Rant: I'm so burned out from school. The class average on our last exam was a 74 - a D. One of my friends made a 66 and is freaking out because if you get a D you're out of the program. If she leaves I'm gonna be really upset. You only get one C. I made a 90 on the exam, but I'm borderline high B - low A in a couple of classes. I'm frustrated with the 90 as I spent my spring break studying for this exam, and I don't think I could've studied any more. This "borderline B-A" shit is stressful as I have to get A's in those final exams to bring my grade up to an A. And, the internships I want are very competitive, so a 4.0 for this semester is necessary.
Rant: It's currently Wednesday the 4th of April 2012. I just received a call from a credit collections agent claiming that they bought a debt from a credit card account that I closed in 2009. They're claiming that I'm 400 days overdue on payment, and that my last payment was in September 2009... They want everything from my drivers license number to a count of my pubic hairs despite the fact that I've never heard of them, on the basis that they have some very old information about me and found my a phone number for me somewhere, and six grand, and are threatening to send legal actions to the owners of the office I work in, who I don't work for, have no relationship with, and are about 8 hours drive from where I am, with the presumption being that after they're done embarrassing me, something else bad will promptly happen, unless I provide documents proving that I paid a bill in 2009, by Friday. As in Good Friday. I've moved house four or five times since then. I've lived in four different cities. I've changed bank at least once and I think twice since then. Are you fucking kidding me?
Spoilered for long, reflective post. Spoiler This is an interesting day for me, TiB. I've mentioned this before, but I grew up fat. I've been fat as long as I can remember. About midway through last year, life was pretty good. I had a ridiculously active social life, I was getting laid, and work was laughably easy. Still, everything was a little Hotel California-ish. After yet another day of sitting on my ass at work and then going home and getting hammered with friends, I started to think that maybe I was a little young to have slipped into such a comfortable routine. So I decided I was going to spend a month or two in South America. I bought an extra 6 weeks of leave from work and started doing some homework. I read up on the fitness required to hike to Machu Picchu and realized I wasn't going to make it in the shape I was in, so I made a few lifestyle changes. I started doing at least 30 minutes of exercise a day, and changed my diet fairly radically. Today is exactly 6 months since that happened, and I'm in a reflective mood. The Raves: The narrative effect. I'm inherently suspicious of narratives, but they are powerful. Getting up every day knowing that you're a little bit fitter than you were the day before, and you'll be fitter still tomorrow, is great for your overall mood and outlook. I'm more confident in my appearance. I'm far more confident in my willpower. My fitness, strength, and stamina are infinitely improved. When I started, I was puffing and panting from 30 minutes of casual walking. Now, an average day for me is: bike 45 minutes to work; spend 30 minutes in the gym over lunch break; ride 45 minutes home; play 45 minutes of beach volleyball. It's not a ridiculous amount of exercise, but it would have been impossible for me last year. More recreational options. I took up boxing and absolutely love it. I'm still an extreme amateur at it, but it is satisfying in a way that few other things have been. I've probably added a couple of decades to my life. I look much better naked. I get more attention from women when I head out. The Rants: My drinking tolerance is through the floor. 6 months ago, an average drinking night for me would consist of a bottle of bourbon, and I'd be drunk but coherent afterwards. I've always been an exceptionally good drunk for this reason. Now, I have 3 fingers of scotch and I'm heavily tipsy. I haven't quite adjusted to my new pansiness, so I drink too quickly and write myself off. This is only going to to get worse now that I'm more or less off the booze for a month while my knee heals. Still, perhaps there are better goals in life than being a good drunk. I'm a little more 'bro'-ish. All this new strength is a novelty, and combined with the reduced drinking tolerance, I do stupid shit like wrestle with friends when drunk and get my knee fucked in half. Probably a consequence of not getting it out of my system before age 25 like a normal person. Food is more expensive and takes longer to prepare. The expense is offset to a degree by the reduced amounts of alcohol required, but takes some getting used to. Fewer Thai curries. I could happily live on nothing but Thai food for the rest of my life, but most of my favourite dishes are full of coconut milk and rice. Overall, the lifestyle changes have been a huge net plus. I've dropped 25kg, and I quite literally have muscles in places I've never seen before. (Plus, when you've got a busted knee, I suspect not having to constantly support 25 extra kilos is a benefit.) That said, I still have a fair way to go. I still have a gut which I have grown thoroughly tired of, and boxing training still absolutely wipes me out to the point where I can barely lift my arms. And yet: I'm getting very close to not being fat anymore. For the first time in 27 years. It's an interesting feeling, and I haven't made the mental switch yet. But it's coming.
Nerd Rave: Just got back from Emerald City Comic Con in Seattle, had a great time, and got some awesome sketches, including one by Tony Moore, co-creator of The Walking Dead. It features Rick killing a zombie me. It's awesome. Great times had.
Rant: I just woke myself up at 6am because I was stressed about my teeth hurting in my sleep. I guess I can't ignore the fact that I have to go to the dentist. I fucking hate the dentist. I'm pretty sure that a filling fell out and I just need to get it replaced, but of course I'm panicking that it's going to be something much worse. Also, where the hell do I start finding a dentist out of all of the choices in New York City? Part of the reason I hate them is because I've had bad experiences with shitty ones, so I'm afraid to just randomly pick one. Blerg.
Rant: I went to the park yesterday to play ultimate frisbee with some coworkers and sprained my ankle 5 minutes into it. It appears to be swollen up to the size of a baseball. I probably won't be able to walk for weeks. I just started seeing a psychiatrist last week, so I hope that this doesn't interfere with my sessions. Rave: I think that I only want see my psychiatrist because she's hot.
Rant: I wish I understood mental illness more. My girlfriend's mother has a serious screw loose. I don't take very kindly to anyone treating my girlfriend bad, but it is especially hurtful when it comes to someone that should love her. My girlfriends little sister is getting ready to go to college. She was supposed to visit my girlfriend this weekend to look at college stuff. Her Mother informed her that if she leaves, she will call the cops and report the vehicle as stolen (because even though the sister pays the bills on the car it is in her parents name). She has threatened to do similar things if she leaves to go to college. My girlfriend loves her sister, and as a result of rules like this never gets to hang out with her. This bums her out. The mother likes to think of her children as slaves. She has all but disowned my girlfriend for moving away to start a life of her own. My girlfriend while living their functioned as the family slave. The house has only been cleaned once in the last three years. As sad as it is to say this, I can't wait until they disown her for real. I'm pretty sure that is going to come when they realize that we are moving in together. LIVING IN SIN FOR THE WIN. I'm pretty sure 0 contact is better than the sparse conversations they have now. Almost every one of those conversations involves my girlfriend crying after. Rave: Until I met her parents I never had any idea how awesome mine are.
RANT? RAVE?: My wife and I are together pretty much 24/7 and yet nearly every day one of us has a dream about the other. The dreams are always either happy/odd, and/or sexual in nature. We'll be married 10 years this October. Shouldn't we hate each other by now?
Rave: Poland is fucking cheap. I just bought a beer for 2.20 USD, in a bar, in the tourist center. This is 75% less than I can get a beer at the shitty dive bar near my apartment. Rave: I hope to be the person who has posted from the most countries. I am up to 9 now, and will hit 10 soon.
Rave: Making plans for my cousin's bachelor party. So far it looks like we're gonna do a float trip in June or July. Rave: Expecting to wait 2-3 months on a part I need before I can keep making progress on a project... and getting a call that it shipped YESTERDAY! Rant: My girlfriend has an uncle with some pretty tough issues and his situation recently hit a pretty low point. It is really tough for me to be there for her when I'm a long ass ways away.
Rant: I am going to put my fist inside our admin assistant, and not in a sexy way. In one self-entitled email, she has managed to show me three things: A) she is incapable of identifying where the *.pdf version of our files are located (despite the fact that every request sheet is attached to a copy of the damn file, which has the client name and substance ID on it, making it all but impossible to not find the files on our computer system); B) she is incapable of opening said files to their third page table-of-contents to identify how many attachments there are (and subsequently how many tabs should be printed); and C) she is incapable of realizing that every fucking file we have ever printed, in all her goddamned years here, has a front cover and back cover printed in motherfucking colour. My pet peeves are stupidity and laziness, and this woman displays both with such stunning frequency that it's a wonder she manages to get herself out of bed in the morning. Here's a tip, sweetie - my job is not to do your job, nor is it to make your job so inane that a semi-challenged monkey could do it. My job is to do SCIENCE, your job is to print my science up into a presentable format. My job is not to send you a detailed email outlining which pages need to be printed in colour (the ones that are on-screen in colour, useless twat), or how many tabs you need to print (count the fucking attachments - that's how many). Fuck sakes.
Rave: Move is now complete and of course there were a few speed-bumps along the way, but I'm officially moved into my house. Love it, and decorating the place has been so much fun. The renovations turned out better than anything I had imagined. Rave: Long weekend coming up and I'll be working on our new headboard for most of it. And drinking beers.
My birthday is today, and I feel like it could be the greatest day ever. 1. It is opening day. 2. I am off work. 3. I have tickets to the game in cincinnati today. For those of you that don't know, it is a holiday there. They even have a parade and stuff. 4. Going to look at consistent tomorrow, so that I can become a home owner. 5. MY GIRLFRIEND TOLD HER MENTALLY ILL PARENTS NOT TO CONTACT HER UNTIL THEY GET HELP AND LEARN TO TREAT THEIR CHILDREN LIKE REAL PEOPLE. This will never happen. She is free. I am free. I have litterally never felt this good. Ever. Life is fucking great, and I love it. Rant: that will all change with a trip to the dmv this morning I'm sure.
Rant: My hip needs to pop and it HURTS. I've done everything I can do with absolutely no results. Sitting is uncomfortable, walking is kinda ok and bending down is out of the question. Fuck doing laundry - I'm going back to bed.
Rave: I'll be at the ROT Rally in Austin this year, June 7-11th. Seems like a great party for a little meet up...
Rave/Rant: Night formation flying tonight plus formation landings to a confined area. Oh god... Rant: I am burnt out right now. After tonight, I'll have completed 7 flights in 4 days, all at night under extreme work load. Rant: Tomorrow I have to do an aircraft walkaround with an instructor and another student. I'll be very tired. Rant: I have duty all day on Saturday. Rave? I get to study all of duty to prepare for my... Rave: Proficiency check next week. Rave: That means I'll be done and out to the fleet in a couple of weeks. Hooray!! Rave: It's a 3 day weekend.
RAVE: Just got a random call from my boss letting me know that I'm getting a 3% raise effective the 15th. This has no relation to the upcoming promotion I'm waiting on that will be a huge jump. Woohoo.
Rave: Broke another "Least I've weighed in years" milestone today. Down below 235m eaning I've lost 35 pounds so far. 15 to go to the goal weight, but I'm sure I'm not gonna stop there.