I just can’t win can I? Two steps forward and three steps back.

So far so good. No complaints, except for parking. Spending most of your life with free parking, then having to pay for it? blah. Oh well.  I also don’t have the luxury of going home and eating lunch anymore.  That was nice money wise.

Ok, I don’t have any REAL complaints about work hehe.

 I’m getting a little sleepy though….zzzzz….

Well, I’ve been at my job for one week now. So far so good. Got a holiday party coming up this week, should be fun and should be a great opportunity to meet a lot of people on my team and other members of the firm.

The new job is great, the way the company functions is fantastic. Its a direct contrast to how things were at my previous job. There’s direction to everything. I’m also glad to be getting away from writing requirements and moving on to other things like process improvement and designing tools for managers/executives to use to measure progress. It just seems like the stuff I’m working on now actually adds value to a specific purpose.

The people are really nice, everyone’s helpful and friendly. I’m trying to juggle working on the project they put me on and completing all the new hire training that I have to have done. Its nuts. I got the bad training out of the way though so i’m happy about that. There’s so much to learn when you work in this type of field. It is interesting to see the contrast between what side of the fence I’m on now. Before, I was on the internal side of the company, and now I’m the dreaded “consultant” on the other side. I like this side though, so far.

Hopefully the next week will go as well as the first.

Well, I just gave my two weeks notice at my present employer.  I’ve never resigned from a job so this was an interesting experience.  I think I am making the right choice though, everyone said it was a better move for my career.  I was never sure how far I would advance there, and I see much higher potential with this new job.

Consulting should be a lot more work, faster paced, but probably more gratifying at the end of the day.  I was getting a little tired of doing requirements, so it was probably a good time to switch gears.  I do enjoy that with the new job, I know that the work I put in will actually be recognized and will be rewarded accordingly.  That wasn’t the case at the current job. Oh well, it happens.

The next week should be nice, right before the holiday break.  I plan on getting a lot of rest because I’m guessing I won’t be getting much more soon haha.

I WANT TO SEE THIS NOW:

Two things:

Every driver today that was holding up traffic or driving stupid was holding a cell phone to their skull.  Everyone put down the phone and drive. I promote that if you are driving with a cell phone, that is considered wreckless driving and I have every right to defend myself from a possible vehicular assault. If that involves throwing a brick at your car to keep you away, so be it.  I saw a dumbass blond nearly hit a pole and take a giant curb check because she was paying too much attention to her stupid cell phone instead of driving. It was horrible, the median was in front of her. I have no idea what she was thinking, or not thinking….I’m carrying a bag of marbles and using them as “reminders” for people that we should stay alert while driving. Keep the cell phone in your pocket.

Spam:

I saw that google video about gmail and their spam filtering. Whatever they do, it works very well.  Why doesn’t hotmail or yahoo work the same way?  No matter what I do, I get tons of spam through yahoo everyday, a lot of which looks like replications.  I report all the spam I get and it seems like its worthless. When I report spam to gmail, I never see the same thing ever again. It is gone.  Yahoo/Hotmail, get to work if you want to continue the email biz.

Which is why I’m giving Every Man Jack a whirl. I recently made a discovery of the (relatively) new men’s grooming products while reading some magazines on the airplane this past weekend. Initially, I didn’t give much thought to them. I figured they were just like any other product out there “specialized” for men: overpriced. I then took another look at the price tag: $4.99.

Five bucks huh? Can’t be true. Every male specific product I’ve seen is at least $15-40. What’s the catch?

It must be crap. Nope, probably not if magazines like Esquire and Maxim are giving the products pretty good write ups.

I google the brand and pull up the website. Looks like they have a pretty complete set of products. For me, I only need hair wash, body/face wash, and shave. Looks like they have everything I need. Turns out they’re also at Target so I take a quick stop by to see if I can pick some up. I pick up the Citrus Body Wash, Face Scrub,Face Lotion, and Shave Gel. I couldn’t find any shampoo/conditioner, turns out they are all sold out. That’s a good sign right?

This morning I get to use all the products. Lets go in order of usage:

Body Scrub:

In the shower, I put a small amount in my sponge and work it up to a lather. So far, so good. Only a small amount is needed to work up a large lather and the fragrance isn’t overpowering, but its enough to wake you up in the morning. It was odd to smell something orangy but not any color to go with it. These products are dye free, so everything is pretty much clear. Works for me. The wash cleans off quickly and I don’t get any sort of slimy feeling on my skin. I do the armpit check: smells good to me! Step out of the shower and check to see if my skin is dry. Nope! In fact, it has been a few hours since my shower and my skin still isn’t dry. That’s a first. This product is a winner in my book.

Next up: Face Wash-

I currently use a facial scrub that works pretty well, only side effect is that my face tends to get a little dry. Hopefully that changes with this new face wash. I got the unscented variant so, it smells like nothing. One warning with this face wash: when you pop the cap open and squeeze some out, be careful, it comes out fast. My previous face wash was thick so I was used to squeezing the bottle. This wash is more liquid in nature, so it pretty much comes out on its own. Slap it on my face, wash it off. Washes off clean, face looks good so far. I get out of the shower, give it a few minutes for my face to dry. No dry patches. At the time of this writing, my face still has a clean fresh feeling and doesn’t feel oily. We have another winner folks!

Shave Gel:

I typically shave right after my shower since my face has now been under hot water and is ready to go. Again, unscented shave gel, no smell, no color. Applying it on my face is pretty easy, the gel is pretty thick and spreads easy. Mind you, I only grow facial hair in the fu manchu/goatee area, so shaving for me is pretty fast. Shaving, however odd it may seem, was easier today than most days. I don’t know how much to attribute to the gel. I didn’t use a new blade, so I know it wasn’t that. Either way, it was a smooth shave with no nicks. Another product has passed the test.

Face lotion:

Typically, I have never used any sort of aftershave/lotion post shave. I would usually just splash some cold water on my face and I’m good to go. After the shave this morning, I put a small amount of lotion on the areas of my face I shaved. Feels pretty good so far. No dry skin and I have no irritation, so it must be doing its job.

Conclusion:

So, it looks like I went 4/4. All the products I purchase did its job and did it well. I opted for unscented where I could, but those who like something with a scent have some choices (mint/cedarwood/tea tree/ citrus[body wash]). i gave them all a whiff, and they all smell good and avoid being too powerful. I’m quite shocked that all four products worked well, especially at the $5 price point. You can pretty much get a whole set of products for the cost of one expensive brand. You also don’t have to use a large amount, so it will probably last most people a long time before having to restock. Call me cheap, but I’m going with Every Man Jack. I hope to give the hair products a try once they’re back in stock. I would expect them to work just as well.

Every Man Jack Website

Ok so when I moved out, I jumped into the world of cable tv. As a child, my mom never got cable tv so I was stuck in the world of network TV. The only time I’d get to experience MTV or Comedy Central was if I was over at a friend’s house.
So now that I have it, what can I say….there are some great channels, like discovery/history/ etc. Highly entertaining and by the end of it, you learned something new (however useless it might be). I mean hey, someday, knowing the history of air conditioning may just get me laid. Ok maybe not, but it was a fantastic way to veg out on my couch and stare at the tube for three hours.
On the opposite spectrum, I think cable tv has killed a few of my brain cells. Some say that our generation is smarter than the past, and we’re only getting smarter…For every person that is smarter, I think cable tv is make two or three that are dumber. I attempted to watch The Hills and Newport Harbor, two shows that everyone should see. Not because they have any educational value or exemplify anything in artistic value, but because it does such a great job in bringing fear to the rest of the world. It screams “DO NOT LET YOUR CHILDREN TURN INTO THESE PEOPLE.” These kids have no concept of what is really out there in the world and most of them never will. Its quite depressing. The conversations some of these kids have, amazing. I can absolutely guarantee I was not this dumb when I was in high school/ college, haha.
I think what they should do is take these kids and throw them into third world countries. Let them try to survive. Two good things can come out of this:
1. They see how it really is outside of their bubble They become more appreciative of what they have and maybe try to make a difference in the world. Or at least seem like they give a fuck about the world. A little exposure never hurt anyone.
2. They can’t survive in the harsh environment and die. Hey, that’s one less idiot in the world and one less chance two stupid people procreate and make another idiot child.

Its amazing how these shows are so highly entertaining to so many people. For the young kids, they enjoy it because I think they try to live vicariously through these rich kids and their “drama”. Unfortunately, they then try to emulate them, act like they act, dress how the dress, etc. I think others are attracted because its like a freak show/circus act. You don’t want to see it, but you can’t help it. Its a train wreck. Its horrible, its scary, but your eyes must stay open and soak it all in. There’s something amusing at observing stupid people. You spend half the show saying “WHAT DID SHE JUST SAY?” “They don’t really think that do they?” “Wow, I’m going to jump off a bridge now.” The level of stupidity that is displayed on shows like that I think is what makes it interesting. Just when you think people can’t get any more dumb, they take it to a whole new level.

I think I need to go watch about 50 hours of discovery channel to offset the episode of newport harbor I just saw. My brain is dead.

Ok, so I’m being super cool this Labor Day weekend and staying in Saturday night. I’m watching AVP beach volleyball. So there’s this Phil Dalhausser guy. He’s 6′9”.

He is scary on the court. I’ve never seen anything like it. It is really entertaining to watch, but I must say, I would never want to play against him. Trying to spike on him is like spiking against a wall: it’s just gonna come back right at ya. I just saw him throw about 3 or 4 blocks in one volley hahaha. That has to be demoralizing. His jump serve is also scary. Its pretty much just him spiking since his jump is so tall. Watching awesome play like this makes me wanna hit the sand again.

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Looks like I’m headed to Mexico at the end of July. Its gonna be badass. We’re staying at the Grand Velas hotel. From what I’ve read, its a pretty nice place. From the prices I’ve seen, its a pretty expensive place haha. I’m just glad that the rooms are already covered. That gets rid of, uh, a LOT of the cost. I have to cover the all inclusive costs, but its totally worth it. You get quite a bit aside from the typical food and drink. The beach looks amazing and the heated infinity pool is HUGE.

Is it too early to start the countdown?

Went to my lil bro’s high school graduation today. Wow, I’m old. Only got a couple of years to go before my 10 year reunion ::gasp::
Here are the pics

i wanna go somewhere. any suggestions?

go on a vacation. I haven’t had a real vacation in a long time.

I’m thinking something tropical. Caribbean? Hawaii? I dunno.

Anyone got any suggestions?