6 hours....
6 F-ing hours is how long I've been working on this stupid, tiny, insignificant piece of code in an Excel Macro...only it's not so insignificant, it's the most important line in the whole F-ing program, and I have absolutely no idea why it isn't working....
It should work, even the little help file says that the code is exactly the way that it should be; only Excel doesn't seem to recognize it...
All I want to do is throw my laptop out the window. Unfortunately, the way things are going, I'd be standing there watching happily, hoping to see my disobediant computer explode in the parking lot; it would suddenly catch a breaze and sail off into the sunset, flicking me the TAB key....
Breath...just breathe big fella, giving yourself an aneurysm, isn't going to make the damn thing work....
Deep breath now.... That's it.... Ok, now let's take another look at the problem.
F-ing computer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(Violent chair squeaking, and overly forceful typing)
This was the scene about 20 minutes ago...
If the whole thing weren't so ludicrous, I might be joyous, ecstatic, jubilant even. I've just gotten it to work, and we're on our way to a fully functional program that will revolutionize how we do business in Best Buy Mobile Real estate. The thing is, the necessary piece of programing was there all along. Just that Excel wasn't "referencing" it. Do you know what it took to "reference" something that's been there waiting to be used for 6 hours? A click of the mouse on a check box buried deep in an obscure menu. What the hell Microsoft!?!?!
Well at least it's working now, and I can go home without being super crabby and possibly make some delicious, healthy spiced apple cider! Ooh I'm excited already!
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Silence of the snow
Have you ever sat out in a snow storm and just listened to the sound of it? If you're from the north, I'll bet you have. If you haven't, you should. It's really amazing how silent everything really is. I'm not talking about a blizzard with roaring winds, just a heavy snow fall. Two days ago Minneapolis got their first real snow fall of the season. Most places got about 4 inches of snow over a 6 hour period. Not too bad, but definitely a snow storm. During the snow fall, I walked across the street to the mall where Jill works. It was amazing how quiet our typically noisy neighborhood was. Even with SUV's driving too fast down the snow-covered road, it was very quiet.
It made me think of past times in my life where my friends and I would hike through the nature preserve in Stevens Point during snow storms. It is so quiet because all the animals are hunkered down and every other sound is muffled by a blanket of fresh snow. It really is amazing at how peaceful a snow storm can be. I highly recommend braving the cold to sit through one and just feel the silence of the snow...you wont be disappointed.
It made me think of past times in my life where my friends and I would hike through the nature preserve in Stevens Point during snow storms. It is so quiet because all the animals are hunkered down and every other sound is muffled by a blanket of fresh snow. It really is amazing at how peaceful a snow storm can be. I highly recommend braving the cold to sit through one and just feel the silence of the snow...you wont be disappointed.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Doctors....
I try not to be too harsh on Doctors. After all, they spend years upon years in school, rack up mounds of dept, and then work ridiculous hours. Even if they do get paid a ton of money, they don't really have the time to enjoy it. BUT, I've been noticing a serious lack of usable information coming from Doctors recently. Let's start about a year and a half ago....
Do you all remember Jill's issue with serious stomach pain? It was so bad that she couldn't do anything but lay down in bed with a heating pad and struggle through it. Well, so we took her to the Dr. to find out what was going on. After a barrage of tests, questions, and bottles of foul tasting contrast, they told her that it could be ovarian cysts bursting. Could be. Really there wasn't much evidence of it or anything else. So they gave her birth control to help with possible cysts, and told her to eat a high fiber diet in case it was something more related to her stomach. Not a terrible outcome, but it seemed for the longest time that no-one had any idea of what was going on.
A year later we went to our to our new Dr. here in Minnesota for a routine check-up. The Dr. got our height and weight measurements and separated us into different rooms and asked us all the standard questions. Then while talking to me he pulled up a Body Mass Index chart that you can look at on-line (THE EXACT SAME ONE-FOR FREE), entered in my information, and informed me that I was obese. His recommendation? Portion control and a low-carb diet...seriously?
While at the Dr., they also had us do some blood work. When we got the results of that blood work back it came with little notes from our new Dr. Mine showed slightly high blood-sugar and cholesterol levels. My little note informed me that he wasn't too worried, but I should lower my carb intake. Jill's blood work revealed perfectly normal levels of everything except her triglycerides (things that can cause strokes, heart attacks, and all sorts of nasty things). Her note suggested that she lower her carb intake and come back in 6 months to recheck things.
OK, so some of you may be thinking, well maybe if you're eating bad, cutting carbs will help. the thing is, Jill and I have been eating on a VERY low-carb diet for almost a year now. So really I don't think that carb's are the problem. Especially considering every other one of Jill's tests came back in normal levels. So Jill does a little research on the Internet and sees that the number one side effect of her birth control is high levels of triglycerides, and potential risk of stroke and heart attack. She also found a number of posts from women who had similar issues and once they went off their birth control their triglyceride levels dropped back to normal ranges. So if this information was so readily available, and seems to be relevant, why didn't the Dr. even mention it?
Now, I read that a good friend of Jill's went to the Dr. because of difficulty breathing and chest pains. After some tests, they found a 3 inch nodule on her lung. Now, I'm no Dr., but to me it sounds like they might be related. Apparently the Dr. doesn't seem to think so. Keep in mind that she is an otherwise healthy person with no asthma or anything else like that.
So again, maybe me and my friends just seem to find the dud Dr.'s out there, but really, most of the information that we have received from the Dr.'s, has been less than helpful. And, let's not forget that this paltry information came after MANY visits to these Dr's who were paid handsomely for each visit. So, yeah, I'm a little bit bitter about the whole health care industry at the moment...
Just for the record, I think it is a noble and necessary profession to have, I just think there must be a better way of doing things. If you really don't know what's wrong with someone, tell them. Maybe it should be run like any other business, if the results aren't there, the pay isn't there either....
Do you all remember Jill's issue with serious stomach pain? It was so bad that she couldn't do anything but lay down in bed with a heating pad and struggle through it. Well, so we took her to the Dr. to find out what was going on. After a barrage of tests, questions, and bottles of foul tasting contrast, they told her that it could be ovarian cysts bursting. Could be. Really there wasn't much evidence of it or anything else. So they gave her birth control to help with possible cysts, and told her to eat a high fiber diet in case it was something more related to her stomach. Not a terrible outcome, but it seemed for the longest time that no-one had any idea of what was going on.
A year later we went to our to our new Dr. here in Minnesota for a routine check-up. The Dr. got our height and weight measurements and separated us into different rooms and asked us all the standard questions. Then while talking to me he pulled up a Body Mass Index chart that you can look at on-line (THE EXACT SAME ONE-FOR FREE), entered in my information, and informed me that I was obese. His recommendation? Portion control and a low-carb diet...seriously?
While at the Dr., they also had us do some blood work. When we got the results of that blood work back it came with little notes from our new Dr. Mine showed slightly high blood-sugar and cholesterol levels. My little note informed me that he wasn't too worried, but I should lower my carb intake. Jill's blood work revealed perfectly normal levels of everything except her triglycerides (things that can cause strokes, heart attacks, and all sorts of nasty things). Her note suggested that she lower her carb intake and come back in 6 months to recheck things.
OK, so some of you may be thinking, well maybe if you're eating bad, cutting carbs will help. the thing is, Jill and I have been eating on a VERY low-carb diet for almost a year now. So really I don't think that carb's are the problem. Especially considering every other one of Jill's tests came back in normal levels. So Jill does a little research on the Internet and sees that the number one side effect of her birth control is high levels of triglycerides, and potential risk of stroke and heart attack. She also found a number of posts from women who had similar issues and once they went off their birth control their triglyceride levels dropped back to normal ranges. So if this information was so readily available, and seems to be relevant, why didn't the Dr. even mention it?
Now, I read that a good friend of Jill's went to the Dr. because of difficulty breathing and chest pains. After some tests, they found a 3 inch nodule on her lung. Now, I'm no Dr., but to me it sounds like they might be related. Apparently the Dr. doesn't seem to think so. Keep in mind that she is an otherwise healthy person with no asthma or anything else like that.
So again, maybe me and my friends just seem to find the dud Dr.'s out there, but really, most of the information that we have received from the Dr.'s, has been less than helpful. And, let's not forget that this paltry information came after MANY visits to these Dr's who were paid handsomely for each visit. So, yeah, I'm a little bit bitter about the whole health care industry at the moment...
Just for the record, I think it is a noble and necessary profession to have, I just think there must be a better way of doing things. If you really don't know what's wrong with someone, tell them. Maybe it should be run like any other business, if the results aren't there, the pay isn't there either....
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Who am I?
Have you ever really asked yourself that question and given an immediate, confident answer? I mean seriously, ask yourself who am I, and see what comes immediately to your mind. And be specific; none of this who do I want to be, just who am I. I try to ask myself this question at least weekly, to see if I like the answer, or if it changes.
So, who am I today? Today I'm a friend, and a pushy, ambitious worker who won't be shoved into the background. An interesting answer for me today. You might not think so, but the fact that friend came up first is suprising. It's not that I don't like friends, or that they are unimportant to me, it's just that usually, work so dominates my mind that friends get pushed back into the recesses of my mind. So why is today different. Well a couple of things really. First, I need friends. I love my wife, and I love my job, but without friends, I smother my wife with attention, and dive too deeply into work. Second, a friend of Jill's from college recently moved into the Twin Cities area. Last night we hung out with him and it was funny to see the reaction he had on both Jill and I. While he wasn't my friend, I could see the effect of having another friend had on Jill. She was joking and playful, which then led me to be more playful with her and her friend, and in general we all had a really good time. We didn't do anything special, but it was fun none-the-less.
On another note, I think it's really important people to show their friends how important they are to each other. Sometimes it's just really nice to know that your friends really appreciate who you are.
OK, so the gushy stuff out of the way, the weight loss train is now pulling into the station. Fueled by a stricter adhearence to the diet and continued exercise, I've managed to lose almost 20 lbs now. I've still got a good distance to go if I want to give a big F-you to my Dr. who looked at me like I was obese and told me to cut my carbs, but I'm on a roll now. My body is ready to roll with the downward trend, and as long as I don't fall of a cliff, I should be all set to hit my mark. As for Jill, she has started a new work out program that I have high hopes for. It seems to be easy for her right now, which makes me think that it will work for her. If that seems strange to you, think about it like this. It seems easy, but she can do it without really hurting herself, and that will mean that she can do it for longer, and THAT will lead to fantastic results. I'm very proud of her for keeping at it. I know it can be disheartening to be trying for a long time and not hit your goals, but this time I think she's got it. Keep your hopes up everyone.
OK, enough about me, how is everyone else doing out there? I know it's the holiday season, but just remember to relax and take a few breaths. Nothing is so important as your sanity. Whether you're rushing to get some shopping done, or you're busting ass at work, take a few moments and breathe. You'll be far better company, and much better at what ever task you are trying to accomplish if you're not in a panic mode.
So, who am I today? Today I'm a friend, and a pushy, ambitious worker who won't be shoved into the background. An interesting answer for me today. You might not think so, but the fact that friend came up first is suprising. It's not that I don't like friends, or that they are unimportant to me, it's just that usually, work so dominates my mind that friends get pushed back into the recesses of my mind. So why is today different. Well a couple of things really. First, I need friends. I love my wife, and I love my job, but without friends, I smother my wife with attention, and dive too deeply into work. Second, a friend of Jill's from college recently moved into the Twin Cities area. Last night we hung out with him and it was funny to see the reaction he had on both Jill and I. While he wasn't my friend, I could see the effect of having another friend had on Jill. She was joking and playful, which then led me to be more playful with her and her friend, and in general we all had a really good time. We didn't do anything special, but it was fun none-the-less.
On another note, I think it's really important people to show their friends how important they are to each other. Sometimes it's just really nice to know that your friends really appreciate who you are.
OK, so the gushy stuff out of the way, the weight loss train is now pulling into the station. Fueled by a stricter adhearence to the diet and continued exercise, I've managed to lose almost 20 lbs now. I've still got a good distance to go if I want to give a big F-you to my Dr. who looked at me like I was obese and told me to cut my carbs, but I'm on a roll now. My body is ready to roll with the downward trend, and as long as I don't fall of a cliff, I should be all set to hit my mark. As for Jill, she has started a new work out program that I have high hopes for. It seems to be easy for her right now, which makes me think that it will work for her. If that seems strange to you, think about it like this. It seems easy, but she can do it without really hurting herself, and that will mean that she can do it for longer, and THAT will lead to fantastic results. I'm very proud of her for keeping at it. I know it can be disheartening to be trying for a long time and not hit your goals, but this time I think she's got it. Keep your hopes up everyone.
OK, enough about me, how is everyone else doing out there? I know it's the holiday season, but just remember to relax and take a few breaths. Nothing is so important as your sanity. Whether you're rushing to get some shopping done, or you're busting ass at work, take a few moments and breathe. You'll be far better company, and much better at what ever task you are trying to accomplish if you're not in a panic mode.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Good morning Black Friday
I'm amazed, simply amazed this morning. As I sit here at my desk overlooking a shopping center across the freeway, I just can't believe what I'm seeing. Every day since I've been working here at Best Buys corporate campus, I've never seen the shopping center across the street full to capacity. Sure, Target is usually decently busy, and occasionally Herbergers parking lot gets to about half-full status, but today, today is a different story all together. Today, every single parking space is occupied. There is a line of cars outside the shopping center waiting to turn into it; a line that is not moving! Oh yeah and did I mention that it's only 6:30 am!!!
Seriously, what is it about the day after Thanksgiving that makes people so crazy for shopping. I get that there are some good deals out there, but all the money you are saving on these deals can't cover the amount of physical and emotional trauma that must be occurring in those parking lots, let alone inside the stores. All the pushing and racing to get to that coveted door-buster item, then standing in line guarding your goodies so that dodgy looking fellow with the limp doesn't steal your brother-in-law's (whom you don't even like) new toaster. Which, by the way, your getting for only $20, instead of $34.99! I can't even imagine what today must feel like for the poor people working in retail right now (and my wife is among them).
The only thing that comes to my mind about this crazy phenomenon, is that we as a society need to work off all of those calories we consumed during our insanely over abundant Thanksgiving day feasts! Don't get me wrong, I love a good deal. If there's something labeled with free, I want it. I don't care what it is. Seriously, it could be a free ass kicking and I'd be interested, but I can only take so much stupidity at a time. That many people, that close together, is a recipe for mass homicide that I want no part of.
So good luck to all of you who are out there waiting in line for your deal of deals. I'll be here in my cubicle on the 6th floor watching you as you gun your engine to try to park your gigantic SUV into a compact car spot. And I'll be laughing. You can count on it.
Seriously, what is it about the day after Thanksgiving that makes people so crazy for shopping. I get that there are some good deals out there, but all the money you are saving on these deals can't cover the amount of physical and emotional trauma that must be occurring in those parking lots, let alone inside the stores. All the pushing and racing to get to that coveted door-buster item, then standing in line guarding your goodies so that dodgy looking fellow with the limp doesn't steal your brother-in-law's (whom you don't even like) new toaster. Which, by the way, your getting for only $20, instead of $34.99! I can't even imagine what today must feel like for the poor people working in retail right now (and my wife is among them).
The only thing that comes to my mind about this crazy phenomenon, is that we as a society need to work off all of those calories we consumed during our insanely over abundant Thanksgiving day feasts! Don't get me wrong, I love a good deal. If there's something labeled with free, I want it. I don't care what it is. Seriously, it could be a free ass kicking and I'd be interested, but I can only take so much stupidity at a time. That many people, that close together, is a recipe for mass homicide that I want no part of.
So good luck to all of you who are out there waiting in line for your deal of deals. I'll be here in my cubicle on the 6th floor watching you as you gun your engine to try to park your gigantic SUV into a compact car spot. And I'll be laughing. You can count on it.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Weekend at home
Good Monday to you all. I hope things are well.
This weekend I was home alone. Jill went to Madison with Shonda to visit their "friend" for her birthday. Friend is in quotations because I'm reserving judgement on whether or not a friend would act the way she did. I was not there and the events that took place did not happen to me, so it's really not my place to tell the story. But, believe you me, if it had happened to me, I would have made a much bigger scene that my peace-loving wife. The downside for me in the story is that while Jill was out with the "friend," she was shunted to another table by herself and was texting me for support and love. I thought myself funny and suggested a number of things she could do for instant payback at being ignored. NOT what the Dr. Ordered. Lesson learned? When someone you care about is in a crappy situation and is asking for some love and attention; give them love and attention, not a number of ways they could make an ass of themselves.
Anyway, I spent my weekend in the most uninteresting way possible: I cleaned and played video games. Admittedly, I felt like crap through most of the weekend, but I still could have been a bit more entertaining. I did manage to meet up with Shonda's boyfriend to watch the miserable packer game yesterday, but that was about as exciting as it got for me. I have to say thought that I did a pretty sweet job of cleaning. AND it wasn't even my typical shove it in a corner cleaning. It was the full out vacuum, floor washing, cloths folding clean-a-thon that happens once a blue moon from me. The kitties don't know what to do with all the new clean space. well, that's not entirely true, they know what to do: run around and pull toys out to fill the space. Well that's all for me. Hopefully your weekends were a bit more entertaining than my own.
This weekend I was home alone. Jill went to Madison with Shonda to visit their "friend" for her birthday. Friend is in quotations because I'm reserving judgement on whether or not a friend would act the way she did. I was not there and the events that took place did not happen to me, so it's really not my place to tell the story. But, believe you me, if it had happened to me, I would have made a much bigger scene that my peace-loving wife. The downside for me in the story is that while Jill was out with the "friend," she was shunted to another table by herself and was texting me for support and love. I thought myself funny and suggested a number of things she could do for instant payback at being ignored. NOT what the Dr. Ordered. Lesson learned? When someone you care about is in a crappy situation and is asking for some love and attention; give them love and attention, not a number of ways they could make an ass of themselves.
Anyway, I spent my weekend in the most uninteresting way possible: I cleaned and played video games. Admittedly, I felt like crap through most of the weekend, but I still could have been a bit more entertaining. I did manage to meet up with Shonda's boyfriend to watch the miserable packer game yesterday, but that was about as exciting as it got for me. I have to say thought that I did a pretty sweet job of cleaning. AND it wasn't even my typical shove it in a corner cleaning. It was the full out vacuum, floor washing, cloths folding clean-a-thon that happens once a blue moon from me. The kitties don't know what to do with all the new clean space. well, that's not entirely true, they know what to do: run around and pull toys out to fill the space. Well that's all for me. Hopefully your weekends were a bit more entertaining than my own.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Sleep, San Antonio, and The Alamoe
Good morning everybody!
It is 6:00 am cst and I am wide awake. Did any of you read tat blog I wrote at 2:00 this morning? Yeah, I've been up since, well, since before then. Why might you ask? A great question, I have no idea! Sometimes when I travel this happens. I'll fall aslpee for a little while and then I'll wake up and be up forever. Unfortunately, today is looking to be one of those days. I'll survive, no need to worry. So what's new with Tim? Well I'm once again in the field. This week brings me to San Antonio (Monday/Tuesday), Austin (Tuesday/Wednesday), and Houston (Wednesday/Thursday), TX.
Ah, my alarm clock to wake me up to go for a run has just gone off. Fortunately I've been up for so long already I thought to go for a run!
Back to Texas....ah yes, San Antonio. Well, the first portion of my trip was occupied by one of the two cities in Texas everyone told me I HAD to visit before I passed judgment on Texas. My first thoughts about the city were that it's no cleaner than any of the other cities in Texas. That's a bit unfair as that was right around the airport, which typically, though not always, are bad neighborhoods. Once we drove around the outskirts of the city I became aware of something that I hadn't realized about this area of the Lone Star state. There are actual ills here. In fact, there are alot of hills here, and that makes the scenery down right pretty. However, the crown jewel of this city is the downtown area, otherwise known as the Riverwalk. Imagine an entire downtown built along a river with shops, restaurants, and businesses located on either side with river-front walkways along the entire expanse. To those of you who know Milwaukee well, it is similar to the Riverwest area, only with a cleaner river, more sunlight, and less beer. Upon my departure from San Antonio, I realized that I don't really have enough time logged in the city to really give it positive or negative marks, but at the very least I have now seen it.
Next stop on the trip was Austin, well I guess I should say IS Austin. That's right, right now I'm coming to you from the capitol of Texas. It's a very lively city with a lot of traffic, and interesting downtown area called 6th & Lamar St. I haven't had a lot of time here, yet, but my impression is that if you were to live in Texas, this is where you would want to work.
Well, that's all for me, I'm going to catch a quick nap before I have to be up for the day.
It is 6:00 am cst and I am wide awake. Did any of you read tat blog I wrote at 2:00 this morning? Yeah, I've been up since, well, since before then. Why might you ask? A great question, I have no idea! Sometimes when I travel this happens. I'll fall aslpee for a little while and then I'll wake up and be up forever. Unfortunately, today is looking to be one of those days. I'll survive, no need to worry. So what's new with Tim? Well I'm once again in the field. This week brings me to San Antonio (Monday/Tuesday), Austin (Tuesday/Wednesday), and Houston (Wednesday/Thursday), TX.
Ah, my alarm clock to wake me up to go for a run has just gone off. Fortunately I've been up for so long already I thought to go for a run!
Back to Texas....ah yes, San Antonio. Well, the first portion of my trip was occupied by one of the two cities in Texas everyone told me I HAD to visit before I passed judgment on Texas. My first thoughts about the city were that it's no cleaner than any of the other cities in Texas. That's a bit unfair as that was right around the airport, which typically, though not always, are bad neighborhoods. Once we drove around the outskirts of the city I became aware of something that I hadn't realized about this area of the Lone Star state. There are actual ills here. In fact, there are alot of hills here, and that makes the scenery down right pretty. However, the crown jewel of this city is the downtown area, otherwise known as the Riverwalk. Imagine an entire downtown built along a river with shops, restaurants, and businesses located on either side with river-front walkways along the entire expanse. To those of you who know Milwaukee well, it is similar to the Riverwest area, only with a cleaner river, more sunlight, and less beer. Upon my departure from San Antonio, I realized that I don't really have enough time logged in the city to really give it positive or negative marks, but at the very least I have now seen it.
Next stop on the trip was Austin, well I guess I should say IS Austin. That's right, right now I'm coming to you from the capitol of Texas. It's a very lively city with a lot of traffic, and interesting downtown area called 6th & Lamar St. I haven't had a lot of time here, yet, but my impression is that if you were to live in Texas, this is where you would want to work.
Well, that's all for me, I'm going to catch a quick nap before I have to be up for the day.
Election Night in Austin
So it is 2:00 am on the morning following the general election of 2008. I find myself hopeful about the future of the country. While I know that the election of a new President, even one with a majorities in both houses of congress, can not completely change the course of a nation on a dime. I think, or rather hope, that what we as of a country have done tonight is a sign of a new stage of maturity for the country. What I mean by this is that I hope, finally, that our country has learned to see beyond the color of our skin. It is my greatest hope that we as a nation are finally willing to look for the best person for the job, for the times. Ultimately, history will decide the correctness of our decision, but at a minimum history will see that in these difficult times we chose a leader with a steady, calm demeanor. A leader who would choose to help where he can and to calm peoples fear without pretending things are not as they are. At least that is my hope.
I may be a bit of a dreamer, but I believe that this is a great country with a lot of potential to help each other and the rest of the world. If only we could get out of our own way. I guess we'll see what happens, but I hope for all our sakes that we made the right decision tonight.
I may be a bit of a dreamer, but I believe that this is a great country with a lot of potential to help each other and the rest of the world. If only we could get out of our own way. I guess we'll see what happens, but I hope for all our sakes that we made the right decision tonight.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Election Day Blues
Yes I am aware that it is not actually election day. I am not so completely lost that I think it's 5 days from now...what day is it by the way. Hmmm, the Office is on tonight, so it must be Thursday. Isn't it strange how many people will actually know the day of the week by the TV show that's on. Anyway, that's not what I came here to blog about. As this years election season draws to a close I have started to feel the excitement I always get at being a minuscule piece of the power that is this country. I was getting all ready to dress up in my finest and head out to the polls next Tuesday. And suddenly I had a realization that shook me: I'm going to be in Houston on election day. Not only will I be in the heart of Republican territory, but I'll be there on the day that I'm supposed to be voting!!!! So, this year I'm attempting to vote via absentee ballot. I don't know if I'll make it in time, but I certainly hope so.
In any case, for those of you smart enough not to leave your state on election day, don't forget to vote. No matter how small you think your part is, the important thing is that you have a part. the fact that every one of us in this country has a say in what happens is pretty sweet.
Oh, totally unconnected occurrence. Kwame Killpatrick, the former mayor of Detroit, is heading to Jail for lying under oath in court about his elicit sex text message scandal with his former staff members. First of all TEXT MESSAGES?!?!?! Ok, so he was probably being naughty on the side, but why not just say, you know what yeah I did it, but she's hot and I'm important. Why would you need to lie about that and then try to keep it quiet by paying off three cops to the tune of $9 Million and STILL have it break. How ridiculous. Your city is not-so-slowly dying and your messing around with the staff and spending valuable city resources to cover it up. Good job A-hole, I hope you make some new friends in prison.
In any case, for those of you smart enough not to leave your state on election day, don't forget to vote. No matter how small you think your part is, the important thing is that you have a part. the fact that every one of us in this country has a say in what happens is pretty sweet.
Oh, totally unconnected occurrence. Kwame Killpatrick, the former mayor of Detroit, is heading to Jail for lying under oath in court about his elicit sex text message scandal with his former staff members. First of all TEXT MESSAGES?!?!?! Ok, so he was probably being naughty on the side, but why not just say, you know what yeah I did it, but she's hot and I'm important. Why would you need to lie about that and then try to keep it quiet by paying off three cops to the tune of $9 Million and STILL have it break. How ridiculous. Your city is not-so-slowly dying and your messing around with the staff and spending valuable city resources to cover it up. Good job A-hole, I hope you make some new friends in prison.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Hello from Baltimore
Hello everyone,
As you may have guessed from the title I'm in Baltimore, Maryland. And I know what your thinking Hanni, "Why didn't I come to visit?" Well I thought about it, but by the time I would have made it out there after working it would have been pretty late, and I would not have had time to enjoy your company. On the flip side, I've decided that Jill and I need to take real vacations, not just ones tagged on to my work trips. So that's a trip that I'd like to set up with Jill, a nice little trip to Frederick to visit Hanni, and of course Gettysburg. Which reminds me, tonight they are doing the most haunted live from Gettysburg. I could have gone there and personally met the Most Haunted crew! That would have made them my second "ghost" crew I had visited. Sadly I didn't think about that soon enough or I may have taken a drive out there last night! Or at the very least tried to stay another night. Alas, foiled again.
Instead, Jill and I are going to be making a trip to Stevens Point for Homecoming. It should be a fun weekend. I'm not entirely sure what we'll be doing since neither one of us really drinks a whole bunch anymore, but I'm sure there will be plenty of visiting and fun to be had. Plus, walks through Schmeikle and the river front are always enjoyable. Anyway, my trip here is almost over and I should start to make my way to the airport. But I wanted to give a should out to the wonderful state of Maryland.
As you may have guessed from the title I'm in Baltimore, Maryland. And I know what your thinking Hanni, "Why didn't I come to visit?" Well I thought about it, but by the time I would have made it out there after working it would have been pretty late, and I would not have had time to enjoy your company. On the flip side, I've decided that Jill and I need to take real vacations, not just ones tagged on to my work trips. So that's a trip that I'd like to set up with Jill, a nice little trip to Frederick to visit Hanni, and of course Gettysburg. Which reminds me, tonight they are doing the most haunted live from Gettysburg. I could have gone there and personally met the Most Haunted crew! That would have made them my second "ghost" crew I had visited. Sadly I didn't think about that soon enough or I may have taken a drive out there last night! Or at the very least tried to stay another night. Alas, foiled again.
Instead, Jill and I are going to be making a trip to Stevens Point for Homecoming. It should be a fun weekend. I'm not entirely sure what we'll be doing since neither one of us really drinks a whole bunch anymore, but I'm sure there will be plenty of visiting and fun to be had. Plus, walks through Schmeikle and the river front are always enjoyable. Anyway, my trip here is almost over and I should start to make my way to the airport. But I wanted to give a should out to the wonderful state of Maryland.
Friday, October 3, 2008
It's 7:00 AM do you know where your baby is?
Weird title right? Well, it's not if you have a baby in you apartment for the first time ever! No, it is obviously not mine, but that doesn't mean it's not adorable, especially because I'm not the one who has to change her diaper!
Our wonderful friend Katie is here for a couple of days because we have a wedding to go to this weekend. Her baby Quinn is absolutely adorable, and unlike every other baby in the world, sees to like me :) Well anyway, it's 7:00 in the morning and I'm about to go wake up Jill who has to work at 9:00. The girls were up earlier to play with and change Quinn, but they've both gone back to bed. It was quite funny actually, I went to go work out with them hanging out and changing the baby, then when I got back (expecting TV and chit chat to greet me when I opened the door) everything was dark and the apartment was silent. Even the cats seemed to realize now was not the time to make noise. Speaking of the cats, they seem to be handling the baby decently well. Shelly is afraid of her because even though Quinn seems to love Shelly, she displays that love by making loud noises and fast hand movements, something Shelly cat DEFINITELY does not care for. Shelly does seem to like quinn when she's sleeping though. She spent most of last night hanging out outside of her playpen just watching her sleep. Shaky on the other hand just seems jealous that mommy's attention is now focused on the baby, so I get his mad pleas for cuddles. So all in all I can't say it's too bad a situation. Well, I should get moving to work. Till next time.
Our wonderful friend Katie is here for a couple of days because we have a wedding to go to this weekend. Her baby Quinn is absolutely adorable, and unlike every other baby in the world, sees to like me :) Well anyway, it's 7:00 in the morning and I'm about to go wake up Jill who has to work at 9:00. The girls were up earlier to play with and change Quinn, but they've both gone back to bed. It was quite funny actually, I went to go work out with them hanging out and changing the baby, then when I got back (expecting TV and chit chat to greet me when I opened the door) everything was dark and the apartment was silent. Even the cats seemed to realize now was not the time to make noise. Speaking of the cats, they seem to be handling the baby decently well. Shelly is afraid of her because even though Quinn seems to love Shelly, she displays that love by making loud noises and fast hand movements, something Shelly cat DEFINITELY does not care for. Shelly does seem to like quinn when she's sleeping though. She spent most of last night hanging out outside of her playpen just watching her sleep. Shaky on the other hand just seems jealous that mommy's attention is now focused on the baby, so I get his mad pleas for cuddles. So all in all I can't say it's too bad a situation. Well, I should get moving to work. Till next time.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Cats, Tires, and the Crew.
First and foremost I'd like to say congratulations to the Brewers, who, for the first time since 1982, have made it into the play-offs. Sporting a big "up yours" to the larger market teams such as the Mets and Yankees. Normally, I don't get too excited about baseball, but when my hometown team finally makes it to the play-offs after such a drought, it notes some attention. Now for a small rant on why I don't care for Baseball...
It's a fun sport to watch....at the stadium, where hours of beer, brats, and parking lot football take care of any desire for needing action before you enter the stadium. To me watching a baseball game on TV is about as entertaining as watching golf. It's great if you're a student of the game, but for everyone else, it's deadsville. It's also an unfair sport. Unfair in terms of team equality. Teams stack their teams with superstars by offering $100 million salaries. There are "rules" in place to keep this from happening, but the biggest teams don't care because they can afford to pay any "fines" the league may impose on them. This one sidedness breeds greed amongst the leagues top players who obviously want to get paid as much as possible. There are, of course, a few players who stick to teams out of loyalty and love for the game, but they are few and far between. What I love the most about the NFL (which does have a salary cap that means something), is that any team can go from terrible to amazing in a short amount of time, and vice verse. It makes every year an amazing ride that plays on fans' heartstrings in ways akin to Europe's soccer leagues. Well, that's enough of a rant, on to current events.
So anyone who has ridden in my car in the last, oh say year, may have noticed a slight, for lack of a better term, wobble. Well the wobble has recently gotten worse, and with it the wear on my tires. Now, I'm convinced that the wobble was caused by the terrible condition of Michigan roads on which I drove for so long. Anyway, the tires on the front of my car had worn the edges down so much that there was some beading appearing. With a long trip to Green Bay for a wedding this weekend, I decided it was finally time to replace the tires and fix the alignment. The whole thing cost me about what it cost to replace Jill's tires at a different tire company, but I think I have cheaper tires also. Anyway, it was a bit expensive, but incredibly necessary. The only problem, is that now the car feels like it drives funny because it ISN'T wobbling. What a cruel world!
In my final update of the day, our cats went in for their yearly check up last night also. In the past they have been pretty good about the vet, but got a little squirmy when it came to the shots. One time, Shaky damn near jumped off the table because he was so upset about the needle. Last night, I'm happy to say they both sat through their exam like champs. Neither moved nor even whined at all for the shots. On the downside, my cat (Shelly) is a bit overweight. Much like her daddy. So Shelly is now on a bit of a restricted diet, and we'll be exercising her a bit more regularly as well. Well, that's enough for one day. Hope everyone is well.....
Oh and by the way, two days in a row? Watch out blogging world!!!!
It's a fun sport to watch....at the stadium, where hours of beer, brats, and parking lot football take care of any desire for needing action before you enter the stadium. To me watching a baseball game on TV is about as entertaining as watching golf. It's great if you're a student of the game, but for everyone else, it's deadsville. It's also an unfair sport. Unfair in terms of team equality. Teams stack their teams with superstars by offering $100 million salaries. There are "rules" in place to keep this from happening, but the biggest teams don't care because they can afford to pay any "fines" the league may impose on them. This one sidedness breeds greed amongst the leagues top players who obviously want to get paid as much as possible. There are, of course, a few players who stick to teams out of loyalty and love for the game, but they are few and far between. What I love the most about the NFL (which does have a salary cap that means something), is that any team can go from terrible to amazing in a short amount of time, and vice verse. It makes every year an amazing ride that plays on fans' heartstrings in ways akin to Europe's soccer leagues. Well, that's enough of a rant, on to current events.
So anyone who has ridden in my car in the last, oh say year, may have noticed a slight, for lack of a better term, wobble. Well the wobble has recently gotten worse, and with it the wear on my tires. Now, I'm convinced that the wobble was caused by the terrible condition of Michigan roads on which I drove for so long. Anyway, the tires on the front of my car had worn the edges down so much that there was some beading appearing. With a long trip to Green Bay for a wedding this weekend, I decided it was finally time to replace the tires and fix the alignment. The whole thing cost me about what it cost to replace Jill's tires at a different tire company, but I think I have cheaper tires also. Anyway, it was a bit expensive, but incredibly necessary. The only problem, is that now the car feels like it drives funny because it ISN'T wobbling. What a cruel world!
In my final update of the day, our cats went in for their yearly check up last night also. In the past they have been pretty good about the vet, but got a little squirmy when it came to the shots. One time, Shaky damn near jumped off the table because he was so upset about the needle. Last night, I'm happy to say they both sat through their exam like champs. Neither moved nor even whined at all for the shots. On the downside, my cat (Shelly) is a bit overweight. Much like her daddy. So Shelly is now on a bit of a restricted diet, and we'll be exercising her a bit more regularly as well. Well, that's enough for one day. Hope everyone is well.....
Oh and by the way, two days in a row? Watch out blogging world!!!!
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Time to catch up
Well ladies and gents, as Jill informs me it has been almost a month since my last blog! Yikes, that is a terribly long time of nothingness for someone who had promised to keep things up to date. Well, I have all kinds of excuses, but I'll save you all the time and trouble of hearing them and just say my bad. So now we need to catch up. Jill and I went to the doctor's office last week for a physical. They took us in, we talked a little, weighed ourselves and measured our heights. Two major disappointments for TK that day: one, apparently I'm only 5'8", and two, apparently I'm also technically obese. That's right folks, just like the fabled teapot I am short and stout, only there is definitely no delicious hot beverage boiling inside me. Instead there is rage. Rage mostly at myself for letting myself get back to a point where I'm at an unhealthy weight to height ratio, and partially at a system of health care that tells me I have a strong regular heartbeat perfectly normal blood pressure and a normal cholesterol count, but because I'm 5'8 and 220lbs I'm obese.
OK, so enough whining about that, I've been trying to lose some weight recently anyway, now I just have a label to overcome as well. Jill and I had a pretty good weekend. We went to a very fun Oktoberfest (see Jill's blog for details) on Friday. Good time, but man was I tired. I think I'm finally getting over some kind of cold thing that I had going on. Then Saturday we did a bit of shopping. Jill got a new mandolin (basically a vegetable guillotine) and she made some delicious refrigerator pickles. I know gasp, Tim is eating pickles, well, they're not real pickles, they're delicious! We also got some new sheets for the bed, and a quilt coverlet(?) for the bed. I gave Jill some guff for a long time for wanting something that wasn't as obviously awesome as a comforter, but was twice as expensive. I, as usual, was wrong to give her crap. It makes the bed look hotel nice, AND we got it on crazy clearance from bed bath and beyond. The funny part of that is that we bought it without the help of the 20% coupons that everyone gets in the mail. Two days later however, we received such coupon in the mail, and you better believe I'm going back to get the 20% off!
Other than that, things are going pretty well. Jill and I are still a bit stressed out from all of our activities in the last few weeks. Hopefully though once this months festivities are completed, we'll have some time to relax heading into the holiday season. I guess we'll see. Till next time...
OK, so enough whining about that, I've been trying to lose some weight recently anyway, now I just have a label to overcome as well. Jill and I had a pretty good weekend. We went to a very fun Oktoberfest (see Jill's blog for details) on Friday. Good time, but man was I tired. I think I'm finally getting over some kind of cold thing that I had going on. Then Saturday we did a bit of shopping. Jill got a new mandolin (basically a vegetable guillotine) and she made some delicious refrigerator pickles. I know gasp, Tim is eating pickles, well, they're not real pickles, they're delicious! We also got some new sheets for the bed, and a quilt coverlet(?) for the bed. I gave Jill some guff for a long time for wanting something that wasn't as obviously awesome as a comforter, but was twice as expensive. I, as usual, was wrong to give her crap. It makes the bed look hotel nice, AND we got it on crazy clearance from bed bath and beyond. The funny part of that is that we bought it without the help of the 20% coupons that everyone gets in the mail. Two days later however, we received such coupon in the mail, and you better believe I'm going back to get the 20% off!
Other than that, things are going pretty well. Jill and I are still a bit stressed out from all of our activities in the last few weeks. Hopefully though once this months festivities are completed, we'll have some time to relax heading into the holiday season. I guess we'll see. Till next time...
Monday, September 8, 2008
Working Girl
I know what you are all thinking, Tim got a hooker?!?!?! No, no I did not. the title in actually in reference to my very hard working wife. She has been busting her butt for the last three weeks now. So much so that she hasn't really had time to get completely healthy (She's been sick with something since we got back from Miami). However, today is her last day of work until we go to Las Vegas, and I couldn't be happier for her. She deserves a nice vacation. Not just any vacation, but one where I am on vacation with her, not working. this is going to be something of a novelty for me. I am leaving all of my work stuff (Blackberry, Computer, etc.) at home. I will not be able to check anything. She deserves my attention when we are on vacation. So I have made that promies. We'll see if I survive.
In other news, this week the football world was turned upside down. The Falcons were great, the Colts lost, and New England lost the key guy. It's begining to look like I maybe should have placed Money on the Falcons to go to the superbowl (10,000:1) and maybe even the superbowl (1,000,000,000,000,000,000 : 1). If I even put a dollar down on that, I would be an insanely rich man. Still, the odds are obviously not in my favor. Still, I believe the football world will right itself and the teams that are supposed to be good, will be good, and the other way around, but for an instant, it looks like anything can happen.
In other news, this week the football world was turned upside down. The Falcons were great, the Colts lost, and New England lost the key guy. It's begining to look like I maybe should have placed Money on the Falcons to go to the superbowl (10,000:1) and maybe even the superbowl (1,000,000,000,000,000,000 : 1). If I even put a dollar down on that, I would be an insanely rich man. Still, the odds are obviously not in my favor. Still, I believe the football world will right itself and the teams that are supposed to be good, will be good, and the other way around, but for an instant, it looks like anything can happen.
Monday, September 1, 2008
Good Times
Well, today is labor day and Jill has to work. The poor thing. She has been working really hard, and really long hours. With no break long enough to really recuperate. So its a really good thing that we are going on a vacation soon. We did however have some time to go out this weekend. A friend and coworker of Jill's invited us to go out in uptown Saturday night. We don't often go out, and really neither of us enjoys drinking too much anymore; it's expensive and harder and harder on the body. Even still, we decided to join her out at a place called Bar Abilene. It's a pretty trendy bar with decent taps, some tales to sit at and a DJ. We arrived around 9:30 or so to find the place pretty dead. We weren't really complaining since we were able to snag great seats at the bar and met our first new friend of the evening: the very awesome (and apparently attractive) bartender Mica (yes he even has a cool name).
It turns out that he is actually from Amery, WI, so right away we know he's cool. Other than hanging out with us as much as a bartender can and giving us the scoop on most of the regulars, he cut us a sweet deal on our tab. We should have drank and ate about $100 worth of stuff between the 3 of us, but when he ran the check for us it was only $54; what a guy! We'll definitely be going back there to see him again. So as you may have guessed from earlier, we met several new people that night. Well, to be fair, I should say Jill met them, but still. One of the people we met invited us to a pool party the next day! As the night progressed the bar got a bit crowded and people were beginning to mass around the two ladies I was accompanying. I was the designated driver for the evening so I only had two beers for the evening. While I was sober, the increasing mass of people hanging around Jill and Angel started to buy them drinks. Needless to say, the ladies were a bit tipsy by the time the evening drew to a close. Just before we left a girl next to Jill dropped her drink and one of the bartenders accused Jill. So the bouncer came up, took her drink, and told her she needed to leave. Well, Jill was quite upset about being accused of smashing her drink when clearly her drink was still in front of her, but thankfully, our new friends took care of the situation for us. Mica told the bouncer it wasn't her, and the rest of the new group of friends knew some key people.
Even still, the taste for the night out was lost. So we tracked down Angel (hanging out by a group of guys buying her shots) and began to make our way out of the crowded bar. A short while after our departure, a guy in front of us stole the purse of a girl walking in front of us. It took a second to realize what had happened, but once we realized what was going on I took off after the thief. I almost had him right away as he realized I was after him, slowed down and made to give me the purse. As I got close he bolted to the right and just outside my grasp. I tore off after him running through streets and sidewalks. I chased him for about 10 blocks. I wish I could tell you that I ran him down and got the purse back, but he was about 6'3" and out ran me. It may be a good thing too, because at that point I was pretty pissed off that someone would do that, and then that no one else would help stop the guy, so I probably would not have been very gentle with him.
While I was chasing after the purse thief, Jill was managing to half-Carry her friend Angel back toward the car, a task which must have been difficult considering the difference in their sizes. Finally I returned to the girls and got them in the car and home. On the way home, a car almost hit us and I had to swerve quickly to avoid it. So all in all it was a pretty eventful night. Oh yeah, we also had to get Angel up to our apartment where she would spent the night passed out on our couch. I was a long night followed by a day of rest as we didn't really do anything noteworthy until about 5:30 at night.
So the moral of the story is that we had fun, but I need to get into a little better shape. I should have been able to catch that guy and retrieve the purse. Next time, I'll be in better shape, and better able to assist. Watch out criminals!
It turns out that he is actually from Amery, WI, so right away we know he's cool. Other than hanging out with us as much as a bartender can and giving us the scoop on most of the regulars, he cut us a sweet deal on our tab. We should have drank and ate about $100 worth of stuff between the 3 of us, but when he ran the check for us it was only $54; what a guy! We'll definitely be going back there to see him again. So as you may have guessed from earlier, we met several new people that night. Well, to be fair, I should say Jill met them, but still. One of the people we met invited us to a pool party the next day! As the night progressed the bar got a bit crowded and people were beginning to mass around the two ladies I was accompanying. I was the designated driver for the evening so I only had two beers for the evening. While I was sober, the increasing mass of people hanging around Jill and Angel started to buy them drinks. Needless to say, the ladies were a bit tipsy by the time the evening drew to a close. Just before we left a girl next to Jill dropped her drink and one of the bartenders accused Jill. So the bouncer came up, took her drink, and told her she needed to leave. Well, Jill was quite upset about being accused of smashing her drink when clearly her drink was still in front of her, but thankfully, our new friends took care of the situation for us. Mica told the bouncer it wasn't her, and the rest of the new group of friends knew some key people.
Even still, the taste for the night out was lost. So we tracked down Angel (hanging out by a group of guys buying her shots) and began to make our way out of the crowded bar. A short while after our departure, a guy in front of us stole the purse of a girl walking in front of us. It took a second to realize what had happened, but once we realized what was going on I took off after the thief. I almost had him right away as he realized I was after him, slowed down and made to give me the purse. As I got close he bolted to the right and just outside my grasp. I tore off after him running through streets and sidewalks. I chased him for about 10 blocks. I wish I could tell you that I ran him down and got the purse back, but he was about 6'3" and out ran me. It may be a good thing too, because at that point I was pretty pissed off that someone would do that, and then that no one else would help stop the guy, so I probably would not have been very gentle with him.
While I was chasing after the purse thief, Jill was managing to half-Carry her friend Angel back toward the car, a task which must have been difficult considering the difference in their sizes. Finally I returned to the girls and got them in the car and home. On the way home, a car almost hit us and I had to swerve quickly to avoid it. So all in all it was a pretty eventful night. Oh yeah, we also had to get Angel up to our apartment where she would spent the night passed out on our couch. I was a long night followed by a day of rest as we didn't really do anything noteworthy until about 5:30 at night.
So the moral of the story is that we had fun, but I need to get into a little better shape. I should have been able to catch that guy and retrieve the purse. Next time, I'll be in better shape, and better able to assist. Watch out criminals!
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Not enough Bloggin'
well it has been brought to my attention (on several occasions, and by several people), that I do not blog enough. Fair enough. You know what's strange? When I get to work it just leaves my head. I think about blogging when I'm in my car on the way to work, or when Jill is blogging. But as soon as I have unobstructed access to the internet, my blogging brain fails me. I make no promises, but I'll try to keep things up to date a little bit better.
Sooooooo, where to begin? Ah, yes, the bargain. For those of you who don't remember, Jill and I made a bargain not to have sex anymore until I was 185 lbs. Well, THAT didn't last long, BUT I have been working out a lot lately. In fact, I have been running every morning this week. Even yesterday when it was pouring out (I ran inside in our fitness center). I must also say that I'm proud of Jill for wanting to try running. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hopes high that she can reach her goals.
In other news, our trip to Las Vegas is coming up and I am REALLY excited. I want to just relax the whole time we're there. I know there are some plans to do all kinds of crazy fun things, such as getting a table at Tao and going dune buggying. But really I don't know if I want to do all of that stuff. Partly because I'm kind of over drinking a lot, but also because the cheapest of those activities would cost $140 a person. Ouch! And while I'm on that subject, those clubs are SUCH a rip off! For 8 people it would be around $140/person. That's almost $1,000 for 8 people and TWO bottles of liquor. Granted that includes mixers and the entry fee and the table, but seriously what the hell? I could literally go to Home Depot, Menards, and best buy, create a similar (although admittedly less hopping) atmosphere for about $100 TOTAL. Anyway, we'll see I want to have fun and not be all penny-pincherey, but that just seems a bit crazy to me. Though Jill did say it was close to what she was expecting.
Ok, well this is getting a bit wordy now (I know if I blogged more often...) so I'd like to finish off with one more thought. I have been working out really hard lately and I've actually gained weight. Thinking about that and the fact that I feel like I look thinner, I've decided that weight is really a stupid number that I shouldn't pay attention to. If I look sexy, I look sexy and the scale be damned.
Sooooooo, where to begin? Ah, yes, the bargain. For those of you who don't remember, Jill and I made a bargain not to have sex anymore until I was 185 lbs. Well, THAT didn't last long, BUT I have been working out a lot lately. In fact, I have been running every morning this week. Even yesterday when it was pouring out (I ran inside in our fitness center). I must also say that I'm proud of Jill for wanting to try running. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hopes high that she can reach her goals.
In other news, our trip to Las Vegas is coming up and I am REALLY excited. I want to just relax the whole time we're there. I know there are some plans to do all kinds of crazy fun things, such as getting a table at Tao and going dune buggying. But really I don't know if I want to do all of that stuff. Partly because I'm kind of over drinking a lot, but also because the cheapest of those activities would cost $140 a person. Ouch! And while I'm on that subject, those clubs are SUCH a rip off! For 8 people it would be around $140/person. That's almost $1,000 for 8 people and TWO bottles of liquor. Granted that includes mixers and the entry fee and the table, but seriously what the hell? I could literally go to Home Depot, Menards, and best buy, create a similar (although admittedly less hopping) atmosphere for about $100 TOTAL. Anyway, we'll see I want to have fun and not be all penny-pincherey, but that just seems a bit crazy to me. Though Jill did say it was close to what she was expecting.
Ok, well this is getting a bit wordy now (I know if I blogged more often...) so I'd like to finish off with one more thought. I have been working out really hard lately and I've actually gained weight. Thinking about that and the fact that I feel like I look thinner, I've decided that weight is really a stupid number that I shouldn't pay attention to. If I look sexy, I look sexy and the scale be damned.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Favre, Pickles, and Football
Ah, it's August friends, do you know what that means? It means that once again football is upon us! this is the best time of the year for me. It's really the only professional sport that I love, and can easily talk about without sounding like a little kid desperately trying to join an adult conversation. already this morning I have been a part of three football conversations and it is only 10:30! Football allows me to become closer to the guys and gals in my office that can talk about the "grid iron." It opens up doors of communication that for 6 months out of the year are closed to me. Am I excited, you bet I am!
Speaking of football, I'm sure by now you have all heard about Brett Favre being traded to the NY Jets. All in all I think it's a good trade for everyone. the Jets were in desperate need of a reliable quarterback, Brett was in need of a team that needed an idol, and the Packers were in need of letting go of a 100 pound Guerilla. So everbody got what they wanted, except Chad Pennington, but really if he'd have played up to his ability he wouldn't be in this predicament. So good bye Brett, I've loved the energy and charisma you brought to the Green Bay Packers, but I will not miss you post season waffling that held the team in limbo. For better or worse, it's over. So, good luck and good riddence.
In other news, there is general excitment in my office. yesterday while out to lunch with a mall landlord, the topic of conversation turned to refrigerator pickles. Instantly, I got excited because Jill has often talked about them and has been wanting to make them at home. I have not allowed her to do so because I hate pickles, and didn't want a huge batch of pickles stinking up the fridge (I know, very nice and supportive of me). Well, it turns out that one of my co-workers LOVES them too, and is sad because her mom can't make them anymore. So last night I told Jill about it and she has agreed to make a batch and share them with the office. People are genuinely excited, and I think Jill is too. She used to like to make things for my old office in Ann Arbor. She is a little nervous never having made them before, but I know she'll do great. I'll let you all know how they turn out, because even though I hate pickles, I'm intrigued enough to try one!
Speaking of football, I'm sure by now you have all heard about Brett Favre being traded to the NY Jets. All in all I think it's a good trade for everyone. the Jets were in desperate need of a reliable quarterback, Brett was in need of a team that needed an idol, and the Packers were in need of letting go of a 100 pound Guerilla. So everbody got what they wanted, except Chad Pennington, but really if he'd have played up to his ability he wouldn't be in this predicament. So good bye Brett, I've loved the energy and charisma you brought to the Green Bay Packers, but I will not miss you post season waffling that held the team in limbo. For better or worse, it's over. So, good luck and good riddence.
In other news, there is general excitment in my office. yesterday while out to lunch with a mall landlord, the topic of conversation turned to refrigerator pickles. Instantly, I got excited because Jill has often talked about them and has been wanting to make them at home. I have not allowed her to do so because I hate pickles, and didn't want a huge batch of pickles stinking up the fridge (I know, very nice and supportive of me). Well, it turns out that one of my co-workers LOVES them too, and is sad because her mom can't make them anymore. So last night I told Jill about it and she has agreed to make a batch and share them with the office. People are genuinely excited, and I think Jill is too. She used to like to make things for my old office in Ann Arbor. She is a little nervous never having made them before, but I know she'll do great. I'll let you all know how they turn out, because even though I hate pickles, I'm intrigued enough to try one!
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Friends and Fun
Last night Jill and I went out with some friends to one of our favorite places in Minneapolis: Busters. They have really good beers from all over the world, and it is a constantly changing list. So there is always something new to try. The best part; it's affordable! $5 for a pint of delicious foreign beer? You can't even get miller lite for $5 at most other places. That is something that I enjoy greatly, the ability to go out with friends and have a good, cheap night out! Nothing too exciting or extravagent, just friends and fun. You can't ask for much more than that.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Trips A-hoy
Well well well....it looks like I'll soon have some more ammunition for that book I'm writting. In the next two months I'm planning on traveling to Miami, London, San Antonio, and Las Vegas. That's right folks, that's a grand total of something like 18,000 air miles. Aaaaallllll riiiight! Now I can hear you people saying, wow that must be sweet. Well it is. Honestly though, the travel can get to be a bit overwhelming, especially when you have to leave your loved ones at home most of the time. Luckily, on two of these trips Jill will be accompanying me. Am I excited, you bet your sweet buns I am. I'll definitely givce an update on how the trips went once I get back. But you can probably expect to see a count down in the next two weeks.
On another note, the bargain is fairly stagnant. I've lost a little bit of wait, but I'm definitely not making the progress I was hoping to make. A minor back injury slowed me down for a little bit, but I'm back in the saddle, and I'm hoping on track as well. Further updates will hopefully have a bit better news. Thanks for the support everyone.
On another note, the bargain is fairly stagnant. I've lost a little bit of wait, but I'm definitely not making the progress I was hoping to make. A minor back injury slowed me down for a little bit, but I'm back in the saddle, and I'm hoping on track as well. Further updates will hopefully have a bit better news. Thanks for the support everyone.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Elevators and drivers tests
Ok, first things first. Why do people insist on charging into the elevator before the people inside have a chance to get out? I'll admit that I'm one of the first people to make a move into the elevator, but I always leave ample space for people exiting the elevator to get by first.
This morning on my ride up to the sixth floor of the B building of Best Buy's corporate campus I was in a fairly good state of mind. I've got a big project to work on, Jill and I had a good night last night (though I DID wake her up this morning while getting ready for work), and I had a piping hot cup of coffee to start me on my way. The door opens and I'm geting ready to step out and someone decides that they can't wait to get into the elevator and pushes past me as I'm trying to exit. I spill some coffee on my hand while attempting to avoid him (did I mention that it was piping hot?!?!?) and choke back an explitive that may have ended my career at Best Buy a little pre-maturely. Seriously people, its called common curteousy!
On a brighter note, I finally passed my Minnesota state drivers knowledge test yesterday afternoon. I say finally because as some of you know, it took two tries. On the first attempt, I ignored Jill's suggestions to quick check out the manual for some last minute updates. Good advice considering it's been ten years since I looked at this stuff, and believe it or not, some things have changed. So after ignoring her good advice, I got 28 out of 40 correct. For those of you keeping score that's 76% correct, which is not good enough to pass the test. However, upon my second attempt I passed with flying colors gaining 100% on my second attempt. So hooray, I have a new license coming so I can no longer be confused for a Michigan resident. Let the good times roll.
This morning on my ride up to the sixth floor of the B building of Best Buy's corporate campus I was in a fairly good state of mind. I've got a big project to work on, Jill and I had a good night last night (though I DID wake her up this morning while getting ready for work), and I had a piping hot cup of coffee to start me on my way. The door opens and I'm geting ready to step out and someone decides that they can't wait to get into the elevator and pushes past me as I'm trying to exit. I spill some coffee on my hand while attempting to avoid him (did I mention that it was piping hot?!?!?) and choke back an explitive that may have ended my career at Best Buy a little pre-maturely. Seriously people, its called common curteousy!
On a brighter note, I finally passed my Minnesota state drivers knowledge test yesterday afternoon. I say finally because as some of you know, it took two tries. On the first attempt, I ignored Jill's suggestions to quick check out the manual for some last minute updates. Good advice considering it's been ten years since I looked at this stuff, and believe it or not, some things have changed. So after ignoring her good advice, I got 28 out of 40 correct. For those of you keeping score that's 76% correct, which is not good enough to pass the test. However, upon my second attempt I passed with flying colors gaining 100% on my second attempt. So hooray, I have a new license coming so I can no longer be confused for a Michigan resident. Let the good times roll.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Workin' out
I'd like to give an honest update on the "healthier Tim" bargain: Jill and I caved. I can hear you guys in the audience cheering; however, it doesn't mean I have given up on my target weight. And if nothing else, it has remotivated me to work harder because I now have a more recent idea of what my reward will be. And I'll be darned if that isn't some serious motivation!
So much motivation, that I decided to get up early today and ride my new bike around the nature preserve just down the street from our apartment. That's right folks, and early for me means early 5:45 in the AM. I saw the sun rise and everything. It was quite a nice ride actually there are a bunch of different types of scenery and it is a fairly long trail. I'd guess somewhere around two miles (Jill correct me if I'm wrong).
So, I'm still working at it, the scale has stopped laughing at me everytime I enter the bathroom, and I already feel a little bit better. If only these damned work functions with free food would stop getting in the way. Thanks for the support folks, I'll keep you updated.
So much motivation, that I decided to get up early today and ride my new bike around the nature preserve just down the street from our apartment. That's right folks, and early for me means early 5:45 in the AM. I saw the sun rise and everything. It was quite a nice ride actually there are a bunch of different types of scenery and it is a fairly long trail. I'd guess somewhere around two miles (Jill correct me if I'm wrong).
So, I'm still working at it, the scale has stopped laughing at me everytime I enter the bathroom, and I already feel a little bit better. If only these damned work functions with free food would stop getting in the way. Thanks for the support folks, I'll keep you updated.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Making the right move
Sometimes it is nice to have your decisions vindicated. Especially tough ones that cause a certain amount of unrest and upheval in your family's lives. Today I head about some lay-offs at the company I left about 4 months ago. One of my co-workers came up to me and told me that one of the guys from my old office was applying for a position that we have in our department. I was suprised since he has a family with kids in High School. I said as much and he told me he thought it was because he was laid-off. Instantly I was concerned. After all, I spent more than three years with those people and didn't want anything bad to happen to them. The story isn't too nice, but apparently people were asked to step up and diversify teir clent base. After a couple of months, their time was up. Four people didn't make the cut, they were handed a paycheck, told it was their last one and then escorted from the office. Not so nice. The reasons behind each one's dissmisal are probably a little different, but I'd wager that they didn't really see it coming. My heart ges out to them, and I hope they all find work soon. However, it may be for the best in the long run.
In any case, I have Jill to thank. I don't think my job would have been on the line, but it can't be a very comfortable place to work with such things happening. I was conncered about such a thing happening and was told in no uncertain terms that it wouldn't happen. So now that it has, it makes me incredibly grateful to be where I am now. In a wonderful new job with a lot of potential. I loved working with MapInfo, but it was time to move on, and I'm grateful for Jill's forsight and courage to help us move on with our family.
In any case, I have Jill to thank. I don't think my job would have been on the line, but it can't be a very comfortable place to work with such things happening. I was conncered about such a thing happening and was told in no uncertain terms that it wouldn't happen. So now that it has, it makes me incredibly grateful to be where I am now. In a wonderful new job with a lot of potential. I loved working with MapInfo, but it was time to move on, and I'm grateful for Jill's forsight and courage to help us move on with our family.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Traveling Timmy
Well my two weeks of home life are at an end and I am once again traveling about this great country of ours. Where am I this time? Chicago. It is interesting to be traveling here for work and not just traveling through it on my way to and from Michigan and Milwaukee. The one thing I've noticed about every city that I go to is that it seems like the people that live there don't know how to get around their own city. Seriously, New York, Boston, Chicago, they're all easier to drive around when you don't get stuck into routines and patterns of everyday life. Think about it; how many times do you take the same way to work just because it is the way you always go. Sure it may have been the best way to get there the first few times, or even years that you went that way. But things change people. And if you don't have your eyes open to that change, you'll soon find yourself stuck in a 45 minute drive that used to take 15 minutes. OK, so that's not the only thing that traveling so much has taught me, but it is kind of a big one for me. Besides if I told you everything I've learned about travel here, what would I have to write in my future bestselling book?
So if you all are wondering about my bargain with the dev...I mean Jill, it's going alright so far. I went for a run yesterday for the first time in a while. It was hard to run for an extended period of time, so I ran for a while and then walked to catch my breath, then ran again. It's a little pathetic, but hey at least I'm trying. I'm still not anywhere close to the promised land, but I have started. And if I stay the course I'll be at the target weight in no time. Thanks for all the support out there. It really does help. OK, well, it's a bit late in the evening for this road warrior. Until next time.
So if you all are wondering about my bargain with the dev...I mean Jill, it's going alright so far. I went for a run yesterday for the first time in a while. It was hard to run for an extended period of time, so I ran for a while and then walked to catch my breath, then ran again. It's a little pathetic, but hey at least I'm trying. I'm still not anywhere close to the promised land, but I have started. And if I stay the course I'll be at the target weight in no time. Thanks for all the support out there. It really does help. OK, well, it's a bit late in the evening for this road warrior. Until next time.
Monday, July 7, 2008
the bargain
Perhaps it was the nice weather, or the terrifying tightening of my pants that made me do it. But I've done it, and now I don't know what the hell I was thinking. For those of you who have not seen me for a while, I'm not the paltry 190 lbs I used to be when I spent most of my days running around a park chasing a frisbee. Unfortunately, I'm now creeping back up to a weight that will challenge my father for heaviest male member of the family. A title I'm not eager to take back on. So my solution: a pack with the devil. Well, not the devil per se, but definitely a temptress: my wife. The pact is that we will not have sex again until I'm back to 185 lbs. I know, what in the hell was I thinking! I know what Jill was thinking, what better motivation? But what the hell was I thinking?
So today I start my tortuous drive to fitness with two salads and a somewhat dry granola bar. And on the menu for tonight? A brief run through the local park, with a side of weight lifting. Delicious! I'll be sure to keep you all informed on the progress. I'm sure it will be staggering. Seriously though, who makes that kind of deal? 35 lbs? Is lipo-suction cheating?
So today I start my tortuous drive to fitness with two salads and a somewhat dry granola bar. And on the menu for tonight? A brief run through the local park, with a side of weight lifting. Delicious! I'll be sure to keep you all informed on the progress. I'm sure it will be staggering. Seriously though, who makes that kind of deal? 35 lbs? Is lipo-suction cheating?
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Where oh where...
where oh where could my realtor be? that's the question that I'm asking right now. We had a really great realtor in Michigan, where we didn't buy a house. And now that we really want to buy a house, we can't seem to find oine that we like. We even asked a co-worker who they used and although she loved her, we've been unimpressed so far. Which leads me to wonder what it is about us that makes some realtors unhappy working with us. Is it because we only want to buy a house that we can afford? I mean really, who cares about how much comission you'll make off the deal. Shouldn't your major concern be the client? Could it be our ideal house? 3+ bedrooms, 2-car garage, decent storage space, in a nice neighborhhod. When we look on-line, there seems to be plenty out there that we like, yet when she looks on her resources, they're all too small, or starting to hedge into questionable neighborhoods. So what are we to do? Well, that's the question that Jill and I are working on right now....
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
I'm baaaaack
Hi everyone,
Well I'm back. It's been a long time since I was last here, but there's been a lot of things going on in the world of Tim. Let's start with the biggest event: The career change.
For those of you that don't know, I am now an employee of Best Buy, and I couldn't be more excited about it. I'm the manager of market analysis for their new concept Best Buy Mobile. It was a little scary leaving a safe place like MapInfo and going to a retail company in such a down economic market, but I've definitely made the right decision. Although I'm extremely busy, I don't feel overburdened and the long term bennefits are going to be huge. I, of course, did not come to this decision all on my own. In fact, if it were not for my wonderful wife Jill, I would probably still be at my old job and be extremely stressed out right now. Which brings me on to my next item in our world of change: our new home.
Jill and I have moved to Eden Prairie, Minnesota, a wonderful suburb of Minneapolis. We're fairly close to everything we could want, but are definitely looking for some future housing options. Why you might ask, well because we hope to enlarge our family soon. And that means we'll want to have a happy home for little ones to grow up in. Jill will make an absolutely wonderful mother. It is amazing how she is just full of the mother gene, our cats already act more like little children under her tutalidge which makes me CRAZY excited for how our actual children will turn out.
OK, well this one is getting long, but I'd like to finish with my last effort of change in these recent days. I've been unsupportive of a lot of things lately, it in particular of my wifes efforts to be healthier. I'm admiting it here because I need to stress to myself, as well as to everyone else, how important it is to be a supportive friend, spouse, or child. Also, it is important to understand that being unsupportive doesn't necessarily mean being negative. You can say all the right positive things to them, but if you don't act like it is a great thing, it makes it almost worse than being outright negative.
I learned that the hard way, and I'd like to take the time to appologize to Jill, but also to implore everyone to take a second look at their friends and family and really look at what it is they might need support with. Don't ignore them, and don't think they're not worth paying attention to. Imagine how you'd feel if something you were trying hard to accomplish was ignored or looked down on by someone you cared about.
OK, so I got on a soapbox there for a little bit, but I think it's important for people to learn from everyone, not just their own experiences. Our friends and family deserve everything that we can offer them, and I'd love it if even one person could learn from the mistakes that I've made.
OK, well I'm going to try to be back here blogging it up more often. But in the mean time; stay classy: world.
Well I'm back. It's been a long time since I was last here, but there's been a lot of things going on in the world of Tim. Let's start with the biggest event: The career change.
For those of you that don't know, I am now an employee of Best Buy, and I couldn't be more excited about it. I'm the manager of market analysis for their new concept Best Buy Mobile. It was a little scary leaving a safe place like MapInfo and going to a retail company in such a down economic market, but I've definitely made the right decision. Although I'm extremely busy, I don't feel overburdened and the long term bennefits are going to be huge. I, of course, did not come to this decision all on my own. In fact, if it were not for my wonderful wife Jill, I would probably still be at my old job and be extremely stressed out right now. Which brings me on to my next item in our world of change: our new home.
Jill and I have moved to Eden Prairie, Minnesota, a wonderful suburb of Minneapolis. We're fairly close to everything we could want, but are definitely looking for some future housing options. Why you might ask, well because we hope to enlarge our family soon. And that means we'll want to have a happy home for little ones to grow up in. Jill will make an absolutely wonderful mother. It is amazing how she is just full of the mother gene, our cats already act more like little children under her tutalidge which makes me CRAZY excited for how our actual children will turn out.
OK, well this one is getting long, but I'd like to finish with my last effort of change in these recent days. I've been unsupportive of a lot of things lately, it in particular of my wifes efforts to be healthier. I'm admiting it here because I need to stress to myself, as well as to everyone else, how important it is to be a supportive friend, spouse, or child. Also, it is important to understand that being unsupportive doesn't necessarily mean being negative. You can say all the right positive things to them, but if you don't act like it is a great thing, it makes it almost worse than being outright negative.
I learned that the hard way, and I'd like to take the time to appologize to Jill, but also to implore everyone to take a second look at their friends and family and really look at what it is they might need support with. Don't ignore them, and don't think they're not worth paying attention to. Imagine how you'd feel if something you were trying hard to accomplish was ignored or looked down on by someone you cared about.
OK, so I got on a soapbox there for a little bit, but I think it's important for people to learn from everyone, not just their own experiences. Our friends and family deserve everything that we can offer them, and I'd love it if even one person could learn from the mistakes that I've made.
OK, well I'm going to try to be back here blogging it up more often. But in the mean time; stay classy: world.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
No news is BAD news
Good morning to those of you who have been eagerly awaiting my return to the blogging world. Alas, it is probably just me that has been waiting. But, return I have, and my gripe today? The news.
First, let me start off by reminiscing about what the news used to be: unbiased, unilateral coverage of the most important happenings in America and the world. Remember those horrifically truthful news spots of the Vietnam war? Well neither do I, but I've seen repeats of them, and if you haven't seen them, you should. Those spots produced by either insane or insanely brave men and women brought the horror of what was happening in Vietnam to the forefront of the nation's, and indeed the world's, attention. back then Journalism meant something. Sure it usually meant trying to find the most horrific or scandalous story available, but they were deep stories that needed to be told. Without these stories, there is no telling where our world and country may have turned. For example, remember the efforts of Woodward and Bernstein to expose corruption and deceit in the federal government? Granted that story furthered the framework of massive distrust in the federal government, but it has also led to new levels of accountability amongst our nations leaders. Accountability that was sorely needed.
Now that we are all nostalgic, compare the efforts of those heroic, and possibly insane, journalists of only a few decades ago to modern day journalism. If you begin weeping for the future of our country, I wont think any less of you. This morning my wife and I turned off the news after about 30 seconds of viewing, because every single channel was plastered with news about Britney Spears, role model of the century, being whisked off to the hospital with a police escort. Now I know everyone loves good human tragedy, but this is getting ridiculous. There are stories about millions of people in the third world being tortured and killed because their tribe just happens to be the one out of favor at the moment. That's right folks, MILLIONS. And if that isn't enough human tragedy for you, I don't know what is.
Even if human tragedy doesn't interest you, there a hundreds of other great positive stories out there that don't involve an over-indulgent young woman who has lost just about everything that made her a semblance of a human being. There are stories about wonderful people doing fantastic work that they aren't even getting paid to do. There are stories about people overcoming their horrific ailments to make a difference in not only their lives but the lives of everyone around them. There are stories about what made the people of this nation wonderful and great in the first place. But no one wants to hear the good news. We want to hear about people that have more money and fame than us falling on their faces because it makes us feel better about ourselves. And shame on the major news networks for pandering to the hordes of self-loathing individuals who can't change themselves. The media is in a better position than anyone, even the government, to bring about change. Not just change in the country, but in this new world of globalization. The media controls exposure, and without exposure, no problem can be uncovered and thus solved.
So where are those heroes of journalistic integrity that stormed the jungle for the truth? Probably stuck in the back corner of the news room, searching for a dough nut for the nightly news anchor who proudly flaunts his Armani suit while smiling at the plight of someone who just a few years ago he secretly idolized.
I know, I know, I'm not always the most positive person in the world. But I love this country and believe in the good things that this country can do. And it irks me that we as a nation have squandered our ability to help and encourage those in need here in America, as well as throughout the rest of the world. We are all humans, we are all in the same earthly boat.
First, let me start off by reminiscing about what the news used to be: unbiased, unilateral coverage of the most important happenings in America and the world. Remember those horrifically truthful news spots of the Vietnam war? Well neither do I, but I've seen repeats of them, and if you haven't seen them, you should. Those spots produced by either insane or insanely brave men and women brought the horror of what was happening in Vietnam to the forefront of the nation's, and indeed the world's, attention. back then Journalism meant something. Sure it usually meant trying to find the most horrific or scandalous story available, but they were deep stories that needed to be told. Without these stories, there is no telling where our world and country may have turned. For example, remember the efforts of Woodward and Bernstein to expose corruption and deceit in the federal government? Granted that story furthered the framework of massive distrust in the federal government, but it has also led to new levels of accountability amongst our nations leaders. Accountability that was sorely needed.
Now that we are all nostalgic, compare the efforts of those heroic, and possibly insane, journalists of only a few decades ago to modern day journalism. If you begin weeping for the future of our country, I wont think any less of you. This morning my wife and I turned off the news after about 30 seconds of viewing, because every single channel was plastered with news about Britney Spears, role model of the century, being whisked off to the hospital with a police escort. Now I know everyone loves good human tragedy, but this is getting ridiculous. There are stories about millions of people in the third world being tortured and killed because their tribe just happens to be the one out of favor at the moment. That's right folks, MILLIONS. And if that isn't enough human tragedy for you, I don't know what is.
Even if human tragedy doesn't interest you, there a hundreds of other great positive stories out there that don't involve an over-indulgent young woman who has lost just about everything that made her a semblance of a human being. There are stories about wonderful people doing fantastic work that they aren't even getting paid to do. There are stories about people overcoming their horrific ailments to make a difference in not only their lives but the lives of everyone around them. There are stories about what made the people of this nation wonderful and great in the first place. But no one wants to hear the good news. We want to hear about people that have more money and fame than us falling on their faces because it makes us feel better about ourselves. And shame on the major news networks for pandering to the hordes of self-loathing individuals who can't change themselves. The media is in a better position than anyone, even the government, to bring about change. Not just change in the country, but in this new world of globalization. The media controls exposure, and without exposure, no problem can be uncovered and thus solved.
So where are those heroes of journalistic integrity that stormed the jungle for the truth? Probably stuck in the back corner of the news room, searching for a dough nut for the nightly news anchor who proudly flaunts his Armani suit while smiling at the plight of someone who just a few years ago he secretly idolized.
I know, I know, I'm not always the most positive person in the world. But I love this country and believe in the good things that this country can do. And it irks me that we as a nation have squandered our ability to help and encourage those in need here in America, as well as throughout the rest of the world. We are all humans, we are all in the same earthly boat.
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