Your First Interview

I can still remember the first time that I filled out an application for a job. I can also remember sitting down with that store's manager for the interview. First impressions really are everything and learning to handle yourself in front of a possible employer is a skill that must be developed. I got that first job. I think Shakey's Pizza really needed me... but I know that I needed them more. I know now that I learned so much from my short time there... much more than how to decorate and bake a good pie.

So, it was time for my son to have that same experience yesterday. His grandmother Sandy (pictured with David above) works at the county wetlands park and they had a need for volunteers. My only words of advice for him were "Listen carefully, answer respectfully and save your questions until asked if you have any. It seems that things went pretty well as he will be starting after he returns from vacation in Washington. It should be interesting to ask him 20 years from now, "What did you learn from your first job?"

A Change Is Gonna Come

So, I am returning from a trip to Mesquite, NV, to celebrate Kerry and my first anniversary. Had a great time. Kerry tried golfing for the first time and may want to continue playing. We'll work on that in the future. Stayed the night at the Casablanca and caught a really bad lounge act called Vision. (Let's correct that... the band were amazing, the vocals weren't.)

During the trip home yesterday, I get a call from work. Kerry and David are in the car and we are going to pick up the girls (Bella and Tulip) from the Petsmart hotel. I am told that my shift at the hotel has been eliminated. Only one of the choices would give me the same day off as Kerry. I'm driving, she's really shaken but writes down all the shifts and we proceed to a parking lot to discuss it. David keeps voicing his concern that 'family dinners' will be affected (as we only get to do that on Sundays and rarely on Saturdays) with tears in his eyes. I turn to him and tell him, "David, a decision has to be made and we don't have time to worry about family dinners." The stress definitely brought the joy of our anniversary to a screeching halt.

The decision (our choice of 6 shifts) was to have Monday and Tuesdays off and move up an hour to a 4pm to midnight shift. The consequences of this are far-reaching and undetermined at this time. The show on Saturdays will probably have to be moved earlier to allow time to edit before work. This also ruins one of my favorite events which is going out to Teri and Lloyd's on Saturdays to see UFC fights. Our family gatherings for birthdays on Sunday nights... are in limbo but could be moved earlier. At least, I'll have Mondays off with the wife and can still pick up my son from school before work. Speaking of that... I gotta take care of that right now. Thanks for letting me vent.

Update: Got to work and found out that all the stress that we went through the day before didn't really matter and that I've been assigned a shift (4pm-midnight Fri-Sat off.) Expecting to hear something new tomorrow as they obviously don't know what they are doing now.

Drug Test Me, We Got Another Puggle

After going to the dog park and seeing all these dogs with a compatriot (not a lot of solo dogs), I mentioned to Kerry the idea of a possible second dog. Fast forward to last night, a friend and co-worker comes up to me and says, "Want another puggle?" I had one of those tilt-your-head, raise-your-eyebrow moments. He had recently been down to Lied Animal Shelter and later his wife saw this puggle online at their site.

Well, I told Kerry about it when I got home and we agreed that I'd go check on her today. I got an email from her when I got up this morning saying, "The dog is still there with the number and information." I guess, she was more excited about the puggle than I first thought. Anyhow, went down there and, after a little searching, saw her. A little lighter-haired, bigger and older (she's 3 years old) than Bella. But the whole time I'm there everyone is saying how good a dog she is and how excited they are that she is finally getting a home (she has been there since Jan. 30th.) I sent a photo to Kerry and got a text back saying, "Awww... she's so cute. Get her. Get her NOW!" That I did. And here's a few photos of our two adopted daughters getting to know each other.

Life Update: 030309

Need to start giving you more updates as... ummm, this is the longest I've ever gone without posting anything.

Stress can be infectious. Kerry's family has been going through a lot of it and we've been trying to not bring it home. The only thing that I can do is tell her that we will do all we can to help but, as it is a relationship issue, remind ourselves that it is between two other parties. We hope that things will come to a resolution soon.

Went to Sacramento for my grandmother's 90th birthday. We stayed with my aunt/godmother and were able to introduce my cousins to my wife and son. I need to see them more often. The 1200 miles driving (600 each way) wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. We expect another trip there sometime to really enjoy ourselves (and stop by to see Tracy and Jason in Reno.)

Bella is doing amazingly well. She's now about 7 months old and really likes chewing on things. Everything...flesh, metal, wood, paper, rubber, plastic, wire, fabric. I get a scowl out of the spouse when I call the 'little one' a carpet muncher but... she's been having a lot of fun in our hallway. Often we call her and she comes prancing in with a braid of carpet hanging from her chin.

Been scheduling some great interviews for the show. The best interviews always have 3 key components: knowledge of your subject, good questions and a willing subject.

I'm becoming a bit more cognizant of my time issues and have been starting to get more organized. (I'm a work in progress as time management isn't one of my best skills.) When you have a family, you need to remember those simple projects together mean a lot. On Sunday, we decided to check out a nearby dog park. Bella had a blast and we discovered Italian greyhounds are freaking fast! Bella couldn't keep up with them but she never gave up. Kerry, David and myself plan to take Bella there on Sundays (maybe bring a light lunch with us.)

Life has been good to us. We both have our jobs and we are able to get by during a time that both of our industries are hurt. Our family is amazing, all of them. We celebrate our first anniversary at the end of the month.

Expect posts more often. B)

Last Thoughts Of The Year

I felt it necessary to throw out some last minute thoughts before the lights go out on 2008. It has been an amazing year.

My life changed immensely as I married Kerry and moved to the opposite side of town. I know, the first part is expected to be a big change but I've always loved living on the northwest side of town. On the southeast... it's saving me time and stress getting to work and also saving my spouse some frustration with the freeway. In November we also welcomed in the final member to our quartet, Bella. (She has little respect for her older sibling and I expect David to be sleeping in the kennel soon.)

Our families have also had some big changes. After 7 years of hard work, my brother-in-law Cory has become one of the latest members of S.W.A.T. This increases our concern but also the praise we heap upon him for his contribution to the community and keeping us safe. My sister has taken on an added role in her administrative work for the Marty Hennessy Jr. Tennis Foundation. (I still don't know how she finds the time.) My brother Michael is seeing the release of some films he has worked on and seems to have more direction in a very tough field. Lastly, Matthew has weathered the financial tsunami we are currently amidst amazingly well, as a member of the financial community. What can I say, Hennessys float but don't sink.

Our Web sites remain busy and we celebrated the 100th episode of our talkcast, Talking 80s Music with Martin Hennessy. We had the privilege to talk to a lot of celebrities this year (in and outside of interviews) and find it humbling that a passion could grow into something meaningful for many. We also made lots of friends that show up during the show, online and keeping track of us on Twitter, MySpace and Facebook. Sadly, that affected our frequent posting here on Rantings Of An 80s Nut (a.k.a. MartinHennessy.com) but we are working on that.

Kerry and I have made some resolutions for the new year. Kerry wants to be healthier, more patient and advance a few more belts in Chun Kuk Do (karate... as she plans to punish me for leaving the toilet seat up. Just kidding.) I have several: I am counting down the days until I can take Bella for walks. I need the exercise and that kills two birds. I also am also working to uncomplicate the things that I make complicated, spend more quality time at home and organize my time. I would also like to keep up my reading pace as I finished off 35 very diverse books this year.

More important than introspection and all are my wishes for all of you. Uncertainty is a terrible thing and one thing that you can be sure of are your friends and family. Hold them close in 2009. May the new year be prosperous in your financial, romantic and intellectual endeavours. Have a very happy new year!

Merry Christmas 2008

It just seems that we are getting busier and busier. But Kerry, David, Bella and myself would like to extend our hopes that you have a very merry Christmas, happy Hanukkah, caring Kwanzaa and jolly Festivus.

Guilt Post

Things have been so busy that, yes, time to post has been limited... extremely limited. I'm looking at the date of the last post and feel extremely guilty. The biggest problem is needing to keep my eye on the P.M. (poop machine) that I mentioned previously. Our fear of her possibly getting parvo virus and other things (as she has only just gotten her second vaccination -- vet said outdoor walks/dumps when she is about 6 months old) have changed her dumping schedule and location. This means, watching the little pup with eagle eyes and keeping her on a leash near me when I'm on the computer. So far, so good. It's an adjustment for all of us. I have to say that the last book I finished, How To Raise A Puppy by The Monks Of New Skete, is really helpful... just wish I read it before getting Bella. We did steal a little time to do some Christmas shopping and she went with us to my mother's house for Thanksgiving. I can see that this blog is going to get a lot of puppy love now.