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20060827
 
Changes Begin
Not a lot of time to post today, but wanted to just throw something up here. LOTS has happened. The big thing is that last week was my last week at the last job (HSBC). Got the last three days off, which was lovely. I start my new job at IBM tomorrow! I don't have time today, though, because I'm headed out on a flight for a business trip in a few hours. With the crazy airport security analness, I need to be there about two hours early. Crazy.

I'm looking forward to the new job a lot! It should be fun. I hope I can actually use my skills well at this one, instead of just wishing I could do productive things and not be offered the chance to.

The other major change - between this and my side business, my income has just DOUBLED. I'm not even kidding. I used to think of a raise as something like an extra dollar an hour. This is unheard of. I'm sincerely frightened at the idea, though - I don't know if I trust myself with this much more. I'm going to try living like I'm not making anything extra, but it'll be hard when you have a giant pot of GOLD just sitting there, shining at you. I don't think it'll sink in until I get the next few paychecks. Eh, looks like the hassles I had continuing with graduate school are finally paying off some.

Random news stuff - I mowed my parents' lawn a few days back. The back lawn was at obscene levels of height. As was the temperature. So I was out there, soaking in sweat, glistening in the unrelenting sunlight. I drank three large cups of orange juice. And the whole thing took me over two hours. I think it may have been unhealthy to be out in the heat (100+ degrees) for that long. Pushing the mower, mind you - trying to make it run on its own was ludicrous. The mower would have none of that. It would notice how high the grass was and just sputter and quit. Basically a nice, "Hell, NO!" So I had to sneak up each inch on the mower. "See? It's not THAT much. Just ignore the several feet left in front of you. Just these two inches are okay." It was rough. Here, you can get SOME idea what I'm talking about here.


Anyway, I gots to finish packing and get out of here to make my flight. But that's the news lately. Oh, and I did play at church at the Madalene for the first time. No choir yet, but I actually got a ton of complements for just me and my guitar. So it's a good start. I think the congregation will be open to some changes in the music there.

Random links! Since I had to make a shorter blog today, you get TWO. First one - everyone loves Guitar Hero. Just be careful you don't get too out of control. Second one - there are good reasons to make sure you keep track of any food you accidentally leave behind the couch. Or on your lawn.
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20060816
 
Mixed Day
An interesting day, indeed. Things are both really good, and really annoying. Eh, I'm more of a bad news first type of person, so annoying first.

Seems my friends are somewhat sporadic. I've called a number of people in the past 24 hours. And either my phone is broken, or people just don't return phone calls anymore. It's a pet peeve of mine when someone doesn't communicate clearly. Take, for example, previous girlfriends. I'm sure this has happened to some of you. "What's wrong?" you ask, genuinely concerned. "Nothing," she says, when her body language communicates completely the opposite. Well, DAMMIT, you need to say something! I'm not going to sit there and play Operation on your emotions. Is it a problem here? BZZT! Get shouted at or condemned for making the WRONG GUESS. Is it this? BZZT! Freakin' JUST TELL ME. Communicate. And it's almost always the WOMAN who has this problem. Which I find ironic, since it's usually the woman who values communication more than guys. Guys may not always want to talk, but if you ask them a question, they'll straight up answer it. "Why were you late?" "I had diarrhea." It doesn't matter if it's embarrassing - if it's a straight question, you get a straight answer. With women, though... "Why were you late?" "Mind your own business." GAH.

Okay, I've vented. It does piss me off, though. On the other side of things, there've been some nice moments. Today I went and got some lovely Burger King, and on the way back I saw some GQ middle-aged guy on a motorcycle - didn't look/sound like a Harley, but he was behind me at the stoplight, I couldn't tell for sure. I saw him looking to the left, so I turned to see what it was. It was a middle-aged woman in a car, in the left turn lane. Neither of these were exactly models, but they were fairly attractive people. The guy on the bike winked and blew her a kiss. She just looked flustered and flattered all at once. The light changed for her turn, and she looked like she had to make a rushed decision - so she finally just blew him a kiss back. But in a hurry! So she could make her light. It cracked me up, I actually laughed out loud quite loudly.

I've been playing a lot of guitar lately! It's good. And the whole directing the choir thing looks like it might be good. If anyone ever SHOWS UP. So far, the outlook hasn't been too promising. But I have faith. Irony of word choice recognized but not explicitly chosen, there. Lately I've been hooked on playing a particular song. It's rather difficult to play. Some people play it in their own style, which, to me, is BADLY. But there are others who play it as it should be played. And it's glorious.

Ah, and the job situation. So I'm going to work at IBM, it looks like. And I'm looking forward to it! I think it's a much better fit than my last (technically current) position. They didn't actually walk me out the door. I'm thinking it's because I actually gave a full two weeks notice. So I'm still working there, possibly for the rest of this week and next week. Although I have a half day Friday, because they're pulling down all the cubes to move to a different floor. So for a few weeks, everyone's going to be working in a pod. A big circular pod, about the OPPOSITE of a cube. Everyone gets a slice. Like a pie of misery. I think I'm leaving at a good time.

But yeah, IBM's going to be a decent raise in pay, real work to do, and I even get a work computer. Sweetness! And my side business is growing steadily. I've made even more progress in the last two weeks, roughly doubling what I had before. And I think there's a chance I may double it again. Which means, potentially... combining my new salary with the income from the side job, I might (and I'll admit I'm hesitant to say this) actually be pulling six figures. Which is INSANE. It's a big step up from what I'm used to making, believe me. And because of that, I'm thinking I need to keep living the way I have been, and just stash all that extra green away somewhere. Like in a Roth IRA (which I have). Or a 401K setup (which I will). And maybe - just maybe - a little bit into payments for a lovely little vehicle I like to call a Stooky. (S2K - just pronounce it like one word. You'll see what I mean.) To be honest, it scares me a little to be making that much. First you get the money. Then you get the power. Then you get the WOMEN.

Okay. And to fit in with my mixed mood, here's a lovely little picture.

Yeah, that's about right.

Oh, by the way, my eardrum seems to back to normal. Which I am grateful for. So it's on to abusing it further with electric guitar madness.

So it's been a weird mix of stuff. Oh, that, and I rented a JACKED UP movie. Yeah, it's got about the most raw violence, sex, and language combined of any movie I've seen. I hadn't really heard anything about it, and I felt like some vicarious aggression, so that was my choice. I'm a little taken aback by how screwed up it was. Just warning you now - if you have any sensitivity to issues that can be displayed in a movie, any sensitivity WHATSOEVER, you might continue perusing your choices at the rental aisle.

Time for random linking! Random linky? Linky rando? Scusey whosey? Yes, this one is random. But fitting for the time. See, it has to do with leaving jobs. Although I think my resignation was more peaceful than some others.
Comments:
Love the pic LOL
 
I am the worst phone person ever. =( sorry i never call you back...i usually text you back though, so i'm not ignoring you. Speaking of, i guess you're just busy at work b/c i just texted you and never heard back...are you mad at me? lol.
 
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20060810
 
Things Are Changing
Yep, things are definitely changing. Not sure if it's good or not, but I think it has potential.

So what's changing? The big thing - my job. It looks like it's solid enough that I feel I can actually talk about it. That's right, it's CHANGING. I've finished some interviews at two different fairly major places. So I should get my offer(s) tomorrow. I'll let you know after I make my decision. It should be a good bump in pay, and I'll actually have WORK to do. Which I prefer. Maybe a little more work than I should, but hey. I'm okay with that.

So that means I'll be able to actually get my Honda! Soon, soon. Probably end up purchasing right around the time of my birthday (hint, hint... last day of September). So that might work out nicely.

Speaking of pay raises - my side business is growing steadily. I'm at the point now where I'm making a solid profit every day. I'll just say this - if it stays where it's at or grows, it'll be enough to cover the new car AND insurance... by itself. Without needing the new job's income. I've worked my butt off to get this far, so it wasn't easy, but I guess hard work does pay off.

And my sister has MOVED. She's living in Ashburn, VA now. She managed to get a job fast. She only got there this last weekend, and she started a new job today. She didn't even have anything lined up when she got there. I guess she just worked hard to get it rolling. It's her first time to be away from home, so it'll definitely be interesting. I may end up visiting her in a week, depending on where I end up getting hired.

And kung fu is changing! Prices are rising, the classes are different. Now we have two classes every day - beginner and intermediate/advanced. I teach a little of each. And Sifu's having us focus on teaching more self-defense, as how movements from the forms can be used in various methods. It looks like I'll be getting back in better shape. That's a good thing. Because...

I'm getting fat! That's right, I'm starting to pack on my pizza and Pepsi pounds. I think. Probably not, but perhaps it's because I haven't been going crazy kung fu working out as much as I was before. And my six pack isn't as blatantly obvious. I actually have to flex now for it to be easily visible. Bleah. I still haven't broken 140, but it's pushing it. I might have to give up more Pepsi. I don't WANT to, but it'd be the right thing to do.

Yes, and I'm sure a few of you were groaning to that last paragraph. I know it's because of the deep sympathy you have for me. Or maybe you're secretly happy. Who knows. YOU do, of course. But me? I do not. I know not what people's opinions are of my fatness. Unless they tell me.

And my friends are changing! Well, a few of them are. How? By getting ENGAGED. Mostly women I know. It's freaking me out. A friend I know through Brandon is now engaged. My friend Courtney is now engaged. And my ex, Becca (of all people) is also engaged. Everyone's getting married! Except for me. (This is where you say, "Aww....") I think it may be in my destiny to not be married until my mid-thirties. That's how it was with my parents. My dad didn't get married until he was 35. That's okay, though, because my mom was 27! (If my math is right.) And I'll go ahead and say it - my dad was a big nerd, and my mom was a hottie. So there's hope for me yet.

Okay, time for a joke. I found this a while back, and it's got some vulgarity, but I think it helps the punchline better to leave it in. Thou hast been warned.
A woman's husband had been slipping in and out of a coma for several months, yet she had stayed by his bedside every single day. One day, he motioned for her to come nearer.

She sat by him, he whispered, eyes full of tears, "You know what? You have been with me all through the bad times.

When I got fired, you were there to support me.

When my business failed, you were there.

When I got shot, you were by my side.

When we lost the house, you stayed right here.

When my health started failing, you were still by my side...You know what?"

"What dear?" she gently asked, smiling as her heart began to fill with warmth.

"I think you're bad luck, get the fuck away from me."


Hee hee! Yes, FUNNY STUFF. I like funny stuff. So here's another bit of funny stuff.


Oh yeah, baby! I like nuns. I'm related to a few. Did you know that? Yes, that's right. Actually, all of my aunts (not aunts-in-law, of course) are nuns. How is it that a family with Aztec blood can end up producing a Mother Superior? Who knows. It's all part of life's great mystery.

What other changes? Oh yes - the choir. I'm leaving Newman. I think I've mentioned it already, but there it is. I'm actually going to be leading a young adult choir over at the Madalene now. I have a key to the church and everything. I feel special! Hopefully I can lead them all right, but I think it'll be okay. Speaking of which, I led the music on TEC this last weekend. I think it turned out well - a lot of people were there, and I actually think everyone that went got something out of it this time. It was good stuff. And I think people thought the music turned out okay, too.

Okay, those are my changes. At least the ones I can think of. Oh! And I also went out and got Dead Rising. Zombie madness! It's actually a pretty good game. Very reminiscent of Dawn of the Dead. LOTS of zombies. Everywhere. So far, I've had interesting experiences smacking a few zombies with a big screen plasma TV, ricocheting a soccer ball off of several after a well-placed hit, jamming a zombie's (detached) hand into another zombie's face (where it stuck), and mowing the lawn with a very large lawn mower. A lawn full of ZOMBIES. It's pretty fun!

Hmm. I think I'm in a good mood, somehow. My blog always seems to lose cohesion and get sillier when I'm in a good mood. Maybe that's a good thing. Oh, and hey, my blog has broken the 5000 visitor mark! Woo! Now time for RANDOM LINK. This is an older one I don't think I ever linked to. Since I was talking about churchy stuff (TEC and choir), I think it's relevant. That, and I played with them when I was a kid, so... play with this, kids!
Comments:
Ericus,

Just because you can't see your six-pack without flexing doesn't mean you're fat. Sheesh.

Of course, I look in the fridge when I want to see my six-pack. ;)
 
I'm still sad you left Newman. it was the only place I rarely got to see you.
 
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