What A Much Better Day, Thusfar

I must say, today has been a much better day by far, than yesterday was. I'm feeling much more motivated today than I was yesterday. Today, a couple of things have gone well. For starters, I managed to get two 40 page reports finished and off my desk to have them reviewed. Hopefully there will only be minor changes to both documents. I'm also just in a much chipper mood than I was yesterday, perhaps because it isn't as gloomy as it was yesterday, I have no idea.

Today, more good news has been coming out on the NHL labor front. Today, the NHLPA agreed to a salary cap of $52 million, whereas the NHL wants a cap of $40 million. As far as I'm concerned, this is a breakthrough, as the players were staunchly anti-cap. I think this might be the major concession that was needed to get a deal made. The deadline is still at 1 pm tomorrow afternoon, I have a little bit of optimism that something will get done prior to that.

Also, today is the first day of spring training. Pitchers and catchers reported today. Exciting stuff is ahead.... And the best thing of all, today, the workday has gone by quickly. So quickly in fact, that I feel like I've missed it.... Bright days are ahead.

Glimmer of Hope??

I was just checking out TSN's website, and I see that Gary Bettman's press conference that was originally scheduled for tomorrow afternoon has been pushed back to Wednesday at 1 pm. I wonder if there is a glimmer of hope in the negotiations. I have been reading this blog on hockey rumors and there appears to be a glimmer of hope. I'm just a little more optimistic than I was a few hours ago, but I guess we'll have to see what happens. To be perfectly honest, I would be shocked if anything is worked out by the deadline. It shall be an interesting next 24 hours.

What A Dreary Valentines Day

I must say, with today being Valentines Day, I thought it was just going to be another ordinary day, another day, and that's all that I wanted to recognize it as since I'm currently very single. No parties, no nothing, just to be able to watch 24 this evening like I do every Monday. However, this Valentines Day will go down in history for me. It will go down in history because it is the eve that Gary Bettman, the commisioner of the national hockey league, will cancel the NHL season tomorrow afternoon at a 1 pm eastern time news conference from New York. When this happens tomorrow, barring any significant changes between now and then, it will be the first time in the US that a professional sports league would've canceled an entire season and playoffs due to labor differences. It will also be the first time the Stanley Cup will not have been awarded since 1919, and that only occurred because of an outbreak of the flu. I must say, this is most depressing to me, it makes me sick that both sides seem to not be able to come to any semblance of an agreement and a new CBA. I'm also disappointed as I am a Washington Capitals full season ticket holder. Granted, I have been very busy with work during the course of the season, and I might not have been able to make it to some of the home games, but at least hockey would've still been played. Instead, we have to go off what ifs. And, when the season is canceled tomorrow, I'll owe my coworker a beer.

I'm most displeased with both the owners and the players. The NHL does not have the fan base, nor the lucrative television deals that the NBA and MLB had, and don't have the financial resources to recover from a canceled season. I'm not even sure if the NHL has the wherewithal to recover even if there is a shortened season, of say, thirty games. The damage to the sport, if there isn't any semblance of a season, would be irrepairable. I guess we'll have to see. In my dream world, I would like to see Bettman announce a new CBA and that the season will be starting in a couple of weeks. But that will only be in my dreams. I suppose I can only hope.

There is one bright side to tomorrow though, especially if the season is canceled. Tomorrow spring training starts, with catchers and pitchers reporting. That means we have little more than a month to go before baseball season starts. Spring is almost here! Baseball is almost here! It will certainly break up the boredom of basketball. Well, I hope we'll have hockey, but at this point, I'm not very optimistic at all.

It's Monday....

Yes, it's another wonderful Monday. Today hasn't started out the way I would've liked it to. I overslept for the first time in a long time. And then, I woke up to it drizzling outside, and then, almost instantaneously, I heard the traffic report, that there was an incident in the HOV lanes near the 14th Street bridge. I'm thinking how grand this is going to be getting into work this morning. And, of course, without fail, the traffic was terrible on this Monday morning, due to the rain. I must say, the traffic backs up because of the dumbest things around here. It drizzles, or rains, an extra 45 minutes to an hour to get anywhere you need to be, the sun shines bright, same thing. Perhaps it just needs to be dark all the time here for people to drive with some sense of intelligence. It would appear to me, that once people get behind the wheel of the car, and poof, you immediately lose all common sense and intelligence.

I don't know why I'm feeling in such a sour mood today. Perhaps it's because of what today is, I don't know. I know one thing is for sure, I'm not feeling all that motivated this morning to do much of anything here at the office. Is it the rain? Is it because it's Valentine's Day? That I can't be absolutely certain of. Today must just be an off day for me or something. Today is not a day though, that I shouldn't be losing my focus and motivation for work, as I have a lot that I need to get accomplished. I know the stress is getting to me, but I didn't think it would be getting to me THIS much. I'm thinking a vacation is in order, but I'm pretty sure I would never be able to get the time that I would require to recharge my batteries. Definitely, there is no rest for the weary. Plus, it's only a matter of time before the big bombshell happens and I'm asked something of me at work that I'm not going to particularly like very much. We'll see.... One week done, just another to go, I would gather before I'm asked. We'll see what happens. Back to the grind......

Debate with myself....

Last night, I was watching Star Wars episode ii, Attack of the Clones, with my father. Immediately afterwards, I stuck in one of my Star Trek the Original Series second season dvds. It got me to thinking if whether or not Captain Kirk could take on Darth Vader successfully. I realize that Darth Vader has the use of the force and a light saber, but I can't help but think that Captain Kirk could still successfully take on Vader. Captain Kirk, after all, has his enormous fighting skill, and a phaser. But could Darth Vader deflect a phaser blast? I know in Empire Strikes Back, Vader successfully deflected a blaster shot from Han Solo in Bespin. But Kirk has great fighting moves and has more maneavourbility than Vader does. As much as I would like to say Kirk could take Vader, but I can't be sure. One thing is for certain, even though the outcome can only be speculated, it would be a fight worth paying to see.

This Is So Stupid.....

Last night, I believe it was, I caught the end of a report on NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams about some state that was trying to impose a fine on individuals whose pants showed any part of their boxers/underwear. I thought to myself at the time, without hearing the entire story, which state would be stupid enough to try to get such a bill passed into law. To my dismay, I see that it was the House of Delegates, in my home state of Virginia, that passed the bill. In it, a person would be fined $50 to anyone who publicly and intentionally displays his below-waist undergarments, intended to cover a person's intimate parts, in a lewd or indecent manner. I know this was geared to those teenagers whom I have seen wearing their pants like that.

I have to admit there wasn't very much of this in my high school, but there was some of it. I began to see more and more of it though in the years after I graduated, more specifically from the time period of 1998-2000. I saw this, and was wondering, "Why would people want to do that?" I thought it was a little too revealing, but it was something that I just looked at at being just a fad nothing more. And, it really didn't bother me very much. But to introduce a bill to make it a fineable offense? Come on. This is ludicrous. This is one of those stupid things that shouldn't have even made it into committee. The Commonwealth of Virginia has too many other problems to tackle. Plus, this is a fad that has been going downhill for quite some time now. In my opinion, this is just another instance of the Republican conservative majority in VA of being utterly stupid, and wasting the valuable session time of the legislature. Fix the other problems first, like all the potholes on major roads in northern Virginia!!!! If you would care to read this stupidty yourself go here.

There Is Something Bothering Me This Morning

I woke up this morning with something nagging me in the back of my head, and it's really starting to bother me. I have pretty much pinned down what the source is, and its source is a comment that my manager made to me yesterday. We've been having some issues with this particular client on this project. Some of it due to our own mistakes, and some to their mistakes. However, the comment that's bothering me is this "There have been some things that have been said that have driven the state into a frenzy, yourself included. They said you said something couldn't be done because project 'x' was more important." I'm pretty sure I know why I'm bothered by this statement. I wasn't chewed out for it, which is a good thing, but I'm really bothered by it because I know I didn't say anything like that. My father told me that the only thing you have in the contracting business, or even in your professional life, is your credibility. I've taken this advice, cause I know he wouldn't lead me wrong, and realize there is a lot of truth to that. More than anything else, I am bothered by the fact the client would say something like that, especially when I'm 99% sure I didn't. This shows me that this client will do anything to ensure they are right 100% of the time. I'm willing to give some benefit of the doubt, but not when it comes to something concerning my conduct. I feel this has compromised my credibility to a certain degree. This client has been stressful, and I'm debating whether or not it's really worth all this agony and stress.

Update to previous post...

So, before I left work today, I had a discussion with the manager I'm going to be reporting to very soon, within the next couple of weeks. I brought him up to date on a few things concerning the exercise project we're working on, and a few of the complexities of the project. I also wanted to discover what he was expecting from me. I just wanted to ensure that I was on the same sheet of music that he's playing from. I was glad he asked me if I had any questions or concerns, this way, I was able to find out if the VP of my division was kidding around with me. I got the information that I was looking for, that they are looking to hire someone that already lives in South Carolina, preferably, the Columbia area. This comes as a relief to me, as I'm pretty sure that I don't wish to relocate to Columbia. I just feel, deep in my heart, that a move to Columbia isn't the right thing for me. I was asked, however, that if no resumes were coming in, if I would entertain the idea of going down there for 3-4 months. I did say I would entertain the idea, but I didn't accept, because I don't want there to be any expectation that I will move down there for any length of time. So I left work for the day feeling much better than I did yesterday when I left work. So it's going good, for now. I'm sure there will be more to come on this issue in the upcoming weeks though. It's nice that I won't be forced into a move, that's the one thing I was dreading.

Interesting Thoughts.....

I tell you what, it definitely has been an interesting week this week. For work, on Tuesday, I needed to go to Columbia, SC for a meeting. Prior to this meeting however, a group of managers from where I worked, had a meeting with the client to discuss a slew of issues. The one issue, which very well could effect me, is what I would like to concentrate on for right now.

Apparently, our client, wishes to have a local point of contact located there in Columbia. The managers I went down with were discussing what type of person this particular individual should be. I found it quite curious, as I'm sitting there with them, that the person they were describing was none other than, yours truly. I was slient during the course of this conversation. However, after we arrived at the meeting location, the division VP, who was there as well, asks me where I'm living at at this current period of time. At this point, I immediately knew what was going through his head. After our meeting, which seemed to drag on forever, I might add, we're all sitting in the car when the same VP asks me if I like it down in Columbia, as there is a whole bunch of open space and everything. One of the other managers chimes in and tells me about the attractive women and all, and how Atlanta is a short ride down the road. Of course, I'm not finding this very amusing, not in the slightest bit, I might add. I'm also not a dummy, so I realized, at that point, that I'm being considered for this particular slot. Today, I found out, talking with another manager in the chain, that they're looking for someone down there to fill the position, but my name is indeed on the list.

This proves to be an interesting quandry for myself. This project, to say the least, has been quite stressful on me. The client, isn't, as we would say, the best clients you could have. Plus, I'm finding the whole moving to Columbia aspect of this quite troubling for me. Now, I have no great love for Washington, but I have spent the last 10 years of my life here, I feel, that after moving around my entire life, I have finally settled down. My family is here, my friends are here, in general my life is here. Perhaps I have grown too comfortable here, that could be an underlying issue in all this. There are definitely benefits to this, if it were to come to fruition. 1. It would be a promotion at work. This is something that I've been striving for for quite some time now, I would like to see a promotion, and this is, obviously, the quick and easy way to that route. 2. It would definitely be more money, which is never a bad thing. 3. A new city. I would have that opportunity to start anew, from a blank slate. I would know no one there. A fresh start, which can sometimes be a good thing. 4. It would get me away from Washington for awhile. I must admit, this is something that I have been thinking of for quite some time now. The traffic is really starting to annoy me, the pace, the number of people. Of course, I have been saying this for years and have done nothing, this is an opportunity to get away for awhile. A sidenote to this though is, I wasn't thinking of Columbia when I was pondering this particular issue. There are some definite cons to this as well. 1. The client, they are quite stressful, I must say, and I don't know if I would be able to handle all that pressure. 2. I do have no one down there, I would be alone, well not totally, I would bring my dog with me, but you get the point. 3. I would have to move. This is the biggest qualm I have about the whole situation, if it were to present itself. Even though I moved the entire time I was growing up, I was never a big fan of it. It's such a pain in the butt to pick yourself up and move. Plus, moving is a major decision that shouldn't be taken lightly.

I know, some would think that I'm over-reacting about nothing, I haven't even been presented with the possibility, but I know, that you aren't asked these things unless you're being considered, and I think I would be naieve, if I didn't think I wasn't being considered, so, in my opinion, the option needs to be considered. I think I might have a pretty good idea of what it is I would want out of a situation like this. I'm not even sure if I want to move, I'm reasonably sure I don't want to, but then again, I might be made an offer I just can't refuse. I would be closed-minded to not consider anything that was offered to me. We'll see.... It's definitely going to be an interesting next couple of weeks, to say the least.

Welcome & First Post

This is my first posting on my blog. I really haven't done one of these before, and I thought I would try something new. Hopefully this will turn out to be a good thing. More to come later...