The Chicken and The Egg

Posted on January 26, 2010 by kellyzdude

To quote Chicken Run:

Nick: Here’s a thought. Why don’t we get an egg and start our own chicken farm? That way we’d have all the eggs we could eat.
Fetcher: Right. We’ll need a chicken, then.
Nick: No… no, we’ll need an egg. You have the egg first, that’s where you get the chicken from.
Fetcher: No, that’s cobblers. If you don’t have a chicken, where are you going to get the egg?
Nick: From the chicken that comes from the egg.
Fetcher: Yeah, but you have to have an egg to have a chicken.
Nick: Yeah, but you’ve got to get the chicken first to get the egg, and then you get the egg… to get the chicken out of…
Fetcher: Hang on, let’s go over this again.

Once again, I have a predicament. I came to a small realization today, and that is I have no formal qualifications or certifications in IT, and while I am getting interviews with my current skill-set and experience, I still come out underneath in terms of finding a position to utilize them in.

So I was looking around at A+ and wondering what it would take to become certified. I found a couple of “free” online tests that would allow me to see if I could (in theory) pass the exams. Turns out that with a little training it wouldn’t be all that hard. The reason I say “free” is because it asked me for contact information, and I knew as soon as I clicked “submit” that I’d get a marketing call asking if I’m interested. Turns out I am! But once again we have a chicken-egg scenario.

The organization in question have a (limited time) offer whereby if I am unemployed they can take off 40% of the cost of the program, taking it from $1000 down to $601 (so.. 39.9%?). They also offer the possibility of an interest-free and non-credit-checked payment plan, and have testimonials of specific people who got jobs within a few days of signing up to take the class (simply based on the prospect that they would have the certification within X days).

Once again my problem is having a job with which to fund such a proposition, and requiring the certification that it would provide in order to land said job.

Clearly I need to sit down and reanalyze our options, and maybe drive up to food lion or something for an application there. I just feel bad (and worried in terms of resume) about holding short-term jobs while trying to get “the big one.” At the same time, I can’t just sit around doing nothing while waiting for it either.

Conan vs. Jay

Posted on January 14, 2010 by kellyzdude

I know this is big news right now, and I’m usually one of the last people to have an outspoken opinion on such news items as this, but this is what I think.

I think Jay Leno is old news and needs to retire as was announced in 2004.

I think Conan O’Brien is an excellent host of the Tonight Show, and should stay.

I know that if Conan stays and is pushed back to 12:05 then I will adjust my late-night TV habits accordingly: Jon Stewart at 11-11:30, and instead of starting Conan at 11:35 I’ll watch Steve Colbert from 11:30-12am and then switch to Conan at 12:05.

If Conan does indeed jump ship then I’ll revert to what used to happen, only NBC will lose out completely. Watching Stewart then Letterman and then Craig Fergusson.

Personally, I just don’t find Jay all that funny. Letterman, while having lost a lot of respect from people including myself, is funnier and does a better job. Paul Schaffer annoys, but life goes on.

I also feel that Craig Fergusson’s simpler Late Late Show is a better option than Jimmy Fallon most of the time, so if Conan does indeed go, as it seems is happening, NBC has lost two hours of my view time.

To those of you who plan on flaming me: Go ahead, I don’t care. You don’t have to like my opinion, and I’m not asking you to.

To NBC: Grow up. Realize that Leno has failed and putting him back isn’t going to fix anything.

To Fox, and anyone else considering adding a late night act: Conan O’Brien at 11:30-35 will likely be a hit, especially if the shows format remains much the same.

To Conan: I wish you the best of luck in the future – whether you stay with NBC, move to another network, or move on with your life and find something else to do. Thank your for the laughs.

Update on the Job Front

Posted on January 13, 2010 by kellyzdude

To those of you who have been praying for Kelly and I with my job search, thank you! I have an update and an addition to this request, but it requires a little background so bear with me!

I live near Harrisonburg in Virginia, about 100 miles from DC via Interstates. In November I interviewed for a job near Dulles in the DC Metro Area and was offered it but I turned it down because a) at the time I had a part time job, b) it was working 5pm-1am and c) it was paying $36k/yr maximum. C wasn’t so bad, but B was the big killer, as I’m married and my wife works 9:30-6 and we would never see each other except on weekends.

On Friday I got signed up with a staffing agency and did a days work (one day assignment) yesterday, but future assignments aren’t incredibly hopeful based on the number of people they need to assign work to and the amount of work their clients have.

Today I talked with a lady who goes to my church who tipped me off about 2 positions with an insurance company and was also going to make calls to the Sheriffs office and the Courts (she’s worked for them before and knows people) to see if they have a need for an IT worker.

I also got an email from the company in Northern Virginia to say they had another opening from 7am-3pm, this time offering a $36k base salary with up to $6k in bonuses.

This seems, on the surface, like a no-brainer, except that for it to work several things need to fall into place, and this is what I’m asking for prayer for.

If this is what I am meant to do and where I am supposed to be, I am going to need to either get a car loan and find a car (not likely to happen because I have $0 for deposit and fairly bad credit), or find someone willing to lend me a car for a month until the first pay check comes in and my wife and I can sort our financial life out. I’m also going to need to find a room in Northern Virginia within 15 minutes or so of Dulles for when I am on call around one week a month, and again we have $0.

It is a rather bleak outlook at this point, but I believe that if this is the door that God is opening then the means to pass through it will also be shown to us shortly, and that if this is not the way then the door will be closed and I’ll continue down the hallway of life looking for the next door that is wide open (or slightly ajar..)

Yesterday Was a Long Day

Posted on January 12, 2010 by kellyzdude

Wow. 8 hours is a long time to spend alone in a car.

I misreported on facebook via twitter that I had driven for 6 hours and gone 260 miles during my work day yesterday, while I visited 18 convenience stores on a list that had me testing (as part of the training program, rather than getting people in serious trouble) whether I would be carded when trying to buy tobacco products.

Unfortunately my tired brain was incapable of basic time-math and thought that 11am-7pm was 6 hours. No, it’s 8. I am aware of this now. My first stop was at 11:10am and the last one was at 5:10pm, but then required a nearly 2 hour drive from West Virginia over US-33 back to Harrisonburg and up to Broadway. This involved a near miss with a deer (a couple had run in front of me, and one stopped short of running into the side of the car while I was doing ~ 55mph), and several near misses with 25mph turns over 33, which when they said “25mph” actually meant “You should probably do 25mph, not the 40mph that you could do one the 25mph turns further down the mountain..” It was on these that I really felt the vibration of the brakes that really needs to be looked at soon, as well as the transmission error light that has been coming up for a couple of weeks. I really hope that is just a faulty sensor that needs replacing and not a serious transmission issue, but who knows. I’m about 75% sure that the vibration issue is a warped brake disc on the front left wheel, but it is too cold to try looking at it and even then there is no guarantee that I could spot it. With our luck recently, if the car breaks it is probably an indication that we are about to get a job or something to keep us barely-floating still, rather than providing a useful means to dig ourselves out of this hole we are in.

In better news, and still on the job front, I’ve been talking to a lady from church who knows a lot of people (IE: companies/organizations) who are or may be in need of IT people. She gave me one set of contact info and was going to call around today and tonight and give me another call to let me know if she came up with anything. It really seems to be a case of not so much what you know (although it certainly helps!) but who you know.

A Week Of Lists: Friday – Things I’d like to accomplish within the next 12 months

Posted on January 8, 2010 by kellyzdude

These are some of the things I’d like to have achieved by the end of 2010. Most of these are material items, but some are also potential social tools rather than silly status symbols.

This list has some in-order, and then misc “Whenever money is available” items.

Get a job. Definitely, number one priority.
Purchase a second car for us, very close second. This will allow us to be independent in terms of transport, at least after number 3 has been achieved.
The Subaru needs to be inspected by a mechanic, probably by the Subaru dealer, and investigate several small faults and see if there are any major or minor problems that will need to be worked on, determining whether we need to have the car repaired or whether we replace it.
Pay off some of our higher-interest loans and the outstanding credit card, and pay down some of the other larger loans. I plan on using the credit card as I would my normal debit card (and nothing more!), paying it off every month for around 12 months before canceling, in hopes of improving my credit score.
Move out!

Buy an XBox 360 and a Nintendo Wii. I have no interest in a PS3..
Replace, repurpose and/or otherwise upgrade my computer systems. If possible I’d like to start work on my rack-mounted wishlist.
At least begin saving for NZ trip, ideally save enough for Christmas 2010, or early-mid 2011.
Repair/replace my camera. I’d like another 2 cameras – a little point-and-shoot and a DSLR, not expecting both this year.
Acquire some equipment towards a home studio (small mixer, firewire in, etc..)

A Week Of Lists: Thursday – Ideas I had to make money (that I probably won’t use)

Posted on January 7, 2010 by kellyzdude

So this is probably the most useful of the lists I’ve made this week, these are ideas I came up with to make money (as a I-don’t-need-a-job-look-how-much-this-is-making job)

They either need capital I don’t have, skills or experience I don’t have, I projected they wouldn’t meet income-requirements soon enough, or some combination.

Webhost, providing Domains, Dedicated Servers, Virtual Dedicated Servers, Shell accounts, etc etc. Can’t be competitive and profitable until about the 7th full server..
T-shirts, coming up with various ideas and selling – initially through a 3rd party but eventually self-printing.
Providing IT services as a contractor to individuals and businesses. Again, not competitive and profitable until a few contracts are secured and other people are being employed to maintain them all.

A Week Of Lists: Wednesday – CDs and Games (and such) I want

Posted on January 6, 2010 by kellyzdude

I feel selfish this week, but I don’t really care! (Oh, how selfish of me..)

This week is a lot about me voicing my personal planning ideas about financial decisions in the next 12 months (based on how these unimportant things fit in the overall budget along with equally unimportant things Kelly wants) if possible.

Today is focusing on a broader range, encompassing computer games and music.

I’m probably going to migrate more to digital download music than CDs, but there is something comforting in owning a solid piece of plastic and the box for it to live in.

Anyway, in no particular blah blah blah…

Games:

Battlefield 2142
Call of Duty
Halo
Battlefield 1943
Modern Warfare
Modern Warfare 2

Music:

Some Gatecrasher
Parachute Band (Old and new!)
Rapture Ruckus
Hillsong United
Planetshakers

A Week Of Lists: Tuesday – DVDs I’d like to acquire

Posted on January 5, 2010 by kellyzdude

Most of the DVDs I’m wanting are TV series. Most of them I’ve seen before, I just want them on DVD because they’re awesome!

Again, in no particular order..

The Office (US), Season 1-Current
NCIS, Season 1-Current
House, Season 1-Current
Fringe, Season 2-Current
Hunt for Red October
Sum of All Fears
Top Gun
Hancock
Up
Monsters vs. Aliens

And many more that don’t come to mind…

A Week Of Lists: Monday – Books I’d Like To Acquire

Posted on January 4, 2010 by kellyzdude

For someone that doesn’t read a lot, there are a number of books I have on a wishlist of sorts.

Some of these I read in school and have fond memories of, others I’ve never read but want to.

In no particular order:

The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole aged 13 3/4, by Sue Townsend
I am not Esther, by Fleur Beale
Face, by Benjamin Zephaniah
Bacon Sandwiches and Salvation, by Adrian Plass
Cabbages for the King, by Adrian Plass
The Growing-up Pains of Adrian Plass, by Adrian Plass
The Horizontal Epistles of Andromeda Veal, by Adrian Plass
Plass At Christmas, by Adrian Plass
The Sacred Diary of Adrian Plass Aged 37 3/4, by Adrian Plass
The Sacred Diary of Adrian Plass, Christian Speaker Aged 45 3/4, by Adrian Plass
The Sacred Diary of Adrian Plass, on Tour: Aged Far Too Much to Be Put on the Front Cover of a Book, by Adrian Plass
Stress Family Robinson, by Adrian Plass
Stress Family Robinson 2, by Adrian Plass
The Theatrical Tapes of Leonard Thynn, by Adrian Plass
The Jesus I Never Knew, by Philip Yancey
The DiscWorld Series (or at least the first one), by Terry Pratchett
Johnny and the Dead, by Terry Pratchett
Johnny and the Bomb, by Terry Pratchett

I think that is enough for now!

Why I follow Jesus, by Adrian Plass

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