I know, I have taken forever to get another post in here. My apologies.
Since my last post, I got sick, then I got better over the course of a week, so I spent most of my time sleeping instead of blogging. Then, James got sick (barfing and such, the poor little guy), then he got better, actually he is still getting better. James still does not eat as much as he did before he tossed his cookies all over his bed on Monday night. During the time James has been sick, I have been worrying, instead of blogging. So you can see why I haven't been on the computer for two weeks... Or perhaps my dog ate the hard drive, or some other lame excuse, yadda, yadda, yadda...
I am heading off to Indiana for a few days to visit with my parents and my in-laws! I can't wait! There is nothing quite like the fun times you have with the people that you love.
I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas! (or perhaps the most wonderful holiday that you prefer to celebrate other than Christmas!) ...and a happy new!!!
Be back soon!
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
Thursday, December 08, 2005
Kansas City Snowstorm!!!
If you have read my earlier post, I made a comment or two about the fact that there aren't many junk cars in the Overland Park, Kansas area. There is probably more than one reason for that fact, but one reason in particular came to my attention just recently. The cars out here don't corrode very fast because they haven't seen the widespread distribution of a very useful item that other areas commonly use, road salt. THEY DON'T USE FREAKING ROAD SALT MUCH OUT HERE.
I was watching the television last night and giggling at the number of news stories that centered on the measly 6 to 8 inch snowfall that we were supposed to get. I was thinking that if I were back in Indiana, this would be a non-event, and would barely make the news. Kids would be certain that school was going to be open the next day, certainly no chance for a snow day. A slight delay was the best we could have hoped for in Indiana. Out here, they closed all the schools before the snow hit the pavement.
The snow was light and fluffy, and it came down very slowly. The road crews had ample time to apply the liquid salt to the road before the snow hit. The snowfall was going to be so slow and steady, so the plows would surely be able to keep up with plowing and salting, or even sanding. IT DIDN'T HAPPEN. The roads all got covered with a layer of hard-packed snow since they didn't salt the roads. The area only got about six inches, and all the roads were a mess. The flashy rear-drive european sedans could be seen in the snowbanks all over the place. I now know why the snowfall makes the news here, because the area sucks at dealing with it. The Illinois road crews could teach the road crews out here a thing or two about hitting the switch on the salt shaker. In Indiana, you don't need to watch the news to know that it is snowing, you can tell by the sound of the plow driving past your house. In Kansas, you would never know that it was snowing until you got into your car and drove out of the garage, the plows are no where to be found. It was almost 24 hours after the snowfall before my street was plowed. My street still has two abandoned cars due to the snowfall. (One of the cars is a Neon with a blown-out hoopdie wheel!! Bwaaahahaha!! Nice picture, eh? It figures that I see this just after I said that there weren't many hoopdies out here. At least it is a late-model hoopdie.)
Sunday, November 27, 2005
Subtle differences, and some funny stuff...
I just got back from a very short weekend in the Chesterton, Indiana area. I have noticed a few more differences between here (Overland Park, Kansas) and there...
1. Overland Park has no zoning. There are stores all over the place. Every other block has a gas station, grocery store, church, or strip mall. In Chesterton and Valparaiso, there are fairly well-defined residential areas and there are also fairly well-defined commercial and shopping areas. The two don't mix much, except in the downtown areas. It seems weird to have your shopping areas spread out all over the place, but that is how they have done it in Overland Park.
2. Aggressive drivers. Both areas have them, but they are easily five times more prevalent near the I-94 corridor. You can't travel from Chesterton to Valparaiso on the 49 bypass without being tailgated and getting the bright lights flashed at you, if you aren't doing 85 in the left lane. If you still wait too long to get out of the way, you will get passed on the right with inches to spare, and get the middle finger. In Overland Park, I can't remember the last time I was tailgated for not getting out of the left lane fast enough, and I have yet to get flipped off. Generally, people in Kansas will even slow down to let you merge. I never thought I would see that, honestly. I used to drive I-94 to work everday, where they only pedal that gets used is the gas pedal until everyone sits in the daily gridlock. Another thing, when someone wants to get past you, they are supposed to follow a little closer than you would like them to, that's how you signal that you want to get past. I don't call that aggressive driving. This "signaling" distance appears to be about 30 feet in Kansas and about three feet in the Chicago area.
3. Overland Park lacks the homey small-town appeal that Valparaiso and Chesterton have. They have nice stuff in Kansas, but it lacks the old-school charm that Chesterton and Valparaiso have perfected. The downtown area in Overland Park is quite crappy by comparison. Pretty, but crappy. Overland Park really has no old-school style, or perhaps it needs a little bit more hillbilly for me to really enjoy it. When all the little "Mom and Pop stores" looks like Target or Kohl's, and none of the floors squeak in the old buildings, it isn't nearly as fun for me. In fact, it's just kinda weird to walk into an old brick building and have the interior look as though it was built three years ago. -Maybe my expectations are a little off. Overland Park is not a small town, so perhaps I should stop trying to think of it as one. It's probably hard to be small-townish when your population is about 200,000.
4. I may have said this before, but I will say it again. There are a million clunkers and hoopdies driving around in Northwest Indiana. You will rarely see someone driving a bucket in this area. I saw a million buckets and POS cars in Indiana this past weekend. You would think that there would be a lot of crapwagons out here in podunk Kansas, but there just aren't very many.
For those who are unfamiliar with my car terms, here is a brief, funny glossary:
Hoopdie: Older automobile, named because it is riding on one (or more) of those tiny little "donut" spare tires that you are only supposed to drive on until you can get to a gas station. I have seen cars (two of them) riding on four donut spares that didn't even match. The donut spare is a also sometimes known as a "hoopdie wheel". There is another variant of the hoopdie, known as a "Ghetto-sled" which refers to a hoopdie automobile that is larger than average, usually a 1970's Oldsmobile or Buick.
Clunker: Car that is in such disrepair that it makes a ton of noise hobbling down the road. It is definitely dragging something, like a muffler or a bumper, or the undercarriage may be skimming the pavement due to a broken suspension. These are most common in the snow belt due to the wonderfully corrosive properties of the salt they use to keep the snow and ice off of the roads in winter.
POS: A little bit of a dirty term, it literally means piece of $hi7. Totally worthless automobile, should have gone to the scrap heap a long time ago but still moves under its own power on occasion. See also: Bucket, Crapwagon
Bucket: "Bucket" of bolts, may have duct tape holding it together or perhaps some fine vintage of bailing wire or clothes hangers. "Buckets" usually are also commonly missing parts off of the exterior of the vehicle and the interior. A missing radio coupled with a missing hubcap, and you are well on your way to bucketville. Add a little duct tape to cover a broken taillight, and you are indeed a bucket. See also: POS, Crapwagon
Crapwagon: My favorite type of road-going garbage barge, a crapwagon is the car that has had zero maintenance in its lifetime. It usually makes a lot of engine noise due to no oil changes and it blows blue smoke at every stoplight. Finer crapwagons may be found broken down along the freeway in any season. My personal favorite crapwagon is the "screaming crapwagon" so aptly named due to the howl that either the engine belts or the power steering pump is blasting out at full volume. Nothing like hearing the beautiful noise emitted by a screaming crapwagon while putting around town in the summer... Good times...
Feel free to add your observations in the comments area.
Lest anyone think I am a snob - you should see some of the crap that I have driven over the years. I write this post from experience. I used to drive a car that would backfire out the intake and shoot flames out the top of the carb. That was a sweet ride, yo. It sounded like this when I tried to accelerate: urp, urp-burp, urp, ka-blam, blam, BA-BLAM!! That was not the only "feature" of that car, it had quite a lot of "character" that I will save for another time.
1. Overland Park has no zoning. There are stores all over the place. Every other block has a gas station, grocery store, church, or strip mall. In Chesterton and Valparaiso, there are fairly well-defined residential areas and there are also fairly well-defined commercial and shopping areas. The two don't mix much, except in the downtown areas. It seems weird to have your shopping areas spread out all over the place, but that is how they have done it in Overland Park.
2. Aggressive drivers. Both areas have them, but they are easily five times more prevalent near the I-94 corridor. You can't travel from Chesterton to Valparaiso on the 49 bypass without being tailgated and getting the bright lights flashed at you, if you aren't doing 85 in the left lane. If you still wait too long to get out of the way, you will get passed on the right with inches to spare, and get the middle finger. In Overland Park, I can't remember the last time I was tailgated for not getting out of the left lane fast enough, and I have yet to get flipped off. Generally, people in Kansas will even slow down to let you merge. I never thought I would see that, honestly. I used to drive I-94 to work everday, where they only pedal that gets used is the gas pedal until everyone sits in the daily gridlock. Another thing, when someone wants to get past you, they are supposed to follow a little closer than you would like them to, that's how you signal that you want to get past. I don't call that aggressive driving. This "signaling" distance appears to be about 30 feet in Kansas and about three feet in the Chicago area.
3. Overland Park lacks the homey small-town appeal that Valparaiso and Chesterton have. They have nice stuff in Kansas, but it lacks the old-school charm that Chesterton and Valparaiso have perfected. The downtown area in Overland Park is quite crappy by comparison. Pretty, but crappy. Overland Park really has no old-school style, or perhaps it needs a little bit more hillbilly for me to really enjoy it. When all the little "Mom and Pop stores" looks like Target or Kohl's, and none of the floors squeak in the old buildings, it isn't nearly as fun for me. In fact, it's just kinda weird to walk into an old brick building and have the interior look as though it was built three years ago. -Maybe my expectations are a little off. Overland Park is not a small town, so perhaps I should stop trying to think of it as one. It's probably hard to be small-townish when your population is about 200,000.
4. I may have said this before, but I will say it again. There are a million clunkers and hoopdies driving around in Northwest Indiana. You will rarely see someone driving a bucket in this area. I saw a million buckets and POS cars in Indiana this past weekend. You would think that there would be a lot of crapwagons out here in podunk Kansas, but there just aren't very many.
For those who are unfamiliar with my car terms, here is a brief, funny glossary:
Hoopdie: Older automobile, named because it is riding on one (or more) of those tiny little "donut" spare tires that you are only supposed to drive on until you can get to a gas station. I have seen cars (two of them) riding on four donut spares that didn't even match. The donut spare is a also sometimes known as a "hoopdie wheel". There is another variant of the hoopdie, known as a "Ghetto-sled" which refers to a hoopdie automobile that is larger than average, usually a 1970's Oldsmobile or Buick.
Clunker: Car that is in such disrepair that it makes a ton of noise hobbling down the road. It is definitely dragging something, like a muffler or a bumper, or the undercarriage may be skimming the pavement due to a broken suspension. These are most common in the snow belt due to the wonderfully corrosive properties of the salt they use to keep the snow and ice off of the roads in winter.
POS: A little bit of a dirty term, it literally means piece of $hi7. Totally worthless automobile, should have gone to the scrap heap a long time ago but still moves under its own power on occasion. See also: Bucket, Crapwagon
Bucket: "Bucket" of bolts, may have duct tape holding it together or perhaps some fine vintage of bailing wire or clothes hangers. "Buckets" usually are also commonly missing parts off of the exterior of the vehicle and the interior. A missing radio coupled with a missing hubcap, and you are well on your way to bucketville. Add a little duct tape to cover a broken taillight, and you are indeed a bucket. See also: POS, Crapwagon
Crapwagon: My favorite type of road-going garbage barge, a crapwagon is the car that has had zero maintenance in its lifetime. It usually makes a lot of engine noise due to no oil changes and it blows blue smoke at every stoplight. Finer crapwagons may be found broken down along the freeway in any season. My personal favorite crapwagon is the "screaming crapwagon" so aptly named due to the howl that either the engine belts or the power steering pump is blasting out at full volume. Nothing like hearing the beautiful noise emitted by a screaming crapwagon while putting around town in the summer... Good times...
Feel free to add your observations in the comments area.
Lest anyone think I am a snob - you should see some of the crap that I have driven over the years. I write this post from experience. I used to drive a car that would backfire out the intake and shoot flames out the top of the carb. That was a sweet ride, yo. It sounded like this when I tried to accelerate: urp, urp-burp, urp, ka-blam, blam, BA-BLAM!! That was not the only "feature" of that car, it had quite a lot of "character" that I will save for another time.
Friday, November 18, 2005
YAY, Friday!
Here's a picture of my buddy James from our vacation in Myrtle beach back in October. Cutest kid in the world, I tell ya.
Happy Friday!!
It was one heck of a week, but we made it! I almost ran the plant out of two of our most popular products. That could have been disastrous, really. It would literally be the equivalent of Ford running out of cars and trucks in the same week, and all they had left was the vans and some of last year's slow-moving inventory. Anyway, we have emerged once again without shorting any of our customers, which is nice. :) It could have been some really bad times. Bakeries tend to get pretty pissed off when they can't make products for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Another cute James story! (Stop reading now if you are tired of my mushy baby stories.) I have been practicing with James to get him to say "Mama!" when he sees Karen. He would do it over and over again, right on cue, until we actually saw Karen. As soon as he saw Karen, he leaned towards her and said, "Dada! DAAADAAA!"
One more James story: Karen got James out of the bath tonight and he immediately peed all over the floor, laughing hysterically the entire time, and playing in the stream of whiz like it was a fountain. That's my boy, Rip Van Tinkle.
Thursday, November 17, 2005
We must fix the budget!
Ours, not the nation's.
Saturday, I was at work for physical inventory and Karen was at home doing some of her own inventory... of our money. She's now put each of us on a spending allowance of $250/month, not including gas, grocery, or utilities. This has been happening since Nov. 1, and I am underspending her by $110. I rule, yay. (think Howard Dean yelling "yeaaarrrrghhhh" here) Most of my money goes towards soft drinks, m&m's, and sandwiches from the machine at work, and Karen bought new smoke detectors and coats for her and James (which almost accounts for the $110 difference). I've picked up a couple of trips to Custards (where we spend about $8/trip), and a dinner or two. I have to say it's very weird being a 30-something on an allowance again. We'll see how long this lasts, my "magic credit card" finger is getting itchy... Oh, and Christmas presents don't count. I think I am getting "me" lots of stuff soon. :)
Saturday, I was at work for physical inventory and Karen was at home doing some of her own inventory... of our money. She's now put each of us on a spending allowance of $250/month, not including gas, grocery, or utilities. This has been happening since Nov. 1, and I am underspending her by $110. I rule, yay. (think Howard Dean yelling "yeaaarrrrghhhh" here) Most of my money goes towards soft drinks, m&m's, and sandwiches from the machine at work, and Karen bought new smoke detectors and coats for her and James (which almost accounts for the $110 difference). I've picked up a couple of trips to Custards (where we spend about $8/trip), and a dinner or two. I have to say it's very weird being a 30-something on an allowance again. We'll see how long this lasts, my "magic credit card" finger is getting itchy... Oh, and Christmas presents don't count. I think I am getting "me" lots of stuff soon. :)
Sunday, November 13, 2005
Reality check...
Karen and James were out of town last week, leaving me to fend for myself. Actually I had a big project (install ceramic in the upstairs spare bathroom) to keep me busy while I was not at my normal job. After working hard all day at my job and then coming home and working hard at installing the tiles, I was ready for a reward. I decided that I needed some ice cream. I headed over to CUSTARD'S LAST STAND, the best ice cream joint I have ever been to. Upon ordering my ice cream, I thought that the girl (a very pretty young thing) was perhaps being a little flirty with me. I left the ice cream store with a little extra bounce in my step, thinking that a pretty young girl was giving me the eye.
The next day I went to work in the morning and told the story to my assistant. She looked at me and said, "Since you were probably wearing your dress pants from your work uniform, she probably thought you had money. She was flirting because she wanted a tip."
I know what I am getting my assistant for Christmas: A whole lot of nothing, sucka.
The next day I went to work in the morning and told the story to my assistant. She looked at me and said, "Since you were probably wearing your dress pants from your work uniform, she probably thought you had money. She was flirting because she wanted a tip."
I know what I am getting my assistant for Christmas: A whole lot of nothing, sucka.
Monday, November 07, 2005
Additional funny!
We usually raise our voices and say "JAMES" when James is being bad. Lately he has been up-ending his dinner plate onto the table, eliciting the raised-voice "JAMES" response from Karen and I every time he does it. This afternoon, James turned his plate of veggies over, emptying his veggies onto the table and then he loudly announced "JAMES, JAMES, JAMES". He cracks me up.
News and more news!
MY FRIEND SCOTTIE IS GETTING MARRIED!!! He asked Melisa to be his wife, and she accepted! Congratulations you two, I am totally psyched for you guys!
Scottie also asked me to be his Best Man!! I have been friends with Scottie for a long time, and this really means a lot to me! I am very honored and really excited that he has asked me to participate in sharing the day with them! I can't wait for the big day!
I wanted to talk about this as soon as Scottie told me the news, but I was afraid to spill the beans, just in case someone hadn't heard about it from him.
A little bit about my life. Karen and I started the adoption process through a place called "Independent Adoption Center" located in Indianapolis. The neat thing about the independent adoption center is that the birth mother gets to pick the couple that will be adopting her child. We are going to put together a letter for women who are making an adoption plan for their child. The birth mother selects the adoptive parents from the letter. It is also an open adoption, I.E. after the birth of the child, the birth mother (or biological parents) can stay in contact with the child if they choose to do so. We will probably be adopting a domestic-born baby, since we probably couldn't afford to adopt a baby from outside the US. I (we) just hope it happens soon!
Scottie also asked me to be his Best Man!! I have been friends with Scottie for a long time, and this really means a lot to me! I am very honored and really excited that he has asked me to participate in sharing the day with them! I can't wait for the big day!
I wanted to talk about this as soon as Scottie told me the news, but I was afraid to spill the beans, just in case someone hadn't heard about it from him.
A little bit about my life. Karen and I started the adoption process through a place called "Independent Adoption Center" located in Indianapolis. The neat thing about the independent adoption center is that the birth mother gets to pick the couple that will be adopting her child. We are going to put together a letter for women who are making an adoption plan for their child. The birth mother selects the adoptive parents from the letter. It is also an open adoption, I.E. after the birth of the child, the birth mother (or biological parents) can stay in contact with the child if they choose to do so. We will probably be adopting a domestic-born baby, since we probably couldn't afford to adopt a baby from outside the US. I (we) just hope it happens soon!
Friday, November 04, 2005
Back to being myself again...
After several months of really struggling at my job, I seem to have a few more things figured out and I appear to be swimming instead of sinking. I feel much better about my job and I am much happier these days. Just thought you should know. Instead of an upset stomach, now I have a sense of pride that I am capable of doing my job. It was really scary for a little while there, but things are looking good lately. Now, if I could just figure out how to get the efficiency so high that I wouldn't have to make the guys work every other weekend, I would be very happy. That would be nice. My conscience gnaws at me pretty heavily for making 200 people spend so much time away from their families.
I still feel horrible that the plant manager lost his job this week. I really hope he is okay. I know he took pride in his job and I feel awful for him. I only worked with him for a little while, but I gained some respect for him in that short amount of time and I still have that respect for him even though he is no longer my coworker.
I still feel horrible that the plant manager lost his job this week. I really hope he is okay. I know he took pride in his job and I feel awful for him. I only worked with him for a little while, but I gained some respect for him in that short amount of time and I still have that respect for him even though he is no longer my coworker.
Thursday, November 03, 2005
$2 a gallon?!?!
Okay, what gives? Why the hell is gas back to two dollars a gallon? Is this in light of the recent inquiries launched against the big oil companies? I think we need to investigate the makers of really sweet cars to see if they drop the prices too.
In other really strange news, the plant manager where I work was fired this week. He worked at the plant for something like 27 years. That scares the hell out of me. He is a nice guy, too. He is definitely in my prayers. It was definitely a shock to almost everyone.
I have some really exciting news! Karen and I just started the process of adopting a baby! We are very excited about it and we hope it happens quickly as we would love to have another little one to love. Wish us luck! I wonder if it will be a boy or a girl???
In other really strange news, the plant manager where I work was fired this week. He worked at the plant for something like 27 years. That scares the hell out of me. He is a nice guy, too. He is definitely in my prayers. It was definitely a shock to almost everyone.
I have some really exciting news! Karen and I just started the process of adopting a baby! We are very excited about it and we hope it happens quickly as we would love to have another little one to love. Wish us luck! I wonder if it will be a boy or a girl???
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
New internet connection!!!
We are finally getting a DSL!!!! I have been a dial-up user since 1992, and I am finally getting a high speed connection!! I can't wait for my line to be installed!
I will probably wonder how I ever got along without it.
It seems weird to me that my son will never know what the world was like without a computer or the internet. My, how times change... Remember the days when books were more than just entertainment?
One of the schools in this area doesn't even use textbooks any more, the students have PDAs to carry all of their info on. Imagine if you forget to charge your PDA and you lose your homework, all of it, along with all of your textbooks, and your databases, etc... Weird.
I will probably wonder how I ever got along without it.
It seems weird to me that my son will never know what the world was like without a computer or the internet. My, how times change... Remember the days when books were more than just entertainment?
One of the schools in this area doesn't even use textbooks any more, the students have PDAs to carry all of their info on. Imagine if you forget to charge your PDA and you lose your homework, all of it, along with all of your textbooks, and your databases, etc... Weird.
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
Daily Challenge!!
Here is a glimpse of the fun I had this afternoon!
I spend 60 to 70 hours a week scheduling production for the plant that I work at. Today (at 4:45 PM, no less) I was told that the schedule that I wrote for next week was being revised; we have to send half of our production to one of our competitors because they screwed up their plant. Apparently, it is my job to make up for the diminished capacity of our competitors. We wouldn't want them to miss any of their orders now, would we? All of my scheduling work was for nothing, since someone (who outranks me) apparently has a buddy at our competitors' place. Now I get to re-write the schedule to fit their needs. What a load.
I spend 60 to 70 hours a week scheduling production for the plant that I work at. Today (at 4:45 PM, no less) I was told that the schedule that I wrote for next week was being revised; we have to send half of our production to one of our competitors because they screwed up their plant. Apparently, it is my job to make up for the diminished capacity of our competitors. We wouldn't want them to miss any of their orders now, would we? All of my scheduling work was for nothing, since someone (who outranks me) apparently has a buddy at our competitors' place. Now I get to re-write the schedule to fit their needs. What a load.
Monday, October 24, 2005
Holy crap, it's winter.
I had ice on my windshield this morning! That sucks! It was 80 degreees last week, now it suddenly sucks. We were wearing shorts and t-shirts just a week ago! What the heck happened?
In other news, my in-laws were here for a short visit. It's nice to have visitors, and I miss them already. We live in the middle of nowhere, and we know very few people in the area, so it is really nice to see friendly faces. Karen's parents are really cool, they even help us out with work around the house when they visit. As a matter of fact, Karen's father and I cut a Bradford Pear tree down in my front yard on Saturday, in the 55 degree drizzling rain. (The tree had sustained serious damage from a nasty ice storm a year ago. It was in really sad shape and needed to be taken down.)
If you want to see some recent pictures of us, including the Alton Brown pictures, go here and follow the pumpkin patch link: http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/karenperidot/my_photos
In other news, my in-laws were here for a short visit. It's nice to have visitors, and I miss them already. We live in the middle of nowhere, and we know very few people in the area, so it is really nice to see friendly faces. Karen's parents are really cool, they even help us out with work around the house when they visit. As a matter of fact, Karen's father and I cut a Bradford Pear tree down in my front yard on Saturday, in the 55 degree drizzling rain. (The tree had sustained serious damage from a nasty ice storm a year ago. It was in really sad shape and needed to be taken down.)
If you want to see some recent pictures of us, including the Alton Brown pictures, go here and follow the pumpkin patch link: http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/karenperidot/my_photos
Sunday, October 16, 2005
WE MET ALTON BROWN!!
Karen, James and I got to meet Alton Brown on Saturday!!! It was really cool, and his live performance was even funnier than his TV show "Good Eats". It was like watching a scientist-comedian make food. Really brilliant! We even brought in our "unitasker" for him to sign, which I think he got a chuckle out of. (the only unitasker that Alton thinks that everyone should own is a fire extinguisher, everything else in the kitchen should serve multiple purposes) We had a great time, and we were very pleased to find that our favorite TV chef is such a nice man.
Alton Brown rocks.
Alton Brown rocks.
Thursday, October 13, 2005
Spiders and mice.
There seems to be a lot of spiders around here. I had one cruise across my screen in my office today, another one left a web across the arm of my chair during lunchtime. I was about to give James a bath a few minutes ago, and I saw him trying to pet a little spider in the bathroom while I was running his bath. Has anyone else noticed a zillion spiders this year, or am I just in Kansas with a zillion spiders? Not to sound the alarm, but I think global warming is to blame, with El Nino a close second.
There are mice in our distribution center. They are very smart mice, able to avoid snap traps and glue boards while crapping all over the place. There are so many mice in the distribution center that we had to name a guy to head up the vermin eradication program. Since his job is to stop the super-crapping mice, his new job title is the "stop the poopers supervisor". Just thought you should know.
Work still sucks, but I had enough by 4:30 today, so I left. I am actually in charge of the facility tomorrow, so I may not be able to leave quite as early. I hope that everything runs smoothly tomorrow, I don't have a lot of plant manager experience under my belt yet. Wish me luck!
There are mice in our distribution center. They are very smart mice, able to avoid snap traps and glue boards while crapping all over the place. There are so many mice in the distribution center that we had to name a guy to head up the vermin eradication program. Since his job is to stop the super-crapping mice, his new job title is the "stop the poopers supervisor". Just thought you should know.
Work still sucks, but I had enough by 4:30 today, so I left. I am actually in charge of the facility tomorrow, so I may not be able to leave quite as early. I hope that everything runs smoothly tomorrow, I don't have a lot of plant manager experience under my belt yet. Wish me luck!
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
Long hours of fun...
I have a complaint. Why haven't people figured out that nothing is for free, especially when it comes to e-mail? I am so tired of "Forward this to ten people and Bill Gates will send you a twenty million dollar talking fish!" Okay, perhaps I made that one up, but you get the idea. Why do I still get that kind of e-mail? I don't even reply to the senders any more to tell them that they are being bad monkeys, I just delete them. Maybe human nature says that we want to believe that one day it will really happen? It's kind of like buying a lottery ticket. Someone will win a bazillion dollars, but the chances are excellent that it will not be you.
The long hours part. It is Wednesday and I have already put in 36 hours at the office. What the heck did I step in?
The long hours part. It is Wednesday and I have already put in 36 hours at the office. What the heck did I step in?
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Back from vacation again!
Last week, Karen and I went to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. We spent a relaxing week at the the beach. In the rain. Tropical storm Tammy pees on us ALL WEEK. My parents, my sister, and her fiance were also there with us. Karen and I got a timeshare from her parents and we invited my family to go on vacation with us. It was a lot of fun, even if it did rain all week. We got to see gardens in downpours, plantation in drizzle, and a lot of other cool stuff. We took lemons and made lemonade, I guess.
It sure is nice to sleep in my own home again, but work sucks. When do I get to retire? I am going to save a lot of money, pay cash for everything, and retire early. I doubt it will really happen, but it would be pretty cool. Yup, it sure would. I wouldn't stop working, but I would definitely take a less stressful job and live life a little slower.
It sure is nice to sleep in my own home again, but work sucks. When do I get to retire? I am going to save a lot of money, pay cash for everything, and retire early. I doubt it will really happen, but it would be pretty cool. Yup, it sure would. I wouldn't stop working, but I would definitely take a less stressful job and live life a little slower.
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Quick note...
I really dig all the new names around here and anyone is welcome to post a comment on my site, with one exception: no pay site ads. Half the time, I don't know if it is spam or if it is actually someone leaving a real comment and plugging their own commercial site. For this reason I ask anyone leaving a comment to please not plug any commercial sites, lest your comment be deleted forthwith. If you want to increase traffic at your site, by all means leave a link to your site, I would be happy to see it. I will probably follow the link to your page and check it out as well!
Fish
Fish
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Wendy's for lunch...
I had Wendy's for lunch today. Somehow, when you spend ten minutes looking for a restaurant, it makes the food better. Maybe it was also due to the fact that they also have a new menu item that I dig? They now sell Frostys (chocolate shakes, if you have never had one) that you get to dump M&Ms or other candies into, kinda like a DQ Blizzard, only cheaper.
One thing that really made my lunch special today was the fact that Karen and James joined me for lunch. I like living close to work. :) I got to share my lunch with James, my drooling baby St. Bernard. I don't know how he can stand drooling all the time, half of the time his shirt is soaking wet from all of the slobber.
Which bring me to my next question, why doesn't baby slobber smell like slobber? Adult slobber is stinky, baby slobber is more like water - it's not stinky. Weird...
One thing that really made my lunch special today was the fact that Karen and James joined me for lunch. I like living close to work. :) I got to share my lunch with James, my drooling baby St. Bernard. I don't know how he can stand drooling all the time, half of the time his shirt is soaking wet from all of the slobber.
Which bring me to my next question, why doesn't baby slobber smell like slobber? Adult slobber is stinky, baby slobber is more like water - it's not stinky. Weird...
Monday, September 26, 2005
James' a walkin'!
James is walking! He took his first few clumsy and precious steps on his own today! It was freakin' awesome! I love that little boy so much, and I am so proud right now! Thank you, God!
In other news, we got the paint sandblasted off of the brick on the front of the house, and it looks much better. If you want to see the latest, just follow the link on the previous post and look for the updates file. The pictures also show the new ceramic tile entryway and the upstairs bathroom vanity after the silver paint was removed.
In other news, we got the paint sandblasted off of the brick on the front of the house, and it looks much better. If you want to see the latest, just follow the link on the previous post and look for the updates file. The pictures also show the new ceramic tile entryway and the upstairs bathroom vanity after the silver paint was removed.
Friday, September 23, 2005
Pictures and stuff.
Karen set up a web site for us with some pictures of us and our new house. Here it is: http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/karenperidot/my_photos
The most recent file is the one called "house pictures".
The most recent file is the one called "house pictures".
Telemarketers get theirs, again.
Since we moved to a new area and we are not on the "do not call list" yet, we get about two to three telemarketers a day, most of them selling either home security systems or water systems. Karen has gotten tired of them and she ahs begun to mess with them, just a little. Here is the conversation that I overheard yesterday. I will only post one side of the conversation, since that is all that I could hear.
"Hello?"
"Yes, this is Mrs. Kyyyyoooooooogalurrrrr."
"No, thank you, we don't need a home security system, we don't even lock our front dooor half the time."
"No, it's okay, my husband actually likes walking around the house at three A.M. in his boxers with his Louisville slugger every time we hear a noise in the middle of the night. He really does."
"Did you just say booglar? What the heck is a booglar? Bwahhahahaa! Do you mean a burglar? No, we are definitely not worried about booglars, have a good day, bye-bye now."
I fell over laughing after that one. Karen is my hero.
"Hello?"
"Yes, this is Mrs. Kyyyyoooooooogalurrrrr."
"No, thank you, we don't need a home security system, we don't even lock our front dooor half the time."
"No, it's okay, my husband actually likes walking around the house at three A.M. in his boxers with his Louisville slugger every time we hear a noise in the middle of the night. He really does."
"Did you just say booglar? What the heck is a booglar? Bwahhahahaa! Do you mean a burglar? No, we are definitely not worried about booglars, have a good day, bye-bye now."
I fell over laughing after that one. Karen is my hero.
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
I knew it!
I told them what to do much earlier this week, and they should have listened. I knew what I was talking about and I was right. I stayed three hours after work today to come to the conclusion that I was right the first time. I may be new here, but I am smarter than the average godzilla, darnit.
There, I vented and I feel much better now, since I can't say it to anyone at work. They all went home at normal time and they stopped answering their cell phones long ago.
There, I vented and I feel much better now, since I can't say it to anyone at work. They all went home at normal time and they stopped answering their cell phones long ago.
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
James the Guilty
The police came to our house in response to a call to their emergency 911 center. James did it. He called the cops on us. My little 14-month old buddy really called 911 and made the police come to the house. Karen was horribly embarassed, and I was at work so I didn't get to see it. Oopsie. Sorry about that, Overland Park police department, we really didn't mean to waste your time. Karen knew we were in trouble when she hung up the phone that James had been playing with and it started ringing. The police apparently have to pay a visit to your house when you call them, even if you assure them that there is no reason for them to do so. When the police got here, Karen told the officers, "Here's the culrit. Take him away and lock him up!" James grinned and drooled, somehow lacking any remorse for what he had done.
James still says "boobies" every once in a while, but his favorite word is definitely "lights". He points out all types of lights and announces their presence wherever we go. He is especially comical on the highway as we pass under the streetlights, all of them are individually announced, one at a time. By the time we get to where we are going, we are trying to guess the next time he is going to say it, laughing the whole time. "Lights, lights, lights..."
James still says "boobies" every once in a while, but his favorite word is definitely "lights". He points out all types of lights and announces their presence wherever we go. He is especially comical on the highway as we pass under the streetlights, all of them are individually announced, one at a time. By the time we get to where we are going, we are trying to guess the next time he is going to say it, laughing the whole time. "Lights, lights, lights..."
Monday, September 19, 2005
It's about time...
After a brief hiatus from blogging, I thought that I should get back to it again and put out a new posting. We have begun the update of the house and spent most (okay, we really spent it all) of our money. We put in a ceramic floor in the half bat and hallway, and Karen's Parents helped us out by completing several projects for us. The spare upstairs bath has a new look, the silver paint is gone from the front of the vanity. The room that used to look like an easter egg is now a beautiful and stately off-white color, and closet doors have been installed where they were once missing. I have to figure out how to post pictures on the blog so I can show you the progress that we have been making. There will be a short break in the remodeling action while we wait to see if we can pay the bills this month. :) I like that game, there is never a dull moment.
On a side note, my new job is amazingly difficult. I bet that there are CEOs that have easier days than I do. My job is much, much more of a challenge than I ever expected. Oh well, I will eventually get to the point where I can do it well and do it quickly, in about three years. To be honest, nothing ever slows me down, and I almost never stress about anything. Scottie can definitely attest to this, he saw me in action in school. This job has really got me stressing hard. I didn't sleep from last Wednesday until Saturday night because I was so freaked out and worried about sinking the company like a lead balloon. That is very out of charater for me, to say the least. It has got to get easier, or I will go nutso, pronto. One thing that made me feel much better about the job was that I talked to the guy who retired from the job, and he gave me some pointers and some hints on how to make it a little more bearable. He also told me that we will occasionally have orders that we can't meet, and we will occasioanlly make the customers mad. It actually made me feel much better to hear that after many years of doing the job that he still had challenges. That was the major reason that I was able to sleep on Saturday night, since I was finally able to stress out a little less after talking to the vetran scheduler. I am confident that things will eventually get easier, but it is hard as hell right now and I am really struggling.
Karen and James are doing very well so far. They make me happy and proud, all the time. :)
I hope you are all doing well! Have a great week, just in case I don't get back to the blog right away!
Fish
On a side note, my new job is amazingly difficult. I bet that there are CEOs that have easier days than I do. My job is much, much more of a challenge than I ever expected. Oh well, I will eventually get to the point where I can do it well and do it quickly, in about three years. To be honest, nothing ever slows me down, and I almost never stress about anything. Scottie can definitely attest to this, he saw me in action in school. This job has really got me stressing hard. I didn't sleep from last Wednesday until Saturday night because I was so freaked out and worried about sinking the company like a lead balloon. That is very out of charater for me, to say the least. It has got to get easier, or I will go nutso, pronto. One thing that made me feel much better about the job was that I talked to the guy who retired from the job, and he gave me some pointers and some hints on how to make it a little more bearable. He also told me that we will occasionally have orders that we can't meet, and we will occasioanlly make the customers mad. It actually made me feel much better to hear that after many years of doing the job that he still had challenges. That was the major reason that I was able to sleep on Saturday night, since I was finally able to stress out a little less after talking to the vetran scheduler. I am confident that things will eventually get easier, but it is hard as hell right now and I am really struggling.
Karen and James are doing very well so far. They make me happy and proud, all the time. :)
I hope you are all doing well! Have a great week, just in case I don't get back to the blog right away!
Fish
Friday, September 02, 2005
New house of boxes...
We are in a crazy sea of boxes. I thought that I was no longer a pack rat, but this move has shown me that I still have way too much stuff. Karen and I are going to purge and purge like never before. The local goodwill store is going to be overrun with Mr. and Mrs. Fish's stuff. I can't stand all of the garbage that we have, it is driving me nuts. The garage and the basement here are not big enough to hold all of our crap and I am not going to put in a shed just to have more storage space.
Anyone need anything? I have lots of stuff if you need anything, just let me know! Shipping might even be free! What do you need?
Sleeping in one's own bed is a beautiful thing.
BTW, one of my nice new neighbors has a fast unsecured wireless connection, which I am using. Thank you new neighbor for allowing me free access to the internet!!
I found out that I can also get a 1.5 Mbps DSL for only 19.95 a month. That is nuts. That is cheap enough that I might even get my own connection instead of being a freeloader.
Anyone need anything? I have lots of stuff if you need anything, just let me know! Shipping might even be free! What do you need?
Sleeping in one's own bed is a beautiful thing.
BTW, one of my nice new neighbors has a fast unsecured wireless connection, which I am using. Thank you new neighbor for allowing me free access to the internet!!
I found out that I can also get a 1.5 Mbps DSL for only 19.95 a month. That is nuts. That is cheap enough that I might even get my own connection instead of being a freeloader.
Monday, August 29, 2005
Quick funny
Karen and James and I went out for ice cream the other day. I decided to sit on one of the bar stools in the ice cream parlor to eat my ice cream. I actually sat and spun around on the bar stool until I made myself feel sick. Am I a child or what?
New house day!!
I get to buy my new house tomorrow. Nothing like spending all my money to get me all exctied!!
They say that I am "weird" at work, because I eat "weird stuff". I bring in fresh blueberries, and no one wants any, or they try them and say they're weird. They said that the fresh berries taste nothing like the blueberries in blueberry muffins. I bring in organic breakfast cereal for a snack and no one will try it. I bring in dried organic fruit and no one wants to try that either. This is weird. I equate organic stuff with quality and good taste, the people that I work with equate it with weird stuff that hippies eat. My secretary asked me if I remembered to bring in my twigs and berries for breakfast today. For the record: I like my twigs and berries. :)
They say that I am "weird" at work, because I eat "weird stuff". I bring in fresh blueberries, and no one wants any, or they try them and say they're weird. They said that the fresh berries taste nothing like the blueberries in blueberry muffins. I bring in organic breakfast cereal for a snack and no one will try it. I bring in dried organic fruit and no one wants to try that either. This is weird. I equate organic stuff with quality and good taste, the people that I work with equate it with weird stuff that hippies eat. My secretary asked me if I remembered to bring in my twigs and berries for breakfast today. For the record: I like my twigs and berries. :)
Friday, August 26, 2005
Lost post...
It seems that blogger likes to lose my posts. I actually created another post, but it disappeared. That makes me mad that I took the time to write something and now it is gone. Darnit! I wonder if it was my connection and not blogger at all?
A few random happy thoughts:
Only a few days left until we are in our new home! I get my stuff back and I get to sleep in my own bed again soon!!!
James said "boobies" right after did tonight, and it made me laugh a lot. I really have to watch what I say in the future.
Car closure...
I went to look at cars the other night and I found that they are beautiful, but I would rather have a new baby in the house. Babies are much more beautiful. I can happily drive my silver streak until the wheels fall off. I decided that my car really does not determine my self worth, so I don't need a sweet ride regardless of whether or not I can afford it. It is a poor investment that will cost me plenty of money and probably not make me any happier.
A few random happy thoughts:
Only a few days left until we are in our new home! I get my stuff back and I get to sleep in my own bed again soon!!!
James said "boobies" right after did tonight, and it made me laugh a lot. I really have to watch what I say in the future.
Car closure...
I went to look at cars the other night and I found that they are beautiful, but I would rather have a new baby in the house. Babies are much more beautiful. I can happily drive my silver streak until the wheels fall off. I decided that my car really does not determine my self worth, so I don't need a sweet ride regardless of whether or not I can afford it. It is a poor investment that will cost me plenty of money and probably not make me any happier.
Thursday, August 25, 2005
Awwww Yeah!
Okay, I just got back from Chipotle. That place rocks like no other place I know of. The food was good, actually it was very good, it was fast, it was cheap, and it was healthy too! I will be back soon! It may become our new favorite fast-ish food. All-natural vegetable ingredients and free range meats sound good to me, yo!
Only 5 days to go until we get our house!!!! We are totally excited, we can't wait!!!
I still like my job, but it seems like it may not be the walk in the park that I had originally imagined. The stuff that I do takes a ton of time, and it seems like I have so much other stuff to do that it makes my job very difficult. I have to sit through multiple meetings every day and help brainstorm for projects and soak up as much info as I can. I end up working a lot of long hours and spending a lot of time doing things other than the work that I need to get done. (not to mention that I would rather be at home playing with Karen and James (aka Naked Raygun)) I guess that's why they pay me, to do that whole "work" thing.
Only 5 days to go until we get our house!!!! We are totally excited, we can't wait!!!
I still like my job, but it seems like it may not be the walk in the park that I had originally imagined. The stuff that I do takes a ton of time, and it seems like I have so much other stuff to do that it makes my job very difficult. I have to sit through multiple meetings every day and help brainstorm for projects and soak up as much info as I can. I end up working a lot of long hours and spending a lot of time doing things other than the work that I need to get done. (not to mention that I would rather be at home playing with Karen and James (aka Naked Raygun)) I guess that's why they pay me, to do that whole "work" thing.
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
Tuesday night blogginess...
I really want to moan about stuff, but I will spare you. Suffice to say that I now know that I am not getting a new car. Waaaaaaaahhhhh!!! I want my Infinity G35 now!!! I am such a whiner, it's terrible. Instead of whining, I should be happy with what I have. Perhaps it is human nature to always want more, and never to be completely satisfied. I don't mean that last statement entirely, there are aspects of my life that are absolutely fulfilling and do not leave me wanting more.
When I was in school, I was completely content with mediocrity. I wasted a ton of my time doing nothing but being lazy. I was pretty much a bum all the way through college. Now that I am an adult, my motivation is completely different. I strive to go farther and do more than expected. I love to shake things up a bit and try to make things better. I want to impress people and earn the respect of my coworkers. Mediocrity drives me nuts, and ineptitude make me insane. I really want my family to have an easy life, but still know the value of hard work. I don't want to be wealthy in anything but love and happiness, but I don't want to have to struggle, either.
I guess that is my giant thought for the day. I skipped out on blogging yesterday because Karen and I went for a really long walk to panera bread for dinner. Panera food apparently gives us both horrendous gas. I had wretched foul gas all day today and I was trying like mad all day to not share it with my coworkers. I had to venture out into the plant (the production area is massive) a million times to do a little "crop dusting" to dissipate my foulness. It was the only way I could "crop dust" and not get caught. I think gas is hysterical, but I am afraid that my new coworkers might not appreciate my sense of humor. I think I managed to make it through the day without any accidental gassings, but I am not sure. My coworkers probably don't know me well enough to say things like, "Dude, did you let one? It smells like a rotten egg factory in here!"
When I was in school, I was completely content with mediocrity. I wasted a ton of my time doing nothing but being lazy. I was pretty much a bum all the way through college. Now that I am an adult, my motivation is completely different. I strive to go farther and do more than expected. I love to shake things up a bit and try to make things better. I want to impress people and earn the respect of my coworkers. Mediocrity drives me nuts, and ineptitude make me insane. I really want my family to have an easy life, but still know the value of hard work. I don't want to be wealthy in anything but love and happiness, but I don't want to have to struggle, either.
I guess that is my giant thought for the day. I skipped out on blogging yesterday because Karen and I went for a really long walk to panera bread for dinner. Panera food apparently gives us both horrendous gas. I had wretched foul gas all day today and I was trying like mad all day to not share it with my coworkers. I had to venture out into the plant (the production area is massive) a million times to do a little "crop dusting" to dissipate my foulness. It was the only way I could "crop dust" and not get caught. I think gas is hysterical, but I am afraid that my new coworkers might not appreciate my sense of humor. I think I managed to make it through the day without any accidental gassings, but I am not sure. My coworkers probably don't know me well enough to say things like, "Dude, did you let one? It smells like a rotten egg factory in here!"
Sunday, August 21, 2005
Oops, we're broke again...
For anyone who thinks that discussing money matters is impolite, ya might wanna skip the old blog for a day.
I spent myself into a corner again. We knew the house that we picked out was going to need a little bit of updating and repair. I guess we had no idea how much this little rehab project was going to cost. I figured it would be a few thousand at most. So far, we bought the lights for the exterior of the house and we are almost half way through the first thousand bones.
Here are a few (there are actually many other minor ones that don't bear mentioning) projects that we are going to undertake:
1. Repaint several interior rooms and ceilings. (fairly cheap, maybe $200)
2. Replace all the light fixures in the kitchen (not half as cheap as I thought, probably $300 or more)
3. Replace the siding (holy crap is this stuff expensive, it looks like many thousands can go here... this alone goes over my previously imagined version of a budget)
4. Add soil to bring up the grade level on the outside of the house (dirt cheap, har har har, maybe $50 to $100)
5. Rewire the basement fixtures and install GCFI outlets in all of the requisite spots (about $100)
6. Lay ceramic tile the entryway from the garage and tile two bathroom floors (maybe $400 to $500, if I can borrow or rent a wetsaw)
7. Replace the old wood garage doors with insulated steel doors (more thousands here, I was thinking one, but it now looks like it is closer to two thou)
Holy crap.
It appears to me that many of these projects will be pushed back until we have managed to save up enough money to complete them. As much as starvation sounds like a party to me, Karen and James think that it might be a bad idea.
On a much lighter note, Karen and James and I went down to the pool today to play and James really dug the waterfall. He spent close to twenty minutes smacking the falling water and giggling. Good times!
I spent myself into a corner again. We knew the house that we picked out was going to need a little bit of updating and repair. I guess we had no idea how much this little rehab project was going to cost. I figured it would be a few thousand at most. So far, we bought the lights for the exterior of the house and we are almost half way through the first thousand bones.
Here are a few (there are actually many other minor ones that don't bear mentioning) projects that we are going to undertake:
1. Repaint several interior rooms and ceilings. (fairly cheap, maybe $200)
2. Replace all the light fixures in the kitchen (not half as cheap as I thought, probably $300 or more)
3. Replace the siding (holy crap is this stuff expensive, it looks like many thousands can go here... this alone goes over my previously imagined version of a budget)
4. Add soil to bring up the grade level on the outside of the house (dirt cheap, har har har, maybe $50 to $100)
5. Rewire the basement fixtures and install GCFI outlets in all of the requisite spots (about $100)
6. Lay ceramic tile the entryway from the garage and tile two bathroom floors (maybe $400 to $500, if I can borrow or rent a wetsaw)
7. Replace the old wood garage doors with insulated steel doors (more thousands here, I was thinking one, but it now looks like it is closer to two thou)
Holy crap.
It appears to me that many of these projects will be pushed back until we have managed to save up enough money to complete them. As much as starvation sounds like a party to me, Karen and James think that it might be a bad idea.
On a much lighter note, Karen and James and I went down to the pool today to play and James really dug the waterfall. He spent close to twenty minutes smacking the falling water and giggling. Good times!
Friday, August 19, 2005
Weekend!
Well, it's the weekend. We had a great inspection and we are on our way to buying our next house! I have to say this (buying and selling a house) has been more than a little stressful, and I am glad that it is almost over. We can't wait to get into our house and start making it ours. The current interior lights look like they came from a sailboat, and the exterior lights look like they came from a dentist's office in 1970. Very strange... We are asking Santa for Home Depot cards for Christmas so we can make our new house look like our home, instead of a funky modernistic fashion statement gone wrong.
Did I mention that our bathrooms are painted silver? Our kitchen has been splatterpainted, too. Ewwwww...
Other than a little siding repair and some re-decorating, the house is wonderful, and we can't wait to move in!! Pictures will be posted soon!!
Did I mention that our bathrooms are painted silver? Our kitchen has been splatterpainted, too. Ewwwww...
Other than a little siding repair and some re-decorating, the house is wonderful, and we can't wait to move in!! Pictures will be posted soon!!
Thursday, August 18, 2005
Home Inspection Friday!!
Tomorrow is home inspection day!! I really hope it goes well. If it goes poorly, this is the last chance that we have to walk away from this house. If there is a whole ton of problems with this house, we are back to square one, looking for a house again. I hope that doesn't happen, there are no other houses available in the area that we want to live. I know that the house needs some minor siding repair, which I can handle, I just don't want to hear that the house needs $10K to get it in tip-top shape.
IT'S PAYDAY!! I like payday, it always makes me a little happier, even though I never get to actually touch the money. I got a raise to move out here, so it was even nicer to see a little extra money today. Most of it will go toward the new house each month, but I am okay with that.
Here is the really fun part, the home inspection tomorrow is at noon. I have to leave work early to observe and participate in the inspection. The inspection will last for somewhere around three hours. Once the inspection is over, our weekend begins!!! I should be on weekend time around 3:00 tomorrow!!! I have been working fairly long days trying to get up to speed at my new job, so the early start to the weekend is a really, really nice thing.
Just in case I don't post tomorrow, I wish all of you a happy and healthy weekend!!
IT'S PAYDAY!! I like payday, it always makes me a little happier, even though I never get to actually touch the money. I got a raise to move out here, so it was even nicer to see a little extra money today. Most of it will go toward the new house each month, but I am okay with that.
Here is the really fun part, the home inspection tomorrow is at noon. I have to leave work early to observe and participate in the inspection. The inspection will last for somewhere around three hours. Once the inspection is over, our weekend begins!!! I should be on weekend time around 3:00 tomorrow!!! I have been working fairly long days trying to get up to speed at my new job, so the early start to the weekend is a really, really nice thing.
Just in case I don't post tomorrow, I wish all of you a happy and healthy weekend!!
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
What would you do?
I find myself wondering if I would like to read my own blog, and why I would read it. The truth is that I don't really know. I like reading about the story of other people's lives, so I might read my blog, but I might only read it once and never stop by again. I almost feel like I haven't spent much time putting a lot of thought into what I have written so far. I think I will spend more time thinking instead of being such a prolific writer. I feel like I haven't talked about anything that I am passionate about, and I really haven't tried to be as witty or humorous as I think I should.
Maybe I just love to babble? Yeah, that's probably it.
Today's update on my new job: I learned one small slice of my scheduling job and it was fairly challenging. I may be in for a rough few weeks until I get it all figured out.
Karen and I have been watching this TV show called "going tribal". It's about a guy who goes out in the middle of the jungle to live with different totally isolated groups of people and tapes his interactions with them. It is a quite good show, very funny and interesting, we both dig it. Give it a watch if you get the chance, it is really entertaining. It's on the Discovery channel, but I don't know what time it's on. I think it comes on Tuesday nights at 9 or so.
Maybe I just love to babble? Yeah, that's probably it.
Today's update on my new job: I learned one small slice of my scheduling job and it was fairly challenging. I may be in for a rough few weeks until I get it all figured out.
Karen and I have been watching this TV show called "going tribal". It's about a guy who goes out in the middle of the jungle to live with different totally isolated groups of people and tapes his interactions with them. It is a quite good show, very funny and interesting, we both dig it. Give it a watch if you get the chance, it is really entertaining. It's on the Discovery channel, but I don't know what time it's on. I think it comes on Tuesday nights at 9 or so.
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
Kansas City Life
Kansas City is a big city; it has nice parts and it has yucky parts just like all the other big cities. On the whole, it is a generally a very nice city. I actually like it much better than I like Chicago. The population is small enough and the infrastructure is large enough that the traffic is really not bad most of the time. KC has slow-downs and accidents, but they are pretty tolerable. Kansas City has a highway that goes all the way around the metro area, just like Indianapolis. The highway makes it somewhat easy to get around without having to take surface streets that would make a long trek really tedious.
KC is famous for babeque, and they do indeed like their barbeque. As far as I have seen, they like the "wet" barbeque sauce method more than the spicy dry-rub barbeque, or a combination of the two. I actually prefer the dry-rub barbeque without the sauce so that I don't have to endure the copious amounts of sugar in the average barbeque sauce, but the food out here is excellent nonetheless. I have yet to find bad food here, and I have been to several barbeque places in the past few weeks. They also have all of the normal places that you find in all of the big cities, like: cheesecake factory, buca di beppo, chili's, applebee's, p.f. chang's, etc...
One of the biggest draws for KC is an area called "The Plaza". It is the equivalent of the magnificent mile in Chicago, but the people are friendly, and there are only a few bums. There are a bunch of really nice stores, including designer clothes stores and neat little downtown shops. This is weird - four lanes of traffic will actually stop when you step off the curb to cross the street. No one honks, and no one gives you the finger. The plaza has horse drawn carriage rides and everyone appears affluent. THE DOWNTOWN PARKING IS FREE, AND THERE ARE FREE PARKING GARAGES ALL OVER THE PLACE. Can you imagine this in Chicago? Karen and James and I have already been to the plaza twice in the past two weeks. It's a great place to go to shop, eat, and generally hang out. They have street musicians, artists, outdoor festivals, cafes, and all sorts fo stuff to see and do. We really like it.
KC is also famous for fountains, and they are everywhere. Some of them are really cool, and some of them seem like the crappy songs that an artist puts on an album just to have a full album. I think that if someone is going to have a fountain, they should at least make it interesting. What is the point of spending all sorts of money putting in a boring fountain, just so you can say that you have a fountain out front? Whatever, I guess. They even have fountain tours, if you are so inclined. That seems really geeky to me.
The area that I live in is southwest of the city, in an area called Overland Park, in the middle of Johnson county. Johnson county is one of the richest counties in the US, and it definitely shows in the houses and in the autos. (Not my house, BTW, I live in a normal house) There are gigantic mansions all over the place, there are more houses over 350K than under, and the local amenities are designed for the wealthy. I often find myself sitting in traffic next to Ferraris and other various super-pricey exotic sports cars. I must say it is a little weird for me, sitting in traffic next to cars that I usually only see at car shows. I am afraid of looking at them wrong, let alone bumping into one of them. I have no idea what it would be like to have that kind of money to spend frivolously. I don't think I want to know, they certainly don't look any happier than me.
The closest I can come to explaining Overland Park is to say that it is a very upscale suburb, kind of like Naperville. The shopping is absolutely phenomenal and there is a ton of stuff to do and see each weekend. The schools in this area are the best in the state, and some of the best in the nation. It has been routinely named one of the top ten best areas in the country to raise a family. The people around here have a lot of the midwestern charm and genuine friendliness that I was hoping for. I really like it here, and I was very skeptical when I first decided to move here. I honestly think that we will be very happy here.
I am not saying that this is the best area in the world, but there are a lot of things that I like about this area so far. I think that the best thing that the area has going for it is the people. I have met some of the nicest people just walking down the street and in the grocery stores.
So far, the pizza is not as good as in the Chicago area. We had a pizza tonight that was almost cheeseless. Weird...
KC is famous for babeque, and they do indeed like their barbeque. As far as I have seen, they like the "wet" barbeque sauce method more than the spicy dry-rub barbeque, or a combination of the two. I actually prefer the dry-rub barbeque without the sauce so that I don't have to endure the copious amounts of sugar in the average barbeque sauce, but the food out here is excellent nonetheless. I have yet to find bad food here, and I have been to several barbeque places in the past few weeks. They also have all of the normal places that you find in all of the big cities, like: cheesecake factory, buca di beppo, chili's, applebee's, p.f. chang's, etc...
One of the biggest draws for KC is an area called "The Plaza". It is the equivalent of the magnificent mile in Chicago, but the people are friendly, and there are only a few bums. There are a bunch of really nice stores, including designer clothes stores and neat little downtown shops. This is weird - four lanes of traffic will actually stop when you step off the curb to cross the street. No one honks, and no one gives you the finger. The plaza has horse drawn carriage rides and everyone appears affluent. THE DOWNTOWN PARKING IS FREE, AND THERE ARE FREE PARKING GARAGES ALL OVER THE PLACE. Can you imagine this in Chicago? Karen and James and I have already been to the plaza twice in the past two weeks. It's a great place to go to shop, eat, and generally hang out. They have street musicians, artists, outdoor festivals, cafes, and all sorts fo stuff to see and do. We really like it.
KC is also famous for fountains, and they are everywhere. Some of them are really cool, and some of them seem like the crappy songs that an artist puts on an album just to have a full album. I think that if someone is going to have a fountain, they should at least make it interesting. What is the point of spending all sorts of money putting in a boring fountain, just so you can say that you have a fountain out front? Whatever, I guess. They even have fountain tours, if you are so inclined. That seems really geeky to me.
The area that I live in is southwest of the city, in an area called Overland Park, in the middle of Johnson county. Johnson county is one of the richest counties in the US, and it definitely shows in the houses and in the autos. (Not my house, BTW, I live in a normal house) There are gigantic mansions all over the place, there are more houses over 350K than under, and the local amenities are designed for the wealthy. I often find myself sitting in traffic next to Ferraris and other various super-pricey exotic sports cars. I must say it is a little weird for me, sitting in traffic next to cars that I usually only see at car shows. I am afraid of looking at them wrong, let alone bumping into one of them. I have no idea what it would be like to have that kind of money to spend frivolously. I don't think I want to know, they certainly don't look any happier than me.
The closest I can come to explaining Overland Park is to say that it is a very upscale suburb, kind of like Naperville. The shopping is absolutely phenomenal and there is a ton of stuff to do and see each weekend. The schools in this area are the best in the state, and some of the best in the nation. It has been routinely named one of the top ten best areas in the country to raise a family. The people around here have a lot of the midwestern charm and genuine friendliness that I was hoping for. I really like it here, and I was very skeptical when I first decided to move here. I honestly think that we will be very happy here.
I am not saying that this is the best area in the world, but there are a lot of things that I like about this area so far. I think that the best thing that the area has going for it is the people. I have met some of the nicest people just walking down the street and in the grocery stores.
So far, the pizza is not as good as in the Chicago area. We had a pizza tonight that was almost cheeseless. Weird...
Monday, August 15, 2005
Baboon
When we were at the zoo, we showed the baboons to James and repeated "baboon" to him several times. Since then, he has been saying "boomboom", every few hours.
Week two, day one...
It's weird to have people asking me questions when I have only been on the job for a week. I feel like a doofus for constantly saying, "I don't know, but I'll go find out." I think I will really enjoy this job a lot more once I figure out what the heck I am doing.
James is starting to walk around a lot more these days. He is not quite ready for solo flight, but he can walk behind his little lawnmower-esque toy like a madman.
I edited my blogger profile today. I didn't know that it would show up on the front page of my blog and I signed off before I checked it out last night. I would not have included the moaning about "butt rock" if I had known that it was going to be foisted on everyone. My bad... I don't want this page to be all about complaining. I like to see more positives than negatives, so I will try to project that in my blog.
The weather has been beautiful the last few days, except for the occasional rain, and I am a happy cat. We went to the zoo on Saturday and got poured on, but it was still a blast. yesterday was Karen's birthday, so we went shopping and ate tons of birthday cake. Good times. :>)
James loves computers, he helps me type and steals my mouse all the time. I have had several posts completely deleted by him, for which I was thankful. I am a much too prolific writer lately, and he helped eliminate some extraneous unimportant stuff. James definintely makes everything a little more interesting lately.
James is starting to walk around a lot more these days. He is not quite ready for solo flight, but he can walk behind his little lawnmower-esque toy like a madman.
I edited my blogger profile today. I didn't know that it would show up on the front page of my blog and I signed off before I checked it out last night. I would not have included the moaning about "butt rock" if I had known that it was going to be foisted on everyone. My bad... I don't want this page to be all about complaining. I like to see more positives than negatives, so I will try to project that in my blog.
The weather has been beautiful the last few days, except for the occasional rain, and I am a happy cat. We went to the zoo on Saturday and got poured on, but it was still a blast. yesterday was Karen's birthday, so we went shopping and ate tons of birthday cake. Good times. :>)
James loves computers, he helps me type and steals my mouse all the time. I have had several posts completely deleted by him, for which I was thankful. I am a much too prolific writer lately, and he helped eliminate some extraneous unimportant stuff. James definintely makes everything a little more interesting lately.
Sunday, August 14, 2005
Just a note...
If anyone wants me to add their blog to my blogroll, just let me know and it shall be done.
Thanks,
-John
Thanks,
-John
We are homeowners again!
We managed to negotiate a deal on a house! We have a house again! I will post some pictures very soon, as soon as I get moved into the new house. It needs a little work, the lady that lived there before us had strange taste in decorating, but it has a ton of potential. It is a much larger house (4 bedroom, 2.5 bath) than we are used to, and it has a bigger back yard for James to play in. We are very excited about the new house and we can't wait to move in. Right now, the closing date is set for August 30th, with posession immediately after closing. The only thing that might screw things up is if the home inspection finds lot of bad things. If we find out that there are big, expensive things wrong with the house, we are allowed to bow out of the deal. Other than that, we should be moving into our new digs on August 31st!
Saturday, August 13, 2005
To car or not to car...
I have a dilemma. I really want a different car, but I can't decide if I should actually get a different car. I have a 2000 Honda Civic EX, and I don't like it very much. The Civic was originally my wife Karen's car, but I got it when our son James was born. I used to have a 2002 Ford Escape XLT 4x4, which is now Karen's chariot. The Escape makes it much easier (and safer) for us to carry James, his stroller, and all of the stuff that you have to tote with you when you have a baby. Taking back the Escape and giving Karen back the Civic is not a consideration in the least.
Pros: The Civic is a great car, albeit a small utilitarian car. It gets great gas mileage and it costs almost nothing to maintain. It has only 68K miles on it, and it has never even been in the shop for repairs other than to replace the tires. (I do all of the routine maintenance myself, including brakes.) The car will last me another ten years if I want it to, and cost almost nothing to operate.
Cons: I really don't like the Civic. I feel like it is a high school or college kid's car. It is in good shape and the paint is shiny, but I am a little embarassed by it. I really feel like a kid driving it, and I wonder if people giggle at me for driving it. I find myself eyeing all of the other nicer cars around me while I am out in traffic. I totally dig the newer Nissan Altimas and Maximas. I also like the look of the new Mustangs, I really dig Lexus, Infinity, and the German go-fast imports, but I am either not having a mid-life crisis or I don't want to spend that much on a car. Cars are horrible investments, you almost invariably lose a lot of money on them.
Note: I am 31 years old and have achieved a relatively decent level of success in my opinion. I can afford a much nicer car, I just can't decide if I want to do it enough to take the plunge. I am usually pretty good at decision making, but this one has left me scratching my head for a long time. I have a hard time getting rid of a car when the only reason I want to get rid of it is because I am a whiner.
Pros: The Civic is a great car, albeit a small utilitarian car. It gets great gas mileage and it costs almost nothing to maintain. It has only 68K miles on it, and it has never even been in the shop for repairs other than to replace the tires. (I do all of the routine maintenance myself, including brakes.) The car will last me another ten years if I want it to, and cost almost nothing to operate.
Cons: I really don't like the Civic. I feel like it is a high school or college kid's car. It is in good shape and the paint is shiny, but I am a little embarassed by it. I really feel like a kid driving it, and I wonder if people giggle at me for driving it. I find myself eyeing all of the other nicer cars around me while I am out in traffic. I totally dig the newer Nissan Altimas and Maximas. I also like the look of the new Mustangs, I really dig Lexus, Infinity, and the German go-fast imports, but I am either not having a mid-life crisis or I don't want to spend that much on a car. Cars are horrible investments, you almost invariably lose a lot of money on them.
Note: I am 31 years old and have achieved a relatively decent level of success in my opinion. I can afford a much nicer car, I just can't decide if I want to do it enough to take the plunge. I am usually pretty good at decision making, but this one has left me scratching my head for a long time. I have a hard time getting rid of a car when the only reason I want to get rid of it is because I am a whiner.
Friday, August 12, 2005
I am lacking fishiness...
I just realized that I have not mentioned fishing yet. I can't believe that I took this long to realize it.
I like fishing. I like fishing a lot. There are really big fish in the Kansas area, I have been talking to the fishermen at work about it almost daily. I don't have a fishing license yet. I have to hurry up and get into a house so I can change my address on my license and use it to get a Kansas fishing license!!!
Another thing that I haven't mentioned yet (but is on my mind all the time) is my son James. James has a walk-behind toy that is shaped sort of like a lawnmower. It allows him to balance himself and walk around the room. My wife Karen and I clap and cheer when he does it, so now he has associated laughing and giggling with this toy. As soon as he gets near it and starts pushing it around the room, he starts to giggle like a madman. I will try to make a video of it and put it up somewhere for everyone to see. It is the funniest thing I have seen in a long time.
I like fishing. I like fishing a lot. There are really big fish in the Kansas area, I have been talking to the fishermen at work about it almost daily. I don't have a fishing license yet. I have to hurry up and get into a house so I can change my address on my license and use it to get a Kansas fishing license!!!
Another thing that I haven't mentioned yet (but is on my mind all the time) is my son James. James has a walk-behind toy that is shaped sort of like a lawnmower. It allows him to balance himself and walk around the room. My wife Karen and I clap and cheer when he does it, so now he has associated laughing and giggling with this toy. As soon as he gets near it and starts pushing it around the room, he starts to giggle like a madman. I will try to make a video of it and put it up somewhere for everyone to see. It is the funniest thing I have seen in a long time.
First week's in the bag.
I finished my first week at my new job, hooray!! I even went to Chili's to have some cheap beer and a cajun chicken sandwich. Good stuff!
We also put a bid in on a house this afternoon. I think it will be a really good investment for us, it will offer us an opportunity to a little money if we put some work into the house. My wife got us a really sweet deal on financing, so we won't starve too much while trying to pay for the house. I hope this deal happens quickly so we can get it over with and get out of the apartment. It is hard to live out of a suitcase. Almost all of our stuff is sitting in storage.
What is good at "Chipotle" restaurants? There is a chipotle restaurant in the area, but I have never been to one. I imagine they have good food, they are constantly packed. I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations.
So far the blogging experience seems to be a lot like a personal diary, with a hijacked key. I have to take the old laptop over to my house-to-be tomorrow night to see if I will have free internet access from one of my new neighbors. I really hope I don't have to pay for internet access for a little while. Free wireless internet has made me the blogger that I am! I can't blog from my beautiful T1 line at work, and dial-up access is so darn slow that I might never blog from home.
We also put a bid in on a house this afternoon. I think it will be a really good investment for us, it will offer us an opportunity to a little money if we put some work into the house. My wife got us a really sweet deal on financing, so we won't starve too much while trying to pay for the house. I hope this deal happens quickly so we can get it over with and get out of the apartment. It is hard to live out of a suitcase. Almost all of our stuff is sitting in storage.
What is good at "Chipotle" restaurants? There is a chipotle restaurant in the area, but I have never been to one. I imagine they have good food, they are constantly packed. I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations.
So far the blogging experience seems to be a lot like a personal diary, with a hijacked key. I have to take the old laptop over to my house-to-be tomorrow night to see if I will have free internet access from one of my new neighbors. I really hope I don't have to pay for internet access for a little while. Free wireless internet has made me the blogger that I am! I can't blog from my beautiful T1 line at work, and dial-up access is so darn slow that I might never blog from home.
Thursday, August 11, 2005
Thursday's thought
Ever since the doctor told me that I had to lose weight, or else I would die young, I have been eating differently. That is probably not a surprise to hear. After all, I am 31 years old, and it scared the heck out fo me to hear an educated person say that to me. For whatever reason, I believed him, and I have been eating healthier since. I won't say that I eat entirely healthy, but I do eat healthier. I will still eat just about anything if it has chocolate on it. I doubt that will ever change.
The point of my story is this: I have started to fancy myself as a chef lately. I make concoctions out of the stuff I have in the fridge all the time and I make my own adaptations of old recipes that I have made in the past. I even watch cooking shows and make comments about the techniques that the TV chefs use, as though I know more than they do. Completely laughable, certainly. I wonder if I would like to be a chef? I don't know if I would like to make the same thing over and over. I think part of the fun for me is in making the occasional masterpiece and the occasional wretched trainwreck meal.
I also love farmers markets. I go out of my way to support the local farmers whenever I can lately, and I have been really impressed with the food. Perhaps it is the fact that it is super fresh, I dunno. I just feel better getting some of my food from people who are "my neighbors", I guess. It is usually about the same price as the commercial farm produce in the grocery store. Sometimes it is a lot more expensive, and sometimes it is dirt cheap.
Perhaps I will go to culinary school after my back gives out from too many years of gardening...
The point of my story is this: I have started to fancy myself as a chef lately. I make concoctions out of the stuff I have in the fridge all the time and I make my own adaptations of old recipes that I have made in the past. I even watch cooking shows and make comments about the techniques that the TV chefs use, as though I know more than they do. Completely laughable, certainly. I wonder if I would like to be a chef? I don't know if I would like to make the same thing over and over. I think part of the fun for me is in making the occasional masterpiece and the occasional wretched trainwreck meal.
I also love farmers markets. I go out of my way to support the local farmers whenever I can lately, and I have been really impressed with the food. Perhaps it is the fact that it is super fresh, I dunno. I just feel better getting some of my food from people who are "my neighbors", I guess. It is usually about the same price as the commercial farm produce in the grocery store. Sometimes it is a lot more expensive, and sometimes it is dirt cheap.
Perhaps I will go to culinary school after my back gives out from too many years of gardening...
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
New job, day three...
So far so good. I like my new job, thank God. The most important thing to me is that I like the people that I work with. So far, I really dig the people that I work with. Thank you God, again.
I don't know if I am just trying to see the silver lining to this adventure, or if it is really a good thing. I am usually a pessimist at worst and a realist at best, but I seem to see only good things so far. I almost feel like this is where I want to stay until I am old enough to move to the tropics. I wonder if I will ever move to the tropics. I always thought I was going to move someplace warm, and the closest I have gotten so far is Kansas City. It gets hot in the summer around here, but there are still four seasons and there is plenty of snow and ice in the winter.
There is one other option that still sounds like a really adventure for us to possibly try in a few years. My sister is going to create her own landscaping business in the New England area. I think it would be wicked cool if we moved out there and worked with her as gardeners. My wife and I are both gardeners and we love to play in the dirt. I occasionally try to imagine the kinds of things that we could do for some wealthy New England people who have deep pockets and can afford to let our collective imaginations go nuts in their huge yards...
A little more about me and my family... We are quickly adjusting to life in Kansas. We have found several Target stores and two of them are even SUPER TARGETS!! We are big fans of Target stores. I am thinking of getting a red bullseye tattooed on my bum.
I don't know if I am just trying to see the silver lining to this adventure, or if it is really a good thing. I am usually a pessimist at worst and a realist at best, but I seem to see only good things so far. I almost feel like this is where I want to stay until I am old enough to move to the tropics. I wonder if I will ever move to the tropics. I always thought I was going to move someplace warm, and the closest I have gotten so far is Kansas City. It gets hot in the summer around here, but there are still four seasons and there is plenty of snow and ice in the winter.
There is one other option that still sounds like a really adventure for us to possibly try in a few years. My sister is going to create her own landscaping business in the New England area. I think it would be wicked cool if we moved out there and worked with her as gardeners. My wife and I are both gardeners and we love to play in the dirt. I occasionally try to imagine the kinds of things that we could do for some wealthy New England people who have deep pockets and can afford to let our collective imaginations go nuts in their huge yards...
A little more about me and my family... We are quickly adjusting to life in Kansas. We have found several Target stores and two of them are even SUPER TARGETS!! We are big fans of Target stores. I am thinking of getting a red bullseye tattooed on my bum.
Monday, August 08, 2005
First fishy post
Truthfully, I actually don't really want a blog, I just wanted the blogger account so that I can post to my pal scottie's blogger-based blog, Southern California is a Paradise - http://socalparadise.blogspot.com/ It is a well-written running commentary on life in the L.A. area by a guy who is not your average Californian, rather a midwesterner who has been transplanted to the west coast.
A little about myself. I am a fairly nice and very happily married geek who has a rather ordinary existence that usually keeps me happy. We recently decided that it would be a fun adventure to take a new job that was offered to me. The most interesting part of the deal was that we lived in Indiana, just outside Chicago, and the new job is in the Kansas City area. Sound like fun to you? Neither my wife nor I have ever moved far away from "home" in Indiana. We also have a one-year-old baby boy who is the most wonderful and good-looking kid that I have ever seen. (I will probably talk a lot more about him in the future) My parents and my wife's parents all live in the same area that we used to live in, just outside Chicago. The adventure began last week, when we packed up our prodigious pile of stuff and headed to Kansas for some fun and adventure in the middle of the country.
I can't make fun of the Kansas City area, as much as I would like to. It is nicer than where I came from. It is cleaner, more affluent, the people are much more friendly, and the shopping is fantastic. I think the people in this area are just fine being just a little behind the times. Heck, I am a lot behind the times. Who cares if the fashion is not as avant-garde as the coastlines. I think the best way to describe the area is to say that Kansas City fits the way your favorite pair of broken-in jeans fits. I am a geek, I like being comfortable, not flashy.
I also left the Chicago area with a little bit of skepticism about moving to Kansas. I thought Kansas was going to be a scary redneck stronghold, but I really haven't found half as many scary rednecks as there were in Indiana. Not what I expected at all. I have to say that I really like the area so far. I hope that doesn't change.
We (my wife and I) are having a hard time finding a house that we really like that is close to where I work. We both liked our old house in the Chicago area, and we wish it lived in Kansas. The houses in the Kansas City area are priced similarly to the Chicago/Indiana suburbia that we came from, as long as we look at houses far away from where I work. Nice... I was hoping for a very short commute, but that doesn't seem to be the way that it is going to turn out.
I am a little freaked out by living in an entirely new area of the country and not knowing anyone other than my immediate family that I brought with me. Perhaps I am not the first to experience this. (Tongue planted firmly in cheek.)
I also have an entirely new group of people to go to work with. They haven't even heard me burp yet, which is just totally strange. It took me several years to be able to burp at work when I was in Chicago, and now I have to start all over. Tough work ahead, I work with a lot of women who may be offended by my, um, "noises"...
A little about myself. I am a fairly nice and very happily married geek who has a rather ordinary existence that usually keeps me happy. We recently decided that it would be a fun adventure to take a new job that was offered to me. The most interesting part of the deal was that we lived in Indiana, just outside Chicago, and the new job is in the Kansas City area. Sound like fun to you? Neither my wife nor I have ever moved far away from "home" in Indiana. We also have a one-year-old baby boy who is the most wonderful and good-looking kid that I have ever seen. (I will probably talk a lot more about him in the future) My parents and my wife's parents all live in the same area that we used to live in, just outside Chicago. The adventure began last week, when we packed up our prodigious pile of stuff and headed to Kansas for some fun and adventure in the middle of the country.
I can't make fun of the Kansas City area, as much as I would like to. It is nicer than where I came from. It is cleaner, more affluent, the people are much more friendly, and the shopping is fantastic. I think the people in this area are just fine being just a little behind the times. Heck, I am a lot behind the times. Who cares if the fashion is not as avant-garde as the coastlines. I think the best way to describe the area is to say that Kansas City fits the way your favorite pair of broken-in jeans fits. I am a geek, I like being comfortable, not flashy.
I also left the Chicago area with a little bit of skepticism about moving to Kansas. I thought Kansas was going to be a scary redneck stronghold, but I really haven't found half as many scary rednecks as there were in Indiana. Not what I expected at all. I have to say that I really like the area so far. I hope that doesn't change.
We (my wife and I) are having a hard time finding a house that we really like that is close to where I work. We both liked our old house in the Chicago area, and we wish it lived in Kansas. The houses in the Kansas City area are priced similarly to the Chicago/Indiana suburbia that we came from, as long as we look at houses far away from where I work. Nice... I was hoping for a very short commute, but that doesn't seem to be the way that it is going to turn out.
I am a little freaked out by living in an entirely new area of the country and not knowing anyone other than my immediate family that I brought with me. Perhaps I am not the first to experience this. (Tongue planted firmly in cheek.)
I also have an entirely new group of people to go to work with. They haven't even heard me burp yet, which is just totally strange. It took me several years to be able to burp at work when I was in Chicago, and now I have to start all over. Tough work ahead, I work with a lot of women who may be offended by my, um, "noises"...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)