I'm unplugging, flying off to CA tonight and driving back on Monday. I ain't even going to check my voicemail.
Have a good weekend everyone!
Ok, I lied about the voicemail thing...but I will not check my email!
Friday, October 29, 2010
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
100th blog post day
I've spent the last 4 days trying to come up with some awesome topic for my 100th blog post and am not having any luck. This will be a brainstorming post.
In the last post, I mentioned something about being more content than I used to be. As true as that is, I've been wondering how content I really am. 'More' is a relative term so being more content than not content at all isn't much of a stretch.
My living situation is probably the thing I'm most content with. A lot of that is probably because I'm very easily pleased in that area. It's warm, quiet, close to work, and easy to clean.
What about myself? I am not very content with my physical state. I'm not overweight or have any real health issues, praise the Lord! but I got winded during warmup at basketball the other weekend. Not to mention the actual games. I have a bit of a belly, which isn't nearly as bad as a lot of other men my age, but as tall and skinny as the rest of me is, it really shows. If my father is any indication, I need to nip it in the bud and quickly.
Then there's the mental state. Or rather, intellectual state. My brain is becoming stagnant. Work is boring far more often than not. Performing my duties is not an issue, it's just that it's so repetitive that my brain is having a hard time sticking with it. The good thing is that I do have a lot of opportunity to do different things any given day, but when it's slow...it's really slow. Outside of work, there's very little intellectual stimulation right now.
My spiritual state isn't fantastic either. Participating in a marriage and focusing on your kids provides a lot of opportunity to express love to someone else, which in turns takes the focus off yourself. Being by myself so much now is very different. I'm finding it difficult to get out of my own thoughts, so to speak.
Then there's the financial state. It's getting better. A lot better. But there are still things to get done that I've been putting off for far too long. A bankruptcy, divorce, and car repair to name the big ones.
So, what am I going to do about it?
I'll keep playing basketball when I can, which isn't often enough so I'm planning on signing up at a local fitness club. It's only $25 a month for Fitness One, but their machines are really crammed in there. Too small a building for too many machines. The only other option is the YMCA. I haven't seen the facilities, but membership includes a lot of the classes and access to the pool. A little more expensive though.
Not sure what to do about my intellectual state though. I would really like to go back to graduate school. The local state university has a 'high value' MBA program. $26,000 may seem like a lot, but comparably, it's pretty cheap. They have a full online program too. The university itself is only about 45 minutes away, but quite often bad weather makes it too difficult to get there. Another option is the local community college. The only part of that I'm really interested in is a few classes in their 'workforce development' program. It's cheap, but doesn't provide much in the way of 'attractors' in regards to future employment. At this point, I'm beyond the trade school level.
The spiritual state is going to take some work. I've just recently begun participating in a class facilitated by one of our pastors called the Dead Theologians Society. We're going through a series of books highlighting the lives and struggles of theologians. To be honest, it's not terribly engaging. I find the author to be pretty dry. I know it's about theology, which is inherently dry, but still... Never been much of a theologian myself. What I need to do is look for opportunities to help others. So I've signed up to be part of our churches 'Helping Hands' ministry. Their focus is to help people with moving, light home repair, and other stuff. I've also signed up to attend a small group Bible study, which focuses on the Bible (duh) rather than theology.
The financial state is going to keep on how ever it will, but I will focus on saving. During the move, I found the penny bank I had as a kid. Now it's setting on my desk and already has about $8 in it. I intended to take pictures of it, but my 'new' camera has died already. Might be the battery. I'm not going to fix it, but save up some money for a new, higher-resolution, P&S digital camera. Maybe a Cybershot or Lumix. Or maybe get real ambitious and find a DSLR. Anyway... I'll certainly focus on saving more than that penny bank can hold. Even now I have more in my checking account than I've had for years. (For all you single moms out there, yes I will be helping out more with the girlies expenses.)
So there there are. All my brainstorming laid out in a few paragraphs. The underlying theme being "what am I going to do with myself?"
Don't want to forget the other stuff either. Like learning to play the guitar, taking a writing class to become a better blog writer, getting my piano back so I can pick that up again, cooking classes, taking more pictures, using all of these things to cut back on my gaming, and probably other things I've thought of that don't come to mind at the moment.
And about other stuff... I'm on Team Foxtrot for the Cap League. Here's the avatar I made for it:
In the last post, I mentioned something about being more content than I used to be. As true as that is, I've been wondering how content I really am. 'More' is a relative term so being more content than not content at all isn't much of a stretch.
My living situation is probably the thing I'm most content with. A lot of that is probably because I'm very easily pleased in that area. It's warm, quiet, close to work, and easy to clean.
What about myself? I am not very content with my physical state. I'm not overweight or have any real health issues, praise the Lord! but I got winded during warmup at basketball the other weekend. Not to mention the actual games. I have a bit of a belly, which isn't nearly as bad as a lot of other men my age, but as tall and skinny as the rest of me is, it really shows. If my father is any indication, I need to nip it in the bud and quickly.
Then there's the mental state. Or rather, intellectual state. My brain is becoming stagnant. Work is boring far more often than not. Performing my duties is not an issue, it's just that it's so repetitive that my brain is having a hard time sticking with it. The good thing is that I do have a lot of opportunity to do different things any given day, but when it's slow...it's really slow. Outside of work, there's very little intellectual stimulation right now.
My spiritual state isn't fantastic either. Participating in a marriage and focusing on your kids provides a lot of opportunity to express love to someone else, which in turns takes the focus off yourself. Being by myself so much now is very different. I'm finding it difficult to get out of my own thoughts, so to speak.
Then there's the financial state. It's getting better. A lot better. But there are still things to get done that I've been putting off for far too long. A bankruptcy, divorce, and car repair to name the big ones.
So, what am I going to do about it?
I'll keep playing basketball when I can, which isn't often enough so I'm planning on signing up at a local fitness club. It's only $25 a month for Fitness One, but their machines are really crammed in there. Too small a building for too many machines. The only other option is the YMCA. I haven't seen the facilities, but membership includes a lot of the classes and access to the pool. A little more expensive though.
Not sure what to do about my intellectual state though. I would really like to go back to graduate school. The local state university has a 'high value' MBA program. $26,000 may seem like a lot, but comparably, it's pretty cheap. They have a full online program too. The university itself is only about 45 minutes away, but quite often bad weather makes it too difficult to get there. Another option is the local community college. The only part of that I'm really interested in is a few classes in their 'workforce development' program. It's cheap, but doesn't provide much in the way of 'attractors' in regards to future employment. At this point, I'm beyond the trade school level.
The spiritual state is going to take some work. I've just recently begun participating in a class facilitated by one of our pastors called the Dead Theologians Society. We're going through a series of books highlighting the lives and struggles of theologians. To be honest, it's not terribly engaging. I find the author to be pretty dry. I know it's about theology, which is inherently dry, but still... Never been much of a theologian myself. What I need to do is look for opportunities to help others. So I've signed up to be part of our churches 'Helping Hands' ministry. Their focus is to help people with moving, light home repair, and other stuff. I've also signed up to attend a small group Bible study, which focuses on the Bible (duh) rather than theology.
The financial state is going to keep on how ever it will, but I will focus on saving. During the move, I found the penny bank I had as a kid. Now it's setting on my desk and already has about $8 in it. I intended to take pictures of it, but my 'new' camera has died already. Might be the battery. I'm not going to fix it, but save up some money for a new, higher-resolution, P&S digital camera. Maybe a Cybershot or Lumix. Or maybe get real ambitious and find a DSLR. Anyway... I'll certainly focus on saving more than that penny bank can hold. Even now I have more in my checking account than I've had for years. (For all you single moms out there, yes I will be helping out more with the girlies expenses.)
So there there are. All my brainstorming laid out in a few paragraphs. The underlying theme being "what am I going to do with myself?"
Don't want to forget the other stuff either. Like learning to play the guitar, taking a writing class to become a better blog writer, getting my piano back so I can pick that up again, cooking classes, taking more pictures, using all of these things to cut back on my gaming, and probably other things I've thought of that don't come to mind at the moment.
And about other stuff... I'm on Team Foxtrot for the Cap League. Here's the avatar I made for it:
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Milestones
This is my 99th official post.
(I say "official" because I don't know how many I deleted...)
It was posted on 4/8/09. Over a year and a half ago.
A year and a half ago I only had 1 girl in school. Now I have 2 in school, one in 2nd and one in 1st. Now my 1st grader says she has 4 boyfriends. One of which is Justin Bieber.
A year and a half ago President Obama did a surprise visit to Iraq and had recently finished his first year in office.
A year and a half ago, the company I work for was loosing 80% more than we are now. Over the last year and a half we've cut expenses almost 50% and gained some ground on prices.
A year and a half ago, a lady was recovering from wounds sustained after jumping into a polar bear pen at the Berlin Zoo.
A year and a half ago, I was still trying to save my marriage.
A year and a half ago, piracy was still pretty big in the news. Not sure if it still is or not.
A year and a half ago, it was commonplace to have about 10% of what I have in the bank account right now. Not to say that there's much in there now, but it's nice to be able to buy groceries.
A year and a half ago, the whole 'stimulus' debacle was in full force and big companies were under the microscope.
A year and a half ago, I was more angry and far less content than I am now.
This picture was taken around a year and a half ago.
So what about the next year and half? April, 2012. (Uh-oh, according to the Aztecs, there will be no 2013.) All 3 girlies will be in school. (With fewer boyfriends between all of them, hopefully.) Obama's reelection campaign will be in full force. We'll either be making money, I'll have a different job, or be unemployed. My marriage will probably be officially over. There will still be pirates. (And 'Talk Like a Pirate Day'.) I'll have saved more money and have a goal for home ownership soon. I'll be even more content.
How about your next 1-1/2 years?
(I say "official" because I don't know how many I deleted...)
It was posted on 4/8/09. Over a year and a half ago.
A year and a half ago I only had 1 girl in school. Now I have 2 in school, one in 2nd and one in 1st. Now my 1st grader says she has 4 boyfriends. One of which is Justin Bieber.
A year and a half ago President Obama did a surprise visit to Iraq and had recently finished his first year in office.
A year and a half ago, the company I work for was loosing 80% more than we are now. Over the last year and a half we've cut expenses almost 50% and gained some ground on prices.
A year and a half ago, a lady was recovering from wounds sustained after jumping into a polar bear pen at the Berlin Zoo.
A year and a half ago, I was still trying to save my marriage.
A year and a half ago, piracy was still pretty big in the news. Not sure if it still is or not.
A year and a half ago, it was commonplace to have about 10% of what I have in the bank account right now. Not to say that there's much in there now, but it's nice to be able to buy groceries.
A year and a half ago, the whole 'stimulus' debacle was in full force and big companies were under the microscope.
A year and a half ago, I was more angry and far less content than I am now.
This picture was taken around a year and a half ago.A year and a half ago, I didn't know the wonderful people I've met in blogland since then. Thank you all so much for your support.
How about your next 1-1/2 years?
Monday, October 18, 2010
Randomonday
- Is having someone proofread your resume and cover letter so difficult? Since I've started hiring people myself, I've had to really lower my expectation in regards to grammar and punctuation. I have a cover letter in my hand that's 1 paragraph long, centered, without spaces between sentences, and just terrible punctuation. The letter itself is horrible but the content is good. For a guy applying for an entry level position, and having some experience, he said a lot of the right things. I almost want to rewrite the thing and send it back to him or at least suggest corrections.
- I made the top 4 at our SGO Texas Hold'em game on Saturday and will move on to the final game which plays this Saturday night.
- I've been considering playing some micro-stakes games on Pokerstars or FullTilt. It's like $10 buy-in's with $1/$2 blinds. The crummy thing about playing the free money games are the stupid people that go all-in at every hand. Very obnoxious. I'm actually up about $2K in the free money games, but that's probably due to the stupid people.
- Tomorrow nights schedule has me in a game called Monkey Poo. Imagine players jumping and bouncing around throwing blue blobs at each other. In Halo, one of the alien grenades is actually sticky. It will stick to the players, but not walls or other inanimate objects. The idea is to get points by 'sticking' the other players with these grenades, which subsequently explode. That's it. Just throwing blue glowing 'nades at each other. It's really pretty fun but takes some practice to be any good. I don't practice.
- Fish tacos were on the menu last night. They were too good. I only made 3 fillets, but they were big enough to make 6 tacos. And I ate them all. Someday, hopefully, I'll use something other than tilapia. It's fine, but cheap. Most fish taco recipes call for a firmer white fish, like cod or even shark. I ain't got the dough for anything but tilapia.
- So my parents are picking up roots and getting out of CA. As far as I know, they've decided to settle in CO, but it might be a while before they actually buy a house. They need help getting all their vehicles over here so I'll be flying to CA next weekend and driving my dads truck back. Long drives aren't my most favorite thing to do, but my dad drove our moving truck for us when we moved and I have vacation time to burn up before the following weekend, so there you go. I get a mini-vacation and an extended look at one of the most desolate parts of the US.
- It's cold, wet, and dreary today. The morning started out ok, but now we have a drizzling rain. I don't need any more reminders than winter is coming.
- Next week starts Cap League. It's another gaming event, but geared towards those of us who didn't use to play in Major League Gaming events (i.e. - those of us who suck.) Below are some avatars I made up for it.
This one isn't mine but I thought it was funny.
- I made the top 4 at our SGO Texas Hold'em game on Saturday and will move on to the final game which plays this Saturday night.
- I've been considering playing some micro-stakes games on Pokerstars or FullTilt. It's like $10 buy-in's with $1/$2 blinds. The crummy thing about playing the free money games are the stupid people that go all-in at every hand. Very obnoxious. I'm actually up about $2K in the free money games, but that's probably due to the stupid people.
- Tomorrow nights schedule has me in a game called Monkey Poo. Imagine players jumping and bouncing around throwing blue blobs at each other. In Halo, one of the alien grenades is actually sticky. It will stick to the players, but not walls or other inanimate objects. The idea is to get points by 'sticking' the other players with these grenades, which subsequently explode. That's it. Just throwing blue glowing 'nades at each other. It's really pretty fun but takes some practice to be any good. I don't practice.
- Fish tacos were on the menu last night. They were too good. I only made 3 fillets, but they were big enough to make 6 tacos. And I ate them all. Someday, hopefully, I'll use something other than tilapia. It's fine, but cheap. Most fish taco recipes call for a firmer white fish, like cod or even shark. I ain't got the dough for anything but tilapia.
- So my parents are picking up roots and getting out of CA. As far as I know, they've decided to settle in CO, but it might be a while before they actually buy a house. They need help getting all their vehicles over here so I'll be flying to CA next weekend and driving my dads truck back. Long drives aren't my most favorite thing to do, but my dad drove our moving truck for us when we moved and I have vacation time to burn up before the following weekend, so there you go. I get a mini-vacation and an extended look at one of the most desolate parts of the US.
- It's cold, wet, and dreary today. The morning started out ok, but now we have a drizzling rain. I don't need any more reminders than winter is coming.
- Next week starts Cap League. It's another gaming event, but geared towards those of us who didn't use to play in Major League Gaming events (i.e. - those of us who suck.) Below are some avatars I made up for it.
This one isn't mine but I thought it was funny.So how was your weekend?
Friday, October 15, 2010
SG Olympic update 10/15...eh, forget it.
As much as I appreciate the comments that were made (Thank You!), due to the underwhelming response to my SG Olympic updates, I'll be modifying them a lot. I might mention the current standings, but I'll talk more about other stuff.
So here's some randomness:
- I'm so stinkin' fed up with my lack of performance at Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 that I'll be packing it up and sending it to a fellow Yellow SG'er tomorrow. That gets me out of making an ass of myself in the Objective games next week and since he really enjoys the game, maybe Yellow will have a better showing.
- I met my roommate last night. A very bold fellow. Went about his way without even a nod in my direction.
- Remember that thing that was under my fridge? The thing I forgot to check on during the walk through the 6' wide kitchen? Well, I finally remember it and checked on it a few days ago. The crummy thing was that when I went to check it out, it was stuck to the floor and when I pushed on it, it got unstuck and skittered off further under the fridge. I'm pretty sure I know what it is now and I think my roommate got stuck on it.
My trailer is right across the road from a very large untended field. Right behind it is another smaller field, unused, but they knock the grass down every once in a while. I knew before I moved in that pests were going to be an issue. When I was moving my stuff in, I left the door propped open and more than a couple of moths flew in. So the first warm-blooded pest is probably taken care of now. I'm sure there will be more.
- That's it for now. I'm off to get a some runs in on our unscheduled event. Wish me luck!
Here's a picture:
So here's some randomness:
- I'm so stinkin' fed up with my lack of performance at Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 that I'll be packing it up and sending it to a fellow Yellow SG'er tomorrow. That gets me out of making an ass of myself in the Objective games next week and since he really enjoys the game, maybe Yellow will have a better showing.
- I met my roommate last night. A very bold fellow. Went about his way without even a nod in my direction.
- Remember that thing that was under my fridge? The thing I forgot to check on during the walk through the 6' wide kitchen? Well, I finally remember it and checked on it a few days ago. The crummy thing was that when I went to check it out, it was stuck to the floor and when I pushed on it, it got unstuck and skittered off further under the fridge. I'm pretty sure I know what it is now and I think my roommate got stuck on it.
My trailer is right across the road from a very large untended field. Right behind it is another smaller field, unused, but they knock the grass down every once in a while. I knew before I moved in that pests were going to be an issue. When I was moving my stuff in, I left the door propped open and more than a couple of moths flew in. So the first warm-blooded pest is probably taken care of now. I'm sure there will be more.
- That's it for now. I'm off to get a some runs in on our unscheduled event. Wish me luck!
Here's a picture:
Thursday, October 14, 2010
SG Olympic update 10/14
I suck.
No, really. I got my ass handed to me last night. In the MW2 game, the only kill I had was a betrayal! :(
We won 2 of our 6 games. *sigh*
I'm not really a 'depressed' person and I don't really go for the whole negative self-efficacy thing, but around 15 minutes into the 2 hours of games last night, I just wanted to quit and go to bed. I couldn't pull my head out to catch a breath.
I'm planning ways to get effectively yet pleasantly hammered for the games tonight. Any suggestions?
Seasoned Gamers is a community of gamers. It professes to be one for the 'fun-loving' crowd, but you can't get away from the fact that it's primarily made up of good gamers. There are a few SG'ers that I regularly play with, but they're on the same skill level as I am and we get matched up with people of similar skill. Compared to other games, the Halo matchmaking system works really well.
As far as SG events go, they do a lot of work to make teams even, but 'even' means every team has 1 or 2 really good players, 1 or 2 middle level players, and then the actually casual players. So the casual players get stomped by the good players. It gets very frustrating.
There is one SG organization called the Cap League. It uses a handicapping system to even out the teams even more. I think I'll just stick to that one from now on.
Of course, I've said that during some point in every SG event...
Here's a picture:
No, really. I got my ass handed to me last night. In the MW2 game, the only kill I had was a betrayal! :(
We won 2 of our 6 games. *sigh*
I'm not really a 'depressed' person and I don't really go for the whole negative self-efficacy thing, but around 15 minutes into the 2 hours of games last night, I just wanted to quit and go to bed. I couldn't pull my head out to catch a breath.
I'm planning ways to get effectively yet pleasantly hammered for the games tonight. Any suggestions?
Seasoned Gamers is a community of gamers. It professes to be one for the 'fun-loving' crowd, but you can't get away from the fact that it's primarily made up of good gamers. There are a few SG'ers that I regularly play with, but they're on the same skill level as I am and we get matched up with people of similar skill. Compared to other games, the Halo matchmaking system works really well.
As far as SG events go, they do a lot of work to make teams even, but 'even' means every team has 1 or 2 really good players, 1 or 2 middle level players, and then the actually casual players. So the casual players get stomped by the good players. It gets very frustrating.
There is one SG organization called the Cap League. It uses a handicapping system to even out the teams even more. I think I'll just stick to that one from now on.
Of course, I've said that during some point in every SG event...
Here's a picture:
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
SG Olympic update 10/13
The medals standings didn't change because it's tournament time for the next 3 days.
Current win/loss standings for Reach, Gears of War, Modern Warfare 2, and Left 4 Dead (I'm playing in all except L4D):
Green: 2 wins, 4 losses
Blue: 3 wins, 3 losses
Red: 3 wins, 3 losses
Yellow: 3 wins, 3 losses
We're playing against Green tonight who beat Blue in 2 of the 3 games we lost to Red last night. (The #'s are a little offset because G & B tied in a game.) If we continue winning where we've already won, we'll need to win in at least 1 of the games we lost.
I played ok in Reach last night but sucked a big one in MW2 and Gears. I've always sucked at MW2, but I'm going to blame the crappy play in Gears on the different controls.
Yeah, that sounds good...
Current win/loss standings for Reach, Gears of War, Modern Warfare 2, and Left 4 Dead (I'm playing in all except L4D):
Green: 2 wins, 4 losses
Blue: 3 wins, 3 losses
Red: 3 wins, 3 losses
Yellow: 3 wins, 3 losses
We're playing against Green tonight who beat Blue in 2 of the 3 games we lost to Red last night. (The #'s are a little offset because G & B tied in a game.) If we continue winning where we've already won, we'll need to win in at least 1 of the games we lost.
I played ok in Reach last night but sucked a big one in MW2 and Gears. I've always sucked at MW2, but I'm going to blame the crappy play in Gears on the different controls.
Yeah, that sounds good...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)