I'm a guy, I don't cry

I just turned down an interview with the CBPP.

Closure?

I think I'm going to take the job in Austin. I like the idea of getting experience with a state agency and getting the chance to get training with more statistical software and grant writing. I want to have an advocacy component to my career, but at this point in time I think that the state agency job is a better fit for where I am personally.

That's right, I want a new car.

More Progress

I went to Progress Coffee today, but that's not what this post is about. I'll find out tomorrow if the DC folks want to have me in for an interview. I have a message from the director of the department here in Austin, so I'll call her back tomorrow as well. It's a weird situation for me. I have the opportunity for a decent job with reasonable money here in Austin, which makes buying a home or getting a new car much more likely, but I may also have a shot at a good job with probably less reasonable money over a thousand miles away and I'm torn. I felt good about the Austin place. I liked the people who interviewed me and the office seemed reasonably mellow. My trusted advisor tells me that I should try to buy as much time as possible from the Austin people so that I don't end up with any regrets from not pursuing the DC job. Hopefully the dillemna will get less abstract soon. You know, an interview early next week and then they make a decision by next Friday. From the 30th of May to the 8th of June seems like a reasonable amount of time for the Austin people to wait. Sure, it may turn out to require more days, but I'll deal with that when and if it happens.

Advise Me

As I wrote earlier this week, I am expecting to get a job offer from a state agency early in the upcoming week. At the same time, I have made it to the second interview stage for a position with the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities. I can't conceive of the CBPP being able to move fast enough that I could either know that they would be offering or not offering me a position by the time the state agency needed a decision from me. The job in Austin is a decent job and would give me decent experience for later in my career. The CBPP job would be very close to a dream job as I would be working for a prestigious group in my area of interest.

What, dear reader, would you do in my situation? Please advise me in comments, especially you readers who I don't know well. You too, Mark.

Update, somewhat in response to Mark: I want badly to get the job with the CBPP. Salary is no consideration in that. I got more excited about them calling me (an hour after receiving my resume no less) than I did about getting into grad school. The thing is that I only know how I feel about them. I don't know the level of their interest in me, other than they've called me and that they've talked to one of my former professors, with whom they have a good relationship. I do have a good amount of fear that if I don't try as hard as possible to get the CBPP job that I will regret it for a while. I'm about to be offered a job for which I applied because I felt confident that I could get it and was disillusioned that I would be able to find a job that I care about. It's something to think about.

That's a Thought

Mrs. LaBlog is leaving for New York City in a few days and she has made a strange suggestion about what I could do while she's gone. My wife suggested to me that I could buy myself a new car while she's away. Howdy Honda (dumbest name ever) has both the Civic EX Coupe and the Fit Sport in the colors that I want. There are only three manual transmission Civic Coupes available for sale in Austin right now. There's only one manual transmission Fit available too. Why would anybody buy an automatic transmission compact Honda. You can't get any of the benefit of their high rpm engines that way. And seriously, Hondas are fun to drive.

It's Unofficially Official

The HR person at the Probation Commission called to say that I will be getting a job offer from the department head either on Tuesday or Wednesday. This comes after the really good feeling interview thing with the CBPP and the very real possibility that I could get a State Fiscal Policy job with the most respected "Progressive" Budget and Tax Policy outfit in the country.

The Magic Telephone

The phone call happened and went well. It lasted a mere 45 minutes. I'm hoping to talk with someone else there next week and then possibly go if for an in-person interview sometime after that. I'm nice so maybe they'll like me.

One thing about interviews is that they often ask about what in one's life made them choose this life path and what fuels the interest in a particular job. I have two moments in my life that I always think of. One is of my dad complaining about our church trying to spend money on making the upstairs nicer by saying something along the lines of, "until their are no homeless people in Northwest Arkansas, we, as a church, have no business spending money on improving our facilities." The other thing that I think of is a situation in my gifted and talented class in which we had to design and build an architecture model. I chose to design a homeless shelter that looked like a hotel. I also remember arguing that we shouldn't spend money on space travel because the money would be better spent on taking care of homeless people. That's not a popular argument for nine year olds. Now you know something about where I got some of my interests and values.

Try Again in the Morning

My phone conversation didn't happen today due to an illness by the DC guy. It has been rescheduled for tomorrow.

I want a new Civic. They are awesome.

Good Day

Hopefully the Hawks will get the second pick in the draft and the Spurs will beat the Jazz to make the day a complete sweep of goodness.

I got a call from the Juvenile Probation Commission telling me that they want to do a reference check and a criminal background check, which I assume indicates that I'm a finalist for the position for which I interviewed with them. Even better, I got a call from the head of the State Fiscal Policy Project at the CBPP today to set up a phone call tomorrow. It may mean a move to DC, but it is absulutely the perfect position for me and I'd be incredibly happy if I got it. After the calls we went to look at new Civic Coupes and they are really awesome cars. I want one. We decided that if I get the CBPP job we'll sell my Civic and stick with the xB and if I end up with the Probation Commission job that I'll get a new Civic. So, I'll be a winner either way.

Here is the job description for the CBPP just so you, dear reader, can know how perfect it would be for me.

The research associate will work as part of the State Fiscal Project which focuses on issues such as the fairness and adequacy of state revenue systems and the interactions of federal and state fiscal policies. The Project also provides assistance to a growing and increasingly influential network of non-profit policy organizations across the country.
The position involves maintaining and analyzing data, translating technical research findings into non-technical products that can be understood by broader audiences, preparing graphic presentations of findings, analyzing pending policy options, and utilizing academic research and other resource materials. The research associate assists in preparing major reports and analyses and providing information to policymakers, state and local advocates, and the press.

Candidates must have strong quantitative skills and a basic knowledge of economics and public finance. The position also requires facility with spreadsheets and working with large data sets. Applicants must demonstrate strong writing skills, a penchant for accuracy, and the ability to work on multiple tasks, often on a time-sensitive basis. A masters degree in public policy or economics is preferred, although we will consider candidates with a bachelors degree who have at least two years of relevant work experience.

Never Forget

I still miss Jose Blanco

Six years ago today, I woke up to find my wonderful friend, Jose Blanco, missing. There were no signs of a break-in, no broken glass, yet Jose was gone. Those animals who took him from me eventually returned him, to a golf course, in flames. As many problems as that Jeep gave me, and as much as I like my Civic, I still miss my Jose Blanco. I hope you went to Jeep Cherokee Heaven. Goodbye sweet prince.

The Fed? Really?

I'm supposed to set up a preliminary phone interview with the Federal Reserve. Hopefully my lack of understanding of macroeconomics won't hurt me. Maybe my grandfather serving on the Fed in Houston forty years ago can help me overcome that deficiency.

I should be studying for my statistics test on Thursday. That's right, despite completing several statistics courses and earning a Masters degree, I still have to take tests, or at least a test. Hopefully I still know something. Maybe I'll do it tourettes style: tobit, logit, ordinary least squares, regression, SAS, Stata, Access, SQL, monte carlo sensitivity analysis, Bayes Theorem, r-squared. Awesome. Clearly that qualifies me to be a research analyst.

I expect to hear from Virginia soon. I wouldn't mind living on the Eastside for a few years. Somehow Mrs. LaBlog is okay with this idea despite Richmond being about 300 miles further from San Antonio than Madison is. It's also about twice as far from Fayetteville as Madison is.

When did the Pistons get bad?

How quickly can the media change fan perception of a franchise? It seems to have taken about nine games for sportscasters to decide that the leagues least penalized team is somehow the reincarnation of the Bad Boys era Pistons. Bruce Bowen is not particularly athletically gifted by NBA standards and he is really good at hiding fouls. Maybe he's dirty, but then so is every player in the defensive stopper role. Robert Horry commits a hard foul at the end of a game and gets a crazy ass two game suspension and suddenly he's further evidence of a dirty team. Watch the replay. Horry and Nash are essentially playing chicken with each other. Nash tried to accelerate between Horry and the sideline and Horry held his ground and tossed in a little forearm for added flavor. If people are just focusing on how hard Nash appeared to fall, may I suggest that they watch the result of nearly every Tony Parker drive. It's always the same thing... Parker accelerates, drives, gets contact and ends up knocked hard to the ground. In this series that has seldom resulted in fouls being called.

It's A Trap

I've added a new link in the side column for It's a Trap, a site dedicated to preaching the good word of Scandinavian music to the rest of the world. It's good stuff. Be sure to check out the interview with the Shout Out Louds ( only four months until Our Ill Wills gets released in the States).

Steve Nash Hates Shady Tactics

The entire Phoenix Suns organization can't tell you how upset they are that Steve Nash got kneed in the crotch by Bruce Bowen, or that Steve Nash got fouled hard by Robert Horry, or that Steve Nash head-butted Tony Parker, yet ended up in worse shape. No, Steve Nash hates it when people do stuff like that.























Image From West Side Slant

What a deal

I'll take a Robert Horry for Amare Stoudemaire and Boris Diaw and day of the week. That could turn out to be a great flagrant foul for the Spurs. San Antonio may lose an incredible clutch shooter, but the Suns stand to lose their entire post presence for game five because the Suns players clearly ran onto the court when Bell and Nash were slapping at Robert Horry following his obviously flagrant foul of Steve Nash.

Go Spurs

Did San Antonio get into the Suns heads tonight or what? The Suns got to the point where they were spending more time complaining than they were playing. I'm glad. The Suns are incredibly fun to watch, but the Spurs are my team.

I'm off to the movie theatre.

Clever Voter Suppression

Today is the Special Election. It's also college graduation day around the state. College age kids, particularly in Austin probably aren't thinking about voting this weekend.

Here are my endorsements:

Vote NO on the Proposition 1. There are better ways to provide property tax relief for the elderly and disabled that don't involve giving disproportionately large tax cuts for wealthy property owners. Property tax caps are always bad policy, unless your goal is to reduce revenue for schools, municipalities, and counties. They accomplish that pretty well.

Vote for Sam Guzman for the AISD Board of Trustees.

I am Jesus according to an internet quiz

Which God or Goddess are you like? Your Result: Jesus   You are God's lovechild. You love all and most love you. You help those who need it, and those too. The girls all chase you, and some boys too. You love to have fun, but you keep a serious life of working as well.Congratulations!! You are Christ!!
Budha
The Christian God
Goddess Bast
Goddess Sekhemet
You are your own God or Goddess
God Zeus
Satan
Which God or Goddess are you like? Make Your Own Quiz

Theft from Erin

YELLOW

You are very perceptive and smart. You are clear and to the point and have a great sense of humor. You are always learning and searching for understanding.

Find out your color at QuizMeme.com!

Love in a Crappy Apartment

From 2.00 am until 3.30 am, that scene in High Fidelity in which John Cusack and Iben HjeJle are listening to Tim Robbins character having sex upstairs, was going through my mind on a loop.

Volovan: Ella es Azul

Everybody likes their rock in Spanish. Plus, I like the guitar.

Fender Highway One Texas Telecaster

Sometimes, when things aren't going your way, you need to buy a new guitar.

Liberty Lunch. Really?

I thought that the Hank Melton reference was funny. I understood the Amy's Ice Cream part. I think the use of the Liberty Lunch name in Veronica Mars may be too much for my taste. That was an awesome venue that was torn down to make way for the beginning of the Warehouse District developments. (Perhaps it's ironic that I'm planning a post in support of the Warehouse District development.) I loved that place. I ended up with other people's blood on my clothes at that place. I understand the idea of this as an ode to Austin, but it seems inappropriate. I will say that this episode of Veronica Mars is better than the majority of the rest of season three.

Feedback Request

Do the few readers that I have enjoy the music posts? Those seem to be what I prefer to write these days, but I don't seem to get the comment response from those that I do from policy related posts. Comments are about the best proxy that I can think of for enjoyment of a post. Let me know. I want to make this thing at least somewhat enjoyable to read.

Pandora

If you aren't using Pandora, then you are seriously missing out. It's an internet radio service that creates radio stations based around your tastes. You name a band or a song and it goes from there. You just provide a little feedback along the way. Hopefully it survives Congress.

It's on repeat

I can't stop listening to Burning Birthdays by Harlem Shakes. I want somebody else to get it so that they can tell me what song "Carpetbaggers" reminds of.

A wise decision

We chose to not go to the Blonde Redhead show at Stubb's last night for fear of the rain. I also wanted to get to sleep so I'd be rested for my interview. It turns out that the show was canceled after the opening band finished and is not likely to be rescheduled. I love Blonde Redhead, but I'm glad I didn't head out there last night. Maybe I'll go see Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin tonight at La Zona Rosa even though it's a crappy venue. Speaking of Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, Broom is a really good album. I particularly like Oregon Girl.

Lesson Learned

Showing up is a vital component of the job search process. Accurately recording the time of a scheduled interview is very important.