It's Been A While

I was talking to someone the other day and it came up that I have a blog/website. After talking to this person, I pulled it up and realized that I had only written two entries in the last three months. So much for writing more often. I’d like to write more, but my life just isn’t all that exciting and I limit myself as to what I am allowed to write about. I don’t like to write about work because, well, people do read this and far be it for me to piss people off without even trying. I’d write about politics, but I’m smart enough to know that I don’t know enough to write about it. With that being said, I’d started thinking about what else to write about. There has to be something, anything, in the last three months I could write about. Here’s what I came up with.

Breaking one of my rules, let me tell you about work. We recently moved. That’s all I can say though.

The weather. We had two days of triple digit temperatures here recently and people lost their minds. The people of Los Angeles are a funny bunch. If it’s not sunny and 75 degrees, then it’s news. I’m really sick of all the bitching about the weather out here. If it rains, people bitch. If it’s hot and doesn’t rain, then people bitch that it’s dry and there will be fires. If the temps get into the 40’s at night, you better believe we are all going to freeze to death. On second thought, I can completely understand why people complain about the weather out here. It stinks. I’ve been out here almost six years and I’m still trying to figure out what is so special about the weather.

Hockey season ended yesterday. Okay, hockey season as far as I’m concerned, is over. After a horrendous start to the season, the Caps somehow found a way to win their division. I’m impressed by that. I understand they play in the worst division, but to come back and win it is still impressive. Unfortunately, the Caps season ended in an all to familiar way. They lost Game 7 at home. It wasn’t even close. They were shut out in Games 6 and 7. That’s like failing gym. You have to try to pull that off. Guess there’s always next season right?

I made cookies about a week or so ago. I’m sorry (not really) if anyone was offended if I didn’t send them any. I actually ate about two dozen of them myself. That is a very rare thing. I did bring some into work, but I can’t talk about that because, well, it’s work. With the rest of them I did something I had never done before. I took them down to the local fire station and gave them to the crew. Seemed like the thing to do.

There’s a new iPad that’s supposed to come out this summer or fall and I’m thinking it might be time for an upgrade. When I got my first iPad, I swore that that would be the device that I upgraded every time a new one came out. I skipped the 3rd and 4th generation ones, so it may be time. We’ll see how I feel when it comes out.

I bought my first ibook recently. I bought Baby Steps by Elisabeth Röhm. Great read and I encourage people to go buy it.

I still don’t have cable TV and not having sports channels is killing me. I got to see one Caps playoff game because all the games were on the NBC cable family and you can only watch online if you have the right cable TV provider. Kind of stupid if you ask me, but they didn’t ask. Outside of that, I’m fine with no cable. Sure there are a few shows I wish it was easier to watch and not having any sort of DVR stinks form time to time, but it’s worth saving $100 a month.

With it being May, my thoughts turn to the opening of the pools. The pool down the road has been under construction for the last year. Looks like they completely redid it and added some slides. I know I’m not in the pool business anymore and haven’t been for some time, but I still miss it and the people. Wait, sorry, I’m not supposed to write about my lifeguarding days because that offends people.

I think there were some other things I wanted to write about, but I can’t remember what they were or I’m subconsciously censoring myself. While writing this, I did remember one of the reasons I don’t write that much. Ironically it’s because people read what I write. Don’t worry, I’m not trying to fool anyone. I know there aren’t thousands (or even hundreds) of people reading what I have to write, but there are people who read it. How do I know this? Well, I can’t go into that because, well, you know, but it’s more than just the numbers. 

Have a nice day. I’m still allowed to say that aren’t I?

Lesson Learned

The other night I bought a cordless drill/screwdriver. I had one a few years ago, but lost it during one of my moves. I did a little research before deciding on a nice little Black & Decker that should work just fine. There was a part of me that wanted to just start screwing and unscrewing things as soon as I got home because I could. I think that's something I got from my brother. He and my dad always stressed the need to have the right tools for the job, but he was a bit more passionate about it than dad.
Years ago I bought a little entertainment center for my parents. I was more than happy to put it together for them. I read through all the instructions, got the proper tools and went at it. It took a little time and as I was finishing up, my brother walked in to see how it was going. He gave it the once over and I patiently waited as it was important to have his approval. After he looked it over, he asked if I had used any power tools to put it together. I proudly said no. He grabbed a screwdriver and started unscrewing a few things, dropping screws as he went. After removing a few screws, he said that I needed to use power tools to do it right and he walked away.
I think I sat there for a moment trying to figure out what just happened before getting a power screwdriver and putting the screws he removed back in. I realized what had happened was my brother had indirectly taught me a lesson. Apparently a lesson I haven't forgotten.

Cable Free And Loving It

It’s been about a month since I cut the cord and gave up cable. After some careful deliberation, I decided that paying over $100 a month to watch TV was too much. Maybe if it was more than just me watching it might be worth it, but not for one person. There really isn’t any reason to have cable anyway. Pretty much every network has an app to watch their shows and at the very least, they allow you to watch online as early as the next day. That’s all free. Basically, if you can wait a day, you can watch any show online for free.

Now don’t think for a moment that I gave up watching regular broadcast TV. There’s no reason to do that. I went out and got myself a digital antennae and it’s wonderful. It cost me $25 and I get all the local channels in HD along with a few other digital channels. Nothing too exciting, but it does allow me to watch any network show as it airs. It’s just like when I was a kid. You had 5 channels with no DVR or VCR. When a show was on that you wanted to watch, you watched it and the commercials that went with it. If there were two shows on at the same time that you wanted to watch, you picked one and that was it. That’s where I am now. If I want to get things done while I’m watching a show, I have to time it out during commercials and if I take too long, there’s no rewinding to catch what I missed. Yes, I can always go online and re-watch the show, but that’s not really going to happen.

I did also subscribe to Netflix and Hulu+. The cost for the two is less than $20 a month and it gives me access to older seasons of show and movies. It’s not like having HBO or Showtime, but there were only 2 or 3 shows I was watching on those channels anyway. Hulu+ has shows the day after they air, but does not have current CBS shows. I’m not real happy about that, but all it really means is that I find myself giving priority to CBS shows when they air.

When considering making this move, I figured that watching sports might become more difficult. I haven’t watched Sportscenter in years, but obviously there are a ton of games on the ESPN family. No more of that for me. No more Big Ten Network either. No NHL or MLB channels. How would I cope? For the Redskins, the only time they would be on cable is if they’re playing on Monday night. That’s fine, I’m at work while the game would be on. How about watching the Caps? Their games aren’t on TV out here unless it’s a nationally broadcasted game. If it’s on NBC, no problem, got that covered. If the game is on the NHL Network, that’s a problem, but if it’s during the week, the game would start at 4:00 and I’d be at work anyway. Watching the Reds is the same way. I may miss a game or two that would be on ESPN, but that’s okay. What I also considered is that I could now subscribe to the NFL Sunday Ticket, NHL Game Center and MLBTV and be able to watch almost every game for less than the cost of a year of cable. That’s not a bad deal. The one area I could be in trouble with is college football. A vast majority of Virginia Tech and Ohio State games are on the ESPN family. ESPN does broadcast a lot of games online, but not if their available in your area on one of their channels. I’ll figure something out for that, I’ve got a few months.

Overall, not having cable is a good thing. Sure, I find myself having to go back to a TV schedule and I had to get the TV Guide app, but it’s worth it. I’m not watching nearly as much TV as I used to and I’m saving some money. And that’s a good thing since my taxes and health insurance went up, but that’s another story.

You're Not That Important

What is the obsession that some people have with using speaker phone? I’m not talking about putting a call on speaker in a closed room when you have a business conference call, but more of the person who feels the need to put a private cell phone call on speaker phone. I see people do this both when they think no one is around and, even worse, when in a group of people. There is zero reason for this. I’m fairly certain most phones come with headphones nowadays. Try using them.

I had someone recently stand right in front of me, set their phone down between us and make a call on speaker phone. They were all hunched over and looked really uncomfortable. What followed was loud talking, lots of repeating and then annoyance. The annoyance wasn’t just from me, but from the caller who got annoyed when someone else in the room started talking. I thought I gave people dirty looks, but this guy had me beat.

I realize that I’m not a big phone person, but when I do use the phone, I like to keep my calls private and I don’t think anyone really wants to hear them. My theory is that people who like to use speaker phone do so because they think they’re important. They think that whatever they are talking about is the most important thing going on and if definitely more important than anything you might be doing. I also think that people use it because it makes them think they’re in control. Maybe the person on the other end won’t say anything for fear of someone else hearing something they shouldn’t. I don’t know. 

Here’s what I do know. People who use speakerphone for personal calls are annoying. Not the people who accidentally hit the speaker button on their phone, but still hold the phone up to their ear because they don’t realize they’re on speaker. I feel bad for those people. I’m talking about the people who are to lazy to use headphones or a bluetooth. The people who feel the need to share their phone call with you. The people who think they are so important that everyone should stop what they’re doing and pay attention to their conversation. I want to let these people in on a secret...you’re really not that important. You may be special, but not for reasons you think. As a matter of fact, you’re annoying idiots who are quite possibly trying to compensate for something that can’t be compensated for. You don’t want to hear this from me? Well, we don’t want to hear it from you.

2013? Bring it!

Towards the end of 2012 and for the beginning of 2013, I told a number of people how uncertain I was for the new year. It was weird because I had never felt this way. There was too much uncertainty around and I was worried. I didn’t like the way 2013 started off either. There wasn’t anything bad in particular that happened, it was more like I was in a funk. It didn’t help that I started feeling sick and that the weather kept changing. I needed something to change in a positive way or it was going to be the start of a long, long year.

The last 4 days may have been just what I was looking for. There wasn’t one thing or event specifically, just a few things that made me feel more positive or changed my way of thinking. Maybe it was winning a $100 iTunes gift card or going for a run that felt really good. It could have been having my best friend in town and being able to have some pizza and beers with him. There was some old music that I hadn’t listened to in a few years that might have done it or seeing a sign for McLean Cleaners in the movie Argo that brought back good memories. Of course it might have been having the two people, outside of my family, that mean the most to me, finally meet. I don’t know what it was, but I don’t care.

I’m a little late to the game, but I’m ready for 2013 now. I still have no idea what it will bring, but I’m excited for it. There will be some changes this year. Some will be good and some just might end up being bad, but I can’t worry about that. I’m now optimistic about it. Bring it on 2013, show me what you got.