I'm here!

[ridin gaijin]

[re-posted from advrider.com. Call me lazy]


After several years n Santa Fe, I had a horrible divorce and went back East. But I didn't land the job I hoped for, I miss my daughters, and my ex is dating. Fathers don't like other men in the house where their little daughters are, I guess. So I just arrived in Albuquerque today. Close enough; I can't stand Santa Fe anyway. The plan:

1. Get temporary lodging (done)
2. Get temporary job
3. Search for permanent job
4. Search for permanent housing

...I think that covers it. My assets include:

1 wireless laptop
1 cell phone, NM number
1 small hatchback car (yellow, ADV sticker on back)
About $300
Extensive set of riding gear
1 educated, analytical and creative mind
1 physically fit body

The Tiger...? My good friend is actually still in Connecticut! I left it there in care of Branchville Motors, whose RAT pack I briefly headed. My car is too small to have towed it. When I have the cash to either ship it, or go out and ride it back here (preferred, obviously...), we'll be reunited.

So the Temporary Job part. My thinking there is, I'm working with a recruiter and applying for 'high-speed' jobs, the kind that one day will help pay a mortgage again. (That's the Permanent Job part.) In the meantime I need to survive here. If I can get work at $12 or $15 per hour or thereabouts I'll be good for now. Warehouse, driving, customer service, whatever. Anyone know someone who's paying that for an honest guy who can pass a drug test...?

I'm staying at the Downtown Inn. Have you been here? I recommend it! Everything a rider needs. My room is $35/night and I'll switch to weekly @ $200. The room is clean and spacious and has a fridge and it's within range of someone's hi-speed wireless connection. The hotel is within walking distance of a laundromat, several convenience stores, downtown (Central), and even a grocery store. I bought some Clementines, apples, bananas, a quart of fat-free organic yogurt and some wheat bread for $14.11. This'll hold me for 2-3 days. No nightlife for me until I get some kind of job though. And no gym time either: without the funds for a) a membership someplace basic and b) all the food needed to resume fueling muscle gain, I'm on a diet for the time being.

I really like where I am right now. Physically this place is at the border of old and new Albuquerque, an interesting junction with interesting signs and buildings. I got drenched walking home from the grocery store. But the rain tasted sweet and the cold shower didn't break my mood. I'm feeling happy, optimistic...and ready.

[HappyMan]

O.K.  I'll call you Lazy but smart too.  I wish you the best of luck and I hope you can get your bike back soon.  Nothing takes the stress of life away better than a motorcycle.

[abruzzi]

Go get a job at PJs, and maybe I'll buy my next bike from you.

Seriously, what line of work are you normally in?

Geof

[ridin gaijin]

Heh, I was one of PJ's earliest customers. He did offer me a sales job a few years back. Right now that's not a good choice for me--I sold Harleys up in Santa Fe two summers ago, and that was great, but steady income's on the menu right now.

My last job, I ran the marketing department of a big manufacturer of healthful cereals and teas. Managed all people and projects. Before that (and the divorce...) I ran a large-ish graphic design and print company, 20 blue and white-collar employees. And before that I was a management consultant (Cornell MBA). In my spare time (sparse, lately) I'm admin for a 9,000 member gaming site for geeks.

I'm best at managing projects and people, getting to the root of problems and designing solutions. Quantifying financial challenges and defining organizational ones. I work well with all kinds of people--easygoing, would rather you had a good day than a bad one.

...You? Are you really as dark and scary as you look...?  :P

[blacktiger]

Sounds like you're just the guy to set up a "consultancy".

Good luck. I hope it all works out for you.

[abruzzi]

...You? Are you really as dark and scary as you look...?  :P

Nah.  The lights were off, that's all.  Down here I work for the guvmint (Dona Ana County) managing the web and programming staff. (and doing a lot of web and programming myself.)  If I knew anyone in ABQ, I'd put in a good word for you, but not really.  The father of an ex-girlfriend lives up there and is in with a big construction firm.  That's about it for my connections.

Geof

[TigerTrax]

Hey Abruzzi...
I admire your move... risky business.

I don't have any contacts that I know of in NM... but am scratching my brain.

I just checked Monster.com   They show 298 jobs.

Good Luck...

TigerTrax

[paulie]

i wish you all the best in your quest!

before you land a REAL job, perhaps you could get a management spot at a coffee shop or a retail place? an added benefit is that you would get benefits!

starbucks and trader joe's are two places i know for sure that treat employees quite well, and could serve as a temporary paycheck.





PS, which gaming site for geeks? inquiring geeks that play games want to know!  :o

[ridin gaijin]

Thanks for the kind words blacktiger, means a lot right now. :-)

Abruzzi, thanks for the info! When I get my 1st paycheck, you'll have a new Site Supporter.

TigerTrax, yeah, there's a lot there. I apply for stuff there and on careerbuilder when I see it...but in the meantime I always, always have found better luck thru talking to actual people. And I'm STILL hoping to make one of those damn ride-ins...!

Paulie, thanks for the good wishes. At risk of humiliating myself...I'm Admin ridin on DnDOnlineGames.com. I'm the guy what supervises the moderating team and the other admins. The site owner and I work together on promoting the site, financial stuffs, what and when to upgrade, etc....There! I came clean!

[TigerTrax]

Maybe we need a New Mexico Ride-In ???????????????????????

Trax

PS: Be sure to scream LOUD if you need website monies.....

[paulie]

hey now gaijin, no humiliation! i dont think you have to worry at all... we're all here because we love our tiggers, so i dont think we need to start knocking people for what other stuff they do! to each his own!

:D

i still have friends to are into D&D(i'm in my late 20s), but i just never got into it. i did play the collectible card games (magic, star wars, and other wizards of the coast games) when i was younger though! still have them around, in fact.

[TigerTrax]

Sorry for the mix up gaijin...

Fingers faster than brains!!

Maybe you can get a job in Los Alamos...
I hear there are a few openings!!!

[JetdocX]

Hey Gaijin,

Check out Eclipse Aviation.  They are on the cutting edge of VLJ (Very Light Jet) design.  Sounds like you have the management skills.

[ridin gaijin]

Eclipse Aviation, got it, will do. Maybe they need marketing help!

Also, everyone in the area, please let me recommend the Greenside Cafe. Owned and run by a fellow rider up in Cedar Crest, it's really good food. I ate there last night (review here (http://outward.wordpress.com/2008/01/10/happy/)).

Trax, I honestly wouldn't presume to suggest any changes to the way you run those things. Though I've never been, I'm familiar with the locations you choose, and I also know what it takes to volunteer to put something together and run it. From what I can see, you do an awesome job of picking terrific locations suitable for a wide range of price ranges and riding tastes. Don't change a thing...and I STILL hope to make one!

[oldrider]

Hi ridin gaigin.

I have just read your posts, I don't know you from Adam so I have no prejudice or interest other than just being nosey.

In your posts I spotted a paradox.

Read no further if you are in a delicate state of mind, this is just my interpretation of what you wrote

You claim you have excellent credentials in people management, fair enough if you have the documentation and history to back it up!

Your situation however demonstrates the complete opposite because you are only where you are due to a complete breakdown in your own personal relationship!

This does not demonstrate to me that you are skilled in human and personal relationships such as those required to manage "people"!

When it comes right down to the nitty gritty, where it must have been extremely important to you, it appears, you dropped the ball.

Why should any employer want to employ you to manage their people?

I am not trying to be an arsehole here, I don't know you, I just read what you wrote about your situation and that is the impression I got from it.  

Whatever happens in your life, I wish you the best of luck and happy riding on your Tiger.

Would that God, the gift to give us,
to see our selves, as others see us! (Robbie Burns)
 
Cheers John.