It's still only just past noon today, but it's turning out to be a good one I think. There's a Law Firm that is looking for a computer support specialist, and gave me a phone interview this morning. Finger's crossed, I'll be called back for an in person interview with the hiring manager.
Funny thing is, I don't know if I want the job or not. Getting it will introduce a hole slew of other issues. Will I be able to finish my bachelor's degree in the next 2 years if I take it? Can I really leave Meg and the kids to go to Bakersfield anyway? I would kind of rather go to CSUB and maybe CSUSM, I still don't know.
With Meg leaving to Honduras in a couple of weeks here (wow, less than 2) Can I really start a new job? How will it affect my unemployment, financial aid, school plans ...
It almost seems easier to just not get the job and keep focusing on school.
At the age of 36 I had still never walked in any kind of commencement ceremony. You wouldn't think it would be that big a deal, or at least that over time the regret would subside. I thought it had until I got the email from my community college that I had qualified for an Associate's Degree and would be able to participate in the 2011 graduation ceremony. All my life I had belittled that college calling it "Harvard on the Hill" and "13th grade" implying that it was only barely more than a high school. While that still may be true, and while community colleges get no respect (mostly due to the non-exclusivity factor) I was proud to have earned that degree. It may not seem like an accomplishment to most people. In fact, I still minimize it somewhat. The fact is though, had it not been for that school, at this time in my life, I would have lost hope.
Jobless, and feeling worthless it was just my last opportunity to prove to myself that I am not an idiot. I put a good show for people and they get the sense that I'm an intelligent guy who thinks deeply. The reality is that I talk slowly because I am not quick witted. Like anyone, I can see humor in things and inconsistencies, but this degree is tangible proof that I have put in the work, the studying, the analysis, the critical thinking to earn it. With it, I see the possibility of no longer playing the part of a scholar, I can be one.
I intend to go on, and that ceremony moved me to tears. Helped me to feel that opportunities are attainable. I enjoyed that feeling immensely, and I want it again. I plan to continue my education and now have a goal to walk again in 2 years, and again two years after that. I'm not stopping until I have a law degree, and maybe not even then.
This post unlike the other nook post is just about the nook and not done from my nook.
I'm pretty impressed by it so far. I've been able to read more than I have in the entire time we've been married since getting it. That number would be really impressive if reading was a hobby up until now. Strange that it took a geek device for me to appreciate the joy of quietly getting engrossed in a storyline. Maybe not so strange seeing as I am a geek.
There are benefits and drawbacks to it though and with the newest firmware upgrade, there are more of both.
First the main draw is that you can download books (some free through the Google Books project) straight to the device, through AT&T's mobile network. I find though that for free books, the quality of gutenberg.org and feedbooks.org are superior. Many of the free books are also available from Barnes & Noble (the only place you can purchase books through for the nook) for very cheap. Usually $0.99 - $2 and somehow, no sales tax.
The price of most books is cheaper too. One example is American Lion about Andrew Jackson. The hardcover is $18 and the eBook is $10. Score. I got a $30 gift card from my mother-in-law and still haven't used it all. I'm very frugal with books still.
With the newest firmware upgrade the additions have been
1) Games
- Sudoku
- Chess
2) Web Browser
3) an improved dictionary function.
4) Moved the Audio Player to the main menu
Now I think that putting games on it is a bad idea. It minimizes the point of the device and tries poorly to do something that it's not for. Let PS3 and Apple do "everything". nook should just do one thing and do it well. Playing chess has nothing to do with reading, except that it might be the same segment of the population that gets into both in a big way. Still, for me it's a distraction which I don't need.
The web browser would be cool if it did two things that it doesn't. You can only browse if you're using you're using the WiFi and not using the AT&T's network. That's lame. The other thing that would make it cool is if you could download books from other sources like the aforementioned gutenberg.org and feedbooks.org. But you can't. You still have to download them to your laptop, PS3, PC, iCrap, G1, smartphone ..... and then sideload (and yes I know I'm a sellout for using that word) to the nook. Which begs the question; Why not just read the book on one of those?
My G1 for example has an eBook reader app that will go and get a book, download it and let me read it, while listening to music on the music player, and let me use thefreedictionary.com (app) to look up words. All with a backlight. And it fits in my pocket. Pretty much it does everything my nook does, better, other than the screen size and battery life, which is why I got my nook in the first place.
So anyway, nook is cool, but should stick to doing the one thing it does well. Keep the music player, bag the games, improve the dictionary or use an online one, and mostly add text to speech. That would make it perfect in my mind. A browser that let's me use the cell network to download free better books would just be gravy.
I m writin this blog from my n crap i just hit the home 'n' and thought i lost it all. ook that i bought before i got fired. I won't be correcring any mispelling just to see ho
w accuratr it is. It seems pretty c goo
So I just got my first unemployment check yesterday. It seems weird to have been paid for getting fired and filling out the appropriate paperwork. Oddly enough, it didn't come until I'd been out of work for almost a month. If I was truly in need, I'd be living on the street right now. Luckily my final paycheck and tax refund were sufficient to hold us.
Additionally we qualified for "food stamps" and have been eating really well. Costco accepts them so we bought in bulk and have plenty of food. On this part I was feeling a little guilty. Enough so that I didn't want my parents to find out, a challenge considering the tight knit nature of my family. Mom especially would have put me on a guilt trip for being 'part of the problem'. That's pretty much been my take on any kind of government assistance too. They are a group that takes from the system instead of contributing.
When mom did find out, she was not only understanding, she was almost excited for me. The perspective finally came when she said "You have nothing to feel guilty about. You've been contributing and this is exactly the situation that it's there for."
That felt good to realize that I'm not 'bilking the government'. Instead I'm drawing on the monies that for years I have been paying into Social Security and Unemployment and Disability Ins. Maybe that makes me a Democrat, that I'm grateful that the government took my money for .... 15 years? So that I could draw on it when I needed it.
Hmm. That brings up an interesting math question then. How much have I paid in vs. how much am I alloted to draw? A question for another post I guess.
I read "Rich Dad Poor Dad" recently, well listened to the audiobook anyway, and it got me thinking about becoming rich. The advice that he gave was based on his life experience. It is partly stories of how he learned about money and partly advice that he recieved.
I noticed that his advice was only similar to his experience. So I'm listing my own version of advice based on what he did.
1) have a father that earns a lot
2) have a friend who's dad is good at business
3) have your father put you through college.
4) have your friend's dad start a corporation and let you work in every dept. Of the corporation.
5) become a successful salesman
6) use the money you make to buy assetts that make money without having to work.
Steps to getting rich. There isn't necessarily an order to these except when one is dependent on another.
