The Situation Report as it is on Saturday, 1/20/18

It is coming up on three weeks on being out of work.  During that time an interview has taken place, and a job offer that soon followed, but I am not back to work.  I was to have started last Monday, being contracted out to one of the local aerospace firms, but that is now on hold.  So I'm out pounding the pavement so to speak, and trying to deal with that situation as best as I can.

I could write a few pages on it.  I mean, it was a letdown.  It was a great offer with better benefits.  And the start date has been "postponed".  I haven't heard anything since I got that news, and to be on the safe side the search is continuing.

* * * * * * *

As for the old job, I was told by the customer that when the new company takes over that contract, that they hope I'll be back.  I am open to returning to that position, but I can't wait the six months or however long it's going to take until the work is transitioned over to the incoming company.  I have already applied there but there are legal issues that have to be worked out between the winning contractor, and the losing contractor (not my former employer).  My best information is that this won't be settled until mid-February at the earliest, and even then that doesn't mean that the task will be funded right away.

That said, I went ahead and applied to that new company.  Their reputation is good.

* * * * * * *

What this is teaching me is that I am not ready for retirement.  Yes, a sabbatical every now and then is nice, and there are things I need to do around the house.  I'm already doing some of them and catching up on some things.  I enjoy my ham radio activities.  I enjoy writing and I'm re-reading some science fiction novels from Isaac Asimov.  I did one book review several years ago and I should do another while I'm on hiatus from work.

* * * * * * *

As you might well now if you've been a regular reader of this blog, radio has been a passion of mine for several years.  As in over forty years.  As since high school.  And I've been enjoying ham radio again, even though conditions aren't the greatest.

Conditions haven't exactly been the greatest.  The bands don't seem to be as crowded. 

That said, I've been having a great deal of fun. 

* * * * * * *

I am overdue for a Pat DiNizio tribute post.  It's something I want to do.

In the meantime, here is one of the best songs ever recorded:

Drown in My Own Tears

It's Been One of Those Weeks

On the eve of turning 59 years of age, I am in the process of concluding a week that fortunately, is not one of those types of weeks that you get every week.  A few days ago I learned of the passing of Smithereens frontman and lead singer Pat DiNizio.  I knew that he had been in ill health these past few months, but he was posting just three days before passing that he was on the mend and was expected to start touring next month.

I had the pleasure of meeting him while I was exiled in Las Vegas, and was impressed by just how a nice guy he was.  I had never met him before and yet I got to meet him backstage not once during the soundcheck, but again before they were to take the stage.  I chatted with him for several minutes afterwards.  If I had signed up for Facebook I could have interacted with him some more since he was a social media hound, but I don't do Facebook and do not plan to in the near future if at all.

I should create a separate post highlighting some Smithereens songs.  He was a gifted songwriter, touching upon a wide range of thoughts that can reside within a human soul.  I had wondered if some of them were as a result of a personal tragedy that he had experienced, but in an interview I learned that the song I had in mind (Blood and Roses) was inspired by a short story that he had read.

Needless to say, I was in something of a funk this week.  But there was more.

Yesterday I learned that my current employment is coming to an end early next month.  To be honest, I had seen the writing on the wall, and have been in discussion with recruiters these past few weeks.  We've been beset by retirements, resignations and layoffs since our firm lost the contract to another company.  The contract transition is being held up by protests from another losing firm, and the government cannot fund the task orders until this is resolved, and that won't be until mid-February.

Even then, the infrastructure we were using for testing is not properly working, and the government can't replace it until Congress passes a budget, which is something they haven't done for several years.  I made the decision some six weeks ago that I needed to start looking.  There was one possibility with a local firm that produces medical equipment but they cancelled the requisition.  A return to a former employer in Oro Valley is a possibility but there won't be a decision on that one until the holidays are over.

I have had some people I know suggest a return to the firm where I was laid off from in 2014 as that they are now hiring like crazy.  I was hesitant to pursue that option, but I have now, through my own sources and methods, started the process of taking a pulse there. 

There's also another former employer that's been after me for the past six weeks.  That would involve a relocation to Texas, in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, and a good friend of mine who is going over told me of the offer package that he got, and that is now under consideration. 

I am not feeling the attachment to Tucson that I used to feel five years ago.  The city council is running The Old Pueblo into the ground.  Our roads are the worst of any major city, the police department response time is such that you get put on hold if you have to call 911, and in spite of sales tax increases that have passed it isn't getting any better.  Sheila and I do not feel like we are going to retire here and although we don't want to leave Arizona, what if the pastures in Texas are better?

A recruiter from that firm contacted me again this week, and yesterday I submitted a resume.  Housing prices are slightly higher than they are here, but if I score the same percentage of salary increase that Mike K did, then I can get that, plus enough land to erect an antenna farm.  That would allow me better access to the lower frequency bands for my ham radio activities. 

So the question that will have to answered is, will the quality of life there be substantially easier?  Will the job be something that I can't wait to tear into to?  I would get such a job if I were to go back to that medical device firm.....I really enjoyed working there, and gave me even more satisfaction than satellite engineering did.  I'll have to see what kind of opportunities are over there in the Metroplex.  Sheila and I will have to consider if Texas is where we will be when we retire.  Arizona, in some places, offers great locations, but Flagstaff and Prescott have gotten expensive, and Kingman won't work and neither will Sorry Vista.  Silver City in New Mexico is a place we would like, if we got far enough out into the country but not too far away from supermarkets and medical care.

Another question is, do I do a contract job for six months out of state, and then come home?  Things in the industry are picking up (they started really picking up the day after Hillary lost). 

I am not worried about a long period of inactivity, but I am also aware that I may have to make some tough choices.  It won't be the first time; I had them to make in early 1999, and that's how I got here.

We are not in a society where most of us end up growing up in the town we were born in. 

You follow the money.

The Smithereens Play Las Vegas!

A little over a week ago, when I was checking out what was scheduled for Fremont Street (Downtown), I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the Smithereens were going to play a free concert!  It was to be at the same location where I saw BTO several years ago, and I decided to go Downtown last Saturday to go check it out.  I arrived in the morning, and figured that they and the other bands would be doing their soundchecks around 2ish in the afternoon.

I was correct, and I was in an area where I could see the back entrance of the stage when Smithereens guitarist Jim Babjak happened to come up the ramp, with his guitar slung in a soft case on his back.  He said hi to me, and I returned the greeting, and then said "White Castle Blues!"  He paused and smiled.

"White Castle Blues" is an obscure Smithereens song that he co-wrote several years ago, which was a bonus track on their first full length CD (it did not make the vinyl).  I've always liked that song.  It's a bit out of the Smithereens mold; with him doing the vocal on it and having fun with it.  He then remarked, "you have one here in Vegas, don't you?"  I said we did, but it's on the Strip, and since we locals don't go to the Strip I had not been to it yet.  We chatted some more for a few moments, and then he went on to proceed with the soundcheck.  The bass player, Severo "The Thrilla" Jornacion was already there, and drummer Dennis Diken and singer/rhythm guitarist Pat DiNizio (also the frontman for the group) joined him shortly thereafter.

Once Jimmy got his guitar plugged in and verified that it was in tune, he treated me to a short burst of "White Castle Blues".  Then the other members soundchecked their instruments, and they also played a short burst of "Only A Memory" to get the vocals all balanced out.

After that I got to chat with Pat DiNizio some, and with Jim.  There were a few other fans there.  I had to explain that this was my first time seeing them although I'd been following them since 1988.  It was simply a matter of them and me being in the same town at the same time.  In my San Jose years I would be away on a business trip when they came through.  That was how it is, and they wanted to know if I was going to stick around for the show.  I said I would, even if it was past my normal bedtime.  They would be taking the stage shortly after 9:00 PM and would play a 50 minute set. 

Pat obliged my request to pose for a photo with him.  He did ask me not to post this on the internet, and out of respect for that wish I won't post it here, but he was OK with me emailing it to Sheila.  They went back to an RV were they were presumably going to rest up some.  Jim said he needed to get out of the heat, but would see me again later on.

Through an interesting sequence of events, when I was back there at 7ish, one of the fans from another of the bands who had seen me at the soundcheck gave me the VIP wristband so that I could be in the section closest to the stage.  I went in, and a security guard came up to me.  I thought I was going to be asked to leave, but he was there to tell me all three band members were doing a meet and greet backstage, and if I wanted to meet them then go ahead and go back.

I felt bad that I didn't have anything for the Smithereens to sign, but Jimmy said "hang on.  I've got a picture in my guitar case I can give you."  He returned five minutes later.  The Thrilla jokingly gave me a hard time for not having a silver sharpie on me, but that I could purchase one.  I asked him how much, and he said "five thousand dollars!".  It was either Jim or Pat who said "don't listen to him", and I came away with an autographed color photo of the band.

They took the stage at about 9:10 PM.  In that short of a set, they obviously couldn't have played all the songs that they wanted to play, but they did play their well known tunes, and blended one of them with a medley by using a couple of songs from The Who.  It was one excellent show, and afterwards they signed autographs and CDs at a booth on the opposite side of the Fremont Street corridor.  They had CDs on sale too.  I bought one of a live show that I didn't have, and one from Jim Babjak's side project.  Jim personalized it for me, and Dennis signed that one as well since he had played on it.  We chatted some more, with me indicating that I would try to catch them in Arizona later this year.

After I got home all full of adrenaline, I visited their websites, and discovered that Jimmy had his email address up there, so I wrote him to thank him again for providing me that picture, and for a great show.  I logged off and tried to get some sleep after that.

It wasn't until the next morning that I saw his reply.  He wrote me back from his hotel room shortly after midnight using his iPhone!  Now how cool is that?!  I plan to write him again shortly, but I want to give his CD a second listen before I do.

They play in Sahuarita AZ on Friday, the 11th of September.  Plane fares at this time look doable but I can't commit to this until early August.  I'll have to burn a vacation day and fly down there the night before, but I'd like to have Sheila with me the next time I see them, and this is so far the best way to make that happen.

As stated previously, Pat asked me not to post the photo of us together, but I have one from the soundcheck I can share with you.