Fear the Crab

The interview went well. They asked questions, I answered them clearly and precisely. I think I made a good impression.

The test was dubious, at best. The multiple choice questions were all based on what is public knowledge of the department’s operation. For example, the tax year for real property is July 1st to June 30th. Real appraisals are conducted as of October 1st. You can file an appeal by January 15th. Stuff like that. I totally bombed that part.

There was a bit of math in the test, but only two questions. The first dealt with statistics. I had to find the median, mode, and mean of nine numbers. Unfortunately, I didn’t know what a mode was, so I got that part wrong. The second question was simply finding the area of the different parts of a house.

So the test has me worried about my chances of getting this job. I don’t know how much weight the test holds, so there’s a possibility that no matter what kind of impression I made, my score on the test would be the ultimate factor to decide whether or not I’m hired. If there’s one silver lining to this cloud, it’s that I told the interview panel that I am easily trainable and a quick learner, and I cited my experience at duty free when I first started (I hardly knew Japanese, and I didn’t know anything about duty free regulations). It is my hope that they will take that into consideration should they look at my test score.

In other news, Maile’s mom finally gave Keoni a choice. He can go to a rehab center and clean up, or he can live on the street. The mom will basically drive down to the psychologist’s office with Keoni and ask what options the idiot has. He’s been acting really weird, and it’s very likely he’s back on drugs. We suspect he even stole a Macy’s gift card we bought for a friend. So this development has put Maile more at ease, because now it seems like there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. Basically he’s going to be out of the house (which is all she really wants), and he should be getting the help he needs. The rest of the family is sick and tired of helping him out; even the grandmother is beginning to get irritated.

A part of me wonders if Keoni will actually go through with rehab. Ideally he would, and clean himself up and live a peaceful life. Unfortunately, the pessimist (or realist) in me highly doubts he’d go through with it, because he has a problem with rules and with authority. Namely, he can’t handle it. However, regardless of whether or not he goes through with rehab, Keoni will not be at Maile’s house giving her stress, and when it all boils down, that’s the bottom line.

I’ve found that doing the homework assignments immediately after covering the material in class greatly helps my understanding of it. Of course, that’s probably a given to many studious types. Still, it bodes well for my hopes of passing the class. Right now I am .02 points below 50, and according to the professor, anything below 50 means I’m in trouble. Hopefully I will do well in my assignments and have some modicum of success with my exams. The material we are covering now seems a bit more straightforward than previously encountered, so I don’t know if that’s the only reason why it seems I’m doing okay.

Tomorrow is the big interview with the City. According to some inside sources, the interview part will likely consist of questions pertaining to the office’s function of property assessment, such as tax rates and basic exemptions due to age, disability and low income. I understand all of that for the most part, though technical aspects (like the exact amounts) are unknown to me at this time. The written test may possibly involve some basic math and blueprint sketches. The math I’m not too worried about, since it deals primarily with geometry and areas. I know how to read blueprints, though if you were to ask me about details I wouldn’t know oak from redwood and the differences between a house built tongue-in-groove versus otherwise. Aside from the test and office knowledge, the rest is pretty much up to me and what I answer. So long as I give the impression that I’m a hard worker, easily trainable, and willing to learn and work well with others, I have a shot at getting this job.

My dad says they may also ask me which softball team I want to play in. I’m shooting for team A, because I already know a lot of the guys there, and my dad says they’re pretty cool when it comes to playing badly (ie they laugh at you instead of yelling).

The Kikaida DVD is set for release on Oct 15. It will have episodes 1 through 5, and if I get it from Costco I can look to spend about $20 for each. The 15th is a Tuesday, which means I can pick up the DVD after school. I’ll likely buy three if I can get away with it; one for George, one for my brother, and one for me. This also means that I no longer have to worry about taping the darn episodes and missing any, but it also means that my brother will likely have to wait longer for the entire collection. I’m sure he can handle it, though.

I dreamt I was watching George play a video game, when it seemed as though I were watching it up close and personal. I was in the game, and the characters were moving around me in a Mario-esque type of way as they tried to get to a certain location while monsters flew by and around and dropped nasty things. One of the monsters dropped something in my direction, and then I saw a medical team arrive to treat any infections incurred by what the monsters dropped. As the characters were being treated, I looked down at my right forearm and saw what looked like two gray slimy earthworms sticking out of my skin. I tried to pull them out, but they was embedded deep as I could feel the tugging within my arm. I went up to that medical team, and one of them assisted me by literally hooking both earthworm-type thingies with small wires, and pulling them out with some device. The ends of those things popped off with no pain, but now it meant that I could remove the parts inside my arm. Even though my mind was telling me not to do it, I squeezed out my right arm like a toothpaste tube, and this black sticky substance oozed out, followed by six small rubbery nubs, like pencil erasers. I remarked to the medical team that the stupid things left six roots in me, and they seemed pretty surprised.

There was a second part to my dream, that of me being incarcerated in a strange prison. My dad worked at the prison, which meant he had to watch his son spend time in jail. My mom and my sister visited me, and my sister wanted me to help her with her doll collection by getting and sending out the various dolls I would be able to get from prison. What’s weird is that we were all haole, and I don’t have a sister. It felt pretty real, though.

Went over to Maile’s house to hang out and spend some time with her. We went shopping for an office chair for her room, but the only one we liked was sold out. Instead we had to settle for some ink cartridges for her printer, and overall it was a disappointing venture. The reason we need a new chair is because the old one is, well, old, and we wanted a chair that was lower than the desk itself, so we could sit more comfortably. Right now the armrests on the old chair get in the way of the keyboard panel, which slides out but hits the top of the armrests.

We watched a bit of Moulin Rouge because it was playing on HBO, but we missed the beginning. It was pretty good, though after watching it I got a headache because I was staring at the television for so long. We ate dinner at Ricado’s; both of us having the chicken piccata and I had a glass of red wine. I forget the name of the brand, but it began with Bolla.

While we were out, it seems Keoni was using Maile’s computer, even though he’s been told countless times to not do that. We can tell he’s been using it because he doesn’t turn off the computer, and before we left I had shut down everything. He only turns off the monitor, thinking that nobody would notice. If there’s one bright spot in that bit of news, it’s that he doesn’t just push the power button to shut off the computer. Doing that is a big no-no amongst users, because it doesn’t allow the OS to properly close. I mean, you can do it, but it’s preferred you not.

I’m really afraid that he’ll not only break Maile’s computer, but he’ll download or open up some virus that will cause havoc later on down the road. Given his stupid lack of sense, he wouldn’t think twice about opening unknown applications or visiting porno sites and getting the hard drive infected. We could use a password to start the computer, but that really complicates things and doesn’t solve the primary issue of him just not using it when he’s not supposed to. I think the only viable solution here would be to duct tape him to his bed and close the door.

All in all, besides that one dark and dreary moment, the day was a good day.

Didn’t post yesterday because I was too busy trying to figure out this last math problem. Took me two hours from the time I returned after picking up my parents at the airport, to the time I went to bed at 2200 hours. I think I blew a neuron.

Not much else to write about in regards to yesterday.

Bought more socks today. Same size and type as before, those lightweight hiking socks that seemed to only come in women’s sizes. They’re very comfortable, though.

Bought the End of Evangelion DVD. Haven’t watched it yet, mostly because I’ve already seen it and bought it just to complete my collection.

Bought dinner at Jurison’s Inn in Waikele. They have some good mochiko chicken, with a sauce that they make themselves. It’s a bit of a sweet sauce, and seems to go well with the chicken.

Bought some Listermint and a couple of packs of cigarettes. The Listermint because it’s better than Listerine, according to lab tests conducted by Maile at LCC. It kills more germs, and it tastes better. Not to mention, you don’t get that burning feeling when using it. The cigarettes I got because I’ll only be smoking at home, so I left them in the freezer to stall the staleness from sinking in.

I bought a lot of stuff today. Thank goodness tomorrow’s payday.

Didn’t meet up with Maile after work as originally planned, but it’s not as bad as one might think. We both had a lot of studies to catch up on, and tonight was the best night to do it. It turns out for the best, because I was able to finish my math assignment, leaving tomorrow totally free to see her. Maile should also be done with the work she has left to do. We might watch a movie, or rent one and kick back at home with some popcorn.

I read in the news that the factories in Japan have started to airlift the parts to the factories on the mainland, so the US can start production of their cars once again. This bodes well for the arrival of my truck, regardless of whether or not it was assembled prior to the lockout. There’s also word that Hawaii will be exempt from the lockout because we’re so dependent on shipping for most of our goods and supplies, so that’s a good sign that consumers won’t feel as big a backlash as we once thought.

Did the laundry, but when I left for work a lot of it was still damp on the line. Did some of my math homework, so the day saw some progress.

I’m finding the quitting of cigarettes cold turkey has started to reach its difficult point. I see people smoking at school and at work, and just seeing it brings back the urges. The toothpicks help. Part of me is thinking that perhaps I could buy a pack and keep it at home, only smoking when I am at home. The reasoning behind this is that I only smoke one or two while at home; a majority of my smoking was whenever I was out. The drawback to this is that the mere act of smoking will likely heighten the urges and make it worse down the line.

The lockout of the shipping ports on the west coast has worried me as to the expected delivery date of my truck. There are a lot of questions unanswered regarding the whole deal. The biggest is whether or not they built the darn thing. Toyota City showed me a list of the different models and how much of each were going to be received, but I don’t know if that meant they were already built or they expect that much to be built and shipped. If it’s already been built, it’s highly likely that their delivery will just be delayed. But if it hasn’t been built, the delay could be way longer than ever thought possible. I say this because I just saw in the news that the factory that builds pickups has stopped production because the parts from Japan haven’t or can’t arrive. There is some consolation, though. I already have the paperwork that basically reserves my truck in my name, so whenever it does arrive, it’s mine. I just gotta remember not to spend the money I have reserved.

Tomorrow I plan to see Maile. I think she’s going to visit me at my house, since I’m pretty much all by myself now that the folks are in CA visiting my brother. We’re not going to do much because we both have a lot of studying to do, but it will still be nice to see her.

Took my two exams today. I think I bombed my math exam. At least, a good half of the answers I either started guessing, or don’t feel as comfortable with. Each question was worth a different amount of points, but I never took the time needed to figure out if those questionable questions were heavy weights or not.

As far as the programming exam, I feel a bit better. I knew a lot of the material, and it’s just a matter of whether or not I got some of the technical aspects down. I had the concepts in my head and had a cheat-sheet full of the methods to use, and I think I organized them into an effective program, but only time will tell if I was absolutely correct.

Spent the rest of the day bored. There were probably a million things to do, but I felt lazy and didn’t do anything. That, of course, means I have no excuse to be bored, but some days you just don’t feel like doing crap. I did watch Reservoir Dogs, finally, and must say it was quite an interesting movie. A good question for anyone who has seen it is, “Did Mr White shoot at the end?” One could argue it both ways.

I must remember to do the laundry tomorrow. Otherwise I won’t have any shirts to wear to work.

Spent the day studying for my math and programming exams. Took my parents to the airport, and was a bit nervous driving the van back home and parking it in the garage, but it turned out okay. The City called me and scheduled an interview for the 11th, which is a Friday, at 0830. They first wanted me to go in on the 10th at 1030, but that’s when I’m at school. They want me to bring a simple four-function calculator because I’ll be taking a written test. I don’t know what kind of test, but if it involves a calculator it’s gotta be something math-like. Perhaps it’s more geometry.