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| This entries music:
http://www.myfilehut.com/userfiles/12659/Hung%20Up%20On%20My%20Baby.mp3
At Night I Can't Sleep, I Toss and Turn...
If you haven't figured it out yet, the song on playing right now was sampled by the ghetto Boys for "My Mind is Playing Tricks on Me." I always think of the Ghetto Boys when halloween comes around. I just like this version more (Isaac Hayes - Hung Up On My Baby.)
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Classroom Notes circa 2003-2005
So last week, in my "T.V. Stands for...." entry I mentioned something about looking through my old notes in college. As i was pilfering through everything, I stumbled across a few notes that really summed up what I learned in college.
This one is entitled "Rock and Roll History 101."
One of my all time favorite classes in college because I got stoned every day before class. That's probably also why this is my favorite in the "collection." This is also where the "smoking robot" was first born. If you can tell, behind the drawings are the notes i took in class. With a good eye, you'll find Jimmi hendrix, Tom Mayall, The yardbirds, Led Zeppelin, the Beach Boys...
Man, I loved this class. It really turned me onto classic rock, too bad i didn't know who Ted Nugent was then!
"Operations Management pt. 1"
This "piece" depicts Quality Assurance and a formula for it (which i no longer understand,) a wierd squigly patter, the decision process of wether or not to produce a certain product or outsource and a guy blowing smoke, which eventually turns into a chicken.
"Operations Management pt. 2"
A portrait of my bitchy professor, Ruth Wang aka Wangsta
"Financial Management"
As you can see, I Voted. You can also find a few notes in the background on companies which we had to profile; Kodak, HP, etc. More importantly, you will find that my robots have in some way matured to a closer resemblence of their former state (he's holding the bong.) You'll also see inspirations from Pink Floyd and Jurassic 5 in this "piece."
I hope you enjoyed my notes from class. Man, college was enlightening. | | |
| This Entries Music:
http://www.myfilehut.com/userfiles/12659/tv%20theme%20songs%20-%20full%20house.mp3
T.V. Stands for Thoughtful Values.
I was watching television the other day and I came across Boy Meets World, you know, Corey, Topanga, Eric, and Joey Lawrences' less dreamy younger brother. It was the episode where the whole gang graduated from highschool and Mr. Feeny asks everyone to write a little something about their high school experience. The assignment is not graded, nor do they even have to do it, but don't under estimate the craftiness of good ol' Feeny.
So Shawn, being the reluctant slacker that he is, initially decides he does not want to write the paper. He eventually does (I didn't see how this transition came about because Jessica Simpson was washing General Lee on MTV) and his paper is so moving, he is asked to read his speech to the crowd. He gets to the podium and begins to talk about how he fucked up in high school and ends the speech with these words "I could have done better." Wow. When I heard that, I totally understood. I could have done better.
Those five words really struck a cord with me (then I realized I was relating myself with a homeless, fatherless, t.v. character with the overbite of a coke addict.) I'd prefer to relate with Eric, the hunky older brother with the wavy blonde hair and blue eyes. Anyways, back to the point. I could have done better too. In fact, that's sorta been the story of my life. I've also come to realize that though I cannot change the past, I can take control of my future.
In college, I did the bare minimum. I didn't take optional Finals when I already was passing, I didn't do extra credit if I already had a B. But all those things seem to be kicking me in the butt right now. And I wish that I did "better." That interview for Portfolio Analyst really shook me up. I realized that I wasn't trying to learn in college, but rather pass. I didn't care if I knew the material as long as I got a good grade. Shit, I barely cared if I got a decent grade. I really hated studying when I was in school. The ironic thing is, now I want to read every Finance text book I had. Had. I no longer have them, because I sold them back to the book store for 50 bucks blow at the bar and the local street pharmacist. Now, I am calling old class mates for notes and borrowing textbooks from friends who were econ majors.
There is good news though. I am studying. I am re-learning the material, and goddamn it, if I get another interview in portfolio analysis, investment banking, business valuation or whatever else craigslist tells me is open, I will be prepared. I'll be damned if I let another opportunity slip through my hands because I didn't pay attention is school. Uncle Jesse would be proud.
It's funny how those family-feel-good t.v. shows of the 90's make you...feel good. There are some really good lessons taught on the small screen. Remember when Zach had to choose between the Fraternity and Screech? I'm sure that episode played in somebodys head during college. When Samantha Miceli started getting boobs and couldn't play football with her dad Tony the man-maid? Remember when Laura first met Steve Erkils alter ego Stephan Erkel; man she was in love. Ahh, t.v. of the 90's, wasn't it grand? I miss TGIF.
Inspired by the slacker Shawn, I have compiled a list of great 80's and 90's television shows in which you yourself may find life changing lessons.
Saved by the Bell
Mr. Belvedere
Growing Pains
Step by Step
Boosom Buddies
Perfect Strangers
Full House
Who's the Boss?
Family Matters
Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
Just the Ten of Us
Small Wonder
Blossom "Whoah!"
p.s. Topanga has really big boobs and I wouldn't date the girl from Small Wonder, she's too stiff. | | |
| "Dude! My Ears are Bleeding!!!!"
Man. Ted Nugent is fucking dope. For all of you who love guitar licks, none lick harder than Stranglehold by the Nuge, aka Ted Nugent. There is a good 4 minutes of him just ripping the guitar apart. Rippin' 'em I tell ya. I am currently in the process of downloading his other tracks and don't worry, I'll let you guys know if the tracks have ear busting potential.
For the past few years I have been on a retro-music craze. It started off with old R&B that hip hop artists sampled and eventually led to Classic Rock. I like music from that era because a lot of it has inspired todays new artists. It's funny how some people shun music from the old days. People think there's no way an album made 20 years could sound as good as an album made 2 weeks ago. No one wants to listen to "old stuff," the ironic thing is, if you've never heard it before, it's still new to you pal.
I once remember smoking a doobie (like the brothers) at my friends house, describing to him how great Led Zeppelin IV was. Then I said "Have you heard the album?" His response was "Dude, everybody's heard Led Zeppelin." A few weeks later, I'm hanging out with him again while we're changing the oil (note: I've only done this twice in my life) in our cars and I put the album on. After halfway through the album (even after "Stairway to Heaven") he says "Who is this?" I wanted to slap the taste out of his mouth. He made me feel like I was an idiot for asking him if he had heard of Led Zeppelin a few weeks back, and now he had the audacity to ask what album was playing? Jeez. Somebody shoot me. just because you have heard of a band doesn't mean you've heard them.
So, for all of you who may not know these songs, take a few minutes to download them. Note: I've only chosen songs which have great guitars. Consider it "Rock History 101: Lick-a-Licious" Be on the lookout sometime for "R&B History: Sampled Tracks That You Thought Your Favorite New Artist Created."
"Rock History 101: Lickalicious"
1.) Ted Nugent - Stranglehold (Grab a doobie, lava lamp and polyester handkerchief, yours ears are gonna bleeeeeeeed.)
2.) Pink Floyd - Time (Psychedelic Aural Pleasure for your Acid filled ear-lobes)
http://www.ihud.com/file.php?file=1128644105/Pink Floyd - Time.mp3
3.) The Beatles - While My Guitar Gently Weeps (This is actually Eric Clapton on the guitars, not "Tears in Heaven" Eric Clapton, but Coked out - "I want to fuck my buddies wife" - Eric Clapton
http://www.ihud.com/file.php?file=1128643524/The Beatles - While My Guitar Gently Weeps.mp3
4.) Pink Floyd - Have a Cigar (You'll be playing the Air Guitar in no time.)
http://www.ihud.com/file.php?file=1128643489/Have a Cigar.mp3
5.) Led Zeppelin - Dazed and Confused (Jimmy Page actually plays part of this song with a Cello Bow and John Bonham bangs the skins so hard you'd think they were an 18 year old school girl.)
http://www.ihud.com/file.php?file=1128643980/dazed and confused.mp3
6.) Led Zeppelin - Stairway to Heaven (One of the greatest Rock songs EVER. Be patient, Page will slowly take you up that guitar studded stairway and you'll swear you're in heaven.)
http://www.ihud.com/file.php?file=1128644571/Led Zepplin - Led zeppelin - Stairway to Heaven.mp3
7.) Lynard Skynard - Simple Man (Sweet Home Alabama is for pussies, be a Man-a Simple one who likes guitar solos.)
http://www.ihud.com/file.php?file=1128644279/Simple Man.mp3
Hopefully you took the time to download these songs. It took me quite a while to think of them. Until next time, rock on!
**To download the songs, copy and paste the link into your browser. After doing that, on the bottom of the page it'll say Download file. Right click this and hit Save As. That should work, if not, I need to find a new file host. (Someone please try this to tell me if it works, cuz it doesn't work on my mac.) | | |
| Wants vs. Needs
Two of the jobs I applied for called me this week. I had two interviews today and I am tired. Both were in the Financial District; the first at 10:00 am and the second at 2:30 pm. The first company I interviewed with had a Client Services Associate position available. Fielding calls about accounts, sending out wires, and putting together newsletters. Whoopee. Part of me says "Why the hell did you apply for this job?" Then the other side of my brain says "Because it pays." I feel the interview went really well. I answered every question and was able to relate some of my past job responsibilities to the those of a Client Services Associate and the interviewer liked me. But, they did confirm bad news which I pretty much already knew. The job is not a going to be a stepping stone into the world of Financial Analysis. It's not even a good stepping pebble.
After the interview I was feeling confident and proud of myself for doing well. I went to a coffee shop and hung out for a little while (3 hours.) During this time I prepared for my next interview and took a nap. While at the cafe, I sat behind a guy who was looking at porn on the computers the cafe had available. It was pretty disgusting. Now, everyone who knows me, knows that I am definitely a porn connoisseur. However, I just didn't find it appropriate for someone to look at porn sites in a public place; much less sites that were named "Fist Factor" and "School Girl Beatings." Fortunately, I didn't have to sit behind him for to long since Cynthia came to meet me for lunch. After Cyn arrived, she and I strolled down to Belden Place. I love Belden place. It's like a quick retreat to Belgium, or Venice. I wanted to sit outdoors, under the sun, since the weather was so gorgeous, but they were packed. There must have been over a hundred people sitting outdoors in that tiny alley way. Awesome. So we went downstairs of the restaurant Cafe Tiramisu. Christine met us up 20 minutes later. Cyn ordered the mussels in saffron, I ordered the Dungeness crap and roasted red pepper risotto and Christine ordered the portabella and fetta ravioli. Lunch was yummy and the company was fun. After lunch, Christine and Cyn went back to work and I head towards my second interview.
My second interview today was for a Portfolio Analyst. When I was initially called for the interview, the Associate told me to wear a sharp suit, be early and to study the company web site. Duh. He sent me an email reminder and again stressed that I should study the web site. So throughout the day I studied a print out of the web site. 11 pages of investment strategy, company history and employee profiles. This is the job that I really wanted. Great opportunities there. A highly analytical position, yet for some reason entry level. Perfect for the position I am in. When I got to the interview, 15 minutes early, I was told the Senior VP whom I was interviewing with was busy, so I should just sit tight. At about 2:40 I am summoned and that's when my day starts to turn shitty. The guy interviewing me was a pompous prick, albeit he had a reason to be. He received his MBA from UC Berkeley and was also CFA certified (CFA certification is a big deal. It's a three part test. You can only test for one part, once a year. Meaning, the fastest you can receive a CFA is in three years, if you fail a part, four years. And you must take the parts in a designated order.)
I could tell, right off the bat that the interviewer was not impressed by my sparkling smile or my snappy attire. Once he sat down and started asking me questions, things got even worse. Never once did he mention the web site, nor was there an opportunity for me to let him know I diligently studied the web site as instructed. he even went as far as telling me I would not be able to become a Financial Analyst without getting my Masters. Then he asked me questions (which I should know) about Financial Management. Not questions like "What is a muni-bond and how does it work?" but questions like "What is Beta and how does it relate to risk?" "What is duration?" This whole time I'm thinking "What the fuck?" Part of me is upset that the interview went so poorly. Another part of me is upset that I no longer have the notes nor the book to my financial management class. I am so upset with myself that I fucked this interview up, but their job description was poor and I was studying the wrong things.
I even told this fucker I got a 104% in that class (which I did) and A) I couldn't answer the question B) he asked "How is that possible? There's only 100%?" It's like he thought I was bullshitting him on my grades. For the record, the teacher re curved one of the tests thus granting me over 100% on that exam (110% thank you very much.) There were times in our conversation that things went well. I think he does believe me when I say my strength is in numbers (probably because I am asian) and that I really do want to embark upon a career in analysis. I'm thinking I might have a shred of hope left, so I will be emailing him a thank you letter for the interview, and in that letter i will stress the important things. I hope this works because I really want that opportunity to A) gain analysis experience and B) to show this fuck-face that I am a smart guy.
Oh, btw, I have never seen so many fobby receptionists/secretaries in my life. I think i heard more mandarin spoken in the office than English, but besides the administrative people, everyone else was white.
So now I am back at home. My apartment is a mess and I am just not in the mood to do household chore stuff. Instead I am venting on my xanga and drinking my third Newcastle. Good thing it's the pm now, otherwise I'd be an alcoholic. Speaking of addictions, can I get a loud applause for almost two months of marijuana fasting? Can you believe I haven't even taken one puff since August 9th? Damn, that's a long time. I've had plenty of times where I miss my second girlfriend so much. On sunny Sundays in San Francisco, at Val's house with Herb and Ballsy, camping, the Giants games, the nights when I just sit in my apartment and just wish I was stoned just so I wouldn't be so fucking bored. I miss Mary Jane, but she's not the type of lady that will help me find a job, nor pass a test. I miss you baby, but I'll be back. I promise.
I hope I get my break soon. I do not want to settle for an operations job, administrative job, or one that requires selling (i.e. stock broker,) but my clock is ticking and soon I'm going to have to give up my dream job and settle for one of the crappy aforementioned ones. (Well, my real dream job is really to be a music manager, but that's never gonna happen.) My window of dream catching is almost over, then it'll be time to wake the fuck up. | | |
| "I'm Mike Jones.
Who?
Mike Jones.
Who?"
Has anybody heard this album? It's dope. I know that sounds weird from a chinky Asian guy who wears more polo's than the boys from weezer, but don't get it twisted; I do love my hip hop. "Who is Mike Jones?" is actually pretty good if you can get over the ubber-repetitive hooks and phone number yelling (2-8-1-3-3-Oh-8-0-0-Foe.) He's got some really funny lines, but I'll let you discover those on your own. What's funny about this album, and Mike Jones in general, is that everyone seems to hate on the guy. So what if he repeats his name over and over....and over again? Some people act as if repeating ones self on a record is a disgusting new gimmick he spawned. People don't understand that he's in some twisted way making a mockery of it. What...you don't think he knows that shit is annoying? That's part of the joke dumb ass.
Shit, look at today's mainstream hip hop; If the listener can't recite the hook by the end of their first listen, it's probably not going to be drink-putter-downer at the clubs. I'm not hating on these artists doing their thing, I'm just hating on the Mike Jones haters. Hate the guy because you don't like his delivery, hate the guy because you think his lyrics are only about bling, whatever. Just don't hate him because he repeats himself.
Here's another gripe I have about the listening preferences of today's audience. What the hell happened to listening to an entire album? Somewhere in the invention of cd's, iPods and Limewire people have forgotten about the album. Does everyone have fucking ADD? Can't you sit there and listen to what the hell the artist wants to tell you? Would you skip back and forth through a book? And what is up with people who can't stand long instrumentals? Does a song require singing, or someone's feeble attempt at it? I love putting on some Pink Floyd and hearing people say "Where are the vocals?" They're coming buddy. Chill out and enjoy the foreplay, you might appreciate the sex more.
People have such short musical attention spans nowadays. In the 60's and 70's, before the era of cd's listeners would play a record from the beginning to the end. It's not that bad of an idea either, who knows, you may even realize there are other gems on the record you wouldn't have noticed because you were too friggin trigger happy with that little arrow button. The concept album, and well thought out entire albums are a dying art form. It's sad, but people just don't want to waste 72 minutes at the music banquet, they want their fast food singles. | | |
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