I got a call today from a bank in Dallas wanting me to come in for an interview for a Commercial Loan Specialist position in their corp headquarters office in Addison. Addison rocks! The lady who called was just from HR so I asked her some questions I probably wouldn't have normally asked the hiring manager. The position would be a GREAT entry point into the commercial lending industry, and would offer a good career path. They're organizing a professional development program that is slated to begin in September, and upon completion would propel me upwards to probably something like a junior commercial lending officer. The stated salary range for this position tops out at about $5-7,000 below what I like to think of as my minimum salary requirement. So I tell her I'm interested in the opportunity, and I see the potential for growth, but I'm not sure that the salary would work for me. She didn't budge, but then again, she's just HR. So I told her I'd like to schedule an interview with the decision maker (hiring manager), but I needed to check with my employer about when I could get off, and I'll call her tomorrow to set it up. In comparison to the job I interviewed for last week, this one seems very boring, but it really would be a great job! So here's what I'm thinking....give me your feedback....I think I will go to the interview. The job advertisement requested 2-5 years industry experience and a BBA. I have approximately 8 years industry experience and an MBA....so I'll ask him to raise the salary $5,000. Hopefully the negotiations (if he works with me) will take a week or so, and I'll find out about the equity trading job in the meantime. Meanwhile, I have to keep sending out resumes in case neither of these work out! HA! Isn't job searching wonderful?!
1.31.2005
History of Klennex
Thanks for the "modivation" Alyssa. Yes, I could blog on the history of Klennex or maybe even Kleenex, but why would I do that, that would be boring? I prefer to blog about more interesting things. Which is why I haven't blogged in awhile. I guess I could just give you some thoughts or events of the weekend just so you don't see that 1,725,843 word blog about my interview anymore! HA! Here goes:
* Only four more days until the end of the week, which is when I should hear something regarding my interview.
* I think vacuum cleaner servicing companies have arranged strategic alliances with toy companies. The only way I can explain why toy companies make teeny tiny toys smaller than your pinky fingernail is so they can get crammed up in your vacuum cleaner and you have to get it serviced. This hasn't happened to me YET, but it almost does everytime I vacuum.
* I check the sports news everyday to see if Brett Favre has announced his intentions for next year. No word yet.
* Does anyone know where the Hockey Rehabilitation Unit is? Due to my poor coping skills, I need the support of other fellow NHL fans who are also having a difficult time coping with the lockout.
* Does anyone else play Sims2, or is my family the only one addicted to that great game?
* I e-filed our taxes through TurboTax (via IRS website) last night for free. What a cool deal!
* I have finally decided that I will be rooting for New England this weekend in the Super Bowl. I dislike both teams, but it's more fun if you can actually cheer for a team. See, I'm just plain tired of the Pats winning, so I'd love to see them lose. However, I HATE Philly, especially Terrell Owens, so I think I'd like to see them lose worse. Anyway, whatever.
* I'm not very "modivated" to blog right now. :)
* Only four more days until the end of the week, which is when I should hear something regarding my interview.
* I think vacuum cleaner servicing companies have arranged strategic alliances with toy companies. The only way I can explain why toy companies make teeny tiny toys smaller than your pinky fingernail is so they can get crammed up in your vacuum cleaner and you have to get it serviced. This hasn't happened to me YET, but it almost does everytime I vacuum.
* I check the sports news everyday to see if Brett Favre has announced his intentions for next year. No word yet.
* Does anyone know where the Hockey Rehabilitation Unit is? Due to my poor coping skills, I need the support of other fellow NHL fans who are also having a difficult time coping with the lockout.
* Does anyone else play Sims2, or is my family the only one addicted to that great game?
* I e-filed our taxes through TurboTax (via IRS website) last night for free. What a cool deal!
* I have finally decided that I will be rooting for New England this weekend in the Super Bowl. I dislike both teams, but it's more fun if you can actually cheer for a team. See, I'm just plain tired of the Pats winning, so I'd love to see them lose. However, I HATE Philly, especially Terrell Owens, so I think I'd like to see them lose worse. Anyway, whatever.
* I'm not very "modivated" to blog right now. :)
1.28.2005
Apprentice & Interview
Before I get to the interview, let me just give a few quick thoughts about the Apprentice. If you haven’t watched it, skip to the next paragraph. This episode was a disgrace to the game, and the previews for next week appear to be even worse. First things first. Brian is an idiot. He thinks he is God’s greatest gift to earth, but I find it difficult to believe he could even manage a vending machine. Kristen is also an idiot. Just shut up, would ya? Verna is lucky! Good thing Trump appreciates comebacks (ya think he knows anything about comebacks? HA!), because otherwise, she should have been fired. It was interesting to see Carolyn in a caring way, but I wish we could have seen more of her interaction with Verna. Whatever she did or said, it was an apparent emotional turnaround for Verna. Speaking of Carolyn – HA! She cracks me up! In the boardroom she’s so serious and tough, but out on the street, she has a hard time holding back her laughter. Especially when they left the plastic on the mattresses, she tells the camera about it, and as she tries to hold back her laughter, she says “I don’t understand that too much.” Of course she can’t come right out and inform the team of the oversight, so right before she leaves the room, she sit on the bed one last time and as she gets up, she says “It’s a little crunchy” as she darts for the door and probably laughs uncontrollably outside. OK, so Michael and Magna won, and they get to hang with Steve Forbes on his yacht – how cool is that! In the boardroom, Carolyn says it best as she again is laughing in disbelief, “Brian is a waste of our time.” Brian tells Trump he should fire him, and not 5 minutes later he tries to say he didn’t say that until he’s backed into a corner, and inevitably fired by Trump. Next week looks even worse, as someone quits. I think right now John has the best shot at winning. Very cool, high charisma, and very street savvy. What do you think?
OK, so you want to know about the interview? Well, it rained the entire drive down to Ft. Worth. There’s just something about the Ft. Worth downtown skyline that I love to see, but the visibility was horrible today. On top of that, the rain and poor visibility made traffic a little thick on 35, but Diana Krall (very good jazz artist) helped keep me relaxed. So I make it to the Chase Tower (as you can see in this pic here that I took today, especially for my blog viewers) and I find the parking garage.
I’m driving through the garage, looking for a space, and can’t find one until I get to the roof of the garage, which is uncovered, and it is raining. So I park as close to the door as I can, which is a good 100 feet, and I run in as quickly as I can. So here I am, it’s 3:10pm, and I am soaking wet. I walk through tunnel that attaches the building to the garage, and I look for a restroom to try and dry off a little. I can’t find one, so I ask the security guard and he says “There’s actually not one in the lobby. Ask the receptionist on the floor you are going to for a key and you can use the restroom there.” Argh! So I think, what the heck, it’s no secret that it’s raining, so what do they expect? So I go up to the 27th floor (which by the way, is high enough to make your ears pop) and as soon as I step out of the elevator, there is the receptionist. It didn’t seem too appropriate at the time to ask for the key to the little boys’ room, so I simply stated my name and purpose, and with a smile was handed an application (UGH!) and asked to complete it. Now some of you may also understand this, but in my opinion, though not always correct, but as a general rule if a job requires that you fill out an application, there’s a good chance you’re overqualified for the job. I do not mean this in a hoity toity way, because some companies simply require it, even if you make $300,000 per year. I just know that almost all of my jobs were gained by simply sending in a resume, and having a meaningful conversation or two with the decision maker. Applications are so silly and unnecessary, and a HUGE waste of time. Just my opinion. So I proceed to fill out the 6 page application, copying things directly off of my resume – tell me why again I can’t just turn in another resume? Anyway…by now, I’m dried off for the most part. And I have to pee, but I’m not asking for the bathroom key since here for an interview, not a potty break. I hand the receptionist my resume and she calls the HR person down. Meanwhile, we make small chat about her taking Algebra and her asking if the MBA program at MSU is hard to get into. Obviously, she’s unfamiliar with MSU! So the HR lady arrives, and MUCH to my pleasant surprise, she says “Thank you, I’ll make a copy of this and let Susan know you are here.” I thought I was going to have to tell this HR chick my 3 strengths/weaknesses, where I see myself in 5 years, and all those other textbook, meaningless interview questions. :) So 2 minutes later, I am being escorted by her up to the 32nd floor, where Barbnet Investment Company is located. She instructs the receptionist to call for Susan, and as I sit down, Susan walks in. So we exchange greetings enthusiastically and proceed to the coolest office I have ever seen in my life. I felt like I was in a Wall Street movie. It was about 4:15pm and most of the office was apparently already gone for the day, except for one guy at the trading desk. He had 2 phones to his ears and was sitting in front of 6 monitors. I could quickly make out 2 Bloombergs, some stock charts, and I don’t know what else. There were several workstations setup like this. My adrenaline starts pumping and my mouth start salivating! So we proceed into a boardroom, with a wonderful view of Ft. Worth from 32 floors up, except it was still raining. She was a nice lady, easy to talk to, so we “clicked” right away. She started off by telling me who she was (Equity Trading Manager) and who the company is. In a nutshell, this is a private investment firm that does the trading for 2 mutual funds ($1.2bil and $300mil) and manages the Bass family’s money. That’s it. No customers, just two mutual funds and the Bass family, who are probably trillionaires. Anyway, the job sounds awesome! Basically I’d be on the phone with institutional brokers buying and selling stocks for the portfolio managers of the mutual funds, and the Bass’ money, but the tricky part would be to not let the street (brokers, traders, analysts, etc) know our intentions. So if you need to sell a million shares of IBM, you don’t do it all at one time because it’s unlikely you’d find a buyer for all one million shares. Plus, you’d have to advertise the offer, and that would cause other investors to start dumping IBM, causing your capital gains to decline as the share price declines. So to avoid this, you call up different brokers in the morning and have them each sell 30,000 shares. Then an hour later you call them back (or other brokers) and have them sell a little more. So by 3:00pm your goal is to have slowly and methodically dumped all one million shares without the stock price dipping because the word got out of what you were doing. So when you try to get your brokers to sell your stock for you, you also give them some market color (describe the current news of the stock relative to the rest of the market) to try and get them to sell it at a higher price to their buyers. Anyway, you’re probably just skimming by now. The job would also entail monitoring the stocks in the Bass’ portfolio. It’s beautiful because you don’t have to “sell”, and the salary is not commission based. I hate sales. So we went on to talk about my resume and my experience, and we asked each other questions for a little while. It was a great exchange, and by the way, she never looked at my application, only my resume. I honestly feel like I did a great job answering her questions, and defending my biggest challenge of having a higher number of jobs than normal in a matter of 7 years. She said at the end of the interview that by looking at my resume, she would not have called me, but because I had the experience she was looking for, she decided to have me come in, knowing that I probably had some good reasons for the job changes, such as Herbert R. Smith selling part of their business, thus eliminating my job. Anyway, she said she was glad she had me come in, and directed towards my resume and overall interview, she told me I looked very good. However, she said she was also interviewing quite a few people this week and next. At the end of next week, she will choose 3-4 people and have them come back to spend more time going over what “I” will actually be doing, and also getting more of an idea of what I’m capable of doing right now. So…I think it went pretty well, but it is entirely possible, and mathematically probable, that I won’t get called back in for the 2nd interview…but with lots of prayer from myself AND YOU, maybe God can intervene on this one! J When I left, I was expecting them to validate my parking ticket so I didn’t have to pay, but they didn’t offer, and I wasn’t going to ask. I only had $3 with me, since I always use my debit card, and didn’t think to bring parking garage money. Well, I had been there 2 hours, and according to the sign, that was $5. ARGH! So, I had to use my ATM card in the lobby, and get charged $2 by them, and another $1 by my bank…I get to the gate and as I’m handing the attendant my ticket and a fresh, crisp twenty, I see a sign that says “We accept VISA/MC” - ARGH!!! Oh well. I get my change, leave the garage, and have an uneventful drive home. Like a good interviewee should always do, I wrote my thank you letter, called my friend Wendell for some constructive criticism, made some edits, and then drove it to the post office. I dropped it in the box at 11:15pm, and the last pickup is at 11:45pm, so with a little luck, she’ll receive it tomorrow. If not, it will be a great reminder for her on Monday of our nice little interview. I got back home, watched Apprentice, wrote this short little note, and now it’s 2am, and I’m going to bed. :) Sorry it’s so long. Should I start attending BA? (Bloggers Anonymous) Good night!
OK, so you want to know about the interview? Well, it rained the entire drive down to Ft. Worth. There’s just something about the Ft. Worth downtown skyline that I love to see, but the visibility was horrible today. On top of that, the rain and poor visibility made traffic a little thick on 35, but Diana Krall (very good jazz artist) helped keep me relaxed. So I make it to the Chase Tower (as you can see in this pic here that I took today, especially for my blog viewers) and I find the parking garage.
I’m driving through the garage, looking for a space, and can’t find one until I get to the roof of the garage, which is uncovered, and it is raining. So I park as close to the door as I can, which is a good 100 feet, and I run in as quickly as I can. So here I am, it’s 3:10pm, and I am soaking wet. I walk through tunnel that attaches the building to the garage, and I look for a restroom to try and dry off a little. I can’t find one, so I ask the security guard and he says “There’s actually not one in the lobby. Ask the receptionist on the floor you are going to for a key and you can use the restroom there.” Argh! So I think, what the heck, it’s no secret that it’s raining, so what do they expect? So I go up to the 27th floor (which by the way, is high enough to make your ears pop) and as soon as I step out of the elevator, there is the receptionist. It didn’t seem too appropriate at the time to ask for the key to the little boys’ room, so I simply stated my name and purpose, and with a smile was handed an application (UGH!) and asked to complete it. Now some of you may also understand this, but in my opinion, though not always correct, but as a general rule if a job requires that you fill out an application, there’s a good chance you’re overqualified for the job. I do not mean this in a hoity toity way, because some companies simply require it, even if you make $300,000 per year. I just know that almost all of my jobs were gained by simply sending in a resume, and having a meaningful conversation or two with the decision maker. Applications are so silly and unnecessary, and a HUGE waste of time. Just my opinion. So I proceed to fill out the 6 page application, copying things directly off of my resume – tell me why again I can’t just turn in another resume? Anyway…by now, I’m dried off for the most part. And I have to pee, but I’m not asking for the bathroom key since here for an interview, not a potty break. I hand the receptionist my resume and she calls the HR person down. Meanwhile, we make small chat about her taking Algebra and her asking if the MBA program at MSU is hard to get into. Obviously, she’s unfamiliar with MSU! So the HR lady arrives, and MUCH to my pleasant surprise, she says “Thank you, I’ll make a copy of this and let Susan know you are here.” I thought I was going to have to tell this HR chick my 3 strengths/weaknesses, where I see myself in 5 years, and all those other textbook, meaningless interview questions. :) So 2 minutes later, I am being escorted by her up to the 32nd floor, where Barbnet Investment Company is located. She instructs the receptionist to call for Susan, and as I sit down, Susan walks in. So we exchange greetings enthusiastically and proceed to the coolest office I have ever seen in my life. I felt like I was in a Wall Street movie. It was about 4:15pm and most of the office was apparently already gone for the day, except for one guy at the trading desk. He had 2 phones to his ears and was sitting in front of 6 monitors. I could quickly make out 2 Bloombergs, some stock charts, and I don’t know what else. There were several workstations setup like this. My adrenaline starts pumping and my mouth start salivating! So we proceed into a boardroom, with a wonderful view of Ft. Worth from 32 floors up, except it was still raining. She was a nice lady, easy to talk to, so we “clicked” right away. She started off by telling me who she was (Equity Trading Manager) and who the company is. In a nutshell, this is a private investment firm that does the trading for 2 mutual funds ($1.2bil and $300mil) and manages the Bass family’s money. That’s it. No customers, just two mutual funds and the Bass family, who are probably trillionaires. Anyway, the job sounds awesome! Basically I’d be on the phone with institutional brokers buying and selling stocks for the portfolio managers of the mutual funds, and the Bass’ money, but the tricky part would be to not let the street (brokers, traders, analysts, etc) know our intentions. So if you need to sell a million shares of IBM, you don’t do it all at one time because it’s unlikely you’d find a buyer for all one million shares. Plus, you’d have to advertise the offer, and that would cause other investors to start dumping IBM, causing your capital gains to decline as the share price declines. So to avoid this, you call up different brokers in the morning and have them each sell 30,000 shares. Then an hour later you call them back (or other brokers) and have them sell a little more. So by 3:00pm your goal is to have slowly and methodically dumped all one million shares without the stock price dipping because the word got out of what you were doing. So when you try to get your brokers to sell your stock for you, you also give them some market color (describe the current news of the stock relative to the rest of the market) to try and get them to sell it at a higher price to their buyers. Anyway, you’re probably just skimming by now. The job would also entail monitoring the stocks in the Bass’ portfolio. It’s beautiful because you don’t have to “sell”, and the salary is not commission based. I hate sales. So we went on to talk about my resume and my experience, and we asked each other questions for a little while. It was a great exchange, and by the way, she never looked at my application, only my resume. I honestly feel like I did a great job answering her questions, and defending my biggest challenge of having a higher number of jobs than normal in a matter of 7 years. She said at the end of the interview that by looking at my resume, she would not have called me, but because I had the experience she was looking for, she decided to have me come in, knowing that I probably had some good reasons for the job changes, such as Herbert R. Smith selling part of their business, thus eliminating my job. Anyway, she said she was glad she had me come in, and directed towards my resume and overall interview, she told me I looked very good. However, she said she was also interviewing quite a few people this week and next. At the end of next week, she will choose 3-4 people and have them come back to spend more time going over what “I” will actually be doing, and also getting more of an idea of what I’m capable of doing right now. So…I think it went pretty well, but it is entirely possible, and mathematically probable, that I won’t get called back in for the 2nd interview…but with lots of prayer from myself AND YOU, maybe God can intervene on this one! J When I left, I was expecting them to validate my parking ticket so I didn’t have to pay, but they didn’t offer, and I wasn’t going to ask. I only had $3 with me, since I always use my debit card, and didn’t think to bring parking garage money. Well, I had been there 2 hours, and according to the sign, that was $5. ARGH! So, I had to use my ATM card in the lobby, and get charged $2 by them, and another $1 by my bank…I get to the gate and as I’m handing the attendant my ticket and a fresh, crisp twenty, I see a sign that says “We accept VISA/MC” - ARGH!!! Oh well. I get my change, leave the garage, and have an uneventful drive home. Like a good interviewee should always do, I wrote my thank you letter, called my friend Wendell for some constructive criticism, made some edits, and then drove it to the post office. I dropped it in the box at 11:15pm, and the last pickup is at 11:45pm, so with a little luck, she’ll receive it tomorrow. If not, it will be a great reminder for her on Monday of our nice little interview. I got back home, watched Apprentice, wrote this short little note, and now it’s 2am, and I’m going to bed. :) Sorry it’s so long. Should I start attending BA? (Bloggers Anonymous) Good night!
1.27.2005
Pre-Interview Anxieties
As I sit here waiting for 1:00pm to arrive so I can depart for Ft. Worth, I'm trying to figure out how I feel about this interview today. This will be my 4,382nd interview, so I don't really get nervous anymore, but I'd be lying if I didn't get anxious. There IS a difference. I have my suit on, and several "good-luck" items, one of which I didn't catch until last night as I was getting things ready.
1-Merrill Lynch cufflinks.
2-Italian silk tie I purchased on the streets of Florence, Italy.
3-Engraved pen that was a graduation gift from my school colleague, Marcela Robbins, who contributed MUCH to my success in earning my MBA.
4-My black dress shoes. Why are these lucky? I just made the connection last night...the name brand is "Bass". The company I am interviewing with is "Bass Enterprises". Surely that's a sign!
So I've printed some fresh resumes, dug out an official copy of my transcript, went over my answers to the most common interview questions, and reread the section on Interviewing Dos & Don'ts in Carolyn Kepcher's book. So how could I fail? How could I possibly not get the job? HA! I've been down this road many times, and it's never as easy as it may seem. My experience and education matches this position perfectly, which is a confidence booster indeed, but there's so many other factors at play. I could very easily go in to the interview, and after 2 minutes, be excused because they see something they don't like. This is the anxiety part for me. Not being in control, not knowing exactly what they're thinking during the interview, and then having to wait for them to call afterwards. Ya know, so much is riding on this...the future of my family. As soon as I get a job, Jenn can quit working at Target, which is HUGE. At any point in time, our life will change drastically, but that time could be today or next year...and when it happens, I'll have no advance notice. I'll just get a phone call one day and hear "You're hired" on the other end. Then begins the househunting, the house buying, the school hunting, the church hunting, the packing, the moving, the settling, the adjustment for 5 people, the new friend searching...how will Karissa do in a new shool, etc etc etc? So how do I handle this anxiety? Well, I have to forget all that stress and embrace this attitude: Today's interview is no different than any other. I walk in, confident of who I am and what I have to offer. I listen intently to their questions, I respond with confidence, and let some excitement seep out. I give it my all during the 30 minutes of interviewing, and then I smile, say thank you, and walk away. I drive home to my wonderful family, tell my wife about the experience, watch Apprentice, write a thank you note to Bass Enterprises making sure to rehash some strong points, drive it to the post office before midnight so it goes out tomorrow, blog about the interview, and go to bed. Then it's life as usual. I gave it my all with nothing to lose. Maybe I'll get the job or a 2nd interview, maybe I won't. Regardless, neither result will change who I am.
Thank you for this counseling session. I feel better already. Send me a bill for your time! Have a good day!
1-Merrill Lynch cufflinks.
2-Italian silk tie I purchased on the streets of Florence, Italy.
3-Engraved pen that was a graduation gift from my school colleague, Marcela Robbins, who contributed MUCH to my success in earning my MBA.
4-My black dress shoes. Why are these lucky? I just made the connection last night...the name brand is "Bass". The company I am interviewing with is "Bass Enterprises". Surely that's a sign!
So I've printed some fresh resumes, dug out an official copy of my transcript, went over my answers to the most common interview questions, and reread the section on Interviewing Dos & Don'ts in Carolyn Kepcher's book. So how could I fail? How could I possibly not get the job? HA! I've been down this road many times, and it's never as easy as it may seem. My experience and education matches this position perfectly, which is a confidence booster indeed, but there's so many other factors at play. I could very easily go in to the interview, and after 2 minutes, be excused because they see something they don't like. This is the anxiety part for me. Not being in control, not knowing exactly what they're thinking during the interview, and then having to wait for them to call afterwards. Ya know, so much is riding on this...the future of my family. As soon as I get a job, Jenn can quit working at Target, which is HUGE. At any point in time, our life will change drastically, but that time could be today or next year...and when it happens, I'll have no advance notice. I'll just get a phone call one day and hear "You're hired" on the other end. Then begins the househunting, the house buying, the school hunting, the church hunting, the packing, the moving, the settling, the adjustment for 5 people, the new friend searching...how will Karissa do in a new shool, etc etc etc? So how do I handle this anxiety? Well, I have to forget all that stress and embrace this attitude: Today's interview is no different than any other. I walk in, confident of who I am and what I have to offer. I listen intently to their questions, I respond with confidence, and let some excitement seep out. I give it my all during the 30 minutes of interviewing, and then I smile, say thank you, and walk away. I drive home to my wonderful family, tell my wife about the experience, watch Apprentice, write a thank you note to Bass Enterprises making sure to rehash some strong points, drive it to the post office before midnight so it goes out tomorrow, blog about the interview, and go to bed. Then it's life as usual. I gave it my all with nothing to lose. Maybe I'll get the job or a 2nd interview, maybe I won't. Regardless, neither result will change who I am.
Thank you for this counseling session. I feel better already. Send me a bill for your time! Have a good day!
1.25.2005
Godfather 2 & Silly Kids
We watched Godfather 2 tonight, and I must say...it was quite a bit more difficult to follow than the first one. It jumped around a lot. I enjoyed it, but not as much as the first one. Jeff, if you have any insight or thoughts regarding the 2nd one, please pass them along. Grazie!
This will be a short post tonight - I'm tired. Instead of a Highlight of the Day, I'd like to leave you with a list of some funny things our kids have said or done. As you read the list, I'll go on repeating the following words in my head....I love Diet Dr. Pepper. I love Diet Dr. Pepper. I love Diet Dr. Pepper....
* While I was getting some ketchup, Karissa said "When you finish with that, will you put the ketch - UP?
* Karissa and I were teasing each other, and she called me a "word-that-I-can't-say-head"
* When Cara toots, she giggles and says "I squirted!"
* Anytime Kylie hears anything that resembles music, she stops what she's doing and starts moving her head side to side, dancing to the beat.
* Once when Cara was told she would get in trouble if she did something, she responded with "Well, you could just not talk!"
* Karissa was paying attention to the "70s show" when we didn't realize it was on, and she comes and asks us, "What's an ass?" I am horrible in these situations, because I can not keep from laughing hysterically!
* Today Cara and Jenn's mom were rearranging some bricks in our back yard and Jenn's mom said "Cara, we're making a flower bed for these flowers." Cara responded with a well thought out question - "For the flowers to sleep in?"
* And last but not least...and please excuse me for this one - Cara saw me getting out of the shower once and she said "Dad! You've got a snake in your bottom!"
This will be a short post tonight - I'm tired. Instead of a Highlight of the Day, I'd like to leave you with a list of some funny things our kids have said or done. As you read the list, I'll go on repeating the following words in my head....I love Diet Dr. Pepper. I love Diet Dr. Pepper. I love Diet Dr. Pepper....
* While I was getting some ketchup, Karissa said "When you finish with that, will you put the ketch - UP?
* Karissa and I were teasing each other, and she called me a "word-that-I-can't-say-head"
* When Cara toots, she giggles and says "I squirted!"
* Anytime Kylie hears anything that resembles music, she stops what she's doing and starts moving her head side to side, dancing to the beat.
* Once when Cara was told she would get in trouble if she did something, she responded with "Well, you could just not talk!"
* Karissa was paying attention to the "70s show" when we didn't realize it was on, and she comes and asks us, "What's an ass?" I am horrible in these situations, because I can not keep from laughing hysterically!
* Today Cara and Jenn's mom were rearranging some bricks in our back yard and Jenn's mom said "Cara, we're making a flower bed for these flowers." Cara responded with a well thought out question - "For the flowers to sleep in?"
* And last but not least...and please excuse me for this one - Cara saw me getting out of the shower once and she said "Dad! You've got a snake in your bottom!"
1.24.2005
Fashion Police
OK, I can take a hint that nobody is interested in engaging in anything cerebral (Josh, please feel free to respond to my previous post if you're interested), so I'll go ahead and make a new post. Maybe you guys can appreciate this story a little more. The other night, I was taking Karissa shopping for some new shoes, and we saw the security guards in the mall and she asked me who they were. I leaned down and very seriously told her "They're the fashion police." Her crinkled forehead and puzzling expression told me she needed further explanation, so I told her if you wore clothes that didn't match, had holes in them, or just looked really ugly, the fashion police would come and get you. Her eyes got big!! However, since she's been my daughter for 6 years and has learned that I like to play jokes, she wasn't sure if she believed me. So I quickly pointed to the hole in the knee of her jeans and said "Oh NO! We better get out of here." So we left in a frenzy and went to Target. This is when it got really funny! We took turns very discreetly pointing out all the people we thought the fashion police were going to get! HA! I know what you're thinking...geez, Kirk, you're such a great role model for your children. Well thank you!
Wish me luck!! I received a phone call today from Bass Enterprises in downtown Fort Worth. I am going to their office Thursday afternoon to interview for an equity trading position in their investment firm (Barbnet Investment Co.). It would be a great opportunity to work for the Bass brothers. I'll give you an update Thursday night.
Wish me luck!! I received a phone call today from Bass Enterprises in downtown Fort Worth. I am going to their office Thursday afternoon to interview for an equity trading position in their investment firm (Barbnet Investment Co.). It would be a great opportunity to work for the Bass brothers. I'll give you an update Thursday night.
1.23.2005
Social Security & Godfather
In my last post, I said I would post something on the partial privatization of social security. However, I have been researching and gathering my thoughts, and so far I'm on page 3 in a Word document. HA! Needless to say, I won't be posting all of that, but if you're really interested, I'd be happy to email it to you if you'd like to engage in a discussion. I do not want to completely ignore it in my blog though, because my intent for this blog is to discuss some current events, politics, economics, religion, sports, or anything else on a meaningful level. So, I'll try to give a very brief synopsis of my thoughts, though it will be extremely difficult due to my excessively meticulous and verbose writing (curse). I also know that some very intelligent people will hopefully be reading this, so I’d really like to interact at any level with you regarding this topic. And Alyssa, you're a smart girl, so you don't have to play the blond card here. :)
If you halfway pay attention to the news, you know we have reached a point where our current social security system is being challenged by an increasing number of baby boomers reaching retirement age, and it has been brought to everyone’s attention that if we don’t make some fundamental changes to the system, we will run out of money, or at best, the benefits will significantly decrease. The least complicated way to change the system is to raise taxes, but we don't want to do that. (Well the democrats would love to, but they're fortunately in the minority right now.) However, if we don't raise taxes, the money has to come from somewhere. The government could issue treasury securities (T-bonds, bills, notes), but they're already issuing an oversupply of treasuries to try and fund the deficit, causing some inflationary pressures that the Fed is already trying to curb by raising rates. Issuing new treasuries to fund the social security system would not only add to our inflationary woes, but it would also dilute the value of treasuries, thus become less atractive to investors. On a more macro level, it would flatten the long end of the yield curve, and therefore position us for more recessionary times. No thank you. The Fed would raise rates so high that the cost of borrowing would be too expensive, so there would be less investment in our economy, so our growth would tailspin and we'd fall into a recession...again. There has to be another way!
What about privatizing social security? The government borrows from the social security “pool” and then repays it at best around 1%. So, we're essentially "growing" our SS assets at 1% - that is thievery! Imagine the difference in capital appreciation if the return on SS funds increased even just a conservative 2-3%!! Could it possibly produce a SS surplus?!? Well, it’s mathematically possible, but I’m very skeptical of that ever happening. Imagine the influx of social security money into our economy through the purchase of millions (billions?) of dollars worth of stock! That would be a HUGE economic stimulant, but would present more opportunities for dishonesty in the system. Another implication would be the sheer size of the SS funds and their impact on the market as the funds are transferred from sector to sector through various asset allocation or market timing transactions. If a billion dollars is transferred from the retail sector to another sector, it does not go unnoticed in the market. Is anyone still reading?
I don't think privatization in and of itself is the answer, but I think it's a component that should be considered in the overhaul. I'm still trying to research the details of what Bush is trying to propose, but what I can gather so far is that his proposed changes may not be focused on privatization as much as it is setting up personal accounts with an element of ownership. Your personal account could also be passed down to your spouse or children when you die. To no surprise, he does NOT want to raise payroll taxes. OK, I'll stop now. If there's more interest, I'd love to entertain some discussion on this subject.
Thanks Jeff for letting me borrow the Godfather, and don't worry about a thing. I'm treating it better than I treat my own kids, so I will return it in perfect condition! Jenn and I watched the first one last night, and it was awesome! I am partial to anything Italian, but the story was very good. I think the reason this movie is a favorite of many men is that it takes our essence to the extreme. Deep inside our core, we want to fight for something. As opposed to the movie, we don't go around killing people, but when a loved one is hurt, that is sometimes our initial reaction. Also in the movie, instead of fighting for the damsel in distress, they fight for their family. Then you add the power, ruthlessness, and gentlemanly approach - this is what every man must love about this movie. I found that most of the time, before a man was killed, he was treated with respect, kindness, and hospitality before he was murdered. It's business, not personal. I have to kill you, but I respect you, so I will make it easy on you and take you by surprise. I was amazed at my reaction to one part in particular. The very first time Michael Corleone killed someone was in the restaurant with the police chief and the narcotics man (Santiago maybe??). He asked permission to go to the bathroom (to retrieve a gun that had been planted) and when he returned he simply raised the gun and put a bullet through the head of both men. Leading up to this, knowing it was going to happen, my heart was racing. I even commented to Jenn that my heart was literally beating faster than normal and I could FEEL it beating in my chest. WOW! That was incredible. I look forward to watching the other two movies. What is the record for the longest blog?
If you halfway pay attention to the news, you know we have reached a point where our current social security system is being challenged by an increasing number of baby boomers reaching retirement age, and it has been brought to everyone’s attention that if we don’t make some fundamental changes to the system, we will run out of money, or at best, the benefits will significantly decrease. The least complicated way to change the system is to raise taxes, but we don't want to do that. (Well the democrats would love to, but they're fortunately in the minority right now.) However, if we don't raise taxes, the money has to come from somewhere. The government could issue treasury securities (T-bonds, bills, notes), but they're already issuing an oversupply of treasuries to try and fund the deficit, causing some inflationary pressures that the Fed is already trying to curb by raising rates. Issuing new treasuries to fund the social security system would not only add to our inflationary woes, but it would also dilute the value of treasuries, thus become less atractive to investors. On a more macro level, it would flatten the long end of the yield curve, and therefore position us for more recessionary times. No thank you. The Fed would raise rates so high that the cost of borrowing would be too expensive, so there would be less investment in our economy, so our growth would tailspin and we'd fall into a recession...again. There has to be another way!
What about privatizing social security? The government borrows from the social security “pool” and then repays it at best around 1%. So, we're essentially "growing" our SS assets at 1% - that is thievery! Imagine the difference in capital appreciation if the return on SS funds increased even just a conservative 2-3%!! Could it possibly produce a SS surplus?!? Well, it’s mathematically possible, but I’m very skeptical of that ever happening. Imagine the influx of social security money into our economy through the purchase of millions (billions?) of dollars worth of stock! That would be a HUGE economic stimulant, but would present more opportunities for dishonesty in the system. Another implication would be the sheer size of the SS funds and their impact on the market as the funds are transferred from sector to sector through various asset allocation or market timing transactions. If a billion dollars is transferred from the retail sector to another sector, it does not go unnoticed in the market. Is anyone still reading?
I don't think privatization in and of itself is the answer, but I think it's a component that should be considered in the overhaul. I'm still trying to research the details of what Bush is trying to propose, but what I can gather so far is that his proposed changes may not be focused on privatization as much as it is setting up personal accounts with an element of ownership. Your personal account could also be passed down to your spouse or children when you die. To no surprise, he does NOT want to raise payroll taxes. OK, I'll stop now. If there's more interest, I'd love to entertain some discussion on this subject.
Thanks Jeff for letting me borrow the Godfather, and don't worry about a thing. I'm treating it better than I treat my own kids, so I will return it in perfect condition! Jenn and I watched the first one last night, and it was awesome! I am partial to anything Italian, but the story was very good. I think the reason this movie is a favorite of many men is that it takes our essence to the extreme. Deep inside our core, we want to fight for something. As opposed to the movie, we don't go around killing people, but when a loved one is hurt, that is sometimes our initial reaction. Also in the movie, instead of fighting for the damsel in distress, they fight for their family. Then you add the power, ruthlessness, and gentlemanly approach - this is what every man must love about this movie. I found that most of the time, before a man was killed, he was treated with respect, kindness, and hospitality before he was murdered. It's business, not personal. I have to kill you, but I respect you, so I will make it easy on you and take you by surprise. I was amazed at my reaction to one part in particular. The very first time Michael Corleone killed someone was in the restaurant with the police chief and the narcotics man (Santiago maybe??). He asked permission to go to the bathroom (to retrieve a gun that had been planted) and when he returned he simply raised the gun and put a bullet through the head of both men. Leading up to this, knowing it was going to happen, my heart was racing. I even commented to Jenn that my heart was literally beating faster than normal and I could FEEL it beating in my chest. WOW! That was incredible. I look forward to watching the other two movies. What is the record for the longest blog?
1.20.2005
You're Fired!
So much for predictions. Of course, by simply reading profiles, you can't expect too much. However, since fantasy football is over, I felt I would take a stab at fantasy Apprentice. Todd was actually one I picked to make it all the way to the final 2, but reading his profile didn't clue me in on his non-existent leadership abilities. Alex did make a mistake by suggesting only 2 cashiers, but ultimately, it is Todd's responsibility to recognize the undercapacity at the point-of-sale and correct Alex's misjudgment. When Trump got excited over finding out about Alex's mistake, I really thought he was going to snap and fire him immediately. He's made these emotional mistakes before, so I was pleasantly surprised to see George save Alex and point out that Todd is the one who actually failed. I think Trump, George, and Carolyn nailed this one on the head. At best, Danny is difficult to manage, and Alex can be led, but Todd is not a leader, and therefore not the Apprentice. Good call Trump, you actually made the right decision. As I predicted though, Danny is a little too artsy fartsy and he won't last much longer, thankfully, because so far he is the most annoying candidate in the history of The Apprentice. I was very impressed with John, and I like Brian too. I'm questioning my sleeper pick, Erin, because she's a little too noticable. The winners so far have been guys who have stayed under the radar for most of the game, and I don't see Erin controlling her emotions or mouth. Another I predicted to do well, Angie, didn't impress me too much, so maybe I should just nix my whole prediction. So far I'm as good at fantasy Apprentice as I am fantasy football! HA! Overall though, I think this is going to be a great season. I really like that one team is educated and one is streetsmart, and I find it pretty amazing that the streetsmarts earn 3 times as much money as the booksmarts!! Makes me wonder if I wasted 6 years of my life!
Jenn and I have had this bad habit (but oh so good) the last month or so. About 2-3 times per week, I go up to El Chico's for some carry-out queso and chips! I'm sure we've gained...uh, I mean...I've gained probably 20 pounds in the last month. But the funny thing is, the bartenders are getting to know me. Tuesday night, the blonde girl said "Hello again!" and tonight it was the same girl and she said "The usual?" HA! The bad thing is, we normally don't finish an entire bowl of it, but tonight we did, and there was still 20 minutes left of The Apprentice!! Oh well. See, I know I NEED to drop about 30 pounds, but I just don't want to, and I can't make myself exercise, stop drinking sodas, or watch what I eat. The last time I ran at night, it was cold, and I got sick for 2 weeks. Which reminds me...maybe someone out there knows the answer to this: some people say the cold can't make you sick, but it's no secret that if you stay outside in the cold for any length of time without a coat on, you're probably going to get sick. So can someone who believes the cold can't make you sick please explain this to me? Well, I'm going to bed now. I think my next blog will be about George Dubya's plan to partially privatize social security. I realize it may be a boring topic to some (I won't mention names Alyssa), but I'm sure others of you have some great opinions on the issue. By the way, this has become extremely addicting, and has started to get in the way of my job searching! It is common for me to devote an excessive amount of time to something new for a short period of time, and then I back off. This being the case, I would expect in a week or so that my comments and blogs will begin to decrease significantly. Did I just hear a sigh of relief from someone??
HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY
I think I will actually share a "Disappointment of the Day" today. Representatives from the NHL and the NHL Players' Association met today for the second day in a row to discuss the NHL lockout. I couldn't help but be hopeful that some progress would be achieved through their discussions, but Bill Daly's (NHL Executive Vice President & Chief Legal Officer) statement shattered any last hope I had for a partial season this year. Here's his statement in case you haven't heard: "We had two good days of discussion. We continue to have some strong philosophical differences. The lines of communication are open, and we're going to continue to work on it. We don't have anything scheduled." Without hockey to watch, I might have to start watching another show. My interest has been sparked by Alias. I have never seen it, but it seems like a lot of people watch it regularly.
Jenn and I have had this bad habit (but oh so good) the last month or so. About 2-3 times per week, I go up to El Chico's for some carry-out queso and chips! I'm sure we've gained...uh, I mean...I've gained probably 20 pounds in the last month. But the funny thing is, the bartenders are getting to know me. Tuesday night, the blonde girl said "Hello again!" and tonight it was the same girl and she said "The usual?" HA! The bad thing is, we normally don't finish an entire bowl of it, but tonight we did, and there was still 20 minutes left of The Apprentice!! Oh well. See, I know I NEED to drop about 30 pounds, but I just don't want to, and I can't make myself exercise, stop drinking sodas, or watch what I eat. The last time I ran at night, it was cold, and I got sick for 2 weeks. Which reminds me...maybe someone out there knows the answer to this: some people say the cold can't make you sick, but it's no secret that if you stay outside in the cold for any length of time without a coat on, you're probably going to get sick. So can someone who believes the cold can't make you sick please explain this to me? Well, I'm going to bed now. I think my next blog will be about George Dubya's plan to partially privatize social security. I realize it may be a boring topic to some (I won't mention names Alyssa), but I'm sure others of you have some great opinions on the issue. By the way, this has become extremely addicting, and has started to get in the way of my job searching! It is common for me to devote an excessive amount of time to something new for a short period of time, and then I back off. This being the case, I would expect in a week or so that my comments and blogs will begin to decrease significantly. Did I just hear a sigh of relief from someone??
HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY
I think I will actually share a "Disappointment of the Day" today. Representatives from the NHL and the NHL Players' Association met today for the second day in a row to discuss the NHL lockout. I couldn't help but be hopeful that some progress would be achieved through their discussions, but Bill Daly's (NHL Executive Vice President & Chief Legal Officer) statement shattered any last hope I had for a partial season this year. Here's his statement in case you haven't heard: "We had two good days of discussion. We continue to have some strong philosophical differences. The lines of communication are open, and we're going to continue to work on it. We don't have anything scheduled." Without hockey to watch, I might have to start watching another show. My interest has been sparked by Alias. I have never seen it, but it seems like a lot of people watch it regularly.
1.19.2005
Preview of The Apprentice
There are very few shows that I watch on a regular basis. In fact, there are only two: Survivor and The Apprentice. In light of the new season airing tonight, I thought it would make a good subject for today's blog. During the first season of Apprentice, I recall getting upset at many of the episodes' results. I was finally struck with the realization that despite the show's intention of narrowing contestants down to the "best employee" (no disrespect to Bill Rancic), what was really happening was that the last candidate standing would be more appropriately described as the Survivor than the Apprentice. It wasn't until Sam got fired that I could finally reconcile what was taking place. Here is the great epiphany that was revealed to me: "It's a game show." HA! Contrary to popular opinion, Sam should have made it further into the game. Regardless, I realized that time and time again, Donald Trump was firing people based on emotion or persuasions from other candidates, NOT based on who was the least qualified to be the best apprentice in his organization. So I quit criticizing his decisions...well ok, I always criticize his decision, but I did not get as upset when he made the wrong decision! Sure, it sort of taints the objective of the show, but I'm ok with that, because it is still entertaining to watch. I think the drama, ratings boosters (poor Stacie J, the perceived-to-be crazy chick), alliances, back-stabbing, and gossipping is silly, but I thoroughly enjoy the business projects that make up the competitions. I would LOVE to be project manager on a lot of those projects in real life, but not on the "game show."
I'm excited that a new season is beginning. I'm a little curious to see how divided the groups become since the contestants are a split between highly educated people and hard workers with no educational background. I think the competitions could be better due to the wide array of experience each team will have, but I think the drama will be sillier than ever due to the wide gap in similarities among the contestants. It will be interesting to see.
I hope Donald Trump makes better decisions, not "ratings-based" decisions, and I hope he does a better job explaining his reasons. I can do without all the overacting, trying to appear as a very busy man, which we all know he is, but his silly actions between scenes just make me roll my eyes most of the time. 
Carolyn Kepcher rocks! She is awesome! I liked her more and more every episode. I'm actually reading her book, titled "Carolyn 101 - Business Lessons from The Apprentice's Straight Shooter", and it is full of very practical advice, as well as some funny storytelling. It's a great book so far, and I think she'd be a great "blogger!" I love her intuition and her direct personality. I would love to have a boss like her, especially in a large organization. She breeds productivity. 
George is kinda fun to watch. He always seems like he has a chip on his shoulder and hates every single one of the contestants, but he tries to repress his disgust and remain civil. I like how he gets upset and tells it the way it is.
I will probably blog every Thursday night about the Apprentice and give my opinions and critiques, so if you don't care for the Apprentice, then don't read my blog Friday mornings. :) If you DO like the Apprentice, then please post your comments after each episode on Fridays!
On my last blog, I had 2 complete strangers read my blog and post comments, and I'd love to figure out how to delete them. I have since gone into the settings and changed it so that my blog is not listed in the directory. I'm sure that's how they found mine. I'm trying to think of a highlight of the day, but it was really a very boring day. Alyssa, I won't say anything political tonight, even though Rice was confirmed today, and I don't mean the side dish.
HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY
I stayed up entirely too late last night posting my first blog. I started fighting heavy-eye-lid-syndrome at 2pm, so I think the highlight of my day must have been when 5pm finally arrived and I got to go home.
I'm excited that a new season is beginning. I'm a little curious to see how divided the groups become since the contestants are a split between highly educated people and hard workers with no educational background. I think the competitions could be better due to the wide array of experience each team will have, but I think the drama will be sillier than ever due to the wide gap in similarities among the contestants. It will be interesting to see.
I hope Donald Trump makes better decisions, not "ratings-based" decisions, and I hope he does a better job explaining his reasons. I can do without all the overacting, trying to appear as a very busy man, which we all know he is, but his silly actions between scenes just make me roll my eyes most of the time. Carolyn Kepcher rocks! She is awesome! I liked her more and more every episode. I'm actually reading her book, titled "Carolyn 101 - Business Lessons from The Apprentice's Straight Shooter", and it is full of very practical advice, as well as some funny storytelling. It's a great book so far, and I think she'd be a great "blogger!" I love her intuition and her direct personality. I would love to have a boss like her, especially in a large organization. She breeds productivity. George is kinda fun to watch. He always seems like he has a chip on his shoulder and hates every single one of the contestants, but he tries to repress his disgust and remain civil. I like how he gets upset and tells it the way it is.I will probably blog every Thursday night about the Apprentice and give my opinions and critiques, so if you don't care for the Apprentice, then don't read my blog Friday mornings. :) If you DO like the Apprentice, then please post your comments after each episode on Fridays!
On my last blog, I had 2 complete strangers read my blog and post comments, and I'd love to figure out how to delete them. I have since gone into the settings and changed it so that my blog is not listed in the directory. I'm sure that's how they found mine. I'm trying to think of a highlight of the day, but it was really a very boring day. Alyssa, I won't say anything political tonight, even though Rice was confirmed today, and I don't mean the side dish.
HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY
I stayed up entirely too late last night posting my first blog. I started fighting heavy-eye-lid-syndrome at 2pm, so I think the highlight of my day must have been when 5pm finally arrived and I got to go home.
1.18.2005
Don't Be a Blog Voyeur
OK, so I finally followed suit, took the leap, and began my own blog. This modern form of communication is intriguing to me. For some unexplainable reason, I have been reading 3 friends' blog sites religiously for the past month or two. The strange thing is, I have not seen or talked to either of these people during this entire time. So now, whenever I run into one of them, I almost feel I should preface any conversation with "I've been reading your blog" so they'll know that I'm aware of anything they've blogged about. Sometimes I also feel like I have to post a message on their blog, just so I don't feel like a "blog voyeur" or something! So please post a message and don't be a blog voyeur!
In case there are any strangers reading this, I am the husband to a beautiful and loving wife, and the father to three precious little girls - all of whom continually remind me of what life is all about. I have worked for a State Farm agency for over two years, and am currently seeking new employment. In fact, I have been for almost a year! I finally finished my MBA in May 2004, which was only possible through the tremendous support of my family, and I'm becoming increasingly aware that sometimes, a degree is just a piece of paper. However, I think an MBA should be magical. I thought I was supposed to land the perfect job in a high rise building in the downtown area of a large city where I wear a suit and tie to work every morning, park my Lexus in the parking garage, walk through the lobby to the elevator, go up to the 42nd floor, stroll through the office greeting my colleagues with a cheerful smile and nod, arriving at my secretary's desk to pick up my messages, and then proceed into my lush corner office with a magnificent view of the skyline, sit down to some caffe mocha and browse the Wall Street Journal until the morning break where I go and discuss Fantasy Football with the guys until lunch, and then go back to my corner office to catch up on emails, fantasy football, and internet blogs until 5pm when I stick my fantasy football statistics and injury reports in my briefcase to study during the commute home. Boy was I wrong! Oh well. I must admit, I have been very selective in my job searching, so it has been very slow. I've had quite a few interviews, but either they wouldn't provide a company car, or they did not allow for personal internet usage on the job. Otherwise, I would probably have that dream job, right?
Despite my tendency to incessantly blab about small things that are probably boring to everyone, I will make an attempt to be somewhat entertaining, and include some "everyday happenings." This is real comedy in my opinion. It's why I think Paul Reiser is so funny. He points out so much humor in everyone's day-to-day life, and we can all associate with the things he says. In fact, I think his books, Couplehood, Babyhood, et al, were actually intended to be blogs, but he was just ahead of his time and the medium was not available yet, so he wrote books instead. Funny stuff.
After the kids were finally in their beds tonight, my wife and I sat down with some queso and chips from El Chico's and watched the first episode of American Idol. We have not watched this since the first season, but for some reason, I really wanted to see the initial auditions because they are so hilarious. I don't know what some of these people are thinking, but I love how Simon makes fun of them. Paula is sweet and ads a pleasant element to the judges table, but Randy just opens his mouth and utters some sounds and cliches, and never really says anything intelligent. I doubt I will watch the entire season, but the weeding out process is quite humorous.
This is probably entirely too long for a first blog, so I will end now with my highlight of the day...besides coming home to my wife and three amazing little girls who still get excited because "DADDY'S HOME!!" - I love that! Well, ok, my wife get's excited when daddy's home for an entirely different reason than my daughters do, and you homemakers know exactly what I'm talking about! Surely none of you try to hand off your children to your husbands when they get home from work! Actually, I'm very lucky because my wife usually has dinner ready for the family to eat when I get home from work because she's SUPERMOM!
Highlight of the Day
During Condoleezza Rice's Senate confirmation hearing today, democaratic Sen. Barbara Boxer of California suggested that Rice's loyalty to President Bush and support for the Iraq conflict "overwhelmed your respect for the truth." Rice's reply to Boxer - "I have to say that I have never, ever, lost respect for the truth in the service of anything." Boxer was also pretty aggressive in pointing out some perceived inconsistencies in Rice's statements about the imminent threat of nuclear weapons in Iraq. Boxer then said ""If you can't admit to this mistake, I hope that you will rethink it." Rice replied, "Senator, we can have this discussion in any way that you would like...but I really hope that you will refrain from impugning my integrity." WHOA! I love Condoleeza Rice - this example was pretty tame, but she can chew you up and spit you out before you even comprehend what she's saying to you.
In case there are any strangers reading this, I am the husband to a beautiful and loving wife, and the father to three precious little girls - all of whom continually remind me of what life is all about. I have worked for a State Farm agency for over two years, and am currently seeking new employment. In fact, I have been for almost a year! I finally finished my MBA in May 2004, which was only possible through the tremendous support of my family, and I'm becoming increasingly aware that sometimes, a degree is just a piece of paper. However, I think an MBA should be magical. I thought I was supposed to land the perfect job in a high rise building in the downtown area of a large city where I wear a suit and tie to work every morning, park my Lexus in the parking garage, walk through the lobby to the elevator, go up to the 42nd floor, stroll through the office greeting my colleagues with a cheerful smile and nod, arriving at my secretary's desk to pick up my messages, and then proceed into my lush corner office with a magnificent view of the skyline, sit down to some caffe mocha and browse the Wall Street Journal until the morning break where I go and discuss Fantasy Football with the guys until lunch, and then go back to my corner office to catch up on emails, fantasy football, and internet blogs until 5pm when I stick my fantasy football statistics and injury reports in my briefcase to study during the commute home. Boy was I wrong! Oh well. I must admit, I have been very selective in my job searching, so it has been very slow. I've had quite a few interviews, but either they wouldn't provide a company car, or they did not allow for personal internet usage on the job. Otherwise, I would probably have that dream job, right?
Despite my tendency to incessantly blab about small things that are probably boring to everyone, I will make an attempt to be somewhat entertaining, and include some "everyday happenings." This is real comedy in my opinion. It's why I think Paul Reiser is so funny. He points out so much humor in everyone's day-to-day life, and we can all associate with the things he says. In fact, I think his books, Couplehood, Babyhood, et al, were actually intended to be blogs, but he was just ahead of his time and the medium was not available yet, so he wrote books instead. Funny stuff.
After the kids were finally in their beds tonight, my wife and I sat down with some queso and chips from El Chico's and watched the first episode of American Idol. We have not watched this since the first season, but for some reason, I really wanted to see the initial auditions because they are so hilarious. I don't know what some of these people are thinking, but I love how Simon makes fun of them. Paula is sweet and ads a pleasant element to the judges table, but Randy just opens his mouth and utters some sounds and cliches, and never really says anything intelligent. I doubt I will watch the entire season, but the weeding out process is quite humorous.
This is probably entirely too long for a first blog, so I will end now with my highlight of the day...besides coming home to my wife and three amazing little girls who still get excited because "DADDY'S HOME!!" - I love that! Well, ok, my wife get's excited when daddy's home for an entirely different reason than my daughters do, and you homemakers know exactly what I'm talking about! Surely none of you try to hand off your children to your husbands when they get home from work! Actually, I'm very lucky because my wife usually has dinner ready for the family to eat when I get home from work because she's SUPERMOM!
Highlight of the Day
During Condoleezza Rice's Senate confirmation hearing today, democaratic Sen. Barbara Boxer of California suggested that Rice's loyalty to President Bush and support for the Iraq conflict "overwhelmed your respect for the truth." Rice's reply to Boxer - "I have to say that I have never, ever, lost respect for the truth in the service of anything." Boxer was also pretty aggressive in pointing out some perceived inconsistencies in Rice's statements about the imminent threat of nuclear weapons in Iraq. Boxer then said ""If you can't admit to this mistake, I hope that you will rethink it." Rice replied, "Senator, we can have this discussion in any way that you would like...but I really hope that you will refrain from impugning my integrity." WHOA! I love Condoleeza Rice - this example was pretty tame, but she can chew you up and spit you out before you even comprehend what she's saying to you.
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