We're still OK, but the tooth operation, ticket, car battery, new tires, car insurance in a block of 6 months and car registration in two months plus a new company policy that doesn't let me make up at work...and it means things are tight. Not impossible, but tight. Fortunately, there is an extra pay cycle in March and early estimates of taxes looking hopeful...we should be able to repay the housing fund and rebuild the reserve.
Looking forward to spending Introspection Day with Julia. I'm sick. Which means this will be short. Been traveling back and forth to visit Mom and Skip because they are moving. It was nice seeing them before they do. I helped them move a bit. Was sick on the way back. Kind of horrific, but I got here in one piece and lived.
All things told, life is still good. Nothing will ever be perfect, and at some point I'll have spare funds to advertise forever west a bit. I also need to get a mike so I can resume the podcast. Fortunately, thanks to Matt I have another few months in reserve.
Monday, February 2, 2015
Monday, January 12, 2015
Months on The Road
When you include Thankgiving, all the trips in December and the new trips we are making in Jan to visit Mom and Skip and Grandma before they move to San Francisco, the miles add up. Julia and I are both tired but there are still three more weeks left. Goals are slow bit steady and should be ready by Introspection day. It was a little empty without the cat bit we did enjoy a quiet night at home w each other while we watched the last three episodes of Homeland.
Sleep is good. They are keeping a closer eye on extra hours at work for a while which is less money but good timing since it will gice me more time to relax...still, in a limited duration contract I always keep a close eye on things amd there is less work than people. If things increase in circumstances,, time to begin looking immediately.
Friday, January 2, 2015
[Goals] 2015
Tom - This year will kick things up. Got enough goals last year that I will increase what I do this year. All must be planned by Introspection day on the 31rst-5th of Feb.
Goal of the Year
Write and complete 50000 words in NANOWRMO
Primary Goals
1. Write one story a week til Nov. After edit, submit at least one in four for publication five times.
2. Get 35 points towards Scrum Professional.
3. Get Perm Job in Starter City.
4. Do 6 courses in self taught CS degree.
5. Create print books for at least 3 books.
6. Keep physically fit. Increase Run time to 10 minutes. 100 push ups. 50% plus bench.
Secondary
1. Get three clients for RAC. Have one be near or almost near successful.
2. Do another Not for Children's Book.
3. Pay no more than $10 in the political rant jar.
4. Do one Khan not related to CS.
5. Finish Exodus in I, Ashera.
6. Complete the Arrow.
Bonus Goals: Compile list of 12 by Introspection Day.
Julia Goals
1. Be nicer to myself.
2. Graduate w. 3.8 GPA.
3. Get a perm job I want.
4. Continue w Food Journal 80% of time.
5. Got to at least one, ideally both conferences.
6. Get a little help from my friends.
7. Continue improving relationship w Tom and communicate more.
Couples Goals
1. Move to Miami successfully.
2. Go to Europe
3. Go to Miami on scout trip.
4. Have 4 trips. (Currently likely Biltmore, Spiletto, San Fran and...???)
5. Communiticate.
Life Goals - "At some point"
1. See the Louvre.
**2016.
2. Travel around the world on a one way trip. Japan, Australia, India, Egypt, London, Italy and Hawaii.
** Goal to see all by 2019. Egypt pending political situation.
3. Learn a martial art.
**Done
5. Assemble a band for a tour based on music written by me.
6. Start a successful business.
Started in 2011. "Success" is determined in this case by an operating profit of 400% invested capital or $10000. 2011-2015. Otherwise 'failure' and goal removed from dock.
Not looking good on this one...
7. Learn a musical instrument.
Slated 2016
8. Sculpt something memorable.
9. Create or help create a graphic novel.
**Completed. [And also permanently dead :( ]
10. Own a plane, sailboat, taught or ultralight and learn to pilot/sail it.
11. Write seven novels.
**5 of 7 done.
13. Go on a cruise.
2016.
14. Organize a convention on SOMETHING. [Small chance of 2014]
16. Build a house (not necessarily my own.)
17. Own my own home (all own, no mortgage)
2019.
18. Have a room with a secret passage
2019.
23. Be in a flash mob dance number.
Do in 2015??
26. Live the fifth life (who knows what that is)
Doing. Transforming.
27. Ditto the sixth.
Doing.
28. Ditto the seventh.
**Kept in reserve until 2027.
47. Finish 7 films. (3 out of 7 completed).
2016.
48. Enter a remote controlled airplane tournament and place in the upper half.
49. Enter a competitive Kite contest (the kind with the razors on the wings.)
50. Blow something up with Dynamite. (Legally)
51. Join the Masons.
2017.
52. Hypnotize someone.
Completed 2013.
53. Firewalk.
54. Visit the Library of Congess
55. Complete 7 Projects of Significance. [1 of 7 done.]
1. Finding Joe screening.
29. Marry the Right Person.
Done.
30. Establish a business empire dedicated to a not for profit foundation.
31. Visit (but do not live in) Space.
32. Buy my own island.
35. Create a functional and profitable news network that actually produces what is independent.
36. Create an institution to focus on pure research.
38. "" Neurological regeneration.
39. Paid Angel agents to quietly and anonymously do good.
40. Create a series of libraries (10) dedicate to principles original to libraries. Secular sanctuaries and temples to knowledge.
43. Breed dogs to live twice as long
44. Create 3 patents.
45. Own and that is entirely self-sufficient w. energy, food and other items.
46. Become a Father.
Slated 2017.
Bucket List (the Bucket in the Bucket….IE, I no longer care about this but might change my mind.)
4. Competitively enter a fencing competition.
Goal of the Year
Write and complete 50000 words in NANOWRMO
Primary Goals
1. Write one story a week til Nov. After edit, submit at least one in four for publication five times.
2. Get 35 points towards Scrum Professional.
3. Get Perm Job in Starter City.
4. Do 6 courses in self taught CS degree.
5. Create print books for at least 3 books.
6. Keep physically fit. Increase Run time to 10 minutes. 100 push ups. 50% plus bench.
Secondary
1. Get three clients for RAC. Have one be near or almost near successful.
2. Do another Not for Children's Book.
3. Pay no more than $10 in the political rant jar.
4. Do one Khan not related to CS.
5. Finish Exodus in I, Ashera.
6. Complete the Arrow.
Bonus Goals: Compile list of 12 by Introspection Day.
Julia Goals
1. Be nicer to myself.
2. Graduate w. 3.8 GPA.
3. Get a perm job I want.
4. Continue w Food Journal 80% of time.
5. Got to at least one, ideally both conferences.
6. Get a little help from my friends.
7. Continue improving relationship w Tom and communicate more.
Couples Goals
1. Move to Miami successfully.
2. Go to Europe
3. Go to Miami on scout trip.
4. Have 4 trips. (Currently likely Biltmore, Spiletto, San Fran and...???)
5. Communiticate.
Life Goals - "At some point"
1. See the Louvre.
**2016.
2. Travel around the world on a one way trip. Japan, Australia, India, Egypt, London, Italy and Hawaii.
** Goal to see all by 2019. Egypt pending political situation.
3. Learn a martial art.
**Done
5. Assemble a band for a tour based on music written by me.
6. Start a successful business.
Started in 2011. "Success" is determined in this case by an operating profit of 400% invested capital or $10000. 2011-2015. Otherwise 'failure' and goal removed from dock.
Not looking good on this one...
7. Learn a musical instrument.
Slated 2016
8. Sculpt something memorable.
9. Create or help create a graphic novel.
**Completed. [And also permanently dead :( ]
10. Own a plane, sailboat, taught or ultralight and learn to pilot/sail it.
11. Write seven novels.
**5 of 7 done.
13. Go on a cruise.
2016.
14. Organize a convention on SOMETHING. [Small chance of 2014]
16. Build a house (not necessarily my own.)
17. Own my own home (all own, no mortgage)
2019.
18. Have a room with a secret passage
2019.
23. Be in a flash mob dance number.
Do in 2015??
26. Live the fifth life (who knows what that is)
Doing. Transforming.
27. Ditto the sixth.
Doing.
28. Ditto the seventh.
**Kept in reserve until 2027.
47. Finish 7 films. (3 out of 7 completed).
2016.
48. Enter a remote controlled airplane tournament and place in the upper half.
49. Enter a competitive Kite contest (the kind with the razors on the wings.)
50. Blow something up with Dynamite. (Legally)
51. Join the Masons.
2017.
52. Hypnotize someone.
Completed 2013.
53. Firewalk.
54. Visit the Library of Congess
55. Complete 7 Projects of Significance. [1 of 7 done.]
1. Finding Joe screening.
29. Marry the Right Person.
Done.
30. Establish a business empire dedicated to a not for profit foundation.
31. Visit (but do not live in) Space.
32. Buy my own island.
35. Create a functional and profitable news network that actually produces what is independent.
36. Create an institution to focus on pure research.
38. "" Neurological regeneration.
39. Paid Angel agents to quietly and anonymously do good.
40. Create a series of libraries (10) dedicate to principles original to libraries. Secular sanctuaries and temples to knowledge.
43. Breed dogs to live twice as long
44. Create 3 patents.
45. Own and that is entirely self-sufficient w. energy, food and other items.
46. Become a Father.
Slated 2017.
Bucket List (the Bucket in the Bucket….IE, I no longer care about this but might change my mind.)
4. Competitively enter a fencing competition.
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
2014 - Year in Review
It was the best of years. It was the worst of years.
The Good: Wonderful marriage to my beloved. Washington D.C. Visits to Atlanta. Visit to Miami Beach. Visit to Florida Keys. Second visit to miami beach. Visit to New Orleans. Visit to Biltmore. Visit to Charlston. Elaynia. All going well with family visit. AirBnB. Goals met. French video store. Red Tower. Guardians of the Galaxy. Double Dates w. Wayne and Helen. Weekly video games w Greg. Kilroy stories. Kilroy Godhood. Overcoming Class of Doom. Publishing GMVZ. Publishing many of my stories. Team B. Walking together on the nature trail. Homeland. Game of Thrones. Picking a starter city.
The Bad: The possession of Petunia. Soggy Paper Plate. Facebook. 2014 Election. Grammar Nazi. Time to find job B. Wells drama. The world in general.
The Ugly: City on a shelf. Tito. The Phantom of the Lobby. Tossing Grenades at Windmills Podcast numbers. City of Hope.
Goals for 2014.
Tom
1. Get to 250 lbs and stay there. - A-. Finally.
2. Do 8 Belly Dancing Classes with Julia. Changed this to walking weekly since this proved untenable. A-.
3. Finish "I, Ashera" poem. Bad poetry is awful. It just is. This will be a multi year project but I've made a good dent. B+
4. Get at least 1 of Minor PMP/Minor BA Cert/Scrum Cert. Got TWO. A+
5. Project Schlurp. A+.
Julia
1. Maintain A's in MLS. A.
2. If no full time job, take 2 classes each semester. A.
3. Maintain food journal 82%. A-
4. Project Meep. A+
5.Get a job or Make Red Anvil Tagging work. A
Marriage
1. Date night 1/week. A
2. Continue communicating properly. A-
3. Trip 1/month A-
4. Reach Reserve Level 4. A
5. Teach Tom to Cook. C
6. Successfully do move A
The Good: Wonderful marriage to my beloved. Washington D.C. Visits to Atlanta. Visit to Miami Beach. Visit to Florida Keys. Second visit to miami beach. Visit to New Orleans. Visit to Biltmore. Visit to Charlston. Elaynia. All going well with family visit. AirBnB. Goals met. French video store. Red Tower. Guardians of the Galaxy. Double Dates w. Wayne and Helen. Weekly video games w Greg. Kilroy stories. Kilroy Godhood. Overcoming Class of Doom. Publishing GMVZ. Publishing many of my stories. Team B. Walking together on the nature trail. Homeland. Game of Thrones. Picking a starter city.
The Bad: The possession of Petunia. Soggy Paper Plate. Facebook. 2014 Election. Grammar Nazi. Time to find job B. Wells drama. The world in general.
The Ugly: City on a shelf. Tito. The Phantom of the Lobby. Tossing Grenades at Windmills Podcast numbers. City of Hope.
Goals for 2014.
Tom
1. Get to 250 lbs and stay there. - A-. Finally.
2. Do 8 Belly Dancing Classes with Julia. Changed this to walking weekly since this proved untenable. A-.
3. Finish "I, Ashera" poem. Bad poetry is awful. It just is. This will be a multi year project but I've made a good dent. B+
4. Get at least 1 of Minor PMP/Minor BA Cert/Scrum Cert. Got TWO. A+
5. Project Schlurp. A+.
Julia
1. Maintain A's in MLS. A.
2. If no full time job, take 2 classes each semester. A.
3. Maintain food journal 82%. A-
4. Project Meep. A+
5.Get a job or Make Red Anvil Tagging work. A
Marriage
1. Date night 1/week. A
2. Continue communicating properly. A-
3. Trip 1/month A-
4. Reach Reserve Level 4. A
5. Teach Tom to Cook. C
6. Successfully do move A
Sunday, December 14, 2014
Much Happening
It has been an eventful couple of weeks. Three weeks ago we had a delightful thanksgiving dinner with Julia's parents and then spent Saturday and Sunday with Mom and Skip. We spent the last weekend in Charlotte in November and will be spending every weekend in Atlanta or traveling in December. That is a lot of driving.
A lot of monumental decisions have been made, the two biggest of which are that Skip is now working for Google and they are moving to San Francisco. Julia and I have decided to spend six months starting in Feb to focus our job search in Miami. The odds of us moving there are very high, especially since my current contract will be wrapping up around July.
We are spending time with each other, with friends and with family. There has been such drama on Facebook this year, particularly with Petunia and Soggy Paper Plate that I am deleting my facebook account, letting it reset for 90 days and starting a new one in April.
Complications have included a difficult to replace headlight on my Prius, North Carolina's bizarre and arcane registration and title language, my missing phone (now replaced and on which I write this) and one of Julia's teachers having an unnatural and obsessive standard of grammar that I have never encountered. We got the paper done, we are waiting to see how the paper will be received but I am optimistic.
Julia is now enjoying her vacation and I am doing moderately well at my job. Julia will be doing a lot of baking, and I am preparing Grenademan vs the Zombies and Forever West for sale on Amazon as ebooks.
Saturday, November 22, 2014
Weekend Trip to Ashville
We originally wanted to go to Ashville and stay with a couple that Wayne and Helen had stayed with earlier this year through AirBnB. Unfortunately, we had to wait until the last minute thanks to the new job, and this being the high season, they were full. Indeed, many of the hotels were full, but we managed to get rooms at the Biltmore Holiday Inn, which is fantastically priced and a rather nice place to stay. We left Friday night, and enjoyed a nice drive in the country. But I took two wrong turns and ended up adding an extra hour to our trip. Now that we know how to get there from Charlotte, going back will be a lot easier. Sticking to highways is a good idea. But we saw some nice country and got to listen to some nice podcasts along the way.
We ate at the restaurant at the Holiday Inn since it had been a long week and we were both exhausted. We had a nice quiet romantic evening away from it all. We also read a bit from "Dangerous Liasons" which we are reading from together before we go to bed each night. We both slept very well.
When we found out how much Biltmore was, we initially weren't going to go but the Hotel had a special deal and a fantastic rate. So we went. Due to starting the new job, we couldn't do everything but we did do a lot of the stuff you get for the basic price of admission. We got lunch at a place along the way but should have waited until we got there.
The grounds were gorgeous. We parked the car and then took a shuttle bus inside. The house is huge. And you can see it in the picture below. Biltmore is interesting because its the work of one of the Vanderbelt Grandchildren, a master architect and the guy who designed Central Park. When we go on trips, we've seen a lot of restored houses but this one was special for a lot of reasons. Aside from the fond memories Julia had here of coming to sing with her High School choir in the inside garden, this house seemed like a home frozen in time. So often with these places, they face decades of neglect only for a benevolent patron to take an interest to save the place, with furnitture donated second hand from a wide range of people. The Biltmore, all amazing 250 rooms of it, has been in private hands the entire time and the furniture is original. But the biggest difference is how much forethought Vanderbilt put into this place, his own excellent taste, and how much he worked with the master artists he hired.
The most impressive room in the place is the library. There are over 23000 books there as well as Art Folios, Globes, Shelves and Frescos. It is obviously a place that was well used and there are dozens of mini libraries throughout the house. The rest of the house was amazing as well from the vaulted ceilings with tapestries of the banquet hall to the intimate art of Vanderbelt's bedroom with the selected art or the sunny window of the wife's receiving room. Many of the guest rooms were sealed off, but I suspect those are part of the Butler's tour or the Architect's tour. The basement has a small museum, perfectly preserved swimming pool and turn of the 19th century gymnasium, along with servant's quarters, a pantry, a vast kitchen, and very primitive laundry room.
The gardens are also amazing. There are several different styles including a walk-through garden and hot houses full of tropical orchids and wonders from every clime. The kitschy but awesomely large garden shop at the end holds several curiosities for sale including some excellent hand crafted rocking chairs. The grounds are fantastic as well and we went on a lovely walk near land sculpted ponds and wood covered bridges. By the statue of Diana we took several impressive pictures and saw a couple get engaged right at sunset. The lights were truly amazing.
After the wonderful day at the mansion, we went to downtown Ashville and ate at a Sushi place. We got Julia's expresso, stopped at a few shops to pick up an interesting set of cards and some scented oil and then went back to the hotel. We closed out the evening watching Sleepless in Seatle.
It was a perfect day.
<not finished>
We ate at the restaurant at the Holiday Inn since it had been a long week and we were both exhausted. We had a nice quiet romantic evening away from it all. We also read a bit from "Dangerous Liasons" which we are reading from together before we go to bed each night. We both slept very well.
When we found out how much Biltmore was, we initially weren't going to go but the Hotel had a special deal and a fantastic rate. So we went. Due to starting the new job, we couldn't do everything but we did do a lot of the stuff you get for the basic price of admission. We got lunch at a place along the way but should have waited until we got there.
The grounds were gorgeous. We parked the car and then took a shuttle bus inside. The house is huge. And you can see it in the picture below. Biltmore is interesting because its the work of one of the Vanderbelt Grandchildren, a master architect and the guy who designed Central Park. When we go on trips, we've seen a lot of restored houses but this one was special for a lot of reasons. Aside from the fond memories Julia had here of coming to sing with her High School choir in the inside garden, this house seemed like a home frozen in time. So often with these places, they face decades of neglect only for a benevolent patron to take an interest to save the place, with furnitture donated second hand from a wide range of people. The Biltmore, all amazing 250 rooms of it, has been in private hands the entire time and the furniture is original. But the biggest difference is how much forethought Vanderbilt put into this place, his own excellent taste, and how much he worked with the master artists he hired.
The most impressive room in the place is the library. There are over 23000 books there as well as Art Folios, Globes, Shelves and Frescos. It is obviously a place that was well used and there are dozens of mini libraries throughout the house. The rest of the house was amazing as well from the vaulted ceilings with tapestries of the banquet hall to the intimate art of Vanderbelt's bedroom with the selected art or the sunny window of the wife's receiving room. Many of the guest rooms were sealed off, but I suspect those are part of the Butler's tour or the Architect's tour. The basement has a small museum, perfectly preserved swimming pool and turn of the 19th century gymnasium, along with servant's quarters, a pantry, a vast kitchen, and very primitive laundry room.
The gardens are also amazing. There are several different styles including a walk-through garden and hot houses full of tropical orchids and wonders from every clime. The kitschy but awesomely large garden shop at the end holds several curiosities for sale including some excellent hand crafted rocking chairs. The grounds are fantastic as well and we went on a lovely walk near land sculpted ponds and wood covered bridges. By the statue of Diana we took several impressive pictures and saw a couple get engaged right at sunset. The lights were truly amazing.
After the wonderful day at the mansion, we went to downtown Ashville and ate at a Sushi place. We got Julia's expresso, stopped at a few shops to pick up an interesting set of cards and some scented oil and then went back to the hotel. We closed out the evening watching Sleepless in Seatle.
It was a perfect day.
<not finished>
Friday, November 7, 2014
November Update
The end of October was a bit sad for Julia and I as she visited her family in Atlanta. We spent the first weekend with my folks, and the latter weekend with hers. This was the seventh annual Freedom Day that we celebrated and we had a fantastic turn out. Bill, Andrew, Berny, Wayne, Helen, Skip, Mom, Terence, Diane, Alan, Phillip, Julia and I were all at the Marlay House. I was originally going to have it at the Thinking Man Tavern, but we had to move it earlier due to the wake of dear friend Holly Blain. The event was fantastic and we had many good conversations before going our separate ways. Holly's Wake was also a remarkable celebration, with probably 200-250 people there celebrating her life. Afterwards, Julia went hope to spend the evening with her family, and I went to see the fantastic play The Doctor, The Devil and my Dad at Seven Stages.
Then I went home. For Julia, she enjoyed a nice week her family, the dog and the two cats. (We brought Sasha back and forth with us during the missing week.) For me, I saw John Wick, and otherwise spent my idle time playing nonsensical internet games. The weekend we visited her folks, they took us out to eat at a magnificent Pizza place (Campania). We spent Halloween night watching Abbot and Costello meet Frankenstein, which was just perfect. Sunday was a nice relaxing day, and then we went home.
School is challenging but good for Julia. Work has been pedantic in some of its hour requirements, but the work itself has been much more interesting than it was at Well's Fargo. It was a slow but intense week for both of us. We're looking forward to a nice relaxing weekend at home for once. My writing is going well, as is the podcast.
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