DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum What are you doing this Sunday?

Yeah, no other sport can compete with the college football atmosphere. I'd even put it above the pro soccer leagues in Europe. The traditions, pageantry, and everything else that comes with is top notch.

Going to college games is a better experience too. Pro games have a ton of weekend warriors who can't handle their booze. I've seen college games at a bunch of different venues, and have never seen a fight or any kind of trouble at a tailgate, in the stands, concourse, etc.. It's a pretty friendly atmosphere. I've only been to a handful of NFL games where I haven't seen a fight, or at least people acting like complete morons in the stands. Maybe the only time was in Nashville, and that's because people there don't really care about that team.

I agree with most of your points though. The first two weekends of college football are blowouts with teams playing inferior talent. But keep in mind that they don't have a preseason, and I'll take an Alabama vs Georgia State blowout over any NFL preseason game. Gah

I like the playoff system. I think 4 is perfect. Any more would water down the season. The scheduling of it all just works too. 2 playoff games around New Year's and the championship a week/week and a half later.

I'm just so glad they made the change. I wasn't the biggest proponent of the BCS, but I just remember being on these very boards and being in agreement with most that they would never do a playoff system.

Unlike baseball, football started in colleges.

In ~ the 1870s.

So there's deep-seated almost "philosophical" aspects of football that make college football the truest form of the sport.

Pro Football (NFL) was adopted from colleges.

Some PhD in sports could probably describe it.

Some things off the top of my head:

1) younger players,
2) unpaid,
3) temporary players,
4) clearly stratified players (freshman, sophomore, junior, senior)
5) part of a larger scheme (being in college)
6) more meaningful rivalries
7) better team names and mascots

and just from the actual breakdown of the sport, there are more formations, and much more freedom. You're doomed without a legitimate QB in the NFL. In college, you can still compete without a top notch quarterback. Ohio State won a title with a guy who's only 3 starts were all in the postseason.

The game just flows better too. The NCAA is a little more lax when it comes to all the uniform changes. You can wear something new every week if you want to. The NFL requires 2 years and several hoops to jump though to change jerseys.

Rock on, Sperg. Remember, you were picked before Tom Brady, the G-O-A-T.

16 spots ahead, buddy.

Good luck, Sperg.

Spoken like a true liberal

So yesterday's interview went pretty well. I was interviewed by two different managers, and I thought I handled myself well. I actually think I may be able to bring a few ideas to this job. It's a brand new team they have created, and I would be the third addition. The job is close, the area is awesome (don't know if any of you who have visited Chicago have been to Oak Brook, but it's an awesome town), and I got a really good vibe. While I was waiting, the girl at the receptionist desk was saying how much she liked it so far, she was also a new hire). They reached out to me this morning for a second interview (!!!)

And the interview today had to reschedule, which I think is ok, because I was hoping to have that as a backup plan. It got pushed back to Monday, so it gives this job I really want more time to review without me having to put someone on hold.

I also got two more calls today, I set up an interview tomorrow, and this other staffing place wants to set up something quickly.

I'm really excited, and cannot wait to get all this over with. The good job sites out there (careerbuilder, indeed, etc) really do a good job making you known to employers.

Recovering from OSU PSU, then watching Bills Raiders

Running my first 15K in downtown Chicago. Going to be a chilly 31 degrees with a 15 MPH wind off the lake. Yikes.

I wonder if my per mile pace will be more than the points the Browns score.

Good luck!

My math skills and my memories of running 10K "races" ( I use quotes because you couldn't call my 7:40 pace "racing") tell me that is 9.3 miles. That's about 4.3 miles further than my old comfort zone (my new comfort zone is 0), but Good Luck!

Shred it up man!!!

Yeah, I've run dozens of 5K's and once I did an 8K. This will be the longest run of my life. I did 8.4 miles this past Sunday and 5.2 today. I'm averaging a 9min mile. I'm 44 and haven't really trained all that much (work, family, UC). I once ran a 5K in 22mins, but that was about 10 years ago.

I just want to finish in under 90 minutes.

My wife "ran" a marathon 5 years ago. She averaged a 14min mile. I kid her because I can walk a mile in 14min without much effort. She gets a pass because she's essentially 5'1" and I'm 6'. My walking instep is about her light jog.

Thanks everyone.

Nice. I weight and strength train, my cardio sucks. Walking a mile in 14min would require probably effort for me haha. 5'1, her (your wife) strides are a lot smaller than your walking strides at 6' haha, covering less ground in the same effort.

My little niece is really into running. I forget her times, but I recall being impressed (and thinking I'd have a stroke if I tried to run.)

Odd turn here, but it's within the walking/running/effort ballpark.

If I were to walk 1 mile for 14 minutes and then run 1 mile for 7 minutes, would my calorie burn be the same?

- low effort for double the time
- high effort for less time

I had to climb up on my roof and reinforce the soffits, damn coons getting in there

1:30:42 (9:44 pace)

Damn those hills on the last mile. I would have hit my "under 90mins" goal. Oh well, not bad for a soon-to-be 45 year old man with a few random ailments and bad knees.

The winner of the race finished the 9.3 miles in 49:17. That's a 5:18 pace. The world record is 41:13 (4:12 pace).

Crazy.

A job update for those that were asking:

Still no offers yet. I've had 7 interviews since I was let go. My latest coming on Friday.

This last interview seems promising and has a ton of potential. I got the interview through a staffing company. They want to get me on a 3-month contract with this job. It's with a fortune-500 company that's doing quite well right now. They have a job that is similar to what I was doing before.

I got grilled for 2 hours on Friday by two different people. I thought it went really well. Both people brought up the fact that I have a leg up because of my experience with SAP and Sharepoint. They have the same intensity on the level of attention to detail that I had with my last job.

Also, the good thing is, they have a senior person who is retiring at the end of the year, and want to get someone in there as soon as possible so they can shadow, and soak up as much info before that person leaves. So I am hoping to hear something soon.

The job in the contract role pays more money than I've ever made in my life, significantly more. Beyond the 3 months is still up in the air. I think it's part, the person proving themselves, but also part budget room. If hired on permanently, there is huge bump in pay from the contract role.

I'm hopeful about it. Considering it was my 7th interview, I think I got more comfortable doing these things as I moved along. I knocked down every question they had, and even threw back some good ones.

Makes me happy that I have even gotten these interviews, because I really wanted to do this myself. I didn't want any help from friends or family or anything. I wanted to see what I could do on my own.

Kind of disappointed that I never heard anything from that 2nd interview, because I think I could have offered a lot, and I really liked the vibe in the building. The job is still posted too. Some reviews said the hiring process for this company was ridiculously long, so I guess there is still hope, but I'm getting anxious to get back to work, not to mention the holidays are coming, not to mention birthday season for tons of people close to me.

Not sure if I have the flu that's going around and a headache on top of it or a migraine that's making me nauseous.

Still beats watching the Browns.

j/k, definitely doesn't make watching them any better, though.

We watched kids of some of our friends. They moved here this year from Texas, and this is the first time they've left their children with someone other than family. The mom and dad had to leave for some training, and they trusted us with the three kids.

We had them for the past four nights, and they're really awesome kids. They're beyond respectful, helpful, and just a joy to have around. Their parents got back this afternoon.

My afternoon ended up getting spent at the school. I had some students in the gym at school, rewarded them for positive classroom behavior, and they got to play basketball.

Now I finished up grading, wrote a final paper for a masters class, and I'm sitting back in the recliner watching my girlfriend play Super Mario Odyssey.

Life is good.

And to quote Clem:
Full Stop.

So another crazy update...

The interview with the F500 company ended up with nothing. They gave the position to someone else.

I received an offer from my previous employer (actually two) but I turned down both even though they did offer me more money.

I ended up interviewing a week ago with a company. It went well, they offered later on that day. I scoffed a bit, and they offered even more.

I wasn't crazy about the job. The money was too good though. I figure if I don't like it, I can keep searching.

The next day I went and signed the paperwork to finish everything, and when I got home, the people from the second interview (the job I really really wanted) called out of the blue and wanted to do another interview over the phone.

We did it the next day, everything went well, but the interviewer told me it may take awhile to hear back as people were in/out over the holidays.

I didn't hear anything this week, so I called the staffing company which set me up with the job I accepted and was straight with them about everything. They were super cool about it, I thought they may not want me to show up on Tuesday as we had planned, but they didn't want me to not be without a job if the other offer doesn't come.

So not only do they understand everything, they said I will likely not need to give two week's notice, and can still make a little money while I wait for this offer to come.

Kind of a nice feeling that I will have my pick of a current job plus a prospect of one without burning any bridges.

I was hoping to hear back last week, so I could save them money on the drug test and background check, but I had to go through and take both, but either way I am finally working again.

Which is awesome, because I've had enough of siting around. We were ok on money, but there was hadly any extra spending going on.

I need new tires for my car. I need new hockey equipment, I need a new laptop, and I would like to take my wife out for a really nice dinner, as she has been more than cool during this entire proess.

I think 2018 is going to be an amazing year!

Congrats!

i'll be watching this historic event

Last update:

The job I really wanted offered me last Friday. Today we finalized everything, and I start Monday. The offer was good, the hire is a direct, and there are really good perks and benefits with this job. Lots of incentive to stick around. Short 6 mile commute. Good hours.

I'm really excited about all of this, and so glad these last few months have been behind me. I learned quite a lot about myself, as well as this process, and how it works.

I know that the next time I am job-hunting (which hopefully is not for a while) that I will be so much more prepared.

If I could pass along any of my experience to anyone who may end up in my position one day:

Your resume is half the battle. Outline your skills and experience as well as you can without typing out a novel.

When you're in the interview, have good questions to throw back at them. I think the one question you have to look out for is the "what is your biggest weakness" question. It's the hardest to answer. I think you have to find something that is not detrimental to yourself, while still showing that it's something you have improved on.

Don't accept interviews from jobs you don't have interest in. And more than anything, if after an interview, you really want the job, CALL! It was the mistake I made which could have cost me my job. I didn't call after, and instead waited like an idiot. I finally did call and they brought me back in. Even if you don't have anything to really say, just thank them for the invitation, and stress that you are really interested in the job. Don't wait more than a day or two.

Thanks to anyone who has listened and read during all of this. It has not been an easy process, and I appreciate any of you who took the time to care. thanks again

I am happy for you my friend.

Hey. Alright Sperg!

I hope part of the package is that you get to spend a couple work hours a day on DawgTalkers.

Well, of course it was.

Church and NFL Playoffs

Thanks guys!

excited about tomorrow