Supposedly the HOA is going to be cleaning the buildings soon.
Living room / new painting. Dining room looks like ass but it's my "I don't know where this goes yet" place right now.
The living room setup is for the most part stuff I had at the old place, just re-arranged. I'm not particularly in love with the furniture I have in here but a slip cover and a new TV stand will make it better.
For an update, my boss basically said it's my fault that I was late yesterday because it's my job to arbitrarily check the schedule to see if I've been fucking scheduled some bullshit shift that never even came across my desk. This shit is so ridiculous. I shouldn't be physically angry at my fucking job on the weekend. It's not fair.
I haven't really read GBS in a few years and after 15 minutes in there tonight I've come to the conclusion that it's quite possibly the worst place on the internet. I'd rather have my eyes cut out with dull razors while reading FYAD than go back into GBS. That isn't to say that FYAD isn't a festering pile assholes and inside jokes too, but just for comparison's sake...
There's definitely a reason why the people whom I know that still log into SA only hit up the subforums.
I came in on time for my usual 8pm to 6am shift and Chris P informed me that I was two hours late. I had no way of knowing this because no one thought it wise to tell me. We've been on fixed schedules for two years now and short of someone being sick / requesting off, the schedule does not change. Under normal circumstances there is usually an email sent out that at least lets people know they have to be in early. Instead, my bosses didn't feel the need to tell me I had to come in, they just assumed that I check the schedule regularly for no reason.
I know a part of my boss' jobs are to review the people under them, but do people review my bosses? I swear there's more incompetency coming from the top than the bottom, and that's pathetic.
At my "smallest" I got down to 190 from 285. Over the last year or so I've gotten back up to 220-225ish. Last week I got back on my strict as hell diet and exercise regime and I'm already down to 215. As soon as I hit 185 I'm buying a new bike. Fat people look ridiculous on motorcycles so I have to lose it before I can go shopping :(
Either way I've lost almost ten pounds in a little over seven days, but I know that most of it is water weight. In my experience the first ten always is. The hard part is going to be going down to 2-3 pounds a week for the next two months and not getting discouraged. My pants already fit a bit better though so it's all good.
I still haven't even so much as been in my new house and I've owned it for almost a month now. I really hate the fuckers I bought the place from for doing this to me.
My bosses apparently think that rewarding certifications isn't something we're in the business of because "If we paid people every time they got a new certification everyone would get new certifications every day and demand more money."
Oh yeah? Fuck you. Fuck you for thinking that the shit I put 8-10 hours into EVERY DAY OF MY LIFE is something that some asshole can get in a day to pad his or her salary. I'd love to see someone spend a day trying to comprehend the shit I'm studying right now.
I think that mentality is right in tune with the micro-management system that's in place here right now. I can't so much as take a piss without my boss asking me why I was away from my desk. You wonder how someone could be micro-managed whilst working over night shifts but it's incredible how well it's done. Hell, I've only been rebooting PON cards in the maintenance window for the better part of two years now but I guess my boss still feels it necessary to remind me when the maintenance window is. He should go remind the rest of the company when it is. I think my group are the only people who actually abide by it.
When I get my CCNP I'll be the highest-certified Cisco engineer that EATEL employs and I'm pretty sure I'm not going to get a fucking thing for it. That's the most discouraging thing I've thought of in a long time.
Hey, at least my self-taught french lessons are going well. This Rosetta stone stuff is the shit. Anyone need a copy? I have the 14 language master DVD.
My musical tastes bounce with the seasons and lately I've been listening to a lot of big beat stuff. I queued up the Crystal Method's album Community Service tonight after not listening to it in a good while and man I forgot how good this one is. I want to burn this to a CD and go drive way over the speed limit, haha.
I like The Crystal Method. Almost any of their songs would be good fighter intro music.
This song / video is utterly incredible and brought tears to my eyes. It's so uplifting in a time drought of pride and competency. This video gives me hope and moves me powerfully.
I went by the house today and the for sale sign was already gone. I wanted to take a photo wish it, drats.
In other news I severely sprained my right wrist. It was so swollen I could barely get my wind breaker sleeve over it. I've got it under control now. The hospital is for chumps :D
Lastly, GO GIANTS! Fuck the AFC, lets bring the Super Bowl trophy back to the NFC baby :D
So far during the packing process I've thrown out more stuff than I've put into boxes. I'm probably right at a 60/40 throw away to keep ratio. I have almost all of the shit I own in approximately six copy paper boxes. Kara left all of her stuff in PA so she's a light move too. We just have to pack up the kitchen and that's about it.
Moving is good for two things: going through your stuff and throwing out junk, and making you realize just how little shit you actually own. Hell, I'm not even moving with a TV. Hopefully the phat check I get back from my up front costs is enough to cover one.
I had an awesome time at the Hornets game on Friday. We blew out the Clippers. The awesome tickets I scored for next to nothing were awesome. I still think that the Dome's parking situation is the worst in America for sure though. It took me 30 minutes to park once I'd gotten off at the Superdome exit. I actually missed the entire first period and half of the second, but we didn't really light it up until the third anyway.
We're still number one and we're getting more media coverage than even the Celtics are right now so that's pretty awesome. It's nice to know that our coaches are more than likely going to coach the all star game and some of our players are going to be in the game too. The fact that it's in new orleans is really great. This is the best any sports franchise has ever done in New Orleans history. We've never had a number one in anything. ESPN has us ranked first in the entire NBA in power. We have the highest predicted percentage chance of winning the entire western conference and the second largest percentage of winning the championship. The city of New Orleans needs a championship in something.
I couldn't find three people to go to the friends and family night game tomorrow so I got two $50/piece tickets for $13.75 a piece on the ticket exchange. How sweet is that? Ticket Raper, printed out, $30, to be front row upper bowl at a NBA game. I love this city!
My 14 year old brother is being recruited as a freshman by UT and Nebraska which is pretty incredible. Like any 14 year old that's good at something he's got a chip on his shoulder and thinks he can beat up everyone. Including his older brother. If anyone knows anything about anything it's that that can never be the case. Tonight Scott and I were playing football full contact and he got mouthy so when I ran the ball I jacked him so hard he flipped over. He promptly got up and started talking shit.
The Hornets are ranked number 2 in the entire NBA right now but when the hornets win a game in new orleans it's sort of like what happens when a tree falls in the forest - no one hears it.
I wish people would embrace this team. Hell, sports fans here always want a winner and stick with the Saints even when they're the Aints yet the hornets are so good that our starting point guard and coaching staff are probably going to be in the all-star game (which is in New Orleans).
You guys need to collectively get into the hornets, they're really fun to watch. We play the Blazers tonight, it'll be a great game. They're one of the hottest teams in the league right now plus they're a western conference opponent so it means a lot.
I haven't updated in a while because I've been filthy busy with a ton of crap.
Last Friday I took and passed the Cisco CCNP Composite exam with a score of 974/1000. It's the hardest test which Cisco offers on the professional level and I set the testing center's high score so I was very pleased with that. I spent six months studying an average of five hours a day five days a week for it and I think my effort shows in the score. I only have two more tests to go to earn the CCNP and I'm really excited about that. Having a CCNP and work experience is roughly equivalent to a master's degree in enterprise networking so hopefully a lot of doors will open up for me.
In other news I've started throwing away or packing all of my stuff for the move to our new home. The bank has the mortgage app and according to my loan officer everything is going perfectly. We're supposed to close on the 31st of January and my current landlord gave me a few days grace period to move in. That'll give me time to get the lights cut on but to be honest I'd sleep in the fuckin dark so long as I can say it's my house. I've already started working on the blueprints for how I intend to remodel the kitchen and dining room. I've also pre-ordered enough cat5 cable and insulation to both wire every room in my house with an internet accessable jack and quadruple the insulation in the attic. It definitely needs it, the insulation is original to the 1950's!
Last week was pretty much the best friend-week I've ever had. In the same DAY Mike Capps came back from New Zealand and I ran into Courtney after not seeing her in a good while. Seeing two of my best friends at the same time after not seeing either for a while was pretty awesome :D That night also resulted in me discovering that the best thing at Louie's is the fruit salad.
Oh, and Chrispy, since I hacked my 360 to play burned games I've downloaded/burned about 15 games, saving about $700 :D I burned Mass Effect and I haven't even had time to play it because I was busy leveling the shit out of my Kingdom Under Fire (you NEED that game) character and power leveling my Forza 2 cars :D If you haven't seen how god awfully bad the new Soldier of Fortune game is I'll bring my 360 by work when you're on the clock and show you. It's seriously like a 2/10 game. It's the worst FPS I've ever played.
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paulboz's journal
