2022 the year in health

I guess the year couldn't have started better. Last December, I suffered through a kidney stone, my first and only. I passed it while peeing sometime on the morning of Jan 17 (thanks IG memory bank), so there's that.

I continued running on an almost every other day basis. Strava is where all my stuff gets uploaded, but that site is dumb, so here's info from Garmin, where nearly every run I've done has been stored. Let's see what it says. Here's a look at 2022:

2022 stats

And here's from 2021:

2021 stats

Pretty consistent. Still doing 3+ miles per run, though I think I'm gonna try to do at least 4 miles out each time. Usually, my route is 3.65m, so to do 4 shouldn't take me but down to the stop sign and back.

I was also able to run in places I hadn't before, like Grand Junction, San Francisco, Indio, Boston, Washington, DC, Las Vegas. I did San Clemente again as well, so look at me, getting out and about.

Aside from running, my weight has been fairly stable. I thought I started the year lighter than I did, but from today to a year ago, I am pretty much the same weight, 159 lbs. I did dip in March to about 154 or so; I think I did MFP again, but I've been pretty much at 158-160 for the rest of the year. Ideally, I'd like to get down to 155 or so and be stable there (I can see it in my face), but the reality is, my weight is in a decent place.

Blood-pressure wise, I started taking my BP again recently due to going to the dr for a November sinus infection. As always, it's been pretty high, so I reupped my BP meds and have been on it for a few weeks now. With a target of 120/80, I'm not super close. At first, I was at like 150/100 or more, but after being on meds a few weeks, I clocked a 134/84 or something the past 3 days. That's better, but still elevated. I have an appointment set for next week to get a physical and we can talk about upping meds maybe.

Aside from that, my eye check the other day indicated my prescription is pretty much the same. I finally scheduled a dentist appointment for next week as well; hope that is all good. Overall, feeling pretty good (despite tweaking my back today), and really, I think aside from the BP, I really need to be better at the junk food intake. The sweet tooth is what's gonna get me.

2022 recap in entertainment

One thing I did in 2022 was return to blogging. Including this entry, this year I have 62 entries. I'm sort of proud of that, especially after not blogging constantly for a minute. I mean, I've done this since 2005, so there is a legacy of some sort there, sort of cool. Will try to keep this going, even if it means I have to sit down to do so every couple days, no big deal.

2022 recap, job related

Do I even want to do this? I suppose.

Here's the problem with writing: when you do it, you can't do much else. For example, I sort of want to brush my teeth right now. But if I start writing this recap, that gets paused. I typically like to write all at one go, so let's see how this works.

2022 started innocently enough, I guess. I was working at the EBC and it was coming along nicely. It was stable and I was doing a great job supporting my team. The hopes were to continue and play the long game: do a good job and come new fiscal year in July, that headcount would open up and maybe I get converted to FTE. Trouble with that is, that is always the game and it seems to always be the carrot that is dangled. But I was happy and financially, it was working.

Come mid-Jan, I see an Instagram post from a friend I used to work with at the MS store. She worked for Amazon and indicated she needed people to work for her. With the folks I was supporting at the EBC, I was always telling them to get out of their comfort zone, network, look outward to grow their careers. Though I wasn't looking for a job, I decided to take my own advice. Which led to a phone call that was actually an interview, and then a job offer that I couldn't refuse as it was about $25k more a year.

I tried to get MS to meet me, but their budget was already spent, so I put in my two weeks and made the move.

I started at the organization at the World's Largest Online Store on Feb 7 and it was interesting to say the least. I was a Project Manager, but with no real PM experience, I tried going into the job with an open mind. There was little to no ramp up and it was just strap in and hang on. Lots of calls, an onsite my second week (in Seattle), and tons of meeting new people.

I learned quickly that the majority of my team was female and in their early 30's. The culture of Amazon was different from MS as well. Everyone seemed to be GO GO GO and if you couldn't keep up, well, that was your problem. As a result, I struggled. There was so much ambiguity with the role, and supporting something that I had 0 experience in (our software platform), and then being told I couldn't talk to the primary people I needed to interface with (they were above my paygrade) made it challenging to say the least.

One aspect my role had that was completely new to me was travel. This job had a good amount of travel and my first trip was in April, to San Francisco (first time!). On that trip, I got a come to Jesus talk from my manager, which wasn't unexpected. I had been struggling with imposter syndrome and the vagueness of the role expectations. It was a good talk and gave me some direction that I was missing.

Anyway, rather than go over all the minutia, let's go bullet point style the rest of the way.

• Cities visited: San Francisco, Washington DC, Boston, Las Vegas
• Cities offered to visit: Chicago (had just gotten back from DC), Singapore (did not have passport)
• Cool things seen/done/eaten in:
• San Francisco:
• Downtown area. Little sketchy in spots. Poop on the streets. Did a walkaround and saw areas that were nice, others not so nice.
• Giants baseball stadium and Warriors basketball arena. Did a run one afternoon and saw those sights. Was on the water somewhere and shot some video for Ted to hopefully listen to as it was just before he passed.
• Bonded with Lisa and Crystal.
• Washington DC:
• Reminded me of the Division 2. Really cool.
• Ate my first night at a great Italian restaurant named Sfogalina (I think).
• Went running and saw the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial and Reflecting Pool, White House. Saw a police motorcade for something.
• One of my colleagues, Perry, worked for TFG and his stories were interesting, to say the least.
• Bonded with Heather, Marta, Trenae.
• Boston:
• Walked to Chinatown from the hotel to meet for team dinner.
• Went for a run to Fenway Park and back.
• Had a lobster roll at a seafood restaurant.
• Bonded with Mari and Stephanie, both of whom I'll probably never see again.
• Las Vegas:
• Never been there, probably never go back.
• Was great to be there and have someone else pay for it.
• Crazy and way too hyper for me.
• Ran a 5k, was super boring.
• Bonded with Heather, Brittany, Marisa and Audrey, all of whom I'll probably never see again.

And now, as noted in a previous post, I am looking for work. What have I learned about myself during this 11 month contract?

• I need some guardrails. Being given a treasure map with an X to start and no context is not great for me. Hold my hand a little, and then let me loose.
• Discovery management method is not for me. If I am coming to you for help, I expect help, not an interview. I am already feeling lost; your questions (though well-intentioned) just undermine my confidence even more.
• The extra money is great, but it's not everything. Though I hear there is drama at the EBC, I think staying there with less $ but more stability (ongoing work, etc), would've been the prudent move.
• Would I have done the jump knowing what I know now? That's a tough one to answer. I think overall, yes. Lots of new experiences and processes for myself, despite being on the cusp of being unemployed. But being unemployed will be temporary and I will come out the other side with something even better.

Got some irons in the fire for work. Well, actually, only one, as mentioned (MS). I have applied for several other jobs and have gotten one NO so far. We'll see how it goes.

Brain dump (work-related)

My contract is up in about 3 weeks. I currently have nothing lined up. There is something promising at a previous employer, but that is dependent on things outside of my control, so I can't expect anything until it is actually offered.

For now, it's the soul-crushing search for a new job. I feel like I'm in a unique position based on several factors:

• age
• career path
• current salary
• education

Let's start with age. At the ripe old age of 50.5 (but able to play mid-30s easily), I'm not sure what I should be doing or looking for. I know it got in my head a little at the current job, what with all my co-workers 15-20 years younger than me. Don't get me wrong; they were always cool and good to me, but culturally, there were some differences that bugged me a little. Then again, age is just a number, and if anything, it's me with the problem, not them.

With regards to career path, let's just say that I've been very lucky in my jobs the past 10 years. I've been able to get roles starting at MS, then contracting at MS and AWS, and never had to prove anything with certifications or qualifications or anything. Everything I did was based on job experience and in-the-moment working. There was more guidance at the Stores, but when I managed, much of it was improvisational.

At the EBC, it was definitely hive-mind learning. If I didn't know something, I'd reach out and ask questions. Eventually, I was the one people were asking questions of, I was the one bridging gaps and making connections.

When AWS came calling (story for another time), I left the warm embrace of MS/EBC and jumped into the unknown, because of the $$ they offered. I was to be a project manager, which I understand now is just a fancy term for "generic worker." Despite not having a PMP (Project Management Professional) certificate, that's what I was, and there was a struggle throughout the contract. Lots of ambiguity, and severe Imposter Syndrome, but despite that, I made good connections and great money.

Mind you, the money was the most I have ever made. At 50 years old, any job I take should be the "most I've ever made," but relatively speaking, when I'd never made over 6 figures and this job would get me there, I couldn't say no.

As a result, as I'm looking for a new gig, I'm expecting I will receive less than what I make now. I'm OK with that, as long as it's not less than what I left MS for. That said, it leads me into the education bullet point.

If I could do it all over again, like school and college, etc, I still like my English degree. After all, it's what keeps this dumb blog afloat. But after starting work at C&A, I should've invested more time and energy in learning stuff, rather than just doing the job and expecting the place to be around forever. Maybe get certified in something, or invest money in something. I just worked and went home and didn't pursue anything but music (also not lucrative).

And while I was at MS, I didn't pursue anything either, outside of making a lot of great contacts. That's what got me the job at the EBC and that's what has me maybe making my way back. But, if that fails, then it's back to job hunting. And that's where the lack of education comes in.

So much of what is out there is requiring stuff that I don't have. Or there are jobs I can do, but don't pay enough to support our lavish lifestyle. I keep saying out loud that a job is a job and there's no shame in any work that's available, but that doesn't mean I can't be choosy.

Like am I willing to go back to retail or customer service to make $30/hr (if I'm lucky), work nights and weekends? Maybe, if I'm looking and/or waiting for something better to pop up. Part of me wants to get out of tech, get into something that I love, but I don't know what that is.

I LOVED what I did before at MS. Team, people, environment, everything was great. Money was OK, but I chose the 2 birds in the bush, rather than the one in the hand. Though having the extra money was great, I think having the benefits and continued employment was probably the more prudent choice.

However, over the past 10 months, I have learned a bunch. Like what type of leadership I need to be successful. That even though I enjoy writing for fun, it seems my writing skills came in handy for document writing in the corporate world. That I continue to be able to make connections with people, both in and out of my org.

All this to say, I don't know what the next month or so holds. I was offered the MS gig in October. The figure wasn't what I wanted it to be, so I counter-offered, which my contact took as a "no" from me. Regrettably, I did it all via text and though I contacted him immediately upon his response, he had wheels in motion already for some other interviews.

As of now, as mentioned, it is wait and see for MS. I have several FTEs pulling for me, willing to help out in different strategic ways, but ultimately, it could boil down to a rules and regulations/fine print type scenario. Meaning, even though everyone wants me back, the paperwork doesn't permit it. Which could mean waiting until July (fiscal year), but at this point, I won't know more until the next week or so.

In the meantime, it's playing out this contract, celebrating the holidays with the family, moving Haley to WWU, and getting on with things at the beginning of the year.

Band character workshop

In the Sunset Grooves, all members have aliases. For example, Jen is Chardonnay DeVille, Eric is Ignacio Wurlitzer and Dusty is Rusty "Red" Sinclair. Dusty even made trading cards for all of them.

Patrick was batting around a name of F. Rod (Fraud) Something or other the other night and just now blew up a FB Messenger chat we have with a full-on backstory about washing money for the mob and then giving up his bosses to the feds in exchange for witness protection. It's pretty epic.

Simultaneously, I've been trying to come up with an alter ego as well. My roadblock is that

1. I'm Asian, so any non-Asian type names may be a stretch
2. I'm Asian, so any Asian type names may be too stereotypical
3. I'm overthinking it

So I've been batting around using the Ted's memory as my inspiration. After all, he was a sailor, and I love the idea of using Frederick "Teddy" with a last name to be workshopped, in real time, right now.

Frederick "Teddy"

• Manselle (a play on "main sail")
• Vanquish (sounds cool, like a spy)
• Rockford (as in Rockford Files)
• Brigadoon (I thought it was a nautical term, but it's not)
• Exotíque (I thought of this a few days ago and just now remembered it)

And I think it's gonna be Frederick "Teddy" Exotíque, as Ted's old boat's name was Exotíque. So there it is. Now for the back story.

A child of the 70s, Frederick "Teddy" Exotíque was swabbing decks and raising sails before most of us were walking. Growing up on the mean seas of the Atlantic, off the coast of eastern Massachusetts, Teddy cut his teeth working in the shipyards by day, in the taverns as a musician by night. As a longshoreman's son, Teddy thought that his future was down by the docks... however, the smooth siren sounds of yacht rock had different ideas.

As the years passed, Teddy grew bored with the roughneck lifestyle of the docks and headed west, ending up in the long-forgotten town of Seattle, land of coffee, flannel and grunge (not a disease). Back then, the only thing smooth or groovy in the Pacific Northwest were the westbound lanes of 520 during a downpour. Despite the gray skies overhead and brown notes in the clubs, Teddy stayed true to his roots, woodshedding for hours at a time, perfecting his art of the bottom end, all the while, looking for his musical soulmates.

Before long, Teddy struck AM gold with the Sunset Grooves and is now having the time of his middle-aged life, holding up the bottom for his mates while they deliver the goods topside.

Huh. Don't know how that will fly, but I'll send it along, see what they think.

States I've Visited

I was talking to one of my work colleagues last week about states she's visited. She's a military wife and even before that, traveled a lot for work. She said her goal is to do all 50 states by age 40. She's 35 now and has hit 37 states, so she better get moving.

That got me thinking, so I dug this up.

Create your own visited states map or check out the JavaScript Charts.

Based on that, it's something like 20 states, which is more than I thought. And then I realized that as kids, we drove from OH to WA, so that may add at least 3 extra states, depending on what route we took. And I think we drove down the east coast a time or two, at least when I was an adult with Marci.

I can't remember, but to see it on a map like this is sort of cool.

12/1/22: Travel report! Day 7 in Las Vegas

Day 7 started much the same as day 6 did. Get up, shower, go eat and hang out. Went back on the reg floor at the Venetian with Audrey and started chatting things up. Talked about stuff and then one of the Opus contractors came over to interrupt and said I looked like Takashi.

??

And then she showed me and Audrey a picture of this Takashi, who I guess is a fashion designer of some sort. But to me, he looks like an Asian man with long hair and a bushy beard. I didn't know if I should be offended or not.

And then she started telling us about hype beasts, Trinidadian burials where a tree seed is buried in the deceased person's heart, skin color and questions around it, among other things. It was entertaining, funny and educational, all at the same time.

Learning with Adora and Angel

When we arrived in LV, Audrey said she met a new bestie on the flight over, who she talked to the whole time, exchanged numbers with, etc. In talking to her over the past week, I learned that sometimes she'll just go to a bar or somewhere and strike up conversation with strangers around her. She really enjoys chatting and getting to know people, which seems totally contrary to what she looks like. She also really likes to just have a good time and have fun. Not necessarily drinking and getting toasted, but just putting out good energy.

She's also super organized and agenda driven, which seems to contradict her party side. So I noted to her that the two sides balance each other out, which she agreed with. We "worked" the rest of the shift and then after that, split up to go to our rooms to pack and get ready for our post-event party.

The girls and I plus Malia and Lisa and others met up downstairs and jumped on the shuttle to the Las Vegas Fairgrounds. I sat with Lisa and we chatted it up. I met her first last year at MKO in Seattle, but really got to know her better in San Francisco. She's really great to talk to and we chopped it up in the shuttle as we drove around looking for it.

Once we got dropped off, we walked through the cold wind to the VIP tent, where only people who worked the event got to go. There were free drinks (meh) and munchies and food (also meh), and more hanging out with the ladies.

Marisa, Audrey, Heather, Malia and the author

The rest of the night was spent trying to stay warm and fed and entertained. For whatever reason, the organizers of the event thought that tech nerds only liked EDM and DJs. There was one artist, Zach Person, who played guitar, but aside from a drummer, that was it. No bassist? But he did have an Ampeg SVT on stage. It was sort of a White Stripes/Royal Blood type thing.

The group actually split up a bit, with Audrey and Marisa and Brittany heading one way, and then me and Heather and Malia heading another way. I ended up hanging with Lisa for a bit as well, having some food. Then spent a bunch of time with Malia, who was new to the CS team, and actually lives in Seattle, so hopefully will get to see her at a show sometime.

The VIP area was directly next to the main stage, where some EDM artist was playing. It was SO LOUD and I was grateful to have my earplugs. Me and Malia and Heather were upstairs and it was all loud and dancy and I felt awkward, but said screw it, and tried to enjoy myself. Certain people I was with were really enjoying the bevvies and just having a great dancing time.

Eventually, it was time to go. The twins had bounced as they both had 6am flights, so I didn't get to say goodbye in person. And then BVL and Heather bounced, as I wanted to keep an eye on Malia for a bit. After some more of that, I bounced and left her in Greg's hands (she got home fine, turns out), and headed for the shuttle. Then it was bedtime.

I did see Heather and Brittany one last time this morning before I left. We met for a quick chat and goodbye, and that was it. Back to Seattle, where I'm freezing now.

Hello and goodbye to Las Vegas. I am glad it is over and I am super glad to have had a crew to roll with. I can't imagine doing that for a week and not having anyone to hang/chat/be with, so to Heather, Audrey, Marisa and Brittany, I thank you all.

11/30/22: Travel report, Day 6 in Las Vegas

A few weeks ago, I signed up for the company 5k down here. I picked up my bib and not super impressive t-shirt after ponying up $45 to have the privilege of running. At least the $$ went to a good cause, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

The event started at 6:30, with some pre-race activities at 6. I set my alarm for 5 and went to bed, only I was lucky to wake up at 5:20 because I set my alarm for Tuesday, not Wednesday! I got up, got dressed, and headed to the shuttle.

I brought shorts, a t-shirt, a fleece and my hat. I forgot to bring gloves, as well as my spandex as I thought it would be in the high 50s today. And it was, only not at 6:30. At 6:30, it was like 38°, so quite cool.

I got on the shuttle and we made our way to the Mandalay Bay, where the race congregated in the stadium. Apparently there were around 900 participants, and they had us corralled on the floor of the stadium. There was a DJ and he did his best to get us "pumped up" by having us do some warm up dances and moves. Overall, it was pretty dorky.

Riding in on the shuttle

In the stadium at the start

Queuing to get started

After a bit of that, we made our way outside the stadium, then got started on our run. The route was down Frank Sinatra Blvd for 2.5km, and then back, so really boring. I did like running with all the runners, though, because I felt pretty fast, was passing fools left and right.

At the end, I saw I crossed the line just over 30:00, officially finishing at 30:07, which is faster than my usual pace. They handed me a pair of re:Invent socks at the end of it and that was that. Back to the shuttle and back to the hotel to chill and shower before work.

I got to the team room in time for breakfast, brought Brittany and Heather some food as they couldn't come to the room, then got stationed in the registration area at the Venetian. I chatted with Jalea for a bit and basically just hung around trying to stay busy (not really). Luckily, the World Cup was being broadcast on the giant LED screens, so I was able to watch Poland vs Argentina (AR with the win) and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia vs Mexico (MX with the win). It was actually pretty cool.

Lunch happened, and then it was back to the reg room. The rest of the afternoon was pretty boring; there aren't many attendees needing much, so it was more chatting and stuff. There was one guy I got thrown out as he was being weird and once security came by, they determined that he was high on something, so he got the boot. That was the excitement of that.

The [C] Squad planned dinner out tonight, so me, Heather, Audrey, Marisa and Brittany all met in the Palazzo lobby and walked over to Ceasar's whatever for dinner. After getting lost in the mall, we regrouped and headed over to the Water Grill, where we talked and talked and ate and celebrated Marisa's fake birthday (free dessert cookie!).

Walking to dinner with Heather and Audrey

Random picture

I have really enjoyed getting to know these ladies this week. We have gotten to know each other at some other events (Audrey, Marisa and Heather at DC; Marisa and Brittany at Boston; Heather and Brittany in Seattle; all of them in LV), and I have grown fond of each of them. Our Slack chat is good times and if they weren't here, I'd be really bored and trying to fend for myself. One other colleague, Marta, has been cool to hang with as well, but other than a dinner the other night, we haven't spent much time with each other.

Brittany is a no-BS kind of person. She lives in Alaska and is always too hot, even when it's relatively not hot. Though in Boston and Seattle in the summer, she was miserable and it was always funny. She gets her job done and has been an integral part of the reg team throughout her contract.

I met both Audrey and Marisa in DC initially. I think Marisa's first week was that DC trip. Audrey was earlier but when we met, it was pretty low key. I did spend some time with Audrey and liked her, but we didn't get to know each other much. I got to know Marisa a little in Boston and liked her a lot. Her and I were in similar boats as we weren't super sure what we were doing in our roles. But she had a lot of event experience and wasn't being properly utilized.

With Audrey, it's been this trip that I've really gotten to know her. She is low key super funny, and despite her demure appearance, apparently she's quite the social butterfly. I saw it a bit yesterday when she knew a bunch of event booth staff from previous gigs. Tonight we got some dirt from Marisa (they've worked together for years), and Audrey would be tearing up the scene while Marisa was ready to call it a night. She's been cracking me up.

And then with Heather, she's been my home girl this trip. Really enjoying talking to her, as I really got to know her in DC, then in Seattle, and have kept in constant contact with ever since. She really cares about others and is really dialed into their feelings. We've had some heart to hearts and I hope her upcoming wedding is great for her.

Dinner was a good time. I got a steak and we had great conversation and got to know each other a little more. Brittany went to WWU, so I might pick her brain for Haley's sake. We all ate too much and possibly spent too much. Expense report will tell next week.

We walked out of Ceasar's and hit up Walgreens, headed back into the hotel and went our separate ways. I've hit over 20000 steps today and I am tired. Tomorrow is our last day, and the re:Play at night. I get to spend the shift with Audrey at the Venetian, and that should be a fun time. I hope the [C] Squad is enjoying hanging with me as much as I'm enjoying hanging with them. It's been a blast.

11/27-29/22: Travel report! Days 3, 4, 5 in Vegas

Haven't posted the past few days because I had some later nights. Let's see what I can remember.

Sunday I had a late shift so I slept in a bit. Because I'm on the 38th floor, I didn't want to go to floor 2, walk to our team room, eat/grab breakfast, come back to the room and hang for several more hours. So I ordered room service instead.

Stuffed french toast and a carafe of coffee and it was super tasty but a little more than I expected to spend. But I hope it's OK to expense anyway.

I ended up hanging in the room until I had to go to the team room and the main floor at the Venetian. I didn't take many pix, but imagine a giant room with a giant LED panel screen and a bunch of people and you'll get the idea.

After a little of that, I walked across the street to the Wynn / Encore hotel to find my colleagues to do some testing. I got lost in one of them, but finally found who I was supposed to find and got to work. Testing was fairly quick and easy, got to connect for a few minutes with Ryan M. and then came back to the Venetian to then get over to the airport for my shift there.

Airport shift was nothing exciting. The crews were all dialed in at the reg and help desks, needing minimal support from me. Easy but long and boring, reminded me of my retail days closing the store at the mall. I just walked around a lot and tried to stay occupied.

At the airport

so artistic

When my shift was over, I had to catch a Lyft back to the hotel. That took an hour due to all the nerds flying into town. It was a mess. And then, of course, I had to stay up to watch the recording of the Raiders vs Seahawks and, though it was an entertaining overtime game, they blew it in the end and the game was over. Need to get some D and run the ball way better!

Monday was another late start for me, so slept in, went to the gym and ran a 5k, then did some budgeting and plane ticketing for Riley's trip for winter break. Headed to team room and ate later, then did some "support" at the Venetian reg/help desks. We have been so well-staffed that there is not much for me to do. I suppose I could seek out tasks and jobs, but as me and the [C] squad are all short timing, well, there's not a lot of incentive to do so. We have tons of volunteers and staff and they are firing on all cylinders.

Later that afternoon I had to go to the MGM, where I helped set up on Saturday, to support the help desk. This was more exciting than the airport, as we actually had people to help. I also got to meet and work with a few new people, Malia (who I met this summer), Tonya (new to AWS and really cool) and Morgan (from Denver, young, and also with AWS).

Great time working with them, supporting the customers, and just chatting. At 9pm, we finally closed up and I Lyfted back to the hotel, at which point I met up with Marta, and she and I grabbed a late pizza before turning in for the night.

Before my run

Stats of run

F this guy

Today was an early start, with a 5am wake up. I met Heather at 6 and we Lyfted over to the MGM, where I was again supporting help desk. Only this was even slower than last night and we basically just monitored and talked about work for a few hours. Fairly uneventful, but we did take a shuttle back to the Palazzo and it wasn't as bad as I heard it was.

Once here, we went to the team room and reunited with the rest of the squad, had some lunch, then did a walk through the Expo floor. Audrey met up with some old coworkers and we participated in her friend's booth. I won a hat and gave it to Audrey, but I did get a t-shirt.

Heather and I walked to Walgreens to buy some odds and ends, and then it was back to our rooms to chill and relax. I tried to sleep but couldn't get there, so I just messed around on the computer and phone for a few hours. We are all headed to a team dinner in a few minutes so we'll see how that goes. None of us are super excited to go, but it'll probably be fine once we get there.

No pictures worth posting today. Apparently it snowed back at home, but it probably won't stick around too long. Three more nights and then we're outta here. Looking forward to going home, will miss the squad mates as they are all a treat to know.

Tomorrow I'm running the 5k, which will be my first event, which should be a cakewalk; it's basically two points on Frank Sinatra Blvd. The hardest part will be getting up and shuttling to the venue. The run will be fine and maybe sort of cool, in the dark on the Strip. Maybe I'll take some pix of that tomorrow.

11/26/22: Travel report! Day 2 in Las Vegas

Got up at 7 today and lazed around for a few while I waited for my squad to let me know if we should be in the team room at 8 or 9. Turns out, 9 was fine. Took a shower, got ready and headed downstairs. Didn't have any Starbucks as there was food (so-so) and coffee (it was coffee) in the room. I was able to reunite with my mates Marta, Marisa, Audrey and Amanda, as well as some other cool folks I've met over the past few months, like Ed, Perry and Jane.

We did some walking around the facility to look at the rooms and then headed to some different locations to do some testing. Spent some time at the MGM Grand, headed later to Ceasars Forum (really nice bathrooms there). Headed back to MGM Grand and had to walk through the casino area, which was just as crazy as the Palazzo.

I got to spend some quality time with the Contractor Squad. Several of us were brought on as [C], which is how we're designated in our systems, and we have been hanging and working together ever since. All of them are women and they are all really good at what they do; it's a pleasure to work with them. Here we are in an Uber or Lyft heading to the MGM.

A lot of our time was spent waiting for another team to get stuff set up, so we hung out and tried to get stuff done. Rather than boring myself with tales of work, here's pictures of things I saw today.

The view from the 38th floor

One of the LED walls I'll be working by sometime

Outside the MGM Grand. Or Ceasars, I can't remember

In the Uber at the end of the day

New York, New York

Outside the Palazzo/Venetian

Inside by the restaurant

Inside the TAO restaurant

Sushi dinner for me!

11/25/22: Travel report! Day 1 in Las Vegas

I started working for a Very Large E-Commerce Company in February this year. Brought on as a contractor, I traveled to several events around the country. First up was San Francisco in April, followed by Washington DC in May, then Boston in July, and finally, Las Vegas in November.

This event here in Las Vegas means for the first time in my life, I will have visited Las Vegas. The flight in was uneventful enough. 2.5 hrs from Seattle, easy peasy. The LV airport was a bit mall-like, really glitzy, and with gambling games throughout. I made my way through, got my Uber with Larry, a really aggressive minivan driver, and got to my hotel after a 20 minute ride through traffic.

Everything my teammates have told me about Las Vegas and what we'll be doing here has been a little extra. Like, "Bring 5 pairs of shoes," or, "Fill your tub with water because the air is dry," to, "You can rent a second fridge because the one in the rooms is weighted." Huh?

Anyway, I got here to the Palazzo at the Venetian (or maybe it's the other way around) and checked in. Room on the 20th floor, head through the smoky casino to get to the elevators. First, I passed by the high-end watch stores (after all, if you hit a jackpot, you can buy a $32,000 IWC watch (that's what the sales lady said the price was)) and headed over to my floor.

When I got to my room, I saw a DND sign on the door. "Weird," I thought, maybe the cleaners forgot it? I did give a courtesy knock and a shouted, "Hello?" at the door before trying my key. The door opened and I noticed the lights were on... and a dead body was on the hallway floor.

Not really.

There was an open door to the right, leading to the bathroom. On the counter that I could see was a paper wrapper of some sort. And then I saw a towel rack with a clearly rehung towel, so I quickly backed out and headed back downstairs.

Check-in "made things right" by getting me another room, this time on the 38th floor, accessible only by the private elevator bank. Though 38th floor is higher than the other floors, in the private elevator side, it's only higher than the 37th floor, which is the lowest of the private side. Maybe if I had found a dead body, I'd be on the 50th floor.

I got to the new room and it was a little gaudy, but really nice. Walk in and immediately to the left is the double-door bathroom with shower, tub, double sink, private toilet room and vanity. More than I need, but I'm not complaining. Just past the bathroom to the left is the king size bed, which faces a six drawer dresser, with a large LG tv hanging above it.

Keep going and there's the "downstairs," as my colleague, Brittany, called it (she has the same style room). Down a couple stairs is more of a sunken living room, with a L-shaped couch, a round table, a desk in the corner, and another TV over a cabinet. The floor to ceiling windows offer a nice view, of which direction I know not, but sadly, no view of the street below as all I can see is the rooftops of the Palazzo below.

I got unpacked and did some budgeting, did some actual work, and waited for another colleague to show up from her flight. Since she was taking a while to get in, I decided to go downstairs and get the lay of the land.

Tomorrow we start testing for our big event and everyone has said to plan about 30 minutes to get from your rooms to the conference rooms below. I don't think I'll need 30 minutes, but considering elevator traffic, it's a good estimate. I got down to the 2nd floor and jumped off the elevator, as that floor has the little indoor Italy, complete with gondolas. Lots of restaurants, tourist shops, high-end shops (more watches), a rare book shop (again, where are you gonna spend your jackpot winnings?), and did I mention restaurants?

Tons of people about, all sorts, nationalities, body types, financial status. Crazy. I know Marci wouldn't want to vacation here and I don't know if I would either, but man, there are plenty of families that do and did. Really interesting to see, and the people watching here is next level!

Heather finally showed up and then her, Brittany and I met up and headed to one of the first restaurants we saw, Tony V's something or other. Italian, and I had a something something carbonara, along with garlic bread and it was super tasty. The server/bartender was a nice dude and his wife was doing a singalong with a guitarist as the night's entertainment. She was good, but just about as cheesy as the garlic bread we got. They weren't super loud, but man, with my hearing issues and the music, it was so hard to converse with the girls.

We finished eating and headed to our rooms. We have a 9am call time tomorrow and Heather is on EST, so she was pretty wiped out. I came back here and chatted with Marci, watched an episode of the White Lotus and now, I'm hitting the sack as well.

Las Vegas airport

Again in the airport. I'll be there supporting on Sunday

Driving to the hotel

Don't mind that pile of shit on the left

Upgraded to the private elevators

Low on the private side (38), still private

One watch in the store was $32,000!

Gondoliers in the mall

Gig Report: 11/12/2022 Sunset Grooves at the Brick

Minor road trip east of the mountains for this gig, about 70 miles from home. The rest of the band had to come from Ballard, adding an additional 30 minutes to the ride. Luckily, we carpooled, so I got picked up and sat in the back of the SUV with the gear.

It was a gorgeous sunny day for us here, west of the mountains, and the night was going to be clear over the mountains, but likely about 5-10 degrees cooler. It was cold when we left home and as we headed over the pass, it just got colder.

About an hour or so later, we arrived in the small town of Roslyn, WA, to play the Brick, a legendary old bar out there (also made famous by the old TV show, "Northern Exposure"). It was in the high 20s and this old man was cold. We got in the club and started loading in.

I'd never been to the Brick before, but upon walking in, was pleasantly surprised to see it full of diners. It's an old building, with it split down the middle. The side we entered on was the restaurant/bar side, and through a doorway about halfway in was more dining area, but with a stage on one end and a dance floor adjacent. We got our stuff on stage and started the setup process.

Since this was an actual place and not a private party, they had a PA and backline in place, so there was no need for my in-ears or bass rig. The owner, Lucky, was also the sound guy and a musician in his own right. He was sharply dressed, with stovepipe jeans, a henley shirt, and a leather vest. He fit the Western feel of the town, with his handlebar mustache, grey hair, and small gun attached to his belt on the small of his back. He reminded me a bit of my brother-in-law, Todd, manly handsome and charismatic.

As mentioned, Lucky had gear and on stage for my bass was a GK 212 combo, brand new. For a 212 cabinet and amp, it was really small. About the size (or smaller) of my Avatar 210. I picked up the GK and it was super light, too. Lucky said it was 42 pounds. I moved it to my side of the stage and started the setup process.

GK 212 Neo Combo amp

Controls up top

I ended up zeroing out all the controls and EQ, basically relying on it for stage sound. I had my pedals up front to sculpt the sound. Overall, that 212 sounded really great and could be an option down the road if/when I get tired of dragging around my big Avatar 212. Though, to be fair, I have not gigged with it but the one time (and I haven't gigged with my Orange yet), so we'll see how it goes. Good to know the GK is out there, though.

The trusty L1k and the pedalboard

Soundchecking in front of the TV (hidden after the game)

After getting dialed in with some difficulty (and to be honest, it was troublesome all night), we were comped a meal from the bar. I got brisket quesadillas, which were tasty. Super hot and greasy, the brisket could've used some more salt, but it hit the spot.

Not the best picture, but you get the idea

Above the kitchen opposite the stage is an upstairs portion called the apartment. Which is pretty much what it is. You go up the stairs and to the left is a kitchenette, a seating area (occupied by a bed), with a bedroom attached that has a window that overlooks the floor below. Opposite to the kitchenette are windows that look out on the main street that the bar is on. On the other side of the stairs is a bathroom/laundry room combo. All the employees have access to these rooms and use it as a break room. It acts as a green room for the bands, too.

Fridge in the kitchenette

After getting changed, we took the stage to start at 9pm but due to some sound issues, we had to wait for Lucky to get us dialed in. He was super nice, but seemingly unfazed by being late. We had a nice crowd hanging around for us, and after about 15 minutes, we hit the first notes for Steal Away (Robbie Dupree).

As far as my monitor mix went, I could barely hear myself (was using my head voice to listen to my singing instead), I couldn't hear Dusty's vocals or Patrick's guitar. I could hear Jen through her wedge and I could hear Eric's keys from his monitor next to me. So it wasn't ideal but understanding that Lucky was a one-man show, we rolled with it. He was eventually able to get me some semblance of monitors and I was able to make my way through things.

Crowd-wise, there was a nice amount of people there. We were expecting an older, retiree type crowd, but were pleasantly surprised to see most people appeared to be in their mid-20's to early 30's. We played through Come And Get Your Love (Redbone) and Listen to the Music (Doobie Bros) before we finally got some dancers on song #4, My Life (Billy Joel).

From there, folks really started getting on the dance floor. We had a nice high stage, so no one was bumping into us or getting in our faces. Despite the cold temps outside, it started off pretty hot on stage, but soon met a happy medium where we weren't sweating too bad. Pretty comfortable, actually.

Music continued with a few new ones for us, Reelin' in the Years (Steely Dan), Swingtown (Steve Miller Band) and You're No Good (Linda Ronstadt). People loved the tunes, but strangely, the floor cleared out during Misunderstanding (Genesis). We made our way to the end of 15 songs and then stopped for a quick break. Since we started a little later than we would have liked, we kept the break short and got back to work.

From the bedroom upstairs, after our first set

The setlist

We got to work with set 2 and the people were back on the floor. Another surprise was, as young as the crowd was, they knew many of the words to these "older" songs. No Matter What (Badfinger) was one of those songs; lots of the youngsters knew it. It was another one of our "new to us" songs and one we play really well. Love Will Keep Us Together (Captain and Tennille) is one for me that is super tricky. I play it with a pick and there are some wicked syncopated backing vocals on it. And we're not doing all the crazy background singer vox; we simplify it a bit, but wow, still tricky.

About 2/3rds of the way through this set, I started getting tired. We do our little disco set, with Jive Talkin' (Bee Gees) and Do Ya Think I'm Sexy (Rod Stewart) and especially with that second song, the octaves kill my fretting hand. It's a long song and I'm pretty much playing octaves for all 5:34 of it. It's brutal.

We finished the second set and just stayed out there. By now, it was likely after 11:00 and if we took a break, we'd probably lose the people that were still there. We did end up skipping down to Maggie May (Rod Stewart/Faces) to keep the tunes flowing. That song was tricky to learn, with the original recorded version having bass that just goes all over the place. There isn't really a way to play this one note for note, so once I got the structure and chords down, it's pretty much just go for it. I try to stay true to the tune's original feel, but definitely do open things up for myself a bit. It's a good time.

We wound down the rest of the night with 4 more songs and finally got cut off by Lucky. By that time, we had about 10 people left, 6 of whom were some cougars celebrating a 40th birthday. They were nice enough to stick around to listen.

The rest of the night was us tearing down and loading out in the clear cold night. Overall, the Brick was a success and Lucky wants us to come back. He is booked out until next year and our feeling is we'd like to try coming back in the summer, with some promotion behind it. Hopefully get out there, get some private party bookings, etc.

With that, I have no more gigs this year. Overall, it's been the most lucrative gigging year I've ever had. I don't know if it is the most number of gigs I've had in a year but, I wish I had more!

Next up, Planets on 1/6 at, of all places, The Central.

YouTube Rabbit Hole

I went down a YouTube rabbit hole last night. Here's how it started.

Working on cover tunes for Sunset Grooves, playing along to Thunder Island by Jay Ferguson. That reminded me of a band that covered that song on YouTube, so I looked them up. The Pet Rock Band is what they are called and they did a great version of Thunder Island.

After watching that, I remembered that at one of our previous SG rehearsals, since we are doing Somebody's Baby by Jackson Browne, we should also do Boulevard, which led to a search that found a house band in Hollywood called Soundcheck doing that song.

It took me a minute to realize that this was actually Jackson Browne playing it, but, whatever. And it made me jealous that they have 3 guitar players covering all the bases. I did a deeper dive on the Soundcheck page, where they have a ton of videos, and looked up some songs we also do (Easy Lover, Maggie May, some others).

On Maggie May, a bassist named Julia Lage played and at first, I didn't think she was all that great, but the more I watched, the more I realized that she could really play. A search on her stuff led me to her and a singer named Gabbie Rae playing Heart's Barracuda on a cruise ship, and dang, they were great!

I then watched a few of Gabbie's videos, learning that she's now all of 24 and really great frontwoman. She did some videos with Soundcheck at 18 and was killing it then. Seems like she's doing hard rock and metal these days, but wow, what a voice!

From there, YouTube suggested (or I searched, I can't remember) Noelle Leblanc, who was the singer for a band I loved years ago, Damone, from Boston. I wrote about them a few times in the blog, but I dove into their videos from the 2006-2012 era. Sadly, there's not much, and what there is was shot with potato cameras, but they have a few documentary shorts of their recording of "Out Here All Night," which I found to be cool.

This video and the part 2 video kept me up way too late (12:30am), as well as some great live footage from when Damone reunited in 2019. They were so tight and Noelle is pretty great at guitar, check it out.

Loving that the bassist, Mike Vasquez, is playing a white Gibby Thunderbird, just like Butterfly!

This morning, I did more searching and found that Noelle has been putting out songs ever since Damone disbanded. I know she did the Organ Beats and some solo stuff, but she has stuff as recent as April of this year. It is less rock and more pop/singer-songwriter, but I love her voice so I'll check it out.

I also did a search with Damone, the Crocodile Cafe and a date of 5/15/2006, when I saw them play. That led to an article about Jim Anderson, the sound guy from the Croc back then. When he left the Croc and/or retired, he donated all the shows he recorded there to the University of Washington, where they archived it all!

Of course, having played there back then, I looked for Lund Bros., of which there are 2 shows. There's a Scheme show, but I don't think I played it with them. There is an Ethyl show from 2003, which I'll have to check out. There's a Shake Some Action! show, but I don't think I was with them either. Lots of stuff by Robb with Cass. There's Juliana Hatfield (I was there), Damone (I was there), the Hold Steady (I was not there) and so much more. Trouble is, it is only accessible in person and not online, due to intellectual property mumbo jumbo.

Looks like I'm gonna have to take a field trip one of these days, back to Suzzalo Library to take a listen.

New PITO tracks

These are two of our newest songs, recorded at practice a few weeks ago. Robb set up drum mics as well as a microphone for my bass rig. I brought my new Terror Bass and really fuzzed out the sound with my L1K.

Overall, for a live take, it wasn't bad, but after Robb went and redid his guitar and vocals (he did scratch tracks when we recorded), my bass was just too wooly sounding. I re-recorded this weekend using the T-bird, the Terror Bass and direct with no effects.

Gwon Chang · Panic Attack (demo)

Gwon Chang · Fought A Bear (demo)