I have a story regarding Home Depot.

I was working a lucrative contract job in Columbus, OH, and commuting home on my own dime to Atlanta. Home Depot contacted me about a job opening, as the Senior Manager of User Experience. I applied, phone interviewed, came to Atlanta for an in-person interview with the Director, and was hired.

I quit my contracting job and moved all of my stuff home in preparation of starting work on a Monday. Sunday night, HD called and said there was a hang up in the HR processing and asked me to start Wednesday. Tuesday night I got a call and was asked to start the following Monday while they got everything sorted out. Monday became Wednesday, became Monday again. I expressed my concern and received an email from a VP who assured me it was an unusual hiccup and he gave me his word they wanted me and would work it out.

Three weeks after quitting my contract job upon receiving their offer letter, I received a short email that said simply, "We are retracting the offer of employment." I contacted anyone I could, and no one would answer. Original recruiter, people I interviewed with, public email addresses on the web site. No answers.

I used my LinkedIn account to find a friend of a friend who worked at Home Depot who told me in confidence the reason for my email; my papers delivered into HR to set up my new hire accounts had come back marked as "Ineligible for Rehire."

You see, 12 years ago, when I was 22 years old, my wife was pregnant with our first child and was put on bedrest. She had to quit her job. So, in order to supliment my full time income I picked up some hourly part time holiday work at the local Home Depot store. I told the store manager and hiring manager I was only looking for work till the end of the holidays, when my wife was due. They agreed. 3 months later, when my wife's due date came, I told them I was leaving, and I appreciated the opportunity. They thanked me, had me sign the papers, and even had a cake for me to celebrate my employment and my upcoming child.

12 years later, when HIRED for a full-time permanent position with the corporate office as a senior UX/UI Design Manager, I was ineligible for rehire because that original store manager neglected to put those papers I had signed into the right envelope, so they were never filed and I was listed as "Terminated for job abandonment."

Repeated emails to HR and the VP were not returned, so I was left jobless, with no leads, no "official" explanation. And no way to appeal or change the status.

Fun times with job searching.

Sunburn Fire-Ant Fiberglass Hell Fire. Its real. And I can't stand it.

I thought I would share my story. I get sunburnt on occasion, this past Saturday was one of those times. Apparently, I am allergic to sunburn, and I go a little crazy. I've never met anyone else to whom this happens, and NO ONE seems to understand me. So I was thrilled to find a blog with several people weighing in.

http://kathrynjennings.blogspot.com/2011/12/sunburn-fire-ant-hell-itch.html

My comment is at the bottom, but I thought I'd repost it here.

--

My god. The power of the internet is good. It loves us and keeps us. I pledge my undying love to the internet and honor it every day.

THANK YOU for posting this and using whatever words and phrases I searched for.

I've suffered this twice before and again today. It is the absolute worst. NO ONE who hasn't experienced it can begin to understand. It isn't just the fire ants marching under your skin, its not only the fiberglass being drug across you, its not exclusively the lemon juice squirted into a paper cut. It is that it becomes almost instantly mental. It drives you insane with panic, crazy while under assault from unseen assailants, the discomfort drives you to madness, slapping yourself, pacing, willing to do anything at any time for even a modicum of relief. Then, you make the mistake of trying aloe or lidocaine or cold compresses, and it angers the prickly fire just beneath your skin and it surges forth the fury of ten thousand suns which drives you further into madness and desperation.

I liken it to the reaction of a heroin and crack addict being doused with mustard gas. I was inconsolable, raving, jumping, jerking, running myself into walls, screaming. I was not sane. My eyes were alternately wide and crazed, then closed tight as I waited for the surge of pain to pass. I was crying and rocking, pacing angrily across the house, looking at items in my fridge, milk, creamy dressings, slices of cheese, pudding, hoping and calculating if they would possibly sooth the thousands of scorpion stings across my shoulders and chest.

Thank you for this post. While it doesn't calm the lightning firestrikes of sharpened jacks rolling under my skin, it does ease my mind to know that I am truly not alone, not crazy, and not descending into an opium-like madness from which I'll never recover. There are other people who have felt this way, who feel this way, you have lived through, and emerged fromt he otherside, newly dedicated to applying sunscreen, wearing swimming shirts, staying the fuck indoors.

My day of calm hasn't yet arrived. I'm still constantly walking through the briar patch, grapefruit rain falling into every new wound. My nerves and in turn my brain, is screaming. Demanding I roll around in the sand, commanding me to use the metal garden rake across my chest, trying to convince me that the razor blade paint scraper is my only solution. But I am strong.

I am distracting myself by talking, reading, walking... I am drugged up, with twice the normal dose of antihistamines, anti-inflammatories, and an anti-anxiety pill.

Nothing is working, except to keep me from walking in front of a bus. Its had almost come to that. A final release from the pain.

But I am strong, and I have others out there. Who unknowingly, silently support me, who know my struggle. Who know I've not gone crazy.

I just wish they could completely convince me. Because I've got a tub of greek yogurt and a spatula in my hand, and I'm not afraid to use it.

Lies, lies, and more Walmart.

I find it interesting when Companies just straight out lie. Its even more interesting when its companies I hate, and proof is readily available on the web.

http://www.walmartstores.com/AboutUs/8412.aspx

Check out 1968-1981 "The Discount City mark was used in print advertising, on the uniforms/smocks, in-store signing, and other things. However, it was never used as building signage or in an annual report."

Never used in building signage? Never?

Auto Industry Failures and Success

I'm not clear why people think that eliminating marketing brands would save any of these companies money.

The thing that is sucking the money out of the company is because they are selling multitudes of models that cannibalize their own sales. I dont mean re-branding, because thats just getting the same car with a different set of power features and a different grill and tail-lights. I'm talking about having 5 crossovers. 4 midsize cars. Many suvs.

GM could have a separate brand for every vehicle. But they need less vehicles. A car company needs 7-12 models. Fill every niche.

The companies need to restructure business-wise, and have more efficient product lines, across the board.

THATS the real solution.

It just doesnt make as tasty or inflammatory blog postings.

The PlayStation 3 Turns Two

Quoted from http://kotaku.com/5089488/the-playstation-3-turns-two:

The PlayStation 3 Turns Two

Two years ago tomorrow the PlayStation 3 had its North America launch. Remember November 2006? Ah, yes, the days of $3,000 machines being sold on eBay and beyond-the-pale mayhem in the midnight line-ups to get one. Sony Computer Entertainment America had a far more sedate affair on Wednesday, toasting the two year anniversary (don't call it a "birthday") of the console.

There were no big announcements or proclamations at the event, but it did showcase Killzone 2 and Resistance: Retribution, kind of apt considering Resistance: Fall of Man was a console launch title. They also had a video depicting the evolution of the console's firmware, which is always sort of trippy to remember what you didn't have two years ago and what you take for granted now. And on that score, of course, PlayStation Home's open beta will hit sometime before the end of the year.

Worldwide sales of the console stand at 16.8 million units at the year two mark. So, cheers and here's to year three.

Wow. What a Day

Amazing. Good prevails over evil.

And this, my friends, is why...

JR --

I'm about to head to Grant Park to talk to everyone gathered there, but I wanted to write to you first.

We just made history.

And I don't want you to forget how we did it.

You made history every single day during this campaign -- every day you knocked on doors, made a donation, or talked to your family, friends, and neighbors about why you believe it's time for change.

I want to thank all of you who gave your time, talent, and passion to this campaign.

We have a lot of work to do to get our country back on track, and I'll be in touch soon about what comes next.

But I want to be very clear about one thing...

All of this happened because of you.

Thank you,

Barack

November 4th, 2008

Go.

Go Vote.

Seriously. Everyone.

No matter what. Vote.

Please.

Late Night Hunting

I went downstairs for something to eat, later in the evening than I really should be eating. I remembered I'd put my leftover burrito from taco bell in the fridge, so i grabbed it.

As I'm digging in the fridge for a can of nonexistent beer, and settling for a coke, I see a palmetto bug, about the size of a pack of Juicy Fruit, hustling across the kitchen floor from the back porch.

So, in a fit of anger at the bug for feeling it could infiltrate my abode, i picked up a dry cleaners' laundry bag, and slammed in down on top of the bug, which was approximately the size of an grapefruit slice.

Of course, as this process always seems to go, I missed it the first time. Has anyone ever hit a bug the first try? I never have. Maybe I"m not Miyagi. Anyway, I slam my fists down again in the general direction the bug was headed.

Missed again. As he was about to disappear beneath a box under my kitchen desk, i give it one last good pound. I got him this time. I can tell from the crunching sounds and feel, like i crushed a taco shell containing two whole eggs. Also from the spray of sticky slime all across my face and arm.

I pause, like is my nature, and I assess this potentially vomit-inducing situation. I realize the slime is oddly colder than I would have guessed. And slightly... i don't know... chunkier? Gradually, and luckily quicker than the anger, came the realization...

I had squeezed the absolute, and almost literal, shit out of the burrito i was holding in my hand when i began the pest control onslaught and that it was the filling of the burrito, not the filling of of the roach the size of a shoe insole, that was across my face and arm.

I dare not tempt it with removing my tongue from my mouth to taste, so i slowly walk into the bathroom and look in the mirror. Surely enough, I had a refried handlebar moustache.

i cleaned myself up, and went back to the scene of the messy murder. Under the laundry bag was the complete contents of a roach the size of a matchbox car.

Relief never felt so good.

I Literally Love Music

Literal.

Like, no more of the listen-look-figure out version of music. Its simple. You just watch the video and you know exactly whats going on in the video.

Its great.

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Under The Bridge


Ah Ha - Take On Me


Head Over Heels


U2 - Still Havent Found What I'm Looking For

Say Whatchoo Mean

Metaphor-Free Radio

Obamoglus

Check out my mogulus channel. Mostly new hip-hop, though right now, very Obama-related!

Mogulus.com/paynomind

Mixed Bag of Weekend Stuff

Man, talk about a good weekend!

In sports, my beloved Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets beat #15 FSU, which is great. Puts them on the inside track to win the division in the ACC. If they'd found their second half offense against Virginia, we may be talking a top ten team, here. But lets not get greedy. Winning is great.

A second lovely sports story is that U(sic)GA and the Puppies lost their game, top ten ranking, and their lunch against UF, and got slaughtered. Ahh, I love when the puppies absorb a humliating loss.

To complete the trifecta, the Falcons looksed sharp and got the easy win against the Raiders. Boy, that Matt Ryan looks like a champ. Its only gonna be 3 or 4 months before we start hearing how badly he folded under the pressure of the playoffs, when 3 months ago, we were talking about the Falcons possibly getting the first pick in the draft. I'm not sure who to thank for the surprising run of Falcons success. I just know I like it!

Thursday, I had drinks with work friends, which was nice. Friday was Trick or Treat with the kids, which was fun, nostalgic, sweet, and slightly strange. Jay was insistant that he see "his gorls" so I took him to Cindy's neighborhood, so he could go door to door with his sisters. It was great seeing all three of my kids at once, running door to door, co-ordinating with each other, figuring out which door to hit next.

That night, went for drinks, and ended up bowling, of all things to do on All Hallows Eve. Its been way too long, even today my thumb is kinda sore, as is my ego at looking at my scores. Yeesh. Like golf, I either need to play more, or refuse to ever play again.

Got a lot done at the house this weekend as well. Got a lot cleaned up, including the kitchen. Got my armoir cleaned out of t-shirts, to make way for the tv. Even strapped the tv to the handtruck to begin its ascent up the stairs. I will need help for that, its a heavy mother. I spent a lot of time patching dents and dings in the wall with the drywall paste, I painted the trim in the living room and stair way, and paininted the livingroom. Next will be the stairway, and another all-over coat in the living room.

So, all-in-all a good weekend. It was fun. Thanks for being there!

Jaws of Life, Not Needed

Amazon has finally told manufacturers, "Hey! Quit making it damned near impossible for us humans to open your ridiculously sealed products! I bought it, I want it OUT!"

Be sure to look for their "Frustration-Free Packaging" option, and USE it!

Now, perhaps there is a chance I'll need one less garbage bag full of twist-ties on Christmas morning.

Johari

I dont like the name, but this is an interesting window into who someone is.

About Me

You go, click the 6 boxes that apply to the person the most, and they find out about themsleves and your perceptions of them. Very cool.

Please take a moment to fill mine out and send me yours!

The Sontum of Qualace

Brilliant!

Again, the random multitudes of folks who post their work on YouTube have struck gold. This is a "proposed" theme song for the new Bond film. It is exceptionally well-sone, and funny as all hell.

WARNING! Old posts previous to this!

I'm intending to start this back up, so if you are reading back, know that any post before this in the archive is REALLY old. Different life situations, different roles being played by different actors. Just so ya know.

Also, TY for being interested in the archive!