TRO: 3087 - A Delay

I'm working on the next design. This is one my lower high priorities because I really want to get it out of my system. I'm closing in on the end, which means that all the entries I've put off because I wasn't as enthusiastic about them are 100% of what I'm doing now.

The next 'Mech is the original Leto, which only needs content cut back (it's 33% too big). I am working on it, I've just a lot happening right now.

No TRO entry today

Sorry. Work has been kicking me in the ass and I'm going out of town on Saturday, so my plate is kinda full.

I can't even promise to post during lunch because I don't have a lunch due to some training we have at lunch. I don't have to go, I only have to go if I want people to think I want to get better at my job

So I have to go.

Here's a link of me yelling at some asshat on tumblr.

TRO 3087: Bye Week

With the exception of Tuesday, NaNoWriMo/3087 is going well. I felt kinda sick and I don't know if it was because of too much or too little:

1) caffeine
2) alcohol
3) sugar

But I've got nothin' for you today. I'll try to update during lunch, but I've been kinda "working" through those lately.

Vacation Schedule for April

So I'm taking that vacation in April. Renting a car and driving to Kountze, Houma, then back. Might stop in Houston. If you're in those areas and want to spend some time with me while I'm down there, let me know.

Udemy & Code School

Buying a Udemy course was a purchase that made me feel old. Not aged, but like I'd made one of those Old People on The Internet mistakes. I bought it through Stack Social, which is a pretty sketchyy site I'd never heard of, but I had heard of Stack Exchange, a much better and more trustworthy site, and I just made an Old People mistake.

I only learned I'd be taking it through a third party when I went to redeem my purchase. In firm words under the course links, Stack Social reminded me "no refunds," because that was a question I was thinking about at that point.

Houma Movie Club, Phase 5

In case you haven't noticed, I haven't been updating a lot lately. My job situation is getting critical and I moved out here to Los Angeles for two weeks to see if I could fare any better than I was in San Antonio. Spoilers: I did not. 

Anyway, I've been trying to make the most of my time here (job-wise; trying not to get too much of this reverse Sarlacc Pit on me is something of a secondary goal) and I've been pretty twisted up, so there hasn't been much writing getting done.

Moving onto the business at hand. This week, the Houma Movie Club is back on our regular rules: no more than two of us have seen it, has to be on Netflix, and it can't have been released more than five years ago.

Minecraft Linkstorm 8 & 1/2

I haven't finished Minecraft Linkstorm #8 proper yet. I have not really been in a writing mood lately. 

I'm probably leaving San Antonio soon. Things haven't really worked out for me here. It's frustrating; apparently Texas is doing well and SA itself is facing some rock-bottom unemployment rates. Over the past two years, it feels like I've tried everything to find a career. All I've gotten are a few interviews, some motherfuckers trying to shake me down for free labor, some motherfuckers trying to shake me down to pay for more school, and a few jobs that ask me to rip other people off in exchange for not enough money to live on. Or worst of all, a resounding silence.

I'm just really tired and I'm really angry and I'd like to set everything I own on fire because it seems like it'd be a real time-saver.

Luckily, I'm selling lots of it on eBay, starting with my comics. 

My Battletech books and Magic cards are up next.

Progress Report: 07 JAN 14 Close of Business

I'm intermittently keeping track of my progress on a few important projects. I'll have a finale at the end of the week, but here's a random update. Also, I think I have the flu, but then it's not as bad as the version of the flu my roommate has so maybe it's a faux flu? Not sure.

Work - 10 of 30. Not great, but I'll have to see if I can line something extra up before Friday.

Finding Better Work - Currently sitting at about ten of twenty, which is about as many as I put in next week. If I still have a head of steam when Friday afternoon rolls around, I'll see if I can get it to the elusive 25.

Progress Report: 03 JAN 14 Close of Business

So I think that 2013 was a miss as far as this blog went. It was a miss in a lot of ways. I'm trying to dial back the formality and focus on speaking plainly about topics that interest me for a while. One of those topics is me and how I spend my time. On Monday, I put up some benchmarks and while I fell short of virtually all of them, getting the stark data back is edifying.

Work - I've actually got about 20 hours this week. Shy of the thirty I wanted, but, I forgot that New Years Day was a day off. Still needs improvement.

Finding Better Work - This one was also a miss. Only about ten. I got hung up on a few cover letters, which are a stupid waste of time if you don't know who's going to be reading them. None the less, the alcohol helped me get through it and I need to focus less on how stupid and futile they are and stop considering them as a blank slate opportunity to fuck up a job I don't even have yet. The ones I put in for were mostly some tech support and a few odd ducks (an Elance contract to write 8,000 word erotica that I don't think I got).

Progress Report: 30 DEC 13 Close of Business

Hey, so daily progress report: GO!

404 Blog Not Found

Despite what I think was a pretty great idea, I don't have a blog today. I just got some part-time employment and it's gotten me working on other projects and not focusing on the old PIFbyC the way I should (and also Command and Conquer and also True Blood).

Anyway, I am working on a series on NSA's Prism, but between the other blog, the other other blog, and the other other other blog, I'm not sure when or where that's going to land. I'm trying to narrow the focus of my general things down to the Linkstorms, videos that strike my fancy, Denver 5 stuff, programming, wrapping up some roleplaying stuff, and occasionally spending time with my roommates, but that still leaves an extensive to-do list.

Up to Speed

Jesus, last week was a fuck of a time for me take off, eh?

With all due respect to the Christians reading: Jesus fucking christ.

All that, and those videos didn't impress the legions of spambots that pushed my numbers disturbingly high last month. I'm still breaking 40,000 lifetime hits this month, so that's pretty cool¹.

Anyway, I'm trying to look forward to the future. Preordained blockbuster/social obligation Iron Man 3 hits theaters May 3. So you're just a single is he/isn't he drunk Harrison Ford video away from watching the first buckling bulkhead of a successful movie franchise implosion.

Field Manual Kris: Bump and Plug

Ptthph!

So I'm still looking for a job and trying to stay ahead of my blog update schedule (not always successfully). I've had some problems concentrating lately either because of too much or too little caffeine/alcohol. Not sure. Should investigate further.

I thought I'd take a moment to mention a few other things that are going on.

Guys, I Am So Tired

If you're reading this, you probably know a few things about me. I'm well educated. I can put a few words together. I've been a clerk, an retail manager, a writer, a mechanic, and a former sailor in The US Navy. I have a degree in Nuclear Engineering Technology. I say without reservation that I am a friggin' genius.

I've been looking for a permanent job for about a year now. I don't have an engineering degree proper. I have some computer science training, but no actual certifications and I don't have enough knowledge of CSS, Javascript, and SQL. I certainly don't have experience in any of those fields, as I opted to work offshore to pay my way though college because my parents, (and this will be the only time I say this collectively) god bless their souls, couldn't afford to pay for it[1].

Things are going okay. Working on a few projects. Putting in a few applications. Admittedly behind on blogs, a fact I'm blaming on the loss of my wireless keyboard.

Thanksgiving was good, and I'm spending today hunkering down, drinking generous amounts of praline liquor in my coffee and just doing internet stuff.

How about you guys?

Here's NyanWaits for your entertainment.

Field Manual Kris: Yes, that is a challenge

Ever since I've returned to Texas, I've been trying to get back to equilibrium. I've been trying to find a job that supplements my savings, get back to school, and establish a rhythm with everyone I share the house with. I've had varying degrees of success: short-term part-time jobs are hard to find, the paperwork for school has been mixed up a few times, and one of the people I share a house with is a two-year-old.

In addition, my car--which has had hundreds of dollars worth of repairs done since I left my well-paying job offshore--is broken again because every mechanic I've seen is a fucking moron. As an upside/downside, there's been a pretty great guy I've been talking to and seeing lately. The biggest downside isn't that he lives in Austin, but that when my time management is about to become a large issue, he presents a very big investment in time and energy. I'm doing it--and I'm all in--but I worry that there might be something good here that will get left by the wayside if the demands of school ratchet up or if I just have another spell of flaking out. Is that a thing that a lot of people have?

Anyway, nothing funny or insightful today. I'm sorry about not being funny, but you guys should be used to the lack of depth by now. Anyway, hope your week goes well.

Field Manual Kris: I am gonna miss that place a little bit.

As many of you know, I recently moved to San Antonio for financial reasons as I return to school to get my degree. It means leaving Louisiana which is the best thing a person can do, even above curing cancer because Louisiana is terrible and smells bad.

Anyway, though I never properly capitalized on how idiotic daily life was there, it was fertile ground for such discussions. More than anything, reflecting on that should be impetus for me to find the ways that San Antonio is a mad, mad hellhole worthy of laughing at.

I just wanted to leave a final note to remember that certain state to the east with a real display I saw in a real grocery store down there:

Field Manual Kris: A Certain State to the West

I spent a week in Texas. Since I'm not working now, I'll be moving out of my apartment and over there with Terry and Katie when either my lease is up or my roommate finds a new sucker to take my place. This trip was definitely a dry run for that. I mean, once I live here, everyone's going to need more space than we usually get for a week-long visit, but that's an issue for March.

I also introduced Terry and Katie to Zombies!. Terry suggested that we begin playing Pandemic and only only get around to Zombies! if we lost the game. I tried to explain that the length of Zombies! precluded mixing it with anything else, but when it comes to zombies, the only substitute for experience is experience. Eventually (all Zombies! games finish in the time frame of "eventually"), because I had a lot of nothing to do the next day and didn't want to miss any of it, I helped Katie to the helicopter so we could all get some sleep.

GoMnomnom: Sunsets on the Shipyard

Everyone thinks that the new year is a time to do something different with their lives. It's an arbitrary line that people take as permission from heaven to begin changing their life for the better or maybe a point at which they feel obligated to examine their actions from the last year.

I don't adhere to that; I've had my life uprooted and overturned in all four seasons, with and without cause. If change is going to roll out of bed and randomly decide to find us for a visit, I think we're entitled to hold a four am fire drill in it's apartment building.

To that end, I've decided that 2012 is the year I go back to college and finish my degree. Once. And. For. All. I've put enough cash away that I can afford to go back and finish up and live for a few months without the hassles of a full-time job. I have to cut back on the luxuries, but it'll be worth it to finally have a degree and be able to

GoMnomnom: Early Sunrises Over Matagorda

My time off is going well. My car window got fucked up right before I had to go offshore last time, so I'm just now getting it worked on. Thankfully, I dropped it off at the shop Friday afternoon, so all the rain we're getting hasn't been messing it up (hopefully). Should be getting fixed some time from this afternoon to Tuesday afternoon. I've made some plans for tonight and tomorrow night, and rumor has it Katie's in town, so my entire schedule despite my best efforts, is #*$@ed...again.

As a special bonus, I left my phone charger in my car and I'm juggling back-up phones so that when the shop is done with my car, I'll know. But hey, first world problems, right?