Category: odds and ends

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!