Update XVI: Sidejackin' it in the Train Room.

[Joe Biden 2020]

I'm home from my errands this afternoon.  I accomplished what I set out to do today which was to put my application in at two staffing agencies in Midtown.  I wasn't expecting to accomplish any more than that.  Now, I'm home and will continue the job search until 17:00 when I'll call it quits.  Since I took that Excedrin about 10:30, my headache has dropped from a Grade 8 down to a Grade 5.  It still hurts, but it certainly feels better than it did just a few short hours ago.

When I hear Midtown, Tulsa certainly doesn't come to mind....

Granted, Tulsa is a lot smaller than other cities you think of (we only have 400,000 in the city proper, a definite mid-size metropolitan area), but that's what the locals call the middle part of Tulsa.  There is West Tulsa, North Tulsa, South Tulsa, East Tulsa, and Midtown, and of course all the suburbs.  We are small enough geographically that you can drive from the east suburb of Broken Arrow to the west suburbs of Sand Springs and Sapulpa in about 20 minutes.

[Joe Biden 2020]

bushie have your parents ever suggested that you should try to get food stamps or any sort of welfare during one of your many bouts of unemployment?

No

[Joe Biden 2020]

The grading scale for headaches is a way for me to gauge and relay the intensity of a headache.  I never drop below a grade 3 headache even on my best day, meaning I always have a slight headache.  That's because my mother has had chronic migraines since 1978, so I have them, too.

My scale is loosely the following:

Grade 3-4 Small Headache
Grade 5-6 Moderate Headache
Grade 7    Severe Headache
Grade 8    Functional Migraine Headache
Grade 9-10  Non-functional migraine headache
Grade 11  Emergency Room Headache

That's as high as it goes.

[Joe Biden 2020]

So, if small headache is Grade 3, is not having any pain at all still a Grade 1 Headache?

I never have no pain.  I'm always at least a grade 2, if not 3.

[Joe Biden 2020]

I'd almost certainly off myself if I had a headache every single day. That's not normal. You need help.

That's genetics.  My mother is the same way.  That's who I got it from.  It finally took a change in my mother's medicine that got her headaches under control.  It took 36 years to figure that out.  1978-2014.  They are still trying on me.  The best they've been able to come up with on me so far is giving me a migraine pill.

[Joe Biden 2020]

When did you first start getting headaches?

Around age 10

[Joe Biden 2020]

As I have been mentioning on Facebook, now that it is August 2014 in Oklahoma, I am officially starting my journey back to Kenya.  My goal and desire is to spend Summer 2015 in Kenya, from Memorial Day to the end of July, with my children and a mission team.  I have to raise roughly $5,000 between now and roughly April 1.  I realize the best way to accomplish that is to get a job and work very well on my attendance and raise the funds myself.  I hope to also get grants from other missionary friends as well as my church in Midwest City and my church in Tulsa.  Of course, I cannot count on that until they deliver the money into my trip account.  My ultimate goal and desire is still to eventually move there, but first I want to see if I would survive down there by going for 2 months solid.  I am trusting God to provide the money and provide the means to make the money, both by working and by fundraising.  I am also trusting God to work out any employment logistics, as well.  This gives me about 8 months to raise the money and a little less than 10 months until I leave.

[Joe Biden 2020]

BREAKING NEWS (of the good kind):  At long last, I have landed a CAD job!!!!  I put in an application on Craigslist at 13:15 this afternoon and he called me back at 13:35.  We talked for a few minutes and then asked me if I could come in for an interview at 14:30.  So, I shaved real quick, and hopped on the expressway and got to the place in Downtown Tulsa at 14:20.  We talked for a while, he showed me what they did and asked me what I could do.  Well, about 15:00, he asked me if I could report for work Monday at 09:00.  I told him I could.  Then, the owner of the company had me fill out a sheet that paved the way for me to start work Monday, August 4, 2014 at 9:00.  My regular work schedule will be Monday-Friday 8:00-17:00.  The pay is starter pay which will be enough for now, but the big thing is it gives me coveted experience.

[Joe Biden 2020]

I've done a little research and I've PM'd Smash and J-Mann for verification, but this is what I've found out through a quick 30 second research and the interview itself.

This is a very small company of maybe 10-15 employees with no website that I can see.  However, the owner, who sat in on the interview and actually does work, has been doing drafting work since the Eisenhower Administration in 1959.  55 years.

I will be on a trial period for 90 days through roughly November 1 that will determine if I'm a good fit for the company.  That will be determined by how quickly I pick it up and how well I do on the drawings.  Benefits would start after 90 days, medical, dental, and vision.  As of this time there is no retirement program, but I can easily start an IRA after I establish myself in this job.  They do offer direct deposit and pay every two weeks.  If I do well in the job, I can get off the trial period in less than 90 days.

I will be primarily taking drawings of heaters (HVAC) that the customers send to us and breaking them down into smaller, individual parts and then after getting them verified, sending the drawings to the engineers to have the products produced.

[Joe Biden 2020]

Seems legit enough -- based on just a few minutes of checking them out. The process was likely so hurried and unstructured because they're a) incredibly small and don't have any official HR function, and b) looking for someone entry level to trial for 90 days.

My advice, Jeff: do what you need to do to make REAL improvements -- even if they are small -- in your health. A grade-whatever headache that keeps you homebound during your second week on this trial, particularly if absences continue to be as much of a problem as they usually are for you, isn't going to impress.

One thing that will help me out a bunch is that since I am in Downtown Tulsa, all the places to eat are a good walk away.  I only have an hour, so I will be mostly eating in the office saving calories and money.  Also, I am going to start fixing bacon and eggs and macaroni and cheese in the evenings for supper and limiting my restaurant visits to maybe twice a week.

[Joe Biden 2020]

I was thinking this evening as my parents and I were going to dinner that I've only been out of CAD school for 4 2/3 months.  That's really not a bad length of time from finishing school to getting a related job.  It's been painful at times and I've had two attempts at call centers in the mean time, but I finished school on Monday, March 10, 2014 and was hired on Friday, August 1, 2014.

[Joe Biden 2020]

Please try to fix yourselves things with vegetables in them instead of bacon and eggs and mac and cheese.

I'll eventually add veggies in, as well.  But, home cooked B&E and M&C is a lot better than Braum's, McDonald's, and Wendy's...

[Joe Biden 2020]

Bushie, don't even dream about missing a day of work during this 90 day trial.

I've got two doctor's appointments in September.  I will postpone them until January.

[Joe Biden 2020]

This was the shortest job search I've ever had, I think.  It lasted an entire 102 hours from Monday, July 28, 2014 at 9:00 to Friday, August 1, 2014 at 15:00.

[Joe Biden 2020]

Seems legit enough -- based on just a few minutes of checking them out. The process was likely so hurried and unstructured because they're a) incredibly small and don't have any official HR function, and b) looking for someone entry level to trial for 90 days.

My advice, Jeff: do what you need to do to make REAL improvements -- even if they are small -- in your health. A grade-whatever headache that keeps you homebound during your second week on this trial, particularly if absences continue to be as much of a problem as they usually are for you, isn't going to impress.

One thing that will help me out a bunch is that since I am in Downtown Tulsa, all the places to eat are a good walk away.  I only have an hour, so I will be mostly eating in the office saving calories and money.  Also, I am going to start fixing bacon and eggs and macaroni and cheese in the evenings for supper and limiting my restaurant visits to maybe twice a week.

Jeff, that is a lot of time.  You should bring your lunch (sensible portions) and then take a stroll for light exercise. You'd want to take it light so that you arent sweating like a pig around the office but getting some sunlight and pulse up a bit would be a good start.  A nice walk is good for clearing the head too. You have a tendency to overthink things.

I can definitely take a short walk for a few minutes.  I'll want to get out of the office for a bit.  I'm just saying I don't have time to walk down to a restaurant, stand in line for 10-15 minutes, wolf it down, and walk back.  But, to take 20 minutes to eat and 25 minutes for a brief stroll would be ideal and give me 15 minutes to just chill before I start the afternoon.

[Joe Biden 2020]

Other good things about this job - I won't have to talk on the phone at all and I won't have to try to sell anything.  This means I won't have customers cussing me out all day long.  That alone should make it easier to go to work every day for the first 90 days and beyond.

I will be 2 steps from my boss's office and the owner's office so I can talk to them nice and easy.

[Joe Biden 2020]

Bushie, don't even dream about missing a day of work during this 90 day trial.

I've got two doctor's appointments in September.  I will postpone them until January.

He may have been referring to absences due to illnesses you cause yourself, like upset stomachs due to bad food or headaches due to lethargy. The doctor visits could actually help, and I'm not sure an employer would begrudge you for taking a few hours off for them.

I know what he meant, and I was trying to eliminate all such occurrences.  Plus, my doctor's office is about 85-90 miles from work so I would have to basically take nearly an entire day.  I don't want to risk it as early as September.  I can easily wait until December or January and be fine.

[Joe Biden 2020]

Bushie, have you and Allison been texting each other regarding these new developments?

I texted her that I finally got a job.  She was pleased.  Still have little to no chance of getting back together.

[Joe Biden 2020]

From what I can tell, the company looks to be legitimate.

Jeff, I'd urge you not to blow this chance.  There should be no reason that you miss work.  Headache... work through it.  Stomachache... work through it.  Walking pneumonia... work through it.  And don't give the typical, "I know guys.  You don't have to tell me.  This time will be different." BS... just do it.  Enough talk; you've got a job.  Now prove yourself.

Yes, sir!!!  I am going to do the best I can to hang onto this one for dear life.  I'm less than 9 months from turning 33 years old.  It's about time I got myself a career and this one looks to be the best chance I've had in a long time, if ever.

[Joe Biden 2020]

I already know what desk I will be working from.  It is the same desk that I interviewed at this afternoon.  The desk area looks big enough to bring in a bottle of Excedrin for my headaches and a bottle of Aleve for backaches and Tums for stomachaches.  I will also have Excedrin in the center console of my car, and of course, I have all three of those at home.  There should be no reason I should have to miss when I've got the medicine at all three locations to sustain me.  If I get a headache overnight, I will take Excedrin before I leave. If I get one at 10:00 am, I will take some Excedrin at work.  Same goes with backaches and stomachaches.  I'm not about to let a little ailment get to me.  I don't have to text Allison every night now, so I can go to bed whenever I want, so there will be no excuse for not getting enough sleep.

[Joe Biden 2020]

I already know what desk I will be working from.  It is the same desk that I interviewed at this afternoon.  The desk area looks big enough to bring in a bottle of Excedrin for my headaches and a bottle of Aleve for backaches and Tums for stomachaches.  I will also have Excedrin in the center console of my car, and of course, I have all three of those at home.  There should be no reason I should have to miss when I've got the medicine at all three locations to sustain me.  If I get a headache overnight, I will take Excedrin before I leave. If I get one at 10:00 am, I will take some Excedrin at work.  Same goes with backaches and stomachaches.  I'm not about to let a little ailment get to me.  I don't have to text Allison every night now, so I can go to bed whenever I want, so there will be no excuse for not getting enough sleep.

Sheesh... how much of that stuff are you taking?  All of that pain killer isn't good for your liver.

Admittedly, I probably take more than I should, but I have slowed down as of recent.

[Joe Biden 2020]

Have you not considered that your diet is in fact causing your headaches and stomach upsets?

The headaches are part diet, mostly genetic.  The stomachaches are diet.

[Joe Biden 2020]

If you can't tell, it's been a superb start to the month of August 2014!!  I will be going to bed when August 2 begins in 6 minutes.  57 hours until I report for work and 41 hours until Work Night #1!!!

[Joe Biden 2020]

Where's the CAD(D) certificate?

Apparently one can get a CAD(D) related job without needing to produce it...

Maybe my instructor was right after all, you think?  Anyway, the certificate should be coming in the mail toward the end of this coming week.  The lady I talked to on Tuesday said it would take about a week to get put in the mail and then it takes two business days to get to me, so I should have it, hopefully, by Thursday or Friday.

[Joe Biden 2020]

Bushie, it does seem like the place is legit eve without seeing much info on it good or bad.  With that being said you should have a clear idea of what will be expected out of you, the details the job entails, etc

I have a very clear idea of what will be expected out of me and what I need to do to pass the trial period.  In a nutshell, I will be taking drawings of heating systems and their bill of material and breaking them into smaller, individual part drawings complete with their own individual bills of material and then sending the completed drawings to the engineer to have the parts physically produced.