Kickin' the New Kuh-nowledge

Originally published at Kickin' the new Kuh-nowledge. You can comment here or there.

It’s been two weeks since I started working at ye olde online retailer.  Things are going well.  Everyone I work with has been super nice.  My boss is great.

These first two weeks have been about learning their database.  I only started to do “real” work late last week.  It’s 100% straight up SQL, no chaser.  I have the option of using Business Objects Desktop Intelligence or Crystal Reports.  However, for now, I’m going to take this opportunity to delve into some of the more esoteric SQL stuff that I never used in my 12 years at ye olde newspaper.

The company is celebrating their 10th anniversary.  As part of that, the CEO hosted a party for everyone at the Saltair Pavillion with special guests…  The Wallflowers.  It was a fun show, but the drinks at Saltair are pricey!  Good thing we were all given a couple of drink coupons to keep us from going thirsty.  If you know what I mean… and I think you do.  At any rate, I can now check off “see Bob Dylan’s son” off my bucket list. 

One other work related thing.  Commuting is super easy now.  I live less than 10 miles from the office.  That sure beats the nearly 3 hour drive I had in Illinois.  I can also catch a bus a couple of blocks from my apartment that takes me directly to my office without transfers.  I even rode my bike part of the way and used the bus the rest of the way a couple of times.  Gotta love that!

Liz is doing great.  She just got a cool new haircut.  You can see pictures on Facebook.  I think she looks FAB! 

The puppy is doing well, but as it gets colder… it becomes more difficult to get motivated to go for walks. She’s big now… 63+ pounds… and growing.  She has developed an unfortunate trait.  She’s starting to become a digger.  I think we may have inadvertently contributed to this behavior taking root.  Now we’ll have to figure out a way to undo it before it becomes a serious problem.

Kiko is doing OK… has an ear infection at the moment, but he’s doing his thing… which mostly involves sleeping on the bear chair.

I’ve come to realize that I don’t use Livejournal nearly as much as I used to.  That’s kinda sad… really.  I like LJ a lot, but it’s not as conducive to the quick bursts that I’m doing lately.  Right now my platform of choice is Facebook… but I would dump it for something better in a heartbeat.  If Facebook had tag support, better group options (it would be nice to make a posting only viewable by a certain group (a la Livejournal), a decent search, and doubled the max character limit… it would be perfect.  Oh well.

That said…  if you haven’t joined Facebook…  you should…  and be sure to friend me.  I post a lot of fun stuff there… not just navel-gazing. 

Later gang… for my Orlando peeps… I’ll probably be in Orlando for a few days around Christmas.  I don’t have a lot of vacation days with my new job so I’m not sure exactly when, but Christmas weekend for sure.  See you then!

Originally published at Kickin' the new Kuh-nowledge. You can comment here or there.

Today I made a choice.  I decided to take a job at Overstock.com instead of One on One. I’m super duper excited about the new job. Who wouldn’t be. I would have been excited about either job, really. Let’s break it down a little…

Overstock offered slightly more money and better benefits. Overstock is closer to my house. The job at Overstock is a defined position within a defined department doing a defined set of tasks. There is variety there, don’t get me wrong… but the idea I’m trying get across is that it’s a job that can and has been described.

One on One offered something a bit more amorphous. However, the offer implied growth, change, potentially greater rewards. The job at One on One is not defined… at all.  There are certain things that need to be done and there is the promise of more to come beyond that. As you can see… the two jobs are quite different… even though there are some similarities in tasks.

Here’s the deal…  The job at One on One sounded very good. It sounded like it was right up my alley… so why did I balk and jump in the other direction? I had a moment to think about this because One on One called me back after I turned them down.

The real reason I turned the offer down is uncertainty. After a lay off, the last thing you want to hear from a potential employer is that your actual job hasn’t been created yet. While the job at One on One would have likely been more rewarding overall… that level of uncertainty about what I would be doing took the shine off the whole idea. My exact wording was a bit more diplomatic, but that was the gist.

I’ll be honest, if I had been living in Utah longer or if I had been coming from an existing job, I would have gone with One on One… hands down. Right now though, I need something steady and certain in my life. Sure, it’s only been a month of unemployment. But I’m a worker bee at heart. Up until this layoff, I hadn’t really been without a job since the day I turned 16. And the prospect of not having a job… well, it scared me.

So when I was presented with this choice between two very different employers… I decided to take what appears to be the safer route. The thing is… I know it’s not really any safer. There will be challenges at the new job, there will be change, there will be growth, and there will be rewards. I know this… and yet I definitely feel like I might have let that big fish slip my grasp.

I had this feeling before when I took the job at USA TODAY. Back then, the other job was a technical writing position vs. the more technical job at the newspaper. I always thought it was funny that I turned down a writing job to go work at a newspaper where I wouldn’t actually be writing. At any rate, I had a similar feeling back then… like I let something go that I shouldn’t have.

After 12 years at USA TODAY though, I can honestly say I don’t regret it. I learned a lot there, I grew, I saw change on every level and ultimately it was very rewarding. I suspect the same from Overstock… and I’m really looking forward to getting back to work. Having been unemployed… I know one thing for sure. I don’t like it.

If you haven’t heard me say it… thanks to everyone that has sent a word of support. I couldn’t have made it without you. Lots of love!

Originally published at Kickin' the new Kuh-nowledge. You can comment here or there.

Here’s a list of places I’ve looked since the layoff on Aug 18th.

Monster.com
Dice.com
CareerBuilder.com
Craigslist.org
Overstock.com
University of Utah
State and Local governments

At this point, I’ve sent out over 60 resumés. Of those, where do you think I got a response back for an interview?

One from an ad by a small marketing company on Craigslist. One from applying directly to Overstock.com.  The vast majority of my resumé sending has been through Dice and Monster. Not one peep from those.

It’s possible that the talent pool is enormous on those sites and therefore you are competing against too many to be noticed. While I think that’s definitely part of the problem. It might actually go a little deeper than that. A lot of the companies on those sites, have opted to outsource some of the HR workload to other companies.

So instead of sending your resumé to someone in charge of HR or to a hiring manager… you get shunted off to another website where you must upload a text only version of your resumé. That text-only resumé is then scoured for keywords… and whoever has the most matching keys gets passed along. All of the qualitative stuff you put down doesn’t matter because no one is actually reading your resumé.

Or maybe that’s just my conspiracy theory brain working overtime.  LOL

In other news…  I have a third interview at that marketing company I noted above today at 2PM.  I then have a second interview at Overstock tomorrow at 2PM. I have a lot of resumés floating around out there. Let’s hope I hear back from a few more very soon. I want to be able to make the best possible decision for my future.

Originally published at Kickin' the new Kuh-nowledge. You can comment here or there.

OK. So sometimes fairytales have not so good endings. Remember my last post where I said all was well and good in the world. Well… something happened on the way to happily everafter.

Yesterday morning I received a call from my boss. I’ve been laid off. He was nervous and sad. I was sad and beginning to cry. The weird thing was this. Since I’m remote and I had logged into the network already, I was able to actually talk to my friends around the company via IM and e-mail while my boss was talking to me.

It was kind of surreal. My boss was speaking to me from a script. At the same time I was typing to my colleagues… “I’ve been laid off.” It turned out that my little IMs were a godsend. I received so many supportive responses that within an hour of learning of my lay off, I was already feeling better and it allowed me to focus on the things I needed to do. It was comforting to know that all of those relationships I had built up over 12 years at USA Today actually meant something.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m still a little shellshocked about the whole thing. It’s hard to grok the concept that it doesn’t matter how good you are at what you do… the bean counters don’t care about that. They look at the numbers and make the cut. Are there still people working at the company that would make more sense to cut instead of me? Of course. That’s not the way lay offs work. It’s not about talent, it’s about accounting. Anyone that tries to feed you a line of bull about how “businesses are hurting and this is necessary so that the company is on a firm footing for the future” needs to pay better attention. If a business was really interested in having a firm footing for the future, they would trim the folks that aren’t producing… not just the ones that make incrementally more than the next guy (not that I even make that much money to begin with).

That said… maybe I’m wrong. Maybe I’m the slacker that doesn’t produce. Who knows. It’s hard to judge that from where I’m sitting. I like to think that I produce good to great results with the things I did at USA Today… but it’s hard to be objective about yourself. LOL

Well, I’m not saying that this is the end of the fairytale, but damn if it isn’t that stretch of the story where you’re not quite sure if the hero is going to make it. This turn of events came as a complete and total surprise.

I sent out my first resume today for a help desk job at the University. I’ll be sending a lot more resumes out soon. Some final proofreading and layout, and I’ll be back on track with the job search. If I can’t find anything within the next 3 months, I’ll start doing desperation moves like widening the search to all 50 states.

–sam

Originally published at Kickin' the new Kuh-nowledge. You can comment here or there.

Well, it’s been like 5 months since I had enough time to think, much less post anything substantive to the good olde series of tubes more commonly known as the internets.  Well, I lot has happened in that 5 months.  Here’s a quick rundown (with bullet points for emphasis)…

• The puppy is now 7 months old.  She’s big, but she was the runt of her litter so while she’s big, her siblings are actually much bigger.  Kiko, the pug, had his 8th birthday recently.  He’s due to have some tooth surgery, but is otherwise healthy.  Lilith, the cat is going crazy, but that’s normal.
• How sly of me to post about the pets before getting to the really big news.  Liz, my lovely wife, decided several months ago that things weren’t working out in her PhD program at Illinois.  She did some soul searching and decided that a clean break was best.  She needed to find a program that worked for her, and more importantly, she needed to find one where she could have a mentor.    Long story short, Liz opted to apply to the U of Utah in Salt Lake City.  She was accepted and she starts this fall.
• I’m glad that last bit got your attention.  I’m sure you’re wondering what I was wondering.  This is not the best economy for Sam to go move cross country.  What’s he going to do?  And what about the house?  This is the point in time where I must explain to you that there is a world of fairy tales.  In this world of fairy tales things like serendipity, fate, and good luck mysteriously intertwine to make for all the happily everafters we often dream about.  I could be cruel and say… “This is not one of those stories.”  Well, cruel isn’t the right word for it because it would be a lie.  This is in fact one of those stories.
• One day, out of the blue, my boss calls me and explains to me that my talents are underused in the Chicago office.  Well that certainly piqued my interest because I thought the next sentence was going to be something like…  and it seems we wouldn’t be needing your talents at all.  You see we’ve had a few layoffs in the last year, and I thought my number might have been up.  Instead, he explained that my talents would be better used in the Circulation Systems department.  Not only that, but things had already been arranged and my new boss would be calling me with the details.  I was sitting on pins and needles for a week until I spoke with my new boss, but the bottom line was better than I could have ever hoped.  My new job wouldn’t require that I report to any particular office.  I could, in fact, work from just about anywhere I wanted to.  Sure, it would be nice if it was close to an office, but I could even work from home.  I think you’re starting to see the fairy tale now.
• Around the same time, Liz and I decided to test the market and try to sell the house.  We didn’t use a realtor.  Instead we hired an attorney to handle the paperwork, then we listed our house on Craigslist.  Yes, Craigslist.  Within a month we had an offer on the house.  Yeah… something like fate might be at work here.  Initially, the offer was really good and we thought we might actually make a little money on the house.  Unfortunately, the arcane art of house appraisals put the kaibosh on that.  Sure, we’ll lose a little money, but considering the kind of money that people are losing on their houses these days…  our $2K loss (from the price we paid, and doesn’t include money we put into the place) doesn’t seem so bad.  Well, even fairy tales have their harrowing moments.
• So… on the second week of June, Liz and I, Liz’s old friend Shannon, and our pets got into the Penske truck and made our way west to Salt Lake City.  It was a fun trip that was only slightly marred by the sad news about the house appraisal.  If you’re moving cross country, I highly recommend the Penske truck.  Cheaper than U-Haul and the truck was pretty spacious (we were able to fit our lives into a 16′ truck).  As an aside, I would like to thank everyone that helped us pack.  We couldn’t have done it without you.  Even if all you did was come over and hang out for a few minutes.  It was great to have the moral support.
• A couple of months ago, I happened to make online friends with Madeline Boudreaux, an SLC local.  If she didn’t know it before, she now has a friend for life.  When Liz, Shannon and I arrived in Salt Lake City, Madeline offered to help us move our stuff into our new place.  She enlisted her partner, Paul, who is a pro at this sort of thing.  Well, with their help (and some very nice neighbors too) we were able to unload the truck in record time.  Now that’s what I call a great welcome.

That’s the big news.  Liz and I are now in Salt Lake City.  We’re still unpacking.  Sorry for the super long rambling post, but it was the only way to get everything out.  If you know something about Salt Lake City, please share it.

Oh yeah…  it’s really nice to live in the same city as my partner in life and love.  I knew our situation was tough before, but now that I’m out of it, I can see it for the hell it truly was.  There may be some aspects of Salt Lake City that I probably won’t like, but I can deal with that if it means I don’t have to make that long ass drive each week.

Hugs, Kisses and All That!
–sam

Originally published at Kickin' the new Kuh-nowledge. You can comment here or there.

It’s been quite some time since the old man in our house, Mr. Bentley, passed away.  I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that I missed him as much as I did (even though he was really a momma’s boy).

Liz was ready for a new dog a lot sooner than I was.  She was looking at rescue groups and searching for breeds long before I was ready to even think about it.  Something inside her just knew that our lives needed another furball running around the house.

Me, on the other hand…  I was perpetually on the fence.  Liz would show me some breed and I would always find something wrong with it.  Or I would say something vague and unhelpful like…  “too small” or “too big” or I would point to dogs I knew Liz didn’t like and say things like…  “Oh this breed is really awesome, let’s get that one.”

In general, I simply wasn’t prepared for a dog.  I was stressed out at work, and the economic downturn made me wonder if I would be working at all.  The winter had forced me back to driving, not to mention the cold itself which sucks no matter how you slice it.  Finally, the reality of living two lives (one in Chicago and one in Champaign) was dragging into its third year.

In the meantime, as I was stewing in my juices…  Liz was learning about breeds.  She studied Keeshonds, Irish Wolf Hounds, Akitas, Brussels Griffon and a few others.  We even went to a couple of dog shows.   One breed stood out above all the others throughout this process:  Bernese Mountain Dog.

The funny thing about the Bernese Mountain dog…  was that Liz had found a breed I couldn’t find something wrong with.  Sure… they’re big, but they’re not too big.  They have incredibly gentle temperaments.  Sure they shed a lot, but so do pugs (though not as much due to the size difference of course).  So, I was basically stuck with saying stuff like…  maybe next summer or after we leave Champaign-Urbana.  Maybe, maybe, maybe.  Or I would point to the economic downturn and say something like… dogs cost money.

By this point Liz had joined us in a Bernese Mountain Dog rescue group…  and we had an opportunity to foster Carly, a wonderfully sweet 7 year old that was eventually adopted by a family in New Jersey.  I think that experience really cemented it for Liz, and I could feel the ice in my personal stress pond starting to melt a little.

Liz then started contacting breeders.  It wasn’t that we would have been less happy adopting a full grown dog, but Liz wanted the puppy experience.  It’s possible that some kind of biological clock was ticking, but I think part of it too is that Liz wants a dog she can train for therapy work… and that’s much harder to find in a rescue dog.

Anyway, she talked to a few breeders, and finally settled on one in Salt Lake City.  Coincidence or convergence…  either way, we had a chance to see the breeder, Mary-Ann Bowman, when we visited SLC last fall.  You can check out her blog at… http://www.kaibabbmd.blogspot.com/.

I think that by now you know what this is building up to.  Mary-Ann’s beautiful Berner, Cadi, had a litter soon after we visited SLC.  There were 8 puppies…  4 boys and 4 girls.  As the puppies were growing, Mary-Ann posted pictures and stories, and Liz would show me the photos every day. Over the course of eight weeks, I started getting a bit more excited about the idea of getting a puppy.  At some point I started checking the blog on my own without Liz’s prompting.  I mean… once you start seeing the pictures, how can you resist?

One interesting tidbit about this particular litter of puppies…  Even though Liz had expressed an interest with the breeder, we weren’t entirely sure that we were going to get one of the puppies.  You see, there were several people interested in this litter.  I’m glad we made a connection with Mary-Ann on our visit to SLC.  I’m fairly certain that’s what put us over the top in Mary-Ann’s eyes.

OK…  I think you’ve suffered through enough of my crappy writing.  Without further ado, I am proud and happy to introduce to you all…  Kaibab’s Green Tara, aka Tara, our new puppy.  She is named after Green Tara, the buddhist goddess of compassion.  So…  after all my griping, guess who named the dog.  That’s right.. me.  Liz was right.  It was time for a new puppy.

And now… what you’ve all been waiting for…  PUPPY PICTURES!!!!

Originally published at Kickin' the new Kuh-nowledge. You can comment here or there.

Took my car to get a checkup today.  Just your normal maintenance.  Was told that I need brakes…  and a battery.  Unfortunately, that will have to wait until I have more money.  At the very least I need to get a second opinion… because you should always do that especially after the prices they quoted me (over $1000 because I need new rotors too…  Gah!).

I miss my old shade tree mechanic (st_sardonicist knows what I’m talkin’ about).

Originally published at Lalato.com. You can comment here or there.

Liz and I had a wonderful time in Brazil.  Pictures are forthcoming (though we didn’t take all that many this trip).  The weather was great.  Seeing my dad was fun.  The beaches were fantastic.

In other news…  I came back to Chicago to find snow and yucky weather.  Why did I leave Brazil?

Originally published at Kickin' the new Kuh-nowledge. You can comment here or there.

I thought a bit before posting about my cosmic FAIL! regarding our trip to Brazil.  But now that we’re finally here (and it’s hovering around 0 degrees back home), I figure it can’t hurt anymore.

Our flights to Brazil were supposed to leave from Orlando.  The original plan had been to fly down to Orlando, spend a day an a half there with Liz’s mom, then fly on to Brazil.  Liz and I have done a fair bit of international travel so we thought we had taken care of everything.  We get to the counter, the agent looks at our passports and informs us of our epic FAIL!

We somehow missed the part that Brazil is one of a handful of countries that requires that you get your tourist visa prior to departure.  Generally, this sort of thing is reserved for countries where we don’t have good relations or countries with closed borders (like China or Iran).  So yeah…  we’re at the ticket counter, we’re ready to go on vacation…  and we’re told…  NO VACATION FOR YOU (until you get your visa).

So after much wailing and gnashing of teeth, we decided on a plan.  Drive down to Miami (we were already in Orlando) and visit the Brazilian consulate to get our visas.  Reschedule flights. 

The Brazilian consulate only accepts visa applications M-F from 10am to 12pm.  That’s right… only 2 hours a day.  Oh yeah… they absolutely, positively won’t turn them around on the same day.  Nope… they won’t even turn them around in 24 hours.  Yep, it takes two days.  So we decide we’ll drop off our applications on Monday, then return to pick up our visas on Wednesday.

Oh… but that’s not all.  Rescheduling international flights so near to Christmas is tricky if you don’t want to end up paying an arm and a leg.  As you can imagine, we’re already paying an “arm” to get to Brazil, we could get onto just about any flight we want if we want to throw in the “leg”.  We opt for the least expensive option…  which would only cost us a change fee.  Unfortunately, it means that instead of leaving Orlando on Saturday, the 13th, we leave on Saturday, the 20th.

So…  we lost a week in Brazil, but we gained a week in Florida (though parrt of it was spent tracking down our visas and getting a new flight).  So while it was definitely some piss poor planning on our part regarding the tourist visas, we still ended up winning by missing out on some seriously brutal winter weather back home in Illinois.

Oh…  and we’re finally in Brazil where it is going to be in the upper 80s for the remainder of our stay here.  It’s hot and sticky, and I love it.

Love,
–sam

Originally published at Kickin' the new Kuh-nowledge. You can comment here or there.

My sister, Angel, received notice from her employer.  She will not have a job after December 31st.

If you know of a company in the Jacksonville, FL area that happens to be hiring…  let me know.

Love,
–sam

Originally published at Kickin' the new Kuh-nowledge. You can comment here or there.

And now, the bad news… While in Salt Lake City my tooth started bothering me. It’s one that has a crown on it, and it started to feel a little loose. I wasn’t sure if the crown was loose or if the tooth was loose. At first it was just annoying. Then it started to hurt when I chewed. By Monday, it was throbbing and my gums were starting to swell.

I went to an emergency dentist in Salt Lake City on Monday night and got some pain meds. The diagnosis wasn’t good. I would likely need to remove the tooth. My options are a gap in my smile, an implant, a bridge and a denture-like object described to me as a “flipper”.

The first thing we did when we arrived in Chicago yesterday was call some dentists. I was able to get an appointment with Dr. Harvey Mahler in the Loop. He took a look at my mouth and whistled. It wasn’t pretty. Apparently my tooth fractured, which developed into an infection, which caused what was then an enormous abscess in my mouth.

Dr. Mahler’s rooting (pardon the pun) around in there caused the most excruciating pain I have ever experienced in my life. He decided finally to lance the abscess and drain it. The lancing part was painless. The draining part which required him to squeeze it felt like what I imagine running my hand through a blender would feel like. When he was done I had tears streaming down my face.

About 30 minutes later, all the stress and the pain caused me to throw up. Funny thing about throwing up, you feel better almost instantly after doing it. Well, relatively speaking, of course. I was still somewhat nautious for the rest of the day. Note to self: No more Hydrocodone for you!

I feel a bit better today. The pain is mostly gone. I can still feel something there, but it’s more of a “Hey, look at me” kind of feeling. I can eat again. Yay!

At any rate, I’ll have the fractured tooth extracted on Friday. I’m not sure how long it will take to recover from that, but my options for having a normal smile are all expensive so they may have to wait until I return from my trip to Brazil. It really depends on what my insurance will cover. We’ll see.

If you see me in the next few weeks, you are more than welcome to see the missing tooth. Just be forewarned, it ain’t gonna be pretty.

–sam

Originally published at Kickin' the new Kuh-nowledge. You can comment here or there.

Here’s what we learned on our trip to Salt Lake City…

• About 80% of the population is Caucasian.  To give you a little perspective on that, I’m from Florida where the non-Hispanic white population is roughly 60%.  So yeah… 80% is a whole lot of white people.  Not that I have anything against that, it’s just an interesting factoid.  One side effect of this is that there appear to be a lot of blond people.  More than what one might normally see elsewhere.
• Roughly 50% of the population of the city is Mormon…  more commonly called LDS (Latter Day Saints).  For the smart ones out there that means the other half is something else, and while we were there I saw several other denominations and religions.  Liz even noted that there were a couple of Buddhist temples.  I only bring this up because I had assumed that it would be Mormons as far as the eye can see.  Yes, there are plenty, but there is more diversity in religion than I expected.
• That said…  Salt Lake City is like an oasis of diversity compared to the rest of Utah.  When the rest of Utah is included, Mormons make up 62% of the population.
• There is a great public transit system in Salt Lake City.  The local train/trolley service is especially good.  Thought it does have an odd way of collecting fares.  You pay for your fare at the station.  However, there is nothing to stop you from boarding a train without paying a fare.  You could, in fact, ride for free.  The transit authority simply reserves the right to ask you to show proof of fare purchase if needed.  We rode on the train several times, and didn’t see one transit cop the entire time.
• Liquor laws in Utah are weird.
• The counter-culture is alive and well in Salt Lake City.  We saw a lot of punks around, especially downtown where the gutter punks seem to congregate.  Beyond the punks, we met some folks that may not fit into a pre-defined sub-culture, but are definitely anti-establishment (at least what passes for “the establishment” in Utah.  Apparently you have to show some outward sign of your counter-cultureness because by doing so you’re doing more than being trendy… you’re making a political statement against “the man” which in this case is the LDS church.
• There is a sizable LGBT population in Salt Lake City.  Definitely larger than one would expect for a city this size.  Liz and I went to an anti-Prop 8 rally on Saturday with an estimated crowd of about 3000.  That would have been an impressive crowd just about anywhere, but amazing in Salt Lake City.
• The Great Salt Lake is enormous.  Antelope Island is pretty darn cool too.  Liz kind of dragged me out there.  I just wanted to chill in the city, but I’m glad she got me to go.  Very beautiful.  I recommend it as a fun little side trip.

We took some pictures, but they weren’t all that great.  If I get a chance to post them.

–sam

Originally published at Kickin' the new Kuh-nowledge. You can comment here or there.

As I noted previously, I was shocked to find out that I had only used 4 vacation days this whole year.  Well, here’s how Liz and I will be using up the remaining 19 vacation days I have.

In mid-November we’re going to spend a few days in Salt Lake City.  We’re staying at a local hostel, and I expect it will be a nice change of pace for us.  It will definitely be nice to spend some time away together for the first time in a long time.

That will be followed by a “staycation” during the week of Thanksgiving.  I’ll be taking the whole week off, but it will largely be spent doing stuff around the house.  Cheap stuff that doesn’t cost a lot of money (because sometimes you need to be redundant).

Then the big finale…  we’re going on a trip to Brazil to visit my dad in mid-December.  He hasn’t been feeling well, and it doesn’t sound like he’ll be coming back to the States anytime soon.  We’ll be staying in my dad’s condo for two weeks, and then we’ll finish out the trip with a week in Orlando.

I can’t wait for this vacation.  I’ve been so stressed out at work that today I actually yelled at someone, which is somewhat uncharacteristic of me.

–sam

Originally published at Kickin' the new Kuh-nowledge. You can comment here or there.

I’ve been relatively quiet lately…  here’s what I’ve been up to:

• Working!  I tallied up the total number of vacation days I’ve used this year.  The total was 4.  That’s right, I’ve only had 4 days off of work this whole year.  How sick is that?  Well, I plan on remedying that over the next couple of months (more news to come).  Other than that, work itself, has been going relatively well.  Still lots of changes, but I feel relatively safe right now.  By safe I mean, that I have been busy as hell working a lot of different projects.
• Commuting!  Up until last week I had been commuting to Chicago by train and bicycle.  It’s been great.  I feel less burnt out when I’m done with work.  I feel a little more motivated to actually go to work each week.  And that’s why winter has me worried.  The colder it gets, the less likely it is that I’ll be able to commute by bike.  Which means that I’ll need to start driving again.  Let’s just hope that gas prices stay low this winter (yeah right!).
• Volunteering!  I have been volunteering time to two community organizations.  The Bike Project is a bike collective in Champaign-Urbana.  It gives people a chance to learn how to fix their own bikes and to build their own bikes from donated used bikes.  They also do things like give away bike lights, build bikes for underprivileged kids and other organizations.  I also volunteer a little time at WEFT, 90.1, a local community radio station.  Champaign-Urbana is blessed with several community radio stations.  My “job” at WEFT is to open the new Rock, Indie Rock and Pop music that comes into the station and get it ready for the on-air folks.  It’s a simple job, but it does afford me the opportunity to listen to a lot of new music (some of it actually decent).
• Gaming!  I still play D&D every week.  I play in a game in Chicago and one in Champaign-Urbana.  I also play some board games here and there with Liz and her school friends.  I would love to play more board games, but oh well…  you can’t have everything.
• Politics!  I’ve been really sucked into the elections and the campaigns.  I read a lot online and as I mentioned in a previous post I’ve done a little phone calling.  Go Obama Go!
• Fostering!  Up until last week, Liz and I were fostering a rescued Bernese Mountain Dog.  Carly was adopted last week by a family in New Jersey.  I had to drive her up to Chicago so she could fly to New Jersey to meet her new family.  Carly was a real sweetheart, and I think both Liz and I will miss having her around.  If you’re wondering about Kiko.  He’s just fine. 

And that should get you up to date on what’s been going on lately.  Watch for another post about what’s coming up!

–sam

Originally published at Kickin' the new Kuh-nowledge. You can comment here or there.

This is just a reminder that if you didn’t get a chance to vote early…  you should exercise your right to vote on Tuesday, November 4th.  I won’t tell you how you should vote, but I will tell you how I voted.

I voted for Senator Barack Obama for President of the United States of America.  He wasn’t my first choice, but I’ve come to believe that Obama not only has what it takes to be President, he is smart enough to surround himself with people that actually know how to run a government.

As for John McCain…  there was a time when I respected him for more than the sacrifices he made for this country.  This campaign has revealed him to be a poor choice for President.  I still respect him, but I couldn’t vote for him.  Oh…  you thought I wasn’t going to mention Sarah Palin?  I believe she has proven herself to be unfit for any position outside of Alaska politics (and even that’s a stretch).

For the last couple of weeks, Liz and I have hosted calling parties to help mobilize Obama supporters in key swing states.  In 2004, I did a lot more for Kerry than I have done for Obama.  I wish I could have done even more both in 2004 and this year.  If you haven’t done much of anything thus far during this election cycle, please consider doing something… anything that might help:

• If you haven’t already given money to the Obama campaign, please consider doing so.  Even $5 is helpful.
• If you haven’t considered doing some phonebanking or canvassing, again, please consider doing so.  Getting one more person to vote… just one… can make a difference.
• If you have some free time on Tuesday, November 4th, please consider volunteering your time and your car to help drive people to the polls.  Again… even one extra vote can make a difference.

You can find out about opportunities for donating, phonebanking and volunteering at http://www.barackobama.com.  But even if you can’t do any of that…  do the one thing that everyone can:  VOTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Originally published at Kickin' the new Kuh-nowledge. You can comment here or there.

I’ve been having some problems with my bike lately.  My commute to work has been great, but the downside is that I fold and unfold the bike several times a day.  My current bike, a Giant Halfway, wasn’t really designed for this type of abuse.  It’s more of a keep in the trunk of your car and ride occasionally kind of bike.

The hinge on my current bike is starting to fail.  Basically, it will work itself loose every now and then.  I was on the sidewalk the first time it happened.  No injuries…  just embarassment.  It’s happened a couple of other times since.  I have a new hinge on order, but the issue goes beyond that…  while the bike is a snap to fold and unfold, it simply wasn’t designed to have that action performed multiple times per day.  A new hinge will just yield the same result eventually.

I started researching and searching for a new folding bike.  Most of the searching was done online, but I also made it out to a couple of different stores to test ride some bikes too.  I tested Dahons, a Brompton, a Bike Friday and a Birdy.  I thought about the Xootr Swift and the Strida.  For a moment there, I even considered going back to my car.

At some point I passed the threshold from researching, to actually shopping.  I started scouring eBay and Craigslist for a good deal.  I found several, but either I didn’t win the auction (eBay)… or the seller wasn’t willing to ship the bike (Craigslist).  One of the folks I contacted via Craigslist in Eugene, OR got back to me a week ago.  He hadn’t had any luck selling his Bike Friday Tikit locally, and wanted to know if I was still interested.  We agreed on a shipping price, and the bike was sent out to me on Tuesday.

It arrived yesterday.  Here are the pictures to prove it…

What's in the box?

Getting Warmer?

That Can't Possibly Be a Pink Bike?

Presenting Pinky Tuscadero!

Oil Is for Sissies!

Showing Off My Bling!

Most likely, the Oil is for Sissies is going to be removed or replaced.  If you have a better slogan for Pinky, please let me know.  So far I’ve heard…  “Real Men Love Pink”, “Pink Panther”, and of course, “Pinky Tuscadero”.  I’ve also had some vulgar ones that I won’t repeat here because my dad reads this. 

Interesting tidbit on the name Pinky Tuscadero…  it appears that Happy Days has been out of syndication so long that people under 30 do not generally get the reference.  I’ve said it in mixed groups of people.  The under 30’s look puzzled, the over 30’s groan.  LOL

Originally published at Kickin' the new Kuh-nowledge. You can comment here or there.

This is quite possibly the best argument I’ve seen for putting a stop to global warming…

Originally published at Kickin' the new Kuh-nowledge. You can comment here or there.

Sunday at Pitchfork was largely more of the same.  Main difference is that by this point Gus and I were dead tired.  We woke up late, ate late, left late.  Gus had wanted to see Mahjong, but our generally lack of punctuality on Sunday meant that we arrived at Union Park just after Mahjong finished their set.  Oh well.

One other difference.  The sun was out in full effect.  It was hot, humid and sweaty.  I want to personally thank each and every tree that provided shade for me on this day.  Thank you, it will not be forgotten.

A sidenote… Since Gus writes articles and reviews for video games and I hung out with several of his friends and acquaintances, I not only watched a lot of cool bands play, but I also received a top-notch education in video game lore.  I’ll be honest here, I haven’t really played video games much since the days of the Sega Genesis.  I owned a PS1 briefly, and I have certainly played a game here and there when it’s been made available to me.  I guess what I’m saying is… thanks Gus, because of you I might actually go out and buy a game system and start up again.  I guess I had forgotten how fun some of the games can be and your enthusiasm may have rubbed off on me a little.

Back to the music!

Times New Viking:  These guys were playing when we arrived.  Didn’t sound interesting enough to stay so we went for food and possibly a beer too, but I can’t remember.

High Places:  This guys were playing while we were eating.  We were talking and they didn’t make an impression on me.  I know this entry and the first one for Sunday have no music notes in them really.  I blame the tired.  I also blame the fact that we were really just waiting for Boris to start their set at 2pm.

Dirty Projectors:  These guys and gals were playing while we were waiting for Boris to start.  They weren’t half bad in a wannabe Talking Heads sort of way.  But bring on the Boris already!

Boris:  Oh yes.  Boris.  Japanese Metal at its finest.  These guys and gal swaggered on stage.  They were rocking from the first note.  My head was bobbing.  I gave them the international sign of metal \m/!  Fuck yeah.  And then 30 minutes into the set, they stop.  Something about the electricity being wrong.  What the fuck!?!  I expressly did not listen to any other bands until this point and then they cut out early?  Bastards!  But the little bit I did hear was pretty darn good.

HEALTH:  I liked these guys.  They sounded like another band I’ve seen The Oxes, but perhaps a little more experimental.  Essentially it’s instrumental metal.  Very good too.  After the disappointment of a shortened Boris show, HEALTH delivered the metal goods in spades.

King Khan & The Shrines:  We could have gone to the main stage to see The Apples in Stereo, but who cares about that brand of pop music when King Khan & The Shrines are playing?  Seriously.  This band is not that technically proficient.  I’ve seen much better blues/r&b acts in my life.  However, King Khan delivers when it comes to showmanship.  The music was fun and lively, but not nearly as much as what was happening on stage.  I would love to see this band again.

Les Savy Fav: I thought King Khan was fun to watch on stage, but then I was bowled over by Les Savy Fav’s frontman.  He came out on stage in hot pants and no shirt.  And this guy was pushing the same bald headed beer belly look I’ve been pushing the last couple of years.  The music was somewhat typical indie rock / party rock.  Honestly though… the music was just an excuse to get this guy up in front of a crowd of people so they could be dazzled by him.  If Les Savy Fav is coming to your town… check them out.  Interesting tidbit, the rest of the band was a much less flamboyant which made for an interesting interplay.

Ghostface Killah & Raekwon:  Last year it was the GZA from the Wu Tang Clan.  I was underwhelmed by his performance.  He seemed to just phone it in.  This year’s performance by Ghostface Killah & Raekwon was better, but only slightly so.  Honestly, I have yet to see a good performance from any of the Wu Tang Clan.  Sure, they have a lot of cool stuff to pick from, but it’s not so cool that I just want to hear it at the concert.  I want to be engaged with the performance too… and these guys fail at that.

Dinosaur Jr.:  Somehow I had missed out on seeing Dinosaur Jr. live in the late 80s or early 90s.  That injustice has now been rectified.  The set was flawless.  Jay doesn’t have a lot of stage presence, but the combination of him and the other guys made for an enjoyable show… and honestly, the music sounded better than ever.

Spoon:  I like these guys.  There music is interesting and fun to listen to.  However, they give bad show.  The lead singer was emoting somewhat, but there was absolutely no interplay amongst the band members.  In fact, they didn’t even look out at the audience.  It was as if they were just playing in the studio.  Sure, they sounded decent, but they looked bored and left me feeling bored too.  Decent music… bad show.  If Spoon come to your town… just listen to the CD instead and save the money.

Spoon was the final act of the festival and what a downer they were.  The promise of good beer and better conversation kept Gus and I going as we walked over to the Bottom Lounge once again.  We hung out once again with some Pitchfork writers.  Drained some beers and ate some bar food.  Unfortunately, we had to leave early.  Gus had to catch a flight and I had to work in the morning.  We made our way back to the Longwell House and slept well.

For some reason I missed a number of bands on Sunday (including the first few that I didn’t really listen to).  I wanted to catch M. Ward, Bon Iver and Cut Copy.  I sorta kinda listened to Spiritualized and The Dodos.  Nothing there that got me excited though.

–sam

Originally published at Kickin' the new Kuh-nowledge. You can comment here or there.

Saturday at Pitchfork would prove to be a sad day for people without umbrellas and galoshes.  That there…  that’s what they call foreshadowing in the business. 

Gus and I ate a fine breakfast at the Longwell House.  Neil makes some great food and Saturday morning was no exception.  Mixed fruits, scrambled egg, bagel and coffee.  A nice couple ate breakfast with us.  Well, at least the husband was a kindred spirit.  He’s an older architect that is way into sci-fi and whatnot.  We don’t share the same politics though.  Whatevs.

Anyway, Gus and I headed out on this fine drippy, humid summer morning.  We made it to Union Park without any hassles.  We arrived in time to catch Boban i Marko Markovic Orkestar

Without further silliness…  the bands of Pitchfork Saturday…

Boban i Marko Markovic Orkestar: We set our chairs down to watch this brass band.  What we heard for the first 10 minutes was band practice or sound check.  At some point Gus and I joked that it would be awesome if their whole performance was just an extended sound check.  While there, i caught a glimpse of one of Liz’s old roommates from Orlando.  I didn’t bother getting up to say hello.  I probably should have though.  I guess I’m lazy.  Finally, the band starts playing what sounds like Oompapa, Marching Band, Brass Craziness.  So gus quips…  “This is the music I hear in my head when I have sex!”  ’nuff said.

Titus Andronicus: Didn’t get to hear the whole set because of rain, but what I heard wasn’t bad.  Not exactly something I would go break down the doors at the local record shop for, but I liked it OK.  Sloppy in parts, but in a good way.  The lead singer had a very thick beard for such a small man.  A couple of songs in it began to rain.  We thought we were slick with our fold-up transformer camp chairs.  Mother Nature taught us a lesson instead.  If it looks rainy, get an umbrella, fool!  In other news, an older chap had a fold-up chair as well, but his had the added feature of including a rain canopy of sorts.  How cool is that?!?

Caribou:  This guy came to Champaign-Urbana earlier this year, but I didn’t get to see him then, but I was intrigued by the music then… and watching it performed live was definitely a treat.  Two drummers that layered each other well.  Lots of interesting sounds all around.  Very mellow.  Something I need to find at my local independent music retailer.

Fleet Foxes:  I didn’t get to watch this band, but I heard it from a distance as I bought food and drank beer.  What’s a music festival without beer?  Seriously though.  The music sounded nice.  I think it’s something Liz would like more than me.  I can also see my buddy Jesse Dean digging these guys if the lyrics are good.

Fuck Buttons:  I really liked these guys.  Kinda drony elecronic stuff, but not annoyingly so.  There is no crescendo with this type of music… it just continues on building wavelets that feel like they will break over the cliff, but never quite do.  It’s the kind of music you can sleep to without much effort.  In fact, Gus did just that.  That’s not to say it’s boring though.

Dizzee Rascal:  What can I say, this guy was a lot of fun.  I had only really heard the one song from him before.  I think overall he has a good rapid fire delivery.  He doesn’t mumble… and the beats and samples were very good.  He also doesn’t take himself too seriously which made his performance very fun to watch.  Can anyone say running man? 

Vampire Weekend:  Here’s a band that I want to like, but I just can’t wrap my ears around their appeal.  People keep telling me that they use these world music rhythms and sounds…  but that’s not what I hear.  I hear some minimal homage to world music and a lot of bad lyrics with goofy delivery.  Don’t get me wrong, I have been a fan of goofy delivery and bad lyrics don’t often bother me… but for some reason Vampire Weekend’s version just doesn’t work for me.  Hearing them live didn’t change my mind at all.

Elf Power:  Boring

!!!: These guys are great performers.  The entire band was having a blast up there and you could really tell.  I felt that energy despite the fact that I was pretty far back from the stage.  Overall, !!!’s music is hit and miss.  However, the live performance overcame some of that.  These guys know how to bring the party.  I would definitely go see them again in a smaller venue.

Extra Golden:  This is for all intents and purposes and Kenyan rock band.  Kenyan vocal style and rhythms mixed with rock flavoring.  The end result is excellent.  If Vampire Weekend could imbue their music with this kind of energy maybe I would dig them.  I’ll be keeping an eye out for this disc.  I thoroughly enjoyed the performance.

Atlas Sound:  Last year at Pitchfork the band Deerhunter played.  Liz loved them.  Atlas Sound is just the frontman from Deerhunter.  I thought Deerhunter was OK, but this Atlas Sound stuff is excellent.  Personally, it’s a must-buy if and when it is available.  Cool soundscapes.  Mellow with enjoyably surprising things mixed in.

No Age:  Fast, loud and kick ass.  Is there anything else to say?  No, I didn’t think so.  This isn’t the kind of stuff I run out and buy, but man is it refreshing on a hot, muggy, rainy summer day.

Animal Collective:  I’ve never really heard any of their stuff before.  These guys give good lightshow, good music and good performance.  Gus was pretty excited to see these guys and I can see why.  Great stuff which hits me right at the heart of my odd bleeps and bloops meter.

I missed out on Jarvis Cocker.  I wish I had taken a moment to check him out.  I also missed out on A Hawk and a Hacksaw which I think Liz would have really enjoyed.  Oh well.  Maybe these folks will be touring into Champaign-Urbana soon (NOT!).

After the show, Gus and I headed over to The Bottom Lounge (?).  Gus’ friend Chris invited us there for a Pitchfork staff after party.  I should note here that Gus knew a number of people at the festival.  Chris is also a freelance writer and we hung out with him for a lot of the festival.  Great guy.

Anyway, we headed over there.  Chatted with Chris and some other Pitchfork writers.  Ate some food.  Drank some beer.  Rode the L home late.

And it was around this time that I had a senior moment.  We’re waiting for the Green line train to Oak Park.  A train comes into the station and we board.  About six stops later I realize that we’re on the Pink line.  Gah!  Poor Gus.  I could tell he was ready to crash right then and there.  We eventually made it home safe…  though tired and wet from the rain.

All in all, day two of Pitchfork was great.  Lots of good music.  I felt that good kind of tired where you know you will sleep well.  I should also note here that the beds at Longwell Hall were very comfy.  They have a nice way of inducing sleep within mere moments of laying your head down on the pillow.

–sam

Originally published at Kickin' the new Kuh-nowledge. You can comment here or there.

The title of this post should be sung to the music of the famous Box Tops song “The Letter”.  Seriously.

Got a letter in the mail from the IRS stating that we owe an extra $1000 from our 2006 taxes.  It’s entirely possible that I missed something, but I doubt it.  I’m pretty meticulous when it comes to taxes.

That said, it was the first year we filed together, and it’s also the year we moved to Illinois.  So there were a lot of bits of paper that year, and the discrepancy is apparently some income Liz had from the university.

As you can imagine, having to pay an extra $1K out of the blue isn’t exactly a welcome thought.  Here’s to hoping the IRS made a mistake.  Otherwise, there are some trips later this year that aren’t gonna happen. 

–sam