Unemployment Day 19: Television

Growing up in the 80's, I have said that the boob tube has played a significant role in my upbringing. I think it is because in this decade we started off with 6 or 7 VHF channels and a bunch of local UHF channels that nobody ever watched. If you don't know what VHF or UHF is, then that is yet another sign that I'm no longer young. Because there were such limited channels, people who watched TV were essentially watching the same shows. So my generation (Gen X) was brainwashed similarly. Then in the early 80's cable television came to be with 2 channels, On TV and Select TV. These were considered cable channels to me because they showed unedited movies with no commercials. Then there was the Satellite TV. No not the rinky dink dish that you put on your roof, we had a satellite installed in our backyard that looked like it was stolen from NASA. And they should have told you that you had to be a rocket scientist to try and figure out how to change the channel. I guess you can compare television in the 80's to the internet in the late 90's and early 2000's. It was an ever changing technology that kept expanding the universe that we were exposed to.

Here are a list of shows that I watched that shaped me during my childhood.

The A-Team, MacGyver, Knight Rider, Magnum PI, Airwolf - Action shows that taught me the difference between good and evil. They fostered my creativity for solving problems using things that are available to you like your mind and duct tape. There was a lot of science I learned too.

Happy Days, Growing Pains, Family Ties, The Cosby Show, The Brady Bunch, Roseanne, The Wonder Years, Doogie Howser, MD - Family shows that taught me how to handle family drama. Issues kids go through when growing up. How to handle your siblings. How to handle dysfunction.


The more I think about it, the more shows I remember watching. The overall message of most of these shows is that if you do the right thing, good things will happen. It was full of happy endings, do-gooders, and life lessons. There was "one to grow on" or "knowing half the battle". Things were basically spelled out for the audience. There were no misinterpretations or multiple meanings.

So while I learned a lot from my mother and school, I would be remiss to neglect the impact that television had on who I am today.

Unemployment Day 18

First of all, yes, I have accepted an offer for my next professional adventure. But technically, I'm still unemployed because I haven't started, don't have a paycheck, and don't have benefits...yet. Thank you for all the well wishes and congratulations. I am really feeling the love. Please also congratulate Anne, who kept me from losing my mind.

Now to whats on my mind today since I don't have to look for a job. Facebook.

Facebook, to me, is a revolution. Let me preface my thoughts by saying that everything I say is my opinion, not fact, not the gospel, nor is it trying to correct, teach, influence, or preach. Just a blog man, just a blog. So.........Facebook. Facebook has had a great influence on me. Like friendster, it has allowed me to reconnect with some long lost friends and relatives. Most specially (sounds weird) but yeah, most especially to be closer to my relatives overseas. Like Myspace, it allowed me to easily find things that interest me and connect with people with similar interests. But unlike other social networking sites, it has provided a community. I feel like all my "friends" are my neighbors. I know what they want me to know about them. I see pictures (the best part), I know their likes and dislikes, I know whats on their mind. It's like being on a private retreat all over the world with everyone I know.

Everyone can scream from the mountain top. Scream whatever you want. Someone is listening. There's never a shortage of people who want to discuss whatever topic you want. It's great. Growing up in the 80's you couldn't just go up to people you barely knew and start a conversation. Now, if I want to wish an old high school classmate happy birthday even if I haven't spoken to him in 20 years, I can, and it won't be weird. Crazy. If I want to discuss the joys of marriage or celebrate Kobe's back to back championships without Shaq, that would be ok too.

While it's not perfect (there is still a lot of hate), I think the beauty of it is that you could leave your opinion on other people's comments. It could be one word or a novel. Your profile is your personality. Your comments reflect your view on everything. It will show others if you are compassionate, sensitive, egotistical, opinionated. You are basically giving others a window into your soul. Although I'm not sure what farmville says about me. The there are those who don't reveal anything and just like to be a part of the community, that's fine too.

So, I say to all my fb friends, share yourself, leave comments, but don't hate. Respect everyone's opinion. If someone blocks you, deletes you, or limits what you are exposed to about them, its probably not a mistake. Don't ask them why, ask yourself why. It's probably because you did or said something to make them do it.

Wow, I'm new to blogging and am not the most concise writer. I apologize for the disjointed nature of my writing. I'm still high from everything that's happened this week. I have a new niece, I have a new job, and my father-in-law just had a CT Scan and is cancer free now for 2 years.

GO LAKERS!!

Unemployment Day 16

Had an interview today. I thought things went well. After interviewing a couple dozen times, I feel a sense of comfort during the interview process. In the beginning it was pretty nerve-racking. I was never comfortable "selling" myself. But I've learned, if you don't, who will? But there is a fine line between confident and cocky. What I've learned is that you can embellish on your resume. But you can't in an interview. I feel that the interview process accomplishes 2 things. First, can you intelligently demonstrate that you are qualified for the position. And second, do you fit the culture.

For me the latter is most important. Company culture usually determines how successful I will be with a company. If I feel comfortable then I am more likely to enjoy working more. I will be more motivated to succeed. The position will feel less like a job and more like a career. Also, if I fit the company culture then I have more confidence learning things I may have been deficient in to succeed in the position.

Another part of the interview process is salary negotiation. Salary negotiation is still a tricky process for me. I hate trying to put a number on my value. While I understand that you want to get as much as possible, you don't want to seem greedy. At the same time, companies are expected to offer you the magical number that shows they value you but also do not want to overpay you. Rarely does your number match their number.

This leads me to a question that I discuss with Anne all the time. Is it better to be overpaid or underpaid? If you are overpaid, you get the money but psychologically you don't have the security. If you are underpaid its the opposite. Then again, if you are underpaid, you may have the security, but you may not have much satisfaction.

Honestly, I wish salary was not a factor. I would love to just work for a company that demonstrates their appreciation. However, appreciation doesn't pay the bills.

Unemployment Day 13

So I was continuing to think "What kind of company would hire someone like me?" Again, I'm not an expert in anything but I have experience in a lot of different things. I guess you could label me as a Financial Technologist? an Informational Analyst? Who knows. All I know is that I approach every professional opportunity as that, an opportunity; an opportunity to learn, an opportunity to grow, an opportunity to expand my horizons, but most of all an opportunity to become a professional at something. I may have not taken the path that my parents wanted. I'm not in the medical profession, I'm not a lawyer. So what the heck am I? I like to think of myself as a "logician?" If that is even a word. I like to apply logic to my responsibilities and tasks. How can I make things better? How can I get things completed? How can I make things more efficient? How can I quantify results and provide reasoning for them?

I went on indeed.com to see what kind of positions they would suggest for me. As I thought, the spectrum was broad, project manager, financial analyst, systems implementation specialist, reporting manager. It sounded like my resume, all over the place. But with the 10 years of working experience I had, there was no position that utilized all of my experience. What to do? I decided to not stress out about it. I contacted some head hunters and let them worry about it.

I decided I was going to enjoy my time off, play as much golf as possible, see what I could fix at home, expand my culinary repertoire (I learned how to cook risotto), figure out how to be a better husband and catch up with some old friends. This is when I realized how important maintaining relationships are.

Since I've worked at many different companies during my career, I've been able to meet a lot of different people in a multitude of different industries. I actually know a lot of people. And a lot of those people know what I am capable of. Then I started looking back at my past positions and how I got them.

My first job out of college was through a fraternity brother that I pledged with. I had no experience in the position, but since he vouched for me, I was hired. The next company I moved to was a client of mine from my first job. After that, a coworker from my first company who has become one of my best friends, referred me to a position with Kaiser. After Kaiser, a recruiter actually found me a position where the hiring manager ended up being a high school classmate. While he wasn't able to hire me, he did refer me to another position with the company which I did get hired for. I started to see a trend. This has provided me with a sense of comfort. My "network" has my back. It's a great feeling. I have quite a few people looking out for me.

This brings me back to the job hunt. Last week I had nothing. No leads, no interesting positions, recruiters weren't calling, things looked bleak. This week, 2 recruiters called me for opportunities that were hiring immediately and they really liked my resume. And, AND, one of my old friends from Helio (who I just played golf with today) told me that he is hiring for a new position he created and he wants me to interview for it IMMEDIATELY. Seriously? While I'm not a very religious person, I must say, the Lord works in mysterious ways.

So, to summarize, I love my friends.

Unemployment Day 11: My Wife

Typically, I would be writing about my journey during Day 11 of my current unemployment. However, I will use this time to honor my wife. My wife, Anne, constantly surprises me. She surprises me by showing me things I've never experienced before. Basically, two things that shaped how I think today are my childhood and 80's television. I've believed that almost every decision a person makes has some selfish reasons behind it. Some more selfish than others, but in the end we're all trying to do something for ourselves. Without going into too much detail, I applied this belief to how I handled aspects of my life. I had my expectations of how people would react to certain situations. Then along came Anne. She basically showed me that it wasn't a healthy way to live life nor was it necessarily true.

Example #1 - When Anne loves someone, she loves them unconditionally. People she loves, know for damn sure that she loves them. People who are important to her, never question her loyalty. She is as honest as they come. She will tell you straight to your face how she feels....with one exception, if I ask her not to. See the difference between her and me is that in certain situations I am......overly sensitive. Sometimes I'm afraid to hurt the ones I love so much that I will tip toe around the truth. My fear is losing that loved one or having that loved one get upset at me. Anne, on the other hand, never holds back....again unless someone (like me) asks her to. She taught me that if someone loves you or if you love someone, you should not be afraid to tell them how you feel, even if it hurts them. You have to trust that they will be able to handle it and understand even if they don't agree or it upsets them. For me, it was easier said then done. For me, I was willing to pretend everything was ok even though it wasn't. I thought that I was being a better person by avoiding the conflict. She's taught me that its better to just be honest in the beginning and deal with the repercussions. That's an important aspect of how relationships grow. It may not be easy, but I have to believe what I've been preaching for so long; the immortal words of Fredrick Douglas, "Without Struggle, There Is No Progress." I constantly underestimate my relationships with people. Only recently, because of Anne, I've learned that even my closest relationships are stronger than I thought. No matter how crazy I may be or how ridiculous the things I might say are, if its honest then it can't be a bad start.

Example #2 - So I've known I was going to be unemployed since January. It's now mid-May and I still haven't found a job. I thought, of all the people in the world, my wife would be the one who would be asking me all the time if I've found a job yet. I thought she would be the one pressuring me to just take anything because we needed the paycheck. To the contrary, she never asks me. She just encourages me to make sure I find a job that I will enjoy. She reminds me not to underestimate my value and skills in the marketplace. She discourages me from applying to jobs that are below me professionally just for the paycheck. She makes sure that I enjoy my time away from the daily grind. She does not prod me. She does not nag me. There are no sarcastic comments to subtly mask her concern because I don't feel like she is overly concerned. I feel like she knows I will find a job. She knows it will take some time. She trusts that I know when to feel the sense of urgency. Only now do I realize that she was preparing for this time for a long time. Of course, I was stressing out about being unemployed. But she was not. And in actuality she was telling me not to stress out. It was a strange feeling...thinking I needed to do something now but Anne telling me to take my time; thinking that we were going to struggle but Anne showing me that we weren't. For the first time, in a long time, I feel like I'm not on my own. My wife, has done for me something I never thought could be done, and that is to convince me that she unequivocally believes in me. Granted many people have told me that they believe in me, but I've never experienced a demonstration of that belief. I can honestly say I feel that she "has my back".

Those are just two examples of what she has taught me. I can go on and on and on about the wonders of my wife, what she does for me, what she does for us, how she takes care of me.

Let me start by saying that I've found a woman who is confident, caring, strong, smart, has the respect of her friends, family, and coworkers, who believes in herself, has the determination to be successful, who loves me and would do anything for me. That is only the beginning of who she is. I look forward to spending the rest of my life witnessing what other wonders she possesses. Love does not do justice to how I feel about her.

Unemployment Day 9

I've been relatively productive this week. Monday I had an interview with a recruiter in downtown LA. While I was there I had lunch with Casey and Calvin from Hautelook. Visited their office then got lost trying to figure out which building I parked my car in. Not fun walking around downtown in a suit for an hour. And if that weren't enough, I paid a total of $30 just to park.

Tuesday I was able to go to the gym. Went on Indeed for 2 hours. Saw the same jobs still open. Maybe I wasn't that productive.

Wednesday I played golf with Jared and Paul at Balboa. Some Bulgarian guy joined our group for the last few holes. He's visiting for 3 months. That's how much vacation he was able to accrue. It's unbelievable. I'm sure I could accrue that much vacation time, but I can't fathom taking that much time off of work all at once. If I could, that would tell me that my company really doesn't need me. Perhaps that's the mentality of a operations manager rather than a business manager. Need to change that.

Wednesday was also my wedding anniversary. Anne and I had dinner at Osteria Mozza in Hollywood. She loved the flowers I gave her. Funny story. Anne posted a picture of the flowers I had sent to her office. Her friend Tina commented "OH NO, What did he do now?". I replied, "I got married". This is a perfect example how communication has changed today. My reply to Tina made it sound like I was in trouble only because I was married. However, I was indirectly telling Tina it was my wedding anniversary. Long story short, everything was "lost in translation" and everyone got a good laugh out of it. You can see the entire conversation on Anne's posting of her flowers. Back in the day, this would have been a conversation during a dinner party. Instead, most communication is done electronically without any tone or inflection to denote sarcasm. =(

So I've filled out my EDD paperwork. Next up is to see if I qualify for any kind of loan modification or refinance.

I think I'll finally make that appointment with golftec to analyze my swing.

Unemployment Day 1

Played Golf with Jared, Les, and Paul at Encino. Went on Indeed for 2 hours.

So Day 1. Psychologically speaking, there's a lot going on. First, I'm wondering how long I can last being unemployed. I was told it takes 1 month for every $10k you make to find a job. I've known I was going to be unemployed since January. So to this day, I've been looking for a job for 4 months. Let's just say I can't survive a whole year being unemployed. With the severance and PTO, that only covers 2 months of my normal salary. Together with unemployment checks, I could probably stretch that out to 3 months. The longest I've ever been unemployed was 3 months. Mentally, I don't think I could survive past 3 months.

Job hunting is really exhausting. You basically have to evaluate your entire professional career and assess your value. Of course its all arbitrary as one employers opinion can vastly differ from another. And compared to your own opinion of yourself, who knows what you are really worth or qualified to do. It's really all about "peacocking" to hiring managers. I'm beginning to believe its not necessarily what you know, its who you know and how you sell yourself. For example, when I joined Helio, I was brought in to Manage the Internal Audit group for our kiosks throughout the country. I had no internal audit experience and yet I was offered a 15% increase from my salary at Kaiser. 15%!!! Are you kidding me?? What kind of fools are they hiring here and where the hell is the money coming from?? Luckily I knew someone who was working there and he vouched for me. I also interviewed with quite a few people so I think they all agreed I wasn't an idiot. My shortcoming is getting in the door. But once I'm in, I usually prove myself.

In retrospect, I believe that Helio clouded my mind about what type of salary I could command. Then when Virgin Mobile acquired us, I think I was the cheapest of all the overpaid people that didn't leave. I guess my luck ran out when Sprint acquired Virgin. They required a relocation, which I wasn't down with.

So what am I qualified to do? What do I do? What do I want to do? And who's gonna pay me to do it? I started off in technology. I didn't really become a developer. I learned how to write SQL, basic SQL in my opinion. I wasn't writing stored procedures. I learned how to use Data Junction and Informatica which is basically SQL. Then I went to Kaiser and leveraged my vendor management experience even though I had no experience in Travel & Expense, no less Finance in general. I think I flourished at Kaiser because of the corporate atmosphere and all the resources available to their employees. But it was BORING. That's why I joined Helio. It was exciting.

When I search for jobs I use keywords "Reporting", "Data", "Analysis", "Systems" (I've even used "foosball"). I've used numerous reporting tools like Cognos, Microstrategy and Crystal Reports. I enjoy analyzing data. And I've used all types of systems from SQL Server, Concur, Oracle, and JDE. Does that make me an expert??? In the immortal words of many, "No way Jose".

I guess my Lola was right. "Jack of all trades, Master of Nothing". Those were her words of wisdom when I told her I was changing my major for the ump-teenth time. But in my defense, I was trying to learn as much as possible. I didn't want to be silo'd into my profession. I know how I am. I get bored easily. And how am I supposed to know what I want to do for the rest of my life at the age of 19? (That's a whole different blog)

In conclusion (to this section), I'm looking for a position that can leverage all my experience and at the same time challenge me to think strategically. I wish "common sense" was a skill I could put down on my resume.

Back to being unemployed. Here are the rules I must follow during my unemployment:

1. Do not sleep in. I figure I should be awake by at least 9am.
2. Workout AT LEAST once a day. Once in the morning, and time permitting go for a run in the mid afternoon.
3. Spend at least 3 hours a day looking for a job. Apply to at least 2 jobs a day.
4. Read a chapter from any book. Preferrably something that will teach you something like Excel or Project Management.

Do these 4 things everyday and I will not feel unproductive. Lets see how long I last.