M E M O R Y L E S S N E S S

why do i even have this thing? i don’t ever update it anymore. such is the way with me and journals, i guess.

work has been a bit boring lately, but i shouldn’t complain too much. it’ll likely pick up in the next few days.

whee.

nothing out of the ordinary has been going on lately, which is a good thing. just work and stuff.

there’ll most likely be a new GwD release on or around 05/05/05, because that day can’t be passed up. i think all necessary files have been submitted, but i just need to edit them. it’s probably time for “The GwD Star Wars Special 3” or whatever, too. hrm. maybe greeny.org will be back to looking purty by then, too. and someday, i’m gonna mess with scumdog entertainment stuff some more (new site, new Retail Retards), so that’ll be fun too.

there actually is no real point to this entry. hah! it’s just a sort of checklist for me to keep track of the projects i want to work on. we’ll see what happens.

so, here i am updating. seth finally got the server back up, or i’d have maybe updated sooner. maybe.

there are lots of new liz and steev pictures up in our gallery. look around, tell us what you think.

here are pictures from billiard’s that some of you who read this might be in. yes. otherwise, look around.

this is the best picture, i think.

this week, i’m going to louisville, KY and to los angeles for work. whee!

it’s valentine’s day. happy valentine’s day, one and all. i used to think this “holiday” was a sham, but now that i have someone to spend it with, i understand that it’s not.

happy sixth valentine’s day together, liz!

summary: i got a job. in houston. i start 8/23. computer and peripheral manufacturer.

details: i got a job (the one i mentioned having had a phone interview for in this post). i had an interview (on-site) there two weeks ago, and i thought it went really well. the head of the department interviewed me (as did 3 other people who work for him). the head guy went to texas tech, and got his PhD in my department. his PhD advisor was actually my thesis/schmesis advisor (one of them, anyway), so that probably helped get me the interview. anyway, it went well, and yesterday he called to offer me a job. it’s doing the exact kind of work that i went to school for, which is good (many people can’t say that, you know). it sounds like it’s going to be a good deal. the money is good, the benefits are good. the only possible drawback is that it’s in houston which is humid and i’ve heard it referred to as “the armpit of texas.” that’s okay, though…we’ll get used to it. also, liz and i won’t work together anymore, which sucks because working with her is really fun. it’ll be okay, though, since for a long time, we didn’t work together, but all was still well. liz is really stoked about getting rid of a bunch of stuff (which we need to do, most definitely), packing stuff, and buying new stuff when we get there, which will be cool.

so, yeah, it’s going to be a busy 2 weeks. we have to quit our jobs here (finally), sort stuff, pack stuff, go to houston next weekend to find a place to live, and various and sundry other things. it’s going to be fun. i’ll likely be getting a different car soon, too, though probably after we move. we’ll most likely only take liz’s car, since mine isn’t really worth moving.

i’ll be happy to share more particulars with anyone who’s interested. drop me a line, and i will.

seth: how far is dallas from houston?
oscar: how far is austin from houston?
anyone who knows: how far is lubbock from houston?

drive times, people, drive times…

i’m going through and closing the comments on all of the old entries on this here thing. i’m getting really fucking tired of having to delete hundreds of porn/drugs/gambling/etc. comments in my blog-journal-whatever. STOP POSTING THIS SHIT. right now, comments are closed for all pre-2003 entries. i’m probably going to close them for all pre-2004 entries in the near future; we’ll see.

that being said, all is well in steev-world. still no job. the interview i had in austin (mentioned at the end of this post), the one that i was supposed to hear back about within a week, ended up being a colossal waste of time. i didn’t hear within a week; i didn’t hear within several weeks, actually. then i did hear, and i was told that as of right now, they’ve decided not to hire anyone for that position. basically, i wasted a whole day (left here at 6:30am, got back at 12:30am) driving to and from austin. alas. anyway, i had a phone interview this week that went sort of well, i think, except the guy asked me “what can you bring to the table, since you have a master’s degree and everyone else in the group here has PhDs?” “uhh, customer service experience? i deal with the customers so the engineers won’t have to. I HAVE PEOPLE SKILLS. WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?” man, Office Space is always applicable. i didn’t actually quote that, but i should have. i should have an interview in boston in the next few weeks, too. aww yeah.

life is good, i’d say. yes indeedy.

go see Fahrenheit 9/11. it’s propaganda, but it’s good. it should be required viewing. yes.

so i haven’t posted in a while. so what?

last night was the first “Domestics” show of the semester. it was also the first time i worked with my new cohost, DJ Webster (aka Mick, for those of you in-the-know). ‘twas cool. since i know him already, we had much wittier banter than matt and i ever did last semester. i also know that i’ll be able to trust him to show up all the time (or damn close to it), unlike matt. matt’s not a bad guy, he’s just not somebody i would have picked as my cohost. anyway, it was a good show and all went well, i think. yes.

so classes started a few weeks back. this time, SERIOUSLY, i’m taking my last 2 classes. at least for this degree at this university. they’re okay. one is pretty interesting, the other is pretty lame. of course, the lame one is the one that has oodles of reading (2 textbooks + lots of articles we have to download). reading is not bad if it’s interesting, but this shit is boring as hell. an article referenced in one of the articles we had to read was by someone named “boring.” that’s funny. anyway, yeah, the semester’s shaping up okay. in my interesting class, we have a “group” (2-person groups) project. this girl in my class declared that i’m her partner, so i guess i am. that’s okay, because she’s quite obsessive about always doing perfect work, so i know i can trust her to not slack off. at least, i hope so.

at 2:00, i’m going to meet with my (former) thesis advisors to discuss my independent study “courses.” basically, as i said, i’m going to try to finish up what i can of the thesis and turn it into a publishable journal article or conference paper. we’ll see…i’d like to turn it into something, but i don’t need the credits i’ll get for this, so i’m not sure how much time i’m willing to devote to it…i’ve gotta find a job, folks. HIRE ME, PLEASE.

i’ve been somewhat (for me) actively job-seeking lately. i’ve sent out more résumés in the past few weeks than i care to count. i had an on-site interview in austin last week. the work seemed interesting (basically consulting, though the company makes a proprietary software package, so most of the consulting is to companies that buy their software), the people seemed nice (really small company - something like 12 employees total). i met the president and the 2 vice presidents, and everybody seemed to like me. there’d be more travel than i’d care for, and the benefits aren’t spectacular. also, they wanted me to start no later than feb. 23. that just ain’t feasible, since i’m in class and i’m trying to finish up this schmesis stuff, too. when i’d thought i was doing a thesis, i’d hoped to be done with it around now (or, if i wasn’t, to at least not be in class so i’d be able to take a job and finish the thesis up in my “spare time”); that didn’t happen, though. i think they were ready to give me an offer if i could start right away, but i can’t, so i doubt if i ever hear from them again. oh well. it was an interesting experience. long goddamn day, though. especially since my flight coming back from austin got cancelled for no discernible reason. took a later flight and got home, obviously, but that kinda blew.

anyway, sunday i submitted a résumé for a position at the corporate office of the company that i used to work for (and i do again…i work at the new store in the same department i most recently worked in at one of the old stores…don’t give me no shit, they asked me to come back…they pulled me out of retirement…same boss, almost the same job, and i even got a raise). anyway, i submitted my résumé on sunday, and i got a call yesterday to set up a phone interview for today. the guy who called seemed really nice (i’ve never heard of him, despite my years with that company), and he seemed interested in me. he said that he didn’t think i really fit the job that i was technically applying for, given my lack of experience in the field, but that they’re planning drastic changes for the part of the company for which i was applying and that (especially with my master’s degree), he was almost sure they could find a use for someone with my background. he said he had to talk to some people and that he’d be back in touch about an on-site interview. sure, i’ve complained plenty about this company, but i’m also quite familiar with it, so i wouldn’t have to learn about a new company. i doubt they’d pay super-well, and i’ve heard that their benefits aren’t excellent (i’ve never been full-time with them, so i don’t know the details), but the kind of work he envisions someone with my background doing sounds interesting. a lot can be said for that, i think. also, since it would be a new position, i’d sort of be able to define my own job, which would be cool. we’ll see. at this point, i just want a job. i’m very flexible about everything that comes with it, such as pay and benefits. and this job would require a move to amarillo, which wouldn’t be that bad.

speaking of amarillo, i applied at pantex right before i got my undergrad degree. i had an on-site interview, but i’m glad i didn’t get a job there, since apparently they tape explosives together when they’re cracked.

also speaking of amarillo, liz and i went there last weekend. on friday night, we saw the Burden Brothers here in town. IF YOU HAVEN’T HEARD THEM, YOU ARE MISSING OUT. DROP WHAT YOU ARE DOING AND BUY THEIR ALBUM. IT’S REALLY CHEAP, BUT AMAZINGLY GREAT. anyway, we saw them and got the album cover autographed and whatnot, and all was well. they seem like nice guys, and they all seemed to think that my Baboon shirt was cool (which it is). yeah. so anyway, saturday night, liz and i went to amarillo and saw them again. just a quick trip up and back, but well worth it. the bar/club/whatever in amarillo had an actual stage, unlike where they played here, but it was about 7’ off the ground, so it was weird. we were near the front, but they were far away. anyway, this show reminded me of how stupid some people are. for instance: not every band/song is “mosh-worthy.” this band is really fucking cool, but they aren’t a mosh-type band. some lame-asses will most to anything, though, i guess. it reminded me of my friend jason’s list of things to do/know when attending a show:

1. If you ate Greek, Italian, or Indian before the show, chew some fuckin gum.
2. Wear a shirt with sleeves. Leave the shirt ON.
3. Take a shower and wash your hair at least once in the week prior to the show.
4. The pit != “Fight Club” (although this one is arguable). Really though, I just can’t understand why somebody would pay a ticket price to basically roam around throwing elbows and fists and generally trying to fuck people up, all the while ignoring the show. Save some money and find an alleyway.
5. If you’re tired, my shoulder is NOT a place for you to rest. My shoulder is not a convenient holder for your devil horns. My shoulder (or hip or leg or face) is not part of some magical crowd surfing ladder.
6. Pushing a crowd of people forward at full strength is retarded. Similarly, pushing a crowd of people backward at full strength is equally retarded.

that being said, here’s a picture liz and i took with the band. check it:

WE ROCK BALLS
Steev and Liz in the back, with the Burden Brothers: Casey Orr (bass), Corey Rozzoni (guitar), Vaden Todd Lewis (vocals/guitar), Casey Hess (guitar), and “Taz” Patrick Bentley (drums)

we’ve got a photo gallery, too…this picture is there along with lots of other steev and/or liz pictures. WIGGEDY WIGGEDY WORD.

i think that’s enough random crap for today.