Couldn't Come at a Better Time

Well - the company that I interviewed with last week called me back for a second interview in the morning. I'm pretty jazzed about that. It's more of an informal type of interview where they just chat with you to see if you would fit in well with the company and the team. It sounds like it is more focused on personality than anything else. I'll be doing that at 9:30 AM - so I guess it's good that I have Friday off this week. :)

I'll post how it went tomorrow afternoon.

Update: the second interview went rather well. I had a very pleasant chat with the person conducting it. We talked about conflict resolution and how to build a good team. It seemed to go okay. I was told I would hear back from them either Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday.

Shawn

I'm not surprised

If we were created as relational beings, then this news story doesn't surprise me at all: Loneliness may be hazardous to your health

Shawn

Unbelievable...

*shakes head*...unbelievable - are you kidding me? I've never seen a company, or department, go Taliban on itself like the one I work for. They just fired another developer this morning which now leaves us at a total of 2 people - me and a newbie... So basically we have gone from 5 developers to 2 in a matter of a few short weeks. And I know it isn't a problem of cashflow because this company makes some serious cake. Our last two projects alone were over a mil a piece. And we've got projects beyond that just lined up at the door.

One word...unbelievable...

Shawn

e-tag, I'm it.

Four jobs you have had in your life:
1. Taco Bell
2. Signals Analyst (U.S. Army)
3. Musician
4. Software Developer

Four movies you would watch over and over:
1. LOTR Trilogy(Extended Edition)
2. Band of Brothers
3. The Beatles: Anthology
4. The Kid (Charlie Chaplin)

Four places you have lived:
1. Albuquerque, NM
2. Monterey, CA
3. Seoul, South Korea
4. Peoria, AZ

Four TV shows you love to watch:
1. 24
2. American Idol
3. Monk
4. Lost

Four places you have been on vacation:
1. Copenhagen, Denmark
2. London, England
3. San Diego, CA
4. Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN

Four websites you visit often:
1. Stand To Reason
2. The NET Bible Official Website
3. The Packers Official Website
4. Various blogs

Four of your favorite foods:
1. Spaghetti
2. Stuffed Sopapilla's
3. Steak (any filet will do :))
4. Banana Pudding with the vanilla wafers in it...

Four places you would rather be right now:
1. If Davina isn't with me - then anywhere she is at
2. Vienna, Austria
3. London, England
4. Switzerland

Four people who are tagged to do this:
NOTE: Since I couldn't come up with anyone to pass this along to, I'll compensate by adding a couple more categories.

Four of your favorite books:
1. The Bible
2. Mere Christianity
3. Anything by Ravi Zacharias
4. The Dark Tower series by Stephen King

Four of your favorite bands/artists/musicians:
1. The Beatles
2. Steve Taylor
3. Rich Mullins
4. Porcupine Tree

Highlights and Underlines

I suppose I could have worse vices. I just can't seem to get enough of reading. I'm surrounded by so many books: Chess and Chess Theory, Novels, Poetry, Humor, Religious, etc. I spend most of my time reading books on topics of the religious ilk (inspirational living, Christian Philosophy, etc.).

Yesterday I was reading a book by R.C. Sproul and as I was underlining a portion (when I read I typically have either a highlighter or pen within reach) a thought struck me. I've bought many a used book and it's always interesting to see what the previous owner(s) underlined/highlighted or to read their notes jotted in the margin. As I was doing the same, the thought occurred to me as to what people who may read these books that I own, when I own them no more, might think of all my markings? Would they find the same things interesting? Would they, if the book was new, highlighted similar passages? Or would they take something totally different from what was written? I've encountered in some of my "used book reading" coming across underlining and pondering why a particular thing had been noted.

Well, nothing really profound I guess, just something that popped into my head.

Shawn

4 Days Off

Wow - I didn't really believe it would happen, especially because the sponsor moved the deadline date of when they were beginning their clinical trial, but work actually gave me Monday and Tuesday off. I'm so elated about that, I could really use the rest mentally. I'm going to put my time to good use though, I'll be contacting ASU and Grand Canyon University on those days to pepper them with questions about their Philosophy Departments. I'm also going to be meeting one of my best friends for breakfast Tuesday morning before he goes to work. We used to do that in the past on a semi-regular basis - it was great to meet before we went to work and just catch up and chat about what has been going on. I'm looking forward to some good conversation. :) Monday morning I've got an interview in Scottsdale as well. Seriously, that wasn't planned. I received word about having my days off Thursday as I was walking leaving work for the day and the interview was scheduled at the end of day Friday. It's ironic - I know I need a new job - I don't really care for interviews because they are so subjective.

I'm definitely looking forward to worship tomorrow - I always do - Canyon is one of the best things that has happened to Davina and I. We should be having a few visitors in tow with us again - Davina's mom (Joyce), Sylvie (she visited last week for the first time and I was told that she might place membership with Canyon based on last weeks worship service - that would be great - she's a fantastic lady), and Wendy and her daughter Kylie. Wendy is Davina's friend from work who we have been working with for the past year. She is unchurched in most every sense of the word. We've (Davina has done about 90% of the work) had zero to work with in terms of Scriptural background. She used to be Catholic but quit going when she was a little girl and I don't think she retained anything she was taught back then.

shawn

On a brighter note :)

So I had asked in an earlier post for input/advice on what I should do regarding a degree and schooling. I wanted to let you all know that I appreciate your feedback and comments. I have also talked about this in depth with a few other close people who exist outside the blogsphere (can you imagine? they actually do exist though, I've seen it! Ha). In all, I have probably pooled information from about 10 different people total and as it stands right now, I will be going back to school on a limited basis. Not sure when that will start, but I'm hoping the sooner the better. The issue now is getting all my transcripts together and deciding where I want to attend.

The current plan is to get a BA in Philosophy, then work on the MA in Apologetics from Biola. Tom said if I'm doing that then I shouldn't stop there - I should set my sights on a PhD. If I were to go that far then I think I would get the doctrate in either Theology or Philosophy. Regardless, I'm pretty excited about all of this. I've read so much on the topic of philosophy that I hope to some extent the Major will feel more like a refresher course than actual work - but who knows.

Now the task at hand is picking where to do the Philosophy portion of the school work at. I have nearly all of my basic undergrad classes completed with the exception of one history class and I think one other class that escapes me right now - perhaps public speaking (but that shouldn't be too much of an issue either, I was part of Toastmasters for about a year and I have done preaching off and on for about 2 to 3 years before I came to Canyon). Currently I am looking at taking the Core Philosophy classes from either ASU or Grand Canyon University. I'm torn between the two because I want to make sure that whichever one I decide on, that I'm going to get the most truthful and balanced presentation of the material. I know that either side is going to come with its biases, that's unavoidable, but now the hunt is on for evaluating the two programs.

I'll keep you all updated as I find out more. :)

Shawn

Long week...

Yeah, I know, it's only Wednesday. But I waited to post this until today - trust me, I really, really wanted to post this on Monday...

So, I really hate to complain but here it goes. I ended up leaving work early on Monday because I had a terrible migraine. I woke up with it, but I knew that the project we had just finished coding was going into formal testing that day and I like to be at work on the first day of formal in case something goes wrong, I can pitch in and help. Well, the headache wouldn't let up, so I ended up going home at 10:30 that morning.

Around 3:30, my best friend at work calls me on his cell phone to tell me that they just fired him. I'm like "What!?!? What for?" He says, "Because I've made too many mistakes for the past 3 years that I've been here." Uh, one word - BOGUS!!!! He started one week at this company after me way back when. Never once has he been written up, he's always received his performance bonus, etc. And now, out of the blue his works sucks? Yeah, thanks for playing but try again. Not to get into the politics of it, but the COO has been trying to get rid of him for a long, long time just for the simple fact that she didn't like him. It's not that he did anything wrong, they just didn't get along. So what was the charge? He accidentally left an icon on the computer desktop when he made an image of the computer. The icon doesn't hurt anything - but oh no, the world is crashing down because of it - so they decided to "let him go for substandard work."

On top of that, they are well aware that he has 4 kids and his wife (they both are in their mid-30's) is battling cancer (they just found out she had it last September) and going through chemo. What a bunch of heartless cowards. Arghhhhh... So now, him trying to find a new job and then have to attempt to get his wife on insurance with a pre-existing condition - I'm not really sure how all that plays out - but I've been sick to my stomach just thinking about it. Their family needs some serious prayers.

Well, then it gets better. The surrogate Programming Manager (she also wanted him gone so as soon as he messed one little thing up, she went running to the COO to tell her that she just can't work with him because he causes way too many mistakes) gathers me and the other developer (yeah - it's just me and another guy now) into a meeting to "explain" what happened. To say that I called her out on a few things is an understatement. She asked me how I felt about everything, and I told her flat out what I thought of their handling of the situation. I didn't pull any punches either.

Just a little snapshot of one of the conversations that took place during the meeting:

Me: "So, I haven't had vacation since last September. Every time I put in for it, it gets rejected because you need me here to work on things that are urgent. This will be the third time I've put in for two days off - it's next Monday and Tuesday - what is the status."
Programming Manager (PM): "Well, the request is still sitting on my desk. I turned it into the Project Manager and he had some reservations about granting it to you because of the recent developments." NOTE: I put in for these days off (which are comp days owed to me) about 2 or 3 weeks ago. And I've asked her about this nearly every day since.
Me: "Oh really? Let me get something straight for you. You made the decision to fire John - not me. That's not my problem. It's your mess and I'm not going to clean it up for you. You are going to penalize me because of your reactionary decisions? I'm telling you right now, it would be in your best interest to let me have my days off next week. Your the manager, so manage!"
PM: Stunned silence...uh...changes topic.

This went on ad nauseum...needless to say - I was totally exhausted emotionally when I got home last night - I don't know how many times I cried - it's just so frustrating and they are soooo unethical in my opinion.

Anyway, the drama continued to this morning. They invited me and the other developer into a meeting because they have a change to the software that they would like worked in. We walk into the meeting and I ask, "ok, what's the change?" Somebody thought they were a comedian and quipped, "Oh, it's not a change, we just brought you both in here to let you know you've been fired." I guess the look I shot at them was not good because they quickly back-stepped and said, "Sorry, I didn't mean it. I was just kidding." So I shot back, "You want to fire me too? Fine, I've got no problem with that." Then I quietly picked up my water, notebook, and pen, stood up and walked out of the meeting. I went back to my desk, picked up my car keys and headed out the door. I didn't go anywhere - I just paced the parking lot for about 15 minutes and called Davina to have her calm me down. I was so livid it was unbelievable.

Anyway - the rest of the day was pretty uneventful. Not very many people talked to me which was probably a good thing - don't poke the bear when he's angry. :) Needless to say, I've already got interviews lined up for this week because of all this. I placed a couple of phone calls and have floated my resume out to several different places. If any of you know someone in need of a quality, hard-working software developer, please let me know. Seriously, I don't bite....often - just when provoked.

Shawn

What to do?

I wish I could put a poll up on this blog because I have something I want people to vote on.

So, yeah - I'm fairly uneducated - me and my high school diploma - lol. But I've really been struggling with the idea of returning to school. But not to get my BA - instead I would like to leap-frog to an MBA. Phoenix Seminary allows students, under the right circumstances, to enroll in the MBA program even if they don't possess a BA. Now, what I would really like to do is take my classes from Biola because about 90% of my favorite Christian Apologetic professors teach - I could be taught by many of my contemporary Christian heros. Wow - to "sit at their feet and drink of their knowledge" - i get goose bumps thinking about it.

Well, I'm getting off-topic a little. Biola offers one of the only Apologetic MBA's in the country - unfortunately for me, they don't allow people without BA's to enroll. So I guess the questions are - should I try my hand at Phoenix Seminary? Should I try to get my BA and then do Biola online? Ugh, sooo much commitment for such a long time and I'm such a wimp when it comes to that type of stuff. What to do, what to do?

Any advice from you fellow readers would be greatly appreciated.

Shawn

You can't prove a negative

Atheism - there is no God. Oh really? Prove it. Oh, wait, you can't prove a negative. To say there is no being that possesses all knowledge, one would have to have all knowledge to make the claim. Therefore the entire concept of atheism is self-refuting. But that is just the beginning in its attempts to be the opposite of theism.

The atheistic worldview is extremely poisonous on so many other levels. Take for instance relationships. A couple of weeks ago I gave a talk during Communion and I expressed how God is a relational-Being to Himself (the Father, the Son, and the Spirit) and that when God created us, He did so in His image which means in part, that we too are relational creatures as well. But we get that concept from the Creation story, it is there that we discover it. Further, we find during Creation, God commanding us to subdue the Earth and take care of it. However, if we toss all of that information out, and replace it all with a worldview based upon naturalism, then we see things begin to be viewed in reverse order to how God intended them to be.

If, in atheism, we are all just carbon and chemicals, products of chance and natural selection with no supernatural influence whatsoever, then should we really be surprised by the motto "He who dies with the most toys wins"? Because now the focus has shifted off of our fellow human having value and instead placing value on things. In Christianity we have the concept of "Love People, Use Things". In Atheism we find "Use People, Love Things". The total reverse of what God created us to be.

Developing the ability to identify these types of attitudes and view them for what they are helps in diagnosing the problem and applying the cure. We learn that we were Created because God loved first. This tells us that love preceeds life, not life before love. Anytime we reverse the patterns God has given us, we end up walking down a path forged by our own wills.

Shawn

Pluralism

Ah, the topic for tomorrow's Sunday Young Adult's Class. I'm curious to what you all think about this topic. Is pluralism good, bad, or both because it depends? I have my own views regarding it already - but wanted to get other thoughts and since you all don't attend my class, I thought this might be an interesting way for me to garner a larger audience and more feedback. :)

Only a few more classes remaining in my Comparative Worldview and Religion class I've been teaching - after that I'll be starting up approximately a 12-week class on Apologetics. It's material that I've bought from Ravi's organization and it's pretty informative. I really hope that those in the class will gain some good insight on not just a speaking apologetic, but also a living apologetic. This falls in line with the entire concept of being a good Ambassador (which is my soapbox in class - everything I do in class is focused on making us the best Ambassadors for Christ that we can be, that's the reason I even teach my class). To fulfill our role, we must not only have knowledge of Christ and the Gospel, but we must also be able to adequately defend it in the marketplace of ideas. But since we have given up much ground in the public square, we must now find ways to recover ground that has been lost. That begins with having a proper historical understanding of Christian Apologetics and also having an understanding of the pervasive worldviews that currently exist in our culture. How do we engage in meaningful conversation - whether it is in the college classrooom, or the business boardroom - if we are unable to articulate our worldview in a way that is understood by the unbeliever?

Oh boy - looks like I'm starting to ramble...I'll preach on that topic another day. :)

Shawn

Been Thinking

I came really close to offering up this idea during Communion last week, and at the last instant decided to not verbalize it because I thought it might cause some tension. Now, I'll freely admit that I don't have any Scriptural backing on this - not because their isn't any, I haven't taken to time to see if there is any. I'm not saying that there is or isn't, I'm saying I don't know if there is. I want to put that qualifier out there because I'm still playing with this idea and I have only begun thinking about it for the last 10 days.

The idea is this: If, what I said is true, that God was heartbroken at Adam and Eve's sin in the garden and the separation in relationship - then is it possible for me to make that claim that the suffering experienced on the Cross was less than the suffering God experienced in the separation from His Creation due to sin?

Just curious as to what your thoughts are and if you may have Scriptural reference either in support or opposition to this idea.

Shawn

Well, well, well...lookie here.

I roll out of bed this morning and pop open Yahoo news and what do I find? This article and this website. What next, Virtual Worship?

Still on the fence...

Shawn