Jack's Diary

Thanks, Cate! Think you're right about the recruiter.

So, being unemployed, even if you have the financial means to withstand is, is still not a piece of cake. You have to work - prepare for test questions and test-coding is the biggest thing. There's a general sense of "I'm not worthy" that you need to counteract mentally, as well.

I'm still getting over this cold. I had to blow my nose so many times yesterday, I actually carried a box of kleenex with me to Panera. Right now I feel pretty good, though.

So, I kind of moved all my savings into the S&P 500 a month ago, right at the peak. I was 1/2 bonds before that. So, of course, the typical small investor bad timing, because it's down probably 110 points since then. The key is to not sell. Long term, the S&P 500 always beats bonds - the question is, will it come back before I have to start tapping into them? That's where the pressure is on the job search.

But, with unemployment and cash savings, we're talking about a year and 1/2. before I would have to do that. I feel pretty confident I can find something within that time frame. My last job search took about four months, and I had some near misses where it would've come sooner. The good news is that I have a technical background, and that's a good skill set to have.
 
Well, that was anything but a quick-hit. I've been trying to figure out a bug for the last 10 hours which is preventing my todo-application from accessing the database - but only when the todo-app is on the cloud. When it's local, there's no problem. I can even access the database on the cloud from the local app. I tried different drivers, different database versions, but it's always the same problem. And this actually worked a few months ago. This is one I just need to get working for my job search. Oh, well - I'll figure it out eventually.

Anyway, this morning I went for a jog and came back weighing 162.5 - I know I should be hydrating - but that's the lowest number I've seen for a while. It was nice in the morning, got cooler in the afternoon. By then I was at Panera trying to get this stump out of the ground.
 
I finally got the app deployed. I turned out it was a firewall issue - what else is new?

I got to the gym and did weight-lifting. My buddy was there, but I didn't talk too much, as I was up for dumping my whole job situation on him.

I talked to my mom today, told her. She has a tough time hearing on the phone, and her mind doesn't process that fast, she's 90, but she still fun to talk to.

I'm still adapting to it coming a month earlier than I expected. I think my recruiter tried to raise my rate again, my boss was complaining about that - every six months. Or maybe not, that woudn't have been until July. Anyway, it doesn't matter.

I spend a lot of the rest of the day getting an example Spring Boot app working. It turned out to take more time than I expected, because I wasn't used to the IDE, which is called IntelliJ. It's becoming more and more popular, and good olde Eclipse starting to be a dinosaur.

I can't really sleep because I'm thinking of all the stuff I have to do. Here's the bare minimum:

- Start reviewing Code interview questions on a daily basis.
- Update my linked-in profile.
- Update my resume.
- Add the Kanji app back to the app store so I can put it in my resume
- Add the Kanji app source code to git-hub.
- Add the link to the todo app to my resume. This is really so I can put Spring Boot and Angular on my resume.
- Second level, it needs a user signup page. That's what's bugging me.
- Third level is to re-organize the back end - I'm not in love with the structure of it
- Add the source code to the backend of the To Do app to the resume.

- I could also add links to the PHP projects I did back in 2007, but that's not such a big deal.
- The other thing I want to do is get through this testing course. I know, at least I can say I'm taking a testing course.
- The interviewers will want to know what kind of unit testing I did. I did some unit testing for graph results, also in some scripts, e.g. to check if the database was created. But I didn't do a ton.

The thing that's hanging me up is whether to add links to my source code to my resume. I guess that's how it's done, but I've never done that before. Why start now?

The SpringBoot/Angular thing is going to be a kind of a hassle explaining in an interview. I basically to an Udemy course and based it on source code from there. I'll have to go back over it.

But at least it shows I had the initiative to create an app on my own. Plus, that I know *something* about Spring Boot and Angular.

The first interview question I'll do is how to write a linked-list.
 
I'm right back into my old pattern of taking a sleeping pill/cold remedy and getting up late. Oh well.

I have to keep reminding myself that even if the stock market continues to slide, I have enough money to last till I die. So why am I so worried?

Well, because I still want to find another job because I don't have so much of a buffer. So, the whole job search thing is what's stressing me. The interviews are tough with the coding questions, so I want to get ready for that.

But I also want to improve my Spring Boot / Angular skills - because if I put that on my resume, then
1) I might have to answer questions about it
2) It will look better if I have a user signup.
3) I need to reorganize the backend.

Plus, I'm wondering will I be getting interviews? Seemed easy enough last time, but my last job was just maintenance/debugging, plus PC configuration.

Well, I think I'll get interviews, at least.

The main thing is, I will be able to find *something* eventually*.

Now is a good time to freshen up my skill-set, because I have most of the day free.

So, here are some pluses:

- I'm in good health
- I have a good profession that's in demand
- I enough money in the bank/investments to ride this out - even if the market really tanks. Anyway, it's not like markets don't come back from recessions. It just depends how long.
- I own my house, so just paying taxes and maintenance on that. No mortgage.
- The house value is good. That's another net worth value that I could leverage.
- Worst case scenario, we sell the house and move to say, Costa Rica and learn Spanish. Hell, I would do that today if my wife was on board.
- My wife is nice and thrifty, though.
- I've been actively coding recently, so it's not like I'm one of these guys who's in management for years and then tries to get back into coding.
- I'm very lucky that I actually like programming. I might not be as fast at it as some of these talented younger guys, but I get the job done. Seriously, my boss essentially said that. If people can trust you to get the job done, that's a good reference.
- There's an outside chance I could get some work from my former employer if an order comes in. In fact, my boss was proposing just that when he let me go. They don't have anyone there right now for PC configuration.
- I can put that on my resume - it will make it look like I'm freelancing with work instead of just unemployed.
- I just found out that my wife has a bunch of Japanese yen that we can spend on our trip. So we won't have a huge bill when we get back.
- Our house had been excluded from a flood zone. This means potential buyers won't be forced to pay for flood insurance, which cost thousands per year. This adds to the value of the house, or doesn't detract from it.
- My daughter is currently employed and is generally employable. So we don't have to worry about her financially,
- Even if she has a wedding, we don't have to chip in. Her boyfriend makes big money as software dev in Silicon Valley.
- I want to continue studying Japanese even as I ramp up my interviewing/Spring Boot/Angular/Testing skills.
- I have a couple of self-help gurus I can read. Dale Carnegie's #1 piece of advice - live life in day-tight compartments.
- Another great piece of advice - you can only do one thing at a time. Calmly go about doing that.
- Also, I'm a big fan of Eckhardt Tolle. He's basically an approach of live in the now. The only thing that exists is right now. And right now, what is the problem? Nothing.
- This comes at a good time - during the summer. I will be able to go out jogging to the beach, maybe take a day off here and there.

So the takeaways are:
1. Live life in day-tight compartments.
2. Calmly go about doing one thing at a time.
 
Overall it seems like you don't have anything to worry about, Jack. I know it's hard to stop, but you do seem to have a good life & it may be time to relax & enjoy it more. You have yourself in a good place :)
 
Cate - thank you for the kind words. I know I have to find another job, and that's what the anxiety stems from. But, whatever happens, I really only need to work for 3-4 more years. It'll go by quickly enough.

I went to Chuck's today to jam. He played a version of Simon and Garfunkel's America, I think it's called. It was just beautiful. He said he put a lot of work into figuring it out - like a few hours. He has such a great ear.

My soloing is getting a little better. Nothing great, but enough that he calls for them on most songs now. I try to practice just a little bit of soloing every day, just a few minutes really. It's more about picking notes out of the appropriate scale for the chord. It's fun.

Chuck's roommate is in a jam. He's behind in his rent, out of work. 60 years old, has a masters in psychiatry. but is essentially penniless. Twice-divorced, that will do it to you. Fear of being in exactly that situation is probably the main reason I never got divorced. Hey, the grass is always greener, you know? My wife is a good person even if we aren't a perfect marriage, we're ok.

Anyway, Chuck wants him to find some minimum wage job just so he can pay the rent, but he's like, I have a Master's degree, I don't want to work that kind of job. Ok, but you don't have a job and need money. The poor guy is one step away from being homeless. At least I have a roof over my head, even if I'm out of work.
 
Well, today was my last day at work, and was somewhat eventful. P got some guys together and treated us to lunch on the company bill. A couple of other guys who were out of town sent nice messages saying they couldn't make it. A few people stopped by my desk saying they heard I was leaving, 3 or 4, which was nice as well. C told me to send her pictures from Japan.

The lady I'm handing the current project to is definitely not into it. She told me she's "pretty high up on the food chain" of Java developers and turned down a job at Amazon to work here. She clearly considers it beneath her role to create computer images, was looking at her messages a lot, and kept asking the same questions over the two-day handover. She already told me she's not going to do it personally, she expects to manage the offshore guys on it.

In a way, I don't blame her. She expected to be managing a team of 5-7 developers and I guess it didn't pan out. Now she's doing hardware imaging - kind of a fall from grace, I guess. She even said to me, the recruiting company ruined her career by talking her into working here. But, she does have like a two-minute commute, I think that's a legit benefit. I'm the one getting laid off, not her.

Oh, well. Anyway, there is a promising development. The same company is looking for a second application engineer to work with P, who I've worked closely with over the last year and 1/2. It opened up a month ago. D mentioned it to me when he was laying me off, but said he thought it was already filled. But when I asked P about it, he said the guy they offered it to turned it down because he didn't want to sign a non-compete.

So, when D was talking to me about the status of the current project, that position came up, and I mentioned it might be interesting to me. He immediately shifted gears and said, in essence, it was pretty much of a no-brainer if I wanted it. I arranged to talk to P's boss, and we had a nice chat for an hour or so. He was already talking salary, not an offer, but rates they had received which is really good info. He said he thought it would be a good fit, because P knows the sensor side and I know the programming side. He suggested I apply for the job if I was interested, and has forwarded me the HR contact info already. He even said that I didn't have to start until August after the Japan trip.

So, I'm leaning strongly toward this. Although it's not a software developer job, the pay is potentially better because the middle-man is getting cut out. Also, it's a contract-to-hire, unlike the contract I just finished. So, I'd potentially be back full-time as early as October with a company health plan, 401k, profit-sharing. So all that's great.

The downside is it's production support, which can be pretty stressful. But, then again, software is usually pretty stressful no matter how you slice it. Also, since I'm no longer a developer, the next job as a developer might be tougher to get, if I want to get back into it.

But then again, I could do projects on the side. Upgrade my Java certification. Ramp up on testing and interview questions. Work on my angular app. Plus, I have a pretty long and convincing resume of development already.

Plus, the commute is good. Also, I could head off to Japan with less stress.

A problem is that I would have to go onsite for some of these jobs, which is always a lot of pressure. But, I've been there before. There's always the phone to call L, J, or P. Plus, I know a lot of the stuff already.

Well, it's a pretty easy decision. Job, or no job? Job. So, I'll submit my resume tomorrow.
 
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Hey, Jack! Just reading your update now, and as I was just writing (when a message came to say there'd been a new post:

That's fantastic! Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant - it sounds a great fit all round, especially about the timing suiting your trip to Japan! Cheering for you and everything going well!

(and also - :) for the guitar! )
 
Thanks, Cate! I submitted my updated resume and got an email back from HR almost immediately. They said P had already told them I was going to submit it and was interested. So, I'm going to talk to the lady tomorrow for about 15-20 minutes, not sure exactly about what. Maybe the parameters of the contract, possibly pay rate, hopefully.

It's such a good fit and I've had such good feedback so far that I think the odds are pretty good that the contract happens. I was thinking, that D told me (when he laid me off) that there were 3 areas they had nobody for, or no backup on - computer imaging, App Engineer and front end developer - and I cover two of those. Plus, they know I'm accountable and can get the job done.

So, I'm feeling pretty good right now. I have the day off. I've been to the gym, did some meditation. The stock market's been rallying, too.

Now, I have to figure out if I'm going to return that Harvard sweatshirt I bought Sunday. It was like $63 bucks, even with the alumni discount. But when I tried to wear it around the house, it was uncomfortable compared to my old, torn up, zipper-doesn't work, falling apart one that I wear around the house. I think it's fleece, and I prefer cotton. So, back it goes. But today, or when?
 
That does sound very promising.
The sooner you take that sweatshirt back the better. The longer I put off returning anything the more chance it ends up going to a charity shop down the track. You have to be comfortable.
 
Hiya Jack! Wow, I had a lot of catching up to do. I hope that the new job opportunity works out to your satisfaction and takes the stress off. Also, congrats on getting the weight back down after flirting with 170. You just motivated me to buy a new scale and stop avoiding weigh-ins.

You mentioned blues and Mississippi John Hurt. Yes! I didn't know who that was until a couple of years ago, we covered one of his songs in group guitar class. He's amazing!
 
Hi Cate & Mols - Cate, I haven't returned it yet. I'm thinking maybe it would be good for wearing outside, just to have something to wear. This can be a default wear-outside one.

Mols - very cool you covered one of his tunes! I actually haven't done much listening to him - which song was it?

Update on the job - I talked to the HR lady today, and it went pretty smoothly. But she did say I might have to come in for an interview. I said sure - but did she know who with, because I spoke with P for an hour and he's the hiring manager. She said, well maybe, maybe not. As far as the rate, I used the high number P had given me, and she didn't blink. I did some research and I think my company was charging up to 3 times the rate I was receiving. She kind of agreed and said that while the company does delivery quality personal, they do charge a lot. And she said there would be buyout fees and such. But I said that after a year and 1/2, how bad could they be? And she kind of agreed with that.

So my main point was that we're cutting out the middleman, and they are going to save a lot of money. For me, it would be a nice increase as well. But, also, she said that it would be 30 to 40% travel. I didn't think it would be that much, so it's something I have to think about. But, I'm ready - it's been a long time since I had a job that involved any travel, like 8 or 9 years now. My health is good, my knee feels better these days. We'll see how I feel about it in a year.

All this is based on if everything goes through. She said she wanted it wrapped up by next week, so until then, nothing is sure.
 
Thanks, guys! I appreciate the support :)

So, I was up till 4 last night, and woke up at 7, but I didn't want to go back to bed on such a nice day. So I dragged myself to the gym, then when I came back, I spent an hour or two trying to figure out the chords to "Rocket Man". I did a decent job, too. When I checked, I had only missed one chord a minor 2nd just before the lead into the chorus. It's not an easy song to figure out, but I got lucky because I figured out that there's a major 2nd where a minor second would normally be. You see, it uses both. Those kinds of out-of-scale chords really mess me up, it makes it hard to figure out what the actual key is. But I googled the theory, and someone had posted that the root was Eb, so then everything kind of made sense - it's "borrowing" the C major from wherever, it's not part of the normal chords for the scale.

Anyway, after that I went jogging at the beach, laid out on the wall for 1/2 hour minutes, came back and mowed the yard, cleaned up my room, had lunch around 2, and finally took a real nap. My niece's graduation party was at 4, so my wife and I took my mom there. It was a nice party, there were plenty of people there.

Unfortunately, the jogging has left my knee bugging me again, though, so I'll stay off it for a few days. Plus, I was standing for quite a while during the cookout. That didn't help.
 
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