An Avanade Christmas Gathering.

So I had my first major networking event with Avanade, the consulting firm that I now work for.
Lot's of cool, hip peeps, them Avanauts. I met my recruiters for the first time since going thru the recruiting process, which was nice. Met my career manager, Toshi, which was cool too. Met new folks, which was fun of course. It was awesome to finally put faces to a company that operates thru virtual offices.

The bar was endless and on the house. This of course meant that I had a Blueberry Margarita, a Rum & Coke, a Greyhound, and a Heinekin. I really needed this too because today especially was a stressful day, even though I worked from home. I met someone who seemed genuinely interested in martial arts, spirituality, and justice for the poor. I have a hunch she was just trying to stir some interest. Anyway, if it wasn't for this party I'd be with a highschool girl friend (not girlfriend) drinking cocktails at a very local club. Small world, because I learned not too long ago that she lives one block away. And she happens to work from home on Fridays, just like me.

A Snapshot of My Life on December 8, 2006

This is the first I am writing about because it just so happens to be the first thing on my mind right now. No, I'm not a workaholic, at least not yet; but it has been on the forefront of me for a month now. It is my 1 month anniversary at Avanade. Just when I get comfortable being at wherever I'm located, whether it be at a remote client location or at home, I wake up the next day only to catch a plane, again. Invested with deep pockets on my career though, I'm heavily vested now. What a very wonderful thing for a guy who can't make up his stubborn little mind. This'll keep me grounded.

In general, my days of jeans and sneakers for work are over. A new era of leather-laced shoes, cotton-twilled fabric, and button-down dress shirts freshly pressed is the call of the day. Okay, maybe not that fancy all week, but I do like to mix it up with some business casual.

Not to go the same route as my last short-lived career, I am keeping occupied and distracted by a new and unfamiliar sport - Japanese fencing, aka Kendo. It's been 3-4 weeks as a beginner. It takes much more discipline than strength, reflex, or stamina. This is going to be good for me, I can tell. So when my sensei says I'm ready, I will invest in $500-$600 worth of armor - clothing and other equipment not included. Again, this level of involvment in Kendo will not see the light of day until my feet are graceful, my body brain-washed, and my mind distant and focused. Good thing I'm still clumsy like an ox, hungry like a hippo, and clueless like a squirrel - I can't afford Kendo.

Giving Blogging Another Try

This blog was formerly deprecated (no longer in service) as I found it to be distracting and an annoyance to my daily living. This is still evident with the previous "Dead End" post.

I rediscovered why I decided to do this blog thing in the first place. Yes, I still can't really see myself blogging when I'm 50, but alas, I think it be worth it to have something like this to look back upon, when I am 50 or 100.

I found great value in reading back on some of my entries, back from more cheerful times. Entries that particularly struck me with smiles were from my NJ/NY experience. And I guess that is why I am choosing to continue on this, so that when I am older and hopefully wiser I can look back and measure just how stupid and naive I was.