CG

Good by Uncle EXP! Now i'm at CG. Things are going well as can be. Miss CM but now I'm in IRV. Good times.

2013 Angels Season Photos

Here are the photos of the games...thus far... Angels Photos 2013 Season Me and Jason http://www.printroom.com/ViewFoundPhoto.asp?userid=angelsfanphotos&group_id=0&stype=3&sword=367L&tcount=22&scount=5 http://www.printroom.com/ViewFoundPhoto.asp?userid=angelsfanphotos&group_id=0&stype=3&sword=367L&tcount=22&scount=6 Me and Deb http://www.printroom.com/ViewFoundPhoto.asp?userid=angelsfanphotos&group_id=0&stype=3&sword=39af&tcount=37&scount=28 http://www.printroom.com/ViewFoundPhoto.asp?userid=angelsfanphotos&group_id=0&stype=3&sword=39af&tcount=37&scount=29 http://www.printroom.com/ViewFoundPhoto.asp?userid=angelsfanphotos&group_id=0&stype=3&sword=3x3u&tcount=32&scount=3 http://www.printroom.com/ViewFoundPhoto.asp?userid=angelsfanphotos&group_id=0&stype=3&sword=3x3u&tcount=32&scount=4 Me and Steve http://www.printroom.com/ViewFoundPhoto.asp?userid=angelsfanphotos&group_id=0&stype=3&sword=39ed&tcount=32&scount=27 http://www.printroom.com/ViewFoundPhoto.asp?userid=angelsfanphotos&group_id=0&stype=3&sword=39ed&tcount=32&scount=28 Me and Melanie http://www.printroom.com/ViewFoundPhoto.asp?userid=angelsfanphotos&group_id=0&stype=3&sword=3xqc&tcount=50&scount=32 http://www.printroom.com/ViewFoundPhoto.asp?userid=angelsfanphotos&group_id=0&stype=3&sword=3xqc&tcount=50&scount=33

March 2013

Here at work but this is the last week of the first round of layoffs. Friday, which is actually Good Friday (Irony) is the last day of our Fiscal Year as well as the last day for some co-workers. I have until September, but I'm positive that I will find something before that. (Hopeful) Looking to get my PMP I hope and so i'll figure that out. Hope all and everyone reading this is well....and I'll try to blog more often. Otherwise, have a good one!!

Long time but now i'm married!

Yay! Finally November 3rd we tied the knot! now to relax for the rest of our lives!

7-2-2012

It's been awhile but here I am again! Live has thrown a few curveballs but i'll be ok. Moving on. Work is better now but still disappointed in the fact that I didn't get the internal position that I applied for. Sigh. Will be going to Malibu July 20th for an alumni gathering...looking forward to it. Also busy doing wedding work. November 11 buddy. Hope it all works out too. Out for now... MT

9-22-2011

Been awhile...but just saying that I don't even remember what I wrote about since the past blog. However hmm..what's on my mind now. I think that sometimes people get paid waaay to much doing what they do...NOT making a difference. I would tend to agree that I don't make much of a dent right now as well, but I can honestly say that and be truthful. For others, they seem to think they are important and that bothers me. Regardless, the other half is done with school...so that's good. we are looking for wedding stuff/places...just went to one and think that's the one...down and dirty Viet/Chinese and just pay and play. ha Perhaps a new environment will suit me well. I do hope I can get what I want and go where i'm needed....or wanted i guess. It's been awhile. On a side note...i need to quit drinking...those empty calories are just intolerable. I should really study for the GREs as well. this self study crap is not working out. .. Perhaps I need to take a refresher course...then just take it. I'll look into that .. but problem is vocabulary...those are memorized...not learned in 2 days. ugg.. *shakes head* I need to check in on my cousin..see how she's doing...also my family...been staying away a little bit...but i just can't stand going there and nothing's the way i think it 'should' be. tough when my brother's out of work too...it's been awhile for him. I feel bad but what can i do..? Until next time...sooner than later i hope...

Carmageddon!!

Well, here's a new one. I will NOT be attending MALT Cadre Camp this year due to the closure of the 405! I really wanted to go, but logistically I couldn't conjure up sitting in traffic.

Life is good. I really want to focus on the GREs right now so I can have options for school beyond MALT. We'll see. I'll begin studying after the first week of August (Blackhat in Vegas) duh...

Other than that, the better half will finish her class in August and then start her hours. Can't wait. It's been a tough 2 years waiting on her to finish classes. Hopefully we can start planning for our wedding.

Still a lil under the weather right now...damn truffle fries did me in!! Hate you Capital Grille!!

April blog

It's been a LONG time but for now i only have time to update you on a few things. Finished up my Action Research edits and hope it gets posted soon so that you can view the 'published' work. Life is good...keeping busy somehow and am relatively healthy. It's April 23rd so pre-Easter. Meat again tomorrow! YAY! Anyways, SF next week and Napa/Sonoma as well! Keep you updated bi-weekly hopefully. I think we might have a wedding date as well.

MT

January Blog

Happy New Year everyone! Anyways, that was a VERY short break (for the other half). This year will hopefully be quick, but i'll try to keep myself busy. I'll be taking a video editing/photo editing course at OCC so that should be fun. I just finished making edits to my Thesis and will be cutting/pasting it from my document onto my webpage so I can submit it to the CCAR. (Action Research site)

http://www.mykeytg.com/action_research/action_research.html

http://cadres.pepperdine.edu/ccar/define.html

Go check it out!

Out for now!

MT

December Blog

It's been awhile, but alot has happened lately. We completed our parent's move and now we just completed our own move to Jeffrey Drive. Anyways i'm spent!! I also went over to VA and PA to visit friends and family. I had a great time doing so. Anyhow I guess the real news is that I don't think i'll be pursuing my EDD. The reasoning is that I will not be a FT educator and I can teach technology courses at a community college right now as an adjunct. I should really look into this option because I would save myself time and effort as well as 75K. Granted work will assist me in the payments, but I will still owe approximately 60K after all said and done. I'll need that cash to pay for a wedding and perhaps have a down payment for a new home!!! oh well...Still needing to pay for my Masters!!! haha... Anyways...hope all is well in the 'real' world...

MT out

September Update 9-23-2010

well, the family has been moved and i think we are going to give them time before we visit them....they need to clear the way, garage, living room, backyard...etc. they had so much stuff!! i've been trying to get more involved in my own life, reaching out to others and trying to understand why people do the things they do. it's been a great learning experience...learning from listening. perhaps i can take some psychology classes?? well, the better half already is doing that so let's just have one shrink in the household. im having a blast with swimming and volleyball. had a horrible day this past tuesday but going to try to make up for it tonight. i just bought some flash cards for the GRE. i really need to get on that boat...but will need to also cut back on some other activities....like probably weekend vball and/or weekday vball. next weekend (oct-1) will be Vegas...then following weekend is a wedding...then prob vball/study etc..then end of oct i'll be in DC/VA/PA...ugg..then nov will be pretty much shot so i really have to download a schedule and mark it for studies. the better half is so busy and we barely saw ea.other yesterday. i guess it's for the best for now but i hope we don't get too distant. anyways. hope all is better out there in the world!! life is good...live it..

-MT

Sighs @ life...

Found out a couple of weeks ago that my little cousin has Synovial Sarcoma. A rare type of cancer that attacks the soft tissue. Ugg..she's only 24. I'm so saddened by this and i've read her blogs and read into the cancer and it sounded like there wasn't much done to research the cancer. I've also read that there is a good chance for survival...76% but still, that's besides the point. She's family and it's like someone sucker punching me. I'm 34 going on 35 and at least i have 10 years or so on her that i wish she will have.

I am optimistic however and will continue to pray for her and spend as much time with her as possible. I will also do more research on the topic so that I can be more knowledgeable on it. Meanwhile here is her site on Synovial Sarcoma for those interested in reading up on it. Please do..


http://synovialsarcoma.tumblr.com/

Missing Malt 12

It has been over a month now and i'm already missing my classmates. I just saw Mary this past weekend, Fabi and Cramer the weekend before that. There's a strong bond between most of us. Anyhow, I guess I can't wait for Debbie's school to start..as sick as it sounds so that I can start studying myself for the GREs. I'm wondering if i should take a prep course. I know I suck at math and my engrish is not as good anymore because of Rap, TV and listening to my co-workers talk. Anyways, I also need to figure out how i can spend my time more wisely. Too much is going on right now with my family that I really can't concentrate much on anything else but to assist in helping them out. Gosh I wish we won the lottery..but i also need to play it to win it!

Done!

Now that i'm all done and graduated, i feel a sense of emptiness. I do miss my classmates but not so much the work involved in school. I will need to study now for my GREs... I need to get on that soon...The better half has 3 weeks off so I guess I will too so we could hang out more.

Be back again soon.

Checking out!!

MT

Finished with Action Research (For now)

Finally finished the exhibitions!

The learning process was enormous. Even though I approached it as a regular presentation, It felt different presenting my findings in only 10 (or so) minutes and to answer questions from the panel. I wished I could have answered additional questions and wished it was longer than 10 minutes. I felt a little cheated from the time perspective. How can I do Action Research for the entire year and only present for 10 minutes. Anyhow, it is what it is and we finished it. I was also a little disappointed in the graduation brochure saying our program was (ONLINE). Felt a little cheated there too. I hope we'll have a session for the future cadre...in terms of process improvements etc.

Out for now,

MT

668 Blog for Week of 7/5/2010

Reflect on a successful experience you had managing someone else?

I do like the word Sponsor better than manager or boss. I enjoy the conversations that my peers have because they have always asked me for the final thought. I feel that I'm good at assisting others think in terms of the other person. Being empathetic to the other person's situation is a must. People must do this in order to make a sound decision. Unfortunately we can not have the other person do the same, but then once we think in their shoes, we can talk to them in a more understanding way. I've assisted my mentees this way and I've enjoyed it when they came back to me and said oh boy! that was great! the client understood exactly where we were coming from and understood why we came up with the recommendations that we did! This puts a smile in my face knowing that I made a minor difference.

What made this successful?

I think the ability to LISTEN to others is key not only at work, but in life. People in general are too eager to offer their own opinions and therefore really tune the other person out when they are talking. (I admit that I do as well) They tend to think that it's my way or the highway. We have to take a step back being in the IT world. We need to assess, reflect and recommend according to budget, interoperability and business need. Once we fully understand this, we can come up with a technically creative way to solve issues that the business may have. What makes our group successful is the fact that we indeed care about the business, but they have to understand that we too are doing our jobs and we need to follow the process, procedures and the policy set by the leaders. We are 'managing' the infrastructure and need to comply. But if we see an opportunity to go outside that policy, we have to do our homework to assess the risk, and the consequences.

What could you have done differently?

Unfortunately there are times where we take the Business's word for something that they said they had as a control. We don't have insight into their world so what they tell us we pretty much have to trust. In the real world, I was told that you can not audit trust. SO having said this, there were times where the business would take us for granted and didn't disclose fully what lack of controls they had and when IT Audit came in to audit them, it made us look like we messed up. I know we should 'do more' but then with the authority that has been passed down to us, that's all we could do, but we are however going to work on finding a better solution in the future so that we can improve upon the process so that we don't have to shrug and move along. Be agents of change...is what i'd like to do differently...

668 Blog for Week of 6/28/2010

Reflect on a great manager - what made he/she great?

My top manager was in fact my partner in the Big 4 times. Those were the times where we could afford to do things that were 'fun' and when companies (Clients) were spending money on consultants and contractors. My ex-partner was a great leader. He was the guy who stepped in when the profits were bad and said what's the issue here? I don't care if we aren't making any money, I want to know what we can do to solve this issue, and to get us OUT of the client site as soon as possible. The managers and senior managers that was in charge of my project was demanding that the staff put in extra non-chargeable hours so that their profit rates were higher, sending morale down the gutter. In the Hamel book, I read that "A leader garners influence by demonstrating a capacity to get things done and excelling as a team builder" I was reminded of my Partner. He basically came in, spoke with the client, got what needed to get done, and got us out of there. The last meeting we had was a team building exercise that was at The Chart House in Malibu. We ate and drank the whole night. The bill was over $10,000 dollars for a team of approximately 15. He knew that we were burnt out, and needed to keep our morale up and so he spent that money on us to show us that there's also a time to play and have fun at work. I loved that guy! Oh and did I say he was a good leader too? =)

What does this tell you about yourself?

What I've learned from this experience is that managers manage and keep things in order. Leaders are those who gives vision and takes the followers under their belts to the 'promise land'. I've learned that I can't be a manager. I need to create opportunites, vision and direction for those who are following me and I need to keep morale on a higher level. Like the Googles of the world, I need to innovate and think more for the people and not just for profit. "in a high trust, low-fear organization, employees don't need alot of oversight, they need to be mentored and supported, rather than bossed around." These quotes supports what my story is all about above, and moving forward. (Pgs 88-89)I enjoy helping people, but first, they need to do all they can to think critically on their own and then come to me with alternatives so that I can assist them in making a decision. Like in Gary's class (Stager) Ask 3 before me. I thought that was a good phrase to adopt.

668 Blog for Week of 6/21/2010

How can management be innovative?

Management are those who follow vision, mission statements and policy and procedures. They are those who follow what upper leadership has established for them. To answer the question, yes, management can be innovative, but only to their own processes. They can further advance their own internal flow and procedures, but management itself can no longer evolve from the past 20-30 years. It is meant to crack the whip on the lower tiered employees and serve as a middle tier that keeps the vision and mission of the upper 'management's' goals.

Does it then become leadership?

In (Northouse, 2003) we learned that a person, let's assume it's a manager can have a trait of a leader or possess the process of a leader. I believe that a person can show signs of being a leader, but when put to the test they may fail at becoming the leader. These managers may also have assigned leadership roles, or emergent leadership roles. Assigned in my opinion are those who are the 'managers' out there. They are assigned a team to lead or a task to complete. (Not real leaders) Emergent leaders are those positions that emerge over time, and is not assigned by position. Unfortunately there's an organizational hierarchy. A person must go through that and be put to the test prior to being a proclaimed 'leader'. Managers CAN become leaders, or are already leaders of their own group(s). Not all managers though will become leaders. Those people may not possess the traits of being a true leader. They are may only be good at what they do on a micro level and may not be too good with leading a diverse group of people.

Where do the lines intersect between management and leadership?

It says that Management produces order and consistency while Leadership produces change and movement. I believe that anything a manager can do a leader can do, but not all managers can perform leadership roles.

For example, Leaders can plan and budget, organize and staff, control and problem solve, all characteristics that Management possesses (Source: Adapted from A Force for Change: How Leadership Differs From Management Kotter 1990) Management meanwhile can not really establish direction (longer term than their immediate team), Align people (again long term strategy) and Motivate and Inspire employees. I've seen my immediate manager unable to motivate and inspire my own team. They do what their intrinsic motivators lead them and are mostly there for the extrinsic rewards of their paychecks. They do not do anything more than needed for the extrinsic rewards. While there are certain intersects i've mentioned above, I do feel that Leadership is different from management. Any leader can manage...but not all managers can lead. Some managers are there just to maintain order and consistency in the Organization. They are there to keep the 'process and procedure' in place, while leaders define the process and procedures, vision and mission of the organization.

MT

668 Blog Post for Week of June 7th 2010

How does motivation translate into technology design and success?

For my Action Research project, motivation played a role in the success/failure of the implementation of our internal SharePoint project. What were the intrinsic and extrinsic motivators that my co-workers had to contribute to our knowledge management system? I found out that most of the co-workers were too busy with their own initiatives and were not motivated to contribute to something that didn't 'pay off'. Although management supported the initiative, the employees were not forced to contribute and were not rewarded either. This project would have been more successful if we had employees contribute eagerly and willingly. I had zero 'power' to coherce my co-workers and in these stress filled lay off filled times, people were reluctant to share their knowledge and were unmotivated to do so as well.

Think of an example successful technology, and share how motivation was a factor in its success.

The one technology that I can think of that is super successful right now is Facebook. People are genuinely curious by nature and so they wonder what their friends are up to, or they want to do things that offers them extrinsic rewards. I would think it's 'entertaining' to find out what your ex-girlfriend is doing, how she looks now or how your old friend is dating your ex-girlfriend now...uuhh..well, anyhow you get the point. Everyone has different motivators, and they all contribute differently to Facebook. One can just update their statuses allll day long, and another person would upload a ton of pictures to share. Aggregately, we have a technology that is meant to work the way it's designed. Facebook also adjusts to the needs of the community. (I.e privacy, updates, etc.) Usability, curiosity, adopt-ability are key factors of a successful technology product. (Social technology that is) It has to hit 'home' and provide the user with some sort of satisfaction, or extrinsic reward for them to use the technology.

MT out.

668 Blog for Week of May 31st

What tools in the Drive Toolkit most interested you? How would you use these tools to motivate those around you? To be personally motivated?

Since I'm doing a fitness health plan for my organization, I thought I might as well drive that thought with the Type I Motivation for exercise from the Toolkit. (Pg. 2001)

Set your own goals - I'm sure we've all read it before but people do seem to want to look like the Calvin Klein models. Who wouldn't? before you try to get there, you must understand that they get paid to go to the gym, have a fitness instructor etc. We need to understand that we need to eat right everyday, and this includes working around the work schedule, the kids schedule the LIFE schedule. Do you wake up and brush your teeth? Do you have lunch at 12? Do you have to pick up the kids at 3? Well, work your workout into that schedule. It MUST be part of your life in order for you to succeed. Short term goals won't help you, long term ones will and everyone needs to incorporate healthy living/eating into their lives.

Ditch the Treadmill - Treadmills are soooo boring..I've gone on there and it's so boring that I always almost fall off of them. Do something FUN...go walk along the beach in the SAND...the resistance will help tone your muscles. Take the bike to the park, or somewhere fun and with a scenery. If your joints cant handle it then do some elliptical. If not, swim! What about boxing? There's so many things out there that's fun and engaging. One just needs to go out there to exert some energy. You'll have fun doing it AND you'll tone up and lose weight doing it! AWESOME!

Keep mastery in mind - I've always been blessed with athletic ability so I'm not a MASTER at a specific sport, but it helps to NOT be bad at it! =) For others that may have 3 thumbs or 2 left foots..feets? anyhow, try different things. Some people are better at Hip Hop classes, Pilate, Yoga etc. Not everyone will be good at something i.e golf, basketball, football but you get the point. If you do it like your job (repetitions) then eventually you'll get better @ it and even lead the class!

Reward yourself the right way - Oh how many times have we heard this? I worked out and now i deserve a chocolate cake, beer or ice cream! well, many times really but for the most part, you should be eating healthier, but you can splurge once in awhile...but guess what? IN MODERATION. The simple weight equation is Exert MORE than you INTAKE. It's easy and you'll lose weight! But you ARE what you eat is a common phrase that I hear. Don't starve yourself but then again don't splurge when really you've only done the minimum to prolong your life with some exercise and eating right.

People seem to think that they are too busy to live a healthy lifestyle, or have too many issues to do so too. I just think it's about motivation and commitment to your routine. If it's built into your daily lifestyle like combing your hair, or brushing your teeth, then you'll likely succeed. If not then you'll lose weight now, but will ultimately gain it back, leading to a negative feeling of failure.

I try to keep this focus myself, and not only with my health but my work and my life. Who wants to do mediocre work everyday? or why do mediocre work once in a while and great work other times. I will honestly try to do good work all the time. (MOST) =)