OK, US Thanksgiving is a week behind us, and I have had turkey almost every day since then, and I am tired of it. Today my frozen pasta dinner will most likely taste like heaven :)
I have tried the turkey in a variety of ways but the most appealing has been in a burrito shell with salsa, jack cheese, and bacon bits -- microwaved for 45 seconds or so. Some sour cream helps, too.
Even the sides have taken a while to dissapear. The stuffing and green bean casserole were finished two nights ago and I am still working on the jellied cranberry sauce. Where is my son when I need THAT eaten quickly?
I got an e-mail (at work) from my wife who had gotten notice from a sister at church that my mistergeek e-mail has been bouncing back undeliverable. I had read that this is becoming more common, partly because the MAJOR network providers (who provide the service to ISP's) are not playing well with each other. Nonetheless, I gave my SiC (Sister in Christ) my gmail addy (since that never seems to fail) to use as a backup.
Yesterday morning I turned on my hobbled together linux server and it made horrible noise, eminating from the power supply. I walked away (since it takes a while to boot the old girl up in the morning) and when I got back to my home office, it was stuck on the boot screen. Nothing would restart it, so I pushed the reset button and waited. Same thing. Rut-roh. Well, I had no time to troubleshoot it at that time, so I went to work and posted a query, hoping to hear something. I receuved 1 suggestion .. reload the OS. I knew that was not a good thing to do FIRST, so when I got home, I swapped the PS with one I had as a spare and guess what? It booted! Now, the fan is louder, but it is a healthy loud, not like the screach from a bad PS, but a healthy loud whirring noise. it is gonna drive my wife nutz when I leave it on all day while I am at work, but I hope she can ignore it.
A fellow blogger, POKO, was kind enough to send me a notice that JAVA had a security update I needed to take, so I opened up the Java program on my firewall and took the update. Thanx POKO.
I have a doctors appt tomorrow regarding my sciatic nerve issue. I am hoping that some back adjustments can fix the issue, with a minimum of drug use. I have been taking what he gave me a few months ago, but only to show him that I am trying. it did not work the last time (he said take it for 10 days to see if that would ease the inflammation on the muscles around the nerve) but I decided to try again.
Ok enough for now. I am hoping to post some politcal ranting soon. Stay tuned.
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Friday, November 25, 2005
And How Was Your Thanksgiving Day?
Thanksgiving is a time of family and togetherness. It is difficult for some of us to fathom a holiday without a hot meal and someone to share it with. If I asked you what you did last Thanksgiving, would you remember much about it? Did you go to you parents or grandparents and have a big meal? Did you fall asleep in the living room 30 minutes later? Did you play any board games, play hide and seek, cards, watch football? I have trouble remembering much about Thanksgiving from year to year, but I am sure I will remember this year and last year's Thanksgiving.
Last year my wife, son and I joined several members of our church to serve food to the homeless living in Dallas. It was an experience I will not soon forget. It was difficult, not because I did not want to help, but because when I help someone it is difficult for me to accept the responses I might (and did) receive. I know this is something that God has to work on with me. I need to let the reactions and the comments bounce off of me.
When we got home last year, we were exhausted (and pretty hungry since we had not really eaten all day) and all we wanted to do was clean up and go to sleep. I felt like I made a difference, but it was draining. I hope I was able to bless someone (ok, maybe we did bless the couple we helped move from one area to the other. She was 8-9 months pregnant and they had a lot to carry. We piled it all in my truck and moved them closer to the farmer's market. We tried to get them into a shelter but we were not very successful in doing that.), and my son did actually gave the shirt off his back to a guy who did not have anything warm to wear.
This year my wife wanted to do something closer to home (Downtown Dallas is 25+ miles from us) and she found a husband and wife team that has been feeding locals (mostly Hispanic) for the past few years. Each year the number they feed goes up.
The couple run a car dealership and on Thanksgiving Day, they move cars out of the showroom and set up tables for a Thanksgiving sit down meal. This year the couple had more food, volunteers, and guests than they ever had. Our best guess is that about 400 people were served and we had enough food left over to feed 50-100 more. Towards the end we were giving away WHOLE pies, LOAVES of bread and turkey by the POUND. When it slowed down some, I fixed a plate and sat with one man and chatted for a while. My Spanish is horrible and he spoke decent English, so we were able to converse. He seemed like a nice guy. He works in Denton and has 6 kids here in the US. He has many members of his family in Mexico and some in the US.
Most of the volunteers filtered out a few at a time until at 3 PM. The only ones left were my wife and the couple. We cleaned up a large part of it and headed home. They asked us for our phone number so we gave it to them on the back of one of my business cards. I hope to see them again. They were nice people.
I will remember this Thanksgiving for a long time.
Last year my wife, son and I joined several members of our church to serve food to the homeless living in Dallas. It was an experience I will not soon forget. It was difficult, not because I did not want to help, but because when I help someone it is difficult for me to accept the responses I might (and did) receive. I know this is something that God has to work on with me. I need to let the reactions and the comments bounce off of me.
When we got home last year, we were exhausted (and pretty hungry since we had not really eaten all day) and all we wanted to do was clean up and go to sleep. I felt like I made a difference, but it was draining. I hope I was able to bless someone (ok, maybe we did bless the couple we helped move from one area to the other. She was 8-9 months pregnant and they had a lot to carry. We piled it all in my truck and moved them closer to the farmer's market. We tried to get them into a shelter but we were not very successful in doing that.), and my son did actually gave the shirt off his back to a guy who did not have anything warm to wear.
This year my wife wanted to do something closer to home (Downtown Dallas is 25+ miles from us) and she found a husband and wife team that has been feeding locals (mostly Hispanic) for the past few years. Each year the number they feed goes up.
The couple run a car dealership and on Thanksgiving Day, they move cars out of the showroom and set up tables for a Thanksgiving sit down meal. This year the couple had more food, volunteers, and guests than they ever had. Our best guess is that about 400 people were served and we had enough food left over to feed 50-100 more. Towards the end we were giving away WHOLE pies, LOAVES of bread and turkey by the POUND. When it slowed down some, I fixed a plate and sat with one man and chatted for a while. My Spanish is horrible and he spoke decent English, so we were able to converse. He seemed like a nice guy. He works in Denton and has 6 kids here in the US. He has many members of his family in Mexico and some in the US.
Most of the volunteers filtered out a few at a time until at 3 PM. The only ones left were my wife and the couple. We cleaned up a large part of it and headed home. They asked us for our phone number so we gave it to them on the back of one of my business cards. I hope to see them again. They were nice people.
I will remember this Thanksgiving for a long time.
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
Somethings I Have Learned While Living in North Central Texas
01 - "I don't need no stinkin' turn signals."
02 - North Central Texas is like the beach, minus the sand and the water (the wind blows ALL the time).
03 - The better the employment, the further you will have to drive.
04 - In the summer, NO ONE comes out until the sun goes down.
05 - There are no "great" bagels or pepperoni rolls.
06 - Churchs come in 2 sizes: "Small" and "You have got to be kidding".
07 - Coyotes only sound cool in the movies. In real life, it is an unnerving sound.
08 - Even when gas is $3 a gallon, Texans will still drive their trucks and SUV's to work everyday.
Number 07 was inspired by my morning walk with my dogs. One is a corgi/beagle mutt and the other is a boxer/golden mutt. Neither dog is fierce. As we walked closer to the elementary school that borders a large farm, my dogs and I heard the howling of many coyotes .. most were within a quater mile at best guess. The howls seemed to come from all directions and it was quite unnerving to hear a crescendo of howls while my dogs just looked around, on guard. I was not going to chance anything, I know coyotes can be cowards, but in packs, they can take down a cow if they are hungry enough. The urban sprall has encroached on the land these creatures roam, forcing them to come into the 'burbs to look for food. Our yards are full of rabbits looking for food, finding it on our groomed lawns and manicured landscaping.
I have seen a coyote or two roaming our neighborhood, as well as a skunk and a few armadillos. You can smell skunks all the time from where they have been hit by a car. Dead armadillos can be seen littering the roads where they too, are not blessed enough to miss getting squashed by an SUV.
I hear the coyotes all the time, but have only seen two, and those were fleeting looks at pale looking creatures lurking in shadows. One was in our neighborhood and the other was along a state highway that was leading into the 'burbs. Neither of them were large. As a matter of fact, they looked a bit thin.
I received a call from a brother at church who is having similar issues with is back that I am. He has been placed on steroids and was given an injection of some sort and he says he slept very well the past few nights. I am very happy for him. He is a real nice guy whom I admire quite a bit.
Work has been going well. I am keeping busy for the most part. Not much down time, except for an odd hour here and there. Today looks like it may be slow, so I could do some more online training, but I am not very motivated to do so.
Thanksgiving plans -
Thanksgiving Day we plan on serving food for some underpriveledged folks in the area. After that we will come home and have our dinner.
Friday I need to do some yard work for us and my neighbor. I need to spray for weeds and cur down her elephant ear plants for the winter.
Saturday I get my hair cut and need to catch up on some house cleaning.
Sunday, well, we know what that day is for, don't we?
02 - North Central Texas is like the beach, minus the sand and the water (the wind blows ALL the time).
03 - The better the employment, the further you will have to drive.
04 - In the summer, NO ONE comes out until the sun goes down.
05 - There are no "great" bagels or pepperoni rolls.
06 - Churchs come in 2 sizes: "Small" and "You have got to be kidding".
07 - Coyotes only sound cool in the movies. In real life, it is an unnerving sound.
08 - Even when gas is $3 a gallon, Texans will still drive their trucks and SUV's to work everyday.
Number 07 was inspired by my morning walk with my dogs. One is a corgi/beagle mutt and the other is a boxer/golden mutt. Neither dog is fierce. As we walked closer to the elementary school that borders a large farm, my dogs and I heard the howling of many coyotes .. most were within a quater mile at best guess. The howls seemed to come from all directions and it was quite unnerving to hear a crescendo of howls while my dogs just looked around, on guard. I was not going to chance anything, I know coyotes can be cowards, but in packs, they can take down a cow if they are hungry enough. The urban sprall has encroached on the land these creatures roam, forcing them to come into the 'burbs to look for food. Our yards are full of rabbits looking for food, finding it on our groomed lawns and manicured landscaping.
I have seen a coyote or two roaming our neighborhood, as well as a skunk and a few armadillos. You can smell skunks all the time from where they have been hit by a car. Dead armadillos can be seen littering the roads where they too, are not blessed enough to miss getting squashed by an SUV.
I hear the coyotes all the time, but have only seen two, and those were fleeting looks at pale looking creatures lurking in shadows. One was in our neighborhood and the other was along a state highway that was leading into the 'burbs. Neither of them were large. As a matter of fact, they looked a bit thin.
I received a call from a brother at church who is having similar issues with is back that I am. He has been placed on steroids and was given an injection of some sort and he says he slept very well the past few nights. I am very happy for him. He is a real nice guy whom I admire quite a bit.
Work has been going well. I am keeping busy for the most part. Not much down time, except for an odd hour here and there. Today looks like it may be slow, so I could do some more online training, but I am not very motivated to do so.
Thanksgiving plans -
Thanksgiving Day we plan on serving food for some underpriveledged folks in the area. After that we will come home and have our dinner.
Friday I need to do some yard work for us and my neighbor. I need to spray for weeds and cur down her elephant ear plants for the winter.
Saturday I get my hair cut and need to catch up on some house cleaning.
Sunday, well, we know what that day is for, don't we?
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
All I Want is My Truck Title...
A little over 2 years ago, my wife and I paid off the truck we bought 4 years prior. It was a confusing loan that was a home equity loan and car loan all in one. The bank holds the title to any vehicle that you are using as collateral and this held true in this case. We figured when the note was paid off, then the title would be mailed to us.
In the time that we got the loan and paid it off, we moved to Texas. 2 years after we moved here we paid off the truck and we got a letter stating our loan had been paid in full. We expected the title to show up within a few weeks.
Two years later, enter in 3 dollar a gallon gas prices and I am still driving my 5.2 litre V8 to work (30 miles round trip) each day. Time to sell the truck. I go into my office, look in the file cabinet for the truck loan paperwork, and guess what? I do not have my truck title. I look EVERYWHERE for it, but nothing. In desperation, I call the bank looking for my title. They tell me in a matter of fact (but polite voice) that the title had been mailed to the NC DMV. I am not really sure why, since they had my address (and sent me the letter telling me my loan had been paid in full). They suggested I contact the NCDMV to get a copy. Well I contacted the NCDMV and they wanted $15 for a duplicate title. Now $15 is not much, but why should I have to pay for it, when I was not responsible for getting it the
here in the first place.
The chain of events -
Nov 10, called and talked to Angela (XYZ Bank). I was calling from my cell phone and the call dropped after being on hold with for 40 minutes. I did not call back.
Nov 14, called and talked with David (XYZ Bank). He informed me that Angela took very good notes and sent out a broadcast e-mail telling the call center that if I called back to give the info she gathered. My title had been sent to the NC DMV and if I need any help in getting it to call back.
Nov 14, called TX DMV to see if they could help. Left message for someone to call me back.
Nov 17, received a call from TX DMV telling me I had to deal with NC DMV. TX DMV could not assist.
Nov 22, called Mike (XYZ bank) and he did some research and told me to call local branch of XYZ Bank. He stated that there was a note on my old account to have a copy of the title mailed there.
Nov 22, called April (XYZ local branch). She put me in charge with Barrett, who did some research and had to call me back (a total of 3 times). before he knew for sure what was going on. When he called back the last time, he stated he would be sending me a check so I could get this taken care of from my end. They have no idea where my title is.
All for the want of a vehicle title.
The funny thing about this is that my wife's car was used as collateral as well, but we got her title. maybe it was because mine was worth more :)
In the time that we got the loan and paid it off, we moved to Texas. 2 years after we moved here we paid off the truck and we got a letter stating our loan had been paid in full. We expected the title to show up within a few weeks.
Two years later, enter in 3 dollar a gallon gas prices and I am still driving my 5.2 litre V8 to work (30 miles round trip) each day. Time to sell the truck. I go into my office, look in the file cabinet for the truck loan paperwork, and guess what? I do not have my truck title. I look EVERYWHERE for it, but nothing. In desperation, I call the bank looking for my title. They tell me in a matter of fact (but polite voice) that the title had been mailed to the NC DMV. I am not really sure why, since they had my address (and sent me the letter telling me my loan had been paid in full). They suggested I contact the NCDMV to get a copy. Well I contacted the NCDMV and they wanted $15 for a duplicate title. Now $15 is not much, but why should I have to pay for it, when I was not responsible for getting it the
here in the first place.
The chain of events -
Nov 10, called and talked to Angela (XYZ Bank). I was calling from my cell phone and the call dropped after being on hold with for 40 minutes. I did not call back.
Nov 14, called and talked with David (XYZ Bank). He informed me that Angela took very good notes and sent out a broadcast e-mail telling the call center that if I called back to give the info she gathered. My title had been sent to the NC DMV and if I need any help in getting it to call back.
Nov 14, called TX DMV to see if they could help. Left message for someone to call me back.
Nov 17, received a call from TX DMV telling me I had to deal with NC DMV. TX DMV could not assist.
Nov 22, called Mike (XYZ bank) and he did some research and told me to call local branch of XYZ Bank. He stated that there was a note on my old account to have a copy of the title mailed there.
Nov 22, called April (XYZ local branch). She put me in charge with Barrett, who did some research and had to call me back (a total of 3 times). before he knew for sure what was going on. When he called back the last time, he stated he would be sending me a check so I could get this taken care of from my end. They have no idea where my title is.
All for the want of a vehicle title.
The funny thing about this is that my wife's car was used as collateral as well, but we got her title. maybe it was because mine was worth more :)
Sunday, November 20, 2005
Workin' For The Weekend
Ok, I was not working for the weekend, just during it. Saturday was the Men's Breakfast at church and we received a real treat: My wife's bosses son-in-law made authentic Huevos Rancheros. They were very good (and I don't like eggs!) and I got very full. It was needed, since we worked on the volleyball pit and the parking lot for a few hours after that. When we finished the required work, 4 of us paired up and pitches some horsehoes. We played to games and the team I was on won both (the second game we won 21-1). I played pretty well, but not as good as my partner, my wife's boss. He has a good eye and a steady hand.
Sunday is a busy day for us this week. The Care Groups are throwing the annual Thanksgiving dinner for the rest of the congregation. My wife and I are on they cleanup crew. Every care group is required to bring a specific list of items. We (our Care Group) are responsible for 20 lbs of turkey, 10 lbs of ham, 400 rolls, butter, salad dressing and 1 dessert per family in the Care Group. Other groups are bringing ham and turkey, potatoes, green beans, etc. There should be plenty of food. I am sure no one will go hungry.
I am not very hungry right now. We had Taco Bell for lunch and it was rather filling (especially with all the iced tea I had with it...) and I hope I will have room for dinner. I really would hate to pass up some Cajun deep-fried turkey.
Instead of a sermon today, the Christian Academy that is associated with our church put on their yearly Christmas play. It was very good. Not as good as last years, but very good nonetheless. There was some real talent in that young group of thespians.
I have been playing with Linux more and more, especially since my new job will have me supporting it to a degree. I have been learning as much as I can about it. This weekend I have been playing with the XFCE windows manager. It is lightweight and runs well on the sandbox.
Work is going well. They asked me to make a up a small piece of documentation for the group and our TL said it was "excellent". I was very surprised to hear that from him. He even went as far as to tell the team he thought it was "excellent".
My boss has a couple of projects he wants me to work on in the upcoming weeks. One is to build a NetApps file server / backup system as a test to see if our outsourced FE's (Field Engineers) can do it. Since I am the least technical of our department, if I can build it, anyone can.
The other project is to start looking at some of our older tickets and see why they are still in pending/unresolved. That is a big chore, but I think I can handle it.
Sunday is a busy day for us this week. The Care Groups are throwing the annual Thanksgiving dinner for the rest of the congregation. My wife and I are on they cleanup crew. Every care group is required to bring a specific list of items. We (our Care Group) are responsible for 20 lbs of turkey, 10 lbs of ham, 400 rolls, butter, salad dressing and 1 dessert per family in the Care Group. Other groups are bringing ham and turkey, potatoes, green beans, etc. There should be plenty of food. I am sure no one will go hungry.
I am not very hungry right now. We had Taco Bell for lunch and it was rather filling (especially with all the iced tea I had with it...) and I hope I will have room for dinner. I really would hate to pass up some Cajun deep-fried turkey.
Instead of a sermon today, the Christian Academy that is associated with our church put on their yearly Christmas play. It was very good. Not as good as last years, but very good nonetheless. There was some real talent in that young group of thespians.
I have been playing with Linux more and more, especially since my new job will have me supporting it to a degree. I have been learning as much as I can about it. This weekend I have been playing with the XFCE windows manager. It is lightweight and runs well on the sandbox.
Work is going well. They asked me to make a up a small piece of documentation for the group and our TL said it was "excellent". I was very surprised to hear that from him. He even went as far as to tell the team he thought it was "excellent".
My boss has a couple of projects he wants me to work on in the upcoming weeks. One is to build a NetApps file server / backup system as a test to see if our outsourced FE's (Field Engineers) can do it. Since I am the least technical of our department, if I can build it, anyone can.
The other project is to start looking at some of our older tickets and see why they are still in pending/unresolved. That is a big chore, but I think I can handle it.
Thursday, November 17, 2005
"Let's Kill Some Christians!" (and other stuff)
Is exactly what Communist Korea is saying. I want to caution you that this article is very graphic and though I can handle a lot, it still disturbed me.
My wife reads a magazine called "Voice of the Martyrs", which offers info on Christians all over the world who are persecuted for their faith. The stories are sad sometimes. Often I am angered by them. Why should a person be tortured for having a belief that is not hurting anyone?
On side note, I have been doing some stretches every morning and my pain seems to be lessened. I still need to go to the doctor, but I am pretty sure (thanx to a massage therapist friend of mine) it is the sciatic nerve. It stil could be disk problems and if it is, that could be serious. I am not going to ignore this. To those in the Netherlands to have expressed concern, I appreciate your words.
Work is coming along rather well. I have taken several hours of online training and my boss is giving me small projects to do. I am beginning to feel like part of the team, at least in some manner. The work is not hard, just time consuming.
Our care group meeting went well last night, although I was tired. We discussed Ephesians 6 and went into a little detail on it. The meal was good, although I am not a big pork chop fan. The veggies and bread were both very tasty, but I did not try the potato salad (which everyone was raving about) because it had eggs and I detest eggs.
We arrived home and I walked our dogs. After I was done with that, I watched "Law and Order" with my wife. We were pretty tired and since I get up at 5 AM, I was groggy this morning. Thank you God for French Roast coffee!
My wife reads a magazine called "Voice of the Martyrs", which offers info on Christians all over the world who are persecuted for their faith. The stories are sad sometimes. Often I am angered by them. Why should a person be tortured for having a belief that is not hurting anyone?
On side note, I have been doing some stretches every morning and my pain seems to be lessened. I still need to go to the doctor, but I am pretty sure (thanx to a massage therapist friend of mine) it is the sciatic nerve. It stil could be disk problems and if it is, that could be serious. I am not going to ignore this. To those in the Netherlands to have expressed concern, I appreciate your words.
Work is coming along rather well. I have taken several hours of online training and my boss is giving me small projects to do. I am beginning to feel like part of the team, at least in some manner. The work is not hard, just time consuming.
Our care group meeting went well last night, although I was tired. We discussed Ephesians 6 and went into a little detail on it. The meal was good, although I am not a big pork chop fan. The veggies and bread were both very tasty, but I did not try the potato salad (which everyone was raving about) because it had eggs and I detest eggs.
We arrived home and I walked our dogs. After I was done with that, I watched "Law and Order" with my wife. We were pretty tired and since I get up at 5 AM, I was groggy this morning. Thank you God for French Roast coffee!
Sunday, November 13, 2005
Sunday
I am not writing this for sympathy, so put it away. I sit here in pain. Why am I in pain? This is why. While I have not been "officially" diagnosed with this, several people who are familiar with this is are certain this is my problem.
It started about 6-12 months ago with a dull pain in my left hip joint area. Walking long distances (which is a favorite past time of mine) was difficult. It became increasingly more painful and severe as time went by, until now, I am in pain 25-50% of the day. Today has been a bad day. Standing is painful, sitting is better, but I am still hurting some. Lying down is tolerable.
The pain is intense at times. It shoots down my left leg and ends at my ankle. Sometimes the pain skips spots or feels like the muscles are tightening up. Sometimes it is accompanied by back pain, but not always. I have been very conscious of my posture (sitting and standing) and my sleeping positions. I have been trying to stretch as much as possible, but I am not as flexible as I used to be so it is hard.
While I was a church, I really was hurting and an Elder prayed for me. I was touched. My wife initiated the prayer request and I was deeply moved. I have much faith in the power of prayer, but the Elder hinted that I should see a doctor. I know he is right. No disrespect to doctors, but I do not like them. If a back alignment is what is needed, then I need to get that done.
So if you will do me a favor and pray for me, it would mean a lot. If you have a prayer need and would like me to pray for you, I would be honored to do so.
It started about 6-12 months ago with a dull pain in my left hip joint area. Walking long distances (which is a favorite past time of mine) was difficult. It became increasingly more painful and severe as time went by, until now, I am in pain 25-50% of the day. Today has been a bad day. Standing is painful, sitting is better, but I am still hurting some. Lying down is tolerable.
The pain is intense at times. It shoots down my left leg and ends at my ankle. Sometimes the pain skips spots or feels like the muscles are tightening up. Sometimes it is accompanied by back pain, but not always. I have been very conscious of my posture (sitting and standing) and my sleeping positions. I have been trying to stretch as much as possible, but I am not as flexible as I used to be so it is hard.
While I was a church, I really was hurting and an Elder prayed for me. I was touched. My wife initiated the prayer request and I was deeply moved. I have much faith in the power of prayer, but the Elder hinted that I should see a doctor. I know he is right. No disrespect to doctors, but I do not like them. If a back alignment is what is needed, then I need to get that done.
So if you will do me a favor and pray for me, it would mean a lot. If you have a prayer need and would like me to pray for you, I would be honored to do so.
Saturday, November 12, 2005
My Truck, an Old Dog, and a New Friend
Friday I called back to the bank to see what was going on with my truck title and found out that it was mailed to the NC DMV. The customer service rep for the bank has NO idea why, since they had our new address on record (they sent me a notice that my truck was paid for to that address and I got that...). I then went on the NC DMV web page and found out I would have to pay for a duplicate title. Well, I think that the bank will be paying that. I guess I can call them later on that. No major hurry yet.
When I got home my wife informed my our oldest dog was sick. He had diarrhea all day and had not eaten. We were afraid he my become dehydrated and also mess up the house, so we put up a gate across the utility room doorway so he would not wander and make a mess. We left him water and went to be. At 4 AM, my wife woke up to check on him and he had made a huge mess. She took him outside where he continued to make a huge mess on the patio. It was such a sad sight. My wife cleaned up the laundry room mess and I cleaned the patio. At 7 AM, I got up to check on our dog and had discovered that he had messed up the freshly cleaned utility room. I did not fuss, I just let him out and cleaned it up. My wife cleaned up the first mess, I took the second. When the vet opened, my wife called and made an appointment.
I did the vacuuming like I normally do, washed dishes and when that was done, I got cleaned up so my new friend Mike and I could check out the house he is looking at. It is only a couple of miles from here and looks pretty good. It needs some work mind you, but it looks sound enough. Mike is a good guy and he and his wife really want a house. I am praying that God wants them to have one as well. I know that if the time is not right, then God will not let it go through, but if God says it is time, then they will get it.
When I got back, my wife had returned from the vet. She was very upset. It seems that our dog had very bloody diarrhea after she got back. The vet thinks our dog has a parasite as well as an infection. He is on meds now and appears to be doing better this evening.
I finished the days chores by chopping down some seasonal plants that my neighbor asked me to cut. They grow like crazy during the summer. I got two large bags full of them.
Well, I need to go walk the sick dog. My wife is walking the other. Maybe when I get back, I can watch another episode of Space: Above and Beyond. I love that show. To bad they cancelled it.
When I got home my wife informed my our oldest dog was sick. He had diarrhea all day and had not eaten. We were afraid he my become dehydrated and also mess up the house, so we put up a gate across the utility room doorway so he would not wander and make a mess. We left him water and went to be. At 4 AM, my wife woke up to check on him and he had made a huge mess. She took him outside where he continued to make a huge mess on the patio. It was such a sad sight. My wife cleaned up the laundry room mess and I cleaned the patio. At 7 AM, I got up to check on our dog and had discovered that he had messed up the freshly cleaned utility room. I did not fuss, I just let him out and cleaned it up. My wife cleaned up the first mess, I took the second. When the vet opened, my wife called and made an appointment.
I did the vacuuming like I normally do, washed dishes and when that was done, I got cleaned up so my new friend Mike and I could check out the house he is looking at. It is only a couple of miles from here and looks pretty good. It needs some work mind you, but it looks sound enough. Mike is a good guy and he and his wife really want a house. I am praying that God wants them to have one as well. I know that if the time is not right, then God will not let it go through, but if God says it is time, then they will get it.
When I got back, my wife had returned from the vet. She was very upset. It seems that our dog had very bloody diarrhea after she got back. The vet thinks our dog has a parasite as well as an infection. He is on meds now and appears to be doing better this evening.
I finished the days chores by chopping down some seasonal plants that my neighbor asked me to cut. They grow like crazy during the summer. I got two large bags full of them.
Well, I need to go walk the sick dog. My wife is walking the other. Maybe when I get back, I can watch another episode of Space: Above and Beyond. I love that show. To bad they cancelled it.
Thursday, November 10, 2005
Me and My Mango Plant
Over a month ago, I planted a mango seed in some fresh dirt. I kept it in as much sunlight as I could, watered it and for the longest time, I thought nothing was happening. However a week ago or so, I saw the seed begin to germinate and it broke through the soil. A mango plant is beginning to grow.
I did research on mango plants to find out how big they grew and how long they lived. I found out that mango trees can grow 60 feet tall and live to be 300 years old. I may not live long enough to see this little guy produce fruit, but I am hoping I do. The article I found said that mango plants make great tropical indoor plants as long as they get plenty of sunlight and are kept warm enough. I hope it lives!
Yesterday I finished up my two days of training on Netapps. While I was not the ideal candidate, I did learn quite a bit and hope to learn more. I like to learn and practice what I have learned. I want to grow and the only way to grow is to learn new things and use them!
After class, we were asked to go back to the office so all the class and our boss could go out to dinner. We ended up at Razzoo's (a personal favorite) and enjoyed Cajun food and pretty good conversation. I left at 7:30 or so and made it home by 8:8:00 PM.
When I got home, I walked the dogs and washed up the dinner dishes. My wife was at our care group meeting, and as much as I hated to miss it, I needed to serve my wife by taking care of a few things around the house.
I finished up and realized I had indigestion so I grabbed some Tums and settled down with my wife to watch Law and Order. I went to bed as soon as it was over. When I woke up, my stomach and the rest of my digestive system was not in a good mood, so I decided to work from home. I decided to take a few minutes of my lunch break (not that I am eating anything exciting) to post this.
I got a call from my wife who reminded me that I needed to call the bank to find out where my truck title is. I paid it off 2 years ago and I do not remember ever getting it. So I called the bank and was on hold for about 30 minutes and was disconnected. I was going to call back, but I cannot keep wasting minutes on calls like that.
Working from home is rather advantageous. Not only can I be very comfortable, but I can multitask a little easier. It also is quieter.
I did research on mango plants to find out how big they grew and how long they lived. I found out that mango trees can grow 60 feet tall and live to be 300 years old. I may not live long enough to see this little guy produce fruit, but I am hoping I do. The article I found said that mango plants make great tropical indoor plants as long as they get plenty of sunlight and are kept warm enough. I hope it lives!
Yesterday I finished up my two days of training on Netapps. While I was not the ideal candidate, I did learn quite a bit and hope to learn more. I like to learn and practice what I have learned. I want to grow and the only way to grow is to learn new things and use them!
After class, we were asked to go back to the office so all the class and our boss could go out to dinner. We ended up at Razzoo's (a personal favorite) and enjoyed Cajun food and pretty good conversation. I left at 7:30 or so and made it home by 8:8:00 PM.
When I got home, I walked the dogs and washed up the dinner dishes. My wife was at our care group meeting, and as much as I hated to miss it, I needed to serve my wife by taking care of a few things around the house.
I finished up and realized I had indigestion so I grabbed some Tums and settled down with my wife to watch Law and Order. I went to bed as soon as it was over. When I woke up, my stomach and the rest of my digestive system was not in a good mood, so I decided to work from home. I decided to take a few minutes of my lunch break (not that I am eating anything exciting) to post this.
I got a call from my wife who reminded me that I needed to call the bank to find out where my truck title is. I paid it off 2 years ago and I do not remember ever getting it. So I called the bank and was on hold for about 30 minutes and was disconnected. I was going to call back, but I cannot keep wasting minutes on calls like that.
Working from home is rather advantageous. Not only can I be very comfortable, but I can multitask a little easier. It also is quieter.
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
Day 2
I attend my second day of training at Hitachi today. This one will be dedicated to the CLI (Command Line Interface) as opposed to the GUI (Graphical User Interface) we were shown yesterday. While I understand quite a bit of this training, there are parts I need to get clarification on. I am not as talented as my colleagues, since a big part of my training has been in supervising technical teams, not performing the work of the teams.
Tonight is also care group night. I enjoy care groups very much, but my boss has said he wants to meet with all of his reports after training and I am not sure I can get out of that. Not that I do not want to go to this meeting, but I take my spiritual life seriously. Meeting with my Christian brothers and sisters on Wednesday is important to me.
Yesterday was election day in Texas. Prop 2 passed, so marriage is now between 1 man and 1 woman. The percentage that favored Prop 2 was around 75%. No need to tell you how I voted. There were other issues as well, issues dealing with mayoral power and other items, but Prop 2 was the one that drew people out. I waited 2 hours to vote and my scatia never issue was bothering me the entire time. I have noticed that whenever something is important to me, that problem will flare up. The Devil sure knows how to make it rough sometimes, but guess what...it did not work. I still voted.
Tonight is also care group night. I enjoy care groups very much, but my boss has said he wants to meet with all of his reports after training and I am not sure I can get out of that. Not that I do not want to go to this meeting, but I take my spiritual life seriously. Meeting with my Christian brothers and sisters on Wednesday is important to me.
Yesterday was election day in Texas. Prop 2 passed, so marriage is now between 1 man and 1 woman. The percentage that favored Prop 2 was around 75%. No need to tell you how I voted. There were other issues as well, issues dealing with mayoral power and other items, but Prop 2 was the one that drew people out. I waited 2 hours to vote and my scatia never issue was bothering me the entire time. I have noticed that whenever something is important to me, that problem will flare up. The Devil sure knows how to make it rough sometimes, but guess what...it did not work. I still voted.
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
Update
Just a quick update before I go watch "Law and Order, SVU".
I was at a training class today in Dallas. It was held at Hitachi Data Systems lab and was pretty interesting. It was not as far over my head as I thought, even though I was the noob there. The chair did not help my back and I was dying to get out so I could go vote.
Voting...ACK! Not the act, the process. Our area held voting at one location and the setup was horrible. It took 2 hours of standing in line to cast my votes. BtW, the gay marriage bill (stating marriages are between 1 man and 1 woman) past. It was an amendment to our constitution.
I have been on a moving watching kick lately. I finished Blade Trinity, The Princess Bride, The Punisher, and Kingdom of Heaven. Only "The Princess Bride" was any good, but it is a favorite of mine. I still have Unleashed, The Village, National Treasure, and Ronin to watch. I know Ronin will be good.
Ok, of to watch some TV. I am bushed and sore!
I was at a training class today in Dallas. It was held at Hitachi Data Systems lab and was pretty interesting. It was not as far over my head as I thought, even though I was the noob there. The chair did not help my back and I was dying to get out so I could go vote.
Voting...ACK! Not the act, the process. Our area held voting at one location and the setup was horrible. It took 2 hours of standing in line to cast my votes. BtW, the gay marriage bill (stating marriages are between 1 man and 1 woman) past. It was an amendment to our constitution.
I have been on a moving watching kick lately. I finished Blade Trinity, The Princess Bride, The Punisher, and Kingdom of Heaven. Only "The Princess Bride" was any good, but it is a favorite of mine. I still have Unleashed, The Village, National Treasure, and Ronin to watch. I know Ronin will be good.
Ok, of to watch some TV. I am bushed and sore!
Monday, November 07, 2005
Monday Morning Quickie
OK, before I rush out the door for work:
Sunday was nice. My wife and I had lunch with our son (who moved out a month ago) and caught up on things. We had lunch at The Macaroni Grill and was served by our favorite server. That girl is amazing. Even thought we had not been there in 6 months, she remembered our favorite items. She did not have a table open in her section, so she served us at another table anyway. She is a dream.
Our son is doing well, working 2 different jobs after giving up the bartending gig in Richardson. He is now a mechanic and a video store employee. His back is ok after scaring us with a possible ruptured disk.
After lunch, I helped deliver an entertainment center to the family I built the second computer for. She was very happy, almost to the point of tears. I left my "Day of Fire" CD for James to listen to. We listened to part of it while driving to and from the apartment of the evacuee family. He seemed to dig it.
Called mom and my buddy, Blockhead. Talked a total of 2 hours between the two. Mom is ok and Block is bored. He wants to move and after talking to him for a while, I could tell he is miserable in WV. I know I was.
I talked to my brother (first time in a long time!) Friday. He is doing well and thinking of hitching a ride with a "friend" to OK. He will fill me in later. I hope this works out for him. His track record is not so hot with moves.
Gotta run. Busy week ahead with the SOX audit and training all this week. I am not looking forward to it, but I will leave it in God's hands where it belongs.
Sunday was nice. My wife and I had lunch with our son (who moved out a month ago) and caught up on things. We had lunch at The Macaroni Grill and was served by our favorite server. That girl is amazing. Even thought we had not been there in 6 months, she remembered our favorite items. She did not have a table open in her section, so she served us at another table anyway. She is a dream.
Our son is doing well, working 2 different jobs after giving up the bartending gig in Richardson. He is now a mechanic and a video store employee. His back is ok after scaring us with a possible ruptured disk.
After lunch, I helped deliver an entertainment center to the family I built the second computer for. She was very happy, almost to the point of tears. I left my "Day of Fire" CD for James to listen to. We listened to part of it while driving to and from the apartment of the evacuee family. He seemed to dig it.
Called mom and my buddy, Blockhead. Talked a total of 2 hours between the two. Mom is ok and Block is bored. He wants to move and after talking to him for a while, I could tell he is miserable in WV. I know I was.
I talked to my brother (first time in a long time!) Friday. He is doing well and thinking of hitching a ride with a "friend" to OK. He will fill me in later. I hope this works out for him. His track record is not so hot with moves.
Gotta run. Busy week ahead with the SOX audit and training all this week. I am not looking forward to it, but I will leave it in God's hands where it belongs.
Saturday, November 05, 2005
Time to Catch Everyone Up...
We all know that I am horrible at updates, but it I doubt it will get any better any time soon. I will explain later on. Now, on with the updates.
Today: I was able to bless another person (as well as being blessed myself) be delivering PC #2 to a displaced New Orleans family. I delivered the PowerMac G4 Cube to a family in Allen, TX. She almost cried when I set it up. I think I got 2-3 hugs from here and several handshakes from her grandkids and her son. Very nice people.
Previous Week: I started my new position (this is not a promotion, unfortunately) on Tuesday. I am now assisting our Unix group with day to day activities and projects. This is something that is very foreign to me. I know almost nothing about Unix or Sun workstations or the Solaris operating system. I am somewhat familiar with Linux (a variant of Unix) thanx to my sandbox at home.
This job is going to be a challenge technically as well as from a manager/subordinate perspective. My boss and team lead both are tough cookies. Their style conflicts with mine and that will take some time on my part to adjust to. It is not anyone's fault, but the employee should adjust to the mgr's style, not vice versa. They both are very smart, but they are overworked. I do not want to slow them down, but I told them ahead of time what they were getting and they seemed ok with it then. I can learn almost anything when given the tools.
2 Weeks Ago: I went on a job interview outside my company (on my own time) for a position that did not even have a title or classification. I thought I did well, but I am sure that I must have said something wrong (I was nervous, I was a little interviewing with the Director of Help Desk Services) because I have not heard from them other than a terse, but polite e-mail and a card that was snail mailed to me.
Outside of that, nothing much has happened out of the ordinary. I have been helping my wife keep the house clean since our son moved out a month ago. I vacuum and do the dishes and she keeps the laundry and cooking caught up (plus a bazillion other things she does). I was surprised how much our son did around here.
Well, I need to go mow grass today, most likely for the last time this year.
Today: I was able to bless another person (as well as being blessed myself) be delivering PC #2 to a displaced New Orleans family. I delivered the PowerMac G4 Cube to a family in Allen, TX. She almost cried when I set it up. I think I got 2-3 hugs from here and several handshakes from her grandkids and her son. Very nice people.
Previous Week: I started my new position (this is not a promotion, unfortunately) on Tuesday. I am now assisting our Unix group with day to day activities and projects. This is something that is very foreign to me. I know almost nothing about Unix or Sun workstations or the Solaris operating system. I am somewhat familiar with Linux (a variant of Unix) thanx to my sandbox at home.
This job is going to be a challenge technically as well as from a manager/subordinate perspective. My boss and team lead both are tough cookies. Their style conflicts with mine and that will take some time on my part to adjust to. It is not anyone's fault, but the employee should adjust to the mgr's style, not vice versa. They both are very smart, but they are overworked. I do not want to slow them down, but I told them ahead of time what they were getting and they seemed ok with it then. I can learn almost anything when given the tools.
2 Weeks Ago: I went on a job interview outside my company (on my own time) for a position that did not even have a title or classification. I thought I did well, but I am sure that I must have said something wrong (I was nervous, I was a little interviewing with the Director of Help Desk Services) because I have not heard from them other than a terse, but polite e-mail and a card that was snail mailed to me.
Outside of that, nothing much has happened out of the ordinary. I have been helping my wife keep the house clean since our son moved out a month ago. I vacuum and do the dishes and she keeps the laundry and cooking caught up (plus a bazillion other things she does). I was surprised how much our son did around here.
Well, I need to go mow grass today, most likely for the last time this year.
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