Archon 33, GBMojo and other adventures!

I had the great pleasure of attending Archon for the very first time. Apparently in time for a great deal of changes. The convention is moving to a new location in Westport next year. So, I guess we were there at the end of tradition and beginning of a new one. I look forward to seeing people next year.

Jen and I took Friday off in order to heard out a bit early. We were surprised when we found out that programming started at 1000. We hung around the house, did some laundry, watched some dvred telly. We didn't start leaving until later in the day. The drive went smoothly. I misunderstood the directions Jen gave me and we had a small mis-step where I over drove the road we were supposed to be on and had to back track. We came up on the hotel and the convention center, they were over an embankment from each other. Pulling up front, we see a group from Zombie Squad. We checked in to the Double Tree, they give you a warm cookie when check in. We parked and went up to the room. Jen got the clothes unpacked and I got the computers unpacked.

We headed over to the convention center and got checked in. My badge hadn't been printed or lost. Still, they remedied that quite quickly. Jen and I headed out to start learning our way around the center. We took a stroll around the artists room. We found that most of the art was HIGLY amateurish and overpriced. We then found out how to get tickets for the autograph signings and got all prepped for those on Saturday. We did a it more strolling around and then it was time for Laurell K. Hamilton, Angie Fox and co. to do a panel asking if Vampires are snobs. The panel agreed that they weren't and quickly ranged onto other topics. After the panel Jen and I headed back to the hotel room. We stopped by Denny's to get some food. Then I took Jen back to the hotel and I went to the local Wal-Mart. I bought some necessities. We got some bottled water and candy.

Saturday morning Jen was up before me. I don't know how she does it. She wakes up very early. But, generally needs a nap later. I woke up, ready to take on the world. We read for a bit and then I moved to the sofa in the room to let Jen go back to sleep for a while. I messed around on my laptop. I tried writing, but as so often happens, I keep deleting what I had written. I woke Jen up to get ready to go back to the con. I went to take a show and had a horrible time trying to get the water to warm up. For a while I really thought we were having issues with the water temperature and for some reason I turned the knob all the way to the right. Lo and behold the water is backwards: left is cold and right is hot.I got showered and we got dressed to leave. We stopped by Arby's to get some food and then headed to the con. An autograph session with Tom Kidd was first up. I had Jen get in line and parked the car. I came in, saw Jen in line and tore off for the dealer room. I'd promised to get 1632 signed by Eric Flint for Brian (my old boss). I tear off for the dealer's room for to get to Glen Cook's both. I purchase a copy of the book in question and the next three in Mr. Cook's Garrett P.I. series. I asked him to personalize the books and tore back off to get in line with Jen. We bought Mr. Kidd's new book Kiddology and he did a remarque for us. We chatted for a minute, well I did. Turns out Mr. Kidd is a child of the air force and had spent time in England. Funny, we'd been to some of the same or similar places. Jen and I took the book out to the car and looked through it. We came back in to the convention center and strolled down to the dealer's room. As we walked down the hallway looking at the sellers there. We were stopped out of a dealer when Jen stepped back and right into Laurell. It was funny, because I could tell that she actually recognized Jen. Right outside of the dealer's room was Peter Mayhew. We stopped and I got an autograph and a picture with him. I was truly a fanboy! We went back inside and picked up our books from Glen Cook. Jen picked up an astronomy book by John Scalzi and we continued on our way. We walked up and down the aisles, again there were some really good places, but most were woefully over-priced or of, what I consider, substandard quality. We stopped at a bookseller for Jen to rest. They had chairs set up. I realized that we were following Laurell, she was at a jewelry stand further up the next aisle. I handed Jen the latest book by Alton Brown and turned back to look at a few other books. When I turned around Jen was talking to Jon (Laurell's husband). They must have talked for about 20 minutes. I think Jon's minder (or bodyguard) was getting nervous. Jon went his way and in a little bit we got up. Down the last aisle we found Curious Cat Clothing and their lovely staff. When we were down we wondered down to the concession room and hung out for a while. We crossed the convention center to get in line for the Eric Flint. He was really nice and I got the books signed that I'd brought with. We chatted for a few minutes and then we moved on to let others have their turn. Jen wanted to go see the presentation by Zombie Squad. They were horrible. Don't get me wrong they were terrible that is fun, in a cheesy B-movie way. From there we headed to the Laurell panel about strong female characters. We stopped off and got pizza and sodas. We were part of the way through the panel when I realized the books we need for the Laurell signing were still in the room. I took off to go get the books. I ran back while Jen stayed in the panel. I got back without incident and books in two. We headed from the panel down to the signing area. We beat Laurell and crew, but there was already a line forming. Although this was the largest singing line I saw all con there still weren't near as many people as there were at a normal signing. We waited for the line to start dying down before we jumped in. Jon was prepping the books, as usual, and Jen tucked a dollar into his kilt. Too funny, I'm glad both Jon and Laurell are good sports. From there we headed back to the hotel room.

Jen wasn't feeling so well. She decided to take a nap. While she slept, I messed around on the internet. I watched the season premier of How I Met Your Mother. Our DVR had messed up and did not record the first half of the episode. The jokes are MUCH funnier when get the call backs. Eventually, Jen woke up and decided that she needed food. I went out to The Saint Louis Bread Company and got Jen some chicken noodle soup. There was a Wendy's near by, so I stopped and got myself a baconator. Got to love a sandwich predicated on meat, cheese and bacon! I went back to the hotel room. Mostly, I sat around not writing. This is a disturbing trend for me. I need to put words on paper (or characters on screen--same diff)even if they are bad words. I can fix bad words, but I can't do anything if I don't make the words first. Bleh! This isn't about that particular failing. We didn't return to the con that night. There were a few panels we might have wanted to sit in on, but nothing pressing. We hung loose in the hotel. I had problems falling asleep, eventually I did.

We slept late on Sunday. I got up and read. I took a shower. Sadly, we needed to start getting ready to leave. Jen and I did what we do best; we divided up the packing and got the car packed with a few minutes to spare before check out. We headed over to the convention center. I asked Jen to run in while I parked the car. Tom Kidd was at the tail end of a signing and I decided that I really did want the out of print book that he had for sale. I got the car parked and headed in. Mr. Kidd was very nice and generous as he had been the first time we saw him. He chatted with Jen and as I was joining her, he was mentioning needing to be off for a pizza party. We let him go. We headed off to get a message from the dealer's room. From there we got the last panel with Laurell K. Hamilton taking about hiding in plain site. There the panel was interesting. Sadly, Ms. Hamilton has done extensive research on her subject and her panel-mate had done less. She actually had to take time out to correct him at one point. After much fun was had, Jen and I packed up and headed home.

On the way home, Jen says we should see if the arch is open. We stopped off and the arch was open and we could get tickets to go up soon. I can't believe that my wife who doesn't like heights, small spaces, or crowds suggested we go up in the arch. We went up, I had a nice time, but they really do pack quite a few people in a small space and try to get you up and out relatively quickly. We came back down, strolled around the museum and then headed back to our car. The rest of our drive was nice.

Thursday, Jen took the day off and I worked. I left work and sped home to take off for St. Louis. Sadly, Jen and I spent more time getting ready to leave than we'd intended. Therefore, we were late getting to MoKaBe's coffee shop in St. Louis. They place was really nice. The half of a set that we heard was really. I dropped Jen off and then headed off to find a place. I did and hied myself over attentive, but not intrusive. to shop. They ladies were in good form. The coffee shop was wonderful. They barristas were attentive without being intrusive. After the ladies had finished up, Jen stepped out onto the patio and I grabbed the cds for sale. I joined Jen outside and realized that people were starting to leave, so I headed off to move the car. I walked past a bookstore that had a great quote from Frank Lloyd Wright on the transom: "Take care of the luxuries, and the necessities will take care of themselves." Just what I needed to see. I got the car and moved it around the block to be closer to MoKaBe's. I head back up to be with Jen. After a bit we headed back inside, we got the ladies to sign their respective CDs. We didn't stay too much longer and headed back home.

Friday Jen and I had the day off. That was nice and enjoyable.

Saturday, Jen and I lazed around the house far longer than we intended. We got a late start for the St. Louis Science Center. We did get on the road and stopped off at a Mr. Goodcents we'd spotted the last time we were in St. Louis. Sadly, we were too busy enjoying our food we didn't realize we'd missed our exit. I attempted to navigate from existing directions and sadly got us more lost. We didn't show up until about half hour late. We did manage to get there, get in and get into the talk. I'm not sure, but someone thought it would be good let me ask a question, towards the end. Anyone who knows me could tell you that I'm dangerous around microphones. I really, really like to be in the spotlight. I managed to ask my question without being a complete arse! When all was done, Jen and I headed home. WE had a good ride home. Jen stayed awake for the ride home.

That is mostly what we've been up to. While all of this was going on our house-mate David bought a house and we are packing up and moving.

I hope all is well with you folks!

Mermaid Madness

Mr. Jim C Hines put out a call of questions to celebrate the release of his latest book, Mermaid Madness. I couldn't help but ask a question to my biggest issue as a writer. Here is what transpired.

Thanks for the question!

Q: Where did you get the name for your most difficult to name character?

A: That's a tough one. I can tell you who my easiest character to name was (Jig the goblin), but the hardest? In the current series, I'd have to go with Snow White, aka Ermillina Curtana. I wanted to use names that were associated with the old fairy tales, but most of those old tales never actually give the characters names. The characters are more symbols than people: the beautiful princess, the brave prince, the evil stepmother, and so on.

I was able to name the other two, but Snow continued to elude me until I finally discovered the name Ermillina in The Crystal Casket, an Italian fairy tale with elements similar to Snow White. I honestly don't recall where her last name came from. But even then I wasn't happy. "Ermillina" was a clumsy name to write out each time. The first draft of Stepsister Scheme had her going by "Lina," but I didn't like that either. I finally decided she was the kind of person who would be happy with her nickname, and everyone called her "Snow" from that point on.

http://www.jimchines.com/2009/10/happy-mermaid-day/

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?

The last few weeks have been very tumultuous and confusing for me.

I'm not even sure that there is anyone who reads these things. But, I'm trying to be nice.

Anywho, back to the navel gazing.

I've been passed over for the position again. The reasoning makes sense this time. There are part-time people who going to lose their jobs due to budget cuts. One of them needs a job. They are going to award the open position to the sole person who isn't previously retired. This one I'm sorta behind and I do actually see their reasoning. This doesn't mean I have to like it.

All of this with the missed jobs have really started me asking, "What do I want?" I am having a bit of a problem trying to figure this out. Right now I don't know that I'm QUALIFIED to do anything and at the base of things I'm not truly sure what I'd do if I could do anything I wanted. I mean I've always said that I want to open my own publishing house. Sadly, I don't have the money or the knowledge to open my publishing house. I could learn, but the biggest problem in the money. I would need to have some serious cash to open a publishing house. I'm not sure that this is the optimum time to start a new publishing venture.

Bother these little existential quandaries are a royal pain the arse!

I've got tons of little story ideas floating around in my head. Sadly, I'm doing very little about it. I don't know why I can't sit down and make myself write. Although, I am doing a little bit of journaling at lunch while I'm at work. Sadly, I'm not doing much "fun" writing

I have no overwhelming desire to become a PO. I just want to do it because it is the next step in my "career" path. Sadly, I don't know that I want to continue walking down this path. I just feel like I'm caught in the old cliche, "You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here."

Oh well. I guess, for the most part, I'm just belly aching and whining. I'll figure something out, I usually do.

What do I want?

Been too long since I've last written. There is quite a bit that has gone on. Some good and some bad.

The first good thing that happened was I had an interview for a promotion at work. Things felt like the stars were aligned and I had a great inside track on the job. Sadly, I soon discovered this was not to be. The part that really pisses me off is the arsehole they promoted in my stead. They gave me a line about what sort of person they wanted. They guy the hired, to me, is the antithesis of everything they said they wanted. oh well, theoretically if the stars align correctly, I'll have a shot at the second position (and possibly a third) coming open soon. I'm trying, very, very, very hard not to get my hopes up on this possibility. I can't tell if my boss thinks I'm worth promoting, but need more work or if she doesn't like me and thinks I just need to STF Up.

Went to a house party in Raytown (near KCMO) and saw Sooj with her mates Ginger Doss and Bekah Kelso. They were absolutely delightful. Jen and I left the house late, only late because I'm anal and actually think there is such a thing as a schedule. We had a good trip to KC and Jen even took a nap on the way. I tried that but she kept complaining about driving off the road! Just out from the event, we found a Mr. Goodcents and had food. There was a liquor store next to the Goodcents. We got Jen a 12 pack of Bud light lime. While we checking out the clerk made the comment, "The DD is buying the beer? I gotta get me some new friends." I couldn't help myself and said, "I do get other benefits" and then ducked out the door car. We then managed to wend our way to the house where the concert was taking place. I was a bit antsy, since the concert was billed as starting at 1900, and we were pulling up at 1905. Turns out the bit of rain that we were having caused the event to relocate inside. We were to the almost an hour early as they were resetting up. We managed to hook up with some friends we haven't seen in a while and meet some new ones. While we were waiting for things to happen I managed to knock my soda over. I didn't notice until I moved my leg and realized I was sitting in it for a while. Needless to say for the rest of the night I was standing up.

The house was not set up for a concert and Jen and I sat in the living room during the first set. We could hear fairly well and I got to stand in front of a fan. During the intermission we bought some souvenirs. The gracious Sooj happily signed them for us. Then we decided to try to get in the main room with the party. We found a seat by the door, Jen got a back rest and I could stand up. We had a really good view. I rotated out to let people loom in the doorway, like I was. The music was good, the company was great and towards the end a nice young lady (whom I'd moved out of the way for) knelt down to let me see better and I got a great view of her slight dusty bare feet. What a night!

We stayed until almost 0100. Sadly, we still had to drive home, so we had to hit the road. We made it safe and sound.

The fourth of July has come and gone. We had a really good time. We went down to Jen's grandparents. Mostly I sat out of the way and didn't speak until I was spoken to. Then we stopped by her folks. Her mom asked us to take Jen's nephew to work. We were a bit delayed to our friends. We drove home and headed out to Suavo's. We had a wonderful night. Jen and Suavo managed to make things go boom!

Not long now and the rest of my family is heading back to England for my cousin's wedding. Sadly, Jen and I can not go. However, we're getting back on our feet financially.

Still, I think I'm over being pissed about not getting the job.

Mostly, I'm trying to answer the question what do I want? I'm really not sure I know the answer.

He's bitching again!

Been a while since I've written. Partially this has been lack of time, partially due to lack of inspiration and mostly because I'm lazy.

I've managed to acquire a second job in the last few weeks and lose half my hours. I'm the only guy I know who can need a second job for the money and three weeks in go from 20 hours a week to 10 hours a week. I still need money and my plan to only work for 12 short weeks has been thwarted. I'm guessing I'll need to keep working for at least 26 weeks. Oh well, what are you going to do, right?

Still, things aren't so bad. My second job is back in the P&P Command Center, where I used to work. I like to think I'm getting back into the swing of things. But, who really knows. I like to delude myself quite a bit.

Work has gotten interesting. My workload has gotten heavier. By itself this isn't a good or bad thing, but it has made life a bit more interesting. My co-worker has been detailed to work in our unit in the morning and in a different unit in the afternoon. I think the work flow should have been more similar to this all along. But, we'll see how this all works out. i don't claim to know all the answers, hell I barely know any of the questions.

Oh well, this started out as a much longer blog. But, this is all I have in me right now.

Life in the Fast Lane

What a week it has been here. My week started off finding out one of my co-workers had flown out on Sunday to be with her boyfriend in New York state. No worries, but a bit of a shock as she'd said she wasn't going on Friday. That made work a bit different as we were a person down, but the more important part is I needed to work closer with my nominal supervisor. Again, not a big deal but it is a bit more than I'm used to. Still, I managed to get quite a bit done this week.

On Tuesday Jen and I went to see the Eagles. I am so glad we got to go. Since Jen is an employee of the University of Missouri we got tickets at a reduced price. The concert was awesome. They've returned to the original, electric, version of Hotel California. I took years to adjust to the Hell Freezes Over album version. I've now gotten to the point where I like it. The concert was wonderful. They looked liked they were having a good time. I really enjoyed seeing Don Henley and Glen Fry play live. Joe Walsh was amazing. Although I'm convinced Joe has no idea where he is most of the time. I didn't know Timothy B Schmit before Tuesday, but he was excellent. I didn't realize that he contributed lead vocals on several of the Eagles tunes.

After the concert Jen and I stayed behind to let some of the traffic clear out. I was amazed at that small army that emerged to breakdown the stage and associated equipment (the media pit and hanging screens). The worst part of it was seeing all of the garbage that was left behind. I was really disappointed in the amount of detritus that was left for someone else behind for someone else to clean up.

We left the concert and still had a few errands to run. We stopped by Walmart to get milk, QuikTrip to get petrol and by McDonald's to get some fuel. We didn't get to bed until almost 0130.

Wednesday was a tad rough. Jen had a meeting that she had to lead at 0700. Poor girl. We got through the rest of the week relatively unscathed.

Friday we watched both the Penultimate and the Ultimate episodes of Battle Star Galactica. I was very impressed. Even thought I do agree with Assmonkey over at livejournal that there was a high level of the Hitch hiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Saturday Jen and I watch more telly and then headed over to Danny and Elaine's place for Exalted game. Things are going along well there. Although I'm not sure that we are going in the direction Danny wants us to go. Still, I think he's rolling with the punches very well.

Sunday we watched more telly and eventually went to G&D's Steakhouse for dinner with Danny, Elaine and Grace. We had a good meal. Then we went and got some custard and then headed over to their house for a bit. They were watching The Celebrity Apprentice. We came home and finished some laundry. Then it was bedtime.

Accident Protection is my friend

The week at work was very difficult. Sadly with the day off we had the dual problem of the same amount of work to do in a week and one less day to do it all in. To be fair, the week wasn't all that bad, but I felt the pressure of time. Jen didn't have Monday off and had to still seemed to have less time to get things done than she needed.

When Friday arrived Jen and I came home and watched our regular line up of Friday night shows: Monk and Psych amongst them.

Saturday morning Jen and I were sitting in the living room watching television when the telephone rang. We didn't answer it, but I wanted to be sure I didn't miss anything important. I stepped in and listened to the answering machine. Best Buy was calling to inform me my computer was not going to be repaired so I should come down to the store to discuss replacing it. After a while Jen and I got dressed and headed out. We went to lunch at G&D Steakhouse, which was wonderful but the state wrestling tournament was in town and they were very crowded. We stepped over to Best Buy when we were done. We had to sort through some paperwork to get things ready. We were told they were going to replace the computer with something equivalent to what we had bought in November '06. (Go ahead and laugh, they don't make 'em that slow any more) We told the lady we had just bought a new Toshiba on Sunday and if it was acceptable we'd like to replace our old one with one of those. You guessed it, I'm writing this while watching the Oscars on my new Toshiba laptop.

What a week

What a kick in the pants the last week has been.

Monday (9 February) the car started rough. This was funny, because it had run just fine on Sunday. The check engine light stayed on. We went about a block and pulled over. The car sounded rough, but usable. we decided to chance things. We go to the top of the road and decided to look under the hood. We found rust on the last spark plug (we started at the top
and worked down). We decided to go home and beg assistance from David. We go home and Jen talked with David. She asked for $200 and he generously gave us $300. We cautiously took the car to Ewer's. We waited around for about 45 minutes and then walked up to David's bank. We'd stopped and checked the hours of operation on the way in. Jen got the check cashed and we happily walked to the shop. When we got to the shop we were told they had diagnosed our problem: bad spark plug wires and coil pack. They could do the entire repair for $386. We explained we only had $300. They were reticent, but we got them to replace the spark plug wires. They told us that was what HAD to be done and hopefully the coil pack could wait. We got on the road and I dropped Jen off at work. I motored down the road and arrived three hours late for work.

When I got to work things were a mess. They are going to replace a printer and had deleted the profile. However, we still need to use that printer. So, I spent some time on the telephone with ITS. The guy added the profile back, thinking about it now I hope he doesn't get into trouble! That night Jen asked David for an Extra $200. Sadly, we have fallen into the payday loan trap.

Tuesday morning we cashed David's new check. We went to work and the day went smoothly. I raced home and made a payment on the loan. I was very relieved.

Wednesday was uneventful.

Thursday I had the day off. I took Jen to work and went to my doctor's appointment. Unfortunately, I arrived before the doctor. I read in the waiting room, then they took my vitals and roomed me. The chronic disease nurse practitioner came in and saw me. I guess I'm managing my diabetes quite well. I'm now on semi-annual visits. My doctor seems pleased with
my management. I left my appointment and stopped by and saw Jen. I went up and sat in the car until lunch time. We had the Pizza Hut buffet. I took Jen back to work and headed home. On the way, I stopped at Anytime Fitness and managed to get a quick tour and a price quote. Then I headed home for the unpleasantness of the day. I had to clean the oven. I put the Star Wars soundtrack on and spent a couple of hours scrubbing out the oven while taking liberal breaks to play on the internet. I didn't get the oven clean, but it is cleaner.

Friday started with good news, our Federal tax return was in the bank. We got better news at the mailbox, our state tax return was in. We cashed the check and headed to work. The day was both fast and slow. I was busy which made the day fast, but seemed to drag on as there was a three day weekend awaiting. I picked up Jen and we invited David out to dinner. I knew we were either going to Olive Garden or Longhorn's for food. We decided on Longhorn's and I enjoyed people watching while we waited. I can't believe the amount of people dressed for warmer weather complying about how cold they were. I especially enjoy the women with flip-flops and shorts on and a sweatshirt on. I almost laughed out loud. Dinner was wonderful. We enjoyed ourselves immensely. Then we headed home.

Saturday I woke up when Jen came back to bed. I don't know what happened, but I was awake. She was reading and for some reason the minuscule amount of noise she was making kept me awake. I got up and checked to make sure we could access the tax refund we could and my paycheck was there as well. I paid our wireless bill, now it will come out automatically. Plus, subscribed us to Wizard 101 (an online game that is quite fun) and bought some crowns (an in-world currency). We laid in bed for a while and then moved to the living room. I decided since we were up I'd get the car repaired. I called Ewer's and they told me to come in at 1100. We watched some telly and Jen played on the computer. I threw on some clothes and headed downtown. I gave Ewer's the car and headed up to Lucy's for breakfast. I talked with my sister, she'd called while I was pulling into Ewer's, while I waited for my food. I ate a delicious breakfast and walked back down to Ewer's. I saw my car had been moved. I wasn't sure if they'd finished work or looked at it, moved the car and were waiting on a part. I walked in and my cell phone rang. Ewer's was calling me. Thinking the guy behind the counter was calling and answered and hung up. OOPS! The guy used the intercom to call Dean who came up and checked me out. I was on my way shortly and headed home. Jen and I hung out watching telly for the rest of the afternoon before heading out to Danny and Elaine's for Rifts.

Sunday I woke up and headed out to play on the internet for a while. Sometimes a wanderlust comes over me, usually I don't mind laying in bed sometimes I have to get up for a bit. I played around looked at various sites. I closed the computer lid and I heard a crack, but thought nothing of it. I went back to bed and read for a while. Jen and I were talking and I remember what I originally had gone out to look up. I went out and saw the right hinge had broken through the top of the case. The left hinge was already broken. I made the decision to get a new laptop. When we had discussed having Best Buy repair the left hinge we had been told to expect a three week turnaround. We got up, went to QuikTrip for gas and news papers, Cracker Barrel for lunch and then to Rock Bottom Comics (ya gotta have your bi-weekly dose of comicy goodness.) Plus we like our comic book guys. Then it was off to Best Buy. We got in line and waited. I saw a young woman come in with a thin tee-shirt, shorts (showing lots of leg) and flip flops.Now Sunday was a nice day, but not quite that nice! Still, I enjoyed the view. Once we got to the front of the line things went quickly. They found our policy, took down what needed fixed and we headed out. Back in the computer department (the placement always reminds me of the cashier cages in a casino all the way at the back!) we quickly found the computer we wanted and made our decision. We got the computer and the accident protection package (hey I'm fairly sure it was gonna pay for the other commuter to get fixed!) and were on our way home. The rest of the day was spent setting up the computer, watching telly and generally enjoying.

Monday (16 February) I took Jen to work and then went home and relaxed. I washed the sheets and generally did nothing. Jen was correct, the new laptop was nice. I played Wizard 101 and surfed my sites while I watched The Man Who Wasn't There. I mostly watched because I'd seen Scarlett Johannsson was in it. I'm not a big Billy Bob Thornton fan. Then I took Jen to lunch, Pizza Hut buffet again. Then home to watch Sling Blade and the first part of Footloose. (I know I've never seen it!) I finished my book while I was waiting for Jen. We came home. I watched the end of Footloose. An okay film We had dinner and watched XIII (a mini-series based on a comic book) and then crashed.

Self indulgent crap? or 2008 in review

I haven't written in quite a while. Our computer got sick and had to go into the shop. We had to have the hard drive reformatted and Windows XP reinstalled. Sadly, we lost all of our data as well as all of our Microsoft products. Not too big of a loss, they installed Open Office for us. the biggest loss is the bookmarks for places we didn't visit that often.

While I've been away both the calendar and lunar new years have come and gone. This always brings thoughts of the past year's accomplishments and failures. On the failure score I didn't manage to exercise or write more and I went nowhere at work. For accomplishments i manged to keep my job, my wife and get my blood sugar under better control. I'm further towards being financially equal. That is something to be proud of. Looking back at my list from last year I didn't manage to achieve many of those goals.

For the coming year I'm going to try and achieve more of my goals.

I. Exercise
A. Tai Chi
1. I will learn one new more on Sunday and practice it through the week. The second part of this is to be more diligent and consistent in my practice.
B. I need to look for a gym. I'd like to start working out. I know it would help my blood sugar and waist line.

II. Writing
A. Blogs
1. I need to write at least weekly, but daily would be preferable.
B. Fiction
1. Practice is the only way I'm going to develop the skills to hone.
a. I need to complete one story a month. Starting 1 February I will start working a story and follow it through the month.

III. Education
A. Return to school
1. Perhaps a fiction writing class will help spur my to write.
2. A degree would enhance my chances of obtaining a probation and parole officer position.

IV. Attitude
A. I will be more aware of my moods and attempt to counteract my fits of depression.
B. I will make a concerted effort to be kinder. I've been made aware that I take my moods out on those around me. One more item on the list that is Project Bob.

I'm not sure what all of this means. I don't know what I'm going to do with all of this. I don't know why I'm listing all of this, at most 5 people look at this blog. For those few, those happy few, I'm asking you to aid my quest to write daily. Please list any questions or topics you'd like to see my expound upon.

There, in a nutshell, is my 2008 year in review. I managed to improve my finances and hopefully myself.