Tuesday, March 09, 2004
Friday, October 03, 2003
Going camping tomorrow...the weather is just too good to pass up. I really should be doing my billing, but I'll get to it Sunday. Blech. Will cut into my football watching, but it is worth it for a good camping trip.
I don't know why I've become such a late convert to camping. I guess I always liked it, but I was rather wimpy when it came to temperature fluctuations, humidity, and bugs. My blood is apparently a delicacy to mosquitos. When no one else is getting bitten, I'll have welts all over. But living in central Texas, I just have a connection with this land that I never felt in East Texas. I guess it is the humidity that I couldn't stand, I don't know. Something about camping in the swamp maybe that doesn't fit with me. But a nice lake in central texas? Baby, I'm home.
Actually had a pretty good week. Settled a very difficult case and the client is happy. That's always good. And the client said nice things about me in front of an equity partner, which didn't hurt, I suppose. Rush Limbaugh not only is out of my football watching now, he may be in jail or drug rehab soon, which is almost too sweet of a hypocrisy. Now I don't cheer for drug addiction on anyone, including Rush, but there is something of justice that makes someone who has made poor addicts before made to be such villains. On top of that, Wal-Mart decided not to move into my neighborhood. That works for me. On top of that, I'm going camping and it is 75 degrees and clear. Couldn't get much better.
Other than that, just chillin'. Been too long since I updated this. Needed to write something...
I don't know why I've become such a late convert to camping. I guess I always liked it, but I was rather wimpy when it came to temperature fluctuations, humidity, and bugs. My blood is apparently a delicacy to mosquitos. When no one else is getting bitten, I'll have welts all over. But living in central Texas, I just have a connection with this land that I never felt in East Texas. I guess it is the humidity that I couldn't stand, I don't know. Something about camping in the swamp maybe that doesn't fit with me. But a nice lake in central texas? Baby, I'm home.
Actually had a pretty good week. Settled a very difficult case and the client is happy. That's always good. And the client said nice things about me in front of an equity partner, which didn't hurt, I suppose. Rush Limbaugh not only is out of my football watching now, he may be in jail or drug rehab soon, which is almost too sweet of a hypocrisy. Now I don't cheer for drug addiction on anyone, including Rush, but there is something of justice that makes someone who has made poor addicts before made to be such villains. On top of that, Wal-Mart decided not to move into my neighborhood. That works for me. On top of that, I'm going camping and it is 75 degrees and clear. Couldn't get much better.
Other than that, just chillin'. Been too long since I updated this. Needed to write something...
Monday, August 18, 2003
Back from Houston, what a ride. Actually, it went pretty well. I might have another large company to add to my client roster here shortly. That is very good news. So professionally things are moving along.
Dealing with some home stuff that is not so easy. I can't really get into it, but it is a very difficult situation and I hope it resolves itself by the end of this month. We'll see.
We did a lot of work this weekend on our house, which makes for a very tiring week this week. We had purchased a large HDTV in February, which necessitated us eliminating our old entertainment center (since our new huge tv wouldn't fit)...we just this past weekend got around to getting an entertainment center for the replacement tv. Of course, we had to put it together, and that was a pain. But it was relatively inexpensive and it is working quite well for our purposes. The bonus is that we finally have our surround sound stereo set up for our huge tv...I'm planning on playing with that a little more tonight. Also, we were able to figure out how to set up our Tivo to be connected to our VCR so we can dump recorded shows onto our VCR. The quality sucks a little, but it is nice for those items you want to keep and don't know what to do with. The cool thing is that our 80 hour Tivo has been plenty for our purposes. I'd love to have a larger hard drive, but it is cool to know that the 80 hour is plenty.
Getting a little nervous because I have to go see the doctor soon. I've been needing a hernia surgery for quite some time but I've been putting it off for one reason or another. I think the time is coming for me to have to face that reality. I hate doctors and doctor visits, and they always say the same thing to me (need to lose a few pounds, need to change your diet, etc.) Of course they are right, but I really don't like food that is "good" for me. I guess I just kept hoping I'd never have to deal with it. That, of course, is not true. I found it much easier to change my diet when I was single and on the prowl; but married, it is a little tougher to see the motivation. I mean, if I lose a ton of weight and start looking buff, what's my reward? Longer life? How much of a deal is that? At least when single I could see myself climb up the girl ladder by the better I looked. Sad to say, but the better I looked, the more play I could get with a better looking girl. Pretty sad that that's the way it was, but it was.
I always had problems with doctors, I think in part because I spent so much time with them as a child. I was the sick one all the time, allergic to everything, constantly with pneumonia and other lung related ailments. I was in fourth grade before they figured out I had asthma, and I suffered until that day. It is amazing I lived to junior high with the terrible health care I got growing up. From that time on, though, the quest began to find out the source of my allergies to try to remove me from that allergen. Turned out I was allergic to damn near everything, so my choice was suffer and be free, or live my life in a hypoallergenic bubble. I chose the former. Over time my allergies have lessened, but I still have a raging case of hay fever a couple of times a year, and I can't mow my lawn without serious consequences. The asthma is still a problem too. While in undergraduate school, I was prescribed a steroid to try to alleviate my breathing problems, but all that does is stop the attack after it starts. I've heard there are new and better treatments out there, and I guess I want to try those out too. I think the best cure for my asthma is to lose weight, and I'm sure I'll get that comment when I see the doctor.
I'm also concerned about blood pressure. My mother was just diagnosed with high blood pressure, and nearly everyone on her side of the family has the same problem now. I'm concerned about being diagnosed with the problem as that has severe problems for pre-existing conditions and life insurance once diagnosed. But I have little doubt that I have high blood pressure.
All this fun at the doctors, on top of my necessary surgery. Wee fun. Can we say that we love going to the doctor or what? Not looking forward to it. But I've been busting my hernia with this recent cough I've had and I think it is time to suck it up and deal with it. But I'm such a wuss when it comes to this stuff. Sux.
Maybe tomorrow I'll call and set up an appointment...yech.
Dealing with some home stuff that is not so easy. I can't really get into it, but it is a very difficult situation and I hope it resolves itself by the end of this month. We'll see.
We did a lot of work this weekend on our house, which makes for a very tiring week this week. We had purchased a large HDTV in February, which necessitated us eliminating our old entertainment center (since our new huge tv wouldn't fit)...we just this past weekend got around to getting an entertainment center for the replacement tv. Of course, we had to put it together, and that was a pain. But it was relatively inexpensive and it is working quite well for our purposes. The bonus is that we finally have our surround sound stereo set up for our huge tv...I'm planning on playing with that a little more tonight. Also, we were able to figure out how to set up our Tivo to be connected to our VCR so we can dump recorded shows onto our VCR. The quality sucks a little, but it is nice for those items you want to keep and don't know what to do with. The cool thing is that our 80 hour Tivo has been plenty for our purposes. I'd love to have a larger hard drive, but it is cool to know that the 80 hour is plenty.
Getting a little nervous because I have to go see the doctor soon. I've been needing a hernia surgery for quite some time but I've been putting it off for one reason or another. I think the time is coming for me to have to face that reality. I hate doctors and doctor visits, and they always say the same thing to me (need to lose a few pounds, need to change your diet, etc.) Of course they are right, but I really don't like food that is "good" for me. I guess I just kept hoping I'd never have to deal with it. That, of course, is not true. I found it much easier to change my diet when I was single and on the prowl; but married, it is a little tougher to see the motivation. I mean, if I lose a ton of weight and start looking buff, what's my reward? Longer life? How much of a deal is that? At least when single I could see myself climb up the girl ladder by the better I looked. Sad to say, but the better I looked, the more play I could get with a better looking girl. Pretty sad that that's the way it was, but it was.
I always had problems with doctors, I think in part because I spent so much time with them as a child. I was the sick one all the time, allergic to everything, constantly with pneumonia and other lung related ailments. I was in fourth grade before they figured out I had asthma, and I suffered until that day. It is amazing I lived to junior high with the terrible health care I got growing up. From that time on, though, the quest began to find out the source of my allergies to try to remove me from that allergen. Turned out I was allergic to damn near everything, so my choice was suffer and be free, or live my life in a hypoallergenic bubble. I chose the former. Over time my allergies have lessened, but I still have a raging case of hay fever a couple of times a year, and I can't mow my lawn without serious consequences. The asthma is still a problem too. While in undergraduate school, I was prescribed a steroid to try to alleviate my breathing problems, but all that does is stop the attack after it starts. I've heard there are new and better treatments out there, and I guess I want to try those out too. I think the best cure for my asthma is to lose weight, and I'm sure I'll get that comment when I see the doctor.
I'm also concerned about blood pressure. My mother was just diagnosed with high blood pressure, and nearly everyone on her side of the family has the same problem now. I'm concerned about being diagnosed with the problem as that has severe problems for pre-existing conditions and life insurance once diagnosed. But I have little doubt that I have high blood pressure.
All this fun at the doctors, on top of my necessary surgery. Wee fun. Can we say that we love going to the doctor or what? Not looking forward to it. But I've been busting my hernia with this recent cough I've had and I think it is time to suck it up and deal with it. But I'm such a wuss when it comes to this stuff. Sux.
Maybe tomorrow I'll call and set up an appointment...yech.
Wednesday, August 13, 2003
Just got back from the sun and sand of the Mayan Riviera. What a trip. It could have been a little better on the service end, but overall I really feel like we were stealing from them the price was so cheap. I could have done without the 6 hour airport stay in trying to leave Sunday, which was combined with the 4am wakeup call, but still I can't complain. I mean, $469 for airfare, 3 nights hotel (with very nice rooms), all food and all liquor included, plus transport to and from the airport? And free snorkel and kayak rental? It was a flipping steal.
I had another interesting discussion with a friend of mine about the past. I found I was discussing feelings I hadn't had in years and it felt good to feel those feelings again, even though they were unpleasant. I'm reminded of the movie Swingers where Jon Favreau is talking with Ron Livingston about how he misses his girlfriend and Livingston says (paraphrasing), "you know, at some point you are going to miss the pain just like you miss her. And you want to know why? Because you lived with that pain for so long, just like you were were her for so long." I think that is generally true. Sometimes I feel sentimental about feelings I once had, regardless of whether I really feel them today. Sometimes I enjoy making myself feel like I did years ago just to have, as she put it, a connection to the past. Somehow I feel alive and I feel like I've lived just by connecting to those old feelings. Sometimes I even trick myself into thinking that I still have those feelings, even though that is really impossible and rediculous.
But it was a good conversation, one of the more honest ones I've had in a while. It felt good to feel the connection with the past and realize that is exactly what it was.
On a lighter side, I did my roster cut downs in my fantasy league. The 2003 Austin Powers are Marshall Faulk, Edgerrin James, Chris Chambers, Peerless Price, Jimmy Smith, Antwaan Randle El, and David Akers. Kordell was finally released after two disappointing seasons. Sure he's a starter in Chicago, but that is such a conservative offense I don't think it matters. Plus, I think there are so many equivalent QB's that I could get him back if I wanted. I don't think there will be a Kordell draft rush. I felt a little bad about releasing James Stewart, who was the last person out. It was a toss up between Chambers and Stewart, with Stewart having some edge since he is a starting RB and there just aren't that many out there. But Stewart ultimately lost due to that bad word, "upside". I know how NFL teams feel when they waste their team on "upside potential" instead of actual production. They are both backups, though, so it may not ever really matter. Where I'm real upset is the fact that late last year I released Trung Canidate, who was traded to the Redskins in the offseason to replace Stephen Davis. That just bites. I had Trung on my roster two years in a row and finally gave up when Lamar Gordon started getting all the backup roles to Faulk. Now he's a starter. What a deal.
Firm front things are going ok...had some issues today with my assistant failing to search properly for the name and address of the person that was the target of the cease and desist letter. So we send the demand to a channel partner by mistake, and apparently the new company president was a little less than thrilled. I hate looking stupid, particularly when it is someone else making me look stupid. It is actions like this that make me not want to have an assistant at all and do it all myself. Unfortunately, I have too much work to have that happen. But it is definitely getting close to that for me. Other than that, not much going on. I get my firm photo taken next Wednesday. Another day with a suit...weee fun.
Guess that's it...
I had another interesting discussion with a friend of mine about the past. I found I was discussing feelings I hadn't had in years and it felt good to feel those feelings again, even though they were unpleasant. I'm reminded of the movie Swingers where Jon Favreau is talking with Ron Livingston about how he misses his girlfriend and Livingston says (paraphrasing), "you know, at some point you are going to miss the pain just like you miss her. And you want to know why? Because you lived with that pain for so long, just like you were were her for so long." I think that is generally true. Sometimes I feel sentimental about feelings I once had, regardless of whether I really feel them today. Sometimes I enjoy making myself feel like I did years ago just to have, as she put it, a connection to the past. Somehow I feel alive and I feel like I've lived just by connecting to those old feelings. Sometimes I even trick myself into thinking that I still have those feelings, even though that is really impossible and rediculous.
But it was a good conversation, one of the more honest ones I've had in a while. It felt good to feel the connection with the past and realize that is exactly what it was.
On a lighter side, I did my roster cut downs in my fantasy league. The 2003 Austin Powers are Marshall Faulk, Edgerrin James, Chris Chambers, Peerless Price, Jimmy Smith, Antwaan Randle El, and David Akers. Kordell was finally released after two disappointing seasons. Sure he's a starter in Chicago, but that is such a conservative offense I don't think it matters. Plus, I think there are so many equivalent QB's that I could get him back if I wanted. I don't think there will be a Kordell draft rush. I felt a little bad about releasing James Stewart, who was the last person out. It was a toss up between Chambers and Stewart, with Stewart having some edge since he is a starting RB and there just aren't that many out there. But Stewart ultimately lost due to that bad word, "upside". I know how NFL teams feel when they waste their team on "upside potential" instead of actual production. They are both backups, though, so it may not ever really matter. Where I'm real upset is the fact that late last year I released Trung Canidate, who was traded to the Redskins in the offseason to replace Stephen Davis. That just bites. I had Trung on my roster two years in a row and finally gave up when Lamar Gordon started getting all the backup roles to Faulk. Now he's a starter. What a deal.
Firm front things are going ok...had some issues today with my assistant failing to search properly for the name and address of the person that was the target of the cease and desist letter. So we send the demand to a channel partner by mistake, and apparently the new company president was a little less than thrilled. I hate looking stupid, particularly when it is someone else making me look stupid. It is actions like this that make me not want to have an assistant at all and do it all myself. Unfortunately, I have too much work to have that happen. But it is definitely getting close to that for me. Other than that, not much going on. I get my firm photo taken next Wednesday. Another day with a suit...weee fun.
Guess that's it...
Tuesday, August 05, 2003
I am damn near done with billing and hours away from heading to the Mayan Riviera! Three more billing days to go, as of this writing, which is way early in the morning. Funny how I do my best work between the hours of 10p and 1 am. I think that is a holdover from college.
Tomorrow is cut down day in my fantasy football league and I haven't even looked at my last year's roster yet. I keep getting trade talk, but I just can't seem to get to it, with the preparation for leaving the country and all. I noticed that the government is issuing another alert. Yehaw. Nothing like having my digital camera poked and prodded. I hope that is the only thing poked and prodded. I mean, I did go to Germany in 1994, so I must be the 21 st hijacker, right?
Gonna keep it short tonight, as it is so late. But suffice it to say I had a really bad day today. Very busy, and had to cover a hearing for my "boss" (hard to really call someone you talk to once a month your boss), who was coming off of a vacation. Wouldn't have been a big deal but I wasn't asked to cover it until I had already come in, meaning I had to return to the house to change into a suit. Notice also that I've been at work for the last twelve hours in a suit, making me very happy.
I'm also a bit miffed because I helped a co-worker and got slammed by the managing partner for doing it. She approached me last week to provide an opinion letter for a client that seemed simple enough, and failed to tell me that she hadn't gone over this project with him before asking me to step in. I assumed it was either a) ok with him; or b) he was out of pocket and we were flying solo and following the client's wishes. Turns out that the client misrepresented some very important facts to me, and I presented an opinion letter to a financing institution that was patently misleading. I, of course, am furious that the client put me in that position, but the managing partner is furious that I didn't do some more digging around to make sure that the facts as presented by the client were correct. It is more complicated than that, but that is essentially it. I didn't question the client because, duh, he's the client and that seemed to be worse than the alternative. I also assumed that if we were representing the guy, he had to meet a relatively high standard of honesty if he's been around as long as was represented to me. But, I suppose I should have done more. But what frustrates me more than anything is the idea that I'm supposed to "learn" from these alleged mistakes, when I really feel like if I were presented with the same circumstance 50 times, I would do it the same way 49 times. That to me tells me that it is hind sight being 20/20, not really a life lesson. But he's the boss, so I took it like a man.
On the client development front, lots happening. Can't go into specifics due to confidentiality rules, but I am pretty excited about some prospects that may come into fruition very shortly. We'll see. Keep your fingers crossed.
Got my friend Sean into blogging...his site is http://sean432.blogspot.com . Should be interesting to see what the mad delivery driver has to blog about! Remember, he's on the road every day!
Guess that's it...hasta manana...
Tomorrow is cut down day in my fantasy football league and I haven't even looked at my last year's roster yet. I keep getting trade talk, but I just can't seem to get to it, with the preparation for leaving the country and all. I noticed that the government is issuing another alert. Yehaw. Nothing like having my digital camera poked and prodded. I hope that is the only thing poked and prodded. I mean, I did go to Germany in 1994, so I must be the 21 st hijacker, right?
Gonna keep it short tonight, as it is so late. But suffice it to say I had a really bad day today. Very busy, and had to cover a hearing for my "boss" (hard to really call someone you talk to once a month your boss), who was coming off of a vacation. Wouldn't have been a big deal but I wasn't asked to cover it until I had already come in, meaning I had to return to the house to change into a suit. Notice also that I've been at work for the last twelve hours in a suit, making me very happy.
I'm also a bit miffed because I helped a co-worker and got slammed by the managing partner for doing it. She approached me last week to provide an opinion letter for a client that seemed simple enough, and failed to tell me that she hadn't gone over this project with him before asking me to step in. I assumed it was either a) ok with him; or b) he was out of pocket and we were flying solo and following the client's wishes. Turns out that the client misrepresented some very important facts to me, and I presented an opinion letter to a financing institution that was patently misleading. I, of course, am furious that the client put me in that position, but the managing partner is furious that I didn't do some more digging around to make sure that the facts as presented by the client were correct. It is more complicated than that, but that is essentially it. I didn't question the client because, duh, he's the client and that seemed to be worse than the alternative. I also assumed that if we were representing the guy, he had to meet a relatively high standard of honesty if he's been around as long as was represented to me. But, I suppose I should have done more. But what frustrates me more than anything is the idea that I'm supposed to "learn" from these alleged mistakes, when I really feel like if I were presented with the same circumstance 50 times, I would do it the same way 49 times. That to me tells me that it is hind sight being 20/20, not really a life lesson. But he's the boss, so I took it like a man.
On the client development front, lots happening. Can't go into specifics due to confidentiality rules, but I am pretty excited about some prospects that may come into fruition very shortly. We'll see. Keep your fingers crossed.
Got my friend Sean into blogging...his site is http://sean432.blogspot.com . Should be interesting to see what the mad delivery driver has to blog about! Remember, he's on the road every day!
Guess that's it...hasta manana...
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