Like the Wind

Well, I received good news and bad news last night. Good news is that I got the Consultant position in Best Buy. Bad news is that I am expected to move my life to Minneapolis in two weeks (well ONE, but my new boss was able to negotiate two weeks).

I don't know anyone who has been through three moves in six months. Memphis, Dallas and now Minneapolis. I am not looking forward to apartment hunting again...making new friends again...that whole process of "settling down" again. Truth be told...I am kind of sad to leave Dallas. But I am excited to leave as well...here's what I read about Minneapolis...aka. The The Twin Cities.

Things that stood out for me:

...fifteenth largest metropolitan area in the US, with about 3.5 million residents.

...has twenty lakes and wetlands, the Mississippi riverfront, creeks and waterfalls, many connected by parkways in the Chain of Lakes and the Grand Rounds Scenic Byway.

...ranked the most literate [city] in the US in 2007. A diverse population, the community has a long tradition of charitable support through progressive public social programs and through private and corporate philantrophy.

...the "Top Tech City" in the U.S. The Twin Cities ranked the country's second best city in a 2006 Kiplinger's poll of Smart Places to Live and Minneapolis was one of the Seven Cool Cities for young professionals.

...average annual temperature of 45.4 °F (7 °C) gives the Minneapolis–St.Paul metropolitan area the coldest annual mean temperature of any major metropolitan area in the US.

...second only to New York City in live theater per capita and is the third-largest theater market in the U.S.

...stronghold for the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor party (DFL), an affiliate of the Democratic Party.

Seven miles (11 km) of enclosed pedestrian bridges called skyways link eighty city blocks downtown.



Sounds and looks like Toronto (cept for the CN Tower), only smaller :p Guess it's time to get packing and organizing/canceling things and services...blah.

The Job Test

1. You wake up wanting to go to work
2. You like the people you work with or the company you work for
3. You will still do your job if it only pays half the amount

At the moment...0/3. There are times when you don't know what you want - I do know that I want to move on.

~C

I drink coffee every morning...

Current song: I don't think I'll ever get over you - Colin Hay

So...I am currently sitting in the cabin filled with the smell of burnt popcorn. Yes. I burned popcorn. I am also the type of person who have burned rice as well. If you don't know what that smells like, I suggest you don't start. If you don't know how that is possible, well lets just say I am talented.

The day was super relaxing...Arkansas' hot springs, fresh air, a beautiful sunset. That all ended when the Packers lost to the Giants in OT (second OT in NFL). So now I am sad and drinking hot chocolate and listening to sad songs. I'm going for a nice morning hike tomorrow and watch the sunrise before my long journey back to Big D.

C'mere

Now this weekend was meant to be my "get-away" - a nice and relaxing spa resort in the middle of the mountains surrounded by nothing but nature...in HotSpring, Arkansas (no you did not read wrong)...well it was anything but relaxing today.

I was out the door in my sweats and baseball cap by 7:30am hoping to get into town early to explore. So after cruising at 80-90 miles/hr non-stop for 4 hours...I realized that my clutch has disappeared! So...Geico to the rescue - le tow truck.

In the near distance I see Walmart and I contemplated running across the 6 lane highway to get to it (and a McD's...I haven't eaten anything all day). I figured it was because I had no clutch fluid (I popped the hood and yep...no clutch fluid), but the verdict was either the slave or master cylinder. I'm hoping it's the slave.

Glen (tow truck driver) said no dealership will work on the car because it's the weekend. Great. At least if I'm stranded here, it's at a resort. Haha. Turns out the truck driver owns a wreck shop and he offered to fix it for me (after I cried - well not really) IF he can find the parts. He dropped me off at the resort and off I went to my massage appointment. It was a much needed massage.

Glen just called...the car is done and he will pick me up at the resort tomorrow. I will make it back to Big D on time after all (knock on wood). Why am I not excited?

Oh...and the title of this blog? I was listening to Interpol's C'mere when I got stranded...

The Magic of The Game

Warning.....SPOILERS for the book "The Game" by Neil Strauss!
*********************************************************
Now this book - The Game - has been out for awhile, and it was only recently that I picked it up. Well, not really, I downloaded the audio book and listened to it passively while doing other stuff :p. Do these "tactics" by Pick up Artists (aka PUA) really work - Negging (soft insults...you have a nice smile, too bad you have something stuck between your teeth)? Peacocking (doing/wearing something outrageous that gets comments)? Stringing (dangling something that the other person wants but making it just out of her reach)? Punishment (self explanatory)?

It's sad that smart and attractive women would fall for these tricks. This book really shows you a great social phenomenon, the evolution (or perhaps the right word would be regression) of social behaviour/development. The way I see it though...these tricks only works for certain types of women. Women who need men to confirm their self-worth, that they are attractive, smart and so on. The ones who crave attention, the ones who don't know what they want. And... unfortunately, there are a lot of women who fall under those categories.

If you look at it, the typical 'geek' (those who are not as socially adept lets just say), he is usually obsessed with a "system," which is defined by a set of processes. If "A" occurs, do "B" --> If she ignores you (A), neg her (B). Or, if she starts showing interest in another guy (A), punish her by flippantly leaving her pretending you are no longer interested and make her want to get your attention (B). There are many "processes" that the book goes into.

In a nutshell...yes, these pick up tactics will work on some girls. It is a good "one night stand" tactic book, but it does not tell you how to keep the girl. It will help the nerds, geeks or whomever to "break out of their shell", break the ice etc. But if you have nothing else to offer after using the system, once the program ends and there are no more processes to follow, the facade ends and you are alone again.

And yes...players sometimes gets played. You can't win all the time.

So that's my 2cents...

End of Silence

There are very few albums where I like almost all of the songs - Metallica's Black album was one. I recently discovered Red's End of Silence (2003) ... "Breathe Into Me" got me hooked. I then downloaded "Lost"... then finally the whole album. I am going to go buy the album if I can find it, not exactly the most popular band.

Some of the lyrics aren't exactly "deep", but I am so addicted to the melody...

Already Over
Let Go
Lost
Pieces
Break Me Down
Gave It All Away
Breathe Into Me
Hide
Wasting Time
Already Over Pt.2

Yes, it is 4:30am and I am listening to this album. I can't seem to sleep - lately I have been having trouble sleeping, I always seem to wake up at 4am. 4 is a significant number in Chinese, similar to the meaning of 13, except instead of "unlucky", the number 4 is a little more extreme...it means "death". Now I am not a superstitious person at all...but having studied psych in University, the mind is a powerful thing and I am just stressed...and it is all just a cosmic coincidence ;). Now there is a good heading for a poem...Cosmic Coincidence - maybe I'll share...I am ending this posting at 4:44am. Night!

Looks can be deceiving

Imagine meeting an elderly man in his late 40's to mid50's, with disheveled brown hair with specs of white, wrinkled clothes, unshaven. Who do you see?

Certainly not an ex-Executive at Philip Morris, not the CEO of CompUSA. But it was.

2007 - Year of Food Recalls

So for those of us in the F&B (Food and Beverages) Industry...2007 was definitely the year of food recalls. In case any of you (or pets) are still consuming poisonous food...here is a list for you to check http://www.fda.gov/oc/po/firmrecalls/archive_2007.html as well as http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Fsis_Recalls/Recall_Case_Archive/index.asp. Lets just say it was not a good year for:

1. Pet Food: National recall of more than 90 brands of popular pet food by Menu Foods due to an unknown cause. My poor dog was a victim of this...luckily he survived *sniff*
2. Ground Beef: Over 21 million pounds of ground beef by Topps Meat Co. The recall started in late-September in response to a New York outbreak of E coli, and ended up being the third largest hamburger recall in USDA history. The recall led the 67-year-old meat processing company to file for Chapter 11 (bankruptcy). I'm surprised they're the only company who went bankrupt this year from massive food recalls
3. Peanut butter: Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter recall by ConAgra Foods, due to Salmonella. They recalled products back to 2005...so I guess if you had any of their peanut butter and survived...you were lucky?

Not to mention seafood like salmon, oysters and shrimp. Even chocolate wasn't free from recalls! Be careful what you put into your body people.

It all started with "Hey there - JohnZem"

When I received this rather random text - and the subsequent conversation resulting from it...I had to post it. It is rather entertaining - well for me, not sure about the other end.

JZ: Hey there...-JohnZem
Me: Who is this?
JZ: JohnZem
Me: Don't know you
JZ: Yeah u do
Me: How?
JZ: Mikes friend.
JZ: I came to ur house Halloween
Me: Mike who
JZ: Ur brother dumbass (**why he gotta insult?!)
Me: I didn't have anyone over for halloween uve got the wrong person
Me: My bro's name isn't mike - loser (**means I gotta insult)
JZ: Yeah mike did
JZ: Is this gaby
Me: No - I'm hotter lol. Later
JZ: Who is this then
Me: Out of your league
JZ: Who r u?!
Me: A gorgeous stranger that u will never get to know. Go find that Gaby chick instead
JZ: Gabbys ugly
Me: Then u must've been desperate
JZ: What the hell i'm not even friends with gaby
Me: Then y u msgin her?
JZ: Im just textin everyone cuz I'm bored. Just go away
Me: I already said later - u d one textin dumbass
JZ: F*ck u dush bag c ya later d*cksuck (**Guess he didn't like looking stupid)

So that was that.

Re-energizing my soul

I need a place...where I can climb to the top - somewhere high - to scream at the top of my lungs. I need to fill my soul with new, fresh, clean, positive energy.

It's time to turn dreams into reality. I don't usually write this much, but there's been a lot going on in this crazy yet sane head of mine.

Drifting into the unknown

Horoscope: You'll need much courage and perspicacity in order to grapple with the difficulties which will suddenly arise in the professional domain; be ready for the battle.

I must say...I don't generally believe in these general horoscopes...but this one tugged at something inside...guess there's no time like the present...it's time to grow up and take control. Growing up sucks sometimes.

Learned a new saying...'The Walk of Shame'

Woke up this morning in time to see someone doing the "Walk of Shame"...a term I recently learned about...lol.

From Wikipedia...

The walk of shame refers to any phenomenon in which a person has to take a walk in front of strangers, the roommate of the person she or he slept with or peers for an embarrassing reason before reaching a place of privacy. Most commonly, it occurs the morning after a night out at a bar, Dance club or party. People undertaking the walk of shame are understood to have spent the night at the house, apartment, dorm of a sexual partner (or perceived sexual partner), particularly a one night stand. Due to this, he or she can be recognized by the fact that he or she is still wearing the clothes that he or she wore the night before, has disheveled "bed head" hair or "sex hair." A woman might have smudged makeup on her face, smell like cigarettes and/or booze, and may suffer from a hangover due to excessive alcohol or drug intake from the previous night.

For a man, the walk of shame is often concerned with whom he slept. For example, if his bedmate is a considerably undesirable female, the man might do a walk of shame. On the other hand, there is often regarded as being no walk of shame associated with sleeping with a very attractive partner; this is sometimes known as the "stride of pride." For a woman, on the other hand, the walk of shame has more to do with being caught after a night of sex than it has to do with the desirability of her partner. These differences likely reflect cultural views.

In North America, college and university campuses most often play host to the walk of shame, as these walks often happen when students travel to and from dorms and Fraternity and sorority houses. The walk may be made even more humiliating when students promenade through large open quads, often subjecting themselves to whistles and catcalls from the few fellow students who are awake at that hour.

The BlackBerry Curve 8310

I finally got it! I even added a personal email to the phone (trick is to activate the personal email before the Enterprise Activation). However I messed up by hiding the personal email icon...now I can't get it back (hence I can't reply to personal emails), but I can receive them...better than nothing I guess.

What I have noticed is that the browser is extremely slow - I am unsure whether it is a connection issue or a software issue. However, my old BB 8800 surfed the net relatively quickly. So far that is the only major set back and hopefully it is just today that it is slow...

The camera phone on the 8310 is great, especially since it comes with a flash. The trackball takes a little getting used to but I do like it better than the side scroller - it is much more sensitive to the touch. Still love the full keyboard, which was the only reason why I chose it over th Pearl to be honest. The curve is only 1/4 wider than the Pearl and the weight difference is neglible. I am looking forward to loading the phone with a 4GB microSD card to play media files. Apparently the 6GB causes problems with the phone (slows down the O/S, incompatibility with the desktop manager, requires formatting...and that might not even work) - says the crackberry site...RIM will probably provide a fix but I don't need anything bigger than a 4GB anyway. As I mentioned last time...the GPS is good addition to the 8300 series. Now to try it out...