• Looks like I'll be re-joining Microsoft (as a temp or "A-dash" as they're called) for a one-year contract.
• No word from Bungie, but the last I heard they want to interview more people and look specifically for someone experienced with Wiki management...

I'm still bummed about the Bungie gig; even more so because now I realize the nature of their dilemma: they don't know what (in an employee) they want, or how they are going to achieve their documentation goals. They need a writer/editor with a broad range of skills, and they need a tool and procedures to manage their documentation.

What irritates me the most is that now that I know more about their problem, I know am the perfect person for the job. I excel at identifying the issues, figuring out how to solve them, and making things happen to achieve the end goal(s). I have a solid history of defining (or re-defining) a role (as well as policies and procedures), instead of just stepping into one and carrying the torch, so to speak.

Had I known or understood their needs better when I went into the interview, I would have changed my overall strategy to address them. (sigh).

Regardless, I'm still fairly excited (if a bit stressed) about the impending change of jobs. The extra money (I'm getting about a 32% pay increase) will certainly be welcome (and much needed), and the new job will definitely look good on my resume -- especially if I kick some ass at it.

And who knows? I sent a 'customary' thank you letter directly to one of the Bungie interviewers. Maybe they'll pull their collective heads out of their Master Chief and talk to me.

Bad news =(

Still no word from Job Interview #3 (of 3), so I have, for now, accepted the offer from Job Interview #2. According to my recruiter person, Bungie's lack of an answer is being interpreted as 'not going to extend an offer' so I must extend a response to the offer from Microsoft.

I'm actually very disappointed at not getting a job offer from Bungie. I really wanted that job! Better money, good location, an industry I love, and it was an open-ended, long-term contract -- pretty much a contract-to-hire. It was damn near perfect. :(

Good news :-/

Still, a year-long "A-dash" job at Microsoft -- for significantly (~30%) better money -- should be good for the resume and good for my career, even if it does mean having to take the mandatory 90-day boot in the ass at the end of the contract.

Regardless, I hate change. New people, new schedules, new routines, etc. Now I have to get used to a whole new gig... and then, a year later, get used to it again.

I always manage to overcome those things, but they still make me very uneasy.

This video on CNN shows an experimental, robotic exoskeleton being tested with U.S. soldiers.

How cool is that? Robocop, Ed-209, Terminator, and futuristic space marines in super-powered combat armor don't seem so far off...

Yesterday's interview went pretty well. I don't think I committed any heinous Crimes Against Interviews that would result in being immediately snubbed. The panel of interviewers were a bit difficult to gauge. The picture below (apologies for the poor quality -- the light was low and the RAZR is a crappy camera) was snapped while I waited for the panel to arrive.

Now that it's all done with, I'm glad to have a day devoid of interviews or other demands. Now I just have to hope for the best (getting an offer from yesterday's interview would be ideal) and make The Decision.

New Pictures

I've uploaded some recent portrait collages to the Winter 2007 Album that prove (without a doubt) that my sons are indeed the Cutest Boys in all The Land.

I am at a crossroad -- a good crossroad, but not an easy one:

• Job Interview #2 (yesterday) resulted in Job Offer #1. (Yay!)
• This morning, my current boss came in and asked me if there was any reason I couldn't work from home full time. Apparently, my current employer needs to make some space on my floor to accommodate people moving from another floor. That means kicking me out of my office so an FTE (full time employee) can take it.

Job Offer #1:

• (good) Very good for the resume, but it's a 1-year and then out-on-your-ass contract.
• (good) Pays about 30% more than my current job.
• (bad) Would involve a longer commute, and likely less appealing hours and generally less freedom than I enjoy now.

Staying with my current gig:

• (good) Working from home full time would be awesome. No commute and even more complete freedom.
• (good) I already have virtual autonomy, and because the workflow here is so sporadic/slow, working from home would practically be sitting home and collecting free money most of the time.
• (good) More time with kids, and it would probably make my wife's life a little easier so she could get more rest.
• (good) I could write off more of my broadband and other home expenses on my taxes, which would (along with no commuting) offset some of the relatively poor pay.
• (bad) Unknown if I'll be extended.
• (bad) Money -- unlikely I could score even a modest raise.

So what's the problem?

• I doubt I'll know if the working from home gig is truly 'on the table' because my current boss doesn't even know if I'll be extended yet, and he's still trying to figure out the details of what it would take to get me to be able to work from home. (He is trying to get me extended, however.)
• I have to give a decision on the current job offer some time this afternoon.
• Job Interview #3 (of 3) is today. If today's interview results in an offer, the decision will likely be much easier, because it's the job I'd really like to get.

I wish things were simpler. Utilitarian decisions are always the easiest. Securing a job offer from Interview #3 would make things the easiest.

...if my whole family wasn't sick?

Seems like the last two years my whole family -- sons, wife, myself, and usually some of the extended family -- catch a cold or flu bug.

This year is no different. I have a cold, as does my wife and both of my sons.

On the positive side, at least we've gotten them early in the season. Hopefully, we'll all be better by the time Christmas actually arrives.

Today is interview #2. Yesterday's interview went very well. I think having my friend buy me lunch was good karma, so I'm going to suggest he buy me lunch again after today's interview. =)

Just back from my second job interview. This job is promising and interesting. The interview went well, so I think I'm a strong contender, but the job I really, really want (job interview #3) is tomorrow. That's the one I really want to nail and take home at the end of the day.

Still no sign of my sunglasses. I think they may be officially lost. The last place I may be able to find them is the Jiu-Jiutsu school, but I've started losing hope that I'll ever find them again, and I won't be able to afford a new pair for a while unless some good financial karma (like today's job or the job I'm interviewing for tomorrow) starts heading my way.

The long weekend was a mixed bag.

The good:

• Thanksgiving at my mom's was a pretty smooth, painless affair. The boys were tuckered out and even went to bed at a decent hour. Amy had to work, but she still got off early enough to enjoy dinner with everyone.
• We finally -- with many thanks to my step dad and his tools and tool-savvy ways -- got most of our laminate floor installed in the basement. It wasn't a completely smooth affair, but we're about 85% done now, and it's looking very nice. Kazu even helped us out a little, which he seemed to enjoy.
• Amy and I went to a new Thai restaurant on Friday night.

The bad:

• Unfortunately, Katsuya's cold finally attacked me. It first attacked me in the form of a nasty, nasty sinus headache that lasted off and on for a day and a half. Thankfully, the sinus headache seems to have subsided, but now I'm getting standard cold symptoms (scratchy throat, cough, etc.
• The new Thai restaurant that Amy and I went to on Friday was pretty mediocre overall.

The fugly:

• I arrived at the office hoping to find my sunglasses here, but they're not here. I don't have any idea now where they might be, because I've looked in all the usual spaces. I'm dreading the possibility that I may have lost them. Aside from the fact that they cost around $300, I spent $60 getting the lenses fixed just a couple months ago. I've also had these glasses for around five years or more (and they've been repaired a total of three times), and they are one of the few inanimate objects that I own that has some sentimental value for me.
• I have two job interviews this week (one of which I'd really, really like to land), which I now must attend with a cold. Not fun.

We had some good news last night:

• My wife's CAT scan (finally) came back negative (other than some minor kidney stones and things the doctors basically said didn't concern them).  Although it didn't provide us any answers regarding my wife's symptoms as of late, at least it eliminated all the big, scary possibilities like cancer. It was quite a relief for both of us.
• Our parent conference with Kazu's preschool teacher went well. He's been doing well (aside from a couple bad days...) and she recommended encouraging him to play with Play-Doh and similar things to develop hand and finger strength for writing.

When I finished making dinner, I made a plate to take to my wife. When I entered the living room, I found the little guy passed out. It was so cute I had to take a picture (albeit a poor one, as the light was low in the room). I had to wake him up a short while later, but he didn't complain much. As a matter of fact, Kazu was very well-behaved last night -- all the way through bed time -- with nary a fuss or protest.

Now, if I can just land a decent job before the end of December, I could lower my stress levels a little further.

I had three job interviews scheduled for the next two weeks. I went to the first interview yesterday.

Interviewer: (after describing the position) "...and the job starts at thirty thousand dollars a year."

Me: Thanks. You're not even near my ballpark...

...at which point I ended the interview cordially. 

Fortunately for the interviewer, I didn't have to go too far out of my way to get to the interview (it was just down the street from where I'm working now).

If this had been an interview that required me to significantly alter my day and my plans (such as driving into downtown Seattle, parking, etc.), I suspect I might have had a few choice four-letter words for the interviewer. (In his defense, he was clearly very young, as in wet-behind-the-ears-practically-fresh-out-of-college-young.)

• Steel myself against holiday madness and traffic
• Survive Turkey Day
• Get a full time job via contract extension or (preferably) get a new, better paying job by the end of the year
• Christmas decorating
• Christmas shopping
• Put in a floor in our basement
• Pay off some debt

I'm still a bit numb to the fact that I will probably be digging out our Christmas decorations in less than two weeks.

Thanksgiving is nearly upon us, along with Black Friday -- and the daily, traffic-petrifying congestion that will surround the nearby mall until the end of the year.

Turkey Day will be a bit complicated this year. Amy works, and it looks like our respective moms are doing separate turkey days -- not to mention my Dad, who is doing his own thing this coming Sunday. And I'm trying to find a day to get some help putting in a floor downstairs. (sigh)

I'm glad we had last weekend to do nothing, because the next two weekends are already looking to be very busy.

I was up a lot last night worrying about my wife's health. She's had a steady stream of problems for months. Some of it is "normal" for someone with Lupus.], but many of her symptoms have not been the typical symptoms of Lupus flares that we're accustomed to.

It doesn't help that she's a registered nurse, and has said things like "I have all the symptoms of ovarian cancer..." (which, as an Oncology Nurse, she's very familiar with).

It also doesn't help that her doctors haven't offered any answers yet. They run tests, and more tests, and keep referring her to other doctors for more tests. All of these appointments are spread out over several weeks.

It's a long time to wait for answers, and an even longer time to hope for answers won't be dreadful.

I am a skeptic, and I generally dismiss notions of Chi as soon as they venture into mystical,fairy tale- like super powers.

However, I do believe that the human mind is a very powerful, mysterious thing, probably capable of many things we've yet to experience or understand from a scientific standpoint. (I also believe only those truly dedicated and disciplined enough will ever experience any of these things.)

This video is a man called "Dynamo Jack" (he wouldn't give a real name) who seems to be capable of generating electricity or heat ("Chi") with his hands and do some amazing things.

My initial thoughts (in no particular order):

• I don't get the sense that there is any chicanery going on in this video
• The "scientific testing" seemed hardly scientific or thorough
• All of the tricks in the video could be easily replicated by a competent magician
• "Dynamo Jack" doesn't seem like he's intent on going to Vegas, starting a cult, or doing anything else otherwise typical of hucksters and frauds (like Sylvia Browne, for example...)

Interesting regardless of what you believe.

First, an idiotic web site: Karate endangers your soul! Oh Noes!!!!!

Second: Proof that you can have Karate and have soul:

Assuming the name Weintraub is Jewish, this video may offer some insight into Jewish/African-American racial tensions as well...

This last weekend was the first weekend -- and it could be the last until the new year... that we've had together as a family for quite some time. Not only was it a 'family' weekend, it was the first weekend in quite a while that was devoid of any specific agenda -- places to be, people to see, errands to run, etc.

We took advantage of it at mostly just had a nice, quite weekend. Saturday I woke up and fed the kids breakfast, got them dressed and prepped for the day. Then I went to my Jiu-Jitsu class, after which I met Amy and the kids at Kazu's gym class, went to lunch at Chang's Mongolian Grill, stopped at Safeway, and finally got back home around 3pm with two sleepy boys. (We watched a couple episodes of House MD courtesy of Netflix while they slept.)

Sunday, we took Kazu to A Bee Movie. It was inspired and -- in a word -- cute. Note quite the greatness of Pixar, but well worth taking a kid too. Plenty of action for the kids and silly Seinfeldian banter and humor and for the adults. Sidenote:  The movie is -- according to the official site -- "A DELEIGHT for both kids and parents!" Somebody really should fix that typo...

The only downside to the weekend was Kazu's unexpected meltdown last night at dinner time. It was a long, protracted, unpleasant ordeal. I'm not sure why he was having such a hard time, either, because he had a good, long nap earlier in the day, and he was very well behaved all day long (before, during, and after the movie.)

In the meantime, I've been doing a little more reading about getting preschoolers to eat without the typical tug-of-war at dinner time.

Looks to be slow day at work... and now I really need to caffeinate myself.

Having just polished off the first round of writing/editing for a large paper at work, I think I'll head out early today. The person who needs to review the doc and then pass it back to me for more editing isn't even in the office today -- and I've nothing else to work on.

I'm looking forward to the weekend. Amy doesn't work and we've no particular agenda -- which is nice. It seems like it's been forever since we had a weekend off together where we didn't have a ton of things planned.  I even got the worst of the laundry and kitchen work/house work done last night, so our weekend won't have to be consumed by housework.

 
Maybe we'll get out  and see a movie, but it's more likely that we'll just laze around the house with the kids. Amy's health hasn't been very good (a continuing source of worry and stress for me).

If nothing else, I'm hoping she 'll be able to get some rest, and maybe I'll get a few minor things done around the house (and hopefully a Jiu-Jitsu class on Saturday, but we'll see...).  This could well be the last 'quiet' weekend we have before The Holiday Season is in full swing... hell, Thanksgiving is already only two weeks away. Yikes!