The First Day of the Rest of My Life

Sunday, January 30, 2005

Courtesy of Mouse Words, I bring all my readers Pico the "unofficial" site of the Austin Real World house. Enjoy.

Saturday, January 29, 2005

THINGS TO BLOG ABOUT WHEN I HAVE MORE TIME:

-"Sideways."
- Studying.
- Sex.

Wednesday, January 26, 2005

SO I've started personal training at the gym. (I know, I know... but I'll be getting paid soon.) After rolling over like a wimp signing up for a training program last week, I had my resting metabolic rate tested. Friday, I'll have my measurments taken (no 36-24-36, hopefully). They even gave me a diet to follow. What I have to look forward to?

BREAKFAST: English muffin with jelly and yogurt and water.
AM SNACK: Granola bar, skim milk, plums
LUNCH: Banana, Subway 6" Turkey breast sandwich
PM SNACK: Celery and peanut butter
DINNER: Pineapple, salad, swordfish(?!), reduced calorie 1000 Island dressing, vegetables
EVENING SNACK: Applesauce, cimmamon, chocolate milk, rice cake

This should be interesting....

Saturday, January 22, 2005

Who knew that the girl from "Swimfan" would start working in government and call herself Libertarian Girl?

Friday, January 21, 2005

Alright, one more "serious" post before bedtime.

Kris talks about her experiences of "Being a Chick and Being a TA." In talking about her reviews from students, she mentions this:

...I asked a colleague of mine about it. And he has a theory (at which I'm sure all of you will laugh, though it will probably ring a chord of truth). Female TAs are somehow expected to act like Laura Bush, he said, holding hands and being extra supportive of their grammatical mistakes, their poor writing skills, etc.

I did laugh. Then, I thought back to the Spring of 2002.

My last semester in residence at UT. 21 hours being undertaken, in an attempt to get out of school by May. Two TA's I had during that semester illustrated the Bush/bitch dichotomy. First, the Bush.

American Studies 356, Main Currents in American Culture since 1865. The follow-up to AMS 355. (Makes sense, doesn't it?) Both were large survey courses, with mulitple TA's. 355 was not fun for me. I barely did the reading, barely studied, and barely passed the class. The first day of 356, I got the syllabus, and cringed when I saw that the same woman that gave me my bad exam grades the previous fall would be my same TA. I continued in the first class with the same momentum (or lack thereof) up until the first exam, when I saw a note from my TA in my returned blue book, asking me to meet with her to talk about improving my performance. "Great," I thought, "a tongue-lashing from the almighty TA. Just what I need." But it wasn't anything like that. We set up meeting times, I agreed to go to discussion sections, and my performance in the class did a complete 180. Now, I would like to think that I wasn't "gifted" a good grade because of her being nice. I did the legwork, damnit, she just showed me the way. (Looking back, I would dare say that I don't think I'd have graduated if it weren't for her help.) She even let me use her as a reference for an FBI gig I applied for a couple of years ago.

Now, onto the bitch. Same semester, Religious Studies 325: Life and Times of the Prophet. Things started out innocently enough: she took roll every day, sat in the back of the room, nothing too big. I believe the wheels started coming off when she became a sign-in Nazi. Add in some cracks from the back of the room from her regarding students' questions, and you have the reaction that I gathered on the last class day. I was asked by the prof to gather the forms for the TA feedback. Almost all the students delighted in heaping epithets on her; I even read where one guy called her the "Ariel Sharon of TA's." I'm not THAT well versed on Middle East politics, but even I know that's probably not a compliment.

The point of all this? Again, I'll leave that for you to decide.

Did you do the reading from earlier?

I must say, it's great that sports and academia aren't mutually exclusive (despite what some may have you think). Though I would add one more corrolary that the author missed.

Teamwork.

One of the things the NFL sells most is the aspect of teamwork. A group of 50 or so men, working together, to accomplish what they could not do individually. Look at the playoffs so far: Vikings beat Brett Farve and a bunch of other guys, then the Eagles beat Randy Moss, Dante Culpepper, and a bunch of other guys. (If this means Donovan F. McNabb tries to put the team on his back and loses, I'll look like a freakin' genius.) Now, what that translates into with respects to the larger American society, I'll leave to my reader(s). Personally, I would say either family groups, or larger gender, racial or socioeconomic groups. Ideally, all members of each "team" would work together to enhance their standings. (Of course, how trades work with this paradigm remains to be seen...)

Okay, discuss.

Read this! We'll discuss it tomorrow.

Time for me to get some sleep...

Wednesday, January 19, 2005

What did I do today?

5:00 am (approximately) - Wake up. Damnit... I'm not supposed to get up THIS early.
7:27 am - Alarm goes off. Another new day...
8:00 am (approximately) - Shower. Why does my head hurt? I only had two beers last night with G...
9:00 am- Leave for work.
9:05 am- Grab breakfast at McDonald's. A #2 with a large OJ, please...
9:06 am- Eat breakfast while traveling down a six-lane road.
9:30 am- Get to work. Learn about 403(b)'s. Wow! I never knew bra sizes went THAT high!
12:00 noon- Leave work.
12:30 pm- Grab lunch with a friend.
2:00 pm- Get home, pack my gym bag, get directions for an interview, clean up dog's mess.
2:30 pm- Arrive at interview. Boy, this isn't public access TV, but it sure is close.
3:30 pm- Go to the gym.
3:35 pm- Warm-up stretches and jogging.
3:45 pm- Begin 13 minutes on the elliptical machine. Must...*pant*keep...*pant*up....
3:48 pm- Notice ambulance parked in front of health club.
3:58 pm- Walk to lobby area, where an EMS worker is carrying a stretcher into the club.
4:00 pm- Begin weight training. Butt Blaster? Is this a joke?
4:27 pm- Walk by aerobic room, notice class starting in 3 minutes called "Pain in the Butt." Also notice two cute girls in the room getting ready for said class.
4:30 pm- Begin "Pain in the Butt" class. Geez, haven't taken a class solely for the girls since 1st-semester Spanish...
5:30 pm- Class (mercifully) ends.
5:32 pm- Notice that I ended up taking TWO classes back-to-back: "Pain in thr Butt" and Powerflex.
6:00 pm- Get home, eat dinner, tell parents about the interview.
7:37 pm- Begin blogging about my day, as well as IM friends of mine.
8:35 pm- End this blog post. About damn time!

Tuesday, January 18, 2005

So.... very.... sore....

So I got me a gym membership yesterday at Bally's. After some running around to warm up, I decided to do a little weight work, all upper-body work.

And now I'm paying for it. But, for some reason, it's mostly just my left arm that's hurtin'. (Please refrain from making the "just one arm? THAT'S interesting" comments, please. I am right-handed by the way.)

In more serious news, I started work yesterday. (Boy, it feels good to say that.) Mostly sales training right now, learning how to sell before the licensing stuff begins. Fortunately, I've only been going for half-days. "Fortunately" because I'm dyin' today. Was really tired when I got home, had the shakes by the time I left at 12 (hunger, I'm guessing). Better now, but hopefully I'll get over this by the time I go to 8-10 hour days.

All in all, so far, so good.

Sunday, January 16, 2005

Hmmm.... have to look into getting this number higher.

I am worth $1,613,040.00 on HumanForSale.com

(Thanks again to Profgrrrl...)

Saturday, January 15, 2005

Results of the big Weigh-In:

Weight: 175.4 lbs.
Body Fat: 28% (49.112 of fat, if my math is right)
Body Mass Index: 28.1 (Overweight, in other words)

Wish me luck, folks.

Friday, January 14, 2005

I can sum up tonight's occurences in a contraction and two words.

I'm still tired.

Thursday, January 13, 2005

Pico, I think we might have a winner for you. Welcome to Nicole's Purple Haze.

I wonder what to make of this...

(Via The Corner. I just read it for the articles, I swear!)

Well, that's that.

After dropping $15 a month, and getting nothing from it, I've stopped my membership on match.com. Can't say I was exactly satisfied with the experience, seeing as how I got exactly zero dates from the site. Then again, I haven't gotten a date from any of the bars, so it's not TOO different from my offline experience. And Lord knows I've spent more than $15 a month at the bars...but the buzz is a lot less memorable.

Wednesday, January 12, 2005

You may remember my highlighting a blog over on Braefield Farm a few months ago. Now I read that one of my favorite sports writers, Gregg Easterbrook, is teaching a class at the school where one of the members of the Evans family attends.

All I can say is, sign up for this class pronto!

Tuesday, January 11, 2005

Thanks to profgrrrl, I've found this out...


I am nerdier than 42% of all people. Are you nerdier? Click here to find out!


Monday, January 10, 2005

Real Girl Beauty.

Kris, C.J., Suse... don't ever tell me I never look out for y'all...

So it looks like I got the job.

More details about the third interview, and my weekend activities, later on.

THINGS TO BLOG ABOUT WHEN I HAVE MORE TIME:

- The results of the 3rd interview.
- A wedding.
- Peace and turmoil, all in the span of a day.

Saturday, January 08, 2005

THE CARNIVAL OF THE BROWN BOY!

So you're probably familiar with the weekly Carnival of the Vanities/Liberated/Recipies/etc. that are more famous around the blogosphere. Time for me to piggyback contribute to this meme.

What follows are some interesting entries from my immediate blogroll, as well as other cool things I've seen in recent days. Feel free to check them out.

- C.J. offers foot fetishists everywhere something to admire. (Although, I must wonder what the meaning is if she pairs them with hoop earrings...)
- I saw the final kick of the Rose Bowl in my parents' kitchen, Steezy saw it in London. More of her fantabulous European vacation (with pictures!) here.
- How do you know that Wonkette has jumped the shark? When a sports columnist says so.
- (LATE ADDITION) So Amanda over at Mouse Words talks about sex "ending" after marriage. Then I read this woman's stories... Now I don't know what to believe.

Okay, not as prolific as some of the other carnivals, but it's a start. Just gets me that much closer to experiencing an Insta-lanche...

Friday, January 07, 2005

So it's been about 45 minutes since The Call...

and they want me to come back for a 3rd interview. They asked me to come up with short-term, mid-term, and long-term goals for myself in the position. While talking with my friend Laura about it, here's what I came up with.
  • Short-term: See if I actually like the gig.
  • Mid-term: Make a lot of money.
  • Long-term: Retire at 45.

Modest goals, are they not? The interview is Monday morning.

Thursday, January 06, 2005

From a chat yesterday with Suse:

BrownBoyUT: I'd be a representative for them, selling mutual funds, other investments and insurance,
recycledstock: and you've had a lot of experience doing this?
BrownBoyUT: None.
BrownBoyUT: But they'll train me to get my licenses.
recycledstock: and this fits into your whole recycledstock: making it in the industry plan how?BrownBoyUT: It doesn't, but it does fit into my "move out of my parents' house" plan perfectly.
recycledstock: i see. well one step at a time, i suppose. so what's your job title going to be?BrownBoyUT: Representative, I suppose.
recycledstock: so you'll have to wear a suit and schmooze
BrownBoyUT: Yep.
recycledstock: hmm...i don't know you that well, but i'd say that doesn't really sound like you
BrownBoyUT: I don't know... this is the closest I've been to getting any sort of job. I'm trying to convince myself that the cushy bonuses and lack of quota will offset the sales calls and 12-hour workdays.
BrownBoyUT: "trying," being the keyword.
recycledstock: i don't know dude. sounds like you're selling out for a quick buck. but i understand that pressure. sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do, and it's not like you're selling drugs or anything, so i suppose that's good.
recycledstock: just don't get sucked into it
recycledstock: i mean, don't forget what you really want/intend to do
BrownBoyUT: I figure, I do this for a year or two, see how I like it.
BrownBoyUT: Uh-huh.
BrownBoyUT: If nothing else, if I try something else, I'll always have the licenses to fall back on.
recycledstock: i suppose. sounds like you're delaying the inevitable
BrownBoyUT: "The inevitable" being....
recycledstock: moving to los angeles, if that's the route you want to go
BrownBoyUT: Maybe more like funding the inevitable.
recycledstock: call it whatever you like. i know what it's like to come here without anything. it's scary no matter how much money you have
recycledstock: and the longer you stay in cushy-suit job, the harder it will ever be to leave
recycledstock: i promise you that
BrownBoyUT: Yeah, I'm thinking it'd be less hairy if I went there with $60k in the bank, instead of $6k.
recycledstock: you know how many people i graduated with are still "in the process" of moving out here? Zero -- that's because they waited too long
recycledstock: try about $700
recycledstock: and i'm not touting myself, i'm simply illustrating the point that it CAN be done, no matter
recycledstock: but that is has to be done

As of this writing, I'm flip-flopping between saying no and trying it out for a few months to see how I like it. 15.5 hours till I make the call...

So I had the big second interview happened today. I call back Friday to see about the decision.

To be specific, the job I'm going for is representative for a financial company. That's right, I'd be selling people on mutual funds and insurance. Thing is, I was kind of gung ho about it up until after I left the office building after the interview. The dollar signs they've dangled in front of me are mighty nice (including up to a 62.5% bonus on earnings), but I've since had doubts about whether I actually have what it takes to succeed in a sales position such as this. Add to those doubts a statement from my cousin's husband, who's in the business, that I might not make much money the first few weeks/months, and my feet are really starting to get cold. A follow-up pep talk from Suse also gave me some other stuff to think about as well. Let's just say these next 34 hours or so will be mighty interesting.

After the interview, I hung out with two women, the first being G. We went for lunch at the Cheesecake Factory. I had the Blackened Cajun Chicken, she had the Portobello Burger (which was surprisingly good, doubt it'll make me give up meat). We walked around for a little bit after that; all in all, a nice afternoon hanging out with a friend.

Later on, I hung out with Suzanne. What happened, I'll tell you later...

Tuesday, January 04, 2005

I missed most of the first half of the Orange Bowl due to working out with V tonight (more on that later). So, seeing the score up to now (USC 48, OU 10 with about three min. left in the 3rd), I hereby present my unofficial final top 5 AP ballot.

  • 1. University of Southern California
  • 2. Auburn University
  • 3. University of Oklahoma
  • 4. University of Texas
  • 5. University of Utah

Apparently the REAL train wreck occured during halftime, Pico has details.

(BREAKING: Disney gave everyone at the game a free ticket to visit any Disney park in the world. Why the hell couldn't stuff like this happen at the Cotton Bowl?)

Back to the workout: I asked V about becoming a workout buddy for me, so we went and got physical tonight. A trip to a walking track (walk 1/2 mile, run 1/2 mile, repeat) followed by some weight work at her apartment complex's fitness center. I tried not to go too heavy, seeing as how my interview is tomorrow morning. ("I'd shake your hand, sir, but I can't quite lift my arm...") We've planned another session for Friday, and possibly some flexibility training/stretching/yoga tomorrow.

I tell you, this is shaping up to be a pretty good week...

Mouse Words. Yet another cool Austin blog. Check it out.

Monday, January 03, 2005

So my interview went well today, it was more of an info. session than anything else. I was invited back for a more formal interview on Wednesday morning. We'll see how this goes.

WHEN: 12:45 p.m., January 15, 2005.
WHERE: Discovery Channel Store, North Star Mall.
WHAT: The beginning of working on one of my biggest New Year's resolutions, The Discovery Health Channel National Body Challenge.

Anyone wanna come along?

Sunday, January 02, 2005

I tell you, there must be something to this whole "turning the page" thing.

New Year's Eve was rather enjoyable. Went with my friend James and others en masse to a club in downtown Austin to see a band called Blaze. (I've seen them before, they're pretty good.) The night saw many things: some good music, funny hats, champagne at midnight, and a girl for me to kiss.

That's right, a girl. And who was the girl, you ask? None other than the ex, Suzanne.

She'd written me a short e-mail and Christmas Eve to see how I was. I decided to see if she wanted to join us. Ironically, she was in Austin with her folks for the night. We had some fun, caught up on what's been going on since we last talked. She called me once since that night to see if I got back okay. Hopefully we'll be able to be friends this time around. (Profgrrrl, if you have any suggestions, feel free...)

Also on New Year's Eve, I got a response from a gal named Beth to an ad for a workout partner I put out on Craigslist some time back. After some e-mailing back and forth, she called me up today to see if I wanted to do some jogging/walking. We got together at the Med. Center, and had an enjoyable 30 minutes of working out. She jogs regularly, so I had to keep up. (I just know my legs are going to love me tomorrow.) She's pretty nice; just moved to town about four months ago, but none too happy about the town so far. Hopefully that'll change, but hopefully, I'll have a reason to begin working out regularly.

And to top off the evening in a grand manner? A call from G. It's the first time I've talked with her since the fateful night on the Riverwalk. Turns out her cell phone has been on the fritz, and has been super-busy with work stuff. She did appreciate the gift I got for her (she saved it for Christmas Day), so I was relieved I didn't waste $50 glad.

A little over 16 hours until an interview I have tomorrow. Wish me luck, everyone...

Saturday, January 01, 2005

Texas 38, Michigan 37

Texas Tech 45, Cal 31

And WHO got jobbed, Pico?