Filed under: | Personal

Dang. I was a bit stressed last night...to the point where I still didn’t want to go to bed, so I wrote a couple of letters, then instead of going to the Post Office in the daytime, I went out at 0130! After I dropped those off, I found myself at Denny’s!
At 0200!
Don’t ask me why, but this Hooburrito was very delicious. And I did this in the wee hours of the morning. Wish I didn’t have to do it alone.
Sigh....

Filed under: | Personal

I’m 48 today. Aside from this announcement, no posts today. God, I need a drink.

Filed under: | Personal

I admit, the down side of the Internet is its addictive attribute. When I got up this morning about three hours ago, I found that, even though the router and cable modem are doing fine, there’s no Internet connection. It’s up now; hence this post.
Turns out that Cox Cable was out here on Saturday morning (two days ago) to fix an ongoing signal clarity issue. They supposedly replaced the line going from the apartment to the nearby trunk, and it looked like that cleared up the signal.
It didn’t. Needless to say, I’m bummed. The Official Roommate has kept count of the number of times Cox has been out here over the past year: six to be exact. We’re paying $110/month for cable access (TV and Internet) and we’re not getting our money’s worth.

Filed under: | Personal

I spent Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday last week laid up due to my gout toe. Over the last 48 hours, however, the situation has greatly improved such that I think my toe is back to around 80% capacity, and I look forward to returning to work tomorrow.
I hate taking sick time; that’s because I’m the type of guy who wants (and doesn’t mind) working very hard to get ahead. I actually got cabin fever this stint, something I haven’t experienced in quite a while.
Sigh....

Filed under: | Personal

Our financial system is in a monster of a mess. I work in the financial services industry. I won’t say where, but what I CAN say is that the place I work for seems to be in pretty good shape.
That said, with no bailout plan (which I admit is painfully necessary) in place and the activity of the last 24 hours, it’s hard to say where this will all end up. Hence, my prayer to God. He’s the only one who can figure this all out.

Filed under: | Personal

Somehow, I broke my big toe on my left foot. I don’t know how, but I did.
Thank goodness I have a doctor’s appointment this morning before I go to work; we’re supposed to discuss some blood work from a couple of weeks ago anyway. Hopefully, this can take some precedence and also I can get some funky painkillers prescribed, as I hear there isn’t too much they can do.
Barf.

Filed under: | Personal

I got an e-mail from one of my Fraternity Brothers back East, who announced that he’s splitting up with his wife of 16 years, and had lived with her for oh, about another 7 or 8 prior to that? And then there’s their precocious child, and God only knows what is going through her little mind and heart.
All I can say is...I hope it’s amicable, and everything else I’ve said on the subject still applies.

Filed under: | Personal

One of our offices on the east coast got hit with Tropical Storm Fay’s aftermath: flooding. As a result, the Mayor of Jacksonville, FL told citizens not to drive around unless it was absolutely necessary.
So we’ve been getting all their work. This means the last two days I’ve put in well over 11 hours a day, and today is more OT, and possibly even Sunday. So if I don’t post much, you’ll know why.

Filed under: | Personal

Another one co-starring my ex-wife. I don’t understand why this bitch keeps showing up. Get The Frak Out of my sleep!

Filed under: | Personal

HA! You thought this was going to be a Battlestar Galactica post, eh! Well, thank goodness it isn’t.
As it turns out, Internet access (as well as Cable) is down due to a scheduled maintenance by our ISP, and it looks like it’ll be back up by 1700 hours or so. I had some errands to run, so I lugged along the Official System and am posting this from Wildflower Bread Company. Nevertheless, the analogy between lack of Internet and this SPAAAAAACE WEEEEEED still holds.

Filed under: | Personal

The bosses knew it was going to be a brutal day, and it was. So they fed us. Pizza at lunch and Subs in the evening. It just so happens that the team I’m on has a member who’s leaving today, and so we honored her with a Mexican-themed potluck. I happened to bring bagels for the team’s breakfast.
So we were well fed, indeed. Sigh....

Filed under: | Personal

Back at the end of January, I received this 600-page bookfrom my employer to study. I did as much reading as I could for over four months, at work every day, and sometimes on weekends. My brain got fried about a month ago. So now, as you read this, I will sit for the Series 7 Exam, which consists of 260 questions about the securities industry and regulations, over two three-hour blocks. 250 questions are scored, with the passing score 70%.
I sure learned a lot, and actually re-learned some stuff I knew a whole lifetime ago, as a lowly mail clerk at a stock transfer agency. Regardless, this experience gave me a greater understanding of our economic engine, and I am glad for that.

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UPDATE (1312 MST): Out of 250 scored questions, I got 125 right, for only 50%, so I did not pass. This was extremely tough and I gotta hand it to anyone who can master 20 points higher than what I got. I have no regrets. I’ll talk to my bosses tomorrow and figure out some other options.

Filed under: | Personal

Shhh! I’m posting this at work!
When I was a young lad, my parents crammed certain fruits and vegetables into my mouth and for that reason alone, I loathed eating them for many years. More on that in a moment.
Turning the clock back to my 20th birthday, I took a flight from Chicago O’Hare to Houghton/Hancock Airport in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula; I visted a friend up there who promised to get me a woman (and of course, that didn’t work!). During the flight, they served the usual: refreshments and a small bag of peanuts.
I was hungry, and didn’t try these before, because peanuts didn’t agree with my dad. So I ate them, and found out they tasted just like peanut butter!
Fast forward to today; I am finally starting to eat these fruits and veggies I loathed when I was a kid! Today’s endeavor was a banana. Guess what it tasted like....NO! NOT banana nut cake! Get your mind out of the gutter!

Filed under: | Personal

[Vicodin]
Bad News: I had to delay my Series 7 Exam, which I was scheduled to take one week from today. Since there weren’t a lot of days available, the next scheduled date was July 24, which is also on a Thursday. So I took that.
Worse News: It’s been delayed due to my #31 tooth on the far left, which is flaring with a vengeance. It got filled over a year ago, but it’s beginning to break down. Also notice the tooth is curved, which is why I have to go to an endodontist. What fun. NOT.
Good News: See Tags. I’ve also got some penicillin for antibiotics.
[/Vicodin]

Filed under: | Personal

Today at work they had a “Fashion Disasters Wacky Wednesday” dress-up day where one tries to be the craziest dresser. I’m normally the type of guy who doesn’t do this, and I didn’t...that is, until I was assisting one of the floor managers with decorating a co-worker’s cubicle with crepe paper for streamers.
There was enough to do something zany and get into the game with just over an hour left on the clock:

Heheheheheheheh! Yes, that’s yellow crepe paper wrapped around my forehead, like Daniel LaRusso. Goes against my slate gray polo shirt and olive green khaki slacks. And at least my boss has the photographic evidence to prove I participated. Yay!