I'm doing a cycling tour next week in Idaho; this will be my fifth tour. The riding will be challenging but not impossible as we will cover 400 miles in one week with about 10k feet of climbing. The scenery promises to be awesome - I will definitely report back after the trip with some pics.
While prepping for a tour gets easier with experience, each one has its own unique set of challenges. For the Ride Idaho, the biggest challenge (aside from trying to log miles in for preparation) is that we will be camping out every night. This has created an interesting dynamic trying to figure out what kind of camping gear to get. My buddy Jon in Idaho captured the essence of the trip best when he tweeted "this is turning into a camping trip with some cycling".
Luckily I got to do a camping dry run with my brother and nephew a few weeks ago. After this experience, I'm most worried about getting a good night's sleep so that I can have the energy to ride each day.
I'm looking forward to this tour because it appears to be well organized and it seems to be geared around having a good time. There are people coming from 31 states and Canada to do the ride.
Here's a link to the ride web site if you have any interest in checking it out:
http://www.rideidaho.org/
Monday, August 1, 2011
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
U.S. Open
Still moving along on the job search, although as you can imagine things are a bit slow being that it is summer and all. I'm trying to figure out the best way to categorize my efforts so that I can demonstrate which avenues are working best. Networking definitely yields the best results but you can cover more opportunities through job and company websites.
So far I've done a fair amount networking but only one interview has come from it. It was pretty late in the search process so I didn't really get that serious a look. However, it was good experience to interview and I may be brought in later if other opportunities develop. The trick with networking is to figure out how to be persistent without being annoying. I'm sure some of you will let me know if I toe the line!
Now onto the fun stuff. I got an e-mail through my Hunter College account that the U.S. Open was holding a job fair. I figured why not give it a shot? Getting paid to be outdoors could be a nice gig and I could use the cash. You need to be available for 14 straight days of work -- that part I have licked. I was willing to put aside friends ribbing me about Kramer getting hit in the head with tennis balls as a too-tall ball boy.
The invite said the job fair was from 12pm-4pm. I got there at about 12:15pm and there were about 300 people on line. But as I figured out later on, this was just one of about three lines. I ended up spending 3 hours on line to get into the "job fair", which consisted of only about 5 booths. The jobs ranged from transportation to working in retail or food concessions to being an ambassador that roamed the grounds to greet people and move VIPs around. I figured I'd put my efforts into the latter position, which of course had a another huge line. When I approached the booth I got a warm reception from the woman who was in charge. They try to do a 5 minute mini-interview to gauge affability, interest in tennis, overall experience, etc...After perusing my resume, she tells me that I should probably apply for Supervisor. Nice, a promotion before I even start! Then she lays the bomb on me. You need to be available on August 12th and 13th for training in order to be considered for the position. Unfortunately (as far as this position goes), I am scheduled for bike trip in Idaho until August 15th. She said that she may possibly be able to work around it but that training was pretty critical so it probably wouldn't work.
Being the professional that I am (ahem), I immediately sent her a follow-up e-mail reiterating my interest in the position and that I am available after August 15th in order to makeup the training. I just heard back from her that the best she was able to do was to put me on standby. Oh well. Who knows, maybe someone will bag the training and a spot will open up for me. Until then I'll be practicing my meeting and greeting skills.
So far I've done a fair amount networking but only one interview has come from it. It was pretty late in the search process so I didn't really get that serious a look. However, it was good experience to interview and I may be brought in later if other opportunities develop. The trick with networking is to figure out how to be persistent without being annoying. I'm sure some of you will let me know if I toe the line!
Now onto the fun stuff. I got an e-mail through my Hunter College account that the U.S. Open was holding a job fair. I figured why not give it a shot? Getting paid to be outdoors could be a nice gig and I could use the cash. You need to be available for 14 straight days of work -- that part I have licked. I was willing to put aside friends ribbing me about Kramer getting hit in the head with tennis balls as a too-tall ball boy.
The invite said the job fair was from 12pm-4pm. I got there at about 12:15pm and there were about 300 people on line. But as I figured out later on, this was just one of about three lines. I ended up spending 3 hours on line to get into the "job fair", which consisted of only about 5 booths. The jobs ranged from transportation to working in retail or food concessions to being an ambassador that roamed the grounds to greet people and move VIPs around. I figured I'd put my efforts into the latter position, which of course had a another huge line. When I approached the booth I got a warm reception from the woman who was in charge. They try to do a 5 minute mini-interview to gauge affability, interest in tennis, overall experience, etc...After perusing my resume, she tells me that I should probably apply for Supervisor. Nice, a promotion before I even start! Then she lays the bomb on me. You need to be available on August 12th and 13th for training in order to be considered for the position. Unfortunately (as far as this position goes), I am scheduled for bike trip in Idaho until August 15th. She said that she may possibly be able to work around it but that training was pretty critical so it probably wouldn't work.
Being the professional that I am (ahem), I immediately sent her a follow-up e-mail reiterating my interest in the position and that I am available after August 15th in order to makeup the training. I just heard back from her that the best she was able to do was to put me on standby. Oh well. Who knows, maybe someone will bag the training and a spot will open up for me. Until then I'll be practicing my meeting and greeting skills.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Deja Vu All Over Again
One thing I like so say is that history repeats itself but is never the same. Or is it?
As I contemplated starting to blog as the Bully gain, I decided to show some of my old posts to my girlfriend.
Low and behold, I stumbled upon this gem from December 2009:
http://thebullycockpit.blogspot.com/2009/12/will-work-for-food.html
My god, why didn't I listen to myself? Well here I am almost two years later having gotten a Master's degree in teaching on blind faith alone. And blind faith has failed me! Teaching just wasn't right for my inner snake. But I'm not going to harp on the past, it's time to look forward.
So it's back to the drawing board. Back to the financial game. I'm motivated to prove I can not only make it back, but prosper as well. I have a new perspective and a renewed energy.
I will be posting about my efforts to find a job. It's going to be a combination of networking, craiglisting, headhunting and searching company websites. I think they say that looking for a job can take upwards of 6 months even in a good economy. So sit back and get ready for some good blogging content (at my emotional expense).
As I contemplated starting to blog as the Bully gain, I decided to show some of my old posts to my girlfriend.
Low and behold, I stumbled upon this gem from December 2009:
http://thebullycockpit.blogspot.com/2009/12/will-work-for-food.html
My god, why didn't I listen to myself? Well here I am almost two years later having gotten a Master's degree in teaching on blind faith alone. And blind faith has failed me! Teaching just wasn't right for my inner snake. But I'm not going to harp on the past, it's time to look forward.
So it's back to the drawing board. Back to the financial game. I'm motivated to prove I can not only make it back, but prosper as well. I have a new perspective and a renewed energy.
I will be posting about my efforts to find a job. It's going to be a combination of networking, craiglisting, headhunting and searching company websites. I think they say that looking for a job can take upwards of 6 months even in a good economy. So sit back and get ready for some good blogging content (at my emotional expense).
Monday, August 2, 2010
Fixated
My metamorphosis from Wall St. bigwig (cough cough) to student over the past year is being paralleled by a fundamental shift in my cycling viewpoint.
When I moved to Queens, I got a single speed bike for commuting and running local errands. I love the simplicity of a single speed. No more anticipating changing gears, changing gears, and wondering if you are in the right gear. The constant tinkering works against the inherent simplicity of cycling.
I recently took a deeper dive into simplicity and switched to a fixed gear bike. A fixed gear doesn't allow you to "coast". You have to pedal at all times and you brake with your feet by stopping the pedals. Some people use front brakes with this setup because as you could imagine it sets you up for a hugely dangerous scenario not being able to stop very quickly in the face of danger.
The best analogy of how feels to be on a fixed gear bike when danger is approaching is when you are skiing on a steeper slope than you are comfortable with and you start speeding toward a tree out of control and you are having problems turning your skis. I've actually had a few close calls so far -- even thought about bailing off my bike to take the lesser pain of road rash vs. crashing into a car. But so far I've managed to escape each situation by keeping my cool. The upshot of riding a fixed gear bike is it is fun in an intense way and the workout is multiples of a regular bike because your legs are constantly in motion and your muscles are always working to control the cranks.
The more I write here the more I think I need to get a front brake. The bike doesn't look as cool but it sure beats dying.
Here's a pic of my rig. Bike porn at its best.
When I moved to Queens, I got a single speed bike for commuting and running local errands. I love the simplicity of a single speed. No more anticipating changing gears, changing gears, and wondering if you are in the right gear. The constant tinkering works against the inherent simplicity of cycling.
I recently took a deeper dive into simplicity and switched to a fixed gear bike. A fixed gear doesn't allow you to "coast". You have to pedal at all times and you brake with your feet by stopping the pedals. Some people use front brakes with this setup because as you could imagine it sets you up for a hugely dangerous scenario not being able to stop very quickly in the face of danger.
The best analogy of how feels to be on a fixed gear bike when danger is approaching is when you are skiing on a steeper slope than you are comfortable with and you start speeding toward a tree out of control and you are having problems turning your skis. I've actually had a few close calls so far -- even thought about bailing off my bike to take the lesser pain of road rash vs. crashing into a car. But so far I've managed to escape each situation by keeping my cool. The upshot of riding a fixed gear bike is it is fun in an intense way and the workout is multiples of a regular bike because your legs are constantly in motion and your muscles are always working to control the cranks.
The more I write here the more I think I need to get a front brake. The bike doesn't look as cool but it sure beats dying.
Here's a pic of my rig. Bike porn at its best.
Friday, July 2, 2010
He's Baaaaaaaaack
The Bully's back. I've got a new look and most likely some new angles. Not sure which way the new blog is headed content-wise. Stay tuned and we'll figure it out together.
Monday, January 25, 2010
A Week of Firsts
This is a big week. Weather permitting, I'm going to do my first cycling ride of the season tomorrow. I hope to get in about 25 relatively flat miles.
Perhaps even bigger, on Thursday I start my master's degree in elementary education at Hunter College in NYC. This will likely be a traumatic event that will result in a few posts. So at the very least it will be entertaining for my reader(s).
Perhaps even bigger, on Thursday I start my master's degree in elementary education at Hunter College in NYC. This will likely be a traumatic event that will result in a few posts. So at the very least it will be entertaining for my reader(s).
Friday, January 15, 2010
Open Reading
I've done a fair bit of reading over the past year so I figure why not give my reader(s) some of the benefit. I'm going to list the books I've read with a one or two sentence review/recommendation. Each time I finish the book I'll update the list. (FYI, if you double-click on the list it will open in a separate window and be much easier to read.)
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