Cold leftovers

Today, on the continuing saga of searching for employment:   I applied for a cool job at the Irvine Company, found something cooler at Blizzard Entertainment, and after a desperate Facebook cry for help, found a financial lead from a sister of an ex-girlfriend from grade school.  Also, printed a Barnes & Noble application, looked at Mathnasium, ruled out etrade, continued the pursuit of frozen dessert, and played mafia wars.

Also, also - apparently, my microwave is broken - which made for a luke warm dinner.  Better than no dinner.

Free lunch

Today I met with Fred from the frozen dessert franchise chain for a business lunch at Houston's.  He was basically a franchise guy working for franchise people.  Also, evidently there are other interested parties in the OC area.  Meal was slighlty informative, but I did not get to crunch any numbers yet.  Running my own biz is started to sound a lot more appealing than working in a bank though.  At least lunch was gratis.  No, I didn't have steak.  Still in a meat coma from yesterday's fogo.  Had a chicken ceasar salad with tortilla soup, which was cheesy.  And no, there was no frozen dessert to be had.

Speaking of which, took the kids to Juice It Up, a smoothie place, after school today.  It's right next to a yogurt place, which was fairly empty due to the School Day promotion at the juicy place.  Josh said of his teacher, " She's kind of old, but really lives life....kind of like 'Yes Man'"  Also, his suggestion for a frozen dessert restaurant name - Frozen Wonderland.

Avatarrefic

Just got back from Pandora.  This flick is out of this world. Seriously.  The colors and detail, the flora and the fauna...it's impossible to tell what's CGI and what's not.  The colors rival those from an obscure movie I like, "What dreams may come".  The girl Na'vi was kind of hot.  When Jake rides the Banshees (sp?), it's a wild technocolor dream ride.  The battle scenes will blow my Call of Duty loving son's mind.  


Speaking of Call of Duty, I was playing campaign with Josh last night and got totally sucked in.  To the point of nausea.  Josh is addicted but it allows him to stay in contact with his AZ friends through xbox live.  Graphics are very cool, but it's totally violent.  The airport massacre scene....really?  Really?

Speaking of sick violence, I saw a preview for Piranha 3D today.  Looks wickedly sick.  And fishy.

On the job search front (to boldly seek employment where no me has been employed before -- hopefully, not a five year mission): have a lunch on Thursday re: becoming the OC developer for a dessert chain; also got called for an interview with Chase next week.

On a completely different point, it has come to my attention that KISS has been eligible for the Rock & Roll hall of Fame since 1999 and have not been selected.  Travesty and I'm not even a fan.  May not be the greatest band in any measurably musical way, but they certainly have had a major impact and influence.  I mean ZZ Top, but not Simmons/Stanley/et al.  I'm not ashamed to admit that I enjoy a saccharine Abba song now and again, but they belong in a Pop hall of fame, not the R&R.  Genesis, who also get in, is probably less deserving....but they happen to be one of my favorite bands.  You got to get in to get out....

A day at the beach

Today I renewed my job search with a higher sense of urgency (plus, the kids went back to school today -- freedom, at last).  I am a former stock options market maker, so basically, I am qualified at yelling and waving my arms like a banshee.  Actually, I have an mba, a varied career in commercial banking, trading, and most recently, a stint at helping people with their financial needs while working for Vanguard mutual funds.  Quite frankly, I'm a catch.

Despite this fact, I've already been rejected by the Apple store-after an interview, turned down for a Chik-fil-A franchise, and have not received a single response from PIMCO, a large southern California mutual fund company to which I have applied for multiple jobs.

My only promising lead remaining is at the local Wells Fargo branch, as a personal banker.  So today I sent apps to Chase and Citi.  I sent inquiries to a dessert franchise and to a chicken finger restaurant, which I was rejected from before my email was sent.  Chuck Schwab didn't like me either.

So to celebrate my prospects, I took my wife back to yesterday's beach for a picnic of cold fast food.  It's my new happy place.

And now, a short story by Jillian:  Once upon a time, there was an ugly barnacle.  The end.