Good food and friends. Remembering the vets, supporting the troops, and enjoying our freedom.
BTW, I need to remember to stop down on the f-stop. I’m not quite used to shooting with lenses that are larger than f/4. I wanted to be able to avoid the blur on the sides of the shot since there are two people there. View the slideshow.
Tags: barbeque, Events, Food, Friends, Life, Memorial-Day, Photography
Tags: Canon, CoolPix , insects, macro, Photography
Last week someone at work mentioned that I should try the Coaster (train) and Trolley to work. I think we had been complaining about the price of gasoline. So anyways, I’ve been riding the Coaster and Trolley this past week since Tuesday. I love it!
I have to wake up pretty early at around 4:00 AM, out the door by 5:00 AM, and arriving at the Coaster station in Carlsbad in time for the 5:33 AM train headed south. The train reaches downtown by 6:15 AM, where I catch the Blue Line trolley, which drops me off in front of the Navy base by 6:45 AM. All in all, it’s an extra half hour in the morning compared to driving my car.
My first day on public transportation last Tuesday went very well. I did not get lost or confused as thought I might, especially when transferring to the Trolley. I exited the train a stop earlier just to be sure to make my connection to the correct trolley. As soon as I got off the train, the trolley was right in front of me. Literally, I walked out of the train’s door and into the trolley’s.
For certain there were more strange-looking people riding the trolley. Yesterday, some scummy-looking guy asked me if I still needed my ticket as I was getting off the trolley. My first reaction was: “Why are you talking to me?” My second thought was: “Why are you riding the trolley without a ticket?”
The trolley I take leaves downtown San Diego at 6:15 AM. After maybe seven or eight stops, it drops me off right in front of the naval base at 6:45 AM. Walking at a brisk pace, I can easily make it to my desk at 7:00 AM. It’s been like clockwork for the past three days.
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Tags: 4Runner, Coaster, gasoline, Life, Quadlines, Toyota, transportation, Trolley
I was fortunate enough to have Friday, April 21st off from work. Josephine was on Spring Break from her work. So we went on a 24-hour adventure for our seven-year anniversary. For the last few years, it’s been somewhat of a tradition to go somewhere special to commemorate our years together. So from 11:00 AM on the 21st until 11:00 AM on the 22nd we had a grand time in downtown San Diego.
We headed out Friday morning, greeted by smooth sailing, traffic-free freeways, on our way to the Keating House. We’ve always wanted to go to a Bed N Breakfast, so I decided that this year was the year to do it. This place was kind enough to let us stay just one night as most places require at least a two-night stay. We stayed in the “Blue Room” (of course) of this 19th Century Victorian style home.
When we arrived a little before noon, our room was still not ready. So we left our bags after a little tour of the house and headed out to Balboa Park. Prior to this, I had only been to the park just once to watch a friend run a half-marathon. But Balboa Park was fabulous. We walked around, especially around The Prado area. We really liked the Spanish-style architecture.
Tags: anniversary, Balboa-Park, downtown, Josephine_Bruin, Keating-House, Life, Little-Italy, Photography, San-Diego, Seaport-Village
With some free time . . . finally. I took this shot with some of my new photo equipment that arrived last Thursday.
The main feature is that I used my new Canon EF 100 mm f/2.8 USM Macro lens. After trashing the first group of photos, I decided to also use my new Bogen/Manfrotto 3021B Pro Tripod with the trigger release head, as well as the Canon TC-80N3 Remote Control. Because I did not want to turn on the artificial light or turn up the ISO too high, I went with the tripod and remote so I could shoot at lower shutter speeds, thus eliminating camera shake and blur.
I think I will be very happy with the shots that come out of this macro lens. I can’t wait to shoot something small, like a bug or little bird or something to really see this macro lens’ capabilities.
Tags: Bogen, Canon, CoolPix , macro, Manfrotto, Photography, tripod
So my friend calls me this morning on my cell phone.
OMG. You’ll never guess who just resigned today.
Yup. The person my friend told me about last December.
It’s unfortunate timing, my friend says, because his work is going through a very rigorous production schedule. And the timing of this lazy employee’s resignation could not have come at a worse time. But according to my buddy, he believes that his leaving will be better for his project and company as a whole, not to mention, no more wasting of taxpayers’ money.
I told my friend to go ahead and get that item for that guy’s next job as a going-away gift. He’s pretty sure that that guy has something lined up already. His guess is that he’ll be returning to the company he used to work for. It’s probably a place where it’s much easier to get paid for surfing the Internet where nobody cares if you waste company time and money.
Update: Surprisingly, I heard that he does not have something lined up already. I guess he must have been really unhappy to have resigned without anything in place.
I think I’ve finally caught up on sleep from this past week during which I worked about 72 hours total.
Mon, Wed - Fri = 14 hours each
Tue = 12 hours
Still getting the hand of this project management stuff regarding our deliveries. There’s quite a bit to do every day, but the thing that slows me down with it is the level of detail I need to be aware of. Each delivery has its own file folder, which can have multiple levels of sub-folders. Doesn’t seem like a big deal, but add on to that, the phone ringing, other people needing help, and having to write a storyboard or two in the same week . . . you get the picture.
Anyways, I love it. The work is very challenging and mentally stimulating. I like the level of detail, which adds to the complexity of what I have to do.
Last week, I had two storyboards to write, but my manager was kind enough to assign the second one to the Lead Designer. She’s probably just as busy as me because she has to review all the version one storyboards that go out, as well as help all the designers with their writing of the storyboards from time to time. She participates in development discussions and secondary reviews as well. I surmised that she might have been too happy helping me out this week, but she has a good attitude and is very good at all of this. So I gave her a thank you card on Friday with a $5 gift card to Starbucks. Without her help, there’s no way that we would have made all our deliveries on time for Friday. Plus, I like working with her because she’s very good and I get to learn a lot about this whole process. I think that will come in handy when I start taking more classes in instructional design this fall for the master’s program.
P.S. My manager said I could work two half-days next week since I put in so many hours. That is very cool.
Tags: Career, instructional-design, work
I first met CIDney at a staff meeting last year. I was impressed by his bright yellow coat and big eyes. CIDney was a special cat. No, he was a special “person”. Cat just doesn’t describe what a huge impact CIDney had on my life. You may recall that one of CIDney’s favorite things to do each morning was to sing in his loud, booming voice, a veritable cacophony of original lyrics sung in a shrill pitch. CIDney had so many adoring fans, animal-lovers from all over the world. Even the mighty US Armed Forces adored CIDney. He made such a huge contribution to the national defense of this great country. So it is with great sadness (and relief) to tell you of CIDney’s passing late yesterday afternoon. According to early reports, a rogue group of Navy SEALS ambushed CIDney, slit his abdomen, and then suffocated him with a plastic bag.
You will be proud to know, however, the SEALS who are reported to have taken CIDney’s life were trained with S Tech-produced curriculum titled: “The Effective Use of Lethal Polyethylene Under Stealth”, a course designed by master storyboard producer K.C. (US Army Reserves). The family has requested a private memorial service this Friday, 12 May, to honor one of our country’s great heroes. CIDney will be interred at Arlington National Cemetery on Tuesday, 16 May, with full military honors. In lieu of flowers, the family requests monetary donations in CIDney’s name. You can make an electronic PayPal contribution payable to Joe Bruin, Chairman for the Committee to Never Forget CIDney. For more information on how to donate, call 800-CAT-SUXS.
Yesterday Josephine and I went to the weirdest wedding ever.
When we were walking to our seats, the ushers gave each of us a shell. The ceremony was officiated by a New Age priestess, though through the world’s len, she might well be perceived to be a legitimate spiritual advisor. Part of the ceremony included a “sand ceremony” during which the bride and groom poured sand from two containers into one. At the end of the ceremony, the priestess asked all the attendees to focus our thoughts, ideas, and good wishes onto the shell in a moment of silence. Then after the wedding party left, we were supposed to deposit the shell into the sand for the bride and groom to have a memento of the special occasion. The priestess never mentioned God, a Creator, or Christ, but at the very end of the ceremony before dismissing us, she called upon God and his blessings on the new husband and wife. Extremely bizarre and sad.
You know the saddest part is that it was performed in such a beautiful location, so elegant, but the void of spiritual emptiness was everywhere. The food was good. Everything about the physical setting was perfect. The decor and floral arrangements were good. But afterwards we couldn’t help but feel that we were the ones out of touch and out place in such a strange and very un-spiritual ceremony that did not reflect anything about God and his Son. And yet, I believe that perhaps Josephine and I were the only ones aware of this reality.
So I woke up this morning to a vivid dream: my guitar had sold on eBay for over $6,000. I remember just watching the closing minute of the auction on My eBay, seeing the bid prices roll like old-fashioned cash register numbers increasing and increasing into the thousands of dollars. After I woke up, I turned on my computer realizing that it was just a dream, but perhaps there might be some good bidding news. The highest bid in the morning was greater than the night before, but it was not over $6000.
My guitar sold on eBay this afternoon. I think I got a pretty good price for it $777.01 not including shipping. The Guitar Center was only going to give me $600, but turn around and sell it for $950.
I feel kinda sad to have sold the guitar, but then I’m also excited to be getting a new macro lens and maybe a tripod and/or a electronic shutter release for my camera.
Tags: Announcements, dreams, eBay, guitar, Photography, Takamine
Well my first week as the “project manager” was so C-R-A-Z-Y!!. There is a ton of stuff to do on top of what I was already doing. But you know what? I love it!
My job is so busy with lots of different things to do. I am never bored.
I devised a new spreadsheet in Excel to track the progress of each of the 99 lessons we’re creating as it moves through the design and development process all the way to the testing phase on the server where it will be delivered. It’s a cool sheet because it gives both a color-visual indication of each lesson’s progress, as well as the date that each lesson reached a particular stage in the cycle. The sheet also lets me know which required elements are missing.
This week I also completed my second storyboard on Antenna Types. I wasn’t that happy with this one, though my manager and the lead designer felt it turned out pretty good. I had to write it three times due to revisions pushed forward first by the Subject Matter Experts, then by the Lead Designer, and finally today, the day it was due, by my Manager.
And I’d like to close with a quote from a co-worker, which I thought was pretty funny:
I think we have a good way to differentiate between us now based on your new responsibilites. Instead of Gerry with a G, can we call you Gerry the Hammer?
Tags: Career, design, development, initiative, instructional-design, leadership, Life, project-manager, work
My PowerBook G4 is back, arriving earlier this morning. Thank you AppleCare. 1 GB RAM is back! I opened up Photoshop and a file and it appears that my machine is running at its normal speed.
Tags: Announcements, Apple, Computers, geek_stuff, memory, Photoshop, PowerBook, RAM, repairs, warranty
So today I was unoficially accepted into the EdTec program at SDSU. I plan to start taking classes regularly again in the fall, one class per semester– all online.
Following a careful review of your application, the Department of Educational Technology is recommending to the Graduate Division that you be admitted to the University with classified graduate standing. Such admission is not official until you receive a formal notice of admission from the Registrars Office.
Will all this schooling never end?
Tags: Announcements, EDTEC, education_and_training, SDSU
Last Thursday my manager said to me before I left for that day: “Let’s find some time to talk tomorrow. I want to tell you a few things.”
My initial reaction after saying “OK” was that there was something wrong. After all, I’d been feeling a little irritated with El Jefe. It could have been any number of things that she wanted to talk to me about.
So the next day, Friday, April 28th, she asks me to take a walk outside so we can talk. Here’s the gist of it. What do the following sentences have in common?
You’re quick and accurate.
You’re good at finding ways to improve our processes and and do things more efficiently.
You do good work.
When something needs to get done. You do it and it gets done. No questions asked.
I’ve come to rely on you.
I know what your natural abilities are and where your strengths lie, so I’d like you to . . .
Take on the responsibility of managing the project deliverables, deadlines, schedules, and tasking.
Let me back up a little. Back on the 25th of February I wrote that this is exactly what I would be doing. Well, as our new project launched, she thought that we would be using Microsoft Project extensively. And since I did not know the software very well, she thought that it would be best if I concentrated on continuing my current tasks, but stay minimally involved in the project management so that I could gain some experience while learning some things from the “project manager” she was going to hire.
And I was truly fine with that. It presented a perfect learning opportunity for me: learn the ropes of being a project manager without the responsibility.
So it’s been about two full weeks of the new phase of this project (10 working days). Our “project manager” is a very nice person. But independent of my conversation with my manager, I began to wonder what exactly this “project manager” does all day. I noticed that she is constantly coming to me for questions or my manager is directing her to ask me how to do things. I thought it was odd that after two weeks on the job, she seemed to have no clue about how to best manage our deliverables and track our progress. And so last Friday was this person’s last day of work. She lasted all of two weeks. That’s the only sad thing. She is a nice person, easy to get along with, but business is business. Our project is at a critical junction and you can’t have an incompetent person managing the deliverables.
So that’s what Friday’s walk and talk was all about. Needless to say, I was very excited. I realized that the former “project manager” was just not very efficient. My manager also recognized this and recalled the fact that many of the things that I’ve already done in the past year fit nicely into managing our schedules and tasking.
“Do these responsibilities come with a title change?”
“Do you require a title change? I wasn’t thinking that this would entail that. Let’s talk about it when your year-end review comes around (end of June).”
“Honestly, I don’t need the title. I was just asking because ****** used that title in her email signatures.”
Translation: If a title change comes with these responsibilities right now, then I’ll take it. If not, it’s okay.
“My wife says you’re very smart. She says you know what I can do. I’ve taken the initiative to show you the quality of my work. If you value my work, I believe that I will be rewarded.”
So I am very excited. Today (May 1st) was my first full day of assuming these responsibilities. And I think I’ve already found one way to improve our processes.
Tags: Career, design, development, initiative, leadership, Life, project-manager, work
For the last assignment this semester. Two of two.
Tags: CoolPix , education_and_training, flower, Palomar-College, PHOTO-150, Photography, Photoshop
