Happy Birthday, Blog!
Yes, it's my blog's birthday. Three years! Can you believe it? Kinda crazy. All sorts of weird events have occurred in those three years. Ah, the memories.

So this past week has been productive. Doing work, doing more work, kung fu, choir. I got my first full paycheck, about the same time I got my business check. It was a good feeling to deposit that much money. I couldn't help but have a stupid grin on my face. I'm not sure if the girl behind the counter thought I was just admiring her or what, but it didn't matter. So yeah - it looks like after the next pay period, I'll have enough to put down my set down payment on the car. But I should PROBABLY be responsible and wait a couple more weeks so I have a little more extra money to spare. Ugh. It's hard to be responsible, sometimes. Especially when some things are just so beautiful.

Kung fu's been rough this week. Sifu had shoulder surgery, so he's been out of it this week. Which means other people are covering for him until he's better. And Sihing has work most nights. And what does that mean? It means I'm in charge. Yep, scary, I know. I've been leading class (by myself) this whole week. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. Two hours at a time, two separate classes. Monday we started late because all the students showed up late. So I went ahead and pushed them a little extra to make up for that. 160 crunches, 30 pushups (on fists or fingertips - I myself prefer fingertips), plenty of time in the horse stance. I even pushed myself more than normal. With the expectation I'd be able to recover the next day! But no, turns out I led class again, after a clearup of some misunderstanding I had with Sifu's decisions on who was leading when. I didn't push them QUITE as hard, but it was still pretty rough for the advanced class. And today was the same - although I decided to go ahead and turn all MY crunches into situps. After doing so many hundred crunches every night, you might as well take the next step. Yes, my abs are aching nicely. As are my legs, and my chest, and so forth. It's enough to motivate me to start doing the SEAL training workout regimen again. Maybe I'll gain twenty pounds of muscle again.

And guitar has been definitely still part of my schedule. I found an old Foo Fighters song, Everlong. And decided to see if I still remembered how to play it. Turns out I did, and that I actually figured out how to play it better than I had previously. It was quite cool. And it sounds glorious with my new setup (guitar/amp combination). That, and I learned how to play Cold. It was easier than I expected. Just a drop D tuning, and you're good to go. The only part that took a little longer to figure out was the solo, but I got it down. Oh, and I've also been looking into learning some Monte Montgomery. Because he's awesome. I particularly like I Know You By Heart. Some of his chords are NOT easy to change to quickly.

Yeah, and the new choir's got their first full "test" this Saturday. The Madalene at 5:30. Should be interesting. Hopefully it'll all go well. I just hope we get enough people to show. But I have faith. It'll all be splendid.

And work's going nicely - it's quite cool. I think I'll like it. I'm learning a lot, and I think I'll be able to actually contribute a substantial amount. And my business (not so much just a SIDE business anymore) is growing. I'm currently taking some classes to help me figure out how to expand it, and I'll be taking some major steps in a month or so to build on the business. If it goes well (and I think there's a decent chance it will), I'll be doubling the income from there or more by the end of the year.

Yes, so that's my blog's birthday post. Silly blog! Always here. To entertain and enlighten, and occasionally obfuscate. Hey! Did you know that Jet Li's new movie is coming out this Friday? It is luscious. I have seen it, and I know. Okay!

Time for random links! Yes, more than one. A few sent by my friend Nick. He finds lovely things. Like tales of how our childhood entertainment has taught us. And how some people have more gaming systems and games than me. Yes, even MORE than ME.
- posted by Pootenheimer @ 11:38 PM | 1 comments

 
Ach, the Balance
So I seemed to have recovered some nice emotional stability after doing my weekend introspection a week ago. Unfortunately, I have since experienced much physical INstability. I sparred two of the better fighters in kung fu on Friday (last Friday). In a row, with no break, of course. I think I left bruises on one of them, although he threw a knee into my calf. Not my shin (that would have hurt him worse, I think), but my calf. I'm not sure, but I think it may have sprained a tendon or something. I've been feeling my leg achey all week. Definitely not normal. I did leave three quite visible bruises on just one of his shins, so I suppose we can call it even.

Then yesterday I appear to have eaten something for lunch that did NOT agree with me. Yes, it's one of those things my body considered, and then decided that it must be REJECTED. Yes, indeed. So my body was making sure it would have NO PART of that food. Which was a very sucky 24 hours for me. I finally got an appetite back around 7 today (at night). A full day without food! Yay!

And it wasn't just me. Sihing (Justin) has apparently managed to get himself damaged, as well. Although for him it was at work. A very large (more than 6', 200+ lbs) male decided he was going to take some items from where Justin works. Since it's his job to make sure that doesn't happen, Justin basically told him he was not going to leave. This ungentlemanly individual decided he didn't like that, and a scuffle ensued. Basically, it started with Justin doing a hip toss and then putting him in a chokehold. The guy shoved him backwards and Justin hit his knee during the throw, hitting it on the concrete curb. The guy then proceeded to take his keys and jab them into Justin's arm, then rake them up his arm. Not pleasant. This only prompted Justin to tighten his chokehold quite a bit, so the guy passed out in less than five seconds. The guy's had previous charges against him, so it's very likely he'll spend some decent time in prison for all of it. Justin ended up with a very swollen knee and a couple of nice scrapes on his arm.

So yeah, this morning during sparring class, both of us were pretty sad looking. He was limping around, I was holding my stomach and being weak from lack of food. I think it's okay, though. We'll both recover and come back to play.

In other news, we had our first full choir rehearsal today. I'm getting excited about introducing the new choir to the church. It'll definitely be a change. I expect some people will like it, but some people probably won't, as well. We'll find out soon enough, I suppose. We go LIVE in two weeks.

And I had my first week at work. I think I'm actually going to like this job! For the first time in a long time, when I wake up I actually am looking forward to going in to work. Between that and starting some serious work to multiply things in my side business, the employment thing is going nicely. It's weird having money. I'm used to having to deal more often with deciding if getting gas in the car or EATING is more worthwhile. Seriously. Not that I'm complaining.

So next weekend is going to be the busiest weekend I've had in a very long time. For one thing, I'll be having my first high school reunion. Yes, that does display how old I really am, but eh. Everyone ages. Some better than others. I guess I'll find out how much better some have aged than others this coming weekend. It'll be very interesting to see the differences. That, and then I have a Newman alumni gathering, as well. Alumni all over the place! And a TEC reunion. So yeah, I'll be busy.

For funsies, it looks like I may be able to get the new car as early as the end of the month. It just comes down to deciding what color. Either black on black, dark silver on black, or dark silver on black and red. Sadly, they've discontinued the brighter silver, but oh well. I really have to say I feel almost guilty buying a new car. I don't really NEED it. Since I have a functional vehicle. It really is going to be more a toy than anything. The biggest crazy toy I've ever bought. But boy, will it be fun! And I have figured out what I'll be putting on my license plate. If it's not taken and/or illegal, I'll let you know after I get it. I'll just say this - it is definitely nerdy, and still very much me.

Oh! And I almost forgot. I normally grab a guitar and play on a moderately frequent basis. Most of the time I'll end up just doing improv stuff. I haven't been able to remember a lot of what I play, because I didn't have any way to record it, since I didn't have any drive space. Well, now that I DO have drive space, I recorded the last thing I was playing around with. It's still sort of exploratory, but this is something I thought up last week. Hopefully you think it's more good than bad.

Hmm, well, it is late. And I am going to sleep IN tomorrow. Which is lovely. For my random link today I'm going to put something rather random. A video by some guys who've made a number of videos. Some of which are actually rather funny! I thought this one was particularly amusing.
- posted by Pootenheimer @ 12:04 AM | 1 comments

 
Some Things Matter More Than Others
It's been a pretty long week. Some nice recover time with the three day weekend. I got to catch up on my sleep, which I needed a lot. And in my recovered state, I've had time to think. So this is my introspective dump, as my blog is sort of a public journal.

What have I learned? Well, I've been thinking about people in my life, quite a bit. Most of my best friends have moved away, and I rarely talk to them anymore. I had my three day weekend, and I realized it'd be a good time to hang out with friends. Unfortunately, it also made me realize the fact that I don't really have any. No really good friends, that is. I have a ton of acquaintances, I have some friends that I hang out with on occasion, but I don't have any friends that I can just call up to come over on a whim's notice, someone that I feel comfortable enough talking to that I can spill my soul's burden upon. If you have a friend like that, consider yourself blessed.

At the beginning of the year I thought about what types of things bothered me, the things that stressed me out. One of those things was money. Paying off the student loans, making sure I had enough to cover the bills. Especially when I was freshly graduated, looking for work that matched my skill level. So I set a goal to relinquish myself of that worry. By becoming independently wealthy. I told a few people about it, even asked some people if they'd be interested in learning how to get there with me, after I had started. Most people didn't take me seriously, or weren't interested. So it set me on my path by myself. Which I'm still walking down, making progress. It looks like I'll reach the goal I set, before I turn 30. I still have every intention of making it, and working my butt off to get there. Not having to worry about money is nice.

So yes - having money is nice, but the things in life that are actually worth something? It's the people in your life. Having someone you care about, who cares about you. That's worth more than anything else. People need each other to survive. You can be the strongest man on earth, the most independent being, but if you don't have other people in your life, you're not a full human being. Something crucial is missing. And that's how I'm feeling right about now. I've been put through a combination of experiences in my life that have made me become very independent, rather strong-willed. It makes me worry, though. I feel like it sets me apart from connecting to other people because of it.

I've had a number of people lately that I thought I was friends with, that sort of fell out of my life. In some cases, they just stopped talking to me. Had their own things to deal with, maybe better friends that were more worth their time. I actually believe in karma - what you give you you'll get back, in time. Perhaps everything that's been happening lately is for a reason, but whatever reason it is, it sucks. I wish I could count the number of people who've gone away like this on one hand, but it's more than that. I wish I knew why, but I don't. It's not for lack of trying, either. And anyone that knows me knows I'm not a jerk (on a regular basis, at the very least). I'd imagine that anyone who just drops away from a person for no rational reason is not a real friend, anyway, so maybe I'm all the better for it.

I do find myself in leadership roles in many aspects of my life. I think that does have something to do with it - when you're a leader, the rest of the group bonds, but the leader often stands alone. You can see this easily in military examples, or in the classroom. Perhaps I just need to follow more. I'm just trying to figure out exactly how things work, why things are they way they are. It's the obsessive analytical, logical nature I have. Maybe it's something that can't be figured out. Maybe it just is.

Something fun that added to my feeling of being pushed out was the cop that showed up at my door last night. I like to use the guitar as an emotional release, and while pushing the limits of sound with the latest guitar/amp combo I have, seems that I got a little TOO loud. So one of the neighbors called the cops on me. They didn't come up and ask me directly to quiet down a little, but just called the cops. By the time he came, I had stopped for almost an hour, so it was a moot point. He was nice about it, seemed like he wasn't particularly happy about checking it out. I did it on a Saturday night, before 9, so I figured it'd be the best time to get loud, if I was ever going to. Looks like I'll have to keep the volume on my amp below the halfway point from now on.

Regardless of my more somber tone today, I'm still an optimist. And I will say that I DO have some friends, and I enjoy spending time with them when I can. The one thing missing that I can honestly say I wish I had is a best friend, someone I trust implicitly, someone I know won't back out on me. Maybe I just need to wait until I get married for that one. Until then, it's being Mr. Independent, working on all my goals, enjoying the simple pleasures in life. Perhaps I'll just stumble across some new friends, and it'll hit me without me even realizing it.

Speaking of simple pleasures - I did go by the Honda dealership yesterday. I didn't stay for very long, because they were closing. Imagine being nice to the car salesman because you don't want to take up his time. It's an odd feeling. But yeah, I went in and checked out a 2006 model, a black S2000 on the floor. It was BEAUTIFUL. I sat in it for the first time, and I have to say I'm already in love, and I haven't even driven one yet. It really does feel less like something you get IN, and more like something you put ON. It's like you're wearing it. They're continuing into 2007, so it's not being discontinued, which is good. I'll probably start shopping right around my birthday. If you know when that is, then know that I'll probably be driving one sometime during the thirty days that follow. Woo!

As far as my work week went, this week I had orientation in Virginia. I got to also see my sister and her roommate, an old friend of mine. We hung out a bit, it was good to see her place and how she's living her life. I also go to see some friends of the family, and see an old friend of mine (one of the best friends that moved away). We talked for a while, got to vent about our personal frustrations. It was good.

The orientation itself was okay. Nothing overly exciting. We did get laptops, which was sweet - it's my first real laptop! It's a work machine, but they pretty much belong to us, so we can use them for whatever we want. The orientation leader just said nothing illegal, and nothing nasty. I guess I'll have to stay away from news pages. They're nastier than nice, especially with all the crazy weather lately on the east coast.

So yeah, orientation, then the last two days of the week were for work days. It wore me out, not stopping at all. I think I'll like working there, though. The people are cool, and the work might have a learning curve, but I think I might actually enjoy it. I've already run into several people downtown I know. It keeps reminding me how small a place the world really is.

Okay - even though this has been a more journal-style blog entry, there's still plenty of room for random linking. I've shared some of my life experience and learning with you today. But there are other people you may be able to learn from.
- posted by Pootenheimer @ 3:35 PM | 3 comments