D.C. Memories

 Dom and I were in Reston, VA a few weeks ago for another one of his doll conventions.   He said it would be his last one but I'm skeptical.    The cost to have a second person attend the conference was a bit too high since it wasn't something I enjoyed.   So instead I had the few days to myself enjoying the D.C. area.

I spent half of Day 2 traveling in the Metro to Washington D.C.   My final destination was the National Museum of African American History and Culture.   Free tickets to the museum could be obtained online by selecting a time and adding some minor personal information.    There was quite a crowd of folks at the museum.   It was a surreal experience seeing the history of slavery and freedom from 1400 onwards.   

There were many interesting stories but one that stood out was the story of an enslaved woman named Belinda.   Of African descent, she petitioned the Massachusetts legislature in 1783 for her freedom.   She shared her harrowing story of being kidnapped in Africa and sold into slavery.   Her story moved the legislative group into granting her a pension, which served as one of the earliest recorded examples of reparations for being enslaved.

It was also cool reading brief snippets of free slaves who managed to make lives for themselves post-slavery, including the purchase of property.

There was also a replica of a segregated train car from the 1940's via Southern Railway Company.   Of course the whites-only sections were more spacious including for any suitcases whereas the colored-only section spaces were cramped and smaller spaces for suitcases.   There were also separate water coolers for whites vs colored.

There were also highlights from the 1960's, 1970's, and beyond that were on display.   There was a dedicated section for Barack Obama, the United States first black president.   Overall it was a good 1 1/2 hours spent.

After the museum, I walked a bit around D.C. before hopping back on the Metro and heading to Pentagon City Fashion Centre mall directly off the Pentagon City Metro Stop.  Being at the mall bought back memories of my time living in D.C. in the mid 90's.   I was pleasantly surprised the mall was still there.   I'm guessing being a direct stop on the Metro no doubt helped its longevity.

I texted Sally a picture of the mall and she quickly remembered it as our old stomping grounds.   Sally and I first met at our alma mater University of Detroit Mercy.    We met during both of our last semester.    I was obtaining a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science while Sally was obtaining Master of Science in Computer Information Science.    We both had a mutual friend which was how we met.    Our meeting in a computer lab was our only meeting.

Little did we know that we both would end up working for the same now defunct consulting company and sat next to each other during our two month long orientation.    We befriended a few folks including a lady named Blanche (her real first name).   She was starting her "second career" as a Programmer Analyst.   She retired after 25 years working at Ma Bell.

She became a "mother figure" to Sally and me.  I have many fond memories with Blanche when we both were contracted at Bell Atlantic in Maryland.   Our old company had the habit of forcing employees to "relocate" since it was cheaper for them than paying for a hotel short-term.   They would tell us that a project was 3 months (the minimum time that relocating was required) only to find out that the contract ended after a week or two.   

Blanche had a harrowing experience where she was told by her project manager that there was a project in New York.    She was not thrilled about going there since NY is pretty expensive.    They told her that the project would be 3 months and she needed to break her lease with the apartment she lived in.   They placed her in a motel with hourly rates.   She was horrified and demanded her project manager place her in a proper hotel.    That was rectified but the experience left her stressed.    What was worse was the project fell through so she had no place to go.    Luckily her apartment in Maryland was still available so she was able to move back in.

I remember during my time at Bell Atlantic, the manager there wanted to offer me a job.   Accepting a job with a client is a no-no and could get you in trouble.   I remember talking about it with Blanche in one of the two smoking areas (she smoked).    While we were discussing the situation, the manager in question decided to come out for his smoke break.    Blanche remarked afterwards that the manager must've been trying to listen in since he normally smoked in the other section...LOL.   I ended up not accepting the job offer as I wasn't sure I necessarily wanted to live in the Maryland/D.C. area.   We soon found another place to have private chats.

When I eventually found a new job (the one I stayed at for 20 years before being laid-off and bitched about in my old blog...LOL), the project manager was very pissed at me since he said he had another assignment for me.    He said that I would not get paid for my time-off that I didn't use.   I actually had  a lot of time-off I didn't use up to that time.   I remember thinking they could fuck off and I didn't need their money.   But Blanche was instrumental in convincing me to fight for that since I earned it.   She suggested I write to the president and chief financial officer of the company and ask for my money, explaining all that I've gone through during my time there.   Writing that letter worked and I got paid for my time-off.

Another funny story was when Blanche, Sally, and I were traveling to Detroit in Blanche's car.   We needed to stop for gas a little more than halfway through our trip.   For some reason I only decided to get $20 worth of gas which only filled the tank about halfway.    When I told her what I did, she snapped and said 'boy, you better fill that tank'.   I was shocked but laughed since I knew she was right.

After Sally and I left that company, I believe Blanche stayed on with the company.   She sadly passed away in 2000.   I still smile though when I think about that time in my life.   Visiting the D.C. area definitely bought back memories.

My third day in the area I decided to check out the MGM National Harbor casino.   It was interesting seeing the area around the casino seemed ghetto.   I saw security bars on a lot of the first floor buildings which was all I needed to know.   But the casino itself was nice.   I enjoyed some lunch at an Asian fusion restaurant called Ginger.   The food was pricey (though what isn't these days) but good.   I donated to the casino of course but it was okay.

Dom meantime enjoyed his time at the convention.   The only bad part seemed to be the food.   Basically a lot of it was dry and flavorless.   I'm glad I had some delicious meals including a lobster roll.   Overall it was a good trip for us.  

My next trip will be to Boston to hang with Eugene.

Back On The Hunt

 So I'm halfway through my training for Tableau.   There were some bumps along the way in doing the training.   There was a change in proctors for the actual certification which meant that the # of questions on the exam was changing as well.   The previous version had 30 questions which included access to Google for researching and testing of building graphs to answer some questions.    The new version has 45 questions w/o access to Google and no graphs.   Those who signed up on the website to take the training prior to August 1st would take the test with the old proctor and those after August 1st would take it with the new one.   Since we signed up after August 1st, we would be taking the new version.

We received a welcome email from Tableau which did give us links to the new proctor that included a free voucher for the exam.   Unfortunately though the other links provided was for the old version of the training.   Also there was a confusion over which version of Tableau to use as they frequently upgrade and there was an upgrade specifically for the new testing.

All the confusion caused stress for myself and a lot of the other students.  Thankfully one of our Salesforce instructors was instrumental in getting things straightened out.   

As for Tableau itself, it's definitely a very robust tool with lots of functionality.   I pray that I can remember enough to successfully pass.    We do get two free attempts.   I'm guessing after the second I'll have to pay for it (though maybe the Pathfinder program may have more vouchers...no clue and hopefully it won't get to that).    The cost though is cheaper than the Comptia cert exams, $100 versus $329 so at least that would be manageable if I had to retest.

So I'm also at the point in the program where I need to resume my job hunt.   That has been a nightmare as I've previously mentioned.    I applied for over 60 positions after successfully completing my cyber security bootcamp and maybe had 5 actual interviews in that time (and that's being generous...I only recall 2).    It is disappointing hearing about the supposed shortage in cybersecurity roles but the tight vice that industry has in bringing new people.   I'm not looking forward to the whole applying and interviewing process.     But I'll have to buck up.   I actually do have an interview tomorrow with a hiring manager at a major company.    We'll see what happens.

Also I'm excited because I'll be visiting my family later this week in Detroit.   The last time I was in Detroit was last Christmas.   It'll be good to see my Dad, Trina, and hopefully Tasha will get a chance to drop by.    She did promise to possibly bring some food.    I plan to visit my Mom as well at her resting space.   I do miss her a lot and she's constantly on my mind.   It is weird though.   Even though I think about her a lot, I haven't cried for her since her funeral.    I suppose I did get some closure and I am comforted by the fact that she's not suffering anymore.   I like to think that she's watching us from above (well except for any private moments...*LOL*).

Also I'll get a chance to see Sally who I haven't seen since she lost her cousin to cancer about a month before my Mom lost her battle.   So it's been almost 2 years.   Sally's Mom who I've become close to over the years as well is turning 80 years young.    Her Mom decided to host a party at one of the area parks.   I'll need to pack a chair for seating.    I was contemplating possibly bringing my Dad with me.   But I don't know the logistics of the park the party will be at and how far parking is from where they'll be at.   Plus my Dad has a hard time walking so I don't want him to have walk very far.    So I may have to table that suggestion.

Bama Jamma

My friend Sally if you remember from my older blog lost her job in November 2007 and has been juggling things since then with two jobs combined that paid less than her single job.   It's been seven years of sweat, tears, and fears.    There were many times I've helped her emotionally and financially whenever issues crept up.   It's been a crazy journey for Sally culminating to a recent hysterectomy over the summer due to an incompetent primary physician who failed to diagnose her fibroids.   Sally did get another IT job in 2012 but that only wound up being a temporary job for five months before she was let go again.    Luckily she had still held on to her retail job so at least she wasn't totally out of work.

 In the midst of all that craziness, a long time friend of hers who I met a couple times when she lived in Chitown in the late 90s, recently became a IT manager for a major bank in Alabama.   Dara had a couple openings for system analysts in her group and wanted Sally to interview for one of the positions.    The timing of the position perfectly coincided with Sally's recovery period ending.   There was an initial phone interview with Dara herself but Sally would need to fly to Alabama for a second interview with Dara and a couple of her teammates.    Sally of course didn't have the funds to get a ticket so a few of us chipped in and got the ticket for her.

The interview went well but for whatever reasons things seemed to be dragging with HR.   Dara kept assuring Sally that the HR rep would contact Sally with info on what to do to get the background check going.    Then Dara needed to have a separate meeting with her manager since that manager was on vacation when Sally was in town.    Sally had to also provide an updated resume to that manager.

Things continued to drag for another week and even though Dara assured Sally that the job was hers, Sally didn't trust 100% that to be the case due to two past times where she supposedly had the job and then the rug was pulled under her.   One of those times there was even an offer letter presented so in her mind she didn't want to get her hopes up.

But finally she got the official offer and word that the job was hers and she would be making about as much as she made in her former job before losing it.   Needless to say it was a mad rush for me to help Sally pack as much as she could before needing to head down to Alabama.    She also had a pet that she wanted to keep but wouldn't be able to take with her initially.    Thankfully one of her cousins came through and was able to drive her pet to Detroit to her Mom.

I wound up helping her load up her car and splitting driving duties as we made our way on the 11 hour trip to Alabama and ultimately Dara's home in Birmingham.   It was a bit of a surreal experience, both of us excited about her new opportunity and amazed at the timing of it all.

We arrived in Alabama at 1am on Thanksgiving morning.   The three of us chatted for a bit before turning in.    Thanksgiving Day was spent with lots of Dara's family as well as her boyfriend.     We all definitely had a lot to be thankful for this year.

Friday morning we went for a quick breakfast and then Dara took Sally and I for a quick trip to the corporate office as well as a downtown trip and tour of Kelly Ingram Park, located in Birmingham's Civil Rights District.    We took a moment there to reflect on the experiences blacks went through in the 60's in the fight for basic rights.    Structures of the dogs and firehouses used to confront demonstrators were present throughout the four acre park.   It's a reminder that we've come a long way though in some ways even in 2014 and beyond, we have a long way to go.

Before I knew it, it was time to drop me off at the airport for my return flight to Chicago.   I said my goodbyes to Dara and Sally.    Sally and I kept our emotions in check.    But I teared up a bit on the plane ride thinking of not having Sally in Chicago anymore.   We've been friends for over 19 years and shared a lot of good and bad times together.    But I'm so happy for Sally.     One of her friends told her that it was fitting that things came together exactly seven years from when she lost her IT job.   In the Bible there are many references to sevenfold and seventh.   For example in Genesis it took seven days and nights for God to create the world.    On the other end of the Bible in Revelation, there are seven angels to the seven churches, seven seals, seven trumpet plagues, seven thunders and the seven last plagues.

I look forward to visiting Birmingham a little more often in my future.

Job Blessings

It's funny.   After I had my own blog therapy session, I just went off and vanished.    But I'm doing fine.  

My friend Sally is doing fine too.   If you remember from my previous blog, Sally had lost her IT job back in late November 2007 and had been looking for an IT job ever since.   It's been a crazy long journey.   She's had so many interviews but no dice.   To make ends meet she was able to get a full time job at retail but it didn't pay nearly as much as she used to get.     So from time to time I assisted her with bills here and there whenever I could.     She got her mortgage refinanced and was able to save her home.

Well God finally answered her prayers and she started a new IT job last Monday.   It's via a consulting firm and the assignment is ten months but it's the boost she needed.    Hopefully she can make connections and land another gig.   But it's just what the doctor ordered.

Something Old

So hope you guys enjoyed reading that last entry.   I unfortunately had the pleasure of visiting a dud restroom at a banquet hall last night that if this atrocity was at a casino would've been rated quite lowly by the "Straightflush" experts.    The urinals were three tiny units all close together for maximum penis viewing, which in my case might've been pleasurable depending on the guy behind the penis.  Rimshot.  (HA!)    To access the urinals you had to get around the giant sinks.   I wish going to the urinal was all I had to do.   I sadly was shooting for a different number and there was only one toilet in the bathroom.   It wasn't occupied but it had some lovely drop deposits from previous visitors.   I grimaced as I spent ten minutes wiping and putting at least 10 layers of toilet paper on the seat.    In the meantime I heard guys coming in some wanting to hit the toilet.   To make things less pleasant, I was courtesy flushing away, which of course meant my ass was exposed to the nasty water.   The dryer for the hands was next to the door for the stall which made for more awkward moments for me as I was bombing away.   It wasn't a pleasant experience at all.   I shouldn't have drank that 7-Up or partake in all the tasty desserts.  

E final ratings:
Number #1 overall  - 3 stars
Number #2 overall  - 2 stars (only cause at least there wasn't crap in the toilet)

Okay...now that I got that out of the way.

Sally invited me as a guest to her holiday party at the earlier mentioned banquet hall.   It was interesting seeing her co-workers in various states of dress.   A lot of the women really dolled it up and the guys for the most part were appreciative.   The men in the meantime ranged from wearing pimp wear to business casual.

There were a few pieces of eye candy for me but this one bearish type guy sitting in the next table caught my eye.   He didn't know I was alive of course.   Sally caught me staring at him and told me he was a loser.   I told her I would only be interested in a quick romp Hemingway.   Turns out he's a manager that works in her department that also moonlights as a bouncer at some straight bar and is actually straight.    I noticed how he walked by where Sally and I were sitting three different times without saying anything to Sally.    In my dreams he was checking me out on the side.    Hopefully he didn't follow me in the bathroom since he would've heard more than he was bargained for.   *LOL*....sorry I went there again.

Hemingway they say that if you don't learn from history that you're doomed to repeat it.    They also say that life is too short and to live each day like it's your last.    I always wonder who the elusive 'they' is.    Also is the same 'theys' that coined each phrase.    Guess we'll never know.    But that doesn't stop the things that happen in our lives.

So I'm logging onto one of my "social networking sites" last Friday night.    No date for me par the course and unfortunately Ryan turned out to be yet another dud.    I guess he wasn't comfortable outside the virtual confines of texting.    So I'm just half looking at profiles when I get an email from a blast from the past.   Winifred who I first chatted with in 2005 saw me and shot me an email.  

He remembered my face but not quite my name.   I remembered his (of course).   I had to recall what happened back then.   Aside from my entries where I was juggling him with another a-hole, we did meet three separate times.   The last one I recalled went nowhere when I wanted to get to know him more but he was looking for more of a quick hit.   Which actually we never did (amazingingly...*LOL*).   To clarify we didn't go all the way.

So of course he doesn't remember why we lost contact but he told me that we should keep in touch.   I told him sure.   I'm sure it'll go the way of all my other encounters with guys.   But one can never tell.