Dumb Blog! Bad Blog! But Probably Still For the Best

When I last wrote, I was waiting to hear back from my boss as far as whether or not he was going to give me my job back. He was going to take 48 hours to think about it and then let me know. I was surprised to hear back from him a lot sooner than two days later, as he called me the following morning - and with a changed tone.

It seems my blog has a new fan. My now very ex-boss. Oops. MyAOL mail signature was my blog link, and I must have included it on an email to the ex-office. While it stinks to remain without a job this close to the holidays, it was still probably for the best. Things were said that couldn't be taken back, and it would have been very uncomfortable going back to work after being fired and then yelling at my boss. It's killing me inside to be unemployed, but I already had one interview last Thursday and another lined up for tomorrow morning. This isn't the greatest time of year to be hunting for work, but as people have said - what doesn't kill me will make me stronger. Another positive development from the aftermath of losing my job is that I have been able to spend a lot of time with The Man Zachary, who has been sick. I feel a lot closer to him now - so there is my silver lining.

My boss made some valid points when he called last Wednesday. I had a tough time taking my job seriously after awhile. I got my work done, and found time to help other people in the office with their stuff, but I also goofed around on the internet and whatnot. To be fair my job was hot and cold as far as how busy I would be, and it wasn't easy to find 8 hours worth of work to do every day. But, from here on out, I will be taking whatever job a get next ultra-seriously. I have complained about how bad it was to work somewhere where I was unhappy and where things were so unsteady. But you know what's worse? Being unemployed! My boss fired me two weeks ago without cause, but the truth is if I worked for a bigger company with more stringent controls on internet usage I could have easily had a case made against me. From here on out I have to fly right and be a whole lot smarter in my decision-making. I just turned 34 and I need to start acting like it. I have a house, a family - an amazing 15-month old son. I often feel that my family deserves far better than me. Now my number one priority is finding a decent job and then proving myself worthy of my wife and son.

Went to my first Eagles game in the new stadium and had a pretty good time. Would have had an even better time if I wasn't so depressed, but Kim came up big as far as birthday presents go. The black cloud that has been following me the past few weeks came along to South Philadelphia as well. Donovan McNabb injured his knee and the Eagles were terrible, losing to the previously 2-7 Tennessee Titans. My neighbor Dan and I got down to the stadium pretty quickly, had a few cold ones, and had an enjoyable time even with the bad news and the loss. I can say with absolute certainty that I do not miss Veteran's Stadium one iota. Lincoln Financial Field is a truly gorgeous facility - it's a shame that the game was so bad we left at the end of the third quarter.

[Currently Listening: Suicidal Tendencies - "Waking the Dead"]

The Strangest Phone Call of My Life

Ok, so I am sitting home feeling sorry for myself for being fired on Thursday for no reason and wondering what I am going to with my life when all of a sudden my phone rings at 5:10pm this evening. Zachary was in a state of messiness that demanded my attention, so when I checked my caller ID a few minutes later I was filled with befuddlement when the number on the display was that of my now ex-workplace.

I called back and my ex-boss answered. He asked how I was, and thanked me for the email I sent to him apologizing for cursing him out in loud fashion after he fired me for no reason. He told me he had been thinking about things over the past 4 days and was trying to figure out a way to move past what happened so I could continue working for him. He said that he didn't think he could move past it, but that there was a lot of noise being made by my ex-coworkers clamoring for me to be brought back.

One of these ex co-workers called me this afternoon and it was great to hear from him. If you've never unexpectedly lost a job for no reason, one of the biggest drawbacks is not being able to say goodbye to people you've worked side by side with and grown fond of while working with them. The ex-coworker that called today is a great guy, and he made me feel a little better about myself when he thanked me for the stuff I had done for him and that other guys at work felt the same way about losing me. That really did mean a lot. I'm going to miss working with him a great deal.

So, my ex-boss is going on and on about how he feels bad about what happened because he thought of me as a friend. I found this to be the funniest thing he said, but there was more. He alluded to a meeting that happened there either today or yesterday where some of my ex-mates went to bat for me to be brought back. He said it would have been done if not for the screaming and cursing episode I embarked on while packing up the pictures of my family and my notary stuff on the way out the door. He left things thusly - he is going to "think about" whether or not he can "move past this" and he will notify me of his decision at the end of business on Thursday. I await the call with baited breath.

I do not regret telling him off on the way out, even if it means that I will not be brought back. He had just fired me with no just cause. I may have never been face to face with him again. It could have very well been my last chance to tell him what I thought of his non-stop repression over the past year and a half. I said things that 75% per cent of the company and the industry at large would like to say to him. I was in a state of shock when I went off. I was careful not to threaten him or anything crazy like that. I've gotten somewhat smarter since my youth. Anyways, I am feeling pretty good tonight. Good because I know now that I am well thought of by my ex-coworkers. Good because my ex-boss realizes what he lost when he got rid of me. It doesn't completely erase the fear of not having a paycheck coming in to support my family, but it helps. A little. Part of me thinks this is just a ploy to get me to say or write something to let him off the hook for firing me - to get out of paying unemployment, etc. But, if he offers me my job back, I will go back. But, I'll be going back emboldened and unburdened by fear. I'll keep my feelers out there and if I find something for comparable money I will leap at it. But, at least the bills will still be paid in the time being. I do not honestly think he will offer me my job back. But, it is very interesting that he called me at all...

[Currently Listening: The Police - "Message In a Bottle"]

Just Quit

[This entry was scheduled to be posted on Thursday afternoon. See second paragraph. Looks like my spidey-sense was tingling Thursday for a reason. Psycho boss threatened to fire me and a coworker if we "repeated anything he said about us to the other". I merely asked him if he were serious. He then told me to get my stuff and go. Boom. Just like that. I am the eighth person (out of 11) out in just over a year and a half. Nice.]

It figures that during a week in which our country shows signs of coming to its senses, life seems to be trying to beat me senseless. Granted, I deserve most of whatever ill fortune God decides to dump on my head - but that doesn't mean I have to like it.

Things at work have been ultra-tense again. I work for a small company that tends to mow through its people with regularity. This place has turned over 6 of the 10 full time office positions since I came on in April of '05. Two of my coworkers appear to be on their way out as well. This place is a veritable slaughterhouse. I've been bringing a lot of my workplace tension home, and I have not been very much fun to be around at all. I have become meaner, with a very short fuse. My plan was to try to stick it out here through the holidays, but I don't think that is in the cards.

We found out last night that our child care situation might have blown up in our faces. Our neighbors and good friends watch the baby during the week - and it is a good arrangement for everyone. They charge us a little less and offer us more flexibility than a day care would, and you can't beat their being right next door. They announced yesterday that they are putting their house on the market (I wouldn't want to live next door to me either), thus putting our situation in the lurch. We had agreed to continue the arrangement for this year based on our assumption that they would be living there through the end of the school year. At this point, we would be hard-pressed to find a good combination of quality, affordability (yeah, right!) and availability. Depending on where they move to, it could put us in a pretty bad spot.

Got a call from my Mom today informing of the results from my Dad's chest CT scan. They found a "nodule" on his lung. Wonderful. Chalk this one under the category of my not being happy about being right. In fact, I have been downright nasty to my parents lately concerning their decision-making - especially their refusal to quit smoking in the face of health problems and not really being able to afford cigarettes. My father has had heart issues over the past 5-6 years that have intensified of late. My mother has emphysema and osteoporosis. Most times when she laughs, it takes her a minute to recover from a coughing fit that sounds like there is a lawn gnome in her chest trying to escape. They just completed their adoption of my niece, the super-kid Gabby. I'm afraid neither of my parents is long for this world. They have no savings. No life insurance. They have their small house - which is in a state of disrepair that I am in negotiations with a contractor to work on, and that is it. I guess I have always known I'd be left holding the ball, I just thought I'd have more time than this.

There was talk in college that I might have been an alcoholic. However, I believe it's safe to say that I have no chemical dependence on alcohol. I have an affinity for meat/bread/cheese combinations, but when I say I am addicted to said foods, I am mostly joking. I have never done drugs, and thankfully I have never smoked a cigarette. I have read about addiction, but I have never suffered from one. I have a co-dependent personality, but that is it. So I can not say with any strength that I have a leg to stand on when I implore people to just quit smoking. I know it is not that easy. If it were, cigarettes would have gone the way of 8-track cassettes. As I have never smoked, I can't for the life of me understand why people continue to do it - even with the well-publicized health risks that come along with the "habit". But implore away I will. If there is some benefit or effect cigarettes bring to the table that I do not know of, then I apologize. But if there isn't, quit. Please. Please just quit. You get one shot on this planet, and there are very few things worth shortening your time here for. There is no way you can tell me that cigarettes fall under that category.

[Currently Listening: Men At Work - "Be Good Johnny"]

Still Think It's Paranoia?

The most American of days is upon us. Yes, it is Election Day! Can you feel the energy of freedom just coursing through the veins of our great nation? You can...can't you? We are less than 24 hours away from being freed from the shackles of pre-recorded phone messages from politicos and celebrities. Released from the bonds of non-stop nasty commercials that tell you why you shouldn't vote for one candidate - while never really telling you why you should bother voting for the person responsible for running the advertisement in the first place.

If you haven't voted yet, be sure to check out this amazingly informative and completely politically neutral video. To borrow a phrase from Philadelphia 76ers superstar Allen Iverson, if this video doesn't make you "all swole" with American pride, then you do not have a pulse, you Commie!

I ran the following theory past my wife over the weekend and she rolled her eyes at me and more or less called me a nut. As any of you who have read my blog before are well aware, I view the oil industry (and the current administration allowing it to us whatever it wants) as a huge part of what is wrong with our country. You will notice that gas prices have fallen sharply over the past few months, down from record highs. The record high prices were explained to the American people to be a result of supply and demand, production shortages caused by hurricanes, conflicts in the Middle East, so on and so forth. We were apparently supposed to ignore the "record profits" reported by Big Oil over the past couple of years. Miraculously, all of the problems causing the supply and demand issues were dealt with, and we have been seeing far more affordable gas prices. My theory is that the fall in prices had NOTHING to do with supply and demand, and everything with this being an election year.

There was a news blurb on Monday morning which suggested that gas prices should not be expected to fall much farther, and that prices may even start going up in the next few weeks. No way!!! So the American people were thrown a bone for a couple of months to quell some of the unrest with the current administration over Big Oil running rampant at our expense and that once the elections are over, "supply and demand" issues will again rear their ugly heads? Of course they will! The question is not whether or not gas prices will rise again, its a matter of how much! Big Oil has two years left with the current Presidential administration to stick it to us. Depending on which party wins control of Congress - they will either have a few months with which to bang out some more record profits, or another couple of years. The price at the pump is not dictated by supply and demand. It is another measure of control. If you don't believe me, just watch the gas station signs over the next few weeks, and you will see it for yourself.

[Currently Listening: Sick Of It All - "Uprising Nation"]

A Telling Time

Tomorrow is election day, and I am very eager to see how tomorrow's results play out both regionally and nationally. To say that I have lost faith in our current system for choosing our leadership would be an understatement. The past two presidential elections have been total shams, and with the electronic voting machines coming into play I have zero confidence in the sanctity of the voting process. Elections have been fixed for ages, and now it will be easier than ever.

I have to believe that most non-sheep Republicans realize that we need a change in our government. The current Republican-dominated House and Senate have allowed the current Administration wipe its collective behind with the Constitution. Our government was designed to have checks and balances. The current Congress hasn't checked or balanced anything for years. More and more Republican politicians and spiritual advisors are being exposed as total frauds as far as their beloved "traditional family values" campaign platforms are shown to be mere lip service.

Until we know otherwise, our votes still count. So make sure you get out there and make your voice heard tomorrow. Whether you are a Democrat or a Republican, take some time and read up on what the candidates have said and more importantly - what incumbents have DONE. Whatever you do, don't just go and punch a button for one party or the other. Neither party is perfect. Neither party is all bad (although one is clearly getting there!). Our country will continue to be mired in the swamp of corrupt leadership if we as a people continue to allow it to happen. Voting blindly, or not voting at all, allows this pattern to continue. Our government hasn't been "for the people" or "by the people" for a long time. Our leaders work to line their own pockets by allowing Big Business to call the shots for us. It is high time that we be heard and actually represented again.

From the "not really a big deal but kind of a big deal to me" category... I have been writing a weekly column for a music website, Instrumental Analysis, and so far it has gone fairly well. The site administrator (and good friend) Joe contacted me on Saturday to tell me some neat news. VH1's "Best Week Ever" website actually spotlighted my article! It didn't earn me any money, nor does it really affect anything in the grand scheme of things, but it still felt pretty darned good.

Played in a 25-person poker tournament on Saturday afternoon. Played very well for the first few levels but gave away half my chip stack on a couple of bad hands. I made two elementary mistakes and paid the price for them. I finished 10th and was the first person eliminated from the final table. Sometimes I find myself really upset after bowing out in a tournament without cashing, but I am eager to try my luck again, hopefully soon. The next-door neighbors hosted a birthday party on Saturday night and I got myself into a saucy state. I thoroughly embarrassed myself but apparently I was pretty entertaining (to all except my wife). I hardly drink anymore, and after Saturday night I'm wondering if I shouldn't just stop completely. Insecure Vince still seems to take over when I have too much in me. On the positive side, I can still lay claim to the title of Greatest Beer Pong Player of All Time. Even after a two-year layoff, my game is still tight. The Big Man is still THE man in the most challenging of drinking games. Apparently at one point Saturday night I uttered the following phrase: "Michael Jordan is an NBA peasant compared to me in beer pong". My wife was, of course, completely mortified.

[Currently Listening: Arcadia - "Election Day"]