Welcome to my new/moved weblog. For months now I have been using Blog 5.0 to publish my web log. I have decided to purchase my own domain and place my web log here. I am going to move all of my old web logs entries over here. I feel that this is a good move. I have enjoyed my web log and I hope that this makes it better.
At the end of October my company had a layoff. A lot of people where let go that day, but some stayed longer. Their projects needed some time to be rapped up. It is hard to know who is staying and how is going. It is not something that a lot of people like to talk about.
We are still getting good-bye messages from people whose time has come. Those messages usually come at the middle and end of the month. We will be getting these messages for at least another month.
Today I realize I have a routine when I get one of these message. I go into my Handspring and change the persons information. I take out there extension and input what ever personal contact information they included with the message. I chance the company list from TiVo to ex-TiVo. I change the category from Work to Business. If I was on a first name basis with the person I send them a message. If I was close with the person I tell them we should do lunch sometime. I end by putting the message in a folder named ex-tivo.
It seems strange to me that I have a routine every time I get one of these message. At work today other people told me they have routines also. One person told me they say a prayer every time they get one. I know that I am at a company that has had two rounds of layoffs. I wonder if this is a normal thing to do. There are most likely people doing this all over America.
Interest Rates just keep on dropping. The prime rate is at the lowest level that I can ever remember. It is a good time to buy a house. Of course I work for a company that has had two rounds of layoffs and might have more. In a strange way it would be good for me if I could keep my job and not have the economy rebound. It would drive down housing prices in this area. I might be able to buy a house if the economy stays like this.
The problem is that I cannot afford to buy a house without help. I do not think my parents can afford to help me. I am a single man, so there is no one else that can help me. I think this has been getting to me lately. It is something that I just cannot deny. I guess I am getting older if these things are important to me.
I have not been getting out of my apartment for the last couple of weeks. When I do get out of my apartment, I have been leaving San Jose. I have not been sticking around my neighborhood. I have been driving and not walking. It almost feels like I have been avoiding San Jose.
It is strange to say that I am avoided the place where I live. I come here every night. I spend hours on end in this city. The difference is that I have not been getting out to see the town lately. I cannot tell you why I have been avoiding my town. I just do not feel like kicking around the streets.
I have a complex relationship with San Jose. On one hand I am a fan of the underdog. San Jose is an underdog city. People make fun of San Jose all the time. Lots of people act like they are too good for San Jose. I want to see the city do well so it can shed this image.
On the other hand I think San Jose is kind of boring. I think there are a lot of things this city is missing. For having almost a million people, San Jose feels more like a suburb. I got my hair cut on Monday. I was I was sitting the chair watching the woman cut my hair. I was thinking that I was never planning on living in San Jose. It just kind of happened. I keep on thinking that my destiny is in another city.
After the holidays I will have to make more of an effort to hang out in Downtown San Jose. I will have to try to find ways to have my friends come down here also. I need to hand out with people and bring them to my neighborhood.
Today my head was thick with work. I could not let my mind wonder like usual. I had to keep it tight on work. Here are a few of the tidbits from my day.
I talked to a woman I work with. We were talking about Pittsburgh, her home town. She told me that Michael Chabon's Pittsburgh was not her Pittsburgh.
I got my merchandise from the TiVo Story Employee sale. I bought two TiVo lunch boxes, a coffee cut, and a clear remote. It is are one chance to have a discount for anything at work. They do not sell the product from the TiVo Store.
I had Rob Bass It Takes Two stuck in my head all day.
A woman I once had a crush on came back to visit the office today. There was nothing more then pleasant chatting.
I got a call from a customer who will not listen when I say I do not take customer calls anymore.
I was so focused at work, I cannot focus on writing now.
I feel that I am not a generous man. I know that my friends might not see this. I am generous with my time, my spirit, and with my words. I am not generous with my money. I am not saying I am stingy. If a friend asks me for money, I will do what I can.
I just do not give money to charity or to people I do not know. There is part of me that is not sure about the general effectiveness of charity. If I give money to feel poor families, is that a negative market force? If I send my money to another country, does that give the ruler of that country the chance to not take care of his people?
There is one charity that I give to every Christmas, The Family Giving Tree. The last two years we have had a Giving Tree at TiVo. You pick tags off the tree and buy gifts for poor children. There is a lot in this world that I am not sympathetic about. The idea of a kid having nothing for Christmas just breaks me up on the inside.
Last weekend I bought gifts for the giving tree. I bought watches for two girls. I like buying watches because I thought watches were cool when I was a kid. I think the watch might be somewhat functional for the kid also. I think giving trees are a worthwhile way for me to share my blessings.
Christmas Is too close and I have too many things to do. I am going back to my hometown, Warminster PA, for Christmas this year. I feel like I have a lot of things to do before I go back. Too often I wait for the last minute before I do these things. I let way to many things go to the last minute.
I never feel ready for Christmas. It is always just a few days away in December. I think it is because I really do not get in the Christmas spirit. I do not do anything to get myself in the Christmas Spirit. I do not do any Christmas Crafts, decorate my apartment, or have Christmas parties. Maybe that is why I am having these feelings.
Can you tell the story of your 2001 in 20 words or less. It is a great challenge. You can see how other people have taken on this challenge. this website is no longer there
Here is what I wrote.
Rich [ San Jose ] 10/12/2001 23:42
Same Apartment, visit Las Vegas, San Diego, survived layoff, turned 29, started web log, visit Chicago, survived layoff again
You should read the rest of them also. People have a lot of ways to summarize their year.
Steve Carlton is one of my favorite pitchers of all times. I know that he has the reputation of being a disagreeable human being. As a player he hated the media. After his playing days he said some dumb things to the media. He has tried to rehabilitate himself in the mean time. That has been almost painful. He has no edge at all anymore. I have to give him a little leeway. Pitchers are a strange breed, left handers more so. A sportswriter once penned "hell is an island where everyone else is a goalie, a place kicker, or a left handed pitcher."
I just seen Carlton as a pitchers on the mound. He was the kind of pitcher that did not care who the hitter was, he was going to blow it by him. I watched him pitch some great games. I was between 6 and 12 when I watched him pitch on the Phillies. He was a great pitchers to watch when the game was all that mattered.
Carlton explains how he threw his slider. There used to be a joke about Carlton's Slider. Larry Christenson, another Phillies pitcher at the time asked Carlton how he got so much movement on his slider. Carlton said, "Put your finger along the seam and throw the shit out of the ball." Christenson sighed and commented that if he had Carlton's arm strength he would not worry at all about where to grip it.
People have said that there is a customer cult involved with the TiVo product. People who own it love it. They have been known to take it a little too seriously. Too understand this cult you might want to look at this web ring. You have to read the pages to understand it.
