New Year’s Eve

Another year come and gone. Where does the time go?

It’s rhetorical – don’t bother to answer.

The year was pretty good, overall.  At least nothing bad happened – at least to us.  No one died.  No one was fired.  No one got really ill.   In this day and age, sometimes that’s all you can ask for.

We will celebrate all of this by doing nothing.   Yeah – you heard me.  Nothing.

While it would be fun to go out and drink, New Year’s Eve isn’t the time to do it.  The night is for amateurs.  It is a reason to drink.   I don’t need a reason.  I never have.  Mores the pity, I guess.

In the past I’ve had some pretty fun and pretty heinous year end celebrations.  It really is ok to sit back and watch one pass without instance. At midnight, we’ll be in bed, no doubt, wondering if the noise we hear are fireworks or gun fire.  It’s a 50/50 chance where we live.   As long as no stray bullets pass through our windows, I’m sure how much I care which it is.

I will work most of the day.  I have got things to wrap up in the office. I’ve been doing it the last two weeks.  I have one more to go.  But I’ll be leaving early for the “holiday’.  I ain’t staying all day.  As it is, there is barely anyone in the office these days.  No one will notice meboogey-ing out early.   What are they gonna do if I do leave before end of day – fire me?

Anyhoo – the 31st is just a day to mark an end of some calendar year – be it Julian, Georgian of Fiscal.

Whatever you choose to do for the evening, be good, be safe.  Come back next year.

Song by: Nina Gordon

Guilt is a Useless Emotion

This whole thing about leaving my job has evoked an emotion in me which normally remains absent: Guilt

I think that’s what I’m feeling.

Taking my soon to be new job is the right decision.  This I believe (maybe I should do an NPR piece!).  But for the most part, I think you tell your boss you are leaving and that is usually where it ends.   Not me.

I have, or get, to tell my remote work sites – the folks who report to me.  There are 17 of those.  I also get to tell the 12 clients that are associated with those sites.  So, I get to have this conversation about 30 times.

Yayyyyyyyyyy! ?

Oddly enough, I find myself apologizing for leaving.  Why is this?

I’ve thought about it, albeit, not tons, or deeply.  But each time I dial that last number of whomever I’m calling, I get a small knot in my gut, at least momentarily.  I haven’t even told most of the people in my home office.   I kind of want to just slink away at the end of next week and go gently into that good night.

I would like to think there are one half dozen of folks I worked with at this job that I can keep in touch with.  I know that is probably a high number.  Everyone wants that, but I just don’t think that normally happens.   Half of that half dozen would be anok number.  At least they’d be the ones I really would do things with.

Missing my areas and some co-workers must be a testament to liking whom I work with.  But why feel guilty about it?

Pish!

Song by: New Order

Neon Bible

I’m not really late to the party on this one – I’ve just been blogging about other things, as you might have read.

Cenk Uygur had a good post two weeks ago on the Huffington Post regarding gay marriage.  As you might imagine, there are bible references all around it and included in his piece.

No offense to Mr. Uygur, but this is nothing new.  But I am always glad to hear the reinforcement of the argument, since we always hear the one line of ‘man lying down with man’ or the ‘Adam and Steve’ comment.

Yes, there isn’t tons (if anything) new in Uygur’s post, but it brought me back to a scene in the West Wing, where Jed Bartlet rattled off similar references to a thinly veiled Laura Schlessinger-like character.  It’s quite a fun scene to watch.

Even by the time Aaron Sorkin wrote this episode, things like this had been going around, thanks to the internets.  But the West Wing probably provided the biggest audience for folks to see something of this nature.

Naturally, I have never seen any right wing nut job or christian conservative come back with any response to one or more of these other bible quotes.  Most likely, they really don’t have answers to or for them.

Anyway, I’m happy to keep the momentum going and call out the hypocrites when necessary.

Song by:  the Arcade Fire

2008 Music

For the 2nd year in a row, I have not come across a disk strong enough that I would qualify as ‘CD of the Year’.

Many releases had good aspects, but nothing that stood out so much that I went ‘WOW’.

But there are some disks that had really outstanding music, so I’ll do a top song list – in no particular order:

• Losing Touch – the Killers
• Juliet of the Spirits – the B-52’s
• I Will Possess Your Heart – Death Cab for Cutie
• Mercy – Duffy
• 24 Hour Break Up Session – Local H
• Human – the Killers
• Love Runs Deeper – Lindsey Buckingham
• U Want Me 2 – Sarah McLachlan
• Sex on Fire – Kings of Leon
• Great Beyond – Aimee Mann
• Supernatural Superserious – R.E.M.
• Cowboys – Counting Crows

What’d I miss?   What would you have included?

The Hardest Button to Button

We made our way to movie #9 for this year.   I know to most folks, you’re going “only #9 ??!!“

For those paying attention, I’ve tried to make one movie per month this year, but really there just hasn’t been much to see out there.  …..well, that I’d pay for.  As usual, the last month has been a plethora of potential Oscar releases, and while I now can make it to #12, time is not on my/our side.

So Friday’s get out was to see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.  The plan was to see Milk, but oddly enough, it wasn’t playing at the Gooooogleplex.

The theatre was packed, but not sold out.  Not like when we attempted to see Australia the other week.  With those iffy reviews and it was sold out?

Long and short of it:  it was ok.  Maybe even better than ok.  Was it really good or great?  Nah. I found it to be a cross between Forrest Gump and the Hours.  I loved the latter, but not so much the former.

All the buzz around Mr. Pitt’s performance being Oscar worthy.  What’s that about?  I don’t get it.   Granted, I haven’t seen the other contenders:  Seymour-Hoffman, Penn, Langella or……or……   Ok, maybe if the possibilities are that limited, Brad might be in the running.   But I’m not sure he should be, let alone win.

Ditto for Cate Blanchett.

Tilda Swinton was really good, but when isn’t she?   …even if her part is historically inaccurate.

So yeah, if you’re thinking of going, it is worth a matinee price for sure, but questionable on the full priced evening showings.

Song by: the White Stripes

The Boxer

Today is Boxing Day in Canada.  Actually, in more than just Canada, but most UK run or formerly run areas.  Perhaps not India.

As it turns out, it has nothing to do with the dog breed, pugilists, or a certain kind of underwear.   Go figure.

The funny thing isn’t that I knew it was Boxing Day, but how I found out it was.

I got an email from HMV – which to be honest, I didn’t even know was still in existence.  I used to purchase a number of CDs there from on-line.  You could find stuff there that amazon didn’t carry….and this was back in the day when the exchange rate worked in my favour.   It no longer does, and I would be hard pressed to find anything that they have as a stocked item that I can’t find easier somewhere else.  I’ve also been gravitating towards the non-physical aspect of music.  I am more apt to buy it indownloadable fashion than to have the jewel case et al.

But yes, HMV is having a Boxing Day sale.   If it were a Boxer-Brief Day Sale – they might have more of my interest.

Song by: Simon & Garfunkel

(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (to Party)

Though we had the right, we didn’t fight. Not for this year’s holiday party that we usually have. The stars were not aligned for it to happen, though I suppose we could have tried a little harder.

Between my current job and its travel, my transition into a new job and that the holiday is falling in the middle of a week, there wasn’t much of a chance to get our friends together for this year. Not that we needed a huge turn-out. Whomever we invite and however many can show is just fine.

But I also didn’t want to do it half-assed either. So it kind of passed us by as much as we passed it by.

Yesterday was our big family get together. Today, it is just Denton and myself – sleeping in, hanging out, doing some gift exchange. Somewhere in between we made French Freedom toast.  But we are all for the pagan aspects of the holiday.  We love the tree and its 1000 lights.  (all those gifts are not ours – we had 20 folks over last night, plus my parent’s birthday.)

….and ladies and germs, I present the longest kitty kat in the world…….

Song by: the Beastie Boys

Jacob Marley’s Chain

It’s only a few hours until the ghosts of xmas past, present and future being to visit us. Consider this your visit from Ebenezer’s deceased business partner.

Basically, isn’t Marley just the predecessor for the line, ‘be good, for goodness sake’? ….by about 90 years?

I’m not a huge fan of A Christmas Carol. I’m not sure why. It’s down, for the most part – which I’m a fan of. Maybe I’m just not a fan of the holiday itself.

I do view this more of a family gathering than any true holiday – religious or otherwise.  Today is my mother’s birthday.  Today is one of my brother-in-law’s birthdays.  Yesterday was my father’s birthday.

I am happy to host (i wrote ‘hots’) the event and just sit around and eat and drink.  But first clean.  I guess I should get on that.

Song by: Aimee Mann

How to Quit

I’d say I neglected to tell my readership this story, but I haven’t. Honestly, I’ve been waiting for a day where I get more readers. I don’t get tons of hits anyway, and even less on the weekends. So………

I quit my job this last Friday.

To be honest, it was bittersweet. The folks in the Cleveland office were some of the best folks I’ve ever worked with. Well, a handful of them were, but they were people I really enjoyed sitting near or traveling with.

The reality is, since we were acquired eight months ago, my career has become a job. Extremely little room for advancement and even if so, we’re looking at that in maybe five years. Maybe.

I have been pseudo-alluding to my doing a casual interview process lately. ‘Casual’ might be too strong of a word for it. Laid-back might be too intense, even.

My soon to be new employer called me almost seven months ago and we have been in discussions ever since – whenever they got around to it, or I was in town to talk with them.

Oddly enough, for the most part, this was fine with me. It is not like last time when I was unemployed and needed the job. This time I had a job, a good one, but one that has morphed into something very different than what I had signed up for. So moving slow was not a bad thing in this case.

….unless you were Becky. She has been dying to tell her sister-in-law that I will now be working with her (the sister in law, not with Becky).

So anyhoo, after I got the results from my pre-employment drug screen back, which were contingent upon the actual job, I went in and gave my notice to my kind of boss. I’ve reported to him the last 18 months, but I now have a new boss out of NYC whom I barely know and have rarely seen, but she was on vacation.

“Marty” wasn’t really shocked, or didn’t show it, when I told him. He got it and was ok with it – maybe because technically I was no longer his direct report. He also wanted to tell my new boss, which was ok….with me and with him. As it turns out, not so much for her. She can be as pissed at me as she wants (and she is), but I only have to endure her for three more weeks and there are holidays and vacation days scheduled in there….and weekends. Bring it on.

Like my last jobs, going forward, I won’t be telling you much detail. Unlike my last job, I won’t be traveling. That is a good thing and a bad one. In theory, I really enjoyed the travel part and became quite the astute business traveler. But in the last two months or so, I was beginning to dread some of my trips. I also go back to wearing suits five days per week – for me, this isn’t a bad thing. I like suits. I was never into the business casual look.

So, the plan is be at current company for three more weeks and then take a week off before starting the new job. I’m more excited than nervous. I was more nervous about giving my notice – as deep down, there were certain co-workers and clients I really do not want to let down. I still yearn for validation and acceptance.

I know how extremely fortunate I am, especially in this economy, not only to have a job, but to have the ability and opportunity to move into a new position. None of this is lost on me.

So – three more weeks and counting. And then, I think we will be taking a week away before staring a new endeavour.

Song by: Sam Phillips

One

The shortest day and the longest night were joined by the coldest day.

I’m not 100% sure, but the first day of Winter I believe was the coldest day of 2008. At least in NE Ohio.

I think the high was 21…maybe, and that was early in the morning. But most of the day we were in the single digits. On the ride home from my parents, it was 1 degree – and that doesn’t include wind chill. ….and it will probably dropped more before the day ended and after I got in the house and just gave up watching the weather.

But the wind was a-howling all night long.

Cold Miser, even if he is called “Mr. Ten Below”, sings that he never wants a day above forty degrees. He’d rather have it, thirty, twenty, ten or five. Even he didn’t go down to 1 !!!!! It might be too chilly for his liking.

They said there is global warming. They said this winter would be milder than the last. WHY isn’t it happening???

Song by: Three Dog Night