**WARNING: This blog is a little rambling**
I have wayyyy too many blogs on the internet. Well, I say too many but I actually have 3 (LiveJournal, MySpace, and Blogger).
I started my blogging adventures on LiveJournal after encouragement from people at work that this was the place to be. So I started one up and occasionally posting about my day, future plans and thoughts that I just couldn't seem to get rid of and wanted to share. It was usually fun as I got things off of my chest.
Slowly I noticed that people just weren't posting like they had used to. In talking with some of my LiveJournal friends they indicated that they had switched over to MySpace. This was the place to be. I resisted the urge for a long time to add another online presence for myself. Eventually I got tired of not being able to catch up with my friends so I made the plunge into MySpace.
MySpace was a big step up from LiveJournal. You could put a picture as your background, share music with the built in music player, etc, etc. I liked MySpace but sometimes you want to post something for just yourself and MySpace kind of failed in this area. You could post something to just your friends or yourself but they always required a title and the title was visible to anyone. I would have lots of people asking why they were not included in the group that could see the post. This irked me. I was posting to both and decided to continue to do so unless I was wanting to create a private post (which I am not even sure that I have done since). Another problem that popped up on MySpace was the apps that everyone wanted you to join, to me they were just a lot of noise.
Once again another site that I signed up for to keep up with my friends was once again seeing a drop off in activities. In speaking with friends they once again informed that I was behind the curve, everyone was moving to Facebook.
I have liked Facebook. It allows me to automagically pull my posting over to it so I don't have to copy and paste my postings to it. I have been able to find and talk to people that in some cases I haven't seen in 20 years. I have loved it. The built in chat has been great. Once again though the apps are creeping in on it like they were on MySpace. If I had more time I am sure that I would take advantage of a lot of them but I don't seem to have much spare time anymore. They have come out with a Facebook Classic that hooks to the same stuff without some of the extra add ons, I might give that a try.
Facebook has a wall that you can post what you are thinking now (status). I guess Twitter is kind of the same but I don't need to know everything that a person does. I make my small update through there. Just haven't fealt much like posting a large blog until now.
Now the next question is, where will people be moving to next? I kind of like it here on Facebook. Let's try to stay put people.
Other than the rant above, work has had me hopping. We just got done with 3 weeks of testing for the new client which has now been push to be deployed the first Sunday of December. I will have to continue testing over the next several weeks. This blows up some of my plans for vacation in mid and late November and early December but I think the rest of it will be ok. I really need a vacation, like no one can truly understand.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Vacation time
Wow, it has been 15 days since my last post. This means that I am getting better at that time between posts but I seem to have lost the will to post like I thought I would have when I first started.
I went through my first build last weekend and my boss' boss was kind enough to let me have from Wednesday through Friday off. It gave me a nice little break from the stress and non-stop pressure that had been going on. However I still didn't completely get away from it all, perhaps if I had turned off my cell phone then I would have but there are some that need that outside of work to get in contact with me.
Wednesday I sat around all day and played video games. Thursday Karma was off work as well and wanted to go out shopping and hang out with the kids. Friday we went out to see the new Harry Potter movie.
Friday was originally supposed to be the first day that Potter was supposed to be released. Karma was trying to get a bunch of people from work to go out to see it but only one person came out and watched it with us. During the movie I had to keep shushing Karma. She kept talking with her friend during the movie and whenever there was a scene that was scary that was in the book coming up she would look at me and spoil the moment. I told her I couldn't watch any more of the Harry Potter movies with her sitting beside me.
I think she will sit about 2 rows behind me the next time with Chris sitting next to her so I can watch the movie in peace. This will be my hope for the next one or I won't go see the last one with the family.
Saturday was kind of a chill day. Spent the majority of the day at the house and relaxed. I did go to Guitar Center and got me some ear plugs so I could get on the stage and practice with the guys. I have have been practicing on the floor for the most part. Live music gives a much different experience than karoake and I have been missing that.
Today, I have been kind of bummed. I know that I have have to go back to work tomorrow and that has pretty much put a damper on my day. I know that I have about 400 emails to go through tomorrow when I get into the office. I have had a few beers today to try and relax and sleeping should be good this evening.
Later peeps.....
I went through my first build last weekend and my boss' boss was kind enough to let me have from Wednesday through Friday off. It gave me a nice little break from the stress and non-stop pressure that had been going on. However I still didn't completely get away from it all, perhaps if I had turned off my cell phone then I would have but there are some that need that outside of work to get in contact with me.
Wednesday I sat around all day and played video games. Thursday Karma was off work as well and wanted to go out shopping and hang out with the kids. Friday we went out to see the new Harry Potter movie.
Friday was originally supposed to be the first day that Potter was supposed to be released. Karma was trying to get a bunch of people from work to go out to see it but only one person came out and watched it with us. During the movie I had to keep shushing Karma. She kept talking with her friend during the movie and whenever there was a scene that was scary that was in the book coming up she would look at me and spoil the moment. I told her I couldn't watch any more of the Harry Potter movies with her sitting beside me.
I think she will sit about 2 rows behind me the next time with Chris sitting next to her so I can watch the movie in peace. This will be my hope for the next one or I won't go see the last one with the family.
Saturday was kind of a chill day. Spent the majority of the day at the house and relaxed. I did go to Guitar Center and got me some ear plugs so I could get on the stage and practice with the guys. I have have been practicing on the floor for the most part. Live music gives a much different experience than karoake and I have been missing that.
Today, I have been kind of bummed. I know that I have have to go back to work tomorrow and that has pretty much put a damper on my day. I know that I have about 400 emails to go through tomorrow when I get into the office. I have had a few beers today to try and relax and sleeping should be good this evening.
Later peeps.....
Saturday, July 4, 2009
One lucky SOG (Son Of a Gun)
Wow, it really has been awhile since I made my last post. Been almost 2 months....
In my last post I stated that it was time to completely replace the AC unit. Actually we were able to get a different compressor put into it and it has run like a champ. Hopefully it is last good for several years. Saved over a thousand dollars in the process.
Was driving home from band practice several week ago and was taking one of the guitarist's home and he advised to take the turnpike instead of driving through Claremore. He told me that you are more likely to get pulled over. I told him I wasn't worried about it. On the way out of Claremore I looked in my rearview mirror and saw a cop behind me. I pulled over into the right hand lane and slowly he pulling up by me in the left hand lane and then about the moment he was even with my car he hit his brakes and pulled behind me and turned on his lights. (Thank God I didn't have a beer at band practice.) He asked for my license and insurance, I told him that my insurance was at home on kitchen table. He asked if I had an old one in the car. I was looking for it but couldn't seem to find one but I did have a letter from the insurance company with the car's information on it. Keep in mind that Mike (my guitarist/passenger) smelled like a brewery as he had drank a lot at practice. The cop told me that my tag light was out, I asked if I could look at it (to get him away from Mike). I went back to look and the cop told me it would be a $209 ticket on the tag light. I was in complete shock and let the officer know that. He went to run my license and told me to get back in my car. He came back up 5 minutes later and gave me my letter and license and told me he was going to let me off with a warning (the no insurance verification fee was $209 as well) and a piece of advice, "I suggest you go home right now and get your insurance card off of your kitchen table right now before you drop your friend off." Saved $419.
A few weeks back my folks were coming back from a trip to Tunica. They planned on spending the night. I was in luck, my last couple of calls got moved to earlier in the day and I was able to get off early. I came home to straighten up the house and turn the temperature down on the AC to cool the house off a little more (we usually have it set to 79 degrees for the afternoon). I started vacuuming the house and when I was done I was sweating a lot. I didn't feel the house getting any cooler and when I looked at the thermostat it actually had gone up a degree. I went outside to check the unit and I could hear it humming but the fan wasn't spinning. It was about that time that my folks showed up. I told them what was going on and that they might not want to spend the night. They decided to stay awhile and I called our AC guy. I told him what was going on and he said it sounded like one of fuses had gone out on the unit. I sent out and took out the fuses and we ran to Lowes and bought a new set of heavy duty ones. I came back and put them in and the unit kicked on. Total cost about $12, I saved at least $69 for the service visit.
In my last post I stated that it was time to completely replace the AC unit. Actually we were able to get a different compressor put into it and it has run like a champ. Hopefully it is last good for several years. Saved over a thousand dollars in the process.
Was driving home from band practice several week ago and was taking one of the guitarist's home and he advised to take the turnpike instead of driving through Claremore. He told me that you are more likely to get pulled over. I told him I wasn't worried about it. On the way out of Claremore I looked in my rearview mirror and saw a cop behind me. I pulled over into the right hand lane and slowly he pulling up by me in the left hand lane and then about the moment he was even with my car he hit his brakes and pulled behind me and turned on his lights. (Thank God I didn't have a beer at band practice.) He asked for my license and insurance, I told him that my insurance was at home on kitchen table. He asked if I had an old one in the car. I was looking for it but couldn't seem to find one but I did have a letter from the insurance company with the car's information on it. Keep in mind that Mike (my guitarist/passenger) smelled like a brewery as he had drank a lot at practice. The cop told me that my tag light was out, I asked if I could look at it (to get him away from Mike). I went back to look and the cop told me it would be a $209 ticket on the tag light. I was in complete shock and let the officer know that. He went to run my license and told me to get back in my car. He came back up 5 minutes later and gave me my letter and license and told me he was going to let me off with a warning (the no insurance verification fee was $209 as well) and a piece of advice, "I suggest you go home right now and get your insurance card off of your kitchen table right now before you drop your friend off." Saved $419.
A few weeks back my folks were coming back from a trip to Tunica. They planned on spending the night. I was in luck, my last couple of calls got moved to earlier in the day and I was able to get off early. I came home to straighten up the house and turn the temperature down on the AC to cool the house off a little more (we usually have it set to 79 degrees for the afternoon). I started vacuuming the house and when I was done I was sweating a lot. I didn't feel the house getting any cooler and when I looked at the thermostat it actually had gone up a degree. I went outside to check the unit and I could hear it humming but the fan wasn't spinning. It was about that time that my folks showed up. I told them what was going on and that they might not want to spend the night. They decided to stay awhile and I called our AC guy. I told him what was going on and he said it sounded like one of fuses had gone out on the unit. I sent out and took out the fuses and we ran to Lowes and bought a new set of heavy duty ones. I came back and put them in and the unit kicked on. Total cost about $12, I saved at least $69 for the service visit.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Other weekend doin's
Saturday my AC guy came over to look at our unit which hasn't worked since the end of last fall. He checked the first fuse and it was out when he checked the second fuse and saw that it was out then he knew that spelled big trouble. There was a short in the system. He ran through the progressions and ended up where he thought the problem was. There was a short in the compressor that caused it to blow out. Time to completely replace the system, it's going to cost $2500 to replace it. That sucks but being without AC would be even worse.
Friday I finally got my hair cut. Roy is once again sans-ponytail. I only let a few people at work last week know that I was going to cut it. Most people were in shock. It was a good kind of shock but still it was shock. I got a lot of compliments on the new hair style. Most people asked if it was taking me awhile to get used to. Really it didn't take long to get used to, I haven't felt like a large weight was lifted off my shoulders. One of the weirdest things was that after I got home and was getting ready to go to the movie I reached back to pull my ponytail out of inside of my shirt (there was nothing there as it was cut off earlier). I felt like a goob after I did it and had to laugh at myself.
Work goes OK. I need to motivate myself to get some of the things done. Some things I am trying to get really ahead of but other things I have been dragging my feet on. I need to find a good balance but stay ahead of all things. Getting behind before sucked and I don't want to do that again any time soon.
Friday I finally got my hair cut. Roy is once again sans-ponytail. I only let a few people at work last week know that I was going to cut it. Most people were in shock. It was a good kind of shock but still it was shock. I got a lot of compliments on the new hair style. Most people asked if it was taking me awhile to get used to. Really it didn't take long to get used to, I haven't felt like a large weight was lifted off my shoulders. One of the weirdest things was that after I got home and was getting ready to go to the movie I reached back to pull my ponytail out of inside of my shirt (there was nothing there as it was cut off earlier). I felt like a goob after I did it and had to laugh at myself.
Work goes OK. I need to motivate myself to get some of the things done. Some things I am trying to get really ahead of but other things I have been dragging my feet on. I need to find a good balance but stay ahead of all things. Getting behind before sucked and I don't want to do that again any time soon.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Long time no post, Mother's Day
Well, I know that it has been a long time since I posted last. Things were really crazy there for awhile. They have calmed down a little bit but I am still a little on edge.
They pushed back the build that was supposed to go in on May 3 and put it with another build that won't go in now until June 28. That has taken some of the pressure off for now but it could come back as we get closer to the new date.
The last few days have laid some bombshells on the home front. First, the Catoosa Public School system sucks. If you have a child with any kind of problems then they will not help you. Chris failed his English class last semester so he needs to take summer class. Apparently he is completely flunking out of all but one of his classes this semester but we get no notification from the school, they sent home notes with him. What makes them think that if a child is in trouble that they would honestly hand their parents a note that is going to piss them off? We got 8 different phone calls letting us know when there was a bond issue they would like to have passed but nada when it came to telling us our child needed help.
We had already bought tickets to watch the new Star Trek movie. Karma told Chris he wasn't going to go when she called home. He replied that he couldn't be grounded and that we couldn't touch him. We left him at home and took one of Tempus's friends instead. I locked down the internet and the TV in the living room and we went to the movie. Star Trek was pretty good, there was a lot of action to it. Karma loved it.
We came home and saw that Chris had done some cleaning in the kitchen (cleared off the table, scrubbed down the stove, did a load or 2 of laundry). He is trying to suck up, I told Karma this. She said that we should let him.
Today was Mother's Day. We took Karma to Casa Bonita for lunch and the Philbrook Museum after that. Chris was being personable and even joking around. After we got home and Karma called her mother and was talking with her. When Chris found out that he was still not going to be able to go to the Renaissance Fair he started yelling at Karma. Telling her that he was going and when Karma said that he wasn't then he said that we wouldn't be going. I think this is why some animals eat their young.
Chris had said something about how he was going to get a job and was still planning on going to art school in Japan. Karma told him that first off he had to have our permission to get one and 2, that no employer would hire him with the grades that he has as it would show that he can't seem to follow directions well enough to pass his classes. She also told him that the art school wouldn't accept him with the grades that he has. He said that he knows what the requirements are and that he already knows what we are saying and that he doesn't care. At that point I lost it and told him "Then great, good f*cking luck in the future." Chris said, "Thanks" and then left for his room. He is being a complete and total butthead.
I love him to death but I am about at the end of my rope with him. I just don't know what to do. Times like this makes me want to countdown the days until he turns 18 and graduates so he can see exactly what this course of action has in store for him. I only want the best for him but he has to want it and work for it himself.
They pushed back the build that was supposed to go in on May 3 and put it with another build that won't go in now until June 28. That has taken some of the pressure off for now but it could come back as we get closer to the new date.
The last few days have laid some bombshells on the home front. First, the Catoosa Public School system sucks. If you have a child with any kind of problems then they will not help you. Chris failed his English class last semester so he needs to take summer class. Apparently he is completely flunking out of all but one of his classes this semester but we get no notification from the school, they sent home notes with him. What makes them think that if a child is in trouble that they would honestly hand their parents a note that is going to piss them off? We got 8 different phone calls letting us know when there was a bond issue they would like to have passed but nada when it came to telling us our child needed help.
We had already bought tickets to watch the new Star Trek movie. Karma told Chris he wasn't going to go when she called home. He replied that he couldn't be grounded and that we couldn't touch him. We left him at home and took one of Tempus's friends instead. I locked down the internet and the TV in the living room and we went to the movie. Star Trek was pretty good, there was a lot of action to it. Karma loved it.
We came home and saw that Chris had done some cleaning in the kitchen (cleared off the table, scrubbed down the stove, did a load or 2 of laundry). He is trying to suck up, I told Karma this. She said that we should let him.
Today was Mother's Day. We took Karma to Casa Bonita for lunch and the Philbrook Museum after that. Chris was being personable and even joking around. After we got home and Karma called her mother and was talking with her. When Chris found out that he was still not going to be able to go to the Renaissance Fair he started yelling at Karma. Telling her that he was going and when Karma said that he wasn't then he said that we wouldn't be going. I think this is why some animals eat their young.
Chris had said something about how he was going to get a job and was still planning on going to art school in Japan. Karma told him that first off he had to have our permission to get one and 2, that no employer would hire him with the grades that he has as it would show that he can't seem to follow directions well enough to pass his classes. She also told him that the art school wouldn't accept him with the grades that he has. He said that he knows what the requirements are and that he already knows what we are saying and that he doesn't care. At that point I lost it and told him "Then great, good f*cking luck in the future." Chris said, "Thanks" and then left for his room. He is being a complete and total butthead.
I love him to death but I am about at the end of my rope with him. I just don't know what to do. Times like this makes me want to countdown the days until he turns 18 and graduates so he can see exactly what this course of action has in store for him. I only want the best for him but he has to want it and work for it himself.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Brain overflowing, butterflies in the stomach
I know that it has been a long time since I posted anything to any of my blogs. Things have been so hectic over the last 4 weeks.
One of the people from work (Indi) had her final day of work on Friday. I have been trying to take over her job (to say that I have made mistakes would be an understatement). My stomach has been in knots for the last two weeks knowing that Indi was leaving. I wish her and Rhys well on their travels. I will miss her, she was always really steady in her approach to the job.
The build that we are presently working on has a lot more pieces than normal due to a change in how the client is accessed and I just can't seem to get my mind wrapped around it like I should. Of all of builds in the world, I had to start off with this one? I know that eventually I will be fine but the hump that I have to get over for this one is huge. I guess that this build is good to learn on but the lessons are tough.
I figure I will look back on this in 3 months and have a good laugh at how frightened and scared that I am right now.
I will be sooooooooo glad when this build is finally over.
Later peeps.....
Monday, February 16, 2009
Digital switchover, oh no wait, well, kinda
Tomorrow is February 17, the day that has been advertised (for forever) as the day that the switchover from analog to digital for TV signals. For the last several months (I would say 3 or more) there were constant reminders to be prepared for the switchover.
Get a converter box or buy new digital TV or get cable or satellite service to avoid this interruption in your TV service. The reminders increased in frequency as the days have gotten closer to February 17 then Congress decided they were going to move the transition back to sometime in June. “People aren’t ready and it is not fair to them.” For all of the people who didn’t prepare I imagine that they will now relax thinking they have plenty of time and then will run into the same problem as they had now. I sure hope that Congress doesn’t decide to extend it again.
Now I have to listen to change messages on all of the channels all over again, right? Wrong! Apparently there are some stations that are going to turn off their analog signal after all. So now I am hoping that they don’t have to advertise about the switchover.
To me I can’t wait until this whole thing is over, at least after that they won’t be selling analog sets anymore and after a little bit (about a year) the prices on most of this stuff should come down.
Get a converter box or buy new digital TV or get cable or satellite service to avoid this interruption in your TV service. The reminders increased in frequency as the days have gotten closer to February 17 then Congress decided they were going to move the transition back to sometime in June. “People aren’t ready and it is not fair to them.” For all of the people who didn’t prepare I imagine that they will now relax thinking they have plenty of time and then will run into the same problem as they had now. I sure hope that Congress doesn’t decide to extend it again.
Now I have to listen to change messages on all of the channels all over again, right? Wrong! Apparently there are some stations that are going to turn off their analog signal after all. So now I am hoping that they don’t have to advertise about the switchover.
To me I can’t wait until this whole thing is over, at least after that they won’t be selling analog sets anymore and after a little bit (about a year) the prices on most of this stuff should come down.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Gotta SING, gotta DAN… well… Gotta SING
Work this past week seemed to have taken forever to get through. It seems like there were a lot of distractions that took up way more time than they really should have.
Thursday and Friday were a couple of bad days for Karma at work. She feels like they are picking on her and from the way she was telling me about it would seem that they are.
Tuesday night I went out the Backyard Bar to compete to advance in this week karaoke competition. This was the last weekly contest that they were having where the winner gets $100. Indi and Malinda were going to go out on Tuesday night as well but cancelled due to the storms that were going through the area. I qualified that night with 3 others. Indi and Malinda went out the next night and competed but did not advance (it is done by crowd response and there were a bunch of people there that only cheered for 1 guy who was bad).
I told people about the competition and was hoping that I could get a good crowd out on Friday night for me. There were quite a few that showed up to cheer me on (and I really appreciate it). I almost didn’t want to go due to Karma’s mood but I knew there were going to be people that wouldn’t be too happy that I didn’t go.
The bar owner told me that 10 people qualified for the contest throughout the week however there were only 3 of those that showed up (me included). He wanted more people to compete so he through open a competition for that night. There were 11 people that competed that night and only 2 people would make it to the finals. Indi and Malinda both got up and sang. Indi was able to advance.
So there were 5 people that were competing for the $100 prize, Stev (bar owner) was saying that he figured it would come down to me and Indi. Indi started joking around and asked if we could just split the prize. Indi did a really good job and some pretty good applause. I sang last and sang Don’t Stop Believin’ by Journey. I got a really great crowd reaction. Even though Indi was joking about the prize money I didn’t think it would be a bad idea to split it (Indi is a really great singer and people always hate to follow us in singing karaoke).
Stev announced me as the winner. After he made the announcement I asked to speak and then told everyone in the bar that I was splitting the prize money with Indi (I figure $50 on the other side of the planet will go further than it will here). The way I looked at it, I was still walking away a winner and $50 is more than I have ever won in a karaoke contest before. Stev gave me the money to where I could give Indi her $50 before she left. I felt pretty good about it.
In a previous post I talked about going and trying out for a band out of Claremore. Billy called me on Wednesday and asked me if I would be their lead singer. I am pretty happy about it. I told some people at work and they don’t quite know what to think of that. Being in a band that doesn’t really plan to go out and play much (anytime soon or possibly ever), doesn’t make much since to them. I just want to have a place to go and hang, have some fun and sing. Karma understands. I know that if later on down the line that I want more than they are willing to give then we would all be able to part ways with no hard feelings. It is like Billy was saying, “All the fun part of being in a band without the hassles.”. Right now I don’t really have any time to devote to a band that would be gigging, it wouldn’t be fair to me or that band so I am happy being in front of live music again.
My folks made it over yesterday to visit some on their way to Tunica MS. The only bad part was that Saturday was Valentine’s Day and Karma already had plans for us. It was nice to visit with them but we didn’t have a lot of time before we had to get ready to get ready for our plans.
We went to a restaurant called the Green Onion. I hadn’t heard of it before but Karma had gotten a $30 gift card for them from work at Christmas. It was a pretty nice place. I decided to order the jumbo fried shrimp, Karma ordered the rack of lamb that was one of the specials they were having that evening. The shrimp was $20 and I only got 4 (with a baked potato, salad and glazed baby carrots) and Karma’s meal was $35 (OUCH!!!!). The food was good but this is not a place that we will go back to anytime soon (perhaps if I made a LOT more money). I guess I am just too much of a bargain hunter for food and not as much into that swanky stuff.
After that we went out to the comedy club and got to watch a couple of really good comedians. I don’t remember the name of the MC but he really needed to work on his timing, he had some good material but it would have been a lot better with the right timing. The first comedian toured with Ron White for 2 years and it showed that he was really good. The last guy’s name was Jason Russell and he was fantastic. The only thing that I didn’t like about him was he would go from really quiet to screaming in the mic at the drop of a hat. Toward the end of his set he was looking for a guy with long hair to do a hair stylist bit. Karma was raising my hand. I had my hair pulled back so he really couldn’t see it and asked the guy at the next table it I had long hair to which that guy replied, “YEAH”. Karma pulled my hair off to the side and he responded, “Whoa, I think that is too long”. It was a really good night overall..
Well, I had better wrap this up. Got to get some sleep, the morning will be here before I know it.
Later peeps….
Thursday and Friday were a couple of bad days for Karma at work. She feels like they are picking on her and from the way she was telling me about it would seem that they are.
Tuesday night I went out the Backyard Bar to compete to advance in this week karaoke competition. This was the last weekly contest that they were having where the winner gets $100. Indi and Malinda were going to go out on Tuesday night as well but cancelled due to the storms that were going through the area. I qualified that night with 3 others. Indi and Malinda went out the next night and competed but did not advance (it is done by crowd response and there were a bunch of people there that only cheered for 1 guy who was bad).
I told people about the competition and was hoping that I could get a good crowd out on Friday night for me. There were quite a few that showed up to cheer me on (and I really appreciate it). I almost didn’t want to go due to Karma’s mood but I knew there were going to be people that wouldn’t be too happy that I didn’t go.
The bar owner told me that 10 people qualified for the contest throughout the week however there were only 3 of those that showed up (me included). He wanted more people to compete so he through open a competition for that night. There were 11 people that competed that night and only 2 people would make it to the finals. Indi and Malinda both got up and sang. Indi was able to advance.
So there were 5 people that were competing for the $100 prize, Stev (bar owner) was saying that he figured it would come down to me and Indi. Indi started joking around and asked if we could just split the prize. Indi did a really good job and some pretty good applause. I sang last and sang Don’t Stop Believin’ by Journey. I got a really great crowd reaction. Even though Indi was joking about the prize money I didn’t think it would be a bad idea to split it (Indi is a really great singer and people always hate to follow us in singing karaoke).
Stev announced me as the winner. After he made the announcement I asked to speak and then told everyone in the bar that I was splitting the prize money with Indi (I figure $50 on the other side of the planet will go further than it will here). The way I looked at it, I was still walking away a winner and $50 is more than I have ever won in a karaoke contest before. Stev gave me the money to where I could give Indi her $50 before she left. I felt pretty good about it.
In a previous post I talked about going and trying out for a band out of Claremore. Billy called me on Wednesday and asked me if I would be their lead singer. I am pretty happy about it. I told some people at work and they don’t quite know what to think of that. Being in a band that doesn’t really plan to go out and play much (anytime soon or possibly ever), doesn’t make much since to them. I just want to have a place to go and hang, have some fun and sing. Karma understands. I know that if later on down the line that I want more than they are willing to give then we would all be able to part ways with no hard feelings. It is like Billy was saying, “All the fun part of being in a band without the hassles.”. Right now I don’t really have any time to devote to a band that would be gigging, it wouldn’t be fair to me or that band so I am happy being in front of live music again.
My folks made it over yesterday to visit some on their way to Tunica MS. The only bad part was that Saturday was Valentine’s Day and Karma already had plans for us. It was nice to visit with them but we didn’t have a lot of time before we had to get ready to get ready for our plans.
We went to a restaurant called the Green Onion. I hadn’t heard of it before but Karma had gotten a $30 gift card for them from work at Christmas. It was a pretty nice place. I decided to order the jumbo fried shrimp, Karma ordered the rack of lamb that was one of the specials they were having that evening. The shrimp was $20 and I only got 4 (with a baked potato, salad and glazed baby carrots) and Karma’s meal was $35 (OUCH!!!!). The food was good but this is not a place that we will go back to anytime soon (perhaps if I made a LOT more money). I guess I am just too much of a bargain hunter for food and not as much into that swanky stuff.
After that we went out to the comedy club and got to watch a couple of really good comedians. I don’t remember the name of the MC but he really needed to work on his timing, he had some good material but it would have been a lot better with the right timing. The first comedian toured with Ron White for 2 years and it showed that he was really good. The last guy’s name was Jason Russell and he was fantastic. The only thing that I didn’t like about him was he would go from really quiet to screaming in the mic at the drop of a hat. Toward the end of his set he was looking for a guy with long hair to do a hair stylist bit. Karma was raising my hand. I had my hair pulled back so he really couldn’t see it and asked the guy at the next table it I had long hair to which that guy replied, “YEAH”. Karma pulled my hair off to the side and he responded, “Whoa, I think that is too long”. It was a really good night overall..
Well, I had better wrap this up. Got to get some sleep, the morning will be here before I know it.
Later peeps….
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Time to post
Well, looking at my blog page I see that I that I haven’t posted anything in quite some time.
Things have been super busy at work. I am moving over to Indi’s position, over the next couple of month’s I will be learning from her. I have been trying to learn how to do her job (poorly thus far), doing my job (to it’s usual level) and then also teaching how to do my job to 2 others. My head has been reeling.
I think that the 2 others are ready to take over my position for the most part. I have told them that they are on their own for the most part. I think they understand that I have to step away to learn my new position. I think I have trained them about as well as they can be trained for this position. The rest is up to them.
With all this stuff going on I have been putting in more hours (at home, at least) and getting a little bit of burn out. I am sure that this all will pass.
A couple of weeks ago I replied to an ad that was placed in Craigslist looking for lead singer of a rock band. They don’t want someone who is wanting to gigs or make tons of money just hang and sing and have some fun. I went and tried out for them on Saturday night. I had quite a bit of fun. It was fun singing in front of live music again, karaoke is fun but this just can’t replace live music though.
I told them that I wouldn’t mind playing a couple of places sometime in the future. I am not looking at this as a money making proposition but would like to be able to perform in front of a crowd. I thought that I did fairly well even though I am only about 70 to 80% on my vocals right now as I am still trying to get over some congestion. I think the guy organizing it was fairly impressed with me but they still have one more person to try out. The way the guys in band are talking is they don’t want to go out and gig all the time which is cool with me. Billy indicated that they just wanted to hang and have fun (all the fun parts of being in a band without all the hassles of pressure from getting ready for gigs). This sounds pretty cool to me. We will see how it goes.
Today was okay. I decided to hang with Karma today and we went out and bought 4 new fluorescent bulbs for the kitchen lights. Now it is so bright in the kitchen that I am thinking about bringing in a lounge chair to get a golden tan in the kitchen. LOL
Well, I had better go. Need to get some sleep and gotta catch something to eat first.
Later peeps…
Things have been super busy at work. I am moving over to Indi’s position, over the next couple of month’s I will be learning from her. I have been trying to learn how to do her job (poorly thus far), doing my job (to it’s usual level) and then also teaching how to do my job to 2 others. My head has been reeling.
I think that the 2 others are ready to take over my position for the most part. I have told them that they are on their own for the most part. I think they understand that I have to step away to learn my new position. I think I have trained them about as well as they can be trained for this position. The rest is up to them.
With all this stuff going on I have been putting in more hours (at home, at least) and getting a little bit of burn out. I am sure that this all will pass.
A couple of weeks ago I replied to an ad that was placed in Craigslist looking for lead singer of a rock band. They don’t want someone who is wanting to gigs or make tons of money just hang and sing and have some fun. I went and tried out for them on Saturday night. I had quite a bit of fun. It was fun singing in front of live music again, karaoke is fun but this just can’t replace live music though.
I told them that I wouldn’t mind playing a couple of places sometime in the future. I am not looking at this as a money making proposition but would like to be able to perform in front of a crowd. I thought that I did fairly well even though I am only about 70 to 80% on my vocals right now as I am still trying to get over some congestion. I think the guy organizing it was fairly impressed with me but they still have one more person to try out. The way the guys in band are talking is they don’t want to go out and gig all the time which is cool with me. Billy indicated that they just wanted to hang and have fun (all the fun parts of being in a band without all the hassles of pressure from getting ready for gigs). This sounds pretty cool to me. We will see how it goes.
Today was okay. I decided to hang with Karma today and we went out and bought 4 new fluorescent bulbs for the kitchen lights. Now it is so bright in the kitchen that I am thinking about bringing in a lounge chair to get a golden tan in the kitchen. LOL
Well, I had better go. Need to get some sleep and gotta catch something to eat first.
Later peeps…
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Deadlines, deadlines and more deadlines
Sad to think about but it seems that life in some cases is all about deadlines. Setting them or having them set for you by others. I would think that it is an inevitability like death or taxes. I have a few deadlines that are staring me in the face in the near future.
DTV – Yep, February 17 is right around the corner and we don’t have cable or satellite since I hate the thought of spending $50 or more a month. Besides we got more than enough information from regular broadcast channels but now those channels are going from analog to digital on February 17. We don’t have a digital TV set so we have to get the converter boxes for our TV. We picked one up from Best Buy to try it out. We got all of the regular channels in digital now except for channel 8 in the living room, which is one of our most watched channels. Come to find out we can get it on the antenna in bedroom so apparently we need to get a new antenna for the living room too but I think it will be much better than paying a monthly fee for watching TV. We tested the bedroom antenna in the living room and 8 came in just fine. Onwards and upwards or so they would say.
Job transition – I was told that I would be transitioning over to Indi’s job at the beginning of February but I wondering if that will happen on time. The 2 that are supposed to be taking over for me just got their laptops ordered last week so it will be kind of a squeak if it happens on time. The positive is Indi will have a couple of months to show me how to take over her position.
Being an island unto myself – Indi leaves at the end of March or first part of April for her trip. Undoubtedly she will have me prepared to take over her old position as best she can being that she has always been good at training. I told her and Rhys last night that I don’t really think that it will hit me that they are gone until, well…. they’re gone. One of the great things about taking my job on the national team was that I already knew someone on the team and they worked in the same building. After Indi leaves I will be working on a team with no other members in the same center, it will either be time to shine or just get by (hopefully the former). Only time will tell on this one….
Last night we all went out to celebrate 4 different people’s birthdays from work: Malinda, Lisa, Dawnita and Cheala. It was a lot of fun. Karma asked me to sing Breath by Breaking Benjamin so I got up and did that one first. I asked Malinda if she wanted me to sing anything for her for her birthday. She said anything by Led Zeppelin so I sang Whole Lotta Love. Everyone was going nuts, Malinda got up on the bar and did some pole dancing and she wasn’t even drunk. Angela has begged me for a long time to sing Hold On Loosely by 38 Special and then almost left before I got a chance to sing it. She should actually be thankful she didn’t leave before that or I would have never let her live that one down. William asked me to come up and sing the Happy Birthday song by The Beatles (Thank God I remember most of it, it had been forever since I heard the whole thing). Lisa asked me to sing her some Iron Maiden (who I haven’t been a big fan of but since it was a birthday wish…) but she couldn’t find any in the karaoke book. Karma found some but I couldn’t remember how any of them went so I just went with the song I had already picked which was Cum On Feel The Noise by Quiet Riot (Lisa said that was good she was just looking to hear some 80s metal). After that we came home, Karma was starting to look a little bit bored and it was getting long between times of singing. I had a lot of fun and there were a lot of people out that I either hadn’t seen in a long time or outside of work which was nice as well.
Right now I am watching some football and trying to relax before going back to work tomorrow. *SIGH* Weekends sometimes are just too short.
Later peeps…
DTV – Yep, February 17 is right around the corner and we don’t have cable or satellite since I hate the thought of spending $50 or more a month. Besides we got more than enough information from regular broadcast channels but now those channels are going from analog to digital on February 17. We don’t have a digital TV set so we have to get the converter boxes for our TV. We picked one up from Best Buy to try it out. We got all of the regular channels in digital now except for channel 8 in the living room, which is one of our most watched channels. Come to find out we can get it on the antenna in bedroom so apparently we need to get a new antenna for the living room too but I think it will be much better than paying a monthly fee for watching TV. We tested the bedroom antenna in the living room and 8 came in just fine. Onwards and upwards or so they would say.
Job transition – I was told that I would be transitioning over to Indi’s job at the beginning of February but I wondering if that will happen on time. The 2 that are supposed to be taking over for me just got their laptops ordered last week so it will be kind of a squeak if it happens on time. The positive is Indi will have a couple of months to show me how to take over her position.
Being an island unto myself – Indi leaves at the end of March or first part of April for her trip. Undoubtedly she will have me prepared to take over her old position as best she can being that she has always been good at training. I told her and Rhys last night that I don’t really think that it will hit me that they are gone until, well…. they’re gone. One of the great things about taking my job on the national team was that I already knew someone on the team and they worked in the same building. After Indi leaves I will be working on a team with no other members in the same center, it will either be time to shine or just get by (hopefully the former). Only time will tell on this one….
Last night we all went out to celebrate 4 different people’s birthdays from work: Malinda, Lisa, Dawnita and Cheala. It was a lot of fun. Karma asked me to sing Breath by Breaking Benjamin so I got up and did that one first. I asked Malinda if she wanted me to sing anything for her for her birthday. She said anything by Led Zeppelin so I sang Whole Lotta Love. Everyone was going nuts, Malinda got up on the bar and did some pole dancing and she wasn’t even drunk. Angela has begged me for a long time to sing Hold On Loosely by 38 Special and then almost left before I got a chance to sing it. She should actually be thankful she didn’t leave before that or I would have never let her live that one down. William asked me to come up and sing the Happy Birthday song by The Beatles (Thank God I remember most of it, it had been forever since I heard the whole thing). Lisa asked me to sing her some Iron Maiden (who I haven’t been a big fan of but since it was a birthday wish…) but she couldn’t find any in the karaoke book. Karma found some but I couldn’t remember how any of them went so I just went with the song I had already picked which was Cum On Feel The Noise by Quiet Riot (Lisa said that was good she was just looking to hear some 80s metal). After that we came home, Karma was starting to look a little bit bored and it was getting long between times of singing. I had a lot of fun and there were a lot of people out that I either hadn’t seen in a long time or outside of work which was nice as well.
Right now I am watching some football and trying to relax before going back to work tomorrow. *SIGH* Weekends sometimes are just too short.
Later peeps…
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Ch-ch-ch-changes
Just gonna have to be a different man
Time may change me
But I can't trace time
Bowie’s lyrics never sounded so true.
I took on a new job at work at little over 4 months ago and am just now starting to get the hang of it. It might be a little annoying and grating at times but doesn’t every job pretty much. They are now going to slide me over into Indi’s job since she will be leaving the company at the end of March.
Indi tells me that this is one of the greatest job that you can have. I sure hope so, the good thing is that Indi will be here to show me the ropes over the next couple of months. That is definitely a positive thing. I didn’t have that luxury with the job that I am in now. My soon-to-be old position will be taken over by a couple of people that work for the company that runs our interface system.
I wonder if the reason they are having me take over Indi’s job is because they are more afraid of the people taking over my job taking over her’s instead. I would guess that this means they are giving me a measured form of trust by letting me take over her job.
The guy who had my job before me I have been lead to believe was a screw-up that just about everyone in the group thought was more of a drag on the team than an asset. I was telling Indi the other day that it is much easier to take over for a screw-up than taking over for someone who everyone thinks is doing a great job.
Indi compiled a really good manual for me to follow and like I said she will be here to help me through the process of getting through my first full build cycle so that will be a tremendous help for me. She has timelines set up for how to put together each build.
One of the great things about her position is that you don’t have to worry about someone calling you late in the evening to tell you the system is broke (well except for the week after a new build goes in) or having to work on issues where you are having to depend on a lot of other people for it to be successful. This will be a MAJOR positive in my books.
So, if I seem a little out of sorts for the next 3 months or so just remember that I have to learn a new position all over again.
I do think that it is kind of funny that most of the people that I deal with on a regular basis so far that have found out that I am changing position are (at least) saying they are sorry to see that I am not going to be dealing with them on a regular basis anymore. That makes me feel good, maybe I am doing a better job than I am giving myself credit for. Man, I really need to work on my self esteem.
Well, I had better go. Trying to type this up and watching my Panthers getting beat 27-7 in the first half means I am not doing either well.
Later peeps….
Time may change me
But I can't trace time
Bowie’s lyrics never sounded so true.
I took on a new job at work at little over 4 months ago and am just now starting to get the hang of it. It might be a little annoying and grating at times but doesn’t every job pretty much. They are now going to slide me over into Indi’s job since she will be leaving the company at the end of March.
Indi tells me that this is one of the greatest job that you can have. I sure hope so, the good thing is that Indi will be here to show me the ropes over the next couple of months. That is definitely a positive thing. I didn’t have that luxury with the job that I am in now. My soon-to-be old position will be taken over by a couple of people that work for the company that runs our interface system.
I wonder if the reason they are having me take over Indi’s job is because they are more afraid of the people taking over my job taking over her’s instead. I would guess that this means they are giving me a measured form of trust by letting me take over her job.
The guy who had my job before me I have been lead to believe was a screw-up that just about everyone in the group thought was more of a drag on the team than an asset. I was telling Indi the other day that it is much easier to take over for a screw-up than taking over for someone who everyone thinks is doing a great job.
Indi compiled a really good manual for me to follow and like I said she will be here to help me through the process of getting through my first full build cycle so that will be a tremendous help for me. She has timelines set up for how to put together each build.
One of the great things about her position is that you don’t have to worry about someone calling you late in the evening to tell you the system is broke (well except for the week after a new build goes in) or having to work on issues where you are having to depend on a lot of other people for it to be successful. This will be a MAJOR positive in my books.
So, if I seem a little out of sorts for the next 3 months or so just remember that I have to learn a new position all over again.
I do think that it is kind of funny that most of the people that I deal with on a regular basis so far that have found out that I am changing position are (at least) saying they are sorry to see that I am not going to be dealing with them on a regular basis anymore. That makes me feel good, maybe I am doing a better job than I am giving myself credit for. Man, I really need to work on my self esteem.
Well, I had better go. Trying to type this up and watching my Panthers getting beat 27-7 in the first half means I am not doing either well.
Later peeps….
Monday, January 5, 2009
Hairball!
Today at work I got a new badge as they are supposed to be using a new access system sometime in the future. It was mailed to me by security and once I opened it the GOA that delivered it to me was completely in shock at the picture that was on there.
I used the picture that has been on my old badge, one that I had taken when I first started working for the company almost 8 years ago. Just about everyone in that call center knows me with long hair but the picture shows me with a fairly short hairdo.
One of the reasons that I like to let my hair grow out is that I work for a company that it doesn’t matter if my hair is short or not and I have always wanted to be a rock star and when I was growing up the only guys that were rock stars had really long hair. Another reason is that most have told me that I have gorgeous hair and I can let it grow out and then donate it to Locks Of Love (who make free wigs for cancer patients that go through chemo, mostly for kids). It is a worthwhile cause in my books.
It is usually at about this point that I decide that I want to cut my hair. It is about half way down my back now and this is usually about the time that it really starts becoming hard to handle. The end of the hair will start to rat up and become painful to straighten out. The only problem is that right now it is starting to get colder. Usually the cold doesn’t affect me much but I keep having this image of myself with steam pouring off the top of my head as I stand there shivering.
I am still debating on it, to cut or not to cut. I think I might hold on to it until Marc h when the temperatures start to come up and stabilize a little bit more.
Work goes well. I finally got my laptop in and was actually able to connect to the network from my home so eventually I will be working more from home. It could come in really handy if the roads get slick and nasty.
My mother in law is waiting on a house that her boss is having worked on. She is going to rent it from him. She was telling me this evening that she might be gone in a couple of weeks. I will be thankful when that happens. She moved in here a little after Thanksgiving of 07 and she has come a long way in that time. She got a job and even got promoted at that job. It was kind of nice having her here when she first got moved in but like most things her welcome is really starting to wear itself out. Karma said that there have been several times that her mom has treated her like a child and I think she ready to get some distance between her and her mom. She will still be living in the area so I am sure that we will see her and visits will be made but the great thing about when you visit someone is that once you are tired you can just leave.
Well, gotta get some sleep. Got a call to be on tomorrow morning and I don’t feel that I got enough sleep last night.
Later peeps….
I used the picture that has been on my old badge, one that I had taken when I first started working for the company almost 8 years ago. Just about everyone in that call center knows me with long hair but the picture shows me with a fairly short hairdo.
One of the reasons that I like to let my hair grow out is that I work for a company that it doesn’t matter if my hair is short or not and I have always wanted to be a rock star and when I was growing up the only guys that were rock stars had really long hair. Another reason is that most have told me that I have gorgeous hair and I can let it grow out and then donate it to Locks Of Love (who make free wigs for cancer patients that go through chemo, mostly for kids). It is a worthwhile cause in my books.
It is usually at about this point that I decide that I want to cut my hair. It is about half way down my back now and this is usually about the time that it really starts becoming hard to handle. The end of the hair will start to rat up and become painful to straighten out. The only problem is that right now it is starting to get colder. Usually the cold doesn’t affect me much but I keep having this image of myself with steam pouring off the top of my head as I stand there shivering.
I am still debating on it, to cut or not to cut. I think I might hold on to it until Marc h when the temperatures start to come up and stabilize a little bit more.
Work goes well. I finally got my laptop in and was actually able to connect to the network from my home so eventually I will be working more from home. It could come in really handy if the roads get slick and nasty.
My mother in law is waiting on a house that her boss is having worked on. She is going to rent it from him. She was telling me this evening that she might be gone in a couple of weeks. I will be thankful when that happens. She moved in here a little after Thanksgiving of 07 and she has come a long way in that time. She got a job and even got promoted at that job. It was kind of nice having her here when she first got moved in but like most things her welcome is really starting to wear itself out. Karma said that there have been several times that her mom has treated her like a child and I think she ready to get some distance between her and her mom. She will still be living in the area so I am sure that we will see her and visits will be made but the great thing about when you visit someone is that once you are tired you can just leave.
Well, gotta get some sleep. Got a call to be on tomorrow morning and I don’t feel that I got enough sleep last night.
Later peeps….
Saturday, January 3, 2009
No New Year’s Resolutions
Everyone that I know has either been quick to share what their resolutions or ask what other’s are for the new ear. I actually don’t make New Year’s resolutions anymore I actually haven’t made any for the last few years.
I know that the new year is often a time to look back over things that we are doing in our lives and see where we need to make improvements over where we are now. Now I don’t think that my life is perfect, far from it but we don’t have to wait until one time of the year to set out a roadmap for ourselves. Granted now is a time that most people sign up for gym memberships and when I used to work in the dairy section of the grocery store we always made sure that we ordered a ton of yogurt since most people make resolutions to eat better and get in shape but I don’t know that we as Americans really evaluate ourselves throughout the course of the year. There is nothing wrong with taking inventory of where we are at any time.
I have been in my new job for a little over 4 months now. I try to evaluate myself once a month to see how I am doing (I don’t always get it done and I do it because I have some self esteem issues) and each month I have found that I need to be more direct and purposeful. I continue to work on it but it is still a work in progress, if had waited until the beginning of the year to make a change then I probably would have gotten sent back to being a rep in the call center.
Much of my life I have been feeling like I need to keep my head above water but about a month ago I decided that I need to make some changes to what I am doing. To be more outgoing, to be bolder and try to feel more complete as an individual, to continue to try and find the humor in all situations, this is something I plan on working on every day not waiting until the beginning of a year.
There is nothing wrong with being gung ho about making changes but we all didn’t become who we are in a week or a month so small changes are something we should commit to. Changes that are too drastic for anyone are likely to end in failure. So if you are looking to eat more healthy don’t force yourself to eat only healthy stuff with no wiggle room as most will sicken of a complete overhaul of the diet and will usually abandon it with most no intention of looking back. If you instead start to include healthy foods in slowly and slowly move the less healthy choices you are more likely to stay with it. Those who plan to get in shape will work out too hard to start things off and once the soreness sets in they decide the pain is too much and revert back to being couch potatoes. Instead mild workouts that slowly increase in intensity over time are more likely to keep you engaged and coming back for more.
Remember, slow and steady wins the race.
Later peeps…..
I know that the new year is often a time to look back over things that we are doing in our lives and see where we need to make improvements over where we are now. Now I don’t think that my life is perfect, far from it but we don’t have to wait until one time of the year to set out a roadmap for ourselves. Granted now is a time that most people sign up for gym memberships and when I used to work in the dairy section of the grocery store we always made sure that we ordered a ton of yogurt since most people make resolutions to eat better and get in shape but I don’t know that we as Americans really evaluate ourselves throughout the course of the year. There is nothing wrong with taking inventory of where we are at any time.
I have been in my new job for a little over 4 months now. I try to evaluate myself once a month to see how I am doing (I don’t always get it done and I do it because I have some self esteem issues) and each month I have found that I need to be more direct and purposeful. I continue to work on it but it is still a work in progress, if had waited until the beginning of the year to make a change then I probably would have gotten sent back to being a rep in the call center.
Much of my life I have been feeling like I need to keep my head above water but about a month ago I decided that I need to make some changes to what I am doing. To be more outgoing, to be bolder and try to feel more complete as an individual, to continue to try and find the humor in all situations, this is something I plan on working on every day not waiting until the beginning of a year.
There is nothing wrong with being gung ho about making changes but we all didn’t become who we are in a week or a month so small changes are something we should commit to. Changes that are too drastic for anyone are likely to end in failure. So if you are looking to eat more healthy don’t force yourself to eat only healthy stuff with no wiggle room as most will sicken of a complete overhaul of the diet and will usually abandon it with most no intention of looking back. If you instead start to include healthy foods in slowly and slowly move the less healthy choices you are more likely to stay with it. Those who plan to get in shape will work out too hard to start things off and once the soreness sets in they decide the pain is too much and revert back to being couch potatoes. Instead mild workouts that slowly increase in intensity over time are more likely to keep you engaged and coming back for more.
Remember, slow and steady wins the race.
Later peeps…..
Yes another one
Ok, here I am signing up for yet another blog. This one was mainly signed up due to I wanted to make sure to be able to follow Rhys and Indi's travel blog. I figure that I will post entries here as well.
Later peeps....
Later peeps....
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