Schweine

Christmas was really good, loot-wise. Steph had to work though, which really sucked. Playing GTA4, which has led me to rediscover this song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zGwKoHNl8k

I've been playing that song a lot tonight. Good thing Steph is out of earshot, the fact that I've been playing it a lot would probably drive her nuts. Most of the song is in Russian which I don't understand, but there's parts in German, which I can pick up on. I have no clue why it is that I really enjoy foreign music, often more than I enjoy anything from the US.

Lets see if I can remember to keep posting on this blog. Don't hold your breath. Considering it's been more than a year since the last post, the odds aren't good.

Wow, haven't been here in a while. I forgot about this blog.

Story of my life: I've been working. I hate my job, but it's work. I've been feeling lost and out of sorts. It's mostly from not doing what I want to be doing for a career, and having no means to achieve my goals. How can I be a teacher if I can't afford school?

-'Mad

Marathons!

Have you ever kicked back and involved yourself in one thing so exclusively that it started coloring your perceptions for a few days? For example, reading an entire book series like Harry Potter, then wander around for the next few days thinking of other people as "Muggles" and keeping an eye out for wands? Or perhaps watching an entire season of a TV show, then dream about it at night and have it preoccupy your thoughts during the day?

I have that going on right now, only with the webcomic Questionable Content. I've spent the past couple of days reading through the entire comic archive, and now my brain is full of internal snarky comments, double entendres, and sexual innuendo.

It messes with your head, but it's fun in a way.

-'Mad

Crash!

OK, so back in September my main computer died. Specifically the hard drive. I managed to get things up and running, but I lost a lot of the links that I used to visit on a regular basis, this blog being one of them. I've fixed my computer the best I can considering I didn't spend any money, (used a backup hard drive, got a legit copy of XP from a friend, etc.)

...so yeah. I'm still around. I mostly update on Twitter, which I have linked to in posts previous to this one.

-'Mad

Flabicide

Came across an article that listed the worst drink in America for your health:

The following is a quote from the full article here.

WORST DRINK IN AMERICA

Baskin-Robbins Large Chocolate Oreo Shake

• 2,600 calories
• 135 g fat (59 g saturated fat, 2.5 g trans fat)
• 263 g sugars
• 1,700 mg sodium

Is this the worst drink on the planet? All signs point to yes. First off, it has an ingredient list that reads like an organic chemistry final. Those 70-plus ingredients conspire to pack this shake with more sugar than 29 Fudgsicles, as much fat as a stick and a half of butter, and more calories than 48 actual Oreos. Oh, it also has 3 days’ worth of saturated fat and, most bizarre of all, as much salt as you’ll find in 9 bags of Lay’s Classic potato chips. Need more proof? Let’s hope not.

Ouch.

-'Mad

This world is too sue-happy...

So after years and years of not being active in the SCA, I am back. It's great to be back, but I have noticed one change that has irritated me:

Waterbearers are no longer allowed.

A Waterbearer is simply what in football or basketball would be called a "waterboy." They bring water to the fighters out on the field. Dehydration is a huge issue when you are out fighting, and a critical thing to watch.

However, because the lawyers think that there is the risk that someone will sue the SCA if they got a disease (drinking from a waterbottle that someone else drank from, I guess) they no longer allow waterbearers to go out and provide water to the fighters. The fighters must come off the field to a "courtesy station" and get water for themselves.

Sounds like a simple solution, but when you are out there on the field, hopped up on adrenalin and working out strenuously, the idea of water doesn't always cross your mind. It's easy to forget unless someone reminds you. Even if it did cross your mind, you often don't want to unless someone is shoving a straw in your face.

I forsee quite a few fighters collapsing in the future due to a lack of waterbearers. STOOPID sue-happy world.

-'Mad

Oops...

I changed my name on my twitter account, not knowing that it would change my URL and everything related to it. Here's the new link.


Otherwise, what is there to talk about? With any luck, Steph will be going to school this fall. I am hoping that it works out, I'd hate to think we moved to Pocatello for nothing. The latest plan is that once she gets through school, then I will go through school. I still don't know HOW I would go to school, but at least one of us would have a good job in a few years.

I'm still looking for a better job. Work is chaotic right now in regards to my job security: When I think I am on pretty solid ground, something happens to make me think that I'm less than a month away from loosing my job. When I think I am about to lose my job, something happens to make me think "no, I guess I'm OK and my job is moderately secure."

The corporation I work for DOES NOT believe in ANY KIND of positive reinforcement, choosing instead to actively pursue a highly negative reinforcement approach to employee management. It makes employee morale very low across the district, as we are "under the gun" on a daily basis to avoid being fired for failing to meet goals set by some guy we've never met that lives in Texas. He's never been here, he doesn't know or care about us, we are just numbers on a paper that continuously need to be "corrected." It's often disheartening, especially knowing that I am just a number to some guy that I work for.

On the other hand, my immediate manager is very good at her job, very good to all the employees in her store, (myself most definitely included) and handles a lot of the horrible crap that is dished out by the people above her. I certainly wouldn't want her job when I see what she has to deal with. It certainly takes the incentive to try for a promotion right out, especially when I see her in the back room at lunch eating ramen noodles and driving her beat up old car. She works incredibly hard (80+ hour weeks are not unheard of, 6 day weeks are mandatory at the least) and apparently doesn't get paid very well judging from her lifestyle. If a person works as hard as she does, working as many hours as she does, the corporation should at least have the decency to pay her enough so that she can afford better than ramen noodles and drive a beat up old '80s car.

...But then, like I said, the company I work for doesn't believe in positive reinforcement. It makes me rather depressed and angry sometimes.

-'Mad