Beth and I had a date-day on Saturday. Grandma kidnapped Nick after taking us to the Farmer's Market (and buying us all kinds of goodies!) and I decided that we'd take advantage of it... A movie... dinner... shopping... She deserved it. I think that she enjoyed it just a little bit too. :) I know I did.
We went to see Pixar's new film, "Up" in "Disney 3-D" (which to me looks a LOT like everyone else's 3-D, but who am I to judge?). I decided that no matter how cool it was to have things flying off of the screen and land in your lap, it was extremely UNcool for them to make you wear glasses and then make you cry in them at least three times.
Yeah, I know I'm a softie and I cry at movies, but if you don't sniffle at least twice, you're heart is at least ten sizes too small. The worst part of it was that just as you get dird up and your glasses cleaned off, they started back into the sniffle-inducing stuff again.
I think they planned for it though. I noticed that the shots that most of the audience would be busy wiping down their lenses were relatively flat, meaning that you were able to see just fine without the glasses. I doubt that was a coinsidense. Thank you Pixar for that at least.
Was the movie good? Of course it was. Pixar has done nothing if they've not produced excellent films. Every one raising the bar just that much higher. Beth pointed out that there was about 10 minutes early in the film with no dialog at all. What was amazing was that the audience was so enraptured by the performance on the screen that even the kids in the theatre were absolutely silent. Awesome.
As for our date: Mushy movie, dinner at a salad restaraunt (yes, that's all they make), time spent shopping (or zoning in the chair waiting, as the case was for me)... I'm glad we got to do it, salad and all.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Thursday, May 28, 2009
An update of sorts
So, I've decided that since not much has been happening, I'll share it with you. Boy, aren't you the lucky one?
On the job front:
I'm still unemployed. I applied with Antioch PD for the position of Police Dispatcher 1, passed the POST test and moved into the second phase of hiring, the oral board. In the same letter that I received that information, they notified me that though I had done good up to that point, they were unfortunately no longer hiring due to the budget crisis. Thanks and have a nice day.
I applied with the local plumbers' union and took their aptitude test. I've gotten word back from them informing me that I've passed and they will be contacting me for an interview. Eventually. Word I got from my wife yesterday was that one of her student's fathers works for the union... or did when there was work. He's not working right now either.
Oh, and Beth's job is tenuous as well. If business doesn't pick up, they may be closing their doors. Wonderful news, no? :/
On the home front:
Nick turned 4 just over a week ago and boy, is he proud of it. He tells everybody. Everybody. We were in the store earlier today and as we were walking away from the cashier he ran back just to let her know, "I'm four!" What's funny is that not thirty seconds ago when she was talking to him, asking him his name, he was too shy to respond to her. Apparently it doesn't matter who he is, but he's four!
We moved to Brentwood about two months ago. No, not OJ's Brentwood. That's actually just a subdivision in Los Angeles. We're in the real Brentwood, CA. Right about here. It's hot, there's no Mercedes parked in any of the driveways and nobody has a gardener... Definately not OJ's Brentwood.
So, what's next?
Prayer, and lots of it. We're praying for work and a vehicle for me, continued work for Beth and a good daycare for Nick when we need it.
On the job front:
I'm still unemployed. I applied with Antioch PD for the position of Police Dispatcher 1, passed the POST test and moved into the second phase of hiring, the oral board. In the same letter that I received that information, they notified me that though I had done good up to that point, they were unfortunately no longer hiring due to the budget crisis. Thanks and have a nice day.
I applied with the local plumbers' union and took their aptitude test. I've gotten word back from them informing me that I've passed and they will be contacting me for an interview. Eventually. Word I got from my wife yesterday was that one of her student's fathers works for the union... or did when there was work. He's not working right now either.
Oh, and Beth's job is tenuous as well. If business doesn't pick up, they may be closing their doors. Wonderful news, no? :/
On the home front:
Nick turned 4 just over a week ago and boy, is he proud of it. He tells everybody. Everybody. We were in the store earlier today and as we were walking away from the cashier he ran back just to let her know, "I'm four!" What's funny is that not thirty seconds ago when she was talking to him, asking him his name, he was too shy to respond to her. Apparently it doesn't matter who he is, but he's four!
We moved to Brentwood about two months ago. No, not OJ's Brentwood. That's actually just a subdivision in Los Angeles. We're in the real Brentwood, CA. Right about here. It's hot, there's no Mercedes parked in any of the driveways and nobody has a gardener... Definately not OJ's Brentwood.
So, what's next?
Prayer, and lots of it. We're praying for work and a vehicle for me, continued work for Beth and a good daycare for Nick when we need it.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Here again
Last post, January 6th? Wow. I know that I've not been blogging, but I didn't realize that it's been that long since my last post.
I'm still looking for work, but there are a couple opportunities on the horizon. Next week, I'm going to start filling in for a friend who is going out of town for a couple of months and needs someone to keep his business running while he's away. Unfortunately, he and his wife just found out that she has the chance of getting laid off on the 17th. Fortunately for them, if that's the case, they still have his business to fall back on. Unfortunately for me, that means that opportunity will be gone.
The other thing that's coming up for me is the plumber's union. I went in a couple of weeks ago to apply for an apprenticeship with them and have an aptitude test scheduled this Saturday, the 4th. While it comes at a rather inconvenient time (we need to be completely out of our apartment by the 6th) it gives me hope of becoming gainfully employed in the not-too-distant future. It, however, poses a problem of its own. I'll also need to find a vehicle rather quickly. That wouldn't pose as much of a problem if I were already employed and could afford one. I'm thinking that a truck would be best, since I'm most likely going to need to be carrying tools and other large/heavy objects with me on a day-to-day basis.
All in all though, things are starting to look up. We have a new apartment and hopefully, I'll be employed again. I'll probably not be making as much as I was before I got laid off, but our new apartment is substantially less expensive. We're looking at getting caught up on bills and getting some money back into a savings account.
Now, all we need to do is get that lingering odor out of our new apartment. The people who lived there before us were obviously smokers. We've cleaned the carpet, but I'm thinking that we need to get a couple gallons of Febreeze... Any other suggestions?
I'm still looking for work, but there are a couple opportunities on the horizon. Next week, I'm going to start filling in for a friend who is going out of town for a couple of months and needs someone to keep his business running while he's away. Unfortunately, he and his wife just found out that she has the chance of getting laid off on the 17th. Fortunately for them, if that's the case, they still have his business to fall back on. Unfortunately for me, that means that opportunity will be gone.
The other thing that's coming up for me is the plumber's union. I went in a couple of weeks ago to apply for an apprenticeship with them and have an aptitude test scheduled this Saturday, the 4th. While it comes at a rather inconvenient time (we need to be completely out of our apartment by the 6th) it gives me hope of becoming gainfully employed in the not-too-distant future. It, however, poses a problem of its own. I'll also need to find a vehicle rather quickly. That wouldn't pose as much of a problem if I were already employed and could afford one. I'm thinking that a truck would be best, since I'm most likely going to need to be carrying tools and other large/heavy objects with me on a day-to-day basis.
All in all though, things are starting to look up. We have a new apartment and hopefully, I'll be employed again. I'll probably not be making as much as I was before I got laid off, but our new apartment is substantially less expensive. We're looking at getting caught up on bills and getting some money back into a savings account.
Now, all we need to do is get that lingering odor out of our new apartment. The people who lived there before us were obviously smokers. We've cleaned the carpet, but I'm thinking that we need to get a couple gallons of Febreeze... Any other suggestions?
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
No life... no inspiration. :(
< /random >
I've been wanting to redo my blog for a while. I want to design it myself, not use someone else's template. No matter how cool the template is, it's still someone else's.
The problem is that I'm still unemployed and am in a real slump right now. I spend my days hanging out with Nick, looking for work and playing World of Warcraft. We're down to only one car and Beth needs that for work. I've tried dropping her off and picking her up but that doesn't really leave time to do anything. Basically it's drop Beth of by 12, get some lunch, get Nick down for a nap, snacks after nap, then leave by 6:15 to fight the commute traffic to pick Beth up from work at 7. Not to mention that we end up spending twice as much on gas for little to no return.
Being stuck at home, watching Transformers or Herbie Fully Loaded for the seven hundredth time gives little in the way of inspiration. Maybe Nicky and Daddy can use old BART tickets and ride the train sometime this week. There's no place in particular to go, and we don't really have any money to do anything when we get there, but who knows... At least Nick will get to ride the train.
The only thing that would put a damper on an outing like that is the weather. Unlike New York and places back east where it's freezing cold and iced over, California winters are wet. It's not just bundling up in somethin warm, but you have to make sure that you're dry. Maybe we'll go to San Francisco to get an umbrella for Nick. It might not be the most sensible of outings, but at least it's a reason and a destination. I think I'll take the video camera and see what I get.
< /random >
I've been wanting to redo my blog for a while. I want to design it myself, not use someone else's template. No matter how cool the template is, it's still someone else's.
The problem is that I'm still unemployed and am in a real slump right now. I spend my days hanging out with Nick, looking for work and playing World of Warcraft. We're down to only one car and Beth needs that for work. I've tried dropping her off and picking her up but that doesn't really leave time to do anything. Basically it's drop Beth of by 12, get some lunch, get Nick down for a nap, snacks after nap, then leave by 6:15 to fight the commute traffic to pick Beth up from work at 7. Not to mention that we end up spending twice as much on gas for little to no return.
Being stuck at home, watching Transformers or Herbie Fully Loaded for the seven hundredth time gives little in the way of inspiration. Maybe Nicky and Daddy can use old BART tickets and ride the train sometime this week. There's no place in particular to go, and we don't really have any money to do anything when we get there, but who knows... At least Nick will get to ride the train.
The only thing that would put a damper on an outing like that is the weather. Unlike New York and places back east where it's freezing cold and iced over, California winters are wet. It's not just bundling up in somethin warm, but you have to make sure that you're dry. Maybe we'll go to San Francisco to get an umbrella for Nick. It might not be the most sensible of outings, but at least it's a reason and a destination. I think I'll take the video camera and see what I get.
< /random >
Saturday, December 13, 2008
News from the front lines
So, I'm still unemployed. Nothing new there yet.
I went down and took a test recently that may change that though. I've kicked around the idea of being a police dispatcher a couple of times and had even gone into the Sheriff's dispatch center for the good portion of a shift and shadowed a couple of the dispatchers. (Some departments allow you to shadow an officer for a shift. It's known as a "ride along." Does that make what I did in dispatch a "sit in"?)
I went down on Thursday and took the California Dispatcher 1 POST (Police Officer Standards and Training) test. I feel like I did pretty good, even in the section that I felt weakest on.
A couple words of advice if you ever find yourself about to take this test: Before going in to the test, make sure that you're well fed and caffineted. The test is three hours long. No matter if you take tests fast or if you use every last minute, you're there for three hours. Also, if you have even the slightest hint of a headache before you start, make sure that you take something for it. I'd advise taking something for a headache even if you don't have one, because by the time it's over, you will.
Test results will be back and letters sent out the second week of January. If I scored 50 or higher on the test, I will move on to the oral board portion of the hiring process. I'm not worried about oral boards as I've done them twice already; once for the Search and Rescue team, the other when I had applied for Animal Control with the county. Both times I scored very high among the group of interviewees. Everyone who passes oral boards goes through background checks (again, no problem) and put on an eligibility list and remain eligible for a year. The top two get hired. Hopefully, I'm one of those two.
I went down and took a test recently that may change that though. I've kicked around the idea of being a police dispatcher a couple of times and had even gone into the Sheriff's dispatch center for the good portion of a shift and shadowed a couple of the dispatchers. (Some departments allow you to shadow an officer for a shift. It's known as a "ride along." Does that make what I did in dispatch a "sit in"?)
I went down on Thursday and took the California Dispatcher 1 POST (Police Officer Standards and Training) test. I feel like I did pretty good, even in the section that I felt weakest on.
A couple words of advice if you ever find yourself about to take this test: Before going in to the test, make sure that you're well fed and caffineted. The test is three hours long. No matter if you take tests fast or if you use every last minute, you're there for three hours. Also, if you have even the slightest hint of a headache before you start, make sure that you take something for it. I'd advise taking something for a headache even if you don't have one, because by the time it's over, you will.
Test results will be back and letters sent out the second week of January. If I scored 50 or higher on the test, I will move on to the oral board portion of the hiring process. I'm not worried about oral boards as I've done them twice already; once for the Search and Rescue team, the other when I had applied for Animal Control with the county. Both times I scored very high among the group of interviewees. Everyone who passes oral boards goes through background checks (again, no problem) and put on an eligibility list and remain eligible for a year. The top two get hired. Hopefully, I'm one of those two.
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