Random Notes - February

I really do hate these. Not really. I just don’t like to “title” most of my blog posts because that gives me the ability to free write. Really, I’d like to entitle this post, “A lame attempt at filling the month of February with at least 4 blog posts”. Because it is.

It’s hard to keep up with something I wrote last week that I consider some of my “top notch” stuff. I can’t always produce stuff like that. And the sad thing is, is that I’ve got 4 different drafts written for blogs I could post at any time, and they would make sense within my blog because I talk about random things, overblown-see-way-too-much-of-the-forest-for-the-laurels-you’re-looking-at
-outside-your-5’X4”-plexiglass-window-oh-my-gosh-I-think-this-is-your-longest
-run-on-ever.

So because of that, I need “cool down” sessions that don’t need any build up, or don’t need any explanation, or, I’m looking for another “or” here because 3 “or”s makes it look and read well. Bah.

So, for my sanity, I pull together a group of one liners, a post of magnificent insignificance.

I received my bonus today. Or I didn’t receive it, but I was given the paperwork that showed the amount that I would be getting along with my paycheck March 15^th. I also received how much my raise would be. For my bonus, we were given a “median” amount of 10.8%. Since I was one of the top performers in my group (I believe the top when all was said and done for the year) I expected a swing up to 14%. That was in the “perfect world”. Let’s just say that the “perfect world” got even more perfect. More perfect than I could imagine. And my face hurt from smiling for the next hour.

Here’s an idea: People like cash right? Most, sane, greedy capitalistic American pigs like cash. Want people to work hard for you? Pay them more than they expect. Surprise them. Don’t buy them pizza randomly. Don’t shower them with gift cards to gas stations 15 miles away from their homes. Don’t patronize them by giving them the “reward” of being able to wear jeans to work. Give them cash. Cold, hard, beautiful smelling cash. Direct deposited. Maybe actually handing the physical green backs to them? If my manager walked up to me and handed me $500 today and said, “Here you go, here’s some of your bonus”, I would be ecstatic. Much more than them telling me that I would get to wear jeans every day this year. Much more than them buying lunch for us for the next 3 months. Much more than getting new computers. Key words: Cash. Handed me. Much more.

Although I am VERY happy with what I’ve been given, I hate to point out a few things: I was told the bonus would be calculated based off of the overtime I had worked last year. It wasn’t. I am hoping (really crossing fingers…really only thinking this has a 10% shot of working) that what I was told last year by a previous manager will stand. We’ll see. I was also expecting a raise of 6% at a minimum. Guess what. I got what I expected. At a minimum. C’mon! Inflation was 2.5% last year! You’re only going to give me double the inflationary rate? 7-10% would make me much happier! How about just $300 extra? That’s all I really want. Make me a round number. I’ll be discussing this with the “higher ups” tomorrow. No trip report. Because this is all I’m going to mention on this topic.

I don’t like “waiting until this show is over” to do something. There is a reason I pay an extra $10 a month for DVR. It’s so that you can tape whatever rerun of “How do I look”/”What not to wear”/”Fashion police”/”Red Carpet Fashions”/”E! Daily 10”/”Hogan knows best”/"Extreme makeover"/"Dr. 90210" or whatever the fuck else your watching. If I ask you to do something 3 times that really means I need you to do it. The 3^rd time you should be running to do it. Shit, at most I only take asking twice don’t I? And it’s just TV. TV will be there when you’re/we’re done. The same shit. Different time. Nothing new learned (unless you’re watching for educational purposes – LAUGH)

When I ask you something, I am looking for a “Yes” or “No” answer. Do you? Or do you not? In my book there are no, “Perhaps, Maybes, or We’ll sees”. Why let people hang on? What kind of shitty game are you trying to pull? Just let people know you’re intentions and quit fucking with them and especially wasting their time/energy. Sometimes I wish I surrounded myself with more decisive people. I strive to provide a good example by telling people up front, “Yes I can” or “No, I can’t”. I’d expect the same sort of treatment in the future.

Do people not update their blogs because their life is uninteresting? Or because they have nothing to write about? Or maybe they don’t write very well? Or so they think? Or maybe it’s just another one of those “I’ll start one but never keep up with it – ever” type deals. *sigh*

Alan Greenspan says that recession is coming. Makes sense. 4 years riding the Bull, gotta get eaten by the Bear sometime. Should be interesting times this summer as far as the market is concerned. Also, all the sub prime lenders and those defaulting on those sub prime loans (way to go America – land of the material wealth in trade for debt to income ratios of 1,000 to 1!) are all getting butt hurt right now – and it’s only going to get worse.

I just realized today that my mom is very healthy and probably won’t be out of my life until I’m at least 55. That is, unless she gets some sort of terminal cancer or something. I pray to God not. However, knowing that she’ll be around for a good 30 more years (again, very good chance of this, but no harm in hoping for the best right?) makes me feel very good and safe. Mama’s boy? Probably. I can’t say the same for my dad since he’s had health issues over the past 8 years, but I think no matter what, he’s lived an excellent life. I’d be very happy if my dad got another 20 years. (My dad is 59 and my mom is 49)

Kind of weird and morbid to think about this kind of stuff…but, I’m more weird than anything I guess…or a lot more realistic than a lot of other people who just, “Don’t want to discuss that sort of thing”.

For those of you following my “sports betting blog” it’s now finished. Sportsbook.com for some reason feels the need to charge me $30 to deposit and withdraw my money. The kid who gambles MAYBE $500 a year on sports? You’re going to charge me 10% to play? Isn’t taking my money when I lose enough? BOO on you. Until I find a new sportsbook that doesn’t charge me, that blog will be dead. Maybe I’ll change it to my investment blog? Now there’s an idea…

Having to pee in the morning is terrible. I wake up at 5:40 am. That’s the time my alarm goes off. However, I usually get up around 4:00 am to 4:50 am because I have to pee. I drink a lot of water before I go to bed. So usually I try to stay up as late as possible (or at least until I am tired) so that I don’t have to pee early in the morning. If I get less than 7 hours and 15 minutes of sleep, I feel great the next day (unless I only got 4 hours), and I sleep all the way through to 5:40 am the next morning. However, if I do end up getting even close to 8 hours of sleep, surely I’ve got to piss by 5:00 am. But I don’t.

I’m lazy, and I roll around in bed, squeezing my bladder, thinking, "if I just push my body pillow against the in question parts it'll stop the urge and flow", and trying to go back to sleep. And I get in this “half sleep” where I think of the day ahead of me, what I’m going to wear, what I’m going to eat for lunch, if I’ve got any meetings, if I’m going to pack clothes to lift at the gym after work…all the time, angry at my weak bladder. Sometimes I have enough of the urge to go that I just get up and I can fall right back asleep after releasing. But sometimes, it’s just on the verge. Like the time you just drank that 20 ounce Sprite at the theater during the opening scene and now…dangit – you’ve got to hold it for the rest of the movie. Theatre for you Canadians or "cooler than thou" Google employees.

This is my life. I’m so glad I’m getting this stuff out. My dream is to read it years from now and laugh at my ridiculous self. And on that note, good night.