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Well, this is day 2 of unemployment, and I have to say, it ain't so bad. There hasn't been much relaxing yet, I have been catching up on the honey-do list around the house, getting caught up on tivo, that sort of thing. Tomorrow is my first "screw off" day, I am playing golf the whole day. Friday of course is the 4th of July, so Isabelle will be with me all day, mommy will be working. I will keep you posted on job search details. posted by Ron 4:11 PM Say Something (0 comments) I am no longer working for Motive, after 8 years of working my ass off. I am not happy with how things ended, or how it all went down, but ultimately I guess it is something that needed to be done for a long time, I just needed the kick in the pants to make it happen. If you want the whole story, email me directly. posted by Ron 9:07 PM Say Something (0 comments) The NBA season is over. NHL is done for the year. Tiger is out with season ending knee surgery. Football won't start for a couple more months. What in the hell am I supposed to watch on tv now? Baseball? WNBA? NASCAR? HAHAHAHAHA. Time to find a hobby. posted by Ron 3:46 PM Say Something (0 comments) If you are writing your resume, and you use the term "Seasoned" to describe yourself, please just do us all a favor and kill yourself. Anyone that refers to themselves as "Seasoned" deserves to be sliced from neck to nuts by razors, and then dipped in salt, try that on for seasoning. God damned I really hate marketing speak. Eat me you seasoned fucktards. posted by Ron 12:01 AM Say Something (0 comments) I am a sick puppy. I am studying to take the GMAT, which is the standard entrance exam for MBA school, even though I don't really have any solid plans on going to B-School any time soon. I just enjoy the mental stimulation, trying to solve the problems, trying to get a perfect score. Sick I tell you, truly sick. The GMAT score is valid I believe for 5 years after you take it, so maybe somewhere in that time frame I will find the true motivation for going back to school. The very first question they ask you, the first essay you have to write is explaining why you want to get an MBA. Apparently "because I like the sound of it" isn't a good reason. I need to have a compelling event or something that makes it a "must have" not a "nice to have". As of right now, I don't see my career path blocked by not having one. I do however see any variations off that path, like moving from technical manager to VP of services or Biz Dev, or strategy consultant, those would likely require me to get the degree. Not really due to the things that they will teach me during that time, but really because of the amount of networking that you do during that time frame. And again, I am sick, I am looking forward to being challenged by the classes, the texts, the papers, the studying every night, the sacrificing my weekends and fridays, and so on. If I have ever leared anything more definitively about myself in the last few years it is this: If I don't have pressure bore upon me to get things done, if I don't have at least 3 concurrent fires going on, if I don't have stress so bad that I am starting to feel physical signs of it (back ache, kidney pain), then I am not interested. And the worst thing to be is not interested, bored, Because then your mind races. Hmmm, what could I be doing? What is this company doing? Motive needs to take Aramis's departure today and truly allow you to work the system a little bit, to turn this thing around. If you don't do it fast, you will see the mass exedous begin, mark my words. posted by Ron 12:04 AM Say Something (2 comments) Just as noteworthy as Rush themselves is the impact that their opening act has had on me as well. The first show a band I had never really paid much attention to, Level 42 opened up. Holy shit, I would know about them from that point on. Just amazing. The next show I recall Primus opening up. I hadn't ever heard of them, and my first impression was based on the fact that everyone in the crowd was flipping them off yelling "YOU SUCK!!", over and over and over. Finally, the bass player grabbed the mike and said "Yes, we are primus, and we suck" and off they went into a blistering song, which today I now know was tommy the cat. I have been a primus fan ever since. Actually now, thinking more about it, the opening bands I have seen over the years have played a large part in my musical taste. Suicidal Tendencies opened up for Queensryche during their empire tour, just brilliant show. Alice in Chains opening up for Van Halen. Even on a smaller scale, Finger Eleven opening up for Days OF The New in San Antonio. I loved Days of the New, but god damn, I had to have the finger eleven CD and have been a fan since that day. Then there are acts you see once in a while that make a lasting impression on you and you just can not ever find them again. Stickkitty is once such band. We saw them at the Whisky on Sunset strip[ and it blew our minds. It was brazilliant for fuck sake. And then Clockhammer, where the hell are they? Jesus you folks are missing out. Pushmonkey is stil trying, god bless them, god bless billy white, here is to hoping he finds his trio again one day. I miss you rockhead. Please come back. One hitter would do a reunion show for that shit...promise. posted by Ron 11:23 PM Say Something (0 comments) Holy shit, I am 35, and I am just as excited right this second about the fact that I am going to go see Rush in concert 1 week from tonight as I was when I was 15 and was going to go see them live for the very first time. I just can not explain it at all, it is a religeous experience for me. I remember every single one of their shows I have seen...and I have seen a lot. The very first one was their Hold Your Fire tour. I remember the very first song they played, The Big Money. I remember it distinctly because the high pitched woodblock sound during the chorus hurt my ears so much, they were ringing for a week. And I loved every damn second of it. The next time I got to see them, it was in San Antonio, and several friends and I skipped out of the last few periods of school to leave early for the show. This was the Presto tour. So naturally, they kicked off the show with the three stooges "Hellooo, Hellooo, Helloo" and then launched into Force Ten. Saw them again a few times in Austin, once in Houston, once in Dallas, once in Los Angeles and once in Long Beach CA. No matter what is going on in my life, no matter how bad my joints and muscles ache, how stressful things are at work, or at home, no matter what fucking shit is going on at the time, during the 3 hour Rush show I am a kid again. I am air drumming, singing so loudly that I can't speak for days afterwards. Everyone around me is my best friend, and we are sharing a bond that no one outside of that venue will understand. And the band themselves, they feel it too. Their lives are complex and complicated too now, as they are also getting older. Their priorities have changed, shifted and matured. This isn't their lifeblood any longer, they could have hung it up decades ago and still lived like kings, knowing full well the legacy and history they have left in their wake. But they still get out of bed, plug it in, and rock the living shit out of the house for a solid 3 hours (name me one fucking shit box garbage radio friendly band that plays for even half that time), giving it every single breath and ounce of energy they have, focused just on one thing, you and making sure you are having the full Rush experience. And for that I am eternally grateful. Rush themselves could more than like be the starting point for over half of the bands in existence today. What drummer listens to Neil that doesn't then immediately go out and try to form his own band...and somehow try to convince the asshole lead singer that the lyrics he wrote are shit, and that he should use yours instead. Is there a bassist born in the last 3 decades that hasn't learned something from Geddy? Even now, the gold standards for whether you are a real musician or just a hack are Rush tunes. For drummers, can you play Tom Sawyer without your right arm falling off? Can you play YYZ? For Bassists, it is can you play the trees and be as melodic as Ged? Can you even touch Cygnus-X1? Turn the page anyone? Alex, can a single one amongst you cleanly pull off La Villa Strangiato? I have already gone to far and written more than I had anticipated. Just suffice to say I am fucking excited as a 3 year old on Christmas morning. Leading up to the show I will try to find set lists, try to post sound bites, try to get you all as excited as I am. super fucking hell yeah. bitches. posted by Ron 11:07 PM Say Something (0 comments) |
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