Moving

It's been too long since I lasted posted here.  It turns out that I now have complete control over my own online identity.  After acquiring four top level domain names, I figured it would be prudent to move my personal blog to here.

My Own Domain

It's been a while since I've posted.  The one thing I'm learning over and over again is that if you don't have anything to say, don't try saying anything.

The question at this point is where do I stand in life.

For starters, I'll soon own name online.  I've successfully acquired thomasholbrook.net, thomasholbrook.org, and thomasholbrook.info thus far.  The .com domain name is all that's left.

Speaking of domains, some improvements on the home front have occurred.

Bug Spraying

The building I live in was sprayed for bugs on Tuesday morning.  I couldn't go back until late afternoon.  I spent many hours moving things away from the walls.  Fortunately for me, that means an opportunity has arisen for some rearranging.

When my days off are here yet again, I shall start working on ways to make my room more nerdy.  Power Rangers, a painting, and other things shall be plastered onto the walls of my bedroom.

More Exercise

I successfully walked to work last night.  I managed to make it through work, walk home, and exercise with a 20 lbs dumb bell.  I'm now up to 12 reps.

When it comes to pushups off the wall, sometimes I can do a full 40, while at other times, I have to split them into two sets of 20.  This time, I was only able to 20 on one set, 16 on another, and five on the final set.

In addition to increased strength, I also have a surprise that will enable me to be more productive when I'm on my lunch break.  My mobile carrier now allows me to tether my phone to my computer at no additional charge.

The 2.5 GB of high speed data should last until the end of the billing period.

Where Do I Stand?

In blunt terms, not good enough.  As in I'm not good enough, nor will I be, nor should I be.

I received a reminder last night that I should never get cocky or complacent.  I have a long ways to go, and the only way that this journey of mine will come to an end is when I'm dead.

I've slacked off on a few things for far too long.  Beginning tonight, I shall keep reading the book I've been working on.  In addition to that, I shall read more of the KJV Bible.

I have a lot of catching up to do if I'm expecting to look at other spiritual texts.

Finally, I shall work on making myself a better person and molding myself instead of trying to mold others.  It seems many of us are guilty of the latter, yours truly included.

That is all for now.

Seasonal Transitions

The last vestiges of winter is coming and going.  The snow has mostly melted in Warrensburg, and as I figured would happen, no more appeared.  I haven't posted in the last couple of days, and there's a reason for that.

For the past four nights, I walked to work.  Each morning, I walked home.  My legs keep begging for mercy, but I'm not giving up.  Tonight, I'll be driving to work seeing as how I need to fill my car up in the morning.

I also need to do some laundry as well, but perhaps that can wait until after I've taken a nap when I get home Monday morning.

I'm also getting close to finishing George Orwell's 1984.  The next book on my list could very well be Brave New World.  Either way, I'll be doing something very special this Tuesday after finishing the book in question.

Speaking of Tuesday, I plan on writing an article on that day so that there's content coming from me each week.  If other contributors were to pick a day to post, that would be excellent.  Imagine if the site eventually had content every day from one person.

It would be the right kind of balance of having regular updates without overwhelming any site visitor with information overload.

New Addition to the Family

I saw a Toshiba notebook in Central Pawn.  It has a dual core Intel Pentium T3400 processor, 2 GB of RAM, a 100+ GB hard drive, and Intel GMA 4500 graphics.  I wanted another computer that was primarily powered by Intel technology for the purposes of testing other operating systems.

Here are some pictures of the computer in question.

I saved a couple of bucks due to the missing faceplate from the optical drive.

Plentiful screen size, no webcam, and no frills.  :)

The machine is currently openSUSE 12.3.  So far things have been pretty stable.  I was even able to use WiFi for the network-based install.

The only problem is that I had to do a manual fix to make sure I could connect to my network at home.  Thank goodness for release notes.

Well, I better cut it short so I can get something to eat, shower, and go to work.  I'll have the next two nights off, so things should get interesting.  Toodles for now.  :)

Weekend's Over Wednesday: It Begins.....

I woke up and noticed that the sun is already shining outside.  In the coming weeks, the sun light will become more prevalent as the season transitions to spring.  With that weather comes a new opportunity.

Losing even more weight by walking to and from work.

Let's face it.  The economy is still in an uncertain state, despite numerous assurances from the likes of Ben Bernanke and others.  That means finding the best ways to cut costs and taking care of your debts are going to be the key in getting into a better position in life.

Once a week, I'll use the car to do laundry, pay bills, shop for groceries, and more.  It will either be on a Monday or Tuesday.

I haven't decided on that one yet.

I'll also be doing a little bit of cleaning up once a week.  It will probably be on one of my nights off, and not the same one that I use the car on.

Since I bought a copy of 1984, I may as well bring it with me to read on my breaks as well as lunch.  I'm still making my way through the Book of Genesis.

The plan is to read 1984 during my breaks, and read a chapter out of Genesis during lunch.  The rest of my lunch period would be devoted to Orwell's book.  When I'm done with the KJV Bible, I'll look into another perspective.

When I'm finished with 1984, I'll choose another book to read.

At the beginning of the year, I started to prepare my body.  I also began preparing my spirit.  I understand that I must also prepare my mind as well.

The question, "For what?" has probably come to mind.

Last year, I began having a feeling that something interesting was on the horizon.  Whether it was good or bad, it wouldn't be boring to say the least.  That's when I knew that I would have to start preparing for whatever would be coming my way.

For better or for worse.

So in a sense, it begins.  The part where I prepare mind, body, and spirit simultaneously.  The part where I know that turning back is not an option.  The part where today is the first day of the rest of my life.

It begins now.

Getting it Done.

I did some more exercising today.  I even walked around the block twice and then to the end of Laurel Street and back.  Other than that, the day has been simple.

I went to anime club and had a good time.  The Vice President keeps going above and beyond in terms of providing handouts and other things related to cosplaying and conventions in general.

That stuff is helpful for those who haven't done those things before.

I also returned a desktop tower to a friend.  The bad news is that the motherboard's more than likely shot.  The good news is that I have added one piece of equipment to a troubleshooting kit that I'm putting together.

It consists of a PCI video card.

While we're at it, I might as well also point to this article that I published today.  The goal is to have one published every Tuesday.  So that's a podcast each Monday and an article (from me at least) every Tuesday.

Hopefully, I can have some help to where the website has something up each and every day.

The more content is published, the more traffic a site gets.  I also understand that publishing too much content every day can lead to other problems, such as Facebook, Google+, and other feeds being flooded with updates and announcements.  That's the cool part about liking a page on Facebook or following a group on Google+.

One can learn from mistakes as well as good things that were done right.

I have a major goal tomorrow evening, and it involves walking to work.  I want to do that on a regular basis so that I can get in better shape.  As an added bonus, I won't spend nearly as much money on gas.

Finally, the weather is changing for the better, and so is my life.  Looks like Bruce was right.  30 is a good age.

No Longer a 20 Something

It's been a few days since I last blogged, so I'll catch everyone up.  On Friday morning, my vacation began.  My sinuses were draining as they always do when he weather is changing from winter to spring, so I took some medicine to alleviate the symptoms before taking a nap.

I still managed to do my workout routine beforehand.

After my nap, I began doing some dishes while waiting for my dad to arrive.  When he arrived in Warrensburg, he gave me a call.  I gave him directions to my place on Laurel Street.

Little did I know that I was in for a treat.

The Gift

I got an arcade machine for my 30th birthday.  It has several classic games such as Donkey Kong, Pac-Man, Space Invaders, and more.  When my dad said he thought I'd like it, he was absolutely correct.

I adore the Hell out of the thing.

What's even cooler is the fact that I figured out which switch to hit on the inside of the machine to enable system setup.  I lowered the volume on it as games like Gun Smoke were extremely loud.

I'd rather not have the coolness factor dampened by a police visit due to a noise complaint.

Friday Night

Going with tradition, dad and I went to Heroes in Warrensburg to celebrate.  I took a break from my diet to celebrate my birthday, but I didn't get carried away.  After all, I didn't do dessert.

I simply did cheese fries with a cheeseburger and a few more fries.  My beverage of choice was water.

Saturday

It was a good day.  I had an Aztec Quesadilla burger, some fries, and some water at Country Kitchen.  It was my birthday, so that was eight dollars off.  My dad did the traditional skillet scramble.

While waiting for mom to arrive, we looked around Hastings, where I purchased a copy of 1984.  We also looked around at Central Pawn.  When mom arrived in Warrensburg, we hung around and chatted for a bit.

Then things got interesting.

Spring, my sister, made the decision to come to the 'burg, and we had lunch at Players.  Uncle Tim in Ohio gave me a call after I texted him so he would have my new number.  We talked for a while, he wished me a happy birthday, and I eventually ended the conversation so we could order our food.

I opted for the Mushroom Burger with fries.  As I did previously, I only drank water.

After all was said and done, we met back at the apartment, and we took turns on the arcade machine.  It was then that I had to discover how to change the volume on the sound.

Noise complaints at night on one's birthday... not my idea of fun.... so I flipped the appropriate switch on the circuit board, entered setup, went to the page on the volume control, and lowered the volume.

The good news is that saving high scores is now enabled, so my sister will have to come back and pollute all the high scores with her name.  ;)

Spring and Eric went home, and dad did as well.  The night wasn't over the top, but it was wonderful nonetheless.

Sunday

Dad called to let me know he made it home safely.  Later in the evening, Steve Kelley and I did our latest podcast.  The topic was quite riveting.  With that said, I do have a ways to go in order to improve as a host.  Steve's already doing his part by making new intros and outros and having a blast with it.

Light grocery shopping and putting the podcast online ended the night, which brings me to today....

Monday, Monday, Monday!

Today, may be 30, but it feels like I'm in my 20's at times.  I suppose it's all in the attitude, and in a sense, I am still quite young as I have so much to learn beyond college and the education that I went through going up.

It's time.

Those two words have such a significant meaning to me.  For the longest time, I was a soldier without a general.  Truth be told, the time has come for me to be my own leader in life.  Part of that journey will involve looking through the eyes of others.

That's the reason why I've been reading the Old Testament as of late.  That's the same reason why I'll go to other texts after finishing the New Testament.  Upon reading from the Wiccan perspective, I'll also consult a Buddhist perspective as well as other perspectives.

Some of these other perspectives include other editions of the Bible, such as the Geneva Bible, which came several decades before the King James Version.

I'm also working on the website some more as well.  In addition to the podcast, more articles are going to be written as well.

In terms of important life decisions, I'm also going to take the opportunity to walk to work.  That's why my alarm goes off at 7:30 PM each night that I have to get ready for work.  With gas prices going up, I figured it would be prudent to drive a little less.

Saving money is the added bonus compared to getting into better shape.

This Saturday, I will increase the amount of weight to 20 lbs.  The amount of repetitions will also be reduced for a while as I work my way back up.  I decided to stick with 50 for 10 lbs as I feel it's time to up the ante.

I'm also back on the usual diet as well.  I didn't stray very far from it, but I do need to stick to this new lifestyle as I know for a fact it's working.

The people around me are saying as much as keep getting comments on myself losing weight and looking trimmer.

I wish to continue that trend.

One More Night....

Work went surprisingly well, thanks to a coworker from days and evenings.  They helped with the cleaning and got one side of the store finished.  That helped us get things done a little bit faster so that one of us from the front end could be used for other things throughout the store.

Sometimes, things just work themselves out for the best.

At the end of the shift, I got to tidy up frozen.  I don't mind doing it, because it gives me a break from the front end as well as help pass the time more quickly.  Unfortunately, I was asked to do so an hour before having to clock out.

Two isles in an hour is not realistic.

I simply did as much as I could, and clocked out when it was time to do so.

Tonight's Game Plan

Well, seeing as how my dad's coming to visit, I'll be going to bed as soon as I'm finished writing this.  I want to get a couple of things accomplished before he arrives, so plenty of sleep is a must.

As soon as I get up, I'll have a nice, simple first meal (breakfast in the evening) followed by a shower and getting dressed.  As I've done in the past several days, I'll bring my Acer Aspire One 722 netbook with me.

I've been using Xiphos to read a chapter of the King James Version of the Bible during my lunch break.  Think of Xiphos as a free and open source alternative to E-Sword.  I thought I was making great progress on the Book of Genesis, but it turns out that I have a long way to go.

I forgot that there's a total of 50 chapters, so I'm not quite half way there as I thought I was.

During lunch, I'll read yet another chapter.  The idea is to make it through both the Old and New Testament first, then go on to other texts from other groups, but I'll elaborate on that another day.

When I get home from work, I'll have some tidying up to do in order to prepare for my dad's arrival.  He did say he would be bringing a truck to haul whatever he got for me up to Missouri.

I don't know what it is, but it's got my interest piqued.

Conclusion

I began doing this personal blog again, because I wanted to have an outlet for my life.  You, my readers, are not only my audience.  You're all my therapists in a way.  Even when there aren't any comments on an entry, there are page views, and for that, I thank you.

It's good to know that others are willing to hear me out.

With that said, think of it as a behind the scenes look to what I'm doing in life.  This website is one that I've built up, torn down, and rebuilt over and over again.  I went back to e107 due to familiarity and flexibility.

One of the recent things that I did was start a podcast directly on the website.  Steve Kelley and myself have explored a few topics just to start things out.  When our next episode hits the RSS feed, you'll begin to see what is meant by the portion of the tag line that says, "Overlooked Pop Culture."

A hint: The topic will involve something that is profound today, yet it's been overlooked for over 60 years.

While that marinades in your mind, I shall now go to bed.  Have a good day, everybody, and may the sun shine bright enough to melt all that snow away.  :)

Weekend's Over Wednesday: Short Work Week.

I only have to work two shifts this week before I go on vacation this Friday.  My dad plans on visiting, and I'm really excited about it.

After all, 30 is a milestone in one's life.

The funny thing is that I was going to treat it as just another day.  After all, it wasn't like I was a small child anymore.  When dad announced he may be visiting, I decided to go ahead and ask for some time off.

I'm eternally grateful it was approved.

The Exercise Front

On the good news front, I managed to work my way up to 50 reps with the dumb bell and two sets of 17 off the wall push ups.  Assuming the weather cooperates in the next couple of weeks, I'll be able to walk to work instead of burning gas.

Gas prices are shooting up, so saving money would be an added bonus.

The Website

Starting next week, more action is going to happen on the website as well.  Podcasting was the first step.  The next step is writing stuff on a regular basis.  The cool thing about the site system being used is that it allows for more activity to happen directly from the site itself.

Though third party services are nice, it doesn't necessarily contribute to overall site traffic.

Spiritual Front

I made it nearly halfway through the book of Genesis.  With each chapter, I write notes on my thoughts regarding the text and add any questions I may have to help me think a bit more.

Needless to say, I'll be spending my lunch breaks in a more productive manner over the coming months.

That's all for now.  I need to get something to eat and head to bed so I can be rested for tonight.  It seems I'm one of the few people who can shift from day to night mode in an almost seamless manner.

The important part is that one does it right, or they'll be tired when their nights off come to an end.  I'll elaborate more on that in a future post.

Until then, may the Ides of March pass you by in as painless a manner as humanly possible...... with green beer.... yeah.. green beer.

Today's Agenda

I've been fairly busy as of late.  Work came and went yesterday, I did my simple exercise routine with the dumb bell, and I ate one of my meals.  I also gave my mom a call and talked to her for a while.

It was a riveting hour of conversation.

I had all sorts of things planned, but like always, my body let me know when rest was required.  I went to bed after five in the afternoon.

I'm glad that I did.

Now that I've woken up, I can continue some of my plans from yesterday into today.

More Maintenance

I'm wanting to do a big load of laundry so that I can have more clean clothes.  While doing that, I can do some more spiritual research (hopefully making it past the book of Genesis soon).  I'll also look around some pawn shops as well.

I'll clean up a little bit more around the apartment seeing as how my dear old dad plans on coming up this Friday.  From what he is implying, he is bringing something that takes up a significant amount of space.

This means I'll need to make sure there is plenty of room no matter what.

I should also have a video up later today.

As for the podcast, it's on hiatus for the week as more preparation is done for the topic in question.  It's one that should be very interesting, and one that fits the second half of the media venue's tagline, "...and Overlooked Pop Culture."

Have a great day everyone.

The Next Few Days

I'm keeping this short and to the point.  The next few days are going to be very important to me.  I have plenty that has to be done at the moment.  I have already finished one task and that's to ensure that I have clean pants for tonight, Wednesday night, and Thursday night.

Friday morning is when my vacation begins to celebrate my 30th birthday.

I'll try doing more laundry tomorrow morning in addition to some other maintenance related stuff at the apartment.  All of this preparation is for more than just my 30th birthday.

Turning 30 is quite a milestone, but there's something else that's going on here.  A phrase that started as a low hum in the deep crevices of my mind.  It's that very phrase that's began to get louder and louder as it moved to the forefront of my consciousness.

It's almost like I'm beginning to wake up from a long sleep of sorts.

Those two words are so important.  It signifies a moment in life that involves a change for the better.  Simply put....

It's time.

Only a Matter of Days

This will be short and sweet seeing as how I need to be at work in less than an hour.

I feel myself getting stronger with each passing day.  The exercise routine appears to be working.  This Wednesday, I'll be up to 50 reps with the dumb bell, and two sets of 17 off the wall push ups.

Since the snow should be going away for the most part, I may get my wish of walking to work soon.  Once I can walk on a more regular basis, I'll lose even more of that jiggly stuff that likes to hang off of me at the moment.

This puffed marshmallow is shrinking and shrinking so to speak.  ;)

For the last couple of nights, work has flown by really fast.  Part of it was due to it being busy.  The other part is due to my birthday coming up in a matter of days.  My time as a 20 something is coming to a close.

On March 9, 2013, I will be 30 years old.

My dad plans on coming up to visit, and he plans on bringing something big with him (big enough that it requires a truck).  That day is going to be a landmark for me.

It's a sign of things to come, for everything is going to start falling into place.

I took another break from Vimeo, but that's ok.  I needed the sleep, and I got plenty of it.  While sleeping, I had some of this playing in the background.  That particular site has changed in the last few years, and it's looking pretty good.

I've also been doing some more spiritual research on my part.

In other words, I'm working on body, mind, and spirit.  :)

For now, I shall go shower and get ready for work.  After tonight, I'll have to do a small load of laundry (and more spiritual research while clothes are washing and drying).

Flurries of What's to Come.

I woke up earlier than I normally did last night.  Then again, when one has to empty their bladder, it's a good idea not to ignore its pleading for relief.  Since I was up early enough, I was able to have a warm meal before going to work.

Turns out, I needed it.

I brought my computer with me to work on a project while at lunch.  I made some progress, but there's much more work to be done.  I also need to do some more stuff on the website.

Anyway, I hung out with my friend Jason at Country Kitchen after work.  It had been a while since he and I had any extended conversation.  He's the type of person who is able and willing to just listen to other people and offer a unique perspective afterwords.

I then gave him a ride home, grabbed some money out of my account, and paid some bills.  Rent and car insurance is now taken care of.

I looked around in a couple of computer stores and found a PCI video card to add to my computer troubleshooting kit.  I may have to visit Cheap Computer Tech more often.  This means I can finally see if I can get a functioning display on a desktop that I'm working on for a friend's grandmother.

If I can, I will at least back up all the pertinent data that I can.

At that point, they may be able to just replace the video card and give that machine a few more years of life.

To end my day, I made a quick run to Bi-Lo.

I'm taking a day off from doing a Vimeo vlog, so..... until next time....

Just be who you want to be and not what everyone else wants you to be.  ;)

Bad Vibes On the Horizon.

Let's start off on a good note, shall we?  Since I mentioned food choices last time, I figured it would be appropriate by talking about mine.

Daily Asterisk: February 28, 2013 from Thomas Holbrook II on Vimeo.

I made it to work last night, and the shift started as it normally would.  I brought two bottles of water up to the front end like I always did.  Upon discovery that we had no trash bags for trash, I went to the back to grab some.

From there, things went as normal for a bit.  I took care of trash on one side of the front end as well as hangers.  At some point, the other front end person for the night was also taking care of trash and hangers.

It was when I got to the sweeping that things turned interesting in a hurry.

On May 22, 2012, I wrote an entry about memories and lessons.  In that post, I mentioned somebody who vicariously lives through other people.  I met them in 2010, and quickly discovered how they had this ability to draw people into their own madness.

There's a reason why it's called the cult of personality.

 In 2011, I severed ties with them and decided to move on with my life.  2012 was an amazing year.  I had a girlfriend for four months, ran for political office (and got over 10,000 votes), and had a good time with my room mate.

As it turned out, my instincts towards the end of the year was correct.

2012 wasn't the end, but the beginning of something interesting.  Have you ever had the feeling that something was coming, that it was on the horizon, and that it would be prudent to prepare for it?  If that moment last night at work was any indication, something interesting is on the horizon.

The very person who vicariously lives through other people made a brief appearance.

They were headed towards the door in their uniform.  We both looked at one another, I looked back at them, and they glared at me for a brief moment.  I felt jolted for a moment.

Suffice it to say they are no longer my biggest fan.

Truth be told, they can remain mad at me all they want.  An understanding has been reached.

I'm my own person and will no longer be manipulated or molded by them or anyone else.

With that in mind, I'll be getting some dinner and going to sleep.  May the rest of the day involve more and more melting snow.

Weekend's Over Wednesday: Live and Let Live

When I woke up this morning, I took a chance to look outside.  Once again, it's snowing.  Oh joy.....

I missed work last week, and I'd like to avoid missing it this week.  I'm just glad I have a shovel of my own to use, because my place of work's been sold out of snow shovels for several days.

Fortunately, the snow is coming down at a slow pace.

Life Philosophy

I'm not perfect, but I do try to abide by the principle of live and let live in life.  With that said, there are times when decisions are made by others that cause me to scratch my head and ask, "What in the world?"

I ran into that last night.



Daily Asterisk: February 27, 2013 from Thomas Holbrook II on Vimeo.

The above video explains what I ran into.  I know I can be criticized for my choice in lifestyle, but I am an adult and no longer developing.

It just bothers me sometimes when certain decisions are made that don't appear to be thought through beforehand.  I was so disturbed by it that I messaged the person giving them the other side of the story so to speak.

From there, what they do is entirely up to them.

Just because I believe in live and let live doesn't mean I will never voice disagreement with a point of view or a lifestyle decision.  The difference is that I don't go out of my way to stop it.

After all, it's not my life and I wouldn't appreciate it if somebody else tried to intervene, because I know what it's like.

Another has tried doing that to me, which is why I no longer associate with them.

The Good News

 At least I'm single and don't have much in the way of responsibility.  I'm eternally grateful for that, which is why I try to live and let live.  I simply have living expenses and other financial obligations to take care of.

From there, it's just making sure I'm ready to deal with each week.

As for more good news, I have started a vlog on Vimeo.  The reason I chose Vimeo is because I don't have any desire to create another Google account for the sole purpose of vlogging.  I do have a YouTube account, but it will be used for a separate purpose.

I figured it was about time I supplemented this blog with some video of myself speaking.  Right now, I'm limiting my videos to around five minutes, give or take a few.  Since I'm only allowed to upload 500 MB per week, I'll have to become intimately familiar with OpenShot's exporting options.

In other words, I'm learning how to better compress video.

It also presents an opportunity to become familiar with other video platforms as well as improving some basic film making skills.

Sticking with Ubuntu for Now

I was considering trying out other operating systems on my machines, but it turns out that Ubuntu doesn't always peacefully co-exist with other distros.  For now, I'll just stick with Ubuntu 12.04 until I get more computers for the sole purpose of doing reviews.

Right now, I just don't have the money to invest in that.

However, I could possibly do live environments such as Puppy and others since it doesn't touch the hard drive.

Well, I better get dressed and prepare to shovel some snow.  Since it looks fairly powdery, I may have an easier time shoveling than I did last time.  The good news is that I'm parked in a good spot as well.

If I can't get the car out, I may have to ask for help getting to work from those who happen to have four wheel drive.

The Blizzard Part Deux

I haven't opened the door and stepped out onto the balcony due to snow for the past several days.  As can be seen in the above picture, plenty of snow came last night.

It's a hell of a way to end my days of being a 20 something.

Hey look.  It's my car!  God apparently thought it was a meatball, so some Parmesan was added to it.

I remember the snow from 2011.  It was referred to as the Snowpacalypse.  Plenty of people had something to say about that event.  Some universities were apparently not aware of how people could actually be injured in hazardous weather.  I remember in 2007 how somebody actually fell and hurt themselves during the winter storm, because UCM did not have the foresight at the time to understand that people can in fact get hurt and possibly die.

In 2011, they had wised up and canceled classes for the safety of the students.

For some more fun, take a look at this video from the point of view of an ambulance driver.

...and the road has disappeared.  Thank God there is no yellow snow.

Unlike 2011, only a portion of the country is getting hit with this little blizzard.  After Colorado has suffered nature's wrath, Missouri's turn came up next.  I live in Warrensburg, and guess what?

Warrensburg was a part of the storm's bullseye.

The street is covered once again.  I'm glad I made a wise parking decision.

Last week, I called in Thursday, because it would not have been wise for me to deal with hills, snow, and ice at the same time while going to work at night.  I shoveled snow away from my car so I could move it to a better spot the next morning, and the rest of the week went off without a hitch.

At least I'm off tonight, so I'll hopefully be able to safely get to work tomorrow night.

My friend Jason lives around the corner from me (left turn).

The cool thing is that it is still snowing outside as I'm writing this.  Hopefully it will have slowed down enough Wednesday to where I can travel safely to work.  If I can't, I'll have to see who has four wheel drive and is willing to give myself and others a ride.  Otherwise, it will involve calling in to work again.

That is an option I don't wish to exercise again.

Then again, we might be able to make things up with some overtime.  After all, when the storm clears, we're going to have tons and tons of freight to put away.

For now, I shall watch the spectacle outside with amusement.

More Weather on the Way.... Yay...

The forecast for tonight is snow, and more snow.  How exciting.  As of right now, I've been awake for nearly 24 hours.  Why do I do this to myself?

When my 48 hours of freedom, also known as a weekend, begins, I want to enjoy it as much as humanly possible.  All in all, today was a productive day, despite setbacks and frustration.

Hey, at least I have a full tank of gas in the car.

For starters, I gathered up my laundry for the week and took it to the laundry mat.  While my clothes were washing, I delivered a birthday card to my mom who lives about 13 miles to the south of me.

Upon returning to the laundry mat, I hurried and put the clothes in a dryer and set it at high heat for one hour.  I purchased some anime from Muttly's Gun and Pawn, then gathered up clothes.

I finished with a grocery shopping trip at the local Country Mart.  Some cube steaks, deli cheese slices, mushrooms, frozen peppers, Ballpark frozen burger patties, and some water were purchased.

If I'm getting snowed in, then I might as well have some good food, right?

I also had a discussion with a friend on Facebook.  How cool is that.  Oh, and there's another episode of The *Nixed Report podcast available.

All and all, the day was productive.  Hopefully, tomorrow will be fun.  We'll see what happens.  For now, I'll grab a snack and go to bed after that.

Holy Strain, Biceps!

I did it.  It hurt, but I succeeded.  The repetitions with the 10 lbs dumb bell has been increased to 45.  I have also modified how I do push ups off the wall.  I do a set of 16, wait about 20 seconds to cool down, and do another set of 16 for a total of 32 push ups off the wall.

A week from this Wednesday, I'll be at 50 reps with the dumb bell and two sets of 18 push ups off the wall.

We're apparently suffering winter's last gasp.  Last week, there was a good amount of snow.  This week, there appears to be more of the same.  The same goes for the week after that.

Of course this shit happens as I'm about to turn 30.

I'll just have to play my cards carefully and hope that the weather people are wrong in their forecast.  At the very least, temperatures should be in the 30's (degrees that is), so that may prevent the new snow from sticking as effectively.

In the mean time, I'll continue my focus on weight training throughout the weeks until the weather becomes consistent enough for me to walk outside on a regular basis.  The plan is to eventually save gas by walking to and from work.

Some More Good News

A friend commented last week that it looked like I was losing weight.  Another friend of mine told me that I was looking good as of late.  One of my coworkers told me that whatever I was doing, it was working.

That means I must continue the path I've been traveling.

Remaining true to myself and living life as I see fit along with molding myself into what I want to be has been the goal that I've been seeking all along.  Progress has been made, but there's still much that has to be done.

One step at a time.  One step at a time.

Digging Out of the Snow Hole Part Deux.

Well, I was successful in moving my car to a spot where snow has less occupancy.  I should be able to get to work tonight safely if I'm careful.  After using the shovel to move snow to a better place, I came to realize something important.

I made the right call yesterday.

Upon reading a status update from Warrensburg, Missouri's official Facebook page, I began debating whether I should call in or not.  After a couple of hours of deliberation and trying to go to sleep, I went ahead and did so.  More snow came later that night.

I wouldn't have had enough time to shovel the snow away so I could drive to work.  Hopefully the road crews will be able to clear some streets for safe travel.

Digging Out of the Snow Hole.

Well, today is going to be interesting.  I did call in yesterday, because I prefer to be safe as opposed to being sorry.  Recklessness in 2007 is what caused a broken limb, and I had no intention on having a repeat of that.

Today, the snow has stopped.  That means I'll have to shovel some snow away from the car after I get something to eat.  I figure I'll only need to move enough snow to move forward.  Hopefully, the car won't get stuck.

If I'm lucky, Business 50 will be cleared up enough to go down the hill.

If it isn't, I'll have to find another way to work (maybe take the other road to 13).  No matter what, I'll have to contend with some hills.  I missed one night of work, and if I can help it, that will be the only night this week.

The sun appears to be trying to shine through the clouds.  Let's hope enough of the snow begins to melt to allow traveling to work.

I might return for another post in a couple of hours depending on how I feel.  Wish me luck.

The Sky's Letting it All Out

Work was hectic last night.  On the one hand, people panicked about the weather.  On the upside, it was good for business.  Sales have been up as of late.

Some impulse merchandise didn't get put away and the zoning didn't get finished, because we kept having customers on a consistent basis.  UCM canceled their classes, and public school is not in session.

Friends of mine who work at the same place in the Kansas City area were able to take a snow day.

Right now, I'm enjoying the fact that I'm home safe and sound.  I haven't had dinner yet, because I wanted to get this blog finished and fulfill my goal of posting more often.

The snow's been coming down at a steady pace and it doesn't look like it will finish anytime soon.  Though I didn't think it would be too bad, I'm currently weighing my options.

I broke one limb during the winter of 2007, an incident that I have no desire to repeat.

Anyway, I played some Team Fortress 2 for a while (mainly training) via Steam for Linux.  I also checked up on Facebook to see how everyone's doing.

One person mused that this storm has a name (Q).  Another warned people to stay in their houses if they're in Kansas City.  I suspect that this is winter's last gasp of sorts before we transition into spring.

Either way, the precipitation is needed so that the farmers have a better yield this year.

I better get something to eat and go to bed.  If I wake up and find a huge enough pile of snow and ice on the ground, I may call in.  I'm not going to break another limb.

One metal piece in my body is enough.