Time Attack

Ventured out with the local Porsche club for a time trial at Sandia Motorsports Park. We encountered a bit of freak weather and it was actually snowing on and off all day. On my first time out I figured that the car would be totally out of control but I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of grip I had from the Falken Azensis RT-215 tires. Don't get me wrong, the car was still very loose but it was still manageable. My times were even within the top ten for that day and were faster than some of the 4wd cars. That shouldn't happen especially with bad weather. Anyways, check out the video to take a ride around the track.

New Home

Between driving out here and searching for a job I was also looking for a place to live. I was planning on renting an apartment for a couple of months to give Kerrie and I chance to get used to the city before committing to purchasing a home. Instead I got some pretty strong arguments from a lot of people to go ahead and buy a house right away. That didn't much time at all to find a house because I need to have this squared away before Kerrie and the cats arrived on 12/5/05. Needless to say this was a little stressful because I really wasn't in a financial position to do it but the first time home buyer's programs really helped out and I got some help from family too.

We found a small 3-bedroom house (1350 sqft) with a 2-car garage for a monthly payment that was little more than what it would cost me to rent a halfway decent 2-bedroom apartment. So in the long run this was right decision. It allows us to gain some equity and it gives us more space and privacy than what you can get from an apartment. So it is all good.

Job Hunting Part 2

After the cross country trip and several weeks of job hunting my funds were running low and I was feeling pretty desperate about earning a pay check. So I started to focus my job hunting on my marketable skills even though I didn't really want to be working in any of those fields. I submitted my resume to any opening that looked even vaguely similar to any of the following: sales, electro-mechanical assembly, quality inspection, internal auditor, CMM operator / programer, technical writing / illustration, and photography. I lost track of the number of resumes that I sent out and in my desperation I took the first position that was offered at a decent wage that had medical benefits.

That rash decision landed me a job at Sun Country Industries as a Quality Inspector and CMM operator / programmer. The shop was a filthy whole in the wall that produced aircraft parts for primarily GE and Eclipse. Some of the parts were technically interesting and others were on a completely different scale of size than what I had worked with at Hypertherm.

About a week after I accepted the job I received three more offers from other companies that looked much more promising but I felt that I had made a commitment and should see where it goes. My gut reaction is telling me that I just made a big mistake. I guess only time will tell.

Ventilating the Convertible

I can't believe what someone did to my poor car. It looks like some one threw a chunk of concrete out of a moving car and they were aiming for my rear window. Instead they missed the glass and the chunk of concrete ripped through the canvas top, hit the roll bar, and shattered through out the interior of the car. It made a total mess and a surprisingly larger bill. There was over $3,500 dollars worth of damage and a long lead time to get the replacement parts from Japan. This is sad because I hadn't even gotten the chance to have the rocker panel repaired (dent caused by avoiding the ice machine) before I have to file another insurance claim.

Job Hunting

When I got out to Albuquerque, it felt like I was getting a clean start and wanted to try earning a living in as a photographer. I saw several opportunities but each one was lacking in one way or another. One job was described as an "action photographer" and would entail driving across the Southwest to photograph different events covering gymnastics, karate, motocross... Another was an assistant photographer at a local portrait studio. She looked at my portfolio and my resume for quite a while. She said that she would have loved to hire me but the wage she could offer would have been an insult because I was over qualified for the position. Then there was a local jewelry distributer who liked my work, offered a decent starting wage, but didn't offer any benefits. That was a deal breaker because in the state of New Mexico I can't get my own health insurance policy because I have diabetes.

Arrival in ABQ

The drive from Oklahoma to Albuquerque, New Mexico was thankfully uneventful and it was refreshing to reach the end of the line. My sister Kristin and her family were nice enough to let me stay with them until I got employment and housing settled. For the time being I'm camping out in their 5th wheel trailer.

Tulsa's Horse Taj Mahal

The drive from Tennessee to Tulsa, Oklahoma was completely uneventful in comparison to the rest of the trip. It was nice to visit with my sister Barbara and family. She took me out to the horse stables where she works and I was stunned when I saw its scale. When I tried to take a picture of it I had to back all of the way down the access road to get the whole thing in the frame and that was with a 18mm wide-angle lens! Click on the title of the post to check out the Silver Creek Farms website and slideshow. The pictures don't do it justice.

I also stopped by Edmond, Oklahoma to visit with Chris and his family. It was just a quick layover but it was great to see them again.