blog dot northwindy dot com

Yeah so I haven't written anything in here in months so I thought I'd post something. Things haven't been bad the past few months. My job has stabilized along with my income so I'm not having any trouble getting by. I'm still working on my social life but thats kinda been on hold the last few months. I was playing World of Warcraft with the people at work and I've spent a lot of time trying to get my player to the highest possible level in the game so I could run dungeons with the people at work who have been playing awhile. That objective has been accomplished so now I'm gonna start focusing on my social life. I would really like to start meeting people and dating more but I haven't had much luck in that area. I may start going to clubs as soon as I get the nerve to actually go hehe.

Well I didn't go back to Texas for Thanksgiving but I did go for Christmas. Holiday travel sucks. I had cancelled flights and delays. On the plus side, it was nice to see all the family again. They all want to know when I'm gonna move back but right now I don't have any plans to return. I'm happy with where I'm at right now. That doesn't mean I'm gonna stay here all my life but for now I'm not going anywhere.

Title: Pieces
Artist: Red
Album: End of Silence
Year: 2006

I'm here again
A thousand miles away from You
A broken mess, just scattered pieces of who I am
I tried so hard
Thought I could do this on my own
I've lost so much along the way

Then I'll see Your face
I know I'm finally Yours
I find everything I thought I lost before
You call my name
I come to You in pieces
So You can make me whole

I've come undone
But You make sense of who I am
Like puzzle pieces in Your eye

Then I'll see Your face
I know I'm finally Yours
I find everything I thought I lost before
You call my name
I come to You in pieces
So You can make me whole!

I tried so hard! so hard!
I tried so hard!

Then I'll see Your face
I know I'm finally Yours
I find everything I thought I lost before
You call my name
I come to You in pieces
So You can make me whole
So You can make me whole

It's hard to believe I've already been in Utah for over a month. This last month has actually gone by pretty quickly. I'm getting used to being up here I guess. I've been much more careful with my money, but since I'm still on a very tight budget, I've decided to get a weekend job. I doubt the job will be very difficult. I'm not looking for something that requires a lot of thought and energy. I do enough of that during the week and I can imagine I'd exhaust myself quickly if I had to sit in front of a computer on the weekends too.

No, I'm actually looking at manual labor type jobs or sales stuff. I need to be more active anyways. I haven't been to a gym in months. One of the jobs I'm looking at right now is for a Saturday parking lot cleaner position. That position is 7-5:30pm at 11.75/hr. That would be enough to help me get by, and it would be physical labor instead of mental. My brain is usually tired on the weekends anyways. I wouldn't mind a job stocking books or shelves at a bookstore or grocery store, but with those jobs I'd almost have to drive around from place to place asking if they have a weekend position open. I might end up doing that if nothing comes through.

I considered night jobs, but I think they would exhaust me way too much no matter what kind of job it happens to be.

Well, not much else has happened around here this last week or so. I'm starting to get tasks outside my job description, which I like. It looks better when it comes time for a review. I'll have to wait until next July for a review, but until then I may be living on the edge with my expenses unless I find some sort of weekend job.

Well since certain people have commented that I haven't written in here in ages I decided to go ahead and fill you in. I'm all settled in here in Utah. I like my job, and I love my reclaimed independence. It's come at a price though. And I'm not just speaking figuratively: getting my finances under control is proving to be a challenge. My net income is a little less than expected so I'm having to cut back and consider taking a weekend job or something to make up the extra amount. I'll be getting by until I start making more money, but until then it's going to take some serious planning and control.

So last weekend I went to visit my dad's cousin Elsa in Heber City. Earlier on in the day we ate at Chuck-O-Rama downtown, and it was good, but more than I wanted to pay. I'm gonna have to pass on such lunches or dinners in the future for financial reasons, but since my grandaunt was in town I figured it was worth the extra expense. Afterwards I had to finish some laundry before driving over to Heber City. I had a little trouble finding the house since its off a small road that runs off the highway. Once I finally got there, she was already in her car and I just got out of mine and into hers and we left to the dollar theater in Provo to watch Wild Hogs. We showed up about 15 minutes into the movie so I missed a lot but from what I saw, it was pretty funny. By the time the movie finished it was around 6 so we went back to Elsa's house where I just visited and stayed for dinner until 8 or so. Last time I had been to her house was when I was maybe 12 or 13 years old so it's been a long time. I didn't get back to my apartment until around 9 but it was nice getting out for a bit.

I think I'm getting into the swing of things at work. I'm finally being assigned projects, which really don't take me a long time to complete. Most of the time I'm waiting on other people to approve things or to get me clearance so I can have access to certain files. I have a lot of downtime, but I'm hoping things pick up once I have all the necessary passwords and I get e-mail approval on things.

That's really about all thats been going on. I'll write a little more in a private entry for those of you who have access.

So that apartment I wanted wasn't available :/. But I've found another place that is within my price range and has the space I want. This place is available because I'm reserving it now . It is $745/mo with 759 sq. ft. Its a little higher priced but still within my price range. It has air conditioning, fireplace, vaulted ceilings, washer and dryer, and of course they have a fitness center. Its off I-15 and close to the airport. Now that I have a place reserved, this should make it easier on me when I get in.

It's been a long time since I've updated this thing so I decided to write an entry to get you up to speed on things. I've accepted a job in Salt Lake City, Utah, and I will be moving on July 4th. I don't start work until July 9th but there is a lot to take care of during that time. I've rented a truck and car transport which I have to pick up on the 3rd. It looks like all my stuff is going with me.

The job itself is a nice one and pays much better than my old one. I'm starting at 45k (9k more than my current job), and it is working as a Software Engineer with some database and some developement. The company is called UCN and is located in Bluffdale, UT. It's pretty far south of SLC but I'm trying to find a place that is relatively central to everything, which would mean I would have to commute.

Right now I think it's all settled in that I'm moving in 12 days. I've been looking at apartments and I think I've found the place I want to stay at. It is a 1 bd. 1 bath and has 742 sq. ft with a living room, dining room, washer and dryer, kitchen, master bedroom, balcony, and master kitchen. and only costs $679/mo. Definitely bigger than my 425 sq.ft apartment I lived in when I was in Waco. I guess the cost of living in SLC is much better than here in SA. That same apartment would probably be twice as much here. Anyways, the complex has a health club, a theater, and a bunch of amenities. It's very centralized and its not directly downtown so right now that complex is my top choice.

I'm excited and looking forward to the move. It will also be nice to have my own place again.

Title: It's all coming back to me now
Artist: Celine Dion
Album: Falling into You
Year: 1996

There were nights when the wind was so cold
That my body froze in bed
If I just listened to it right outside the window

There were days when the sun was so cruel
That all the tears turned to dust
And I just knew my eyes were drying up forever

I finished crying in the instant that you left
And I can't remember where or when or how
And I banished every memory you and I had ever made

But when you touch me like this and you hold me like that
I just have to admit that it's all coming back to me
When I touch you like this and I hold you like that
It's so hard to believe but it's all coming back to me
(It's all coming back, it's all coming back to me now)

There were moments of gold and there were flashes of light
There were things I'd never do again but then they'd always seemed right
There were nights of endless pleasure, it was more than any laws allow
Baby Baby Baby

If I kiss you like this and if you whisper like that
It was lost long ago but it's all coming back to me
If you want me like this and if you need me like that
It was dead long ago but it's all coming back to me
It's so hard to resist and it's all coming back to me
I can barely recall but it's all coming back to me now
But it's all coming back

There were those empty threats and hollow lies
And whenever you tried to hurt me
I just hurt you even worse and so much deeper

There were hours that just went on for days
When alone at last we'd count up all the chances
That were lost to us forever

But you were history with the slamming of the door
And I made myself so strong again somehow
And I never wasted any of my time on you since then

But if I touch you like this and if you kiss me like that
It was so long ago but it's all coming back to me
If you touch me like this and if I kiss you like that
It was gone with the wind but it's all coming back to me
(It's all coming back, it's all coming back to me now)

There were moments of gold and there were flashes of light
There were things we'd never do again but then they'd always seemed right
There were nights of endless pleasure, it was more than all your laws allow
Baby, Baby, Baby

When you touch me like this and when you hold me like that
It was gone with the wind but it's all coming back to me
When you see me like this and when I see you like that
Then we see what we want to see, all coming back to me
The flesh and the fantasies all coming back to me
I can barely recall but it's all coming back to me now

If you forgive me all this, if I forgive you all that
We forgive and forget and it's all coming back to me
When you see me like this and when I see you like that
We see just what we want to see, all coming back to me
The flesh and the fantasies all coming back to me
I can barely recall but it's all coming back to me now

(It's all coming back to me now) And when you kiss me like this
(It's all coming back to me now) And when I touch you like that
(It's all coming back to me now) If you do it like this
(It's all coming back to me now) And if we...

Title: The Diary Of Jane
Artist: Breaking Benjamin
Album: Phobia
Year: 2006

If I had to
I would put myself right beside you
So let me ask
Would you like that?
Would you like that?

And I don't mind
If you say this love is the last time
So now I'll ask
Do you like that?
Do you like that?

No

Something's getting in the way
Something's just about to break
I will try to find my place in the diary of Jane
So tell me how it should be

Try to find out what makes you tick
As I lie down
Sore and sick
Do you like that?
Do you like that?

There's a fine line between love and hate
And I don't mind
Just let me say that I like that
I like that

Something's getting in the way
Something's just about to break
I will try to find my place in the diary of Jane
As I burn another page
As I look the other way
I still try to find my place in the diary of Jane
So tell me how it should be

Desperate, I will crawl
Waiting for so long
No love, there is no love
Die for anyone
What have I become

Something's getting in the way
Something's just about to break
I will try to find my place in the diary of Jane
As I burn another page
As I look the other way
I still try to find my place
In the diary of Jane

So it seems that just about everything went well with my Denver trip, but it was very exhausting. I'll start from the beginning: on Friday I woke up at 4:00am CST to make my way to San Antonio International Airport. I wore my suit to the airport so that I could just go to the interview already dressed. I didn't have any trouble getting through security but they confiscated my hair gel because it was bigger than 8oz . Anyways, I boarded the plane at 6:25am CST and made it into Denver around 9:55am MST. All my luggage I carried on the plane so I didn't have to wait. I didn't have any trouble getting the rental car, which was a red Saturn Ion. At first it took some time to adjust to driving an automatic tranny, but within maybe 15 minutes I was comfortable. I wanted to use both feet to drive, and I had to stop that before it became a habit.

Anyways, I drove to the Waffle House off I-70 in Aurora and had breakfast there. I had about an hour before my first interview with Jabber at 10am downtown so I ate quickly. I didn't know how long it would take for me to get downtown so I left about 45 minutes before 10. It didn't take long to get there at all. I got to I-25 quicker than I thought, and I didn't have any trouble finding parking, which was one of my concerns before going up there. Anyways, I showed up to my first interview about 15 min early. I was able to interview with two tech people, but the hiring manager was unavailable until 11:15, which was too close to my next interview.

I felt like that first interview went well. I came in prepared to answer their questions, and I had a few questions of my own that I asked them. After the interview, I took a tour of their office. All in all, it wasn't bad but I felt bad that I couldn't wait until 11:15 for the hiring manager to show up. I knew if I waited I wouldn't be out of there until 11:45 at the earliest, and it took at least 30 min to get to Highlands Ranch, where my Lockheed interview was going to be held. That would not have given me very much time for lunch, and I didn't want to risk being late to that interview.

So I left, and I didn't have any trouble getting to Highlands Ranch. Once I was in the area, I had about an hour for lunch, then I proceeded to my next interview with Lockheed Martin. So it turns out that it was not a long 4 hour interview, but rather 4 one hour interviews with several panels interviewing for different positions at Lockheed. I feel like I conducted myself well in each one of them. I answered the questions to the best of my ability, and I had come prepared with many questions of my own to ask. In fact, I went over on time with a couple of the interviewers. The benefits would be good: 3 weeks paid vacation to start, insurance that would take effect immediately, and full relocation including my car. The impression I got was a good one, and if an offer is made, it would be made soon, so I am hopeful of my chances with them.

After my interview, I went to check in at the Comfort Suites and rested for a bit. I was exhausted.. I'm not used to talking that much at all. Once I didn't feel so tired, I went out and drove around to find something to eat. I went to On the Border and to Red Robin but both places were packed so I just ended up eating at a Boston Market next to my hotel. I came back to my room and ate then I just watched tv until I was ready for bed. I went to bed around 10:30pm MST because I'd have to get up at 5:30 the next morning.

So the next morning, I pretty much just got up, showered, packed all my stuff and left. I was already close to the airport and at McDonalds when I realized I had forgotten my suit in the room. I had to drive 30 minutes to get back to the hotel and another 30 to get back to the airport area. Fortunately I had left early enough in the first place that I had time to do that without missing my 9:55am flight. I checked in my car around 8:00am, and was able to get my ticket and make it through security with enough time to get to my terminal. I had about 25 minutes to kill before my flight, so I had cut it close.

The last leg of my trip went uneventful. I flew out of Denver at 9:55am and into DFW at 12:50pm. Sadly there wasn't enough time for lunch since I had to go to a different terminal for my next flight from DFW to San Antonio. I had maybe 15 minutes once I got to my gate. That flight was nice since it was First Class. I was thirsty and I had a lot of water refills .

So overall, my trip was productive, and I had interviewed for 5 different positions: 1 with Jabber and 4 with Lockheed. I'm hoping to hear back from them this week, and I may very well have a job offer by this time next week. I'm hoping everything goes well and I come away with a job. I'll keep you updated as soon as I hear something.

Well it's like I've alwasys said, "where there is a will, there is a way." I believe I have finally found my way as far as my job hunt goes. Currently I have 4 job leads that are all potential offers. I say this because each of these 4 leads I have either interviewed with or the odds of me getting the job are high. My 4th option is the system administrator position in Superior, CO I mentioned in a previous blog. This one is at the bottom because it is not directly in Denver, which my top 2 are, and it's not a pure developer position. This company would most likely not make an offer until April, since they are interested in me for the 2nd business quarter. My 3rd option is the developer position in Fort Collins, CO. It basically pays more than my number 4, and it is a developer job, which is why I'm giving it more consideration. This job doesn't have a project date finalized so I have no idea when they are going to conduct the second interview I was promised. Now my top 2 are both in the Denver area itself. My 2nd option is a company that contacted me Monday, and who I interviewed with on Thursday. This company is called Jabber, and the position is a tester position (QA). Basically after I interviewed with them, they contacted me back saying the interview went well and that they want to know how soon I can be up there. I'm giving this one higher consideration than the others because it is in the Denver metro, they may make an offer soon, and there is no waiting like with the other two companies.

So as of right now, my first choice for jobs if they make an offer is Lockheed Martin. Basically they called me on Friday and want to conduct an in-person interview with me. They selected me on the basis of my GPA, and because they are trying to hire 50+ programmers for their Denver office. They will be flying me to Denver on Friday, March 16th for a 4 hour interview. All expenses are paid by Lockheed (hotel, airfare, and car rental). I will be flying back the next day. Depending on how the interview goes, I would most likely accept an offer if they made one as a result of the interview. I'm sure I don't have to explain why I'd pick Lockheed over all the others. Their reputation speaks for itself.

So that's the latest with my job search. As you can see I should have a job within a few weeks. It's a great feeling, and I'll be glad to finally be out of my parents house. I was already getting worried that I might have to find a temp job here in San Antonio, but that doesn't look necessary anymore. So in conclusion, I want to thank everyone who believed in me, and if you didn't, I'm glad I didn't buy into the pessimism.

Okay, I know I've said this before, but the coverage of Anna Nicole needs to stop! The news networks are overdoing it and its not like she was anyone important. A playboy playmate dies and the world falls to its feet, but when someone who matters dies, there isn't but maybe a day or two of coverage. I won't go into a lengthy tirade about why the networks need to move on because I'm not the only one who has this opinion. Google it and you will find several people share my point of view. I will say this, Fox News appears to have moved on so my hats off to them. I may have to watch them more often (especially with their conservative nature). I'm gonna dedicate a song to Anna Nicole, and I'm sure if you've heard it you will understand why. I'm dedicated Vicarious by Tool to Anna Nicole. The lyrics are in my lyrics blog. Peace out.

Well, it's official. I have a second website. It's not the ThreePointOh I've been planning, but more of a side project. I call it crypticwanderer.com. This site basically is a place where my friend and I review REALLY bad movies, and feature the worst of the worst. While I own the site, the idea is only partially mine because it was something my friend John and I joked about once, but I decided to make it happen. The nice thing about it is that I'm not paying for it. You can actually get free webspace and a free domain through Microsoft Office Live. The site is developed using their templates, and it wouldn't be feasible for a site like Northwindy.com since I have all this software installed, and I wouldn't want to use their templates for my site anyways. Its a nice place though for just working on that idea, and it's actually coming out nicely. I submitted it to several search engines and posted a link on here so the search engine bots that crawl Northwindy.com also go to crypticwanderer.com. While not as showy as Northwindy.com, it has a direction and a purpose (something Northwindy.com is still trying to find).

It's been a long week, but the last couple of weeks have probably been the best weeks of my job search thus far. I have 3 active leads that I'm working on - two of which may become offers, and the other is still what I like to call a 'budding lead'.

One of the active leads is with this company called Returnpath in Boulder, CO. With this position I would make about 40k/yr on a 6mo contract job as a Unix Systems Administrator. As far as this job goes, I have already phone interviewed with them and I'm basically on the short list of candidates that they are considering making an offer to when the junior position opens up. Right now they are interviewing senior people to get on board and they are looking to ramp up their hiring efforts when Q2 rolls around. This would be around March or April. They may still make an offer to me at that time, but we shall see.

The second active lead is with a company called ITX in Fort Collins, CO. This is a position for a Software Developer, and here I would make 45k/yr on a 6mo-1yr contract. I have also interviewed with this company, and I was able to make it to the second round of interviews which will be the point at which they may make an offer. I've submitted some of my source code I had written in class to them, and if they made an offer it would be to start anytime between now and May. That interview should take place soon (possibly next week), but they are trying to get their more senior people on board first before the junior developers.

As for the 'budding lead' that I was referring to, this is with a company called CGI in Denver, CO. This position is for a Java Developer, and they would pay 52k/yr. This is also a permanent position (not a contract position). Some of the benefits they offer are 4 weeks of paid vacation, unlimited sick days, relocation assistance, as well as medical, dental, and vision. The only potential drawback (or it could turn out to be an advantage) is that I would be traveling 50% of the time. This would mean I could spend like a month in Denver, fly to Des Moines, IA for a couple weeks, come back to Denver for awhile, and then take another trip like to Los Angeles, CA. There is a lot of travel with this company but it would all be paid for. I call this lead a 'budding lead' because I haven't actually interviewed with them yet, but I have spoken with the recruiter and they may be in touch. So it's not a sure thing, but it would be an awesome position. They are hiring 3-4 college grads so I'm hoping I make it to an interview with them. They may contact me in a few days if they decide to go through with it.

All three of these leads have cropped up in the last 2-3 weeks, so I am hopeful of my efforts, and I should expect to see results soon.

I've come to the conclusion that in many ways America has developed an attitude such as was expressed in the Truman Show. After seeing general reaction to the death of Anna Nicole Smith, I've realized that we get sucked in so much by the lives of actors and actresses that we forget about the people who should be getting hours and hours of media coverage. Sure, it's a tragic event that Anna Nicole Smith died, but it's also tragic that hundreds of people die each day across the world - US soldiers in Iraq, scholars who have contributed to the advancement of society, and just people in general who work the grind and keep the wheels of society in motion. It just disgusts me how much media attention goes into Hollywood idols and how little is placed on the true heroes, like the people fighting in Iraq.

Some people have wondered why I don't watch many 'hip' shows like American Idol or Survivor, and it is simply because I don't want to get sucked into the mind numbing idolization of Hollywood figures. 'So and so went to a red carpet premier...' 'So and so was voted off the island..' 'So and so was a terrible singer..' Who cares? I don't. I have nothing against actors or musicians - without them life would be dull and dreary, but we don't need to idolize them and spend our time following their every move. Doctors may not be very interesting to watch, but if I'm going to idolize anyone it would be the doctor that saves a dying person through some innovative new procedure. I would rather idolize the soldier who gave his life so that people can share the freedom that we as Americans take for granted. I'm sorry but sometimes I just have better things to do with my time than to see who is going to be the next one on the 'Hollywood Walk of Fame.'

Title: Forever
Artist: Papa Roach
Album: The Paramour Sessions
Year: 2006

In the brightest hour, of my darkest day
I realised what is wrong with me
Can’t get over you, can’t get through to you
It’s been a helter-skelter romance from the start
Take these memories, that are haunting me
Of a paper man cut into shreds
By his own pair of scissors
He’ll never forgive her, he’ll never forgive her.

Because days come and go
But my feelings for you are forever (x2)

Sitting by a fire, on a lonely night,
Hanging over from another good time.
With another girl, little dirty girl...
You should listen to this story of a life...
You're my heroine
In this moment I’m lonely
Fulfilling my darkest dreams
All these drugs, all these women
I’m never forgiving, this broken heart of mine

Because days come and go
But my feelings for you are forever (x2)

One last Kiss, before I go
Dry your tears
It is time, to let you go (x2)

Because days come and go
But my feelings for you are forever (x2)

One last Kiss, before I go
Dry your tears
It is time, to let you go (x2)

One last kiss

Title: Breathe Into Me
Artist: Red

And this is how it feels when I ignore the words You spoke to me
And this is where I lose myself when I keep running away from you
And this is who I am when, when I don't know myself anymore
And this is what I choose when it's all left up to me

Breathe Your life into me
I can feel you
I'm falling, falling faster
Breathe your life into me
I still need you
I'm falling, falling
Breathe into me
Breathe into me

And this is how it looks when
I am standing on the edge
And this is how I break apart
when I finally hit the ground
And this is how it hurts when I pretend I don't feel any pain
And this is how I disappear
when I throw myself away

Breathe Your life into me
I can feel You
I'm falling, falling faster
Breathe Your life into me
I still need You
I'm falling, falling
Breathe into me
Breathe into me
Breathe into me
Breathe into me

Breathe your life into me
I can feel you
I'm falling, falling faster
Breathe your life into me
I still need you
I'm falling, falling
Breathe into me

Breathe your life into me!
I'm falling, falling faster
Breathe your life into me!
Falling, falling, falling
Breathe into me
Breathe into me
Breathe into me
Breathe into me

Well it's been a few weeks since I last updated you on my job hunt so I thought I might do that in my spare time. Finding a job isn't hard; the hard part is finding a job that fits my qualifications and experience (or lack thereof). My search thus far has been hit and miss. I'll be contacted by some recruiters, but it either turns out that my lack of experience turns them off to my resume or the position they have is in a location where I'm not looking.

This has brought up something I'm always asking myself, but I never can figure it out: companies want so many years of experience, but how are we supposed to get experience if they don't want to hire the inexperienced? In order for someone to get 1-2 years experience or more, they have to have worked in the field. I don't know, but to me it seems that eventually companies would exhaust the market of experienced workers if they don't hire inexperienced.

Anyways, back to what I was saying, finding a job has been difficult, but I think my job search has been turning around for the better the last two weeks. About two weeks ago, I expanded my search from just checking Monster and Hotjobs to include several other job sites (including IT specific job sites). These sites include: Careerbuilder (a general job site), Dice (an IT job site), America's Job Bank (general job site), After College (entry level job site), TEK Systems (a recruiting company), Robert Half Technology (a recruiting company), ComputerWork.com (IT job site), ComputerJobs.com (IT job site), and MonsterTrak (entry level job site). And yes, I do check EVERY one of these sites every day. This new approach to my job hunt is having a lot more success than my old approach. In the last two weeks, on average, I'm applying to 10 jobs/week, where as the previous two weeks, I only averaged about 1.5 jobs/week. There are a few positions I'm hopeful about: earlier this week I applied to 7 jobs at Sun Microsystems. I'm hopeful about these positions, because unlike other positions I have applied for these were specifically targeted at recent grads with no experience. There are also two different companies I applied to yesterday that were also targeted at recent grads.

In addition to looking at these sites, day before yesterday I paid for a service to mail my resume to hundreds of recruiters in a mass distribution. The distribution won't take effect until tomorrow, but it should bring in more job leads. I also registered for a job fair in Denver, which will take place on March 5th. I need to call them to make sure software will be represented, but unless a job comes through, I am definitely planning on attending.

Ok, so my ThreePointOh site upgrade has been put on hold for now. A lot of the database work I am doing on it as well as the scripting I have for it is on my desktop so I won't be able to work on it until after I move most likely. In the meantime, I decided to do an intermediate site upgrade on the home page. I haven't really changed the blogging software or anything except for the main page. Some of the major upgrades include a stripped down navigation bar so you don't get lost on the site. I've implemented a lot of the ideas I said I would for ThreePointOh such as removing the forums, chat, webcam link, downloads, and just a bunch of other things that just convoluted the site. In addition to the stripped down menu, the site load time has dropped a lot just from the new interface. I've removed the frameset, and although I couldn't completely get rid of frames because of the different coding styles in the blog, gallery, and storyboard (a PHP include would screw up the links), one iframe isn't going to slow things down too much. I've also used CSS on Northwindy 2.5. This has really allowed me to do more with positioning that I wasn't doing before. There is some limited PHP use on the page. Right now the PHP is streamlining the navbar for better efficiency, and reducing code repetition in case the server location or domain location is ever changed.

Overall I don't see it as enough of a change to warrant calling it 3.0 because the actual ThreePointOh upgrade will have all the software written by me and no iframes. I think this is a major step towards 3.0, but we still have a ways to go. The CSS for 2.5 needs to be streamlined but if you want an idea what 3.0 is going to look at, just imagine 2.5 with a few cosmetic changes and some streamlined features.

The calls from companies regarding jobs have continued. Today I spoke with the recruiter I had mentioned in the last entry, but I was also called up by a different recruiter hiring for a company in Arvada, CO. First, let me go over what the first recruiter had said. Apparently what she does is package my resume and present me to several companies and from that several job interviews should develop. The problem with this was really the cost. Considering my post-graduation job search is only a few weeks old, I don't feel that its necessary yet to spend $600 or more to find a job. I'll see how far I get under my own steam for awhile and maybe if I'm not very successful, I will consider it.

Anyways, the second recruiter I spoke with actually represents a company called Sopheon that is hiring. As I said, they are located in Arvada, and the recruiter felt my job skills matched what the company was looking for. So I spoke to him for awhile and what he is going to do is speak with a few more candidates and present the top ones to the company, which should only take a few days. If there is interest, I will be called up again to phone interview with the company. Any relocation expenses would be my own, but it's really not a bad position. If it works out, I may be interested in accepting this job, but I'd like to see if I get any more offers for higher pay.

So that was my day in a nutshell. I've also been thinking more about the vehicle I'd like to get after I get a job. Like I said yesterday, I'm interested in either a 2007 Nissan Frontier 4x4 NISMO or a 2007 Nissan Xterra 4x4 Off Road. Right now I'm leaning heavily towards the Xterra. I've been reading reviews on it and it has been rated the best off roading SUV from several magazines. While the off-road features are mostly for bad weather driving, I do think it might be fun to take it into the back country and do real off-roading :-P. It was fun as a passenger so I'd like to do it as a driver too. If I did get it, it would be the fully loaded Xterra Off Road (not the SE). I was looking at the different packages and the off road is the only one with all the gizmos to help you out. I can just see myself in one of those blizzards where all the cars are stuck in snow, but I could put it in 4LO, turn on the rear locking differential (if necessary), and turn on Hill Assist / Hill Descent Control to keep the tires from spinning, and just go! It would be nice. And heck, if I had friends stuck in the snow, I could tow them out with that V6 4L 285 HP engine. My alter ego would be stuck there in a pile of snow in his 07 S2000 with no where to go .

So you can see I'm getting excited about buying one of those Xterras hehe. All in good time, right?

So it's 2007 now, and this will definitely be a year for change. It will be a year of new jobs, new cities, new friends and relationships. Now that I'm graduated, a lot will be different this year, and it should be the beginning of my new life. Right now, I'm in a transitioning period. In a way it feels like a limbo because I won't be staying here in San Antonio much longer, and things are on the verge of a major change. In the next few weeks / months, I will be starting new. I'd say there is a good probability that will be in Colorado, and I am excited about the new prospects. So what can we look for in 2007 with me? Well, for one, I'm going to be getting a new job. Tomorrow I'll be talking with a recruiter who will help me find a job and if they are as successful as they say they are I could have a job by next week.

Very shortly after getting a new job, my first investment after moving and getting my living situation stabilized, I'll be looking to invest in a new car. The amount I want to put down is slowly declining from what I initially wanted. At first I was saying I'd put 10,000 down, but that will take too long and I'd like to get the car before my student loans go into repayment. I'm thinking about just putting the minimum 3,000-6,000 down so that I could get a new car within a few months of getting my job. But in what? I'm really being more practical about the kind of car I want now. As much as I'd love to have a Honda S2000, it's not very practical for Colorado, and if I bought it, it would be very hard to drive around during the winter. It also can't tow.

So now I'm starting to look at trucks and SUVs. I have a few at the top of my list but it's proving to be more difficult choice. Either truck or SUV, it will likely have off-road capabilities for the snow. From Nissan, I really like the Frontier NISMO (like my friend Tony had), but the problem with that is they only have the manual transmission in the NISMO king cab. If I got a truck it would have to be a crew cab. I haven't ruled out a Black Frontier NISMO crew cab, but it would be an automatic, which I don't like. I like the blue, but that would basically copy the truck Tony had, and that would just be odd. With that, I'm actually looking more at the Xterra 4x4 off-road, which has the same engine as the Frontier, and a lot of the same features like Vehicle Dynamics Control (VDC), front/rear wheel lockers, skid plates, and Hill Descent Control (HDC), and it even has the same shock absorbers as the Frontier Nismo. Actually the only thing that is different about it is that its an SUV and it doesn't have the chrome trim, and they offer it in 6-spd manual transmission. Another big plus is that it gets 0-60 in 7.3 sec! It might not keep up with an S2000 but that's actually pretty fast (and not just for an SUV).. my Civic gets 0-60 in like 8.3 sec. I've also looked a little at the Toyota Tacomas and Toyota RAV4s, but I wasn't too impressed. A lot of the features don't come standard, and there isn't a 10 speaker system w/ subwoofer as an option. So yeah you can obviously see that getting a new car/truck is a big priority for me, but I have to get a job first.

I am really anxious to get my new life underway, but it's like each day is going by incredibly slow. The few weeks its been since graduation feel like months. I can't stand the uncertainty of not knowing where my life is headed. I like to feel like I'm in control of my situation, but that can't happen until I'm secure in knowing that I have a job. Everything should pick up after then. I feel like my life is on hold until I move so I'm anxious to get the move done.

Anyways, that should get you up to date on my situation. Hopefully I will start writing more entries for the public, but we shall see. Until then...