Stuff

Stuff, stuff, and more stuff - as an update. If only it were that easy, huh? lol

So, a lot has happened since that last post. Someone I thought was a friend isn't. Someone I thought could make a great friend is.

I got a new job that I haven't started yet. They're doing the background check and I'm a bit worried about it this week since I haven't heard anything from them. That current boss I have, and a coworker that is really defensive right now about his job, (and is doing everything he can to please the boss),.. are two of the three people the new job will call about me. The current boss refused to answer any questions about me, which I guess is good in a way. At least she isn't saying anything negative. I wonder how long the current boss will be in her job. I've caught her in lies. She's obviously got an agenda. I guess it will be a matter of time. And I'm happy I'm getting out of the situation. The crazy thing is I know stuff about her, but the biggest complaints I hear are from students. That's sad, as we're supposed to be here to serve the students.

I sincerely hope and feel that my new place of employment is more student focused. I'm looking forward to it. In the meantime I'm extremely busy. Last week of classes just wrapped-up, finals week is next. I'm trying to juggle a bunch of stuff at once. Plus, I need to box up my old office and get ready to move into a new one. I forsee long nights ahead. I can make it though.

Getting Laid Off is not as good as Getting Laid.

Ugh, I got a letter the other day stating that after spring semester I won't have a job. I don't know what I'm gonna do.

And to think I'm host / coordinator of a Public Speaking contest this semester (that I alone created!!! And solicited funding to the tune of $1,000 a year to give students prizes!!),... in addition to teaching FIVE classes!

PLUS, I'm THE technical guy of the department, the one figuring out how to transition from VHS recordings of speeches (you know, with those bigass VHS camcorders) to Digital recordings (with new cameras I suggested we order) in order to PODCAST the speeches! >.<

PLUS, I'm the guy that came up with and created a viewing lab for students so they would have a place to watch their recorded speeches if they didn't have the capability at home or in their dorm.

PLUS, I'm THE guy everyone in the department goes to in order to figure out how to get their classes in WebCT so they can do online grading, etc.!!! I host an annual "WebCT for teachers of Public Speaking" workshop AND I setup individual appointments with half the public speaking teachers to help them each semester!

PLUS, I'm one of the 3 coordinators at UWG for hosting the 2009 Georgia Communication Association conference! I'm one of three guys that took the initiative to bring the conference to our University and will be working it in February!!

Some damn nerve they have firing me.. oh excuse me,.. laying me off due to "budget cuts." Yeah RIGHT,.. it had nothing to do with hiring 3 new tenure track people with big salaries or with buying ALL the tenured track folks brand new office furniture in the middle of a State mandated budget cut! >.<

AND,.. I found out today that the "interim department chair" that is not renewing my contract KNEW I wouldn't be getting a new contract for next year about a MONTH ago at LEAST. But of course she didn't tell me. Why? Because if she told me any sooner than a week before classes start, she was afraid I might find another job, and then take it, leaving her in a lurch THIS semester trying to find someone to cover my classes. Nice of her, huh?!?

Great,... now I have to find a job by next April that will hire me at the end of my contract (unless I can find one by Friday which is when I sign this year's contract). Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a good job and say to the new employer, "I'm going to love this job,.. but can you make my start date the end of next April?"?!?!?!?!?

UGH! I am FURIOUS!!!

Someone hug me please... before I fucking explode.

A MeMe - just 'cause... now shut up!

1. Where is your cell phone? .....beside me

2. Your significant other?......... at work.

3. Your hair? ......... messy

4. Your mother? ...........died 3 years ago

5. Your father?........... in Florida

6. Your favorite thing?............sex

7. Your dream last night?............. not sure.. probably sexual. LOL

8. Your favorite drink? ............. Mountain Dew or Cream Soda. Hmmm

9. Your dream/goal?.............. happiness and tranquility with lots of amazing sex and to be surrounded by nature in a modest yet nice home

10. The room you're in?.............. home office.

11. Your ex?.............. evil bitch that set me back years and years in debt

12. Your fear?............... losing love

13.Where do you want to be in 6 years?...... can't say

14. Where were you last night?............. in front of the computer

15. What you're not?................skinny

16. Muffins?................... sure, thanks

17. One of your wish list items?............. a car that gets 75 mpg

18. Where you grew up?............... Georgia & Florida

19. The last thing you did?................. checked email

20. What are you wearing?................ shorts

21. Your TV?.................. ginormous and amazing

22. Your pet(s)?........................ a toy poodle

23. Your computer? ...................... is getting outdated. =/

24. Your life?.................... needs more smiles and laughs

25. Your mood?...................... mellow

26. Missing someone?................ yes

27. Your car?.................... F-150 pickup truck

28. Something you're not wearing?............ shoes or a shirt

29. Favorite Store?................. electronics store

30. Your summer?................. hot and lonely

31. Like someone.....................yes

32. Your favorite color?................... blue, today

33. Last time you really laughed.................... a few nights ago

34. Last time you cried?.................. a few weeks ago

Catch-up

Okay, time to play catch-up. Wow, have things been busy around my house! Nattsu's parents have been visiting us for 3 months. They left this last weekend, and wow were those three months busy. It started out with taking Yasuaki (her dad) to the Master's tournament practice rounds. Then there were all sorts of events / things to do with them, & places to go.

One big thing we did together, was work on my yard. Thanks to them and thanks to them motivating me (lol) we got a lot accomplished.

My dad even came to visit along with Mom (Lynn) and Grandma (Dot Dot). We definitely had a house full but it was a great time.

Yep, that's my dad in the blue shirt. Do you see any resemblance? And that's Dot Dot in the white sweater. She's AWEsome! I love my grandma! She loves to dance too.

We also had some big storms come through. Here's my dogwood that snapped in half. I also had a maple tree snap in half and go over my neighbor's fence. Ugh. And my roof still isn't fixed from the hail, but at least the siding is, which is where the water was coming in.

And the modifications don't stop with the backyard. Did I tell you already I had to rent a jackhammer to dig a front garden along my entrance walkway? The form had broken where they made the walkway and just covered up all the concrete (varying from 2 to 10" thick) with about an INCH of dirt. Since plants require more than an inch of dirt for their roots, here I am jackhammering my way through the concrete to make a garden.

Yasuaki also formed a special relationship with my dog. He would walk him every day and they'd even wash his feet off when he came in from his morning excursion,.... with warm water! Needless to say, my dog formed a bond with him right away.

Isn't that precious?!? Speaking of precious,... my brother, sister-in-law, and their new baby came to visit us on their way home from sis's parents house in Alabama. It was the first time I've seen my new niece. She's adorable!!!
Also lately, we've been having some amazing sunsets. We always do this time of year in Georgia. I love the colors in the sky. My mom used to call this one sky-blue-pink. That will forever be the name of the color, mom. :) We also had a special chef come and prepare some traditional, Japanese cuisine for a bunch of guests. The food looks pretty interesting, doesn't it? We even took them (Yasuaki & Katsuko) to Stone Mountain Park. We had a blast.
I especially enjoyed the top of the mountain. Its so serene, so peaceful, tranquil. I loved listening to the wind blow up there, and the feeling of the fresh crisp air.
The fireworks show is always great too. They were impressed with how patriotic it was. They said they had a terrific time in the U.S. and I'm glad they made the trip over. They'll be missed now that they've gone back to Japan.

Well, I know that left out a LOT of stuff,.. but I think this was a pretty good summary of the past three months. I know they were busy, but they sure were exciting. Now things are starting to get back to normal, although a few things have changed. I'm determined to lose some weight after seeing myself in these photos! lol - I started an exercise program this week and already my muscles are sore. But I'm going to keep it up. I'll have to post my progress here for you.

Have a terrific day and I'll see you again soon. Thanks for visiting! :)

Been a while...

Yeah, I know its been a while since I posted. Sorry bout that. A lot has happened as of late that has kept me busy. For one thing,.. hail. Yes, hail rained down like mad and has caused me much headache already. Hail did about $3,000 worth of damage to my truck and about $11,000 damage to my house. Yes, hail - golfball size to tennis ball size hail. Don't believe me? Take a look for yourself!

Yeah. THOUSANDS of those drove down, thrown around by almost tornado force winds, into my house and truck. They put holes everywhere in my siding and shingles. Dealing with insurance companies is never fun, but even worse than that is dealing with lienholders. Did you know that in the State of Georgia, if your damage is more than $10,000 to your home, the insurance companies must cut the check not to the homeowner, but to BOTH the homeowner AND the lienholder? What freakin good does that do? The damned lienholder isn't the one that has to pay for all the repair work!!! What a stupid fuckin' rule. Its making my life hell right now, trying to deal with all the contractors to do repairs (which are difficult to contract right now as it is since there was so much damage in the area) much less having to deal with the lienholder in EVERY single case.

Other than the home and the truck repairs / estimations / contractors / lienholders / temporary fixes so rain doesn't damage my home through all the holes / etc..... OTHER than all that I've been really busy at work lately. The last 3 weeks and the next three weeks are the busiest ones of the entire semester for me. Tons of thought and lecture has to go into those weeks and it tires me out at the end of the day.

Oh, but it gets even better, folks! My in-laws arrived from Japan right after the hail storm and are staying with us for THREE MONTHS!!! Yes, you read that right,... three MONTHS! They are pretty cool people, and they're fairly easy to get along with since they don't speak much English (they speak mainly Japanese). And I don't speak much Japanese. But you can imagine how having in-laws in your home can add to the stress and business factor of your day.

There is some GREAT news though! My brother Ken and his wife Sherry just had a baby girl, Karissa (I think that's how you spell the kid's name). I really want to go down and see her right now but I can't! And believe me, that makes me really sad right now. But I'm extremely happy for them and I can hardly believe it. I think Ken will make a good dad. I think Sherry will make a good mom. And of course, being the uncle I know its my job to be the crazy relative that sends the kid all sorts of noise-making toys, etc. Hehe! I already sent one that makes noise. :) I hope to get down there soon to see her. :)

Anyway, readers,... I hope all is well in your worlds. I'm surviving in mine. Cya soon!

If you read my last post you'll know I was wondering what kind of a SIGN it was. Here's a totally different kind of sign. I've been seeing a lot of signs lately,... of all sorts. For instance,.. I saw one last week that read, "New, 'All-Day Laundry' - Now open 24/7 !" If its 24 / 7,.. what happened to the night? Not too long ago I saw a turkey standing underneath a deer crossing sign. And now the bird fiasco.

Isn't it funny though, sometimes we can see all the signs, but don't understand what they're trying to tell us? I still haven't quite figured out the bird one yet but I'm working on it. I'm also sure I'm missing a ton of signs somewhere. If they were only clear in meaning and were neon so I wouldn't miss them.

The Beauty of God - Greeks vs. Christians

I'm taking a psychology class this semester and we're taking a historical approach to understand where and how different thoughts came about. The other day in class we were discussing the ancient Greeks and the transition from a holistic approach of the world, to the medieval Christian dualistic approach.


Greeks viewed things from a holistic perspective - there isn't just this "thing" but there's also the "essence of this thing" and they are inseparably tied together just as they are tied to everything else in the world, for the things this thing is not, make this thing, this thing, and this essence what it is. Therefore, everything is bound together, part of everything else,.. all, one big whole. This included the Gods and Goddesses. Gods played amongst humans, delighted in toying with us, changing our destinies, some even slept with humans. The point is, Gods were among us,.. everywhere,... IN the essences of things.


When (Medieval) Christianity came along, Jesus' followers wrote gospels, and the Church determined with the council, which writings were acceptable. Gospels such as those according to Thomas & Phillip were denounced as being real & acceptable. Thomas & Phillip wrote of what Jesus said that was more holistic in nature. "Lift a rock and I am there, split a piece of wood and you will find me." Meaning, God can be found everywhere, all among us,.. more of those gospels indicate that one need only look WITHIN oneself for the Kingdom of God. (Upon reading a lot of these "banned" gospels one can see that self-enlightenment is the way of/to Heaven/God.)


But the medieval Christianity decision-makers couldn't have this. They wanted a Church for structure. Constantine wanted you to hear his words (his agenda of government) through the words of the Church. Christianity was declared the national religion and tons of people were slaughtered until everyone converted out of fear. Gnostics (the holistic approach people left over from the Greek line of thought), confirmed their beliefs due to the banned gospels, but went into hiding and were all but driven to extinction by the Church.


The Church taught, "no, no,... the essence of being and that thing there are two SEPARATE things. They're not bound together inseparably,.. God exists,.. THERE,... and we exist HERE... while he is among us,.. while we can hold him dear in our hearts and thoughts, he is not IN us as you suggest." This dualistic approach meant that there was a separation,... and it helped the Church establish a protocol that meant they could build churches and people would have to come to THEM to talk to God,... sure you could pray,.. but to really talk to God,.. to hear his voice,... you have to have the message mediated by these priests, and therefore, you must attend church services.


(If you're interested I can point you to places in the banned gospels that retell Jesus' words of "where" the Kingdom of God actually lies... - within oneself. I'm not really religious,.. more spiritual,... but they are pretty cool readings to think about.)


Then our professor told us he thought it was kindof ironic,.. that Christianity had people come into the churches,... huddle together in these shelters,.. close some huge oak doors behind them, shut off from the world,.. (notice the separation here?) ... and inside,.. INSIDE, huddled together,.. closed off from the world,... INSIDE the people learned about the glory and beauty of God. The ironic part is,.. when services are over,... the big oak doors open,.. people go outside,.. and OUTSIDE is where they behold the beauty and glory of God,... they can look up into the sky,.. at night see a wonderment of stars,.. in day see beautiful blue skies,... see white puffy clouds,.... the majesty of the heavens,.. etc.


That's about where that class ended.


So here I am,... huddled together in a classroom building, shut off from the world,... so I go outside,.. to a gorgeous day. I begin walking toward my office's building,.. and I look up into the sky,... it is absolutely amazing,.. white puffy clouds,.. amazing blue serenity above,..... and I think to myself,.. this.... THIS,.. is the beauty..... and just then,.... a bird shits on my head.


I couldn't make this shit up (pun intended). A bird SHAT on my head. No lie! Now, I don't know what kind of a SIGN that is,.. but thinking back its been cracking me up for over a week. I thought I'd share.