J.P.

4001.

This is post 4001. I don’t think that I have ever commented on the number of posts I have posted in a post before, so I thought I would do it this time, because 4001 looks like a nifty number to me.

To celebrate my 4001th post (and 11 1/2 years of doing this blogging thing), we shall celebrate with a song. I consider it my theme song and it is best enjoyed in a 2011 Jeep Rubicon with the top off, my husband at my side, the Cub in the back seat and the sun shining down on us as we drive the Interstates together.

DJ Antoine
“This Time (Radio Edit)”
2006
Ultra Records

12 February 2013 by Fun and Games Dept 2

Training.

So today at work I began four days of training classes for the week. For five hours of each remaining work day this week, I sit in front of my laptop in the privacy of my home office and, along with nine other class participants, get guided through an overview of a multi-million dollar software package. Later this month and next month is when the real training takes place, with in-depth coursework designed to stimulate all sorts of neurons in my head.

The training was originally suppose to take place in exotic places such as Dallas, Texas and Rochester, New York, but the company discovered that it is cheaper to have everyone participate virtually and remotely, via the very technology that we provide to the masses. As a result of this epiphany, most of the travel plans were scrapped in favor of this telecommuting arrangement. I am still traveling to Dallas for a week in the beginning of March for some of this frivolity in person. That week will be the first time that I meet most of my peers face-to-face. I am looking forward to the experience.

I have to be honest and admit that this telecommuting way of learning is actually working well for me. Maybe I should have done this for most of my educational career. Sitting in front of my computer in the solitude of my office and not worrying about what other people around me are doing or wondering how my flight home is going to go is actually helping me stay focused. I don’t feel distracted, I feel energized. Forty years ago my kindergarten teacher identified me as a “loner” and I guess that’s one thing she got right. (We ignore her other assessment of me, in which she told my mother that I was learning disabled. She just didn’t get me as I didn’t really fit into the “no child is really any different than any other child”  mentality.)  I’ve taken lots of notes, I’ve shut down anything that could be distracting and I’m actually learning something. Just from this first class I have come up with several ways to integrate my software package into this platform that we’re developing. My inner geek is excited and I can’t wait to implement some ideas and learn more when we get into the more in depth classes later in the month.

I’m looking forward to the next session tomorrow.

12 February 2013 by Geek 2

Warmth.

So I woke up this morning at 5:30 after a solid night’s sleep. It’s a wonderful feeling, waking up fully refreshed and ready to go for the day when you’re suppose to feel that way. The day has gone very well thus far and I think it is because of the good night’s sleep I had last night.

After feeling all refreshed and wide awake I looked out the window and was reminded that it was still dark outside. It’s still winter. As I looked out onto the driveway, I could see the shiny evidence of the sleet and ice mixture that they had predicted; the pinging of ice pellets against the window confirmed this observation. And there was no sign of a sunrise.

I love the darkness in that I love the vibe of it, but physically my body craves sunlight. It craves the warmth of the sun and I haven’t been feeling that lately. I’ve been very chilled and I want to be warmed to the core of my soul. I don’t want to be sunburned, I just want to feel warm.

Over the last couple of weeks I have gotten in the habit of wearing two jackets simultaneously to work. I wear my “trailer park hoodie” (as I call it) and then I wear my Carhartt jacket over that. This helps with some of the warmth that I’m looking for. I only wear this combination to work; when we go out to dinner or something I wear my leather jacket and I always feel chilled in that. I should wear my motorcycle jacket, but I have been told that I look too intimidating in that when walking into a nicer restaurant. Now that I’m typing this paragraph, I’ve discovered that I am in the mood to go somewhere to wear that motorcycle jacket. I think I have a goal for this coming weekend.

I still feel chilled though. I’m looking forward to our vacation in March. Sunny Florida does wonders to chase the chill away, and this time I’ll have a head start with the work travel I’ll be doing in a couple of weeks.

I just need to find some warmth. Some sunlight would be wonderful. I don’t like labels, but that whole Seasonal Affectation Disorder thing, though I try very hard to fight it, sometimes comes in with a vengeance.

And it’s presence always comes with a chill.

11 February 2013 by Fun and Games Dept 4

Saturday.

So I’m sitting on the couch in our Great Room trying to write code for a project that I am working on. I usually sit in the rocking chair that Earl bought me years and years ago, but Tom has decided that he should use the rocking chair during this part of the day and he shall not be disturbed. There are some rules that are not meant to be broken. So I sit on the couch trying to get into the zone while he naps in my zone.

Saturday

I have no idea where the shirt I am wearing came from. It’s a nice shirt and it’s the right size but I don’t ever recall being given an IBM shirt. I was given quite a few Apple shirts a few months ago, and I love them a lot, but I don’t know if this shirt was part of that lot or not. It’s quite comfortable regardless of how I got it and that’s what’s important.

To celebrate the snowstorm that accompanied hysterics of historic proportions, I grilled pork chops on the grill outside on the patio for lunch today. The members of my family found them to be quite delicious and cooking out in the snow as something I hadn’t done in a long, long while. I’m glad I took the effort to unbury the grill, shovel off the patio and spend some time outside. It has done wonders for my psyche. There is no replacement for being out in the sunshine, no matter how much Vitamin D one takes during this time of the year to combat Seasonal Affectation Disorder.

I’m really looking forward to our trip to Florida next month.

Earl is sitting in the kitchen working on our 2012 taxes. It is best to leave him be during this type of exercise because he’s really good at the financial workings of our home. Our financial approach is simple: I ask how much, he tells me, I ask which account, he tells me and then I push buttons on the ATM machine. That has worked for us for years and I really have no complaints with that. Since we live relatively debt-free (aside from the house and the Jeep) I can’t complain. If the answer is “no”, the answer is “no” and that is something that I can live with. I would rather live debt-free than get back into the ways of credit card debt that I had back in the 1990s (B.E. or ‘before Earl’). No one ever believes me when I say this, but I could easily adjust my standard of living accordingly if we ever had to. As long as I’m with people that I love and have the basics, I’m a happy guy.

Tom has readjusted himself in my chair in an effort to get as much fur as possible to every corner of the cushion. Everyone gives what they can.

I have been taking quite a few photos with my iPhone today and I plan on doing the same tonight. People probably find my random photos boring but I don’t care, I’m not out to impress anyone. I just like sharing slices of life where I can.

9 February 2013 by Ponderings and Musings 3

Interruption.

I was less than a half mile from the house when my Spidey powers kicked in. I felt a disturbance in The Force. My ying was not quite in tune with my yang. Something felt off and because of this a disconcerting feeling fell over me.

I grabbed at the chest area that was obscured by my two layers of winter jackets. I felt my work badge right where it was suppose to be, so that wasn’t it. I looked over on the passenger seat. PopChips? Check. Work MacBook Pro? Check. Lunch Pail? Check.

It wasn’t until I was on the Thruway several minutes later that it dawned on me. Like the sun that was rising in the east at the time, the realization came over me, followed by a brief moment of panic, which was quickly replaced by a feeling of emptiness. Helplessness. Incompleteness.

I had forgotten my iPad.

What on Earth was I to do during my work lunch hour with my iPad? I couldn’t read. My books are all on my iPad (I’m currently reading Emily Post’s “Etiquette”). I couldn’t play a game because my games are on my iPad. And I surely couldn’t listen to the radio during my lunch hour because I needed my iPad to interact with the hose.

I. Needed. My. iPad.

Turning around to go get my iPad was inconceivable. Since I was on the Thruway, the exits are spaced many miles apart. This helps keep travelers away from the native population, lest their money mingle into the local economy as the traveler pollutes the area with his exhaust fumes. The next interchange was nearly 15 miles away and by the time I turned around and went home it’d be lunch time, so that wasn’t an option.

Forlorn, I moved on, though I had reconciled my feeling of emptiness, it never quite left me.

Never to be deterred, I did what any self-respecting geek would do. All was not lost in a pit of blackness for I still had my iPhone. My nice little iPhone 5 with similar powers to my iPad was as snug as a bug in a rug in my pocket and it would serve me well during my lunch hour. When lunch time came around, I simply paired the Bluetooth keyboard that is always present in my Jeep with my iPhone and I sat down, PopChips and an unsweetened iced tea in hand and I typed a blog entry.

And here it is.

7 February 2013 by Geek Ponderings and Musings 2

Storms.

So The Weather Channel is already getting breathless about the snow that is expected to hit the region this weekend. They’ve named the storm and everything. Quite frankly, I think the Weather Channel is a completely assinine organization and a strong indicator of everything that is wrong with our society today. Be scared! Be afraid! Buy everything we throw at you in an advertisement! Support our advertisers! Watch for more! Be afraid! Very afraid! Boo!

I am actually looking forward to the storm. Since they’re predicting anywhere from 1/8″ to up to 24″ of snow for our area, I’m hoping that we’ll get more than that so I can go out in the Jeep and drive around, making videos and taking pictures and posting them to the Internet so I can say, “See! This is how the big boys play in the snow!”. Then I’ll laugh maniacally.

The bad part of this storm is that it’s coming up the coast and it’s going to hit New York City, which means the bloggers will get all hysterical, Rosie O’Donnell will be paralyzed with fear about the whole thing1 and the national news anchors will look sad because their limos in midtown couldn’t make it to 30 Rock in time for a martini downstairs before they had to go on camera.

We’ll be driving around in the Jeep yelling “neener neener” into a video camera.

If you’re passing through the area on the Thruway during the storm and have absolutely no idea of what to do during a “named” winter storm (who’s idiotic idea was that?), please stay home. Use the time to pack up and move to Florida. We don’t want you up here anyways. We have places to go and people to see and we’re not going to let a little snowstorm slow us down.

1 Per Twitter, apparently Rosie “panicked” when the lights went out during the Superbowl. Because she was sitting in Nyack. Get a grip.

6 February 2013 by Let's All Rant. 3

Waiting.

So I’m sitting in my rocking chair waiting for my husband to get home from work. It’s after 6:30 p.m.; he has been in New England all day on official business. I just finished work myself; I always love those hysterical IT calls at 4:59 p.m., just as you’re getting ready to close all your applications and call it a day.

It could be worse. I don’t have room for complaint. I like what I do. Especially when I can do it from home.

I’m sitting here realizing that I have no idea where the day went. I remember getting up and getting my day started. I remember my two 15-minute breaks where I rode the exercise bike to break the monotony of sitting at a desk, but I don’t remember much else. I think that’s good. I think that means I lost myself in my work, which made the day just zoom by. I hope I didn’t sleep through the day. That would not be good.

I keep looking at the driveway to see if I see lights. It’s kind of funny that I still giddy at the thought of my husband coming home from work. Those fireworks never get stale.

5 February 2013 by Love. 7

Keys.

So yesterday was the big Super Bowl and Earl and I had a little celebration here at The Manor. Surprisingly, we both survived the Super Bowl food just fine because *I* was the one that did the cooking and such for our little party. Normally Earl does the cooking, but I’ve been feeling fantastic lately and I was in the mood to do something of this nature, so I did it. We both enjoyed the tasty treats.

Homemade Turkey Chili.

Homemade Turkey Chili.

Earl and I were very moved when the Sandy Hook School Chorus started singing “America, The Beautiful.” Jennifer Hudson came out halfway through the song and added her personal touches to the arrangement and it seemed to blend well. We were moved to tears.

After a few commercials it was time for Alicia Keys to sing the Star-Spangled Banner. Sigh. Now I have complained about celebrity performances of our National Anthem before and I guess I’m going to do it again. I have already mentioned this on my Facebook and Twitter feeds, but I was really disappointed in Alicia’s performance. I don’t know a lot about her except that she’s won plenty of Grammy awards. I don’t seek her music out and I can’t say that anyone of her work is in my large library of music. That all being said, I vaguely knew that she tended to go breathy and jazzy with her music and that’s what she opted to do with the National Anthem.

She also decided to make it really long.

And change the tempo.

And change the phrasing.

And change the chord structure.

Here’s the thing. When singing the National Anthem at an event, I believe that it is the performer’s responsibility to bring pride to our country through the performance of our anthem by engaging the crowd and bringing the citizens to their feet, with their hats off, their hands over their heart and the opportunity for the person to sing along if they so desire. When you change the song to “make it your own”, Mr. and Mrs. Jones have no idea what to do to engage in their own patriotism so they just stand there feeling like idiots. On the bright side, Alicia made the song so long and so slow, there’s a really good chance that Mr. and Mrs. Jones might have fit in a nap to pass the time when they couldn’t sing.

To sing the National Anthem is a great honor. It is your chance to shine while you bring your fellow neighbors together in a beautiful act of patriotism. To change the song up to show what you can really do as an artist is self-indulgent and quite frankly, contrary to the purpose of singing the song in the first place. I am grateful that Alicia didn’t engage in the ridiculous yodeling sounds that others have done in the past, but as I sat there I couldn’t believe that I was losing interest in a song that usually moves me to tears. It felt awkward.

And one more little rant, in all of her demonstrations of having a good grasp of Music Theory 101, why did Ms. Keys opt to change the chord structure of “o’er the land of the free…”, to a darker, minor chord? That’s what this country is all about! Why would you change the chord to illustrate a dark, somber tone?

Perform the song the way it was meant to be performed: lively, full of life and full of heart. I really wish the NFL would enlist the vocal abilities of a talented service member who knows what it is like to be defending this country.

That would be another beautiful act of patriotism.

4 February 2013 by Ponderings and Musings 3

Winter.

So yesterday the weather radio blared out another Lake Effect Storm Warning. The National Weather Service predicted 4-10 inches of snow in lake effect snow bands and the warning included our area. I didn’t think much of it, these things are suppose to happen all the time in January in this neck of the woods.

This morning when Earl and I got up for work (at 5:30 a.m.), there was evidence that it had snowed a little bit. Earl said that it looked like “a little more than a dusting.” As I hopped out of the shower a half hour later, I noticed that it was snowing a little more than it was earlier.

After getting myself together and out the door, I started the trek to get on the Thruway. The roads were in pretty bad shape, but this is nothing out of the ordinary, as we live on a county maintained road. When I got to the state maintained portion, the conditions didn’t improve. In fact, they got worse. Popping the Jeep into four-wheel drive, I decided to truck on.

Twenty minutes later I was at the Thruway entrance. I had driven six miles in 20 minutes. Looking at the Thruway, which runs parallel to the freeway I was on, traffic was moving at about the same pace. At that rate, I’d get to work well into mid-morning.

I decided to turn around and head home. And this is the part where I get a little braggy: instead of hopping back into bed for an hour, I decided to just start my day. I was feeling good, I was in the mood to be productive and I actually was in the mood to work. So I sent an email off to those that cared as to my whereabouts and settled down to the day’s work. I’m glad I made the decision to stay back, it started snowing even harder and it continued throughout the morning.

Snow falling.

Snow falling. Photo taken through an open door, that’s the actual snowflakes in the air.

Now that I’m sitting in the kitchen enjoying my lunch, I’m noticing that it looks beautiful outside and there’s still a few flakes in the air here and there.

Winter ain’t so bad when you put your mind to it.

4 February 2013 by Fun and Games Dept 3

About J.P.

Just a guy with a husband. We’ve been together 28 years and he still makes me see fireworks on a daily basis. Hiker. Storm Chaser. Private Pilot. Tech Guy. Hackerish.

Weird? Eccentric!

All The Places

Visit my Linktree
December 2024
S M T W T F S
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
293031