Christmas (list) in July

I often find that I come up with great ideas for things to put on my christmas list. But for some reason, these ideas always come to me long before christmas has happened. Inevitably by the time the holiday season rolls around I've forgotten all those great ideas. And then family members start asking me for ideas and lists, but of course I have none.

So this year I'm getting an early head-start. That way, if I can't remember, I can come back to my blog and I'll have a short-but-handy list available.

My Summer Xmas List

1) CD player alarm clock - I find I have an easier time getting up in morning if I'm listening to something pleasant, instead of that ear-splitting chirping noise that my alarm clock makes. My old stereo had a wake-up feature that worked wonders, but then it quit working. A new CD-player alarm clock would be a great thing to have. Just imagine waking up to the soothing sound of a distorted kick-drum!

2) A beard trimmer - I have facial hair that needs to be trimmed far more often than I actually trim it. The only means I have to do so is an old electric razor that needs to be pre-charged every time I want to use it because the battery is shot. Said razor has a "long hair trimmer", but it's not really the right tool for the job. I think I'd be more diligent about grooming my facial hair if I had a beard trimmer. (And, on a totally vain note, being better groomed makes a person more attractive to the opposite sex.)

3) Teflon-coated frying pan / skillet - I'm a guy. I can barely cook, if you can even call it that. My pans don't have teflon coatings, and butter and cooking oil just don't to the trick. I think you get the picture.

4) An office-style desk chair - I'm pretty sure I'd save a small fortune on chiropractic each year if I had a better computer chair at my desk. I paid about $40 for the chair I'm using, which I got at Walmart. The cushion is pounded pretty flat now, and it's not very comfortable, and definitely doesn't promote good posture. I think a nicer office-style chair in the $200-$400 range, maybe made of leather, would fix that right up. Improved health through more luxurious living!

5) LCD monitor - My computer monitor is a 19" CRT that takes up roughly 1/3 of the surface area of my desktop. My printer takes up another 1/3. There just isn't much room on this desk to put things after that. An LCD monitor would only take a fraction of the desk space and would really unclutter my living space a bit.

Do I Need My Head Examined?

I've been struggling a little at work with my co-worker as of late. He was hired on about 2 months ago to help me test the project I'm on. Now it's not that I don't like the guy (though he is the person I like least of all the people I work with), but he just hasn't been that helpful. I could tell from day one that he wasn't interested in testing, and he didn't have any experience doing it either. I've done my best to try and provide guidance and be patient, but it's always seemed to me that he doesn't quite get it, and probably doesn't want to. He's always seemed more intersted in what everybody else is doing, and negligent of his actual job role as a QA tester.

For example, if I don't give him a specific task he'll make comments like "Well, I don't really have anything to do, so I'm gonna surf the web for a while." Argh. Anybody who's tested a game knows that there is ALWAYS something to do, specific task or no. At times I've felt like a bit like a babysitter.

I eventually decided that I was being silly and irrational and should just accept that I have to work with him, and so I've done my best to keep him busy, and I honestly have needed his help. But I've always had this sense that he'd be happier designing levels, which is what his background is in. I've been secretly hoping that he would get promoted to jr. level designer so that he'd be doing something he's actually interested in, and more importantly so that I won't have to work directly with him any more.

Well, I ran into him this evening downtown. I had the day off, and apparently while I was out he was promoted! Hooray! My hopes came true. The downside here is that now I'm stuck testing a game on my own without any help, so that sucks. But at least if we hire somebody to fill his position I can hope to find somebody who's interested and competent when it comes to QA.

So I'm really happy about the fact that my slacker co-worker got promoted. I'm pretty sure there's something wrong with me.

You'd probably think I'd be upset about not being promoted myself, especially given that I've been there longer. But the truth is I have the same opportunity that he had and I'm confident that I can get the same promotion in time if I ask for it. But right now, I'm now sure what exactly it is I want to do, and I feel like where I'm needed most is doing exactly what I'm already doing. So I'm going to see this through for a while. I'll be able to climb that ladder to that next rung in due time. Maybe even before the end of the year.

You know what? Heck, I'm going to make that a personal goal. I'm going to decide what I want to do besides QA before the end of the summer, and strive for a promotion before year's end. How's that for determination?

Another Lazy Sunday

I walked to the edge of the world today. I stood at an intersection where the chaos of civilization meets the serenity of nature. I let my feet sink into the mud, and felt the water wash over them. I walked on the tidal flats where many have walked before but left no trace of their passing.



The cool air breeze brought a gentle sense of calm to me. For a few hours, I just closed my eyes and let my thoughts slip away into time, while I basked in the sand in that place between worlds.



Days like these are best shared with others, and so I brought a few good friends on my journey. The sun didn't show his face much today, but we didn't mind.



The summer is disappearing too quickly. There need to be more days like these.

Temporal Rift

Apparently my blog has been spitting out the worng times ever since I started it. Somehow I didn't notice. And then, when it was last pointed out to me, I forgot.

I'd like to say it's fixed now. But I checked my timezone settings, and they were set correctly. So I haven't really done anything to fix the problem. I'm going to hope that re-saving the settings just magically fixes the problem. And I won't know until I click "publish post".

Aww, Screw It!

You know what the great thing about computers is? If you say something, and regret it later, you can actually go back and censor yourself. Just like I've done below.

I suddenly realized at some point this evening that I was inexplicably stressing over comments made by whom I can only assume is a complete stranger. And why should I have to defend myself or justify my feelings and actions to that person anyways? It's silly. If there's something I pride myself in it's that I'm very self aware and live my own life on my own terms. I shouldn't feel like I have to explain myself to complete strangers, and so I'm not going to.

But what's even more silly is that I felt ridiculous posting those last 2 entries in the first place, knowing full well that somebody would misunderstand or misinterpret the posts. The fact that I felt the need to put up a disclaimer should have told my internal censor to just hit "delete" in the first place. So I've removed the posts. Less misplaced stress for me, and less confusion and unneeded concern for everybody else.

Besides, when I started this blog and replaced my old online journal I promised myself that I would try to keep this a positive space and to curb the negativity. I should know better than to write a blog post when I'm feeling down. Mistake made, lesson learned.

Now if only I could delete all the garbage and dirty dishes lying around our house...

!@# Err^r in Filxe!#:..

!-- Error: Memory corruption detected. Please run system check. --!

|#|:::Memory Corruption Detected!:::|#|

:-:-:-:| Please Run Defrag |:-:-:-:

I Need a Cold Shower

I bitched and moaned and complained the last few weeks because all it did was rain between short 5 minute bursts of sun. Now that it's finally sunny and hot, all I can think about is how much I miss the cooler weather.

The solution, clearly, is to spend a whole lotta time at the beach while it's nice. Preferably with some good company and a few cold beverages. And especially if said company were a company of bikini-clad girls.

So... Are there any bikini-clad girls out there who want to join me at the beach? Oh, wait a minute. You've probably got better things to do than read my blog. Heck, you're probably already at the beach.

Man, I'd sure love to be at the beach right now. Instead of in my boiling hot room getting ready to go to bed and futiley attempt to sleep in the brutally hot weather.

Maybe I'll get lucky and dream about being at the beach, feeling the cool ocean breeze blow across my skin, while sipping a tasty cold drink. Assuming I can even fall asleep.

Tomorrow maybe I'll make plans to actually go to the beach this weekend, since this hot weather trend is supposed to continue.

Ladies in Bikinis? Are you with me? Beach on the weekend? Anybody? ... Last chance...

Well, okay then. Your loss. More cold drinks for me.