Of Pens and Swords

I also am getting rid of all the old surplus IT crap in my closet here as well. I’ve made a significant dent in the amount of old crap, broken and unused parts, phones, equipment….But, working for a Gov’t agency, most processes are just painful. Getting rid of old stuff is no different. Next week though, when the team comes in to install all the new systems, there is a clause hidden in the pile of paperwork and instructions that says the team is also responsible for disposal of all old IT equipment on site…WOO HOO!

This is the last couple of days for this half of the semester of school, and it’s going to leave me a little bit more free time this weekend. I guess I’ll have time to put that bug shield on the Stomper, probably shoot bad guys in a virtual battle or two, have time to brainstorm programming idea’s with Zen…and probably relax a bit. More importantly, maybe convince Jess to relax a little too, take a few naps, not run around trying to clean everything. I doubt I’ll be any more successful in convincing her to relax, but maybe I can kid myself into believing that I’m wearing her down :)

I’m going through a carrot thing. Not cooked…I’m kind of going through I Wish I Had A Beer phase this week too. It is Friday though, and well, I get one :) Been a long-ass-week, and man, it just sounds good. A nice Titan IPA, good and hoppy.

I’ve been dealing with the ex this week, though Jess is the proxy. Nothing big, just routine stuff. Reading the emails though reminds me of those shows when the teenager walks into a store to buy condoms, and ends up buying a toothbrush, a snickers bar, a flip-flop, q-tips and a truck magazine along with them, so to kind of hide the fact that he’s just wanting to buy condoms. I could be wrong, just an impression. It’s just the way the actual point of the email is hidden in there. That and it’s fun to see idea’s she had turn into my ideas when they’re not working. Case in point, going through Jess as a proxy. The ex got mad at a posting I made about Feb 16, a few days later asked to communicate to me through Jess. Ok, no problem. To make it easy, I just auto forwarded email. The biggest stink has been over the taxes this coming year, and specifically me claiming my daughter. This year is my year I can claim my daughter on taxes. It’ll be the first time I actually might see taxes since 2001, though I’m not excited about it. I most likely will break even on taxes, which is my ultimate goal anyways. For the Ex, since it’s apparent she reads my blog…the reasons why I’m going to claim Rae.
1. It’s in the divorce decree; meaning it was signed off by both of us as an agreement. You’re still getting the better deal, since I can’t claim her for the years I’m deployed.
2. I am supporting 5 people on one income, an income that’s maybe twice as yours, but more people that I have to support ratio wise.{ 2.5:2}
3. 1/3 of income slated for family support goes to Rae. 2/3 support the other 4 people. Up until she started school the was 47% of those available funds going to Rae because of daycare expenses were involved.

Other factors are involved as well, such as the 20K+ debt that I’ve been paying off since 2002. The debt that I didn’t even get to enjoy getting into. This is slated to finally be paid off in January, and not only is it effecting me positively, but you, since your name is on the debt as well. The reasons you give for ‘needing’ the money, and the fact that it’s not just about the money to you…I could be reading this situation wrong, but historically, whenever there was a few extra dollars that I made, you seemed to have a debt that was for the same amount at the same time…same with the end of year tax monies. Or when I was making twice as much for 5 months when I went to GA, and instead of getting bills paid, somehow we got twice as far into debt, and I almost got my truck repossessed, along with a few thousand dollars in bounced checks in my name. For me, what I have seen, it is about the money in your case. Homie can’t afford to play dat game anymo’, and doesn’t see the need to either.

Here’s my solution if you want to help Rae financially. Take 10% of that child support and put it into a savings account for her. If you’re still using the bank that is through the insurance company, they have great interest rates for traditional savings, as well as funds for saving for a child. I myself am going to start these up for the kids at the beginning of the year. The caveat is that you can’t dip into those savings. This might not pay off for her now, but think in 15 years, there will a nice chunk of change for her to go to school, get an apt, whatever. Or if she’s smart, turn around and reinvest those funds into 40 year IRA’s so she can retire a millionaire.
Eat in more often. Yes, Rae dimed you out on the fast food deal. It’s easy, and I agree that you’re a busy person, but trust me, it’ll save a quite a bit of money to make simple things at home, and for about the same amount of time.
There are probably other ways to save $20 a week too, which translates into 1k/yr. It means that you would have to start, be and remain a little more reliant on yourself by buttressing up your will power and impulse spending.

Anyways, I have to finish up one thing, be bored for an hour, and go home. Maybe I’ll leave an hour early, since I’m going to be putting in unpaid overtime in next week as usual. I don’t feel bad about leaving early for all you ethics mongers out there.

This is probably long enough to were nobody will read past the first para. anyways hehe.

It has been a while since I posted. In reality it’s probably only been a couple weeks, though it’s seemed longer in many regards. The whole pregnancy is fun (for me anyways) though it’s a little stressful in knowing that in another month or so, we’ll have a spawn around.

Work has been going like mad, though, I am at the crest of the hill of the year, and it should be (should be) relatively downhill for the next 9 months. I can’t see any other big projects coming down the chute. This is good, because next week I start up school once again. I’d like to be able to take care of some of that workload here at work as often as possible. It’s going to keep the pace maddening still, but I again see the last of this particular mountain. A little more than a year, and I should be done with the first BAS. If I work it right, I might be able to pull off this double major with little extra work.

I know this is going to be harder than I just made it sound. It’s going to put a little bit of a strain on Jess and I, especially with having a new baby. It’s just going to mean that I manage my time a little more carefully than I have in the past year and a half, that’s all. It’s also nice knowing that Jess will be there and supportive. I think we both see the same big picture and understand the sub-goals in getting to the next goal. It will significantly help in getting there knowing that one key facet is going to be our support of each other.

The other key area of support is me supporting Jess in any way that I can. I used to joke about how I had a woman who actually complained if I did any housework…well, now with her being in the last month of being pregnant, it’s something I see as important in helping her. She still doesn’t want to let go of the reigns though :) even though she’s hurting. I try and tell her to relax, leave me some work, and just stay off your feet…I think she’s going to need more peer pressure hehe ;) I do what I can while she’s not looking though ;)

One of the ten side projects that I have in mind that aren’t really critical in any way is my want to put together a sort of family constitution…something that’s flexible enough to stand the test of times, and be updated when times change. It’s something that I want to be able to show the kids, and be able to explain what a lot of the decisions that mom and I make are based off of, so they know we’re not just making things up. Things like:

1. Don’t ever spend more than you make. Always save a little of what you make, even if it is a small amount.
2. It’s ok to only have one good friend. That one good friend is better than having ten bad friends.
3. Always look people in the eye, even if it’s people you don’t know.
4. Have the courage to speak when you know something is wrong, especially if it can or will hurt other people.
5. Don’t lie. There will be times in your life when your integrity will be the only leg you can stand on, and it has to be a strong leg at those times.
6. Always stand behind your actions and decisions, good or bad. Along with Integrity, having a strong character will also persevere.
7. If you make a bad decision, own up to it, and do what you can to immediately correct it. Don’t hide the fact that you made the decision in the first place, but instead own up to the fact that you’re fixing it.
8. Learn to be self dependent. You will always need to depend on somebody else for something, usually goods and services, but non-tangible things like your feeling of self worth and love of yourself have to come from you, not somebody else. Those dependencies can and will be broken, and that can and will break you if you rely on them. Inversely, don’t be afraid of letting someone help you in a time of need. Nobody else but yourself is going to look at that as a bad act.
9. Don’t be afraid to make decisions.
10. Realize that there is a big picture out there, for you and for the ones you care about. Strive to see that big picture so you know where to steer yourself in life.
11. Don’t forget to play.
12. Learn and have patience. Making decisions too quickly can be worse than not making a decision at all.
13. Don’t surround yourself with people who only think like you do. Having conflicting ideas spurs thought and innovation.
14. Listen to others. Don’t just wait to speak.
15. Learn to both accept criticism and to identify things that may have to be changed, then act.
16. Don’t blame problems that you created on others. If you buy hot coffee and then spill it on yourself, realize that you expected the coffee to be hot; it’s inherent in the nature of the cup of coffee. Realize that maybe you should have used the cup holder instead of pinning the cup between your legs. Don’t blame the maker of the coffee for your mistake.
17. Repay acts of kindness with appreciation.
18. Make sure that you can define what makes you happy by yourself. If you can’t do it, nobody else will ever be able to. Happiness is one of the things that you have to be self dependent with. See #8.
19. Don’t be afraid of exploring the world past your doorstep.
20. Re-evaluate and maybe redefine the Status Quo every year or so. Not many things will stand the test of time without needing to be at least tweaked a little.
21. Don’t get wrapped up in drama. Drama is only one person’s way of trying to suck more into their circle of influence. Doing this, however, can push out the things in that circle that you should be really concerned with. It doesn’t increase the size of your sphere.
22. Be able to identify those things in which you can change or influence. The things that you can’t, don’t worry about…keep an eye on them, but don’t stress. You can’t change the fact that it’s going to rain, but you can dress appropriately.
23. Don’t belittle people just to make your self look better. It has the opposite effect for one, and two it’ll take away a possible alliance that you could have fostered.

Anyways. I could probably go on. I could probably consolidate these 23 items into 10 as well…it’s just a brainstorm that you see above. They are things that I think are important. They’re things that I’d like to teach my kids.

I do a lot of brainstorming. Most of it is of no consequence, it’s just a way to keep my mind moving…I like to do math a lot, for those of you asking. I also like to create problems in my head, and then figure out how many solutions I can come up with. I do this a lot when I’m driving.