Life Without Practice

We all live lives without practice - you only live once, and this ain't no rehersal. Life is what happens along the road. Plan as we might, things sometimes take another path. This is an on-going diatribe from my perspective. Don't live like it's a rehearsal!

Monday, October 30, 2006

Moving Past Hole-i-ness

A flurry of action on the P14 work, and there is no longer a hole above my head. The tin ceiling is complete and it seems to look pretty good. Cove moulding is in place and the filling in of wall holes is also mostly complete. I did a touch up coat of plaster on a few spots. But I had previously put colour back onto the wall, and it looked pretty good. The whole wall will need another coat of paint shortly too, but at least it's looking complete. A new pot-light fixture at the foot of the stairs adds drama and warmth.

Quiet
The P2 silence is a bit un-nerving. Still waiting for progress on a few fronts there. Hope it realizes itself soon. Something about autumn and wanting to move on makes it seem a bit stark without some decision soon.

I did some P3 (yard) work, closed up the pond about which I wrote earlier, and the shop-vac worked really well to blow the water out of the underground pipes. A hose fitting would be good though, so that draining the skunky water would allow me to move it further back into the yard to absorb in. Also pulled out some of the garden paraphernalia and prepped it for winter. No snow seen yet, other than a flake in the air once or twice. Major wind storm all day Sunday though - whew 90km gusts.

Healthy is Nice

I had a major migraine attack last week that gave me a good 18-20 hrs of hell. Starting at about midnight, or 1:00 am it was a horrible night, and a barfy, throbbing morning as well. What a terrible time. The culprit was no doubt one of the common triggers a few beers out with friends, then a small glass of lousy wine with supper. I think it was mostly the latter.

I have vowed to be more careful before, but this was hell. It happened this way once before about 4 months ago - but I'd be happy if it never happened again. Ugh, and the wine festival coming up soon. Well, I can be back on that horse before then, but do lots of spitting.

P6: Christmas Thinking
We've been thinking about Paris for Xmas on the P6 front. The costs aren't looking too bad, though airfare is a bit marginal. The civil unrest is, I think, keeping some people away which is nice. But a few grand would still be necessary. Depending on P2 outcomes, I could go for it. Otherwise, I think staying home might be best.

Wrap
In all, after various chores involving plaster, ponds, gardens and food, I tried to take it easier today. A walk in the cool air to enjoy the sun, and get some natural vitamin D, plus a leisurely reading break, with a brief power-nap for 15 minutes. It's good for the soul.
Your assignment is to fit a nap into your schedule imminently. If you have to go out to your car in a parking lot, that's one option, or if it's just coming home and getting 15 minutes to try it out, do that. If you don't have time, you need to change something. Life is not about preparing for the future, it's about what you're doing right now.

Let me know if it works out for you.

Thursday, October 19, 2006

Bigger Hole

Well, with a list of 6 different approaches in front of me, I decided to go for the full monty and took the whole ceiling out. It gives me something nice and clean to start with, and also will let me apply more insulation and also trace the electrical situation to the best outcome.

All this on my P14 work - the hallway reno, to put some tin ceiling in place.

The wiring is a bit cryptic. I'd like to eliminate as much of the old knob and tube as possible, but there's always some stuff I can't get at easily. I don't want to start smashing out more ceilings though. It's such a huge mess, and then there's the disposal of the waste - I'll need to put it out to the curb a bit at a time, or do a big load to the dump, and pay.

On the Subject of Crap
Speaking of throwing stuff away, I've noticed that the bulk of the stuff I throw out is plastic film. Bags and wrappings from a myriad of sources form the bulk of our garbage. Not to mention that as it goes to the landfill, a bunch of the stuff probably blows around an wreaks further havoc on the enivronment in the area.

There's got to be some solution for that. I know Ottawa is particularly lame with the recycling. Other cities must do something with this stuff. I'd bet if you melt down big gobs of random plastic film and mix it with waste wood-pulp or some low-cost fibre that the glob would solidify into a material with some sort of use. People are so uninventive in municiple politics.

Waiting on People
Those three opportunities on the P2 front are taking forever to get anywhere. The one most likely of success (mid-sized co, interesting work) says resolution in a week or so. The other two hopefully will move forward soon.

Number 3 is either out 'cause I'm too senior in my experience or delayed while a Director gets lined up to talke to me via phone.

Number 1 is either out 'cause the HR guy is p.o'd cause I managed to get their Prez to show interest without going through him, or just delayed while the other Veep get's lined up to meet with me. Could also be that the arrogant HR guy wants a lousy guy with a similar existing job rather than a depply experienced guy who is ready for the step up.

My preferences? I think I've been somewhat swayed toward the No 2 with the last interiew. But offer salary could make a big difference. No 1 would be best for my resume and future opp's, No 3 would be best for manageable stress and good growth. No 2 is one of those old-style places where an insecure owner makes all positions except his "managers" for fear that calling anyone a director or VP would imasculate him. So your resume looks weak, though you've got a senior role. The content of the role looks interesting though.

Waiting on People really sucks, particularly when they aren't motivated. Incumbency means so much in every field it seems. Unfortunatly, it counts for way more than talent, experience or intelligence. That sucks.

Wrap
Another late evening, and the musty smell of exposed house innards to help me sleep oh joy. Well, tomorrow, I'll sort out my electrical situation, maybe insulate a bit and wouldn't it be nice to close in the open ceiling... not likely - that will be on the weekend.

Your assignment to be tackled following your reading of this passage is to get a piece of paper and sketch out your living enivoronment. Can you do it without walking around in it? Do you remember every little wall, and door positioning? Let me know how it goes!

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Hole Overhead

For the past 8 months or so I've been putting off a P14 project, to install some tin ceiling panels on an entry hall. Straightforward on the surface, but nothing ever really is in an old house. Mostly it's about the extra half an inch that it would constrict overhead space at the stairs (not an issue for heads, but for moving a queensized mattress - it would be). Plus, the opportunity to open the ceiling and do a bit of electrical and insulation work meant a mushrooming project.

Well, today I made the exploratory hole anyway. Had to see how much joist space there was at the end of the house to accomodate some insulation, and take a look at the old wiring. I really don't want to remove the whole 30 sq feet of ceiling, but I'm now thinking I will. It's so messy with lathe and plaster, but I think I'll bite the bullet and do it.

Quick Wrap
That was all I was up to today. Your assignment right now - draw a self portrait right now, and put it on your wall. Or scan it, put it up on flickr and send me a link!

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Amazing!

Just watching some TV and man - this should be big news, but on some David Attenborough nature show he was showing various birds and their grub eating practices. I was amazed to see finches on the Gallapagos as well as crows on another island (both without woodpeckers) fishing for grubs in logs. The finches go and get a cactus spine and spear grubs in the log. The crows were even more adept tool users, using a twig to make the gubs bite onto the twig and fish them out. They would even hold the twig with their toes while working on their last grub.

Such tool use in the avian world - I had no idea. I know otters use stones to open crustaceans, and some gulls drop oysters from high heights to crack them open - but these were cool. Don't even get me started on the ox peckers - they were very cool, rooting around in the ears of giraffes and elk.

Other Non-Ornithological Stuff
Well, otherwise, these are slightly stressful days on P2. As well, I've had a car issue. Honda owners seem to have some consistent issues with alternators after about 100,000km, and some relay/solenoid issues in the starter circuit. Both hit me at once. The alternator whine in my 2000 accord started up, and it took some sleuthing to identify it. I used a long dowel to touch various items in the engine compartment, while olding the other end to my ear (actually my knuckle in my ear and the dowel in my hand). Sure enough, the alternator bearings sounded grindy and whiney. So $550 later I had a new alternator and new starter solenoid contacts and both issues were done. I'm watching closely though, hoping the rebuilt alternator holds up well.

On the P2 front, a second interview on one of the three bites and it went pretty well. I was discouraged about this company initially, but talking to the technical staff has me a bit more pumped up. With a good salary offer I might just consider it. Would like some movement on the other two roles though too. Especially the super senior one. The one with traction is definitely the hardest sounding job. The other ones are easier, but at both ends of the hierarchical spectrum.

Loneliness
Ugh - what a time for a spousal biz trip, with P2 stuff happening and nobody to listen to me speculation and kvetching. (Hey - that word is actually in my Oxford Canadian dictionary!). But having the extra car during car work for two days was very convenient, especially with the interview. Now if I can just get some more action on that front. I should get more resume's going rather than just waiting on these live ones.

A wacky meal schedule today - I grabbed a sandwich and cup of consommé, then put on my rain gear and walked the 45minutes in the rain to get my car, in the cold blustery night. I was comfy in my rain gear, but I've got no good footwear solution for rain. Just hiking boots, which get wet easily (though they dry easily). I was thinkking as the wet seeped in that just some duct tape would probably work good to cover the vents and stop the splash-over and drip issues.

But after the fun rainy walk, on the P4 front, I zipped over to my favourite copper-clad bar in a nice restaurant and had a bowl of chowder, some nice wine and desert. Got to read the paper and chat with a familiar barman.

Cats are friendly tonight. purry and no biting from Ms. snappy.

Tomorrow is Open
With a pending schedule load coming up if P2 catches, I'm enjoying the flexible time. I prepped and stained the deck yesterday, before the rain showed up today. Plus did some yard work. I also want to pick the Tomatillo's before the frost renders them done. Should make some more salsa and freeze some verde sauce, on the P9 front.

I've discovered "Bonnie Pink" a catchy JPop favourite. Good Japanese practice after finding a copy of the lyrics to "Love is Bubble" in both English and Japanese, so P13 is progressing. Who can resist a song with lines like "Love is Bubble Love is Trouble" or such challenging Japanese phrases such as 愛はバブル 愛はトラブル in the Japanese version.

So I'll take it easy tomorrow... though I'm considering opening up the evil ceiling in the hallway, ripping through messy lathe and plaster and getting the tin-ceiling stuff in place after a bit of insulation and electrical work. Ugh - that's a project I didn't note, on going home reno work Project 14!

Wrap
It's getting pretty late, and I'm feeling it today. So straight into your assignment. Go listen to some JPop music! If you have iTunes, get on and select the radio streams and find something like "Japan-a-radio". Just listen to one song regardless of how it sounds. I've been pretty pleasantly surprised... though like much foriegn language music, I get the sense there is a bunch of plagiarism going on, use a western top40 tune make up some different words and presto.

Saturday, October 14, 2006

IgNobel Experience

Back from a visit to the Ig Nobel awards in Boston. Had a good time walking around Boston and chasing down some good food for suppers. Breakfast was a challenge sometimes, and we ended up going somewhere out of Newton Corner area to find a bite.

I was amazed and shocked that apparently in Boston Restaurants don't have to have a washroom as part of the restaurant! What kind of a city health code allows something like that. Hell, even a porta-potty in the alley would be helpful. That seems like a 3rd world sort of issue, not a modern city.

Synonyms and the Average American
Equally amazing (though I know enough to translate while visiting) is that Americans appear to be totally oblivious to what the word "washroom" could possibly mean. Our friends unknowingly used the phrase a few times with serving staff in restaurants and were greeted with a blank stare and no response. In a restaurant, if you stand up and walk towards the back, meet the waiter and say "Gdlskdfjlblksjdf?" you'd think they'd know what even that means. As a frequent visitor to the US over the past 20 years, I always translate to American as I speak, and say "Restroom." When travelling as Canadians down there, we always get a good laugh out of all the things for which we can use several synonyms, but for which only one word will work for our American friends. Other examples are serviette/napkin, power-bar/surge-protector, tea/hot-tea, brown-toast/wheat-toast, jug/pitcher (as in beer), couch/sofa, bag/sack, you're welcome/uh-huh, and there are a few others that escape me.

The jug versus pitcher one was funny. With colleagues in North Carolina, we stood at a bar, where the barman was surrounded by taps for beer and pitcher. My colleague looked around we discussed brands, and he ordered a jug of something - say a jug of Sam Adams or something. The guy stared at him with no comprehension. "You want what?"

Now, assuming this 30 year old guy had actually grown up in North Carolina, never hearing the word Jug, the song "little brown Jug", or come across a hilbilly with http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifa jug of moonshine, don't you think that if someone stood there in that situation and said "I'd like Scorfbork of " he might be able to figure out what he was asking for?

Oh well - so we get some fun out of it, and when we go down we ask carefully for "hot tea with milk" and "wheat toast" to keep things straight.

The ig nobel awards were a fun, slightly sophomoric, funny event, in an amazingly attractive hall on the Harvard campus. 1200 people apparently attending in the dark wood theatre, with paper airplanes flying and all the trappings of the 16th first annual event. Read more at this Guardian Link.

So coming home again, I've lapsed a bit on the updates here due to the busy times around Project 2. A flurry of interviews resulted from some queries delivered. Let's just say there are three options, a very senior role in a small firm, a managery role in a medium sized company and a barely-manager-level role in a break-out venture inside a huge company.

What to do? I'm on to second interviews now, and haven't got a sense that anyone is dumping me yet. I'd much prefer the most senior role as it's best for my resume, probably has buy-out possibilities and all that. I feel all three are jobs I can do easily, and all three have some element of learning something new too. In the mid-sized company I think I'd be reporting to someone with less experience than me, who seems very wooden and a bit weak on the people management side, but is a director with an MBA - (but strangely, she has no goatee!?). I think that one, given also a marginal office space, is probably my least preferred.

Ultimately, I'd wish I could get an offer from all three and compare the results. I'd probably take my preferred one even if it offered the least cash. The big company one reports to a director, though I'd rather report into a VP at least. It would probably be years before I could grow out into something bigger, or find them spinning the venture out and get a more senior position.

Oh well, thinking outloud. Let's just maintain a positive attitude and see where it leads. I'm a bit disappointed in the 2nd interview thing. I'd like to see some decisive people who would just move and hire me if they liked me. That used to happen to me all the time in interviews - a senior guy with some guts would say "Okay - you're hired" and we'd be done. Now everyone is a weiner without much experience and even less confidence in their own judgement. It's the committee generation that's come along after the boomers. Just wait until the TV/video game generation gets into that space. They'll be zoneing out during the interview, and just say "whatever," and wander off! Ha!

But I'm back in the blogging saddle again, so watch for updates if you're curious.

Reading
On the reading front, I mentioned that I finished Plato's Republic. I'm on to Future Shock now and enjoying it, although Alvin Toffler's style is to use ten examples for every point and constantly re-state his opinion. If I see another paragraph that basically says "Things are moving faster, and we're all going to go nuts," well, I think I'll start tearing pages out.

But the observations are interesting and accurate, while the interpretation about what it means and how it will affect us are totally misguided. It's hilarious in some spots, as it was written in 1968 or '69. It's got a real sky-is-falling sort of perspective. Certainly there are maladies in our social structure and sense of well-being that are traceable to the speeding up of the way we make relationships and move around, but largely, those are commonly understood and commented on by people on a regular basis. Some people are oblivious to the fact that they are miserable because two parents have an agressive career path, plus 3 kids and they expect each kid to attend three groups or sports or clubs, and they run themselves ragged from 5:00 am to 9:00pm every day. That's just idiotic, but it's silly to not even be able to recognize the disruptive impact of such a lifestyle, and those out there who do it deserve all the despair, aggrevation, and futility they feel. Like, it's raining, stand under the umbrella already you twit!

So I'll have to track down a more recent Toffler treatise and see how his perspective has evolved now, if it has at all. But in support of my interpretation of this crazy yuppie (to use an outdated word) lifestyle, I've seen recent discussion about how every research report shows people with kids are more miserable than those without.

But I will continue to plug away at Alvin's opus. I've also got my self on a wait-list at the library for two interesting new work's. The slightly rabid Dawkins has a tome called "The God Delusion" I expect it to be an entertaining, and in-your-face statement of all those things we mostly all know, but which many deny. I love how books like that bring out the insanity in the right wing "religious" zealots. They all call and threaten to murder the authors. It's as ironic a response as the idea of forcing a person to put a flag on there lawns "We stand for freedom around here dammit, so you'll support our political position or we'll string you up!!"

The other interesting sounding book for which I've waitlisted myself is called Letter to a Godfearing Nation or something like that. Sounds like a good diatribe on how the erosion of the basic division between church and state is destroying American culture, and as such threatens us as well. We certainly have a wannabe neo-con in office in Canada right now.

So much for Project 5.

Wrap
Best halt there. I will move along and leave further rants till Monday. Your assignment for today is to go to your nearest ethnic food store and buy something you've never seen before, then bring it home and get on the web to find out what it is, or how to cook it, eat it or use it. Fruit/veg markets are good for that, as are the Asian areas of town with their many shops. If you are Asian, then find another alternative - maybe your local corner store!

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Scrambling

Scrambled around but ready to go I think. A few days away will be nice. Getting some traction on P2, but not sure if I'm happy about that.

Perhaps my shortest entry ever.

Wrap
That's all. Your assignment? Google then watch for the IgNobel awards. We'll be there watching in person this year.

Monday, October 02, 2006

Monday

Well that's a boring title, but it's a Monday, what do you expect. Not much happening today. A little preparation for some time in Boston - reading up on transit and such. Not the same as all those business trips I've made there, where money doesn't really come to mind much - just arrive jump in a car and go. This is more of a budget trip coming up - so I'll get a sense of some ways to save a bit. P6 You know.

Some work towards P2 again too. Interesting that an in person resume drop seems to get attention, but an email as requested by career listings seems to not generate the slightest interest. That's the third time it's seemed that way. We'll see what happens with this query. Kind of have 2 irons in the fire that seem to be warming up a bit. Not holding my breath, but perhaps some opportunity there.

P12 isn't going so great - though I guess I am moving forward on a few projects as outlined.

On P5 I finished The Republic last week. Interesting wrap up. Plato covers some interesting areas when you look back at the work, even though there are some amazing weaknesses in the concept of logic at the time. And that whole dialog-based style is quite weak. Sure don't write dialog like that anymore!

Of particular interest is one whole passage that reads like a consumer product marketing manual, or alternatively like an introduction to writing software. It outlines form, function and usage and points out that the user of a thing is always the most knowledgeable about it. Very interesting reading - it's so ahead of it's time - like 2350 years ahead of its time!!

My next P5 attention is another way-back book - Alvin Toffler's Future Shock. Ha! This is quite fun. Written in the '69/'70 the moon is a recent conquest, the viet nam war is on, and the computer is an amazing new room full of equipment. It's very enlightening reading. The background content is still very relevant, and the concept of a fast-moving, fast-changing world is more relevant than ever. I just can't wait for the prediction section. "In the year 2000...." that will be fun reading.

Wrap
Okay I'm getting snoozy, so it's off to bed. Your assignment for today - go to bed an hour early and get up an hour early tomorrow (whenever you are reading this). See how the world feels, shifted by an hour. I'll bet it's actually quite different!