The "Can't Stop Rockin'" VIP Experience!
Mood:  lucky
Alright, that last blog entry was a downer. I'll finish off the night by writing about something that made me very happy: just a few days ago, I had the pleasure of meeting and having my picture taken with one of my fav bands--REO Speedwagon!--followed by seventh-row seats to see REO, Styx, and 38 Special perform at Mohegan Sun! I'm too tired to write all the details right now, but I must say that it was a very exciting experience! Although the situation in which I met the band was rather hurried and awkward (walk up to them, pose for picture, snap picture, then walk away), I'm still glad I had the opportunity. And, the performances of all three bands were excellent. I "snuck" in my little blue Canon and took some pretty nice pictures, which I posted on Facebook. I wish that the bands would look at the pics I posted to the "Almost Famous Challenge" group, and pick mine as the winner. HAHA, like that would ever happen. But, hey, a girl can dream. 

How Facebook stirs up memories of your past... which has not always been happy!
Mood:  blue

Facebook has been throwing a lot of friend suggestions at me lately. I wish there was a way to disable this feature. While Facebook is a great way to get back in touch with people, I do not appreciate seeing reminders of my often-unhappy high school years every time I sign in. I see women who used to dislike me for no reason, or for reasons I have never known and/or understood, and guys I used to like who did not return the feeling. I don't harbor any resentment towards these people; however, at the same time I'd prefer not to see them pop up on my home page as "friend suggestions"! 

Again, no hard feelings against anyone. It's more an issue of how disappointed I was with myself back then, for being too closed-off and distant with people, for seriously misreading some guys who were playing with my head, for kicking a shitload of dead horses. But, what's done is done. I can't erase my past, but I can start over. Yet, I feel like I've "started over" a bunch of times, and each time hasn't been much of an improvement over the last one. I don't know. Maybe it just feels that way. 

Dog Show
Mood:  sharp

Ever since 1990, I've been faithfully watching the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show every year. My favorites--the Shetland Sheepdog and Border Collie--have never taken the top honor. Will 2009 be their lucky year? I'll find out soon

Google Chrome rocks!
Mood:  a-ok
Now Playing: WPDH
I just downloaded Google's Chrome browser, and I must say, wow what a difference! Every page loads so much faster. I was beginning to lose my patience with IE 7. IE 6 was acceptable speed-wise, but IE 7 takes forever to start up and pages take longer to load in general. And what about Firefox? I don't use Firefox very often, but it (at least whatever version I have) doesn't seem much faster than IE.

First steps on the job hunt
Mood:  irritated

This is an attempt to rewrite the post I lost...

I took the first baby steps toward finding a new job. I added a summary and more details to my job responsibility description on my LinkedIn profile. I also sent out several recommendation requests. While I'm grateful for the four very nice ones already on my profile, it would certainly be helpful to have a few more. I also started looking at jobs posted on LinkedIn. There are a few Developer positions posted, but only one for which I might be qualified. My next stop will be... HudsonValleyHelpWanted.com! I already have a recently updated resume posted on there, but I know I'll probably need to post it on other sites as well. I can't be as lucky as I was the first-time-around, when I got the job on my very first interview!

Well, now it's time for me to do some housework... blah...

Still stalling on the job hunt
Mood:  sad
Now Playing: Pearl Jam - Even Flow (WPDH)

My job-hunting has reached a standstill. Or, I should say, it never really began. I want to get at least a couple more recommendations on LinkedIn, but I'm procrastinating on that too. The truth is, I don't feel too motivated to search while receiving my severance. But I have to at least start looking. I filled in more details about my Cupid position on LinkedIn and made a list of every duty I performed during my employment there. That's a good start, at least. After making the list, I was pleased at how many items were on it (in fact, I couldn't post the whole thing on LinkedIn because it exceeded the character limit!). I sure did get a lot of experience with one job. However, it would have been nice if I'd gotten experience doing builds as well; I probably would have done a few had I swiftly agreed to return when they asked me. Oh well. I'll take a look at what's out there; surely someone in this area is looking to hire a mid-level ASP.NET developer!

2 weeks since my job ended
Mood:  hungry
Now Playing: WRRV

What a different 2 weeks it's been. I'm not used to having so much spare time. I still think about my co-workers a lot, and wonder how the ones still at RHW are holding up. I wonder if they're still going to have a Halloween costume party and a Thanksgiving pot-luck lunch. I certainly miss that place. It's sad how things turned out. The year started off with so much excitement and anticipation, and is ending with a closed office (well, now I hear that the few remaining employees are staying until February).

And, how are they going to keep Cupid going with no developers and, in 2 weeks, no designer? I offered my contact to the Toronto guys should they have any questions about the site's operation/maintenance. That's the best I can do for them right now. I still care about the site and would hate to see it go down. Yes, I know I should be trying to forget about Cupid and move on to new ventures. It'll happen eventually...