Tuesday Thoughts

"He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire."Winston Churchill"

His mother should have thrown him away and kept the stork."Mae West"

Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go."Oscar Wilde"

He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts...for support rather than illumination."Andrew Lang (1844-1912)"

He inherited some good instincts from his Quaker forebears, but by diligent hard work, he overcame them."James Reston (about Richard Nixon)"

In order to avoid being called a flirt, she always yielded easily."Charles, Count Talleyrand

In some cool news, Toyota maybe coming up with a 2009 model of the Prius that would give 100mpg. Sources say the next Prius will also be able to run longer and faster in pure electric mode, up to a sustained 30 mph, which will significantly extend its zero-emissions range. Neat!!!Those Angry Anti-Republicans! ;-)

PITTSBURGH -- Protesters greeted Florida Gov. Jeb Bush on his way to a fund raiser event for the Grand Oil Party, and he briefly took refuge in a subway station supply closet to avoid the anti-Republican demonstrators. BTW Pittsburgh has a total of three subway stations...

It's been awhile

Don't know where to begin so let's take it back to last Friday or more correctly two friday's ago... got done with the bank and was heading home... realized I did not have to work the 2nd job that fine evening so i would stay in. It was after nine as I was stettled in for the evening when my phone alerted me that I had a text message at first I thought it was either my brother sending me another pic or cousin Rachel with her usual "hey cuz". It was neither! It was infact someone that I have not talked to in sometime and I was surprised - it was a pleasent surprise. The text message read "going to moose and so should you" I looked at it, must of read it a dozen times at first I thought it was someone that I do not much careful but then I realized whom it was. I am not going to be more specific then this, it was a nice surprise.

I have been working two jobs the one, the bank is great! The other is retail and I am only doing it so I can have money for Christmas without using the credit card. If I play my cards right and budget I will be credit card debt free by spring time then they all get canceled except one that will be my emerency card. I know this does not sounds very Christmas spirit but Christmas. I love it and hate it. It's OK to admit it? I love the lights, the sounds and the smells. The anticipation. But no one speaks of the darker side. Who would dare? Fights at the checkout counter, anyone who worked black friday in retail will know what I mean. Demolition derby in the parking lots. Forget about finding "just the right gift". As the clock races down and time gets short it's enough to find any gift. It all begins so early now! Thanksgiving used to be the start of the season, now it's two weeks before Halloween! Who has time anymore to step back and ENJOY the Christmas season? It's become a job, a chore, a contest to see who can do it best! It's no coincidence that the suicide rate is highest this time of year. The pressure has become enormous! But it's OK. It's OK to dread the shopping, the parties, entertaining the relatives. It's OK to say, "I won't play this game anymore!" We sing of Silent Night, but make such a racket! We wish "good will towards men", then party too long, drink too much and play craps with the lives of others on the road home.

Somehow things have gone very, very wrong with the way we approach Christmas.

I know it.

We all know it.

Now what do you want to do about it?

2 days

I was late to work two days! Not a good thing to do, i like my job - the bank job. I was late because I slept in and I slept in because I worked that part time gig late :( The part time gig is one I do not like so I think after November i am done with it. Yep I am sure of it.

My Day as a Neanderthal

(Posted on a work computer)
As I write this, my Internet connection has been down for a day. I don’t want to sound as if I’m starting to panic or anything, but I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t given some thought to binge drinking.

I am cut off from the world. I feel like a fingernail clipping that has inexplicably flown ten feet and hidden under the bathroom scales. I am no longer a technology “have.” If I want information I am forced to make a phone call and engage in small talk. If I want to know the weather, I have to look out the window. This is no way to live. I am only a few levels of intolerance away from being a Taliban.

I still have my cell phone, thank the gods. But if I rely on that for all of the text messages I get, my thumbs will be the size of bowling pins. My normal body already causes people to look concerned and inquire “what happened?” I see no reason to fan that fire.

My whole morning has consisted of me thinking “Now I will…oh, that’s right.” I considered taking a drive somewhere, but I don’t go anywhere until I’ve researched it on a web site and done a fly-by using Google. I am not Daniel Boone, ferchrissake.

I worry that if this lasts much longer I will lose the few social skills I have. I’ll turn into some sort of wild animal, ever see that advertisment for greco auto insurance? The one that says,"its so easy even a caveman can do it.". (Don’t tell me you haven’t thought about what animal you look the most like.) They say that dogs lick their own genitalia because they can. But I think it’s at least partially because they don’t have the Internet. What do you think?

I wonder if it’s too late to make it to that yoga class at the gym, fyi; I do not do yoga i just stand in the window and watch the healthy young women.

Value of Past

I feel that I have grown over the past few months, yes hard to believe but I do. I have learned one thing you can value the past but do not live in it. The only reason to think of the past is to extract lessons from it that will help you flourish in the future. All other memory is destructive.

I also have a Knowing Why Results Occur through a Token Act. For example at the bank a client gets a result as a work of the work of the officer. But does the officer really know what caused the response. Was it just the knowledge he gave, or was there also other factors that enables the client's satisfaction. We must explore what really enabled the outer response. This is the self-knowledge we derive when we perform a project as a token project; where we study all of our movements that enable outer results. Then we know what are our inner triggers that enabled life respond on the outside. Anyone can make that observation in any work, in any field. Furthermore I can learn the inner laws of life that trigger instantaneous perfect outer responses, and observe them too in action in any future project or endeavor.

Beginning Anew in the NowEverything starts form this moment. The slate is clean in the Now; to create anew who I am, what to believe in, and what actions to take. The past is false, though I have made it my cumulative reality.

What I value of other's comments on my blog is itself a comment on what I truly value ~ friendship with people that can give me a unique perspective in life.

So Thanks Kaz, Sara, Brian, and even Superblog...

Six weeks until Christmas

As of today it is exactly six weeks before Xmas... its been a busy last two weeks. I took a part time job at a local mall - retail as I aim to use that extra cash for my Christmas shopping but its tougher then I thought working a full time job and a part time job. The work at the retail establishment is not hard, but its a great deal of standing on your feet taking grief from grouchy customers. It is like being back in collections - I do not think I will make it more then Nov 30th. Besides they expect me to work until midnight and I told them that no I could not and only want to work until 10 at the latest as I got to get up early for my real job at the bank. I was up front from the getgo when I explained the bank takes 1st place over the retail establisment. If you have not detected it I am a bit grouchy myself.

I need a vacation but can not take one until next spring cause of $$$ issues with the holiday season around the corner.

My goal this year is to have both my Xmas shopping done and my Xmas cards mailed by Dec 5th; however, its not going to happen so if I can get the X-mas cards out by Dec 5th then I am ahead :)

On another note the Steelers pulled out a much needed win last night against the New Orleans Saints and the Bengals lost!

Old posting

I needed room on my disk to save a report and as I was reviewing documents I came acorss one assignment that I think ended up as a post on that old blog... made me think then it made me sad... then I thought about it some more... there is a pattern developing so I deleted after I copied it here so read on if you wish.

I had a final assigment due for a course I had taken at my university, the assignment was to tell the professor how I have been and also do I feel as if I had gotten all that I desired from the university. Over all the assignment was easy, but it really made me reflect upon the last two years of my life. I begin my assigment by telling her that I am well, with no major complaints. As I approach graduation I find myself asking the same question and that question is: now what? When I started the program I had a clear career goal in mind I wanted to progress within the ranks of ______ to the level of an operational manager. Since the dissolution of Revenue Services, my old department and my reassignment to World Revenue Recovery Collections I have been trying to make sense of my professional life. I have talked with several people in other departments, marketing, sales, and even ground with each discussion I had it was explained that although my experience and education is impressive I lack the experience to make the transition from a customer service role to one within the marketing/sales or even management. That left me very frustrated, but then about nine months ago I started thinking on other alternatives other then _____ for example national City Bank and PNC Bank.

In my career search to find the perfect employer after graduation I came across this web site: www.teachforamerica.org, as I explored it I quickly realized that it was geared towards individuals that have little or no teaching experience but who are driven to succeed. People who have excelled as students and, or in their careers and especially people who want to do something that matters. I want more then just another job, I want a career that provides me with a decent salary but I also want a career that gives me the sense that what I do does make a difference. As I did further research on this alternative I learned that across the nation there is a need for quality people that want the same as I do. More importantly I also learned that there is no one profile for an ideal teaching candidate; most school districts seek candidates that span a wide range of ages and backgrounds and bring to their program a diverse set of talents and skills. In addition they seek strong candidates that are committed to having a positive effect on student achievement, who display excellence in their previous endeavors and who are dedicated to challenging, reaching, and influencing students on a daily basis. Needless to say this has only added to my confusion, I still feel attached to my current employer but I also now have a deep desire to explore a career as a teacher.

As for my personal life, did not much talk about that in the assignment. I do want to say that there is one person that I hope does not hold any grudges or has any ill feelings towards me because I do care for her. I always will care for her, I think she is awesome but I realized now that she wants "space" to discover exactly what she is looking for in her own life. I want to wish her all the best and I hope she finds what she is looking for and I also hope she meets that Mr. Right. Everybody deserves to meet that person that knows exactly how to treat your significant other and what it takes to make them happy. It's funny; I am a loyal person to both my friends and company - loyal to the bitter end! Do they deserve such loyalty?

My week in a nut shell

Ok boys and girls. This quick post is pretty short and sweet. I looked down at phone inbetween classes on Saturday and noticed a missed call, voice mail and text message from my precious little someone of interest indicating that I needed to call her IMMEDIATELY. With a mild panic in my mind, I called her only to find out that she had the greatest idea of all time. Drinking until your drunk and a hockey game. Yes I said hockey game! A hockey game meant more or had a greater impact than going to see the Steelers this season anyway. After an evening of hurried bidding and finger crossing, we had the tickets. Kris and I met a hour before the game and, under the cover of darkness at the hotel (I forget the name its the one going up to Hill district and the Mellon Arena, made our transaction and, to quote a modern day poet, "Whoopie! There it is."SOOOOOO, In about another hour, Kris and I were tearing down a cold one watching a good hockey game then I took her home. I remember tearing down 276 or is it 273 oh heck the parkway east towards Monroeville in a sporty Saturn Ion Quad Coupe headed towards the slice of heavenly pie - or at least for me! :) My performance was dam good should of been nationally televised on FOX. So, if you'd like to tune in and read the antics of my crazy night with Kris or as I like to call her Krissy tune in later.

It would be a bleak year if ...

It would be a bleak year in professional sports in Pittsburgh if it was not for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Yes the Pens have new talent on the team in the form of Evgeni Malkin, who became the first player since 1992-93 to tally a goal in each of his first five National Hockey League games and he has been named NHL Rookie of the Month for October. To put it plainly, the Pittsburgh Penguins are hot. And, I hope they keep it that way. The Penguins (7-3) have won their last four games, including an 8-2 romp in Philadelphia to kick off the road voyage. The last time the team won four in a row was during the 2003-04 season. In addition, the Penguins have won their first three road games for the first time since the 1994-95 season when the Penguins began the season 5-0-1 on the road. Unlike the Steelers who ... well they have disappointed me greatly this year.

Today

Today I put somethings I have been stressing over to rest, I spoke with my advisor at Point Park University and she has helped me a great deal. More so then she will probably ever know! I am completing three courses this term and next term - spring I take two then in the summer I plan to work a 2nd job to pay for the fall term. Yes I am going to complete my teaching degree part time well working full time for the bank which means I will be done instead of next fall it will be the fall of 2008 I am doing it part time because full time is tougher then I thought. Also I chose to do this so I don't have to borrow a dime but I can pay for it out of pocket. Speaking of the bank, I found out today that I have two post quality errors - one I am going to dispute because I feel it was not a error on my part. What happened you asked? Well the first was I had set up a loan in which the bill was to be mailed to the customer because there was no pre-authorized debit form in the packet. The customer did not pay the first bill cause they claimed they thought it was being directly debited so when they get a 2nd invoice for the following month double what it should be with a late fee they called and complained. My question to them - those that hit me with the post quailty error is this? How did the loan packet get threw document review, me and then audit without anyone noticing the pre-authorized debit form in the packet? If it just got past me then shame on me but it passed through my hands then two others who handle this loan including audit! And it is their job to catch my errors! My lead said I should order the file and see if that form is on a different type of paper because those forms tend to appear in the packet after the loan is booked. She went on to explain a few people got hit with that same error so I should not feel to badly. Don't get me wrong I like working for the bank, I like my job but I did not need to hear that I got two post quailty errors today, I thought I was doing so much better then I had in months. Oh well it is just another day, my bright spot was reading about a wet t-shirt/bra on another blogger's blog.