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Did that really happen?

Last night I went out with Matt and Troy to the scene of last year's crime to excorcise our Game 7 demons. Then a funny thing happened, the Red Sox actually won. When Ortiz (who was an absolute steal to get signed before the off season) hit his 2-run bomb in the first, we were still very tentative. Damon had been thrown out at home, it should be 3-0, this was going to come back and bite us. Then the sox load the bases in the 2nd and Damon comes up and cranks the first pitch he sees out of the yard. We were now up 6-0, but I had never been as nervous during the whole series.

We kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, but it never came. We had a scare when Pedro came in for the 7th and promptly got rocked for 2 runs, re-energizing a completely apathetic Yankee Stadium crowd**. But then Timlin and Embree combined for two shutout innings. The game was over. The Red Sox had done the completely unthinkable, losing the first 3 games the way they did, being 3 outs away from being swept and somehow putting together a streak that will go down in the record books. There was screaming, slapping of hands, hugs, and just a general revelery all around us.

We went over to Kenmore after the game, and we weren't the only ones. After the completely full train emptied at the station, we were faced with a locked gate. Someone was smart enough to unlock it, however, before some tried to rip the thing down. The area was a absolute sea of people. There were people climbing trees, buildings, anything they could find. For the most part the cops were just watching, making sure it didn't turn to violent. We decided that it was probably a good idea not to stick around, so we headed to one of Matt's friend's place to hit the head and then catch a cab home.

This morning I'm still in a daze, and the words of Bill Simmons have never rung more true:

You have to be from here to understand. You just do. It wasn't just that the Yankees always win. It was everything else that came with it -- the petty barbs, the condescending remarks, the general sense of superiority from a fan base that derives a disproportionate amount of self-esteem from the success of their baseball team. I didn't care that they kept winning as much as they were a-holes about it. Not all of them. Most of them. In 96 hours, everything was erased. Everything. It was like pressing the re-start button on a video game.

** We tried to figure out the argument for putting Pedro in there, it was only this morning that a co-worker pointed out the fact that:
1. Schilling has to pitch game 2 of the World Series. There's no way he could pitch on Saturday and having him pitch game 3 means he had to bat, which no one wants.
2. You want to have Wakefield pitch at Fenway. Wakefield has been prone to giving up first inning runs and we'll have a much better chance of being able to compensate with the DH.
3. Pedro does have experience hitting from his time in the NL. Granted it was some years ago, but it's something.
So when you add all that up, that means Pedro's not going to pitch until Game 3 in Houston or St. Louis on about a week's rest. So putting him in for an inning in a game that was pretty comfortably in control was a good way to keep him active.

Time for a change?

I've been quite for quite some time now. It's certainly not from a lack of activity...

Over the past couple of months I have:

• Went to California and had an absolute blast with Dave at Comicon
• Made a trip to Errol to visit Jen's parents
• Went camping with Shane in Vermont and established a new camp site.
• Went to the final regular season game at Fenway (to go along with hitting the home opener earlier this year)
• Went down to Baltimore with Matt and Brian to visit with our friend Joel and catch the last 4 games of the season

While all of that has been going on, work had been pretty much the same. We've been struggling along with a crippled QA team while the contractors come up to speed and at the same time we've had an unusual amount of serious customer related issues. That's why when Matt told me about a position opening up at the Harvard-MIT Data Center, where he works, I jumped at the opportunity to interview. After two visits, they made me an offer I simply couldn't refuse, so at the end of the month I will be leaving my current position at Softech.

I'm really looking forward to this new position. I'll be able to work directly with people I genuinely like, have a short commute (at least when I'm not visiting Jen), and be able to get my butt in gear and start pursuing my Masters Degree.

Hopefully now that I'm winding down I'll have a little more free time to post here and get back on a regular posting schedule, but I've said that before so we'll see what happens...

Time to start printing resumes

Last Friday the company announced a round of lay-offs. Most of the victims were administrative staff or they worked on different products, so I think my job is still intact (for now). The thing that worries me is that they are outsourcing QA and "some" development overseas. They say that "some" is just the sustaining engineering, but I'm not gullible enough to think that it could me everything should things not improve.

With that in mind I'm going to ramp up my job search. I'm going to have to seriously look at jobs I wouldn't have considered before because of location or the kind of work. I still won't take the first thing that falls into my lap but I have to broaden my search criteria a bit. I need to update my resume...

3x Thursday: 07/08/y2k+4: Sleep...(or lack there of)

Time again for 3XThursday, compliments of Missy

1. On average, how many hours of sleep do you get a night? Is it enough, or do you need more?
   On average I'd say around 7, but it could be as little as 4 and as many as 10. I don't really have a set sleep pattern. The 4 is usually too little, which leads to the 10.
2. Do you normally sleep pretty well at night, or are you a toss & turner, insomniac, etc?
   I sleep like the dead. On one occasion an ambulance came and took my father to the hospital. When I woke up the next morning I didn't know where my parents were.
3. Do you sleep alone, or with someone? If you sleep alone normally, how do you fair when you sleep next to someone, or vice versa if it's the opposite?
   When I'm not at Jen's place I sleep alone, otherwise we share a bed. I sleep soundly in either case.

Bonus: What's your ideal sleep schedule?
If my body could handle it I'd say 1-6AM.

I could get used to these long weekends

Due to the trip to Bar Harbor last weekend and the impending 4th of July weekend, this will be my second 3-day weekend in a row. This one will likely be less exciting than the first, however. I'll be spending tonight in Nashua with Jen and a good chunk of tomorrow as well. Tomorrow night I might go check out the Paul Oakenfold show at Avalon if I can find people to go with. Then on the 4th I'll be spending some time with the boys from NU and we'll get to some grillin' and gamin'. Monday will likely be a day recuperation in Nashua before getting back to the grind.

And to think, only a scant 2 weeks to the west coast excursion...

Playing the waiting game

My interview on Monday went well I think. I met with the director of Development and the VP of Engineering. I really think that this would be a good fit for me and them. I have the kind of experience they're looking for and they seem like a company I could enjoy working for. It seems like a very relaxed, friendly environment and there's apparently no formal dress code (both definite pluses). At this point I'm just waiting to hear back to see if they want me to come in for a second interview. I'm just hoping it's just for a chance to meet more people and not a "technical" interview, but I suppose we'll see if it happens.

Back to Reality

Today was my first day back at work since Thursday. I took Friday off as part of my vacation in Bar Harbor. I had a pretty good time even though it rained both Friday and Saturday and didn't really clear up until I had to leave on Sunday. I got a chance to see my folks again and visit with my sister Sam and her husband Anthony and the new baby, Kaeleigh. I've got pictures that I'll post as soon as I get home tonight (didn't have the time or energy to do it yesterday). *UPDATE* The pictures are up.

I will be leaving work earlier than normal today though, as I have an interview at 3 in Cambridge. A company I had sent my resume out to through HotJobs finally got around to calling candidates (something I'm familiar with as we've done the same thing here) and I set up an interview. We'll see if this one works out better than the last. It's definitely a better fit for my skills I think and is a true developer position, as opposed to the other job I interviewed for. The company is actually located right down the street from the coffee house Sarah works at.

19 days and counting to my real vacation. It can't come fast enough at this point.