Update XV: Stuck Inside of Tulsa with the Oklahoma City Blues Again

[Joe Biden 2020]

Seems that if is true he had a passing overall grade, he bombed one of these LAP tests. Assuming the teacher did allow a retry and he passed, he failed a subsequent one and the prof was having none of it.

It wasn't the LAP tests that I bombed, rather it was one of the final projects that I rushed through and only got a 50% on.  That is what hurt me.  The LAP tests were all in the 90's or 100%.

You were giving us scores for each test and many were less than 90...

That is true, but the thing is he made everybody redo the tests until they got a 100, which for me usually happened on the second try.  He averaged the two scores together which brought most of them into the 90s.  There were a few that the average was in the high 70's and low 80's, which is another factor into why final grade was where it was.  Most of them were in the 90s and a couple of them were 100, which means I got a 100 on the first try.

[Joe Biden 2020]

bushie, did you enjoy cadd?

I thoroughly enjoyed CAD.  There is no doubt about that.

[Joe Biden 2020]

Maybe bushie is just a really crappy interviewer? Or he's just being lazy trying to find places. I don't know why everyone else would be getting CADD jobs except him, especially since he claims everywhere he looks wants experienced drafters.

I don't know what the deal is, but I call the employment agencies around Tulsa and OKC and very rarely do they have an entry-level drafting job come open.  When they did open, I applied for them, but never got hired at any of them.  I don't think I'm a terrible interviewer, per se, as I do, at least in my mind, appear interested, knowledgeable, and engaging.  I really have no idea why I haven't been able to land a job.

[Joe Biden 2020]

Have you contacted anyone from your class to see how they found their jobs? What methods they used? Who they went through? Are you the only one who hasn't found a job yet out of your class of adults (not high schoolers, I assume they are going to college).

Look, I realize you aren't interested in looking for anyone CADD jobs, but you spent the money on the program and worked for a year to get that degree, so I want to see you get a job in that field.

The only contact I have with them is through my instructor.  I never exchanged personal numbers with them.  The last time I talked with my instructor, which was in early June, he said that the other two Mechanical CAD students graduated and found jobs almost immediately.  I did not ask him how they found the jobs.  The Architectural CAD student had a few leads, but nothing definitive.  One of the Civil CAD students found himself in the hospital shortly after I left and never came back to school.  He was on track to finish this coming Christmas.  The other Civil CAD student finished and I can't remember what he said about his job status.

I would still love to get a CAD job, but one of my problems is I get discouraged real easily and give up too easily and settle for lesser jobs that waste my talent.  Part of that is the feeling of desperation and needing money very quickly and not willing to wait for the right job to come along.  I hate uncertainty.  It drives me nuts.  I settle for a job so I can have some degree of certainty rather than being patient for my dream job.  I had to take this job I have now because finances were starting to get tight and I needed a paycheck and hated to be that big of a burden to Mom and Dad.

[Joe Biden 2020]

Bushie, if you're not going to commit to eat fruits and vegetables daily, will you at least do me a favor and start taking a multivitamin supplement? One pill a day with breakfast. If you don't want a pill, there's also gummies and drink mixes too.

This is actually a very good suggestion.

And already ignored it seems.

Bushie is fine with taking antibiotics but is allergic to health.

I am seriously considering it.  I haven't responded till now, but it gives me something to consider.

[Joe Biden 2020]

Maybe bushie is just a really crappy interviewer? Or he's just being lazy trying to find places. I don't know why everyone else would be getting CADD jobs except him, especially since he claims everywhere he looks wants experienced drafters.

Very few 300 pound men make good interviewees. People that size simply "look lazy" to HR departments.

This is a very ugly truth. And unlike other things that sometimes trigger hiring discrimination - like race or gender - Bushie's weight is something that he can do something about.

I have no doubt my weight and my Tourette's affect the interview.

[Joe Biden 2020]

Maybe bushie is just a really crappy interviewer? Or he's just being lazy trying to find places. I don't know why everyone else would be getting CADD jobs except him, especially since he claims everywhere he looks wants experienced drafters.

Very few 300 pound men make good interviewees. People that size simply "look lazy" to HR departments.

This is a very ugly truth. And unlike other things that sometimes trigger hiring discrimination - like race or gender - Bushie's weight is something that he can do something about.

I have no doubt my weight and my Tourette's affect the interview.

if you recognize that fact, why do your weight explode during the past 6 months, just when you were entering the job market?

Carelessness

[Joe Biden 2020]

Scale check: After a spike in my weight yesterday back to 290.8, I managed to do well enough yesterday combined with the water weight to come in at 288.8 this morning.  That's a drop of 3 pounds in the past week.  It's a small change and nothing to write home about, but it's headed in the right direction.

[Joe Biden 2020]

Bushie, if you're not going to commit to eat fruits and vegetables daily, will you at least do me a favor and start taking a multivitamin supplement? One pill a day with breakfast. If you don't want a pill, there's also gummies and drink mixes too.

This is actually a very good suggestion.

And already ignored it seems.

Bushie is fine with taking antibiotics but is allergic to health.

I am seriously considering it.  I haven't responded till now, but it gives me something to consider.

Do not consider. Do it.

I'm pretty sure you will start feeling better.

I'll go to Walmart this week (maybe tomorrow night), what kind do you recommend?

[Joe Biden 2020]

Personally I prefer Emergen-C but it's a drink mix so you might not stick with it if you don't like the taste.

Get One-A-Day Men's Health or store brand equivalent if you want to go cheaper. Just make sure it says daily multivitamin, for adult males.

And please commit yourself to taking one all the time, even if it's being washed down by Dr. Pepper.

I've got to do something, so yes I will be taking it every morning.  It will be washed down by either water or Diet Dr. Pepper.

[Joe Biden 2020]

Bushie, do you regret attending MetroTech?

Right now,  honestly,  I am feeling it was a waste of time,  but it was a good idea at the time.   I graduated successfully,  but seeing my classmates get CAD jobs right away,  Malta me kind of jealous and sad.   I'm happy for them,  of course,  but kind of wondering why I haven't been as successful.   Then again,  I have to reject comparing myself to them and realize that maybe God has a different plan for my life.  For now,  I'm going to focus exclusively on the place I'm working now and try to make that my career.

Have they received their certificates?

That said, the first three days of work were great.  Training is going very well and so far I see no questionable or worrisome signs.  The same could not be said at my last place of employment.  The fact is, if I just take care of myself by showing up and doing my work, I will have no problem staying there.  I realize I have had attendance issues for the foreseeable past, but there is actually now an incentive to show up to work everyday unless it is scheduled.  That incentive is, they will actually dock my pay $1.00 per hour for the entire week if I miss more than 2 hours.  I'm getting paid $10.00 per hour plus bonuses now, if I take off one day without it being previously scheduled, I will get paid $9.00 per hour plus bonuses.  If I take off two days, it drops to $7.25 plus bonuses AND I would start getting in attendance trouble.  Everything resets on Monday, so if I get paid $9.00 one week, I can get back to $10.00 with a full 40 hours the next week.  It gives me financial incentive to show up everyday.  Anyway, work is going really well, and I think this will be a good place to work.

The above paragraph makes it sound like you're not going to take your attendance seriously. Which is worrisome, considering your past issues with attendance -- most recently, keeping you from successfully graduating your CADD class. It's like ... it's like you're incapable of learning from your mistakes.

I assure you, you will get in trouble for missing even one day of work. Especially if it's something that happens with regularity.

If it sounds like that,  it's totally not the case.  I was just explaining the policy of the business.   My plan is to not miss any time until at least November.   I have doctor's appointments in late September,  but If I'm still at this place by September 1, I will call and postpone my appointments until November,  maybe December.

That's only 4 months.  In 8 years, I've only missed one day of work.  Making it 4 months isn't any sort of accomplishment.

I don't about their certificates.

I wasn't wanting congratulations, I was just explaining that I wanted to get out of the 90-day probationary period before I miss any work.

[Joe Biden 2020]

I get that you get discouraged, but think about the money you spent on the course! If I make an investment of money or time, I damn well better get a return on it or I won't be happy.

That's the problem--he never spent any money on the course.  His parents did.  So if he doesn't get a job, all he really wasted was his time, which is something he's never really cared about.  He was never that invested in CAD because he never had to put anything valuable into it.

I can legitimately say I paid for the school.  Ever heard of student loans?  I didn't pay anything up front, but the payments will start in September and will come out of my pocket for the next 10 years.

[Joe Biden 2020]

I get that you get discouraged, but think about the money you spent on the course! If I make an investment of money or time, I damn well better get a return on it or I won't be happy.

That's the problem--he never spent any money on the course.  His parents did.  So if he doesn't get a job, all he really wasted was his time, which is something he's never really cared about.  He was never that invested in CAD because he never had to put anything valuable into it.

I can legitimately say I paid for the school.  Ever heard of student loans?  I didn't pay anything up front, but the payments will start in September and will come out of my pocket for the next 10 years.

When YOU (and only you) have actually paid off those student loans, let me know and I'll retract my statement.  Are you paying off all of your debt now, or are your parents still paying off your card?  If it's not all you, then you're not really the one paying off the student loans, since that'll only be possible because others are paying off all your other debt.

Fair enough.  If we're still here in 2024 then you got it, friend.

[Joe Biden 2020]

I get that you get discouraged, but think about the money you spent on the course! If I make an investment of money or time, I damn well better get a return on it or I won't be happy.

That's the problem--he never spent any money on the course.  His parents did.  So if he doesn't get a job, all he really wasted was his time, which is something he's never really cared about.  He was never that invested in CAD because he never had to put anything valuable into it.

I can legitimately say I paid for the school.  Ever heard of student loans?  I didn't pay anything up front, but the payments will start in September and will come out of my pocket for the next 10 years.

When YOU (and only you) have actually paid off those student loans, let me know and I'll retract my statement.  Are you paying off all of your debt now, or are your parents still paying off your card?  If it's not all you, then you're not really the one paying off the student loans, since that'll only be possible because others are paying off all your other debt.

Fair enough.  If we're still here in 2024 then you got it, friend.

More like if you haven't keeled over from congestive heart failure by 2024.

Touche

[Joe Biden 2020]

I'm no theology expert, but I do know that the Swedish brand of Lutheranism is very much opposed to this "do what you want as long as you have faith" talk. God helps those who help themselves, etc.

I don't mean to imply that I treat my salvation as a "license to sin" as it were.  Instead, I should live my life as a holy and acceptable sacrifice in obedience to Jesus Christ.  I will sin, that's guaranteed, but I can learn from my wrongdoings.   That said, when I accept Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior, his blood covers all my sins, past, present, and future.  There is no longer any sin that can keep me from heaven.  Romans 8:1 says "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, to those who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."  Now, while you cannot know for certain another person's salvation level, you can get an idea from the fruit in their lives.  I may seem like the chief of sinners on the forum, and I am, but if you were to spend a week with me in real life, I would hope you would see something different.

[Joe Biden 2020]

I'm no theology expert, but I do know that the Swedish brand of Lutheranism is very much opposed to this "do what you want as long as you have faith" talk. God helps those who help themselves, etc.

I don't mean to imply that I treat my salvation as a "license to sin" as it were.  Instead, I should live my life as a holy and acceptable sacrifice in obedience to Jesus Christ.  I will sin, that's guaranteed, but I can learn from my wrongdoings.   That said, when I accept Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior, his blood covers all my sins, past, present, and future.  There is no longer any sin that can keep me from heaven.  Romans 8:1 says "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, to those who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."  Now, while you cannot know for certain another person's salvation level, you can get an idea from the fruit in their lives.  I may seem like the chief of sinners on the forum, and I am, but if you were to spend a week with me in real life, I would hope you would see something different.

You may hold these theological positions, but I hope you realize that it is merely one of many positions out there, for which there are also strong philosophical and Bibical arguments.

Oh, absolutely.  I never claim to have a monopoly on theological positions or even that I have the only correct position.  I just try to search the Scriptures to find out exactly what it's saying.  I'm not a scholar at it.

[Joe Biden 2020]

I believe in limited free will.  God gives us the freedom to do as we wish, but He is ultimately in control and knows everything we will do, say, or even think before we even do it.  Yet, He works everything out for the good of those that love God and are called according to His purpose.  Romans 8:28 says that.

[Joe Biden 2020]

I'm not a strict Calvinist, rather I adhere to the Reformed Theology.  I have a lot in common with Calvinism, but I still have some Armenianism in me.  I believe that God knows everything that's ever going to happen and He knows who will be saved and who won't.  Nothing comes as a surprise to God.  Now, evangelism is still very important because we do not know who is on God's "list", if you will.  The Holy Spirit has to first draw someone to total depravity where they realize that on their own they're headed to destruction.  The Holy Spirit has to make them realize they need a Savior who can change their destiny.  The Bible says that no man has ever sought God on his own.  The concept of God and grace completely goes against our nature as humans which is total rebellion and lawlessness.  We still have a sin nature as Christians and God knows every sin we will commit, because he knows everything.  Even though He is all powerful and ultimately in control, He allows Satan to run around, but the day will come that God will lock Satan up for a thousand years and cut out all sin and then loose him for a season before banishing him to the lake of fire for all eternity.  I know it's a lot to take in, but at the core this is what I believe.

[Joe Biden 2020]

I'm not a strict Calvinist, rather I adhere to the Reformed Theology.  I have a lot in common with Calvinism, but I still have some Armenianism in me.  I believe that God knows everything that's ever going to happen and He knows who will be saved and who won't.  Nothing comes as a surprise to God.  Now, evangelism is still very important because we do not know who is on God's "list", if you will.  The Holy Spirit has to first draw someone to total depravity where they realize that on their own they're headed to destruction.  The Holy Spirit has to make them realize they need a Savior who can change their destiny.  The Bible says that no man has ever sought God on his own.  The concept of God and grace completely goes against our nature as humans which is total rebellion and lawlessness.  We still have a sin nature as Christians and God knows every sin we will commit, because he knows everything.  Even though He is all powerful and ultimately in control, He allows Satan to run around, but the day will come that God will lock Satan up for a thousand years and cut out all sin and then loose him for a season before banishing him to the lake of fire for all eternity.  I know it's a lot to take in, but at the core this is what I believe.

This does explain quite a bit about why Bushie is Bushie....

It is, and that's not a bad thing.  I know you weren't intending it as such, but I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

[Joe Biden 2020]

In other news, I did get the multivitamins right after work today.  I'll take the first dose tomorrow morning.

[Joe Biden 2020]

Bushie can always be counted on to spend money in accordance with planning on improving himself. 

Hey, now, I bought this because King advised me to.  Why the jab?

[Joe Biden 2020]

I just took the first vitamin with my morning round of medication and breakfast.  Hopefully, it will do me some good.

[Joe Biden 2020]

Bushie, how do you really feel about your Metrotech certificate never existing?

It exists.  Nobody believes me, but that doesn't change the facts.

[Joe Biden 2020]

whatever happened the $100 worth of walking gear bushie bought?

I've brought that up a couple of times only to have it ignored.

Whatever happened to the fish oil pills that Bushie was going to take?

I take it 3 times a day according to my prescription.

[Joe Biden 2020]

BK, that still doesn't change reality.