Job Update

I spoke with the person whom I hope to be working with at the consulting firm this morning and got more details on the project. It seems that it is likely to be in San Francisco (which would be a good thing) and not require me to travel. It will also most likely be with Wells Fargo somewhere. I enjoyed meeting what would be my partner/boss and think we would make a good team. He is scheduled to start the week of January 9th and I could start then, or the following week (FYI - Jan 9th is when MacWorld starts - so it would nice if I could get a chance to go to that, but if I can't because of work so be it).

I should be firming up my contact status next week and then be back working within a few more. It will be good to be back working with such a great group of people, and locally. Now all I need to do is get everything finalized...

Christmas Day

I spent Christmas day with my mom and family in Sacramento (at my brother Russ' house). Below is a picture of my mom (Diane) in her new scarf (knitted by Kristin) by the Christmas tree and then me holding baby Dylan. Dylan was in pretty good spirits and slept most of the day, but when he was awake I was able to hold him for awhile without him getting too upset.



Russ went a little overboard with the presents by his own admission, but I would probably have done the same things in his position (as last year Brandon was not old enough to really understand Christmas and what was happening). Since Russ and Cindy took a lot of pictures, I decided to only take a few of the bigger items...


The first is a plastic kitchen, with a stove and BBQ grill that makes cooking noises and light up when pressed to start. There is also a coffee maker, sink, microwave - not to mention plastic food and serving utensils. Brandon kept cooking stuff all day for everyone.

Then there was the last gift he opened which was a riding John Deer tractor and wagon. Brandon was not sure how to make it go, but he liked it as even looked under the hood with dad.


This final picture is of me and momma standing by the tree holding her new scarf. It really looked good on her, even if it did not match the red holiday sweater she had on.


As I went to leave I decided to take one last picture of the moving reindeer that Russ had placed around his lawn. They looked a little eery to me with their skeleton figures, but they moved and appeared to be eating the grass and moving their heads. Very festive and Russ style!


Overall it was a very nice morning and afternoon!! Cindy's family was there and we have a great breakfast together before opening all the gifts. The traffic was a little heavy heading home in the rain, but it was not too bad as I got home safe and sound. Just in time to stop by and say, "Hi" to the cats and take a little nap. All-in-all a very merry Christmas.

Christmas Eve

I spent Christmas eve with Kristin and we had an excellent meal and exchanged gifts. I got a few things including a popcorn bucket (which doubles as a hat) and some DVDs and the Harry Potter "scene it" game. We played that for awhile (I won of course) and then we watched one of the DVDs - Santa Clause 2.



Overall it was a very nice evening all things considered.

Friday Hoops/Discs

I went down to Santa Cruz today after having coffee with my dad who was here from Arizona. It was still rainy, what is up with that?? I got to Santa Cruz and went to DeLa disc golf course and actually played a few holes, practiced putting and bought a new disc (see New Plastic post for more details).

At hoops, 18 guys showed up and so we played half court for most of the night. I played well and we did not lose all night - which rarely happens. I stayed until 6:30 PM before heading home. I had been concerned about the traffic, but it was fine and I got home even faster than usual. I had hoped to give Enrique (our favorite waiter) a little Christmas gift, but he was not around and so I'll have to give it to him next week.

Raining still!

Rain, Rain, GO AWAY! Come again some other day!

It has been raining for what seems like days on end! Was I secretly moved to Oregon in my sleep?

I have at least put these rainy days to good use and gotten most of my Christmas shopping done. But still - enough is enough!! I am ready for it to stop raining and be a little warmer and dryer. My disc golf game is suffering with all this time off - Heehee.

Sunday Hoops

Well I had a chance to try out my new Jordan's and they were pretty nice. The silly extra Jordan patch (fixed to the top of the tongue with velcro) rubbed on my sock a bit before I took it off, but besides that they felt comfortable. I was wondering how the sole would be since it has this weird pattern on it (see dark red bubbles above), but it provided good grip and seemed very stable while playing.

The one knock on these is that the flex point of the shoe makes the lace/tongue bend open in an odd way - and takes away from the clean lines of the shoes. This is a small thing, I know, but all part of designing a great shoe. Overall I am glad I picked this up, but prefer the new Carmelo's or Lebron III's.

Job Update

I got an email today from the consulting company informing me that the client with the process redesign project had decided to do it "in-house", and thus would not need to use the consulting company after all. He apologized for getting my hopes up, and indicated that this kind of thing happens in consulting (which of course I already knew). So it looks like I will probably not be starting this year after all.

But there was some good news in the email as well, It seems that the other project (the one I had originally been slotted for) is on track and the consulting firm continues to be very interested in having me work on that one. The partner also mentioned in the email that this project would be longer in duration, and may end up being closer to home for me and not require me to travel - although I am not sure the person who said that knows where I live... heehee.

I remain very upbeat about the whole thing, as this recent project came up out of the blue and was sort of a bonus really. I like the fact that this company keeps thinking of me for things that come up - and I am confident that something will happen in the weeks to come.

New Jordan XX 3/4

I found these shoes online a few weeks ago, and so had to order them. They arrived yesterday, but I just got a chance to post the pictures, etc.

These are a limited edition of the Jordan XX's. I was afraid I was not going to like any of this series until I saw these (plus they were about half the price of the other versions). I can't wait to try them out on Sunday (as there is no Friday basketball in Santa Cruz this week).

Good News on the job front

I got a call this afternoon from one of the partners at the Consulting Firm I have been talking with and they indicated that there was a new project that they thought I could work on that would start even sooner than mid-Janurary. It would involve process re-engineering for a regional bank in the Beverly Hills, or El Segundo, area of Southern California. This is different from the previous project we had been discussing, and could last from 10-16 weeks. Once this was completed, I could then transfer to the other position or earlier if need be. Either way it seems a great opportunity to get to work even more quickly - and for sure have some money coming in, which is always good!!

I am both excited and a little nervous about getting back to work - but more than anything just looking forward to the new opportunities.

Mom's B-Day in Old Sac

It is my mother's birthday, so I drove to Sacramento to celebrate. We walked around "Old Sacramento" and looked at the shops. I had not been down there in years. After doing some shopping, we had a drink and a nice dinner at California Fats (including a slice of their famous banana cream pie). It was nice to get to spent time alone with my mom, and she seemed to really enjoy the experience as well.

Replacement shoes

I got these as my previous Merrell shoes started to fall apart. I got them at REI, which was great and took back the other shoes without any trouble! I really like these new ones as they are super comfortable. I will mostly be using them for disc golf, but will be wearing them around a lot as well.

Job Sitch...

I met the Principle partner of the consulting firm this morning for coffee, and got more specifics about the job sitch. I have not been "officially" offered a job, but they have every intention of bringing me on board in early January 2006. There is a senior level Consultant with Financial Services background that is coming on board the first week in Jan, and if all goes according to plan I would start the following week.

The next step is for me to talk with this new Consultant next week, to give him a chance to get to know me (as we will be working together for probably the first 6-12 months) and then I could get a verbal (if not written) offer the following week (Week of Dec. 19th). The salary structure as both a Consultant and eventually as an employee would be an increase from my last consulting job and certainly worth waiting a few extra weeks for.

Overall a good meeting, and with a very friendly and professional person. I think this would be a great company to work for and with - and I look forward to get this finalized in the weeks ahead.

Long time no post...

I have not posted here, as I have been doing this and that. I have been posting on my Disc golf blog, as that seems to be the most interesting thing happening of late. Check it out if you haven't already at Scoots Disc Golf-O-Rama as I am making steady progress and having a lot of fun learning how to play.

Otherwise, I am scheduled to talk to the head of the consulting firm in person this Friday, and hope to nail down the job offer specifics. Once that is out of the way I can feel better about the Christmas shopping and enjoy the last few days of freedom.