Hi everyone. I thought I would post something a little lighter than usual. I know that some of you have PCs, some have Macs, and I'm sure that several of you have iPods. I also know that some of you are gamers. Here is some fun for all of you.
First, for the Mac users a little video that imagines what would happen if Microsoft redesigned the iPod packaging.
And then, for you PC users and gamers, a dig at the Apple "Switch" ad campaign. You'll remember these when you see it.
Remember to enjoy in moderation.
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Monday, July 17, 2006
First Day at World Vision
Well, here I am. Pretty weird to be here, after spending a year working in the same place, doing the same thing. Now I'm in a different place, doing a completely different thing. Check out the last post about World Vision (entitled "Whoa! (Part 2)") to find out more about how this happened. I'm excited. So far, it's been a fairly easy, nonchalant day. Also, I don't know a whole lot yet, so there isn't much I can do that's useful other than learn.
Just thought I'd pop on and say hello. By the by, please go to Chris and Jenni's site to find out how you can help them in their time of need if you haven't already. You'll find details there.
Thank you, Father, that their family is safe and they are well. Take care of their needs and walk with them through this time.
Just thought I'd pop on and say hello. By the by, please go to Chris and Jenni's site to find out how you can help them in their time of need if you haven't already. You'll find details there.
Thank you, Father, that their family is safe and they are well. Take care of their needs and walk with them through this time.
Sunday, July 02, 2006
Whoa! (Part 2)
We have a friend named Tad who works at World Vision (the big Christian relief organization) as a recruiter. Last September, he talked to me about a job in their information technology department as a helpdesk person--essentially, the person who gets a call if a computer is not working. There were two positions open, and I was #3. (Kind of like a bronze medal, only not as cool.)
So I've been working at Group Health Cooperative for a year. It's a good job, in so many ways. Really, so far it's the best job I've ever had. I like the work that I do (mostly) and I like the people I work with. I had kind of settled into my routine, gone back to school, all this sort of thing.
Well, last week Tad called. "Hey," he said, "Remember Eric Ness, the guy you met at the interview last year? He asked me the other day 'Whatever happened to Jesse?' I told him that you were working at Group Health still, as far as I knew. He told me, 'Well, we have a position opening up and I'd like to have him come in for an interview.' So he asked me if I could get ahold of you."
That interview was almost a year ago! How did he remember me? Well, I went in for the interview on Friday. It just so happened one of the ladies who was conducting the interview is married to a doctor that I worked with at the Puyallup clinic. The interview went well, but I didn't feel like I had hit a home run or anything. Actually, when I went to work after,
I felt a little silly. "What, did you think they would just hand you the job on a silver platter?" I thought. I kind of figured that it would go the same as last time, except maybe this time I would be #2. (As a euphemism, this is considerably worse than #1. By the way, when you say you have to go #1, how does everyone know what you mean? It's like we all know, but no one ever said anything, no memo went out, etc. But I digress.)
Anyway, that afternoon Eric called. "Okay," he said, "here's the deal. We need someone to start on July 17th. How much notice would you have to give your current job?"
"I have to give 2 weeks notice," I said.
"Okay," he said, "we were going to have everyone come back in for a second interview. But not even counting my evaluation, since I already talked to you before, you scored higher than any of the other candidates. So we're prepared to offer you the position if you can give notice, but I absolutely have to know by the end of the day."
So I talked to Amy, who said "Why not?!", put in my notice at Group Health, and accepted the position at World Vision. I felt almost an equal mixture of excitement and sadness, because I will be leaving people that I really enjoy working with. They were all pretty surprised, since I hadn't even been looking (this whole process took 1 week), but they were all excited for me and sad I would be leaving. It's nice to be enjoyed.
So, God went and changed our plans again. We had a well thought-out, clear, precise plan for moving, school, and work. Apparently it wasn't the right plan. :) He's taking good care of us.
So I've been working at Group Health Cooperative for a year. It's a good job, in so many ways. Really, so far it's the best job I've ever had. I like the work that I do (mostly) and I like the people I work with. I had kind of settled into my routine, gone back to school, all this sort of thing.
Well, last week Tad called. "Hey," he said, "Remember Eric Ness, the guy you met at the interview last year? He asked me the other day 'Whatever happened to Jesse?' I told him that you were working at Group Health still, as far as I knew. He told me, 'Well, we have a position opening up and I'd like to have him come in for an interview.' So he asked me if I could get ahold of you."
That interview was almost a year ago! How did he remember me? Well, I went in for the interview on Friday. It just so happened one of the ladies who was conducting the interview is married to a doctor that I worked with at the Puyallup clinic. The interview went well, but I didn't feel like I had hit a home run or anything. Actually, when I went to work after,
I felt a little silly. "What, did you think they would just hand you the job on a silver platter?" I thought. I kind of figured that it would go the same as last time, except maybe this time I would be #2. (As a euphemism, this is considerably worse than #1. By the way, when you say you have to go #1, how does everyone know what you mean? It's like we all know, but no one ever said anything, no memo went out, etc. But I digress.)
Anyway, that afternoon Eric called. "Okay," he said, "here's the deal. We need someone to start on July 17th. How much notice would you have to give your current job?"
"I have to give 2 weeks notice," I said.
"Okay," he said, "we were going to have everyone come back in for a second interview. But not even counting my evaluation, since I already talked to you before, you scored higher than any of the other candidates. So we're prepared to offer you the position if you can give notice, but I absolutely have to know by the end of the day."
So I talked to Amy, who said "Why not?!", put in my notice at Group Health, and accepted the position at World Vision. I felt almost an equal mixture of excitement and sadness, because I will be leaving people that I really enjoy working with. They were all pretty surprised, since I hadn't even been looking (this whole process took 1 week), but they were all excited for me and sad I would be leaving. It's nice to be enjoyed.
So, God went and changed our plans again. We had a well thought-out, clear, precise plan for moving, school, and work. Apparently it wasn't the right plan. :) He's taking good care of us.
Saturday, July 01, 2006
Whoa! (Part 1)
Long time no see. A couple of REALLY cool things happened recently. Amy filled you in on the car, I think.
I had my final on June 15th for my precalculus class. That was a very difficult class for me, and I didn't do particularly well on the tests. Failed a couple, actually. However, I did extremely well in the homework and a project we did, and so I wasn't really doing too badly--a low B, which is not bad if you're me and you're taking precalculus.
My instructor's policy is that if you do poorly on the final, it won't hurt your grade. It basically gets thrown out. If you do well, however, it will help you. Not a bad deal, all things considered. So I studied hard for it.
On the day of the final, I went in and breezed through most of the questions. (It was multiple choice, but that doesn't really make a precalculus final a whole lot easier.) There were a few I had to work a little harder on. The last one I sat messing with for about half an hour (no exaggeration). It was a very simple triangle problem, and it SHOULD have been really easy. But try as I might, I couldn't get any of the answers provided.
By this time, I was the only one left, and asked my instructor, "Do you want this answer exactly?"
"Yeah," he said.
"Well, it isn't here," I told him.
"Sure it is," he replied.
"Not possible," I said.
Finally he agreed to look over my work, and asked me why I had used a certain method to solve the problem. Then he indicated what the correct answer was according to the key. So, that was it.
I went home in a terrible funk. Amy was all ready to celebrate, and I just wanted to stay in bed all day the next day. Before we went to bed, I decided to check my email, and lo and behold, there was an email from my instructor with the simple subject line, "You were right":
I had my final on June 15th for my precalculus class. That was a very difficult class for me, and I didn't do particularly well on the tests. Failed a couple, actually. However, I did extremely well in the homework and a project we did, and so I wasn't really doing too badly--a low B, which is not bad if you're me and you're taking precalculus.
My instructor's policy is that if you do poorly on the final, it won't hurt your grade. It basically gets thrown out. If you do well, however, it will help you. Not a bad deal, all things considered. So I studied hard for it.
On the day of the final, I went in and breezed through most of the questions. (It was multiple choice, but that doesn't really make a precalculus final a whole lot easier.) There were a few I had to work a little harder on. The last one I sat messing with for about half an hour (no exaggeration). It was a very simple triangle problem, and it SHOULD have been really easy. But try as I might, I couldn't get any of the answers provided.
By this time, I was the only one left, and asked my instructor, "Do you want this answer exactly?"
"Yeah," he said.
"Well, it isn't here," I told him.
"Sure it is," he replied.
"Not possible," I said.
Finally he agreed to look over my work, and asked me why I had used a certain method to solve the problem. Then he indicated what the correct answer was according to the key. So, that was it.
I went home in a terrible funk. Amy was all ready to celebrate, and I just wanted to stay in bed all day the next day. Before we went to bed, I decided to check my email, and lo and behold, there was an email from my instructor with the simple subject line, "You were right":
"I am sorry, but I missed another error on your copy of the exam. The answer should have been 8 square root 3. You had the highest score of the class getting 27 out of 30 right. You also get 5 bonus points for catching the error allowing every one else to have the question dropped. ...
Sorry to have caused so much stress on your last day. Nice job overall and good luck on your educational journey."
This is for a guy (me) who always said he didn't understand math and didn't like math. I'm almost ready to cry again, because I cried when I read that. Partly I felt vindicated, but mostly it was from a a feeling of gratitude for what Jesus has done for me to take me this far. I ended up getting a 3.5 (roughly an A-) for the course.
This post is getting really long, so I'll get to the other thing in a little while.
Sorry to have caused so much stress on your last day. Nice job overall and good luck on your educational journey."
This is for a guy (me) who always said he didn't understand math and didn't like math. I'm almost ready to cry again, because I cried when I read that. Partly I felt vindicated, but mostly it was from a a feeling of gratitude for what Jesus has done for me to take me this far. I ended up getting a 3.5 (roughly an A-) for the course.
This post is getting really long, so I'll get to the other thing in a little while.
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