Why is Livejournal half in Japaneese?
That was my first question when I tried logging into the site. Was LJ hacked? Was it bought out by a Japaneese company? (as many things are today). Seriously- try to log in with a wrong password. See if it comes up in Japaneese.
But I eventually did remeber my password, and everything is back in English, thank god. So right, I haven't updated this in a LONG time. Since Feb it seems. Why? I guess I've just been too busy to do much more then a few short tweets; I kind of forgot about this place. I found myself a little shocked to find that a good number of my friends still use it. If it stays in ENGLISH then yeah... I may come back here more XD.
Anyways.. I've been working a regular job. Its not FT hours, but its closer too it. Close enough that a good chunk of my life is spent at work, and only my Monday client's firewall allows any "social networking" or personal e-mails through. We all know how corrupting it is to have contact with the outside world. @.@.
The rest of the week, during the day I'm pretty incognito. On slower days I've been tying flies. The job I have now I don't have a direct supervisor. My Boss is in Chicago. It has both pros and cons. It's a pain to call in sick, because I have NO ONE ELSE within 300 miles to cover for me. I've only had to do that once (legitimate) so far, thankfully. I don't get sick all that often which is a benefit in this type of position.
If there is something I can't resolve or I have a question relating to my job its sometimes really hard to get an answer. This is the other major con. It took me a month to get the proper rights to even be able to, well do my job at one of the sites I support. Some new contracts I've been put on I'm pretty much fed to the Lions and learn by well... diving in and crossing my fingers. In most cases there is no one to "train" me.
I also support different sites, which means a little extra driving. I have a fuel efficent car now, and I've never minded driving. This is really a neutral point for me; and generally with only a few exceptions I am at one site per day (so far).
The pro's of the are nice, and outweigh the cons.
The biggest pro is a schedule with some flexability. I can adjust my schedule a half hour to hour earlier or later when I need to. If I get stuck in traffic and am late, I'm not met at the door with a boss with a face that looks like an over-ripened tomato about ready to explode and then fires me on the spot. I simply work later and make up the time, or take a shorter lunch break.
This is helpful because it happens almost every Monday even when I plan for it and leave earlier. The site I support on Monday is on the wrong side of the metro for traffic. The earlier I leave the longer traffic crossing the metro is. Murphy's law.
If I make a minor mistake, there's not someone jumping down my throat instantly (as long as I catch it and can correct it in a timely manner). I also like the ability to prioritize tickets and tasks myself rather then have someone dictate it for me. I'm a very independant person; in this way its a good fit.
My contract, as it is, has been extended until December. I have been given a hint that the job may go Perm FT in September... but I'm not holding my breath. While I'm not working 40 hours a week, the pay rate is good. I'm making as much working 28 hours a week as I was working the call center at 40; and the stress level is much, much lower. So with work: things have been going good, and I am finally starting to settle in here. I'm so used to having stressful jobs its hard not to go into that mode sometimes, but I'm learning how to loosen up after work.
Lets see: other non work stuff: Another huge time sink for me is the boat. This year in particular, since I had some savings that I spend a part of to upgrade my boat. It's still not new by any means, but its larger and more suited for something I can take friends out on (the other one was kinda small for that). Considering my last boat outlasted two vehicles and three computers; I was very impressed. At the end of last year it was, showing its age and needed some major work. Nothing that couldn't be done- but the mindset was: if I'm going to be putting all this time and money into a boat, why not get something more suited to an upgrade for the next 10 years?
Two blocks from my house, there was a boat on sale that was everything I wanted at a price that was less then what I paid for my first boat; which is impressive considering the type of boat and condition. Yes it needs some work, but i've seen boats in the same condition go for twice what he asked for it.
So I snatched it up. It's the same year as my red boat (1983) which makes it just a year younger then me. It's a Larson 16' Tri-Hull runabout. 2' longer then my Aluminum boat, much wider and deeper. It has a console, which means no more holding onto a tiller till my arm falls off; and an open front deck which you can stand and fish from. Pictures will come soon :)
It can handle rougher water then my old boat, and is "safer" in that regard. I'm still a very cautious boater- I won't take it out in extreme conditions; but its nice having a boat that cuts through wakes rather then roll over the top of them. Its a nice, glass smooth ride compared to my old one, the downside is on rougher days, you may not be pitching around in an unsafe manner; but you will get DRENCHED with spray as the bow breaks the waves.
This boat can fit 3 people as comfortably fishing as my old boat could fit two; and with buddies I fish with, having that extra person is huge. I can fit 4 in a pinch rather then 3.
I've allready made some additions to it including rod racks, a trolling motor mount and a rear seat (with parts bought to make a second rear seat so I can seat 4.
I've been getting it out as much as I can, but the weather has been rather unpredictable. We've had a lot of storms and the tempature has been all over the place. There's a heat wave starting on Wed which is supposed to last until after the 4th of July; tempatures too warm to be on a boat safely unless you just fish that last hour of the day as the sun is going down; sadly- it looks like for the next week and a half that will be my only real option :/
I'm still obsessed with fishing, if you haven't noticed by now. The boat enhances the expereince, but it hasn't really wavered any. I've got more rods then I know what to do with; but each has a certain "feel" to it and purpose, even if a few of the rods are only used a few times a year. This is espically true for Fly rods.
Because of the weather; I haven't been able to fly fish nearly as much this year. I've only gotten out to foxfeather's stream once this year, and most of it is related to weather. We've had so much rain that the poor trout streams have been in an almost constant state of flooding.
I did have one really good day out on a stream in WI earlier this month in one of the few breaks from the weather we had; and I had my best day of trout fishing ever. Ten fish in two hours. That may be nothing when fishing for bluegills, but Trout fishing catching more then 2 fish a DAY is incredibly rare. They are very finicky and picky fish. Catching 10 meant I lost quite a few more and missed many hooksets. It was litterally a strike almost every other cast.
We have one more break in the weather; it hasn't rained in several days; and it may be one of the last nights its cool enough to wear waders for quite some time. As such, to avoid the Traffic Hell going back home, I am going to fly fish Minnehaha creek. No trout, but there are plenty of panfish, bass, and other fish in there to catch- and it's just as fun. It may be one of the last times I'll be able to wear my waders for some time once this heat wave hits :/. Maybe we will have a cool August? One can only hope.
Done for rambling for now. Way too much stuff going on to put into one post; so I'm not going to try; perhaps I will have more later.
But I eventually did remeber my password, and everything is back in English, thank god. So right, I haven't updated this in a LONG time. Since Feb it seems. Why? I guess I've just been too busy to do much more then a few short tweets; I kind of forgot about this place. I found myself a little shocked to find that a good number of my friends still use it. If it stays in ENGLISH then yeah... I may come back here more XD.
Anyways.. I've been working a regular job. Its not FT hours, but its closer too it. Close enough that a good chunk of my life is spent at work, and only my Monday client's firewall allows any "social networking" or personal e-mails through. We all know how corrupting it is to have contact with the outside world. @.@.
The rest of the week, during the day I'm pretty incognito. On slower days I've been tying flies. The job I have now I don't have a direct supervisor. My Boss is in Chicago. It has both pros and cons. It's a pain to call in sick, because I have NO ONE ELSE within 300 miles to cover for me. I've only had to do that once (legitimate) so far, thankfully. I don't get sick all that often which is a benefit in this type of position.
If there is something I can't resolve or I have a question relating to my job its sometimes really hard to get an answer. This is the other major con. It took me a month to get the proper rights to even be able to, well do my job at one of the sites I support. Some new contracts I've been put on I'm pretty much fed to the Lions and learn by well... diving in and crossing my fingers. In most cases there is no one to "train" me.
I also support different sites, which means a little extra driving. I have a fuel efficent car now, and I've never minded driving. This is really a neutral point for me; and generally with only a few exceptions I am at one site per day (so far).
The pro's of the are nice, and outweigh the cons.
The biggest pro is a schedule with some flexability. I can adjust my schedule a half hour to hour earlier or later when I need to. If I get stuck in traffic and am late, I'm not met at the door with a boss with a face that looks like an over-ripened tomato about ready to explode and then fires me on the spot. I simply work later and make up the time, or take a shorter lunch break.
This is helpful because it happens almost every Monday even when I plan for it and leave earlier. The site I support on Monday is on the wrong side of the metro for traffic. The earlier I leave the longer traffic crossing the metro is. Murphy's law.
If I make a minor mistake, there's not someone jumping down my throat instantly (as long as I catch it and can correct it in a timely manner). I also like the ability to prioritize tickets and tasks myself rather then have someone dictate it for me. I'm a very independant person; in this way its a good fit.
My contract, as it is, has been extended until December. I have been given a hint that the job may go Perm FT in September... but I'm not holding my breath. While I'm not working 40 hours a week, the pay rate is good. I'm making as much working 28 hours a week as I was working the call center at 40; and the stress level is much, much lower. So with work: things have been going good, and I am finally starting to settle in here. I'm so used to having stressful jobs its hard not to go into that mode sometimes, but I'm learning how to loosen up after work.
Lets see: other non work stuff: Another huge time sink for me is the boat. This year in particular, since I had some savings that I spend a part of to upgrade my boat. It's still not new by any means, but its larger and more suited for something I can take friends out on (the other one was kinda small for that). Considering my last boat outlasted two vehicles and three computers; I was very impressed. At the end of last year it was, showing its age and needed some major work. Nothing that couldn't be done- but the mindset was: if I'm going to be putting all this time and money into a boat, why not get something more suited to an upgrade for the next 10 years?
Two blocks from my house, there was a boat on sale that was everything I wanted at a price that was less then what I paid for my first boat; which is impressive considering the type of boat and condition. Yes it needs some work, but i've seen boats in the same condition go for twice what he asked for it.
So I snatched it up. It's the same year as my red boat (1983) which makes it just a year younger then me. It's a Larson 16' Tri-Hull runabout. 2' longer then my Aluminum boat, much wider and deeper. It has a console, which means no more holding onto a tiller till my arm falls off; and an open front deck which you can stand and fish from. Pictures will come soon :)
It can handle rougher water then my old boat, and is "safer" in that regard. I'm still a very cautious boater- I won't take it out in extreme conditions; but its nice having a boat that cuts through wakes rather then roll over the top of them. Its a nice, glass smooth ride compared to my old one, the downside is on rougher days, you may not be pitching around in an unsafe manner; but you will get DRENCHED with spray as the bow breaks the waves.
This boat can fit 3 people as comfortably fishing as my old boat could fit two; and with buddies I fish with, having that extra person is huge. I can fit 4 in a pinch rather then 3.
I've allready made some additions to it including rod racks, a trolling motor mount and a rear seat (with parts bought to make a second rear seat so I can seat 4.
I've been getting it out as much as I can, but the weather has been rather unpredictable. We've had a lot of storms and the tempature has been all over the place. There's a heat wave starting on Wed which is supposed to last until after the 4th of July; tempatures too warm to be on a boat safely unless you just fish that last hour of the day as the sun is going down; sadly- it looks like for the next week and a half that will be my only real option :/
I'm still obsessed with fishing, if you haven't noticed by now. The boat enhances the expereince, but it hasn't really wavered any. I've got more rods then I know what to do with; but each has a certain "feel" to it and purpose, even if a few of the rods are only used a few times a year. This is espically true for Fly rods.
Because of the weather; I haven't been able to fly fish nearly as much this year. I've only gotten out to foxfeather's stream once this year, and most of it is related to weather. We've had so much rain that the poor trout streams have been in an almost constant state of flooding.
I did have one really good day out on a stream in WI earlier this month in one of the few breaks from the weather we had; and I had my best day of trout fishing ever. Ten fish in two hours. That may be nothing when fishing for bluegills, but Trout fishing catching more then 2 fish a DAY is incredibly rare. They are very finicky and picky fish. Catching 10 meant I lost quite a few more and missed many hooksets. It was litterally a strike almost every other cast.
We have one more break in the weather; it hasn't rained in several days; and it may be one of the last nights its cool enough to wear waders for quite some time. As such, to avoid the Traffic Hell going back home, I am going to fly fish Minnehaha creek. No trout, but there are plenty of panfish, bass, and other fish in there to catch- and it's just as fun. It may be one of the last times I'll be able to wear my waders for some time once this heat wave hits :/. Maybe we will have a cool August? One can only hope.
Done for rambling for now. Way too much stuff going on to put into one post; so I'm not going to try; perhaps I will have more later.