On this day, nothing happened.
OK, that’s not entirely true, but with all the interruptions I experienced via phone and email today, I did not accomplish anything except responding to a bunch of emails and phonecalls.
Day 44 mood: Annoyed
I started the morning by turning down my latest job offer with that start-up. I’m not a match for them and I’m not ready to go back to work yet anyway.
Today was largely spent turning IRA cash into IRA stock. Over the weekend, I got the large, dividend producing stock list down to 14 great stocks and then I put all my IRA cash into those 14 stocks. Yeah, with that done, I’m moving on to non-dividend stocks.
I tried an experiment last week that failed. Last Sunday, I stopped taking Prilosec. I have been taking something for my stomach for around five years now, ever since work got really stressful, and after five year of experimentation, Prilosec was the clear winner. As I wrote in my Facebook daily update (something else I started last week): “I tried living for a week without Prilosec. I’m feeling very zen these days, but I guess my stomach is still reliving all the ancient horrors that got me taking Prilosec in the first place. That… or because I’m fat. Ya, probably #2.” Truth be told, I was almost gushing acid on Saturday, so I tried taking a Zantec. It was ineffective so I downed some Pepto Bismol which kind of worked. Sunday started well, but by the end of the day, I had serious reflux issues. This morning, feeling really crappy, I gave in and took a Prilosec. I still felt bad all day.
Day 43 mood: Acidic.
Yeah, day 40! Based on my Facebook status update this morning, my extended family might just figure out that I’m unemployed. I never bothered to tell them. Gee, guess I should have done them about 40 days ago!
That meeting I had yesterday wasn’t what I would call “ideal.” The company is best described as enthusiastic, but with no money. They are looking to add a me to the mix to do a lot of work – much of it in my area of weakness. This is hardly a fit, no matter how competent these guys are – I would be the problem! They would be better served by choosing someone else.
Funny, the building they work in used to be a place I played in some 25 years ago as the bassist for “Passion”: Gilbert Zapps. Being in the vicinity of these now dead clubs: Zapps, Pumas (now a restaurant) and Sound Tek Studios (not dead), where I recorded so many songs, brought back a ton of memories. The last time I was here (marking the end of my “professional” music career) was 20 years ago – almost to the day!
Wouldn’t you know it, on the way to the meeting I got a phone call from one of my former bosses. He wanted to know if I would be interested in doing some layout consulting work with him in about a month. He’s a good guy, but his schematics were always hard to follow, which makes my job that much harder. I’ll do the work if I need the money, but currently, I’m not really interested.
At some point, I should really, really get moving towards looking into teaching (or writing, or preaching…). Right now, the only opportunities before me are in semiconductors.
Day 40 mood: Hmmm… Where is God leading me?
The big event for today is a 2PM meeting with a start-up semiconductor company. I’m really hoping that they are extremely competent, or a bunch of complete idiots so I know which direction God wants me to go. I wouldn’t mind working for a successful start-up, but I’m not going to waste my time with a company that will likely fold. From what I understand, they can’t pay me to do any work this year, so they’d better be very, very good.
As I was working on my stocks today, Motley Fool announced that they intended to sell one of the stocks I owned. Since I didn’t see the email for a bunch of minutes, by the time I got to the finance screen to check the status of the stock, trading had gotten extremely heavy, and the stock was absolutely cratering (plummeting). Gee, I guess Motley Fool really pulls some weight these days. With well over a million subscribers, they should. I have suddenly begun to see their articles being published in “real” financial sources starting this year. After 15 years of trying to be successful, they seem to have arrived. This is good news for me because Motley Fool is one of two companies that I would try to emulate, should I want to start a web-based business. I like their style.
I did not sell that stock today: it had fallen too far off the recommended sell price. Typically the next day, the market will see this big sell-off as a buy opportunity. I’ll likely get my price then… and so I put a limit price on the stock.
Gee, a little later in the day, I came to realize that another stock of mine got acquired by another company. As I was doing research on it, the stock suddenly disappeared!
And since I now have 10 days to look for some non-dividend small cap winners to fund my options cash, I am turning my full attention to “stable dividend-producing stocks” for now, since I also have a bunch of money in my 401K-turned-IRA account that I can fund immediately.
Who knew I still had so many dividend stocks yet to research! I’ve researched 64 so far and I still have 47 to go!
Day 39 mood: Suddenly Goal-Oriented.
Today started with me sleeping through 20 minutes of my alarm. I was so sure I hadn’t heard it that I asked my wife to see if it had been set properly. It was; I must have been very sleepy. I rushed out of the house to have Wednesday morning breakfast with my friends. The breakfast, as always, was good, though recently the restaurant has changed the radio station from 70s / 80s music to Country. Blah!
I had a nice conversation with a pastor-candidate this morning, did a little call committee work and at least thought about applying to some teaching jobs. I just wasn’t feeling it today, so I wound up doing more stock research. My goal is to finalize my research by Saturday so I can make some intelligent decisions about what to do with the option money and the 401K-turned-IRA account. With the stock research done, I can then concentrate on my job search.
Oh ya, I got my stock option check in the mail today. I’d like to say that it was the largest check I have ever deposited in the bank, but it wasn’t – it was the second largest! The largest deposited check came from refinancing my home last year. I didn’t tell the cashier ahead of time that the check was a large amount. She processed it like any normal check until it was time to type in the amount. She stopped, did a second take, did a third, looked at me, looked at the check, and then called for the manager to finish the transaction. I thought it was pretty funny. Because the amount was so large, there was a 10 day hold put on the check. I guess I have 10 days to find that pool of ideal stocks that this money is destined for.
Day 38 mood: Happy.
Today I would try to stick to a “normal” schedule – something I have yet to do in 36 days.
I mostly succeeded, though I did swap an item here and there based on the flow of my day. I also had something that was due today, so I did that instead of writing. It was a very productive day!
In thinking about possible near-term travel plans, I sort of came to the conclusion today that as much as I’d like to do a ’round the world trip, I’m thinking “no” right now because so many things seem to be going on. Maybe if Kyrgyzstan fails to materialize in October I’ll go then. I’m still not opposed to going somewhere in the springtime, but I haven’t made any plans. I’ll keep checking the sales and see if anything interesting pops up. Who knows, maybe my wife and I will go to Peru or some other exotic destination for spring break.
I did a “plusses and minuses” sheet yesterday on my two potential jobs, and on option “C” which is to continue not to work. All three choices were pretty evenly weighted with plusses and minuses, so no clear winner. I will meet with one of my suitors on Thursday to get a better picture of how they operate. With all this activity going on, I still do not want to give up on my dream of switching to some other career, so I’ll be applying to teaching jobs this week, and maybe I’ll do a little writing and web stuff. I did have another friend (turned pastor) suggest that I might take this opportunity to go to the Seminary and become a pastor. Hmmm… I’m not there yet, but I’m also not opposed to that possibility.
Both my Semiconductor job possibilities are perfect in their own way, except that they’re both in the Semiconductor field and I’m not ready to go back there yet. I’m rooting for option “C” right now.
Well, good news (?). Company #1 called this evening. They are looking to fill a CMOS layout position right now, so I don’t fit. When they need a Bipolar layout person, they’ll call me (maybe Jan 1, 2012?).
It sucks not to be chosen, but it certainly is an answer to prayer. One Semi job down; one to go!
Day 37 mood: Still seeking God’s direction… but also recognizing that if I don’t try pursuing some of these other possibilities (teaching, writing, preaching, web business), no doors will open. The Semiconductor doors are opening quickly because of the efforts of others; not due to my own initiative. These “doors” are a wake-up call: I need to take some initiative to seek-out my ultimate purpose.
Today was a nice, easy day. I did some stock analysis, made a few phone calls, did some laundry, went grocery shopping, read, and recorded a few movies. I don’t know that I really accomplished a great deal, but it was sure nice to take it easy.
My cold is almost gone (or is it allergies now?), but this afternoon, I started to get a massive headache – probably the combination of allergies, blowing my nose all the time, coffee, and not enough water. I tend to get a lot of headaches / migraines during allergy season if I don’t balance my diuretics (coffee, allergy medicine) with water.
Day 36 mood: Restful.
I started my day by picking up my car. The drive to the dealership in the Mercedes was smooth, comfortable and uneventful. The drive back in my Porsche was not smooth, but it was fast. Fortunately, the ride home was also uneventful.
The problem with my car turned out to be the battery. It was dying, and so a new one was installed. I swear they must use gold, not lead, in that battery because the cost of the service and the new battery came to $450. Good thing I had that 25% off coupon for being a first time customer. This car is fun, but pricy.
Aside from that bit of fun, the day was actually pretty miserable. I still have a cold; now compounded by allergens in the air. I could not breathe all day and I began coughing. Blah!
With a big stock options check coming in the mail soon, I spent most of my day doing stock research – trying to find the best pool of stocks to invest in. I’m sort of split in my approach. For the option money, I’m looking at risky, maximum growth small caps. With my 401K roll-over (now IRA), I’m looking for large, stable, dividend-producing stocks.
My parents will be visiting me in a couple of week’s time. I’m pretty excited to have them here. Usually I would have to work and they would spend a lot of their time either alone or with my family, but not with me. This time, I’m here! They will no longer need to rent a car either because we have a spare. I suspect they’ll want the yellow one.
My mom also indicated that she’d like me to help them choose some stocks for their long-term savings – another reason to focus on large, stable, dividend-producing stocks (and bonds and mutuals for them).
Day 33 mood: Blah! (cold), but Yeah! (parents coming)
Another day, another job interview/offer; I thought this job search thing was supposed to be difficult! Turns out, playing hard to get works very well, especially when friends are working on your behalf! I have some awesome friends! At the same time… God, what are you doing to me? I thought I was supposed to take the year off, travel some, and perhaps change career fields! I now have a start-up company that wants me. They’d want me to work as a “consultant,” and then they’d like to bring me on board with a percentage of ownership stock should I want to go that direction. Since they are in start-up mode, they can’t pay me now, but I could wind up as a part-owner later. That’s just crazy! To me, this is another ideal proposition.
Oh, and about my comments from yesterday’s post about the Mercedes loaner: Yes, it’s still a “sterile” car, but I could get used to such luxury. It’s very smooth, quiet, comfortable, and it comes packed full of useful features. Driving around in this car all day put me in a very “Zen” mood. Had I driven my yellow car, my demeanor would have been much different. My little yellow car is more fun, but I get more aggressive when I drive it and when people look at my car, which they inevitably do due to its color and style, I get either annoyed or I get prideful. It’s a brash car that makes me brash and obnoxious. No one notices a white Mercedes – not around here anyways. It is a car that makes one humble and grateful.
Day 32 mood: Humble and grateful
This morning did not start of well. My yellow car was acting sick, so I had to take my blue car to breakfast. Breakfast was wonderful, as usual, though both Bery and I have colds. This is my third sickness in 31 days! How annoying! Yesterday, I had drugged myself up pretty good to get through all those interviews. Today, I would try to cut down a bit on the drugs. Sudafed really dries me out!
The morning was spent talking to my mom. She thought it was funny that I was absolutely unenthused about the possibility of landing my dream job. At this point, any “dream job” would start in January of next year no matter how ideal. She called to tell me that she was buying plane tickets to come out in late February/early March. I guess my folks are coming to California because I’m off and we could spend more time together. Also, it’s snowing in New York and they’d like to get away from that for a while. I am really enthused about that (my parents coming, not that they are waist-deep in snow)!
I also watched “Groundhog Day” during lunch… since it is Groundhog Day today.
I was supposed to go to lunch with a friend today, but the only car appointment I could get at the dealership was at 1PM (hopefully all my issues are covered under warranty!). I’ll have lunch with my friend tomorrow… and also coffee with another friend who called me up today. Well, my yellow car will be in the shop overnight so I now have a loaner car; a Mercedes C300. Not too shabby as far as loaner cars go – impressive actually – but I was hoping for a Porsche 911 Turbo 4S or anything else they had handy on the lot. Why don’t they loan those out? The Porsche dealership had a Mercedes SLS AMG 6.3L on the floor and a couple of Porsche GT3s – I’d take any of those as well! I sure hope I get my car back tomorrow before my 10AM coffee appointment. It seems unlikely though. Sigh… I kind of wanted to drive my little yellow car tomorrow.
Day 31 mood: I miss my yellow car. The loaner is nice, but sterile. It’s a car my wife would like.
