Buncha Stuff

Wow, where to start.... I know its been a while since I last posted. Sorry about that. I've been pretty darn busy. There're several things I want to talk about & get off my chest.

Mom - I found out just a couple of weeks ago in casual conversation with my brother Ken via phone, that mom's ashes were no longer in the Funeral Home. It was really starting to piss me off that they were still in there. It'd been too long. But then I didn't find out until after the fact that Larry (her husband for those of you just tuning in) got them out. Ken said maybe Larry isn't ready to let go and that's why they're probably in an urn in Larry's house. At first I was accepting of that but after stewing on it a couple of weeks, this is really starting to upset me that Larry hasn't said anything to me about this whole issue. I know the guy's a bit on the quiet side, but this is my mom we're talking about here.

Its been 2 YEARS since mom died and her ashes still aren't where she wanted them to go. They're in an urn in a house in South Georgia. Those were not mom's wishes. Mom said she wanted her ashes spread in the woods in North Georgia when the leaves were turning. I live in North Georgia. I asked them to come up and do it the first year but everyone was too upset. I begged last year for everyone to do it. Everyone was too upset and there was probably too much hunting and fishing going on for a free weekend. Well damnit, we're GOING to be upset. But those were mom's wishes!!!!!!! The leaves ARE turning. If her ashes don't get spread this year I'm going to be incredibly infuriated. This can NOT go on any longer. Mom visits me in my dreams and tells me to get her ashes spread.

Work - Work is going well except its really busy right now. This semester I have the laziest bunch of students I think I've ever had. Yes, I do have a few outstanding students, some that are surpassing the standards and doing excellent jobs, but many are barely scraping by and even more just not doing the work or showing up to class. This semester I'm going to have the largest number of students to fail than I've ever had. I'm also on a committee to bring the Georgia Communication Association to our University, so that's causing more work. I'm also the department technological consultant by default, and that's causing me headaches because there've been issues coming up with a new way of recording student speeches. The cameras I wanted to use I can't use now after speaking with the manufacturers, etc.

Work issue - Oh, and that issue with the couple at work that harrassed me and my friend,... yeah. I'm really starting to get pissed about that again too. The husband posted on a different blog his hatred for a former coworker and his biased opinions of his former department's work. If he continues that crap, he's going to have to start dealing with the University and not just lil ole me. Thank goodness I was cleared of all charges. The Dean, the University lawyers, our Human Resources team, and the Department Chair all met about this issue and determined that nothing I did could have been construed as sexual harrassment. Nothing will be put on my record. And due to all this, I requested that it be noted in her personnel file that she falsely accused & reported me. It is kindof sad that women that do that give other women a bad name on the sexual harrassment front. I'm certainly against harrassment, have advised female friends in the past to report wrongdoings, and even got a teacher fired once for propositioning female students. But when a person like this cries wolf just to try and get revenge, it hurts the equality movement. That's sad.

School - I'm considering getting another degree, yes, a Doctorate. I know, I know, I'm a glutton for punishment, but I think it'd really be worth it. The trick will be actually assigning the time to do it all, teach 5 classes or 4 classes a semester, and still do an assistantship as well once my coursework is done. And of course there's the dissertation. Ugh. I am both excited and worried at the same time.

My Friend - A very good friend of mine is right now, as I type, "under the knife" as they say. She's having a very complicated surgery and there may be some negative results of the surgery. I'm hoping that all goes well. ---- What a coincidence... I JUST NOW got a phone call that said she was out of surgery, and the doctor relayed that things went fairly well however there was one really tricky spot and he needs to come talk to us more about it. But he had to go back into surgery right away for another patient before he can come out and talk to us some more. We don't know yet if my friend will have the very scary negative results or not. I'm sure thousands of prayers are being said right now for her. I know she's certainly on my mind.

Home - The house is shaping up slowly but surely. I'm excited and hopeful that my new grass will make it through the winter. I really like the amount of grass we have now. The puzzle now is in figuring out what to do with the back half of my backyard. Right now, past the sod, there's a large dirt open area, as wide as my lot, that goes all the way to the back fence (about 40 feet past the sod). Any ideas on what to do with it? I don't want to mow more grass than I already have. Nattsu said she wants to plant a big garden there, once so filled with flowers and bushes and trees, we won't have to maintain it. I'm thinking that'd be a good idea, with a few pathways cut through it. But I also don't want it to look too messy. I welcome suggestions of what to do with this area, the type of plants to use, ideas for structure, etc.

Wow, I know that was a lot, but at least now you're somewhat caught-up. Sorry it took me so long to post. I'll try to post a bit more often. ;)

What a month

I know I haven't been posting lately but wow has it been busy! I guess I need to catch you up-to-date, eh? On top of all this shit that's happening, I'm sick as a dog,.. a bad bad case of pharyngitis. I even went to the doctor, and you all know how sick I have to be before I do that!!! But,... First things first I guess,...

To you friends and family members that didn't know what that last post about stalking etc was about... there was this couple that worked at the place I do, yet in a nearby department. The husband was dismissed. He started blaming a friend of mine and posting personally identifiable information on her blog on which she used a pseudonym for anonimity, which as you can tell by my post, was illegal to do. No, we did not call the police on him for that violation. We were nice about that. But he kept harassing us by emailing me at work, by talking to coworkers, through posting comments on her blog, etc. In one of his comments he told me to "back down little man" etc. Those of you that know me from South GA know that's the wrong thing to say to a SGA guy, isn't it? LOL

After replying to his e-mail stating if he ever contacted me again I'd consider it harassment, I didn't hear from him and I'd hoped that was the end of it. Then one day I got called to the Dean's office to talk about a report his wife filed against me.

Let me describe the scene; Over a MONTH BEFORE all this shit happened, I walked into their office one day, there she sat, tears in her eyes. I asked what was wrong. She was afraid to go in for her first ever MRI. I told her about my dad's surgery that might be the same condition as she had, and that it would all go smoothly. I asked her if she needed a hug (I always ask ever since I read the EOC legislation when I was working on my Master's). She nodded yes as she wiped tears from her eyes. I gave her a quick hug as she sat in her chair and I stood next to her. I took her hand and said "Its gonna be alright. You'll see. Just know we all care about you and we're pulling for you." That was the end of the contact.

Over a month later, and with all the words from her husband between, she filed a sexual harassment report with public safety about the hug and hand-hold. What the fuck?!? I was being KIND and CARING and you KNOW it !!!! If you're reading this ____ & ____, you should be ASHAMED!!!!!!! Not just that, but to threaten a man's entire way of life?!?!? What kind of sick twisted people continue this bullshit?!? I had nothing to do with his dismissal, nor did my friend. So why in the world would he lash out at my friend or at me when I defended my friend?!? And why in the world would they continue to harass me when I even continued to be NICE to the wife?!? And now over some act that was a month in advance of this situation, in which I was showing compassion and kindness, am I called in for this?!?!? This isn't just a threat, this is an ACTION they took to get me fired, and not JUST fired, but if I got fired over this it would be on my record and public educational institutions would not hire me again. And I LOVE teaching. That's just WRONG of them... SO SO wrong! It infuriates me !!!!! You lying sacks of shit, you need to get down on your knees and beg forgiveness for that one before you end up in the fiery place, because what you did is just WRONG !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It makes me SAD to see how LOW that is. 'Cause you KNOW I was being kind there.

So, I got called to the Dean's office. We had a long talk about the situation. I'm still waiting to find out what's going to happen.

On a totally separate note, because I had nothing to do with this, due to performance issues apparently, the wife no longer works there either. But just because niether one of them works there now, my job is not safe yet. I still have to contend with the charges filed and I have to try and fight to save my career I've worked so hard for. Many of you know I worked my way out of MASSIVE debt, worked 80-100 hour work-weeks to pay off bills, worked on average Two to THREE jobs at a time, and even when I worked 40 hour work-weeks, I went to school for a FULL load of classes,... ALL so I could go back to school and eventually teach.

And now, ALL that may be lost because of these two people, these two ....... I don't even want to say it......... , who have lied about my act of kindness, just to make some sick and twisted game of this. How LOW ...............

Too long or not long enough?

I've finally done it. At the request of you-know-who, I've broken down and gotten tv service. Saturday of this week Direct TV will be installing a dish and starting service.

Of course, one requirement for me giving in to this was the purchase of a new television and the HD service package. I'm the proud new owner of a 50" plasma 720p HDTV.

Obviously this is all part of my master plan so that I'll be left alone more often and I can then focus on playing WoW without distraction. (j/k sorta) AND... very importantly,.... the new tv has a PC input so when the house is quieted at night by the sleep fairy, I can plug in my laptop and game on a 50" monitor -- that is, IF I can get it to work alright and have decent enough resolution where the items on my screen won't be too crowded.

The television gets delivered today. I might have to purchase a new dvd player and a tuner and speakers, depending on whether or not this new modernized beast can connect to my old ones or not. Nothing I have so far has optical output. Any suggestions from the peanut gallery as to what to be sure I get / do? I want the best picture quality and sound. I've already spent a fortune on the tv. I might as well spend a bit more to be sure I utilize it well.

Internet stalking and harrassment 101

Hey S***e, you're a fuckhead.

Grow up. Have some balls to post more than just anonymously. To post personally identifying information in comments on someone's blog that is even quasi-anonymous, without their permission is a violation of internet courtsey and is also infringing on the internet stalking act. Don't believe me? Look it up. That's why she used a pseudonym. Don't know what a pseudonym is? Go look that up too.

How would you like it if I posted your full name, social security number, and address and phone number on here? Don't think I don't have access to that information. Wouldn't like it? Wouldn't care? Believe it or not there is a law to protect that from happening, and yes, they do enforce it. The GBI in combination with the DEA enforce it along with some other laws like video duplication copyright violations (like the recent video store owner that went to jail for 450 counts of a felony - each tape copied was a felony).

You made your point, as stupid, poorly informed, misdirected, and ignorant as you are; you made a point. Now, leave well enough alone. I was nice to your wife, and even expressed my concern for her well-being and brought her flowers when she had to go get a scan and was crying and worried. I was even concerned for you when you lost your job. But now you've brought me into this, making a comment about me. You stupid shitheel.......

Mention me again or harrass,... yes, I said the word "harrass" (you know, the one they use in court all the time) me or HER again, and you'll be making a mistake you will not live down.

And no, this is NOT testosterone speaking. Calm down, Beavis. THINK for a minute. REALLY FUCKING THINK. Who did my mom work for?!? Do you REMEMBER when I told you about my mom dying of cancer,.. and who she worked for for the last few years of her life?!?!? Do you happen to remember the fact that she worked for the GBI???

I suggest you drop it now.

"Harrassment is a malicious act of annoying and threatening someone through various means, i.e via emails, via letters with personal motives and reasons."

and more specifically,... GEORGIA LAW dictates;

"A person commits the offense of stalking when he or she follows, places under surveillance, or contacts another person at or about a place or places without the consent of the other person for the purpose of harassing and intimidating the other person."

Don't believe me? Go look it up for yourself.

NOTICE: You did not get her consent to post her name, nor the place of her work, nor did you get my permission to post my name.

Ever heard of Sitemeter Gold?

Do you REALLY think it is a smart idea to fuck with someone that has a Master's degree focused on Mediated Communication; someone who's taken Communication Law and could teach it?!?

The next time you want to pick on someone, pick on someone your own maturity level. I'm sure you can easily find a third grader to play with at the elementary school. Now, fuck off.

*sigh* and *yay*

Its happening. I'm going back to work today. The summer is finally at a close and work beckons.

*sigh*
In a way I'm sad I won't get to sleep in as much and I'll have to put up with students again and I'll be up forEVER grading papers. I'm teaching 5 classes this fall. Ugh.

*yay*
On the other hand I'm happy to be going back - happy to see my coworkers again, happy to be teaching again, and excited for a new semester of learning. I truly do like seeing these young men and women learn. I wish I could be easier on them too, but I know I can't or they won't learn anything.

We'll see how it goes. I'm staying optimistic. :)

That's work. Now for home...
On the homefront I'm battling bugs. Yes, bugs.

(Those of you that don't like bugs, PLEASE STOP READING)

I put out border control stuff and even used the grass fertilizer with bug killer in it. But I'm still getting bugs in the house, 3 specific kinds really.

#1- Silverfish - They're in the attic I suspect since I've found a couple crawling out one of the air-conditioning vents in the ceiling.

#2- Spiders - Small ones on the carpet. I suspect the border stuff isn't working to keep them out and they're coming in along the foundation.

#3- Scorpions - Admittedly I've only found two in my house, one last year and one this year, but still this is one bug that I do NOT want to step on at 2 am when I go to the kitchen barefoot for a glass of water.

Solution? I'm buying so much bug killing product today its going to hurt my credit card's feelings. My house inside and out is going to smell like a chemical factory. The only concerns I have are;

#1 - If I put a bug bomb in the attic, will my air unit kicking on ignite the gas and set my house on fire? Doubtful, but it scares me nonetheless.

#2 - I hope my dog's okay when we come back. He tends to get a bit sick everytime any kind of chemical is in the house. I'm taking him with me so he won't be in the house all day but still, when he comes back I hope his little system will handle it alright.

For a long time

For a long time I've wanted a tattoo. A long time before that I thought I'd never get one that they just weren't for me. It took me a good year once I knew I wanted a tribalesque dragon to find any I liked. After all that searching I designed my own.

It has a lot of meanings hidden in it. It was sortof my first gaming character (which started out as the pure and innocent Geoffrey Winston III and after some corruption and an infusion of black dragon blood he became a bit more evil in nature, and thus the name Veloche was born).

Also, my initials are in the body of the dragon. All three. If you know my initials, look for them. See if you can find them. :)

There are other things hidden in the design too but that's a story for another time in the future. :D

I LOVE my new (and first ever) tattoo!!! What do YOU think about it??

Evil Inc.

I run a horde guild in the game WoW, on the Moon Guard server. We just had our first Treasure Hunt and it was a fun success. Here's a pic of some of our antics. :)

Behind Bars

My brother Joe has been doing illegal things all his life. He's been in jail more times than anybody I know, and yet he thinks something is wrong with the system, that they're just giving him a hard time because he's been in jail before. Funny how he's a "victim" yet amazingly he keeps doing shit that's against the law and ending up back in jail. You'd think he'd see a pattern in all this. Sadly, he doesn't.

He's always whiny too when someone asks him about his time, "Oh, it's 'cause I'm an ex-con and they don't like ex-cons," or "it shouldn't be illegal to sell weed," or "we were just having some fun and nobody was home" (as if its okay to pipe-bomb someone's house while they're on vacation while you're high on crack) or when he was younger, "Oh, I was adopted and my parents fucked me up." The same goes for when he leaves a job, "Oh, they had a thing against me, said I was being racist," or "Oh, that guy was an ass, he was taking too much of my paycheck," or "she was giving me shit and she doesn't know how lucky she was, you know I have a temper."

Well, Joe, its because you're an asshat that lets your emotions rule you. You're not a victim. You're an asshole. I swear, man. ALL your life I NEVER judged you. I NEVER held against you those things that you did. Did I?!? NO!!! I ALWAYS had the opinion that deep down you had a good guy inside you, somewhere. I ALWAYS stood up for you whenever people would say shit about you. No more. You know why? Because you're being a stupid shithead, letting money get to you, letting your emotions vent through your actions the way you do.

As soon as you get some money in your hand from tattooing, you go nuts. I know too, don't try to bullshit me. I know you do coke, I know you smoke weed a lot, I know you drink still, I know you do other stuff too. Don't EVEN try to deny it with me. If you do, you're full of SHIT, brother.

Well, you're THIRTY-FIVE now. You're a grown man, halfway through life, and you're still doing stupid shit that gets you landed in jail. You can't hold down a job to save your life. You can't take care of your baby or the one woman that halfway kept you in line because she cared about you. Joe, here's a message from your brother, you know,.. the one that's always believed in you,... the one that always stood up for you,....... the one that always defended you even to mom and dad when you'd do crazy stuff,.........

GROW THE FUCK UP, STOP BEING AN ASS, KEEP A JOB, STOP DOING DRUGS, THEY'RE RUINING YOUR LIFE WHETHER YOU THINK SO OR NOT. LOOK AT THE EVIDENCE!!!

Seriously, do you plan on being old and bald and still in jail? I hope you take what I've said here seriously since I've never said anything bad to you before. I really truly hope you straighten out and realize you're not going to live much longer if you keep this lifestyle up. That means you're not going to see your kid grow up.

You still have a chance to do something good in this life. You have the chance to take care of that kid, give him what he needs, and have something to show for the goodness buried deep down in you. I hope you take control of your life and stay off the drugs.

Happy AND Sad

Well the people at the job I really wanted sent me a letter saying the position was filled,... and not by me. This makes me sad. It would've been a great job for my career and for me in general. But this means I'm staying where I am now for another year and this makes me happy. See, there're some pretty darn special people where I work now and I'm happy to be their friend and be able to see them and talk with them everyday. Everything happens for a reason, right? Right! So on one hand I'm sad, and on the other hand I'm happy.

The hunt goes on

I'm still hunting for jobs. I've had two interviews so far. One was with a local technical college for a public relations specialist. I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY like that job description AND its only 15 minutes from my house, against Atlanta commuter traffic! I hope out of all the jobs I applied for, that one calls me with an offer. I know I'd love it. I've always been a fan of technical colleges ever since I went through it and it shaped my life in several ways.

I had another interview today. It was with the Red Cross. The job description sounds fine, and I really liked the people there and I know I'd have fun doing the job, but two things bother me about it. First, when the lady contacted me to reschedule the interview (yes, they postponed an interview) she told me a different time than what the original interview was. (She said, I know we had an appointment for 12 noon today, but..... --- the problem was, the interview was scheduled for 11:30, not 12 noon.) Secondly, the lady that interviewed me showed up late AND she had me do a "writing test."

Excuse me? What?!? A writing test for a person with a Master's degree from the University of Illinois?!? Get real. On top of that, this "writing test" was to write a news release and a letter to pitch their planned event to send to local media. In other words, I just did an hour's work for free for them. How tacky!

I swore to myself I'd never do that again too - free work in an "interview." I once was told in order to get a civil job I had to design a site layout and a company logo (a good 3 hours worth of work or more). I stopped working at an hour and a half and saved my work in a way that they could only look at it and not edit or copy it before putting it on a disk for them. I also told them it was tacky to ask me to do that work and not pay me for my time. Of course I didn't get that job, but guess what.... four months later that company went bankrupt. HA!

Anyway,... the hunt goes on. Meanwhile, I have a contract to work the month of July, teaching again. Fun fun. Time for summer students!

SHhhhhhh! Be vewwy vewwy quiet!

I'm hunting... JOBS!

I'm really sick of the bullshit people in academia try to get away with.

Let's just SAY there's this person that everyone agrees messed up a job she had before. Someone filled the position that was wonderful at it and straightened some things out, thank goodness. That's great. Then the boss of that person's position is fired because he didn't do anything he was supposed to, that's good - leaving an interim boss, that's good too. But then that wonderful person leaves for more money, that's bad. And then the interim boss starts doing crazy shit like APPOINTING a person to fill the position withOUT consulting the faculty that are under that person's supervision, or anyone else!!!! That's VERY bad! It turns out the person appointed is the person that messed things up in the first place, that's bad too. Still following along?

Why oh why does there have to be so much damn drama in academia? These people are supposed to be well-rounded in culture, life, and education, and yet they make some stupid decisions. And its NOT just this one instance. I see it happen all the time. I think there should be a requirement of HAVING to work in the REAL corporate world FIRST, before ever getting a job in academia. And I'm not talking about being a sandwich artist, either. I mean corporate America, where if you mess things up you're held accountable! In corporate America we strive for efficiency. Somewhere along the lines, efficiency got LOST in much of academia.

Certainly this crap isn't the only reason I've pulled out the shotgun and put on my Elmer Fudd cap, but they do contribute to the reasoning. There are a few more reasons:

Money: I found out my institution pays its "temporary instructors" (that's me) $9,000 LESS a year than the national average for this position. Meanwhile, the same institution pays professors $12,000 MORE a year than the national average for those positions. No wonder they can't keep instructors. And they wonder why they can't hold on to the good ones. DUH, you asshats, get a clue and rearrange the freakin budget!

Desire: I've wanted for a long time to get into a corporate PR-type position. I feel I've waited long enough. I'm going to try and find one that suits me well. Wish me luck! :)

Now, let me get back to my hunting...........

Okay people,.....

When I posted my Birthday Wishlist I wasn't expecting, but I was hoping someone would get me one of those "hot items." It hasn't come true YET, but I'll wait for it. Maybe someone found me one! :)

This week is going fairly well. My brother Ken came to see me yesterday on his way through to see his in-laws that live in Alabama. Its always good to see you, Brother! I wish I'd taken a picture of me and Ken so I could post it up here. Maybe he'll stop by on the return trip. HINT HINT - if you see this, Ken!

The beginning of this week was kindof scary though. I went to the Doctor to get some bloodwork done. The sweet lady that takes my blood is great. She told me she was a Vampire. She's so spunky I bet she's a bundle of fun to hang out with. She's a bit older than me seeing as she has a son that's 25 but she sure doesn't look it. I kept looking at her ass in those bright green medical pants. I know, shame on me, but hey, I'm trying to prove a point here that she looks great for her age.



ANYway,... she was taking my blood and couldn't find a vein. I wasn't feeling well that day and I didn't drink my normal morning water, so I was getting dehydrated. I also didn't notice the time. It was already around 1:30 pm and I hadn't eaten yet. She stuck me a few times in one arm then switched to the other arm. I don't typically have ANY problem with needles. I've never fainted from them, and I used to sit up and watch Dr. Adams when he'd remove my toenail. Hell, I'd even help.


She was finally drawing some blood from my other arm and I made a comment about it looking more like Jello than blood. I was really dehydrated and all of a sudden I felt HOT. I started sweating like MAD, all over. My arms, legs, back, everything was immediately drenched. I know, gross, right? I asked, "Why is this happening to me?" and my vision blurred, my ears stopped up making it difficult to hear, and I thought I was going to pass out. it felt really strange. I've never had that happen before.

Mrs. Hot Vampire Spunky Lady held my face in her hands, told me in a sweet gentle voice, to look at her, to focus, and take deep breaths. She got me a cold washcloth and wiped my face and neck and arms down and fanned air on me. THANK YOU, you spunky little Minx! Without you there I'd be in the darkness. Soon I recovered and color came back to my face. I'm very grateful to her for what she did. I don't know how rare of an occurence that is, but I'm glad she knew how to handle the situation. I felt kinda bad about it seeing as I certainly didn't anticipate that happening to me. But now I'm totally fine. She gave me some water and I was back to smiling.

So, after a traumatic start to the week and a great recovery, I think I'm in need of one of those hot items off my birthday wishlist below. If you can find a similar model I'm sure she'd suffice. Just send her my way! Thanks. :)

Another year older

Yep, its that time again! Another birthday is passing and I'm turning 36! What do I want for my birthday? See below. I'll have a few of each, please! [wicked grin]

Memorial Day Weekend

Of course I paused today to observe our men and women lost in battle. Of course I stopped to think about and thank those servicepeople both alive and dead, that defended our nation, that took the initiative to serve us and promote democracy.

My sixth great uncle was Thomas Jefferson. My grandfather was in the Marines. My father was in the Air Force. My step-father was in the Army. All my life I've felt very patriotic and proud of our nation.

A long time ago I turned-down a scholarship to go to West Point and tried to enlist in the Navy. I wanted to serve our nation by being on a nuclear submarine. I passed the NQT (Nuclear Qualifications Test) with flying colors and I even went to Atlanta to take the physical and be sworn in. I got to the LAST room right before the 'oath room' and as I sat there taking my eye exam I could hear the group before me taking their oath. I failed the eye exam and was given papers that stated I couldn't join due to my poor vision.

Years later I'd corrected my vision somewhat, I had letters from Senators and Congressmen in hand, but decided then not to pursue what was once my dream. (Thanks Sam Nunn, anyway!) I don't regret that decision, as my life I have now is very different because of that moment. I am pleased with the way things turned out.

I still paused today as I hope all of you did, and honored our lost men and women that gave their lives for a cause.

But as we all know, today isn't just about the memory of lost servicepeople. It is also (and this is not to take away from the day's purpose, I'm just stating what is true) a day off of work. Many people use this long weekend to go on vacation. Some use it to do work around the house. And such is my long weekend spent,... doing work around the house. Today its the recovering of Mom's old dining room chair cushions.

And so, today I also honor my mother. I cherish the memories I have of her, as I recover those chairs I've seen since I was a child. Today is Memorial Day in more than one way for me. I love you, mom. You are missed.

Florida Sun

Last week I drove down to Florida to visit family. I stopped in Albany, GA on the way and stayed with my friends Keith and Dude. Thanks for letting me crash on the couch, guys! I got to go out to eat with Keith, Jimmy, Susan, and Susan's siblings. I'm glad I got to spend some time with them. They're all great people and great friends. Keith, I'm proud of you man - not only for the weight loss but for taking the initiative to take your career further. Dude, I'm happy I got to hang out and bug you at work a bit. As always, thanks for the great conversations. Jimmy, really good to see you bud and I'm sorry we didn't get to show off tats like we said we would. Maybe next time. :) Overall, my one night in Albany wasn't enough. I wanted to go visit more friends. I'm sorry to those of you I didn't have time to contact. My stay was a bit unexpected. But if you know me, you know this is normally the case with anything I do.

Then I made it down to Florida. Yay! Yes, I know. This is one odd looking trio. But no matter how odd we are, this is me, my brother, and my sister. I love my family very much even as whack as we are. :) I'm really pleased I got to see my siblings. I don't get to see them often at all, but when we do see each other, we always have an immediate connection with each other. Megan, you take care in Gainesville and I hope your transfer comes through! Please let me know what happens with that and your schoolwork. Joe, I wish you the best of luck down in Venice. Don't forget to keep in tough with Carrie, even if it is a phone call a week to find out how Holden is doing. If you don't do at least that, you'll regret it. I hope you do well down there. Keep in touch Bro, so I know where you are if you move again. :)

On the trip to and from Florida, I got rather burnt on one leg and one arm from the sun shining in my truck on one side. I know, hilarious. :P Ha. Ha. My forehead got a bit burnt just because I was out in the sun helping Dad move hay and fence gates and doing things with the cattle. I'm glad I got to spend some time with Dad, Mom, and Dot-Dot. I love you all very much!

All better?

Yesterday I got my truck back. Yay! I haven't driven it a lot yet although I will soon. One thing I noticed is, the air conditioner doesn't seem as cool as it was before. The weird thing is, I didn't think the AC got damaged in the wreck yet they said it was. Is this some scam to steal my freon? >.<>

As for the driving, I'll find out more soon, but for right now it seems fine, although the brakes seem a bit soft in application whereas before they were pretty taught. And naturally after riding in a little Mazda protege for a few weeks I feel up higher again. This is a good thing though. I hate that after the wreck, Uber (yes, that's my truck's name - I name all my vehicles) just isn't the same. But don't get me wrong, I'm VERY glad to have my own vehicle back!!!

Spring cleaning

Who am I to break the tradition of posting a "spring cleaning" message?!? I could break the tradition, especially since I like breaking traditions. I'm a rebel like that. But today I think I'll conform. Don't expect the same tomorrow though! Mwahaha!



Anyway,... it is spring. And although the temperature has already hit the mid 80's a few times, it feels like spring with the flowers blooming and the pollen in the air. *takes a deep breath*

Yesterday the stump-grinding guy came out and finished off the stumps that were hidden previously by the 4+ inches of debris left by the former forest in my backyard. I worked in the yard quite a bit yesterday hand-cutting smaller stumps and roots out with an axe. Despite the blisters on my hands and the soreness in my back and shoulders, I feel good about the yard. It is starting to shape up. In a few weeks it will be the perfect time for planting grass seed. (Centipede is planted usually later in spring or early summer.) I've gotten price quotes from landscapers to do that for me, along with a final grading and fertilization / aeration plan.

For now I just have to maintain the place by taking care of my front and side yards. Prior to spreading seed, the landscaping company is going to grade off the backyard. I am getting excited to watch grass grow. Is that weird? Yeah, yeah, bite me. I know I'm weird already.

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Goo Goo Dolls

Framing the situation

The word on the truck is that they're replacing the FRAME. The frame was bent and so you heard me right, they're replacing the FRAME. They're lifting the entire truck up off the old one and putting it on the newER one. Apparently there was an F-150 in a wreck that damaged the rest of the truck so badly it was totalled but didn't bend the frame. How the hell does that happen?! That makes me REALLY suspicious.

I told the shop owner to give the frame a good twice over before even thinking about putting it in my truck. Also, I am having them call me when it comes in so I can go look at it too. It kinda pisses me off they wouldn't use a new frame since my truck is fairly new (2004). The claims adjuster says it is a common practice. Even if its common, I've never heard of it before. We'll just have to wait and see I suppose.

Wreck =/

Some of you may have heard, some of you haven't. I was in a wreck today. My truck isn't driveable. I'm okay. I'm a bit sore (yes, a pain in the neck, ha ha) but otherwise alright. I'm quite sad about my truck though. I love that vehicle. Its the best one I've ever had.

I was turning left on a yellow light and I thought the other car was going to turn from the angle they were heading. They went straight,.. slammed on the brakes, and skid into me, head-on. If they hadn't slammed on the brakes we wouldn't have hit each other. They were going at least 50 MPH, perhaps 60+ since their skid marks were longer than 15 feet.

The driver of the car was slightly hurt, as the back of her head was lightly bleeding, the paramedics say because of her head slamming back into the headrest which has a metal bar in it. The passenger wasn't hurt. The police debated over who would be at fault since their skid marks were so long and from the look of things they would've missed me had they gone straight (I stopped quickly as I wasn't going that fast). But they finally decided upon me being at fault due to "not yielding the right of way" but they didn't give me a ticket, only a case number, and said the judge would decide.

Their car (an older model toyota) was totalled from the looks of it. My truck's front grille was broken, front fender pushed underneath, and pushed into the driver's side tire, and oddly enough,.. the tailgate hinge was broken due to the impact.

It really pisses me off I'll be held accountable when they were the ones speeding and had they not slammed on the brakes we wouldn't have crashed. I hate to think of what will happen to my insurance (not to mention my big deductible). Not only that but I wonder about that lady's head and if they'll cause trouble, milking it for all its worth. Yes, I am concerned for her safety, but they reacted in such a weird manner and very quickly left their car and went somewhere once the police were done with them, it makes me wonder if in this overly-letigious society if they're the sort of people that would be happy about crashing their old vehicle and the kind that would try to get more money than what they require for genuine medical recovery.

I guess I'm sore in several ways, huh? =/

Old Vehicles

Isn't it funny how random things bring back memories long forgotten? I was driving down the road today and I saw an old Ford Bronco, much like the one my friend Elvis used to have. It made me think of all the vehicles he used to drive, the ones I used to drive, and the ones all my friends USED TO drive. I know Elvis has a newer vehicle now, I've ridden in it. I know what car he had before the Bronco (a little blue car we called the rice-burner). But seeing this today made me think of all the things that happened in the Bronco,.. particular jokes as we were riding in it, adventures we went on in it, etc.

Then I thought of my old car that I had during many of the same years Elvis had the Bronco,... my old Chevrolet Impala. We always called it "The Walrus" because according to the crayola crayon box, its color was "walrus brown." Mine wasn't a stationwagon like the one pictured here but that IS the color. Don't ask me how the hell I found a picture with the right color. LOL That car was the center of some very interesting times in my life. Many things happened in the Walrus from a cruise down Cherry Street to peeing in the middle of a highway.

But both of these memories brought back an unexpected reminiscence. DaGetAwayCa. That's right, you heard me right,... "DaGetAwayCa." This is a car Elvis and I saw driving though the town of Albany, Georgia, many many years ago. It was an old, beaten-up, bondo'd car with no visible paint job,.. mostly rusty brown,.. with a label painted in black spray paint down its side,... "DaGetAwayCa." I still wonder if the police ever connected them to a crime, if they really did committ a crime, and if someone who knew they had been bad decided it'd be funny to point them out. Ah, good times.

Grass & Weeds

Like every stage of life we have both grass and weeds. Sometimes the weeds flourish so much they take over everything and begin to look beautiful. Sometimes the grass takes over and really creates a 'lawn'. As the proverb says, the grass is always greener on the other side. Well in this case, it isn't a lie. The grass really is greener on the other side because well,... my grass sucks.

I have so many weeds in my yard its crazy. I know the developer just put in the cheapest grass he could find and obviously that cheapass grass was full of weeds. Now the challenge is getting rid of all those weeds, trying to cultivate a healthy yard, and making it look like it ought to look - like grass instead of a hodgepodge of various green plantlife posing as grass.

Any tips? I've used disease control granules, fertilizer, weed killers of various sorts, and still have a mixed variety. I've been contemplating hiring one of those chemical lawn treatment companies, but I'd like some advice from those that have done so already. Anyone used these companies before? Any tips for dealing with them? Advice and/or commentary is appreciated!

Lions, Tigers, and Conferences, Oh My!

This past weekend I attended a conference for the Georgia Communication Association. I also stayed for the business meetings and I, among others, submitted a bid to host the conference at my institution in the coming years.

It was a good conference, but it was only one of many things I did this last weekend. I got to visit with my friend Taylor, that I don't see that often. Taylor and I are friends from my undergraduate years at Georgia State University. Back then Taylor and I both drank quite a lot. See, I had several German roommates back then and Germans, well,... Germans like to drink,... a LOT. We sortof drank just to keep up with them and hang out with them. That was a good bunch of guys, but admittedly, I don't like drinking as much as I did back then. I like being more in control. It turns out that Taylor doesn't drink nearly as much as he did back then either. We had a good time. Thanks for hanging out with me, bud!

Also, I spent some time with my buddy Chang, who lives in Atlanta. We did everything from playing pool to beating the crap out of each other in a game called Magic: The Gathering (MTG). Chang and I usually have some lively games of Magic, as we're both pretty bright and pride ourselves on coming up with new combinations and ways to do things in the game. I spent the night at Chang's one night before I headed back up. Thanks for the good times, pal!

Most everything went well this weekend. All in all, it was fantastic. One thing that didn't go well for me though was reeking of smoke due to the pool hall. I can't stand the smell of cigarette smoke in my clothes. I guess it reminds me a lot of mom's house and how I hate that she smoked even when she had cancer. But really, its not even that that makes me hate the smell. It just,.... stinks! Nasty stink!!! I went and bought a new pair of jeans because I only had one pair on me and I couldn't stand the smell anymore. Eh, I needed a new pair anyway, and these were on sale too. Yay! I actually don't mind shopping, but sometimes it is frustrating to find a pair that fits me well. My body is shaped weird, so I have to try jeans on. This is the first time I've bought a pair of Chaps jeans. I didn't even know they made them. They fit pretty well. :) I guess I'll tackle buying a few new shirts another day. That's a whole different story.

Frantic February

Its mid-February and I'm going ninety miles a minute. At least staying busy is keeping me out of trouble, but right now I feel like I'm barely hanging on with all the work I've taken on.

I recently moved offices, I'm on a few task forces & committees at work, I dedicated some time to write more on my future research project, I've been researching stuff for work, and I've been researching graduate school again. Yeah, I considered going on for the doctoral degree, but I still haven't made up my mind yet about that. I'm also considering a side-job to make some more money. So right now it is somewhat a toss-up as to what extra activity I'll be involved in, whether its a new job or new schooling.

I do feel somewhat stretched financially right now, as you've read in past posts, so I really want to do something about that. The thing is though,... I have a BRILLIANT idea to make money using my current education and specialty. The only problem is, I don't know how to start it, and I wish I did. I KNOW it'd make some excellent cash. I do mean EXCELLENT. But getting started is the major battle. I think I need to just stop freaking out and sit down and construct a business plan. Maybe that will help.

Even though I feel stretched and a bit frenzied momentarily, don't get me wrong. I am happy right now overall. There's always room for improvement, but currently I am in a good place so-to-speak. I've dealt with more stress than this when I worked in engineering, that's for sure. Thanks to some "fantastic" friends I'm coping quite nicely with all my new duties. It does make one wonder though, why do I volunteer to do so much?!? LOL Maybe I should volunteer less where I don't get paid much and put that energy into my side projects that have the possibility of paying me a lot. Hmmmm.... something to ponder.

Hope everything is well with you all. Thanks for staying tuned! :)

New Year

Well, I'm officially over the Christmas Blues. Yay! Thank God that's over, eh? ;) So, what's going on with me lately? Here are a few things:

I recently applied for a promotion at work and it was between myself and one other person. The other person got the promotion. Even though the other person has been there a lot longer and had a higher degree than I do, I feel I've done more for the specific group this promotion was to deal with and think I'd be better in that particular position. I also think if I'd gotten the promotion the other person would've left to go work elsewhere. I can't say as I blame the boss, as I very well might do what he did, figuring on this way as a way to keep both employees - for now. Overall, I'm okay with it, although it does make me consider my perceived worth at this institution. As it stands, my salary is extremely low. I understand we've been under some serious budget cuts in the past several years, and I understand higher education pays "a dime a dozen" instructors crap for pay. I also LOVE my job of teaching, but it does irk me knowing many jobs for uneducated workers earn MUCH more pay than I get for a job that requires a Master's degree.

Also, as a late Christmas present, I ordered a Roomba - you know, those robotic vaccuums? Roomba is awesome so far! I've only had it 2 days now but wow, he sure picks up a lot of stuff from the carpet.

The semester has started and so far it seems like I have a decent batch of students. I hope all goes well with them and I hope they make excellent grades by giving me good, quality work. :)

The weather outside is really turning colder and I've been slowly working on raking up the remains of what was a forest in my backyard. The decaying leaves and roots are about 4-5 inches thick and it takes a lot of energy just to rake up a little bit into a pile. I have a feeling the backyard MIGHT get done by springtime. =/ Maybe I'll hire a few day laborers to come rake when it gets closer to spring. I want to plant grass so one day it will look like a nice green yard instead of a brown disaster area.

In gaming news, I've been raiding a lot again. My main character is now able to go to a place called "Naxxramas" which is a higher and more difficult area than we've ever attempted before. Tonight we tried a boss we've never killed before and got it down to 41% as our best try. I'm confident we'll get him dead soon, as I believe we've figured out the strategy to defeat him already.

On a personal note, I really want to lose some weight. I am uncomfortable with myself again. I tend to go in cycles that are several years long. I build up slowly to a weight that makes me uncomfortable, then I lose weight over a year or two, then the cycle repeats. Here's looking ahead to a slimming new year. This isn't a resolution, as I don't formally make those, but it is a hope. ;)

I also wish YOU all the best in this new year. Thanks for sticking with me. :D