Sunday, April 29, 2007
Saturday, April 28, 2007
A Little Bit About Me
Well, it's almost time for me to get on up outta here and head back East. J and I have been trying to pack the house while watching li'l Liam at the same time. That's made the packing take longer. The original plan was to be done Friday night, but we will probably not finish until some time tonight (Saturday). Anyway, while I was going through some documents I found an old personality test result that describes my personality type. I don't know who of you out there has ever studied this sort of thing before, but I got really interested in it while I was in Iraq; mainly b/c I was bored and my roommate had a copy of "Please Understand Me II". That's a great book if you ever have the time to sift through it or even keep it as a reference. It's fascinating to read about the different personality types and you always end up going, "Dude! That perfectly describes 'insert name here'." It's also fun to figure out what type you are and then study your strengths and weaknesses. It can be almost eerie as you read a description of your own type b/c most of it you will find to be pretty accurate. Then there are all sorts of little things, like how dominant, leadership personalities tend to only make up a small percentage of the population while "follower" personalities tend to make up quite a bit more. Seems like a natural order since you need more leaders than followers. There are a lot more interesting facts, so I highly suggest to everyone picking up that book some time and looking through it even if you don't buy it. Below is a description of my type, the ISTJ (Introverted, Sensing, Thinking, Judging). I'd be interested to know if anyone agrees/disagrees with the description.
ISTJ: The "Duty Fulfillers"
As an ISTJ, your primary mode of living is focused internally, where you take things in via your five senses in a literal, concrete fashion. Your secondary mode is external, where you deal with things rationally and logically.
ISTJs are quiet and reserved individuals who are interested in security and peaceful living. They have a strongly-felt internal sense of duty, which lends them a serious air and the motivation to follow through on tasks. Organized and methodical in their approach, they can generally succeed at any task which they undertake.
ISTJs are very loyal, faithful, and dependable. They place great importance on honesty and integrity. They are "good citizens" who can be depended on to do the right thing for their families and communities. While they generally take things very seriously, they also usually have an offbeat sense of humor and can be a lot of fun - especially at family or work-related gatherings.
ISTJs tend to believe in laws and traditions, and expect the same from others. They're not comfortable with breaking laws or going against the rules. If they are able to see a good reason for stepping outside of the established mode of doing things, the ISTJ will support that effort. However, ISTJs more often tend to believe that things should be done according to procedures and plans. If an ISTJ has not developed their Intuitive side sufficiently, they may become overly obsessed with structure, and insist on doing everything "by the book".
The ISTJ is extremely dependable on following through with things which he or she has promised. For this reason, they sometimes get more and more work piled on them. Because the ISTJ has such a strong sense of duty, they may have a difficult time saying "no" when they are given more work than they can reasonably handle. For this reason, the ISTJ often works long hours, and may be unwittingly taken advantage of.
The ISTJ will work for long periods of time and put tremendous amounts of energy into doing any task which they see as important to fulfilling a goal. However, they will resist putting energy into things which don't make sense to them, or for which they can't see a practical application. They prefer to work alone, but work well in teams when the situation demands it. They like to be accountable for their actions, and enjoy being in positions of authority. The ISTJ has little use for theory or abstract thinking, unless the practical application is clear.
ISTJs have tremendous respect for facts. They hold a tremendous store of facts within themselves, which they have gathered through their Sensing preference. They may have difficulty understanding a theory or idea which is different from their own perspective. However, if they are shown the importance or relevance of the idea to someone who they respect or care about, the idea becomes a fact, which the ISTJ will internalize and support. Once the ISTJ supports a cause or idea, he or she will stop at no lengths to ensure that they are doing their duty of giving support where support is needed.
The ISTJ is not naturally in tune with their own feelings and the feelings of others. They may have difficulty picking up on emotional needs immediately, as they are presented. Being perfectionists themselves, they have a tendency to take other people's efforts for granted, like they take their own efforts for granted. They need to remember to pat people on the back once in a while.
ISTJs are likely to be uncomfortable expressing affection and emotion to others. However, their strong sense of duty and the ability to see what needs to be done in any situation usually allows them to overcome their natural reservations, and they are usually quite supporting and caring individuals with the people that they love. Once the ISTJ realizes the emotional needs of those who are close to them, they put forth effort to meet those needs.
The ISTJ is extremely faithful and loyal. Traditional and family-minded, they will put forth great amounts of effort at making their homes and families running smoothly. They are responsible parents, taking their parenting roles seriously. They are usually good and generous providers to their families. They care deeply about those close to them, although they usually are not comfortable with expressing their love. The ISTJ is likely to express their affection through actions, rather than through words.
ISTJs have an excellent ability to take any task and define it, organize it, plan it, and implement it through to completion. They are very hard workers, who do not allow obstacles to get in the way of performing their duties. They do not usually give themselves enough credit for their achievements, seeing their accomplishments simply as the natural fulfillment of their obligations.
ISTJs usually have a great sense of space and function, and artistic appreciation. Their homes are likely to be tastefully furnished and immaculately maintained. They are acutely aware of their senses, and want to be in surroundings which fit their need for structure, order, and beauty.
Under stress, ISTJs may fall into "catastrophe mode", where they see nothing but all of the possibilities of what could go wrong. They will berate themselves for things which they should have done differently, or duties which they failed to perform. They will lose their ability to see things calmly and reasonably, and will depress themselves with their visions of doom.
In general, the ISTJ has a tremendous amount of potential. Capable, logical, reasonable, and effective individuals with a deeply driven desire to promote security and peaceful living, the ISTJ has what it takes to be highly effective at achieving their chosen goals - whatever they may be.
ISTJ: The "Duty Fulfillers"
As an ISTJ, your primary mode of living is focused internally, where you take things in via your five senses in a literal, concrete fashion. Your secondary mode is external, where you deal with things rationally and logically.
ISTJs are quiet and reserved individuals who are interested in security and peaceful living. They have a strongly-felt internal sense of duty, which lends them a serious air and the motivation to follow through on tasks. Organized and methodical in their approach, they can generally succeed at any task which they undertake.
ISTJs are very loyal, faithful, and dependable. They place great importance on honesty and integrity. They are "good citizens" who can be depended on to do the right thing for their families and communities. While they generally take things very seriously, they also usually have an offbeat sense of humor and can be a lot of fun - especially at family or work-related gatherings.
ISTJs tend to believe in laws and traditions, and expect the same from others. They're not comfortable with breaking laws or going against the rules. If they are able to see a good reason for stepping outside of the established mode of doing things, the ISTJ will support that effort. However, ISTJs more often tend to believe that things should be done according to procedures and plans. If an ISTJ has not developed their Intuitive side sufficiently, they may become overly obsessed with structure, and insist on doing everything "by the book".
The ISTJ is extremely dependable on following through with things which he or she has promised. For this reason, they sometimes get more and more work piled on them. Because the ISTJ has such a strong sense of duty, they may have a difficult time saying "no" when they are given more work than they can reasonably handle. For this reason, the ISTJ often works long hours, and may be unwittingly taken advantage of.
The ISTJ will work for long periods of time and put tremendous amounts of energy into doing any task which they see as important to fulfilling a goal. However, they will resist putting energy into things which don't make sense to them, or for which they can't see a practical application. They prefer to work alone, but work well in teams when the situation demands it. They like to be accountable for their actions, and enjoy being in positions of authority. The ISTJ has little use for theory or abstract thinking, unless the practical application is clear.
ISTJs have tremendous respect for facts. They hold a tremendous store of facts within themselves, which they have gathered through their Sensing preference. They may have difficulty understanding a theory or idea which is different from their own perspective. However, if they are shown the importance or relevance of the idea to someone who they respect or care about, the idea becomes a fact, which the ISTJ will internalize and support. Once the ISTJ supports a cause or idea, he or she will stop at no lengths to ensure that they are doing their duty of giving support where support is needed.
The ISTJ is not naturally in tune with their own feelings and the feelings of others. They may have difficulty picking up on emotional needs immediately, as they are presented. Being perfectionists themselves, they have a tendency to take other people's efforts for granted, like they take their own efforts for granted. They need to remember to pat people on the back once in a while.
ISTJs are likely to be uncomfortable expressing affection and emotion to others. However, their strong sense of duty and the ability to see what needs to be done in any situation usually allows them to overcome their natural reservations, and they are usually quite supporting and caring individuals with the people that they love. Once the ISTJ realizes the emotional needs of those who are close to them, they put forth effort to meet those needs.
The ISTJ is extremely faithful and loyal. Traditional and family-minded, they will put forth great amounts of effort at making their homes and families running smoothly. They are responsible parents, taking their parenting roles seriously. They are usually good and generous providers to their families. They care deeply about those close to them, although they usually are not comfortable with expressing their love. The ISTJ is likely to express their affection through actions, rather than through words.
ISTJs have an excellent ability to take any task and define it, organize it, plan it, and implement it through to completion. They are very hard workers, who do not allow obstacles to get in the way of performing their duties. They do not usually give themselves enough credit for their achievements, seeing their accomplishments simply as the natural fulfillment of their obligations.
ISTJs usually have a great sense of space and function, and artistic appreciation. Their homes are likely to be tastefully furnished and immaculately maintained. They are acutely aware of their senses, and want to be in surroundings which fit their need for structure, order, and beauty.
Under stress, ISTJs may fall into "catastrophe mode", where they see nothing but all of the possibilities of what could go wrong. They will berate themselves for things which they should have done differently, or duties which they failed to perform. They will lose their ability to see things calmly and reasonably, and will depress themselves with their visions of doom.
In general, the ISTJ has a tremendous amount of potential. Capable, logical, reasonable, and effective individuals with a deeply driven desire to promote security and peaceful living, the ISTJ has what it takes to be highly effective at achieving their chosen goals - whatever they may be.
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Soccer Rules!
Aside from being French and named after a character from Final Fantasy IX who has a tail and looks like li'l David Bowie, it's hard to imagine how super star soccer player Zinedine Zidane could be cooler. Thankfully, SomethingAwful.com has the answer. I came across this while surfing their page. It's a bunch of remakes of the head butt he gave Italy's Marco Materazzi during last year's World Cup. The original and a sample are below. Check out the link above for the full page. It's funny!
Here is the original shot. Below is an...improvement.
Here is the original shot. Below is an...improvement.
Columbia University: Free* Speech for All
*Restrictions apply. Not available for all viewpoints.
Now this happened a while ago, but it still pisses me off. A group of students at Columbia University in NYC rushed the stage while the head of the Minutemen group (who had been invited there to speak) was speaking. One group rushed the speaker while another jumped up on the far side of the stage with a big banner and started yelling slogans. I find this funny since said students were from various left-wing clubs and what not, and I thought it was the conservatives who try to go around and oppress free speech. That's what the propaganda says anyway. Kudos to Jon Stewart for doing a good piece on this, which you can see above. The only thing I take issue with is when he makes a joke about the Minutemen not being able to secure the speaking podium, let alone the border. It's Columbia University's job to provide security for their own guest speakers. You can see that it is woefully absent, however.
As I said, this thing at Columbia really angers me, especially (if you watch the full video) when a group of students starts chanting something about the Minutemen being Nazis while they themselves are using Nazi tactics. The left are the supposed champions of free speech, right? So why can't they let an invited guest speaker say his peace and leave? You're telling me we can let Illinois Nazis march through a town full of holocaust survivors but this dude can't get up an talk for an hour or so in a closed auditorium? If they don't like what he has to say, can't they just leave or not even go in the first place? Isn't that the classic reason why we shouldn't have restrictions on TV programming, because you can just "change the channel"? This is basically an intimidation and scare tactic, as if this group of students is telling conservatives to stay the fuck off of their campus. It's like a warning to the next person who may hold a viewpoint they disagree with. The next person is supposed to see that and go, "Man, I was invited to speak at Columbia, but what if this group shows up and tries to do the same thing to me? I don't want to go through that." If that's not fascism, then I don't know what is.
Friday, April 20, 2007
**Public Service Announcement**
Henceforth, my myspace page will no longer be a legitimate source of information about me. Please refer to this blog or my Negative Vibes blog. I have come to know that prospective employers or people doing background checks on you will check myspace pages, so to that end my myspace page will now be dedicated to Ed propaganda. He is going to be the happiest son of a bitch you've ever seen, who loves being shit on and has never had a bad experience in his life apart from not being able to work for Target anymore. Seriously, though, I did have two phone interviews several months ago that went really well and the next step was supposed to be a flight out for an on-site interview when both companies suddenly had bullshit reasons for not flying me out. I then realized I had a link to negative vibes on myspace, and while that's not a particularly bad website, that may not have been exactly what they were looking for in a manager. Especially if they read the Trek episode review about the black guy cock-stamping Captain Picard's forehead. Anyway, after taking that link out, the next two phone interviews I had resulted in invites to fly out for on-sites. It could be a coincidence, but I'm paranoid enough to propagandize my myspace page. Plus I know what nazis my HR department at Target were (if they found out your resume was posted somewhere, that showed up on your review) so I'm not taking any chances. If you want a good laugh, though, you can check out the myspace page at www.myspace.com/elcidredleg
Unemployment....not as good as advertised
For those of you who don't already know, I resigned from Target last week under pressure from my boss and have been unemployed since. In retrospect, I find myself wishing that I either got counseling from a VA clinic and went out on a 6 month PTSD-related FMLA or just called off sick for at least a week straight to try and milk every cent possible out of those back-stabbing bastards. However, there is a part of me that is happy to know I do have some level of integrity or honor that would make me too embarassed to be that degree of dirtbag, so maybe I'll at least have some positive karma going for me. Anyway, I have decided to move to Atlanta because of a few job leads there and also because my brother and his wife have a house we can stay in rent free for the short-term future. I will probably start my road trek out there the first week of May.
Jules, my missus, has been out of town with Liam since I quit and life has been extremely boring. Other than doing some odd jobs around the house and making preparations to move I have been more or less sitting around with a thumb up my ass. My two biggest accomplishments have probably been downloading all the White Stripes's songs from Bearshare and starting this blog.
One thing that sucks about being so bored is that there is copious time to think, which means I have time to ponder what I could have done better this past year. I've been trying to figure out how to spin my time at Target into something that will work for the positive, but I'm not sure how to do that. Looking back, I should have just moved back to the East coast while the Army was still going to move me. We have to pay our own way for relocation now and dealing with potential moving scams is more frightening than the actual cost of said move. This past year and a half with Target seems to be an utter waste of my life. It did nothing to advance me professionally, the schedule was so shitty it acted as a laziness enabler for my personal life, and I actually got stuipder because of the working culture in the building and the nature of the job. I mean that I got stupider quite literally. You could have the simplest leadership problem in the world, but after you apply the lockstep Target-think it becomes incredibly difficult. This has resulted in a degredation of my own problem-solving skills until I can shake the Target filter off of my mind.
On the other hand, if I had picked up and left, would I have ended up regretting that? At least this way I know that there is no way things ever would have worked out at Target unless I voluntarily got a lobotomy, and I'm not really too broken up about leaving Colorado. I mean, it's nice out here and all, but it's by no means the end-all be-all. Plus you wouldn't believe how many hicks and rednecks live out here. If you thought having a southern accent was a prerequisite for being white trash, you haven't been to Colroado. Or as Scott might say, you haven't SEEEN Colorado.
So anyway...trying to take away lessons learned. I would say that I have definitely learned that it's not worth it to do something you hate. Or more accurately, (since I found out Target low-balled me salary wise so bad kids fresh out of college make more than me) if you're going to do something you hate, you at least have to have something to show for it; money, prestige, something. It turns out that doing a shit job that doesn't pay well on a shit schedule for a bunch of cock bags who could just as well push you down the stairs as look at you actually doesn't do a lot of positive things for you. There have been some good times this past year, but they are few and far between and most of them either involve time spent with my son or time spent with my friends from work, making fun of Target. Unfortunately, I learned something else: with my background just about the only thing I can get is another warehouse-type job similar to Target. I started looking for work back in December and have virtually nothing to show for it now. I did everything from talk with recruiters to spam my resume out to any job board posting that I was remotely qualified for (and some that I wasn't). The only bites I got were more night shift jobs in a warehouse and offers to take wire transfers from people in Russia as long as I gave them my bank account number. There were also several heartbreaking kicks in the nuts mixed in there, as well.
Even though there are some uncertainties in my near future that make me worry, I'm also excited at the same time. I did think before, while still at Target, about what the hell I was going to do because I hated working there and the schedule was not at all conducive to doing school at the same time. Now that I'm heading out to a different place, though, there are a lot of options as to what I can do. I also think that I may have some degree of wanderlust in me that prefers to not stay in one place too long. I have moved around quite a bit in my life, not only in location but even my jobs while I was in the Army, and I wonder if changing scenery regularly is something that I actually look forward to. So I guess it's time to pull my head out of my ass now and figure out what I want to be when I grow up. At least I'll be doing that close to family and much closer to friends then out here in the rockies. I'll keep everyone posted on what turns up.....
Jules, my missus, has been out of town with Liam since I quit and life has been extremely boring. Other than doing some odd jobs around the house and making preparations to move I have been more or less sitting around with a thumb up my ass. My two biggest accomplishments have probably been downloading all the White Stripes's songs from Bearshare and starting this blog.
One thing that sucks about being so bored is that there is copious time to think, which means I have time to ponder what I could have done better this past year. I've been trying to figure out how to spin my time at Target into something that will work for the positive, but I'm not sure how to do that. Looking back, I should have just moved back to the East coast while the Army was still going to move me. We have to pay our own way for relocation now and dealing with potential moving scams is more frightening than the actual cost of said move. This past year and a half with Target seems to be an utter waste of my life. It did nothing to advance me professionally, the schedule was so shitty it acted as a laziness enabler for my personal life, and I actually got stuipder because of the working culture in the building and the nature of the job. I mean that I got stupider quite literally. You could have the simplest leadership problem in the world, but after you apply the lockstep Target-think it becomes incredibly difficult. This has resulted in a degredation of my own problem-solving skills until I can shake the Target filter off of my mind.
On the other hand, if I had picked up and left, would I have ended up regretting that? At least this way I know that there is no way things ever would have worked out at Target unless I voluntarily got a lobotomy, and I'm not really too broken up about leaving Colorado. I mean, it's nice out here and all, but it's by no means the end-all be-all. Plus you wouldn't believe how many hicks and rednecks live out here. If you thought having a southern accent was a prerequisite for being white trash, you haven't been to Colroado. Or as Scott might say, you haven't SEEEN Colorado.
So anyway...trying to take away lessons learned. I would say that I have definitely learned that it's not worth it to do something you hate. Or more accurately, (since I found out Target low-balled me salary wise so bad kids fresh out of college make more than me) if you're going to do something you hate, you at least have to have something to show for it; money, prestige, something. It turns out that doing a shit job that doesn't pay well on a shit schedule for a bunch of cock bags who could just as well push you down the stairs as look at you actually doesn't do a lot of positive things for you. There have been some good times this past year, but they are few and far between and most of them either involve time spent with my son or time spent with my friends from work, making fun of Target. Unfortunately, I learned something else: with my background just about the only thing I can get is another warehouse-type job similar to Target. I started looking for work back in December and have virtually nothing to show for it now. I did everything from talk with recruiters to spam my resume out to any job board posting that I was remotely qualified for (and some that I wasn't). The only bites I got were more night shift jobs in a warehouse and offers to take wire transfers from people in Russia as long as I gave them my bank account number. There were also several heartbreaking kicks in the nuts mixed in there, as well.
Even though there are some uncertainties in my near future that make me worry, I'm also excited at the same time. I did think before, while still at Target, about what the hell I was going to do because I hated working there and the schedule was not at all conducive to doing school at the same time. Now that I'm heading out to a different place, though, there are a lot of options as to what I can do. I also think that I may have some degree of wanderlust in me that prefers to not stay in one place too long. I have moved around quite a bit in my life, not only in location but even my jobs while I was in the Army, and I wonder if changing scenery regularly is something that I actually look forward to. So I guess it's time to pull my head out of my ass now and figure out what I want to be when I grow up. At least I'll be doing that close to family and much closer to friends then out here in the rockies. I'll keep everyone posted on what turns up.....
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Don't call me lazy!
So here we are yet again with another try at keeping a steady blog going. The one I had set up through Negative Vibes was on a roll for a while until I stopped updating it. Oddly enough, extensive data show the lack of updates to be the number 1 reason for my previous blogs' downfall. The boys at R&D are searching for a way to counteract this, so I'll be sure and update you of their progress.....or not, if history is any indicator. Anyhoo, Negative Vibes is still up, as is the blogs with pics, and I will probably still use that from time to time to post new pics. However, I just wanted to start something that was easier for me to simply put some thoughts down or to update you, the gentle audience, as to what's going on in my life. So let's cross our fingers and see what happens.
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