Should The Name Have Been A Giveaway ?

All my children have been and will continue to grow up in a virtual world.  Connection to the internet is a constant, with all its trappings and immediate expectations.  This is a blessing and a curse.  I've learned a significant number of things from my children related to the world of electronics and virtual connectivity.

- My 15 year old son is NEVER without his iPhone, but he has shown me (and my wife) some great tips and tricks on our own phones.  He is also the protagonist of the subject for this blog post.

- My 13 year old son saved up money to buy his own iPod (which already seems outdated) and is in the iPad group at his middle school.  He finds the most funny things on YouTube!

- My 11 year old daughter is also on the iPad team at the middle school (she was also in that 'pilot' class at the elementary school last year).  She already has cooler and more productive apps on her iPad than I think I'll ever have.

Back to the oldest child - his head was buried so deep in his phone and he kept spouting out these random questions ... so I asked him (when he came up for air) what all the fuss was about ... 

And that's when the addiction began.

Granted it's been less than 48 hours that I've been 'hooked' but I downloaded the free app for Trivia Crack and began competing against my oldest sons, my wife, my buddy Tony, some young men (scouts) I know from church, my brother, a few work friends, my niece, and even a random game (but that was the first game it made me play - I didn't challenge that opponent again).  I have no idea if it is impressive at all, but I'm already at level 34 or something, which is almost at the top of the list of all my friends who are playing.

I'd feel guilty about it, but it's really an educational game (insert whatever sarcastic remark you have here).  I actually study a little about the concept of gamification in my newer line of work, so I can actually chalk up some of this as research (although not as much as my brother-in-law Dennis, whose job often truly is to play and test games).

Bottom line: it can be a blessing and a curse to ask questions of your children!

Song Of The Day:

Addictions to games are probably not a good thing.  I thought of the lyrics to the song "Need You Tonight" by INXS and with only a few minor word changes, the song is a perfect fit for a trivia game blog post.

Your moves are so raw ... you're one of my kind ... I need you tonight 'cause I'm not sleeping ... there's something about you (game) that makes me sweat ... what do you think? - I can't think at all ... and finally ... I'm lonely!  :)

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A Blessing Or A Curse ?

One of my responsibilities at work is to interview new hire candidates for entry sales positions.  These interviews follow a standard format, and we interviewers use the same packet of questions for each candidate.  The mix of questions vary a little with each interview, but the Dimensions (or skill areas) being identified are exactly the same.

A short while back, I had filled out the front of one of these interview packets with the basic information (candidate name, interviewer name, and date of interview) in anticipation of an upcoming interview.  The day of the interview came and I set my interview folder out on my desk.  Then the time for the interview came and there was no call from Security (they always call to inform us that the candidate is here).  The candidate was a no-show.

The following week I had another interview scheduled, so not wanting to waste paper and printer ink, I just crossed out the candidate name and date of interview, writing the new information to the side in each category.  The evening before that interview, I received an email informing me that the candidate had withdrawn their application.

I had no interview the next week, so the packet just sat in my interview folder until my next interview was scheduled.  Once again, I crossed out the name and date, replacing them with the newer candidate information.  By now, the space for writing was becoming limited on the front of the packet.  About an hour before the interview was to take place, I received a call from one of our recruiters who informed me that the candidate had called to reschedule their interview.

Okay, now it was getting a little weird.

You see, in between these cancelled or rescheduled interviews, I had still conducted other new hire interviews.  There are two different packets to use, depending on whether you are the first or second interviewer, and I had been using the other version for my other interviews.  Still, I thought my streak of cancelled or rescheduled interviews was a little silly to connect with this packet of paper and scribbled out names and dates.

That is, until the next interview I planned to use it on.

Once again I scratched out the name and date of the prior candidate's slot and wrote in the new date and candidate name, which was now all the way in the margin of the packet.  I told my interview partner about the mysterious streak of "did not happen" interviews and she commented that she would be fine if the streak continued that day because she was really behind on other work.  Fast forward to the time of the interview and my office phone rings.  It was the security desk calling to inform me that the candidate was here.  Okay, the streak is over.  I broke the news to my interview partner and headed to the lobby.

Shortly after extending my hand to greet the candidate, he confirmed my name and then immediately apologized and said he had to leave.  I asked if he wanted me to reschedule his interview and he said yes, while frantically glancing at his cell phone.  He then informed me that he just found out his daughter had been in a serious car accident so he had to go.  I wished him well and then headed back to my desk.

My interview partner was surprised to see me back so soon and asked if everything was all right.  I pulled out the interview packet and said "This packet must go.  People are getting hurt now.  It's not fun and games anymore."  I then explained the candidate's need to leave urgently and my interview partner stood there in awe.

So now I am left wondering ... should I keep the packet and re-use it?  Or is it dangerous and should be disposed of?  I won't complain about getting an hour back in my day for cancelled interviews, but not if someone is getting injured to make it happen!
*Clarification: I have since used this interview packet and the candidate was not harmed nor did they miss their interview time.  I cannot say whether they were hired or not, but the packet is now used and will no longer threaten anyone's safety.


Song Of The Day:
It is Thursday, so here's a Throwback song from the Clash.  "Should I Stay Or Should I Go" isn't about interviewing people, but the question can loosely be tied to my dilemma with using the packet again and again.

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So, What Now ?

Being a "Clear The To Do List" person is a blessing and a curse.

The blessing is that you get lots of things done.  People around you begin to recognize all that hard work and usually praise your efficiency.  There is a sense of satisfaction in knowing your productivity is so high.  Any fears that you might be considered a lazy person are ridiculous.  Give the task to yourself and everyone knows it will get done, and done right!

The curse is that it becomes nearly impossible to "just relax."  Because you perform best when there is a list of things to get done, when the tables are turned and there is theoretically nothing to do (because the current list is finished) then you are lost.  This also limits your ability to stop and smell the roses or in other words, enjoy the fruits of your labor.

Stole this from Google Maps ... it's a good "Before" picture of the house

And here's an "After" picture from close to the same angle
(what you can't see are the concrete walkways and tree ring)

 

Having finally *finished the landscaping for our front yard (which has been a full six-month project comprised of more steps than I have time to recount), I find myself unable to just sit and enjoy the new yard.  I'm asking myself "What's next?" and the logical answer is to create a new "To Do List."
*The sprinkler manifold and drainage area next to it still need to be covered with landscape fabric and rocked.  This includes digging some sort of french drain for the downspout.

So instead of just taking a break to enjoy our new front yard, here's a short list of projects or things I need to work on now:
 - Fix the back of the couch in the movie room
 - Fix the garage door keypad
 - Rearrange items in the garage (hang bikes and other summer items)
 - Clean out and organize the game room area in the basement
 - Switch out Josh Jr's bed (he has the extra queen sized "guest" bed and wants a regular twin bed so he doesn't have to give up his room when friends come to visit)
 - Move Brooklyn out of the Bunkhouse to her own room upstairs (she will be the recipient of the aforementioned queen-sized bed)
 - Fix the wall and carpet from Ben's room
 - Tile the floor outside the basement shower
 - Re-paint the lower wall in the office
 - Dig out the backyard sprinkler heads
 - Begin building the retaining wall in the backyard
 - Strip the old paint and re-paint the posts on the gazebo

There are probably 100 or more other projects on my long-term To Do List, but these are ones I hope to finish before the cold of winter sets in.  Looking at the list, I am beginning to rethink the value of being a 'Clear the To Do List' person.  :)


Song Of The Day:
Once again we were blessed with rain today so I have selected another rain-themed song.  It's time to get your country music on with "Rain Is A Good Thing" by Luke Bryan.  In relation to this post, rain is a good thing to force me to relax, since it limits my ability to do many of the items on my next To Do list.

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