Life In General

On the road to recovery…

 Life In General, Personal Health
Apr 222006
 

–click on the image for a larger view–

Mom sneaked a couple of pics while I was in the I.C.U. a couple weeks ago. I think this was the Monday after my Friday surgery. I had no idea there was that much equipment keeping me going! Some of the other shots show how my feet and hands were very swollen. One of the nurses remarked to my wife that she could actually see the fluids draining from my body as the swollen ares would slowly shrink (thanks in part to the excellent choice of drugs they used).

I’ve got some “before and after” closeup shots of the hemorrhages in my eyes for those of you interested here…
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I almost died last week

 Life In General, Personal Health
Apr 092006
 

I know a lot of you are wondering where I’ve been on this page for almost a year. I’ve been very busy -but that’s all changed. I thought I’d save a lot of you the time of another long phone call by just posting what happened to me over the past 3 weeks here. I’ll be posting some pics of me at the hospital as they come in. Not that many were taken but I think my mom sneaked in a couple while no one was looking. so, here goes… Continue reading »

No updates for a terribly long time!! sorry friends.

 Life In General
Jun 272005
 

I’ve been busier than a one-armed painter with an itch these days it seems. I’ve actually got a LOT I want to write about here but just haven’t had the time to sit down and bang it out. For those of you who are “worried” about me ’cause I haven’t put much up here recently (and you know who you are), here’s some intimate up close and personal news for ‘ya…


I have discovered my first grey chest hairs –and 3 of ’em to boot!! I was pretty proud of the “white walls” on my head for a couple of years now but this is just awesome! I think I grew in my wisdom the very moment I first saw these 3 hairs…

My life as of late…

 Life In General
Apr 142005
 

Well things have been very busy recently. I wish I could put a finger on what started all this but I’m not exactly worried about it. I DO know that it will not be this way forever -or even that much longer. I’m still gearing up for the launch of my business -with only a few more technical hurdles to overcome. In the mean time, I’ve acquired some equipment that will help with the day-to-day operations of the business as I have realized that I am going to need a lot of individual workstations running at the same time to make any money at this.

In other news, I have come to the realization that I am a “codependent”. I never really thought I was but recent events and actions I have taken have revealed this trait in my character. Reading about it I have learned just how prevalent codependency is in Christianity. I’m discovering a lot and entering a whole new world in my view!

Well for now, I think all I’m going to be able to do is some music reviews (coming in the next few entries).

Busy busy busy…

 Life In General
Apr 082005
 

OMG have I been busy lately! I’ve got so much I want to type out here but I’m stuck with that 24 hours in a day thing. To tide some of you over that desperately desire intimate details about things close to and personal to me, here you go…
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All Cried Out… I think…

 Cats, Life In General
Mar 072005
 

Saturday was an especially hard day for me. I spent the entire day at home -and mostly alone at home. Being home, there’s a lot here to remind me of my cats that are now gone. Places where they used to sleep, spots on the couch where I would sit to watch TV and they’d be next to me or up by my head and purr. Working in the office where Snowy would always have to be sitting on top of my monitor enjoying the warmth and my company… I cried all day…

I suppose I’d been holding it in most of this past week just to get by, I guess much of what’s happened didn’t hit me until then, maybe I didn’t want to let it out until I was alone. It’s even possible that I just didn’t want to feel this sadness -so I avoided it. But this past Saturday, there was no escaping it. Nowhere to hide -and no need.

I think it was a necessary time of emotional “purging” for me. I don’t think my mourning is over but I do think it may be downhill from here. I’m starting to realize all the new freedoms we can now experience like no longer needing a litter box since Weasel usually preferred to use the outside for his “business”. I don’t have to close the door to my office any longer in fear that the little ones would come in and spray and poop all over the place (as they had in the past). We won’t need to vacuum the house as often as there is a lot less cat hair being shed…

But I’d gladly put up with the hassles again just to have them back around me. Strangely, I no longer want an uncomplicated, hassle-free life; I want my kids back…

Learn something new every day…

 Life In General
Mar 032005
 

I just learned some very interesting information about the concept of “Technicolor” as a coloring process. According to this article, the process of coloring via Technicolor technology (used from the mid 30’s through the 50’s) is a process of actually taking 3 images of each frame thanks to a prism in the camera. The 3 slides represent each of the 3 primary colors and get developed that way. What’s interesting now is that since there is much effort being put into restoring old movies and putting them on DVD, a lot of these old 3-color movies are being finally restored thanks to digital composting that provides alignment of each of the 3 slides -a process that just wasn’t available only a few years ago. Pretty kewl if I do say so myself…

I suppose it’s normal to feel this way…

 Cats, Life In General
Mar 012005
 

Losing my two youngest cats… It’s something I’m finding I’m a bit ambivalent about. They did add a LOT of hassle to my life, besides spraying in just about every room of the house at one time or another. They kept me awake when I needed to sleep, forced me to keep the door closed to my office/dungeon while I worked, had to look for them to bring them inside for the night, clean up their hair all over the carpet…

But I did love them terribly. No matter where I was in the house, one of them would be there with me -just to be with me. So now just being at home reminds me of those two brothers. I open doors and expect to see them on the other side ready to run inside for some food and water for the next adventure.

Yesterday was a little better than Sunday and I’d like to say I’m doing better today than that. I feel bad just laughing or joking right now. I feel like it’s wrong to be happy in the midst of this. I get the occasional wave of sadness come over me -usually when someone asks me how I’m doing or what happened. So naturally I don’t want to see anyone right now -and I know that’s just not healthy but I just don’t like the idea of willingly making myself cry; I can do that very well on my own thank you.

I’m sure time will heal -and it already seems to have done SOME healing. I know I will again be my normal happy, crazy, perverted self but right now that seems so far away from me.

I have received the “death nail” of my current employer

 Life In General
Feb 182005
 

Well, my employer went ahead and got me business cards printed. The last two times I’ve had business cards printed for me by an employer, I was soon to lose my job! Of course in this case, I may soon be quitting instead of being fired or laid off. This is quite an interesting time for me. I’m rapidly changing my outlook on having a normal “9-5” job. And although I’m more of an “engineering-type” personality rather than a “business man”, I’ve been experiencing a change in my thinking as of late and I now believe I >>CAN<< become a business man if I work at it.

Ever since I was 15 I’ve been having ideas for businesses and inventions that used to frustrate me terribly. This was mostly due to the fact that no one was that interested in listening to some punk kid’s ideas. Where was the experience? Where is the reputation? I always believed that the idea or concept should be able to stand on it’s own but I quickly realized that that wasn’t going to happen.

Well 20 years have gone by and I’d like to think that I’ve become somewhat wiser -and I’m no longer alone in my quest. And over the past couple of months it’s looking like one of my ideas may actually come to be!

making my first WIRELESS journal updates!!!

 Life In General
Feb 122005
 

These last couple of entries were made from my laptop (from bed) via my new wireless router! I’m reminded of the Jack Nickolson movie where he was instant messaging his love from bed. In my case, my wife is right next to me (snoring in fact) while I type this in the dark. I just love it! I never quite realized just how freeing this is -and I’m still confined to the limits of my house for this system. Alas, I think this is just the beginning…

I found the perfect mouse pad!!!

 Life In General, PC Tech
Feb 122005
 


After a log period of searching and a good $4 at Fry’s Electronics, I finally found the perfect mousepad. As you can see from the photo, it’s a “tad” larger than the normal size but I do think it will work just perfectly. Since I work on dual 21″ screens, having a lot of area for my mouse to move about in is key so I think I have finally found a solution!

Sometimes I’m glad I’m not rich…

 Life In General, PC Tech
Feb 122005
 

It’s on nights like tonight that I’m glad I’m not rich. I just spent $40 and came home with TWO wireless-G routers. One from eBay and one from Fry’s electronics. I’ve already tested the one from Fry’s and it works perfectly. I can now surf anywhere in the house with my laptop at a pretty fast speed! I’m sure if I was a rich man I’d had paid easily close to $80 for two wireless routers of this quality but the feeling of knowing I managed to pay about a quarter of that is just great! I think I’d never have worked as hard as I have through the years to get a good buy if I was rich and I get a certain satisfaction from that. I also guess I now wonder how I will be when I >DO< become wealthy. Maybe when I get there, my time will be worth more that trying to save a couple hundred bucks on some minor purchases. Maybe by then I will have more valuable things to spend my time working on…

I got a new headset!!!

 Electronics, Life In General
Feb 082005
 

Well considering just how much I talk on the phone while I drive, I suppose it was just a matter of time before I replaced my current headset with something more “advanced”…

I like this pic ’cause of several reasons: I like the Mini Cooper she’s driving (that I can’t afford), I like stylish sunglasses (that I can’t wear without a prescription), and I OWN that headset!!! I guess 1 out of 3 ain’t bad here!

Here’s a shot of the adapter I have to use for my non-bluetooth phone:

I managed to get it for less than half the retail price being at the Pomona Computer Expo last Saturday. Not a bad deal for something so freeing to me. I no longer have to worry about getting the phone cord wrapped around the steering wheel column again.

Am I the only one that feels like this sometimes?

 Life In General
Feb 082005
 

I’m 34 years old now. Yet sometimes I feel like I’m still just a 14 year old kid that just gets to do grown-up things from time to time. I remember last night having to drive to the local grocery store to pick up a few small things and the feeling came over me:

“Isn’t it great that I get to drive a car?! I can just go wherever I want to!”

–I feel like I’m still just a little kid living inside my “mature” body. I guess sometimes the “adult” things that we all do and take for granted still seem like some sort of special privilege and I actually don’t deserve to have. Anyone else think like this sometimes or am I just crazy?

My Mom’s first tattoo!!!

 Life In General
Feb 042005
 

Well she waited 50 years for the chance to do it and now she’s hooked! I fully expect her to be nearly covered within the next few years. She found a terrific female artist in Tehachapi and will probably have all her work done through her from now on. I’ve had to photograph her back in it’s entirety just so she’ll be able to make a print of it for sketching on! She’s crazy.

Plus, I’m so excited for her. I remember just how excited I was when I got my first tattoo and how much I quickly became addicted to them…Here’s her’s:

The design was her concept using a hummingbird and a morning glory flower. Her current plan now is to spread the vines and design to spread over to the other shoulder.

Haven’t lost a single pound…

 Life In General, Personal Health
Feb 032005
 

Still lingering at 215lbs. But I’m not sad about it (well, maybe a little). The fact is that my diet is changing drastically. I’m eating fruit regularly, smaller and more regular meals, no soda during the week, and between a half and a full gallon of water each day. That is a HUGE change in my dietary habits -just ask anyone who knows me well! So I don’t feel like this is a defeat in any way. I do know that I need to exercise more often. I was walking for 40-60 min. 4 days out of the week but due to recent schedule changes I can’t always make that goal any more. Looks like I’m just going to have to wait until my master plan allows me to stop working in Van Nuys before I can start expecting to see regular exercise right now. Still, I don’t feel that bad about it. I’ve made important changes in my life that I don’t think I’ll ever regret!

Still, I am planning on starting a colon cleansing here pretty soon and I’ve heard that will nearly always cause some weight loss so one never knows…

Busy busy busy…

 Life In General
Feb 032005
 

Man! It’s been forever since I’ve had a moment just to sit down and write here!! I miss getting all my thoughts and struggles out. I’ve been busier than a one-armed painter with an itch and I don’t expect things to change for another few days. I’m working in Van Nuys averaging 15 hours from leaving home to returning home again. Then I’m working most Saturdays too. In the evenings I’m researching some of the networking technology I’m expecting to use in my new business plan (see more on that in another entry). Needless-so-say, I’m “stupid busy” right now. I don’t like it that much but, as it turns out, had I not decided to start my business a few months ago, we would have been in some serious financial troubles right now!

I’ve got so much I plan on putting up here and I’m just backlogged in my brain and on the screen. I’ll going to do my best to get it all out over the next couple of days though.

Business developments and new twists in the story…

 Business, Life In General
Jan 252005
 

Well my business plans are ever changing. I’ve now concluded that I may be able to work on computers after all. By setting up monthly maintenance plans with clients, I will be able to start creating reliable and predictable regular income, and be able to work on computers in a more controlled environment where I’m not dealing with systems AFTER they have had a major catastrophe. Plus, by seeing most of my clients on a regular basis, it increases my availability to additional work or projects in the future. I went and got one of those aluminum contractor’s clipboards and a special notebook to start keeping better track of my customers and their history. My plan is to design a “data sheet” for each client where I can keep track of the specs of each of their computers and it’s maintenance history. This way I can make better suggestions on how to proceed in there is a problem in the future. Scary huh?!

I’m still waiting on a couple of other employment offers that are located a lot closer to home. I hate the idea of leaving the company I’m at now as they have been very nice to me and I do like the work but I still have to take care of my family and my own personal well-being. The fact is that, even when working only 4-10’s, I have calculated true total weekly working hours to be 60 if I include the commute. 4 hours on the road for 10 hours of work and 1 hour for lunch. That’s 15 hours a day times 4 days! Working a 5-8’s week brings that up to 65 hours a week so even though the 4-10’s schedule seems harsh, I am still working 5 hours less a week that before. Now if I manage to land another position that’s closer to home, I may not be able to negotiate a 4-10’s schedule with them (and most likely not at first at least). But being closer to home means that I may still have more time to work my own business plans in the evenings and weekends. I’ve even applied for a position back working on aircraft at Edwards AFB! That would put me at 20 min from work instead of 2 hours. I can definitely deal with that.

So my 3-month business plan goal has been to grow from 3 companies to 12 that I do business with. In the first month, I would say I lost 2 of the 3 that I already had -but they are just more in a “dormant” state right now as there just isn’t any business going on with them currently. Business owners who are struggling with debt payments may consider using Strategic Debt Planning services.

But I’ve also gained a company and am starting to collect prospective maintenance plan clients that could count for an additional “company”. So I could realistically say that I now am at 5 companies so far. That’s not bad considering that was over the holidays. I also have yet to get my business license but that’s in works with https://china.acclime.com/. Candi and I are also looking into business card designs.

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