23 posts tagged “life”
The backstory:
A while back some Mormon Missionaries were asking around for me. They talked to Bobby who felt they were being a tad standoffish, but told them where I usually was and said I wasn't working at the moment. A little odd. That was a while ago and I haven't heard anything since.
Since today.
They came back and found me at the desk. I actually needed to go work on something at the time so I was preparing a list of polite replies that would end the conversation quickly and amiably. There was a mischievous voice in the back of my head telling me "Lie! Lie! It will be hilarious, lie!" but as usual I ignored it.
Missionaries: "Are you Seth?"
Seth: "No."
Wait what did I just do?!
Missionaries: "Oh...do you know where he is?"
Seth: "I dunno. He might be in later."
And then they left.
I TOLD THEM I WASN'T WHO I AM.
So is this hilarious? Yeah it is. Was this a horribly wrong thing to do? Yeah it was. Mostly I'm curious as to why they know me and what they wanted. My theory is they're friends or know of my friend Eric, who is on his own mission at the moment. If so I'm sure we can all laugh about this later. Or they'll think I'm a jerkface. Either way.
If, on the other hand, they came here for the purpose of converting me, well then it's a little inappropriate to do so in my workplace. ALSO they could have been Russian spies. You need to keep that in mind.
But that's just my opinion. What do you guys think? Am I going to hell, or did I merely give into instict?
At the very least it does make a good story to tell the grandkids.
ALSO! I have to give credit to Nicole for sitting next to me the entire time and keeping a straight face. I guess we've been working together long enough to know how to react when one of us does something crazy like lie to a missionary. She's got my back.
-Vista reinstall. Again.
My computer was giving me some odd errors when trying to upload photos to Photo Gallery. The chain of errors were sufficiently odd that I deemed it necessary to reinstall the OS again. So I think it's "ok" again, but I won't be able to use it until I (finally) buy some anti-virus software for it. Kaspersky is on sale at Amazon, but I need to wait until pay day to buy it, then until it ships to install it.
There are some part time jobs opened up at the Clark County Library District that I want to apply for. Hopefully I'll have a means of transportation to get to them if I get one. But I doubt I will because that would be too easy, right? And as far as school goes, there's nothing more to report. I sent off an email to someone at UNLV but haven't heard back from them yet.
Seems to be a lot of Woot! Offs going on over at woot.com. But I checked the numbers and it's no so far above average for a wooting year. Guess I'm not used to it. Did get me another Screaming Monkey keychain though.
I've had a lot of highs and a lot of lows lately. I've decided to just take it in stride and assume tomorrow will be much better/worse regardless of today.
The other day I was spending a lot of time watching short films on YouTube. It's made me really want to start making short films again. So if someone wants to buy me a nice video camera and/or a digital SLR with HD video that would be super.
I've decided I really need to plan ahead for storytimes. As such I'm taking the downtime between storytimes sessions and making a reserve of them. I'm also going to set up a Shelfari account because Nicole says it's good for orgainizing books with tags.
Ok. Uh...can't really think of anything to say for this one. Haven't completed any more that I know of.
Yeah this one sucked. Around Febuary or so I went to the rec center one early morning to renew my card for the fitness area. I was completely missing from the system. Working in the library I know weird things happen like that. But just to simplify things the lady at the desk renewed my card for a year. Free excersise for a year! It was awesome.
But my card gained an odd quirk. Everytime they scanned it the picture would show up as someone else. Not a big deal. Guess it isn't that uncommon there. Last week I went in and the kindly old man was so helpful as to take it upon himself to talk to the people on desk downstairs about it. I feigned appreciation, not wanting to mess with a good thing. I ended up getting a new card anyway.
Then the next time I showed up he tells me someone else has gone wrong. The card is now only set for track use. I can't use any of the equipment. So then I have to talk to the people downstairs again, and this time they said I couldnt' do anything about it unless I had a reciept that showed the purchase, or at least something from my bank account. I told them straight up that I didn't pay for it, for which they countered that they'd still need a reciept. Logic!
In any case I paid for another month, so I haven't quite working out. Yet.
Aaaand I guess that's it for now.
I had half a mind to announce an indefinite Vox hiatus. Not because I'm going on a hiatus, but it would be more official than just never posting except to talk about how I'm not posting anything.
I think instead I'll just not post anything unless I feel like posting something.
Good news: Today I feel like posting something.
Bad news: It's one of those "I'm only posting to make a checkpoint record of my current state so I can read about it years later"
Right now life is swaying between "terrible" and "pretty good", depending on what's on my mind at the moment. But I neither feel in a doldrums and my motivation is actually not completely horrible.
I even started working out again. I had planned on not starting again until next week, when the work on our bathrooms will be done. But there's always some excuse to not start today, be it arm surgery, sweltering heat or forgetting how to open the front door.
So when today was yesterday, I went for it. If only I could be so spontaneously decisive in other areas of my life. But progress is progress.
Speaking of progress, I finished my Adobe Classroom in a Book book on Phtoshop! Spent a long, difficult week with it. And haven't started any of the other Classroom books since.
I also haven't done anything about getting a 2nd part time or a single full-time job aside from casually looking once in a while. Current research has proven that there's like, no jobs out there. Someone should alert the news.
Dejunkification is going along splendedly. I've realized that so far I've yet to get rid of anything and regret it. Most of it I'd probably forget if I didn't take pictures. This leads me to the theory that I probably could have just gotten rid of 90% of everything I own on that first day. But even if that was possible, it would have been exhausting, both mentally and physically. The psychological impact would have been astounding, of course, but I'd much rather get rid of everything I own a little bit at a time than fail at trying to kill it all at once. My sister and I are getting our own smaller storage. When I can see everything I own in one place it will be easier to know what I need to keep.
Aaaaaaand that's all you get today.
Sorry.
Last week when I went to the doctor to get that thing in my arm removed-
Oh by the way LOOKIT
Basically I'm the at the unhealthiest point in my life. The most unhealthy. I'm pretty dang not healthy. That needs to be dealt with.
And then today I found out how miserably poor I am. I always knew I was broke, but now I'm at the point where my savings and the credit card are at opposite extremes, and not in the good way. That needs to be dealt with too.
But this is exciting!
No I'm not crazy.
When people have bad times they usually acknowledge it without doing something about it. Because they always know it can get worse. Sometimes focusing on the positive side of things prevents you from being sufficiently motivated to make things better. And that's what I'm going to start doing is make things better.
What? No I'm not going to look for a second job yet.
...No. I'm not going to look into getting those classes. There's not a lot I can- well I know I should be- Yeah I should be cooking more at home to. And yes I should being trying to apply myself socially. Look I...no that-
You know what? Shut your face. I'm going work on one thing at a time.
I just finished Tess of the d’Urbervilles. I didn’t particularly enjoy it despite staying up late to finish it. I had hoped it would at least distract me from thoughts I’d rather not dwell on alone in the dark. Since it didn’t, I’m reluctant to go to sleep just yet. I was meaning to write this blog today anyway so here goes. One thirty in the morning seems a good frame of mind for it anyway.
Last night I looked through my June 2008 and 2007 posts. I was curious to see what was on my mind back then, to see if I have progressed based on the goals I made during the Junes past. Appropriately and amusingly I found that today is the one year milestone of my 101 in 1001 list. I know that’s not really irony, but it’s at least what everyone likes to call irony.
The short version is that on June 9th, 2009 I decided to make my life better. I took an idea from a friend’s Vox and created a list of 101 things I wanted to accomplish in 1001 days. I picked things I knew I would do, things I knew I needed to do, and things I never would think to do but just might if it meant crossing a number off the list. It was just an idea, a promise that nobody could hold me to. But it was progress for me. I was hopeful.
Then a month later everything fell apart and the list was no longer important.
I didn’t give up on it completely. It just wasn’t something I cared to consider at the time. Up until this early morning, when I took out the original pen on paper list, I had forgotten why I really put aside the list. There’s an item #102. It’s not really a part of the list but an inside joke. I had written the list while talking to a friend. I realize now a good many of the items were thought of because it was something we could do together. It’s too late now. But not for me. I’m still here. These were things that were important to me before, to say I don’t’ care about them anymore would be to say I don’t care about who I am. I’ll finish it.
Here’s the list, with items that I’ve completed or half completed marked out with a line. The rest of the week I’ll blog about the ones with lines. I won’t talk about the others, because I’d just be making excuses. At the bottom of the list I’ll write the completion percentage. I have until March 06, 2011 to finish. Think I can do it?
1. Find my path
2.
Read every book I own
3. Pay off credit card
4. Get a full-time job
5. Create an organizational method for computer/paperwork
6.
Come to terms with all regrets
7. Start cooking on a regular basis
8. Get down to 180
9. Beat every game you own.
10. Finish writing Outlaw of the Heart series
11. Own only clothes that fit
12. Move out of the house
13.
Get a driver’s license.
14. Establish an exercise routine
15. Become a better speller
16. Learn a programming language
17. Learn how to use Flash
18. Bike ride Mt. Charleston
19.
Take a self-portrait jumping into water
20.
Fill up three Moleskines
21. Graduate from NSC
22. Graduate from grad school
23. Take up archery
24. Visit the strip just before sunrise and take pictures
25. Go on a completely unplanned road trip to another state with a friend
26.
Record all home movies to dvd
27. Make a portfolio website
28. Relearn math
29. Relearn chemistry/other sciences
30. Try a new hairstyle
31.
Run the marathon in Arizona
32. Learn how to fix my car
33. Submit a design to Threadless
34. Start playing the saxophone again
35. Learn to play the harmonica
36.
Get to expert on Guitar Hero
37. Make this list into a book
38.
Yoga?
39. Build a computer
40. Go on a date
41. Start gardening
42. Win a poker game
43. Watch every Lost episode in one summer
44. Look suave for one night
45. Film “tape drop 3”
46. Bike ride around town
47. Steal Rick’s hat
48. Sell a design and/or picture
49. Wake up early every day
50. Play kick the can
51. Make a wind chime
52.
Fill bottle with pencil shavings
53. Buy a new bike
54. Draw “When Seth was a kid” comic
55. Go shopping at Ikea
56.
Create an art/computer workstation
57. Learn massage…stuff
58. Rate iTunes songs
59. See the ocean
60. Walk the tunnels at Lake Mead to the end
61. Duel with Ty
62. Compose a song
63. Learn to play guitar
64.
Take a ballroom dancing class
65. Sleep on the roof
66. Read Moby Dick
67. Start going to church again
68. Go to Florida
69.
See Amber
70. Cary Grant marathon
71. See three shows on the strip
72. Go to an art gallery
73.
Learn self-control
74.
Buy a pair of running shoes that fit
75.
Learn how to use an SLR camera
76. Help people without being asked
77. Create a typeface
78.
Practice better water use
79. Animate Birdish-Dragonthing full version
80. Beat dad at Risk
81.
Learn more about Bartter syndrome
82.
Go kayaking
83. Play Croquet and eXtreme Croquet
84. Get a kick-a airbrush tattoo
85. Have someone drop me off in a random spot in town and find my way back home
86. Re-season cast iron
87. Completely watch LotR extended editions (WITH all commentary tracks)
88. Go to five concerts
89.
Wander
90. Join/Invite a near stranger for lunch
91. Roundhouse kick!
92. Get a suit like Creepy Thin Man’s
93. Travel out of the country
94.
Paint room
95. Go into isolation for a day
96. Free space
97. Bring back rope boarding
98. Do a hand stand
99. Drive on the coast
100. Save a girl from the rain
101.Take a break
Alright let’s see how my math is at 2 AM. I’ve completed 12/101 things. It’s been a year so 1001-365 is 636 days.
That means 10% of the list has been completed in …wait 63% of the time? That’s over half. That can’t be right. NO! Duh. That’s how much time is left. So 10% of the list done in 36% of the time allotted. I’m 20% behind if you forget all sorts of mathematical rules.
Yeah. I can do this.
I've been noticing something lately.
When I started up with Flickr and Vox, things were cheerful for everyone involved. Maybe it just seemed that way to me because it was new and exciting. Or maybe things were really cheerful.
In any case, the present isn't as cheerful a place. Obviously there has been a lot of things going on the past year that made it hard to blog with a sincere, positive outlook. That's just me. I'm fine with that. But life is going to crap for a lot of people I know on the internets. Life is pretty tough all around. As a result my Vox neighborhood has all but stopped Voxing, and my Flickr friends have had fewer photos to inspire happiness.
The question I'm struggling with is this: Is life worse now, or am I just noticing it? Maybe life is more or less the same but I've become more pessimistic.
...
Nah. Life sucks.
Point being I'm just making an observation for later reference. So in a year or two from now I can say "Oh if only I knew..." or "It wasn't so bad after all".
I feel bad for neglecting Vox so much, I really do. And sadly the first meaningful thing I've been compelled to post here in a while was under 140 characters anyway.
So....
Hi.
....
*cough*
Look I really don't know what to say. It's not just that there's nothing nice to say. If I had good news I'd let you know. But if I had random, neutral news I'd give you that too. It feels like my life has veered into the horse latitudes. Nothing good but nothing I can really add to my list of complaints.
Personally I've managed to go by a month without any new tragedies. Personally. There's plenty going around for everyone else. So it makes it hard to have fun with friends and family. Also I don't have anything to look forward to in the near to moderately distanced future. It's hard to be motivated if you don't have anything to work towards. Speaking of work I'm not feeling very satisfied with my job. But I think that has to do more with the coworkers than the actual job, which I still love. This is sad because Gibson used to be a family.
I'm out of good books to read. I just get depressed when I think about writing the story that now has nobody to read it. I have the drafting table but even forcing myself to paint something didn't have great results. It seems my only enjoyment comes out of driving too fast, shooting stuff and rolling up the world on the Xbox 360. That is if Gibby isn't biting my face because I'm ignoring him.
Wait.
Have I told you about Gibby?
It seems I've mentioned him/her/it. But here's the update.
When he got on solid foods it was amazing. We were able to keep him penned up in the dining room with baby gates previously used for Lily, our boxer. When he managed to climb over them a week ago (which is amazing considering he was immobile a month ago) it was nice to know he could walk around and entertain himself (without Lily thinking it's a chewtoy). Yesterday he managed to beat the baby gate's new placement, granting him free range of the house. Now when he wakes me up at 5:30 in the morning (he still sleeps in a kennel) I just let him out, give him some cat food and then go back to bed.
So far so good, except that he's a freaking psycho. Hands are his favorite chew toy. He'll sit patiently wanting you to pick him up, and when you do he bites until you put him down again. And he has this thing where he just stares at you. I think he's trying to explode our heads. But overall he (or she, not sure yet) is a decent kitty. Especially when it's sleeping.
So....
I have a kitty.
Otherwise life sucks.
Haven't been doing much lately.
Trying to start cooking.
Seriously neglecting my homework.
Alternating between cheerful and despondent. Currently desondent.
Waiting for some stuff to happen.
Need some new clothes.
Remember this?
Apparently I didn't because I haven't accomplished a single thing on the list.
BUT I have until the end of the month. A couple are impossible, a few would be way too much work, and at least one is going to be ignored for the time being.
I guess that leaves cooking three times a week and doing this outside of the house. Oh well.
