April 2019 Report

Woot! I found a job and I love it! After three long months of unemployment, I have finally matched with a company culture that I feel fits my personality like a pair of skinny jeans. I’m in love. It’s focused on profit, the co-workers are young and fun, and best of all, they have catered lunch on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. It functions like a start-up in many ways. They detest bureaucracy and meetings. Their motto is: “Ready, Fire, Aim.” Ah, say no more or I’ll faint like a Victorian lady. Did I mention that the founder was a fan of Ayn Rand?

My new job is at Mainfreight, a New Zealand based logistics and freight forwarding company. We mainly work with trucking shipments. We’re like UPS except we work with businesses and most boxes are bigger than 40″ x 40″ x 40″. The Chicago branch is a gateway to Canada and it’s my job to make sure that all of our shipments make it across the border. I track packages as they come in and keep track of the required paperwork to get them across the border. It’s not a glorious job, but I enjoy the urgency and fast paced culture.

My friend from high school, who currently works there, got me the first interview. Mainfreight didn’t even post the job publicly yet. I’ve heard about the “hidden job network” but this is my first taste.

I’m falling deeper and deeper in love with Chicago. I park a mile away from my apartment. Every time I walk home from my car, I think to myself, Wow! I remember the first time I visited my neighborhood and being impressed. Now I get to live here. What a treat. I love that people here are friendly, outgoing, and extroverted. It would be unthinkable to strike up a conversation in line in the grocery store anywhere in Michigan. Here it’s totally normal.

I’m back to going to the gym 3 times a week. I feel like myself again. I’m optimistic and upbeat. I’m unstoppable! I contain “an invincible summer” as Albert Camus says. It feels good.

Input
  • Books
    • All You Need Is Kill (Manga) by Hiroshi Sakurazaka & Takeshi Obata
    • Skin in the Game by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
    • Ready, Fire, Aim (The Mainfreight Story) by Keith Davies
    • Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
    • Cracking Codes with Python by Al Sweigart
  • Movies
    • None
  • Song of the month
    • Algorithm by Muse on the new 2018 album Simulation Theory
Output
  • Blog posts published
    • 7
  • Gym
    • A whole bunch
  • Diet
    • Decent
Adventures
  • None
Lessons
  • Maintain friendships. Be public about your intentions. You just never know.
  • It takes a long time to get onborded even after you get hired.
  • I feel the same way about being unemployed, working on the cruise ship, and being cold. It’s awful in the moment, but I’ve already forgotten how bad it was. I should enjoy the struggle, because it won’t last and it’ll make the relief all that much sweeter.

Prediction review

  1. I will start my new job
  2. I will go to Toastmasters 3 times
    1. Damn I didn’t go at all.
Predictions for Next Month
  1. I’ll go to the beach. (May is already half way over, so discount this prediction)

What do you think? Right? Wrong? Pure poppycock?