Today's nice turn of phrase

"a devout non-ideologue"

Job prep work

I went into the staffing agency yesterday to fill out some paperwork. I will be their employee technically, and working for the bank as a contractor. Lots of tax forms and disclosures. In addition to the paperwork, I had to submit to a drug test and get fingerprinted.

My finger prints are already on file from my current job, but I had never had to do a drug test before. There were a list of clinics to go to, and it was pretty straight forward. Nothing to study for, just fill this cup and you either pass or fail. It sucks that this is a part of a job application, but I have nothing to worry about.

Then it was off to finger printing. The last time I did it, I went to the county office in Everett. I was hoping to avoid the drive, so I called the police department near my office to see if I could do it there. I got their voicemail. Voicemail at the police department? What the...

The message made even less sense. It said something to the effect of "this message is not monitored. Please call back during normal working hours." Then there was a beep. You just said that you don't listen to this, why do you bother to allow me to leave a message?

I drove by the police department and there was a note on the door. It explained that as a part of the city budget cuts, the police office, the courts and city hall would be closed one weekday a month. Today was that day. Not sure why they didn't put that on the voicemail. Hopefully the policemen were still on duty...

Today I went in to get my health card so I can return to the Keg. They hold a 30 minute class that goes over the critical things you can do to ensure you serve healthy food. It is pretty common sense stuff - keep things clean and keep food at the proper temperature. There is the danger zone of 41 to 140 degrees where bacteria can grow. I don't know if anyone else had the Kenny Loggins song playing in their head every time it was mentioned. Just me?

Bumper sticker wisdom

We are not human beings
having a spiritual experience,
we are spiritual beings
having a human experience.

The inner battle

There is a little Gollum in each of us.

What a difference a day makes

Things have been relatively slow for a while at my current job. With the economic outlook gloomy, things probably won't be picking up much, so I have been looking for another job for a few months now. Yesterday morning I still had that job and nothing else. By yesterday evening I had three jobs.

As I hadn't been making much progress in finding another full time day job, I applied for a evening job to supplement things. "When the job went wrong, you went back to the beginning."

I worked for the Keg Restaurants for more than ten years, made a decent living, and enjoyed my time there. I still know a few people who work there, and though they weren't really hiring, Dave said he'd try to get me an interview to see if they might fit me in for a couple nights a week. I had an interview with one of the managers last week, but still needed to interview with the GM Friday afternoon.

I had signed up with a staffing agency a few weeks ago hoping that they could assist in my job search. I found a job on Monster.com on Thursday that I thought I'd be qualified for. It was advertised by the same staffing agency, so I gave my guy a call to see if he could get my resume in for the job. He thought I'd be qualified, but he had my resume out for another position, so he had to check with his manager to see if I could apply.

Chris called later to say that he was able to send my resume in. He also mentioned that the company was anxious to get people into the advertised position, and that they weren't even interviewing. If the resume looked good, you'd be hired. He called Friday afternoon before my interview with the Keg, and I told me I had the job! The position is with a bank and from what I can tell is similar to what I am doing at my current job. It is a 5 month position and starts the second week of May.

This changed things a bit for my interview with the Keg. I didn't know how many evenings they would be able to give me, but my availability was going to be pretty open. The position with the bank is full time Monday through Friday, and until I start, I won't know when I can make it from Seattle to the restaurant. I can still work the weekends in the meantime so the GM decided to hire me and get me re-trained in the meantime.

I got three jobs, mon!

Staying sharp

One of the things I did while waiting for the lender website to come back online.

Fortunately there were no C's, Q's or U's. My trigonometry and calculus skills are toast.

I can remember my third grade teacher challenging me with calculations she would rattle off and have me do in my head. 4 plus 3 times 3 minus 6 times 4 divided by 3 minus 9 time 8.... She actually had me do it in front of another set of parents during teacher-parent conferences. Not sure if she was encouraging them to do this with their kids, showing that we don't need to depend on calculators, or just pointing out some Rain Man tendencies I have.

And yes Holly, I am a huge nerd.

Earth Day

Sorry, no big Earth Day post - too busy with work, the job search and other things.

Just a quick tip that is one of the easiest/painless changes you can make. Don't let the water run while you're brushing your teeth. This saves an average of 3,000 gallons a year. Same goes for shaving, washing dishes, etc.

If you want to go one step further - when running the water to get hot water for dishes or shaving, fill up your Brita pitcher, coffee pot, tea kettle, dog bowl, etc.

Though recycling gets all the press, the theme (in order of effectiveness) is - Reduce, Re-use and Recycle. And with money so tight these days, reducing consumption is top of mind for a lot of people. If the environment benefits as a result of cutting back, so much the better.

A good use of Twitter

I am following a few runners at Boston this year, Bob and Warren that I met through the local running store, as well as Steve from the Phidippidations podcast.

Every runner has a chip on their shoe, and when they pass over mats along the course, their split times are recorded. When I ran the Marine Corps Marathon in 2006, they had a system where a text message could be sent to a cell phone. My wife and friends could follow my progress as I made my way around the city. Although the last split didn't get sent out, it was a great idea and gave them idea when I might be finishing.

This year the Boston Marathon is using Twitter. I just received the message: "At 11:34 AM: Half-Marathon Athlete Alert. Bob Harrison. Time 1:32:44, Pace 7:04." Warren is about six minutes ahead of Bob.

Steve is more of a middle of the pack runner. In addition to the splits being sent out, he is also updating his personal progress on Twitter. He has a microphone clipped to his shirt and is recording his marathon for his podcast. Occassionally he uses the mic to call his son to update how he is doing. His son then types it out and posts it on Twitter and his 1,073 followers get the update.

"At 12:06 PM: 30km Athlete Alert. Warren McAndrew. Time 2:05:11, Pace 6:42"

Pretty cool.

False start and bad scheduling

I headed down to Renton to join another CATS bike ride this morning. Not until I was about to pull into the parking lot did I realize I was missing an important piece of equipment. No, not the bike.

After my ride in the rain last weekend, I spent some time washing off all the sand and mud I had picked up. That was the good part. The bad part was that I didn't put the pack back on the bike that holds the spare tubes, patch kit, tools etc. This would be the day I would get multiple flats. So I turned around and went home.

Rather than crawl back in bed (man that would have been sweet) I decided to ride around Lake Washington. Since I did this a few weeks ago with CATS, I had a cue sheet all ready to go. I just needed to ride from the house down to Lake Forest Park where I could pick up the route. It was a near perfect weather day - overcast, warm but not hot. By the time I finished the loop, I was smoked. Unfortunately I still had to climb the hill back home. This is when I started seriously questioning my running and biking plan.

Looking ahead on the calendar, what I've gotten myself into is starting to sink in. I am training for the Seattle Rock n Roll Marathon on June 27th. I am also training for a 200 mile bike ride which is unfortunately scheduled two weeks later. The running and biking training miles will increase simultaneously, peaking in the middle of June.

The marathon is more of a known quantity. As long as I don't get injured, I should be able to make it to the finish line. I have never ridden 200 miles in one day before so I am less sure about that one. I also know how I can feel after a marathon - trashed. With a time goal for the marathon I will be pushing myself harder this time, and this makes the outlook for the bike ride even more fuzzy.

Training for these two things at the same time will either get me in great shape or break me. Today I was feeling a little broken.

Running friends in my head

Spring is taking a firmer hold. My long run today was a 12 miler, and short sleeves and sunscreen are now part of the routine.

Coincidentally the podcasts I listened to during the run both dealt with marathons. The Running with the Pack podcast was a recap of Jeff and Allan's Philadelphia Marathon from last November (I am still catching up). They both ran personal bests and Jeff qualified for Boston. The other podcast was the Phedippidations pre-Boston marathon (which is Monday) podcast stating his case that Boston is the best marathon in the world. It was interesting listening to Steve in the excited pre-marathon ramp up, and then Allan and Jeff in the afterglow of a marathon finish.

The marathon is kind of a party. The real work is the four or more months leading up to marathon day. The mornings you drag your butt out of bed early, or the late night runs you sneak in after work when you're already tired. The days you head out in the rain when it would be so easy to stay inside. The 20 mile runs where your only companion is your iPod.

Marathon morning is the party to celebrate your accomplishment - a graduation of sorts. And there will be plenty of people to celebrate with you. Folks who know exactly what you've been through because they've been doing what you have, just on different roads. That is what is kind of nice about the running podcasts. It is a little like you have another runner along with you on your lonely road.

Though marathon morning is a party (with 25,000 of your newest friends), it is a rough one that will leave you with a wicked hangover. And the drinking doesn't even start until the after party.

How to nail an interview

What is it that certain people say or do during a job interview that makes them stand out? Why do some people struggle to find work, while others land a job in no time?

These guys set up a temporary office in Seattle, ran an ad in Craigslist for a job opening for a marketing coordinator, and secretly filmed the interviews. 28 interviews later, they posted 22 tips for job seekers. And they posted a few of the videos to demonstrate what not to do.

The iPod killer?

An MP3 player by Lego. 2GB of memory for $39.99. Plus massive cool factor.

Tax day

In honor of tax day, the local radio station played a few songs in what they called a 'one finger salute' to the IRS. One of the songs was one I hadn't heard for a looooong time.



Randy Newman - It's Money That Matters
Uploaded by loverocket

"I got a great big house on the hill here
great big blonde wife inside it
great big pool in my backyard
another great big pool beside it."

Ah, the 80's...

The weekend

This weekend was another round of running and biking training, and the weather wasn't nearly as nice this time around. The bike ride on Saturday was a 65 miler from Kenmore north to Snohomish and Monroe, and there was rain and a whole lot of wind. Most of the riders didn't have fenders on their bikes so riding behind someone meant riding in a watery rooster tail. I rode out of the slipstream both to avoid the spray and to get the extra workout of riding in the wind. Turns out I didn't need to make it any more difficult than it already was.

Sunday was another run with the local running store group. There was a brand new face in the group - Chris had just moved here from Texas a week ago. He stopped by the local running store and found a new running community. What a great way to get acquainted to a new town. We chatted a bit before losing our breath heading up the long climb into Woodway.

I ended up running with someone new. Bob and I started chatting about running and what we're training for. He mentioned that Sunday's weather was about what he could expect at his next marathon. Of course I asked where he was running next. Boston.

It turns out there are two people in the group that have qualified and are headed to Boston next week. The only reason I could keep up with Bob on Sunday is that he is dealing with some IT band issues that are giving him some knee pain. Since I have been dealing with the same issue, I told him all I knew. Even a Boston qualifier is still learning. As I am about an hour away from qualifying myself (or 28 years too young), listening in on Bob's descriptions are about as close as I am going to get at this point.

Quote(s) of the day

Our lives are a sum total of the choices we have made. - Wayne Dyer

Most barriers to your success are man-made. And most often, you're the man who made them.- Frank Tyger

The best place to find a helping hand is at the end of your own arm.- Swedish proverb