| Waiting |
[08 Mar 2005|11:22am] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 bored |
] |
Sitting in the Columbia airport waiting for my delayed flight to arrive. There's a snowstorm in DC keeping our plane from getting here. Which means there will be a snowstorm to land in DC for my connection there. Gives me time to catch up on livejournal though since there is free internet at the airport.
Was going to update last night, but I caught my kids' headcold. They seem to be bounced back after two days of it despite their runny noses. So hopefully in a few days I'll be over it too. Glad I'm flying to Pittsburgh instead of driving being stuffed up, doped up, and run down.
Been working on a short story, so I've been spending all my keyboard time on that. I find I do great work at the library since there is no internet, kids, or computer games to distract me there. Only caveat is I have to abandon my wife with the boys to go over there.
Well, that's my last two or three days. Time for me to see what everyone else has been posting.
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| Happy Birthday AJ |
[03 Mar 2005|11:41pm] |
| [ |
mood |
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 ecstatic |
] |
That's my littlest boy and today was his day. I couldn't have asked for a better day with a better guy. We got some special time in today at the park. He has a fearlessness and confidence that puts him in league with the older kids. No kiddie park for him; he wants to go down the big slides! Listening to him laugh and play today was just magical.
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| Vietcong Day at the Range |
[02 Mar 2005|11:55pm] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
relaxed |
] |
| [ |
music |
| |
Secret Garden - Moongate |
] |
Went shooting with friends and family today. The theme was Vietcong weapon selection, and we tried to assemble as many guns as we could that are featured in the Vietcong game. We were pretty successful, as the photo shows. 
From left to right are M1 Garand (sans scope), Mosin Nagant, Ruger Mini-14 (representing the M-14), SKS, M1 Carbine, AK-47, and AR-15 (representing the M-16). Not shown were the Makarov, 1911 .45, and .357 revolver with .38 special load (representing the .38 APC) handguns. Some notes from the shooting experience: I didn't shoot the M1 today, but am familiar with it. It weighs a ton and I would not want to have to lug that around in the jungle. It performs well with iron sights, but I'd like to see just how well it reaches out to touch someone with a scope. I particularly like the gas piston operation: it's smooth in action and allows you to keep on target while firing. The Mosin Nagant is a fearsome weapon. Despite its weight, you can tell you are putting some serious energy downrange with its solid kick. It's very accurate as well for iron sights. Only drawback is the bolt action is very stiff and difficult to operate. In Vietcong, it takes about half a second to chamber a fresh round. In real life you need to put the rifle between your knees, pull the bolt open with both hands, rearrange the rounds so they feed right, then put the bolt home using a rock or log to hammer it down all the way. The Russians could have made these to better tolerances. The Mini-14 is probably the most elegant rifle of the bunch. I really want to fire a genuine M-14 just to see how they compare. It's very well balanced and easy to handle, has a decent iron sight, and fires smoothly with little kick or barrel rise. I could shoot with this one all day. I didn't fire the SKS today either, but have before. It's comparable to the AK-47, the biggest difference being the smaller magazine. They really got the sound right in the game. Very distinct. Intimidating round, especially compared to the M-16. M1 Carbine. Blah. Sounds like a pop gun. But it's really easy to handle and the sights are easy to use. And it kicks like a .22 rifle. Ah, the ubiquitous AK-47. I tried a long time not to like the AK because it's so cliché, but today I really fell in love with it. It probably has a lot to do with the fact that I was hitting targets like mad with it today. And that's more of a statement of how well the gun operates and that I finally got a feel for it. But I've always appreciated that the weight feels right, the round is a heavy hitter, and it is a joy to operate. Only complaint is the trigger slaps forward really hard while firing which leads to a sore fingertip after a few magazines. Gamers may note that the sound for the AK-47 is very true in the game. Also featured was a 70 round ammunition drum for the AK. Seventy rounds weigh A LOT. It almost needs a bipod because it is almost too heavy to fire from the shoulder. Firing from the hip is fun until the barrel gets too hot to handle, which heats up fast with that many rounds going down it without a break to change magazines. The AR-15 was a lot of fun to use despite the fact I hate the sights. I have a terrible time centering the peep sight, it's way too far above the barrel creating a parallax problem, and relatively short increasing the error margin. It's also feels like a plastic toy after handling all those wood and iron rifles. Despite the light weight, it has a real polish to the construction compared to the cruder Eastern Bloc weapons: the action is smooth, magazine fits perfectly and releases crisply, and the trigger weight is precise. I had a great time with the Makarov today as well. It's amazingly accurate with very intuitive sights. It was pure elegance: it put the bullet where I aimed. Can't ask for better than that.
I didn't shoot the .45, but I'll just say I have an infatuation with all .45s from the venerable 1911 to the Tommy gun to the Glock .45. Didn't bother with the .357 since all we had was the kinder, gentler .38 special ammo. It's worth noting that in the Vietcong game, the .38ACP is the most damaging weapon in the game. Strange, that.
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| Pre-Employment Drug Screening |
[28 Feb 2005|05:24pm] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 irate |
] |
| [ |
music |
| |
Ray Lynch - No Blue Thing |
] |
Today I got scheduled to take a pre-employment drug screening. Not that I have anything to worry about. The only legally dubious substance I have ever taken in my life has been absinthe. I'm much more likely to be disqualified by an IQ test.
However, I do find this to be a huge invasion of my privacy. Not to mention an unnecessary invasion. You see, this is a programming position. If I were driving something heavier than a mouse, like a company bus or a jumbo jet, I can see where it's a good idea that I'm not mentally impaired (or at least I wasn't the week before I got hired). Also, I'm not running any heavy machinery so I'm not likely to be a danger to myself or others if I'm stoned on the job. Worst thing that could happen is I can hop on IRC and type in something embarassing or regretful while at work. And I always stay away from both the phone and IRC even when I drink. So there is no danger to myself or others at the workplace if I should engage in mild recreational drugs.
And as far as my job performance is concerned, that should be scrutinized independently to what I put in my body. Whether I'm the best or worst programmer in the world when I am stoned is beside the point. If my performance is not up to par, due to drugs or any other reason, there is a process the employer can take that puts me back in line at Job Service. And if relaxing at home through drugs keeps me in top coding form while on the job, then that's my business and to the company's benefit. It's none of their business if I'm having a drink, smoking pot, or taking a prostitute home come happy hour, as long as I can continue to do what they pay me to do.
Speaking of having a drink, they don't test for alcohol. I can be a self-destructive alcoholic as long as I can fool them that it isn't affecting my performance at work. It seems to be a poor standard to test for all of those 'hard drugs' when it is not uncommon for employees to show up at work with a hangover, which does affect work performance. And it's an urban myth (I haven't been able to verify this yet) that in South Carolina you cannot be fired for having a 'disease' called alcoholism until you fail in a treatment program first. So abusing alcohol may put me in a protected class, where smoking THC on occasion can deny me employment.
Unless an employer can demonstrate that impaired work performance can jeapordize a person's life or limb, to have mandatory drug testing is an infringement to privacy, an inconsistent indicator, and an unnecessary expense.
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| Hey, was that a weekend that just flew past? |
[28 Feb 2005|01:10pm] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
cheerful |
] |
| [ |
music |
| |
LUMIN - Hadra |
] |
Indeed it was. Not much happened though.
I did go to the Charlotte gun show on Saturday. I even got up at 7am for it! It was well worth it. My father-in-law took me and we had a great time. The show was larger than the ones in Columbia, with a few more exotic (read fully automatic) firearms, but the prices weren't all that fantabulous. I browsed around a bit but couldn't find any Tanfoglios, to my dissapointment. We did end up buying a quarter ton of ammunition... well, maybe an eighth of a ton.
After that we went to a Jack in the Box for lunch. I have never been to one before and it was on my list of things to do this lifetime. It reminded me a lot of Hardees and it was pretty good for fast food. I'd like to go back to try a few more items.
On Sunday I watched it rain and typed on the computer. vleh.
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| Music Rant |
[25 Feb 2005|12:55am] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
annoyed |
] |
| [ |
music |
| |
Covenant - Northern Light |
] |
Maybe everyone hasn't had this problem, but I rip a lot of classical music compilations and I'm seeing a trend that is becoming quite irksome: In any multiple CD set, I have yet found a set with a consistent CDDB naming schema.
For example, tonight I ripped my 3 CD set of Wagner's Das Rheingold. CD 1 has Artist: Wagner, Richard; Album: Das Rheingold - James Levine while CDs 2 & 3 were formatted Artist: Wagner; Album: Wagner Das Rheingold (Disc x of 3). Individual track formats were slightly different, but it's trivial.
Last week I ripped the symphonies of Antonin Dvorak. Three different formats. Discs 2 through 5 were consistent with 1 and 6 being different. Collected vespers of Mozart? 4 formats.
I understand that this is a pitfall of an open database, but I'd thought that whoever is putting this information in would want their own collection to be nicely arranged. Especially when the typical classical listener is usually older and is usually self-described as having some sense of aesthetic.
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| Week in Review |
[25 Feb 2005|12:20am] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 contemplative |
] |
| [ |
music |
| |
Enya - Boadicea |
] |
It's been a week since I last posted. Every day something has stopped me: busy, tired, distracted, but mostly busy.
First and foremost: I got hired. A local outsourcing company needs some programmers to convert some insurance company's data from one format to another using XML. *shrug* Sure, I'll do it. I've only a cursory understanding of XML but I'm willing to learn anything. The pay is better than what I made before my layoff, so I'm really happy about that, and I just may gain some skills in the meantime and still have some time to work on this book.
I've been to so many interviews that I thought I had the job but never got it. And just as many interviews that I had no business being in. And those combined amount to how many jobs I applied for, was qualified to do, but never even got the interview. Seems like it's a crapshoot. And then I blindly walked into this job. I didn't even apply. The head of the project is married to a highschool friend of my wife, so he sought me out. Then it turns out that I am friends with his supervisor's sister, so that didn't hurt either. Morale of this story: It's not what you know, it's who you know. My last three jobs were obtained solely through networking.
Writing: I haven't done a ton of writing. But world building continues. I generated the rough traits of a bunch of non-human races in the fantasy world which was needed. Also, I'm brainstorming (using the incredible FreeMind software) the physical world setting. FreeMind has been really useful in this process, allowing me to organize a jillion ideas into some sense and reason.
ADD: Still taking the supplements. Still seeing improvement. I'm eating up this XML stuff. Going through online tutorials and actually understanding stuff the first or second time I read them (instead of fourth or fifth). Also a notable increase in retention and memory. Not where I want to be yet, but like any organ, the brain improves with exercise. Now I feel like I'm going somewhere with it again.
Spirituality: Not much going on here. I see a lot of good and love in the world. But I also see just as much wickedness and pain. And no rhyme or reason between. Quite honestly, though, my mind has been on more mundane matters of survival, so I can't expect better than this.
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| Downtime |
[14 Feb 2005|09:43pm] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 restless |
] |
| [ |
music |
| |
Los Angeles Guitar Quartet - Bach - Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 - I Allegro |
] |
Bryce is doing a final high-quality render right now, so I have nothing better to do than some low CPU activities (such as post to LJ) or watch the Westminster Dog Show. One guess as to which activity I chose.
As far as writing is concerned, we finally hammered out the antagonist motivation. It's a good plot motivator without being too over-the-top. Tired of every fantasy plot line being Save The World. Besides, trying to focus somewhat on the nuances of character development and change instead of having the entire storline being event-driven. If everything works out, I can get back to writing tomorrow and have something for the writing group to discuss on Wednesday.
First thing tomorrow morning, I go to a local print shop that is in need of a desk top publisher. Probably not the best paying job, but it's better than temping. Plus I might actually enjoy it and it grow into a better opportunity. If I hear the word "overqualified" tomorrow, my next post will be from my prison cell.
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| Bugs |
[14 Feb 2005|05:06pm] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
sick |
] |
| [ |
music |
| |
Delerium - Brainwaves |
] |
The weekend was dominated by a stomach bug. My wife and A___ got it first, so all day Saturday I was taking care of them. Then that night I caught it. Spent most of Sunday drifting in and out of consciousness. Did finally get out of bed that evening and lounged on the couch while watching Wind Talkers. Interesting story, bad movie. John Woo needs to stay out of dramas and stick to action.
It's Monday, and I'm about recovered. Slept on and off all day and I have a splitting headache, but my digestive track is functioning like it should now. I had planned on doing so much over the weekend, and now it's over. Starting the week playing catch-up is not fun.
Anyway, it's Valentine's day. Yay. Wish I could take my sweetheart out. Maybe I can on a budget. She deserves something because she gives so much and asks for so little in return. And a big word of thanks for everyone whose reached out to us and given us so much support. I don't know where we would be without you.
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| Through the Present, Darkly |
[11 Feb 2005|10:55pm] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
mellow |
] |
| [ |
music |
| |
Delerium - GRAVE MENTOR |
] |
Another week goes, and still no work. Lots of tugs on the line, but nothing landed yet. I go through waves of anxiety and frustration over the matter, but I keep telling myself I may be hired and not know it yet. I've had lots of good interviews and haven't been told I don't have the position yet. I really hope next week something pans out, and think I'm going to have to switch tactics. I'll think it over the weekend and see what the Sunday paper brings.
I did have a good time with my older son D today. A___ went to the doctor (he has a cold) and I had D all to myself. We went to McDonalds, had a great lunch, and he went and played in the playplace while I got some writing done. The high point was when D rescued a little girl who climbed to the top and got too scared to get down. Everyone applauded him. He wants to be a Rescue Hero(tm), so it was good practice.
Helped my father-in-law set up the Vonage-Linksys router today. I got to be of some real assistance because the instructions they provided were incorrect at several points. Later we got to test the wireless-router-behind-the-Vonage-router network with a great game of Scorched3d.
Current task is reworking nefari.com since it is embarrassingly out of date. Other big task is trying to hammer out the motivation of the antagonist in Sev & Jalia. I need a compelling motive that works into the key structural elements of the world that make it unique. We have some strong characters and a rich world, and I hate to blow it with a weak villain.
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| Control Freak |
[11 Feb 2005|10:21am] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
refreshed |
] |
| [ |
music |
| |
Lisa Gerrard - Sanvean (I Am Your Shadow) |
] |
I was pretty wiped out last night, so I just went to bed. So now I have to play catch-up.
Yesterday hinged on my job interview for one of the state court agencies. When I applied it looked like they needed someone to roll out a new web interface and support it. So I applied. When I get there it is revealed that they needed an ASP and .net developer. I was rather confused as to why I was there since that was nowhere on my resume. It got rather awkward for everyone and was obvious this was going to go nowhere, so I told them it was clear they needed someone who already knew that stuff, which I didn't, but I'd learn it if they wanted me to. My interviewer was apparently partial to me and said she thought she knew someone who needed the skills I had and would pass my resume to him. That was very nice and much appreciated.
I really get upset when an interview doesn't go well. Even when I'm in the wrong interview. I'm used to having the answers when talking about information technology, and it vexes me to no end when I don't. Irrational? Yes. Solution? I'm going to have to get back in a shop where I can be on top of my game again so I can feed that irrationality. :-)
That makes me wonder if I'm a control freak. There are definitely elements of control at play here. But as people who have worked with me before will attest, I can have a devil-can-care attitude about things that are not explicitly my responsibility. There have been plenty of places where I worked under a higher authority where some stuff simply was not on my turf, and I could accept that and even be happy about it. But when something is my responsibility, I am pretty obsessive about it. It affects me unless things are 100% right and I feel like I have a good handle on all possible outcomes.
Even when working as a team, I'm pretty demanding that things work right, but I don't think I am controlling of others' work. I have high expectations, but I'm usually too concerned with my own lot to micro-manage others. Maybe getting a handle on my AADD will allow me to expand my powers and bring everything under my idealistic iron heel! Perfection for everything! Which is what I think it comes down to: I'm a perfectionist. And that requires me to be master of my domain, else I cannot live up to my own standards.
Which explains many of my failures in the past and some of my triumphs. When I work for a micro-manager who gives me unclear expectations and shifting responsibilities and resources, I fail. I fail terribly. Not only do I fail professionally, but I break down completely as a person, it affects me so deeply. But when I am given a project with clear expectations, free reign, and trust, I shine my best.
Anyway, after being interviewed for something I had no business being interviewed for, I was mental mush for the rest of the day. My wife, my sister-in-law, and myself even went out for coffee (a rare and much needed treat), but it still didnt get me out of my headfunk. So I went to bed.
Today seems to be going much better.
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| Rain, Razors, Writing, and Ramen |
[09 Feb 2005|10:41pm] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
content |
] |
| [ |
music |
| |
Tim Story - Shadowplay |
] |
It was raining when I woke up this morning. I had planned on pulling holly roots out of the flower garden, but that would have to wait. That's fine because I had plenty of indoor activities to do as well.
Checking my e-mail, I found out that the group I interviewed with last week wanted me to talk to the president today. Finally, since this was supposed to happen last Friday. They said they would arrange a time and get back with me. Never heard from them. Very frustrating.
After my shower, I decided that it was time for the full beard that I had grown for the West Virginia winter to go. Unfortunately I had left my beard trimmer in WV, so had to scale it back with scissors and then hack it with a razor. I didn't cut myself, but the skin was quite irritated from the ordeal, as I found out when I applied aftershave. Why on earth do we use that stuff? Anyway, I'm back to a goatee now and haven't seen my cheeks and jawline since I lost weight. I think it looks good. Here's the result:
Spending the day inside, I managed to get more writing done on S&J. Four pages I'm really happy with, exceeding my daily goal by a page. So chapter 8 is well on its way now. I need to do a page count, but I'm sure we are past a hundred pages at this point.
Updating on the adult attention deficit disorder, I have been taking the homeopathic treatment now for five days. I'm not getting the super obsessive powers of concentration I have heard people on meds get, but my ability to stay focused is significantly better. My mind is much clearer now without all the distracting noise and haze in the background. I haven't been this prolific in my writing since I was in graduate school.
I realize that there is room for criticism here: placebo effect, homeopathic medicine, self-diagnosis, AADD is a myth, etc. But that there has been a profound drop in the frustration I had been experiencing with my ability to think and focus, I cannot deny. And I do not see any reason to discontinue the supplements as long as my lifestyle is improved while taking them.
Being poor, I've turned to ramen like any college educated person does. I found that I like the Nissin Top Ramen best, particularly the oriental flavored, despite the human content. Normally I like to add some Yucutan Sunshine or Texas Pete tobasco to it while it cooks. But lately, I've found spicy dumpling sauce added to the boiling water a sinus-cleansing delight.
Anyone want to share a ramen recipie?
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| Spent my last $10 on a bottle of Maker's Mark |
[08 Feb 2005|11:13pm] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 drained |
] |
| [ |
music |
| |
Juno Reactor - Conga Fury |
] |
Today was pretty intense. The morning revolved around taking my wife to the hospital so she could have pre-cancerous cells burned off. She had a really bad trip with the anesthesia, which scared the hell out of me. But once she got through that, everything went really smooth. She's a really tough girl. I admire how courageously she faces life's hurdles. Now we wait for the biopsy to come back and hope 'pre-cancerous' means just that.
After that, I had a job interview at a major law firm. I think I was still a bit shell shocked from the morning, because the first part of the interview with human resources is just a blur now. I have no idea what I said, and I don't think I even cared at the time. While sitting in the lobby, I was getting pretty disenchanted of the notion of working there as I realized how corporate the place was. However, once I was sitting in front of the IT director, things livened up a bit. It was good to talk shop with someone who understood my answers. And I like his managerial style and personality, so I think he could make a gig there bearable. The curve ball thrown at me is despite the title being "IT Manager", there really isn't any managing. The good: a lot less responsibility so I can pursue other interests at the same time, plus I can start right now and be productive. The bad: about $15,000 less than I'd like to make working for a corporation.
Still haven't heard back from the place I interviewed at last week. They wanted me to come in and talk to the president before they made a decision, and the decision was supposed to be made yesterday. HR hasn't returned my phone call or e-mail. Something is amiss.
On my way home I got a small bottle of Maker's Mark for my wife. It should help her recovery. She's doing very well already, and I think she will be fine in a few days. We had a drink as she was going to bed. I forgot how good Maker's is. Much less heavy-handed than other bourbons. More like a single malt Scotch than Kentucky sour mash.
Watched Napoleon Dynamite tonight. Odd movie. Not sure how I feel about it. This is the first time I ever felt good about my pathetic life during high school. Other than that, I'm sure there's something brilliant about the movie, I just haven't figured out what yet.
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| Voyeurs and Exhibitionists |
[07 Feb 2005|10:52pm] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 tired |
] |
| [ |
music |
| |
B-Tribe - Adagio In G-Minor |
] |
It's often been said that television has turned us into a nation of voyeurs. I think we are voyeurs by nature, and television, with its peeks into human drama, has only extended the gossip exchanged at the barber shop, laundromat, and water cooler. But there is almost an equal desire to be seen as there is to watch. Reality TV, in its early forms of the talk shows and help shows, allowed the exhibitionist show themselves to all of America. It wasn't the money or therapy that drove people to be publicly humiliated on the Dr. Phil or Jerry Springer shows, it was the narcissist deep inside wanting to be seen.
Now that reality TV has matured, and (oh may the gods be merciful) reached it's peak, the system is perfect: Voyeurs and exhibitionists wantonly feeding off of each other in an unscripted orgy of rehashed themes and ratings. All the local back page classifieds in local "what's happening" newspapers couldn't hook up as many masochists with willing sadists.
The internet is full of examples of voyeur-exhibitionist relationships: webcams (which really are just reality shows for the most part), IRC, am I hot or not, and even rate my breast implants. I'm still not sure if pornography falls into that category, but certainly at least some of it must. But the purest voyeur-exhibitionist exchange is the internet blog, like the livejournal you are reading now.
Sure, it isn't as easy to do as sitting back and watching reality TV; you actually have to read, like, as in a book. But you don't get very far into people's heads on reality TV. At best you get some deep thoughts as to where someone messed up in the boardroom or what they think about how their house got renovated. But the blog is a direct feed into a person's head. Tho ur rezultz may var33.
It's the voyeur's happy hunting ground out there. People write the most intimate of things, as though jotting down in their private diaries. Just a quick read at the latest posts on LiveJournal can feed all the emotions: fear, joy, wtf?, grief, and sorrow. And it doesn't take too much luck to get a dose of TMI. I'm serious about that one. I've read stuff that I wish I hadn't so I could continue in my blissful ignorance.
Which begs the question: Why do people write such things that would embarass a demon with shame and post it for all to see? Some things don't deserve to see the light of day, let alone the electromagnetic immortality that a blog grants it. The answer is simple: they are exhibitionists. They are exhibitionists hoping the right voyeur comes along to complete the exchange.
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| I Got A Message From Bill Cobb |
[06 Feb 2005|11:47pm] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
mellow |
] |
| [ |
music |
| |
Covenant - Call the Ships to Port |
] |
Did you get yours?
Today wasn't as productive as I would have liked it to have been. The pre-nap hours (The day is divided into pre-nap, nap, and post-nap. Parents will understand.) were taken up by B____ using the laptop to review and edit some stuff. The nap hours were spent surfing and job hunting through the Sunday newspaper. Finally geared down during the late afternoon and got some writing done. An excerpt:
“I said, 'Goodnight'!” The club came down again. This time Sil collapsed into a pile with a moan. Now, on to work.
Stepping over the unconscious body, Sev tried the door he was assigned to guard and confirmed his suspicion of it being locked. Never hurts to try, he thought. He knelt down before the bronze door handle and found the keyhole beneath. A small metal pick was used to probe the delicate machinery within. Carefully he tapped the tumblers, noting one of the tumblers did not sound metallic. That one would be glass. Glass that will release an alchemical fluid if broken, likely much to my detriment. Sev selected two more twisted metal picks from his leather roll of tools and began working the tumblers, careful to not molest the glass one. After a minute the catch released. He pulled the door open.
A large room was revealed, much larger than Sev had anticipated, or even than the dimension of the surrounding hallway allowed. It was half filled with water. On a marble island floating in the center of the room stood several objects draped in cloth, possibly to keep free of dust as much from being seen. From the forty stride distance, Sev could make out several tables, a small forge, some metal-working tools, and what appeared to be four cloth-covered metal statues. Tanster's secret project. Won't hurt to take a look before the council's infiltrator dismantles it.
If I'm lucky, I may get some more writing done tonight. But I feel the specter of sleep close behind, and I am not feeling like a fight tonight.
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| A Treat for Everyone |
[06 Feb 2005|10:31pm] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
delighted |
] |
| [ |
music |
| |
Covenant - Invisible & Silent |
] |
So I'm in here reading random stuff on the internet and I hear coming from the kitchen what sounds like ammunition brass being shaken with ground corn husks in a paper bag. You know what I'm talking about. So I go in there and she's making home made ice cream and cooling some concoction in a double ziplock of ice cubes. This is to go with the homemade brownies cooking in the oven. And she is doing all of this because I wanted to go to Sonic earlier this evening and get a hot fudge cake sundae, but we couldn't afford the outing. Is she the greatest and most thoughtful or what? So, I just had homemade icecream and brownies with Hershey's chocolate.
Which anytime I encounter homemade ice cream, I'm forced to recall when a past co-worker of mine (we worked at a bar) made ice cream from her breast milk in the ice cream maker they got as a wedding gift. Kinky or disgusting? Well, both she and her husband said it tasted horrible. And now I have passed this obscure piece of information on to you.
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| Opening Move |
[05 Feb 2005|11:39pm] |
| [ |
mood |
| |
 indifferent |
] |
| [ |
music |
| |
Lucia Hwong - Beauty |
] |
It's late and I should be heading to bed, but the headache I had all day finally went away, so I feel like I should do something now that I'm pain-free.
Beginnings are always difficult because they determine where you end up going.
I suppose some context is due. I'm not going to write a long background story. Instead, I'm just going to lay out what's going on right now, and I'll fill in as needed. If you want to know, ask. If you don't need to know, I'll be tactful.
- Employment: Officially I am unemployed right now. That is, I'm looking for work and am not on anyone's payroll. I have a few interviews lined up next week and recently had a great interview a few days ago I'm waiting to hear back on. Besides that, I have a business in West Virginia I'm not doing anything with right now (www.argosbs.com) because I'm in South Carolina. I also have some small web jobs I'm working on. I'll post those as they get finished. It's some money, but not enough to make ends meet. Thus I'm going back to the workforce.
- Writing: I've been writing some articles and short fiction. Looking for a place to publish the articles, but not happy with the short fiction. The wife and I are working on a novel and I have had some time to do some world building and revision work, but lots more needs to be done. I could spend (and would if possible) every waking minute on this for the next month and still have more to do.
- Personal: I'm pretty sharp, but I used to be sharper. I think everyone feels like that as they get into the routine of adulthood. However, I've noticed that over the years I've been particularly frustrated with my inability to remain focused and how easily I'm distracted. It's to the point where I can hardly hang onto a conversation for longer than a few minutes unless the speaker is doing back flips and there is no background noise. So I started looking into Adult Attention Deficit Disorder. I have a degree in psychology and approached this with healthy skepticism, but it seems like I fit the description. I then looked to see if there are any homeopathic remedies I can try out and see if things improve. (I swear I have a degree in science! Really.) Finding a few, I saw what the active ingredients were, and ran to the local health food store. So now I'm taking 275mg Rosemary Leaf Extract, 260mg Korean Ginseng, 260mg Eleuthero, and 260mg Gotu Kola, twice a day.
- Reading: Not reading anything right now. I made a promise to myself to not pick up a book until I've read my wife's previous novel, which much to my embarassment, I have not read all the way through yet.
- Spiritually: Today I read in the Free Times something about the Christ Unity of Columbia and ended up spending some time at the Unity website. Interesting stuff if a bit businesslike on the web. Still not sure where they are coming from. Seems to be a fusion of Unitarianism and Methodism on first glance. Panetheistic belief that God is in all of us and they keep Christ in the title because he seems to have some good things to say about humanity and it's relationship with God. They also seem rather excited about translating an Aramaic New Testament that was discovered.
That should do for now.
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the_nefari's journal
