Time to Dish

Wow, has it really been that long since I last posted? I am far from being a daily poster, but this gap is even big for me. Well, I suppose I'll let the cat out of the bag and fill you in on what has been going on with me lately. First off, my bonus this year came less than two weeks before Christmas: being laid off. And since two of the companies I worked for are owned by the same person, it was like loosing two jobs at the same time. For the past few years he had been making some poor business decisions and ignoring the advice of those around him. So, it ended up that he could no longer afford to pay my salary. And since I was basically just an extension of him, I was the expendable one. Merry Christmas, no more job for me. OK, I still have my real estate dealings and what-not, but these other positions were my steady income. They were what let me breath easy and pay bills. Besides, I'm someone who is used to being quite busy, so this was a big hit in the grand scheme of things.

Combine this with the fact that my lovely wife is fighting with her own personal demons, our good friend was going to suddenly be moving seven hours away, and there was some drama with the foreign exchange student living with us. All of the above then added up to relationship struggles. Good times, good times.

But it seems that even clouds filled with poo have silver linings. While I have not yet found a proper replacement, I know that I will in time. The upside is that now that I am away from there I realize just how unhappy I was. Sure, I've known it sucked for some time, but I didn't realize how much it was affecting my life. I wouldn't say that I was depressed, or maybe that is as depressed as I get. From the outside I seemed fine, but the few people who really know me could tell something was gradually different. My motivation was way down because the damn place was sucking my energy. When I came home I didn't feel like doing any projects, I didn't feel like working out, I didn't even want to talk about my day. I was so unhappy all day that all my energy was used up.

Now I am feeling like the old me again. I am finally tackling a huge project at the house and I can't wait to get back to it. I want so badly to finish it so that I can move on to the next one. I am excercising faithfully again and feeling great. The longer I am away from that place the better I feel. I pledge to never let a job make me feel like that again. Even though I am thick skinned and can put up with a lot, I am going to be aware of when enough is enough.

Plus, things have smoothed out with our exchange student and our friend decided not to move away. And while the battle between light and dark rages on, there is strength even when all seems lost.

So as I said in my last post (if you can remember back that far) life can bring it on. Now that my energy is back there's nothing I can't accomplish. Plus, I'll try not to stay away so long again, I know you missed me.

Bring It

Although this is not one of my comic drawings, it is done by one of my favorites, Mr. Berkeley Breathed. He originally did the daily strip, Bloom County. Then he did a few variations of a Sunday only comic which came and went and now currently shows up as simply "Opus" (which is the name of the big nosed fella above). While I mourned the loss of Bloom County, I certainly can't begrudge a guy for wanting to only work 1/7th as much.

Anywho, I have this little comic posted above my desk at the house. It is pretty good advice, of which I am trying to take to heart. 2007 is continuing the trend of 2006's end though, so my glass is still not quite half full. Part of the problem is that every time I peak my head out to see if it is safe, life keeps poking me in the eye. I'll get there, maybe I just need some goggles.

I hate being this person. It is not like me at all. I am normally the person whom you never know if anything is bothering them. I am the fortified one, I'm not used to feeling the effects of upheaval. So I say, screw this. The next time life tries to come at me in a threatening way, I am going to give it a swift kick to the chops.

I am going to do my best to keep my eyes open and to take advantage of any opportunity that presents itself. You just never know where the good stuff might come from.

I am going to loose myself as often as I can in a world that I enjoy, the land of movies. Good movies, bad movies, new ones, or ones I've seen a hundred times. It is my escape, my relaxation, and one of my favorite down times.

I am going to tune into the ol' boob-tube from time to time. I don't get the chance to watch TV all that often, and I get the sneaking feeling that I may be missing some good stuff. New shows, new episodes, even some of the old shows may be changing it up a bit. And to steal a by-gone slogan from one of the networks: if I haven't seen it, it's new to me.

And, while I am still going to focuss on eating right and exercising, I am going to enjoy what I eat and treat myself to tasty splurges from time to time. (damn you Taco Bell and your evil goodness)

That's right, life ain't keepin' me down. I laugh in the face of adversity! I spit in the wind of change! OK, maybe that one isn't such a good idea, but you get the point. Bring it on life; I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere! Ow, my eye.

NSFW Holiday Post

Sorry I haven’t been around much lately. I’ve been in a funk due to the end of 2006 shitting on me and many people I know. I’ll not go into details now, save to say it’s just crappy crap. I’ve done my best to stay positive and generally I’m a pretty good actor. But even I have my limits.

I celebrated the holidays, and they were fine; nothing really to complain about there. In fact, I love this time of year. It is one of my favorites. So, it ticks me off even more that crap would try and overshadow it.




I couldn’t even enjoy cheering the Bengals on lately because they decided to suck the last three games and miss the playoffs.





I have decided to make a conscious effort to work out more though. It’s not really a new year’s resolution, since those never seem to stick. It’s just something I need to do and have put off for far too long. It may even help my mental outlook too. Who knows, it’s just time.



So, for lack of wanting to share anything more, here is a Christmas themed video that made me smile. Beware, for like my pictures were, this guy’s language is NSFW. Enjoy.


Fear not, I’ll be back to sharing inane stories soon I’m sure. Bear with me, for I know 2007 is going to be better.