smedley

Dubious Origins

2009-10-01T08:10:00.004-04:00

The next morning Shlomo and I got together and paid Bill a visit to check out the bikes that he acquired for us. He was not exactly forthcoming about how he came by them. Sometimes I think that he has dubious connections, and I fear that they may have been ill gotten.

Apparently the race begins in the west suburbs and works its way through the city to the lake shore. I'm actually starting to look forward to it.

Game Night

2009-09-18T20:04:00.007-04:00

No jobs today. Bill tweeted and suggested that we have a warcraft tourney. He said that he had some news to tell me, and with him there's no telling what that could be.

Bill arrived about twenty minutes late. I introduced he and Gerard. Judging by tonight, it seems like they will get on swimmingly.

Gerard is an ok gamer, but I would classify him as medium grade; an aspiring amateur. Bill and I owned everyone on the battle field - as usual.

All was going well, until Bill delivered the "news" that he had. Apparently he got a hold of three bicycles and signed Shlomo and I up to participate in an illegal bike race. Of course he didn't ask either of us whether or not we wanted to participate. I let him know how I felt about that.

I don't know how I get myself roped into these things.

The New Bin

2009-09-15T13:47:00.006-04:00

I was in a great mood coming back home from Mother's house. She gave me a hundred dollars to help me out. So I got a six pack on the way home to share with Gerard.

My mood quickly changed when I entered the living room. To my surprise, Gerard took it upon himself to get the apartment a recycling bin. He had the thing sitting right behind the front door. I can't quite explain why, but it really irritated me. Maybe it was because he did it without consulting me. I had planned on doing it myself.

In order to vent some of my frustrations I decided to whoop his buttocks in a game of Bond. It was a total massacre & I still reign supreme.

I guess sharing my apartment will take some getting used to.

Wat Phnom

2009-09-05T20:45:00.004-04:00

On the way home, mother called and asked me to come eat at her place. I told her that I had just eaten, but I'd like to see her. She suggested that I come over the next evening and have a home cooked meal. I happily agreed.

The next evening I paid her a visit and we had a wonderful dinner. We talked about all kinds of things. She was making me feel very good about my situation, telling me stories about when my father was out of work and the couple of times we had to make due during strikes.

All was going well until she pulled out Mason's post card. After that, she just wouldn't stop talking about him. I love Mason, but jeepers, Mother is a fanatic. For her, he's the messiah. Favoritism doesn't begin to explain how Mother fawns over him.

Anyway, His letter read,

"Dearest Mother,
Finally arrived in Phnom Penh. Soon I will be visiting Angkor & the countryside. This picture is me at Wat Phenom. It is the most important temple structure in Phnom Penh & dates to about 1300 C.E. Fascinating place so far & the people here are just wonderful. I'll write again soon.
Love, Mason"

石獅

2009-08-29T03:08:00.004-04:00

Ed tweeted us and we all met at this great little restaurant in China town. It was a stir-fry place vaguely based on the Japanese Benny Shawna. This felt more authentic but still the theatrics were barely tolerable.

Ed announced that he had rented an office space. It was located near my old neighborhood and would act as our headquarters if we chose to accept tentative employment. I wouldn't show it, but I was very excited about it. E-mailing resumes, and getting rejected is not exactly fun.

I think that Ed knew the chef-owner of the restaurant. He took our picture by the guardian lions and gave us mass quantities of baujiu for free, which incidentally, knocked my socks off.

Even with all of these festivities I'm still a bit down though...

Fast n' Furious

2009-08-20T12:44:00.004-04:00

We went to a small office building downtown. The manager there had let everyone go for the day because they were, as he said, "dead in the water. " They were using very old gear so we worked our mojo and updated things the best we could. He watched our every move. I think that he was worried that we were going to rip off his equipment. Now that's a laugh. At the end of the job he was still a bit skeptical. He paid us and we left.

Bill and I have decided to go back to his place for some game time till dinner tonight.

Yes!

2009-08-10T20:38:00.006-04:00

I spent the morning lying around on my couch. I was feeling a little low. Just as I started watching the Magic Cat movies, Ed called and told me to get to a job downtown. I'm going to meet Bill and then we will all meet for dinner afterward.

Tsunami

2009-08-05T00:34:00.003-04:00

Handed out several resumes today. I've had no responses from any of my attempts. Not a single interview. I called Ed and he suggested that I hang in there. He said that he was trying to get accounts but it was difficult. Ug...

I went to sleep tonight feeling pretty discouraged, and what do you know, a freaking nightmare. I couldn't sleep the rest of the night. Sigh....

Recycling

2009-07-26T22:51:00.003-04:00

I came home after handing out a few resumes, and Gerard had bought us some beers. How fun. After talking and having a few beers, Gerard asked me where my recycling bin was. I told him that I didn't have one. He about freaked out.

Apparently, he is extremely concerned about the environment and global warming. I am too. I just... You know - I know, I should be recycling. I'll be honest. I've been to lazy to do it. Great, now I feel bad.

Willis Tower?

2009-07-20T16:05:00.003-04:00

I had nothing on my agenda today. So, I set out on my own to the library. I checked out some books, and then took a walk downtown.

I walked past the Sears Tower just so I could see the new name with my own eyes. Willis Tower... Great name. It's right up there with U.S. Cellular Field. Sigh...

Moving Men

2009-07-14T00:30:00.003-04:00

Enjoyed the trip home. It's always nice wearing a full suit in public. People tend to show one a little more respect. It's weird, but it almost makes it worth the work.

After getting home, I watched a little sci fi and not long afterward, Gerard started moving in.

I spent the rest of the evening helping him out and then a bit of time chatting with him.

I've got a one bedroom apartment. Gerard will be renting out the bedroom, which I do not use and I will change nothing and continue to sleep on my couch. This should work perfectly!

Docksiders

2009-07-11T14:03:00.006-04:00

Bill and I met on the train to go to our first freelance job. It was at a shipyard located on the south side. Their whole network crashed and by the looks of it, the last time they bought a computer was 2002. Ha!

As usual, the people working there wouldn't know the difference between Pentium and a Celeron, or a PC and a Mac for that matter.

We kicked everyone out of the office and were finished in thirty minutes. That seemed too fast to Bill and I; so we played some games and acted busy for another hour and a half. I didn't want our first clients to think that they were getting ripped off.

They should be good for a long time. We set up firewalls, installed virus protection and even upgraded some of the computers' processors and memory.

On our way out we gave them our card and told them to call us any time they needed anything. Bill and I made a couple of hundred bucks on that one. Yes! It's the first money I've made since getting sacked aside from an unemployment check.

Interviewing Prospective Roommates

2009-07-06T19:53:00.004-04:00

At the coffee shop last night, I met up with a few candidates who responded to my room for rent advertisement. Some of them were just a little on the weird side.

The first interview went well but the guy just wouldn't stop talking about cage fighting. I decided to eliminate him on the grounds that he may be inclined to pummel people with whom he disagrees. It may not sound fair but I just didn't want to take a chance on that.

One fella that responded had tattoos all over. Even his face was covered. That wouldn't have bothered me too much, but he also had spent a few years in prison.

Another candidate spoke no English whatsoever. He only spoke Chinese. I wouldn't have minded that either but I was a little worried about communicating boundaries and such.

Thankfully, I met with Gerard. He was perfect. He was clearly a gentleman, and he's well-read. He seemed like a really good guy and we have loads in common. he is very interested in environmentalism. We like similar music and He plays the same video games as me.

After meeting him I canceled the last two appointments.

On Holiday

2009-06-16T15:02:00.003-04:00

Hello folks. I will probably be unable to update Smedley for the next two and a half weeks as I will be away from home. If given the chance I will but it is doubtful that I'll be able to.

In the meantime I'll be postingtweets and travel pics on Twitter & Twitpic respectively.

Thank you to any readers that will miss it. I'll be back posting regularly after I return.

Kind regards,
@demophon

Video Conference

2009-06-10T16:00:00.005-04:00

I didn't stick around after the show. Joe bought me a beer and then I went home. Ed had contacted Bill, Shlomo, and I yesterday and asked us to attend a video conference on ustream at Noon. We all attended.

Ed gave us our first job. Bill and I were instructed to go to a packing house and help them set up a network.

He said that we would be meeting like this until he could find a small office space and we could set up shop. We all agreed to be a part of the new company. Shlomo was going to be our accounts manager and Ed would be our boss. He had contacts in the city and could dig up jobs. The pay would be small at first but once we get our bearings things would get better. As of right now it's all off the books so to speak. That means that we will still be receiving unemployment checks. That made me a little nervous. He said that if we stuck together we could make something together. I sure hope so.

Anything extra is going to help me keep my head above water.

The Gig

2009-06-08T14:09:00.002-04:00

After golf I called Joe and made sure that we were still on for the night. Some weirdo was staring at me while I was on the phone. I wasn't being loud or anything gee wiz. Anyway, I made my way over to the club and we played.

Great crowd. It reminded me of why I love playing shows. I made thirty bucks. It's not much but every little bit counts.

A Perfect Day for Golf

2009-06-02T16:52:00.004-04:00

Bill was on time and we enjoyed a day of golf. Some people feel like it's necessary to indicate that it's disc or frisbee golf, but I just call it golf.

We had a nice talk and I think that Bill is starting to calm down a bit. I was worried about him.

Catching Up

2009-05-28T15:57:00.004-04:00

After about nine o'clock Bill stopped sending his drunk twitters. He's going to regret saying all of those dumb things he said. I hope that he still remembers that we agreed to meet at the golf course tomorrow at eleven.

I spent the night catching up with my twitter mates and catching up with some unwatched DVDs. It just occurred to me that I must like buying movies more than I like watching them. Hmm... I've got about a hundred of them still in the shrink wrap.

Letters

2009-05-22T01:23:00.005-04:00

I was headed back to the apartment. I checked the mail and got tons of junk mail. There was, however one important letter; a letter from Mason.

My Brother has it made. He gets to travel the world and write about it. What a lucky bastard.

"Smedley,

These last few weeks have been difficult. I'm sure that you've heard of the swine flu, aka H1N1. Well let's just say I've been hold up in a hotel room for the last couple of weeks. The directors at the journal finally informed me that I can leave my room.

I have been in contact with my former Professor, Dr. Gerard who lives in the Santa Fe district in Mexico City. The streets were still a bit quieter than normal. They said that during the worst of the epidemic the streets were abandoned, and if you've ever seen Mexico City, that would be a bizarre sight.

I finally met with Dr. Gerard and we had some espresso together. It seems that the pandemic has not dampened the hospitality of the people here because Dr. Gerard generously invited me to stay at his home until I depart next week.

I hope this letter finds you in good spirits Smedley. I'm off to Cambodia next week. Until then,
your loving brother,
Mason"

I should write him back.

The Ocarina

2009-05-18T22:28:00.005-04:00

Today was confusing. Sometimes I just have to get away from everyone and just decompress. Even though I'm not to blame for my job loss and I didn't value my job, I think that I'm still upset about losing it.

The guys wanted to go out and get all kinds of drunk. I just wanted to get away. I went to a place nearby my apartment that was a good place to go to get away from people and relax outdoors. It's the rooftop of a local bodega. I needed some time to relax and think about what just happened to me.

I brought my ocarina up there and just played. Ahh yes, sometimes this type of thing is the only medicine that works.

What a Shock!

2009-05-14T23:22:00.003-04:00

What a shock!

Ed Began,
"I know. I know. Listen, I told you guys that you should be working on your resume's, right? Well I've been moonlighting as a state sponsored career counselor for about a month now. Go and get the dummies and we'll get down to business."

I returned with Bill and Shlomo. Ed continued,
"Let's get down to business shall we. I have a plan. It may work and it may flop. Either way I don't care. It's better than the alternative. You'll have to lay low for a couple of weeks and take some odd jobs provided by the state. When I get my ducks in a row, I'll contact you all and we'll begin our venture. I am going to start a freelance information Tech company and I'm hoping that you guys will tag along and make us all some greenbacks, see. It's the best we can do in this economy. So what do you say? Are you in?

Bill, Shlomo, and I all nodded in approval.

After the guys left, I asked Ed how he got hooked up with a job like this. He told me that Chicago was the most corrupt city in the country and that he had friends. I guess that's what it's all about here. It doesn't seem fair but who am I to complain.

10 Minutes Later & Still Waiting

2009-05-13T16:08:00.003-04:00

This bureaucracy thing can be pretty intimidating. Call me paranoid but it's like they knew I was coming. I haven't felt like this since my junior year in High school when I got sent to the principals office for discharging a fire extinguisher in the hallway while skipping out on a mandatory assembly. Oh bother...

Tea Time For Bill

2009-05-03T00:25:00.004-04:00

Sometimes there is no reasoning with Bill. It could pay to show up looking like you're ready to work.

Bill told me that there is no point. He said that we are here to sign up for unemployment benefits and log into a state funded job search, Nothing more. I don't know, I just feel like dressing for success is possibly a path to success. It was 11:30 in the morning and Bill was riding high on those Long Island Ice Teas. . .

The Tweetup

2009-05-01T07:37:00.004-04:00

Bill, Shlomo, and I decided to tweetup and do a coordinated assault on the unemployment office. Sometimes I think that Bill is a bit too unprofessional. Truth be told, I think that he's very unhappy about being out of work. This is his way of dealing with it.

Game Plan

2009-04-28T13:21:00.004-04:00

Now that I'm out of work, I've got to hit the ground running. The very next day I made a list of things to do and got some of those things done.

I've got a nice little savings cushion to hold me over for a little while; at least until I get unemployment set up. That said, I'm going to have to generate a little extra income for myself.

First I called Joe, and asked if our band could get a gig this weekend. He said that we could do a show at a venue that we've played many times before. That could mean a modest little cash prize.

Next, I posted a roommate wanted poster at the cafe' up the street. There's a lot of decent businesses around there so I'm hoping I get some worthy candidates.

I made the obligatory call to Mother, who kept asking why I was fired. I told her I was laid off.

Finally, I wrote my brother and let him know what happened and to send any further correspondence to the apartment.

I'll be suggesting that Bill, Shlomo, and I have a tweetup and all meet at the unemployment office together. It should be fun:- or not.

We're Out

2009-04-23T23:41:00.004-04:00

So we cleared out our belongings. Most people didn't linger. It all happened very quickly. I talked with Bill about what his plan was and he had no idea. We decided that we'd be in touch via twitter and e-mail and every other mode of communication.

There was an eerie silence among us all on the way out and then I saw the news trucks parked all along the boulevard outside the main entrance. A nice looking reporter approached me and asked if I felt responsible for the recession. What an idiot. As if every person getting dismissed at this bank somehow had a hand in destroying the countries economy. The camera man stuck his lens right in my face.

Bill came to the rescue. Always quick on his feet, he grabbed a can of silly string that he used to keep in his desk to shoot at me over the cubicle wall, and blacked out the camera lens. Haaa ha! The camera man was pissed but we got lost in the crowd and went our separate ways.

The Privileged Mooncalf

2009-04-22T21:21:00.009-04:00

The CFO began his speech as soon as we arrived.

"Ladies and gentlemen thank you for coming. As most of you already know, our company has been absorbed by a New York bank. We have recently been informed that they will be closing all offices here, and transferring all administrative and executive powers to their branch in New York. There are just a few hand picked people that have been offered the opportunity to transfer to the New York branch and stay with the company. The rest of us are being let go.

Please remain calm, and I ask you, please, resist the urge to behave in an unprofessional manner. There has already been an assault on one of our executives. Many executives, myself included, are not going to be with the company any longer. So please understand that we are going through the same thing that everyone else is. We must all bond together, keeping our heads held high, and do what we must with dignity."

He went on like that for a little while and then his little speech took a defensive turn.

"I must impress on you all that I myself, and many of the other executives had no knowledge that such mistakes were being made. These credit default swaps and risky investment strategies were simply a small part of a large machine that was our banking institution. We were unaware of the Malfeasance that was behind the losses that our bank endured. I would like you all to know that we did not intend for any of this to happen. It pains me to be the one to have to tell all of you that our institution has met its end after a century of service to the American people and the world."

Bullshit, bullshit, bullshit... The truth about these jerks is plain. They knew what was going on the whole time and none of them could stop because the money was pouring in like gangbusters. This poor mooncalf will have to crawl back to his horribly giant uptown apartment, and will be forced to spend more time on his yacht. He'll probably be forced to spend more time with his family as well. Boo hoo... Yeah, right, He knows exactly what I'm about to be going through.

At the end of his speech, we were all told to gather our things. We had the rest of the afternoon to clean out our office spaces of personal effects.

What will I do now...

The Last Mile

2009-04-20T13:19:00.003-04:00

Now it's time for the dreaded company assembly where some guy is going to tell us that we're all canned. Oh bother.

Triumph!

2009-04-12T03:27:00.002-04:00

Ah yes, triumph. We were unable to view the actual physical consummation of our effort. We had to wait for security to leak the video to youtube. This was certainly one of the finest moments of my life to date, for where vice is, vengeance follows.

Cloak & Dagger

2009-04-10T14:55:00.006-04:00

The best things in life are fun and today Bill and I had a bit of the best. Office pranks are often played on one's friends and I feel that Mr. Wells and I are now very close.

Hacking into the company's closed security system was a cinch, and enabled us to follow Mr. Wells through his morning routine. We were waiting for him to visit the lavatory. Lo and behold, the time came. We raced upstairs and carried out what I think may be our best prank yet.

Two on a Train

2009-04-09T19:40:00.003-04:00

After discussing our various misadventures, Bill had an idea. He asked me if I had any of the cherry bombs leftover from the Gimp prank and I did. Bill definitely missed his calling. He should have been a supervillain.

The ride to work is a lot different when you have company.

Bushfills Reminiscence

2009-04-08T01:40:00.004-04:00

Bill interrupted my recital late last night. First he called then he came over & we discussed the good old days at the company. Life has been good to us up to now. We talked about the Xenox affair, the Bee incident, the gimp removal, the flogging account, hacking the employee of the month affair, and many many other incidences of tomfoolery. All this over a nice crisp bottle of fine Irish whiskey, Bushfills. Hopefully things will not be too hard. The next morning was a little bit rough. I let Bill borrow one of my work outfits and we went in together.

Unwinding

2009-04-07T00:54:00.002-04:00

What a day. There's nothing better than showering and just relaxing with some music after a stressful day. It really makes things better. Tomorrow: who cares about tomorrow.

Serious Conflict

2009-04-05T02:47:00.004-04:00

After that intense confrontation, I had to blow off a little steam. Bill and I have a bit of fun now and then playing our old school Ninsplendid Game Boys. We have a little competition going, playing Tetris. We link up and have tournaments. the block busting can get pretty fierce. Currently, the heavy weight belt is in my possession. That's right I reign supreme!

A Descision

2009-04-03T19:20:00.006-04:00

Later that morning Ed called me into his office and told me that I had to go on a special call. He said that I was to go and speak to Kenneth Wells, Vice President, Global Banking. Ed went on to tell me that he had spoken with him and that I was being considered for a new temporary position. I was very surprised and exceedingly nervous.

This was the first time I had ever met Mr. Wells. He was assertive, intimidating, and direct.

"It's good to finally meet you Smedley. I have it on good authority that you are quite the expert in Information Technology. I've got a proposition for you, lad."

He started our conversation by informing me that everything that we were to talk about was in confidence and off the record. He then told me that I could receive a very large bonus if I were to eliminate the computer records of a number of certain nefarious investment activities that had been practiced in the past three years. He said that it would be no small job and that I could use no more than two other trusted assistants on a team to do so. They would also be compensated through lesser bonuses.

For an instant my mind drifted off and I imagined myself spending thousands of dollars everyday. there were yachts, top of the line classified, high speed processors, the latest games and game systems from Tokyo, a Lakeside high rise condominium for my mother et cetera, et cetera. I then thought about Lisa, Shlomo, Margaret, and everyone else that was getting sacked and how their lives were going to change. Sure, some would go on to get better jobs later, but most will suffer; at least on the short term, if not for a long time to come.

At that thought I breathed in deeply. I mustered as much courage as I think I have in my whole being and gave him my response.

Ed's Announcement

2009-04-02T04:37:00.004-04:00

Ed was packing up his office this morning. I asked if he was getting pink slipped and he said he wasn't. He then told me to go and get Bill.

Bill and I came to the office expecting to receive the pink slips ourselves, (get laid off) but to our surprise, he had a different story for us.

"Listen up boys. They have stopped giving out pink slips. I attended an emergency meeting this morning, and well, the whole company is closing. We are insolvent and our assets are being absorbed and transferred to another company that has received federal funds. That company is located in New York. As you know, that is not where we reside. The entire staff of the company is being sacked and the company, as we know it, no longer exists.

Let me tell you, we are up shit's creek gentlemen. No one else knows. We're not supposed to let staff know until tomorrow.

They must be stupid to think that I'm going to keep it from you guys. Anyway, keep it under wraps for now guys and get a move on cleaning out your valuables. This is the end of the road for us. I expect you guys to behave as if nothing has happened until they announce the closure to the rest of the staff. That means come to work and do your jobs. Don't worry, your still getting paid until the formal announcement by the executives. I expect that to come tomorrow morning."

I have a headache.

Daily Grind

2009-04-01T17:33:00.002-04:00

After lunch Bill left a bit early. I had one call and worked on a hardware upgrade for one of the suits.

After I finished, I went home, had some leftovers, and went to bed early. I got up fresh, and went back to work. it would have seemed like a normal hum-drum day if it weren't for the fact that my place of employment was crumbling. things aren't as boring as they used to be. Maybe they were better that way.

Cafe'-teria CLOSED

2009-03-30T22:39:00.002-04:00

Maybe Bill isn't such a jerk after all. I saw him realize just what was happening when we went down to the cafeteria for lunch. Apparently, running a cafeteria with a reduced workforce is not cost effective. So they shut ours down.

We ended up going up the street a block to McDingles. I had a crispy chicken salad. Lets just say it didn't agree with me. I hate that place. The only good thing about the place is the toys that you get with a kids meal. Most of which come from my favorite movies.

Bill was in a very foul mood for the remainder of the day.

The Entrepreneur

2009-03-30T01:04:00.005-04:00

Bill can be such a jerk. He doesn't seem to care about what's going on. I guess it's better for him and perhaps I should think a little more like him. I have no control over what is happening, so why does it stress me out so much?

Bill has decided that he is going to come out of this recession a little richer. He's scavenging all of the leftover personal effects of the dismissed employees. I just couldn't do something like that. Maybe I'm too uptight or maybe it's just wrong. I don't know.

I'm looking forward to lunch.

Credit Crunch

2009-03-27T19:21:00.000-04:00

I think that this whole layoff thing has me a bit on edge. I had trouble sleeping last night after playing Shock Command 6 with the guys. Usually the game relaxes me.

I had another bad dream. This time it was a big fish dream and let me tell you... Terrifying.

It seems like this whole economy thing is everywhere. I can't get away from it. It's on TV every time I turn it on, which incidentally I don't much. It's all over the news websites I visit. It's even found it's way onto my favorite podcasts. It's kind of depressing. Maybe I'll talk to Ed about taking some vacation time.

Big Night Ahead

2009-03-25T17:01:00.000-04:00

What a day. I hope tomorrow is a better one, but I bet it wont be. It surely wont be for about six hundred of us.

Bill tweeted at me and told me about a party that one of the guys from the mail room was throwing. I think that they are going to be watching some sporting event or something. I just tweeted back and told him that I couldn't make it because I'm meeting some friends.

My friends and I meet about three times a week. I can't talk about what we do because it's; well lets just say that I would be jeopardizing the security of the platoon. I've got a big night ahead of me.

Lisa's phone #

2009-03-24T01:16:00.001-04:00

I'm so into the Code Wars book that I'm reading. I can't stop thinking about it. At least it's a nice distraction from the cacophony that has become my workplace. This place is falling to pieces. Ed called in and told Bill and I that there were going to be 8 hundred layoffs today and probably another 6 to 8 hundred tomorrow. He said, even though he believed that we were relatively safe, that it was a good time to work on our resumes.

It is terrible to see everyone go. I was very sad to meet Lisa in the elevator carrying her little box of personal effects. She told me that she was not surprised and that she had nothing to worry about. Still, she said that it made her sad that she had to leave her friends and close colleagues.

On the upside of that encounter, she was acting very sweet. She gave me her phone number and even told me to call her up sometime. Wwwwwooo! Maybe I'll gather the courage to actually do it.

The Golden Parachutes

2009-03-22T03:12:00.001-04:00

Bill approached me this afternoon to alert me of an incredible sight, the sight of our most valuable executives jumping ship and drifting to the street with golden parachutes. They were drifting to safety, away from the sinking ship that we all floated upon. I wondered at this phenomenon, how is it that these powerful people could drift to safety while the people that depend on their judgment are left to weather the storm. Oh what is to become of those that remain aboard.

The Quangon Attack!

2009-03-19T17:08:00.000-04:00

It was hard to get up today and I ended up coming in a little late. That late start caused me to witness a shocking event. Shlomo was being wrestled out of the building by security. I couldn't believe my eyes. It was even more disturbing because Shlomo decided to call out to me. He called the guard a quangon which I think refers to that whole quangocracy thing that he was on about a few days ago.

I definitely have to talk to Ed about what is going on. On the way to my cube, there were a few people being escorted out of the building by security. They were carrying their office things in cardboard boxes.

St. Patty's Day Libations

2009-03-17T22:43:00.001-04:00

Just after leaving Mother's house I got a tweet from Bill. I nearly missed the most important day in March! St. Patty's Day! So we decided to reconvene at O' Donnell's Irish pub and partake in some artificially colored beer and spirits.

It was such a brouhaha that I just can't recall the end of the evening. I have no idea how I got home. I would not do this again if given a second chance, and furthermore, I would not advise others to partake with such indulgence.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Visiting Mother

2009-03-16T14:31:00.001-04:00

Going to visit Mother is sometimes quite stressful. I love her to pieces, but she can be rather critical sometimes. What's worse, is that she is often misinformed and has a tendency to exaggerate Mason's achievements. Even so, seeing her was nice.

She said that her retirement savings is dwindling, and that she is looking into opening a deli. I suggested that she may not know what she's getting into and she laid into me about how she ran our cousins deli for 25 years with little to no help for a meager wage. I asked how she was going to get a space for the deli. She told me that she talked to some former associates of my late fathers. She said that they owed us big time and that they would be glad to give her a good location for almost no rent.

It looks like my mother will be doing just fine. I would criticize her for dealing with those crooked businessmen, but those kind of dealings put food on our table when we were young and enabled Mason and I to get educations. I admire her resilience.

The Old Neighborhood

2009-03-13T01:35:00.000-04:00

Bill has been sending some funny tweets. He's a joker. He was talking about how we're all going to be poor soon and how everyone in the city is going to have to pitch a tent outside of their unoccupied house. I don't know, the way he said it, it was much funnier.

I know that I should see my mother more often. I just get so caught up in my every day life. It's not that I don't like going to see her it's just. . . It's just. . . I guess that I'm a selfish jerk. It's been two weeks since I last went to visit her. I did e-mail her once. Anyway, I really like going to see her. It's nice to see the old neighborhood too.

Today was busy

2009-03-10T20:16:00.000-04:00

I got several calls today. Bill and I were running all over the place. I even had to skip lunch. Most of the time things are relatively slow, but, like today, sometimes things just happen all at once.

Most of the calls were simple, but some took time. Lisa is nice. Sometimes I think that she breaks her PC on purpose though. It's almost always the same problem. Antonio reported a basket ball lodged in one of our conference room monitors that costs like $4000 bucks. Now I've got to replace it just because some EVP (executive vice president) got all worked up over a game. I'm gonna make sure that that monitor comes out of his budget.

After work today I'm gonna go and pay Mother a visit.

Stormy Seas

2009-03-09T02:42:00.000-04:00

Sometimes I think that the subconscious mind speaks to us through dreams. I have stormy sea and monster dreams before and during great changes that affect my life. Todays dream was a combination. Sigh. . . These dreams always freak me out.

Who Needs Rest Anyway

2009-03-08T01:15:00.000-05:00

After long nights I tend to recover rather quickly. Long nights don't have too large an effect on my efficiency. I'm almost always up early and ready to go the next day. I tend to recover gradually, at night, and by the end of the week I'm ready for more

Car Park Racing

2009-03-05T18:02:00.000-05:00

After a night out, Bill and I sometimes take part in various hi jinks. One of my favorites is car park scooter racing. Don't say that I never participate in any sport activity. I can actually be quite competitive.

A Change of Plans

2009-03-04T13:21:00.000-05:00

It's very nice to be home. Time to take a little nap, have some esspresso, and catch up on some reading.

Dear Smedley

2009-02-27T23:37:00.001-05:00

"Dear Smedley,

How are things in The big city? I hope that this letter finds you in good health. I should be back home in about three months. I will call you when I return. We'll have some drinks and talk.

I've spoken to mother and she said that, as of late, you have been too busy to stop by. You should go and see her. Please check in on her at least once every two weeks.

As for me, I am in the Mexican state of Chihuahua visiting an archeological site called Paquime' it is more commonly known as Casas Grandes. It was one of the largest precolumbian trading centers in North America for hundreds of years.

The people here are extremely friendly and hospitable. I went to a local shamen woman who cleansed me by blowing smoke over my body and whipping me with a clutch of leafy branches. She sang some incantations and lit some candles. Strangely, I felt better afterward.

The travel journal will be pleased with my discoveries. I hope to earn my next trip with some interesting material. The photo I sent was taken by our photography intern Allison. She is a sweety.

I miss you Smedley. tell mother I miss her too. I'll be writing again soon. Wish you could be here with me.
Your loving brother,
Mason"

I love Mason but he doesn't realize that he is a writer and I'm just an IT guy. He always makes me feel so guilty about my poor communication skills. This blog is an exercise in communication for me. I can only hope that I get better.

Cutting Out Early

2009-02-26T20:04:00.000-05:00

Today has been a long one. It looks like Bill and Ed are going to stick around. That makes it even easier for me to skip out. I can tell that they have allot on their minds. None of this doomsday talk bothers me because I know that it is entirely out of my hands. Why worry about things that are out of your control. One must simply roll with the punches and carry on.

My brother Mason has written me a letter. I can't wait to read it. He is a travel writer and all around adventure type. I love reading his letters and e-mails. I adventure vicariously through his correspondence.

12th Floor Prophet

2009-02-25T21:13:00.001-05:00

On the way back from Margret's distress call I decided that I'd drop by Shlomo's cube. He's a mathematician posing as an accountant in the payroll department. He is absolutely mad. I mean insane; like, clinically insane, but somehow he is strangely prophetic and I enjoy his rants. I think that he enjoys having people listen to his rants too, but I'm afraid that he doesn't get too many visitors for that purpose.

"Hey Shlomo" I said.
"Smedley, long time no see"
"Are you kidding? I saw you two days ago."
"Yeah, I guess you're right. You are one of my only personal visitors."
"Have you heard about the companies problems?"
" Ah, don't get me started. They are doomed. Things are going to change around here."
"You don't say?"
"You understand, The whole world is experiencing something of an unrecognized realization of long held economic beliefs. Do you recall Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels? The fathers of communism, right? Well if you've ever read anything about communism then you know that they believed that after their dictatorship, they would gradually move into a socialist utopia and there would be no use for a dictator. Well, there is a capitalist version of that same belief. The thing is that capitalists haven't thought this whole thing through.

What happens when the capitalist system is so dominant that it no longer challenges itself? (pause) What happens when the people borrow more money than exists in all of the world? What happens when the banks foreclose on all of the worlds accumulated debt? (pause) I'll tell you what happens. (pause) Banks don't know what to do so they freeze. The world has a finite amount of commerce and money. When the worlds Money value exceeds the value of goods that exist, then there is a giant crash or a deflation of the entire system. This has happened in the past but this one is special. This time there is no relief. This time the banks will be left holding all of the money and all of the debt. at the same time. What that means is that the worlds economy transforms into a capitalist paradise. I know what you're thinking. Your thinking, this guy's crazy, but a capitalist paradise is something different than a socialist paradise and that may not mean paradise for us. It may mean trouble.

You see the principals of capitalism have already been compromised and that was the plan all along. Private citizens don't really own anything do they? Almost everyone who owns anything owes money to a bank. What that means, is that the government props up the frozen banks and is then reliant on them to finance everything. Capitalism then changes into a pure quangocracy or a government controlled by an unelected coalition of organizations. In this case it would be the banking system. It will be entirely up to the banks to determine how wealth is distributed. It's a scary scenario."

He went on to show me some mathematical algorithms that helped illustrate his crazy talk. It was interesting and a tiny bit scary but I doubt that anything like that is actually possible. Not here. Nothing bad could ever happen here, right?

A Call

2009-02-20T15:57:00.000-05:00

I have to admit, Ed's little speech had me a bit worried. We all felt the same I think. Ed went to the workshop and began catching up on updating hardware. Bill returned to his cube to work on a project that he's been developing. He's writing a program for monitoring private messages on a popular social networking site. He's such a voyeur.

I picked the short straw and had to go on a call. Lovely.

Ed's Revelation

2009-02-19T12:51:00.000-05:00

We walked back to Ed's office and he sat us down. He seemed a little concerned and didn't start talking right away. Bill broke the silence and asked Ed what was bothering him.

Ed began,
"I brought you guys in here to let you know what the word is. I mean, we have to stick together, right?

You've heard, as we all have, the talk about the economy, and how it's; well, how it's in a bit of a tailspin right now. I've got to tell you, even though we are part of one of the nations top financial firms our company is not immune to the vacillations of the economy. Financial firms that have been involved in certain transactions such as credit default swaps and risky lending practices are in particular peril. You may not know this but our firm is one of the institutions at risk. I just got back from a meeting with the other directors and the accounting executive vice president suggested that we are scraping by for now, but if things get any worse there may be some layoffs. I'm pretty confident that we in IT are relatively safe. I mean, how could they pink slip us? Who would reformat their hard drives after they open a suspicious attachment or clean their laptops of all the spyware that they pick up surfing nefarious websites."

After listening to Ed, I was certain that things had to be pretty bad. The other directors never invited Ed to anything. It's not because Ed is not intelligent, or is incompetent. They don't invite him to many meetings because he's IT (irrelevant) and, well, he's kind of a nerd; a nerd like us.

Disposal Terror

2009-02-18T17:36:00.000-05:00

Disposing of obsolete hardware is my favorite part of the job. Bill and I sneak off to the 23rd floor that has been closed for renovation and dump the hardware down the unused elevator shaft. Crash! We could just dispose of them properly but what fun would that be. Circuit board darts, hard drive disk toss and laptop swords are just a few of the games that we play. All in good fun.

Ed knows all about our little misadventures. He doesn't mind, just as long as we don't get in any trouble. If he has to hear about us he gets cross. He doesn't often get upset though. Bill and I keep a low profile. It is unusual for him to come in and gather us up for a meeting though.

Lunchtime Peace Accord

2009-02-17T11:09:00.000-05:00

Ah, lunch. Our cafeteria has a good selection of foods. Bill usually has a sandwich. I'm more of the salad type. I'm not too keen on the meats. Bill and I have to dispose of some obsolete hardware this afternoon. After that I'll probably cut out a bit early.

Bill's Revenge

2009-02-13T10:48:00.000-05:00

Bill is a good guy. He's easy going and has a good sense of humor. I'm fortunate to have a workmate like him. He's also extremely good at his job. that dude knows technology. I dare say that he is better than me. I think that he would be building computers, whether he was getting paid or not. I think I'll invite him to go to lunch with me today. I'll send him a tweet.

Bad Rabbit - an Idea

2009-02-12T11:42:00.000-05:00

Living in the city is usually pretty tame. People tend to mind their own business and are pretty civil. Sometimes one runs across a ruffian. I find that a confident, stern look tends to send them the message, "back off buster. You've bitten off more than you can chew with me. Arrrg!" I've never failed with that one.

Bill and I get along well. We do enjoy playing little tricks on each other and sometimes it gets a little out of hand. But in my three years here we've only had one hospital visit. One each.

Trainrides

2009-02-11T10:16:00.000-05:00

I don't know if I'm ready to go to work today. The worst part of my job is the fact that there is no positive feedback. We only ever hear from anyone if something has gone wrong and then it is usually something that could simply be fixed by rebooting the pc, but I digress. We are the untouchables of the company.

I suppose that I should be grateful though. My day is usually task free. I have to set up a laptop or two sometimes, but that usually takes all of about 15 minutes. The rest of my day is spent online and tinkering with little personal projects. My supervisor Ed comes in about three times a week for an hour or two and then he's off. If the company only knew how much we skate they would fire the bunch of us I'm sure.

Introducing Smedley

2009-02-10T22:16:00.001-05:00

Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Smedley. I'm a 25 year old urban dweller. I'm an IT specialist at a large financial company. Life is good, but a bit solitary right now. I may be in a rut. My routine has become a mesmerizing drone and there are no surprises. I see the same dull people day in and day out.

The only exception is my commute to work on the train, but train etiquette requires that one simply ignore everyone else around them. One is expected to stare into the distance, into an imaginary horizon. I am always wearing my headphones. I've got my I-phone and my I-tunes and my e-mail to keep me busy on the train. Sometimes I read on the train too. It's a good time to settle into a book.

I've got some hobbies and some interests that keep me busy. I still play keyboard in a band that I've been in since high school. We have an 80's retro sound and a loyal following. My band mates have been more and more distant lately. One of them just got married and Joe, my best mate and our drummer, just had a baby. You just can't play a show without a drummer. So, things have taken a bit of a turn lately and I think that they will continue to change. Who knows what the future holds, right?

start

2009-02-01T21:08:00.000-05:00

Smedley has logged on. I'll get my first pics up tomorrow. Just a little blog documenting my life and times. should be intensely interesting:- to me that is. Later

Smedley