RAVE: I grew up thinking my grandfather's history was lost. He only knew his grandfather's name and nothing else. Well, the internet and it's many records have changed that. I just found out recently that a second cousin has definitively connected my name directly to Virginia in the early 1700's. At that point there is strong speculation about two generation back from there back to a guy born in Virginia in 1670. Very little is known for him other than a will and a land document and a wife's name. Nothing on her either. Trail is cold. I decided to look from the other direction. Well, my name is not very common for Virginia at all in the latter 17th century. Only a few names are on any of the tens of thousands listed in all the ship registries for that area. Most with my name came into New York or Massachussetts back then. There is one name in Virginia that fits just with a slight different spelling, which was common. Couple that with the names of known descendents and the location where my earliest known ancestors lived being really really close to where the one guy came over on the boat and it's a logical connection. Now that I have a boat date, a departure location with names in England and the sponsor and all of his information in the states I can start tracing those connections to see if there is any information that might be able to tie him to the person we can't connect further back. Nobodies ever made the leap before. I think it's really only been possible in the last couple years due to the amount of records now available online and the ease of searching. TLR: I recently believed I couldn't trace my paternal line back further than a couple generations. Now I know I'm at least 10th generation and could be 11th with a small chance to continue the search overseas. No special, famous or royal connections but who cares. It's interesting to think about what life might have been like in the 1670's, etc. in Virginia.
Rant: It sure would be nice just to be able to be a normal person around attractive women. I'm so fucking weird I can't even figure out how to fix being weird.
Re: Rant & Rave Thread Rave: Doug stanhope killed it rantish?: still drinking and have to work in the morning
Per request for elaboration, I watched a guy go into the men's room put the bag with his lunch in it on the floor next to the urinal, then put it on the counter when he went to wash his hands.
Rant: So I've come to realization that in my current job situation, I am not really going anywhere with it. I've nearly maxed out my potential salary growth. I can't really get promoted unless something managerial opens up and that could be years. Even with that promotion, I would be looking at marginal pay increases compared with the tremendous increase in stress and work that go along with it. Sounds miserable and not worth it. I could go back to school and get my masters which could possibly open doors for me with better careers and more interesting opportunities. But if they don't, I'm in the hole 40-60 grand with no real prospects to pay it off. Rave: My cousin, who lives in Ft. Worth has been trying to get me to do what he does for the past 4 years. He works in the railroad industry as a dispatcher. Sounds boring, but its quite interesting. If I were to persue this path, it would force me to leave Houston and move my whole life up there, which scares me to death. But I think will do it. It would essentially double my salary and also provide yearly bonuses, which are in the multi thousand dollar level. The decision sounds easy but its really not. TL;DR: I'm tired of being a 50K a year shithead with no where to go. So its time to change up.
Rave: I was asked to present an award at my alma mater tonight. Rant: An undergrad chemistry award. I'm surrounded by Chinese boys with acne wearing their fathers' suits while their mothers spit-clean their ties. What a way to spend a Friday night. Fuck this.
Rave: With help from my grandma the infant seat is clean and ready to go for baby boy. Rave: I've been fighting a head cold for the past two weeks and I'm finally starting to feel better. Rant: I woke up with a sore throat this morning. Looks like it's time to turn on the humidifier. Rave: Less than a week until baby is here. Rant: I still have lots to do to prepare for him. I was holding out hope that we'd miraculously be in the house by then but at this point I'd say it's officially not going to happen. I still have to pack our bags for the hospital, finish cleaning house, get the co-sleeper back from my sister, etc. etc. Rant: This baby already knows how to get on my nerves. Holy sciatic nerve pain, Batman! Rave: As unprepared as I feel, I am so ready to not be pregnant anymore.
Rave: My newest roommate works in advertising and so kind of needs to have cable and also would be able to write it off on her taxes, so she'd been talking about maybe getting cable for the apartment and she'd pay for it. I didn't know she actually set something up until the doorbell rang today and I opened the door to the cable guy and now we have cable just in time to watch the Breaking Bad finale live. Hurray!
Rave: My birthday was Saturday, went to the gun range then came home to a surprise birthday party, my brother flew in from Seattle to attend. Rave: Got a basket of booze from the wife
Rant: Looks like I am going to be temporarily out of a job starting tomorrow, with no idea when the government will open back up for business. I am blessed to have a great family that can act as a safety net for me, but the fact of the matter is that we're still living paycheck to paycheck getting back on our feet having bought the house, and this could set us waaaaaay back. Haven't been this scared about my financial situation in a long time.
Rave: Moved in with my friend yesterday. Rant: I feel like I was hit by a truck. I fucking despise moving. Rave: My guy friends are awesome, 5 helped me. Rave? Amicable break ups.
Rave: Daughter got accepted to both colleges she applied to. She knew which one she wanted, so the second one was just a backup. As a nice bonus, we got a letter in the mail on Friday from her college of choice saying they were awarding her a nice scholarship. We didn't even apply for it! It's weird to think this time next year she will be gone. Rant: I had a guy curse and yell at me at work last week because he said I needed to do my homework and call his insurance company and find out why they were now charging him for medicine that was free (to him) previously. I asked if he was in the donut hole and he said absolutely not. He was. I walked into work and he's cursing at my coworkers and I tell him what was going on. So because he was being an absolute prick, when he asked me if he was just supposed to die now because he couldn't afford it, I really REALLY wanted to just shrug my shoulders and say, "Guess so". But I hear that's not good for business. At least it was balanced out by the funny customer that didn't have enough money on her and didn't know what to put back so I told her I would hold the Michael Jackson "Thriller" cd behind the counter so no one else would buy it until she came back. Because those things are "so hard to find."
Rave Had a nice job interview at a company today. It was for a staff accountant position for a business that, basically, helps Swedish based companies expand/develop/invest in various markets around the world. It seems like a solid position with a lot of potential. Plus potential travel to San Francisco (one of my favorite cities) and NYC. It's also possible I could travel to Sweden to. Thereby enabling me to act awkward, nerdy and shy to women on an international level. I think the interview went quite well so I'm feeling pretty great right now. I mean the interview ended with me talking comics to my interviewer. Specifically Green Lantern comics. That's gotta be karma right there. Hopefully it's not too premature to plan my resignation rant for the current job.
Rant: You know what's fun? Morons with no practical experience (but an MBA!) that get involved in shit they have no business being involved in and basically add 3 hours of mayhem to what should have been a 20 minute project, tops. Hey chucklefuck, if you spent less time making fancy macro filled spreadsheets and more time looking at the instructions in the fucking E-Mail I sent you maybe this wouldn't be happening. Rant/Rave: Although he thought it was funny, my boss had to "have a talk" with me after a tirade on the phone that was punctuated by me telling him to put down the keyboard, step away from the phone, and go do something useful like take a 3 hour lunch. Rant: We recently filed for bankruptcy and now the trustee has to think we are completely incompetent. Neat.
RANT: After flying to California for a funeral, having to wake up at 6 to catch my flight back yesterday, then at 5 today because my second flight yesterday got cancelled, I am absolutely exhausted. I'm used to a late to bed/late to rise schedule too, so not only am I incredibly sleep deprived, it feels like it should be about five hours later than it is. I think I'm jet lagged, which is impressive seeing as how I never left the time zone.
rave: I had a dream last night that I was making out with the naked model from the Blurred Lines video. rant: one of my FB friends made a comment about the govt shutdown, and a friend of his replied with a bunch of crap including her wish that 800,000 parasites would lose their jobs. As a govt worker I'm well aware that there are some pretty negative opinions of us, but admittedly it still stings when someone openly expresses it.