Ok, so I've been meaning to update for some time now, but I kept putting it off.  I figured I might as well do it now, since the stories are starting to pile up.  On an unrelated note, I recently was asked a question regarding "love" and it's really shaking the foundation of my thinking.  So much so that it may require a re-evaluation about a lot of my life and some experience of the past.  Once I come to grips with the question it may become an entry and/or a page in my notebook.

At the end of October, I officially moved to Wilkes-Barre, PA, and began working as a Production Supervisor at a company that I am sure that you are all very familiar with, but I will refrain from naming just to cover my ass.  The company that I work for is owned by a much larger company, who I KNOW everyone has purchased something from.  The whole process of production is very interesting, and breeds a number of stories.

I only have two gripes about the job.  First, it never really changes.  From start to finish, we produce one thing, 24 hours a day, 5 days a week.  The only way that things don't go well is when machinery breaks, or malfunctions, etc.  This really limits the change that can go on, and considering that someone is normally in my position for 2 years or so, I am afraid that I can become generally bored over time.

The second gripe is that it is unionized, which is not the actual gripe.  The gripe is that as a manager (all of which are non-union) I can't really touch anything.  Actually, according to the contract with the union, I can't touch anything, unless it is an emergency.  Now, having been in the Army, I'm not a very hands-off kind of person, and this job sort of comes down to a lot of putting my hands in my pockets.

Fortunately, I'm still learning how things work, so at least that is keeping my mind occupied.  You may wonder how much goes into a beverage production.  Well, I could start the process form start to finish in very general terms.  I could then describe it to you again, breaking down the process, and adding details such as temperatures.  I could then explain it to you with that, adding speeds of the machines.  And then adding everything that can go wrong.  Basically, I liken it to describing a music CD.  You can say "This is a Rage Against the Machine CD",or you can go further and say how many tracks it has, and then the BPM of each track, and what instruments are there.  And at the most complex level, you could look at it and describe what every bit on the disk does.

Black 6, out.   

It's been a bit since the last update, and quite a bit has happened.  Thursday morning began the start of the job hunt road trip, which I am still on.  It was a hard decision as to whether I actually wanted to make it into one continuous trip, but in the end, it was the more logistically sound decision.  I received my car last Tuesday, which was perfect timing for the event.

Thursday morning, I had an interview with one company for a position that was in the New York area.  It seemed to go pretty well, however, I was quickly able to see he potential downsides.  First off, the distance between my house and where the interview was located was technically a 20 minute drive.  However, this is NYC traffic.  I made the decision to leave an hour and a half before the interview.  I arrived there about 5 minutes prior.  The position would require that I do some driving from time to time, and I wasn't really up for that in that area. 

After the interview, I had to travel to northern Pennsylvania for an interview the next day.  It was an on-site interview and tour for a position as a Production Supervisor.  That interview would run from 0730 until 1300.  Technically, it was 5 interviews.  However, before that, I had a phone screening on Thursday afternoon, which was another 30 minutes.  I checked into the hotel on Thursday evening, grabbed some dinner and headed to bed.  The next morning, I was up and about, and found the commute to be rather reasonable. 

That afternoon, the company called me with a pretty good offer.  Considering the low cost of living in the area, and the fact that the area is nice and growing, it's a pretty good deal.  The only downside to the position is that it is a third shift position.  That means that I will be a Vampire for a bit.  Typical movement would be within a year, so it's not like I would be night shift forever (we hope).  At the very least, I could probably laterally move when another shift manager moved, and the night shift commute means no traffic.  I was directed to them through a hiring company that had placed some other people with the company, and the individual handling me said he had never had someone given an offer that fact.  In fact, they called me, BEFORE they called him, which led to him calling me on Monday to find out how things went.

I was in the area until Saturday afternoon, when I drove down to Virginia Beach to visit some family and prepare for a hiring conference that would be occurring on Sunday and Monday (Columbus Day).  Sunday was the prep day, in which we were briefed about the companies that we would be interviewing with, and that day ran from 0730 to 1700.  Monday, I had 6 30-minute interviews between 0800 and 1530.  I'll talk about one of the positions which was suggested to me, but I decided not to go for simply because of the parameters, in the next post.

The original plan had me staying in Virginia for two days before heading to another hiring conference on Thursday and Friday.  However, with the offer that I was made, and the fact that after the conference, it would be a while before other companies would be able to make an offer, and the offer I was made had a time limit to it (as all offers do).  Therefore, I am choosing not to go to that one.  Also, although I know which companies like me at the conference, it's a matter of if they can schedule appointments and make an offer quickly, which I doubt that they could do.  In the end, it's looking like the company that made me the offer will be getting me.  It's a 90% chance that I will be moving to northern PA.

Black 6, out.

Ok, before I get to my rant, I would just like to let everyone know that I found out that I passed the FBI Phase 1 exam.

Now, the rant.  Why do people have cell phones and refuse to answer them?  It's bad enough that I signed up for free incoming calls and it's mostly being utilized by executive placement firms.  I mean, people carry their cell phones around, right?  I mean, there's no point in having a cell phone and then NEVER having it on you, or even better, leaving it right next to your home phone (Andrea).  It's not even like I abuse my current time freedom, and call during the work day.  I'm talking "free nights and weekends" hours.

I'm just saying, answer your phones.  Or at least call back within a reasonable amount time.

Black 6, out.

Alright, before I get to the real reason for this post, let's get some funny stuff out of the way.  First, I was browsing Craig's List, when I came across this.  It's one of those things where you see the title and have to look due to morbid curiosity.

Second, some of you may remember my post on the guns that I wanted to purchase.  Well, in a recent press conference, President Bush identified some new threats to our everyday life.  Here is the a video of it, so that you can be fully aware of what we are up against:

It's a good thing I've been reading up on the subject.

If you remember my last post, I talked about where I was in the job hunt.  Well, apparently, both interviews went very well, since I received two callbacks on Friday (yes that means tat I received the results of one on the same day that I did it).  For one job, the next step is another interview with someone higher up the chain.  For the other, there is a ride-along to show a day in the life of one of their sales people.  After that, there would be another interview.  The process isn't going to end really soon, but at least it hasn't ended.

Lastly, here's a final report on the hotel I stayed in.  I stated that I was going to take a lot of showers and use all of the towels.  Well, I ran into two problems.  First, the soaps provided had an industrial smell to them, kind of like what you would smell if you shorted pledge.  Second, the towels looked very soft, but felt like sandpaper.  I did manage to use all of the sugar and creamer in my coffee, though.

Black 6, out.

In job hunting there are a few inevitable things.  There's the endless search, where you sort through page after page of position descriptions, rejecting the ones that are outside of your range (doesn't pay enough, requires 25 years of experience in some area, etc.), and then applying for all the ones that you may fit into.  I have been using Craig's List as a jumping point, but Monster.com and USA Jobs are also big.

As a side note, a few weeks ago, Monster.com laid off 8,000 people.  I wonder where they posted their resumes.

This morning I had to travel into New Jersey to interview for an Area Operations Manager position with a very large company.  Interestingly, I found this while looking in the newspaper, something I was pretty much opposed to doing except for on the one day I actually did it.  After speaking with the interviewer, I get a good vibe from it.  It was also my first interview, so I have a lot to glean from it.  The questions weren't that hard, but since I hadn't encountered them before, this was a time to take it in, and use it for future interviews.  Here are some of the questions asked, in no particular order:

• Has there ever been a time where you came upon something that was completely messed up, and how did you fix it?
• How would your friends describe you?
• Give two words that describe your leadership style.
• What characteristics make good customer service?
• Define "Leadership"?
• Who would you consider a hero?  (I don't have any)
• If you could sell anything, what would you sell and why?
• Growing up, what job did you want?
• Do you have any mentors?
• What is your definition of "management"?
• How would you handle overseeing operations in multiple areas?  (It's funny, because I've already done this).
• You've been made the head of customer service.  What do you do to improve things.
• Tell me everything that you know about the company.

A funny thing about that last question.  I had studied up on the company on the website.  While I was doing this, there was a part that was supposed to show available jobs (the company doesn't accept unsolicited resumes, so you have to directly apply for a position that is currently open).  Well, when I went to check it, the link looped to itself, and was basically broken, which was bad, because the interviewer mentioned that the website was "a huge part of how we get information about ourselves out there."  Of all the interviews that he's done, I was apparently the first person to mention this fact to him, as he immediately took a minute so that he could shoot an email off to the tech guys. 

Right now, I am sitting in the Saddle Brook Marriott, which is still in NJ.  The only reason that I am here is because I have another job interview in the morning, and there was no train that ran to this part of New Jersey early enough in the morning.  unfortunately, as handcuffed as I am, it was either stay here or don't come.  One night here costs $209!  Yeah, that's right.  It's insane.  So I looked at the website to see what the hotel offered.  There was a weight room, a fitness center, and internet access.  There were other things, but they did not interest me.  Getting here, I learn that the Internet access costs $9 a day (WTF is that initial $209 paying for), and the weight room was pretty much a joke.  At least the coffee in the room is free.  I have plans to use the entire roll of toilet paper just so I can get my money's worth.  I also plan to take many showers, and use all of the towels.  I am also wearing the robe.

Black 6, out.

Holy crap, I've been gone for a while.  In no particular order, I would like to give a big thanks to those who checked on me while I had disappeared from Xanga.  So, Thank You, Sharon, Jane, and... well, that's it.  The rest of you, whatever.

Huge updates.  Huge.  The first thing is that I am officially a civilian, again.  I had actually been working this since February, but didn't really say anything.  Second, I am back in NYC (with Tigger) and job hunting.  The need for a paycheck is great.  The Army owes me a bit of money, but since they have been screwing up soldier's pay since the Civil war, instead of getting it 2 weeks after I left, it has been 4 weeks, and the problem is only now getting resolved.  I also have the need for hours of structured time, since trying to fill my day, every day, without single direction, is killing me.  One day off is great.  7 is painful.  Also, job hunting feels like a job. 

In other news, today I took the FBI Phase 1 Examination.  I would tell you about it, but we signed this pesky Non-Disclosure Agreement, so I can't really say much other than what you may find in books already published on the subject, or the FBI's own prep manual (which is where the books get the info).  Let's just say that even though I am quite good at math, the test is not designed to be completed in the alloted time.  Also, there is no penalty for guessing (as in the SAT), and they stress this point in the beginning.  There was actually a three question section where I looked at it and said "screw this," and filled in three random bubbles. 
In any case, I will find out the results in 7-10 days, so everyone cross their fingers, and feel free to cross toes, also.

On a final note, Sunday (16th) is my birthday, and I will hit the big 26.  Yup, getting old.  For those family and friends that I normally exchange gifts with, here is my Amazon.com wishlist.

I am definitely behind on stories, such as my trip to Movieland (theme park in Italy), when I went skydiving (tandem jump, and there's a video), my trip to Pisa, and getting Tigger across the Atlantic Ocean.  These will get updated eventually. 

Black 6, out.

I actually owe you people three stories, but this is the shortest one, and I felt that I needed to update.

People, especially women, can't seem to wrap their minds around the idea that I cook.

When I go shopping, it is more than likely that I will be in the express checkout lane.  I'm normally just cooking for me, and my initial purchase of things that don't spoil never needs to be completely replenished.  I just need to grab a handful of items in order to cook for the week, maybe some chicken, a few veggies, and there may be some interesting ingredients from when I go looking through my cookbooks and decide to grab something new.

As I'm waiting in line, I like to glance over at the magazine rack.  Occasionally, there's one of those little cookbooks that has a handful of interesting recipes, and I like to throw it on the conveyor belt.  Last week, when I did this, the item was near the end of my items, right next to the bar that separates my stuff from the person behind me.  When it comes time to scan it, the woman at the register asks, "Is this yours?"

I think nothing of the question, since she might have thought that it may have fallen over, so I say yes.

"You cook?"

"Yes."

"YOU cook?"

"Yes.  I cook."

My second answer is obviously a bit more pissed off than the first one.  Damn it, I'm a MAN, descended from the discoverer of fire.  Why wouldn't I be able to cook?  I have a 32 inch waist, and am pretty well built.  Do they think I can do this with Taco Bell and Burger King?

I mean, is this image that hard to imagine:

Maybe this image will stop the questions:

I need a funny chef's hat.

Black 6, out.

I spend a good amount of money.  I'm not entirely sure where I spend it, but even after I set monthly limits for books and DVDs, a considerable amount of my paycheck goes somewhere.  I would assume $50 a week for groceries, and I don't eat out much.  I don't purchase a lot of video games, and my electric bill is pretty low, seeing as I am never home.  Gas is probably my largest regular expense, and my rent is paid for by the government.

Every once in a while, I get some huge expense that I debate paying for at least a week.  I usually end up paying it, because I can't logically get around it.  My only hangup is that I am thrifty (cheap), and would just rather keep the money.  For example, I want to get my personal trainer certification from the American Council on Exercise.  The study program is $400.  I would rather not pay $400 for anything, but there isn't a way around it.  A week of dragging my feet (basically I wanted to be really close to the next paycheck), and another $400 disappeared.  My other big reason for waiting is that whenever I spend a good amount of money, having planned how it would affect my budget, another very large and unforseen expense appears.

At least when I do spend money, I try to get something out of it.  I have 24,746 frequent flyer miles with Continental.  I think that can get me a free flight from New York to New Jersey.  If I can shop through their site, I usually do, which is why anyone who gets flowers from me gets flowers from a specific company.  Same goes for most gifts, and I will be shopping for books through Barnes & Noble, since they price the same as Amazon.  DVD's will still be obtained through Amazon, since it is much cheaper that way.  Lastly, if I ever purchase something at Best Buy, or Circuit City, you can bet that I will be purchasing it online for the miles, and then walking down the street to pick it up from the store.

I was going to title this post "One lucky sperm is going to college" as the 529 Plan that I started almost 2 years ago now has more money in it than one of my IRA plans.  The idea when I started it was this: If I don't have a child for 2 years, and I put in $250 a month for the next 20 years (assuming 6% growth), when the child turns 18, I will be able to pay half the tuition for Columbia University (which I chose as a guide because it is expensive).  The prize is still unclaimed.  Knowing how expensive children can supposedly be, it will probably remain so for a while.

On a related issue, I'm going to need to start contributing to my IRA again.  I can't have some unborn child having more money than me.  The good thing is that if I have no children, I get to keep that money. 

In the interim, I have formulated a plan for force-budgeting myself.  Every paycheck, I will take the money that is left in my checking account before payday, and transfer that amount to my savings account.  This will effectively remove that money from my thinking when I go to purchase things.  It seems like a pretty good plan.  I just have to be good about not saying, "Oh look. I have so much money over here, I might as well spend some."  This may happen when I can finally buy a gun or 4.

Black 6, out.

On Monday, I took Tigger to the Vet.  A quick back story for those that don't know: Tigger was abandoned by a family a little over 3 years ago.  From there, he was unofficially adopted by someone I would later meet in Afghanistan.  He and his family received orders to Fort Irwin, and because Tigger was an outdoor cat, and there are coyotes there, they didn't want to endanger him.  They asked if I wanted him, and I said yes. 

As far as I can gather, Tigger has never been to the Vet, at least not in the past 3 years.  In order for me to be able to take him back to the States, he would need to be up on his shots.  Also, he had to be tested for feline leukemia.  If he tested positive, he would have to be euthanized, or kept indoors and away from other cats.  Since I had no idea of his history, I was particularly concerned about what the results would be.

The first challenge was getting Tigger into his cat carrier.  Oh, how I wish I had video taped this.  To my knowledge, the only time Tigger has been in one of these was when I took him home in November.  Seeing how life is for him, I would suspect that he would be glad, because of the way things are.

I was sorely mistaken.  He didn't bite me, but he definitely fought. I would liken it to putting a fussy child into a car seat.  Except if the child had claws and could run very quickly.  My idea was to put the carrier so that the opening was upward, and then drop Tigger in.  I even left the carrier out all day so that he could "examine" it while I was at work.  Tigger's plan was to not go in the carrier at all costs.  It only took 2 prolonged attempts, but I was victorious.

Now in the carrier, Tigger's Plan B was to guilt me into releasing him by meowing for the entire 15 minute ride to the vet.  He had attempted this the night I picked him up, also.  He continued to do this in the waiting room, and would later do this on the drive home.

The visit with the vet was very straight forward and nice.  The doctor seemed very kind and calm.  He also inormed me that Tigger was very well behaved.

Tigger is a lying jerk.  Although I had to hold him when he was having blood drawn, and being given vaccinations, he made no struggle whatsoever.  Needle in, needle out, and no sound.  I did not expect this, given our tooth-brushing exploits from February.  Also, the leukemia results came back negative (it's a 5 minute test) so all is good.  As one point, while the doctor was writing something down, I was playing with Tigger, and flipped him onto his back.  According to the doctor, the fact that he lets me do this is rare, too.

Now done with everything, I am at the front desk getting everything updated, thinking how great it is that the Army provides this service free of charge to soldiers.  Almost immediately after thinking that, the girl behind the desk tell me that I owe $56. 

Black 6, out.

Oh yeah!  It's time for the post withe the most exciting title you've read so far.  And there it was.  This is actually an old story that I didn't tell from last month.

Last month, I had to assist the Military Police with one of their inventories.  It was the drug and explosive training supply inventory.  I figured that it meant an inventory of the items that they used to train.  You know, like actual equipment.  Maybe a detector here, and some type of chemical testing equipment there, etc.

Oh, no.  When they say "drug and explosive equipment inventory", they mean "we will be inventorying drugs and explosives."  I was tipped off to this fact when I arrived at the MP station and a sheet of paper was handed to me.  I figured it was a list.  Then I read it.  Marijuana, MDMA (Ecstasy), cocaine, hashish, heroin, and something else that i can't remember.  Apparently, this is the stuff that they use to train the drug sniffing dogs.

"Will I need to wear a glove for this?" I asked.
"I'll be wearing the glove"

Those are not words that I would normally want to hear from another man, but in this case, I was only there to verify and record the weights of the training aids.  That job was pretty straight forward, and I'm pretty sure that I have no reason to fear a piss test.

Due to the fact that they were having training that day, I had to drive to another base in order to do the second part of the inventory.  The MP that did the inventory with led me to the area that they were doing the training.  I thought we were going to another base, so I was a little surprised when he drove past it, and took me to a furniture-storage warehouse.

There, I linked up with another NCO, who was already holding 2 sticks of Semtex.  I guess that's one way to kick off an inventory.  Walking over to the sheet and marking that off, he then showed me 4 sticks of gel-based explosives. 

The sheet said that there should be 6. 

Before I could even ask, he said, "The other two are over here," and led me to another room.  He then opened a cabinet.  Nothing there.  Then he opened up the next cabinet.  Still nothing.  Well, third time was a charm, because, well, you know.

Turns out that as part of the training, the MPs use military buildings to hide drugs and explosives in, and have the dogs find it.  Thank God for the dogs, because the MP seemed to have a hard time, and he put it there.   Furthermore, what goes through the mind of the building owner when the MPs come up to you and say, "Hi.  We are going to use your building to hide drugs and/or explosives, and let our dogs try to find it."

Black 6, out.