Googleplexed

Last night, I dreamed that I was sitting in a really big sunny office for my Google interview and for some reason, Song was with me. The interviewer was asking me for my resume and it took me a bit to find it. Once I found the resume and the interview finally got started, Song wanted to sit in my lap and kept taking things off the interviewer’s desk and asking me about them. I finally started to get a bit flustered and told Song that this was not my desk and I didn’t know the stories of the items on the nice lady’s desk. I concluded that if she really wanted to know about the funny erasers, pens, pencils, a funny brain, and other odd items, that she should ask our nice interviewer. So this is what Song did. The interviewer and I spent the next fifteen minutes comparing stories about similar public embarrassment situations with our kids and it took quite a while to get back on track. I finally asked Song to run down to the cafeteria and get any flavor ice cream she could think of. As she skips away mumbling something about rainbow sprinkles to herself, the young lady shuffles papers and says that the interview is over and we should go get some coffee. I’m a bit astonished at this considering we really didn’t get all that far with the constant interruptions.

As we leave for the coffee shop, she asks me how long I’ve been wanting to work for Google. I slightly shrug noncommittally and tell her that I’ve always wanted a job that allowed me to create large scale positive change for my brothers and sisters without a voice. I want to be a part of a company that does not marginalize or discriminate against any cross section of humanity due to their differences. She nods and we open the door to the coffee shop.

The scene shifts and I am behind the counter of the coffee shop during a normal busy day. Moments later, my boss rushes in and says that we need to get things ready for Steve Jobs to drop by. I stare open mouthed at my boss and finally ask what we need to get ready. He stares back and tells me that I’ll figure it out.

About a half an hour later, Steve walks in out of the rain with a young lady who looks a lot like one of my Google interviewers. They are being followed by a nerdy teen who is trying to get Steve to understand the exquisite craftsmanship of a newly released Android device. Steve is trying to be nice, however it’s clear that he’s done with the conversation.

I give the boy a look and he heads toward a group of tables in the corner  followed by the sound of the Twitter whistle.

As I hand steve a cup of our strong coffee, my boss steps in and tells me not to forget the special sugar. I ask Steve if he wants sugar and he nods slightly saying that he doesn’t usually, however he would be willing to try the special sugar. Steve takes a sip of the coffee, waits a moment and says, it’s not Starbucks, and this is ok. He takes another sip, waits a moment and asks if we have anything like peanuts to snack on. I walk to the back and rummage in my bag for something and can only find some peanuts that I threw in my bag from the airplane. Strangely, I have a lot of formal clothing with me. A loud clang is heard as my Irish whistles fall out of my bag. I hand the peanuts to Steve and he smiles gratefully while the lady who accompanied him says softly, you shouldn’t be eating those. She looks at me and says, I didn’t know that you play Irish whistle? I tell her that I’m trying to learn and we get in to a brief conversation about whistle makers. The dream ends just as I am about to shake Steve’s hand and my 4:00 AM alarm goes off. 

I guess this dream tells me that I’m slightly stressed over the upcoming interview at Google and don’t want to pass any negative feeling on to the kids. Please send good thoughts my way for my day at the Googleplex on Friday.

An up to date

It’s been some time now since Youme and I have prioritized updating this blog and so I will make an attempt to be more diligent in the coming months about this for as long as the words keep flowing, the thoughts continue, and the time permits. This morning as I was looking through some previous musings regarding possible topics for updating this blog, I came upon some written thoughts that I’m going to post as an update for today.

 

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Home Sweet Home

Home again, home again

 

As I checked the status of the blog this morning, I realized that a post has not been written since June 19, 2013. With so many months having gone by, it seems that my priorities have been somewhat split with the arduous tasks of relocating the family. Creating the home that will evoke future memories of happiness can be a daunting task. In all seriousness, I have found myself thinking through the day that I should be writing down various ideas/experiences, however my mind has been easily distracted with alternative musings. It has been a whirlwind journey these last few months with hardly enough time to catch my breath. After attending the 2013 National Convention of the National Federation of the Blind, NFB, my family and I flew to Boston with our two precious children. A fairly uneventful flight with only a minor bit of fussing from Song and baby Tao. My heart lurched a bit with sadness and empathy when  we landed in Boston, when Song wanted to know when we were going home to Miami. David and Edith drove the family car, a 2000 Honda Civic, full of our belongings to Boston to attend a family reunion of sorts. Before we continued our journey to Western Massachusetts to create our new home, we had an opportunity to join a number of the Landowne relatives for a fantastic celebration of Grandpa Milton who will be 101-years-old this November. Every time I speak with Milton, I am reminded of the wondrous power of the mind and heart as I think about his ongoing journey, the wonderful family he has created for all of us, and the love we are all able to celebrate together. He has had so many years to ponder his decisions, experience the consequences, and live through the unmade choices. As I sit to write down these thoughts, a cold fall rain energizes my senses with excitement and hope for the next portion of our journey.

 

On August 1st, we continued our journey onward to Florence where we would be moving in to a ground floor unit: 20 Lonsdale Avenue, the place where it all begun. No matter how far one may roam, they will eventually return full circle to the point of origin. For Youme and I, this meant returning to the house where we first met at the wedding of our dear friends, Cat and Charlotte. Incidentally, we are now living below Cat, Charlotte, and their 3-year-old daughter, Adelaide who has become somewhat of a big sister to Song. 

Not long after moving in to 20 Lonsdale, Yana arrived from New York to assist with the arduous unpacking process. Having moved a number of times in the past, I've come to learn that the most difficult aspect of unpacking is determining the initial placements of objects, i.e furniture and clothing. Having experienced Yana's skills at transformative action with regard to organization during our last move to an apartment in Chicago, I was and am appreciative of her ability to take on the challenge. Trying to unpack a house to form any resemblance of organization is especially difficult when one's attention is divided between the task at hand with the constant interruptions involved with entertaining two kids. Thank you Yana...

Now that our new living space is  fantastically organized, I find myself impulsively performing maintenance tasks to assure this level of tidiness. Although I've been lucky with this aspiration these last few days, I'm noticing that the motivation can definitely be taxed at the end of the night after putting Song to bed. I suppose this is one of the parental responsibilities that we will get in to a scheduled routine after a few weeks. As the night gets later, I'm finding the articulate thoughts that form words are starting to trickle more slowly and so I will close this post until next time.

Let love, peace, and understanding be my guide through this continuing journey.