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BEEN BUSY

It's been quite a while since my last post.  I swear, I've had this site in the back of my mind for weeks but I just kept putting it off.  I've just been really busy with work and other things.  When you start working your first full-time job, the lack of free time that you have really hits hard.  There are some days where I wish I was back in college for three or four days per week with plenty of free time to spare.  It's going to suck when I actually do go back to school.  I'll have to take classes and work full-time as well.  Damn.  :(

Working at my job has been very pleasant for the most part.  I'm a permanent employee now; making the good money and getting all the benefits.  And now I'm just waiting for another two months to go by so I can get my free services.  I honestly have no complaints about working there, with the exception of the goddamn rush hour that I have to contend with during the week.  I'm doing a lot of overtime now to compensate for that.  My normal shift is from 5:30pm to 2:00am so I usually put in for an overtime shift from 1:00pm to 5:00pm.  I leave my house at 12:00pm and there is virtually no traffic on the road.  Unfortunately it's a twelve hour day which is very exhaustive.  But the money is good.

The job itself can be hysterical at times.  I could write a book about all the crazy, wacked-out, shit that I've heard and seen during my time there.  But in all seriousness it is not a hard job at all.  It took me a while to get comfortable with everything.  There are so many types of problems that you have to know what to do for.  That's the hard part.  The technical side of the job is easy.  It's the customer service related stuff that's the killer.  But it's all good now.  All the bugs have been worked out. :)

Has anyone heard this on the local news?  You can get the full letter from the principal by clicking here.  I think his letter is dead on.

That's all for now,
-Mike

Currently Listening Octavarium By Dream Theater These Walls see related

NEW CAR

So I got my new car today.  A brand new 2005 Pontiac Vibe.  I can honestly say that I'm more than satisfied.  110% satisfied if that's even possible...



These are just stock photos from the brochure.  My car has the platinum, monotone paint scheme as in the first photo.  It also has the dark "graphite" interior as in the second photo with the exception of the navigation system and the shifter.  My car has an automatic transmission and only a single disc CD player.  I really got a great deal on this car.  And all the credit in the world goes to my Mom.  I would not have this car if it wasn't for her bargaining skills.  She can negotiate better than any politician on the face of the planet, I guarantee you...

This car has got everything.  It's all wheel drive (good for the snow).  It's got air bags all over the place, even on the sides of the ceiling.  I opted for the 200 watt stereo system with subwoofer and also the power moonroof.  ABS brakes, power windows and doors, and all that other good stuff.  The ride is smooth.  Handling is great.  The engine is pretty peppy for a 4 cylinder.  It's just awesome.  And best of all, the car is completely in my name.  Registered to me and everything.  And I finally got off of my parents' insurance and got my own policy.  It's nice knowing that my parents won't have to front the bill if anything happens.  Of course, the insurance agency practically sodomized me clean through with the payments, but in another 6 months I'll have been driving for 3 full years and the rates will decrease, which is a good deal.  So all in all, I couldn't be happier. 

Training at Cablevision is going pretty well.  Sitting in a classroom for 8 hours at a time can feel like forever, but it's interesting and it holds my attention.  And at least I'm getting paid for it.  The job itself does not seem hard at all.  It's just remembering procedures and following them.  Hopefully I'll be good at it and make permanent status with the company.  At that point, things will really be locking in. 

Best wishes,
-Mike

Good news.  I finally landed a job. 

It couldn't have happened at a more important time, too.  I've been job hunting ever since I got out of school, which was back in December.  I must have gone on about 9 or 10 interviews and hadn't gotten anywhere.  I'm not sure why nothing ever turned out.  Maybe it was because of lack of experience or skills, or simply my age...  I'm really not sure.  There's no conclusive evidence to collectively summarize all those failures.  Nevertheless, being patient pays off.  I can honestly say to anyone looking for a job either now or in the future: don't let these employers jerk you around.  They like to do that, especially if they know they're not going to hire you.  It's very frustrating to have someone tell you that you'll be hearing from them within a few days or even the next day for that matter, only to have them never respond to you or to lead you on to the point where you think you're in, but then...well...nada....  It's like slap in the face and it sucks.  It's ironic that as a job candidate, you're expected to be as professional as you possibly can, when in turn these employers are anything but.  I guess that's just life...

Anyway, the position that I was hired for sounds very promising.  I'm going to be working for Cablevision, or more specifically, Optimum Online, as a level 2 helpdesk technician.  I know helpdesk is pretty much the bottom of the barrel for the industry, but I have to start somewhere.  And who knows what kind of opportunities for advancement will be available in the future? 

However, the benefits from Cablevision are really what make this job outstanding.  I get full health coverage.  Free Internet, cable tv, and phone service.  I get some kind of 30% discount on ticket prices at Madison Square Garden.  There's also paid vacation and sick days, and I think triple overtime on holidays.  Paid training.  It goes on an on.  It's really unbelieveable.  The hourly rate isn't bad either.  It's $12/hour to start and after three months, if I do my job well and they like me, they can make me a permanent employee and I'd be making $18/hour.  Quite a good deal.

I'm supposed to start my training on the 21st.  I have to take a class from Sunday to Thursday starting at 3:30pm and ending at midnight.  Pretty wierd hours...  But it should be fairly easy.  At the interview, they basically grilled me with a shitload of technical questions entailing e-mail, routers, networks... just a lot of networking stuff in general.  If the training is anything like that, I'll probably do fine.  The customer service stuff is the only thing I'm unfamiliar with.  I have to go in tomorrow too and take a drug test.  (hides heroin needles)

Hopefully, I'll do well and they'll make me permanent.  I'll keep posting as more things develop.

Later,
-Mike

Currently Playing The Opera Band By James Shearman, Alex North, Antonio / Dettori, Giuseppe Galbiati, Peter / Wolf, Michelle / Fornaciari, Zucchero Wolf, Michael Kamen, Amy Sky, Georges Bizet, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Edward Elgar, Antonin Dvorak Prayer In The Night see related

It was a pain in the ass, but I finally got it.  However, there's more work to be done...

On an unrelated topic, don't rent DVD's from Blockbuster.  They suck.  I rented The Punisher tonight (I really wanted Alien vs. Predator, but they were out) and about half-way through the film, the video got all corrupted.  And it was right during the part where Castle fights the big Russian guy.  I was pissed.  It ruined my entire experience.  It wasn't like there was a brief pause.  It kept doing it throughout the entire movie.  Eventually, I just popped the disk out and cleaned it with some isopropyl alcohol.  After that it ran like new.  The bottom line is: don't rent; pirate.

The Punisher is an excellent film.  I highly recommend it.  It was definitely better than Man on Fire. 

Farewell,
-Mike

Currently Watching The Punisher By Laura Harring, Thomas Jane see related

"It is the year 2005.  The treacherous Decpeticons have conquered the Autobots' home planet of Cybertron.  But, from secret staging grounds on two of Cybertron's moons, the valiant Autobots prepare to retake their homeland."

Heh... Man, I love that.

My oh my.  Much has happened in such a small time-span.  It seems like ages since the last time I've had anything to do with Xanga.  Why, might you ask?  Well, I've been busy...period...

School is over for me (for now).  I completed my work at Katharine Gibbs and ended with a 3.4 GPA which is "A-OK" in my book.  The last semester killed me, though.  It was naive of me to think that doing my internship work and my school work at the same time wouldn't be a problem.  I'll try not to make the same mistake again, even though I didn't really have much of a choice this time around.  I liked going to Gibbs.  It was a good school and I think I really learned a lot during my time there.  And of course, the laughs were non-stop.

As of right now I'm hoping to start working soon.  As of where and what, I don't know.  I've had a few jobs here and there doing computer repair work.  I might see how that pans out.  But I think ultimately I'll need a real full-time job just to get things started.  I'm planning on going back to school, but I'm not sure where.  I'm going to look into NYIT and University of Phoenix Online and see what they offer.  I'd like to get my bachelors degree in IT.  More education is always a plus.  Sheesh, I never though I'd hear myself say that....

Welp, that's basically the jist of it.  I'm a man of few words, so I think I'll end this entry.

I wish everyone a successful and prosperous new year.   Good luck to you all.

-Mike

Currently Playing Faceless By Godsmack Changes see related