omg!!!  i am getting shafted!  i was talking to the vp of net deployment at db, and he's expressing great interest in hiring me as a full-time employee.  he knows i am subcontracted by another company but doesn't know how much i am getting paid.  he was trying to get me to put a number out on the table and i am thinking 110k is too much for them to pay me so i kept quiet and let him do the talking.  he asked me if i was subcontracted and if i had benefits.  then he figured i was making 175k.  i kept quiet.  he then said that if this was too low, then to let him know.  175?!?  if he thinks i make that much even after being subconracted, that tells me that the company that i am subcontracting for is giving me the lim!  (lim = getting something shoved up my @$$).  after that, i no longer hesitated to put the 110 figure on the table.  we'll see where this leads.

another bank has a similar position open... interview went great.  and one of my best friends work there too... same department.  offer is the same.  most likely they will hire me... pending the hair follicle test being passed.  dammit!  when was the last time?  how long do those things last?  i'd pass a urine and blood test... but i hear hair lasts a while... not sure how long.

so i'm finally back to Chi-town after spending 5 days in KC.  racked up 46 hours of work in a 72 hour period.  spent a lot of that time in a place they call "the Caves".  I thought it was just a figure of speech like when you call your office the "dungeon".  found out when i got to the place that it literally was a cave!  place where they used to mine limestone or something like that.  the place was huge!  it was a complete underground system of tunnels that was about 3 car-widths wide and god knows how deep.  this place was self-sufficient, looked like it could survive a bomb.  had guards at the gate with a barricade that raises from the ground and and an arm that goes down to prevent unauthorized personnel from getting in / out.  anyway the whacked thing is that it was for office spaces.  yup office spaces.  not sure why in the world anyone would want to have an office without windows, no natural sunlight.  but this is the place where i had to set up a network for our disaster recovery site.

when i finally had sunday to myself, i took advantage of the hotel fitness center and room service.  got dinner the night before and breakfast sunday morning.  after the food settled i hit the gym and ran about 5 miles (1 hour).  not very fast, but not bad either considering i haven't done anything in a while.  one of my other goals was to visit as many of the steakhouses out there as possible.  i was only able to hit 2 spots, since i didn't have a whole lot of time.  majestic has an excellent filet mignon but expect to pay top dollar.  hereford house had a really good prime rib (10 oz is still too big) and the price was just right.  i also got to see "be cool".  not bad... had a few funny scenes.  raji was probably the funniest character.

EX- CCIE11292

F***!!! today was d-day.  guess i can't wear the shirts anymore.

it's official... i am no longer a number.  i've been so busy for the past two months that i haven't had enough time to even schedule my recertification.  this month alone i've been working almost 60+ hours per week and travelling to kc for (yes) more work.  i was hoping to squeeze even 3 hours of time just so i could take the exam regardless of the outcome, most likely negative due to the lack of (not effort but) time.

but i don't know... there's a certain sense of freedom of not having to live up to the expectations of having the number.  and i don't really want to be bound to my books all the time.  i wanna read something for fun!  not just for credentials.

38 more days til sunny puerto v.

Everything is about $$$ these days!!!

Damn Oil prices went up yesterday, so Apple stocks went down 5%.  I just lost $1000.  So, it's looking like I'll have to pay for the Mexico Trip out of pocket.  Stupid Oil!

The good thing is that the trip is an all-inclusive package!  What's that you ask?  I was curious too... so I did the research and found out what exactly is included.  5 nights stay at the Riu Jalisco Hotel, Round-trip airfare, meals include breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  The best part is that drinks are all included!  Domestic and Imported!  I am gonna be so dark and dehydrated that it's going to take the time during the flight back plus all of Sunday and 5 gallons of high quality H20 to recuperate!  All for a measly $649!

The bad thing is that since I'm 1099, it will actually cost me money to go on vacation - since I won't be getting paid.  So the trip will cost me at least one week's pay ($1640) + the cost of the trip ($649) = $2289.    I'm hoping Cisco will hire me soon, let me take the vacation, and pay for the week off!

T - 53 Days until

Puerto Vallarta

Haven't been able to commit to buying the place at UCommons because I'm still not certain whether I will even be in Chicago to enjoy it.  Meeting with the  Minnesota Hiring Manager for Cisco Systems after work tomorrow in a downtown bar.  I'm guessing he's trying to feel me out.  If it works out, I may end up moving out there for a little while to make / save more money.  Not looking forward to those cold ass winters but the money and experience should make up for it.

If I can't buy the condo in Chicago, then I'll buy one in Vegas and maybe rent it out.  Real Estate's booming out there and I just can't pass it up.

What I have been able to commit to is to finally take a long overdue, well deserved vacation.  56 days before I enjoy the shores of Puerto Vallarta.

My Apple stocks have been fluctuating around the same price for a while.  Tempted to day trade it so I can pick up some earnings from the daily fluctuations.

I haven't had the time to write... perhaps I haven't been in the mood either.

But I promised pictures... so here they are:

Marissa's 28th bday:
http://share-dell.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=EeCNW7hu2cs2Fq

MsBikol:
http://share-dell.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=EeCNW7hu2cs2F7

Helen's Bday:
http://share-dell.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=EeCNW7hu2cs2GE

Crush_and_Dejavu:
http://share-dell.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=EeCNW7hu2cs2GV

Been a while since I posted pictures...

so I went shopping for a camera this weekend...

ended up with the Canon SD300:

Lots of new pix soon to follow.

don't have any new pix to post up yet... so...

in the meantime...

here's an old pic from the vaults...

i figured i should put up a slutty pic to attract readers.

this one is titled:

"Can You See Down My Shirt?"

Mardi Gras:

Didn't see any boobies yesterday but even better I got to hang out with 2 of my best friends.  They're married and have two of the cutest kids on earth... one is turning 4 and the other just turned 2.  As crazy and chaotic as it gets with their little ones running around, I envy them.  It was an awesome treat that I got to hang out with their family, eat tapas, and drink san miguels.

Tried to continue the productive streak by going to B&N to study.  Still had at least an hour and a half before they closed and I thought I could make the best of it.  Ordered a venti cup of Earl Grey, as usual, but the San Miguel and Cisco-centric information was overwhelming and I faded in and out of sleep (sitting up) for a good hour or so.

I got to see my cousin there too... buried under a bunch of Genetics books.  Yup we're a family of nerds!  Well... at least we work hard at it.  We ended up chatting for the last few minutes before the place closed.

It was a good day!  I love being around family and friends.

On a Different Note:

Talk about bad carma!  <--- not a type-o... click the link to see what I'm talking about.

http://www.wiredvideo.com/clips/av10/carma.wmv

DSL being out has been (sorta) a blessing in disguise.  I haven't WoW'ed in well over a week and I've been able to hit the books full force.  Loaded on caffeine... makes me hyperactive... ended up doing push ups last night at midnite. 

*FLEX*

Woke up feeling energized... have a feeling today's gonna be a good day!