I figured I would throw together a single post to catch up on the past six months and move on from there.
I stopped updating my blog when I lost my job, and I spent a few months looking for another one. The good news is that we had saved up a little to help buffer us. Between that and unemployment, we managed to keep food on the table while I was unemployed.
I guess I'll start at the beginning. I originally started blogging for my job and decided to start my own blog to release my thoughts. I have no idea if anyone will ever read this, but it's good to let things out that you wouldn't normally say. It's amazing how you can feel more comfortable sharing your secrets with millions of people on the internet than you are sharing with a single person face to face.
Back on track. I worked for a company that designed educational software for elementary students. I ran the support department, and at first they loved me. I'm very intuitive and can see problems right away. In my first two months there, I documented more than sixty errors with their system. Unfortunately, always seeing the negative doesn't really win you any friends. Combine that with the fact that I apparently do not understand the intricacies of talking to humans, and you get a disastrous combination. I would say something like, "This feature isn't working correctly.", and for some reason people hear, "You're a fucking retard that shouldn't be allowed near crayons much less computers."
My understanding is that this is a part of communication called translation. It's when the listener uses their personal experiences and feelings to interpret the meaning of the message. unfortunately, most of the people I worked with had never had a job in the real world, and couldn't handle any kind of negativity. The owners would actually pull employees into their office and issue them warnings just for being negative. The funny part of this is that if they had been working for someone else, they likely would have been fired for their attitudes and how they talked to people. I still have documentation of an email that says that we are all too incompetent to accomplish anything unless the owners were there holding our hands.
I loved the job in the beginning, but by the end, I was actually relieved to be let go. I think some of the others were feeling it too, as one of them said to me that I just had a head start on everyone else.
I think it's safe to say that I'm still a bit pissed about how that situation worked out. Anyway, while I was unemployed, i started running a 4th Edition D&D game on the first Sunday of every month at Earth2Comics. We'll also be having a special event this Saturday if anyone wants to swing by. Because I was going to be focusing on the new game, I stopped running Marvel Superheroes for the guys. Scott took over the Saturday game and is running a 3.5 D&D.
I worked on my novel a little too. I've managed to complete seven chapters, but I haven't spent much time on it since December. I'm still running my online game to flesh out the world for my novel, and the new Sunday game is also based in my novel world. If I can ever find the motivation to really get back at it, I might get enough done to start sending something out to publishers.
On another writing track, I've been thinking about writing some children's novels. I've got a concept, but haven't fleshed anything out. I really need to finish one and get some artwork for it so I can send it out to some publishers.
Finally, I've been talking with one of my friends about starting an online browser based game. My cousin is a programmer, and he'll put together a bid for me once I get enough information together for him. unfortunately, when I try to sit down and put things on paper, I don't know what to do. I've really lost my ability to focus on anything other than my job. I'm wondering if my brain wants a rest because my work is so detail oriented and I have to stay so focused.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Adrift
It has been awhile since I have updated. Good news is that I'm working again. I am back doing bookkeeping again. I forgot how much I enjoy working with numbers rather than people. Numbers don't force you to put up with their issues and insecurities. I have also got a pretty awesome boss. He understands how to treat employees, keep them motivated, and reward them for going above and beyond. He'll put gift cards and such in our checks every few weeks, and I have seen him give extra rewards to guys who handle emergency service calls on their days off.
It's interesting working for Joe. Most places I've worked, they could not do proper bookkeeping if their lives depended on it, and they never had any idea what I was doing for them. This is the first time where the owner knows exactly what I'm doing for him and understands exactly how I'm improving things. Joe did not hire me because he could not do the work, he just didn't have enough time in the day to keep doing everything. It feels good to be respected again.
Unfortunately, I feel adrift personally. I have no idea what to do with myself when I am not at work. I have so many projects that I would like to complete, but it seems like every time I sit down to work on one, I lose focus. I can't even seem to enjoy playing video games now. I'll play for a few minutes and quickly grow bored. I have no idea what is wrong with me. It is as if I can not be satisfied with any one thing because there are so many things to do but not enough time to do them all.
It's interesting working for Joe. Most places I've worked, they could not do proper bookkeeping if their lives depended on it, and they never had any idea what I was doing for them. This is the first time where the owner knows exactly what I'm doing for him and understands exactly how I'm improving things. Joe did not hire me because he could not do the work, he just didn't have enough time in the day to keep doing everything. It feels good to be respected again.
Unfortunately, I feel adrift personally. I have no idea what to do with myself when I am not at work. I have so many projects that I would like to complete, but it seems like every time I sit down to work on one, I lose focus. I can't even seem to enjoy playing video games now. I'll play for a few minutes and quickly grow bored. I have no idea what is wrong with me. It is as if I can not be satisfied with any one thing because there are so many things to do but not enough time to do them all.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Gaming-1
Warning - Gaming Post
For those of you who have been enjoying my posts about Witchhunter, I have some bad news. I finally got tired of staying up well past midnight and often not even having a game, so I've stopped going to the Witchhunter games. The good news is that I may revisit Witchhunter again in the future. I intend to introduce my gaming group to the game eventually.
It's been awhile since I've given a Marvel Superhero update. Our fearless heroes have been having a fairly easy time rolling over street thugs and standard super-villains. Unfortunately, they fought a few mind controlled Avengers in the last session. They weren't too happy to discover that Iron Man could give them a pretty good beating. I'm not entirely sure why they were surprised. He is one of Marvel's icons.
For those of you who have been enjoying my posts about Witchhunter, I have some bad news. I finally got tired of staying up well past midnight and often not even having a game, so I've stopped going to the Witchhunter games. The good news is that I may revisit Witchhunter again in the future. I intend to introduce my gaming group to the game eventually.
It's been awhile since I've given a Marvel Superhero update. Our fearless heroes have been having a fairly easy time rolling over street thugs and standard super-villains. Unfortunately, they fought a few mind controlled Avengers in the last session. They weren't too happy to discover that Iron Man could give them a pretty good beating. I'm not entirely sure why they were surprised. He is one of Marvel's icons.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Digimon
I've been playing Digomon World Data Squad for the past few days, and I must say I'm really enjoying it. I've always been a fan of the Digimon series. I feel that it was a more epic drama with better characterization that it's competitor, Pokemon.
Unfortunately, the video game adaptations are seldom done well. I was really excited when I first heard about the original Digimon World, and it wasn't really that bad except for 1 concept. Each of your Digimon stages last about 4 hours of real time, and if you didn't get your stats set right to digivolve, then your Digomon died and you had to start with an egg again. There was so much grinding just to fail again and again before getting it right.
Digimon World 2 had a similar flaw. This time you got three digimon to work with at a time, and you could get more. However, they had level caps. In order to pass the level caps, you had to combine two more powerful digmon and start over again with slightly better stats. Unfortunately, the level cap was set by the weaker digimon, so you always had to sacrifice two strong ones or you got screwed again.
Digimon World 3 was actually a better adaptation. This time you had three characters, who each had one digimon. They introduced the concept that a single digimon could digivolve into multiple creatures and change back when it wanted to. This was a good step forward. The downside was that would have to level up each form separately, so there was a lot of grinding.
Digimon World 4 changed the game from an RPG with trainers to an action game where you play as the digimon. The good news is that you could still choose from multiple forms, but you had to retrain every form to use weapons, and there were six different styles of weapons. To make matters worse, weapons had skill requirements, so you could be using the best weapon in the game, and you go back to the starter weapon when you digivolve. The game required you to store dozens of weapons just to be able to work up your attack power again. Other than that, it was a decent game.
Digimon World Data Squad seems to have finally learned what the game is about, though. They are back to the RPG aspect. Digimon get and retain multiple forms. There is no need to retrain at all once you level up. So far I'm really enjoying the play and variety of Digimon forms, though I still don't know why four of my characters turn into Numemon.
Unfortunately, the video game adaptations are seldom done well. I was really excited when I first heard about the original Digimon World, and it wasn't really that bad except for 1 concept. Each of your Digimon stages last about 4 hours of real time, and if you didn't get your stats set right to digivolve, then your Digomon died and you had to start with an egg again. There was so much grinding just to fail again and again before getting it right.
Digimon World 2 had a similar flaw. This time you got three digimon to work with at a time, and you could get more. However, they had level caps. In order to pass the level caps, you had to combine two more powerful digmon and start over again with slightly better stats. Unfortunately, the level cap was set by the weaker digimon, so you always had to sacrifice two strong ones or you got screwed again.
Digimon World 3 was actually a better adaptation. This time you had three characters, who each had one digimon. They introduced the concept that a single digimon could digivolve into multiple creatures and change back when it wanted to. This was a good step forward. The downside was that would have to level up each form separately, so there was a lot of grinding.
Digimon World 4 changed the game from an RPG with trainers to an action game where you play as the digimon. The good news is that you could still choose from multiple forms, but you had to retrain every form to use weapons, and there were six different styles of weapons. To make matters worse, weapons had skill requirements, so you could be using the best weapon in the game, and you go back to the starter weapon when you digivolve. The game required you to store dozens of weapons just to be able to work up your attack power again. Other than that, it was a decent game.
Digimon World Data Squad seems to have finally learned what the game is about, though. They are back to the RPG aspect. Digimon get and retain multiple forms. There is no need to retrain at all once you level up. So far I'm really enjoying the play and variety of Digimon forms, though I still don't know why four of my characters turn into Numemon.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Hot Fuzz
My wife and I enjoyed watching a movie together last night. My buddy RT lent us Hot Fuzz on DVD, and I must say it was a really great movie. I loved Shaun of the Dead, and Simon Pegg and Nick Frost have once again made an amazing film. Shaun of the Dead was primarily a parody of the standard zombie apocalypse film. However, Hot Fuzz actually has a serious character driven drama at it core. The comedy is well done, and for the most part doesn't detract from the seriousness of the film itself. They did an amazing job balancing the two elements, and I'm looking forward to seeing what they do next.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Rantasaurus
Grrrr. I am so sick of dealing with people who think nothing is more important than what they want. Don't bother consulting the employee when you start making up new policies and scheduling them for conference calls. Don't bother asking your trainer whether you can switch the two training sessions, just invite everyone to show up for the wrong one. Don't bother selling the product for it's actual price, just give it away because you don't think anyone will buy it otherwise. I especially am sick of people who are too lazy to do their work and then get mad when you can't take up the slack. I am incredibly close to telling someone off or storming out right now, and I just hope that getting this out can calm me down a bit.
Words of inspiration: There is only so much shit you can put in a 5 pound bag before it explodes and gets shit all over everyone.
Words of inspiration: There is only so much shit you can put in a 5 pound bag before it explodes and gets shit all over everyone.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Why Geeks and Nerds are Worth It...
I know it's two posts in one day, but I found this on best of Craig's list and had to share it. There is hope yet for all you geeks out there. There are women who understand your worth. If this ever gets seen by the person who posted it, post a comment. You're the best in my book.
Why Geeks and Nerds Are Worth It...
Date: 2005-04-03, 9:30PM PDT
In the wide world of dating, there are many options. Do you go for the flashy guy with the smooth smile, or the dude in the corner typing away on his laptop? The following are reasons why I think my fellow females should pay more attention to the quiet geeks and nerds, and less attention to the flashy boys.
1.) While geeks and nerds may be awkward, they’re well-meaning 9 out of 10 times. That smooth dude with the sly grin and the spider hands? Wonder what HIS intentions are... plus, I’ve never had a geek guy not call me when he said he would. Score major points THERE.
2.) They’re useful. In this tech-savvy world, it’s great to have a b/f who can make your laptop, desktop, and just about anything else that plugs into a wall behave itself.
3.) They’re more romantic than they’re given credit for. Ok true, their idea of romance might be to make up a spiffy web-page with all the reasons why they love you, with links to pics of you and sonnets and such... but hey. It lasts longer than flowers, plus you can show your friends.
4.) Due to their neglected status, there are plenty to choose from. You like ‘em tall and slender? There are plenty of geeks/nerds who are. You like ‘em smaller with more meat on their bones? Got that too.
5.) They’ve got brains. Come on now, how can intelligence be a bad thing?
6.) Most are quite good at remembering dates. Like birthdates and such, especially if they know it’ll make you happy. Due again to their neglected status, they’re more attentive than guys who “have more options”. Plus, with all that down time without a steady girlfriend, they’ll likely have mental lists of all the things they’d love to do once they GOT a girlfriend.
7.) Sex. Yep. Sex. I’m not really familiar with this myself, but I’ve friends who’ve been intimate with geek guys and it’s raves all around. They say a virgin wrote the Kama Sutra... all that time thinking about sex, imagining sex, dreaming about sex, (they are male after all) coupled with a desire to make you happy? Use your imagination.
8.) They’re relatively low-maintenance. Most can be fueled on pizza, Twinkies and Mt Dew. No complicated dinners needed here, so if you’re not the best cook, eh. Can you order a pizza?
9.) Most frequent bars as often as slugs frequent salt mines. You won’t have to worry much about your geek guy getting his “groove” on with club hotties because, frankly, he’ll be too busy rooting around under his computer wondering where that spare cable went. You won’t have to worry about him flirting with other women because, 9 out of 10 times, he’ll zip right by them in a perfect b-line towards the nearest electronics store. I’ve seen this happen. Me: “Eww. Victoria Secret’s Models... They’re so skinny. How is that feminine? You can see her ribs!” Geek Guy: “ooooooo...” Me: “Hey!” *notices he is staring lustfully towards the computer store* Geek Guy: “What?” Me: “Never mind...”
10.) Although he may not want to go to every outing with you, you can arrange swaps, as in, you’ll go to his Gamer Con dressed as an elf princess if he’ll take you to the ballet. Plus, if he doesn’t want to go someplace with you, you won’t have to worry much about what he’s up to. You’ll probably come home to find him asleep on his keyboard in a sea of Mt. Dew cans with code blinking from the screen. It’s ok. He’s used to this. Just toss a blanket over him and turn out the light.
11.) His friends aren’t jerks. I can’t stress this enough. You’ll more likely get “Omg! A GIRL!! Can I see?!” than “Hey hot stuff back that ass up here and let me get some grub on...” They’re awkward geeks too and will, 9 times out of 10, treat you with the utmost respect and, more than likely, a note of awe. A cute girl picked one of their clan to date? It could happen to them! Hope! Drag some of your single girlfriends over, open up a pack of Mt. Dew, crack open the DnD set and get working. Nothing impresses geek guys more than a girl who can hack-n-slash (well ok maybe if she can code... a geek can dream).
12.) They’re rarely if ever possessive. They trust you, so you can be yourself around them. You like to walk around the house in a ratty t-shirt for comfort? He won’t care. He does too! They won’t get pissy if you don’t wear make-up or don’t want to bother primping your hair. If you gain a few pounds, they won’t try their best to make you feel like crap.
13.) They’re usually very well educated. Physics majors and the like. See #5. You won’t have to listen to him blathering on about his car (ok maybe a little), he’ll have loads of other interesting things to talk about. Politics, world events, how much the chicken burgers down at the local place rock, so long as you douse them in hot sauce...
14.) You’ll almost never have to hear, “Yaw dawg whazzap!!” plop out of their mouths. Unless it’s in jest. They spell properly, use correct punctuation, and are able to tell the difference between the toilet and the floor. They almost never get “wasted”, so you won’t have to worry about coming home to find him and his friends passed out on the floor amidst a pile of beer bottles. Mt. Dew cans, perhaps...
15.) And the final reason why geeks and nerds make great boyfriends: They actually give a damn about you. Not how you look (though that’s a plus), not how skinny you are, not how much make-up you primp yourself up with, but they like you for you. That kind of thing lasts longer than “DaMN baby you got a fine ass!!!” Believe me.
PostingID: 66795671
Why Geeks and Nerds Are Worth It...
Date: 2005-04-03, 9:30PM PDT
In the wide world of dating, there are many options. Do you go for the flashy guy with the smooth smile, or the dude in the corner typing away on his laptop? The following are reasons why I think my fellow females should pay more attention to the quiet geeks and nerds, and less attention to the flashy boys.
1.) While geeks and nerds may be awkward, they’re well-meaning 9 out of 10 times. That smooth dude with the sly grin and the spider hands? Wonder what HIS intentions are... plus, I’ve never had a geek guy not call me when he said he would. Score major points THERE.
2.) They’re useful. In this tech-savvy world, it’s great to have a b/f who can make your laptop, desktop, and just about anything else that plugs into a wall behave itself.
3.) They’re more romantic than they’re given credit for. Ok true, their idea of romance might be to make up a spiffy web-page with all the reasons why they love you, with links to pics of you and sonnets and such... but hey. It lasts longer than flowers, plus you can show your friends.
4.) Due to their neglected status, there are plenty to choose from. You like ‘em tall and slender? There are plenty of geeks/nerds who are. You like ‘em smaller with more meat on their bones? Got that too.
5.) They’ve got brains. Come on now, how can intelligence be a bad thing?
6.) Most are quite good at remembering dates. Like birthdates and such, especially if they know it’ll make you happy. Due again to their neglected status, they’re more attentive than guys who “have more options”. Plus, with all that down time without a steady girlfriend, they’ll likely have mental lists of all the things they’d love to do once they GOT a girlfriend.
7.) Sex. Yep. Sex. I’m not really familiar with this myself, but I’ve friends who’ve been intimate with geek guys and it’s raves all around. They say a virgin wrote the Kama Sutra... all that time thinking about sex, imagining sex, dreaming about sex, (they are male after all) coupled with a desire to make you happy? Use your imagination.
8.) They’re relatively low-maintenance. Most can be fueled on pizza, Twinkies and Mt Dew. No complicated dinners needed here, so if you’re not the best cook, eh. Can you order a pizza?
9.) Most frequent bars as often as slugs frequent salt mines. You won’t have to worry much about your geek guy getting his “groove” on with club hotties because, frankly, he’ll be too busy rooting around under his computer wondering where that spare cable went. You won’t have to worry about him flirting with other women because, 9 out of 10 times, he’ll zip right by them in a perfect b-line towards the nearest electronics store. I’ve seen this happen. Me: “Eww. Victoria Secret’s Models... They’re so skinny. How is that feminine? You can see her ribs!” Geek Guy: “ooooooo...” Me: “Hey!” *notices he is staring lustfully towards the computer store* Geek Guy: “What?” Me: “Never mind...”
10.) Although he may not want to go to every outing with you, you can arrange swaps, as in, you’ll go to his Gamer Con dressed as an elf princess if he’ll take you to the ballet. Plus, if he doesn’t want to go someplace with you, you won’t have to worry much about what he’s up to. You’ll probably come home to find him asleep on his keyboard in a sea of Mt. Dew cans with code blinking from the screen. It’s ok. He’s used to this. Just toss a blanket over him and turn out the light.
11.) His friends aren’t jerks. I can’t stress this enough. You’ll more likely get “Omg! A GIRL!! Can I see?!” than “Hey hot stuff back that ass up here and let me get some grub on...” They’re awkward geeks too and will, 9 times out of 10, treat you with the utmost respect and, more than likely, a note of awe. A cute girl picked one of their clan to date? It could happen to them! Hope! Drag some of your single girlfriends over, open up a pack of Mt. Dew, crack open the DnD set and get working. Nothing impresses geek guys more than a girl who can hack-n-slash (well ok maybe if she can code... a geek can dream).
12.) They’re rarely if ever possessive. They trust you, so you can be yourself around them. You like to walk around the house in a ratty t-shirt for comfort? He won’t care. He does too! They won’t get pissy if you don’t wear make-up or don’t want to bother primping your hair. If you gain a few pounds, they won’t try their best to make you feel like crap.
13.) They’re usually very well educated. Physics majors and the like. See #5. You won’t have to listen to him blathering on about his car (ok maybe a little), he’ll have loads of other interesting things to talk about. Politics, world events, how much the chicken burgers down at the local place rock, so long as you douse them in hot sauce...
14.) You’ll almost never have to hear, “Yaw dawg whazzap!!” plop out of their mouths. Unless it’s in jest. They spell properly, use correct punctuation, and are able to tell the difference between the toilet and the floor. They almost never get “wasted”, so you won’t have to worry about coming home to find him and his friends passed out on the floor amidst a pile of beer bottles. Mt. Dew cans, perhaps...
15.) And the final reason why geeks and nerds make great boyfriends: They actually give a damn about you. Not how you look (though that’s a plus), not how skinny you are, not how much make-up you primp yourself up with, but they like you for you. That kind of thing lasts longer than “DaMN baby you got a fine ass!!!” Believe me.
PostingID: 66795671
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
