I don’t work on the lot. It is kinda cool where I work, but the history isn’t in my office. I had to go through a building that housed some cool, old stuff. It was so interesting. There were displays of hats from movies old and new. The new ones were interesting, but the old ones. Oh my.

Once I get settled, I’m going to take every opportunity to explore this place. Soak up the magic.

Can’t wait!

-bike-guy

It was the most odd and amazing job hunt I’ve ever been on. It started pretty much like all the recent job hunts, except maybe a few more recruiter inquiries. Looking back, maybe a LOT more recruiter calls.

My first in-person was all of three miles from my house and I really wanted that gig. But when it ended after less than an hour I knew it was a bust. I thought it went well, but I knew it was not a good sign it was so short. It took a couple of days, but I was right. Didn’t have quite the skillset they wanted, but it was a real disappointment. I mean it would have been such an awesome commute. Probably not the most fun gig, but I would put up with a lot for a commute that short.

Then came a big brand name site which shall go nameless. I wasn’t sure about this one on many levels. I thought the interview went well in the same way the first one did, but it also ended way sooner than I expected. So I kinda wrote it off as another disappointment. This commute was not ideal, but certainly not as bad as Brentwood, which is what I had less than a year ago. The neighborhood was Awesome, but not easy to get to and from.

Now came a series of recruiter in-person interviews. These are odd to go through. It’s kinda of an interview in hopes of getting interviews. They aren’t as stressful as employer interviews, but you still need to be positive and push out all the right ‘signals.’

A couple more phone interviews and recruiter interviews followed by a call from known-brand recruiter number one asking if I would consider contract-to-hire instead of direct hire. They were concerned about my skill in javascript. Fair enough. I said yes I would consider.

Moving on . . .

A fun phone interview from well known brand number two. Fun, as in I enjoyed it a lot. Fun, as in I’d like to work for this person. He said he would set up an in-person soonest. Excellent!

Then a series of in-persons with employers. This is an improvement. One a startup and another a large company I hadn’t heard of before. Both were fun with great people, but I wasn’t excited about the commutes. At this point in my search though, I was no longer putting commute time at the same importance it was a week earlier.

Then . . .

A second interview with the large company. Wow, this one was much tougher than the day before. That one was fun, with other FE devs and product folks. This one with Application devs, was much more technical and moved into areas where I am not as sure. Oh this one also included the hiring manager. I will say though that I did enjoy it after a fashion. They were good questions from people that weren’t interested in the right answers as much as they wanted to know how I thought and worked through problems. They asked questions in a way that encouraged me to think. I liked it a lot and also believed I would like working with that team.

I came out of the 2nd one fairly confident but with no idea who else they talked to. It had to be a good sign I was there two days in row.

Then on Monday things got interesting. In the morning large company called with an offer, in the afternoon brand number one gave me an offer. I told both I had a scheduled interview on Wednesday and I would let them know by end of business on Thursday, my decision.

This was good. It gave me time to weigh all the options. Commute time, salary, type of contract, etc. It also gave me time to poll friends and family to help me think it all through. And in the meantime I could go to brand name number two confident I would have a job someplace in the next week or so. That had to help.

I really enjoyed the process in this place. They actually had a room set up for interviews and they brought people in to me. I liked the people and they asked good questions and I had been through it so many times by now I had answers with a lot more polish than even a week before.

When it was over I was happy with how it went but I also knew this company rarely moved quickly so I was ready when the HR person told me it might be as much as a week before I heard anything. So I had resolved to go ahead take one of the 2 already offered gigs and make a decision on this place if they actually came back with an offer after I started. That would certainly be awkward, but I guess I never really thought it would be an issue.

So Thursday comes around and I call one recruiter and tell him I would take it and another I would pass, then I get a call from the last company with an offer and BAM! Now I’m really scrambling. Last company came in under offer I was taking so I waited to see if they would match. In the meantime the one I passed on called with a sweeter offer. ARGH!

So long story short I got the position at the company I was most interested in and with the best commute and I am very happy.

A couple of things I learned about myself. I really dislike letting people down. It bothered me immensely  to turn down any of the offers, especially the one I had actually told I would take and then reneged on. But really I hated disappointing any of them. While intellectually I loved getting three offers, emotionally not so much. Was I making the right decision? Did I burn any bridges? Did I handle everything properly? Did I, did I? Sheesh.

Wish me luck.

-bike-guy

Wish me luck.

-bike guy

As you could see from my previous posts it has been stressful, but busy. Lots of calls from recruiters in particular, not so many from actual employers. But I am feeling so much better I just had to share!

-bike-guy

That has to be positive, and I have now been to two of these. The first was in the dream location, 3 miles from my house. I thought it went well up to the point where it ended. It was too short and as you might expect they passed on me. Bummer, but OK. The second was pretty good, but I think I could sense my skill set still wasn’t quite what they were looking for. I haven’t heard from them, but it’s been a couple of days with no word, so I’m not holding my breath.

But now the frequency is starting to pick up and that’s keeping me hopeful. I actually have TWO face-to-face interviews on Thursday with another promised and yet to be set up and, on top of those, another phone interview.

Keep your fingers crossed! I’m hoping to be back to work before the end of the month.

-bike-guy

Recruiters. A lot of recruiters. The great part is that there are jobs out there to be had and they find my resume interesting. My email inbox is loaded with requests for info and I am happy to reply, usually quickly. They all want to talk to me, to get a sense of me. To understand my skills and where my interests are. All good and reasonable and I am happy to spend the time.

But man, it is tiring work. Not physically, just mentally. The only thing I can figure is that it’s nervous energy I’m expending selling myself. Not in a big way. I only tell the truth, if I fudge at all it’s not in my favor. I don’t want a job where more is expected than I can deliver. I want a good fit and an enjoyable workplace. You don’t get any of that with false expectations.

Tomorrow starts some in-person interviews. Still with recruiters, but in this day and age I guess that’s how it works.

Wish me luck!

-bike-guy 

If you know me at all you’ll know that I don’t really keep all that clean of a house. I have 2 active border collies, with hair that sheds and a certain amount of ‘stuff’ gets tracked in. My house is not a disaster, but not spotless either. I tend to wait until things get so I can’t stand it anymore, then address it.

Yesterday I spent the day cleaning the house. Not the simple stuff like vacuuming, but the deeper stuff like dusting, moving furniture to vacuum and actually moping the floor. All day, amazing.

But it gets better, today I spent a very large amount of time cleaning bikes. I hadn’t done this in awhile and I have 3. 2 road bikes and a mountain bike. The 2 road bikes had nasty chains, coated with road grime and gunk. While the mountain bike was covered in dirt, it was dirt. Dirt is easy. Nasty road grime is not.

So it seems I am fighting being down about my situation with cleaning. How very odd. . .

-bike-guy 

I am not a person who thrives on change. I would be delighted to find a place I like and stay until I retire. Sad that doesn’t seem to compute any longer. I am fortunate that there are jobs in my field to be had, but I really want something stable. Oh and enjoyable. I guess that one positive aspect to these changes, or lurches is more what they feel like, is that I am learning something new and useful at each stop.

This time it was more painful than it has been in the past. Partly because it was so unexpected and partially because I really liked the job. I finally was happy. Oh don’t get me wrong, it was a job and no job is perfect, but I have learned what I can handle in that regard and this was way past acceptable. The vibe in the office was positive and I liked the mission. The work was fun and co-workers awesome. I was working with a designer that I clicked with. Anyone that does the kind of work will know how rare this is. She had, for me, the rare way about her that had me wanting to find ways to pull off the crazy shit she thought up.

I also really dislike the hiring process. You always feel inadequate. And in the case of not having a job and looking, it’s mine inclination to take the first thing offered instead of finding the best fit of place, location and position.

I am writing this on Saturday after learning of it on Thursday afternoon and I still have that sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. The odd feeling of losing the foundation of what is your . . . It’s not my life, that is bigger, but that foundation that comes from knowing where the next paycheck is coming from, the sense of security of knowing you can pay your bills and take care of yourself medically.

I have abused my financial standing and have too much outstanding credit. Not in the sense that I am broke or overextended at least with a job, but that I can’t really go more than a month or two without getting worried. I am making myself a promise to fix this soonest. No more living at my means. Time will tell if I can keep my promise, but I’d be happier all around if I did.

Well, it did help and only time will tell, but wish me luck in the next round of employment.

-bike-guy 

K9 Addisons Calendar with Beag

If you remember one of the funnier lines from The Jerk, Steve Martin comes out for his apartment yelling “I AM SOMEBODY, I AM SOMEBODY.” It was delighted that his name was in the phone book . . .

Well now Beag is somebody because she is officially Miss January in the K9Addison’s 2010 Calendar. All the proceeds go to research into K9 Addisions Disease. Beag was diagnosed with Addison’s almost 2 years ago. After a lot of ups and downs now seems to have stabilized and is once again happy and healthy, but will always require medicine and quarterly electrolyte tests to make sure she stays that way.

If you are so inclined and need a calendar, please consider buying the K9Addison’s 2010 Calendar. Miss January is SO worth it!

-bikeguy

In many way the last 12 months have been one of real transition. In March I turned 50. This past September I was astute enough to leave a job on my own where I was unhappy and ahead of getting laid off I managed to not only find a job in a crappy economy, but one with good money, fabulous benefits, great people, a positive mission. Oh and I love the work and can even ride my bike to work. So there is thankful #1 thru #3.

#1: great job, etc

#2: crappy commute is updated to much better and the opportunity to ride my bike and thereby get healthier

#3 Hey, I’m still here, mostly healthy at 50.

Something over a year ago my border collie Beag was diagnosed with Canine Addison’s Disease. We have battled thru survival, pancreatitis, ups and downs related to getting medications correct. #4 is me being extremely thankful for a healthy and, finally, happy Beag.

After all the ups and downs with Beag and the feeling that I could lose her at almost any moment I made the decision to add another member to the ‘family.’ I am thankful at #5 for a very good fit into the house and a fabulous herding buddy with Scot. Thankful #6 is that Beag and Scot get along have bonded as a pack and are not tearing up the house.

I’m calling this one #6.5: I am thankful for all the ribbons and fun Scot and I won at the Rotty Trial this weekend.

#7: I thankful for the friends I have in the world whether they be in my personal dog or herding world or work and business world, for the friends in the Twitterverse.

#8 and very thankful for the friend that invited me into his family for the Thanksgiving dinner that always seems to make the giving of thanks complete.

Happy Thanksgiving from the

-bikeguy