New year's resolutions never made much sense to me. You decide because the calendar is flipping from the 2008 Betty Boop to the 2009 Marilyn Monroe that it's time to change your life. In Minnesota in the dead of winter, that's not such a good idea.
I hate summer. There's so much to do in Minnesota during the summer, and so little time. Yeah, there are plenty of outdoor activities in May and September, and even April and October, but they're just not the same.
Hell, by late June we're already starting to lose minutes of daylight at night. It's just not right.
Summer is too short, it's full of too many things I cannot find the time or money for, and it goes by so fast. Usually when the summer is over I look back on it and can take pride in what I accomplished. I try not to let it go to waste, much like the last several months of my life has.
I hate heat and humidity, I hate the fact the grubby kids in the apartment across the way are outside running around making noise and I hate I bike my ass off all summer and lose very little weight. I hate summer, and I'm going to hate it even more this year. It's going to be the longest, hardest four months of my life. And if my heart can withstand the stress, I'll be a better person because of it come September. One way or another, I'll be dead by Labor Day. I'll either collapse from exhaustion and die or the life I have known for 38 years will be dead. I'll be happy with either.
My new year begins on Friday. It's going to be the shortest year of my life.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
19. I promise (unedited)
I am almost half way to 40 blogs, and I'm running out of good ideas.
I also came close, again, to forgetting to blog. I was in bed when I recalled I hadn't written a blog. I had thought about it earlier, but failed to follow up the thought, and instead did a bunch of nothing.
I am tired every day, and I'm going to be twice as tired in May, I promise. I keep busy most of the time, and I'm going to be twice as busy in May, I promise. I am going to accomplish as much this summer, if not more, as in summers past, I promise. I am going to enjoy many things this summer, yet it's not going to be the most memorable or exciting summer of my life, I promise.
Symbolically this is the last summer of my life, I promise.
I also came close, again, to forgetting to blog. I was in bed when I recalled I hadn't written a blog. I had thought about it earlier, but failed to follow up the thought, and instead did a bunch of nothing.
I am tired every day, and I'm going to be twice as tired in May, I promise. I keep busy most of the time, and I'm going to be twice as busy in May, I promise. I am going to accomplish as much this summer, if not more, as in summers past, I promise. I am going to enjoy many things this summer, yet it's not going to be the most memorable or exciting summer of my life, I promise.
Symbolically this is the last summer of my life, I promise.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
18. Bankrupt (unedited)
The mighty newspaper conglomarite is bankrupt!
Today it was announced we filed bankruptcy. What does that mean? I'm not sure. I guess we're owned by banks, although I thought we were owned by stockholders who had taken a bath on their investment. I guess we have some capital to work with, because the monthly income isn't enough to cover our asses. I am told it is business as usual on Wednesday, although who knows how long that will hold true.
A local media watchdog/critic wrote that it was surprising that it took this long to happen. I have no idea if it should have or not. All I know is that there's some bogus optimism about the fact we've acknowledged we're bankrupt. Call me cynical, but it was great news that we were being turned into a public stock barely two years ago, and how did that work out?
One day I'm going to show up to the office and find that the building is locked, and we're all unemployed. I'm sure of it.
As a co-worker pointed out, today we are publicly bankrupt. Too bad we've been morally bankrupt for years.
Today it was announced we filed bankruptcy. What does that mean? I'm not sure. I guess we're owned by banks, although I thought we were owned by stockholders who had taken a bath on their investment. I guess we have some capital to work with, because the monthly income isn't enough to cover our asses. I am told it is business as usual on Wednesday, although who knows how long that will hold true.
A local media watchdog/critic wrote that it was surprising that it took this long to happen. I have no idea if it should have or not. All I know is that there's some bogus optimism about the fact we've acknowledged we're bankrupt. Call me cynical, but it was great news that we were being turned into a public stock barely two years ago, and how did that work out?
One day I'm going to show up to the office and find that the building is locked, and we're all unemployed. I'm sure of it.
As a co-worker pointed out, today we are publicly bankrupt. Too bad we've been morally bankrupt for years.
Monday, April 27, 2009
17. Double or nothing
If my salary doubled tomorrow, how would my life be different?
I'm not sure. I would immediately get a new vehicle. My Pontiac Grand Prix is about eight years old. It's looking a little long in the tooth, and it is loud. It runs OK, but the constant engine knock is annoying. It is paid off, however, and I don't really want to start a new series of car payments right now if I can avoid them. But I might need to bite the bullet and do something different this summer. Knowing any day that my car might blow up on the highway is a bit disconcerting.
How else would my life be different? I'm not sure it would change significantly, at least not initially. I'd start pondering if the time had come to buy a home instead of rent an apartment, but it wouldn't be a quick decision, I suspect.
Perhaps I would splurge on a few luxuries, like an occasional massage and a pedicure. Yeah, really, a pedicure.
After 38 years I have yet to learn how to trim my toenails without mangling them. I'd feel like a dork getting a pedicure, but I'd be far from the first guy to do so. And it would be nice, just once, not to have snarled toenails.
Yeah, I dream big.
I'm not sure. I would immediately get a new vehicle. My Pontiac Grand Prix is about eight years old. It's looking a little long in the tooth, and it is loud. It runs OK, but the constant engine knock is annoying. It is paid off, however, and I don't really want to start a new series of car payments right now if I can avoid them. But I might need to bite the bullet and do something different this summer. Knowing any day that my car might blow up on the highway is a bit disconcerting.
How else would my life be different? I'm not sure it would change significantly, at least not initially. I'd start pondering if the time had come to buy a home instead of rent an apartment, but it wouldn't be a quick decision, I suspect.
Perhaps I would splurge on a few luxuries, like an occasional massage and a pedicure. Yeah, really, a pedicure.
After 38 years I have yet to learn how to trim my toenails without mangling them. I'd feel like a dork getting a pedicure, but I'd be far from the first guy to do so. And it would be nice, just once, not to have snarled toenails.
Yeah, I dream big.
16. Better late than never
I took a long siesta on Sunday evening, and nearly forgot to write a blog entry tonight. I thought about it a long time ago, and then got distracted.
The Halloween party was a bit lackluster in attendance, but several people made a cameo, and I got to see a couple people I seem to cross paths with less often at Halloween gatherings, so it was worth being there. I was really tired last night, however, which sucked, because I wasn't my usual upbeat self.
So what do I have to look forward to in the coming week? A long overdue visit to the heart doctor, a Twins game with company seats and a fundraising event on Saturday evening for my sister's workshop. My sister, being mentally retarded, goes to "work" each weekday at a special program where they work within her skill set to help her develop. Unfortunately she seems to be at the limits of her capacity.
Every time I think my life sucks, I try to remember my sister has suffered far more than I have, and I have the ability to change my life. She'd be lucky to have my empty, meaningless life.
The Halloween party was a bit lackluster in attendance, but several people made a cameo, and I got to see a couple people I seem to cross paths with less often at Halloween gatherings, so it was worth being there. I was really tired last night, however, which sucked, because I wasn't my usual upbeat self.
So what do I have to look forward to in the coming week? A long overdue visit to the heart doctor, a Twins game with company seats and a fundraising event on Saturday evening for my sister's workshop. My sister, being mentally retarded, goes to "work" each weekday at a special program where they work within her skill set to help her develop. Unfortunately she seems to be at the limits of her capacity.
Every time I think my life sucks, I try to remember my sister has suffered far more than I have, and I have the ability to change my life. She'd be lucky to have my empty, meaningless life.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
15. Happy Halloween
Tonight features one of two pre-Halloween parties I'm going to this year. This one is half way to Halloween. (Six months from now is Oct. 25.) There's also a party planned this summer.
Both of these are gatherings of friends from the haunted attraction I am a three-year veteran of. Tonight will be a non-costumed affair, but the summer gathering is intended to be a costume party, I'm told.
My Halloween friends are a diverse group that I don't have a lot in common with, but we all have a love of the spirit of Halloween, and funny, sometimes we like the same movies, or enjoy bowling, or like the same video games. I guess we're no different than most groups tied by one common thread. All I know is that my life is better for knowing these people. Where will any of us be in five years? That's a good question. For now we have each other, and that's awesome.
Perhaps next year I can inspire my group to celebrate Hallowang on the last Saturday of April. What's Hallowang? Read all about it at Hallowang.
Both of these are gatherings of friends from the haunted attraction I am a three-year veteran of. Tonight will be a non-costumed affair, but the summer gathering is intended to be a costume party, I'm told.
My Halloween friends are a diverse group that I don't have a lot in common with, but we all have a love of the spirit of Halloween, and funny, sometimes we like the same movies, or enjoy bowling, or like the same video games. I guess we're no different than most groups tied by one common thread. All I know is that my life is better for knowing these people. Where will any of us be in five years? That's a good question. For now we have each other, and that's awesome.
Perhaps next year I can inspire my group to celebrate Hallowang on the last Saturday of April. What's Hallowang? Read all about it at Hallowang.
14. Meet me in St. Louis? (unedited)
With the conclusion of this blog I will have two weeks in the books and about four weeks left to go to hit 40 in 40. I'm impressed I've made it this far.
Monica invited me to her house for a Friday evening get together. She was hosting "game night" at her house. The players, a random collection of people, some of whom she had never met, yet they all convened at her house because she is now the queen of a meetup.com group for social singles.
The idea of random people meeting to share a common activity is not a new concept, but the internet makes it that much easier to do it. You can find a wide variety of people for any common activity, and plenty of people use resources like meetup.com to do just that.
Monica, ever the social butterfly, has been an active member of the singles group for a while, as well as a few other groups via meetup.com, and she was recently recruited to take over leadership of the group. That means she plans a portion of the events. It's like a part-time job, I swear.
There are so many great people in the world that we'll never get the chance to meet. So why is it that I find contrived social gatherings such as Monica's game party or other meetup.com group gatherings to be so odd? I'm not anti-social, but I'm not anxious to meet a random group of people for any of the billions of activities and discussion groups that exist. Is Monica weird for having a group of people over to her house for games, a group that includes people she has never met? Is she weird for planning gatherings at bars and events for a group of people that anyone can join, no questions asked? Or am I weird for thinking meetup.com is weird?
Evidence seems to point to the latter.
Monica invited me to her house for a Friday evening get together. She was hosting "game night" at her house. The players, a random collection of people, some of whom she had never met, yet they all convened at her house because she is now the queen of a meetup.com group for social singles.
The idea of random people meeting to share a common activity is not a new concept, but the internet makes it that much easier to do it. You can find a wide variety of people for any common activity, and plenty of people use resources like meetup.com to do just that.
Monica, ever the social butterfly, has been an active member of the singles group for a while, as well as a few other groups via meetup.com, and she was recently recruited to take over leadership of the group. That means she plans a portion of the events. It's like a part-time job, I swear.
There are so many great people in the world that we'll never get the chance to meet. So why is it that I find contrived social gatherings such as Monica's game party or other meetup.com group gatherings to be so odd? I'm not anti-social, but I'm not anxious to meet a random group of people for any of the billions of activities and discussion groups that exist. Is Monica weird for having a group of people over to her house for games, a group that includes people she has never met? Is she weird for planning gatherings at bars and events for a group of people that anyone can join, no questions asked? Or am I weird for thinking meetup.com is weird?
Evidence seems to point to the latter.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
