Life is a State of Mind

So I’ve spent two days at my new job and I am happy. There is a lot to do, and some of it is very strange, but it is all interesting and there is a lot of freedom to tackle each problem as we techies see fit. The team is excellent, and the environment very informal.

I will be learning, learning, learning.

I am already re-learning how to make do with less expensive gear (smaller company, smaller budget, more sensible about money). Now if I can figure out how to set up a team AIM-bot that will share messages with the whole team at once…

I am waiting for Erci to get home to tell me how her second day was. Her first day was entirely eaten with the usual corporate propaganda from both the contracting firm and GAO itself… sigh. Hopefully today was better for her.

We are gearing up for Atlantic City Dance-O-Rama competitions and recovering from a brilliant dance-party at our house this past weekend.

It has been a fantastically interesting job, one where they pay me to play in some of the world’s largest toy-rooms (for computers are toys to me). Mostly I am going to miss the wonderful people I have worked with here at AOL.

I know the new job will be filled with new opportunities and good people too… but it does not stop me from being a little wistful and melancholy today. Sigh…

Sorry it has been a while since my last update. There has not been much to write about. I have been busy at work wrapping up projects so they can be handed over cleanly. Been busy at home cleaning house and at the dance studios getting ready for Fall Showcase (last weekend) and Atlantic City Dance-O-Rama (end of November) then Yuletide (New Year’s Eve).

Arthur Murray Fall Showcase was fun. It was at the Sheraton this time, which meant an overly warm, cramped room for the latin/rhythm routines (I like Westfields better). Our friends Cindy and Anne-Marie came to watch and it was fun sharing observations with them. Erci did a fantastic Viennese Waltz with Dan Calle, and a very lively Mambo with Bryant Phillips. My Bolero with Marisa Jo Frank went very well, though I did at least one error right at the final pose/dip and probably need to work on emphasis and arm styling more. There were a lot of very memorable routines.

We cut out early to attend Dan and Jeff’s 10th anniversary party, where we had fantastic Malbec with lamb. Erci and I crashed there rather than drive back sleepy, and we had a nice breakfast with them as well (though I had a hangover).

Erci has accepted a job offer from NCI Information Systems and she’ll be working at the Government Accounting Office starting November 26th. She’ll be in the same building with both my brother (Steve) and my niece. In a strange twist of ironic fate, she is filling the same opening that her first boss at AOL recently filled. The commute into Washington, DC will be long, and we’ll be making life adjustments, but she is excited to start because it looks like an interesting job.

I will be starting on that same day at Ruckus working with some old friends in Herndon near Worldgate.

It was a bad year for a re-match. My favorite local candidates: Roemmelt, Rishell, and Pandak all lost to incumbents in effectively re-matched elections from one and two years ago. I am still trying to figure out why, because in all three cases the losing candidate is clearly and demonstrably more able, more likeable, and better for Virginia or Prince William County. What they all have in common is Prince William County, and it is clear we are having problems educating voters here.

It was a really dumb time to allow certain incumbents to go unopposed. Both Delegate Albo and Loudon County Commonwealth’s Attorney Jim Plowman lost substantial votes to write-in candidates… though both won re-election, it is clear that an effective candidate on the ballot in those races would have put the races in contention quite easily.

Write-in campaigns dramatically slow down the counting process. It was after midnight before reliable returns began getting reported from Loudon county, which had many of us on pins and needles well into the night.

Money can buy many races, but clearly there are limits. While money probably bought several races around the state, it is also clear that despite vast money differences, some races are still won by people. Chap Peterson, Stevens Miller, Susan Buckley all won despite enormously unequal spending.

We must have a precinct by precinct ground game with better logistics at each polling place.

I am hugely happy we won the state senate, but we should have picked up more seats. We should have picked up more in the house too. Prince William is a sad, sad disappointment.

If you live and vote in Loudon county tomorrow - please consider writing in “John Flannery” for the office of Commonwealth Attorney for Loudon County.

Earlier it looked like no one could challenge incumbent Jim Plowman, but CA Plowman has done a very unethical thing that has brought to light that he may be corrupt and vulnerable. Plowman pressed charges against Mark Tate this Spring in the middle of a hotly contested Republican party primary election, effectively knocking Tate out of the race and handing Jill Vogel the nomination to run for State Senate as a Republican. Now, six months later, the trumped up charges have been dropped. Meaning Tate was innocent all along, should probably have been given the nomination against Vogel and that Plowman is abusing the power of his office to impact politics.

Please take the time to research this and decide for yourself.
http://www.writeinflannery.com/

Also - be aware that many Loudon County Supervisors are very corrupt and getting HUGE campaign contributions from developers (Snow, Staton, Delgaudio) - please consider very carefully if you want them to remain in office.

You can look up contributions via VPAP.org for any candidate.

Loudon County Voter Information (non-partisan):

http://www.loudoun.gov/government/election.htm

http://www.loudoun.va.lwvnet.org/

I hope that helps!

“Remember, remember the 5th of November. The gunpowder, treason, and plot. I know of no reason why the gunpowder treason should ever be forgot.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Fawkes

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V_for_Vendetta

Sorry for being quiet on this forum for several days, a major life-change decision was brewing and I needed to mull it over and remain quiet until I’d notified my boss and was sure of things. I can finally publicly state that I have given informal notice to my employer almost 13 years that I am leaving to pursue a new opportunity.

My last day with the team, boss, and job I have loved very much will be November 21st (just before a very early Thanksgiving day holiday). I will be in Herndon, still local. Same AIM/Yahoo/Jabber screennames. Same personal email.