Sumtin sumtin

New Job!

2008-02-01T11:10:00.001-06:00

Wheeee!!!

I've finally found myself a full time position. That means better benefits, and more growth opportunities. Starting on Monday, I'm going to be working for Pogo.com (EA). Check them out and play the games. Yay, games!!!

I will also get to work in San Francisco from time to time. That doesn't suck at all.

(I'm quite happy right now)

It's been forever...

2007-12-07T12:45:00.000-06:00

...since I've touched this blog. Today is a special day, though. As of today, I have been cancer free for one year!

(Apologies to Melizza for not writing about our 1 year anniversary nearly 4 months ago. I...uh...was just to busy enjoying all of our wonderful moments together to bother writing about it.)

Employed

2007-07-19T18:19:00.001-05:00

Well, I've been employed for a few weeks now. All I got to say is that it beats being unemployed.

Unemployed

2007-04-18T13:00:00.000-05:00

I've been unemployed for about 2.5 weeks now. It's not so fun. I think I would be enjoying it a lot more if I hadn't just bought a house. Luckily, I saved enough money to get by for a while, about 6 months or so. I'd much rather get a new job right away. I've been applying to pretty much every appropriate job in the Austin area that I can find. It's getting a lot harder to find new ones to apply to. The job market doesn't seem to be bad out here, and I'm talking to a ton of recruiters, but I haven't managed to land any interviews, yet. Not cool.

I knew I was getting laid off 2 weeks before I became unemployed. I found out on the Ides of March. I think it was uncool of my employer to go all Shakespearean on me.

It's nice staying home and all, but I seem to be spending half of my time looking for other jobs, and not enjoying myself, or taking care of the house as much as I'd like. Here's hoping I get a new job, soon.

Quick Update

2007-03-02T17:07:00.000-06:00

For those of you who are wondering if I survived my surgery, afterall, worry not, I am fine. I've still got a bit of healing to do, but my wounds don't really prevent me from doing anything. Also, according to the doctors, who are, as a general rule, pretty smart folks, all of the melanoma has been removed, which leaves me a cancer free individual.

Also, I have moved into my house. So come and visit me, already.

House

2006-12-20T14:29:00.001-06:00

Living room
Originally uploaded by qortez.

I bought a house. It rocks. Everyone needs to come visit. Please wait until after I move in, though.

Update

2006-12-08T08:34:00.001-06:00

Surgery went smoothly. I'm doing pretty well.

The big day

2006-12-06T23:50:00.000-06:00

I'm having surgery in the morning. I have to check in to the hospital in just over 8 hours. I'm not allowed to eat or drink anything before then, not even water. My first procedure is at 10am. My actual surgery, is scheduled to start at noon. The surgery requires a plastic surgeon to come in to seal the wound with a skin graft. He is scheduled to do his thing at 1:30pm. I suspect that I won't be out of surgery until 2:30 at the earliest. Then, I'll probably have to be in observation for a good while. I'm wondering if I'm going to get home before 5.

I'm very nervous about going in for surgery. Which is probably why I'm still up, instead of going to bed. How much sleep would I get, anyway? I will go to bed, after I finish this post. I've never done well around doctors. I've been known to get light headed almost every time I see a doctor. It doesn't even matter why I'm seeing the doctor. Recently, it's been a lot worse. This would be due to my last surgery, and all the stuff I've been told about my next one. I'm just hoping that they dope me up really good tomorrow. In all honesty, I don't want to remember a damn thing.

The skin for the graft is most likely going to come from my leg (left, I think). I think my thigh is the most likely spot. I'm told that this will resemble a scrape on my leg, but will still be quite painful. I live on the 3rd floor of my building, and there are no elevators. I'm a bit worried about being able to climb the stairs. I'm told I should be fine, but that's of little comfort. I'm also worried about being able to drive. I drive a standard, so I need both legs to drive. If I get stuck in traffic, my left leg does a lot of work. I'm told that shouldn't be an issue, either, again, little comfort.

Then there's the not-so-small matter of my arm. I'm told that I need to move my arm as little as possible for the first few days. This will help ensure that the skin graft takes, and heals properly. If the skin graft doesn't take, I'll essentially have a patch of dead skin sewn to my arm. That's not a pretty thought. I don't think not using my left arm will be much of a problem, but I could be wrong.

Lastly, my company's holiday party is on Friday night. I had already RSVP'd to attend. This was before I knew that my surgery was going to be the day before (I think I had been diagnosed with melanoma at that point). I still want to go to this party. My attendance is entirely dependent on how I'm feeling on Friday night. I have someone who can drive me to the party, and I won't have to stay long. I'm really hoping that I can do it.

I just want to be done with this whole mess.

Luck of the Bad Variety

2006-11-30T20:22:00.000-06:00

As mentioned previously, I have skin cancer. That's bad luck right there. Before I was diagnosed, however, they had to cut out a mole for a biopsy. The wound from the cut got infected. More bad luck. Shortly after that, I got a bug bite very near that very same wound. I think it was a spider. The bite is close enough for the bandage to rub against it, and be very painful, if I'm not careful. That's some pretty crappy luck right there.

However, the infection is getting better, as is the bug bite. I go into surgery to treat the cancer on December 7th. After that, I'll be cancer free. At that point, I'll consider my luck to be on an upswing.

Giving Thanks

2006-11-27T12:11:00.000-06:00

It's been a really rough year, actually. I moved to a new city, and had a very hard time getting myself adjusted. I still question whether or not I'm really adjusted to my new home. Recently, I've been diagnosed with melanoma, which is the most aggressive form of skin cancer. Still, I've much to be thankful for.

I've decided to stay in Austin for a few more years, at least. To make my time here more comfortable, I've decided to buy a house. A nice 4 bedroom, two bath, house with wood floors and a hot tub. I'm really looking forward to moving in to that place. Moreso because my apartment sucks.

Despite having cancer, I am thankful that the cancer was still small, and in it's early stages. It should be cured whenever I go in for my next surgery. I'll lose a big chunk of my arm, but I'll be done with cancer after that. Can't be unhappy about that. Also, my girlfriend of few months has been amazingly supportive and helpful during this period. I'm immensely thankful for her. I don't think I'd been in nearly as good of spirits without her.

I'm starting to make some new friends in Austin. So, I'm really starting to get my life together down here. I'm quite thankful there. I still have awesome friends in Dallas, and I'm quite thankful for them as well. I still go up to visit them frequently (although not quite as often as I used to).

There's more to be thankful of, to be sure, but those are the big ones. Aside from having cancer, life is good. And the cancer is only temporary.

Missed Opportunity

2006-10-04T23:43:00.000-05:00

When I came home from some nice blues dancing tonight, the sprinklers near my apartment were on, which is not unusual. However, one of the sprinklers was broken, and was shooting water into the air as high as my building (3 stories). I thought that phenomenon would make a good subject for a photograph. So, I went into my apartment, grabbed my camera, and walked right back outside. When I got to the stairs, the sprinklers were turning off. Saddened by my defeat, I walked back into my apartment.

If I remember, I may see if the sprinkler is still busted tomorrow night. If it is, I may get that picture, yet.

30 cents...

2006-09-21T12:15:00.000-05:00

...per gallon. That's the difference in gas prices I saw yesterday within a few miles of my place. I'm sure there are gas stations in town with more expensive gas, too. It's a bit ridiculous.

Dreams

2006-07-18T11:12:00.000-05:00

Lately, I've been having lots of crazy dreams. I think this causes me to not sleep as well, or not feel as rested as I otherwise would (afterall, my mind was crazy busy all night). Usually, I'll dream of people trying to kill me and saving the world and other action packed themes. Last night was different. I had a particularly creepy dream, as well as a particularly fun dream (but light on the action).

I don't remember a whole lot about the creepy dream. Only that I was visiting some place, and that everytime I went to sleep, there would be a whole lot of crabs and bugs and other critters that would crawl on by. Not just on the floor, but on everything, including me. It was very hard to sleep in the dream with thousands of things crawling on top of the blankets. Very creepy. For some reason, I don't think that was the first time I had a dream like that.

The other dream, was much more enjoyable. There was some dancing, but the focus was a group of my friends and I playing catch in a park. It wasn't a regular game of catch, however, as everyone could use The Force (yes, I'm a nerd) to manipulate the ball. There were a few rules, like whoever was throwing the ball couldn't use The Force, and you couldn't use The Force until the ball was in the air. It did make the ball do some crazy weird things, though. It was quite a bit of fun.

New York, revisited

2006-07-07T13:31:00.000-05:00

I visited New York city again. This time for the 4th of July.

The trip began with me being stuck in the very back of the plane, with no window, an engine right next to my head, and 4 very loud and annoying kids in two rows in front of me. Add the fact that I didn't have time to eat dinner at my next stop and it's obvious that it wasn't a pleasant time at all.

The unpleasant times ceased upon getting to New York, where there were friends, both old and new. There was an expedition to Connecticut, to see MacBeth, in a park. A nice relaxing time. There was an outing to the American Museum of Natural History. Which is a fantastic museum and I highly recommend it to everyone. A little later that night, my foot started to hurt, but I sucked it up and didn't let it stop me from enjoying myself. There was also an outing to Coney Island and the New York City Aquarium. Which was also enjoyable. The last major event was a firworks watching/blues dancing party. Many good times were had, and the fireworks were pretty cool. There was lots of little enjoyable aspects of the trip as well, but I don't feel like writing about them.

I got to the airport early for my return trip. I saw that my flight was an hour late (which meant a 4 hour wait). So, I decided to try to get standby on a flight that was supposed to leave in an hour (sounded really good to me, and I could have gotten in Austin by 9). I didn't know it at the time, but that flight was also an hour late, but 2 hours is still better than 4. At the time I got to the gate, I was #5 on the standby list. I grabbed some food and then looked at the list again, I had gotten pushed back to #27. I'm guessing that some flights had been cancelled due to the rain that morning, and that's why people got in front of me, so I wasn't too upset about it. I just admitted defeat, and checked in to my original flight.

It got to be about the time for my flight to leave, and they hadn't started boarding yet. Having been in the airport for 4 hours, I was getting a bit impatient. Then they announced that our plane was out of service, and the flight was cancelled. Then they made everybody stand in line to get a new flight. This is when having a hurt foot really started to suck (all the other walking around I did made it hurt a lot, and I was limping pretty heavily). I had to wait in line for 45 minutes to get my new flight scheduled and thought I was going to collapse from the pain. They couldn't get me on a flight that night, so they put me up in a hotel for the night. Which wasn't too bad. Unfortunately, my bag had made it on a plane. As luck would have it, all of my clean clothes were on that bag. So that really sucked.

The remainder of the trip went as follows: check in to hotel, eat, relax a bit, go to bed, wake up super damn early, shower, go to airport, catch flights home, wander around the massive amount of bags that arrived the night before, not seeing mine, talk to airline employees and learn that it may have been on my flight, wait for my bag to be unloaded from the plane, get bag, notice it has significantly more wear and tear than the last time I saw it, get food, go home, change to clean clothes, go to work.

Somehow my bag had gone to Phoenix. I don't know what's up with that. The damage to it sucks, but I'm just happy that it wasn't lost.

So, in summary, very good trip. I would only change the hurt foot, and the flight situation. Pictures should be up sometime this weekend.

This may be the most personal post I've ever made

2006-06-21T11:38:00.000-05:00

Back in college, there was a young lady who would frequently ask me how I'm doing. I would usually reply with, "I'm alright." To which she would respond, "Just alright?" I never quite knew how to respond to that. I wasn't unhappy in college, but I wasn't happy either. Being alright was the best I could do. I didn't quite understand how that wasn't good enough for her.

Fast forward several years, and I was still just alright. I would have burst of happiness, but such bursts were always short lived. Then something happened. I was attending a lindy exchange in New Orleans and was really enjoying myself. That's fairly common for exchanges, and I usually crash pretty hard when they are over. But this one was different. I didn't crash when it was over. A month later, I was still just as happy as I was during that event. I'm not sure what the trigger was, but if I were still in contact with that woman from college, I would have told her that I was doing good, or maybe even great. I finally understood why alright wasn't good enough.

This period of happiness lasted most of the year. It was followed by a brief period of more happiness than I had thought possible, and then followed by a very big crash and my move to Austin, which totally changed my life. It's been a rough 4 months since I've moved, but I think I'm at the point where I'm doing alright, most of the time. Now that I know the difference between alright and good, I'm trying to make things better for me, rather than just let them stay alright. Here's hoping it doesn't take too long.

What a difference a storm makes

2006-06-17T13:02:00.000-05:00

Not So Trickling Water
Originally uploaded by qortez.

When I was hoping for a good storm last night, I had no idea that we would have one the next morning. It prompted me to visit the creek again today, just to see what difference it made.

As I was walking across the bridge, I could hear the massive amount of water flowing underneath me. When I got closer, the waterfall was all I could hear.

I like this place.

I think I may have found a happy spot

2006-06-16T21:09:00.000-05:00

Trickling Water
Originally uploaded by qortez.

It's really close to home, too. I found it on accident as I was walking back home from my second trip to the tracks. Although this place is under a bridge, I found it to be quite relaxing.

I can't wait to visit this place after (or maybe even during) a good rain storm. The trickling water should be a bit more dramatic, then.

I did end up going to the tracks...

2006-06-13T23:19:00.000-05:00

Looking Down the Line
Originally uploaded by qortez.

...but I didn't win any money. Maybe I went to the wrong kind of tracks for that. I'm pretty sure these tracks aren't used at the moment, but I still found myself being somewhat paranoid about the potential of oncoming trains. I kept looking over to the street at the guard signals, just to reassure myself that I was safe. Still, I think I want to go back and walk down the line some more.

My trip to Dallas was somewhat disappointing. This makes the second trip in a row that didn't live up to what I had hoped. I still had fun, though, and it won't stop me from going back to Dallas next weekend. If this next trip is also a bust, then I might have to rethink the frequency of my visits.

Another First

2006-06-08T17:10:00.000-05:00

I saw my first snake in Austin today. It was in between the buildings at work.

I'm sure everyone cares about that.

In other news, I have this unbelievable urge to walk to the rail road tracks near my apartment tonight. If I do, I'll probably have some pictures up next week (after I get back from Dallas).

The first one!

2006-06-07T23:23:00.000-05:00

I saw my first possum of Austin tonight.

Yeah, so my updating sucks lately.

Work/Life Balance

2006-05-23T15:44:00.000-05:00

Every employer probably talks about how it's very important to have a work/life balance. I think I had a decent work/life balance when I lived in Dallas. I'm yet to come up with an appropriate balance in Austin. Part of the problem is the 40 hour work week. Part of the problem is actually having to be at work by a certain time. Part of the problem is that my life generally takes place after 10pm, and a few things go after midnight. Another part of the problem is that I don't have an established friend base here, so it takes extra time to get the same amount of enjoyment.

Lately, I've been giving work the priority (since money is very nice), and leaving dances and other events earlier than I would like, so I can almost get enough sleep for the next day. I think this has caused me to have an excess of stress in general (since I'm not able to enjoy myself as much). I'm also thinking that this practice might be causing me to miss some social opportunities with high potential, if you know what I mean. The real question is, how do I give myself more fun time, and still be mildy functional at work (preferably moreso)?

Bollocks 2.5-ish

2006-05-18T17:58:00.000-05:00

Case dismissed.

DLX 2006....Continued edition

2006-05-18T11:49:00.000-05:00

I can't believe I forgot to mention the people that decided to drive down 17th near Colorado, while high, at 5:30 in the morning. This wasn't just a one time occurrence. It happened on both Saturday and Sunday mornings, on the same stretch of road.

On Saturday, the person was just driving slow, and randomly hitting the brakes. Not too funny, not too exciting. The person on Sunday was much more interesting, however. They too, were driving really slow and randomly applying the brakes. Then they decided that they needed to drive over the double yellow line. They seemed to drive over it for some time. I passed them, so I couldn't keep an eye on them after that. I had to wait at the light for a little while and they had caught up to me. They did stop at the light, there was just one issue. They were two lanes to my left, and I was in the left-most turning lane. So, they were there, stopped, in a lane for the other direction. When the light turned green, I turned, and they just stayed there. My passenger watched and noted that the traffic going the other direction just went around them.

I wonder what it is about that stretch of road that says, "Drive here when you're high?"

Denver Lindy Exchange 2006 Edition

2006-05-17T16:51:00.000-05:00

I love Denver. Every time I visit, I have a great time. I had even planned on moving there. In fact, I had been trying to move there for years. Then I got a job in Austin. What's up with that?

Anyway, on to the exchange.

Upon arriving in Denver, I went to the meet and greet where I proceeded to see a whole bunch of people I hadn't seen in a while, meet some new people, get some good chatting in, and get my ass kicked in a game of pool. Then there was food, and dance. A lot of dance. Even though I felt ready to go at 2am-ish. I ended up staying until closing (5am...which also happened to be sunrise).

Saturday, I got a late start to the day. I would have preferred a later start, but I was pulled from my slumber so I could be added as a driver to the official DLX rental car. Then I had to get ready. Luckily, I managed to make it to the Karaoke/dance in the afternoon just before they stopped serving food (good thing, as I was starving). Good times ensued, despite the extreme temperatures in the dancing area. That night, more dancing in hot rooms with some quality time with certain individuals thrown in for good measure. Good times indeed. Stayed until closing yet again (still 5am, still sunrise).

Sunday was another late-ish start. The daytime activity was chillin' in the park (at least for me it was). There were games with much hilarity, and good relaxing times were had. Dinner ended up being a great meal consisting of sushi. Then there was more dancing. Always a good time. Between the main dance and the late night dance, I had been suckered into driving the sound equipment back to it's home (since I was a driver on the rental). Really no big deal, though. I was sad to have to leave the late night early, as one of Austin's DJs was playing an amazing set. But, people had to get to the airport, and as a sucker...I mean driver, I was the one to take them.

Got like 2 hours of sleep, and headed to the airport.

There you go, DLX...a summary. It was the first DLX I've left on a Monday instead of a Wednesday. That was kinda weird and wholly disappointing.

When Bad Ideas Go....Good?

2006-05-15T23:53:00.000-05:00

I spent the weekend at the latest edition of the Denver Lindy Exchange. More on the exchange later. During the weekend (Friday to Monday), I got maybe 12 hours of sleep (including the sleep on the plane). Normally when this happens, I go home, and go to bed. Today, however, I was unable to fall asleep. I tried a couple of different times, and just had no luck. This lack of sleep put into question my plans for going out dancing (because I just didn't get enough over the weekend). The dancing on Monday nights starts at 10pm. I usually leave this dance at the first band break, around 11pm. Which gets me in bed around midnight (which is basically now). So, moving on, having gotten no nap, it was a really bad idea to go out dancing tonight. I was in a bad mood, though (partially due to PED*), so I really needed to get out. I must say that it was worth it. I'm in a much better mood now (not great, but better). Hopefully this, and the sleepy time tea I'm currently sipping, will make for a night of great sleep.

*Post Exchange Depression

Dallas, the City that Always Treats Me Right

2006-04-30T20:55:00.000-05:00

I had a crappy week last week, so I decided to go to Dallas to make me feel better. It worked. Even though I was only there for about 24 hours, it was a day filled with good food and good people. I'm glad I have so many good friends there. Now I just need to get a good group of friends down here in Austin, and I'll be a happy man.

Sure he looks sweet and innocent...

2006-04-26T10:23:00.000-05:00

Buddy
Originally uploaded by qortez.

But every now and then, Buddy (pictured above), turns into a little monster (pictured below)!

Monster Buddy
Originally uploaded by qortez.

This happened last night. I was having trouble falling asleep, so I thought I'd pet the cats next to me. Petting them usually relaxes me, and helps me sleep. It was at this time, that Buddy made his transformation. Normally, I can see it coming, and take evasive action, but since I was trying to sleep, he caught me off guard. He was able to maul my arm pretty good before I pried him off me. Knowing he would soon have to face my wrath, he ran away and turned back into the sweet and innocent cat. He lay in the middle of the living room floor, belly in the air. Which, as we all no, is cat for, "Look, I'm exceedingly cute and you must love me!"

How can a guy say no to that?

Night of a Thousand Dreams

2006-04-17T09:34:00.000-05:00

For the last week or so, each nights sleep has been rather hectic. I've been having a very large number of completely unrelated dreams each night. I can't really remember details, but it's almost as if my mind was opening a random series of books and making a dream out of a random page. Generally speaking, I don't think I've had any clue what was going on. In fact, I'm certain that the whole experience leaves me quite confused. Sometimes I wake up between the dreams, and sometimes I don't. The end result is that I feel like I didn't sleep much at all.

Bollocks 2.14

2006-03-30T23:45:00.000-06:00

I'm not very happy. I went to court tonight, to take care of my ticket. I was expecting to have a trial and all that. Apparently, that's not how it works. The last time I went to the court was to set up a date for me to appear in court. The purpose of this appearance, seemed to be so I could tell them exactly the same thing I told them a month ago. So, now, they are going to send me my trial date in the mail. Which means I have to appear in court, again. Which is not cool.

Homecoming Part 2: The Revenge

2006-03-26T20:18:00.000-06:00

Actually, no revenge. My entire weekend rocked and was just what I needed. Thank you Dallas, see you soon!

Homecoming

2006-03-25T13:58:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, I embarked on my first trip back to Dallas since I left about 6 weeks ago. I had been looking forward to the trip all day. Not only because I left work a little early, but also because I was going to see a lot of my friends. During the drive back, I actually felt like I was driving home. It is unfortunate that Austin doesn't feel like home yet, but Dallas was home for nearly 6 years.

So far, this trip has not disappointed me at all. It was very nice to get to see a lot of my friends last night. Most of them seemed really happy to see me, which is always a nice feeling and some didn't know I had left. I've already seen most of the people I want to see, and I'm hoping to get the rest tonight.

It's good to know that there is a place where I will always feel loved and welcome.

I'm not sure I should admit this

2006-03-22T10:45:00.000-06:00

My alarm has been scaring me in the mornings. That is, every morning it goes off, for at least the past week. It doesn't matter if I was briefly awake 15 minutes prior to it going off, it will still scare me. Sure, the fear only lasts for a brief moment, only until I realize that I'm at home, in my bed, and that my alarm clock is making all that awful noise. Still, I never had this problem before. What's up with that?

Desire

2006-03-18T11:59:00.000-06:00

Chapter 6: Mrs. Merryweather and the Kodama
Originally uploaded by Wyrd.

I saw this picture of a Tree Spirit from Princess Mononoke and decided that I want one. I also want a plush Cthulhu.

Is it bad...

2006-03-17T12:16:00.000-06:00

...that the second person I know that has seen the inside of my apartment lives in Colorado?

On mornings like these...

2006-03-14T10:39:00.000-06:00

...I wish I didn't have such a high caffeine tolerance.

Loss

2006-03-12T11:00:00.000-06:00

For the past week, things had really started looking up for me, especially financially (not that I was hurting in that area). However, I'm finding myself extraordinarily sad. It's because I think I officially lost a friend yesterday. It was someone I had a lot of respect for, but everything I tried to do to prevent the loss just made things worse.

Gate Update

2006-03-04T13:23:00.000-06:00

So, I've come to find out, that my gate key wasn't in the system at all. It sure was nice of them to give me a key that wasn't in the system. Also, my number can't be programmed into the gate system, because it isn't a local number. That makes having guests rather problematic.

I really dislike gated communities

2006-03-04T01:22:00.000-06:00

I happen to live in one now. Up until today, the gate had been broken since I moved in, so it hasn't really bothered me. Today, though, I was able to discover that my key to the gate doesn't work. Not only that, but for some reason, my phone number isn't programmed into their system, so I couldn't open the gate that way. So, I had to wait for someone to leave the community. This was at 1:30am, not exactly a high traffic time. Also, the entrance is sort of designed so people don't come in the exit gate. I barely made it through.

Stupid gated communities.

Bollocks 2.0

2006-02-22T23:15:00.000-06:00

I got another speeding ticket. This one for only 10 over. I had no idea what the speed limit actually was, though.

Fog

2006-02-22T00:11:00.000-06:00

Fog
Originally uploaded by qortez.

Having grown up in the desert, I didn't have many oportunities to experience fog. There would be something like one foggy morning every couple of years.

Now that I live in Texas, it seems like I get to see fog fairly often. I'm not sure I'll ever get used to it, though. Sometimes it's no big deal, you can still see well enough. Then there are those really thick patches, where you can hardly see. Those are creepy.

Two Weeks

2006-02-20T14:21:00.000-06:00

As of tomorrow, I will have lived in Austin for two weeks. My new apartment doesn't feel even remotely close to home, yet. This may be partly due to the fact that once I reached a certain level of unpacked, I just kinda stopped. Also, it's just going to take time. I'm not doing too good on the social front, either, but I've only gone out a few times. I can't expect things to happen right away.

Work is good so far, I should actually start doing real work this week. The work sounds interesting, so here's hoping. Also, even though I work for a big mega corporation, our team is remarkably small, and so there's a nice cozy work environment. That is definitely a nice change from my previous job.

So, I'm still settling in. It's only been two weeks, so I can't really complain. As I get more settled in, I think I'm going to really enjoy myself here.

Stressed?

2006-02-14T00:31:00.000-06:00

Yes, I am. It isn't so much the fact that I start a new job tomorrow. It's more the little things that I need to get done, and won't. The fact that I got back from New Orleans about 3-ish hours later than I hoped is a big contributer. My New Orleans trip was great, by the way. Another, is the fact that I'll get at most 6 hours of sleep, if I even sleep at all. (Yes, I know I should be getting in bed instead of posting this).

Things really aren't working out so well for me right now. Here's hoping work goes well tomorrow, and I have a chance to catch up on some of my errands. Getting some rest would be nice as well. If not, maybe I ought to take up drinking.

Not Smooth

2006-02-09T10:56:00.000-06:00

So, um, yeah, the move didn't go smoothly at all. The movers were an hour late to pick up my stuff. Which wasn't too bad, since they called and let me know. I used the extra time to get some food. This was at 9:30am.

After the loaded everything, I rushed to get everything done that I needed to. Which ended up taking darn near an hour. At this point, I was thinking the movers might have a good head start on me. I got to my new apartment in just over 3 hours, which put me there about 4pm. 6pm came around, and no word from the movers. I call them up, and they say 15 minutes. So, okay, not too bad.

2 hours later, the movers show up. I finally get all my stuff in the apartment at 9:30pm. Now, I could finally eat dinner.

So, yeah, blah on moving day.

In less than 12 hours

2006-02-06T22:50:00.000-06:00

I will be watching the movers pack up all my stuff in their truck to drive it to Austin. I thought I would have enough boxes to pack everything myself, unfortunately, this is not quite the case. I could use 2 or 3 more, so not too bad.

So far, this move has not gone smoothly at all. I had a hell of a time setting up all my utilities at my new apartment. Then I got a call telling me that particular apartment won't be available, and I'll be in a different one. So, I had another hell of a time changing everything over to the new apartment number. There's been a few other things that have increased the stress levels. Hopefully, this is the end of all that extra moving drama and tomorrow will be silky smooth.

This has been a great apartment, and I just love the layout. It will be missed. However, since I tore everything down, it just doesn't feel like home anymore. It will probably be a long time before my new apartment feels like home. So right now, I have no place to call home, and it sucks.

Also, I'm still not 100% convinced that I'm making a good decision here. I'm quite nervous. Too nervous for my liking. This has just caused my brain to be all over the place, and essentially mush. Which is not cool.

I'm going to be without internet for the next couple of days. Hopefully, I'll be connected again on Thursday.

Napping

2006-01-31T16:49:00.000-06:00

Every now and then, I feel like taking a nap. On occasion, I actually manage to lay down for a while. A little less often, I actually sleep a reasonable amount. Other times, I'm not sure if I've slept at all. Today, was one of those "naps". I lay down for about 45 minutes, but I have no clue whether I actually slept or not. I'm guessing that I did, since I remember a dreaming of sorts. Not like a real dream, though, just random images or something. The only one I recall at this point was watching a sidewalk move by, as if I were in a car driving next to it. When I actually registered what I was seeing, I was awake, again. Not at all sleepy, as if I had never actually fallen asleep. This happened to me several more times throughout the "nap", although I don't remember what the other images were.

I've had this sort of thing happen to me several times before, and I never really thought about it. But really, it's kind of weird.

Someone needs to invent a dream camera

2006-01-25T17:57:00.000-06:00

Sometimes, in a dream, there is a scene that you just want to save. In my dreams last night, there were several scenes of that sort. I even took pictures of them in my dreams. At some point during the dream, I realized that was a pointless task, since I wouldn't really be able to keep the pictures.

Hence the idea that someone needs to invent a dream camera. You know, for those special moments you don't want to forget.

Austin Bound

2006-01-17T18:56:00.000-06:00

Frost Tower (P0744)
Originally uploaded by Chokma.

I'm not talking about bondage here. But, I am moving to Austin. This fills me with all kinds of excitement and dread. This, coupled with some other crap going on in my life, makes my mood have more ups and downs than the roller coasters at Six Flags. However, I am quite certain this is a good move for me. Once everything settles down, I'm sure to be a much happier person.

The job sounds a lot more interesting than what I got right now. I also won't have to work in a vault. On top of that, they are going to give me more money. Who can argue with that arrangement? Although, I am somewhat nervous about starting a new job. I feel like I haven't learned anything in the past 5 years. I can't help but feeling I might be getting in over my head.

I'm much more worried on the social front. As everyone knows, I'm socially not so much. While I do know quite a few people in Austin, I don't know anybody very well. There are a couple of people, however, that I'm really hoping to get to know a lot better once I get down there. At least one of them has boatloads of friends, so I'm hoping that finding my social happy spot won't be too bad.

I can't wait to move down there, but at the same time, I'm going to miss a lot of the people/places up here.

Wish me luck, and come visit.

Memory is a funny thing

2006-01-07T12:12:00.000-06:00

Last night, for no reason whatsoever, an old friend popped into my head. I hadn't thought about her in years. I can't even remember when I thought about her last. I do remember her well, though. We weren't friends for very long, only about a semester during my junior year in high school. She sat next to me in my creative writing class. At the time, my social anxiety was much worse than it is now, but she was a very outgoing person and wasn't going to let me hide in my shell for long. I didn't go very far outside of my shell, but it seemed like enough at the time. She had managed to become my friend, even though I never said much. The fact that she didn't give up on me, and was dedicated to being a friend is what makes her important to me.

She graduated that year, and I never saw or heard from her again. I hope she is doing well. She certainly had a positive effect on my life.

I think I almost killed someone today

2006-01-04T21:19:00.000-06:00

It would have been their fault, though. It is stuck in my mind more than I would think an event when nothing happened should. I was on my way home, tired, and with dry eyes. I was about to switch lanes. I signaled, and made sure the lane was clear. I started to move over when I heard the motorcylce's engine. I look again, and saw it coming. I quickly slowed down and got back in my lane. Within seconds, the motorcycle was quite far ahead of me. I'm guessing it was doing at least 90mph, compared to my 60ish. At that speed, I'm sure I didn't miss it, it just wasn't there at the time I looked. I'm glad I didn't have my music any louder. I'm not sure the rider would have had time to avoid me, had I completed the lane change. And at that speed, and all the other traffic around me, it would have been ugly.

Nothing did happen, and it wouldn't have been my fault if something had, but I'm kinda shaken up by it all the same.

Last Year's Favorite Pictures

2006-01-02T12:26:00.000-06:00

Click here.

God must hate the right side of my car

2005-12-18T15:08:00.000-06:00

New Car Scratches
Originally uploaded by qortez.

I was driving along, not a worry in the world. When, all of the sudden, a big chunk of wood flew at my car, scaring the crap out of me.

Apparently, the car in front of me ran over this chunk of wood, which sent it flying at me. There was no way for me to avoid it, since I didn't see it until after it hit my car. Luckily, my car's kung fu is strong, and it shattered the piece of wood with only a few scratches.

Here are all the pictures.

Picture 1

Picture 2

Picture 3

Denver in December

2005-12-08T18:34:00.000-06:00

A few weekends ago, my annual December trip landed me in Denver. Which happens to be the same location as my first annual December trip. It was just that good the first time.

On the way out of town, we stopped for food at the Friday's in the airport. We ended up getting the food to go, since we were a bit shorter on time than I realized. Right before getting on the plane, I grabbed my bacon cheese burger from the bag (since I was not sitting near my travel companions). When I got on the plane, I began to eat my cheeseburger and noticed that I had no bacon. The bacon was stored in a speparate container, which was beyond my reach. I had to have a bacon-less bacon cheeseburger. I was not happy. Things got worse from there, however. Usually, I sleep when I'm on a plane. But the crying baby in the next row made this impossible. Also, when the flight attendents came around taking drink orders, I asked for a water. Since I was the only one in my row that wanted a drink, the flight attendant proceeded to take the orders for the next row, which seemed reasonable enough. She then poured all the drinks (including my water), and gave the next row their drinks. She couldn't seem to remember why she poured the water, though, and proceeded to get the other passengers' drink orders. During which time, I was unable to get her attention. So I had to ask the other flight attendant as he walked by. All this inconvenience before we had even entered the state of Colorado. It was not a good start to the weekend.

Luckily, the plane ride was by far the worst part of the weekend.

We didn't do anything exciting Thursday night, just hung out and watched Donnie Darko. Which happens to be a somewhat creepy movie. Friday, due to some unforseen circumstances, our lovely hostess was unable to be present for much of the day, leaving 3 very hungry people to fend for themselves in her home. Luckily, a previous guest had ordered pizza, and the box (with the delivery address) was still available. Using this information, pizza was delivered and starvation was avoided. That night, hanging out and dancing insued. Followed by quite the snow storm.

Saturday was a trip to Boulder. Where walking around in the cold and visiting various stores was the entertainment of the day. Pretty good entertainment at that. Follow this by some really good dancing and it made for a fantastic time.

Sunday required an early rise out of bed in order to go to breakfast. The location was a place called Bump and Grind. A place, where the entire waitstaff is in drag. This was interesting, but what was even more so was the food. It was absolutely fantastic. We also pretended it was Tommy's birthday, to get a good laugh (and free cake). Later in the day was a house warming type party where much hanging out-ness ensued. A few of us cut out of the party early to go dancing in Colorado Springs. Good times were had.

Monday was an extremely cold day. So, we ended up spending the afternoon at a Mile High Comics store, and later one of the warehouses for Mile High Comics. It was a good way to pass the time. Then a little relaxation time was had before heading to the airport. The return flight was fine, but the plane landed at the wrong terminal. I'm sure the pilot thought she was supposed to go there, but everyone else was confused. This followed by the typical "wait for the damn bus" activity at DFW. So, about an hour after landing, we were on the road home.

It was my first weekend without the girlfriend in quite some time. I had no idea I could miss somebody so much. Still, I had a good time. It would have been better with her, though.

Thanksgiving

2005-12-01T00:26:00.000-06:00

It's a little late-ish, but oh well.

It seems that I didn't have a lot to be thankful for the last several years. Sure I have a comfortable life, good friends, and all that. Something was missing, though. For whatever reason, I just wasn't all that happy. Within the last year, I found happiness. Nothing had really changed, I guess I just realized that I really didn't have any reason to not be happy. Since then, I've had a fantastic time. Sure, there are a few things I would like to change, but I'm not going to let those things get me down.

This Thanksgiving, I found myself having a lot to be thankful for. I'm thankful that my employer allowed me to take 3 months off work so I could travel. I'm also thankful for all the personal growing I've done over the last year. I'm more thankful for the great friendships that I have. I'm also thankful for the special someone who decided to come up to Dallas from Austin to spend the weekend with me. I'm thankful for being able to go down to Austin later in the weekend and send another friend off to Portland (where I have more friends). Although I can't recommend the bus as a form of travel, I'm thankful I was able to catch a bus back to Dallas. I'm even thankful that I'm too lazy to look up another word for 'thankful'.

Life just keeps getting better. Thanks, everyone.

Splodey!

2005-10-10T18:13:00.000-05:00

A group of friends and myself, spontaneously decided to go down to Austin this weekend. The decision was made, from bed, around noon, to try and leave around 2pm. We almost made schedule, but whatever.

On the way down to Austin, I was getting ready to pass a truck, when Ka-Blam-O...one of their tires blew out. Tire chunks went flying toward my car. This was in a contruction area, with narrow lines, and a concrete barrier to one side, so there was no way I could actually dodge the oncoming junks of rubbery death. The only thing I could think of was to slow down, and hope for the best. Luckily, that seemed to be the right thing to do. I ran over a big chunk-o-tire, and one hit my hood/windshield, but there didn't appear to be any damage from the attack.

Nothing else exciting happened on the drive there. I probably should have made something up, though, since everyone else in the car slept for half the trip.

Austin was great, as usual. There was a blues dance that night, and I had some of the best dances I have had in quite some time. There was some clubbing afterward, but I was too zoned out to really know what was going on at that time. There was a boring drive back to Dallas the next day (although West, Texas did end up being unusually crowded with UT students...I'm guessing it had something to do with the game on Saturday).

In the Desert

2005-09-30T13:14:00.000-05:00

As previously mentioned, I got to go to Arizona for a few days. This was for work, and many people on my team have had to go in the past. I think it is safe to say that none of them enjoyed themselves nearly as much as I did. I flew in on Tuesday morning, and that night I was able to get some fantastic sushi. Then I went to see M. Doughty playing live. Words cannot describe how fantastic the show was. Then there was the after show food outing, during which I was pretty zombiefied. I managed to get in bed at 2am...which is 4am where I woke up that morning. After a few hours of sleep, I had to go to work. I have to give a big thank you to Sobe Energy for helping me get through that. The next night, I just chilled with my homie. Then back to Dallas the next morning. So, like, rock on and stuff.

So....damn....tired

2005-09-26T20:41:00.000-05:00

Went to STLBX this past weekend. It was a lot of fun. Check out the pictures for some of the wacky antics. It was really a whole lot of fun. Now I have to get ready to hop on another plane tomorrow morning. This one to super exotic locale of Tucson, Arizona.

Wrong Way

2005-09-12T00:26:00.000-05:00

On the way home last night, I saw no less than two cars headed the wrong way down a one way street. Crazy stupid and/or drunk people.

RIP 2001-2005

2005-09-05T11:57:00.000-05:00

My server died today. It served me for about a year. Before it was my server, it was my primary PC for 3 years. It will be missed.

Interesting? note: The power supply is what went bad. I don't know if it managed to fry anything else. While I was checking it out, the power supply was making funny popping noises, even though the computer was off. I also got that nice burnt component smell.

Mr. Blue Truck Man Gets Mad

2005-08-25T20:00:00.000-05:00

Hey kids, since it's been a while since I've posted, I thought I'd tell a story.

Mr. Blue Truck Man Gets Mad

It was a beautiful Thursday morning in Texas. The sun was shining and the temperature was probably still in the low 90s. "It's a wonderful day to drive to work," I thought as I got in my car.

I was almost to work, still enjoying the drive, when I saw Mr. Blue Truck Man. He had started to change into my lane, but jerked his Blue Truck back into his lane right away. It wasn't until after this happened that I noticed he had turned on his blinker, indicating he wanted in my lane.

"If I would have seen your signal earlier, I would have let you in," I said to myself.

At this point, I was about to pass Mr. Blue Truck Man. Then I noticed that the lane next to me was open. I needed to be in that lane to get to work, so I changed into that lane. Moments later, Mr. Blue Truck Man pulls up next time and honks is horn three times! "Beeep, Beeep, BEEEEEP!" went the horn.

I glanced at Mr. Blue Truck Man and he was furious. I thought steam was about to come out of his ears! It looked like he was yelling at me instead of paying attention to the road. I couldn't hear anything he was saying, so I shrugged my shoulders and continued to pay attention to the road. Mr. Blue Truck Man passed me a little bit later, and he was still shaking his fist at me. I felt so embarrassed. I had no idea making somebody 5 seconds late could get them so mad.

I managed to get to work without getting anybody else mad at me. I feel bad for what I did to Mr. Blue Truck Man. Hopefully, he will calm down and find it in his heart to forgive me.

The End.

Bollocks!

2005-08-05T00:40:00.000-05:00

Not such good times. My company is stealing my money, my tooth hurts, and I got a speeding ticket for way more than I was actually going. Too bad I can't prove the cop is a lying bastard.

AAARRRRRGGGGGH!!!!!

2005-07-22T19:47:00.000-05:00

That is all.

Back to Work

2005-07-18T01:19:00.000-05:00

Well, my vacation is over and I have to be at work in about 9 hours. I had a grand total of 14 weeks off. While I was off, I visited St. Louis, New Orleans, Austin (twice), New York City, Denver, Various cities in Connecticut, and Philadelphia (and area). It's been a fantastic break, but I'm can't say I'm looking forward to working again. Here's hoping I enjoy it more than I did before. Time will tell.

The Fourth in Philadelphia

2005-07-08T21:41:00.000-05:00

2nd of July Fireworks
Originally uploaded by qortez.

I decided to spend the 4th of July in Philadelphia this year. Unfortunately, I decided this 2 weeks or so before the 4th. Fortunately, I was able to use my frequent flyer miles. Doing so made me go out there for just over a week. Luckily, I had a fantastic time.

Things I did (in no particular order):

I went to the Adventure Aquarium in New Jersey (just across the river). I took a lot of pictures there. It was a neat place.

I did the obligatory visit to the Liberty Bell. I even tried to get a picture of it that looked like bigfoot.

I went to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Due to the Live 8 concert happening the next day, I was unable to do the Rocky thing on the stairs. Oh well, I'm probably too out of shape for that anyway. I didn't spend a whole lot of time browsing the museum, because there was a bit of a concert going on inside. It was rather enjoyable.

I briefly stopped by the Live 8 concert. I didn't feel like messing with the crowds on a rather hot day, so I didn't stick around for long.

I also caught a rather good fireworks show on the 2nd. Many pictures from that.

There was also an obligatory eating of a Philly Cheesesteak sandwich. I must say it was very tasty.

There was a 4th of July parade, with some interesting folks in it.

I took some time to try and take pictures of some fireflies. Which happens to be rather difficult.

There was a near visit to the USS Cole, but the line was as long as the ship itself (3 hours, by some accounts), so I decided not to do that. I did visit the Battleship New Jersey, though. It was quite interesting.

I did other stuff, too, but don't feel like writing about it.

And through it all, my wonderful hostess didn't get totally sick of me (to my knowledge).

All my pictures, here.

I finally got my car back!

2005-07-06T16:41:00.000-05:00

It's only been 35 or 36 days (I dropped it off May 31st). Granted, it was finally completed on June 30th, but I was out of town until today.

It's about damn time. I had to get used to driving all over again.

CTLX 2005

2005-06-14T11:08:00.000-05:00

I got back from DLX on Wednesday morning. On Friday morning, I hopped on a plane to go to CTLX. In hindsight, this was a bad idea. I just didn't give myself enough time at home to recover from DLX to really be able to enjoy CTLX. I also spent an extra 4 hours in the Kansas City airport, which didn't help. Kansas City quite possibly has the worst designed airport....ever. I thought DFW was bad, and it is, but Kansas City is much worse. It even sucks more than Tulsa's airport.

I finally got to New York at about 10pm (I was supposed to get there at 6pm). Then, after a quick bite to eat with a very patient woman, we both hopped on the train to Connecticut. At a little after 1am, I finally arrive at the train station in CT. I missed the first dance at the exchange. Bollocks! Not only that, but I had only been able to eat crappy airport food all day, so I was incredibly malnourished. Fortunately, the late night dance was at a sushi restaurant. That raw fish made me feel so much better.

The extreme humidity (and all humidity over 10 or 15% is extreme to me) prevented me from dancing much the rest of the weekend. I still managed to have a good time, though.

Denver Lindy Exchange

2005-06-09T01:16:00.000-05:00

Hanging Lake
Originally uploaded by qortez.

Denver is 2 for 2 so far. I had a fantastic time this past weekend.

The weekend started with a missed flight. After fighting the horrible DFW parking (and losing), we still managed to get to the ticket counter 15 minutes before the plane was supposed to leave, and there was absolutely no line at security. Yet, the airline representative refused to work with us and wouldn't let us on the plane. So we had to kill an extra 2.5 hours at the airport. Blah.

Friday brought a hike to the beautiful hanging lake. The hike was only marred by massive amounts of rainfall and hail (we started before the rain). This, of course, made the trail muddy and slippery (and really cold). I always like an added sense of danger. As the photos can attest, the trip was worth it. And so began the long sequence of punishment my body would have to endure over the weekend.

Saturday and Sunday were filled with much dancing and merriment. Monday was a good relaxing day, as was much of Tuesday. Tuesday night was my last night to dance in Denver this trip and, surprise, was a good time.

So yeah, thumbs up to DLX 2005.

Update

2005-06-02T13:04:00.000-05:00

My insurance has decided to give a green light to fixing the car. They gave me an estimate that was quite a bit lower than what the shop gave me. Don't know where that difference comes from. Although it is tempting to not fix my car and get a new one, I think I'll go ahead and keep it for a while longer (since I've got no income right now).

Maybe my car will be ready by the time I get back from Denver. Here's hoping, I hate that rental car.

Dammit!

2005-05-30T12:35:00.000-05:00

That's my rim.
Originally uploaded by qortez.

So I'm just driving along, minding my own business when this white car decides that they want in my lane. Apparently, they wanted in there now, and didn't think that the lane might be occupied.

I had to swerve to avoid hitting the guy, unfortunately, this left me going the wrong way, toward oncoming traffic. So I decided my best course of action would be to go into the median. Unfortunately, doing so destroyed my rim, ripped up my tire, and broke my front panel. Of course, the white car didn't stop.

This happened late on Saturday night, so all the tire places were closed. So I have to wait until Tuesday morning to get the darn thing fixed.

Stupid white car.

New York City

2005-05-18T16:58:00.000-05:00

I did another silly thing last weekend. I traveled to New York City without planning much of anything. I didn't even arrange for a place to stay. I just kinda figured the lindy hoppers there would take care of me. Luckily, they did, at least in the sleep department. I did spend my days alone in the city. That was fine, however, as I got to explore the city the way I wanted to (excepting that my feet/legs/ankle/knees were complaining everywhere I went). Not quite the trip I wanted, but still a good trip. I'm glad I went.

I saw another one!

2005-05-11T01:54:00.000-05:00

While I've spent nearly 5 years in the Dallas area, I had never seen a possum until this year. Now I see one every couple of weeks, it seems. There is probably a family of them living in my apartment complex, since that usually where I see them. Ugly buggers, they are.

Craziness!!

2005-04-29T18:40:00.000-05:00

I drove down to Austin yesterday, danced a bit, got a little bit of sleep. Then I drove back home today.

It was worth it, though. It was the best dancing I've done in quite some time. Something has just been off for me lately, not sure what, or why, but I wasn't having any of that trouble last night. Hopefully, I don't get off again.

NO Jazz Fest

2005-04-26T15:01:00.000-05:00

I went to the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival last weekend (well 1 day of it). Saw me some James Taylor among other musical peeps. I also got to see some of my friends while I was out there, plus I made a few more. All in all, a good time. I always enjoy visiting New Orleans.

I also took some pictures of Tulane University while I was down there. Here the are.

Now where did I leave my brain?

2005-04-19T01:24:00.000-05:00

It's got to be around here somewhere. I spent the weekend in St. Louis at their Cheap Thrills weekend. My lack of brain functionality made itself apparent when I left to go to the airport. I ended up going the wrong way to pick up Tommy. My enjoy of the weekend was also limitted by not having a brain. However, the end of the weekend topped it all. In a fit of laziness, I decided to have Ami and Jered drive my big bag back to Dallas (I hated carrying that damn thing all over on the way to St. Louis. A few hours after they left, I realized that my keys (to my car, parked at the airport, and my apartment), were in my bag, in Ami's car, on its way to Dallas.

Crap.

Luckily, I have a spare car key, there was just the tiny issue of my car alarm. So after I steal my car from the airport, I start a traffic filled drive to Denton, to pick up my keys. The Office Space traffic was in full effect. The lane I was in was always the lane that wasn't moving. After an hour and a half, I finally made it, now I only had another 45 minute drive home.

I made it home just fine, and promptly crashed for about 6 or 7 hours. Now its nearly 2am, and I'm not tired. Oh well.

I took a couple of pictures over the weekend. They be here.

I hope I'm making the right decision

2005-04-08T16:47:00.000-05:00

I'm now officially on a 3 month leave of absence. 3 months with no work....and no income. My plan is to have a bunch of fun travelling and stuff. Let's see how well that goes.

Google Maps r0x0rZ

2005-04-05T11:52:00.000-05:00

Google has added satellite images to their mapping website. I seem to remember MapQuest having this feature at some point, but it was removed.

I will prevail (I hope)

2005-04-01T12:24:00.000-06:00

There are certain factions that would have me stay working passed the end of next week. I shall not quit without a fight! (wait...).

In other news....links!

http://www.thinkgeek.com/stuff/41/icopulate.shtml
http://www.zug.com/pranks/media/

Tommy plays with audio blog...

2005-03-31T14:21:00.000-06:00

Somebody please kill the incompetence fairies!

2005-03-31T13:34:00.000-06:00

I've had all the incompetance I can take for the day, and it all happened at lunch. I hate McKinney.