"Our people are our biggest asset"

The job interview was...interesting. I don't think I'm gonna get it, which is a bit of a drag. I know this because, towards the end of the interview, I asked the hiring lady if I fit the profile of who she was seeking.

She told me I was very strong on one side of the skill set, while there were other applicants who were much stronger on the other side. I would be a great fit with the company, and she stressed that cultural fit is an incredibly important factor in her decision. "Our people," she said, "are our biggest asset."

And then she did something a bit unusual: she said that she was also looking for someone to fill a different vacancy in her department. Perhaps I'd be interested in that position, seeing as it called for many of the skills I bring to the table? She printed out the job description and suggested that, if I were interested, to send her a quick e-mail to that effect.

To be honest, the job is a bit junior for someone of my advanced age calibre. Still, it would give me an opportunity to learn some new things, would afford me the chance to get into this company (which greatly interests me), and would be an all-round good thing.

I thought about it. I sent her that e-mail. I said "Please consider me." She sent one back saying I'm in the running for both positions.

Fingers crossed. Still.

Keep 'em crossed

I have a job interview this morning. Fingers crossed.

And I won't write anything about Halloween. I've hated it since Grade 3, when I dressed up like a pirate and was late for class and missed the beginning of the find-a-word exercise and didn't win because that loser DP won and I was pissed and had to temporarily surrender my crown -- well, my tiara really -- as the kid who won every contest in class. Can you tell I'm still bitter?

But I hope all of you have a Happy Halloween.

604

I didn't have internet access alllllll weekend long, but that's all sorted out now.

Clearly, I made it to Vancouver. And how freakin' happy am I to be here?! I'll give you all additional news a bit later, but first I have to send some e-mails, organize a West End parking permit, get ready for a job interview, look into some other job possibilities, and get out and enoy the gorgeous weather.

Oh ya, and I have a new Vancouver cell number, for all of you who want to drunk dial call me. It's even the good ol' 604 area code as opposed to that unruly new kid on the block, 778. Drop me a line or leave me a note in the Comments section if you want my number.

Chat soon!

701 miles

Not that I'm competitive or anything......no, not at all. Why, the mere thought of competition makes me crazy to win.

But in a completely non-competitive way, I'm proud that I beat my goal for the day by thundering past Baker City, Oregon and ending up instead in Pendleton. Yup, I'm 95 more miles closer to Vancouver than I had even planned.

The day started out a bit dodgy, as four inches of snow covered my Jeep. No gloves, no snow brush, no winter tools of any sort later....I managed to scrape off and get ready to hit the road. The first hour was a bit treacherous, but I took care and drove safely. Still, seeing a bunch of cars and 18-wheelers off the road made for a bit of a white-knuckle drive until the roads cleared.

But then they cleared and the rest was magic. I hit four states today, and felt good with my total of 701 miles.

Only 418 miles until Fountainhead Friday!

Fudgee-o

I had the strangest dream.

I was prepareing one of my favourite meals, consisting of a bag of fudgee-o cookies and a big glass of milk. But quite unexpectedly, a plate of McCain oven-bake fries appeared. And instead of pouring ketchup on it, I poured milk on top. Ick.

Not impressed.

Cuz now I'm craving those damn fudgee-o cookies! Not the way I want to start another day of driving!

Today's mileage target: Baker City, Oregon. Why not? It's a mere 608 miles.

700 miles

I had another good day of driving today, covering exactly 700 miles from Lincoln, NE to Rock Springs, WY. The last two or three hours featured snow flurries and some harried moments, but I beat my goal of getting to Creston, WY by 84 miles. After all, every extra hour of driving I do today and tomorrow means one less on Friday.

I swear I will make it to Fountainhead Friday!

43, 44 and 45

I left St. Louis later than I had planned, but achieved my goal of gettin' to Lincoln. I hit a total of three new states (Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska) to hit a new personal best of 45 states. Yippee!!

I ended up in up in the land of Nebraska Girl, with plenty to go before I hit home.

More miles ahead of me, but a good first day.

After nearly three years

After nearly three years of living away.....of maybe-perhaps-kinda feeling semi-permanent, but really not sure of how long I'd be in any one place.....of figuring out how to live simply and temporarily.....of worrying about how some of my cold weather clothes were in one place, while I was in another.....of worrying about how some of my warm weather clothes were in one place, while I was in another.....of feeling that I couldn't make a new friend to save my life.....of then being rewarded with some of the best friends ever.....of questioning and wondering whether this particular place was where I wanted to be.....

After nearly three years of all this.

Finally, I'm homeward-bound.

Vancouver Here I Come!

Vancouver Here I Come!

Vancouver Here I Come!

Vancouver Here I Come!

Vancouver Here I Come!

Vancouver Here I Come!

Vancouver Here I Come!

I'll drive safely and chat with y'all soon. If I get internet along the way, you'll get updates.

With my last dispatch from the midwest, this is Jeff.

Finally, I'm homeward-bound.

Five-six-seven-eight -- step, together, pivot, and pose

We had dinner. We took lots of pictures. We reminisced, we laughed, we cried. We laughed more, we cried even more, and we laughed again.

We spontaneously choregraphed a dance routine and performed it unknowingly for some stranger sitting in a parked car -- who later passed us in the lobby and gave us the thumbs up. We performed said routine for our friends to thunderous applause their delight. And then we said our final good-byes and cried one more time.

As Tower Girl said, the dance routine (conceived as we waited outside for a cab -- a great way to combat the chill of the evening!!) was a great way to break the tension and nervousness that awaited our final good-byes. But in the end, emotion still showed its face, and tears flowed unapologetically.

We each toasted the entire group at the table, including my toast to a common enemy who helped bring all of us closer together. But in my real toast, I told the table that the most important thing in my life is laughter. It's the currency of my life. And every single person at that table makes me laugh out loud again and again and again. Because of them, I'm the wealthiest guy in the world.

Good-bye, my friends. I can't wait to hear about future opportunities and movements, changes and developments. If the adventure is nearly as awesome as the last 19 months, it'll be amazing!

On the horizon

It's ovah.

I'm unemployed, tired, lonely, cold, and wondering where my next meal will come from.

OK, I'm not really lonely. But all the others are the absolute truth.

Today, this is on the to-do list: a call from Mom and Dad (done), interview for a new job (done), have a nap (from which I was awaken by someone well-intentioned, but poorly-timed -- if that's a word), post a blog entry (naturally), clean up and pack all my crap, enjoy some lunch with Tower Girl and Leona, charge my iPod, clean and pack some more, break for Oprah and M&M's, clean and pack some more, have dinner with the fun group of guys an gals one last time, clean and pack some more, watch some TV, have some drinks, go to bed.

And tomorrow: drive.

Vancouver is on the horizon. It's a far horizon, but it's on the horizon nonetheless.

Go Cards go!

I'm fucked. Well, maybe I'm just stupid. No, I'm more like a stupid fucker.

It's nearly 3AM the day before Tear Down, and I haven't gone to sleep yet. This, desite the fact that I have to wake up in three hours to get ready to head to site and begin the arduous task of packing and loading and makin' it all disappear.

But given the option of getting a good decent night's sleep or staying up way too late and sharing a never-ending supply of laughs with Lucky, Tower Girl and Leona Lowenstein, I'll take the latter any day.

Or night.

Plus, it didn't hurt that Tower Girl and Lucky picked up a Big Mac and some fries for me as a surprise. It seems that every day the Cards play, Big Macs are on sale for $1. Go Cards go!

The final Tear Down

Pictures from top to bottom

(1) Hong Kong Tear Down: before my tent was taken down (Dec/2005);
(2) Hong Kong Tear Down: just an hour later, with no trace of it left (Dec/2005);
(3) Hong Kong Tear Down: me and Ladybug in our only other daylight Tear Down (well, a nighttime Tear Down and a daytime load) (Dec/2005);
(4) San Diego Tear Down: Lucky, our fave temp staffer, me, and Tower Girl (Feb/2005)

As you've deduced, Tear Down weekend is upon us. And seeing as how it's my last Tear Down (high-fives all around!), I thought I'd take this opportunity to highlight some of the main differences between this Tear Down and a standard Tear Down.

• Normally, today would be luggage day -- trucking your three two suitcases to the site and dropping them off at the luggage truck for transport to the next city. Not this time. I'm headin' home with all of my crap treasures, and they ain't goin' to our next stop.
• I'm supposed to find some time to fit in my year-end review -- a review that really shouldn't be taking place on the final weekend of the final city of the tour. Oh ya, and that's after not having been given a mid-year review. In fact, nobody in our department was given a mid-year review, so the surprises that turned up in some people's year-enders were a bit, well, surprising. Isn't it a fact that, if you're being managed properly and effectively on an ongoing basis, nothing should be a real surprise at review time? Apparently not here. So, ya, I have to carve out time today, on Tear Down weekend, to have a review? Well, that's just questionable planning. And questionable management. And not at all surprising.
• It's cold. Well, today looks like it'll be sunny and fresh. But the other day, it was seriously cold. Tocque and mitts cold. Layers upon layers of sweaters cold. After 10 cities of seasonably warm Tear Downs, I'm not sure I'm ready to be freezing my ass off if it gets as cold as the other day.
• We have Leona Lowenstein on our team. Yup, unfortunately it's the first and last Tear Down on which she's guest starring for us. But it was priceless when Leona, Ladybug and I discovered some fairly unforgiving, and potentially monumental, errors made by her predecessor yesterday. Nothing like having someone's ineptitude reinforced yet again for you to bond with your new friend Leona Lowenstein.
• I realize that this time, it will be my last Tear Down. Now, don't get me wrong. Tear Down isn't all that bad. In fact, I've kind of made it into a process that's manageable and workable and easy to get through. But it's not my favourite thing by any means. People are stressed, time is tight, problems run rampant, wrenches are thrown in the works, issues cause us to revise, temp staff are sometimes clueless. Nope, it's not all that bad, but you really do have to be on your game. But it goes by quickly and ends before you know it, and you wonder what all the brou-ha-ha is about. And to be honest, my Tear Down is a freakin' breeze compared to what people like Ladybug and Leona have to go through. Still, you plan for days. You scramble to get all your computer work done before they turn off the servers. You try to isolate the things you'll need to keep with you between cities in the event that someone calls you -- while you're not supposed to be working -- to "just ask you a quick question." You end up forgetting something all then can't retrieve it. You search the entire site for a computer that's up and running and able to let you enter your last Sales Order. You work for hours. You struggle with your packing. You direct temp staff who look like deer in headlights. You warn them to go to the bathroom early, before they start taking them away. You give them an unexpected bathroom break because they didn't follow your advice. You pack. You load. You drive a fork. You scratch your head as your jigsaw puzzle doesn't seem to fit in the sea container. You finish late. You shuffle/drive/catch a shuttle home. You're exhausted. Your body hurts like hell. Your hands have cuts on them. You find unusual bruising in weird places like your ass the strangest places. Your shoulders --oy, your shoulders -- hurt so much that shampooing your hair the next day is extremely unenjoyable. Your planned post-Tear Down sleep in never really happens. You pack your remaining stuff. You get in your car. You drive to the next city.
• Of course, this Tear Down will be somewhat different from the above scenario. My final two openings got cancelled, meaning that I will start and finish my Tear Down early. Coincidentally, I had said just a couple of short weeks ago that I'd bet the mortgage that Montreal would never cancel my openings on the final Sunday of a city run. But we pressured them and pressured them, and they finally relented. (Good think I don't have a mortgage to bet!) And it's a good thing, too, because attendance sucks so much that it would pretty much be me and a few bored people in my tent. But with a cancelled last couple of shows, I have a different Tear Down schedule. Instead of getting everything done on Sunday night, I'll be done by Sunday noon. It means staying late tonight to do some stuff, and coming in way too early tomorrow to finish everything else off, but it will be a daytime Tear Down! I can't imagine what it's going to be like being able to actually see what I'm doing while I take everything apart! Should be interesting. And after I'm done, I've volunteered my services to Leona Lowenstein to make my special guest appearance on her team's Tear Down. That way I won't be all guilty about finishing early while they're working late into the night. I'll be their forklift driver, and will finish off the last day of the last city of the tour side by side with some of my friends. Cool.
• And while all of that is great and stuff, what's the biggest difference between this Tear Down and a normal Tear Down? In a few short days, I'll be back in Vancouver.

Peace out, y'all. Have a great Tear Down weekend!

Mission: spirit fingers

Get ready to exercise your spirit fingers, readers. I want you to get them spirit fingers happenin' so that your digits are nice and loose and stretched out in preparation for an extended finger-crossin' episode. You know, ya gotta stretch 'em first so they don't cramp.

I got a call today for an interview in Vancouver. I applied for a job a couple of weeks ago that seemed cool and would allow me to go home to a new, slightly different career path. Without going into heart palpitations too many details, I'm pretty excited at the prospect of getting this gig. God knows if it'll actually happen, but I'm stoked to be slated for an interview.

Well, stoked and deserving. I'm bloody good, damnit, and I have to believe that if I'm gonna have the guts to apply for these kinds of jobs any chance to earn a paycheque again.

OK, is everyone ready? Here's your mission: five minutes of spirit fingers to loosen the joints, followed by several days of finger crossin'. My interview is Monday at noon, so you've got a few days to go.

Ready? Let's go!

Nevahmind! God Bless Leona Lowenstein

Only a few short days now. Only a few sticky situations to negotiate -- who wants to spend 8 hours trapped in a limousine with those people, for fuck's sake?! Only a few opportunities to spend time with the people who piss you off the most key colleagues.

But I'm looking forward to Monday night. Not looking so much forward to the looong drive home. Still, it gets me to my West Coast paradise. And, as Martha says, it's a good thing.

And:

• Chicago was so damn good! I'd been in the airport about 20 times, but had only stepped out into the city proper once before for an abbreviated weekend. I didn't go out or anything that time, so this was an opportunity to just do it right with my close friends. And everything about it was wicked. Definitely a new vacation destination -- but next time it'll have to be Summer! The Architectural River Cruise was stunning, but a wee bit rainy and windy!
• My suite was closed yesterday, so I watched the show from backstage. It was about freakin' time I did that, and it was cool to see all the stuff that goes on in the Artistic Tent as people are warming up, preparing to go out on stage, and then coming back from their acts. You don't get the chance to see that behind-the-scenes perspective too often!
• I had a meeting with HR yesterday to go over the details of redeployment as it seems -- not too much of a surprise here -- that we didn't manage to find a job for me by Oct. 22. I got my immediate questions answered, received details on my benefits and rights, and feel a bit more informed. Still, I can't help but feel that we're not being treated with nearly as much respect as we should. It's certainly not the fault of our HR advisor, but who is stepping in to help us out? And by us, I'm not even talking so much about me, but some of us who are being fucked around by management that acts as if it doesn't give a shit the system. Very disappointing.
• Tower Girl and I have a new, non-sexual crush. Our new friend Leona Lowenstein has been around for less than a month, yet has managed to weave her way into the fabric of our network like nobody else. In fact, we've often wondered "what if" she had joined us early in the year, as she had considered. Nevahmind the drama, it would have been a considerably different year, I tell ya. Oy Leona, where have you been all of our circus lives? God Bless Leona Lowenstein.
• I shudder at the thought of putting all of my crap personal belongings in my car and hauling 'em to Vancouver. Still, I don't want to part with my useless junk treasures until I know what my next steps are -- whether I'll be getting an apartment, crashing with Suzie, or something else. Until then, I'll haul that useless load of shit to the ends of the earth and then some. Amen.

OK, it's nearly time for The View. Yes, it's a scary thing that my life revolves around that show. I, too, can be influenced by the stimulus aimed at the 40-something middle American housewife market. Yippee!

Happy Thursday, everyone.

Windy

The Hire Guy, Lucky, Tower Girl and me (Cincinnati, August/2006)

This is the fun group that's headin' to the Windy City tomorrow! We'll be there to celebrate Lucky's 40th birthday and to have one last fun time together before we go our separate ways. It should be plenty of fun -- architectural boat tour, Sears Tower, the Magnificent Mile, and all sorts of other good things, I'm sure. And it'll be a great way to enjoy our last Double Dark together.

See you in the Windy City!!

Fluxin'

I feel like I'm in a state of flux. Ya, I'm fluxin' big time.

I'm stoked about heading home to Vancouver and being in familiar surroundings. I find myself wandering off in thought as I picture myself walking the streets of my old 'hood, wearing something from my collection of favourite sweaters that's currently gathering dust in storage, and bumping into long lost friends and acquaintances.

Yet I lament that fact that my time with this company is coming to an end. Sure, I'm done with touring. Sure, some of the people I work with are a waste of precious office space driving me crazy. Sure, I'm soooo over Set Up and Tear Down. But there is so freakin' much potential with this company, and I feel such an alignment with it on so many levels, that I can't help but feel that my departure from the company will be premature.

So let's take stock of my situation with the company. I've got an application in for a Montreal-based position. I think it's a bit out of my league, but I was very pleasantly surprised that my last application yielded a short listing and interview. Still, assuming I don't get serious consideration for this postion, I'll be on a redeployment list for six months -- a time during which I'm supposed to have access to internal postings and be actively searching for jobs. Because my job is being eliminated, the company has a stated obligation to find me a job at the same level (manager) and in the same salary range at which I'm currently classified.

And, in my opinion, therein lies the problem. I just don't see many jobs postings fitting that criteria that I'm really and truly interested in. And lord knows, if I ain't interested in my job, it ain't gonna be pretty. So the worst case scenario is that I wait for an additional six months for redeployment, but nothing comes up.

Then what? I'm not sure if I get some kind of payout or something. I would hope so, simply because they took my job away from me. But I suppose there are no such guarantees, right? I mean, I should be able to collect Unemployment Insurance in the meantime -- and it's about time that I collected it, to be frank! -- but should I endure the six month redeployment period to see if something presents itself within the company, or should I jump into something else?

I mean, I'm obviously going to search out other opportunities -- and already have. I'll be bored stiff if I don't do an active search and at least try to find something that would interest me outside the company. Heck, I'd always wonder if I missed my perfect job because I was sitting on the couch watching Oprah and eating M&M's every day. And we all know that this is a way-too-common experience in Jeff's world : )

To be realistic, I'll just test the waters when it's time to wade in. And when exactly will that be? Wel, I'll see how things look when I get home to Vancouver. I may be too busy catching up with friends and going to A-list parties that a job search is the last thing on my mind. But when the time is right to figure things out, I'll know it. I'll feel it. And that's soon enough, to be honest. Why am I wasting time and energy worrying about it now?

Because I think too damn much. Way too much. Way way too much.

Must. Stop. Thinking.

And start eating M&M's.

Yippee

The President and the First Lady are in St. Louis today. Oh joy.

But I've got a day off, so nothing really matters.

I love cheesecake

I'm good, thanks. How 'bout you? Here's the latest in ridiculous ramblings on the Jeff front.

• We went out for dinner last night to celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving with a score of Canucks (7 in all). Where did we go? That beacon of American gluttony -- which we've all grown to love with all of our stomachs hearts -- The Cheesecake Factory.
• I had a credit with Scare Canada that I had to use before November 25, or lose forevah. Realizing that I'm too cheap sensible to kiss that $252 good-bye, I booked a flight to Atlanta to see the most Luscious of them all, Miss Lorna. American Thanksgiving in the Yoo Ess of Eh, here I come!
• I had cheesecake for breakfast this morning. Yup, I specifically bought two pieces of cheesecake to bring home last night -- one to eat before going to bed, and one to eat for breakfast this morning. I love cheesecake. And I'm not ashamed to admit that it's a bit of a problem.
• Less than two weeks now until I'm finished my job and it'll be time to drive back to Vancouver. I've submitted seven job applications to four different companies, but we'll see what comes of them. I'm already discounting at least two of them with my current company, and that's a shame.
• I'm worried that I won't be able to buy Three Olives cherry vodka once I'm home. And, since discovering it, I'm ruined for anything else.
• Lucky accidentally hit me in the face trying scare me as I exited my tent the other night. Now I've got a big and verrrry visible scab right between the eyes at the top of the bridge of my nose. Looks lovely.
• I bought a t-shirt yesterday that says, "You never run out of things that can go wrong." It makes me laugh, and kind of represents many of the challenges I have in my soon-to-be-finished job.

That's about it for now. Signing off from this latest dispatch from the midwest, I'm Jeff.

42

As all of my faithful readers know, I am currently in St. Louis. In the beautiful Show-Me state of Missouri. In the glorious American midwest. In the Yoo Ess of Eh.

Not coincidentally, coming here has helped me rack up yet another state in my quest for 50. But why not stop there?! Why not try to go to all 51 states, as Label Guy insisted there were : )

OK, OK, so eight states to go. And the drive home to Vancouver will see me hit Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska along the way -- hell, even if I have to wander a wee bit out of my way, I'll hit those states to add to my tally. So afterwards, I'll only have to visit:

• Alaska
• Arkansas
• North Dakota
• Oklahoma
• Tennesee

So I'd say the odds of getting to Alaska are good. As for the rest, I wouldn't bet the mortgage on 'em. Oh, I'll still strive for 50 at some point. I'm not sure why, but it just seems like I should.

how many states have you visited?

Networking works

Networking works.

That's all I want to say about it for now, but networking works. A friend of a friend is in a position to steer my resume through the necessary channels at his company. No guarantees, certainly. But at least he's gonna try. And all I had to do was supply some incriminating photos of our mutual friend in compromising extremely limber positions.

Remember that as a lesson, kids. Networking works. And taking drunken party pictures always provides you with future ammunition.

Stay tuned for more details as they develop.

Just over two weeks

It's kinda cool. I've started telling people in Vancouver that I'm headed back home. I've sent e-mails and made phone calls. And the response has been very positive. And that makes me feel pretty darn randy special.

Just over two weeks now. And then it's coastward-bound to my next adventure.

A long way away

After hearing yesterday that I didn't get the job I recently interviewed for, I had to really put some thought into my next move. I mean, I have to find a job -- obviously -- but where the hell do I drive to on October 23? North, South, East or West? That's the immediate concern: where do I head to base myself while I figure out my next steps?

A quick call to good ol' Suzie and the answer was clear. I'm headed back to Vancouver. Well, unless something changes in the next three weeks, that is. Yup, I called Suzie and asked if it would be OK to crash on her couch until I figure out my next steps. And what did Suzie say to me?

First of all, it's not my place. It's ours. You pay rent, too. And secondly, you don't even need to ask, girl. You're more than welcome to stay here. In fact, I was just thinking the other day that I wish Debra were here. Oh my God, we'll have so much fun! Now I won't have to drink alone!!!!

Well, if that wasn't all the encouragement I needed!! It looks like I'm headed West and to my home. Actually, Suzie even sang Go West by the Village People to set the mood.

So West it is. I've got my drive mapped out and it looks something like this: stops in Omaha, Denver, Salt Lake City, Portland, and Vancouver. This may change, but the final itinerary will look something like this. Jeepers, the West Coast is an awfully long way away!!

But in the quest to actually find a new lease on life career, I applied for two new jobs today. The first is an internal job based in Montreal with my current company, and I think it would be a real long shot. Still, I thought that the other job I applied for was a long shot, and I was one of three candidates short-listed and interviewed. So maybe I may also have a shot at this one, too....

The second job I applied for is in Vancouver. I think I'm fairly qualified for it, so it would be cool if I was short-listed. I won't hold my breath, however, as you never know how recruiters' minds think. If it's meant to be, it will happen. And I'll just put my faith in that.

21 days

I heard about the job I recently interviewed for. Bummer. They've offered it to someone else.

While I interviewed well, they went with a candidate internal to the department. And you certainly can't blame them for that. After all, I'd be pissed if I was a qualified internal applicant who was passed over for someone else. Still, I wish it had been me.

Back to the drawing board. Only 21 days until I'm out of a job.

The final Milestone

Yippee!!! It's Milestone Sunday! But I don't feel nearly as desperate to reach the milestone as I have felt in the recent past. I had Friday off, I had a less-stress-inducing Premiere than normal, and we haven't had the huge numbers that are typical of opening weekend.

Knock wood, but hopefully today goes well and then we'll have the chance to enjoy Milestone Sunday night and a day off on Monday by getting into all sorts of trouble just chillin' out.

Happy Milestone Sunday, everyone!