm going back to my coffee and work on this consciousness thing.
cya tonight!
Wednesday, October 01, 2003
I MADE IT! What a day! This is going to take some serious "unlearning" from what I have been programmed to do. Things that were considered taboo at my previous place of employment are welcome here! It's uncanny. There are so many processes & procedures that need to be learned that I'll be buried for the next month.....easy. I was informed today that I would not get my own team until sometime in November. Thank GOD! I'm going to have to hunker down and get my training on!!
But all in all, it's cake. Piece of cake. It's just a matter of a change in ideology thats going to take some getting used to.
And the the roof of my mouth? Numb as hell...
But all in all, it's cake. Piece of cake. It's just a matter of a change in ideology thats going to take some getting used to.
And the the roof of my mouth? Numb as hell...
Wed Oct 01, 05:19:57 AM
uuuuugggghhh!! 5 o'clock in the morning. I gotta be in the office at 7 o'clock. Getting into downtown Phoenix in the mornings is an experience. One that I am none to excited about. I figure if I leave early enough I just might beat the throng that is rush hour.
I probably slept about two hours last night. I'm a nervous wreck. I sure am glad this whole "starting a new job" thing isn't something that happens every day! I'd shoot myself! I just need to make it through a week or so and get settled in. Then everything will be okay.
On a side note- I head over to Rubio's last night and picked up a couple of fish tacos and a burrito. With every order, they generously give you a side of tortilla chips. So I'm sitting there loving life and gorging myself on fish tacos. When all of a sudden I bite into a tortilla chip and it impales itself into the roof of my mouth! MY GOD!! WHAT PAIN!! It must have taken two or three napkins to stop the bleeding. And now I can barely drink my coffee without wincing in pain!! Don't you hate when that happens?
Story of my life....
cya after work. I'll let ya know how everything pans out.
uuuuugggghhh!! 5 o'clock in the morning. I gotta be in the office at 7 o'clock. Getting into downtown Phoenix in the mornings is an experience. One that I am none to excited about. I figure if I leave early enough I just might beat the throng that is rush hour.
I probably slept about two hours last night. I'm a nervous wreck. I sure am glad this whole "starting a new job" thing isn't something that happens every day! I'd shoot myself! I just need to make it through a week or so and get settled in. Then everything will be okay.
On a side note- I head over to Rubio's last night and picked up a couple of fish tacos and a burrito. With every order, they generously give you a side of tortilla chips. So I'm sitting there loving life and gorging myself on fish tacos. When all of a sudden I bite into a tortilla chip and it impales itself into the roof of my mouth! MY GOD!! WHAT PAIN!! It must have taken two or three napkins to stop the bleeding. And now I can barely drink my coffee without wincing in pain!! Don't you hate when that happens?
Story of my life....
cya after work. I'll let ya know how everything pans out.
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