IPOD
RADIO
So, I'm finally here in the Crescent City.
Started the new job two weeks ago, and am enjoying (?!) finally having the kind of position that my investment in a degree has earned me. Director of Biomedical Engineering for Children's Hospital of NOLA. WooHoo!!
After a pretty grueling drive down here - Boston to NOLA in two days (whew!) - I've been staying in a couple of really interesting locations so far. First was the Historic French Market Hotel on Rue Decatur in the French Quarter. My first night in town was pretty interesting, to say the least. As the party celebrating the Saints' earning a visit to the Conference Championship against Da Bears was still going strong Sunday night. Second (where I am currently) is a furnished converted loft in the Warehouse District. Pretty sweet!
Made some friends and shared disappointments in the outcomes of the Conference championship games. Not to mention getting more drunk than I have been in years. Yay New Orleans!
Still a lot of things pending in the whole relocation process, with a couple of trips scheduled over the next month back to Salem to meet with the movers, and get everything packed, loaded up, and delivered to my new address - of which I still don't have one. But I'm meeting with the real estate agent tomorrow to hopefully get something permanent lined up. My mortgage qualification should give me some fairly decent options - if I can only get closing done in time.
Regarding my earlier concerns about the welcome (or lack of one) I might receive - so far, I have gotten nothing but good feelings. Thanks to everyone who gave me advice - it all looks good up to now.
Soon I'll be getting my new laptop, and won't have to rely on internet cafes for access. 'Til then: see ya!
Started the new job two weeks ago, and am enjoying (?!) finally having the kind of position that my investment in a degree has earned me. Director of Biomedical Engineering for Children's Hospital of NOLA. WooHoo!!
After a pretty grueling drive down here - Boston to NOLA in two days (whew!) - I've been staying in a couple of really interesting locations so far. First was the Historic French Market Hotel on Rue Decatur in the French Quarter. My first night in town was pretty interesting, to say the least. As the party celebrating the Saints' earning a visit to the Conference Championship against Da Bears was still going strong Sunday night. Second (where I am currently) is a furnished converted loft in the Warehouse District. Pretty sweet!
Made some friends and shared disappointments in the outcomes of the Conference championship games. Not to mention getting more drunk than I have been in years. Yay New Orleans!
Still a lot of things pending in the whole relocation process, with a couple of trips scheduled over the next month back to Salem to meet with the movers, and get everything packed, loaded up, and delivered to my new address - of which I still don't have one. But I'm meeting with the real estate agent tomorrow to hopefully get something permanent lined up. My mortgage qualification should give me some fairly decent options - if I can only get closing done in time.
Regarding my earlier concerns about the welcome (or lack of one) I might receive - so far, I have gotten nothing but good feelings. Thanks to everyone who gave me advice - it all looks good up to now.
Soon I'll be getting my new laptop, and won't have to rely on internet cafes for access. 'Til then: see ya!
Update:
I have accepted the position! Pretty good salary being offered, too.
And a really interesting thing happened this week. My old employer (where I worked before I got fed up and quit, in order to go back to school) had their Christmas party on Friday night. Last week, one of my former co-workers called out of the blue to invite me. I must say, it was nice seeing all the people I actully liked again. A lot of changes, too. For instance, my old department has basically disintegrated since my departure, mainly for the same reasons I left: monumental management incompetence and favoritism in promotions, to name only two factors.
Well, the best part of the evening came when I told my old boss about my new position (he's originally from NOLA, and got his B.S. at Tulane). Back in 2003, when I announced my plans, he had basically told me he expected me to fail going back to college (I actually got a 4.0 GPA), much less ever progress to management. The look on his face was priceless.
I guess it's true:
Revenge is a dish best served cold.
And living well is the best revenge.
I have accepted the position! Pretty good salary being offered, too.
And a really interesting thing happened this week. My old employer (where I worked before I got fed up and quit, in order to go back to school) had their Christmas party on Friday night. Last week, one of my former co-workers called out of the blue to invite me. I must say, it was nice seeing all the people I actully liked again. A lot of changes, too. For instance, my old department has basically disintegrated since my departure, mainly for the same reasons I left: monumental management incompetence and favoritism in promotions, to name only two factors.
Well, the best part of the evening came when I told my old boss about my new position (he's originally from NOLA, and got his B.S. at Tulane). Back in 2003, when I announced my plans, he had basically told me he expected me to fail going back to college (I actually got a 4.0 GPA), much less ever progress to management. The look on his face was priceless.
I guess it's true:
Revenge is a dish best served cold.
And living well is the best revenge.
Well that was interesting ...
Since my last entry, I've been contacted by my company's recruiter for the Southeast and our District Manager for Lousiana. They are looking for a Clinical Engineering Director for the department at Children's Hospital of New Orleans. CH-NOLA website
This is the promotion I've been waiting for, but in a city I had never considered.
Well, after a few phone calls and e-mails back and forth, they decided they wanted me to come down and meet the company reps and interview with the VP we report to. So, on Thursday 12/7, they flew me down to NOLA for the day to meet and greet. My flight left Logan at 6:15 AM and returned just after midnight - now that's a long fucking day!
I think the interview went well, and now I'm just waiting to hear back. The city seems to be well on its way to recovery, and the hospital is just bustling. I hope this bodes well for the future.
etc., etc., etc.
Since my last entry, I've been contacted by my company's recruiter for the Southeast and our District Manager for Lousiana. They are looking for a Clinical Engineering Director for the department at Children's Hospital of New Orleans. CH-NOLA website
This is the promotion I've been waiting for, but in a city I had never considered.
Well, after a few phone calls and e-mails back and forth, they decided they wanted me to come down and meet the company reps and interview with the VP we report to. So, on Thursday 12/7, they flew me down to NOLA for the day to meet and greet. My flight left Logan at 6:15 AM and returned just after midnight - now that's a long fucking day!
I think the interview went well, and now I'm just waiting to hear back. The city seems to be well on its way to recovery, and the hospital is just bustling. I hope this bodes well for the future.
etc., etc., etc.
Ok, ok, ok.
Update!
So, I had a pretty good vacation. Backpacking/climbing trip in Colorado. Same place as last time (2004)
A little background on the location:
Back in the stone age, when I was 12 years old, my two older brothers and I took a backpacking trip to a beautiful wildernes area in CO. The three of us, and two weeks worth of gear, packed into a 1969 Opel GT. Road trip from Dayton, OH to Crystal, CO (roughly midway between and slightly west of Crested Butte and Aspen) where we set up base camp. Then hiked and climbed the surrounding mountains in the White River and Gunnison National Forests, and Snowmass/Maroon Bells Wilderness.
I learned technical climbing on that trip, and nearly died on an icefield during a weather-related retreat from an attempt to ascend the prosaically named Treasure Mountain. Two years ago, my oldest brother and I successfully returned to that summit. My second attempt, his fourth. And I revisited the icefield that nearly killed me, and "cast my defiance upon the mountain."
Well that year, my oldest brother, his wife and two kids, his daughter's boyfriend, and I were the only ones to go. This year, we were joined by his son's girlfriend and our middle brother and his family. That's the original three brothers with their respective families, etc. I was the only single adult present.
That's 12 people, 5 of whom had never done anything remotely similar, and a 6th whose experience was limited to the previous trip in 2004. But between us, the oldest and youngest brothers equipped the entire troop (gear junkies, I know). Don't have room to post all the pix here, but this was the view from our latrine:
Now that was better than any magazine!
Since then, the only really interesting stuff to happen was my birthday visit to the Boston stop on the SG Burlesque Tour. Oh yeah, and my company lost the contract with Caritas Christi (Boston-area Catholic hospital system). The contract expired Oct. 31, but only the managers got the boot. Everybody else, myself included, stays where we are for at least another year.
So I'm still here, baby!
Update!
So, I had a pretty good vacation. Backpacking/climbing trip in Colorado. Same place as last time (2004)
A little background on the location:
Back in the stone age, when I was 12 years old, my two older brothers and I took a backpacking trip to a beautiful wildernes area in CO. The three of us, and two weeks worth of gear, packed into a 1969 Opel GT. Road trip from Dayton, OH to Crystal, CO (roughly midway between and slightly west of Crested Butte and Aspen) where we set up base camp. Then hiked and climbed the surrounding mountains in the White River and Gunnison National Forests, and Snowmass/Maroon Bells Wilderness.
I learned technical climbing on that trip, and nearly died on an icefield during a weather-related retreat from an attempt to ascend the prosaically named Treasure Mountain. Two years ago, my oldest brother and I successfully returned to that summit. My second attempt, his fourth. And I revisited the icefield that nearly killed me, and "cast my defiance upon the mountain."
Well that year, my oldest brother, his wife and two kids, his daughter's boyfriend, and I were the only ones to go. This year, we were joined by his son's girlfriend and our middle brother and his family. That's the original three brothers with their respective families, etc. I was the only single adult present.
That's 12 people, 5 of whom had never done anything remotely similar, and a 6th whose experience was limited to the previous trip in 2004. But between us, the oldest and youngest brothers equipped the entire troop (gear junkies, I know). Don't have room to post all the pix here, but this was the view from our latrine:
Now that was better than any magazine!
Since then, the only really interesting stuff to happen was my birthday visit to the Boston stop on the SG Burlesque Tour. Oh yeah, and my company lost the contract with Caritas Christi (Boston-area Catholic hospital system). The contract expired Oct. 31, but only the managers got the boot. Everybody else, myself included, stays where we are for at least another year.
So I'm still here, baby!
Damn, I really suck at keeping this thing updated.
Anyway - here's a little bit of one for now:
A couple of days ago, my beast of a vehicle -
passed a momentous milestone of sorts -
during my morning commute -
part of which goes by here -
Did I mention how much I hate driving that beast around Boston?
Anyway - here's a little bit of one for now:
A couple of days ago, my beast of a vehicle -
passed a momentous milestone of sorts -
during my morning commute -
part of which goes by here -
Did I mention how much I hate driving that beast around Boston?
Whew,
That was an exhausting couple of months at work!
Somehow I got saddled with helping the hospital's labs get through their big accreditation survey. Since most of our work with them involved documentation and policy, it's kind of ironic that my bosses had me, the new guy, spearhead this.
I'm not sure how, but we got through with flying colors. Not one single device-related issue!
Woo Hoo!!
And I got an attaboy and a handshake from the brand new manager, too. I guess we'll see where this goes. A raise would be nice, but I'm not holding my breath.
Now that I've got some breathing room (and finally got my DSL back) I have to reapply to SGBoston. I finally got in, and a couple of weeks ago I got dropped. Probably because I wasn't "active on the site."
I have also decided to stay in my apartment in Salem, rather than move closer in to the city, as I had originally intended. I had expected to be able to spend the last couple of months apartment hunting. But instead, I have spent most of the time working. And I've just been too tired to even consider packing all my shit back up again so soon.
Made buttloads of overtime, though!
That was an exhausting couple of months at work!
Somehow I got saddled with helping the hospital's labs get through their big accreditation survey. Since most of our work with them involved documentation and policy, it's kind of ironic that my bosses had me, the new guy, spearhead this.
I'm not sure how, but we got through with flying colors. Not one single device-related issue!
Woo Hoo!!
And I got an attaboy and a handshake from the brand new manager, too. I guess we'll see where this goes. A raise would be nice, but I'm not holding my breath.
Now that I've got some breathing room (and finally got my DSL back) I have to reapply to SGBoston. I finally got in, and a couple of weeks ago I got dropped. Probably because I wasn't "active on the site."
I have also decided to stay in my apartment in Salem, rather than move closer in to the city, as I had originally intended. I had expected to be able to spend the last couple of months apartment hunting. But instead, I have spent most of the time working. And I've just been too tired to even consider packing all my shit back up again so soon.
Made buttloads of overtime, though!
So, I haven't written anything here, since I didn't want to jinx it until it was certain, but.....
I'm moving back to Boston after all!!
New job starts August 22, at St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Brighton. Not the executive position from earlier, but still a good one, and the pay is better than when I left to go back to school.
The job is a contract position with a nationwide company (same one from June), so there is significant opportunity for promotion, transfer, etc. over time (something that was severly lacking before), and working in the Boston area gives me good options for graduate work. And the flexibility to pursue it.
Hot Diggity!
I'm moving back to Boston after all!!
New job starts August 22, at St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Brighton. Not the executive position from earlier, but still a good one, and the pay is better than when I left to go back to school.
The job is a contract position with a nationwide company (same one from June), so there is significant opportunity for promotion, transfer, etc. over time (something that was severly lacking before), and working in the Boston area gives me good options for graduate work. And the flexibility to pursue it.
Hot Diggity!
Well, as Dead_Ringer so kindly pointed out, I have been seriously neglecting my journal over the past month. Let's try to correct that omission:
Well, it looks like I really did jinx the offer in Boston. Initially, I had dueling interviews with the same company, one in Beantown, the other in Columbia, SC. Within the space of a week, both vacancies evaporated.
The one up north was to replace someone transferring to another hospital. His target decided that they wouldn't renew their contract if they couldn't keep the guy he was replacing. Which means he's not moving. Which means I'm not replacing him.
The position in SC was to fill a new contract. The contract fell through, so no position. Damn.
So, in the last month:
I've helped my sister and brother-in-law pack up their house and move from Orlando to Tallahassee - then unload there.
BTW, my brother-in-law is a maniac behind the wheel of a U-Haul, who has apparently no idea of how to keep a caravan together on the highway.
Once there: plumbing repair, furniture moving and assembly, satellite TV/surroud sound setup, carpet removal, etc.
I've helped my niece and nephew do the same, as well as to repair their house in preparation to selling it. Let's see, that's 2 new doorknobs, a shower head, 4 towel bars, a screen door closer, a light fixture and dimmer switch, toilet seat and flush handle replacement, tree limb removal, brush clearing, microwave oven repair, attick cleaning (God, I hate rats!!), and I forget the rest.
Oh yeah, and for my parents: UPS hookup/troubleshooting and sofware modification, various other computer troubleshooting, carpet cleaner repair, and other mr. fixit stuff.
God I'm pooped!
And on top of all this, I've had to deal with dial-up, since I haven't been at home. So I've really fallen behind on the boards.
Now if only I could finally get a real job and stop all this fucking work!
Well, it looks like I really did jinx the offer in Boston. Initially, I had dueling interviews with the same company, one in Beantown, the other in Columbia, SC. Within the space of a week, both vacancies evaporated.
The one up north was to replace someone transferring to another hospital. His target decided that they wouldn't renew their contract if they couldn't keep the guy he was replacing. Which means he's not moving. Which means I'm not replacing him.
The position in SC was to fill a new contract. The contract fell through, so no position. Damn.
So, in the last month:
I've helped my sister and brother-in-law pack up their house and move from Orlando to Tallahassee - then unload there.
BTW, my brother-in-law is a maniac behind the wheel of a U-Haul, who has apparently no idea of how to keep a caravan together on the highway.
Once there: plumbing repair, furniture moving and assembly, satellite TV/surroud sound setup, carpet removal, etc.
I've helped my niece and nephew do the same, as well as to repair their house in preparation to selling it. Let's see, that's 2 new doorknobs, a shower head, 4 towel bars, a screen door closer, a light fixture and dimmer switch, toilet seat and flush handle replacement, tree limb removal, brush clearing, microwave oven repair, attick cleaning (God, I hate rats!!), and I forget the rest.
Oh yeah, and for my parents: UPS hookup/troubleshooting and sofware modification, various other computer troubleshooting, carpet cleaner repair, and other mr. fixit stuff.
God I'm pooped!
And on top of all this, I've had to deal with dial-up, since I haven't been at home. So I've really fallen behind on the boards.
Now if only I could finally get a real job and stop all this fucking work!
MARCH 2007
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FEBRUARY 2007
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JANUARY 2007