Failing is a Learning Experience

So it's been awhile since I've blogged. I didn't get the tech job but I'm cool with that. Turns out that a Plan B materialized out of no where. The department supervisor postition at work opened up and I interviewed for it. The interview went so well that the Human Resources Manager asked the Store Manager why they didn't put me in the position when it opened up 4 months ago. So I got the job and a decent raise to boot. Not as well as if I had got the tech job but still a raise. Now if I could just figure out a way to afford a house we would be in good shape.

Plans for future blog entires; finish the job saga I started at the birth of this blog, put in my 2 cents on the breast topic started by Bombadee and touched on by TaterTot, give my theory on how and why communities were fractured by the U.S. switch to a service economy, give my theory on why the educational system in the U.S. is failing, follow my college mentor's advice and polish my thesis (she called it ground-breaking) then submit it to an academic journal for peer review and publishing (I don't bring it up to brag, I feel like an idiot for bringing it up but I've made a promise to myself to be honest and treat this like an actual blog instead of a fluff magazine), run my mouth about everything in particular and nothing in general.

Failure is Not an Option

So I had an interview yesterday for an unfreakinbeliveable job yesterday. How cool is this job? This job is in the field that I would like to be working in (I.T.), it pays REALLY well, and it is a complete mess in the department right now, which means that I could wade into the thick of the mess and get my hands dirty right away. I always like a challenge. So it's a great job and it would really change things for the family, we could move to a small town, get a house, you get the idea.
So I had the interview and I blew it and I blew it bad. I really don't do very well it interviews (I'll take a battlefield over an interview any day) but this one was a train wreak. There was just so much riding on this interview that I just completely lost my mind. I knew most of the questions they were going to ask. They were the same questions that are always asked in interviews and the ones that were different I knew the answers to as well but I just could not articulate a clear answer. There were two-part questions and I would answer the first part (again, not very well) and then forget to answer the second part. I did open up and tell the panel that I was a total geek, which I am hardcore, but when I was given a chance you to totally geek out about projects I'm working on I froze. I guess I'm so used to people not understanding or not caring about such things that when I was given the chance to share it it almost seemed like a set up even though one of the interviewers (there were four) strayed a bit from the actual interview to ask me about a small music studio I'm working on. He seemed sincerely interested and I really wanted to share the details with him but my brain just stopped functioning. I'm surprised I got through the whole process without peeing in my pants.
I'm even surprised by how much this affected me. I've been in all sorts of situations that have required some strong guts, situations where very bads things could and did happen. Yet there I was sitting in a room with four very nice people and I felt as if I was on trial for murder and my life hung in the balance.
Now that I think about it, it may not be about me after all. Like I said, I've been in some nasty situations and it's never really been a problem but I only had myself to look after. Now that something has come along that could dramatically help my family I think that may make all the difference. Now that I have a family to care for everything is magnified. So if I get the job the excitement will be fourfold but so will the failure if I don't get it.
Anyway, the company wants to fill the position rather quickly so they will letting the person who gets the job know on Monday, Sept. 11. Is the date a good sign or a bad sign? We shall see. As soon as I find out anything I'll post it.

Don't Let the Man Get You Down

I was at work the other day doing my kitchen designerly things that I do when a rather interesting thought occurred to me. The whole time that I have been designing and selling kitchens I have not sold a single one to an African-American or an Asian-American or any other person that is part of a minority group. I haven't even done a counter top quote or bath consult. What the hell? Is it that these people wouldn't like to have a new kitchen or could it be that they would rather spend their money on other luxury items?
If I had to guess I would say that the man is keeping these people down. They're probably more concerned with being able to pay rent than having brand new natural hickory cabinets and Brazilian Brown Silestone counter tops. This is a clear situation of haves and have-nots.
So here is what I'm going to do. If anyone that reads this blog is a member of a minority (not likely since all two of you are pure white bread) please come see me and I will try like Hell and work the system to get you the absolute best deal that I can. Am I doing this because I'm a nice guy? No. I do it because I feel guilty and lately I feel like The Catcher in the Rye.

Silver Screen Dreams

I like movies. In fact you might say I'm total movie whore. I can completely lose myself in a film and literally forget where I am and who I'm with. This state of mind is, of course, easier to achieve when face-to-face with the Big Screen.
I don't get to go to the theater all that much, maybe once every 6 months or so. Time and money are in short supply so I end up renting most films. When I was doing hard time in the U.S.M.C. I would try and see about two movies a week if I was near a theater and not floating in the middle of the Pacific. The thing that sucked is that movies on bases overseas were about three months behind the States. So just as you were getting to see "new" movies at your local theater that served seaweed wrapped glutenous rice cakes instead of popcorn you were shipped back home and you missed a full three months of films that you would never get the chance to see on the Big Screen.
It's getting to be about time for me to choose my next 6 month film so I was checking out the trailers over at apple.com and there are fantastic films coming. I'm always surprised by the rise in quality of films coming out of Hollywood around this time of year until I remember that this is the beginning of the Oscar season. This is when the dramatic or heavy or boring films are released, depending on how you take your celluloid.I'm going to recommend some films based soley on their trailers. There have been numerous articles written about the art of a good trailer or about how trailers suck because they show all the good parts and there is nothing left to see, you all know the drill. There is a lot of truth to the argument that the best parts are in the trailer. The best trailers show you just enough to get you hooked and then leave you wanting more. I realize that the above statement is insanely obvious but certain films lay it all out and then count on the consumer wanting to see the same scenes again only not for free. Action flicks are notorious for pulling that stunt, pun intended.
So here are the films that I would spend $20 to see.

The Departed: Welcome back Mr. Scorsese. Your last several films have been technically sound back lacked the soul or dare I say (legitimate) drama of your earlier work. This one could very well earn the Oscar denied you for so long. And no one knows tough guys like you do.

Children Of Men: Science fiction seems to be the hot genre for this fall movie season and this film is right at the top of the heap when it comes to material. It has that dark future vibe that has become the hallmark of scince fiction films for the last 7-8 years now. Which makes sense if you consider that most films of this genre are political statements. The concept for this film I find extraordinarily compelling.

The Illusionist: Holy Crap! This movie came out of left field. A period film during summer is unheard of but here one is. Not to mention that it has Edward Norton.

Night at the Museum: This looks like a great kid's movie and Judo Boy is looking forward it to so much that everyone we meet gets a scene for scene run down.

Spiderman 3: Nuff said.

Honorable Mentions (or films I plan to rent)

The Science of Sleep: This is an "art film". If you're still with me after that last statement then just let me say that it is films like this one that help to reinforce why film is considered an art form. If you take the stance that the purpose of art is to help us, as in the human race, to make sense of THE BIG QUESTIONS then it's a pretty safe bet that you'll enjoy this film.

Jackass 2: What kind of idiot does the things that these idiots do? I have no idea but it sure is fun to watch.

Beerfest: I have a big soft spot in my heart for "stupid" humor. I have no idea why because most of the other content that I consume is so far from this style it's staggering.

Transformers: How could I ever claim to be a geek and not watch this one?

Half Nelson: I'm a sucker for films shot in a gritty style. You know hand-held camera work, over or under exposed film and playing with filters. This one has that and a relavant story to boot. Just one question, how am I supposed to feel bad for a white guy teaching school in the inner city? Still the real question is how many more people are going to watch this film because the main character is white instead of African-American?

Black Dahlia: Two words; film noir.

Borat: This movie looks freakin' awesome. I smirked when I saw the first trailer but after watching Trailer G I almost whizzed in my pants. Check it out then tell a friend.

The Pursuit of Happyness: There's something about a heart-warming against a all odds story. This one looks pretty good and Will Smith is maturing well as an actor. It'll be heavy handed in it's moral of never give up on your dreams, believe in yourself, and you've got only one family but it's a tried and true formula for a reason.

The Ground Truth: This one is a big fat liberal damn-the-man fest but political struggles always have many facets.

So there you have it. Some trailers that have done their job and made me want to see the complete film. Agree or disagree, give me a shout and let me know what you think of the upcoming fall movie season.

For those of you that don't know the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) and the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) having been waging a war on people that share music or films over the internet. It's essentially a fight over money. The two industry groups want people to pay for content and the people that share files are doing it because then they get content for free.
To be very clear, I do believe that people should pay for the content that they are consuming. If you like a song or a film go and buy it or at the very least rent it. Having said that, I want to focus on the RIAA and some of the tactics that they are using to wage this war on file sharers. There are may examples of how low the RIAA will go in order to prove the point that you MUST pay for content and I'll drop those in my blog as I come across them. Most are along the lines of, and are as disgusting as, this story that I posted a couple days ago.
But I came across another story recently that stunned me. The RIAA and the BPI (the British version of the RIAA) have claimed the whole time that they have been looking out for the interests of artists. After all where would the recording industry be without the bands? So that begs the question; what would happen if an artist wanted to give their music away for free? The RIAA and BPI have always claimed that they would support any artist and what they wanted to do with their music. After all that's the whole reason behind having these industry groups in the first place. Unfortuately, this story shows the level of support they are offering to artists that want to give their music away for free.

Work Sucks

When you start thinking that your job totally sucks just be thankful that the odds are pretty slim that you'll be killed while working.

Also, as I begin to bleed a little more of my politics into my blog use this story as a taste of the issues that are to be touched on in the future.

Dress Coding

Have you ever thought that kids these days are dressing a little too "grown-up", specifically girls? Well if you have you may want to move to Texas.