Can I be in your Five?

So, it has been a while since I posted last... Coincidentally, I tend to post more when I am not home... Oh well..

1. I am without a project now. In someways, I am relieved. I really hated some of the people and problems associated with that project. Being without a project is normally pretty scary, but my company has a good number of projects ready and waiting. Let's hope that the next one has less travel and hours... Oh look, a leprechaun!
2. I am obsessed with A&E. That network differs so much from TLC and Discovery in that the people on TLC and Discovery tend to be normal or attractive or stylish, etc. A&E has some new exterminator show with some guy who looks like a cross between Yahoo Serious and Nikki Sixx. The real gem of A&E, though is a show that is not new. It is Dog the Bounty Hunter. I can't believe that a family like that really exists. Those people are crazy! I can't stop watching. Dog can't seem to buy shirts that stay buttoned up. Beth makes Dolly Parton look like a classy, flat-chested socialite. Dog's sons are muscular ex-cons. And then there is Baby Lyssa. She is Dog's 21 year old daughter. The other night she took down a fugitive. The takedown cracked me up for some reason...
3. What's up with Facebook? I feel a little sophomoric for being on that site, but I have caught up with so many friends from high school, Progressive, etc. Maybe the ice is beginning to melt. I really miss some of those people.
   
4. I am lucky to be a dad and husband. Yes, it is not always easy, but sometimes one of my girls looks at me and my heart stops... I live for that look or smile or expression or funny comment or fancy dance move or runway walk or scissor hand-scissor hand-scissor hand-fork-fork-spoon arm-scissor fingers... Well, you know what I mean, right? They are truly and without a doubt the reason I live.
5. I can't believe that I am going to be 36. WTF is that all about? I really am getting old.
   

Finally, I am going to Vegas for my birthday. I can't wait. The little lady and I have not spent a lot of time with just her and I for a LONG time. She deserves an Arc de Triomphe for all that she does.

Funniest Video I have seen in awhile

Star Wars: Retold (by someone who hasn't seen it) from Joe Nicolosi on Vimeo

Facts of Life: 2009

“You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have the facts of life...”

The Bad
My rental car was vandalized.
They broke a window and stole the rental company’s GPS.
It is freakin’ -6°F…
Why they hell would someone be out there doing knucklehead things in those elements…

The Good
I have a new best friend on Myspace…
I know that me having a Myspace is moronic, but I have one.
My new best friend is my favorite celebrity not named Salma Hayek…
Her initials are JLH.

I was never really insane except upon occassions in which my heart was touched...

Well, I am back on the road... I so hate spending time in hotels, airports and rental agencies. I know that part of it is that I have been coming to the same airport and the same hotel and the same customer for almost a whole year. Last year at this time, I was just starting out with this company. I was just so grateful to have a job. And, I was dealing with the emotions of the layoff and its effect on my family. This last year was a crazy one. In addition to the new job, I replaced the most tenured BA in my company on the most complex project. My company was purchased by a much larger company. My company laid off people (including some of my friends - I sure know how that is). Office locations were closed.

But, in the grand scheme of things, I work this job that I hate so much for one reason... to buy my eldest a PSP, laptop and desk... LOL
I would work as a custodian in a well-frequented bath house if that is what it took to earn money for my family.

I truly hope, though, that I can find a company or project within this company that will not require me to travel and work as much.
I miss seeing my family (especially after being home with them for over six weeks). I also miss hanging out with my Prog friends. I really need to spend more time with them. In reality, I really need to extend myself out there to be a good friend and to accept that others might want to be my friend. Being a friend (and making friends) takes energy. For the most part, I often think that I just don't have the energy to do it even though I know that I will have a more rich, more vibrant life. It is like I have become accustomed to and enjoy the shades of grey that forgot the beauty of the colors that exist beyond me. I have friends from high school that I never contact because I just don't know if I care. Maybe I am just afraid to extend my energy on seeing them when I can barely see the friends I do really care about.

With all the rambling above, I have realized that I really need to make this year a good year. "F" it! I need to sound my barbaric yawp. I need to seize the day to make my life better, my family's life better and my future better. I need to choose happiness. You know (of course you don't know...why do people begin a sentence with that inane phrase?), I have often thought that depressed people were selfish and that I would not choose to be sad. I have realized that happiness is selfish, too. I need to be selfish. I need to chose happiness.