Our Long Frakin’ Nightmare is Over . . .
Last official day with AT&T Mobility: Saturday, November 17, 2007
Acceptance of Offer from Oasis Online: Thursday, December 30, 2010
It is 1139 days from the last day with AT&T to the acceptance of offer from Oasis Online.
Or 3 years, 1 month, 13 days excluding the end date
Alternative time units
1139 days can be converted to one of these units:
- 98,409,600 seconds
- 1,640,160 minutes
- 27,336 hours
- 162 weeks (rounded down)
It's been 1139 days since my last work day at AT&T Mobility and accepting the offer at my new permanent employer. It has been a rough three years to put it mildly. And it will still be a long haul before we are fully on our feet again, but being employed again is a very positive first step.
After nearly three years of banging my head against the job market in the Seattle/Tacoma, WA area, Peg and I first discussed the possibility of moving to Fallon, NV last June. On the surface, the move sounds foolhardy. Even we thought so. But it did have a couple of advantages that weren't immediately apparent.
First, Peg had family there, so we have a support network going in. This is crucial for the emotional support we would need, but also people who are established and know the area to help us get to know the area.
Second, the Nevada Job Market. WTF!?!?! Yeah, you read that right. Yes, Nevada has one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation. But, when we looked deeper, we found that Northern Nevada was actually short on people with skills. Both of us have college degrees and I was formerly employed by AT&T as an IT Analyst. That and a quarter didn't buy a Dr. Pepper where we were living. The job market was glutted with all flavours of IT Professionals in the Puget Sound Area. At ACS (A job I would not wish on my worst enemies) I was working next to IT System Admins for an unlivable wage. Prospects improved when started shooting applications down to Nevada. Peg had a interview almost immediately and I started getting phone interviews. Unfortunately, a lot of places were only accepting applications in person. Not convenient when you're in Washington State.
When Peg had the interview in September, we also prepared to do some on the ground job hunting. Well, as luck would have it, we had an accident on the way down. Luckily noone was hurt, but the piece of firewood that fell out of the trailer in front of us took out two tires and two rims on our car. Being without a vehicle killed much of our job searching. By the time the car was fixed, it was time to come home.
Once home, we continued our job search in Nevada and started packing and preparing the house for sale. Some of the packing went fast, but once Peg got into the store inventory, it slowed down. Especially as the wet winter weather set in and we focused on keeping the house warm with what wood we could find.
A couple of weeks ago, my Mother in Law saw an advertisement on the sign at Oasis Online stating that they were looking for a Technical Person. She didn't have any more information. I didn't find the job advertised online in any of the usual spots. I checked their website, but the website was somewhat out of date but there was a phone number and I found the name of someone that worked there that I met while we were down there in September. I tried contacting him, but didn't get a response. I also tried the phone number that I found, but it just went to a fast busy signal. Hmmm . . . not encouraging. I asked my Mother in Law if she had any more info, but she didn't.
We went to Fallon for Christmas, Peg's brother Tim's Birthday, to job hunt, and to start actually moving there. On our way into town, we passed Oasis Online and checked the sign. The sign was on and had Merry Christmas information scrolling, but no information about the job. Well, it looks like they were still in business. So after a several days with Peg's family for Christmas and Tim's Birthday, I went down to Oasis Online on the 28th to turn in a resume and to ask about the position. The receptionist didn't know if it was filled yet, but she was glad to give me an application and give me a little information about the company. The company started as an ISP. Over time they started supplying the IT maintenance for the Churchill County School Districts and other surrounding School Districts. Now it is their primary focus and they are phasing out their ISP. Hence the website that is a bit out of date. I took the application home, filled it out, tweaked my resume, and wrote a cover letter. I returned the next day and turned it it. While I was leaving, I noticed that the car belonging to the person I met in September was in the parking lot. I went back in and asked if he was there. He wasn't.
Peg and I left to continue our job hunting, and returned home a couple of hours later. When I got home, I found an e-mail requesting and interview the next day. The e-mail was sent within an hour of dropping off my resume. I called them back and confirmed the interview. The next day I headed out to the interview. I interviewed with the owner/President and his son the VP/Network Admin. The interview went extremely well. We discussed my background (primarily with AT&T) then what the position entails. The interview went relatively quickly with most of the discussion about what the position entailed. After the interview, they said that they would "chew on it."
The next morning, I received an e-mail offering me the position. Needless to say, I was elated. Fist Pumps, "Woo-Hoo"'s, and dancing with my daughter ensued! Peg was out with her Mom. When she got home, I told her. "WooHoo." But we had to discuss how to proceed from here. We had moved down with the intention to job hunt and head back to WA periodically to prep the house, We didn't expect for me to find a job so quickly.
They wanted me to start on January 3 but, fortunately, I was able to negotiate a January 10 start date. We drove home and spent the next few days maniacally purging, packing, and taking stuff to GoodWill. Peg was under the weather, but we had help from our friends Stephany and Linda as well as my cousin Debi. We got some major areas taken care of, but there is a long way to go. I came back loaded with a bunch of stuff; both personal and stuff to sort through. Peg will stay up in WA for finish packing and prepping the house for sale and plans to move down in March.
I wish I could be there for her, but we are so glad that I am employed again and we realize that being apart will only be for a short while. It's been a rough three years, but we're turning the corner looking forward to a better future.
The Great Bullseye Roundup!
We have some great friends.
Woody, Buzz, and Jesse at Grrr'l's Birthda
All Righty! Now for another episode of "Life with Grrr'l." We were at Toys R Us last Saturday morning buying a birthday gift for one of Cate's friends when we noticed that they had the one toy Grrr'l really wants from Santa. We didn't pick it up then, because a) it wasn't part of the sale, b) we figured we could pick it up on line at that same price, and c) Grrr'l was with us and we didn't want to try to smuggle it with us to the party and back.
Grrr'l is a Big Toy Story Fan. No, Really. Grrr'l is a BIG Toy Story Fan. For her Birthday, we got her the Large, Movie Accurate Sheriff Woody, Buzz Lightyear, and Jesse the Yodeling Cowgirl dolls. She loves these dolls. They are her "Go To" toys. She plays with them ALL the time. (we were really worried about this since they ARE spendy.)
Now, for Christmas, she wants Bullseye, Woody's horse. She REALLY wants Bullseye for Christmas. She asked The Big Guy in the Red Suit and everything. It's the Capstone of her Christmas list. Now, on Saturday, there were a couple left on the shelf. I go back on Monday to get it and they are out. I talk to one of the Toys-R-Us elves and he checks the stockroom. Zero. He also checks the inventory for all the Toys-R-Us stores in the Puget Sound Region. Zilch. All the stores in the region are out. It's gonna be fun trying to track this down and not ruin her Christmas.
We start searching for the toy in our area. Neither Target or WalMart have it. We start searching the internet. It turns out that Bullseye is one of the HOT toys of the season. What?!?! a second tier character in the Toy Story franchise? Who Woulda Thunk?! The only thing that we can think of is that, like Grrr'l, a lot of other kids got the Woody, Buzz, and Jesse dolls when Toy Story 3 came out earlier this year and now that it's Christmas they want to round out their collections with Bullseye.
Woody's Horse Bullseye, the HOT Toy of the Year.
When we first checked Amazon.com, they were listing Bullsye for $108.90. Double its normal retail price of $54.99. When we checked Amazon a few hours later, it jumped to $119.95. We also checked E-Bay. Oh, Yes . . . there were sellers starting the bidding at its normal retail price. But they padded their Shipping cost. Some were subtle at $20.00. Others laid their greed right on the line at $40.00. We tried a few of the E-Bay auctions, but the bidding got insane pretty quick. Everyone wants this dang doll. We weren't willing to pay much more than normal retail and reasonable shipping. This was going to be tough. We also weren't going to turn this into a bad Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sinbad film. If Grrr'l had to get an I.O.U. from the Big Guy, so be it. But we were gonna go down fighting.
We called her Godfathers, Dean Backus and Jonathan Thalberg, in Portland to see if they might be able to find Bullseye there. We knew it was a long shot but it was worth a try. Grrr'l has the best Godfathers. We talked to Jonathan and he called the Toys-R-Us' in the Portland area. He found that there were a few Bullseyes left in the system. One in Tigard and two at Jantzen Beach. Unfortunately, he couldn't get to the store until the following night. The next morning, we received a Facebook message to call him. He got up at 0-Dark-Thirty this morning just to go to the Toys-R-Us in Tigard before work to check on Bullseye for us. In short, the inventory in the computers was off. When the physical inventory was checked, neither store had any Bullseyes left. Also, when he talked with the store personnel, he found out the store was receiving over 20 requests a day for Bullseye! Although it was a Bust, THANKS, Jonathan, for the special effort. We really appreciate it!!
Lisa Bundrick checked locally for the toy then put out an All-Points-Bulletin to her Friends on Facebook for it. Marcus Boddington checked stores in Portland and the vicinity as well as online. Flo Garetson stalked the Toys-R-Us in Silverdale and helped us find reasonable online auctions to bid on.
Lisa's All-Points-Bulletin paid off!! Her Sister-in-Law in Arlington, TX found Bullseye at the local Toys-R-Us. She was able to pick up the doll and, after arranging payment, shipped it out for Christmas. The crisis was averted and Grrr'l will not have to go through years of therapy because she didn't receive the toy she really, REALLY wanted for Christmas.
Thank you Lisa, Jonathan, Flo, Marcus, and all the others who helped scour the country for a Bullseye doll for our four year old. We appreciate it
Update:
Opening Bullseye
Today was the Big Day! Bullseye arrived a few days ago and Grrr'l's Uncle Tim took point on wrapping it up before Grrr'l saw it. Package was hidden and we were all set. Grrr'l hasn't been feeling well since we arrived. She's been coughing a lot and she ended up throwing up a couple of times, but she hasn't had a fever. We think it is due to the dry air and getting overheated at Grandma's house. Grandma likes it excessively warm while Grrr'l is used to our home being on the cool side. She got a good night's sleep and is doing better this morning. When she got up this morning, we asked her if she thought Santa came. She said, "Let's see." We go out to the Living Room and she sees the big present under the tree. Her face lit up. We asked her if she was sure that package was for her. "Yes!" and she proceeded to read her name on the box. She pulled the package out to the center of the room and pulled off the wrapping paper. "Bullseye!" she exclaimed. After a few minutes, Mommy had it out of the box and she was off playing. She ran to the other room, grabbed Woody, and Bullseye was part of the Roundup Gang!
The Roundup Gang!
Devlin Fuzzbutt 1993-Oct. 30, 2010
In April of 1994, my cat, Caterina Caterwaul, went missing for 2 weeks. Well, a friend needed to go to Farmland Feed in Silverdale and I went with her. She decided to show me the kittens. There was this little white 9 week old with two triangles of black on his forehead. She put him in my arms and I immediately fell in love. My friend bought him for me as a birthday present, because she knew that I was upset over Caterina, who showed up the very next day. His name was Devlin Fuzzbutt.
Devlin was my best buddy through thick and through thin. He was with me during my divorce, when I was so broke I couldn't pay the electric bill in the middle of winter, when Caterina decided she liked living at the restaurant across the alley from my apartment instead of with us. He brought the best kitty presents: birds, mice, and snakes...Of course, there was the time he brought a freshly cooked pork chop. I don't know where he got it, but as I bent down to pick it up, I could feel the heat coming off it, he grabbed it up with a kitty version of "This one is mine...I just wanted to let you see what I can find!"
He was a great hunter and had a great over appreciation of his problem solving skills when it came to food. There wasn't a glass of milk that was safe from him. Oh, no, he would tip over unattended milk glasses and then "clean" up his mess. The first time I tried to cook for Thanksgiving Dinner was a major education of Devlin's determination. As we sat eating dinner, we suddenly heard a crash in the Kitchen. When we got in there, there he was trying to carry his "Prey" away without much success. He was too distracted by the nummy flavor. After that we made sure to secure the Turkey carcass BEFORE sitting down to dinner. When it came to bird, Dev was a major pest.
He was my baby kitten. He would give me hugs...no really, he would put his paws around my neck and hold on... His vet always thought that that was the funniest thing. He liked to be held with his front paws and his head on your shoulders and his back paws around your waist, just like a little kid or else he was a parrot draping himself on my shoulders.
My Mother liked to refer to Devlin as her Grandson, as she thought he would be the only grandchild she was going to get from me. For almost 12 years that was what it was looking like;-) When I was pregnant with Cate he was my constant companion. Though, after she was born, he really was a little miffed that I could only hold him when I was in the bathroom, as I spent most of my time holding the baby. When she became a toddler, Devlin discovered that little kids spill food. Well, then Cate became his best hoomon friend.
In recent years, Devlin was slowing down, but he was determined not to let those young whippersnappers forget that he was still the Alpha Cat in the neighborhood. He was a scrapper with breath like Death!
This afternoon, we went looking for him, as he had been noticeably absent for several hours during our closing sale. Some friends were over looking at stuff and were playing with Jenny and Spot. So, it was weird that we hadn't seen Devlin. Joel checked all over the house and even opened the front door to call for him. No answer. Something told me to check outside myself and, barefoot, I stepped out on to the porch and looked to the Deck where he liked to hang out. Especially, in the rain. Well, there I saw him, but he wasn't responding to my call. He just laid there. I sent Joel to get him, afraid that he was already dead. Well, he wasn't dead, but he wasn't really active either. We brought him in and tried to dry him off and warm him up. At first, we just thought he had been in a fight. His lip was bloody and he seemed to be doing OK. Until we put him down. His hind end wasn't supporting him and he was listing as he walked. We tried warming him some more. Nope, the listing got worse and his paw was curling under. I called the emergency vet and took him in.
It is hard taking your fur family to the vet when you just know things are bad, but I kept one hand on Dev as we made the trip down the street. Got to the vet and they immediately took him from me. A few minutes later, they put me in a room to wait for the vet. She came in and started the process of telling me what was wrong. I kind of felt bad for her, having to go through all this rigmarole of trying to be sensitive to the patients that are distraught over the family pet needing critical care. However, if I wasn't just trying to keep from totally breaking down, I would have told to just tell me it straight. So, after several minutes she finally got to the heart of the matter. Devlin was in an incubator. His core temp was 92 degrees. His back legs had no feeling. His Kidneys were shot. His heart was not beating as it should. He had a lot going on which didn't bode well. The Vet said that there were some treatments that might help, but, at his age, there were few garauntees that they would get him back into fighting shape. It was a decision that I didn't want to make, but I knew I had to. It was time to say goodbye to my best friend, my old man kitty. So, at 4:30pm, I held my kitty for the last time. He was so light and so listless. I knew it was the right thing to do. I said goodbye and watched as he passed from this world. While I know the veil is thin this time of year, I don't think we need to worry about him haunting us, but if that Turkey carcass ends up on the floor...We will know who has come back;-)
BBQ Experimentation Part Deux
The first BBQ Experiment was a success despite the Temperature issue. Derek is coming down today with his Grill Thermometer so we can determine exactly how far the Thermometer is off on our Grill.
The Meat: 2 Pork Shoulders (5.1 lb and 4.11 lb)
Wood Chips: Hickory
Grill Temperature: 215 degrees
Final Meat Internal Temperature: 190 degrees
Time Estimation: 7.5 hours
Cooking Start Time: 10:AM
Previous Day:
Made Rub and Dip, prepared grill.
7:30AM:
Pulled Pork Shoulders out of the fridge to bring up to room temperature.
8:30AM:
Applied Rub to Pork Shoulders.
9:30AM:
Firing Up Grill and bringing to temperature.
10:30AM:
Grill brought up and is holding steady at about 255 degrees. We know this is an estimation of where we should be at. When Derek arrives we'll set up his Grill Thermometer to see the real temp and how far off we are and adjust. Pork is on the grill with the smoke packets. Smoke Packets will be changed once an hour.
11:00AM: Checked the Grill Temperature. Holding steady at 250 degrees. Hopefully this is really about 220 degrees.
11:30AM: Changed Smoke Packets. It sure smells good. Temperature holding at about 253 degrees.
