If you'll remember, the fact that I was saving a decent amount came as a bit of a surprise for me. I decided that I would give myself a break and do some frivolous spending, here's the first example.

 

I hadn't bought any comic since, I dunno.... my junior year of high school? Actually, the last comic thing I bought was a real extravagance, a hardbound, slipcased collection from Carl Barks. It's signed, etc. I think I spent upwards of 2 or three hundred dollars on it at the time. I should look into what that might be worth these days... Actually, I continue to buy newspaper comics reprints. I've got a ton of the Peanuts strips and I am eagarly awaiting the Pogo compilations as well. I might break down and get the collected Krazy Kat as well.

Anyway, I work with a few guys that are crazy about comics and I've started to read about comics again so I decided to buy some and see if I might get into it again. No, I'm not buying any superhero titles. I just can't shake the adolescent vibe to those. No, instead I'm diving into the so called alternative comics world. A world where comics aren't about heros and villains, it's about telling a story via images and text. My first foray into this is "Sammy the Mouse" by Zak Sally.

This is a pretty weird story, I'm not sure what I think of it yet. I bought the first three issues. The comics themselves, as objects, are lovely. They are on a really heavy stock and stitched together, they even have a slipcover. This title is part of the "Ignatz" series from Fantagraphics. It's named after the brick throwing mouse from Krazy kat. There is a real pleasure from handling a nice object and I'm getting the idea that this is becoming Fantagraphics thing. From what I understand, they represent the folks that are resisting digital comics, these are people that love the books and love the physicality of them. I can sympathize, but I gotta like what's inside, you know?

And right now, I'm not so sure. It is a weird, bitter world that Mr. Sally is making. With three books done, I feel like he is still introducing the story. The graphics are very cartoony, they are done in black and white with brown and blue shading. He manages to convey quite a bit of violence without gore. The cover for the second issue is a good example.

And he also has a real Bergmanesque way of using montage. Comics have the potential for some really different methods of telling stories, it makes it interesting to look at and read. This page ties together 4 different occurrences all going on at the same time.

This isn't a Superman comic! Think I'll continue with the series, it's interesting enough, and the characters are starting to come to life. Those of you out there that are into this world, let me know what else I should look into, I'm getting intrigued by this world. I'm interested in seeing what is possible with this type of storytelling.

Man, every payday rolls around and I still can't do what I had planned on doing. Remember I was going to save up some cash in the form of silver and gold. Well, I'm covering my expenses, but I don't have anything left over. Grrrr, why is that? Well, I do eat out a bit more than I should. That's one possibility. Oh, and there's the fact that I am saving 25% of every paycheck in the form of my 401k contribution and stock purchase.

 

Right, that probably has something to do with it. I keep forgetting that I am saving a decent amount of money, and it's being invested rather well actually, better than any CD you'll be able to find. Apple stock is generally seen as a safe thing right now, and 10% of my income is going towards discounted purchases of it. It works the same way a CD does, I don't have access to it for 6 months at a time. When I do have access to it, it is still just illiquid enough that I'm not tempted to use it.

I have been wondering how long I should keep that in Apple stock though. It is a tech stock and those are hardly known for their stability. I think long term I'll turn them into something else, but for right now I'll hang on to them.

 

In the meantime, I'm going to give myself a bit of a break. I am saving at a pretty good clip. With the money I have left over I can pay bills and if I have any left over, I will enjoy. Yes, part of that enjoyment will be with bullion, but I think there are some frivolous purchases coming up too. I'll let you know if any of those are worth talking about...

Last night I dreamed that the Who performed at the school I was attending. Things were going along pretty well until a piano player going to the school screwed up a solo during "Baba O'reilly"  and the whole thing came to a screeching halt. Everyone was kind of pissed at how everything turned out and I was hanging out with John Entwisle, the bass player from The Who. I couldn't stop putting my foot in my mouth..

Me: So you must have trouble going to bars and stuff since you're so famous.  I mean, not as much of a problem as Roger (Daltry, the lead singer) and Pete (Townsend, the guitarist) cause their really famous.

JE: <raises eyebrow>

Me: Crap, I mean.. you know what I mean... I mean in bass guitar circles, you're huge, but everyone knows who Roger Daltry is... err....

JE: <sighs>

At this moment, I had the same realization as I've had in many other dreams, he's dead. What is he doing here? How can I casually bring this up in a conversation without being rude? I've already made an ass out of myself, how is this going to go over?

I woke up while trying to come up with a good approach to this. I've had this same situation come up a fair number of times and I've never handled it gracefully. I'm scared witless that one time the person I'll be speaking to will ask me, "What are you doing here? I'm dead!"

Got these in last night.

 

Unlike the other coins I've ordered, these are actual, official coins. They have a face value of 5 Canadian dollars but are worth around $18 US dollars just in the silver weight. These are the types of coins I'm going to try to keep as a way saving cash. If nothing else, they sure are a lot prettier than pices of paper or bank statements:-)

Check out the American Open Currency Standard (AOCS) page. They have a whole slew of private currency (for barter only of course. It is illegal for anyone but the US government to make currency....) featuring a bunch of interesting topics for the artwork. Examples include the forgotten founders, the John Galt Libre coin (based on the character in Atlas Shrugged), the 2nd amendment, Ron Paul, etc. I love some of the quotes based around these coins too. How about this one from Atlas Shrugged:

"So you think that money is the root of all evil?" said Francisco d'Anconia. "Have you ever asked what is the root of money? Money is a tool of exchange, which can't exist unless there are goods produced and men able to produce them. Money is the material shape of the principle that men who wish to deal with one another must deal by trade and give value for value. Money is not the tool of the moochers, who claim your product by tears, or of the looters, who take it from you by force. Money is made possible only by the men who produce. Is this what you consider evil?" It's time to shift the paradigm. Honest money, like AOCS Silver, is the Root of All Good.

Or how about this statement from the Free Lakota Bank? So really, what do you guys think of the current system?

"At the Free Lakota Bank, we issue, circulate and accept for deposit only AOCS-Approved silver and gold currencies. Silver & gold are a store of value, an equivalent of wealth produced. Paper is a mortgage on wealth that does not exist, backed by a gun aimed at those who are expected to produce it. Since we deal only in real money, we do not participate in any central bank looting schemes."

 

 

There is even a "legalize it" coin with, what else, a marijuana leaf on it. An interesting way to spread the word...

 

I am going to do a little digging into AOCS organization and see what they are all about. If it's interesting, I'll report back.

I've been gimping around for a week and a half now. Whenever I get a pain that won't go away, I think to myself, "Great, here we go. Your luck with pain free MS couldn't last forever..." My left foot has been hurting and it's really annoying. I've been popping alieve and just trying to work through it. Part of me doesn't want to give my aches and pains any credence, if I ignore them, they won't be a big deal, right?

Things were getting bad enough that I was considering seeing a doctor about it. I then overheard someone talking about shoes and I realized that I hadn't bought any general purpose shoes since 2007. Hmm, maybe it was time? Sure enough, I bought some today (a pair of Aetrex) and my feet responded instantly. Doh... Once again, the obvious is my friend.

Can't wait to do a whole day in my new shoes, I hope it make a big difference.

Customer: I just moved up here and I can't get used to the heat.

Me: <laughs> Where are you from?

Customer: Atlanta

Me: ...

 

I take this as official confirmation that it is hotter than hell here.

... is lovely. I have now worked there two full days and I can say I really enjoy working there. It is spacious, look great, and seems to function very well. The best thing, the absolute most wonderful thing about it though is NATURAL LIGHT!!! The whole front lets in a lot of course, but the whole back is one big skylight. Yes, I know that direct sunlight can make some things challenging, but Lord, it looks and feels so much better than artificial lighting.

I was a bit surprised at how plain the store looked, but I have warmed up to it. The facade is rather understated, but the rather plain exterior is offset by the expansive views inside. You can see all the way to the back of the store and of course all the goodness in between. The back wall, the one that is under the huge skylit area, at first seems rather plain (it is simply white painted brick with some displays just over head level), but I have come to appreciate the shadow play across that area as the day goes on. The patterns and shapes thrown onto those essentially blank screens are quite striking.

Alas, this goodness is stuck in Georgetown, and that's the reason I can't see myself moving to that store. The commute for me is brutal. I'm not going to drive there, I'm just not. I have always avoided driving down there because it makes me insane. So I'm stuck using public transport. That translates to a commute that is a little over an hour each way, a huge increase from my normal 15 minute one. Honestly, the store might as well be in Baltimore, or Boston for that matter. The commute time is such that I would have to move in order to work there...

Wednesday will be my last day there. I'm both sad and relieved. it is such a nice place to work, and the architecture is so stimulating, but I dread getting there and going home. So it'll be back to Pentagon City on Thursday. I'll miss you guys at Georgetown!

I'm a huge audio geek. I've been pouring over amp schematics for years, I've listened to more systems than I can remember, and I love reading about all the new tech in audio. I've been troubleshooting audio problems for oh, 20 years or so.

I had been mildly disappointed in the audio quality of my iPod touch hooked up to my car's stereo. It was still better than FM, but there were problems. There were times that I just didn't have enough gain, I couldn't turn it up loud enough to get the volume I was looking for. Plus, when I did crank it up, I heard all of the nastiness in my car's stereo, including engine whine as I accelerated.

Well, imagine my surprise when I hooked it up the other day. I had been demoing it to a customer in the store and had to turn up the volume all the way. Guess what? If you TURN THE VOLUME UP, it gets louder. Sheesh, audio 101. Now there is decent bass response, there is no engine whine, and I can play plenty loud.

 

Moral of the story, even if you're an expert in something, it doesn't mean that you won't overlook the obvious from time to time. I'll remember this until the next time I catch myself being stupid...

Remember that promotion I wanted? Well, I got it today. Thank the Lord, the process is over. I am officially an "Expert" at Apple. I hope to have this job for a long time to come, and they have shown that they want me to stay, what could be better:-) Now I am going to try to concentrate on the job at hand instead of obsessing over the promotion process. Oh, and I might have a few purchases in mind too...

 

I am one happy dude right now!

I've had some unusually vivid dreams the last couple of nights. In one of them, I was essentially on a date with Danica Patrick. It was actually very pleasant. I was with her as she talked about racing to kids and answered their questions. Even when bad things happened (her car fell into a well) she was philosophical and good natured ("I probably would have wrecked it anyway...") We then went to a neighborhood cook out and socialized and enjoyed ourselves. This dream was a little odd in that I don't follow racing at all and probably know her more from her Go Daddy adds than anything else. Anyway, it was a nice dream, Danica, if you're reading this, let's try that for real! LOL.

This morning was different. It started out with me at work unable to help a couple out. I just could not think, I would stare at the computer and nothing would cross my mind at all. It's one of the uglier side effects of MS, the dreaded brain cloud. Everyone was getting frustrated and I left. I found myself in an older, industrial town that I assumed was Binghamton NY. I figured that I'd visit my grandmother since I was there, but I was having trouble finding her house. I kept thinking that if I could just get to the next block over I would have my bearings again, so I decided that cutting through one of the buildings to get to the other side would be a good idea. I went into one, quickly realized that it wasn't the one I was thinking and asked someone for directions. They said, "Oh, try going up the street a little bit more, but I just called the police, you better get going, and watch the traffic for them." Gah, so i beat feet out of there and found another building to try to go through.

This one was clearly the wrong place as well, there were a bunch of people making things and regarding me suspiciously. Oh well, I thought I should sit down and think about things a little bit, I was getting tired from all of the walking around. I went back out to the loading dock and put my feet up on what looked like some pipes. As I did, it became obvious that they were actually glass hoops or tubes or something. They proceeded to rotate and then fall off of the spool and then shatter on the ground. Lots of people rushed up and made it clear that I had ruined everything, pretty soon a "suit" in a hardhat came out to see what was going on. He explained to me that I had just destroyed a shipment that they had just completed, an order worth about $100,000. I apologized profusely and asked if there was anything I could do. He told me that I had done enough, now he was going to have to do something in order for the company to cover its payroll. My frustration and anxiety kept rising and rising throughout the whole episode until a guy came sulking out of the place and explained that he had been laid off because of my incompetence.

The worst thing about all of it was that they were really nice about it. They were mad, but it was if they didn't blame me all the while I had nothing but contempt for my idiocy. I woke up nearly in tears over getting the guy fired in this economy. On top of that, I realized how physically awful I felt too. Apparently I've come down with something. Man, what a way to start the day... Where's Danica when you need her?

Sorry I've been out of touch, I really have been busy. Just want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a great New Year. I hope to be more active online in the coming year. Have fun!

Looking out at the deck in the back, it looks like we got 16-18 inches here. What a day. I called in to work expecting the the "stay home" message but instead was told to come in. Well, I had a little trouble getting out of the parking space I was in, once I did, it was awful driving.

The metro was my destination, there was no way I was going to attempt 395 in weather like that. Got there with no real incident, but then I hesitated. I called in again to make sure that I was needed but didn't get an answer. So I waited a bit and tried calling again, still no answer. I figured they were actually busy so I got on the train. When I got off the train at Pentagon City, I saw one of the guys I work with on the platform. Tony told me that they were closing the metro so I turned around and got back on the train.

I figured that if I got back to the Springfield metro station, I could get home. In a worse case scenario I could walk it. I wasn't looking forward to it, but I was sure I could do it if I had to. What I didn't anticipate was WMATA announcing that the train I was on was no longer going to go to Springfield, but to Huntington instead. The Springfield spur had been closed, thanks for riding metro!

I got off at King street figuring I could catch a bus. No, the busses were no longer running. Er, maybe a cab? I looked out and I knew that was hopeless too. Just then I saw a couple more work folks. Bryan and Helen were on the same train, and Helen's husband was coming to pick her up. Would I like a ride? Oh yes...

The ride back was rather exciting. It turns out the best winter accessory you can have in your car are several more people. The extra weight helps the traction and they come in handy for pushing too... There were cars all over the place, and the roads were a total mess. They dropped me off in front of my favorite eating shopping center on Backlick and kept going. On roads like that, momentum is everything.

The snow was knee deep by the time I got out of the car. Keep in mind that walking along a regular sidewalk causes me to make numerous balance checks. Walking in the snow was a real chore, it's a miracle that I didn't fall over.

I ended up sweeping the neighbor's steps and porch when I got back. It seems as though the guy that helped me dig my car out didn't take the shovel I borrowed back to the owner like he said he would. SIGH. I have spent most of the rest of the time in bed, under the covers. I'm wiped out. Hopefully the main roads will be clear tomorrow so that I can take the bus over to the train station. The one good thing about all of this is that my car is in the metro garage, I won't have to dig it out again! I do need to figure out where I'm going to put it though, there aren't going to be any parking spaces around here for a little while. Maybe the park and ride lot will be plowed soon....

I still doesn't have any internet at the house. This means that I've been checking in at work during my breaks. On my days off I go to the library and use their internet. I've been doing well at work, but I'm just not in the right frame of mind to write at work. That's why you haven't heard from me recently, but I'm going to try to put some stuff up on my days off. Stay tuned!

I've been pretty busy recently. It's nice being back at work, especially at a place I like so much!:-) I'll be off on friday, I'll try to put some stuff up then.

I know that a lot of you consider me to be an Apple "expert." Let me tell you, there is a ton to learn, even about stuff that I'm pretty comfortable with. We went over several things that I use ALL the time, and I learned new stuff. Folks here REALLY know their stuff. It keeps you humble, believe me. I guess I'll just have to play around with stuff some more, that's not so bad:-)

Just finished up my second day of training for Apple and I gotta say, I'm pumped. Strange as it may seem, I'm actually more excited about the services than the hardware at this point.

Don't get me wrong, the hardware is still cool as all get out, but you can only sell cool things for so long before selling them is no longer a thrill. In addition to being surrounded by really cool hardware, I will be selling, and hopefully doing, all sorts of training. That's the difference between an Apple store and just about any other store out there. They (I guess that at some point I should start saying WE) put the emphasis on educating people, not selling per se. When people understand how much they can do, once they understand that they do not have to be intimidated by their computer, you've really helped them.

A lot of people look down at working retail. When retail is done right though, you can really get a lot out of it. Helping people feels good, giving them the understanding of technology and all of its uses feels great.

Can you tell I'm pumped about this? I got this feeling once in a while when working at Penn, I'm really excited to go to a place that expects this as a normal occurrence. Liking your job is awfully nice:-)

For those of you not familiar with where I live, allow me to fill you in. I live Springfield, a suburb of Washington DC. Drive due south on 395 and you'll hit it. Actually, drive south on 495 (in either direction), 95, or 395 and you'll hit it. The locals call the nexus of all of these interstates "the mixing bowl." As far as I can tell, it is why Springfield exists at all. They have done a good job in making the traffic flow better so the mixing bowl isn't as bad as its reputation has been.

So being close to all of those interstates makes getting anywhere you'd want to go in the NoVA area pretty easy. It's also the end of the blue line of the metro. I live about a mile from that. The blue line gives me a straight shot into the District, and more importantly, to Pentagon city where I work.

Springfield seems to have inherited or extended the low rent areas of South Arlington and Annandale. That makes for nicer rent payments, but there are some issues. I don't have to worry about the schools, but I'm sure they're not as good as they are in Falls Church, Fairfax, etc. I have the impression that crime is higher as well, but I haven't experienced any. The good thing about this is that I live with a bunch of immigrants. That's good? Sure it is. I got used to a lot of ethnic diversity when I was in Yemen and it's nice to get back to that.

Consider this. Both of my neighbors are from muslim countries (Afghanistan and some other, unidentified country). This means that they are much less likely to have a dog. That's nothing but a plus in my book! In my experience, immigrant communities tend to be hard working and down to earth, and my current neighborhood seems to fit that to a tee.

Of course the real reason you want to live in an immigrant rich area is for the food. I went up to the local strip mall today and Holy ethnic dining Bat Man! There were Indian, South Indian, Thai, and several kabob places (with the innovative names of Kabob house II and Kabob house III). That, along with several latin grocery stores makes me wonder what else is around this area. If I ever make enough money to go out to eat again, I'll be eating well!

So I'm digging the new place so far. It's cheap, it's convenient, it has good food, what else can you ask for in a place to live?

So like I said, my neighbors on each side are muslims and are clearly immigrants. I've made the effort to wish them a happy Ramadan in Arabic hoping that we can start up a conversation. One of them just smiled and waved as he went in. I got the distinct impression that he doesn't know Arabic. I briefly talked with the patriarch on the other side. He doesn't know Arabic and his English is spotty. I did find out that he's from Afghanistan.

While I was sitting on my stoop looking for a wireless signal, a much younger guy came up to the door of the Afghan neighbor and I wished him a happy Ramadan. He saw me using my computer and we struck up a conversation. I was going crazy trying to track down a wireless signal that wasn't mine, it turns out that he wants someone to set up a wireless network, so we struck up a deal. I'll set up his wireless system and he'll let me use it. Now that's a good deal!

Setting up the router is no big deal really. I'm a little worried about setting up his computer, but I'm sure I can muddle through, even if it's windows. Things are looking good... maybe I'll get to try one of their Ramadan Samosas too!:-)

My first night and day at the new place went by without incident. Happily, the place is pretty quiet, I slept like a baby. My housemates (so far) are decent enough. Living here reminds me of my time in Yemen a bit. There is an Afghan family to one side of me and on the other is an Arabic family from an as yet unidentified place. One of my current housemates is from El Salvador and the other is from Nicaragua. There will be a Bolivian family moving in as well in a couple of months. I love all of the international elements here, maybe I'll pick up some Spanish as well as get to practice my Arabic...

I love the location, the bus stop is literally right around the corner and I think that even I can make the walk to the metro in good weather. There is plenty of shopping and restaurants along the bus line (along Backlick road) and everything is pretty convenient.

Mom has left her car up here until I can bring it down. I'm of two minds on the car. Yes, it is handy. On the other hand, I am on a serious austerity budget and it isn't clear to me that I can afford car insurance, gas, taxes, etc. right now. The other ironic thing is that it is easier to walk back from the bus stop than it is to walk back from where I end up parking the car. Parking spaces are at a t here, come back at night and you might be in for a bit of a hike.

I still need to get some basic stuff to make living here easy. Stuff like salt and pepper shakers, a spoon, a plate, etc. I'll round those things up over the next couple of days. Tomorrow, I get familiar with the bus routes...

Everything went very smoothly, well almost everything. Kelly, Pat, mom and Rick helped me move into the new place. Thank God they were there. There was no way on earth I could have gotten my bed out of Rick's place and up into my new place without their help. So all my stuff is now there and I am going to spend my first night there tonight!

The only hiccup occurred when I gave my landlord my check. He looked down and pointed out that my checks still said "First Union" on them. First Union was bought out by Wachovia something like 6 years ago. Obviously, I don't write checks very often... I'll get some new ones from the now Wells Fargo bank that I use.

My new place doesn't have internet just yet so I'll be offline for a little while. I'll go up to the library and get online in the nearish future. Till then, I'll be learning the bus lines and starting my new job!!! I'll post news when I have it.

My training has been postponed for a week due to the launch of the new operating system by Apple. They just don't have the time to deal with a new person.. SIGH



But it's not all bad. I can get stuff done this week. I already have a new phone, and I used it to set up a dental appointment with my dentist. I'm also going to start looking at places to move into. With any luck, I'll have a place by the time I need to report to work.

So a slight delay, but things are going on. I feel like I'm starting a new life...

Yes, I am no longer unemployed. At long last, I was hired by Apple computer. Once I understood that I was not going to be able to do the teaching overseas thing, working at Apple became my next goal. The trouble was that as soon as I figured this out, the economy tanked and Apple put on a hiring freeze. As days stretched into weeks and then months, I started to despair. As I've written before, I had never been in the position of having to do a job search before. I had simply figured out what job I wanted to do, and then I went and got it. As it turns out, I have done it again, but it took quite a bit longer than I expected...

I have been hired as a "specialist." That is Apple-speak for a salesperson. I have no doubts that I will totally kick ass at that. After all, I have actually sold 5 Macs this year without being in the store or even working at it. My enthusiasm was enough to convince those people that a Mac was the best idea for a new purchase. I'll be working at the Pentagon city location, come and see me if you have some time!

I am beyond psyched at having a job, and one that I will enjoy at that. The downside is that I am starting over. No really, I am. I have been hired as a part time employee. From what I can tell, this is typical. They start people as part timers and "promote" them to full time once they have proven themselves. I won't have any trouble getting the number of hours I want. Between back to school and the holiday season, there will be plenty of work to go around.

In addition to being a part timer, I will be paid essentially the same amount I got paid when I first joined Penn Camera back in '97. That's a huge pay cut as compared to what I was making before I left. On the other hand, it's a hell of a lot more than I was getting being unemployed... No matter, I consider this a foot in the door. Apple gives me an opportunity to go places professionally that I just couldn't go in the last company. In addition to going into management, there are all sorts of other opportunities to be had as well. I could become a trainer, I could go into tech support, I could go into the corporate world. The sky's the limit!

So yeah, I can't wait to start. I'm also excited at the prospect of starting a new chapter in my life. There's no telling who I'll meet, where I'll go, or what opportunities I'll come across. It's good to have some excitement about life again!

I have always been thankful that I don't need to shave that often. For a large part of my life, I would only need to shave once a week, nowadyas it's every third day. Seeing guys that needed to shave twice a day to look decent made me even more aware of how lucky I am.

That's changed a bit, now I actually look forward to shaving. No, seriously, I enjoy it now! It turns out that if you do it properly, it is quite pleasant. Use a real shaving soap or cream and throw away that canned goo! Use a proper single blade to shave with instead of those expensive multi bladed contraptions. Use a decent aftershave afterwards and your skin will feel great!

The best part of all of this is how cheap it is. Go to Amazon and buy the Van der Hagen shave set. It has a puck of shaving soap, a brush, and a bowl and runs around 12 bucks. Trust me, your face will thank me later on. Just using a proper shave soap will do wonders for your attitude about shaving. You can also go to Bath and Body Works and pick up a tube of the C.O. Bigilow shave cream. They say you can use your hands, but you should really use a brush...

The aftershave can be something as simple as witch hazel. I use a scented one from Ogallala, I love the lime and peppercorns. The main purpose of the aftershave is not for the scent. The scent should fade away fairly quickly with a decent aftershave. You want to use the aftershave to tone the skin and possibly moisturize it.

Seriously, just try them. I am now a little jealous of the guys that have to shave every day. If you want to know about razors, just drop me a line.

Man, last night was perhaps the most brutal night's sleep I've ever had. I tossed and turned and woke up feeling like I got beat up. I ached all over and had a splitting headache.

The good news is that I had a rather vivid, pleasant dream. I was visiting a childhood friend and his family in Hong Kong, not that they have ever been there as far as I know. I also saw one of my college roommates there. I now realize that my completely truthful conversation with him sounds as weird as anything else in the dream. He asked me what I had been doing and I told him that I had been in Yemen, but that my MS has kind of grounded me recently...

Anyway, it was time to leave. I was going to take the train to the airport, here's where it gets cool. I walked down the street and got into an elevator to take me up to the tracks. Strangely, the elevator got slightly smaller as it went up. Then it started moving sideways. Just as I started to freak out, a window revealed itself and my train tickets were printed up for me! I was on the track, on the way to the main train station. Pretty cool.

At the station, I was supposed to find the area to board my particular car. The cars were similar to the old fashioned cars on trains, or maybe a carriage. They were tall, with lots of glass, and there were two benches facing each other. Cars of a certain destination would cycle through a small eddy-like area and you were supposed to jump on as it came by. Well, mine came and went, it didn't slow down or stop for me. So I got on another, figuring that they were going to the same place anyway. But then mine came back! So I jumped off and tried to get onto the correct one.

I ended up missing both, but not to worry. There was a keypad recessed in the wall with some instructions. I punched in the general direction I wanted to go and a small compartment opened up. As I punched in my specific destination, a closet opened up so I could store my luggage and we got underway. Once again, I was in my own train car. It was pretty small, people that are claustrophobic would probably freak out, especially with the car's inclination to get smaller as you got underway. It was also good that I was by myself, no one else would have fit.

Anyway, I enjoyed that, I like trains, and having my own car was quite a treat. Who knows, maybe sometime in the future we'll get to experience all that for real.

It's not that I've been real busy or anything, I just haven't felt up to writing. I'm beginning to think that's a reinforcing behavior, the more I don't do it, the more I don't want to do it. So I'm going to make an effort to write every day. Even if it's something banal, it will still be a creative act. That's a lot better than just absorbing stuff. So stay tuned for more from me!

I got my new razor in today. It's a Parker safety razor using double sided razor blades. I had decided to go this route because of my dissatisfaction with the currently available multi bladed contraptions. Not only do they cost a fortune, they don't shave all that well.

I talked about my initial thoughts and the use of a real shaving soap here. Today it was go day on the razor. It's a little humbling to relearn something that you've been doing forever. It turns out that there are some significant differences between using a safety razor and a modern cartridge razor. First of all, the safety razor doesn't pivot, so you have to manually adjust the angle of the blade on your skin. Luckily, the blade provides, shall we say, instant feedback on how well you are doing. It gets kind of tricky along those curvy areas around the chin and on the neck. The other thing is that you shouldn't press the blade into your skin like we all do with the new razors. Thank God I read that before I started!

How'd it turn out? Pretty damn well if I say so myself. I didn't cut myself at all! Of course, that was probably the longest shave ever. The first time I learned to shave, I didn't have nearly as much to shave... This blade clearly gives me a much closer shave than the Mach 3 I've left behind, and this was a 15 cent blade! I'll speed up the more I use it, so far I'm very happy with the purchase. For about $35, I have gotten myself a razor and enough blade to last over a year...

One of the better links I've seen for shaving like this is here. You ladies can take advantage of this too of course. My face feels like a girl's!

After a little cajoling from a friend of mine, I have registered to take the test that is required to get through the teaching program. Next is to get official transcripts in fro all of the schools I've been to. And then the tuition (which is thankfully not all that much) and then the course work. I'll feel good about getting on with my professional life a little later in the process...

And no, I'm not talking about the one I had last night where I was the starting goalie for the Washington Capitals. I did pretty well, only let in one goal and we won the game, but no one gave me any pat on the back for it, nobody said anything...

No, I've been having some strange dreams about a girl I knew in high school. People from high school have been making random cameos in my dreams ever since I graduated. They are usually sitting at the next table, say hi to me, or do some other insignificant thing. In all cases, they are either people that I liked or people that I knew but had no real connection with, and they were totally beside the point in the dream.

I've had three dreams recently starring a girl that I never liked. The latest one was last night. She always seemed snotty to me, unjustifiably stuck up (she wasn't very good looking or very bright), and regularly rubbed me the wrong way. I'm quite sure she didn't think much of me either. She has taken on a prominent role in these dreams, we've had long discussions and arguments in all of them.

i hate it when my dreams have stuff that is annoying or uncomfortable, what a waste! I don't know what to think about these though, in each dream, I start out hating her and by the end we are at least polite. In one, she actually gave me quite a compliment and left me feeling pretty good about myself. I have no idea why my brain is bringing her up at all, I haven't thought of her since the last time I saw her. On top of that, I have no idea why we go right back to disliking one another and end up appreciating the other one by the end. What sort of random neural firings are going on to cause that?

Anyway, after last night, I'm wondering WTF is going on in my dreams. Why can't I remember one of the girls I thought was so hot back in high school? Why can't I wake up thinking that they think I'm wonderful? My brain continues to be a mystery to me...

I haven't been writing much, I've just been in a funk. My health issues are driving me a bit batty. Well, it isn't the issues so much as getting them diagnosed. I have now been to a neurologist who told me that I needed some MRIs done, and they are currently wrestling with the insurance people. SIGH. Once I get word on what it is I have I can start to make some plans. Until then, I'll just hang out in limbo...

The economic news continues to bother me. I have noticed an uptick in frustration with the government screwing around with things. It seems like more and more people are coming around to the idea that the feds are really just delaying the inevitable with entities like Citigroup and GM. The quicker we let those things shake out, the quicker we can start putting the pieces back together.

Hopefully I'll have something interesting to say soon, and hopefully I'll be in the mood to write about it...

I tried logging into my health insurence account today and I got this message.

Our regular system operating hours are Monday through Friday from 4:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., Saturday from 4:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., and Sunday from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

Umm, why does your website have business hours? Doesn't that eliminate one of the benefits of doing things online? Unbelievable....

I continue to look for a job. Things aren't looking good right now, at least not around here. There seems to be quite a few listings for two general types of employment here. There is either the really low level, entry level kind of job (deli clerk, petco associate, etc.) or the really specialized, highly technical jobs (pashto linguist, intelligence analyst, engineers, etc.) but nothing in between. As a jack-of-all-trades, my lack of specialization is hurting me right now. I do feel that I can be really useful to some company, perhaps in a variety of positions, but I can't seem to find a good fit. I know, things are tough all over, but this is the longest I've ever been without work in my adult life.

Part of that is due to my health situation. I'm still trying to figure out what's up with me and what it means long term. I feel kind of odd looking for jobs when I'm not really sure what job I can actually do. Hopefully that part will be cleared up before the economy swings back around...

... on the blog at least. I've been trying to write other things. I keep trying to do the whole "American in Yemen" thing, but it only comes in fits and starts. Writing is tough, especially if you don't do it that often. I'm trying to write a little every day. With the job prospects being this bad, I might as well...

And it isn't just Yemen I'm writing about, I've got a few other things up my sleeve as well, but none of it is coming easily. So that's what I've been trying to do, I'll start on here again before too long, don't worry :-)

I watched some hickey, ate Indian food, and had a great dinner with dad and Butler. I'm still basking in the glow of good news about my health, so all of this added up to a great time on my birthday. Thanks everyone for the birthday wishes and here's to another great year!

This is amazing...



My friend Jason is the one asking the questions. The "Hans?" bit is brilliant...

Christmas was great! I saw a bunch of people I don't usually get to see, ate really well, and generally had a great time. As usual, people were way too good to me. Not that I'm complaining about gifts, but wow! Luckily, everyone seemed to like the gifts I got them... My gift giving was a wee bit sparse this year, I really hate not having a job!

I have spent the last couple of days geeking out with my computer. I got the latest version of the operating system for Mac. Yes, I know the new one is going to be released in the not too distant future, but I really wanted to take advantage of the automatic back-up feature. I also got a hard drive with one terabyte of storage! It's amazing, I was able to consolidate all of my drives onto one. Believe me, that makes a huge difference. Last night, I went out and bought another terabyte drive so that I could back all of that stuff up.

I also went through the various gift cards I got. There were some books, Amy Winehouse songs (shut up, I like her!), the last Wilco album, and underwear. Funnily enough, I actually asked for underwear but didn't get any for Christmas! LOL... I'll be getting my Bastiat collection (yes, I'm an econ geek) thanks to a gift card...

Anyway, a great Christmas, it's good to be back!:-)

And by that I mean Merry Christmas to my Christian friends, Happy Chanukah to my Jewish friends, and a belated Eid Mubarak for my Muslim friends. If you don't fall into any of those categories, then enjoy the time off!:-) My facebook friend list has gotten too big to be useful for these sorts of things, so this is as good as I can get for a mass email... LOL. Enjoy!


Isaac

Sorry, a lot of you won't get this at all... Is John Pertwee the best Doctor? I can take or leave the first two, and Baker is certainly a classic, but I am really warming up to the third one. He's the only one that didn't mind doing a little hand to hand combat. Plus, he wore a cape, how great is that? I've only encountered one truly dreadful episode from him so far (Ambassadors of Death) and he has always entertained me...

I know, in the end I can't really say I have a single favorite. There's going to be a group... The third, fourth, and tenth are probably the best ones but I haven't seen a lot of the others (other than the first). I guess all I can do is keep watching so I can find out.

This is the first time I have ever been out of a job when I wanted one. Not only that, this is the first time I have ever had to go on a job search. I have always figured out which job I wanted, then I went and got it. I have never applied for more than one job at a time before. So I'm in new territory for me.

Yeah, I could have gone back to Penn, but I'm trying to make a clean break. And I really believe that I would have gotten the job at Apple (and I still may) but for that hiring freeze of theirs. I'm seriously thinking about going back to school, perhaps getting my masters in econ. I'm still technically in the program at GMU (I think), and that with my experience in Yemen could lead to some rewarding jobs, rewarding in all ways....

Anyway, I'm looking at options. The beginning of the year is when I get serious about job searching. Honestly, I've been too out of it physically to really feel comfortable doing a job. I think that's mostly behind me now, so after the first of the year, I'll hit the ground running Insha'alla...

It isn't every night you have a dream about jumping into a black hole, meet a preadolescent gate keeper named Michael living in a studio apartment, jump into an icy blue sea, and end up getting reduced to component particles (possibly smaller than quarks). Woosh! It was the most vivid, intense dream I have had in recent memory, possibly ever. It was def. a sci-fi masterpiece with amazing effects, told in the 2nd(!) person, and with enough weirdness to inspire days worth of symbol grasping... Can't say it was enjoyable, I awoke with a start after I had been dematerialized. On the other hand, I was never afraid, just had a ton of adrenaline coursing through me... Here's to a good night's sleep tonight...

The title pretty much says it all. If things go well, I'l have two this year! That will partially make up for me missing the last two over in Yemen... I hope I'll be able to button up my pants by the end of the weekend!

One of the motivators of me going to Yemen was the prospect of getting out of the job I had. I was an assistant manager in a photo equipment store. Not to toot my own horn too much, but I was one of their better employees. I felt like I was stuck, the best I could hope for was to manage a store. It would be an OK living, but I don't think I could ever be happy doing that.

The trouble with the job is that I always knew I could go back. I didn't burn any bridges... On the one hand, it's nice to have a safety net, but on the other I have to be careful not to do the easy thing and regress back to something I don't want to do.

Sure enough, since the job market is a bit soft (ahem) right now, I inquired at my old job. I was hoping to create a position that would be a little more rewarding. Sure enough, they offered me a job. Not only that, they offered me a promotion. I haven't been there in two years and they offered me a store of my own... It was flattering, but it wasn't what I was looking for. I said no.

That hurt a bit, it always hurts to turn down money, but I'm trying to think long term. I think it's working out for me even now. No, I don't have a job, but by eliminating that, I've become much more open to other possibilities. I figure that's half the battle if you want to change careers.

I have an application in with Apple. I have every belief that I will be hired once they lift their hiring freeze. I have the experience and skills they're looking for. Plus, I have a solid recommendation on the inside... As it turns out, if I did take my old job, I wouldn't be able to work for Apple. My old employer is an authorized Apple dealer (they sell iPods) and Apple won't poach employees from authorized dealers.

While I've been waiting for that, I've been scanning some negatives for a woman my dad knows. That in itself isn't a big deal, but it may turn into something else. She has recommended me to help the museum she (and my father) are very active in. They want to do a history project for the museum. I may end up getting back into film making with this. Nothing has been settled yet, but if this comes to anything, I'll be shooting video, recording the audio, possibly lighting, and the editor of the project. We'll see what happens...

And the oddest possibility is a job in Yemen. Yes, I found a job opening back in Yemen. It's with a UN affiliated group that does work with children. I still think that the political situation in Yemen is a bit unstable, but I think I'd go back if I think I could actually help in some form. This group has very focused goals and I think they are a good example of what an aid organization is capable of doing. It's not the kind of thing that you'll get rich doing, but it pays well for a job in Yemen. More importantly, it would be incredible experience in a totally different career field. Honestly, getting this job is a bit of a long shot, but I'm going to apply and see what happens.

So even though I don't have a job right now, and even though Christmas is coming (sorry guys, the gifts from me are going to be pretty lame), I'm optimistic about my job prospects. Don't worry, I'll let everyone know how all this turns out...

I've been looking around and trying to figure out what I want to do. I had mentioned before that I'd like to go to Turkey in the spring. I'll do that too, unless of course I can find a job that I like before then... Starting a regular life has some appeal, but it has to pay decently and it has to be something I enjoy. I have some applications out, we'll see what happens...

A student of mine in Yemen was telling me how much she wanted to go to the US. "Is there any place in particular that you'd like to go? I asked her. "Oh yes," she nodded her head enthusiastically, "I really want to go to Minnesota..."

Really. That caught me off guard. I was expecting NYC, California, maybe even Florida, but Minnesota? It turns out that she has a cousin living in Minnesota and is constantly regaled with stories about how beautiful the state is. The pictures really made her want to come even more.

Huh. I never really considered Minnesota an ugly place, but I always imagined it to be rather nondescript. That puzzled me for a while and I eventually forgot about it. Yesterday, as I was driving back to Gloucester from DC I remembered her. I was looking at some rather nondescript farmland a little after sunset. The leaves have just started to turn and a full moon was big and just over the tree line.

When I first got back, I was overwhelmed by all the green. All the different shades, all over the place, it was just too much. It took a week for that to wear off. I've missed two falls, and I've missed them. The view of that farm, the smell, and the light were beautiful. Coming from Yemen, I get it now. We live in a beautiful place...

I managed to have a good time up here. Saw friends from my DC area days, it was good to see everyone. I ended up staying several days more than I thought I would. Mom came up (Rick usually goes to Gloucester) and there was a long weekend, so I stuck around...

I got two job offers while I was up here. My old job wants me back. I'm conflicted about that. One of the reasons I left was to start a new life, do something different. On the other hand, I would get paid quite a bit better there than anywhere near mom's place. I was also offered (I'm not sure how seriously) a gig teaching photography in a workshop setting. That would be a nice add on to a regular job, but it would never work on its own... I'll see where that goes...

There were some bad things too though. One of the guys that I worked with at Penn became a widow. That's rough. I think he's flying back to Ghana, so he won't be around for a while. I met with a friend of mine on saturday along with his wife and kids. The next morning, she had a stroke! This really surprised us all, she's only 40ish... Anyway, she seems to be recovering, but I'm wishing them well. Get well soon Cindy!

So it was a mixed bag, I am glad I came up. Now, back to my normal routine...

I went over to the localish Apple place and Apple is going to give me a new battery.. tomorrow! I was afraid I was going to have to buy a new one and I got no money right now. Anyway, they came through for me. I was lucky (?) enough to have a battery that had been recalled, so I get a new one!

The place I went to was interesting too. It's called Connecting Point and apparently they have been an Apple repair center from way back. They still have promo posters for the Newton and the original Macintosh line up on the walls. Anyway, they were nice enough, and I will have a fully functional computer tomorrow!

I am on my own computer again. I can post without it, but I really prefer to use the programs on my computer to post... A few observations:

I hate Fed-ex. They may be excellent in next day deliveries, I wouldn't know, I've never used them for that. All I know is that EVERY TIME I have used them for ground service, they have screwed up and/or pissed me off. I understand that things happen from time to time, but I think they're 5 for 5 with me. This time, I ordered a new power supply. The website said that it would take 1-5 days. That's fine, by Thursday, it had gotten to the Hampton distribution center. I had been tracking it and they had estimated that it would be delivered on the 15th but here it was the 11th and it was a truck ride away from me. So the next day, I checked the tracking, expecting them to have put it on the truck. Nope. The tracking info said, "Not due for delivery." They didn't deliver it on friday, I had to wait until Monday. WTF? It was there, and they didn't deliver it. I had sworn off shipping via Fed-Ex a long time ago, now I'm going to make sure that I won't be using them for delivery...

I'm not out of the woods yet. I allowed my battery to wear down in the computer... for a week. Now I have both power adaptors (one for home, one will live on my computer bag), but my battery is not being recognized by my computer. I've read a few forums and it sounds like the battery is going to need to be replaced. If I'm lucky, Apple will replace it for me, they had a recall on them. I'll let you know how it goes...

So I used mom's computer in the meantime. It was nice of her to leave it over the weekend for me. I gotta say, I'm glad to be back on my machine. Firefox 3 seems really unstable on Vista, at least it was on that machine. It kept crashing. Oh, and how did I ever live before RSS feeds? It was weird to have to actually go to the websites to see if anything new had been added...

I had an awful weekend. I had been told early n the week that I needed a root canal. It didn't surprise me, the thing was hurting quite a bit. I was on a steady diet of pain killers. Nothing too heavy. I still have a bottle of vicadin extra strength left over from my previous tooth issue. I try to stay away from narcotics because, like alcohol, they scare me. However, I do recognize that, like alcohol, they have their uses. No, I was on Alieve, Tylonal, and Excedrin. Not all at the same time, I rotated them. The hell of it is that my tooth didn't bother me this weekend, but my GI system tried to kill me. Without going into details, I didn't sleep for two nights... I've stopped with the pain pills, and now my tooth and my stomach are fine. I hate side effects...

Anyway, I'm back and I will try to put up a few more posts both here and my music blog too...

Not that I went to the beach much :-) What can I say? Im not a beach person. I don't like being in the sun (or using sunscreen), sand, or salt water. I did go down a couple of times and it was a really nice beach, just not my scene. We did, however, have a pool right by the house, and a hot tub. Those were really nice and I used them quite a bit.

The house was huge and the weather was basically perfect. The best thing of course was seeing everyone. I never get to see Kelly and Patrick, Carolee, and I only see Brian on occasion. It was great to see everyone, we need to get together more often.

Of course everyone made fun of me the whole time for avoiding the kids. It's true that kids put me on edge, I just feel totally out of my element around them, especially the really young ones. But I have to admit that the kids were very well behaved, and I was downright impressed with Sean (K&P's kid), he didn't bother me in the slightest!:-) Seriously, it's probably a good thing for me to be in that situation from time to time, edge or no. So the kids were fine, but I am glad it was a big house... :-)

I left my power adaptor up at Rick's. So I may or may not post anything or be in touch for a little while. I use this tonight until my battery runs out. Grumble grumble grumble.

Well, we came back from NC today. Hanna passed by us to the west, all we got was some rain and some stiff winds, no big deal. I'm going up with Rick to Falls Church. The car situation got a little crazy and I have to go up with him in order to bring mom's truck back. I was planning on staying there for a week or so, but my tooth is acting up. It's the same one that i just got a new filling for. It had been annoying and really sensitive to cold, but no big deal with some pain killers. That all changed last night when it really flared up. We're talking drenching the sheets with sweat kind of pain. It went away and it's OK now (with some aspirin) but I'm not about to have another night like last night. I'll take my vicoden up to Rick's in case I have a repeat, and with any luck I'll have this thing takes care of on mon. or tue...

So I'm not sure when I'll get up to the DC area. One of my friends will be moving soon, so I need to get up there before too long. Maybe next week...

I have been assured that these things are commonplace with kids, but since I'm not really in the loop, i still find them humorous. Today a bunch of us were sitting around the table when the inevitable head count started. One kid was running around outside, the other had gone to the bathroom some time ago. The father grabbed a roll of TP and went looking for her in one of the many bathrooms we have at the vacation house. He said he found her sitting on the john singing "The star spangled banner," and complaining that there wasn't any TP. We all waited until the mother explained that the star spangled banner is her potty song...

My sister-in-law was trying to corral the kids after having come back from the beach. They were being washed off in a shower that is outside the house. She then told them to go in to their rooms and get dressed. The two oldest walked by the foosball table and said they wanted to play. "No naked foosball!" was her reaction. I mentioned to her that I had anticipated going through my entire life without hearing that sentence. She replied that she says things all the time that she never expected to have to say. I went upstairs and got another example. "Please do not smother the baby..."

There is a store around the corner that is called "Birthday Suits." I haven't looked in it yet, but I'm thinking maybe I ought to...

Everyone keeps asking what my plans are. I have been a little vague, but things are looking like they're coming into better focus. I would like to pursue the teaching English thing, overseas that is. I really enjoyed it. After being in a job that was not what I wanted to do, having a job that is fulfilling is pretty addictive.

Yes, I could go and get a sales job. If I got motivated enough (read, if I needed money badly enough) I'd do pretty well. There is always money to be made selling things, and I am very confident i could do it. I really don't want to go back to that world though. I enjoyed teaching photography, the best part of the sales job was teaching people how to get the results they wanted, and teaching English was a blast.

My general plan is to stay stateside through the spring and then go somewhere. I already have an application in at a place in Turkey. A friend of mine (who came to Yemen after reading my blog) is teaching there already. So far, it sounds like an ideal set-up. You get the CELTA training from them plus it's possible to take grad courses there as well.

It's also possible that I might go get the certification first. That'll take several thousand dollars, so we'll see how the finances stack up. Speaking of finances, I may have to go get a job. I'll worry about that once I'm done with the current project I'm working on.

So that's my basic plan. I'm going to try to enjoy this place while I'm here, and I'm going to attempt to see my family as much as I can as well. I've learned to appreciate some things while I was gone :-)

I'll be going down to the outer banks next week. Rick has rented out a big beach house and there will be a gaggle of people there. This includes 5 kids. To be fair only 3 of them are really running around, but that will probably be enough :-) Anyway, I plan on having my computer with me so hopefully I will keep up with the blogging and maybe even get some writing done...

If you didn't know, I have a gig scanning negs for a woman that my father knows. It's interesting, her father was a historian of the sailing ships on the Chesapeake Bay. The oldest negs I've come across so far have been from 1936. There's some nice stuff. That's a good thing because there are 2500+ of these things, so I'm glad I enjoy seeing them. Unfortunately I have been forbidden to share them, so you'll just have to use your imagination...

I'm getting stronger, I can now walk the 1 1/2 miles around the house without too much difficulty and even do it again later on at night. That's a big improvement. I'll keep working on that and my general strength.

I'll need it too, the week after next i will be going down to Nags Head for a week. There will be 5 (5! What am I nuts?) kids there from the ages of 1 to 7 I think. It should be... interesting. Wish me luck...

Until then, I'll just keep scanning away. There will be boats in my dreams pretty soon..