And Life Goes On…

Being unemployed isn’t any fun, but it isn’t the end of the world either. I should know, I’ve been down that road twice now. The first time I was laid off (two years ago) came just as the Internet bubble was starting to crack. I had moved from Phoenix to Dallas on the promise of a high-paying consulting gig and I thought the gravy train had finally come in for me. My first mistake was celebrating like I had just won the lottery - I immediately moved into a house, bought a new truck and a brand new jetski. I hadn’t been in Dallas six months when the layoffs began.

At first, the work sabbatical was great. Then I decided I should think about a regular gig. I quickly discovered a technology market that wasn’t in a hurry to hire me and if anyone made an offer it was one-third the salary I had received just months before. When two months turned into four, I found my happy-go-lucky attitude change into a little desperation. During that brutal reality check I lost my house, the truck, but I managed to refinance the jetski (God’s wicked sense of humor given the fact I have nothing to tow it with).

I managed to land a new job which consumed all my free time. At first I didn’t mind, I saw the position as an opportunity to grow with a company and build an IT infrastructure from the ground up. But then came the endless complaints, long hours, last minute projects, and more complaints. I found myself becoming more irritated with each passing day. While I didn’t have any issues with the people I worked with, there was something just itching beneath the surface, gnawing at me.

I resided myself to the fact the everybody hates their job and when (if) the tech sector showed improvement I would look for something different. Well a year later the market didn’t improve and I found myself at the mercy of yet another company layoff. While I was caught completely unaware once the shock wore off I was quite relieved. Any pressure I felt on the job went away the moment I didn’t have to jump out of bed when my alarm clock went off.

I made use of the downtime by maintaining a schedule. I found I actually got up earlier than I ever did when I worked. I got back to the gym, started eating better and my relationship with my then-girlfriend (now fianc?) improved dramatically as well. Many of the projects I put off because I seemingly had no time, I made time for.

That was the moment that my destiny once again became my own. You see, I really don’t like the IT industry. Sure I may be good at it, but who wants all the pressure of user complaints, long hours and absolutely no job satisfaction. It’s not that I find people who are computer illiterate utterly annoying, I’m just amazed how trivial management makes my job seem when I save their @ss all the time. With a 24% unemployment rate here in Dallas I don’t know when I’ll return to the tech sector (if ever). However, I’m certain my next thirty years will be just as exciting as the first.

Identity Theft Ring Busted

Well, it looks like I wasn’t alone with my financial troubles this month. Three people have been accused of running the largest identity theft in history - more than 30,000 people had their credit information stolen.

I caught a portion of the story just a minute ago on Good Morning America. The scary part is the U.S. District Attorney could offer little in new information to protect yourself from this crime. So here’s my two cents:

Get your credit report from ALL THREE of the major credit reporting agencies - Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. This will provide you with the most comprehensive picture of your current credit history. I’ve said it many times before, but I’ll point it out again - if you’ve got good credit get yourself an American Express card. If you already have one go here: http://www.americanexpress.com/creditsecure

Credit Secure through America Express will provide you with DAILY monitoring of your credit accounts AND a quarterly report from ALL THREE of the credit reporting agencies. Other credit card carriers might have similar services, but I am not familiar with them.

The key thing is to know your credit history and check it at least four times a year. According to Good Morning America some people are victims of identity fraud almost two years before they discover a problem.

In one month someone purchased over $25k worth of stuff using my name. Imagine what two years might have been like.

UPDATE - Another suggestion I forgot to mention. I keep a lamenated wallet card with any important phone number (medical contacts, credit card 800#s, etc) on me at all times. I also have a detailed phone list in my home so I don’t have to rummage through bank & card statements in the event of fraud. That saved me a lot of time earlier this month.

Cycle World Show

Well, my `net connection didn’t want to cooperate today, but whatcha gonna do?

Over the weekend Michelle> & I went downtown with Geoff & Kathy to the Cycle World Show. The weather was perfect for riding and plenty of riders were out & about. The show itself seemed a lot smaller than last year and there weren’t many changes from the 2002 to 2003 model bikes.

Will post more pictures tomorrow when my connection isn’t dropping.

A Story Of Survival

As posted in the weekend edition of the Dallas Morning News:

By MICHAEL KELLY

From Father’s Day to Thanksgiving isn’t normally such a long time - five months. But this year life moved in slow motion.

My daughter, a first-grade teacher in Killeen, Texas, had sent me a card in June saying how much she looked forward to a summer of visits and travel. The first day of the season, though, changed her life and mine and our entire family’s.

On June 21, Bridget was raped, shot three times and left for dead. She survived, some say miraculously. Now it seems years later, and we all feel years older. During this holiday season, we’ll stand in prayerful thanks ? grateful for our 25-year-old daughter, wise and strong; for an Army veteran who opened his door to her in the middle of the night; and to all who helped her get this far. [read this story and other tales of survival]

NOTE - If the link above gets pulled please comment here as I have the complete story saved offline.

HUMOR: Final Exam

This evening’s joke sent in by Mark:

A high school English teacher reminds her class of tomorrow’s final exam.

“Now class, I won’t tolerate any excuses for you not being there tomorrow. I might consider a nuclear attack or a serious personal injury or illness, or a death in your immediate family - but that’s it, no other excuses whatsoever!”

A smart-ass guy in the back of the room raises his hand and asks, “What would you say if tomorrow I said I was suffering from complete and utter sexual exhaustion?”

(The entire class does its best to stifle their laughter and snickering)

Silence is restored, the teacher smiles sympathetically at the student, shakes her head, and sweetly says,

“Well, I guess you’d have to write the exam with your other hand.”

I Have A Lot Of Photo Essays!

While I was reading thru Sarah’s site earlier today I clicked over to Mad Pony and checked out their latest photo essays. It got me thinking - I have plenty of photo essays on this website. I know most people head straight for the downloads while others scan thru the blog, but if you haven’t checked out my photo albums you’re missing some good stuff.

You like to look at silly faces? Or maybe you prefer to see photos labeled with smart @ss remarks? I’ve got action photos and even pictures that recapture some of the fun I’ve shared with friends.

The photo album is probably my favorite part of the site. And look at that left-side menu - there are games, jokes, novels compacted into Flash and I review all the GREAT COMEDIANS that come thru Dallas.

OK, I’m going to fire up some popcorn for Michelle & throw in a DVD now.

Visitor Feedback

“I am so jealous of your fianc? I want to have her for myself. I want to makeout with her so bad.” - Loriann Kompare

OK, that breaks new ground for the types of comments I receive about this website. I guess that’s an upgrade from “Dude! Where the @#!$ are the video downloads?”

Thank goodness Angela, Sarah & Tony had some positive feedback for me.

Any Midwestern folks need some web design services? Go see my buddy Charles at the brainwrap.

Oh! and Mike needs to be famous… and fast.

Fast Forward Please

OK, I’m ready for Friday. It’s after 1pm and I haven’t gotten a damn thing accomplished today because of the constant interruptions, phone calls and last minute projects dropped in my lap.

I still have servers to build, vendors to talk to and a redesign that I’ll never get a chance to start if this crap keeps up. I can only hope I’m in a better mood tonight when Michelle gets home.

Did I mention the portrait photos we have scheduled this evening? Grrr… this is not my best day.

We’re back…

WOW. Michelle & I had an incredible weekend!

[Go straight to the pictures]

Too bad it ended so quickly. We flew up to Michigan for our first unofficial engagement celebration with some of my good friends. The first place we stopped was Jamboozie’s Friday evening immediately after the airport. We caught up with Ron and his Detroit cover band Room13. After a late night Friday we got off to a slow start on Saturday, but I still managed to give Michelle the whirlwind tour of some of my old stomping grounds.

Saturday evening we met up at Mr. B’s where all my (and soon to be Michelle’s) friends joined us for some quick drinks & munchies. Michelle was the belle of the ball and everyone thought she was great. Comments ranged from “Damn! She’s hot!” to “A.J. my friend, you have locked in WAY out of your league”. After spending time chatting (and bitching out the waitress for slow service) we gathered the group and headed over to Mark Ridley’s Comedy Castle.

Towards the end of the night Michelle & I headed back out to Jamboozie’s to catch the end of Ron’s set with Room13. The crowd was wild (some too wild) and we soaked in all the visuals as Ron downed shots between songs.

Rollin’ out on Sunday I had a chance to take Michelle to the Franklin Cider Mill for yummy donuts & hot apple cider. Haven’t found such a place in Dallas yet, but I’ll be there every weekend if one exists. Nothing like hot cider on a cold day and hmmm… donuts. Ron had fun snapping photos as we were attacked by a gaggle of ducks. With our bellies warm & full it was off to the airport for the flight home.

Getting away was great even if it was only a few days. Can’t wait to go back next month!

Another Weekend Getaway

Well, Michelle’s got a few more hours at the office before we head to the airport to get out of town. I’m definitely looking forward to some time off. A weekend free from the current everyday hassles here in Dallas will be a welcome change.

Be sure to stop back Monday as I’m sure to have lots of pictures posted from our trip and a few stories to tell.

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