The suspense must have been awful.
I do apologize. I feel really terrible about not keeping you updated.
I believe my last post was concerned with a recent job opportunity. If I am not mistaken, I had misgivings about the position but was willing to shadow one of their guys around to be sure.
Well, it was as I suspected. A door to door pyramidal sales company. Been there, done that. When I was 18. Not going to do that again. I followed my "guy" around for near 30 minutes and then we broke for lunch, to talk about their advancement plan. I ate my sub and listened to the shpiel. Shook hands and walked away. The guy was nice enough to drive me to a convenient location.
Today was a new day, a brighter day. A hot day, too.
Bright and early and had another interview (I'm already getting decent mileage out of the new professional wardrobe Maya helped me buy). This one was more appealing. Essentially, the position is that of a call centre manager. The meeting went well, and I feel that the position can be mine if I want it.
Do I want it?
Pros - I get to build a team of my own. The hours are manageable. The company seems to be growing. Hebrew is an asset. I would be able to quit looking for work.
Cons - Salary (low, with performance incentives that can raise it to adequate). The actual work may not be that interesting/challenging/stimulating. Evening hours.
When I put it like that.....
I don't really know. I promised him an answer within two days and have since sent him a thank you note. The clock is ticking.
Let's move on to a more interesting topic, shall we...
Last Sunday (2 days ago), Maya and I were legally married. Our officiant arrived late.
I called him 5 minutes after he was to have arrived and asked where he was. He asked me when we booked him for. I said "5 minutes ago." Thankfully, he lived close by and promised to be there in 10 minutes or so. Half an hour later, he finally arrived, with his wife in tow. He was rather old and very excuberant.
Throughout the ceremony, he would remind us at least once every 5 minutes that he was also a rabbi.
"I'm a modern Rabbi. I love everyone." He would claim. His motto: "Love your neighbour."
I wasn't planning on having the civil service to be an overly meaningful ocassion, or especially memorable, but the good doctor Zimmerman has guaranteed that I will not forget July 29, 2007 anytime soon.
And now for the polls: What should I do?
Let me know what you think.
Polls close in 24 hours.
Until then, I remain:
Ryan
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Untitled
Keep those comments coming. A man needs encouragement in these trying times.
Not sure why the last post was spaced out like that. I, for one, did not like it.
We saw the Jays wallop the Twins last night at the 'dome (I will not call it by the new name).
On the plus side - We were sitting right on top of the Twins bullpen and got to see their pitchers warming up. I could see by his BP sessions that Neshek was not hitting his spots. Then he came in, walked the first two guys he faced and gave up a double to Wells.
On the down side, we were surrounded by a douche bag squadron. The whole section looked like a crew of 19 year olds who are very new to the legal drinking game and just don't yet know how to properly drink in public. Very loud, very annoying and couldn't tell their left from their right, not to mention their ass from the elbow (or mouth).
Another negative for me was that from our vantage point, I couldn't track the flight of the pitches as they were happening.
Interesting seats, but I think I'll go back to the infield next time.
Looking forward, I have a job interview tomorrow. At first glance the company in question seemed really interesting with many heavily branded clients in their portfolio. A more in-depth glance showed that their own website was kind of vague and not really telling me much about what they actually did for their clients. Further internet searching produced very little outside of other job listings in their name.
So I'm a little apprehensive. Obviously, there's nothing lost by going to an interview, but I feel that I'll be interviewing them just as much as they will be interviewing me. I have a few other referrals on the go, so I'm not pinning all my hopes on this one.
Back to baseball for a sec before I sign off - Tom Glavine (love the lefties) just won his 299th career game. While there is much more to the game of baseball and the accomplishments therein than simple milestones, they are nice and alot of fun to mark. After spending most of his prime sharing the spotlight with Greg Maddux and John Smoltz (usually taking less than his share of the accolades) Glavine should really enjoy this moment
Not sure why the last post was spaced out like that. I, for one, did not like it.
We saw the Jays wallop the Twins last night at the 'dome (I will not call it by the new name).
On the plus side - We were sitting right on top of the Twins bullpen and got to see their pitchers warming up. I could see by his BP sessions that Neshek was not hitting his spots. Then he came in, walked the first two guys he faced and gave up a double to Wells.
On the down side, we were surrounded by a douche bag squadron. The whole section looked like a crew of 19 year olds who are very new to the legal drinking game and just don't yet know how to properly drink in public. Very loud, very annoying and couldn't tell their left from their right, not to mention their ass from the elbow (or mouth).
Another negative for me was that from our vantage point, I couldn't track the flight of the pitches as they were happening.
Interesting seats, but I think I'll go back to the infield next time.
Looking forward, I have a job interview tomorrow. At first glance the company in question seemed really interesting with many heavily branded clients in their portfolio. A more in-depth glance showed that their own website was kind of vague and not really telling me much about what they actually did for their clients. Further internet searching produced very little outside of other job listings in their name.
So I'm a little apprehensive. Obviously, there's nothing lost by going to an interview, but I feel that I'll be interviewing them just as much as they will be interviewing me. I have a few other referrals on the go, so I'm not pinning all my hopes on this one.
Back to baseball for a sec before I sign off - Tom Glavine (love the lefties) just won his 299th career game. While there is much more to the game of baseball and the accomplishments therein than simple milestones, they are nice and alot of fun to mark. After spending most of his prime sharing the spotlight with Greg Maddux and John Smoltz (usually taking less than his share of the accolades) Glavine should really enjoy this moment
Monday, July 23, 2007
A Sort of Progress
To my faithful reader(s),
Yesterday, I promised a real blog. A serious blog. I had a feeling that today would be interesting.
What I knew then, but you were still unsuspecting, was that Maya and I would apply for our marriage license today.
Well, we did. And we got it. At first we went to the wrong building - I assumed that it was done at the passport offices at Sheppard and Yonge. The real place to get the license is at the North York Civic centre where the city formerly known as North York used to place its mayor, the honorable(?), the mighty, Mel Lastman.
I moved my mother's car up a few blocks and within 20 minutes and $130, Maya and I had government permission to join in legal matrimony. Civil matrimony.
An extra $70 got us a spot in the York Civic Centre chapel this upcoming Sunday at 3pm. If enough of you come out and it's a standing-room-only type scene, I may decide to charge admission. Only 20 can sit. We're saving the theatrics for our Jewish affair sometime in the next 10-15 months.
On the way home, I stopped by the local Rogers store and picked up five tickets for tomorrow night's Jays' game. It will be my first game in attendance since returning and it should be fun. We (Maya and I, younger brother Tal and his girlfriend, Caroline and my father - a belated gift for his recent birthday) are sitting in the first row of the bleachers. Right by the right field foul pole. I've never sat in that section before and am interested in the experience.
And before I leave you for the night, a word on call-centres in the Indian Subcontinent. I understand why they're there. I am not opposed to speaking with someone half a world away about basic technological problems. More power to them. To us. But problems can arise. And they will. Maya had to call travelocity about a recent billing problem and was sent to a call-centre in (most likely) India. Not only did she have to work at comprehending the words through the accent, but their phone line was also weak. Sound was very muted and it was very difficult to understand what was being said.
If the key to good customer service is effective communication between service provider and consumer, (and it is) once the suppporting technology fails, the service is poor at best.
Until next time.
Yesterday, I promised a real blog. A serious blog. I had a feeling that today would be interesting.
What I knew then, but you were still unsuspecting, was that Maya and I would apply for our marriage license today.
Well, we did. And we got it. At first we went to the wrong building - I assumed that it was done at the passport offices at Sheppard and Yonge. The real place to get the license is at the North York Civic centre where the city formerly known as North York used to place its mayor, the honorable(?), the mighty, Mel Lastman.
I moved my mother's car up a few blocks and within 20 minutes and $130, Maya and I had government permission to join in legal matrimony. Civil matrimony.
An extra $70 got us a spot in the York Civic Centre chapel this upcoming Sunday at 3pm. If enough of you come out and it's a standing-room-only type scene, I may decide to charge admission. Only 20 can sit. We're saving the theatrics for our Jewish affair sometime in the next 10-15 months.
On the way home, I stopped by the local Rogers store and picked up five tickets for tomorrow night's Jays' game. It will be my first game in attendance since returning and it should be fun. We (Maya and I, younger brother Tal and his girlfriend, Caroline and my father - a belated gift for his recent birthday) are sitting in the first row of the bleachers. Right by the right field foul pole. I've never sat in that section before and am interested in the experience.
And before I leave you for the night, a word on call-centres in the Indian Subcontinent. I understand why they're there. I am not opposed to speaking with someone half a world away about basic technological problems. More power to them. To us. But problems can arise. And they will. Maya had to call travelocity about a recent billing problem and was sent to a call-centre in (most likely) India. Not only did she have to work at comprehending the words through the accent, but their phone line was also weak. Sound was very muted and it was very difficult to understand what was being said.
If the key to good customer service is effective communication between service provider and consumer, (and it is) once the suppporting technology fails, the service is poor at best.
Until next time.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Tying up Some Loose Ends
A quickie, promise.
We ended up walking last night. It really boiled down to us not wanting to go downtown again on the same day, whether or not we could get a car.
Shira - I knew you put the cds back in the wrong order. I fixed it as soon as you left. Don't worry - I didn't hold it against you.
More next time - promise. I think tomorrow will be an interesting day.
We ended up walking last night. It really boiled down to us not wanting to go downtown again on the same day, whether or not we could get a car.
Shira - I knew you put the cds back in the wrong order. I fixed it as soon as you left. Don't worry - I didn't hold it against you.
More next time - promise. I think tomorrow will be an interesting day.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Recreating a Social Life
It's Saturday night, and Maya and I are discussing our possibilities.
Now, if we were living in the city centre, as opposed to the northern residential region inhabited by my parents, this might not be such a fascinating conversation. If we had not been spoiled in Tel Aviv by living right in the heart of the city (not even bearing in mind that we rarely went out anyway), we may not have noticed our social isolation here.
But here we are and it's almost 10:30 (pm). Earlier in the day, we spoke to a friend about going out for drinks with a bunch of the old crew, and who knows who else. At the time - 6 hours ago - it seemed plausible and desirable. We spent the afternoon walking around Cabbagetown. All these years here, and I never went. Well, it's very nice. But we should get back to the matter at hand. Socializing.
We had these vaguely outlined plans set up and we wouldn't have to call anyone or think about the logistics - outside of how we would get there, that is. But we aren't so keen on it now. Go figure.
Neither of us is a big drinker, although I do enjoy the odd one. We are not even sure anymore who will be going and whether or not we want to deal with the scene. The thought of it can be quite intimidating. Are we dressed like we should be? Are our jokes really funny? Are we where we should be? If not, are our excuses good enough? Do I really care about the answers to those questions anyway?
Not really. The real question I end up with is this: Will I really enjoy myself by going out to a bar/pub?
I have my doubts. I think we'll just go for a walk around the neighbourhood before going to bed.
I'll let you know how it went tomorrow.
Now, if we were living in the city centre, as opposed to the northern residential region inhabited by my parents, this might not be such a fascinating conversation. If we had not been spoiled in Tel Aviv by living right in the heart of the city (not even bearing in mind that we rarely went out anyway), we may not have noticed our social isolation here.
But here we are and it's almost 10:30 (pm). Earlier in the day, we spoke to a friend about going out for drinks with a bunch of the old crew, and who knows who else. At the time - 6 hours ago - it seemed plausible and desirable. We spent the afternoon walking around Cabbagetown. All these years here, and I never went. Well, it's very nice. But we should get back to the matter at hand. Socializing.
We had these vaguely outlined plans set up and we wouldn't have to call anyone or think about the logistics - outside of how we would get there, that is. But we aren't so keen on it now. Go figure.
Neither of us is a big drinker, although I do enjoy the odd one. We are not even sure anymore who will be going and whether or not we want to deal with the scene. The thought of it can be quite intimidating. Are we dressed like we should be? Are our jokes really funny? Are we where we should be? If not, are our excuses good enough? Do I really care about the answers to those questions anyway?
Not really. The real question I end up with is this: Will I really enjoy myself by going out to a bar/pub?
I have my doubts. I think we'll just go for a walk around the neighbourhood before going to bed.
I'll let you know how it went tomorrow.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Now a Little on Who I Am
I suppose as I started things off with what I'm doing now, I will move on a bit and discuss who I am. I expect that most eventual readers of this will already know me, but there will come a time or twelve where someone reads and thinks to themselves, who is this guy?
I won't include my resume here, although that would create a certain picture of my past.
I used to fancy myself as a writer. Now I like to call myself a communicator. In fact, that is the type of job I'm looking for. Or did I already mention that yesterday?
If I can't get a point across, the point is not worth crossing.
I love baseball and study the gmae almost compulsively. I am involved in fantasy franchise running games as well as a project that has rethought the baseball hall of fame. In baseball, as in all facets of life, one must question accepted wisdom. Only after you know the whys and the wherefores of something can you consider yourself wise to it.
One other notable fact about me (considering that you learnt about my fiancee yesterday) is my love of music and my massive collection of cds. I have somewhere in the region of 700 CDs, at least 98% of which were originals. I'll have to get an ipod eventually, if only for ease of transport purposes. I'll most likely continue to collect the discs, though.
I'm mentally preparing a short treatise on the difficulties of western immigrants to Israel.
Stay tuned to my next blog.
This is who I am.
I won't include my resume here, although that would create a certain picture of my past.
I used to fancy myself as a writer. Now I like to call myself a communicator. In fact, that is the type of job I'm looking for. Or did I already mention that yesterday?
If I can't get a point across, the point is not worth crossing.
I love baseball and study the gmae almost compulsively. I am involved in fantasy franchise running games as well as a project that has rethought the baseball hall of fame. In baseball, as in all facets of life, one must question accepted wisdom. Only after you know the whys and the wherefores of something can you consider yourself wise to it.
One other notable fact about me (considering that you learnt about my fiancee yesterday) is my love of music and my massive collection of cds. I have somewhere in the region of 700 CDs, at least 98% of which were originals. I'll have to get an ipod eventually, if only for ease of transport purposes. I'll most likely continue to collect the discs, though.
I'm mentally preparing a short treatise on the difficulties of western immigrants to Israel.
Stay tuned to my next blog.
This is who I am.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Welcome to my First Blog
Back from the Land of Hopes to the True North Country
After close to three years living in Tel Aviv, working in IT, I come back to the wide expanses of Ontario soil that nourished me in my youth.
I have brought with me several things that I did not have when I left and I lack certain things that I had before.
On the plus side, I bring my fiancee, Maya. If I brought nothing else, if I gained nothing else in the last 30 months, that would be enough. But of course, I have more. I have my experience working for a growing website. I watched membership more than quintuple in size and got to feel like I was a key part of that growth. I gained many friends and formed relationships that I hope to maintain.
The red shows that I have no job. There are probably a few more entries in this side of the ledger, but I can't see them from the magnitude of the first entry. It's like a bullet hole. The ink from that entry bleeds fresh daily covering all other notes. I can almost make out that Maya and I are back in my parents' basement, counting days until a job is found allowing us passage into the light of independance.
Now that I have your attention, let's discuss the job front. I have not been inactive. I scour the new listings in all the leading job search sites. I have signed up for assistance from the JVS (I've already had my first session with their career assessment guide - did you know the leading job search sites only have a 6% success rate), I have spoken to headhunters, tried to establish connections in interesting fields.
So far nothing.
It can be quite frustrating. A person is used to working every day, waking up by a certain time, taking a certain bus, greeting the coworkers, thinking in a steadily productive atmosphere. Then there is nothing. That person becomes a spinning top, trying to find a groove to spin in but lacking any real control over its axis.
What kind of work am I looking for? you may be asking yourself.
Well, I try to be open-minded about it considering the many hats I wore in my last position. Ultimately, though, I am trying to focus on the most interesting of those hats and am searching for positions in the communications/PR field. Know anything?
After close to three years living in Tel Aviv, working in IT, I come back to the wide expanses of Ontario soil that nourished me in my youth.
I have brought with me several things that I did not have when I left and I lack certain things that I had before.
On the plus side, I bring my fiancee, Maya. If I brought nothing else, if I gained nothing else in the last 30 months, that would be enough. But of course, I have more. I have my experience working for a growing website. I watched membership more than quintuple in size and got to feel like I was a key part of that growth. I gained many friends and formed relationships that I hope to maintain.
The red shows that I have no job. There are probably a few more entries in this side of the ledger, but I can't see them from the magnitude of the first entry. It's like a bullet hole. The ink from that entry bleeds fresh daily covering all other notes. I can almost make out that Maya and I are back in my parents' basement, counting days until a job is found allowing us passage into the light of independance.
Now that I have your attention, let's discuss the job front. I have not been inactive. I scour the new listings in all the leading job search sites. I have signed up for assistance from the JVS (I've already had my first session with their career assessment guide - did you know the leading job search sites only have a 6% success rate), I have spoken to headhunters, tried to establish connections in interesting fields.
So far nothing.
It can be quite frustrating. A person is used to working every day, waking up by a certain time, taking a certain bus, greeting the coworkers, thinking in a steadily productive atmosphere. Then there is nothing. That person becomes a spinning top, trying to find a groove to spin in but lacking any real control over its axis.
What kind of work am I looking for? you may be asking yourself.
Well, I try to be open-minded about it considering the many hats I wore in my last position. Ultimately, though, I am trying to focus on the most interesting of those hats and am searching for positions in the communications/PR field. Know anything?
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