When it rains...
Hey all. Time for a life update.
First and foremost, my life has been my job as of late. I'm working on a really important project for my company with a deadline (as in the bosses, executives, and feds will kill me if I don't hit it "dead line") of June 30th. So, I've been going in every weekend, plus spending some time after-hours of a few days, in order to get this project done. While somewhat expediting the jadedness and decent into madness that mid-twenties inevitably brings, it is definitely a boon to have such a concrete end date. I know that by the end of next month this project will be done, and I can slowly regain control over my life. I have a considerable amount of vacation time coming to me, which you can surely bet will be spent come July.
I'm still dreaming up what I want to do with a week off. Tre says I should just hop in a plane and go somewhere new, which is pretty tempting. Still, a big part of me really wants to go camping. Hike around, sleep under the stars, eat shmallows and cook up something over the camp fire in the morning. It's so ridiculously different than my current daily routine that I can't help but fall in love with the idea.
On a different note: Ms Erin, you'll be happy to know that after three years, I have finally finished reading The Stranger. For those of you who wanna read along, the book was written back in 1942 by a Frenchman named Albert Camus (Cam-oo... freakin' French and their non-phonetic spelling). The protagonist is completely apathetic to emotional concerns that extend beyond immediate physical reactions. He felt hot, hungry, lustful, and annoyed - but seemed incapable of happiness, sorrow, guilt, or any of those other little things that we generally feel separate humans from insects.
The reason I even bother mentioning this in the life update is because, after 120 pages of stark Nihilism, I actually felt happy and rejuvenated. It's bizarre, but I identified very strongly with the sociopathic anti-hero as he rationalized his every thought and perception. In fact, he seemed like the very embodiment of my rational mind. Lately I've been feeling rather robotic and emotionally stunted. My decisions have all been determined through either a matter or habit, or adherence to a strict set of logical guidelines. It was through this mirror that Camus was holding up for me that I was allowed to see my own behavior from an extreme perspective, and actually recognize how my often transparent emotions actually do mitigate my behavior quite a bit. I dunno, it's just refreshing to know that life in the corporate world hasn't completely sucked the soul out of me yet.
Oh! Bragging time! I went through my finances the other day, and found out that I'm in the black! If I were so inclined, I could empty my bank accounts and clear out all of my outstanding loans. I wouldn't have much to live on, but still... it's kind of a nice feeling. It's like I've taken care of one of my big post-college goals, and can now start focusing on the next one.
And there are quite a few facets of my life that I wouldn't mind improving, but I'm not about to take them all head-on at once. It's a toss up between saving up to buy property, building a more active social life, or actively hunting down the "girl of my dreams." The path of least resistance at the moment would be saving up to buy property, which incidentally makes it the least fulfilling of the presented goals.
Social life would be difficult just because it's hard to meet new folks in Sac town, but I have a plan to pull it off once I have enough time. All I need to do is pick up my trombone again, and join one of the local bands (we have tons). I'm seriously considering getting a new horn, as my current one is about to hit the decade mark and is having some serious complications with the tuning slide. I've always wanted an F trigger to hit those super-low notes anyway, so it'd be a pretty awesome investment in more ways than one.
As for the girl of my dreams... well, the hope is that she'll pop up once I try and build on my social life. Push come to shove, though, I haven't completely ruled out the idea of a dating site. Stef had some wonderful success with it, and with today's stand-offish world of high standards it might be necessary to have a bit of an edge in the dating game. Still, a big part of me can't let go of the stigma that a dating site should be used as a last resort, and is a right earned by those who have tried the dating scene and simple haven't found anyone whom they feel comfortable with. For these reasons, I'll probably put off any kind of active hunt until I've built up my self confidence a bit more in the social scene.
And so, after typing all of that, it seems pretty clear to me now that I should just pick my horn back up and start researching bands. I'll get to it once I get my life back after the work project is over. If you know any good instrument manufacturers, please let me know. I figure my price limit is going to be around 2 grand, and I don't mind second-hand as long as there are no dents, serious scratches, and the slide moves like new. It'd be nice to be able to play the horn before I purchased it, but I know that may be difficult in today's Internet world. If you wanna get really technical, I'm interested in a small-to-mid sized bore - as my wind capacity really has never been too competitive and I'll likely be using the horn mainly for jazz.
Okay, I can't think of anything else to chat about. Comments about good camping sites, local bands, Kaylee from Serenity, and about how much of a doof I am for only posting every three months are more than welcome!
First and foremost, my life has been my job as of late. I'm working on a really important project for my company with a deadline (as in the bosses, executives, and feds will kill me if I don't hit it "dead line") of June 30th. So, I've been going in every weekend, plus spending some time after-hours of a few days, in order to get this project done. While somewhat expediting the jadedness and decent into madness that mid-twenties inevitably brings, it is definitely a boon to have such a concrete end date. I know that by the end of next month this project will be done, and I can slowly regain control over my life. I have a considerable amount of vacation time coming to me, which you can surely bet will be spent come July.
I'm still dreaming up what I want to do with a week off. Tre says I should just hop in a plane and go somewhere new, which is pretty tempting. Still, a big part of me really wants to go camping. Hike around, sleep under the stars, eat shmallows and cook up something over the camp fire in the morning. It's so ridiculously different than my current daily routine that I can't help but fall in love with the idea.
On a different note: Ms Erin, you'll be happy to know that after three years, I have finally finished reading The Stranger. For those of you who wanna read along, the book was written back in 1942 by a Frenchman named Albert Camus (Cam-oo... freakin' French and their non-phonetic spelling). The protagonist is completely apathetic to emotional concerns that extend beyond immediate physical reactions. He felt hot, hungry, lustful, and annoyed - but seemed incapable of happiness, sorrow, guilt, or any of those other little things that we generally feel separate humans from insects.
The reason I even bother mentioning this in the life update is because, after 120 pages of stark Nihilism, I actually felt happy and rejuvenated. It's bizarre, but I identified very strongly with the sociopathic anti-hero as he rationalized his every thought and perception. In fact, he seemed like the very embodiment of my rational mind. Lately I've been feeling rather robotic and emotionally stunted. My decisions have all been determined through either a matter or habit, or adherence to a strict set of logical guidelines. It was through this mirror that Camus was holding up for me that I was allowed to see my own behavior from an extreme perspective, and actually recognize how my often transparent emotions actually do mitigate my behavior quite a bit. I dunno, it's just refreshing to know that life in the corporate world hasn't completely sucked the soul out of me yet.
Oh! Bragging time! I went through my finances the other day, and found out that I'm in the black! If I were so inclined, I could empty my bank accounts and clear out all of my outstanding loans. I wouldn't have much to live on, but still... it's kind of a nice feeling. It's like I've taken care of one of my big post-college goals, and can now start focusing on the next one.
And there are quite a few facets of my life that I wouldn't mind improving, but I'm not about to take them all head-on at once. It's a toss up between saving up to buy property, building a more active social life, or actively hunting down the "girl of my dreams." The path of least resistance at the moment would be saving up to buy property, which incidentally makes it the least fulfilling of the presented goals.
Social life would be difficult just because it's hard to meet new folks in Sac town, but I have a plan to pull it off once I have enough time. All I need to do is pick up my trombone again, and join one of the local bands (we have tons). I'm seriously considering getting a new horn, as my current one is about to hit the decade mark and is having some serious complications with the tuning slide. I've always wanted an F trigger to hit those super-low notes anyway, so it'd be a pretty awesome investment in more ways than one.
As for the girl of my dreams... well, the hope is that she'll pop up once I try and build on my social life. Push come to shove, though, I haven't completely ruled out the idea of a dating site. Stef had some wonderful success with it, and with today's stand-offish world of high standards it might be necessary to have a bit of an edge in the dating game. Still, a big part of me can't let go of the stigma that a dating site should be used as a last resort, and is a right earned by those who have tried the dating scene and simple haven't found anyone whom they feel comfortable with. For these reasons, I'll probably put off any kind of active hunt until I've built up my self confidence a bit more in the social scene.
And so, after typing all of that, it seems pretty clear to me now that I should just pick my horn back up and start researching bands. I'll get to it once I get my life back after the work project is over. If you know any good instrument manufacturers, please let me know. I figure my price limit is going to be around 2 grand, and I don't mind second-hand as long as there are no dents, serious scratches, and the slide moves like new. It'd be nice to be able to play the horn before I purchased it, but I know that may be difficult in today's Internet world. If you wanna get really technical, I'm interested in a small-to-mid sized bore - as my wind capacity really has never been too competitive and I'll likely be using the horn mainly for jazz.
Okay, I can't think of anything else to chat about. Comments about good camping sites, local bands, Kaylee from Serenity, and about how much of a doof I am for only posting every three months are more than welcome!