No, I'm not saying that I'm gay... but it's a clever little play on words, isn't it? What I am announcing though, is that as of today, my blog is available for public viewing. After many months of procrastinating, moving old blog posts, and changing names (mostly that procrastinating thing), I am now ready to lift the veil of secrecy and allow the world to experience my brilliance.
It's been a long time coming. And now that I can share my wit and wisdom with the world, I can also start to rehash a few of my previously-stated opinions. (That comment was directed toward you, Paulius.)
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
All Moved In
Let's see, I started this blog how long ago... a little over six months? That sounds about right. While I wrote new posts in this blog, I also moved old entries from my previous blog, which will remain nameless. Today, I finally got the last of the posts from my old blog moved over here. I still need to update a few links and change a few names, but this brings me one step closer to moving back into the public.
To those of you who are part of the private circle, thanks for hanging in there while I get my house in order.
To those of you who are part of the private circle, thanks for hanging in there while I get my house in order.
Recession Resistant
Call me a fortunate son. My last job was as an IT specialist at a manufacturing plant. This company never made much of a profit, even under the best of circumstances... that's the rub of working in a commodity-based business. Their biggest profits were all accounting-based profits... when the price of their raw materials went up, their net worth increased accordingly. Well, now the prices are dropping like a rock. And furthermore, their products are heavily tied to the automotive and housing industries, and we all know how these areas are doing. In other words, I got out just in the nick of time.
Now that the recession is really building a head of steam, I'm even more pleased to be out of there. I'm doing semi-freelance IT work for some very recession-resistant businesses -- doctors, dentists and attorneys. I'm making a much better hourly rate than I made before, I'm working fewer hours, and no night/weekend emergencies. Yeah, I still work the occasional evening or weekend, but it's at my convenience, and it's from home.
To make matters better, my wife's job is also recession-resistant.
And have you noticed the gas prices lately? Man, it's absolutely cool! I filled up my truck's tank yesterday at $1.95 per gallon. To put this in perspective, I drove by a gas station this morning that was closed due to the flood, and it had the price being charged just before the flood... $3.85 per gallon! The price has dropped almost two dollars per gallon in five months. With the price falling that far, that fast, other commodities such as food, plastic, rubber and other petroleum-based products should also drop soon. This would definitely help us recover from our current mess.
It's not all pretty though... my 401k has lost about 50% of its peak value in the last 18 months. Oh well... I guess I had to suffer somewhere, right?
Now that the recession is really building a head of steam, I'm even more pleased to be out of there. I'm doing semi-freelance IT work for some very recession-resistant businesses -- doctors, dentists and attorneys. I'm making a much better hourly rate than I made before, I'm working fewer hours, and no night/weekend emergencies. Yeah, I still work the occasional evening or weekend, but it's at my convenience, and it's from home.
To make matters better, my wife's job is also recession-resistant.
And have you noticed the gas prices lately? Man, it's absolutely cool! I filled up my truck's tank yesterday at $1.95 per gallon. To put this in perspective, I drove by a gas station this morning that was closed due to the flood, and it had the price being charged just before the flood... $3.85 per gallon! The price has dropped almost two dollars per gallon in five months. With the price falling that far, that fast, other commodities such as food, plastic, rubber and other petroleum-based products should also drop soon. This would definitely help us recover from our current mess.
It's not all pretty though... my 401k has lost about 50% of its peak value in the last 18 months. Oh well... I guess I had to suffer somewhere, right?
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Pleased With the Outcome
In case you didn't know, I'm pleased that Obame was elected President. It affirms my belief that Americans have come a long way in the whole race relations thing, it gratifies me that we somehow managed to gain respect global respect in one day, and I am hopeful for what the future holds.
I spent a lot of time watching John Stewart and Stephen Colbert cover the election, and I was greatly amused by the whole show. Colbert struck me with one tongue-in-cheek, amusing, profound question... he asked a black guest "If Obama is elected president, does that mean that racism is over?" We all know that the answer is 'no,' but it was a great question.
I also asked a very close friend of mine, who happens to be black, about his voting. I knew that he'd be voting for Obama -- both because of his race and because of his political inclination -- but my friend surprised me. He said that 60% of his decision was because Obama is black. It just goes to show that I may not pay attention to race (though I am cognizant of it) but minorities still are.
My younger daughter just got home, so I'm going to cut this short and hang out with her.
I spent a lot of time watching John Stewart and Stephen Colbert cover the election, and I was greatly amused by the whole show. Colbert struck me with one tongue-in-cheek, amusing, profound question... he asked a black guest "If Obama is elected president, does that mean that racism is over?" We all know that the answer is 'no,' but it was a great question.
I also asked a very close friend of mine, who happens to be black, about his voting. I knew that he'd be voting for Obama -- both because of his race and because of his political inclination -- but my friend surprised me. He said that 60% of his decision was because Obama is black. It just goes to show that I may not pay attention to race (though I am cognizant of it) but minorities still are.
My younger daughter just got home, so I'm going to cut this short and hang out with her.
Monday, November 3, 2008
How Much Does It Matter?
Like it or not, race is a factor in this presidential election. Face it, there will be white people who don't vote for Obama because he's black, and there will be minorities who do vote for him because he's black. I don't agree with either position, but there's nothing I can do to change the facts.
I am curious though, how many people will vote for McCain because he's white, and how many will vote for Obama because he's black. My hope is that one day skin color won't make any difference at all. Unfortunately, I don't think this will happen during my lifetime.
I am curious though, how many people will vote for McCain because he's white, and how many will vote for Obama because he's black. My hope is that one day skin color won't make any difference at all. Unfortunately, I don't think this will happen during my lifetime.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Blast from the Past
I got an email from an old friend recently. When I say "old friend," I don't mean a friend who is significantly older than me, and I'm not speaking about someone I've known a long time and am still close friends with. No, in this case, I'm talking about a friend who used to be inseparable from me, but time and circumstances have taken us apart. He got a facebook account and emailed me to let me know. Here's my reply... slightly edited to removed names...
Got your Facebook email. Sorry for the slow response. I don’t have a facebook account and don’t plan to get one – for now. There are few reasons for this…
-My 16-year-old daughter has a facebook account. She’s a bit of a slacker at school, but overall she’s a good, responsible kid. As long as she keeps her shit wired, I want to give her some areas that are dad-free. Facebook is one of the areas I chose as a dad-free zone. (Of course, as I say this, understand that I know her username and password, so I can snoop if I need to.)
-I already blog, write in a long-running journal, play Xbox 360 occasionally, play guitar and so forth. I need to make sure that I don’t have so many hobbies that my family suffers, and I know how much time facebook can consume.
-As a computer geek, I already spend too much time on the computer.
-I don’t like the idea that any Tom, Dick or Harry can search for me on Facebook.
That said though, your comment about entering boot camp 22 years ago really hit home and brought back a lot of memories of time we spent together…
-Meeting you as we checked in at NAS Millington. I don’t remember much about the conversation, but I recall sitting in those plastic chairs in the hall, chatting quietly as we waited for our names to be called for check-in.
-Finding out that your platoon, [31xy], and my platoon, [31zz], were arch-rivals in boot camp.
-How we both stood back and laughed to ourselves as our platoon-mates tried to beat the snot out of each other before the Drill Instructors came and broke shit up. That moment told me that we were birds of a feather.
-Hanging around with you and [Name omitted] in Millington.
-Tustin…
-Trying to burn your cammies on that windy, windy night at Balboa beach. If I remember correctly, it was a celebration of your discharge from the suck. But it was so windy that they wouldn’t light, so we tossed them off the end of Balboa pier.
-[You],[Me], and Jennifer squared. [We were both dating girls name Jennifer at the time]
-Beth [Name omitted]. When she worked at the PX, we both thought she was cute. You asked her out. I stole her from you. I got deployed. You stole her back. We understood the whole “bro’s before ho’s” thing. You took one for the team by giving her up. I took one for the team by finding out she had the clap before you stole her back.
-Gayle [Name omitted]. You thought she was cute. You asked her out. I stole her from you. That was twice you took one for the team. It took me a long time to realize exactly how fucked up that was. We were a team, and I took advantage of that shit once too often. I don’t know whether or not I ever expressed regret for stealing chicks from you. If not, please consider this my formal apology. I hope you consider this my only transgression.
-The countless weekends in Oceanside with your family… home-cooked meals… hating the fact that we were Jarheads in one of the biggest Marine towns in the country
-Trips to Palomar Mountain… driving a Hyundai up and down the twisty roads, pretending that we were race car drivers. Hitting the observatory just so we could have snowball fights.
-“… E… i… n…i… Encinitas” (One of my personal favorites)
-Driving to (insert town here) to get a newspaper and a Coke. San Francisco was my favorite.
-You and your General Hospital
-Drinking beer in the barracks
-Two words… Ranch House. The Ranch House, by the way, no longer exists.
-Exploring the rocky beaches between Newport Beach and Laguna Beach
-Driving up and down PCH
-Cruising I-5 and I-405 in the Hyundai, with my pink Fisher-Price telephone on the dash, and you writing shit in a spiral notebook. “Show us your tits.” I’m still surprised how often we got chicks to pull over and talk to us with that shit!
-The profound sense of injustice I felt when you were discharged in 1991. I was happy for you, but I knew it was the closing of a chapter in my life. I wondered how I’d go on without my best friend there beside me… hoping that we’d stay in touch like they did in those AT&T commercials, assuming that we would fly or drive, whatever the cost and whatever the distance, at least occasionally, to see other.
-The slow realization that we were drifting apart… the denial… the anger… and finally, the wistful acceptance. It’s been 17 years since we last spoke face to face. I still look back on our time with incredible fondness. I still wonder what you’re up to, and I’m still open to getting together with you in the future. I’ve long since stopped hoping that circumstances would bring us together… a work conference… a cross-country trip… whatever. I get that we’ve gone our separate ways, but I still get the urge to talk to you and I continue to hold out the hope that one day our paths cross again. You were an important chapter in my life. You made my enlistment much happier, and my life much fuller.
[Me]
Got your Facebook email. Sorry for the slow response. I don’t have a facebook account and don’t plan to get one – for now. There are few reasons for this…
-My 16-year-old daughter has a facebook account. She’s a bit of a slacker at school, but overall she’s a good, responsible kid. As long as she keeps her shit wired, I want to give her some areas that are dad-free. Facebook is one of the areas I chose as a dad-free zone. (Of course, as I say this, understand that I know her username and password, so I can snoop if I need to.)
-I already blog, write in a long-running journal, play Xbox 360 occasionally, play guitar and so forth. I need to make sure that I don’t have so many hobbies that my family suffers, and I know how much time facebook can consume.
-As a computer geek, I already spend too much time on the computer.
-I don’t like the idea that any Tom, Dick or Harry can search for me on Facebook.
That said though, your comment about entering boot camp 22 years ago really hit home and brought back a lot of memories of time we spent together…
-Meeting you as we checked in at NAS Millington. I don’t remember much about the conversation, but I recall sitting in those plastic chairs in the hall, chatting quietly as we waited for our names to be called for check-in.
-Finding out that your platoon, [31xy], and my platoon, [31zz], were arch-rivals in boot camp.
-How we both stood back and laughed to ourselves as our platoon-mates tried to beat the snot out of each other before the Drill Instructors came and broke shit up. That moment told me that we were birds of a feather.
-Hanging around with you and [Name omitted] in Millington.
-Tustin…
-Trying to burn your cammies on that windy, windy night at Balboa beach. If I remember correctly, it was a celebration of your discharge from the suck. But it was so windy that they wouldn’t light, so we tossed them off the end of Balboa pier.
-[You],[Me], and Jennifer squared. [We were both dating girls name Jennifer at the time]
-Beth [Name omitted]. When she worked at the PX, we both thought she was cute. You asked her out. I stole her from you. I got deployed. You stole her back. We understood the whole “bro’s before ho’s” thing. You took one for the team by giving her up. I took one for the team by finding out she had the clap before you stole her back.
-Gayle [Name omitted]. You thought she was cute. You asked her out. I stole her from you. That was twice you took one for the team. It took me a long time to realize exactly how fucked up that was. We were a team, and I took advantage of that shit once too often. I don’t know whether or not I ever expressed regret for stealing chicks from you. If not, please consider this my formal apology. I hope you consider this my only transgression.
-The countless weekends in Oceanside with your family… home-cooked meals… hating the fact that we were Jarheads in one of the biggest Marine towns in the country
-Trips to Palomar Mountain… driving a Hyundai up and down the twisty roads, pretending that we were race car drivers. Hitting the observatory just so we could have snowball fights.
-“… E… i… n…i… Encinitas” (One of my personal favorites)
-Driving to (insert town here) to get a newspaper and a Coke. San Francisco was my favorite.
-You and your General Hospital
-Drinking beer in the barracks
-Two words… Ranch House. The Ranch House, by the way, no longer exists.
-Exploring the rocky beaches between Newport Beach and Laguna Beach
-Driving up and down PCH
-Cruising I-5 and I-405 in the Hyundai, with my pink Fisher-Price telephone on the dash, and you writing shit in a spiral notebook. “Show us your tits.” I’m still surprised how often we got chicks to pull over and talk to us with that shit!
-The profound sense of injustice I felt when you were discharged in 1991. I was happy for you, but I knew it was the closing of a chapter in my life. I wondered how I’d go on without my best friend there beside me… hoping that we’d stay in touch like they did in those AT&T commercials, assuming that we would fly or drive, whatever the cost and whatever the distance, at least occasionally, to see other.
-The slow realization that we were drifting apart… the denial… the anger… and finally, the wistful acceptance. It’s been 17 years since we last spoke face to face. I still look back on our time with incredible fondness. I still wonder what you’re up to, and I’m still open to getting together with you in the future. I’ve long since stopped hoping that circumstances would bring us together… a work conference… a cross-country trip… whatever. I get that we’ve gone our separate ways, but I still get the urge to talk to you and I continue to hold out the hope that one day our paths cross again. You were an important chapter in my life. You made my enlistment much happier, and my life much fuller.
[Me]
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