Quite possibly the luckiest man on the planet

I did something stupid on Friday, and thus far have come out unscathed. I managed to leave my wallet on a bus. You can check the archives, misplacing my wallet in the house is something I do fairly regularly, so as I was preparing for my shift at the BRO Friday evening I really wasn't alarmed that I couldn't immediately locate it. But I started to sweat it part way through, and rushed home to check all my credit card balances on line to see if I was paying for someone's shopping spree. I needed to do some house work over the weekend anyway, so cleaning up the place was a convenient way to find the missing wallet. By Sunday it was a No-show, so I prepared for the harsh reality I might have actually lost it in transit. In the most fortunate set of circumstances, 2 calls to AC Transit yielded someone who was nicely holding my wallet for me in a building a mere 3 city blocks from the MOHP. I wandered over during lunch to find that it was untouched still containing 2 bart tickets (amounting to $2.25) A half used 31 day bus pass. (approx street value $35.00) all my credit cards and $5 in cash. Plus my discount card from the BRO, and 3 separate sushi dinner receipts. Sad I know.

Photographic proof my mom still loves me!

Mom dropped in to visit W and I to make sure I was still living. (if you'd been waiting for a blog post, you might have begun to wonder) We worked the bay area over pretty good. On thursday we took her on her first visit to our home away from home, Ikea. She was like a kid in a candy store, exactly what you might expect. We dropped by to see aunt peggy after that, and then had another fabulous meal at sushi avenue. (They're hiring, and that seems like a lot more fun than working at the BRO part time) Friday We took BART into the city and then rode the MUNI up to the wharf area. We strolled throuh pier 39 walked along Until we got to fishermans wharf and then had the most delicious and filling lunch possible, a Huge bowl of Cioppino from Scoma's. We had another restaurant in mind but the nice person at the CA welcome center desk decided we should go to Scoma's instead and she was sooooooo right. We got a corner, waterfront table and impeccable service. Yes, it was expensive, but I got more food than I could have eaten in 2 sittings, and it was one of the best meals I've ever eaten. Saturday we visited the farmers market at bayfair, and found out how badly I'd been missing out on something right under my nose. We then went to Kincaids at Jack london square and had a fabulous lunch. I have to figure out how to make their signature hot crab sandwich that is to die for. Saturday night I did bust out the culinary skills as we entertained mom and family friend (and fellow san leandrite) Jen. I thought the food was good, but it was no Kincaids, Scoma's or Sushi Ave.

A tall ship on San Francisco bay. Yes, this day really was this beautiful 

How good a job do I have to get to eat here every day?

Here was my view from our table at Scoma's on fishermans wharf. Yes, that is the Trans america pyramid and coit tower. Once my enourmous bowl of Cioppino arrived I could barely see out the window anymore. We got fabulous service, and I am hoping someday to be able to create a masterpiece like we ate.

Mmmmm Chocolate Augghhhhhh

We spent a while at this SF Landmark but managed not to buy any chocolate. Although they did give us a free caramel filled chocolate bar that was absolutely delicious. This is company number 327 I'm boycotting since their main plant is now in San Leandro but they refused to hire me for a financial analyst job they advertised online for months

Cool New search for the week

It always cracks me up the things that bring people to my humble little site here. Typically they are pinball machine machine related occasionally they are a little obscure, but this week we have a new champion. Someone seaching on yahoo uk searched for "I am going to humiliate you", and I was at the top of the list. I'm not sure if I should be proud of this or not.

So Long CJA

Interesting goings on at the MOHP this week. The other temp who I have not so affectionately dubbed Captain Jerkass (a name that I have given to everyone who has made my job search more difficult) Announced his resignation today, having scored a marketing analyst gig at another large bay area company. I had some particularly negative things typed in this space that I have decided not to publish, because they made me seem negative and petty so I will say these things only as succinctly as possible.
CJA Taught me a TON of EXCEL shortcuts, a good portion of my future success will occur because I had someone teach me these things.
CJA had trouble communicating ideas as whole sentences often "umming" every 2nd word This made learning from him extremely difficult.
My favorite interaction with him happened one day last week.
He usually came in late around 8:15 or so, and would silently scurry into his cube and not say anything at all to anyone.
After about 45 minutes I hear
CJA Hey Jason um...
Me: Oh hey good morning CJA
CJA: (After a thoughtful pause) Oh yeah.... I really need to work on greeting people...Anyway (something he said constantly to fill gaps between incomplete sentence clauses)Rambles on...

So Now I have to solve all my Excel difficulties on my own, and there is some suspicion that he might not be replaced. Which unless I'm brought in full time is really really not going to be any fun. But could also be a sign that money is being freed up for a full time analyst. Stay tuned for more developments on that.

Breaking free from my Seattle based opressors

It is now thursday at 10:12 p.m. and I have yet to partake of a single Starbucks beverage this week. Is that easy? No, Caramel Macchiato was starting to flow through my veins. But at 3.95/day for a Venti, you can imagine why I was feeling like I didn't have any money in the bank. Plus they have these delicious apple fritters that are absolutely wonderful for breakfast. At some point that had to give way to making coffee at home. I lack complete motor function before 5:30 a.m. so that has meant getting the pot ready before bed and fumbling only to turn it on in the morning. The transition to home brew hasn't been perfect... I keep leaving my travel mug at work (fortunately I have 2) and it means I lose my newspaper turning hand becuase I have to keep the mug upright. No newspaper hand means reading a lot of headlines on the train instead of risking accidental spillage from a sudden train speed change. I also can't run if I'm late, so I almost missed the bus one day too. The bus driver knows I always show up there, and saw me hustling and was nice enough to wait. I have really been standing out at the MOHP this week. The supply chain manager responsible for one of our largest customers has taken note of my work on improving on-time delivery to his customer. As more and more people learn my name/face/reputation around there, good things are sure to happen. You're getting a lot of posts from me this week since I have much thinking to do about my immediate future. I have until the Tuesday after Memorial Labor day to make a decision, but at the rate I'm going I honestly don't see it going that long.

A little fuzzy math for you algebra lovers out there

Jason Has 2 jobs
He earns hourly Rate B at the BRO and Hourly rate M at the MOHP
M = 2.6B
Jason Gets offered a promotion at the BRO that will pay him 2B which sounds nice, but would require him to give up salary M
Jason's current earnings are:
40M + 30B which we'll call X
Accepting the promotion means Jason only earns
80B which we'll call Y
How do those compare you ask? (you could do the math yourself here but I'm feeling generous)
X =1.7Y
A complete analysis here means assigning some sort of premium to the guarantee being offered by the BRO, Since I am only a Temp at the MOHP but I am not really sure what that's worth. To be fair I'd have to assign some other premium to how much I enjoy what I do at the MOHP and how much I'm learning there. Then Since I'd be managing people at the BRO, I'd have to assign some sort of value to the management experience I'd get from doing that job. So lets face it, these things are difficult to quantify and terribly subjective; which kind of defeats the purpose.

Where have I gone?

Yes, I know. My blog is badly neglected. I had free hosting for my little favorite Icon (The little pinball that used to appear in the address bar) and I didn't log in often enough to keep my acount open. What have I been doing with all this time? Well that's actually a good question. Time is flying, but i'm not really having all that much fun. Things at both workplaces are still good. There's much buzz at the BRO about a promotion, but only a small one. Meaning I'd have to give up my much more lucrative gig at the MOHP. I don't really see that happening, since I'm quite happy there and doing exactly what I need to do to get the job I really want. Also on the job front fellow MBA'er Vicky N finally scored a real gig at City Group. She was even nice enough to let me know they were looking for one more if I was interested. But I have vowed not to move again anytime soon. I wouldn't quite know what to do with only one job anyway. This Week W had Friday off, so she came and met me at work for lunch. I was really excited about trying the Pacific coast brewing company. The beers were awesome, but the food was only average and we got the worst service ever. If i'm at a brew pub and no one ever asks me if I want another beer, I'm not going to say nice things about you. Not to mention we never got asked how our meal was. I will go back, but only to drink, not to eat.
I'm starting to owe less and less people money these days, so hopefully soon I can stop working 60-70 hour weeks and start enjoying my sorroundings. I have been assured of a Gig at the
In other family news (so you'll know where I get it from) I'm extremely proud of my grandmother these days. She packed up all her stuff and moved into a nice retirement place. I have tried to call her a couple of times, and she refuses to sit still long enough to answer the phone. That's how we work in this family, we move away and fully immerse ourselves in whatever's available.

Sure, like most of my weeks aren't crazy

This really was a strange week. I was the most rested I'd been in two months, so on occasion at the BRO I was really nice to people. I didn't even look like a walking zombie. I had strangely been scheduled not to go in until 6, which meant I could even go home and squeeze in a nap on occasion. Job prospects all continue to improve. A higher up at The BRO called me in to his office to make sure I was still interested in moving up there, because 2 positions would be opening up in the very near future. I said it might come down to who made a bigger move first. My supervisor at the MOHP also said this week that one of the other higher ups decided he'd really like me to get hired, and If I could master one particular task it would be very easy for the 2 of them to convince the director I was needed on a full time basis. To make matters even more interesting I fielded two job offers while standing at my register this week, one from a financial services recruiter wanting me to sell life insurance and mutual funds for him. (yeah, we know where that one leads; No thank you) The other came from a guy in human resources at a hardware store.
Here's how our conversation went:
Him: Are you new here?
Me: Me, I've been here about 2 months
Him: O.K.
Me: Why, are you a regular here who notices these kinds of things.
Him: No, I just am the kind of person who notices when people are doing a really good job
Me: (Flattered, Grinning and maybe blushing a little) Well, thank you very much.
Him: So are you a student or something?
Me: No, I have a real job during the day and just work evenings and weekends here for some extra money
Him: Well alright, Keep up the good work
Me: Thank you, Your total is...
Flash forward past his payment and he's frantically digging through his wallet. I move on to the next customer. He eventually moves to the empty register next to mine while continuing to search. Finally he walks back over leaves a card on my register and says "if you want to make more money part time give me a call".
So suddenly a guy who went a whole year without a real job offer is about to have to make some very difficult choices.
Choice 1, Accept potential offer from Transportation department at MOHP
Choice 2, Apply for really great Finance position at MOHP that has been open and staring at me for a while
Choice 3, Accept potential middle management job at BRO and have to leave MOHP
Choice 4, Assume that I won't stay at BRO for much longer leave for more cash at the new offer
Assumptions
1. Job in transportation Department at MOHP will pay more than my temp position there, but not as much as the job in finance
2. A single rung up the ladder at the BRO will still have me earning much less than I currently make at the MOHP, but would offer stability and certainty about the future.
3. The newest part time offer would yield me a bigger discount, in a Hardware store!!!!!! That might be worth the price of admission on its own.

Plus there is the final question of will I be happier as a guy who sits at a desk all day staring at a computer doing spreadsheets but has a nice set schedule or as someone who is up and moving around all day interacting with people but has to work holidays, weekends and nights.
Alas, nothing is ever simple

Your chance to browse our personal Ikea catalog

Here is the long awaited picture of Mr Hemnes in his daytime mode he's a wonderful place for a nap

Reason # 2 you should come visit me

Yes, you also miss having me around but the guest bedroom amenities are suddenly very nice. Here it is in sleepy time mode , extra comfy

Our newest thing

Say hello to my lil friend! This is the newest addition to our home ikea showroom, the matching night stand to Mr Hemnes. He came to us as a gift from W's parents who took the new stuff on its maiden voyage

The view from the park to the top of oakland city hall. Sometimes its hard not to feel a little small in the big city 

This is the little park/ampitheater where I usually eat lunch. on this day there happened to be a presentation for children going on. 

This is the view from the cube next to mine. (I'll need a solid promotion to get here) The music on Wednesdays comes from a band playing under the blue tent. There are restaurants and shops along each side. I still haven't managed to eat everywhere yet.

Breaking the Streak

Today I'm not going to work. Why should you care? Well O.K. maybe you don't, but its important to me becuause I have worked for exactly 60 consecutive days. Why did I chose 60? I didn't acutaully, Today is W's aunt's birthday and since W's parents happen to be in town, its kind of a big deal. I haven't been feeling well the last couple of days, so I definitely don't mind the opportunity to rest. I only had to work from 4-10 on saturday, so that means two consecutive days to sleep in and relax. And it even gives me a little time to blog, something I feel bad about neglecting. So what's been going on with me? Well, I am still plugging away at both jobs working as many as 70 hours per week. That means I don't sleep much during the week and often live from caffiene dose to caffiene dose. My new favorite thing is a Venti Cafe mocha from starbucks, or from the little coffee shop thats right below the building I work in. I'm also drinking a little more mountain dew than I'd like to admit out loud. I think the Big Retail Outlet (BRO) is getting ready to make a move to promote me which would mean that It might start to be worth going there. Things at the Manufacturer of Household Products (MOHP) are also going well, So I'm still hoping they'll decide the can't live without me soon. I'v really learned to love downtown oakland. There is live music every wednesday from noon to one. On fridays a drumline plays to earn money for its trips. They make an amazing sound you can hear throughout the city echoing off the tall buildings. Then there's the Friday Farmers market, This week someone had Live crawfish that I managed to walk past, but the guy in the next cube just couldn't resist. Last week I got referred to the coolest little korean place (in oakland's china town) that has really great sandwiches for $2. It had really fresh ingredients and made me really mad that I'd spent $8 at Quizno's the day before. I've also spent way too much time/money at Ikea lately but W's parents are raving about how well they are sleeping on what we affectionately call Mr. Hemnes. (expect picture later, He's already out of season on Ikea.com.)

A bad week for public transportation

First the threat of a BART strike, and now bombs on trains. Yikes! If you're worried about me, you can at least be assured I am already long out of the train station by rush hour, one of the few advantages to my early early schedule. I hadn't even heard about the goings on in London until I was already at work, so it saved me having to think about it the whole train ride. I was having a really bad morning anyway. I couldn't find my wallet to save my butt this morning. It had a bart ticket and my bus pass in it. At the last second I found a ticket with 1.40 on it, and 3.00 in quarters. That was enough to get me a bus ride, a one way ticket to work and a coke, but i desperately could have used another shot of caffeiene in the afternoon when I was falling asleep at my computer. Fortunately W had the day off, so she could come get me from work. We went straight to Ikea to eat and look at a new bed for the spare bedroom. We found a great day bed that we like, but have to raise a little capital before buying it. Its off to bed for me I'm behind on sleep for the week so i'm falling asleep again at 10:00

She looks familiar

Things are going full throttle around here as usual. For a couple of days last week W was dog sitting for a couple of friends. First there was Rocky, a little tiny dust mop of a dog that is notorius for escaping from things. W came to pick me up from work and we ran a few errands. W had tried to lock him in the kitchen, but as I came around the corner to our condo I thought, Whose annoying yapping dog is that I hear? Only to look up and see him staring out of our bedroom window barking at some neighbors who were working on their car. W and I laughed about that for a long time. We then dropped him off at his home and met Luerne and family at the Fort Mason Center to see BATS (Bay area theater sports) a group that does improv comedy as a competition. We had some doubts going in, but were often found laughing histerically. After a little bit of lost wandering through the city, we made it to one of our favorites, Tommaso's. The H's loved it almost as much as we did, with the tiramisu living up to all of our hype. Saturday it was off to work, and then we spent some time at W's friend Kelli's house in Burlingame watching her dog Kona. That meant we had access to Kelli's grill, so we grilled up some steaks and some Tandoori chicken and have really been enjoying it at lunches for the rest of the weekend. Unfortunately the refrigerator door got left open for 24 hours meaning we had a lot of stuff that had to go when we got home yesterday. What did I do for the fourth of July you ask? I worked. The BRO was open and paying time and a half, so I went, and still earned less per hour than I make at the MOHP. So its back to the grind again this week, I'm putting in for an hour cut at the BRO since the MOHP says I'm on for 6 months, and I'll have enough work to do that i need to stay for 8 hours a day. If you're the praying type please pray for a resolution to the BART labor dispute. If they go on strike on Wednesday I am in so much trouble.