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April 12, 2000 |
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Oh, first off, it's the Ides of April. You all know what that means.
There's a new (and first) Material
Possessions, this one is for Twelve Dollars.
My nipple itches. Am I over-sharing? I'm not supposed to touch it, so it makes it very difficult to endure.
I finally told Trudy about the piercing on Monday. Not that I was trying to hide it from her, but Jim really wanted to see her reaction. Although I would not describe it quite as horror, discomfort or uneasiness certainly qualified.
I also called up Aileen yesterday and told her about it. She kept asking, "Why?" She seemed to think it was a bit out of character. Of course, she doesn't know about all my indiscretions and she's also not familiar with the Seattle lifestyle… or maybe I am reaching for something.
I had a fair night's sleep. I had to interview a candidate this morning. I hate interviewing and I hate mornings. Mornings are just plain wrong As for interviewing, it is just the premise that you decide someone's future based on a few minutes of conversation is an unnerving one. What's ironic is that Jim actually asked me what time was good, and since I had an afternoon doctor's appointment, I ended up with a morning slot. A bit comical if you asked me.
I could say a number of things about the interview and the candidate, but I wouldn't feel right about it… so I won't.
As I was composing the interview feedback, Jim asked me if I had plans for lunch. I didn't so we had lunch together. The lines were insanely long at the cafeteria, so we just got in the pizza line, which was the shortest. I had a whopping thirty minutes for lunch before I left for my appointment, not to say that I inhaled my pizza.
I read some of the feedback on this candidate from some of the other interviewers. Our group is really quite adept at detecting talent, they make very keen observations. I'm proud to be among them. Jim was the one who had set up the interview schedule. He hasn't been a supervisor for that long, but he is doing an exceptional job, tracking down the right people for interviewing was important. I still don't know how he manages to talk me into it.
I called Len in the afternoon. He is helping me drop off my second car at the car shop, Len's Automotive No, I'm not making this up, and it's not his shop. Technically, the appointment was for tomorrow, but I have issues with mornings; they're evil. I'm dropping the car off today; they said it would be okay. Len and I also had other plans, like visiting the company store, and getting dinner and a movie.
Immediately after visiting the store, we went back to my office to check the movie times. We ran into Noel on the way back and chatted for a while. We have known Noel for about nine years. Wow! Just did the math… Nine years! Noel and I have some history. We had been test engineers at the same time. We are both design engineers now. He reported to me when I was a lead and later I reported to him when he was a lead. I know it sounds a bit strange, but it's not really. He's a very likeable guy, with an incredibly dry sense of humor.
We looked up the times and locations for Romeo Must Die the Jet Li movie. It started in about twenty minutes, so we left shortly. I talked to my mom on the way to the theater; just so I knew that I wouldn't have much time to talk to her. I mentioned that I had a girlfriend, Pam, although I didn't actually say much about her. She asked, "What kind of person is she?" Naturally, she meant if she was Chinese or otherwise, I simply replied that she is originally from out-of-state… Why? because I'm an irritant.
Yeah, like you guys don't know that.
I did eventually tell her that Pam is in fact caucasian. So next, she inquired about her age. Shortly after she started to ramble. Thank goodness we were approaching the movie theater. I told her that I had to go.
This is the theater that hands you these detestable little pamphlets with your ticket. Len and I always play this game where we try to somehow pawn off these pamphlets on each other; I normally win. I got some nachos to hold me over until dinner. As I was eating them during the movie, I kept thinking that they were too noisy. Why on earth do they serve noisy foods at a movie theater? It just doesn't make sense. Granted, there weren't many people near me, but it just seems wrong.
As for the movie, I liked it. It was better than the average action film. I had some elements of Chinese culture in it, which certainly appealed to me, probably more so than the action scenes. Yeah, I know, I'm such an atypical guy. Are there any movies where an Asian (male or female) is cast as a lead role without martial arts? I mean… besides Keanu Reeves or Dean Cain who don't really look Asian. You did know they are Asian, right? There were some inconsistencies with, at least my perception of, the Chinese culture, but not enough to ruin the plot. If you're into action movies, I recommend it.
We got dinner at the Desert Fire immediately afterwards. I had not been there before and it was only his second time or so. I ordered Hanna's Roasted Chicken; I think he ordered the Chicken Fried Steak. They were both very good; the chili mashed potatoes were amazingly good, as strange as that sounds. I also asked Len, if he thought either the piercing or the tattoo were out of character for me, to which he said that it wasn't. Thanks!
During Len's after dinner cigarette, I asked him it is strange to smoke while still feeling the effects of a mint? I mean drinking certain things certainly taste strange while under the effects of the "coolness" of the mint, why not cigarettes? I know… earth-shattering conversations here.
Pam called me shortly afterwards. We chatted for a few minutes; we still don't have any firm plans for Friday.
April 12, 2000