BJ and Warren

I met BJ Lawson when I got involved in the Ron Paul campaign. BJ was the Triangle Ron Paul Meetup organizer and decided he felt so strongly about responsible government that he'd run for Congress. I worked on BJ's campaign for the last couple months before I moved to Seattle and got to know him as a smart, hard working and very determined man. You can check out his campaign at lawsonforcongress.com.

I've long intended to write about his campaign but fell out of the habit of blogging regularly. The thing that gave me the final push today was learning that BJ's campaign is sponsoring the premier of a new documentary about the impending financial disaster of our national debt, I.O.U.S.A. The best part is that after the showing there will be a discussion with an A-list panel including my personal hero, Warren Buffett. Warren is to clean business what BJ and Ron Paul are to clean government. The world would be a richer place in every sense of the word if there were more people like these three.

Sadly I won't be in Raleigh on the 21st but if you are, be sure to check out the premier and meet at least two really good people.

Anniversary

Well, it has been a full year since leaving SAS and starting this blog. I'm very much a creature of habit and I can completely forget about the passage of time if I don't make a conscious effort to think about it. But time marches on - people age, relationships ebb and flow, and things of crucial importance become trivial (and vice versa).

A year ago I had a blank slate and didn't know what I'd do with it. I knew I wanted to make some changes in my life but I wasn't sure exactly what those should be. And I was realistic that external changes like job and locale were not really what it was about. So how'd I do? I'm basically happy with my choices but I still have the same vague gut feeling that something is not as it should be. Is that just normal? Will I still feel that way this time next year? How much will I grow?

I can hardly remember who I was nine years ago when I came to North Carolina. Or the nine years before that when I entered high school with a face full of acne. Or the nine years before that when I was playing with blocks in kindergarten. But you hardly ever notice the change as it happens which I guess is a shame.

In nine more years I will be over 40. What a preposterous idea.

The Best of Youth

I just saw The Best of Youth and loved it. It is the best thing to come out of Italy since Monica Bellucci. It follows two brothers for over 30 years starting at the end of college. You see their everyday joy, sadness, love and heartbreak against the historical and sometimes turbulent backdrop of modern Italy. Loved ones die; children are born and shaped and come in to their own. Life!

Not sure how else to express it, so I'll leave it at that. Be aware that this movie is six hours (on two dvds) and is in Italian with subtitles. No need to watch it all in one go, though.

DC pics

About a month ago I went Washington DC with Sarah. We caught the final weekend of the Cherry Blossom Festival. The blossoms were mostly gone but we had some nice weather and got to take a tour of the White House grounds which is only offered two times a year. I hadn't seen Arlington National Cemetery before and am glad I got a chance to before heading out West.

Pics

John From Cincinnati

I watched John From Cincinnati (an HBO series) this past week and boy was it good. HBO makes such good stuff that I long ago stopped watching regular television. And watching the series on Netflix makes it cheap and easy; "I don't have HBO" is no excuse.

It is hard to give much of a synopsis of JFC. It reminds me a bit of X-Files where the audience keeps picking up clues but never enough know what lies in store for the characters. Add some LSD to the writer's room and set it in a surfing community and you've got yourself a show.

If you aren't accustomed to shows that make you scratch your head, start off with The Wire, The Sopranos or Six Feet Under from HBO. They are less trippy than JFC.

First week at Amazon

My first week on the job was nice enough, but not very eventful. There is even more to learn than the large amount I was already expecting. Hopefully for this coming week I will have all the accounts and permissions squared away and can begin to do real work.

I'm in a cubical but it is fairly isolated and has a nice view of Qwest Field (where the Seattle Seahawks play) and Seattle's container port. And I am right in the midst of the people in my group which will be quite useful. My group gets along great and has been very welcoming to me; we went to lunch every day and out to the waterfront after work on Friday.

Nothing much else to report, but I wanted to put something up since I know people are curious. I'm happy that I decided to work for Amazon; it is way nerdier than SAS which is what I was looking for.

Meeting people

I got moved into my apartment yesterday and transfered the stuff from my temporary housing today. As I was walking across my new courtyard my way was blocked by ten or twelve people taking swings at a pinata for Cinco de Mayo. I put down my suitcases to watch the show and am immediately informed that it was my turn. So I was blindfolded and spun and made a few pathetic swings. They went out of there way to make me feel welcome. I happened to have a few leftover ciders in my suitcase and passed them around to my new friends. As a bonus, at least half were nerds; Amazon, Microsoft, and Google were all represented. After the pinata candy was all eaten I went up to one their apartments to play Rock Band and Scene It on the Xbox for an hour. I'm really happy to have started meeting some people...

Tomorrow I report to work at 8:30 for orientation. Yeeha!