so now...

... i have this bright idea (not in the least bit novel but)... i want to purchase a delapidated property and rehab it to my specifications instead of purchasing a new home with all the bells and whistles! i figure the home search & buying process is stressful enough when you've got to consider location, and amenities, and features, and layout, and curb appeal...blah blah blah. some of which you may have to compromise or settle upon instead of getting what you really want. not to mention the paperwork and logistics side of actually aqcuiring the home and the overwhelming fact that i'm poor :\ so, i figure, why not just concentrate on finding a "dump" in a location i really want and remodel the damn thing so i can have everything i want for half the price of getting an after-market home. i think i'd rather have the stress of dealing with the contractors and knowing imma get what i want than the formerly mentioned stressed.

i say all that to ask you guys... how the hell do i find/choose an architect, planner, contractor, and inspector?!?!? i mean... how the hell should i know? apparently you're suppose to rely on a reference... you know... this person knows that person that did a job back when. BUT, i don't know anybody that knows anybody. at least i don't think :\ or... do y'all?

being presumtuous...

and assuming i get ANY job offers let alone more than one... can anyone offer any strategies for the salary/benefit negotiation part?

aside from that...

there has been a lot of death surrounding me these past few weeks. calm your nerves... they're always a few degrees of separtion away. but, surrounding nonetheless. for the cosmo-esque folks out there (you know... the dream interpreter types) what does all this mean? is death gonna seep closer to me in the near future?

i'd like to think the universe balances stuff like this. but i tallied all my friends getting married recently or soon (2) and another having a baby (1) it hardly balances to the 5 or so terminal illnesses/deaths i've been noticing in my 6-degree radius! especially when you consider that there's overlappage in the baby/marriage tally. can you see the venn diagram and the lack of mutual exclusivity here? well, even if you can't, I CAN!!!

with that said and paranoia setting in (and with george bush still presiding over the modern "free" world), i wish all of you the best in health and life in the new year. you may need it now more than ever :\

holla!

put ya hands in the air if you love al green, mangoes, [oogling at or wearing] stilettos and sunroofs in the summer...

yipes!

thanks for all the well wishes on the interview tip. this one went very well (i think) overall. only thing about it was the fact that it lasted EIGHT HOURS!!! that's right... you read correctly. eight hours and i met 9 different people asking me question after question. for real though... it wasn't all bad. they took me to lunch and the place seemed really cool. PLUS, i don't think i'll have to go through the whole "rounds" scenario. my thinking is that i've been through all the rounds i could possibly go thru in one looooong day (dontcha think?). the HR lady that i metwhen i first arrived even clocked out before i left! wtf? aside from the unexpected 8.5 hr interview day, everyone was very nice and the place, work, and culture seemed cool. extra bonus... the place is 15-20 away from my house... can't beat that, right? we'll see if the big ol' offer package comes in the mail or the single page rejection letter comes (lol).

i'm beat though after all the smilin and dry-mouth i had to experience today so... signing off.

blah

today i still feel sick, y'all. not as dead as i felt yesterday but sick nonetheless. i took some dayquil to relieve my symptoms but the downside to that is... i still get drowsy!! wtf? i've always been that way. meds' side effects (right one?) have the most extreme effect on me. once, a friend of mine gave me some midol cause i ran outta motrin (for the fellas... it's a muscle relaxer to reduce cramps). tell me why i was stranded on the couch like a quadriplegic!?!? my dumb ass (at the time) thought it was a pain killer... it relaxed every friggin muscle in my body and i couldn't move a damn place. so "suffice it to say" that all non-drowsy formulas of cold meds make me feel like a truck has hit me and i'm out for the count. ask me how i'm at work typin' this... hell if i know! luck? i guess. maybe providence just can't stand the idea of me being any more poor so it's sent me sleepy hindparts to work (lol). also makes me wonder what would happen to me if i ever needed to take any of the drugs advertised in those dramatic commercials. you know... the ones where everything is in black and white until the main character discovers "the drug" and all of a sudden their whole life is in color... where the man talks all fast and low at the end to warn you of the death that might occur while taking said drug. knowin' me, i'll be the 1 in 5 bizzillion to contract another disease, have the runny anus, AND experience erectile disfunction!! only i have that kinda luck, man :
anyhow... i digressed from the point that i feel icky still and yet had to go on an interview this morning. y'all ain't been prayin' like i asked you too, have you? i didn't feel like i was at my top pimp game while the chick was spewing question after question at me. i was too busy tryna keep my eyes open AND sound halfway intelligent. that's one on the board for the other team... the one blatantly rooting against me.

pish posh... i gotta buck up! the second installment of the double header is tomorrow morning and i should be feeling better for that one (hopefully). y'all better get on your rain dances or mantric chants or whatever y'all need to to help me out on this one.

hotep.
(shout out to mitch... lol)

p.s. (got this from my boi, mike) http://mike.webic.biz/videos/freshman15.wmv

achoo?!?!

i'm home sick today :(

i was gonna try to sleep in for a few then go to work cause lord knows i can't afford to not go to work. but, get this... i called into work this morning to tell them i was sick and i'd be in later, right? why did they tell me not to come in, to think of my fellow co-workers, and remind me that no one wants to be sick for the holidays?!??! lol... duh! i don't wanna be sick today, damnit! but i can't even be mad at 'em. the last time i was sick and went to work, the dude that sits in the cube next to me got sick a few days later and insisted that it was ALL my fault. i have yet to live it down :\ it couldn't have possibly had anything to do with the fact that he hikes or that he spends hours outside all year-round doing war reenactments or that he wears sandals and no socks in november! none of those things could have contributed to his illness... it was all little old me. but, whatever... at least i get a day to relax and get my mind right for some back-to-back interviews tomorrow and friday (y'all pray for a sistah).

i'm drugged up right now so i should go lay down or suttin'.

so...

...i've decided to start a blog (ho hum). i had pseudo blogs goin' on other places on the www. but, i guess i'm officially taking the plunge :\ let's see if i can actually keep with it considering i have the attention span of an infant!

just so we're clear on the expectations... don't expect any witty anecdotes all the damn time. i mean, we all have cute/funny thoughts from time to time but, C'MON!

second off... i know html, xml, flash and all that fun stuff but you ain't gettin' no (so i used a dub-neg...and?) super fancy coding on this jawn unless you're a prof giving me a grade in some wack ass CS course. and considering i finished school already... it just ain't happ'nin'.

other than those minor details... i'm pleased to meet you.

'til next time... be peace
chan

p.s. i'm not usually this bitchy... unfortuantely for you, ya just caught me on a quasi-bad day :\