Anything VIII

[Wizz]

Beautiful looking girl, Rantarn. Even has the tongue-thing down like her sister.

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ June 18, 2004 02:50 PM: Message edited by: Wizz ]</font>

[Nommy]

Wow, yeah. If I didnt know any better ai would have thought that was Mehgan

[ianviking]

She looks like she enjoyed that mug of Sam Adams [img]smile.gif[/img]

Another RanSprout off to a good start by the looks of it.

[Wizz]

by Nommy
Wow, yeah. If I didnt know any better ai would have thought that was Mehgan

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">First glance, but since Meaghan was with us five years ago at the cape, (five YEARS???), I figured she'd be a bit "taller"...

[AsIs]

Ran, she is adorable. How are she and older sis doing? Damn, I'm going to have to come up and visit before they go off to college! [img]wink.gif[/img]

Wiz, that is awesome news. Congrats bud!

[Wizz]

Well, a tad anti-climatic, but it's a good feeling to be employed again. Once again, it's the people you know, not the want-ads, online resumes, or going door-to-door. Small rant, yeah... Countless jobs I believed I was qualified for, only to have no college degree. I'm 6 classes away from an AA in Computer Science, but most job descriptions stated "BS" degree or equivalent experience. Still, a degree would opened a few more doors. With the tech job market where it's at, they really mean a degree, period. Also, Cisco certification is a big, big plus. I've got to take the CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Administrator) exam after having taken the class. Both will help future resume's. Tried the relocation route, with no responses. Mentioned to some friends about Iraq, but the discouragement was rather high. Now, I'm glad I dropped it. But, it was starting to look like the only route to go.
Ok, enough whining...

I worked for Luminous Networks and was laid off two years ago. Company had to cut back quite a bit, and I was more expensive than my co-worker. Simple economics, plus the VP believed I'd have better chances of getting a job. Lots of direction and market changes later, plus an opening due to one of the tech support folks getting a job elsewhere, and I'm back with them again. It's really what I wanted the most, just took a little longer getting it. Commute is 40 miles, all freeway, and strangely, little of the heavy traffic that's experienced everywhere else in the Bay Area. Motorcycle friendly, too (curvy roads, wide lanes for "sharing" when things get (rarely) crowded). Not celebrating much yet, though. Kind of want that first paycheck in the bank first. Oh, job is Sr. TAC (technical assistance center) engineer. Essentially, a customer tells me something is broke, and I figure out a way to fix it, whether it be helping them configure thing(s) over the phone, create a workaround to get things up, or replicate it for engineering to study and ponder...where I get to bug engineering about a solution, rather than them enjoying the problem.
Anyway, that's the important stuff for me. Thanks, folks, for the congrats, etc. I belive positive thoughts helped a lot, too.

[ProfCrash]

Ran, I could not see the pictures, only got a white page.

Wizz, hope that you enjoy the job. Glad it worked out for you.

The not having a college degree is a killer in this job market. With so many people looking for work, and many of them having a BA or BS, employers are more likely to hire them then someone with work experience but no degree. I am not sure why because experience is just as important but that tends to be the way things work.

[Rantarn]

Crash, copy the link into your browser. It's a Tripod thing. *grumble grumble*

Thanks everyone. Meaghan is quite a bit bigger now having just finished Kindgergarten. Other than the hair color, I have always thought they looked just like each other though. No one will ever mistake them as not being sisters.

And Meaghan simply adores Erin. She's always wanted a baby sister and now she has one. She hugs her all the time. She also squawks sometimes if Erin grabs one of her toys on occasion, but you can't have everything. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[AsIs]

Ran, you can't have them get along too well, otherwise they will double team you and Mrs. Ran! [img]wink.gif[/img]

[Wizz]

Asis managed to come out for a visit last week. Was great to see her again, got to hang out for a little bit (job requirements not withstanding), catch up, and enjoy some different company for a chage. Neat, neat, neat...
Ya'll need to go visit. Unfortunately, I'm on the opposite coast from most of you, but make the effort for those close by. Probably won't be a life-changing experience, but it'll certainly be worth it. Online connections are nice, but nothing beats the real thing (baby!).