Down On Ferry Farm

Have you ever sat in the silence of your house? I must admit I don't do it a lot. The only time silence comes over my house is when I'm not here. There was a quote I heard some years ago that went something like this: If you're not making noise, how do you know you're alive? I'm paraphrasing, of course but the basic sentiment is there. Let's say there was silence between the sound. I was listening to some music, searching through a long list of songs, and between the songs was a silence. I was listening to my house. It's been rather windy around here lately and today is no different. I hear the wind. I heard the birds chirping and singing. I hear the house settling (which is rather unsettling). I hear the distant scream of a siren... a car drive by. Then a song to repeat the cycle. I hear it in my head. You know that's what reading is, right? It's talking in your head. It's reading the words and saying them aloud inside your head. Silence is some...

You know, I’m sitting down to write this thing and I don’t know where to begin. Let me try and recap the week that was: I started my new job on Tuesday. It’s a small to medium sized food manufacturing company. I met most of the people that worked there – quite a few were on vacation. I got a tour of the office, warehouse and production plant. The building and company are fairly old so making our way through the production area was interesting. The HR Manager was taking me on this tour – first, we had to wear hairnets through the entire production facility. Nobody likes hair in their food. So we go through the door to the stairwell (no elevators here) and walk up these dicey set of stairs to the second floor. When we walked through the door I noticed that the wall was on a 5 percent grade. The stairs themselves looked like they were built by Dr. Seuss. Of course, I did all the normal things you do on your first day of a job… fill out all the requisite paperwork, find out where to park, ...

You have NO idea how relieved I am to tell you that I’m working again. Yes, I finally found a job so I can shut up and stop whining about it. I live in the suburbs and my job is working ‘in the city’ – well, one city over, that is. My only concern is traffic congestion but I’m sure I’ll get used to it. My big issue – why I had to keep silent – is because there were 2 companies vying for my services and I didn’t want to jinx anything. I was waiting for an ‘official’ invitation from a government contractor but got a formal offer from a privately-held company instead. Which is okay, I was a little hinky about working for a government contactor anyway. I felt I had to do the professional thing and hear them both out as clearly as possible. I made a quick call to Superman once I had all the information and he helped me see the wisdom in choosing the private company, even though there was less money involved. It’s okay, I always look for an opportunity to advance anyway. I can breathe again....

There are 2 reasons I've been so quiet lately. The first reason will have to wait until Monday -- perhaps Tuesday. The second reason is because I've been sick... just your run of the mill cold. I'll explain it all as early as I can next week.

Today I had the distinct pleasure of watching “The St. Patrick’s Day Parade” from New York City. The coverage was by the WNBC crew on New York’s channel 4 but was being broadcast by the Travel Channel (darn nice of them, don’t you think?). Usually I’m working on St. Patrick’s Day so I always miss the live coverage of the bands and other paraders making their way down 5th Avenue. It’s not the same seeing the replays later on in the news coverage. The Grand Marshall was Tommy Smyth, who is usually up in the booth commenting on the parade but it was his turn this year to lead the revelry. After he had made his way down 5th Ave, he joined the team that was calling the parade. Up to that point the coverage was solid, but when he joined the crew it really livened up the tone of the whole parade. I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen so many men in kilts. There were cable-knit sweaters, red haired lasses, and green, green, green as far as the eye could see. The funniest moment, in my estim...

I had the rare chance to compare Irish music this weekend. I caught performances by both “The High Kings” and “Celtic Thunder”. First up was HK: The show was filmed in front of an audience somewhere in Ireland. The set appeared to be a simple wooden stage that was reminiscent of a boat dock – simple and effective. There were drums on the left and a small supporting band on the right. While they played, a large video wall displayed images behind them – mostly water – setting the mood for the song they were singing at the time. The vocalists were excellent. You could tell they were really Irish by their brogues, which were honest and uncluttered. The harmonies were good and you could tell they were really singing. In the beginning of the show they made it clear that everyone should know all the words to the songs they were singing and the audience was asked to “sing up”. They started with a rousing version of “The Rocky Road To Dublin” which drew everyone in and they never let the audien...

I left Panera and got home around 4pm to find my internet connection had been restored. Woo hoo! I checked my e-mail to find that a company I thought was long gone still has some interest in me. They want to do a phone interview with me to gauge my technical skills. Fine. The e-mail says to give them a call on Wednesday so we can set up a time to do this. Wednesday morning I call and get voicemail. I leave my name, number and the reason I’m calling at around 9:30am. I literally wait by the phone… I take it with me everywhere I go in the house. It doesn’t ring once. By 3:30pm I’m a little curious so I call the guy back. The guy is totally disorganized and I’m wondering if he really remembers who has called him. Long story short: we reschedule the appointment. Do these people not realize that lives are hanging in the balance here? This is a person’s life we’re talking about. This is the same company where the first guy to call me was almost unintelligible. At least I could understand thi...

Well, this is a first. I’m not blogging from home today. I am currently sitting in a Panera Bread using their free Wi-Fi connection (it is NOT pronounced ‘wiffy’) to post this entry. Why? Good question. I have been having internet connection issues lately and when I got up this morning it was completely out. I called my ISP and found that they were having outage issues in Maryland, DC and Virginia (though I couldn’t find word of this on the internet – having finally gotten a connection). Anyhow, I travelled up to my nearest Panera and plopped myself down with my laptop. A couple years ago, before I had my laptop, I remember there were electrical outlets that were reachable in the main dining area. They are apparently gone. I really ‘dig’ this place. It has warm earth tones, sultry jazz music, a fireplace burning (even though it’s nowhere NEAR cold enough for one), and the smell of baking bread. How can you go wrong? So, I just continued my job search at this remote site. Still haven’t ...

Here’s the answer you’ve been looking for – there will be no job offered. There will be no meeting on Friday. While I was out gallivanting with Superman, I got a message from “John” (the guy who would have been my boss) that said they didn’t have the financial means to pay me at this time. I’m sorry… what? Shouldn’t you have thought about that BEFORE looking to hire someone. He did seem genuinely apologetic for taking up my time. He mentioned that I was more than qualified and that if the company’s finances allowed (and I was still available) that they would be calling me back in the future. While that last sentiment did make me feel pretty good, sentiments don’t feed the bulldog. I need a J-O-B to make some of the green stuff. A few hours after digesting that news, I got a call from one of the women I used to work with (she’s not with ‘that’ company anymore either) asking if I could help her out doing what I used to do – basically crunching numbers. I don’t know why but when I think o...

Okay, after I drew black pictures with broad strokes, it turns out reality is not quite so grim. I still don’t have an offer for a job (more on that later) but I want to update you on my other issues. I tried the Virginia Employment Commission website on Sunday and it let me enter my information (whew!), so I didn’t have to make an angry call to them. Next, I called my mortgage company and explained about the double payment. “I’m sorry, we can’t –“ is all I heard. “Let me talk to your supervisor” I demanded. I got this very nice woman on the phone and explained my situation (again) and she took my information. She put me on hold for about 2 minutes. She came back to get my banking information. Another 2 minute hold. She came back and said they could put the request in but it wouldn’t take effect until tomorrow because of the time I called – banking rules will only update today’s information up to a certain time. No problem, tomorrow is fine. I was as tight as a drum as I left for my fo...

I don’t know if I was telling you this so I’ll give you the back story (quickly) before I tell you why I am starting to freak out now. Several weeks ago I called my mortgage company and asked if I could just stop paying my mortgage until I got on my feet again. They had a plan that allowed me to skip one payment but I could only do this once a year. Okay, some help is better than none so I signed up. I went to my bank’s website so that I could adjust the date of the next payment by a month. I checked my statement yesterday and they took out 2 mortgage payments. Huh? I call said mortgage company because I was sweating having to pay the regular mortgage payment and now my balance has dropped by more than I care for. So I call the mortgage company. I won’t say they didn’t care but their level of feeling in this situation hovered somewhere around zero. They suggested I call the bank. I got the bank on the phone. I tell them about the mix-up. Their basic stance is “you were going to pay it ...

I had another interview yesterday. It was for a company that is right down the street from me – it only took me 10 minutes to get there… with really heavy traffic. I was finally interviewed for a job that I’m perfect for. Usually when I go to these things there’s always some question they ask that I have to answer “No”. “So, do you do any SQL programming?” – well, no, I don’t. This time, no such questions were asked and I was happy and confident about my answers. I don’t want to get my hopes up, but isn’t that what they’re for? In other sad news… I was dealt a really emotional blow. I lost a pair of friends yesterday and I said my ‘goodbye’ today. They’ll be picked up tomorrow and I’m quite sure that my life will never be the same because they are not a part of my life anymore. I have come to rely on this pair – heavily – over the past 10 years. I tried to recall how long I have known them and I think it’s around 9 or 10 years. They have become such an integral part of my life it just ...

I’ve always been amazed at the wisdom found on your ordinary bumper sticker. It never ceases to amaze me how someone can take a broad concept and boil it down to its most basic level and be easily digested by anyone. Below are some that I stumbled upon recently which I thought I’d share: THE DEFINITION OF STUPIDITY * If you always do what you always did, you'll always get what you always got PRACTICALITY * Whenever I feel blue I start breathing again THE FUTURE * I'm leaving my body to science fiction ECONOMICS * The buck doesn't even slow down here REALITY * Ask me about my explosively angry reaction to stupid questions GOOD ADVICE * Follow your dreams (except that one where you're at school in your underwear) HOW TO LIVE * Live so that your friends can defend you but never have to SUCCESS VS FAILURE * Many of life's failures are people who didn't realize how close they were to success when they gave up -- Thomas Edison CONVERSATION * Talk only if you can impro...

I’ve been hiding a secret for quite some time now and I think it’s about time I shared it with everyone. I have been listening to indie music. That’s not the secret. The secret is WHERE I’ve been listening to it. I’ve been keeping this one to myself and have enjoyed every minute of hunting through the site for just the perfect nugget I wanted to hear. There were times I found nothing at all. At The Hype Machine they scour music blogs for songs that people are listening to and recommending from their individual music blogs. Most of these bands I’ve never heard of. Some are pretty terrible – but that’s just my opinion, you may not think the same thing. And I wasn’t kidding before – sometimes you do have to put in some time to find something worth listening to, but once you do you feel like you’ve really found something. At least, I feel this way. Simple, clean interface. Want to listen? Press the ‘Play’ button. Want to stop the song? Press the ‘Stop’ button. Want to know what song you’r...

In an effort to follow-up on my job hunt, I must tell you that I was not offered a job from either company for which I interviewed. The first company I visited actually had me come back again. I saw this as a good sign. It is generally accepted to inquire about the status of the position a week after interviewing, which I was prepared to do. They couldn’t wait until Thursday and sent me a ‘dear john’ letter on Wednesday. The second company I was pretty sure wasn’t going to make me an offer. When I walked out of the office (after the interview) I just felt like they were looking for someone I’m not. Officially, the owner said he would have a decision made before Friday but, like I said, I’m not holding my breath. He said he had 4 or 5 candidates and – unless all of them decline – I’m not expecting to hear from him. Finding a job is tough. I spend a couple of hours a day looking through all the online postings, waiting to find one for which I’m qualified. It’s almost like begging, which ...

I was sitting around my house on Tuesday morning doing nothing in particular when the phone rings. “Hi”, said the friendly voice “we received your resume and would like to bring you in for an interview”. So we set up a time on Wednesday to meet. Awesome. As is my custom, I like to ‘scope out’ the site beforehand so that I know where I’m going on the actual day of the meeting. So I do a Google Map of the location and head out on Tuesday afternoon. One this to note is that we’ve had some fires around some local cities and the odor can be detected many miles away (I can smell them from my house even though they’re nowhere near me). When I drive to this new town (which is 2 towns over from where I live) I can smell the burning like I’m standing in the middle of a campfire. So I’m criss-crossing the whole city looking for one street and I have yet to come across it. I drive down a whole lot of other streets but not the one I’m looking for. Something must be wrong with my directions. I’m hun...

I happened to see two movies today with no apparent link until I noticed that they both ended with the letter “O”. I didn’t plan that. First up, Superman and I went to see “Juno”. Every year around this time Superman makes a flight of fancy to see every picture nominated for Best Picture of the Oscars. I don’t have a problem with it, I just think it’s interesting. “Juno” is basically about a 16 year old, high school junior who has gotten herself pregnant. She immediately decides the best thing to do is to give the baby up for adoption. So she and her stereotypical air-headed, cheerleader friend check the ‘Penny Saver’ for a good couple to give the baby to. (yeah, that's where *I'd* go...) So they find a well off couple that lives in a nice neighborhood, with a nice house and nice furniture. Nice, right? Well, Juno falls hook-line-and-sinker for the couple and even feels the need to try and connect with them. I guess, for me, it wasn’t about what was seen in the movie but what ...

This will probably be the least interesting post I’ve done in quite some time. I only say that because there’s really nothing going on. I still haven’t found a job. I still haven’t found love. I don’t even have a good rant to go on. Really, the only thing to complain about is the lack of TV. We should be knee-deep into the second half of the season and there is nothing but reality and reruns on. Daytime TV is terrible unless you like talk shows, soap operas, infomercials or Lifetime television movies. I am in none of these categories. I told you this would be bad. I tried to warn you.

Makes me laugh just looking at it:

I feel like I’m getting closer to a job. I got a call from a potential employer today. My sleep pattern was totally blown and they called while I was napping. Not to sound mean but I could barely understand the guy who was asking me the questions. From his accent I would say he was Spanish or Portuguese. Some of the questions were a little redundant, too. The reason I don’t like getting these calls is that I immediately start imagining I have the job. I start picturing in my head the things I’m going to do once I’m hired. The problem is that I’ve done this with ‘nibbles’ before and get a bit of an empty feeling when they don’t come through. Such is my lot in life, I suppose. I hate getting those stereotypical questions, “why did you leave your last job?” (Especially since I was let-go), “What are your strengths?”, “What are your weaknesses?” etc. I have my ‘pat’ answers ready to go so the trick is trying to sound sincere. I’m starving so I’m going to eat something now.