New Job

So the 'big change' is I accepted a position at United Health Group (UNH). My official job title is a 'Senior IS Systems Analyst' and I start in a few weeks. This all happened unplanned and out of the blue. I was definetly not job searching but a few positions opened up at my wifes' company that were in my area of expertise and interest. I looked them over and after som ethinking, applied for one of them. Not really expecting much I went on with my life as usual. After a few days I got a call from the UHG recruitment office and wanted to set up a phone interview! Well, I did the phone interview and almost immediately got a call to have me in for an in-person interview (my wife was shocked; she says they never move this fast in the hiring process).

Well, I was pretty shocked and was kinda torn seeing this all happened pretty fast. I set up an interview on a day I had scheduled off and had group interview. A member of the team along with the manager were in-person as well as the rest of the team were on the phone whom are based out of the Boston, MA area. I thought I did well; nothing too suprising. I always tell to myself before an interview to just 'be yourself' and everything will work out the way it is supposed to.

No more than a week passed when the recruitment services called again and said they would like to offer me the position. After some usual forms and salary negotiations, I had a formal offer...and accepted!

This new position will focus in on one of the areas I was involved with at Black Box; The Altiris client suite(s). Although I was a bit weary of stepping away from a position that allowed me to get my hands involved with alot of different things, I feel the position will be a 'stepping stone' for future career opportunities at the company. My new work location will be near Hwy 394 and 169; about 6 miles further north than the Black Box office was at. I am wrapping up my final at Black Box this week.

Wish me luck!

Business Trip #8 - Miami, FL

So the final trip for the project I have been working on. It ended us in Miami, Florida! This is probably the top trip both due to the location, the person I went with and the amount of fun we had. The office was on Miami International Airport grounds so it was pretty easy getting to and fro the hotel. We worked some long days but were able to unwind every night at the Embassy Suites with a FREE happy hour; or in our case it was a happy 1/2 hour. We would end the day having a few drinks then heading out to find some sort of dinner. We went to a Bennigan's which was is stumbling distance from the hotel and also made a trek to TigerDirect.com which was kinda cool and also checked out a Cheeseburger In Paradise restaurant near the University of Miami campus.

Overall the highlight of the evenings was on Thursday when we went to Coconut Grove and hit a few bars/clubs. We spent most of our time at Coyote Ugly. We stayed out late and slept in a bit on Friday. We ended up heading to the Miami Beach /South Beach area and sun a nice sunburn before we flew home. Overall a great trip and a fun one to end it on!

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Business Trip #7 - Philadelphia, PA

Ok, it was't exactly Philly but rather a 'suburb' of the area, Mt. Laurel, NJ. I arrived in the evening so by the time I got on the highway it was dark. I hope it was the darkness but the simple residential streets would not allow left turn and some times, not even right turns! They have kind of like freeway off/on ramps where you loop around to come back to the intersection; wierd if you ask me. Another goofy thing I encountered was getting around at the DoubleTree hotel I was staying at; I had a heck of a time getting around and finding my room; maybe it was the margarita I had at the bar but I seriously walked around the place 2 times in order to find my room on the second floor.

As far as restaurants, I hit a local Hooters place for some wings, had a nice microbrew at PJ Whelihan's, a mojito and margarita at Don Pablos and unfortunately some bad service at Outback Steakhouse (won't provide you with a link to them because of the horrible service). I did get to wander through the Historic District of Philly, so I walked mostly past monuments such as the Liberty Bell, Benjamin Franklins grave, etc. The regret I have is not being able to stop by Philadelphia's world famous Cheesesteak place, Pat's King of Steaks. Overall the trip was OK, didn't do much else except work.

Business Trip #6 - New York, NY

Ah, trip number 6. New york, New York. By far the best trip yet. I stayed in a fancy hotel called The Roosevelt (Yep the same one where the Jennifer Lopez movie, Maid in Manhattan was filmed. This place was downtown Manhatten and pretty close to Grand Central Station.The biggest thing I noticed about NYC is everyone is always going! Well, at least everyone downtown. My days were busy but was able to walk around at night and see alot. In addition to the Grand Central Station, I was within walking distance of Times Square, Rockefeller Center as well as other places and things you would only see on TV or in the movies.

Shelly came out over the weekend so we enjoys seeing some of the sites together. We stayed over St. Patricks weekend so there was the big parade just a few blocks away. We went to see that but man that was long! We watched for a few hours and called it quits.We went to see some friends of mine play down there as well for St. Patricks Day. The Wild Colonial Bhoys played at a pub called The Parlour a few nights so we made it a point to go there and see them; By the second day, we were taking the subways all around. I must say the subway system is really cool. I wish our lovely state would have such a transit system...

Overall this trip was very cool, just because I got to see alot of thems and spend the weekend with my wife. We went everywhere from Ground Zero to the Statue of Liberty, and from Chinatown to Little Italy. Check out some of the pics from my trip below, because I only have a few more trips to make!

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Business Trip #5 - Chicago, IL

So this trip was different. First of all it was so close to home. The flight was like an hour or so. I didn't even get to watch a whole episode of Lost on the plan ride out there! So the flight was short and so was the trip; I ended up coming home a day earlier in fear of getting stranded out there by the 'superstorm' that hit the cities. I was able to catch a flight back on Wednesday afternoon which meant leaving the office out there in a hurry. The other fun thing to this trip was the fact I wasn't feeling all that well the 2nd day. I think I ate something bad. Oh well, I'm still alive! The stay at the Holiday Inn was nothing to write home about either. Overall, a very bland trip...Next trip...NYC.

Business Trip #4 - Phoenix, AZ

Just got back from sunny Phoenix, Arizona! Nice weather and simply a nice place to be with alot of catus plants around! Work wasn't as bad; actually got out to The Yard House for a nice dinner consisting of Fish and Chips as well as a few Pyramid Hefeweizen brews. I also hit an authentic Chinese Seafood buffet close to the hotel and enjoyed a Tsingtao beer. I also stopped by the Chinese market/store and picked up some soda; it wasn't bad; check out the pic below! I stayed at a DoubleTree which was pretty darn nice as well. Oh yeah, snagged a nice Ford Mustang for a rental car too!

Business Trip #3 - Sacramento, CA

So my 3rd trip has been the shortest. This time it was to West Sacramento, CA. The weather was a bit warmer than San Fran, however I must admit, I wasn't outside much to enjoy it. The co-worker that I went out with didn't get out much; we ended up going to a users house to assist with some computer issues and the second night we went to Chevy's Fresh Mex for dinner. I had a few margaritas on the rocks and...they rocked! I ended up doing some side work in the evening so all was good. The flight to Sacramento was a bit shorter last trip and it helped that I had a second battery so I could catch up my favorite podcasts: DL.TV and JoesPodhole. The trip back was even better. Even though there was a plane flight to catch in Phoenix on the way back, I flew US Airways and they had a movie to watch on the plane! I watched Grid Iron Gang and listened to some tunes. I was pretty impressed with the flight overall.

Next trip....Phoenix!

Business Trip #2 - San Fransisco, CA

Trip number 2. This one went better that the first. This time it was to Redwood City, California, a southern suburb of San Francisco. A co-worker and I went out for 5 days for work. It was pretty cold for sunny California. Each morning we had to scrape the ince off the rental car and crank the heat in order for us to get to the office. We tried out some brews while we ere there too. We went out to Steelhead Brewery and had a few. we also enjoys a few Pyramid Hefeweizen as well as the Colorado brew, Fat Tire. Over all the trip was better than the firs and even had time to visit San Fransisco's Fisherman's Wharf!

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Business Trip #1 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL

Well just got back from Miramar, FL last night. I left a city/area that was sunny and about 80 degrees. Well today here in Minneapolis, it's about 31 degrees and snowing. Nothing like coming back to good ol Minnesota! Nothing fun to report back because I was there 4 days and worked 12 hour days. I was able to get to the beach for about an hour on the way back to the airport but that was about it. Hopefully my future trips allow more personal time to get out and site see.