Hope Springs Eternal

Pay no attention...

Sun, 15 Feb 2009 03:36:14 GMT

So another month, and another lack of updates.
There really hasn't been overly much going on. Work, work work.
So maybe that's not entirely accurate. I should clarify. There's been nothing going on with ME , Jen is a whole separate story.
She's been working two part time jobs (of her own choosing). The Holiday Inn (where she used to work full time) and a podiatrist's office. She went to the Doc because it was going to be experience in her field. Unfortunately, she has had some personal differences with the Doctor. He has no head for management and does not run his business well. It got bad enough that Jen felt compelled to leave. The day she turned in her resignation letter (the 6th) she also gets VIOLENTLY ill. At work. She'd been experiencing some vertigo and ear pain for the two weeks leading up to it, and that Thursday it all came to a head. She called me and told me that she didn't think she could drive. No worries, I can come get you and we can square your car up later. She neglected to mention the throwing up or the inability to stand. Yea, fun times. So we spent the next seven hours dry heaving into a bucket. She finally fell asleep around 1 am.
Things slowly got better, but have not yet improved to how they've been previously. She has had a good day or two, but for the most part, she can still hardly walk without listing, and I have not let her drive. So my days have been ferrying her back and forth to work, school, whatever.
We've seen three doctors thus far. Two internists and a ENT. All of them agree that there is NOTHING wrong with her ears. With all the stress she was putting herself under over resigning the Dr's office, I think she aggravated her MS.We had to rule out as much as we could before we blame the MS, because as soon as we do that, it's hard not to. And because MS effects the brain and how it works, it can have nearly any effect on the body. So I hope the call to our neurologist Monday gives us hope that it CAN go away, let alone that it will.

So for Valentine's Day I bought my wife some flowers. I had them sent to her work on Friday. When I got home from work Friday, there is a box of flowers on MY DOORSTEP. Not at her work, but at home. That ruined the whole thing for me. So I call ProFlowers up, and speak to Marcus. Marcus tells me that there were two addresses in their system, and the package was sent to the wrong one. He also tells me this in such a way that makes me believe he's fairly well baked. "Oh man... this is like, crazy. They've got two addresses. I'm seeing two addresses. Can I put you on hold man?" When he comes back on "Hey sir, yea, I spoke to my manager, and we can refund your shipping." Shipping was like, $10, which I got reimbursed through a coupon. No, shipping refund will not cut it. They ruined my Valentine's. So they agree to refund the entire thing. All of this happens around 6 pm. So when I pick my wife up from work at 11:30, she's carrying a box of flowers...
I had not opened the box of flowers that I received at home, as I was trying to salvage the gift. Turns out my step-daughter and her grandma had sent flowers to Jen for Valentine's as well. The boxes have no external indication of who they're from... I had no way of knowing without opening the box. So now I've got free flowers ;-)
I ALMOST feel bad about it, but not really.
In the news of gift giving, I finally got her the last of the Christmas present I promised her. Monday, Amazon announced the release of it's second generation Kindle. You can read about it here: READ For those of you who don't want to read, to sum up: It's an electronic book reader. It runs on a wireless network that can download books anywhere you have 3G access. I really hope she digs it. We'd talked about it before Christmas, and she seemed to like the idea considerably. So we'll see that in a month or so. Should be just in time for the next update.

Lastly, my car will be paid in full as of next week. How cool is that? Nearly two full years ahead of schedule. w00t!
That's all I've got for the moment. Have to go pick up the woman. Hope you all are doing well, for whoever still reads this thing.
Later

Wild Ride

Sun, 18 Jan 2009 21:04:55 GMT

Looks like I've been neglecting my friends again..I need to stop that. So let me go through the paces of the last month.
We didn't actually go anywhere, but my in-laws came down. As did my step-daughter. She stayed for a week, and it was fun. The in-laws stayed for all of two hours I think. They left when I mentioned I was planning on making diner. I was kind of insulted by that. Not that I was terrible upset to see them go. We never did get along. We simply have nothing in common. The step-daughter is going to be in some MAJOR trouble if she doesn't straighten up some. She's got a chip on her shoulder larger than the whole state. She started a fight in school because another kid insulted a dead racing horse. I'm all for feeling passionatley about something, but that's crazy. We had a pretty good time other than trying to explain why that was wrong. COSI was all right, but getting a little old. It's like the place is simply running out of money to repair stuff, so things that are broken (and there was a bit) remain broken for some time.
In other news, I've joined a weight loss competition at work. I've been meaning to do it, but now with some motivation, I may be able to actually get my butt in gear. I'm viewing it not as a diet, but a change ot the way I live. It's rough. I find myself craving things I KNOW I shouldn't be eating. So I try to snack on something else, but it never quite gets there. I'm sure I'll get used to it. Mostly I'm trying to break away from sugery things (unless it's all natural). I need to do this, that's all there is to it. Other than that, the home life is quiet. I'm sure that'll change at any moment, but for now it's fine.
Work has been... turbulent. Right before christmas, the company laid off 20% of its work force. Nearly thirty people lost their jobs, including a number of managers. I cannot say that I'm upset with most of the choices, as it seems that for the most part we simply trimmed a LOT of the excess we'd acrued over the past couple of years. Two sales managers, a number of sales staff, and some miscellaneous positions. One of the things that gets me is the seemingly heartless choices that were made. Our executive staff tries to impress upon us that we're a family company. The same family has run the company for near 50 years, so it makes sense. That being said, one of those laid off was expecting their first child soon (February I think). No insurance for them anymore. Two of those laid off were married. No jobs for an entire household, and their brother was laid off as well (from our company). It was rough, seeing a number of people go. It was also tought dealing with being one of those not let go. I didn't have a problem with it, but a number of my friends/co-workes did. So for the time being, I still have a job. I may not be paid as much as I should for my position, but there are enough perks behind it that it balances out fairly well.
That's not to say that I'm not passively looking for work in another state. Somewhere warmer, maybe near my parents.
That's the long and short of it. I'll type more when I have time...

A moment of SIlence

Sat, 20 Dec 2008 03:14:34 GMT

The voice of StarTrek, and therefore the voice of many of us geeks, Majel Barrett Rodenberry is gone...

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/tv/la-me-roddenberry19-2008dec19,0,7472433.story

I'm officially sad.

Fri, 12 Dec 2008 03:31:59 GMT

So today we got a notice about how the company is going to have to cut 20% of our workforce.
Wait, I'm too far that ahead. A month ago we got an e-mail from our HR saying that while yes, we're struggling, we're going to be ok. That being said, we're going to have to pay some extra for health insurance. We're also stopping all capital expenditures (ie, all the major projects) and put a freeze on hires and raises.

Two weeks after that we got another e-mail saying that things have continued to decline, but that we're going to add deductibles to our insurance to help cover some of the upcoming costs. Ok, awesome. That got rescinded, as the program the insurance company presented didn't quite look the same on paper.

So two weeks after that, we're at 20% work force reduction. Awesome, right?

I'm feeling ok about my job, but I can't be certain about it. We're all at risk. If Billy, the newest guy who doesn't drive sales in any way (and makes twice what I do) doesn't go before I do, we're going to have some problems. Lawyer like problems...

So yea, word on the grape vine is that it's going to happen tomorrow. It's going to be very uncomfortable, as I think I can guess as to a number of the reductions.

So I've started working on my resume, looked up a couple of jobs (our main competitor is hiring a Network Admin), and I'm trying to not worry too much. Good times.

Fri, 28 Nov 2008 13:18:33 GMT

Just wanted to say Happy Thanksgiving!

I've got to get to work. Have a good weekend all!

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 04:04:01 GMT

Good evening inter-web babies.
I found something out in the endless seas of electrons and wanted to share it with you.

I am a high school teacher and I found this poem crumpled up at the end of the school day. I was rather surprised by it. Perhaps its not worthy of posting but I am surprised that a 16 or 17 year old would be so aware of the changes in their world. I have not had anyone come forward as the author so, for now, it remains anonymous.
Sincerely,
P.S. Should you post this, I ask that my name and e-mail address be withheld.
I am an American
I am an American, I believe in freedom.
I am an American; I live in the greatest country in the world.
I am an American, I trust my government to do what's right.
I am an American; I ask, "What can I do for my country?"
I am an American, I surf the web with impunity.
I am an American, I watch 36 hours of television a week.
I am an American, I believe in the media to tell me the truth.
I am an American, my government doesn't lie.
I am an American; I wait in line all day.
I am an American; I do as the authorities tell me.
I am an American, tell me what to think.
I am an American, tell me what to believe, I forgot.

Boondock Saints 2?

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 04:38:17 GMT

Oh yea baby, it's for real:
http://geeksofdoom.com/2008/10/27/boondock-saints-2-officially-begins-filming/

Can I get an AMEN?

The Week(s) in Review

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 01:55:53 GMT

So the trip to Detroit was... successful. Everything worked to spec, and I even learned a few things that I'm trying to put into practice.
In other professional news, we've rolled out a new IM system at work. It's pretty cool, and the general consensus is it's a good thing. Most of the older folks who are using it don't like it, and see no reason why they'd ever use it. The rest don't see a problem with it. So far it hasn't been abused more than I have expected. In addition to this, I'm working on re-vamping our Domain, re-vamping our network infrastructure (including the wireless that is still problematic), and fine tuning the whole thing. I'm also doing research on WMI scripting, and that could take months of research.

On the non-professional side of things, I was in North Carolina with the wife for a bit last week. I basically came home from Detroit, worked for a day, and then hit the road for NC. It was nice to be out of town, even if my mom was WAY over protective of my wife. I know she means well, but if it's annoying me, it was driving my wife crazy! I'll have to talk to her about that...
So we stayed there until the day after my birthday, and we drove home. I have to admit, the car was better on my back than I thought.
OH! I'm thinking of buying a mini-van. The van the company got me for the Detroit trip was WAY comfortable. I was actually feeling BETTER than I had before I left. Now that I'm back to my old seats, I'm hurting again... go figure. So I found a van that's in my price range and that I like. I'm planning on taking a look at it this week. It's funny, I want a mini-van and my wife wants a sports car. How's that for a switch?

Lastly, remember me spouting about switching my computer to Linux? Specifically Fedora? Yea, that crashed and burned. It actually burned to the point that the Windows recovery CD wouldn't boot. I had to clean the entire hard drive, and leaned on Ubuntu, the more supported Linux distro. I've got it up and running smoothly now, for the most part. My connection to work is still FUBAR, but I'm still working on that.
WoW is running, I've got Open Office 3.0 installed (which I recommend to anyone who wants a free Microsoft Office replacement) so I can do some productivity based stuff.

That's all I've got. I'm out for bed.
Be good kids!

A week out

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 03:42:39 GMT

So I'm heading out of town Monday. We've got a show in Detroit, MI that I'm setting up for. Thanks to my brilliant handling of our network in the last year, we're actually taking live orders now at trade shows. Previously, they would dump the data into a mock server, then re-key every order after the show was over. Assuming we had a good day, that's 75 orders that we have to put into the system when we take the order, then re-key into the live system when we're done. Why on earth would we do that?
Now, we connect to our system through an encrypted internet tunnel, so we're cutting out some of the work.
Anyway, I've digressed. I'm heading up for the show Monday, and won't be back until Wednesday night.
I'm here Thursday, then the wife and I are heading to North Carolina for four days. My birthday is next Monday, so I figured I'd like to get out of town for a while. With all the drama at work, it will be nice to side step work for awhile. So we visit my parents. My mom's been having some hard times with her dad and sister recently. They both may have cancer. Nice, right? My grandpa has had throat cancer before, and we think he may be getting it again. My aunt has been having SEVERE mental problems for about a year. Mental problems like she can't remember how to dial a phone. Yea, good right?
So we're heading down for a few days, both for us, and because it'll be nice to see my parents.

In other news, I am Linux bound. I've switched my main PC (A Dell laptop) over to Fedora 9.0. That's a Linux distro that I've gotten familiar with at work. I'm totally digging it. I've got the main things working (OS, internet, email, openoffice for Word, Spreadsheet, etc...), now comes the IMPORTANT things like WoW, and all the other games I've got on here. That's going to be the hard part I think.
I've kept a copy of Windows on here for dual booting purposes, so that should I NEED to go back to Windows, I can without too much trouble.
It's pretty cool.

That's all I've got. Hope y'all are doing well.

The week in review

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 01:04:30 GMT

Some of the highlights of the week:
Friday: "Do you really think you could land that job?"
Monday: "We're not trying to screw you..."
Tuesday: Dr. thinks I may have re-herniated my back..
Wednesday: I can hardly stand. Drugs are good...
Thursday: I get confirmation that I'm being placated at work...
Friday: I'm thinking about moving jobs

Yea, good times.

On an odd note

Sat, 27 Sep 2008 14:15:00 GMT

So I was driving over to a co-workers house to help her with some computer trouble.
Yes, I do that kind of thing occasionally.
So I'm driving and I pass a funeral parlor, which in and of itself is not unusual, but the name catches my eye.
"Newcomer Funeral Services".
I couldn't help but laugh for a few miles. I just thought it both ironic and amusing.
Yes, I'm messed up.

Snobbery night tonight! w00t!

So yesterday I did something stupid. I got up and decided "I'm going to start working out in the morning". So I did, for 45 minutes or so. Mostly core strengthening exercises, as my back is STILL/ALWAYS an issue. I did those in about 15 minutes, and then decided to walk on the treadmill for half an hour.
I feel like I'm pre-operation. My back hurt bad enough today that I've already taken a T3 that I keep around for just such a problem.
I hope this goes away, but I'm not certain it will...
SO let this be a lesson to you. Don't exercise, all it does is hurt you.

Working Man

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 20:21:07 GMT

I had it out with "the man" yesterday. I didn't get what I wanted. They didn't offer what I wanted, although they did offer what I expected them to.
I countered with mine (which was basically 50% increased above BASE salary). They didn't take kindly to that... I could see that my boss was floored. The great thing is, the data I have points to me being (even at my 50% increase) 12K underpaid. Yea.
So they countered this morning, and I knew that they couldn't get where I wanted to be. The countered offer was higher than their original, but not by much. I took it, as I didn't want to drag it out any more, and because I know that I've been averaging a 13.3% increase every year. In two years, I'm chasing the cap for my experience level. I'm ok with that.

So that drama's at an end. I know my wife will be unhappy with the results of this, just as she is every year when I get my review. I hate it sometimes. This company has gone WAY out of it's way for me, and I have a bunch of benefits here that I wouldn't get anywhere else, show me where I can get vision/dental/medical/life/disability for supper cheap w/$0-10 copays. I won't have a set schedule, I won't have a specific number of days I can take off, so I can pretty much schedule what I like and still get paid for it. There are some good benefits that I can't put a number on.

So there it is. I've got enough to cover what I was planning on covering, plus just a smidge extra (huh, doesn't like smidge). The company is very happy with my work, and I'm very happy with the work I've been doing. Not too bad all around.

In other news, my wife and I (and two couple we know) are going out this weekend. Broadway Across America's "The Lion King" is in town, and we've had tickets for months. We're going out to diner to one of the swankier restaurants in town before too. It's a night of snobbery/culture, and it's a rocking good time normally. We try to do these quarterly (as money allows).

Sunday, I have to go tutor some of the folks in my Math class, as they are already having trouble with it. Week 3 and we're already diving into imaginary numbers. Reality is for people who can't handle √(-1).
If you get that joke, you've spent way too much time with math. If you don't get that joke, brush up on your math skills ;-)

Have fun kids.

Ramp Up

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 00:58:01 GMT

So I know I've been on about this before, but I think I'm getting my review tomorrow. I have busted my ass off this past year. I've done a considerable research on it, and I'm gearing up on fighting for an "equity adjustment" as opposed to a raise. That's when you are so far behind the market for your position that a typical (5-15%) raise won't come close to closing the gap. That's where I'm at. According to Salary.com, I'm the bottom 1% of my field. That's crap.
So I'm working myself up over that, and making myself all nervous. Now granted the premier of Heroes is going to allay a lot of those nerves for a bit, it's not going to be easy.

Ok, enough of my bitching about how much I make. I'm more often than not happy I simply have a job, that I can pay all the bills, and that I have a little left over.

In other news, I went to a web publishing seminar today. Ok, not really web publishing as the Adobe Creative Web publishing suite seminar. Holy Crap! I need to have this software (especially since I'm creating at least three web sites in the near future). The bad news: it retails for $1500. The good news: my current student status gives me a $1100 discount on it. W00T! I'm thinking about picking it up after I call in some markers.

In personal news, the wife and I have been getting along all right. I was supposed to go out Saturday, but got sick. That made me sad, since I spent three hours cleaning up Copperfield (my latest SR character). He's a mage following the Dresden File's Laws of Magic. If you haven't read the Dresden Files, do it.
DO IT NOW!
Ok, so enough geek speak for the moment.
Just wanted to shoot a quick update as to what's what.
It's 8:59 pm, and Heroes is about to start. Do you know where your meat body is?

Sun, 21 Sep 2008 02:25:19 GMT

You are a
Social Liberal
(63% permissive)

and an...
Economic Liberal
(33% permissive)

You are best described as a:

Democrat

Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid
Also : The OkCupid Dating Persona Test

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 15:09:39 GMT

So I figure it's time for an update...
Jen and I went to the doctor. While I felt the trip was not wasted, Jen will not go back.
No, I take that back, she'll go back if I tell her that she has to go back. She would rather we try to work out whatever problems we have on our own, rather than involve anyone else. I agreed on the condition that the doctor was still available if we fail.
We've talked some, and it's good. We both have issues with the other person, that's to be expected. We were not (and still kind of aren't) talking about said issues, but we talked about them. We'll see how it goes.

Other than that, things are kind of back to normal. I hate it. Ok, hate is a strong word. I don't like it. I was hoping to spur some change, some marked effect. It feels like as long as we don't talk about it, there are no problems, nor was there ever any problems. I don't want it to be like that. The day or two after the visit to the doctor were fabulous. We actually talked to each other, not chit-chat or idle conversation, communication. Then it faded out and seems like it died. I don't want to have to carry this in the relationship too.

Enough about that. We're working on it, and I've set a time line for the things I'd like to see. If I don't see those things, then we go back to the doc.

In more recent (and upbeat) news, Jen put her application in for a promotion last week. Low and behold, they interviewed her about it. While I do not know the results as of yet, she was told that the position is up between her and another girl she works with. Keep your finger crossed. I know it sounds silly, but I think something like this will be good for her. She was hit pretty hard when we moved down here. She was making enough where we used to live to cover ALL of the expenses without my help. That's a lot. Now she feels like she's hardly contributing (which is not the case). It's rough, it hit her already fragile self-esteem, and has been keeping it down some. We'll see how that goes.

Also in other news, I get to make a trip to Detroit, MI the week before my birthday. My company is partaking in the Michigan Restaurant Association show. It's a show for... Restaurant Supply Companies! Jerrry (my boss) went up last year. I have never even seen the satellite store we have up there, so I figure now is a good time. The company is paying for everything, and I'll be gone for 3 days. It should be a good time. In other work related news, my review is coming up in just over a week. I've determined that I'm being paid WAY less than fair market value for my experience. As such, I'm going to be requesting a pretty large raise. I'm still below the 5% line of my field (so sayeth Salary.com). I don't want to appear greedy, but damn it, I could be making a lot more elsewhere. As a matter of fact, I've applied to a few other positions. One told me they'd hire me, except for the lack of Confidential Security Clearance. That made me feel pretty good for not having a degree.
Speaking of which, class is back in session... Woe is me.

That's all I have time for at the moment. Mainly because that's all that's been going on.

Writer's Block: Your Favorite Series: One Last Go Round

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 09:59:53 GMT

If you could pick any TV show that has been off the air to come back for one more season, which show would you pick and why?

Submitted By idle_kid_city

View 508 Answers

The Dresden Files. No questions asked. While not being completely faithful to the books, the show was GREAT. If Sci-Fi hadn't dicked around with the scheduling and stopped moving the show, I'm sure it would have done better.
So yea, the Dresden Files all the way.

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 19:08:21 GMT

So it looks like it's all going to come down to the 27th. That would be, for those of you who don't know, the day after our Anniversary. Jen is seeing the Dr. this afternoon for her last individual visit. Then on the 27th, we both get to see him. It should be interesting. There's a large part of me that is just tired of dealing with all the crap. "Having to tiptoe to save her sensibilities" as a friend of mine has put it. I'm not the only person who has issue with how she's been acting.I'm no saint, but I don't believe I'm misjudging this.
So the ride home tonight should be fun. Jen's picking me up since my car's at the shop, and she's coming straight from the Dr.
Awesome.
In other news, I've started classes for this trimester. It's an insane amount of work, but I NEED to get it done (just one more thing I think I could do better solo).

Enough of me bitching. Thanks for listening.

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 15:02:41 GMT

So I'm here now because I have hope. Hope that my future can be better than my present and past have been.

I talked with Jen this morning. She sees no benefit to going to see the psychiatrist (individually or as a couple). She's only going because I gave her the impression that if she didn't go, our relationship would end. I don't care if we go to the psychiatrist, but there are things that are driving me to depression/resentment that need to be handled and we have proven we are incapable of dealing with it ourselves.
You said you "feel humiliated and worthless just pulling into his parking lot." I can't think what part of trying to save a dying marriage is humiliating or worthless. I think maybe you are upset because you feel like I think it's all your fault. I don't think it is, but the problem IS mainly on your end. YOU ARE NOT TRYING! I've given up so much; emotionally, mentally, hell even physically so that you can be happy. Every time I ask for something in return, I get nothing but a temper tantrum and angst.

So you are making me feel like this relationship isn't worth your time or effort to save. That makes me want to work on it even less. You were upset that I haven't been paying attention to you recently. Did you ever stop to consider it's because I'm upset/angry with you but have NO WHERE to go? If I could stand to be at work more, I'd stay there. It physically hurts me to stay because the way my back has been feeling. I know if I move out, it won't be temporary. I may say it will be, but it won't. The more I think of it, the more I think it may be a good idea for me to do so.
I sincerely believe that I would be capable of so much more without you than with you.
...
I think that's the key right there. I didn't realize I thought that until it came out.