Monthly Report 3

Another month end! Hooray! Another couple of paychecks, another couple hours of gaming, and some steps on the Zombie Walk have been taken. All in all, some accomplishments, some lackings, but a good enough month.

The coming posts are going to be short and sweet. Again. As the more astute of you have no doubt noticed, I draft these things way up in advance, and then crank them when I have (read: force myself to have) time to complete them. My best post recently is the one before this, please cram your eyes at that.

Procrastination is quite the strange bird, indeed. You finally get all the way up to a deadline, and then when you finally catch yourself almost completely up, you take a small break, and then life gets in the fucking way. This month, I will finally catch up from the holidays.

Not afraid of run-on sentences,

-The0

Monthly Report 2

Well, there's not a lot to say. I'm alive, I'm very frustrated at work, but the bills are under control, mostly. This says to me that I must be treading water quite well, but I much prefer to swim. I'm actually not fond of swimming, come to think of it. I wonder what the metaphor for getting completely out of the pool is.

My good friend Ben is visiting right now, and it's nice to have company after a long day of work. Someone with whom to share a beer and play video games. He decided to extend his visit to cover both of my days off, so we get to spend some good time hanging out.

The leader of the band, Kurt, and his wife celebrated a birthday together recently. That was fun to attend. Good beer, good times.

The amount of overtime I have been getting recently is astounding, and makes for quite a bit extra in the bank. I was thinking about maybe getting another bike, a stylish one, or upgrading the old computer here. We'll see how that pans out. It goes pretty tantamount against the teachings of Dave Ramsey, a financial makeover guy I've been reading from lately. However, if this suck is going to suck like it sucks, then I want to have some fun at some point.

End Monthly Report 2.

-The0

My previous phone was DesDroid

So, a shitstorm occured while I was moving my friend back home. I picked up the bike just fine, which was just as awesome as I thought it would be. I drove my friend's truck back from Kirksville to St. Louis with his dogs in the back, and through many instances of bad luck, I had a flat on a busy fucking highway on a hot day with no spare tire. I nearly killed his dogs I believe, but we pulled through it all with good planning, good people, and everything wound out fine. I even had time that night to move furniture in, hang out a little bit with other friends in the neighborhood, see Dr. Girlfriend's parents, and then, head on by the parental homestead. That is where I finally picked up my new cellular telephone.

I have a T-Mobile MyTouch Slide. I love the hell out of it. Despite a gimmicky UI, This is Android, Google's beautiful response to anything Apple. This thing has many, many useful features that I am still learning how to use. I carry it in a microfiber cloth, because the thing is so new, it doesn't really have a case that will protect it the way I would like. I'm a bit of a spazzy klutz, no doubt, and this thing will wind up like my last phone if I'm not careful.

What was especially funny is that the official release of my phone actually WAS delayed, by 2 weeks. Somehow I signed up on the right lists, and gave my email address to the right people. I had a new phone waiting in the back of the store with my name on it 2 weeks before release day. Anyone reading this who has a MyTouch Slide, I likely got mine 2 weeks before you did. It felt really cool to me, to be on the relative cutting edge of technology, at least as far as QWERTY phones on the T-Mobile network go. Yay.

Apparently as far as applications are concerned, I realize that Android is the underdog in the smartphone world. Blackberry leads the world, followed closely by iPhone. But this is an awesome phone nonetheless, and for my money, I choose open-source. The free magic I have no idea how to practice is the magic I choose to embrace.

Long Live Google!

-The0

Money is made of cotton, not trees.

Being flat-ass broke can really suck. Not having the cash to make ends meet is one thing, and with good willpower, it can be mostly avoided. But add in your randomly generated hardships and fines (I think they're called "Adulthood") and you get to a point where you have nowhere to turn.

This is a test of of your ability to dodge, I believe. While you're working up the funds to pay off various authorities and your own misaligned debts, you must learn how to stay out of their contact. When they start sending you the angry letters, that when you call them, and spin your regular bullshit. Next stage is the higher class bullshit. Once you get close enough to the end of the line, usually you can come clean, and at least bargain a very small initial payment.

This is all very bad practice. The good thing to to is to keep a very solid track of your current balance, and try to foresee the payments you will have to pay. One could try keeping a handy cushion of cash about for those little emergencies. But goddamn, if I had that kind of cash lying around, I wouldn't be bitching about not having any.

The hurdles were cleared with some significant help from loved ones. But still, it's a big forest.

Not accepting donations,

-The0

Temporal Fill-In

Where exactly does all the time go? I wake up on a day off or few, and before I'm ready, It's time to cram my nose back into a fucking grindstone.

I have decided to find out where a lot of this time goes, and I am disappointed with my results.

Roughly 45 of my hours every two weeks goes into me escaping reality, and playing video games. This is a fun thing for me, but I am also well aware that there are better uses for my time

This time is usually spent drunk or drinking. They're not mutually inclusive though. I'd say I spent at least 10 hours of every two weeks drinking.

At the rate of 9 ill-planned hours every day off, and 5 hours every day on, I sleep. I sleep very hard, to the point where nothing can wake me except an explosion or the setting sun. Roughly 120 hours every 2 weeks. Yuck.

And then there are good uses of time. 12 hours every two weeks for band practice. Those are fun times, and I'm still usually late to that. Thank goodness they like me. Another good use of my time is, uuh....

Crap. I may be an exemplary case of irresponsible time use.

-The0

Saddle Up.

It has been a very nice break for me. I logged just over 90 hours into all my Steam games, and ate pretty well whatever I wanted. I stayed up late, I slept in. I saved the universe, only to doom it to total fascism. I melted about a hundred faces off with a face-melting solo, and I got my foot mostly all better. I hang out for extended periods with my favorite people, and had a few drinks almost every day. A great way to start the new year.

I made ZERO dollars during this little vacation.

Despite this I still went out. Dr. Girlfriend treated me to Eddie Izzard. A good show, and I still always laugh at his skits. Many friends were at that show, and we ended up at a nearby cordials bar. A cute place. This is all in faded memory.

After such a long pause I am surprised I have this much to say. More disasters are in the works, but suffice it to say, I just don't care to write right now. Suck it up.

It's not gold, but it's a start. There are some events that deserve their own separate posts. Important ones. Revealing ones. Ones that would probably be better off not written out, but that's not my style.

-The0

A Happy Christmahanukwanzaakah to all!

Well well, that time of year is here yet again. A time for some of joy and receipt. A time for others of sorrow and tax. Where the tides of the season find you, let it be know that this one bids you much happiness! It is a dear pleasure to know you!

My season has been a little weird. A good friend in the country, my first Christmas with a partner in a long while, and barely enough cash to stretch across all my friends for gifts. The main save-all for this season has been my blessed deal-a-day sites and Steam.

Let me digress for a paragraph. Steam has been the best thing to happen to gaming since Nvidia came out with SLI. A community where you can buy the games, connect automatically with friends in the same game, track your acheivements and all with a simple email address. Steam is what XBL wishes it could be. Steam offered literal fleets of sales for the holiday season. The gift of game will keep me consumed for many hours in the coming month.

A few hours with friends and family is enough to cure what ails you in most any case. My foot feels better, and I'm going to get my teeth taken care of sooner than later. There is a LOT of New Year time-off coming up, So I plan to have a a lot of fun and a lot of alchol.

Merry Holidays and Happy New Year!!!

-The0

Treachery on the 7 Seas

Recently, through a very lucky set of conditions, I was able to obtain a version of Windows 7 Professional 64-bit. I am currently running Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit, and I was actually pretty happy with it. But times, they change, and so must I. I wanted to have the 64-bit capability so that I could expand to more RAM, and be on the curve of 64-bit programming. What I learned may startle you.

YOU CAN'T JUST TRANSFER OVER 32-BIT FILES AND PROGRAMS TO A 64-BIT SYSTEM!!! Who knew?! Not this guy. So here I am, I have cloned my whole full hard drive to one twice its size. The end result I desired was to have a Windows.old folder on my bigger hard drive, not just on my old hard drive. This Windows.old folder would have all my old settings, all my old programs, even all my old music and libraries! I could simply copy and paste those all onto the same drive, and be done with my upgrade. I. Am Stupid.

I went ahead and tried to do most of this. About the only thing that wound out working was transferring my steamapps folder over to the new steam folder. With that setting the precedent, I decided to copy over every program file in it's like program file. Windows 7 64-bit has a special Program Files folder for 32-bit programs. Cramming files like I did messed up a LOT of things. I guess you could say it'd be like trying to cram a Neon onto a V8 engine, even if you get it to friggin' fit, how in the snot will you make it run? Not very well.

So I decided to try and go back and delete these files. This is the most annoying thing about Windows 7. Just because you put a file somewhere, or install a program, doesn't mean that 7 will let you remove it. It's not enough to be the Administrator. You need to have the permission of Trusted Installer. Who the hell is Trusted Installer, and when did he touch my PC?! This probably applies only to direct Windows features though. Still, quite confusing.

The best thing I wound up doing was formatting and starting from scratch. That works well. I'll be careful this time, and copy over My Documents one folder at a time. Then, fresh installs of all my old programs. The most convenient discovery so far is a site called Ninite. It's a site that allows you make one massive download of all the common applications you would want on a new PC or OS. Pretty nifty.

This is going to be a long voyage. All ashore who's going ashore!

-The0

Happy birthday to me!!

Yeah Buddy! I did it. I made it another year. I am 26 years old, and somehow I managed to do it without any major crap-ups.

I would like to thank everyone who wished me a happy birthday. Those of you who wrote on my Facebook wall will find that I thanked you all personally with a response wall post. I'm old school like that. I started on Facebook back when you needed a verified college email address to be on it. Your wall posts were kind of like how popular and well liked by your friends you are. So every wall shout was like someone thinking of you and actually saying hello, or Happy Birthday. It was like a step away from actually calling you up. So nowadays, people make a catch-all status remark like, "Thank you everyone for the birthday wishes!" Not me. I'll thank you all individually. It's the proper thing to do.

I got a veritable plethora of gifts from all those who were able to afford it, and let me say once again, it wasn't necessary, but thank you once again. All you mugs are great! And those that couldn't are actually just as thanked. It's great to simply hear from you all and to know that I'm loved.

My warranty on me isn't void yet, so let's get another year in. Thank you all!!!

-The0

WIP-Lash

I have been meaning to make a new post for a good few days now, but I always am so damn busy and tired lately. After a small musings post, I plan to do another arts review post. After sleep and work, of course.

* * *

And we're back! I broke down and bought the most recent Steam weekend deal. A bunch of games are cheaply available, 10 indie games in total. I had just a bit of cash laying about in various depots, so I deposited that and bought it. I am absolutely glad I did. 2 minutes into Audiosurf, I was giggling with what fun it was. Have you ever driven quickly on the highway to a song you really love? In Audiosurf, you get points for it. I'm very happy with this purchase. More mini-reviews to come, be assured.

I feel like have been working my fucking ass off at my job. Don't you just hate fate when you have a day off, and then, because of the laziness, negligence, or otherwise unfortunate actions of a coworker, you end up getting called into work what he or she would normally work? C'est la vie, of course, but hot damn, is it frustrating. It's fine though, I worked my entire last shift on straight overtime. Yay, bills.

I think it actually is effective to use the little gadgets which Vista makes available to track my account balance. I have a "post-it" with a running transaction log, and my current (underestimated) balance. This ought to help with those overdraft fees, I suspect.

The thought occured that there is great injustice with the coincidence that many leaders are simply filthing assholes. I know a couple of managers and upper managers that artlessly make it a point to get angry or just yell and shout to get what they want done, done. It's the same thing I was talking about before, really. Courtesy is out the window, and there is no hope for revision in the future, I fear. Oh well, humanity has earned its place among the fucked, I think.

Enough of this. Dr. Girlfriend and I recently watched Coraline, and I plan to review that tomorrow.

-The0

Monthly Report 1

It would seem that the month has come to a close again. A small monthly update is in store.

I hate banks, and the exorbanant fees they need to stay afloat.

I was hired on full time at my job.

I have decided, upon the advice of many friends, to start small in the robot business. A two servo quadruped sometimes called a "Laufbot" should be fun and cheap.

The money barely flows enough to supply the rum and whiskey. But! It flows!

Dr. Girlfriend had her birthday last week. Happy Birthday!

That is all.

-The0

Wait, what's going on?

This is the update post to which I keep alluding. It will be concise and possibly endearing, but I need to sleep first. It'll be up soon, I promise, but for now, courage.

* * *

05/11/2009

And We're Back! Finally. An update for you all! As of today, it has been a very weird year. Let's start with the job. I was fired from my old place of employment, when they refused to work around my new schedule. It's just as well, I am working more hours for slightly more money, and I am finally getting down the system this place uses. Now, I probably shouldn't have destroyed a bridge for a temp job, but I really hated that last place. Besides, if I can manage to impress the management at this new job, they'll hire me on full time (not that I'm not working almost 40 - 50 hours a week already.) That would even get me benefits, like health insurance and a 401k. That has been the working goal since college. All in all, the job front is good.

I have a roommate now, one of the previously alluded-to cost cutting techniques. This wasn't my choice however. My parents moved my little brother in with me. It's not so bad though, we're getting used to each other, and my costs have been effectively cut in half. Maybe I can finally start cutting down my debts.

The lovely eHarmony match and I are officially dating. She shall remain anonymous still, because I still think it's a good idea to protect her reputation. we have been out on a number of very fun events, and it's a rare occurrence to meet a girl who can handle her drink like I can mine. We went to the Killers concert on the 2nd, and that was a pretty fun show. We're getting along very well.

In summation, things are looking up. I sincerely apologize for not updating as much as I should. I haven't had much about which to write. Next post: a study of Half-Life, the best series of video games ever!

-The0

Why the Hell not?

So I'm sitting here, knowing that it's about that time to make a new weblog post, and I haven't the slightest idea about what to write. I'm dressed, well fed, and slightly overhung. It's a good thing. However, while I had budgeted some time to sit here and think about it, I have this very moment been called into work early. So, off I go. I'll have something after my shift, I hope.

In short, To Be Continued...

* * *

And We're Back!

Well, recent occurrences have prompted me to turn this into an "Update" post. I was working along tonight, minding my own business, when an unexpected text message arrived. To make a short story shorter, I have a date tomorrow night. The lovely eHarmony match and I have decided we shall meet. Joy. I haven't been on a proper date in years, but the timing is somewhat serendipitous.

On my last day off, Tuesday, I enlisted the help of my brother and turned my life into something different. The clutter in my apartment is gone, and my bills are relatively under control. I found out that there is indeed carpet in my bedroom. There are also counter tops in my kitchen. I got a haircut, and I look, feel, and live like a whole new me. I am really glad that this is happening now.

Speaking of now, Now onto concerns. I am not the best person I can be yet. I am currently in search for a second job, whereas my date is about six weeks from being called Doctor. She is a smart vet. I am an angry philosophical worker ant, not yet even capable of self-sustaining. However, to my advantage, I am smart. I have a bachelor's degree in two fields (albeit the same essential field of social science) which I hope to continue some day, and an associate's in another. I am a jack of many trades, and a damn charming person when I try. Please pardon the ego trip. To sum, I fear I'm not in her league, but with a bit of personal work, I could be, and wind up a better person nonetheless.

Second concern, maintaining the new me. I have a bad pattern for getting a new set of skills, objectives, or resolutions, sticking with them for just long enough, and slacking. I'm going to have to actually maintain this new set, because I actually believe that this is a better state than what I lived in before. I will lose the drive eventually, and wind up slacking again. The key is in recognizing the pattern and working against it at a key point (or points.) If more people could do that, many problems and crises would be avoided in my opinion. So, my first defense is telling people that I am going to maintain this new nose-to-to-the-grindstone-and-up-for-a-beer lifestyle. It's like telling people that you're quitting smoking (also incidentally true.) I guess that telling people means that they'll help keep an eye on you, so that they can tell you when you're slipping. You also have to keep up your resolution to them, or risk looking like a tool. There must be other facets to the idea of society helping someone keep their resolve, but fatigue, among other things is keeping me from assuaging the need to think on it longer.

This is all date anxiety, I'm sure. Wish me Luck!

-The0

Self-Referential Philosophy a Must

The thought occured a couple days ago that I am not a very good blogger. I'm usually just trying to find something over which to be angry, and trying to flaunt semi-proper grammar. I'm certainly no Cory Doctorow, and the crusade I'm on isn't a popular one. It's actually very offensive, and it's also hard to garner support for a crusade against socially accepted ignorance. Someone must carry the mantle though, and I choose to be that one! Take a stand with me! Sit down and read a damn book!

Back to my weblog though. I get a feeling that this is just my little jewel, if you will. A little thing I picked up because all the other (pseudo-) intellectuals were doing it. I maybe wanted to feel popular. I choose to draw from Saint Thomas More's Utopia. "Similarly, they pick up pearls when they find them by the seashore, and diamonds and garnets that are sticking out of fallen rocks. They never go looking for them though, but only collect them when they come across them by chance. They polish them up and give them to their children to wear. Little children take immense pleasure and pride in such baubles, but when they grow a little older they realize that only kids care about such trifles. Their parents don't have to say a thing. They become ashamed to wear jewelry of their own accord, just as our own children give up jacks, marbles, and dolls when they grow up." Is this collection of ramblings simply a little jewel which I show off to people, so they can see my pride in it? I suppose that if not, my writing and thinking processes will become more refined, and a higher quality post will be delivered unto you. If it is, however, I suppose I'll eventually just grow up, and lose my marbles.

Things are harrowing at this point. The bills are getting more plentiful, and at a rate directly inproportional to the funds. In a bad way. I think I just need to hunker down and do more work. If you keep working, something's bound to turn up, to paraphrase Harvey Pekar. On that note, I do have my résumé floating out there, and I am working on a plan. It involves moving to a cheaper place, and other fiscally responsible moves. More on that as said plan progresses.

As far as something turning up, I have an update. The lovely lady from the land of eHarmony and I have been communicating very regularly. We're in something of a pissing contest to see who can write the longer email, and we have a LOT of things in common. She's a very near match to the dream girl. Her last email to me was 9 pages long. I am, however, starting on that attachment/fear roller coaster. I'm starting to really like this girl, and I'm beginning to hope. That was the last thing that came out of Pandora's box, for the record. Knowing my luck, she'll find another guy before everything is over, or something else will keep everything nice and in it's status quo. That's not the attitude to have going into a possibly great situation, but hey, realism is a option too. Besides, I'm not even close to up to par to chase a girlfriend right now. Not according to my manifesto. But hey, we'll work and pray, and see where it all goes. It sure would be nice to get back in the saddle. 

I have to to sleep, I open tomorrow. Thanks for reading. Questions? Comments? Philosophical inquiries? You know where to put them.

-The0