I may not be David Letterman, but I can still make a top ten list with a little bit of humor (or so I think). So here's my latest attempt. (Are there any other lists you want me to try? Let me know.)
10. Peter O'Malley - Why not?
9. Me - If the Dodgers are community property, and I'm a part of the community, then I should already own them!
8. Lady Gaga - I would love to see the Dodgers new uniforms!
7. Japan - Free baseball player pipeline
6. China - They already own half of America
5. Vince McMahon - I would love to see baseball played inside a steel cage!
4. City of Bell Officials - This is something legal they could do with all that extra money they've collected
3. President Obama - He's throwing money everywhere else to make things better. Why not include the Dodgers?
2. Mark Cuban - Seriously...Mark Cuban
1. Preparation H - They might make us feel better since current ownership is such a pain in the @$$!
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Monday, September 20, 2010
The Best Engineers
So, being the weirdo that is fascinated by spiders that I am, I was watching one of my friends in the backyard last week as it moved from the center of its web up to the tree where it is attached at one point. As I angled to see just how the web as setup and where exactly it went, I began to appreciate the instinctively intelligent design of it. If you've ever watched an Orb-Weaver create its web, it really is something pretty cool, if you aren't freaked out by the spider.
Typically, you have one master strand that is strung from two high places that is the main line used to create the rest of the web, from which they drop down one new strand for a third attachment point of the web, sometimes on or close to the ground. Upon watching the spider crawl along the main strand back into the tree, where it hangs out when it's not in the middle of its web, I noticed that it had at least three other strands attached to that main strand, from the tree, to support it while the large spider (it's body is pretty close to the size of the fingernail on my pinky finger) crawls along it. The main strand only sagged a little while crawled along it. That's what got me to thinking about how smart these spiders are in terms of web design (and I'm not talking IT here). And it's all instinct...no schooling needed!
Typically, you have one master strand that is strung from two high places that is the main line used to create the rest of the web, from which they drop down one new strand for a third attachment point of the web, sometimes on or close to the ground. Upon watching the spider crawl along the main strand back into the tree, where it hangs out when it's not in the middle of its web, I noticed that it had at least three other strands attached to that main strand, from the tree, to support it while the large spider (it's body is pretty close to the size of the fingernail on my pinky finger) crawls along it. The main strand only sagged a little while crawled along it. That's what got me to thinking about how smart these spiders are in terms of web design (and I'm not talking IT here). And it's all instinct...no schooling needed!
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Tick, Tick, Tick...Goooooooooooooooooooooooal!
As each day goes by, I continue to wonder what God has planned for me and the family. No news on the job front is not a good thing in my mind. Then again, the news I have already gotten hasn't been good either; a number of thank-you-but-no-thank-yous, and no interviews. I'm trying to stay optimistic, which can be tougher on some days than others, because I don't want to think of what may happen if I wind up with no work. I'm determined to make something happen, though. So I check the internal postings daily at work and am noticing that the number of openings seems to have dropped pretty dramatically within the last week or so. I still have a number that I'm waiting to hear on or the postings haven't closed yet. I'm getting in the mindset that we will be moving because I'll get one of those internal jobs I've applied for. (The only way I can stay with Chevron at this point, is to accept a position in another location.)
There is this one phrase that I have gotten used to, which is a good thing: "It is what it is". The first time I really remember hearing that phrase was at my last employer, when my manager there would use it, typically in a negative way. So everytime I hear the phrase, I think of him, which makes me a little tense because of how I left there and the fact that I didn't like him. I hear it so often now that it doesn't bother me as much although I always picture him saying it when I hear it. Fortunately, I can make myself laugh though because I picture the chef from Ratatouille saying it. He and that manager look eerily similar. (Traci even agrees!)
There's not a whole lot to do at work since I turned all my contracts over to a co-worker. Contracts were about 80% of my job even though my title is Procurement Analyst. The other 20%, the analysis, I'll be turning over to my "roomie" here at work next week when she's back from vacation. I will not miss sharing an office with her. She's very smart and knowledgeable about the work she does, but she comes across as talking down to you when she explains something. I've gotten used to sharing an office with her so it's not bad. She just wouldn't have been my first choice.
On the home front, Skyler had her first soccer game last Saturday, which was also my first coaching experience. I was happy with how it went. We tied 2-2, but at the age of these kids (4-5 year olds), that doesn't matter much. The idea is to teach them some basics of the game and to have fun playing the game. It seemed like most of them had fun. The only one I think that wasn't enjoying himself was my assistant coach's nephew. I'm hoping he warms up to playing as the season goes on. If he starts running with the kids in the game, I'll consider that a victory. There's another kid on the team who is extremely shy. I was excited during the game when he kicked the ball and looked back at me (I was on the field also) with a smile that said "I kicked the ball!" That was great to see.
It was fun to see which of the kids seem to have a talent for the game and how each of them performs. They all followed the ball really well and for the most part knew which way to kick it. Both us and the opposing team kicked one into our own goal. The ref didn't count either one, although it turns out it wouldn't have mattered. I think I'm really going to enjoy coaching this team, even if soccer isn't my sport. This Saturday will be a little more fun than usual too. One of the coaches on the opposing team was a high school baseball teammate of mine. (It all comes back to baseball!) Then in the afternoon, we have our team's first party of the year...the always enjoyable pizza party!
There is this one phrase that I have gotten used to, which is a good thing: "It is what it is". The first time I really remember hearing that phrase was at my last employer, when my manager there would use it, typically in a negative way. So everytime I hear the phrase, I think of him, which makes me a little tense because of how I left there and the fact that I didn't like him. I hear it so often now that it doesn't bother me as much although I always picture him saying it when I hear it. Fortunately, I can make myself laugh though because I picture the chef from Ratatouille saying it. He and that manager look eerily similar. (Traci even agrees!)
There's not a whole lot to do at work since I turned all my contracts over to a co-worker. Contracts were about 80% of my job even though my title is Procurement Analyst. The other 20%, the analysis, I'll be turning over to my "roomie" here at work next week when she's back from vacation. I will not miss sharing an office with her. She's very smart and knowledgeable about the work she does, but she comes across as talking down to you when she explains something. I've gotten used to sharing an office with her so it's not bad. She just wouldn't have been my first choice.
On the home front, Skyler had her first soccer game last Saturday, which was also my first coaching experience. I was happy with how it went. We tied 2-2, but at the age of these kids (4-5 year olds), that doesn't matter much. The idea is to teach them some basics of the game and to have fun playing the game. It seemed like most of them had fun. The only one I think that wasn't enjoying himself was my assistant coach's nephew. I'm hoping he warms up to playing as the season goes on. If he starts running with the kids in the game, I'll consider that a victory. There's another kid on the team who is extremely shy. I was excited during the game when he kicked the ball and looked back at me (I was on the field also) with a smile that said "I kicked the ball!" That was great to see.
It was fun to see which of the kids seem to have a talent for the game and how each of them performs. They all followed the ball really well and for the most part knew which way to kick it. Both us and the opposing team kicked one into our own goal. The ref didn't count either one, although it turns out it wouldn't have mattered. I think I'm really going to enjoy coaching this team, even if soccer isn't my sport. This Saturday will be a little more fun than usual too. One of the coaches on the opposing team was a high school baseball teammate of mine. (It all comes back to baseball!) Then in the afternoon, we have our team's first party of the year...the always enjoyable pizza party!
Friday, September 3, 2010
Job Update & More
And the job search goes on. So far within Chevron, I have been rejected for 3 and have 12 more I'm waiting to hear on. Of the 12 I'm still waiting to hear on, they are located in Bakersfield, CA (6), San Ramon, CA (4), Salt Lake City, UT (1), Covington, LA (2), and Houston, TX (1). There are no positions available in El Segundo where I currently work. Therefore, if I stay with Chevron, which is my preference, we will need to relocate. Fortunately, Chevron would pay for almost all of the moving costs. It would still be a hassle though.
Outside of Chevron, I have submitted for 8 different positions located from Whittier to Universal City. I submitted all of those today so nothing has happened with any of them yet.
I took the girls to Disneyland tonight and realized that as of tomorrow (Sept. 4), it will be exactly 11 years since I last worked at Disneyland. It doesn't seem like that long ago, but I think that's because I always think about it and how much I enjoyed and wish I could work there again. Hey, there's another place I need to look at for work!
Traci continues to amaze me. She ran (and finished) her first half-marathon this morning! I couldn't be more proud of her. She has built up quite a bit of endurance since she started running. I need to try to catch up to her.
Outside of Chevron, I have submitted for 8 different positions located from Whittier to Universal City. I submitted all of those today so nothing has happened with any of them yet.
I took the girls to Disneyland tonight and realized that as of tomorrow (Sept. 4), it will be exactly 11 years since I last worked at Disneyland. It doesn't seem like that long ago, but I think that's because I always think about it and how much I enjoyed and wish I could work there again. Hey, there's another place I need to look at for work!
Traci continues to amaze me. She ran (and finished) her first half-marathon this morning! I couldn't be more proud of her. She has built up quite a bit of endurance since she started running. I need to try to catch up to her.
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