Lover of trading, tacos, 3D/AR/VR, cryptos, and most things Japanese

It’s been a busy week so far. I’ve been working, training, going to groups, having meetings, and doing lunch, among other things.

I guess I’ll start off with the biggest news of the week: I heard back from Apple. Bad news. I didn’t get the position. It was nice of them to give me a call to let me know. Jason explained that the positions were very competitive and that a lot of people were interviewing for them, but didn’t give me any real reason why I didn’t make it past the second interview. Sigh. Oh well, such is life. Time to move on, redouble my efforts, and get back to work.

Speaking of work, the social media and web work I am doing for my old boss, Jean-Paul, and his company, Billistic is going well. This week the Twitter account blew up! We had added about 275 followers in the first month of activity, then added over 100 on Tuesday alone. It’s a curious thing, as I’m left wondering a little bit about what prompted the surge in activity, but I have some ideas and the trend is continuing, so we’re quite happy. Follow along at @Go_Billistic.

Working out is going very well. I’m down 4.4 pounds since Sunday. I’m getting stronger and leaner, which is what I’m doing all the working out for. I’ve started using a couple apps to track progress, and finally seem to have figured out how to get MyFitnessPal to post to my Facebook page. Poor app design, as it turns out – the updates I’m doing on the app aren’t triggering it to post to my wall. The workaround is to do my morning weigh-in and evening diary completion online, then it posts.

Oh, and I joined the 21st century, and created an instagram account. My username there, as well as most places now, is imagin8orr. I’ve only posted a few pics so far, but I like the app and can see myself posting a lot more in the future. I’m a shutterbug at heart and instagram is a great app for sharing pics.



Yesterday I had my second interview for a position with the Apple Retail Store. I met with the Store Leader Jill and a Marketing guy whose name I can’t remember. I arrived about five minutes early, checked in with one of the Specialists, and looked around the store while I waited for Jill.

As I was waiting, I noticed that Apple no longer displays software in the store – it’s all hardware now. The big graphics on the wall had been updated to include a couple beautiful shots of the iWatch, which is coming in April. As I took in the vibe of the store, I was greeted by Chris, one of the managers. He said that Jill would be along shortly and we chatted briefly before he went about his business.

After about ten minutes, Jill apporached with the Marketing guy. We said our introductions and she suggested we walk over to the neighboring Starbucks to have our interview. Having spent a hell of a lot of time at various Starbucks the past year, I felt reassured and confident that I’d be on home turf for our discussion.

The interview went well – it was a lot of “getting to know you” type questions, “Describe a time when you…” scenarios, and a general discussion to see if I’d be a good fit for Apple and, just as importantly, if Apple would be a good fit for me. I strode to put my best self forward, there was lots of smiling and eye contact, and I the process flew by. After about 30 minutes, we closed our conversations and Jill said that Nick, the HR guy, would be in contact in the next week or so to discuss next steps, if any. I am hopeful that things will continue to go well and that I make it to the next round. We shall see.

In the mean time, I finally decided to update my 2008 MacBook Pro’s operating system. I ordered Snow Leopard from the Apple Store and it was delivered last night. My internal DVD drive on my MacBook has been acting up, and unfortunately it wouldn’t load the OSX DVD I ordered. So I made an appointment for Monday at the Genius Bar at the Aspen Grove store to take it in and have the DVD issue diagnosed. Then I had a flash of inspiration – maybe Dick had an external drive I could use! Sure enough, he did. I plugged it in, inserted the DVD and began the update process.

I’m updating to Snow Leopard so I can update to the latest and greatest, Yosemite, which is free, but my old OS was so old I had to spend the (gasp) twenty bucks to have Snow Leopard sent to me. I’m really looking forward to checking out the new features of Yosemite and getting to know my Mac again. Now if only I had the desk space to hook up a keyboard and my 21-inch Cinema Display…

I was pressed for time and still feeling a bit sore tonight, so I opted for my cheater SS “workout”. I soaked in the hot tub for 20 minutes and sat in the steam room for 10 minutes. I’ve worn a HRM (Heart Rate Monitor) into both in the past and learned that the heat elevates my heart rate into Zone 1 of aerobic level, i.e. “light aerobic activity.” So that is why I call it a cheater workout – I can just sit and relax and let the heat elevate my heart rate as if I was going on a walk. Granted, there is close to zero muscular involvement, so it is not real exercise, but I find that it still burnt about 200 calories and more importantly gets the blood pumping and helps flush the system.

Tomorrow is dead lift day. I plan to go heavy and really get a full body training load on. I’ll be going late morning, which should give my body time to wake up and get moving enough to be ready for the heavy loads I’ll be lifting. Then, after I’m done working out, I have a massage scheduled. That’ll be great to work the remaining lactic acid out of my muscles and prepare the bod for the week ahead.

GREAT NEWS!! I just got an email from Apple inviting me back to do a second interview!!! wooHOO!! They want me to come in Wednesday, which is my son’s birthday, so I’m going to give them a call to see if we can pick another date. If not, it looks like I’ll have to have a private birthday party with Tom another time. I may do that anyway, as I plan on sitting down with him and having a father-son coming-of-age talk – just showing him how much I love him, how proud I am, and offering some guidance for the coming years.