So...it has come to this.
After years of dreaming of moving home, after imagining in my mind the glory of driving that moving van out of Colorado...stopping at the Kansas border to shake the dust off of my feet...stopping just inside the Oklahoma border to kiss the ground, Pope-style...making a home for my family in the Holy Land...I have the chance to do just that, to make my dreams come true.
Friday, at 12:47pm MDT, I got the call from a very nice gentleman with a good-sized bank based in Oklahoma City, with whom I've been speaking over the past week. Tuesday, he had called to say they were interested in me for a senior security position. I went through the spiel with him; I told him what I've been doing, why I'm interested in moving to Oklahoma (that baffled him at first), that I'm in the middle of a Chapter 13 bankruptcy repayment plan, but that I can pass a drug test and criminal background check, I'd be an excellent fit...blah, blah, blah. And he listened! He listened and wanted to keep talking to me. Wednesday, I had a phone interview with him and his team. It went well, but they said they had one other person to interview and they'd probably have a decision made by the end of next week. Through it all, he and his team were up front with me, straight shooters in a world that doesn't typically reward straight shooters well. (After the dance that is finding work in the Denver market, which I've done a few times before now, the approach was refreshing.)
Anyway, the other person either performed miserably or just dropped out of the running, because as I said, he called me yesterday, a full week before I was expecting. We want you, he said. He made an incredibly generous offer, one of the best I've ever received for a position, honestly. We talked details, compensation, timeframes. I told him my challenges and what I might need from him. Everything was great. I finished by saying that I normally ask for 24 hours to make a decision, but that this one was much bigger and I would like until late Monday. Take until early Tuesday if you need to, he said. Like I said, a straight shooter. Just the kind of person I'd like to work for.
So here I am. My dreams are within my reach, and it seems like it's what God wants me to do. This year had been so difficult for us all, with the financial problems that ended in the bankruptcy, Grandpa's passing, health issues, job issues, hard times for the family. This whole situation has lined up for us so nicely, and it's so straightforward. The offer is so generous. It's hard to think that God isn't directing this, telling me that this is the way to go. Even the timing is great; I could start work next week and have benefits kick in on September 1st, and effectively lose almost no pay, despite a full unpaid week.
But there's Connor. I don't want to go without him. Katie would probably be OK here, much better with her mom in Colorado. But Connor...he needs us, and he needs me. He needs to be around a man regularly. His mom dates some, but she doesn't seem to be doing so regularly, and doesn't appear to have any plans for keeping a man around on a regular basis. So if he doesn't go with us, it would be Connor as the only male in that entire household, and that's all he'd have all the time. I'm not saying his mom is deficient in some way; she loves Connor and does her best for him, always. She might be a lot of things, but she sincerely loves her kids and wants what's best for them. I just hope that I can convince her that what's best for Connor is to come with us. Connor would like to go, I think, and I know that once he gets there, he'd do well. All of our family is there, including his mom's, so he would have family near him all the time. Oklahoma is a great environment for kids, with lots of activities and stuff to do. So I don't want to go without him...to the point that I would stay here if I couldn't make that happen. If there were no question of him going, it would be a no-brainer. The position is wonderful, the timing is excellent, and I might go five or even ten years before I get an opportunity this good there.
My decision is complicated by the lack of work in Denver. I've been sending resumes like crazy and calling my recruiting contacts. I've had friends sending me leads, none of which panned out. I've said in a previous post that the market here for what I do is really soft, and I'm not kidding. As of right now, this offer is the only one I've received to date, in nearly 6 weeks of looking for work. My concern was mitigated by learning that my Secret-level security clearance was processed on Thursday, and I could get a clearance job with an EOD while the final investigations are done. That would be a tremendous help. But the job I was going for with that is on hold for at least two weeks, and even then, there are no guarantees. I've called some other contacts to let them know about my clearance, and there has still been nothing substantive. In short, Denver isn't really doing anything right now to keep me here, or even to convince me to stick it out a little longer in the hopes that something will come along that will make the timeframe for an Oklahoma move more manageable.
Put all that together and what does it mean? It means that I'm holding my dream in my hands, knowing what a great chance I have...but with a level of uncertainty that has steeped this decision in agony, and that is tearing me up. This could be the biggest decision I make, in my entire life, or at least make the Top 3. I'm praying, Mom and Dad are praying, lots of people are praying...please pray for me, and for us, as we seek God's wisdom and guidance with this decision. I don't want this dream to end up a nightmare.
Thanks for reading along.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Monday, August 18, 2008
Sunday, August 17, 2008
A Sneak Peek At The Future
I am OFFICIALLY unemployed now. I am working diligently to find a new job, either here in the Denver area or back in Oklahoma...at this point, I'm not too particular which. My only concern is making sure that I make enough to cover our stuff. I could take a small pay cut to accomplish this, about 10%, but beyond that we would be hurting and I would be faced with the prospect of yet another second job. I would obviously prefer to not go back to working two jobs, as that really started affecting my health at the end (my regular readers might recall this from earlier this year).
The problem is that the market here in Denver for jobs that I do is a bit soft right now. I'm a senior information security administrator/analyst/engineer, but I can also do senior network administrator/engineer jobs. Unfortunately, there are three kinds of jobs available:
1. Senior-level duties at mid-level pay -- this is always common in IT, as companies do their best to underpay good talent. They eventually realize they will not get lucky and have someone with 10 years' experience drop in their lap and be happy at $50,000 a year. Sometimes they will increase the pay rate, but usually they just leave the pay the same and lower the duties to something appropriate for what they want to pay. I imagine this happens in every field, with every company.
2. Consulting jobs with 75-90% travel -- Let it first be said that these jobs usually pay very well. However, I'm not a young, single man any more, and I just can't justify something like this with a family and a pregnant wife.
3. Dead-end work -- these are the bottom-of-the-barrel jobs where you know you will be doing one task, 40 hours a week, 50 weeks a year, and there will be no opportunity to grow your skills or move into other positions. For a security guy, an example would be firewall management, where you basically manage firewalls for many, many external clients. You spend your days changing rules, troubleshooting problems, and looking at logs. And that's all. I could only do this job if I were ready to admit that I no longer care about my career and were ready to effectively sink it.
So there are opportunities available, just not very many. In any case, I'm still hunting diligently, and I hope to find something soon.
I heard Don't Give Up, the duet of Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush, the other day in the car on the way to work, and it really got to me. It perfectly describes the way life has been for me over the past several months...in fact, as I listen, it's difficult to believe it wasn't written about me. Nearly every part of Peter's lines describes how life has been or how I've felt about it. I just hadn't listened really closely, and so when I did, it hit me right between the eyes.
Really, though, this has been such a tremendous lesson in faith and patience, and that's a difficult lesson for me to absorb and take to heart. I've always been pretty self-reliant, and I've always been able to get by, or even thrive, on my own skills and abilities and talent. This time, though, everything is different. I don't know what I'd do without Heidi to support me and love me. But the most important part of the lesson has been focusing on God and what His plan is for me. That is the part of the lesson I'm still learning. I just hope He doesn't take too much longer teaching it to me, because we're kind of getting close to the ragged edge. We'll live, but it's going to be horrible if we can't get this worked out, and soon.
The weather has been terrible the past few days. It's been great for the grass, because we've had almost non-stop rain until this morning. It was almost like living in Seattle; constantly overcast, rain wavering between a constant, light drizzle and a constant, heavy downpour. Everything was wet, all the time. Go out to the car, you're wet. Get in the car, shoes are wet, and seats get wet from rain blowing in and dripping off your clothes. Walk inside, you're trailing wet footprints everywhere (even with wiping your feet on the mat). And it was COLD. We didn't get up above about 55 degrees until today. It was a lot more like late October than mid-August, that's all I'll say. Nothing like a look into the future. You all know how much I prefer warm or hot weather, so I didn't like it much.
I'm looking forward to a good week coming up. I am working hard to keep my faith that God will open that next door for us soon. Please pray for us as much as you can; we've needed it a lot lately, but we need it now more than ever. Thanks for reading along.
The problem is that the market here in Denver for jobs that I do is a bit soft right now. I'm a senior information security administrator/analyst/engineer, but I can also do senior network administrator/engineer jobs. Unfortunately, there are three kinds of jobs available:
1. Senior-level duties at mid-level pay -- this is always common in IT, as companies do their best to underpay good talent. They eventually realize they will not get lucky and have someone with 10 years' experience drop in their lap and be happy at $50,000 a year. Sometimes they will increase the pay rate, but usually they just leave the pay the same and lower the duties to something appropriate for what they want to pay. I imagine this happens in every field, with every company.
2. Consulting jobs with 75-90% travel -- Let it first be said that these jobs usually pay very well. However, I'm not a young, single man any more, and I just can't justify something like this with a family and a pregnant wife.
3. Dead-end work -- these are the bottom-of-the-barrel jobs where you know you will be doing one task, 40 hours a week, 50 weeks a year, and there will be no opportunity to grow your skills or move into other positions. For a security guy, an example would be firewall management, where you basically manage firewalls for many, many external clients. You spend your days changing rules, troubleshooting problems, and looking at logs. And that's all. I could only do this job if I were ready to admit that I no longer care about my career and were ready to effectively sink it.
So there are opportunities available, just not very many. In any case, I'm still hunting diligently, and I hope to find something soon.
I heard Don't Give Up, the duet of Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush, the other day in the car on the way to work, and it really got to me. It perfectly describes the way life has been for me over the past several months...in fact, as I listen, it's difficult to believe it wasn't written about me. Nearly every part of Peter's lines describes how life has been or how I've felt about it. I just hadn't listened really closely, and so when I did, it hit me right between the eyes.
Really, though, this has been such a tremendous lesson in faith and patience, and that's a difficult lesson for me to absorb and take to heart. I've always been pretty self-reliant, and I've always been able to get by, or even thrive, on my own skills and abilities and talent. This time, though, everything is different. I don't know what I'd do without Heidi to support me and love me. But the most important part of the lesson has been focusing on God and what His plan is for me. That is the part of the lesson I'm still learning. I just hope He doesn't take too much longer teaching it to me, because we're kind of getting close to the ragged edge. We'll live, but it's going to be horrible if we can't get this worked out, and soon.
The weather has been terrible the past few days. It's been great for the grass, because we've had almost non-stop rain until this morning. It was almost like living in Seattle; constantly overcast, rain wavering between a constant, light drizzle and a constant, heavy downpour. Everything was wet, all the time. Go out to the car, you're wet. Get in the car, shoes are wet, and seats get wet from rain blowing in and dripping off your clothes. Walk inside, you're trailing wet footprints everywhere (even with wiping your feet on the mat). And it was COLD. We didn't get up above about 55 degrees until today. It was a lot more like late October than mid-August, that's all I'll say. Nothing like a look into the future. You all know how much I prefer warm or hot weather, so I didn't like it much.
I'm looking forward to a good week coming up. I am working hard to keep my faith that God will open that next door for us soon. Please pray for us as much as you can; we've needed it a lot lately, but we need it now more than ever. Thanks for reading along.
Friday, August 15, 2008
When Will We Learn?
This guy had a prior record of doing this, and yet, somehow, he managed to get out and do it again. I say it's long past time for this guy's ticket to get punched. Castrate him, without anesthesia, then tie his hands, shoot him in the stomach, then shoot him in the head (that will sound familiar if you read the story). Justice is balance, which is always difficult to find in cases like this, but sometimes it's better to go with biology and evolution; get the guy out of the gene pool, as soon as possible. Yet so many still cry out for "rehabilitation" and decry "cruel and unusual punishment" (read that, any punishment). You'll know American society is dead when the ACLU takes a case to the Supreme Court, arguing that prison is "cruel and unusual".
"Criminals thrive on the indulgence of society's understanding." Couldn't have said it better myself. Yet our society still just doesn't get it.
"Criminals thrive on the indulgence of society's understanding." Couldn't have said it better myself. Yet our society still just doesn't get it.
Why Urbanism (New Or Otherwise) Can't Work
You want to know why New Urbanism is doomed? I've talked about it before, but I still can't understand why people seem to crave it. So there's this angle (I'm only providing the link, not the headline).
Why on Earth do people think it's so great, living in constant close proximity to so many other humans, when humanity has proven TIME AND AGAIN, and especially over the past 40 years, that there is no civility, no consideration for others? So others will use laws to restrict the free association and movement of other human beings, denying their rights "for the good of the community." And so many of these people also complain about losing their "right to privacy." Wake up, idiots...you asked for this and I won't shed one tear for you.
"Sprawl" might not be "sustainable" but at least it's relatively private. Thanks for reading along.
Why on Earth do people think it's so great, living in constant close proximity to so many other humans, when humanity has proven TIME AND AGAIN, and especially over the past 40 years, that there is no civility, no consideration for others? So others will use laws to restrict the free association and movement of other human beings, denying their rights "for the good of the community." And so many of these people also complain about losing their "right to privacy." Wake up, idiots...you asked for this and I won't shed one tear for you.
"Sprawl" might not be "sustainable" but at least it's relatively private. Thanks for reading along.
Time For Some Humor (I REALLY Need It)
Common Sense Rule #1: never put a butcher shop in the same strip mall as a burial/cremation establishment. (I drive by this very scenario daily.)
Russia's invasion of Georgia has been horrific, and it's going to be interesting to see how it turns out, mostly because there are very few ways that America comes out of it looking good. On the other hand, you get a scene like this:
"Run, Ivan! Run!! I had no idea Georgians had cows this big! Wait....it's coming to eat you!!!" (This photo was not retouched; it came directly from the Fox News website, and should be an abject lesson to all you photogs out there about the importance of perspective in your shots.)
That's all I can muster for now, but I'll be bringing more soon. Thanks for reading along.
Russia's invasion of Georgia has been horrific, and it's going to be interesting to see how it turns out, mostly because there are very few ways that America comes out of it looking good. On the other hand, you get a scene like this:
"Run, Ivan! Run!! I had no idea Georgians had cows this big! Wait....it's coming to eat you!!!" (This photo was not retouched; it came directly from the Fox News website, and should be an abject lesson to all you photogs out there about the importance of perspective in your shots.)
That's all I can muster for now, but I'll be bringing more soon. Thanks for reading along.
Friday, August 08, 2008
Something Special, On A Cold Day In Hell
Is it just me or is there a higher level of anticipation than usual for OU this year? We've had some good teams recently, but it's been a little up-and-down, really since Jason White left after the 2004 season. We have all hoped, primarily because of Bob Stoops and his record, that we'd go all the way. I mean, after the 2000 season, anything is possible, right? We've also had some pretty bad bounces for us, too, and that's made it even more of a roller coaster. But this season, there seems to be a level of confidence from everyone, coaches, players, and fans, that is more than we've seen in a while for this time of year. I'm personally trying not to get too excited, but you all know me...I really can't help it. It's in my blood, it's part of who I am, and when this time of year rolls around, it just gets me going like nothing else does. Couple that with our possible move back to the Promised Land that I mentioned a few posts back, and...well, let's say it's difficult for me to not be as excited as everyone else. Maybe I'm just seeing it more because I'm looking closer this year, or maybe because I want to see it, but I definitely think it's there.
Now the "cold day in Hell" section. You'd probably mutter something like that very phrase if I asked you this question: "Do you think the New York Times will ever do a travel profile on Oklahoma City?" Well, ladies and gentlemen, we have started our descent into Hell, where the current temperature is 27 degrees...and I know that because here is that NYT travel profile! Considering the tone is actually pleasant and respectful, and makes my birthplace sound like a very nice place to visit, I highly recommend it (I'm recommending something from the New York Times? The temperature just dropped another 20 degrees). Usually, the back-Easters only seem to find white-trash hicks or seeming ignoramuses from the sticks to ridicule in their profiles of Oklahoma, and almost universally right after one of our regular tornadoes has ripped up yet another trailer park, so I was quite pleased to see this. The author even acknowledges the unique blend of Southern, Midwestern, and Western culture found in OKC. Good eye!
Thanks for reading along.
Now the "cold day in Hell" section. You'd probably mutter something like that very phrase if I asked you this question: "Do you think the New York Times will ever do a travel profile on Oklahoma City?" Well, ladies and gentlemen, we have started our descent into Hell, where the current temperature is 27 degrees...and I know that because here is that NYT travel profile! Considering the tone is actually pleasant and respectful, and makes my birthplace sound like a very nice place to visit, I highly recommend it (I'm recommending something from the New York Times? The temperature just dropped another 20 degrees). Usually, the back-Easters only seem to find white-trash hicks or seeming ignoramuses from the sticks to ridicule in their profiles of Oklahoma, and almost universally right after one of our regular tornadoes has ripped up yet another trailer park, so I was quite pleased to see this. The author even acknowledges the unique blend of Southern, Midwestern, and Western culture found in OKC. Good eye!
Thanks for reading along.
Thursday, August 07, 2008
Mid-Day Quick Hitter
I fully understand that it takes all kinds, different strokes for different folks, and all that. But a spoiler will never, EVER look good on a pickup truck. Ever. No, really, I'm not kidding.
It's A Guy Thing
Oh, yeah...I LOVE this. Garagetown. If I had the extra cash to buy a franchise, I would in about 3 seconds. I can see really raking in the cash on something like this. I know for a fact that some guys would rent hangars at their local municipal airport, just for this sort of thing. Like the Men Are From Mars... guy would say, men LOVE their caves. I'd buy one.
I'm officially boycotting the Olympics this year; I will not watch any event willingly. NBC doesn't deserve it...couldn't ABC have done the Olympics, for Heaven's sake? At least they've got street cred for real sports. NBC is going to waste a lot of time with ridiculous nonsense and meaningless contests. Added to that, the Chinese want this to be their grand coming-out party, in which The Whole World is finally forced to recognize and acknowledge the greatness of China, including their plans to whoop America's ass in the medal count. I will have no part of either one, and I won't discuss it further. I hope all of you will see through the meaningless political charade that the Olympics have become, and go about your regular business without caring a whit.
On a positive sports note, OU has started fall practice! The first game is a mere 24 days away!!!
BOOMER SOONER!!!
I'm officially boycotting the Olympics this year; I will not watch any event willingly. NBC doesn't deserve it...couldn't ABC have done the Olympics, for Heaven's sake? At least they've got street cred for real sports. NBC is going to waste a lot of time with ridiculous nonsense and meaningless contests. Added to that, the Chinese want this to be their grand coming-out party, in which The Whole World is finally forced to recognize and acknowledge the greatness of China, including their plans to whoop America's ass in the medal count. I will have no part of either one, and I won't discuss it further. I hope all of you will see through the meaningless political charade that the Olympics have become, and go about your regular business without caring a whit.
On a positive sports note, OU has started fall practice! The first game is a mere 24 days away!!!
BOOMER SOONER!!!
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Today's Thoughts
We're watching the final of I Survived A Japanese Game Show, and we just saw a trailer for that new movie, Mirrors. Heidi: "That SO does not have Chris's name written all over it." Nope.
What happened to pitchers who could consistently go at least 6-7 innings? ESPECIALLY in this age of the 5-man rotation, why do we see so many pitchers get the hook in the 4th inning?
Speaking of baseball, I'm loving the Sox, by the way...NO, not THOSE Sox, the GOOD Sox, the White Sox. Currently holding a razor-thin lead in the AL Central (actually, they're tied with the Twins, but they have a .555 winning percentage to Minnesota's .554, so they're the "leader"), they have a good lineup and can definitely go all the way.
I got word yesterday that next Friday, August 15th, will be my last day at my current job. I have some leads on some new spots and I have a phone interview tomorrow, but until I have a new job in hand...well, let's just say I'm a bit under the gun. Nothing like a hard deadline to provide a little motivation.
Fortunately, I'm also about to take the plunge into the wild and woolly world of football officiating. Long-time readers know (OK, you might NOT know) that I umpired baseball for 7 years, at every level from T-ball to college, so officiating is no new thing for me. I haven't done tackle football before, so it is new from that standpoint. However, I'm also a pretty good official, one of those odd party-trick-type talents that everyone has. You know, some people can roll their tongue, others are double-jointed, some can down a fifth of Scotch in 5 seconds...me, I'm good at officiating sports. The best part is, sports officiating actually pays money.
Owen is SO big now! He's walking regularly on his own now, of course, though that's relatively new. He's also expressing himself more, being more willful...and more dramatic. It appears he's going to have the worst of his father's and mother's dramatic temper. (As Master Yoda says, "Need THAT, you do not.") It is incredible to see him progressing, and he seems to be making more progress every day. Just the other day, in fact, he did something for me that he had apparently not even done for Heidi. (NOTE: those are few and far between, so I have to enjoy them when I get them.) I asked him, "Where's your belly?" And he immediately grinned broadly at me and pointed right to his belly! He loves using his fork, and he desperately tries to do things on his own, without our help. We still spear his food on his fork, but then he takes it and puts it in his mouth. He can even occasionally put the food on the fork himself. What a great little guy.
Well, time for bed...I have to get up early again tomorrow so I can catch the 6:15 bus to work. Thanks for reading along.
What happened to pitchers who could consistently go at least 6-7 innings? ESPECIALLY in this age of the 5-man rotation, why do we see so many pitchers get the hook in the 4th inning?
Speaking of baseball, I'm loving the Sox, by the way...NO, not THOSE Sox, the GOOD Sox, the White Sox. Currently holding a razor-thin lead in the AL Central (actually, they're tied with the Twins, but they have a .555 winning percentage to Minnesota's .554, so they're the "leader"), they have a good lineup and can definitely go all the way.
I got word yesterday that next Friday, August 15th, will be my last day at my current job. I have some leads on some new spots and I have a phone interview tomorrow, but until I have a new job in hand...well, let's just say I'm a bit under the gun. Nothing like a hard deadline to provide a little motivation.
Fortunately, I'm also about to take the plunge into the wild and woolly world of football officiating. Long-time readers know (OK, you might NOT know) that I umpired baseball for 7 years, at every level from T-ball to college, so officiating is no new thing for me. I haven't done tackle football before, so it is new from that standpoint. However, I'm also a pretty good official, one of those odd party-trick-type talents that everyone has. You know, some people can roll their tongue, others are double-jointed, some can down a fifth of Scotch in 5 seconds...me, I'm good at officiating sports. The best part is, sports officiating actually pays money.
Owen is SO big now! He's walking regularly on his own now, of course, though that's relatively new. He's also expressing himself more, being more willful...and more dramatic. It appears he's going to have the worst of his father's and mother's dramatic temper. (As Master Yoda says, "Need THAT, you do not.") It is incredible to see him progressing, and he seems to be making more progress every day. Just the other day, in fact, he did something for me that he had apparently not even done for Heidi. (NOTE: those are few and far between, so I have to enjoy them when I get them.) I asked him, "Where's your belly?" And he immediately grinned broadly at me and pointed right to his belly! He loves using his fork, and he desperately tries to do things on his own, without our help. We still spear his food on his fork, but then he takes it and puts it in his mouth. He can even occasionally put the food on the fork himself. What a great little guy.
Well, time for bed...I have to get up early again tomorrow so I can catch the 6:15 bus to work. Thanks for reading along.
Sunday, August 03, 2008
Thoughts Of The Past Few Days
Let's get the unpleasant stuff out of the way up front. I don't want to hear the phrase "gas-sipping" ever again. EVER.
I'm less motivated to watch the Olympics than I can ever remember being. I think that a big part of this is, as I've gotten older, I've realized that I'm not that interested in watching TV or movies all the time. I still do, but honestly, I'd rather be outside, or out in the garage, or even doing something online. The point being, I need interactive activities, and TV just isn't. I really have to be invested, and I just can't seem to invest in the ridiculous "world citizen" human interest nonsense that NBC spews so heavily during Olympics time. (I think we get quite enough of that without the Olympics.) I seriously doubt I'll watch more than half an hour.
I'm still quite torn on Facebook. It has its fun aspects, like Speed Racing and My City. Posting photos is also nice. It's also nice to find people who were good friends a long time ago, who I lost touch with over the years. But it's very weird to get all these contacts from people who I have NO IDEA who they are. Human interaction of the future, I guess. You know, it's like one of those mixers at some rich guy's house where you tag along with a friend who heard about it from another friend, only it's all online. Did you ever go to one of those when you were younger? Facebook is exactly like that.
I LOVE the movie "Van Wilder". I'm watching it right now on Comedy Central, and it's priceless. Ryan Reynolds is brilliant, playing Van's role perfectly. "Are you stalking me? Because that would be super!" If you've never seen it, I highly recommend it.
I really enjoy working on the cars, and I've had some victories lately with the Mustang. I finally got the new carburetor on, after having to drill out one of the threaded stud holes and put in a Heli-coil repair insert. In any case, it works. Yesterday, I got the fuel line hooked back up and fired it up. It still needs tuning...and now, it seems something might be wrong with the starter. Ugh. So now it's time to get back under it and check out the wiring on that. Oh, and of course, I'm still having issues with the transmission. And I also noticed it appears to be leaking gear oil from the transmission, too. Boy, am I glad I enjoy working on cars so much. Seriously, though, it still provides quite a Zen experience for me. Life really is good when I'm working on the cars, because it's all gone. I sincerely hope you all have something you can do that is like that for you, where you can just shut down the rest of your mind and focus on the task at hand. You work it and just become one with it, and everything else melts away.
Oh, and did I happen to mention that I'm running into some odd hesitation problems with the Ramcharger?
Heidi and I have been talking very seriously about moving back to Oklahoma. Remember all these things happening for me? Grandpa, my job (yes, I'm still looking for a new one), the financial issues, Dad's business needing my help, etc., etc., etc.... Well, we're looking really hard at packing up and leaving this place behind. I talked a little bit about it with Connor yesterday, because as much as I want to move, I'm not moving without him. I think he would do better there. In fact, I think we all would do better there, all the kids, us, even my ex-wife. I approached her about a joint move last week, and of course, she flatly refused...not at all unexpected, of course, but at least worth asking. So we might be doing it on our own. The issues with the kids complicate the matter, but we're going to figure out what we're going to do on that issue, and very soon. My expatriate status could be ending soon, and I could actually be The Daily Okie again. We have a lot of people praying for us through all this.
If that happens, I promise to post every day, perhaps even 2-3 times a day. No, seriously, I will.
Colorado's fine. As much as I have a hate-hate relationship with this place, it isn't bad, as long as you understand what you have to put up with to live here. I'm not really going to go into that, because I could post for two or three hours on that particular topic, and I might be putting my marriage in jeopardy to do so. I will put in a few examples, like insane traffic, high cost of living and even higher taxes, moonbats running the place, bitterly cold winters and blazing hot summers...that's enough for now. As long as you're willing to put up with the ridiculousness, living in Colorado is fine. If you are not willing, as I am not willing, then life in Colorado can quickly become intolerable.
Well, time to go get under the Mustang for a while. Thanks for reading along.
I'm less motivated to watch the Olympics than I can ever remember being. I think that a big part of this is, as I've gotten older, I've realized that I'm not that interested in watching TV or movies all the time. I still do, but honestly, I'd rather be outside, or out in the garage, or even doing something online. The point being, I need interactive activities, and TV just isn't. I really have to be invested, and I just can't seem to invest in the ridiculous "world citizen" human interest nonsense that NBC spews so heavily during Olympics time. (I think we get quite enough of that without the Olympics.) I seriously doubt I'll watch more than half an hour.
I'm still quite torn on Facebook. It has its fun aspects, like Speed Racing and My City. Posting photos is also nice. It's also nice to find people who were good friends a long time ago, who I lost touch with over the years. But it's very weird to get all these contacts from people who I have NO IDEA who they are. Human interaction of the future, I guess. You know, it's like one of those mixers at some rich guy's house where you tag along with a friend who heard about it from another friend, only it's all online. Did you ever go to one of those when you were younger? Facebook is exactly like that.
I LOVE the movie "Van Wilder". I'm watching it right now on Comedy Central, and it's priceless. Ryan Reynolds is brilliant, playing Van's role perfectly. "Are you stalking me? Because that would be super!" If you've never seen it, I highly recommend it.
I really enjoy working on the cars, and I've had some victories lately with the Mustang. I finally got the new carburetor on, after having to drill out one of the threaded stud holes and put in a Heli-coil repair insert. In any case, it works. Yesterday, I got the fuel line hooked back up and fired it up. It still needs tuning...and now, it seems something might be wrong with the starter. Ugh. So now it's time to get back under it and check out the wiring on that. Oh, and of course, I'm still having issues with the transmission. And I also noticed it appears to be leaking gear oil from the transmission, too. Boy, am I glad I enjoy working on cars so much. Seriously, though, it still provides quite a Zen experience for me. Life really is good when I'm working on the cars, because it's all gone. I sincerely hope you all have something you can do that is like that for you, where you can just shut down the rest of your mind and focus on the task at hand. You work it and just become one with it, and everything else melts away.
Oh, and did I happen to mention that I'm running into some odd hesitation problems with the Ramcharger?
Heidi and I have been talking very seriously about moving back to Oklahoma. Remember all these things happening for me? Grandpa, my job (yes, I'm still looking for a new one), the financial issues, Dad's business needing my help, etc., etc., etc.... Well, we're looking really hard at packing up and leaving this place behind. I talked a little bit about it with Connor yesterday, because as much as I want to move, I'm not moving without him. I think he would do better there. In fact, I think we all would do better there, all the kids, us, even my ex-wife. I approached her about a joint move last week, and of course, she flatly refused...not at all unexpected, of course, but at least worth asking. So we might be doing it on our own. The issues with the kids complicate the matter, but we're going to figure out what we're going to do on that issue, and very soon. My expatriate status could be ending soon, and I could actually be The Daily Okie again. We have a lot of people praying for us through all this.
If that happens, I promise to post every day, perhaps even 2-3 times a day. No, seriously, I will.
Colorado's fine. As much as I have a hate-hate relationship with this place, it isn't bad, as long as you understand what you have to put up with to live here. I'm not really going to go into that, because I could post for two or three hours on that particular topic, and I might be putting my marriage in jeopardy to do so. I will put in a few examples, like insane traffic, high cost of living and even higher taxes, moonbats running the place, bitterly cold winters and blazing hot summers...that's enough for now. As long as you're willing to put up with the ridiculousness, living in Colorado is fine. If you are not willing, as I am not willing, then life in Colorado can quickly become intolerable.
Well, time to go get under the Mustang for a while. Thanks for reading along.
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