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Written by googirama
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Tuesday, 09 August 2005 |
Iv'e been doing contract work for the APS. Mostly software integration
and rollouts. It's been fun but it's definately early days. Still, I'm
getting to see parts of town I would have otherwise not gone to and
meeting new people is always great.
Much fun!
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Written by googirama
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Sunday, 24 July 2005 |
I've been working for the public school system doing in integration project. The system actually has around 9000 employees and over 16000 computers which makes it one of the biggest systems I've worked on. For parents looking for advice on where to educate their kids, I would still have to say - private school or England! At least in Europe the students seem to respect the teacher and the teachers themselves seem to have more of a classical education. As the summer draws to a close, I'd be happy to move onto something else. See some pictures of mostly empty schools here:
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Written by googirama
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Thursday, 14 July 2005 |
The APS project I'm on basically neccessitates driving around to
different schools sometimes as many as a different one daily. Since
it's summr break the buildings are generally empty - with the exception
of janitors and other staff - and there's no way of knowing what's open
or what work is going on inside. We've been to several where the floors
are being waxed and others where constuction is taking place. No hard
hats required of course:) but these are all things which can and
sometimes do delay our project.
So there's always this joke about inner city schools being one stop
away from collapsing buildings, essentially jails for kids who would be
causing trouble otherwise and I'm happy to say I haven't seen much or
any of this. By and large the APS building are well maintained, staffed
overaly if nothing else and have excellent infrastructure in terms of
technology and communication. That said - there is obviously great
difference based on location. We worked in a school which is located in
projects in South West Atlanta. Nothing bad on the inside but it's not
a place I'd like to leave my car parked overnight.
The best story is (no names being taken here) was a school where the
janitor basically ushered us in and told us to hurry up because locals
tended to walk in and out and take things out with them. He
pointed to "scratches" on the door locks as proof of this.
The advantage of working in the ghetto of course is, access to varied and cheap food but I've had no time.
But I can smell that chicken calling:)
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Written by googirama
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Thursday, 12 May 2005 |
Current Mood - Hungry
Current Music - The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead
Once a week we have a little dinner party - where you're free to cook
what you want but points are awared for creativity. As recipes are
"refined" we publish and share them. Two to four people are invited to
eat and provide an overall review.
So
this was my attempt at creating a fusion burger and fries dinner for
entry in the upcoming Decatur food festival. The theme as always was
south asian fusion. Burgers like this are very popular as street vendor
food in the sub continent although they are smaller in size almost like
a Krystals. Something you can grab on the run verses a sit down meal.
The
burger was spiced w/ a lot of cumin and layered with onion seeds
although a veggie patty could have been used just as easily. Instead of
potato fries we had deep fried eggplant flavored with tamarind sauce
over ketchup, rice flakes can be added and they were slightly overdone
to guarantee extra crunch and flavored with the usual salt and pepper.
Instead of layering the bun with mustard - we had red lentils (the ones
that turn yellow after cooking) that were also fried and coated with
ground mustard seed creating a very thick paste with a sharp taste.
Green chili sauce/chutney was served on the burger itself to add a
little bite. Cheese as per Indian favorites was sharp cheddar.
So I'm looking for a creative criticism here:
How does the recipe sound?
Would you eat eggplant instead of fries?
How much would you pay for such if you ate out?
Any suggestions on spicing?
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Written by googirama
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Sunday, 01 May 2005 |
Back on the job hunt - if you know of an opening in tech support,
technical documentation or perhaps even something involving work with
non-profits or children - let me know. I am also open to relcoation at
this time so keep that in mind.
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Written by googirama
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Sunday, 01 May 2005 |
Current Mood - Exhausted
Current Music - DJ Digital - Thirst Is Everything
We had a cookout on Saturday - mostly for my roommate and his
co-workers but I also invited a few people and after rushing through
for most of Saturday - trying to get everything prepared, fighting it
out with a whimsical grill and chopping up my index finger while
cutting up some chicken - let's just say when the first guests arrived
- I was still in my sweats, not showered and nursing my cut finger and
shouting out little phrases in Japanese - since most of our guests were
from the consulate.
The
"theme" was quasi south asian so the menu featured some wonderful
chicken tikka (with tamarind sauce), homemade hummus, and bratwurst
(with crushed tumeric and cumin seeds) along with the usual salad and
bread entrees. Throw into the mix our mutal friend who works for a beer
distributor - who kindly donated about ten cases of beer - and all the
essential ingredients were in place despite the cloudy skies and
occasional downpours. There was a couple there with a baby and we him
and Andre 3000 away from each other, although true to his nature Andre
3000 DID manage to "bite" at least one person by somehow hiding under
the couch and getting some teeth around her feet...as you know he ONLY
bites women so she has learnt the hard way to not ignore my advice
about walking barefoot in my house.
Most people had left around
midnight and I was hoping I could get to bed but we had some late
comers and we were up drinking till 5 in the morning. The scary thing
is I was up by 10am Sunday cleaning up the house and watching cartoons
We had so much food and drink left over that we cooked out again last
night.
See more April fun here:
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Written by googirama
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Thursday, 28 April 2005 |
Current Mood - Mellow
Current Music - Gargage - Bleed Like Me
My boss called me into the office and said "I don't
think this is working out" and that was it! Apparently, I was not
"building" the systems fast enough and the feeling based around the
last four was that I would NEVER be able to either. Well, how could
anyone argue with such scientific proof?
It's
best to say that it was not a good fit and leave it at that. My father
(oh ya, I had a wonderful phone conversation with him for about the
past hour) thinks I didn't "kiss ass" enough and he's probably right on
that term also. According to him, small companies have their own
heirarchy and mode of operation. They are hard pressed to make
investments and if anything their margins are so thin that it's
difficult to plan for the future and let things "ride" for a while.
Either that, or they just didn't like me:)
Honestly, there's a
lot more I could say here but I don't see the point. I know several
people who are interested in the position I just vacated and I'll
forward their names to the company just to show there is no ill feeling
- because there isn't.
I get a month of paid vacation (in a
sense) and if anything the recent experiences of being on the job hunt
and securing one has left me very focused for whatever the future
holds. At least now I know what I don't want to do which is always a
good thing.
God bless my psychic powers though - I walked out of
that place within an hour of my previous (yesterday) LJ post. Now if
only I could figure out the numbers for next weeks "big game" hmmmm....
Wait, I'm getting a "4" followed by a "2"... |
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Written by googirama
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Wednesday, 27 April 2005 |
Current Mood - Busy
Current Music - Beastie Boys - Various
I can't help noticing that no one at my work ever seems to leave so am
I incorrect in thinking that after your nine hours a day are done - you
should well NOT FEEL bad about leaving. A sample conversation between
worker "W" and me "M"
W - Where are you going?
M - I'm going home...
W - Oh, will you be back later
M - Yes - I suppose tomorrow...
W - No I meant later tonight - You get overtime right
M - Sure - but does that mean I should start clocking in extra hours
W - Oh well, I don't mind the overtime
M - I mean, is the money more important that my personal life?
W - Of course not, it's just everyone here plugs in around 10-12 hours a day...
M - Well, that's everyone that's not ME - BYE BYE now
I
have this sinking feeling that I'm going to be called out for not
having ENOUGH FLAIR as per "Office Space" specs...but my point is... is
this really something I want to wear on my chest.
Just to be safe though - I think i want to go get some buttons so any recommendations... |
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Written by googirama
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Wednesday, 20 April 2005 |
current Mood -Awake
Current Music - NPR
Just wanted to let everyone know that I have a new job! I'm working as
a PC Tech for a startup firm just off Clairmont Rd. This means, I'm
putting together PC's and workstations with a little QA and
documentation on the side.
As
some of you know - I have been unemployed since mid Feb so this came at
just the right time. Although the pay could be better, the small
company atmosphere, flex time and proximity to home (7 miles each way
with NO HIGHWAY involved) were a huge selling point. The job itself is
not that challenging -(yet) which is to say, that I have spare energy
to focus on more creative projects. It's been a while since I've been a
part of the 9 to 5 gang and so far it feels awesome.
The one
thing about this job - being based essentially around hardware is that
I will never have to work from home or ever take a call in the evening!
So yes, maybe I'm finally free of the e-mail monster and messaging
monster - we'll see!
So this is my one week anniversary! |
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Written by googirama
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Thursday, 14 April 2005 |
The trees are in bloom and it's time for festivals and more festivals. Here's a listing of just a few coming up. Try to make it out to a few if not all of these!
The Atlanta Dogwood Festival
The Imman Park Festival
The Decatur Food Festival
The Candler Park Arts Festival
The Virginia-Highlands Festival
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