Are we being punked?

I feel like the past couple weeks, the weather has been getting colder, not warmer, especially since it snowed in Pensacola the other day (which made national news) and it's been rainy / dreary here (and anywhere between 40° and 60°). We're reverting into northern weather for being a tropical area. 

Hell must be fully freezing over right now.

For area context, Pensacola is 8 hours and 45 minutes north west of me, according to Google Maps. It's one of those northern border cities that is near the Alabama/Florida line. Pensacola is a mere 70 minutes to Mobile and if you want to go further west, it's a 3 hour drive to New Orleans. Therefore, I'm about 11 hours and 45 minutes from The Big Easy (should I be driving that way). 

New Orleans got snow too, and it from what I read, it was not only a "once in a lifetime" snow, it was a snow that broke a "record". I would tend to say yes, it broke whatever the record was, if it's a once in a lifetime ordeal. Same goes with Pensacola. No one expects the tropical states to get snow, but the way the world is going right now, anything is possible. 

Which is why it is 67° in my house right now (according to the thermostat) and it's 48° (but feels like 43) outside. It's still ugly out because it's wet out there due to the misting. We've had rain, but we've had a constant low cloud coverage that won't stop the constant itty bitty water droplets from drying up.

It feels like you're in one of those automatic water feeders in the vegetable aisle at the grocery store. The type that just quickly blasts liquid on the veg the second you reach your hand to grab it, and now your arm is slightly wet. With the cold, you get get warm. 

The crazy thing is the bedroom windows are open. As much as my mother and I are like "it's cold", she keeps insisting on the windows being open. 

This is how you get sick, but it's the only time we get to keep the windows open and get fresh air. I know people up north can't do that right now because they actually have snow, but they also get to keep their doors and windows open more than we do through out the year since the humidity sucks the life out of you here. 

Now it's one of those "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situations because we complained about the heat and humidity too long and now we've got cold and rain. I'm glad I don't have to drive around 5 miles of road on a golf cart in shorts, for sure, but I also would like to have just a little heat because this is crazy. 

Whoever said "the brochure sure does look nice" is full of crap. Although, the pictures I took last night when I took the trash out, do look like it's pretty nice out, don't let the calmness fool you.

Which is what it is. Calm. And cold. It all may look pretty, but it also looks like something stormy is coming. During the day, it's dull and gray, looking like it should start snowing when we know it's not going to reach us this far south (it did once, in the 1980s I heard. Naples got a quick flurry but it dried up quicker than it could land on the ground). 

If we're going to be threatened this much with nasty weather, can we at least move back north so we can justify turning on the heat and wearing 3 layers of clothes under down blankets? I feel like this is turning into an obscene show and tell where nature tells us how cold it is and we show you why no one barely has deep winter clothes. 

I think I've sat here long enough, that my hot coffee is now iced coffee. All in a matter of 45 minutes. It turned cold quicker than it normally does. I'm going to have to shut my window and take a shower soon because we need to get out and attempt some errands. 

I am lucky there's no ice around to fall on, but I've learned to be careful in crocs, especially when the bottoms are worn down. You can still fall on your butt and break something if you're in an old pair and the ground is wet. I've slipped a few times in parking lots because the painted lines on the ground aren't the best in rubber shoes that have no grip. Today is not a day to wear them. I'm definitely wearing my Nightmare Before Christmas (canvas) shoes and I wish I had high tops to keep my ankles warm under a long pair of pants.

Even my mother just came to tell me tonight is going to be one of the coldest nights all year, even though it's been pretty cold during the day. She's wearing long pants and a long shirt too. It's one of those times where we've got to dig around through your closet to see if you have anything warm. All I can say is "thank god that I saved most of my long pajama pants and have bought new long pants". I moved to Florida wearing my Revs hoodie, so that's never been packed, even though we moved in the summer. I've got another Revs sweatshirt in my closet, so I know I can grab that if I need it. I refuse to wear my Columbia jacket I bought to go to Elgin in 2016. I need to bite my pride and just put it on if we're going out. Give in to looking like a local when I don't consider myself one. 

Ugh... 

Ooooh! I can see a little of the sun! I guess it's a sign to get moving. 

Stay warm and stay dry. 

Cheers;

See Also

* First two gifs, found online, are scenes from The Rocky Horror Picture Show

* The photos I took were with an iPhone 11 and I used Photoshop to put my name on them. 

* The brr emoji was found online. 

It's not tie-dye...

... it's 365 days of Florida sun beating down on it, changing its colors.

I keep old t-shirts around as seat covers in my car. Once they get too ratty / tattered on the seat, they get refurbished as cleaning rags. 

I've kept a New England Revolution shirt as the driver side seat for several years now, and it's high time it gets changed out. The holes are starting to become pits and the inside is shredding to the point little cotton dust bunnies are roaming around my car. 

Side note, allegedly lint from your dryer can be used as fire starter if you're out camping or need heat in your fire place at home. It's not to be confused with the stuff Amazon sells, as the website has boxes of pellets that look like lint but aren't (they're a mix of charcoal, pine and or other materials). It's pre-wrapped and ready to be sparked. Versus the stuff you scrape off your dryer trap, which is all the materials from your clothing, including hair and other nasties you might not want to think about. I've read that if you put a decent amount of a lint ball inside a (finished / used) toilet paper roll, it's got enough of a bang to allow you to save a couple pieces of small timber for your pit. It's almost the equivalent to using old newspapers to line the bottom of the fire and start cooking that way. 

But I digress. I'm not going camping any time soon and my condo doesn't have a fireplace. So I don't need to save the cotton; I can rid the bunnies one dust buster cycle at a time. 

I did want to show what years of sun can do for fading on things, though. Which is the whole point of this post. 

I took various photos: 

In the living room

In the guest room

and outside on the lanai

Just to show various light sources and that I wasn't trying to do any trickery. 

It's so weird to see how the colors are transformed through out the shirt. You can tell at the sleeves and bottom of the shirt how dark the blue originally was, and how the constant sun has faded it to not a light blue, but a very well mutedly lighter shade of dark blue. Almost dirty dark blue. Some points are whiter than others in the natural light, but overall in the house, it looks like it needs a good washing. 

My car is a 2013 Hyundai, and it's starting to show the fading on spots around the vehicle as well. The handles to open the doors, the internal seat belt "push" button is now a soft but very light salmon pink instead of a deep red. The Boston Red Sox decals are now a starched white instead of the red we're all used to. 

It boggles my mind to see the slow creep of things fading into the past. I try to take good care of things, and the longer I seem to be keeping them, the more prone to slipping away they become. 

Which is weird because I have one of those Himalayan pink salt lamps in my bedroom.

I've had it for at least six years already, if not more, and there's no sign of it wearing down. There are some spots where it's starting to clump off, but a simple brushing over it, solves everything. As if it's still brand new.

The night table that it's sitting on, is as old as I am. It's been sanded down and repainted so many times, I'm surprised it's still standing. I've got so many stickers on it, that it's a crazy advertisement for various bands, quotes, protests, and everything in between.  I acquired them either from (band) promo days at a local (New England) music store (okay, Newbury Comics) or through various promotional advertisement with things I was looking in to at the time of receiving. With some of the bumper stickers (quotes), I found them to be inspiring. Or just cool and interesting. Or as an ally for friends and family.

I keep rambling off topic because I've got other things to post as far as pictures are concerned.

The other day I was in the passenger seat of the car and we drove through the resident side gate into my community. I always like to see who's got their Wi-Fi up and what my phone catches. 

Well, there are some neighbors around the gate with pretty epic and weird sprays:

I did edit the generic ones out - like the security system the community uses. By the look of it, someone likes Dr. Seuss and I happened to not catch "Pink Fluffy Unicorn", which usually pops up every once in a while. Someone obviously has a Google Nest, but I don't know what the hell "The Chinese" is. Someone doing random Asian take away? Who knows. That's the first time I've seen that one. I tried Googling that "we piranha" one and have gotten mixed reviews. No one can really answer it, but it seems like it has to do with Comcast's modem. 

The holidays are nearing closer and for those who love wine (my mother needs to pick up a bottle of Kosher wine to take to a house we might be going to), there's some pretty interesting wine bottle holders on the market. We have something similar to this table, but it doesn't hold glassware. It holds about a dozen bottles, all spaced out. 

What got me thinking about the drinkies, was that I saw this holder in one of the stores the other day:

I thought it was different and rustic. I wish I got a different angle of it, so you can see the sides. But it's a giant bottle of wine (outline) that holds four bottles. I tried searching for a "wine bottle shaped wine rack", and all I got was this. Several different hits but mainly single holders or more than 4 bottles, holder. I wonder, for those who don't drink alcohol, if you can fit cola bottles in the spaces? 1 liter bottles or even two liters if you're lucky? I know racks exist for water and soda bottles / cans, but it makes me wonder if a wine rack can hold a thinner bottle of something else? I might have to try it on ours one day. 

I feel like I have squirreled enough on today's post and have listed way too many odd things for one shot. So I will stop here and let everyone decompress. If you're not a wine drinker, there are other "Holiday gift ideas" on Amazon, but the first page is food, clothes and a couple gift cards. 

Should you choose the snacks option, keep in mind, Christmas Calories Don't Count. Just be nice to one another. 

Yes, that's a decal and a skeleton on my bathroom door. I keep them up year round.

Until next time...

Cheers.

See also (photos taken / editing):

* All photos taken on an iPhone 11

* All editing done with Photoshop

Stickers on table:

* Bon Jovi promo sticker for Lost Highway

* Eleanor Roosevelt quoted bumper sticker: No one can make you feel inferior without your consent

* Always Remember You're Unique. Just Like Everyone Else – Bumper Sticker/Decal

* Mickey Avalon promo sticker for Stroke Me

* (HRC) Equality sticker

* The OBX sticker is "Don't Drill off OBX". Not available on Amazon.

* Recycle decal

* "Tank" is from the Surf's Up movie

* Jiminy Cricket Umbrella sticker

* Spongebob Squarepants faces stickers

* Alien head sticker

* Union Jack sticker

* Australia flag sticker

* There's a JLab sticker that came with the Go Sport earbuds

* plus many more that are not in blurry background pictures

What are you willing to pay?

I know I must have mentioned it before, but I'll mention it again. I belong to a (job) social network called TeamWork Online. It's not a social network like Facebook or Twitter. It's a job board like Monster and CareerBuilder.

TeamWork is an interesting site if you want to get into sports, but you have to try your might to be able to get a job (what else is new??). I once knew a guy who said he got a job with a local (Minor League) ballpark through the TeamWork site. I have to admit, he was a lucky guy because everything he did within a couple years fell down to finding such "need" online. Whatever he was looking for (housing, job, etc) was all done via the Internet and even though it was all submitted by chance, his first run at applications ended with fulfilling the intent.

Why am I writing (#1)? I get emails about networking events every couple weeks from the site. It's a "pay for the job fair, stay for the game" deal, and the average attendance price is under $90. However, some of these career fairs aren't so hot, and you're left wondering why you came. Sure, the game is an added bonus, but if you're not interested in seeing X vs Y, but wanted to apply to the company, it's almost a wasted effort.You could have stayed home to apply. Like every career fair I've been to (as well as some my friends have gone to), the outcome is always the same: the businesses send a body to represent them, but the body always says "Sorry; not hiring. Please leave us your card, though!" or "Here's a paper application. We'll bring it back to the office and hand it to our HR Rep". Sometimes it's "apply online. We have no other information". That's when the question becomes "why are you here then? Just to get people's business information to get an email list going?".

I remember how people complained at the New England Revolution event. It was great to go and experience that, but a good 70% of the job seekers didn't attend the game immediately after the Q&A forum. There were some who stayed, and I actually caught up with five guys at the end of the game. They said they only stayed because they were already there and paid for the ticket. But had they not had to pay, they would have left long before the players took the pitch. They didn't see the point in the networking event since the businesses that were there, weren't hiring. These guys didn't like soccer, but wanted to apply to whomever was going to have a table. Truth be told on this: there were also limited businesses there. It wasn't marketed so great.

The same was for other sports events I went to. The only "good" one was at Fenway Park. I had met a few friends there and we walked the table lined concourse. It was free entry and no game that day, so you had to ability to have a relaxed conversation with someone from the team or business. Truth be told, they all said the same thing - not hiring; check website. Leave a card or resume. I felt like there was some positive conversations as well as potential networks, but where no one was really coming to set interviews or make time with people, it again, was a wasted effort. I could have taken cards and made a valiant effort to win people over via email (and I actually made the attempt at a few), but the reality is, HR people are looking for specific types of worker bees.

What's my point (#2)? Getting back to the price per event topic, I had gotten a Celtics email two weeks ago, and wanted to write about it. Too little too late now, as the event is over (it was last night), but I had emailed some friends regarding the price of entry. Tickets start at $110, and had a $12.95 processing fee. I did some research and it was balcony level seating, Celtics vs Raptors (Raptors won over Celtics, 101-94). The network event was for 75 attendees / first come first serve, and it was solely a Celtics forum - no other businesses would attend. At that point, you have to wonder where your money is going; balcony level seats don't cost that much and usually you can walk around the stadium and find better seating arrangements. Someone's pockets will be nicely lined by the end of the night, given the fact it's 75 times (essentially) $123.

To give some examples of other events, I know Daytona is up there in price (over $100), but outside of NASCAR, everything is a drop in the hat. Miami Heat is having a network event this week. I have to admit that I don't follow much sports, so I don't know the Heat's standings to be able to explain why they are "so cheap" in comparison to the Celtics' (The Heat will be playing the Washington Wizards). For "$40 - $50" (plus $8.89 processing fee), you get a ticket in the "400L" area of the arena. From an image search of the arena, it looks like it's a balcony type level. I'm not sure; I have never seen the Heat play, nor have I been to anything else there. So in this meeting, you're seeing executives from the Miami franchises (Heat, Dolphins, Marlins) plus other top tier people from other companies. The New Orleans Pelicans are having an event; game is against the Pacers. Tickets cost "$40 - $60" and are "in the Balcony and the Lower Level Sections". Same thing with New Orleans related executives. To round the year out (there are plenty more fairs not mentioned), and bring us into January, the "most expensive" event is for the New Jersey Devils (against the Florida Panthers). The price ranges from "$76.22 – $100.68" and the lower end has a $10.34 processing fee, while the higher end is $1.34 more. Researching the difference, the "seats are located in the upper and lower levels of the arena. The VIP ticket provides a $10 food voucher that can be used once the game begins". I don't know the area the Devils play in, so I'm thinking the level concourses are different in what concessions are available... and ten bucks is nothing for food. That could be a beer and a hot dog if you're lucky. Haha.

If anyone is interested in trying their luck, all events are here.

All in all, I do have to admit it's quite the experience to attend these things. Yes, it's a networking event; you get to meet people and sell yourself because you just never know who you will meet and if they will have a need for you to possibly freelance another skill you may have. Yes, the added bonus is the excitement of the game. But end the end, if you don't want to rely on a freelance gig, then these might not be for you. Or if you are one of the lucky ones to be able to walk out at the end of the night saying "I did well and I can't wait to check my email", then tell me what my friends and I are doing wrong; how do you get a full time gig in a major market, doing what you want to do, and not worry about selling some side skill that is potentially unrelated to the current job?

Until that happens, I'll continue doing what I'm doing and hope my occasional snail mail / email self marketing works, and I find a place I can love to be in.


Cheers;






See Also:

(aka music listening to under "price we pay" keywords):






(aka "other" keywords under "price we pay"):















NOTE: I did not get paid by TeamWork Online to write this blog entry. I am labeling it under my "Jobs and Employment" and "Networking" label, as part of what I'm finding for work in this world these days. No business / person has sponsored this entry. The Amazon links are part of me being an Amazon Affiliate.

What time is "7:!0"?

Can someone help me tell time, please? I know I can't do analogue clocks, but at least I'm trying to learn. I just don't understand what 7:!0 is. Is there a way to explain this?

They say you want a REVOLUTION

Okay, I'm all for (what used to be) my local MLS team, The New England Revolution, but when someone can't write a good PR copy, no team is immune.

What went out today, especially tweeted via the Revs' Twitter feed was explaining how three veteran members are currently eligible to enter into the MLS re-entry process of getting contracts and a team for 2012 (because the Revs declined the original contract options).

They are (the man with the mustache) Ryan Cochrane, Kheli Dube, and (one of my favourites) Pat Phelan. These men are within the age gap and MLS servitude that allows them the opportunity to either opt out of the current standings and processes and stay with their previously signed clubs, or continue with the Re Entry and perhaps get involved in other places.

As much as I have respect for my team, and although they've gone down hill this year (the firing of the tenured head coach Stevie Nicol, and being in absolute last place in the standings), I will always support them. I've been following the team since conception in the 90s and can remember when I would sit outside on a warm summer night, with a little hand held TV and watch the boys beat the other teams into submission. People make fun of me for watching soccer (football), but at least I'm passionate about something.

That being said, the Revs have also been posting job opportunities. So, since the PR team made a mistake in this article, can I have a job?

Cheers,

Glory, Glory, Man United!

Holy cow, holy cow, whiskey tango foxtrot!

Last night's Revs / Man United game was AMAZING. Too bad the Revolution couldn't show United the door, on our own turf. The Red Devils kicked the ex Minuteman's asses by a spectacular 4 to 1. By the end of the first half, it was scoreless and then BAM! Manchester was up 1, nil. Once it became 2, nil, the Revs opened the door to a 2-1 gate. This turned out to be promising. All of a sudden, it was 3:1 and then finally 4:1. Where did the last half hour go? Seriously!

Both teams kept up the fight, and it's a shame that the Revs keeper, Matt Reis, got to sit out for the second half. Dude was on point. Complete fire. He sat out, not for injury, but "as a fan". That was the biggest mistake of the night because it's how we lost (in my opinion). But it proved how well both teams could fare in this match and why Manchester is in the top 2 of the Premier League standings year after year. Why they win majority of their matches.

Don't get me wrong, I love the Revs and have a deep respect for them, but I also have a whole hearted respect for the Red Devils. Not for the big players (Becks, Rooney, Ferdinand) but for their history and how well they play. They were the ones who shows us the door last night, and it was worth it. All in all, this was the most anticipated first game of all the friendly matches and I hope Manchester keeps this up.

I know why the cage bird sings...

...actually, I don't. I am not Maya Angelou, and I wish I remembered whether or not I liked that book. All respect goes to that brave woman.

I do know why it was so quiet this morning. Storm's a brewin', here, ma. As I write this, I hope that the power stays on for me to finish this entry. Thunder is rumbling in the background and I know that any moment, rain will hit; causing my street to become quickly flooded and me to possibly run, jump, and skip through puddles to chase after my wind blown trash.

Oh, how I love storms on trash night....

... I just hope the Revs will get to play tonight. It's their friendly match with Manchester United. I love both teams and could not afford the tickets (the cheap Fort tickets tripled in price!!). I shall be watching the game on the TV and pray one team will fall scoreless to the other. I won't be upset over the outcome, as I've stated, I love both teams. All I can say is "GLORY, GLORY REVS UNITED!"

 Cheers,