One down...

I found out this morning that one of the consulting companies is moving on with other candidates. I kind of thought that might be the case as they did contact me last week, even though they seemed anxious to hire qualified candidates. I am going to have to start looking at other alternatives asap, since these consulting opportunities are just not materializing as I had hoped.

Santa Cruz in winter

I headed down to Santa Cruz for my usual Friday afternoon of hoops, but managed to stop by and spend some time at the ocean. It seemed to fit my mood today, very quite and reflective... The ocean is so pretty in the winter, even if it is colder. As you can see not many people were out and the surf was not much to speak of, but it was still very pretty. I am glad I had the chance to spend some time here and check it out.

Checked out MacHomer

I went with Kristin to see MacHomer in Berkeley and it was a pretty darn funny show. We sat in the second row and it was amazing to hear this guy do so many different Simpsons characters (especially for over an hour) and to keep them all straight. He has a lot of energy and it is a good show.

If you get a chance to see it, I would definitely recommend it.

New phone...

My phone broke yesterday after my interview and so today I had to go out and get a new one. I decided to upgrade to a Blackberry, so I could check and send emails as well as have my calendar and address book. It will be a bit more money, but I am hoping I can expense some of it for work. I am still getting use to it, but so far I like it.

New shoes - I had to have them!

I finally got these Jordan 14 retro's in the mail from Eastbay. I HAD to get them as they are UNC Tarheel colors and I really liked this style when they first came out. In fact, I still have 2 pair of original 14's, one in white/black/silver colorway and the other is the famous black, red, black that MJ wore on the last shot of the Bulls 6th title.

I am looking forward to trying them out at Sunday morning hoops.

Job Update

I interviewed at another consulting firm today, and if all goes well they may make me an offer as early as next week. The interviews went from 9am-1pm, and I met with 4 different people. I went into the interviews not really considering this company as a viable alternative and more as an informational interview, but after visiting with the people there and talking about the kinds of projects they work on, I am much more interested. I think if they do in fact offer me something, I can at a minimum use it as leverage with the other company to either make up their mind or I will choose to go elsewhere.

Getting site ready

I spent much of the day getting the new Moraga Disc Golf Course website up and running. I really just needed a place to "park" it so I could make sure the theme and layout was right. I ended up paying for the domain name and setting up a new account with a new provider (CrystalTech) do make it all work. I then was able to post it and it looks good. I now need to update the content and build it out for the next few weeks - until I can add more advanced features, like a forum and videos.

MacWorld in San Francisco

I went to back to MacWorld today (as I was suppose to come yesterday, but didn't stay for obvious reasons) and spent most of the day cruising the isles of Mac and iPod accessories and programs. I saw a lot of great programs, including RapidWeaver (a program to generate web sites), which I plan to use to build the disc golf web site and re-do our personal one.

I also saw a number of ways to hard-wire an iPod into my BMW. The best one was www.mp3yourcar.com and I think once I start working again I will get this. That way I can use my steering wheel controls just like the factory installation.

The new Macs with Intel chips are sure nice. They seem very fast and it was awesome to see them running World of Warcraft. I'll bet more gamers will buy Apple computers in the future because of their new capabilities and chip sets.


I always enjoy this show, and although it was smaller than in past years, I had a great time.

Our Mitten

Today we lost a very dear friend and wonderful, sweet cat - Molly "the mitten".

It was so sad to lose her so suddenly!! She seemed fine until late Tuesday night, when after trimming her nails she remained hunched up. Gradually she went back to normal and went upstairs to bed. But this morning Kristin noticed that she was not behaving normally, and so we watched her for a few hours and then took her in the the emergency vet.

When we got there, the doctor explained that she was badly dehydrated and her temperature was very low. They got more fluids into her and improved her temperature, but after running the tests the doctor determines that her kidneys had failed, and so she had to be put to sleep.

We had not expected this, no one ever does, but she always had such kitten-like behaviors it seemed she would be with us forever. I have personally been preparing myself for losing one of our cats, but more for Isabella as she is 4 years older than Molly and showing her age. I had never thought that Molly would go first. Kristin and I are both comforted by the fact that we could not have loved her more, and that she did not want for anything and had a great life.

Molly will always be remembered!! For all she did - including weighing our legs down with her heavy 6 lbs, and chirping at us for no apparent reason; for jumping up where she shouldn't be, and trying to escape and get outside, then hating it when she managed to. For cuddling up with you when you felt down or sick, and always looking for a warm spot to sleep - even when it was very hot outside, and finally for trying to make friends with Isabella when she had no chance of doing so... She was a very sweet cat and a great friend - she will be missed.

More Job News & Tarheel Win

I heard from the consulting company and it may turn out that I end up in LA area after all (Pasadena). Tom called me and told me about a 3-5 month project there and asked me to send him a copy of my resume. He has it already, just not at his new email address. It could start as soon as Monday, which would be just fine with me.

In the mean time, I am trying to squeeze out a web site, play disc golf, and get mentally prepared to be working again. Oh and MacWorld started today and I plan to head there tomorrow. Look for some pictures and maybe the purchase of a few odds and ends for the computer/iPod.

And the Tarheels won again tonight to go 10-2 and 2-0 in conference - The young Heels are making it happen so far.

New Year

I have not posted here in the new year, so figured it was about time. I have been working on developing a web site for my latest interest (disc golf) - see my other blog http://sfdiscgolf.blogspot.com/ for more details. The web site would be for the local disc golf course (Moraga Commons) and hopefully organize enough people to make improvements to the course for everyone's benefit.

Otherwise I have been hoping to get back to work and should hear something from the company this week. I have another consulting firm interested in me as well, in case the first company falls through (which I hope doesn't happen as that would push back my start date). I also have been working on doing a few things, such as replacing the thermostat etc. at home, and rooting for the UNC Tarheels who happen to be off to a great start of the season at 9-2, GO HEELS!