Plan "B"

ROFLOL

"I love this company!"** I was called into my bosses bosses office this morning. One of my customers was there with one of his subordinates. We were all filed into her office, and she directed my attention to the speakerphone where yet another one of my customers from New York was listening. [yikes!]

Basically, it went something like, "So we're all here to discuss [project]. I know we've had alot of meetings and a lot of traveling and a bunch of code has been written, but this meeting isn't going to be like that. This is a 'thank you' meeting."

They all took turns thanking me for my work over the past months. My humility intact, I was humbled to have received their praise. Then, they handed me a big fat check. My second this year.

I guess the next few cruises are paid for.

** Quote from Steve Balmer - Microsoft. Or, haven't you ever Googled "Steve Balmer Monkey Dance"?

No, not Jack Sparrow. I just noticed that Yahoo IM has pirates in their collection of Avatars. I hope that lasts through Halloween. I even have a monk... oops! Almost said the no-no word on Monday. We put up the haunted house over the weekend. Not done yet - pictures to follow someday. Really busy at work lately. More to come...

For no reason at all, completely out of the blue, M decided to ask me about Christianity and what I believe. M wasn't born in this country and had the idea that all Christians (Catholics, Baptists, Non-denoms, Branch Davidians) were basically the same. M is a Hindu, which is a religion I was unfamiliar with, so I first wanted to understand what M believed so I could put my faith into context. We talked about similarities and differences mostly, but on occasion, we got to talk a bit deeper. It looks like M is seeking. M had attended a church service in India a few years ago, but was not a member of the church so could not partake in the "holy water part" - my guess is that this was a Catholic service. M is interested in attending a church in the area, but is hesitant because of all the different kinds.

I came back to my computer wondering how I was going to help M onto the big lifeboat of salvation. I put on my headphones - - - "God Will Make A Way" had just started. Tears formed, and I had to close my door. This would easily be the only worthwhile thing I've ever done with my life. Saving another person.

If you're so inclined, please say a prayer for me, that I might be able to show M how to be saved. Lord, let me be transparent so only You show through, so M may see who you are. Equip me to answer any questions truthfully by pointing to relevant scripture. Give me wisdom beyond my knowledge. (James 1:5 - "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.")

I'm up to day 30 of The Purpose Driven Life (http://www.purposedrivenlife.com/). I can't believe it. I've read 233 pages - and I hate reading. I mean I really dislike reading. So much so that I've read less than 1/2 a dozen books in my life. 1: The Bible (that took several years), 2: Island Of The Blue Dolphins (and I'm not sure I ever made it to the end), 3: Screwtape Letters, and maybe one or two more, but no more than that. Do you understand?! I'm saying that I've read less books in my lifetime than Tracy reads in a week.

Purpose Driven Life has been a challenge at times, especially since I'm preoccupied with work (and likely will be for another few months). It's been an eyeopening experience though. I've noticed that at some times of my life, I genuinely wanted to do the right things that are called for. And I recall that I always feel better doing right than doing wrong. So, why not always do right? Easy. Selfishness.

Every failed thing in my life can be traced back to my being selfish. I've known that for about a year now, but the book gives me some solid ideas for solving this dilema. For one - don't dwell on failures. O.K. you screwed up. You're just going to keep screwing up until stop dwelling on it and learn something from it. You'll also have to apply what you've learned the next time the situation comes around. Makes sense now, but it took almost 40 years to learn.

So, that's my goal for now. Move forward. Make mistakes. Learn from them. Apply what I've learned and move forward. Easy to say, eh?

[this next part may sound a bit wierd, but I don't backspace - remember?]
I'm also going to try to continue being "fully concious". Sometimes it's hard to pay so much attention to everything around, but on occasion I do get a glimpse of things as they really are - and it's neat to see the other "fully concious" people walking around with me. We meet and give a knowing nod or smile and continue observing all the other people at the store, in the coffee shop, on the road.

Since I've started blogging, I've felt a pressure valve released. Granted not all the pressure has been released in my public blogs. I've cast a lot of confessions into the ether that is the 'net. it's quite possible that noone has read the pages, but more likely, someone has seen, read and thought about the events that have shaped my life. Thoughts and feelings I have about events and actions of my past. Some I'm proud of - many I'm not. In my own way, it's made me feel committed to improving myself. What a waste for someone to read through my old blogs long after I've expired only to find that I didn't grow!

Sometimes, I feel like a grown-up. No. That's not exactly it. Sometimes, I feel like I've matured and I've gotten past the uncomfortableness (the struggle) of dealing with the feelings that come with living in the body of a grown-up.

In reality though, I still like to run in the rain and draw on construction paper.

Well, it's almost time for all the liars to come out of the closet and put on a pretty face for all the sheep. Sorry, I sound jaded. But why not?! Take for example the following piece of mail I got today... Proposition 1A (which replaces prop 65)

[Actual quotes]

Proposition 1A gives local governments a spending guarantee without any fiscal accountability or oversight.

Contrary to misleading claims made by the opponent of 1A, THIS MEASURE INCREASES FISCAL ACCOUNTABILITY.

This NO fiscal accountability Proposition deserves a NO vote!

FOR YEARS, THE STATE HAS HAD A BLANK CHECK to take your local tax dollars. PROP. 1A TEARS UP THAT BLANK CHECK

It’s a blank check for spending and turns a blind eye to waste.

Proposition 1A gives local politicians a blank check without any scrutiny over how the money is spent.



Whew! I'm exhausted from reading the first proposition. Are they all going to be like this? Well, my mind is made up on a few issues..

63. Prop 63 was a bit confusing in its wording. As far as I can tell, they want to tax an additional 1% on people who make more than a million dollars (approx. 80,000 people) in this area for "mental health services". Sure - why not? Doesn't affect me.

64. Lawsuits allowed only if actual loss suffered - well, yeah. Anything to reduce the number of lawsuits in general - I'm for.

69. DNA database for felons and from "others arrested for or charged with specific crimes". Sure, why not?

71. Stem cell research. I'm in favor of stem cell research in principle, but I'm strongly against embryonic stem cell research, and the bill wasn't specific enough to limit the type of research in question (which tells me that it would be included), so I'm voting against it. If it were written in such a way that we would not be breeding people to kill to save other people, I would have voted for it.

And now for the moment you've all been waiting for... President. Will I vote for Bush or Kerry? Or Will I write in Nadar? Or Rocky & Bullwinkle? Well, I can't bring myself to vote for any of them, so I'm leaving that space blank. I feel that I would have something to defend when I got to the Pearly Gates and Peter asked me why I voted the way I did. Kerry's going to win California anyway, so it doesn't much matter anyway (for me).

Sometimes I get so frustrated with voting, I just want to spit. It's my duty and I'm glad that I have the right to vote, but the lies - ugh! I can't stand the lying. Call it misleading. Call it spin. Call it whatever you want. I call it lying. Prop 1A (above) is a perfect example. One person says it will give politicians no accountability. Another says it will. Who is right? So, I read the pages and pages of documentation, because as an American, I have nothing else better to do.

It says that a yes vote means that the state could not reduce local sales tax, move tax money from local goverenments to schools unless the Governor says it's needed and the Legislature approves it with a 2/3 vote, or decrease vehicle license fees without making up the difference to the local government.

Likely outcomes of Prop 65: Higher and more stable local government revenues (fire, police, water, libraries, mass transit, parks), lower and less stable state government revenues (schools, community colleges). So, no wonder the fire departments, police, paramedics, park & library people are all in favor of it. And since its passing will no doubt create a loud sucking sound in neighborhoods that do not generate enough local tax revenue to stay viable, its no wonder why the Chairman of the state board of equalization (read: state board of socialism) is against it.

Please join me in voting. Vote for the things that matter and the things that you've studied well. If you don't know - don't vote.

# posted by Johnny @ 10/13/2004 03:28:00 PM 0 comments links to this post

Nope, it's not a typo. Yep, I'm participating. Nope, it won't be any good. Yup, it will be interesting. Nope, I won't have time. Yup, it will be exciting. Nope, I don't know why I'm doing it. Yup, it'll be fun no matter what happens.

There's a kickoff party on the 18th in Mountain View. Then, there's a midnight meeting at a Denny's somewhere on the 31st. Bring your laptops, enjoy a mug-o-coffee and when Mickey's big hand hits 12, start pecking.

Working Title: The Shallows

I just finished my 1/2 mile (or so) walk from the cottage to the local Borders bookstore. Here's what I saw. The teenage boys who regularly use the covered parking lot of the chiropractic office as their own personal skate park were all there. They usually hang around until midnight with no fear of cops. A car, traveling northbound, laid on the horn to alert/annoy the parked car about to pull out onto the road. Instead of pausing though, the parked car reversed out and stopped in the middle of the road. More horn blowing. I got to the corner and three women were discussing the dinner they all shared (with others no doubt) and the money collected was $32 short of the bill total. They were wondering if tip was included in the bill when I got out of earshot, so I'm guessing they had a party of 8 or more.

I got to Borders and saw the regular meeting of the 7 women who bash relationships seated at the cafe. I got my coffee and sat down. The man accross from me has riped through the black plastic cover and is reading Penthouse. Finally, the otherwise plain looking woman directly in front of me in the black business dress cut above the knee is playing with her calf high stiletto boots as her and her three associates all talk about how they're going to sell their retinal scanning product to Visa.

O.K. back to work.

In working with customers I've found some tender spots where my natural instinct is to pronounce that I know what I'm talking about and they don't. That's a slippery slope to be sure. Case in point is something we're going though right now. My inventory system users are calling some areas "shelves" and some areas "backup". Likewise, my system calls some areas "shelves" and some areas "backup".

That's the trouble, exactly. We're using the same words to describe different things. My system thinks that "backup" refers to the area at the rear end of a store where shipments are received into, and "shelves" are areas where customers can pick up items to purchase.

I'm not yet willing to budge on my definition, but "the customer is always right."

Well, it had to happen. Living in California (see: Fruits & Nuts, land of) for almost all of my 38 years, I eventually had to go out and try something new and wierd. After weeks of making the same chili the same way, I decided to try my hand at chili con tofu. I'd been making it with ground turkey for about a year now, but something just moved my hand this weekend while I was walking around the grocery store.

Fresh corn, an Anaheim pepper, tomatoes (canned) - the usual shopping fare. Then, as I wandered by the "Lesbians & Vegans Only" section, my hand reached out and grabbed a package of firm tofu. I'd also been drinking soy milk for about 2 years now, so it shouldn't be such a reach - right?

I took everything home and pulled the curtains tight while I turned on my Easy-Bake oven. Knowing nothing of the "how" in how to make tofu, I decided that it should bake until the insides were a healthy 145 degrees. After that, I attempted to "brown the meat" as the recipe calls for.

It didn't crumble the way I thought a bean curd should, but I continued on my journey of new foods. Finally, it appears to look like my ground turkey looked when it was browned, except it wasn't brown - it was sort of a greyish beige. Fine, I'll just add the tomatoes and chilis and peppers and whatever else I could to give it some color. But first, I rescued a small bit to taste.

Well, as I quickly learned "taste" is a relative statement. It was more accurate to say that I put a small amount of warm tofu mass into my mouth and chewed. Tasteless, colorless, odorless - Tofu would be the perfect poison if it were indeed poison.

I started wondering how people could ever crave tofu. Was it like beer? It's not the flavor - it's the results. Anywho, I ended up adding my whole Anaheim pepper even though I was sure it would be too hot. Simmered the whole thing for about an hour while it attempted to reduce.

I didn't even try it before portioning all of it out into individual lunches. So, today at noon, I tried my new creation for the very first time, and I declare it...absolutely tasteless. When I get off work, I'm going to stop by the grocery store and look around for some more additions.

# posted by Johnny @ 10/04/2004 03:03:00 PM 0 comments links to this post