September 2007 Archives

It's been a busy couple weeks, with the hallmark chaos trailing in the wake of time. As far as I can tell, this really extends back to the end of vacation in August. We got back from Europe and - shock of shocks - we were exhausted! Hanna, fortunately, had a couple weeks to recover while between grad classes and before the public school year began. I was not so fortunate, and really suffered the toll ever since (well, until now, anyway). This leads to what I consider to be the opposing concept from the movie title "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" (see movie info here). Allow me to attempt to articulate without rambling endlessly for hours on end (oops, too late!).

To quote that famous Broadway darling, SPAMALOT:

I am not dead yet
I can dance and I can sing
I am not dead yet
I can do the Highland Fling

I am not dead yet
No need to go to bed
No need to call the doctor
Cause I'm not yet dead.

So, what have I been up to? Weeeeellll... let me tell you...

I've just seen the 2005 documentary Why We Fight and am deeply saddened. It very clearly and deliberately looks at the road from WWII to the present day occupation of Iraq, highlighting how we've arrived at these times of extreme corruption. The documentary uses the words of warning from President Eisenhower, in his farewell address, when he said:

"This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence – economic, political, even spiritual – is felt in every city, every Statehouse, every office of the Federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society.

"In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist."

I've enjoyed Robert Ludlum's "Jason Bourne" movie series, which starts with the first in the trilogy, The Bourne Identity (Movie/DVD). After watching the most recent movie (The Bourne Ultimatum), I decided to read the books, starting with The Bourne Identity (Book). In particular, I was very curious to see how they compared.

To summarize, let me say this: it's easier to highlight the similarities than the differences. Namely, they both feature Jason Bourne, a former government assassin. All other details are essentially different between the book and the movie. Curious? Read on... :)

It's all over except the paperwork. As of this afternoon, I've verbally accepted an offer to work for BT-INS here in their Chesapeake regional office. I'll be functioning in a security practice lead type role, and already have a client spec'd out to join within the first week of being onboard. I'm looking for to the new opportunity and a chance to spread my wings a bit. And, given the financial slowdown at AOL, I'm not overly confident that there will be many good people and jobs left in the future. Articles like that one make it sound almost dire and hopeless. Rumors abound, of course, but I'd rather go find my bliss than wait around hoping for an upbeat note.

That's really all I wanted to say here today. Oh, I was extremely flattered to get a call from an exec a very large firm today asking me to reconsider my decision (I'd interviewed with him on Friday) to give them time to complete the interview process and make a competing offer. It didn't seem right to me to do that, however. Such are the ethics of my life. cheers!

Hanna and I traveled to New York City last weekend for the 2007 US Open. We had a great time, getting to see many of the great players of modern times (Federer, the Williams sisters, Maria Sharapova, Andy Roddick, James Blake, etc.). We did not get a chance to see Justine Henin, who just won the womens' singles final last night (and quite convincingly at that), but that's life. We also got to see a couple young American up-n-comers (Isner and Young). Overall, it was a great time!

My trip pictures are up on my photos site. No videos this time. If you're on Facebook, you can see a subset there, too.

Gotta love Pearls Before Swine! :)

I should be back to regular blogging soon. Much afoot, just been busy. Need to get into a rhythm, among other things. This, too, shall come to pass eventually. In the meantime, hope you enjoy the cartoon!