Gary Geniesse: Wandering I

The outcome of the LTC.

Sun, 31 May 2009 18:24:02 GMT

So here's the skinny on what happened.

I have now learned what a "modified single-elimination" tournament is. Day one is essentially double-elimination. There are three rounds of which you must win two to advance to the second day. Or, if you are lucky enough to get a first-round bye, you must win one of the two remaining rounds.

Since the APA pool leagues have skill level handicaps, there are neat rules like "the sum of the skill levels of the five players you play in a match can not exceed 23. The rounds are best of 5. For our first match on Saturday we faced a team and went up 2-1 and I was ready and warmed up to play the fourth game to close it out. Suddenly, I realized the scorers had left and the other team had forfeited the rest of the match. They did not have a way to play their remaining players (that showed up) that they could play all 5 matches. So that was it, our "big first day" was a bye and 2 wins.

Day two started at 8am. The night before was one of those "I HAVE to wake up with the alarm" nights. So, even though I get up every day for work well before 7, I kept waking up every hour throughout the night worried I was going to sleep through my alarm. This does NOT yield a restful night sleep. :)

In the first round of day two, the team we played immediately got up 2-0. At that point, we were expecting the other team to save their remaining high skill level player for an easier high-low matchup. However, we got lucky and they threw him into a match with Mike, our highest skill level player. It was a 5-5 race and our guy quickly got up 4-1. I got myself prepared to shoot the 4th match. Then I waited... it not only went down to 4-4, but the last game had enough edge-of-the-pocket moments to yield multiple heart attacks.

Thankfully, Mike pulled it out. But, rather than being in my zen place, I was now full of nervous energy. On top of that, each round has a time limit. Go over that, and the subsequent player matches are sudden death. Even though I was shooting in game 4, I felt like we had a better shot to close it out if game 5 did not go to sudden death. Since Mike's match ran long, I stupidly got it in my head that I need to hurry up and win. I came out and shot quickly. Although, I felt if I slowed down I'd be shaking.

My first inning threw me for a loop, I was actually pretty dead on, but I played a long slow shot down the table for my third shot. It was going straight for the pocket, then some interdimensional gravitational force decided to curve the trajectory of the cue ball. Well, that, or the table wasn't perfectly flat. This knocked me out of my zone a little bit.

In the end, I lost 3-1 in a 3-3 race. I didn't play bad, although I missed a few key shots (including two straight-in shots on the 8-ball in the game that I eventually won). Post-game analysis by other players was mostly positive. I had mostly good shot selection. The losses were often due to either not paying attention to the problem spots on the table or paying too much attention to them and failing to execute because I was working too hard to resolve them. I definitely don't feel bad about how I played. And while it sucks to be the "last loss", it took three losses to lose the match. I think the team played reasonably solid.

If there's anything I'd change about the weekend it would be my previous blog entry. Sometimes I'm a little too open and honest and I felt like there was a good possibility that my teammates could read my previous blog. And, that if they read it, it could come across as negative or belittling of our accomplishments. It was honest, I didn't feel like we had a great chance to take the win going into the weekend. But I quickly saw our potential once we were there in the thick of it. Realistically, any team that makes it to LTC's has a shot. It all comes down to strategy and, ultimately, execution.

On a positive note, we rocked the house and won 5-0 during regular league last Wednesday keeping us in the hunt for the division. It's still a long season (that was week 3 of 12), but we all feel good about our prospects. Then again, the week we went 5-0 is the one week I didn't play. :)

I'ev been nudged! Let's talk POOL.

Sat, 30 May 2009 14:27:13 GMT

Ok, it's been a few months since I blogged anything and an interested party has used the "nudge" feature on LiveJournal to get me to post something, so here's the skinny on this weekend.

I've been back in the APA pool league for a year now (three seasons, this is my fourth). During my second season back, my team ("Cueless") managed a third or fourth place finish - enough to slip us into the LTC (Local Team Championship?). LTC's are a grueling "modified single elimination" tournament that, if you're successful, lasts all weekend and results, I believe, in a most-expenses paid trip to Vegas for nationals. While I made it to a few Sundays in my previous stint with the league, I've never been on a team that won the whole thing.

The tournament is this weekend. We managed to draw a first-round bye, so my day starts around noon instead of 8am. This morning has been especially relaxing since Alicia took the kids to see her mom for the weekend (since I wasn't going to be here much). Normally I'm psyched about being in LTC, but my previous outings have been coming off first-place seasons as captain back when I had lots of time to practice. This time around, it's as co-captain with a team that wasn't "tops in the division". Where I had a team full of people who were itching to play before, now I have some people with the ability to win, but some not necessarily the desire to put their neck on the line and go for it.

More significantly, I've barely managed to scrape together a single practice night since February (thanks Casey!). I'm also getting up an hour earlier every morning for work (thanks Casey!), so I'm much more persistently tired. Oh yeah, and the realities of being President of a small company in this economy are REALLY weighing on me lately. I'm worried I've put myself in a position to let down these people. I feel like a damaged pawn to be used at ones peril. Of course, I guess that makes me one of those people who is hesitant to put my neck on the line. Except, I accept my fate... I'm gonna do this.

It'll also be interesting to see how my teammates take my attitude at tournaments. I'm pretty zen. I laugh or shrug off most of my missed shots. I really do my best not to get rattled. I try to shoot my best, but try not to get so wrapped up in it that I'll tighten up. Unfortunately, that's come across as "not caring" some times. Admittedly, maybe I don't care as much as others about the prize and the glory, but I do care. Then again, maybe I do need to tighten up just a little when stuff is on the line like this.

One thing I'll say, though... I've watched one of my teammates surpass me in the rankings. I'm happy for him, but it's actually getting to me. That might be the fire I need lit under me. I dislike not being top dog. Yes, we have some 7's on the team that are higher ranked, but 7's are almost assumed to win every match they play. Losing a regular season match is one thing... seeing somebody become better than me through working harder than me is NOT something I'm used to... regardless of any excuses I make for myself.

Everyone on my team has nicknames. Lacking any knowledge of me the first season, they went with my suggestion of "garygen.com". Lame, yes, but I had no better suggestions. Last week, my captain informed me my new nickname is now "The Professor". No idea where that came from other than maybe coming at games strategically and being able to do the basic math that eludes my captain. Regardless, I now feel compelled to try to build a radio from coconuts and palm fronds. Or at least a pool table. So I can practice.

First Quarter of 2009

Mon, 30 Mar 2009 04:32:27 GMT

My word for the first quarter of 2009 has been: suck. As bad as 2008 seemed, 2009 has sucked harder and more persistently. There has only been one other time in my life when I have been this completely frazzled. It’s where your legs are shaky and you don’t know if it’s because you’re so tired or because the ground isn’t as stable as you thought it was.

The center of it is work. I kept trying to type out some-or-all of the story behind the drama, but it’s not really fit for a public blog and I don’t like the concept of a private one. Suffice it to say that our now-previous office manager screwed us out of tens of thousands of dollars and left the books and files in such complete disarray that I have barely scratched the surface after three 60 hour work weeks. And yes, some of this happened on my watch, but it’s largely because I inherited the day-to-day operations of a fairly flawed business and was too overloaded to even think about looking into whether I needed to be more aggressive about changing things.

That I could deal with. However, an external bit of government-beyond-idiocy-ruling has us scrambling to complete our taxes as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, this is being projected at me by the same guy who put the way-we-do-business in place. It has been hard not to project my anger and frustration at him and he’s got his own set of problems. On top of this, there have been a series of “things you don’t expect to go wrong” happening at the same time. Things like our payroll process not working. The company is not in any danger. My sanity, sleep, and stress levels are another story.

My escape from this is 4-6 hours sleep between helping take care of a 4-year-old that pushes my buttons, a 1.5-year-old that enjoys causing trouble far more than her brother ever did, and a wife that is often too overwhelmed with other responsibilities to be able to do her share of the housework, much less mine. Oh, and all of us have been sick with sinus and/or periodic stomach issues for the majority of 2009.

Meanwhile, my dad, who had been in and out of the hospital with severe health issues has finally been home for a while. However, I can’t go see him to help out like I said I would because (a) I’ve been just this side of sick and his immune system is weak and (b) I’m working all the time now anyway.

On top of this, my pool game has collapsed from lack of time to practice, my wrist was injured from being too tired and distracted during my weight set, my shot at bringing some relevancy to my photography hobby got overwhelmed by people who became too busy to be able to follow through, and throwing a party to which only 3 of the 8 RSVPs showed up (out of the 20+ invited). I’m also having a hard time not taking out my frustration on my children.

Tonight, I decided to look at my astrological chart. I had a hunch that Saturn was in play – the planet of hard lessons forcing you to clean house in the areas you don’t want to pay attention to. Sure enough, Saturn is dancing on my natal Uranus/Pluto conjunction (since October, when my dad’s problems began) AND Uranus has just begun dancing on my natal Saturn. Oh, and these places are directly opposed to each other in my chart. Descriptions of these transits involve words like “unsettling”, “bolt of lightning”, “feeling out of control”, and “squishing the free spirit”. They should clear around June 2010.

Of course, it isn’t just me, it’s my friends and family, too. As I described to one friend, it feels like that moment in Star Wars 1 where all of the sub-plots were simultaneously drifting into the dark side; right before the little twerp that couldn’t act blew up reactor. Here’s a thumbnail of what’s been happening to my friends and family.
- An elderly parent refusing to take care of himself.
- A speeding ticket leading to the search and seizure of drugs and an unregistered firearm.
- A car accident leading to a broken back.
- A diagnosis of lymphoma.
- A marriage teetering on divorce.
- A staph infection.
- A stolen wallet with the money for the electric bill inside.
- An eviction.
- Persistent neurological symptoms requiring an MRI where you’re afraid of what you’re going to find.
- A family business going through major lawsuit to recover from selling part of it to some oaf who screwed up everything.
- The purchasing of a fantastic franchise opportunity, only to have the parent corporation turn into complete idiots after the sale went through.
- A grandparent living nearby going from friendly to paranoid in a matter of months.
- Having the first good, long-term relationship in a very long time collapse.

The amazing thing is… none of my problems or my friends’ problems really have much to do with the economy. I’m still waiting for some aspect of that to strike (beyond shredding my retirement savings to bits).

On the GOOD side of 2009, I have managed to do weights 3-4 times a week (except for a few where I was injured). I’ve also managed to keep my weight not only under my threshold of 225, but under 220 (thanks in part to a violent bout of stomach flu). The one negative on my working out is that my adjustable dumbbells only go to 45 lbs and I’ve maxed them out on about half of my exercises. Not sure what I’m going to do to make progress (beyond more reps).

So, this is how I spent my evening off (when I should have been at work). I just needed to vent. It’s one of those posts where you think about it for about a week beforehand and it all just needs to come out. So here it is. Now, time for a few hours sleep before heading back in, assuming my daughter stays asleep.

Massive Marion County Teacher Cuts

Fri, 13 Feb 2009 23:41:55 GMT

http://www.gainesville.com/article/20090213/ARTICLES/902130295/1002?Title=522_Marion_County_teachers_lose_jobs_in_massive_round_of_budget_cuts

This boggles my mind. According to the radio, roughly 17% of the Marion county public school teachers have just been laid off for next year - purely on lack of seniority.

I don't blame Marion county for needing to work within its budget, but why does it sound like a good idea to reduce a large number of the lowest paid personnel rather than looking for ways to keep more personnel and reduce higher paid (and potentially lower rated) personnel. But I'll give them a break, times are hard for them.

Yes, the economy is in bad shape, but this is more an artifact of Governor Crist and the Florida legislature reducing the tax rolls well before it tanked. And, with their reduced income, reducing essential funding to education and emergency services. The anti-thesis of "tax and spend", this is "let's erode civilization".

This is on top of Crist removing financially responsible insurance companies from operating in Florida by setting maximum premiums, rather than allowing free market competition set the prices. So much for "less government".

I'd like to send out a big "thank you" to everyone who voted for Governor Crist. Really. I mean it.

Inside the Actors Studio

Wed, 11 Feb 2009 02:58:24 GMT

If you've ever watched “Inside the Actors Studio,” you've seen James Lipton ask the same 10 questions to each actor at the end of the show. Now's your chance. Replace my answers with yours, then tag a bunch of your friends (including me). Enjoy!

1. What is your favorite word?
Yes

2. What is your least favorite word?
Poopy

3. What turns you on (creatively, spiritually or emotionally)?
Attention

4. What turns you off (creatively, spiritually or emotionally)?
Unnatural odors

5. What sound do you love?
Laughter

6. What sound do you hate?
Gears grinding

7. What is your favorite curse word? (clean it up with an * for Facebook, please!)
F*ck

8. What profession other than yours would you like to attempt?
Musician

9. What profession would you not like to do?
Custodian

10. If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates?
You were wrong, but we're going to let you in anyway.

I'm not an idiot father, part II, but I am a sick-o.

Sun, 01 Feb 2009 21:50:57 GMT

Well, twelve hours later, things went south quickly.

Yesterday, Dorothea did fine with her breakfast of toast, a few small pancakes, and watered-down Gatorade. (Our pediatrician says that after 3 months, Gatorade is a good substitute for Pedialyte.)

I had a lunch meeting with the women from the breast cancer awareness calendar. My worst fear was that one of them would be holding Dorothea and she’d have another puking attack. Fortunately, this was not the case… instead, it was while I was holding her. I apologized profusely and cleaned up as best I could. We continued the meeting with a slightly squirmy Dorothea. In retrospect, I let her have way too much water and Gatorade in her cup. Alicia had run into this same problem earlier in the week… if she gets too much fluids at once, they come right back.

With the meeting behind us, we headed home and put Dorothea down for a nap. I reheated my lunch, but wasn’t feeling that great, so I took a nap, too. When I woke up around 4, all hell broke loose. Massive waves of nausea every 15-30 minutes for the next 8 hours. I didn’t end up giving Dorothea or myself dinner… we just hung out and watched TV, then went to bed at 8:30. Finally, around midnight, the constant attacks abated. I still woke up every 30-45 minutes until I got up around 7:30am. At least Dorothea slept through the night. I really couldn’t have taken cleaning her in the middle of this.

Today we’ve been practicing ridiculous amounts of moderation. Little doses of water, little pieces of toast, animal crackers, and pancakes. Flat coke for me to try to reduce the nausea. We watched hours of Mythbusters with her napping on me. Every once in a while, she’d crawl off to my bedroom saying “Momma Momma”. So far, other than getting nothing done and having a food headache whenever I stand up, we’re doing ok.

On top of this, I spoke to Alicia last night and this morning. Apparently, she’s having nausea problems as well. She has the pleasure of flying back from her conference today, then driving two hours home with Jacob (who, thankfully, has not exhibited any symptoms yet).

So, I guess my worst fear should have been of catching whatever this nastiness is from Dorothea. I really did not expect this. (And I’ve already sent a letter to the breast cancer awareness ladies giving them a heads up. I seriously doubt they were in any danger of getting it, but I wanted them to be aware of it.)

I think the scariest thing out of last night was knowing that I’ve passed out from being sick before, so I was worried about Dorothea if that happened. Thankfully, it did not.

I'm not an idiot father... I'm not!

Sat, 31 Jan 2009 05:42:35 GMT

Ok, this is in response to my friend Steph telling me Moe's might not have been a good idea for a 1-year old with stomach problems...

Dorothea fell off a tricycle at school Wednesday and was reported to get so sick she threw up. That evening when Alicia tried to give her anything to eat or drink, it immediately came back up. However, she was acting fine beyond that. As Alicia said, "she didn't act sick".

Thursday, Alicia says she did fine. No throwing up. She had a BM, so I stopped worrying about her having swallowed something that lodged in her digestive system. However, going to bed, she had some nasty foul smelling burps. I gave her gas medicine and she was fine until around 5:30am. More burps, more gas medicine.

Friday morning, she had a diaper blow-out I had to deal with. It was also the first time she ever didn’t touch her breakfast (oatmeal, banana, toast, milk... all stuff she mostly gobbles down). I took her to school (daycare) anyway. Yes, I'm one of those bad parents that sends their kid to school even when they might be sick. But, Alicia's out of town and I'm behind at work, so off to school with you. I spent the whole day expecting to get a call to pick her up, but it never came. When I picked her up, they reported she did fine. Had part of her lunch and had snack.

Dorothea is pretty picky food-wise. If it's bread, she'll eat it. If it's chicken, she will not. If it's red meat, she's 50-50. Jacob would eat pretty much anything at her age, so she has us a little frustrated. Alicia and Jacob are out of town and I had a rough day at work, so I just wanted to go out. I opted to take her to Wendy's since I knew she'd eat a cheeseburger. On the way there, I decided Moe's might be healthier, so we went there. She ate about half a plain kid’s cheese quesadilla, some of the tortilla from my burrito, water, and a some oatmeal cookie. Real bland stuff.

This sat fine for a few hours, then she woke up puking. Everything that came back was stuff she must have had at school (bleh, oranges!). It’s possible they’re giving them something new/bad. The daily report says they’re doing shaving cream art. I wouldn’t put it beyond my little rebel to be sneaking bites of that, either. (She loves doing things she knows she's not supposed to and laughing maniacally.)

So, while IM'ing Steph and juggling a still upset and sleepy Dorothea, I type things like "Dorothea has a stomach bug" and mentioned we went to Moe's. This prompted a snarky log off suggestion about toast/crackers/etc probably being a better choice than Moe's for a bad tummy.

Well, yes, in the context of “she’s got a stomach bug”, toast would be better. But in the context of, “she had a freak incident a few days ago and seems to be mostly better”, I just wanted to make sure she ate. Beh. I hate when people make you feel like an idiot even when you're doing your best.

Tomorrow, it’ll be bland toast, etc. Hopefully she'll feel ok when I meet with the breast cancer awareness group about their calendar.

** Edit: Alicia pointed out that we all went to Moe's for lunch on Thursday where she ate the exact same thing she ate tonight. That's probably where I got the idea. :p

Goals 2009 - Week Three

Mon, 26 Jan 2009 06:04:41 GMT

I probably shouldn’t be staying up to blog about my progress considering I’ve got a nasty sore throat, but I’ll probably sleep better if I can check off this “to-do”.

The main focus of this week was my photo work for the UF TNBC (Triple Negative Breast Cancer) group. The calendar is coming along well - I completed mockups for all of the months. Work on it has been delayed since they were holding their “NuNu 5K Run” Saturday morning. They let me come out and shoot some behind-the-scenes photos along with the finish line pictures. I had a blast - it’s the first time I’ve ever tried to do photo journalism of an event and the first time I’ve ever done finish line photography. I managed to get the behind-the-scenes pictures uploaded to Facebook that night and the finish line photos uploaded to Picasa tonight.

At pool, I also had another milestone – I got my first “8 on the break”. It’s another thing I always wanted to do, but never managed to do it. I didn’t set it as a goal because it’s much too random to say “I will do that this year.” Still very happy it happened.

I also managed to move Alicia to her new office with Keven’s help (thanks, Keven!) and noodle on my electric guitar for a while. Normally, I’d try to get back to singing my songs, but this sore throat is not to be trifled with.

For exercise, it was cold enough that I didn’t manage to walk at all. However, I did manage to lift weights every other day and do a bunch of heavy lifting setting up for the race. I’ve even increased the intensity of my ab workout since that has always been my problem area. Now that it’s warming up again, I can think about getting out for those walks again with Dorothea on the days I don’t lift.

At work, I’ve been spending some extra time trying to hammer out a new direction for the company and new ways to improve productivity. Hopefully once those things are figured out, we’ll be ready to hire again.

My bedtime is still a joke (here it is 1am and I’m sick). Therefore, my temper is still not all it could be, but I think I’m handling it better. I’m still probably a bit too snappy at Jacob when he’s doing things like knocking his entire cup of milk over when he’s playing with it, but I’ll keep working on it. I also need to spend more time with Alicia. We’ve both been pounding away at our computers trying to get things done. It just gets worse for a while here – the next four weekends, one or both of us is on the road.

2009 Goals - Week Two

Mon, 19 Jan 2009 06:37:05 GMT

I think I did pretty good this week considering I’ve been fighting off a sinus infection, it’s been freezing in the mornings, and the wife and kids were away this weekend.

I’ve already “completed” my pool goals for the year. My goal was to get my first “rackless” or “break and run” patch. I managed to get a rackless this week. Since its still January, my revised goal is to get BOTH patches this year.

I worked out three times this week, but only walked twice. It was REALLY cold some mornings and there was no sense going out with a sinus infection and making Dorothea miserable at the same time. Besides, getting back into weights is just interesting me more right now. Maybe the goal should be to exercise at least 6 times per week.

I feel like I managed my temper a little better this week.

I didn’t really set any goals for my projects. I’ve been working on a breast cancer awareness calendar with a student organization. That’s coming along well. I also want to get my home movies edited down and on DVD’s. Since my dad isn’t going to be healthy enough to come up here for a while (if ever), I want to be able to share them more with him.

In the negatives column, I did not play any (real) music this week and my adherence to my bedtime is a complete joke. It’s probable that my lack of sleep has contributed to my sinus infection. That, in turn, prevented me from visiting my parents this weekend to help out with my dad’s transition back home. He has major lung problems, so it wouldn’t make sense for me to bring my sinus issues around him. My sickness has also put a damper on other things, too. And yet, here I am at 1:30am. File this under either “not enough hours in the day” or “he will never learn”.

2009 Goals – Week One

Mon, 12 Jan 2009 03:30:11 GMT

The first week of new years’ goals is always the easiest and I think I did a good job of tackling things.

I walked 5 times and worked out twice (for the first time over a year). I hung two of my guitars on the wall and managed to play for a while. I did a photo shoot for a breast cancer awareness calendar. I spent a bunch of time with my wife and children and made dinner one night.

There’s a little humor involved in setting a goal like “sit and watch TV or a movie with my wife at least once a week.” When we were hanging out together, she would ask if this was for my goals. Or afterwards, she would tell me I could check off another goal. That’s fine, it still was refreshing to make sure I made time for her.

I was also surprised to see my weight had dipped under 220. I’m still keeping my goal at maintaining under 225. I’m starting to lift again which means I may gain some weight first if I put on muscle mass. However, if my weight does drop down some more, I may lower my goal weight.

On the negative side, the kids are very good at trying my patience and my temper. I still need to work on improving that. However, that being said, I spent a lot of quality time with Jacob while Alicia was away teaching a class. That’s good because Alicia is going to be doing a lot of travelling this spring so I’m going to be spending a lot of one-on-two time with the children. The other negative was that I was nowhere near averaging a 12:45 bedtime. That’s going to take a LOT of work. However, the payoff will hopefully be improving my patience and temper with the children. :)

Work was a little tough with most of my time spent addressing a three day outage of our online databases. Basically, the idiots at Web.com moved our website to a new server, but neglected to move the settings and drivers associated with the site. Level one technical support was largely worthless, but since level two “didn’t take phone calls” they were the only people I could talk to. My support tickets would get escalated for level two to look at, but kept getting closed despite the problems not being completely resolved. The “best’ one was when they kept telling me to fix the problems myself with IIS Manager, but they neglected to actually install support for IIS Manager on the server. In the end, the only thing that got everything resolved was camping on the phone of a level one support person saying I would stay on the line until they could get a supervisor to address the problems. It worked slightly better than the previous day where I agreed to be put on hold until a supervisor could be found… and sat over two hours listening to the one minute hold music loop. We’ll be looking for a new host for our online Windows stuff.

Gary's Goals for 2009

Sun, 04 Jan 2009 03:32:18 GMT

One of my Facebook friends inspired me by placing a list of goals for 2009 online. For some reason, “goals” seem much more palatable to me than “resolutions”. I’ve been feeling like my life has been getting out of control lately, so here is my attempt at a list of goals for 2009. Maybe I’m overbooking myself, but I think the list is pretty realistic for keeping me on course through the chaos while getting me to make time for the things I wish I was doing more of. I may also try to blog a progress report to make myself publicly accountable. (I know you’re waiting with baited breath for those entries!)

Anyway, here they are… my goals for 2009, along with some commentary.

Family Goals

Spend quality time outdoors with my son at least once per week

Play a game with my son at least once per week

Continue to take my daughter on walks and read to her as often as possible

Sit and watch TV or a movie with my wife at least once a week

Give my wife at least one massage per week

Make at least one non-breakfast meal per week

Take at least one family vacation that is not centered around relatives

Visit my parents at least once every two months

Business Goals

Lead NeuroDimension back to profitability

Release a long-overdue update to TradingSolutions

Find an appropriate way to make our Trader68 product generate revenue

Hire a new employee in a way that contributes to the above goals

Write a financial astrology add-on so I can stop thinking about it

Personal Goals

Go for a walk at least 6 days per week

Work out with weights at least 2 times per week

Get our finances back to where we have money in savings

Average going to bed by 12:45 each night

Maintain my weight under 225

Send birthday and Christmas cards and presents so that they arrive on time

Keep my temper when dealing with the children

Recreation Goals

Play music at least once per week

Win a Rackless or Break-and-Run patch in pool league

Play golf at least once every two months

Do at least one photo shoot per quarter

Have at least one party per quarter

Commentary

I started to write personal goals, but I wanted to make sure that I placed family time at a high priority and didn’t box them out for the sake of personal projects. I need to make time for both.

We have never taken a family vacation that didn’t involve relatives. In fact, I almost never take vacation time. I think now is the time to reverse that.

I’m keeping my weight and sleep goals within reason for now. I may get more aggressive later, but I don’t want to invalidate my whole list by setting lofty objectives in every aspect of my life simultaneously.

Weights 2 times per week is up from pretty much 0 times in 2008. If I can swing more, I’ll do it, but right now it’ll be interesting finding any time to begin with.

Same thing with playing music. I played maybe twice last year. Actually, I’d love to find people to jam with who don’t mind me shaking off a ton of rust.

While pool league is a team sport, setting goals like “making the playoffs” is pretty much out of my control. Instead, I’m concentrating on improving enough to win personal accomplishment patches that I have come close to getting, but have eluded me to date.

I’m passively looking for people to play golf with. I consistently shoot over 100, so this is definitely just for fun. Let me know if you’re interested. Ideally, I’d love to cobble together a somewhat regular foursome, but even a one-time outing would be appreciated.

I feel lame setting a goal of one photo shoot per quarter, but that’s the thing that I felt needed to give in order to make all of these other things work. I don’t want to drop photography, but I want to make sure everything else is firing on all cylinders before feeling like I need to keep active in it.

Final Pre-election Thoughts

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 05:21:37 GMT

Some final pre-election thoughts, mostly in indirect response to Facebook statuses I've seen...

- I do not knowingly know anyone who makes over $250K. What are my fellow middle class friends worried about with "new taxes" when Obama's platform specifically says that they would receive a tax cut? Oh that's right, it must be because he's a Democrat... who cares what he's actually saying?

- I'd like to point out to the people that are against taxes (and probably that voted for Charlie Crist and his property tax slaughter) that their schools, emergency services, roads, etc. have all been cut back because they decided that taxes are bad. I agree that there is waste in government spending, but for the most part the government spends money on things we actually need.

- I'm still trying to figure out how the Republicans want less government and want to lower my taxes, and yet are more hawkish and are spending billions upon billions of dollars on a war that should never have been fought.

- How does "voting for Christian values" have anything to do with voting for McCain and Palin? Last I checked, the message of Christianity had nothing to do with greed and everything to do with helping your fellow man.

- I'm voting Republican in some local races. If you want me to vote Democrat, locate a viable non-carpet-bagging candidate next time. While you're at it, reduce the green-speak and facilitate brining in local businesses.

- I hate tax loopholes. I particularly hate tax loopholes that allow people to not pay their property taxes on what their property is worth. Sorry, but the fact that you can now sell your property for $25K more after an improvement or sell your waterfront property for multi-millions does, in fact, mean you own something valueable. Deal with it or sell it to someone who will deal with it.

grunt.

What you blog about at 5:30 am.

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 10:44:57 GMT

It was 4 in the morning. I was just coming back to bed after cuddling with our daughter so she could fall back to sleep. Alicia realized she left her wallet or something at someplace like the mall and needed to get dressed and get down there. It seemed strange that she needed to dress the way she was.

This wasn’t our house. This was some fancy future house even though the kids were their current age. The large living room had a whole wall of windows that looked out over the cul-de-sac leading away from the house and a window to the nearby driveway.

Alicia was pulling away in what looked like an old-style pick-up truck like from Madonna’s “Material Girl” video, but at second look appeared to be a van. Whatever it was, it wasn’t our car and it bothered me. In the old days I would have hopped in my car and followed her, but the kids were here and I wouldn’t have even been able to get clothes on fast enough to do anything about it. So I paced and waited.

Around 5, a car came towards the house. I had hoped it was Alicia, but it had two women I didn’t know - party girls laughing amongst themselves. I was picking up one of our daughter’s baby dolls and didn’t want to be seen with it, so I ducked beneath the window – hiding in my own house so I wouldn’t be seen with this doll. They almost saw me, but ended up driving off, drunkenly side-swiping something in the street like another car.

It was 6 or so in the morning – still dark/twilight. I must have dozed-off off-and-on because the kids were nearby and I had been cuddling with them. I started putting them back to bed. A Subaru Forester pulled up – Helen? Alicia got out from the passenger side and sure enough, my first long-term-relationship Helen got out of the drivers’ side.

Other people started arriving – non-descript people in their 30’s and 40’s like the kind you’d see as extras in stereotypical TV AA meetings, all talking amongst themselves and coming into my house. I wasn’t sure if I should know them or not – I wasn’t uncomfortable around them as strangers, but didn’t recognize them. I think I said hi briefly to Helen as I alternated between trying to find/confront Alicia and check on the kids, who were so tired they just kept sleeping anywhere like well-cared-for objects.

Alicia seemed to be turning into Helen. It was still my wife and I was calling her Alicia, but she became more Helen-like in her looks and mannerisms. I think Helen had a better capacity for keeping secrets and avoiding telling me what was going on – not in an evil way, more in a “for the best”/”need to know” kind of way.

Around 8, AliciaHelen tried to show me a video that she said would explain. I was getting more and more frustrated that I couldn’t get a straight answer about what was going on. I was also very tired. The narration was so dull that I couldn’t concentrate on it with 2-3 hours sleep. I remember there being some mention of Weight Watchers and I congratulated Alicia again on her milestone, wondering if this was a celebration of that. Maybe I should have done something more to recognize it. The video went on without acknowledgement… I was mesmerized to sleep.

It was 10. It was dark outside, but it was hard to believe it was over 12 hours later. I both felt more rested and felt like I still hadn’t slept since 4 am. People were still milling about. I checked various rooms and found the kids curled up, still asleep, along with other guests. Eventually, I caught up with AliciaHelen… we shared an inside joke about someone with a big nose that reminded us of the masks in the Depeche Mode “Walking In My Shoes” video.

She led me to a sitting room and we sat down. Four guys filed in – not so much burly as somehow there for someone’s protection. I was still frustrated/livid at not knowing what was going on and commented on them being there for protection, although I wasn’t sure whose. There were construction tools around like the house was still being finished from being built. I threw an ill-aimed screwdriver in the direction of the secure-with-himself Asian guy. It didn’t hit him and the action didn’t faze anybody in the room. Just a tantrum on my part.

I waited, but I still didn’t get an answer. It was like that moment before someone tells you something – something you should have known - something that wasn’t a big deal, but they made a big deal out if. And it was that moment stretched out over what was now 16 hours and was now even more drawn out sitting there with what felt like a graduates of an intervention program.

I eventually stormed out, looked in more rooms that I didn’t recognize and found a guitar and amp in the basement, covered with dust. I always felt better crawling off and noodling on an electric guitar when I needed to be alone. I hadn’t done that in years. A cliché verse from Brian Adams’ “Run To You” went through my head.

I didn’t recognize this guitar – something new-fangled without strings and lots of built-in settings. It didn’t matter, I just started playing. Nothing beautiful, just cathartic.

Daylight and dust. My brother John was sort of laughing at me. It was morning now and what had been a basement now no longer had a roof – just the aftermath of a basement. Across the street, my fancy house was in the process of being disassembled. John said at least you still have money. “I do…?” “Yeah, like $10.”

I think I prefer the dreams where I’m fighting for my life from home invaders. This was worse - lying there awake afterwards trying to figure out what it was Alicia wanted to tell me. All in the hour since I had come back to bed from holding my daughter.

Five Years of Mawidge

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 05:33:00 GMT

Five years ago on this date Alicia and I were married. We had the privelege of writing our own ceremony which combined a myriad of influences, including The Princess Bride...

Opening

Gary and Alicia asked me to begin with a quote from one of their favorite movies, The Princess Bride…

:(pause to look around the room)

Mawidge.
Mawidge is what bwings us togewer… twoday.
Mawidge, the bwessed awwangement.
That dweam wiffim a dweam.

I’m sure you’re all glad I’m not going to do the entire ceremony like that.

They asked me to begin with this quote because it reminds them of several things.

First, it reminds them of both friendship and love. The Princess Bride is one of their favorite shared movies. At the heart of the movie is a storybook romance of true love that overcomes all obstacles for the couple to live happily ever after.

This quote also reminds them of the humor that has kept them together over the many years they have known each other. Laughter is a special bond they share that has allowed them to not only share life’s many joys, but also to rise above its troubles.

It reminds them of the uncertainties that life can bring. From their marriage, Gary and Alicia hope to not only expect the unexpected, but to look forward to the unexpected, for they believe that any experience can only be made better by sharing it and learning from it together.

Lighting of the Individual Candles

Although Gary and Alicia have known each other for many years, they both come to this moment as separate individuals. Each of them has their own dreams and accomplishments, wants and possessions. Each of them has their own unique point of view formed from their pasts… and their own inner light that guides them.

Gary and Alicia, in recognition of the inner light that each of you brings to this moment, will you now light your individual candles.

: (G&A go to table, light individual candles, and return)

The Meaning of Marriage

We are gathered here on this beautiful day in the presence of God to witness and to celebrate the drawing together of these two separate lights into one. We have come so that Gary and Alicia may be joined in marriage – an act by which they abandon their lives of singleness and commit to each other to walk through life together, hand-in-hand.

As you know, no “impressive clergyman,” no priest, no public official can really marry you – only you can marry yourselves. By a mutual commitment to love each other, to work toward creating an atmosphere of care, consideration and respect, by a willingness to face the tensions and anxieties that underlie human life, you can build an enduring and meaningful life together.

Acknowledgement of Family and Friends

With each marriage such as this one, families are not only enlarged, but enriched. The joining of Gary and Alicia today brings together two sets of family traditions – two systems of roots – in the hopes that a new family tree may become strong and fruitful. Theirs is a personal choice and a decision for which they are primarily responsible. Yet their life together will be enriched by the support of the families from which each comes.

It is a Hebrew proverb that with a good son-in-law, you gain a son. As their two families become one, Gary would like to present Alicia’s mother, Patty, with a flower to represent not only his respect for the traditions and beliefs under which Alicia was raised, but as a promise to join in their family to make it stronger through this union.

: (Patty rises, Alicia presents Patty to Gary, Gary gives a flower to Patty, Patty sits down)

This is also this true of a good daughter-in-law. With their two families becoming one, Alicia would like to present Gary’s mother, Ruth, with a flower to represent not only her respect for the traditions and beliefs under which Gary was raised, but as a promise to join in their family to make it stronger through this union.

: (Ruth rises, Gary presents Ruth to Alicia, Alicia gives a flower to Ruth, Ruth sits down)

To those gathered here today from both families, do you, who have nurtured these two, bestow your blessings and encouragement on their marriage?

: We do!

As you know, this union is not merely between two individuals or two families. It is between two individuals and families with rich histories and treasured friends. Therefore, it is appropriate that we, the friends of Gary, Alicia, and their families, are here to participate in this wedding. The ideals, understanding, and mutual respect which these two bring to their marriage, have roots in the love, friendship, and guidance with which you have provided them.

Do all of you bestow your blessings and encouragement on their marriage?

: We do!

Vows

Gary and Alicia, will you now join hands?

Gary, please repeat after me.

I promise my love, loyalty, humor, and support
throughout all the changes in our life.
I will help you be the best person you can be.
As well as being my wife, you will always be my best friend.
I will be proud to be your husband.
I want to thank you for the joy and companionship
you have brought into my life
and I will strive to always make us happy.

Do you, James Garfield Geniesse, take this woman to be your lawful wedded wife, to live together in the holy estate of Matrimony; to love, honor, and cherish her in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad, as long as you both shall live?

: I do!

Alicia, please repeat after me.

I promise my love, loyalty, laughter, and support
throughout all the changes in our life.
I will help you be the best person you can be.
As well as being my husband, you will always be my best friend.
I will be proud to be your wife.
I want to thank you for the joy and companionship
you have brought into my life
and I will strive to always make us happy.

Do you, Alicia Michelle Scott, take this man to be your lawful wedded husband, to live together in the holy estate of Matrimony; to love, honor, and cherish him in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad, as long as you both shall live?

: I do!

Rings

May I have the rings, please?

: (Attendants present individual rings)

For those of you wearing wedding rings, I encourage you to take off your rings so that you can participate in this part of the ceremony and to remember the time when that ring was first placed on your finger.

Rings are created in the shape of a circle, the symbol of the sun and the earth and the universe. They are a symbol of wholeness and of perfection and of peace. In these rings is the symbol of unity, into which two lives are joined – together in one unbroken circle in which, wherever you go, you will always return to one another… and to your togetherness.

Let us pray that these rings will always be for you the symbol of your unbroken love. Whatever they are made of, it is undoubtedly precious and enduring. May your rings always call to mind the freedom and power of your love. May the rings you give this day be the symbol of endless life into which you enter as husband and wife.

Gary, please place this ring on Alicia’s left hand and repeat after me:

: (Give Gary the smaller ring)

Through our vows we are united.
With this ring, I pledge by love, trust and commitment.

Alicia, please place this ring on Gary’s left hand and repeat after me:

: (Give Alicia the bigger ring)

Through our vows we are united.
With this ring, I pledge by love, trust and commitment.

By giving a ring, you give a constant reminder of the pledges exchanged this day.
By wearing a ring, you receive these pledges and renew them with each new day.
Please replace your wedding rings and remember with them the pledges that placed have them here.

Lighting of the Unity Candle

Gary and Alicia, please take your individual candles.

: (G&A move to unity table and pick up separate candles, staying there)

The light from each of your candles is separate and unique. It is your inner light which has brought you to this moment.

In recognition of the vows you have taken, please take your separate candles and light the center candle symbolizing your new unity, but please remember to leave your own candles lit to remind you to keep your own individuality in your new partnership.

: (G&A light unity candle, put candles down and wait)

An Irish blessing was once written:

May the blessing of light,
Be with you always,
Light without and light within.
And may the sun shine
Upon you and warm your heart
Until it glows
Like a great fire
So that others may feel
The warmth of your love.

: (G&A return to center)

Final Blessing

Gary and Alicia, will you now join hands?

As you stand together, take notice of each others hands.
These are the hands that will help you through life’s journey.
These are the hands that will wipe your tears in times of sorrow.
These are the hands that will caress you in times of joy and celebration.
These are the hands that will say “I love you” each time they touch.

Proclamation

By the authority vested in me by the State of Florida, witnessed by your friends and family in the presence of God, I am proud to pronounce you husband and wife.

You may now seal your vows with a kiss.

: (the kiss)

Ladies and gentlemen, may I now present to you, for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Gary Geniesse.

: (G&A recess, attendants recess)

Pictures from the event are available online here.

Battle of Wills

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 01:44:21 GMT

Tonight's dinner was leftover pot roast. Jacob took one look at it, declared it "yucky" and pushed it away. Thus began a long evening of battling wills.

This was probably about 6:50pm. (I work until 6:30, so we eat late as a family.) Alicia had suggested a nice family walk after dinner, although she also mentioned we were out of milk for Jacob so we may need to go buy some.

Anyway, Jacob was reminded that calling food "yucky" and pushing it away was being disrespectful to mommy. If he continued to do that, he'd end up on the naughty step. He managed to refrain from any further direct insults to the food... for a while.

One amusing thing that he does is after saying "no" a bunch of times, he'll say things like "I told you three times I'm not going to do it" and "I'm pressing the big red 'no' button." We're not even sure why he would think to say the latter one other than his computer usage.

About midway through our meal, Alicia remembered we had leftover biscuits. She warmed up three, but we told Jacob he could only have his biscuit if he ate half his meal. Still no progress.

After the rest of us finished, I set the kitchen timer for 5 minutes and said if he doesn't eat half his meal by the time the timer goes off, we're eating his biscuit. That REALLY got him upset. Upset enough to throw his fork down. This landed him on the naughty step for three minutes.

He started spitting at us from the naughty step... oops, that restarts the clock.

And, by the way, it's really hard not to laugh a child who's sobbing every time you move at the dinner table... "nooo.... don't eat my biscuit!"

So around 7:15, he finally gets off the naughty step and returns to the table. Since he spent 4 of his 5 minutes on the naughty step, we give him a break and restart the kitchen timer.

The timer still managed to go off before he ate more than 1-2 bites. Oh well, no... well, ok, we'll just give a few bites of the biscuit to Dorothea this time and give him one more chance to salvage the rest.

Dorothea and I enjoy some yogurt. Jacob would normally be having yogurt for dessert, too. I was hoping he'd eat so he could get his. But no, he's just worried about the safety of his biscuit.

He's still not eating, so Alicia starts to feed him. He likes "spider food", so I remark that the pot roast looks like spiders. At least that cheers him up. Alicia manages to feed him half his meal and he gets to start eating his biscuit.

Eventually, he loses the rest of said biscuit for not eating any more of his meal.

We all leave him at the table and try ignoring him for a while. It's sort of cruel flat out ignoring a child, but we didn't want to give his bad behavior attention. Not that it really changed other than sounding more pitiful and confused.

Dorothea and I headed upstairs. He really wanted to go upstairs to use his computer. He even remarked that when he's done with his meal, he'll come up and join us.

Not that he ate anything. When 8pm rolled around, I'd had it. Alicia has asked me not to swoop in when she's in control and I accidentally timed my coming downstairs with when she was laying out new time limit. But I was committed at that point. I didn't like losing the whole evening's family time to his antics. I went downstairs, took him to the naughty step and told him everything we missed out on - the walk, buying his milk. I told him he was now getting in his pajamas and going to bed without stories (or a song) - things he really enjoys. I also told him that if he acted out while we were doing this he would get a spanking. That's something we almost never do.

That got him crying almost to the point of puking. I eventually got him to take some deep breaths and count to ten. Good, because I did NOT want to cap this evening off with cleaning up pukey.

Jacob was ok about getting ready for bed and cleaning his toys. Although, he did miss out on his sticker for good potty skills because he took forever washing his hands again (he gets a 10 and a 5 count if it looks like he's not doing anything). He seems to loose track of what he's doing when he sees the mirror.

And now, it's 9:15 and he's up again... when he's not allowed to stay up he knows there's a loophole that if he says he has to go potty that he's allowed to sit there. This is the child that has figured out when he has to go #2 maybe twice in his life. Still, it's not the kind of thing where you want to take a chance that he's actually right for once. In like 15-20 minutes, we'll get him off of there and get him off to bed. Again.

When I read this, I think I sound like a militant jerk. He's really a good kid most of the time. He sometimes fusses over dinner a bit, but almost always gives in to the promise of dessert or another opportunity. Today he was a little whiney, but we've been decent about dealing with that. The problems mostly come up when we're dead tired and are fuses are short.

Not that we aren't always dead tired lately.

3yo Aries children = fun. Thank God the other one is a Virgo.

Let me rephrase that. Thank God the other one is not 3 yet. I'll reserve judgement on the Virgo part, even though I am one.

Gary's Family Quiz

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 03:37:03 GMT

How well do you know Gary's family? Take this simple quiz.

Dorothea is now:

(a) One year old.
(b) Baptized.
(c) Going to school.
(d) All of the above.

Correct answer is (d). Other acceptable answers include "sporting four teeth", "learning to navigate a spoon", "still not big enough for daddy's car seat", and "very affectionate towards her new baby doll".

Jacob is now:

(a) Three and a half.
(b) Smart and very cute.
(c) Still struggling with the whole potty thing.
(d) All of the above.

Correct answer is (d). Other acceptable answers include "Becca's boyfriend", "wanting to be a bat for Halloween", "using the games on his new kid's camera more than he's using the actual camera features" and "a royal pain in the patoots".

Alicia is now:

(a) Seeing more clients than ever before.
(b) Losing a bunch of weight.
(c) Finding a happy balance with the level of sorority business she is attending to.
(d) All of the above.

Correct answer is (d). Other acceptable answers include "feeling weird about not having Dorothea home", "happy to have completed her obligation as a milk source", and "very tired".

Gary is now:

(a) Releasing his first CD of orignal material in over 10 years.
(b) Leading the growth of the software company at a staggering pace.
(c) Averaging one photo shoot a week to significant critical acclaim.
(d) Dreaming.

Correct answer is (d). Other acceptable dreams include "mastering this parenting thing", "making ends meet", and "enjoying the harem, a LOT".

In reality, Gary is:

(a) President at the "day job" for over a quarter now.
(b) Playing in the pool league again.
(c) Very, very tired.
(d) All of the above.

Correct answer is (zzz).

New pictures of various family celebrations at: http://garygen.myphotoalbum.com/view_album.php?set_albumName=album29

Rico... Suave...

Sun, 28 Sep 2008 21:34:28 GMT

Your result for The Lover Style Profile Test...

The Suave Lover

45% partner focus, 57% aggressiveness, 30% adventurousness

Based on the results of this test, it is highly likely that:

You prefer your romance and love to be traditional rather than daring or out-of-the-ordinary, you would rather pursue than be pursued and, when it comes to physical love, you concentrate more on enjoying the experience rather than worrying about your performance.

This places you in the Lover Style of: The Suave Lover.

The Suave Lover is a wonderful Lover Style, and is reminiscent of some of the most classic lover figures of all time, such as Casanova or Don Juan, or more recently James Bond (several of the "Bond girls" fit this type, too). This shouldn't be confused with a "player" or someone who is solely interested in physical love, but someone who is looking for an incredibly elusive thing: a worthy partner. The Suave Lover is a treasure to find, but can be incredibly difficult to hold on to, once found.

In terms of physical love, the Suave Lover can sometimes be surprisingly tender. Given the right setting, and the right lover, the Suave Lover can be a delight in bed.

Best Compatibility can probably be found with: The Devoted Lover (most of all) or the Romantic Lover, or the Liberated Lover.

Congratulations!

Thanks Again! -- THE LOVER STYLE PROFILE TEST

Take The Lover Style Profile Test at HelloQuizzy

Circles: Full

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 05:20:47 GMT

There was a lot of loops back in the last 24 hours...

- Last night my XBox died with the RROD (Red Ring of Death). Thankfully, Microsoft fixes these problems out of warranty and even pays for shipping. The only thing is that it doesn't always happen right away. Hopefully, it will happen when they try it otherwise, they'll ship it back unfixed. (Ok, so this wasn't necessarily a loop back...)

- My uncle passed away after two weeks fighting to recover from his body giving out after otherwise successful open heart surgery. The surgery was "elective", but he was a very active man reduced to not being able to walk across his house with his heart/valves/arteries in their current condition. I wasn't very close to this uncle, but I know it's affecting my dad... the oldest and last-surviving of three brothers.

- I started off the day with a fasting blood draw for an insurance exam. Anyone who knows me well knows that I used to faint just thinking about this. Amazingly, I didn't even get close to passing out today.

- I had lunch with a friend that recently started a new job and is having to leave it. It's in the juvenille justice system, but she and her co-workers are expected to just hang out and play video games or watch DVD's until kids come in. She recently went an entire week without seeing a single child when she has time to see 25-50. To paraphrase Marvin "a brain the size of the planet and they ask me to play video games..."

- At work, I follow-up with two people I contacted last week about information I needed. Amazingly, both get back to me immediately.

- Got my haircut today. I like my hairdresser a bunch, but I think we're getting out of sync. I'm not thrilled with what's she's doing for my hair, the products she's recommending, her new location, the flow of our conversation, etc. And she even raised her prices on me today. I think it's time to consider changing. That pains me.

- At pool, I ran into an old roommate from college (who I primarily knew through his sister). He gave me some bummer news about his sister that he had only heard today. Also, bizarrely, the old roommate had married the daughter of one of the top pool players in the league that everyone knows.

- Also at pool, I won. Now I'm like 2-10 for the season. Evil me, I beat some guy on his birthday. Unfortunately, everyone else on my team lost.

- (I even spied an old face from 5 years ago when I was in the pool league. Of course, since it was the guy who went on the be an ex-squeeze's husband, I didn't feel compelled to say hi.)

- I stopped for a chocolate and banana side-by-side milk shake at Steak & Shake on the way home. While waiting, I run into one of my first models. We talk for a while... she's heading to massage school, then fashion school soon. I wish her luck.

It's all been kind of strange in a pleasant sort of way.

Popcorn

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 03:56:14 GMT

This is just so wrong on so many levels...
http://www.koreus.com/video/telephone-portable-mais-popcorn.html

Two Word Meme

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 04:23:34 GMT

No more than 2 words per answer can be used.
Have fun and try not to use the same answers as the person before you!

1. Where is your cell phone? ...................On Counter
2. Your significant other?........................Working Hard
3. Your hair? ......................................Shaggy Mess
4. Your mother?...................................Well Intentioned
5. Your father?....................................Incredibly Tolerant
6. Your favorite thing?...........................Creating Things
7. Your dream last night?........................Plugged Toilet
8. Your favorite drink? ..........................Currently Lemonade
9. Your dream/goal?.............................Company Prospers
10. The room you're in?.........................Over Garage
11. Your ex?......................................Frequently Disappears
12. Your fear?....................................No Acceptance
13. Your worst enemy?.........................I Am
14. Where were you last night?...............Fish Tank
15. What you're not?...........................Closed Minded
16. Muffins?.....................................Love 'Em
17. One of your wish list items?...............Drum Set
18. Where you were born?....................New Jersey
19. The last thing you did?....................Practiced Pool
20. What are you wearing?...................Black Shorts
21. Your TV?....................................Is Off
22. Your pets?..................................Survivors Swimming
23. Your computer? ...........................Actively Engaged
24. Your life?...................................Lacking Time
25. Your mood?................................Somewhat Overwhelmed
26. Missing someone?.........................Unknown Ideal
27. Your car?...................................Impractical Coupe
28. Something you're not wearing?.........Clean Underwear
29. Favorite Store?...........................Best Buy
30. Your summer?.............................Keep Moving
31. Like someone?............................My Wife
32. Your favorite color?......................Probably Blue
33. Last time you laughed?..................Don't Remember
34. Who will re-post this?....................Internet Lemmings

The blog of the month club

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 04:02:54 GMT

Hey-ho, time for another wafer-thin update of what has happened over the past month...

- We rented a van and went on a nice car trip to Birmingham, AL, then Sapphire Valley, NC, then Atlanta, GA. Lots of relatives were seen. We did not catch up on our sleep thanks to the children. Pictures are here.

- I did a candy-themed shoot. Pictures are here.

- I've got another shoot tomorrow... I believe this one is going to be a music theme.

- I rejoined the pool league. I've won only 1 match of my 5 or so. That being said, I'm on a fun team. Hopefully once I get some more practice in, I'll get back to being decent. However, I have been tired enough lately that one night I forgot whether I had "big balls" or "small balls" THREE TIMES.

- I finally moved into my new "el presidente" office today. The ex-boss commented more than once that I don't like change. He's right. It'll take some getting used to the bizarre furniture arrangement. In retrospect, cramming the biggest desks possible into the two executive offices wasn't the best idea. But, it's what I have to work with.

- I tried for a week or two to cram a hot poker up my ass and be Mr. Executive. I was going to save the company and forge a new path. Screw that. I'm back to being me. Easy-going and yet anal-retentive and overly idealistic*. I'm going to make things work on my terms. In some ways, I may be saying "screw the responsibility" because I didn't ask for it, it was dumped on me. On the other hand, there's no sense in being someone else.

* I'm not finding the word I want here... could someone chime in with a word for someone who is essentially a perfectionist that constantly feels let down by people not meeting his admittedly high expectations?

Updatery

Sun, 15 Jun 2008 03:10:32 GMT

It's been a LONG time since I've posted (or even read) on here... things have been, uh, busy.

- The saga of my hand has completed. My hand will never be the way it was (the knuckle is submerged and you can feel it on the other side), but there is no discomfort. I was also able to do pretty much everything I needed to do with the brace on, so it wasn't as big a deal as I feared.

- We had nice trips to Disney in March, Venice in May, and Orlando for Mother's Day.

- We found a decent handyman through a friend. Unfortunately, he discovered very wet insulation and very alive termites when he opened up the shower walls. This not only expanded the size of the repair, but required a permit from the city to open up the side of our house. Several weeks later and the re-tiling still isn't done. Thankfully, the pest control company retreated for free.

- On the same day the termites were found, my boss (the CEO and President of the company) announced he was leaving to start a new venture. We decided to promote me to President and the Vice President to CEO. I'm still finding my footing as the new leader and I suspect I'll make some mistakes along the way before I hit my stride. It's an interesting reflection that in my 19 years in the industry, the most I've done is lead another person for a few months here and there. Now I have to run the day-to-day operations of a company. I'm not worried, but I do feel a sudden rush of responsbility.

- I rejoined the APA pool league after a 5 year hiatus. Unfortunately, I retained my fairly high ranking from when I played alot, so my "handicap" is not proportional to my current ability. I'm still pretty good at thinking through the game, but my shot-making is very rusty. In fact, I've gotten to the 8-ball in many games and choked just enough to lose most of my matches. Hopefully, I'll find some time to practice amidst everything else.

- I had a nice photoshoot a few weeks ago, pictures will be posted as soon as the model signs off on them.

- New pictures of the children: http://garygen.myphotoalbum.com/view_album.php?set_albumName=album08

- Alicia and I are the walking exhausted. We've had to get up earlier than usual during the shower reconstruction project in case the contractor or subcontractor actually arrives on time each day. (The contractor usually does.) And, over the last 2-3 days, Dorothea has had a cold which has caused her to wake up miserable several times throughout the night.

- This morning, I walked three miles with Dorothea (my daily routine), made a pancake breakfast for the family, mowed, edged, and weedwhacked the lawn, trimmed the front yard trees, and dug up some dead bushes, all before noon. What's funny is that I came back inside and felt guilty for spending so much time on yardwork rather than spending time with my son. (I've let him "help" before, but it takes twice as long.)

- Coming soon, a ridiculously long car ride with two small children, one of which is potty training.

Concerts and Hand Banging

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 03:29:09 GMT

It's amazing how so many concert tours completely avoid the southeast. It's like the bible belt and the land of retirement have the plague. I keep seeing concert tour schedules that only go as far south as Virginia until you get over to Dallas. No Atlanta. No Miami. No Lakeland Civic Center.

The most recent of these is an amazing Judas Priest / Dio-era Black Sabbath / Motorhead juggernaut touring in August everywhere but here.

I've been putting off concerts for a while now in order to get my finances back in order. I skipped chances to see groups I've always wanted to see but have never seen like the Who, Radiohead, and Steely Dan. I've skipped seeing a reformed Van Halen, my first concert and still one of the best. I'm even skipping the Police with Elvis frickin' Costello.

But Judas Priest I've seen FIVE times now and it never gets old (well, it never gets old with Rob singing). Maybe I owe myself a birthday present and a weekend away from the kids.

On a sad note, the thought of Dio-era Black Sabbath immediately made me want to tell Heff about the concert. Oh wait. Damn. Well, maybe I need to go for her.

In other news, I've managed to keep up my walking every non-rainy morning since I said I needed to do something about my anger. That being said, I did pound my non-broken hand on the table over the weekend. It still hurts, probably just a deep bruise. As Alciia said, maybe my body is trying to tell me something. I keep picturing myself with braces on both hands looking like Edward Scissorhands or something.

How do you do I... see you've met my... faithful handyman

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 02:25:48 GMT

Does anyone have any recommendations for good handymen in Gainesville?

My attempt at patching the grout and caulking in our shower a few years ago resulted in not only leaks and mold stains, but termites. I am now watching the sky for cans of Milwaukee's Best hurtling towards my unmanliness.

The termites have been treated and the termiteers have been paid a hefty sum, but I still need to repair the leaks properly and potentially repair some termite damage. Any recommendations for person or persons most capable?

(cross-posted to Gainesville community)

Random updates...

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 03:25:54 GMT

The orthopedic surgeon moved me from a splint to a Galveston metacarpal brace. I'll be wearing this for 2-5 more weeks. It's even removable for showers.

I went into Sim's Music yesterday and the guy behind the counter says "hey, I had one of those... a Galveston metacarpal brace, right?" I said "yeh, what'd you punch?" He said "A cabinet." We agreed that those things just jump right out at you.

Alicia's mom took Jacob and all of us to Disney World for his birthday. He had a blast and lasted much longer than we though he would without a nap. Pictures here.

I thought that breaking my hand would cure me of my temper... it didn't. I kicked in a drawer within a week. I took this as a sign that I have a real problem that needs to be dealt with. When I was younger and I ran away (coincidentally to Disney World), my parents stuck me in counselling. First thng the consellor did was get me into running. I've been pretty good about sticking with exercise up until about a year and a half ago when the kids' schedule took over. This week, I made myself get up and start walking again. I've been pretty good about it, but I really need to get myself to bed at a reasonable hour to reduce the urge to sleep in.

I need to learn to be less critical and more positive. Everyone said how wonderfully Jacob behaved in Disney (and in most situations). I seem to just remember the outbursts and breakdowns. Hopefully the exercise will get me back to my zen place.

I rigged up a mic stand to do Rock Band vocals and guitar at the same time. It was an absolute blast. My game buddies and I got together today and did the power trio thing. We rocked.

My latest addiction on Facebook is "Friends for Sale". Since no one is going to indicate they trust me, I'm just going to buy everyone and keep them as pets.