Domestic Geek

What do I want to do with my life? This morning, I'm not so sure. Why can't I be happy with a 9-5 Monday-Friday gig? What is it about me that knows I can achieve more, I just can't figure out how? Why can't I zero in on one thing and get really awesomely good at it instead of having many interests, but am only ok at all of them? Why can't I believe in a god or higher power?

OK, I"m a little better now. Power just went out for a bit and there was a big old thunder boom. Thank goodness for battery backups on the old computer here. At least I made it home before the rain today. It was just starting as I got to Arapahoe Road. I got caught in some torrential downpours on Wednesday, though. It cracked me up because while I'm sitting in my car in a parking lot off the Castle Pines Parkway exit waiting out the worst of it (I don't enjoy hydroplaning), I hear Kathy Sabine say in one of her little prerecorded snippets that there'll be thunder and lightening that evening, but no rain. HA! Yeah, must be rough to be wrong so often and still keep a job.

Anyway, now that I'm calmer, I'll finish up with what I was writing when I was at work.

The Renaissance Festival kicks off tomorrow. It's been interesting watching the progress of things getting set up over the last couple of weeks. There sure are some interesting human beings who do that kind of stuff. Why can't my boss get me passes to something like that? Marcus won't go, but I would if it didn't cost so darned much.

The 4400 is back starting on Sunday. They've been playing a show on USA, Sci-Fi and Bravo called "The 4400 Special: Unlocking the Secrets," which is more or less a recap of the series thus far. A good idea, because I had forgot alot of what happened before. The Dead Zone starts the Sunday after next and Monk comes back on July 7th. It's kind of cool that USA Network has their new shows in a different rotation that the other networks, but it also sucks when you miss shows because you forget that the season started. It's that way with South Park, too. I'd never know there were new shows if Mike didn't tell us.

I was witness to some pretty nasty road rage the other day on I-25. Some dude in a gray Jeep Grand Cherokee was pissed that these Mexican dudes in a truck were going under the speed limit in the left lane, so he passes me on the right (three lane road, I was in the middle lane), buzzes the front of my car to shoot all the way across three lanes of traffic so that he can get in front of the truck and slam on his brakes. Then he is going under the speed limit and making all these hand gestures. I kept going the speed limit and moved over to the right just in case he caused an accident. I had my cell ready to call the CSP when they passed me so I could get the license plate number. Well, the dude in front decided to go 90 and the truck was tailgating. I couldn't get the plate number and I should've called anyway, but I didn't . I just let them get far ahead. These types of incidents are only going to get more frequent. In addition to the normal stupid traffic, now we have the summer motorhomes to deal with. There was not one day this week where I could stay at the speed limit. Joy.

Well, that's a good bit of my news of the week.

Pissed at myself, that is.

I'm sick and tired of settling for less than I deserve because I won't stand up for myself. I have more intelligence and more design sense than most of my office, but I'm the least paid. I passed on a raise because stupid me thought I could find another job right away. Should've kept my stupid mouth shut about wanting to leave until I actually had another job lined up. I'm finishing this dumb database and getting the hell out.

Sorry, there's been no real posts most of the week. I've had lots to say, just no time to post it. I'm not really doing much at work today, so I'll post now.

It's been hotter than crap this week—over 90°F for several days. I haven't felt like being very productive. It's been so hot at the office that I couldn't function. It's like my brain was an overheated processor that just shut down. I was going to work on the database today, but the dudes are here installing the air-conditioning making tons of noise right outside the window. They also did something that made the whole place smell and now I keep coughing. There's a big bulldozer moving earth next door. My office mate is doing his usual music blaring. I just can't concentrate on it. I told my boss the other day that it was hard to concentrate on making the database with all the noise and interruptions. He tells me to shut the door. Um, hello...I share an office with the loudest guy here. The walls are paper-thin. They are building a house next door. Yeah, closing the door will help. The office across the hall has no computers in it. I can't go in there. Yeah, must get away from here.

I'll be really surprised if this company still exists 10 years from now. The owner is more concerned with adding franchises than making sure the ones that exist are doing well. We're about midway between when we put the last ones out and when the next ones come out and we've gotten only a couple of new contracts for ads. Not good.

The job hunt isn't going so well and I'm getting pissed and frustrated. I'm hard-working and talented, damn it! I've been looking for four weeks and only one interview (and that's because it was where Marcus used to work and people liked him there). The recruiter there at least had the decency to tell me that my design experience makes me look like a risky hire. Only 7 months at the screenprinters and now five at this job. OK, it's not my fault that the first place went out of business. Yes, I knew this place now was far away when I took the job, but the carpooling plan fell apart. So....great. Now what? Another thing I've noticed: When I was in design school, they were advertsing an entry-level designer's salary was above $30K a year, yet when I finish school and get out there, they want to pay $10-$12 per hour ($20-$25K). Or they want interns who will work for free/peanuts. The same has happened in every career I've tried. I get a degree in web DESIGN just as the industry is becoming more about what sites DO than how they LOOK (I'm a coding hack--I don't know enough to do it for a living). The tech boom busted just as I finsihed my computer technology degree. The schools started cutting music from their curriculum when I got my teaching degree. WTF? If you want a career, figure out what I'm doing and pick something completely different.

Anyway, I had the interview yesterday. Didn't get a vibe either way as to how it went. We'll see. I'm torn whether I should work there or not. On one hand, it's a corporate, stuffy environment, they've only recently come out of bankruptcy and they don't want to pay much. On the other hand, it's a big company and I'd get benefits and vacations and stuff eventually. Then there's the fact that I'm not even getting a chance anywhere else. I just know that whatever job I get, I have to stay there awhile, so I'd better not make another mistake. I really wish I could find something web-related. I let myself get so far behind while I was going to school, though. I'm supposed to call next Friday if I haven't heard from her first. I'm not holding my breath.

I stopped in to see the old pizza crew after my interview. I didn't really think anybody would be there yet, but I guess it was the last day of school for Adams 12. It was late for the last day of school, I think. Don't schools usually end the first few days of June? Anyway, any thoughts I had been entertaining recently about going back to pizza immediately vanished the minute I walked in the door. That place is a disaster. The store looks worse than ever. It was absolutely filthy. Lots of people have quit. The manager looks like hell. Her husband is divorcing her, took the kids, filed a restraining order, her boy-toy lover left her, she's working 60 hours a week because she's understaffed and the owner just this week is allowing them to get another manager to replace the one that left. Too funny. I don't miss working in that hell-hole at all! I've got problems and am in some deep financial doo doo, but I have a man who loves and supports me.

Anybody else notice that almost as soon as they announced the bombing death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi that gas prices shot up 10 cents per gallon or more?

Marcus took me to Taco Bell for a quick dinner last night and he got this weird-looking $10 bill back as change. Since I don't deliver pizzas anymore, I don't see a whole heck of a lot of cash and had never seen one that looked like this. The thing looked totally fake. A quick google search this afternoon and I found a page describing this exact bill. I know they keep doing funky things to try and deter counterfeiters, but this thing looks goofy.

I unknowingly let my business site's domain lapse just when I get my first client that uses that email address to contact me. D'oh! I never check the email address that the registrar had for me because it's mostly spam. I spent the day changing email addresses with anything that still goes there and removing myself my newsletter lists I no longer care about.

OK, I've lost momentum...I'll post more later.

The following script formats a US phone number in Filemaker Pro. Define Database>Highlight Field name>Options>Specify calculated value (uncheck "do not replace existing value" box).

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