EriqX / Journal 2011

22-MAY-2011 - Post Rapture Headache

Yesterday was the rapture, meaning that some imbecile in California decided to spend a fair amount of money on misguided billboards. A number of his followers apparently wasted their time and money as well. Mike, Matty-J, Brittain and myself opted to spend the day meandering around Milwaukee taking some photos. Mostly as an impromptu technical experiment, to learn a little more about our respective cameras. The overall result (though briefly hindered by rain) was an enjoyable day, and some decent photos to take home as well.

The other notable event of this past week was less enjoyable. My car was mildly smashed by another motorist, who opted to execute a right-hand turn (from the left lane) directly into me. This moment of driving genius took place while I was at a complete stop. The continuous laying on the horn which I felt might slow him down was to no avail. And obviously common sense and general awareness of surroundings did not help him much either. My insurance is currently repairing my Impreza as well as battling his insurance, as they rightly consider him to be entirely at fault. I'll be riding the motorcycle for the next several days, weather permitting. And occasionally borrowing Meg's Forester as her schedule allows.

The (hopefully) temporary forking over of my deductible has not bode well on top of other recent financial obligations, such as the water heater and garage door issues. Everyone seems to agree that these things suck. And that this is life. I suppose that is all correct. Of course it still sucks.

11-MAY-2011 - The Past Came Knocking

There are times when things feel like they always "used to be" better. Sort of like the good things enjoyed currently are thinly veiled by hindsight. Sometimes I used to be younger. Other times I had more time and less worry. More fun. If it was back then, and I was looking forward to now, I'd probably be thrilled by more space and money, and a newer car and other pointless luxuries. But that was then too. And you can never clearly see another space in time, even if you've already lived it. Cause you were different then. And you're different now.

I used to be worried that I liked the past better. But now I'm just worried that I can't see the future. Or if I could, I wouldn't like it.

05-MAY-2011 - Loaded Guns for Some, Bullet-Proof Vests for Others

The workbench that Mike and I constructed for his basement turned out quite good. Perhaps better than we had expected. It's big, solid, sturdy, and boasts a professional and industrial air to it. The whole idea behind the project is primarily to get something productive done for each of us, during the usually non-productive winter months. And while those winter months are finally eroding into spring, we are at least close to our proposed schedule. We'll be getting back together this coming weekend to build mine. I've logged many hours in the basement in the last few weeks, preparing for this. There was a closet and a wall to build before the bench would be ready. Not to mention the insulation, electrical, painting and other such items that I've worked on leading up to this.

A number of ups and downs have neatly decorated the last few weeks. The primary downs were the coil spring on the garage door snapping, and more recently the water heater dying. Neither of these were particularly cheap to remedy, but as they had to be handled I had little choice but to shell out the money.

Some of the better moments as of late were finally buying a new road bike. I can honestly say I would not have put the money toward that had I known the water heater would break the following day. But it's done, and I intend to enjoy it. That's about all I can do. I've also completed the Carnivàle marathons in their entirety. This was good winter fun, and the show gained a few new fans, I'm happy to say.

Considerably better than all of that, though a little sobering in many ways, the battle at work, for work, is nearing its close. A number of people were recently let go, and it was a difficult day to watch the anxiety that scene provided, and wonder if your shoulder was next to be tapped. Mine was not. And a verbal offer to remain in place followed. Written offers should be coming next week. Once that's done, we will still be in a long transition. But the part (over seven months now) where employment remains in question is finally and thankfully behind me.

The day I was told my job was secure, I came home from work. I put the motorcycle together for the first time this year, and took it out for an above-average joyride. Things are not perfect. But those moments were. Knowing the paychecks will be uninterrupted for the foreseeable future is more than helpful. Knowing that at least for now, I can continue on as I was, is good enough.

27-MAR-2011 - Hurdles

Recent weeks have been a steady rotation of stress and attempts at relieving it. Shortly after the last entry here was a large group cabin trip. Various quality beers were consumed. Eighties music was enjoyed in true retro fashion. Horrible direct-to-DVD movies were barely endured (Recon 2020 I'm looking at you). And a trip to a local nano-brewery finished off a great weekend.

In the many weekends which followed, Brittain hosted a 2001 movie night, Sarah and Dani hosted a roll-your-own sushi night, I hosted a Raising Arizona / Fargo double-feature movie night, and a beer tasting for Midwest Beer. I also found time to visit the Chicago Auto Show, and Bock Fest at Capital Brewery. Meg hosted a cookie exchange which resulted in high amounts of deliciousness. I hosted the first of two Carnivàle 2-day marathons, which was a great success much like 2009's Twin Peaks marathons.

Those were the fun things. The truth is that each one of them framed or briefly distracted from my ever-rising stress and anxiety over work. The department re-organization, which constitutes my position being eliminated, is an ever-present fear that I feel ill-equipped to battle. I am essentially one of 80 or 90 people who can reapply for what their various jobs will become.

This last week the hammer finally dropped. I had my phone interview Monday, and my panel interview Thursday. Each went as well as I can really hope. I can always look back and wish I said something different or had organized my thoughts in another way. But the past is the past, and the hard part is over. The first two steps in the one-two-three process of interviewing, and subsequently receiving an offer letter are behind me. And while there is still a degree of anxiety over what my professional future immediately holds, the only thing left to do now is wait. We are expecting to hear something in mid-to-late April.

While the clock slowly progresses, I will be back to the usual slew is distractions. Next weekend I'll be in Madison, helping Mike in our joint efforts to construct each of us a basement workbench before winter is out. The following weekend will be the second Carnivàle marathon. Dani, Sarah, Ariel, Morgan, Meg, and myself will converge for two days of completely perfect television, accompanied by the usual homemade snacks and meals. Friends, food, and entertainment are the perfect use of any cold winter weekend. Especially when the rest of life can be so endlessly tasking.

12-JAN-2011 - Babysteps

This year, still in its infancy, is progressing comfortably slow. I'm feeling ambitious, with a growing list of projects. I'm also a bit overwhelmed when I consider the scope of these things. There are always a thousand things to do, and as a result I tend to get a little of a lot of things done. But never a lot done. The approach this year is to narrow the focus a little.

For the at least foreseeable future, I'm narrowing in on smaller house projects. Some original wall art, preferably home made, is on that list. With the bigger projects like the pergola and butterfly room out of the way, it's time to look at some "finishing touch" ideas. Some small furniture items, like end tables and coffee tables are also on that list. Hopefully smaller versions of the outdoor picnic table I put together last year for inside the house. Outside of house-related things, a greater emphasis on photo projects. Some for the wall art, some for personal projects, and hopefully many for midwestbeer.com. The beer photos have been an easy way for me to keep up with the hobby in general. And hopefully a high-quality collection will be a reality toward the end of this year.

Outside of these somewhat new-years-resolution-ish ideas, things are mostly business as usual. Work is a fair amount of uncertainty. And it's a lot easier to just not think about, at least until more details are made known. Home is a small juggling act with need-to-do and want-to-do activities. Winter movie marathons, drunken sledding, and cabin trips are all hopefully in the works. And the previously mentioned war on debt is steady, but nearing a long overdue victory.

02-JAN-2011 - The Longer We Wait Around the Faster the Years go By

There may be such a thing as writer's block. There may also be such a thing as almost nothing happening in an entire year. I don't especially think 2010 was an eventful year. But some things did get accomplished. I finished major construction on the butterfly room. I built a pergola over the patio. Meg went to Bikram Yoga teacher training, and survived it. They were big enough things for what felt like a quick, small year.

One major focus I had, and managed to stick with, was debt reduction. When I got back from Japan I had decided to buckle-down a bit, and attempt wholeheartedly to cripple the hold credit card bills were starting to have on me. It was a hard thing to do, but it was the right thing to do. Nearly all of 2010 was spent with that mentality, and the result is noticeable. I'm not quite done, but the final push will come in the next few months. I'm happy to say the end is seemingly in sight. And if burying an entire year and moving on was the price paid for what I may soon have finally accomplished, I'll admit that it was worth it.

The last few months have brought about a few new developments. At work, I've been bouncing back and forth on a new project and my usual position. The project is software testing, which is downtown. This makes it 5 minutes from the house, which is nice. It's been back and forth for a few weeks at a time, and should be wrapping up mid-January. It's been fun and certainly beneficial, but I'm looking forward to getting back to my usual routine soon. Although that routine is soon to change as well. I'm sure details on that will be forthcoming.

Another recent development was Midwest Beer, a beer blog launched by Mike that myself and Matt Brittain contribute to. The progress has been great so far. I expect we will continue to push and will see it growing in no time.

I've never been one for resolutions, but hopefully the days and weeks to come will bring a needed re-focus on some of the things I've been meaning to spend time on. It's too easy to get distracted and put things off. I used to go-go-go. Lately it feels like I mostly just get through the day. It doesn't really work for me. So here's to 2011.