Life and Times of being...me.

This week is Thanksgiving.  I am very grateful that none of my family and friends were lost because of SANDY. To that end, I am also thankful that I was brought into this world.  Over the past few months, I have been reflecting on choices I have made.  Things that I have done over the years and things that I have been bless to see (during my travels in the last 25 + years).   I'm grateful that my parents brought me into this world because if they hadn't; I would not have done and seen the things that I have.  And I would not have my wife, family or my son Giovanni. One of the things that my parents taught me was not to take anyone's crap; stand tall and be proud of who you are.  Let me provide a little background here.  At the age of 5 or 6 my parents made the decision to move us from Greenwich Village in NYC to the "country" or as its more commonly know as Howell Twp now.  My grandparents own a house that my dad grew up in and spent summers in (the Village wa

The storm is over...for now. We are slowly getting back to normal.  The second of two storms are over and we were spared in the second storm; we didn't lose the power. Although we have a generator now, the snow storm was not a welcome event given hurricane SANDY was just last Monday the 29th. I would like to take the opportunity to thank my cousin Lori for helping us out last Wednesday.  After the storm passed and the power was out for 3 days, we started to look for generators.  As you could imagine, the entire area was also looking for generators.  My wife and I decided that it was better to start looking out of state and also see if we could get supplies (milk, bread and also gas for the generator).  It seemed hopeless until I thought to call my cousin Lori who lives in Fredricksburg,VA. Well you're thinking now...why wouldn't he find something closer to home than Fredricksbug, VA.  Desperate times called for desperate measures.  And I wanted a sure thing. Let me

Recently I had decided to change my employer, so that I can focus on what I would like to do for the next 20 years (given that I'm 46 now, I think 66 would be a good time to slow down...but who knows how fast things will be moving in 2032?). The Information Technology (or IT) world has provided me with an ample number of friends who I keep in touch with via Linked In. If you are not part of Linked In, I would recommend that you get a free account and try it.  I have found it very useful in keeping up with my work friends and people in the industry that I like to follow.  While most would say use Twitter to really follow someone, its hard to keep up with a twitter feed that everyone comments on (especially when that person has a large following).  By the way I do use twitter and can be found at  https://twitter.com/DLibonati  or @dlibonati .  During my employment search, I had taken the advice of an article I read from the CEO of the The Ladders... How not to ask for a jo

Why is it that people in the service industry cannot seem to do there jobs or put any effort into doing things the right way?   Growing up a worked the counter at my grandparents auto parts store.  My grandparents and uncle were very instrumental in grooming my people skills.  And it wasn't easy for me, them or the customers I waited on, but I learned a great deal about interacting with the general public. I started that job ...no wait ... that course in my life very early...I was about 10 when I started waiting on customers.  Yes... 10 years old...( i hear the words child labor laws come out of your mouth...it wasn't like a was working a 40 hour work week...more like 35 hours). The store was a parts and repair facility, so I would work the parts counter and I would occasionally write up a service ticket. All the while I was learning how to speak to and deal with the general public.  I was also learning how to "do the right thing" and / or to "do the job the rig

So today I start blogging on this site.  There are a few things that you should know when you are reading my blog.  I will be passionate when writing about topics.  I will not be speaking on behalf of my employer.  Any technical comments made here will be strictly my opinion (and will not be a bashing of a technology or any one company).  There may be some posts that are rants...for those I will apologize in advance; I sometimes wear my heart on my sleeve, while it doesn't make me a bad person, some of you just might not understand it. Today is Giovanni's first day back to school.  Myself and the wife watched him interact with his friends at the bus stop and get on the bus (with the 13 other kids at our bus stop).  The kids from our stop filled half the bus.  Giovanni was really excited to get back to school.  I hope that attitude lasts though college. On the career front, things look good.  I have several prospects that i'm interviewing with.  I'm in the process