And the next number for the Powerball jackpot is...

You.

Yeah. Little 'ol you sitting there reading this.

Can you honestly believe what is happening in this economy now?

First, we get to see the "big three" automakers apply and get denied Federal Bail-out money because they honestly show that they've got no clue about cash boundaries.

Then, they come back, after a nice long coaching session with some set actors, and get granted bailout cash that they so "desperately need" for their business.

Now?

Yeah, they're trying to get you to foot the bill.

How, do you ask?

I was listening to a radio commercial on my way home from work this evening, and Chevy was blaring an ad to it's listeners:

"If you lose your job, we'll make your payments for up to 9 months"

Wow.

Just incredible.

So now I've got this overwhelming urge to run out and buy a car that I can't afford, then lose my job so that I don't have to pay for it for nearly a year, then rinse and repeat!

Doesn't that sound like FUN??

Not only that, but I'm sure that my taxes on this are going to be helping those folks who could care less about keeping a stable job in a car far longer than they should be!

Is there really no sanity in finance with "big business" anymore?

Back, and with a new perspective!

Well, it's been a while since I've posted, and I'm not sure really where to begin here.

Things seem to be better at the house. We're not fighting, but yet there still seems to be a bit of tension running just under the surface. I don't know if this is just me, and I'm fooling myself, yet it really does feel like I'm playing with a tripwire I can't see, and the bomb it's connected to could go off at any moment.

However, until such time, I'll be willing to make things seem normal and stable if only for the sake of the kids, who were concerned about where things were going.

I'm also trying to see if taking more time to focus on my wife will help matters. Maybe I've been too self-absorbed, and haven't been spending enough time with her and tending to her needs.. Maybe we need to have personal getaway time each time the kids are at their mom's for the weekend.. Maybe I should focus more on what I love about her, instead of the things that irritate me..

Speaking of that, let me ask you all something.

As men, do you often wonder why ladies will complain about the things you do (and especially the things you DON'T do) when they get together? My wife and her two close girlfriends watch TV shows at our place on Tuesdays and Wednesdays on most weeks, and even though they try to be quiet, some of the conversation can be easily overheard, and I can hear them talk about such things. How he's doing this, and it bothers them. Or he's NOT doing this, and he really should. Why can't he do this, like she's seen other guys do? Et Cetera..

When I've been out with my guy friends, we will sometimes talk about our wives, but for the most part we avoid this. Why? Because we want to have a good time, and not have something possibly get back to the wife that we'll have to pay for later. Plain, simple, easy.

Ladies: Why do you feel the need to complain or compare your significant other to people? Why is it that just being a person isn't good enough? Are there times where you feel they just won't listen, and so talking about personal things with friends is going to better or help the situation?

Heh. Listen to me here. I'm complaining and asking for information from interweb folks about a subject that really kind of strikes me as being a bit oxymoronic...

Let's just say that I don't understand the need for comparison or complaint.

Yeah, there are times when I've found myself comparing my wife to other people. However, when I _do_ find myself doing this, I stop. I prefer to take my wife at face value. I appreciate the things she does, and I love her for the person she is, not the person she could become.

How about all of you? What are your thoughts?

Things that are bothering me..

Have you ever felt like even though you're married, you're just "playing house"?

I mean, you have a solid relationship, yet the passion and little things just aren't there. You're kind of running off a set script of things that "all married folks are supposed to do" and there's just no spontinaety or passion in the relationship just don't seem to be there. The spark seems to have died?

Yeah. Me too.

But I refuse to give up.

I love this person I'm with. I adore her, actually.

Not only that, but I made her a promise, and I'm going to stick to it.

You all might have heard it a couple of times before. You know the one I'm talking about..

"For better, for worse. For richer, for poorer. In sickness and in health. As long as we both shall live."

Yeah. That promise.

Sure, there are times where it seems like all we're really dealing with is the worse, and we wonder where the heck the better went to. Sometimes richer seems so far off, and we're stuck with the poorer. Some of us are stuck in the sickness part, and wonder if any health is on the way.

Yet I've got to be stubborn.

I made this woman a promise. Not only that, but I also told this to her parents, my parents, her friends, and my friends as well.

What kind of man could I consider myself if things got tough, and I just decided to quit?

What kind of father could I consider myself if I can't set an example for my boys about making commitments, and then not follow through on them?

What kind of example would I be giving my daughter if I were to jump from wife to wife? What kind of self-esteem issues will that make for her in her later years when she potentially decides to marry? Is she going to think that she's as expendable as the women I married?

Maybe I'm just not willing to see the big picture. Maybe in some way I'm being an egotistical bastard, and I'm not giving a damn about someone else's feelings.

However, I still have to be true to myself.

And the truth is that I love this person, and I'm willing to do whatever it takes to keep my promises and vows.

My hope is that each and every one of you feels the same way, and can possibly share this with your significant other or spouse.

The greatest gift each human being posesses is the ability to love. Don't squander it.

I'll talk with you all next week.

Like all good things...

Yes kiddies, I'm having to trim down the amount of time I spend blogging.

I've made a promise to myself to not post while at work. I've come to realize that my income is near and dear to my family, and for me to put that in jeopardy by writing about things that upset me for the enjoyment of others is irresponsible.

Now? Well, I've decided to post when I can while at home. It's not going to be as steady and as usual as it has been in the past, but there will be odd times when I'll be able to get free, and rant and rave about things that have set me off.

As a few of you know, I'm also dealing with some harsh and serious things on the home front as well, and right now one of my major focuses is going to be on resolving these issues once and for all.

So your thoughts and concerns are welcome, and I dearly hope that I won't lose your readership while I take time to clean house.

Have a great day, and I'll talk to you again soon.

You know, I've found a way to save cash.

I don't need to take that camping trip during the summer.

I can just go sleep in a cold room, and wake up next to a stranger without having to leave my house.

Think of all the cash I could have saved if I'd known this years ago....

This post is brought to you by the letters "F" and "U"

Yeah. I'm in a depressed and bitchy mood.

I'm not going to talk about it, one of you knows exactly what's going on.

Anyway, bad stuff going on at home, and I just didn't feel right not letting you know I'm here.

I'm here.

I'm alive.

I'm at work.

I don't want to deal with it right now.

I'll talk more later.

And this is how the Black Plague spread..

Yeah, contrary to popular advice, I'm back at work.

I don't know what it is..

I mean, just ten years ago I would have found any and all excuses to find a reason NOT to come to work..

Now? I'm finding excuses as to why I need to be here, and NOT stay home!

Talk about a severe change of attitude....

I'm not as bad off today as yesterday, though. I loaded myself up on Nyquil, sinus relief, decongestants, and cough syrup.. Not to mention cough drops and the occasional tall cool drink of water.

I think I'll make it through just fine today.

My coworkers? That's another story.

There are some folks here that I wouldn't mind coughing all over, and forcing them to take a few extra days off work just to get them out of my hair for a bit longer.

However, grandma didn't raise her boy to be rude like that, so I politely cover my face when coughing, and excuse myself when needed.

The worst part about being sick like this is that I'm all alone this weekend.

The kids are at their mom's.

My wife is on a "girls weekend" at the local casino.

I'm in an empty house, with a loving pooch, but nothing more.

I can't do the "sick man" trick, and just mope about in the recliner crying about how bad my head hurts, or some such nonsense.

If I'm thirsty, I get my butt up and get a drink. Hungry? Fix something. Tired? Go lay down. Maybe get a blanket and crash where I land.

But there's nobody to talk to.

Yeah, I can talk to the dog, but she doesn't talk back too much, and it gets boring after a while. I like the undivided attention and love I get from her, but sometimes I really wish she'd learn more english than "ride", "treat", "walk", and "outside", you know?

Well, I've got inventory and stuff to get done today, so I'm going to be knees and elbows in serious dirty stuff. Wish me luck, and you all have a great weekend!

Another drop (drip) in the bucket

Yeah, I'm late posting this, sue me.

I'm sick.

Not just the "I don't feel like being here, so I'm going to try to think up an excuse to not come in" type, but the aches, pains, stuffy head, runny nose, coughing, sore back from hacking, sore throat, mild fever kind of sick.

And like an idiot, I came into work as well.

I don't know what it is about this place, but each and every time that I have to start crawling into the "devil dust" we have in this place, I get sick.

This week has been interesting, in that I've had to move offices, drop cabling, and change out computer monitors. So I've done my fair share of dirt crawling these last couple of days. Not only that, but the first day that I came home, I left a nasty black-gray ring in the tub when I took my shower.. Not a pretty picture, I can tell you!

So I'm here, sick, miserable, and trying to focus on lasting the rest of the day so that I can carry my sick butt home, take a steamy hot shower, and crash into bed. Food doesn't even enter into the picure right now, just hot water and a warm bed.

You want to know just how depraved I am?

I'm conetemplating how I'm going to do tomorrow, and trying to convince myself that I'm really not too badly sick, so that I can get work done.

I think I need to see a shrink.

Thank you all for your comments and postings over the last couple of days. I've been trying to air out things that have bothered me, and to know that I'm not the only one out there seeing something wrong gives me just a bit more hope.

I'll hopefully be posting earlier tomorrow, so keep your eyes open!

Something keeps bothering me..

Do you ever get the feeling that folks only keep you around to use you for something.

That if they were to ever be able to do what you're able to, you wouldn't be around anymore?

That if you weren't able to do the things you can, you wouldn't be as vital anymore?

Yeah. I'm feeling like that right about now.

Yesterday I put in one hell of a workday just to get things done.

I'd posted about how I'm from the old-school teachings that my grandparents instilled in me.

I take pride in my work, and I do it to the best of my ability. I refuse to do something halfway, and leave it done with "just enough" to get it to work. In my opinion, that's just not right. I correct and complete the problem, and then in my estimation it's finished.

Yesterday, I was trumped.

We moved a workstation, and there were some unforseen consequences of the move. One was the failure of the IP phone, and another was the failure of the PC itself.

One was easily fixable. The other was not.

I had a replacement phone for the phone issue, but the PC was another matter altogether.

What had happened with the PC was best termed as a lack of housekeeping by the user of the PC tower. During the move, dust was able to sift into the contacts and hard drive of the PC, effectively erasing any and all data from the computer.

How do I know this?

Because it worked fine when I turned it off from the office it was in. Heck, it works fine now (once I removed the foot of dirt and dust from the inside of the machine!), and when transporting the PC, I took great care in keeping it stable.

Now, housekeeping on a PC isn't difficult. All that is really needed is to grab a small can of compressed air (that I provide these folks for free when asked!), and blow it into the tower about once a week. This keeps the dirt down, and the circuts clean. A clean PC is a happy PC!

Yeah. It doesn't happen much around here.

So, after putting in 18 hours of work to get the problem fixed, I was called and told to leave things "as they were", and go home. The problem will still be here when I get back, and I can work on getting it resolved then.

Grudgingly, I agreed, and headed home for a bit of food, and my bed.

When I came in this morning, it was to managers rooting through my office trying to find their PC and phone, and then yelling at me because their desk wasn't completely moved like it was supposed to be.

Being half-awake, and still a bit on edge from the excess of work I'd done the day before, I was impressed that I could muster up the polite response of telling them to talk with the GM who ordered me to go home, and that I'd take care of their problem when I was able to.

Threats of termination floated on the breeze, and I finally ordered them out of my office so that I could get to work.

Yeah, I'm still working on the problem. Heck, it's taking me longer to post than normal because in between sentances I'm checking for compilation completions, hoping that my data recovery scripting is going to work, and I can at least salvage some data that was lost..

Yet I can't help but feel that if any of the management here felt that they could do the job I'm doing, my time here would be awfully short..

I've been told on a regular basis that I do a great job around here. Things go smoothly, and problems don't happen very often. When problems _do_ show up, they tend to get fixed right away, and they get taken care of to such a degree that the problem usually doesn't happen again.

Now if I could only use that problem solving skill to replace faulty users, I'd really be in business, wouldn't I?

I'll talk with you all tomorrow, I've got a computer to fix.