This must be the month to have things break down around me. I went home last night after going to the gym and decided to watch at least part of either UHF or Amelie -- and my television wouldn't even turn on. Nothing. The remote worked because the DVD player responded just fine, but no T.V. Even when I went to the set and hit the power button nothing happened. So, I played Taps and listened to the radio and read. It's funny how little I care that I don't have a working television. There have been times in my life that I've spent a lot of time in front of the T.V. and now it's not a concern at all. Except, of course that I can't watch my DVDs now. Bummer. I'll have to look into getting a new boob-tube soon.

I talked to Tim back in Madison and my boss here and I've decided to stay here for the time being. I hope this is the right thing to do, but I'm comfortable with it. My personal life is no great shakes, but it's been getting better over the last month and I feel good about my prospects at work. Really good. I like what I do and I think it will only improve with time.

I'm really looking forward to going to GenCon and then spending some time in Wisconsin with my friends and family. It's hard to beleive I haven't seem any of them for about 8 months. Crazy.

See you soon.

I had a busy weekend. I wrote about my plans in the last post and they pretty much went just like I listed them. Today (Sunday) I went to the gym and then played the History of the World boardgame twice with some of my friends from work. It's a very, very good game. Afterwards I went out for some Thai at a nearby restaruant and now I think I'm going to play Neverwinter Nights.

Oh, I also picked up a couple new DVDs; Weird Al's VHS and Amelie (based solely on Seth's recommendation to me). I also noticed that Real Genius and Better Off Dead are on the new release rack. I'm sure I'll get both of those eventually. It's funny to buy a DVD again, it's been weeks (maybe months?) since my last purchase and I haven't watched any televisions since then. It's amazing to think I used to spend hours in front of the T.V.

That's about all. Talk to you soon.

I just returned from seeing Road to Perdition. Very, very good movie. I recommend it -- even at full price. Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Jude Law, and Stanley Tucci. Good stuff.

I still check the hits for this site, where they come from, and what Web searches hit here and it's amazing how many are looking for the new Vin Deisel or Diesel -- however it's spelled -- movie "XXX". I suppose that post will only refer them here that much more quickly. Too bad there's nothing worth reading about him and it here.

I've been working lots, trying to get things done before GenCon and my week of vacation right afterward. This weekend will be an all-fun weekend. Friday I have a birthday dinner for a co-workers girlfriend, then Saturday another guy from work and his wife want to go for sushi and see Goldmember, then Sunday my boss is having the design team over to play games. Busy, busy, busy.

Okay, time to go home and sleep.

Beauty isn't always pretty.

I just thought that this morning when I woke up. I'm not sure what I had dreamed about, but I like the phrase.

I've been busy with all sorts of stuff lately, so I haven't posted. Monday night I had a good talk with the woman from work that I've been commenting on. It went well and we both explained some things and it looks like we're back on even ground. I'm happy about that and everything's good with that. We also walked for a good hour and a half while we talked, so it was a good workout, too.

Last night I went to some friends' house and played the Settlers of Catan boardgame until late, then hit the sack.

Oh, I got my car back yesterday, too. Just over $1200. Ugh. But my car now runs and should for a while, so that's definitely a good thing.

Today my department is going on a field trip to the comic book store! Woohoo!

Later.

I just finished an article for the next issue of the magazine. I like it and I really have to make time to work on more articles for future issues. I ran late on this issue and then wasn't in the mood to do any writing for a few days. Regardless, I like what I came up with and think it'll be useful to people, so that's all I can ask. I spent all day at work getting it finished, but I knew that tomorrow (Sunday) I'd be unable to get much done. But that's a good thing because I get to go to the company picnic to relax and have some fun -- and get some sun. I can't even tell you how excited I am to get outside and do something fun. I've worked most of the summer away and I'm just starting to realize it.

I'm thinking of having some sort of get-together for my birthday. I'm not sure if I'll invite people over or if I'll invite people to join me out somewhere. I have a few days 'till I really have to decide, so it's no big rush, though.

More funky news tonight. This time from a friend back in Madison. I'm not going to talk about it here, but it's a big thing and I worry for her. Anyway, I'm here if she needs me.

I borrowed a car from a couple at work (thanks) while mine's in the shop. Which means this morning I was able to go to the gym and run a couple errands. I finally finished the trip that sent my car into hysterics last week. So I've returned from Target with new socks, steak knives, and a cutting board! Woohoo! On the way there we (Matt from work went with me) stopped by the game store and I picked up the 2nd edition of Unknown Armies. What a cool setting.

I don't get angry very often. But I was this week. And all of it over a friend I thought I had. I've talked to a number of you about this and I just wanted to thank you for the time. It's great that we can talk the way we do despite the fact that I haven't seen most of you in almost eight months. This whole thing with the woman at work still bothers me, but I'm moving through anger now and into disappointed acceptance (with flashes of anger). Thanks for helping me through it. I'm going to talk to her this week and let her know that I think what she did was...bad. I have to do this while I'm still angry, though, because I want her to know how upset I am. She really hurt me. And the best thing is; she thinks it's because I wanted to date her. I don't and didn't. I just thought we were friends, but with the way she treated me, well, it was just cruel.

Enough of that. This was a pretty good day overall and I'm really looking forward to a relaxing Sunday. I think this is the first day off I've had in months.

Scary.

I got a call from the mechanic today. Initially the cost for what I was going to get done was about $600 (plus about another $500 of maintenance stuff that I can take care of elsewhere, so I opted out). But when they got into the repair they learned that the tubes and lines were all rusted to the car and they'd need to replace them to do anything. Adding that in makes the total about $1100. Probably more than the car is worth, but I can't afford a new one, so...

I may look this weekend to see what I can afford, but it looks like I'll just be investing in this thing to keep it running. Ugh. I hate this.

I was in a foul mood all day because of the stuff with the woman here. The more I thought about it, the angrier I became with the situation. I know there's nothing I can do about it, so I probably won't say anthing, but I'm really angry about being lied to and rejected. I've never had someone I thought was a very good friend just drop me. It sucks.

Luckily, work is good. That's all I have going for me at the moment, so let me enjoy, okay?

I have to get out of this funk. I know it's pointless, but it's keeping me from being motivated to write and I really have to get some writing done by the end of the weekend.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Life's a funny thing (oh, and blogger still isn't updating correctly).

I got a ride in with the woman from work and she finally told me what's up: she's got a boyfriend. Was that so hard to tell me? Sure, it's someone from work and they're not making it public, but it makes me feel better to know what's been going on. Sure, I'm not jumping up and down with happiness (though I am happy for them), but at least I know. Do I feel lied to? Sure. She said she didn't date people she worked with. Do I feel a little angry? Yep. Does it matter? No. It's not like I can say anything about it without looking like an ass and harming the friendship.

Hmm, she has this address. Do I care? Not really. Better to write about it here in inspecific terms that talk to her about it. That would do nothing but harm. (Hmm, "Nothing But Harm" is a good title.) This way I can safely vent and get on with my life. Honestly, it's not that I'm angry she's seeing someone, it's that I feel lied to and deceived (redundant?). I don't like being lied to and treated without respect. Like I'm not a thinking, feeling being. Ah, this is just hurt ego complaining. See, it's better to write about it here than keep it bottled up or spew it out in anger. I'll be fine.

Oh, well. Life's a funny thing.

I need a break.

I don't know what's up, but my post from the other day isn't appearing on my page. I'm sorry for the problem, but hopefully it'll be fixed soon.

My car was picked up by tow truck Monday morning and will be checked out and hopefully better by Wednesday sometime. I really dislike not having a car, but it has afforded me an opportunity to learn more about the busses here in town. Always a good thing.

Monday night was dinner night with some people from work. I hosted and it went very well. I made an awesome salad based on one I had at the show last week. Everyone loved it. Woohoo. We ate completely vegetarian, too, which was very cool.

I've given up on the woman at work and trying to be friends with her. It's not worth the trouble. I like her, she's nice, but she's not interested in being very good friends and I have better things to do than waste my time. That may sound somewhat harsh, but I'm frustrated over the whole situation and I just can't dedicate anymore energy to it.

Today has been lots and lots of work. Both for my regular job and writing some articles for the next issue of the magazine. I could really use a day off. Luckily Sunday is the company picnic. That should be fun. Maybe I'll get some sun!

I have to decide in the next three weeks if I'm staying here or moving back to Madison to start a new job there in the middle of September. I've talked about this before and I'm sure I'll talk about it again, but I realized that I can always go home. I may not have a job waiting for me like I do now, but I can always do it. I really like my job here. I'd like my job there I think. The money is better there, but this division is new and may dry up. I have a lot of potential for movement up at this company as it grows, not so much there -- as far as I know. I have friends and family there, but this is a fun new adventure that's only beginning to gel for me. These and more run through my head all the time when I think about this. Either place is a great opportunity, but they're so evenly balanced that it's hard to decide.

Back to work.

Updating quickly. I have to catch a bus.

My car decided to crap out yesterday and won't start. It sounds like it might be the gas pump or the sparkplugs. Both of which are entirely likely. I'll let you know what happens tomorrow when I can get it dropped off and fixed -- hopefully quickly and cheaply. But, really, it's time for a new car.

I saw the woman who played Shelly on Northern Exposure at the Crossroads Mall Friday at lunch. That was cool. I love that show.

I picked up Neverwinter Nights and played some of that this weekend. It's cool. Very similar to D&D and a fair amount of fun. I still hate having to reload and redo things all the time, though.

Last time I posted I wrote about the bamboo outside my door. Sure enough, by the next day my landlord had come and cut all the cool stalks down. Bummer.

That's all for now. Gotta run.

Updating quickly. I have to catch a bus.

My car decided to crap out yesterday and won't start. It sounds like it might be the gas pump or the sparkplugs. Both of which are entirely likely. I'll let you know what happens tomorrow when I can get it dropped off and fixed -- hopefully quickly and cheaply. But, really, it's time for a new car.

I saw the woman who played Shelly on Northern Exposure at the Crossroads Mall Friday at lunch. That was cool. I love that show.

I picked up Neverwinter Nights and played some of that this weekend. It's cool. Very similar to D&D and a fair amount of fun. I still hate having to reload and redo things all the time, though.

Last time I posted I wrote about the bamboo outside my door. Sure enough, by the next day my landlord had come and cut all the cool stalks down. Bummer.

That's all for now. Gotta run.

Back to the natural world.

The bamboo outside my apartment is growing like mad. Apparently my landlord hasn't had time to trim it back (which is fine by me) because it's gotten to the point that it's sprouted filaments (probably reproductive in nature). The taller stalks are easily twelve feet high and pretty damn impressive. I imagine they'll get cut down soon, but they sure are fun to have around.

I was going to throw out some bread that sat around for the week I was gone, but instead of tossing it I set out about thirteen individual pieces for the squirrels and other scavenging critters to enjoy. I set them out late one night and by morning almost all of the pieces were gone, and of the three I could see that were left, all of them had been snacked on. I'm not sure why I think that's cool, but it's interesting to see how out leftovers go to feed the things around us. I'm sure those pieces of bread were set upon by bugs, birds, squirrels, and raccoons. Very fun.

Work is good, but I'm behind on things and need to play catch-up tomorrow. First thing in the morning we're going to play a bunch of games to look at their mechanics, so that'll be cool. It sounds like we have a lot of interesting games on the docket. Don't you just envy me my job?

I borrowed the new Eminem CD from one of the guys at work. I like it, but I don't think it's as solid as the Marshall Mathers EP. Although I continue to be impressed by Eminem's musicianship and especially his lyrics. He's very, very good.

I just went to Men in Black II. It was good. Funny and light, but it suffered from way too many obviously-cut scenes and "chase" syndrome. I don't have a better term for it. It's when a movie feels it has to be really kinetic and run you from one plot point to the next without really telling you anything. Overall it was a good time. Oh, and I saw the previews for Star Trek: Nemesis, Terminator 3, and The Two Towers.

Okay, okay, I know! I haven't updated. I tell ya'. You get back from being gone for a week and somehow all of this work piles up. Ugh.

I had a great time last week at the convention and worked like a dog. Every day was 8:00 am until about 10 or 11 pm of solid work. Most of my time was spent in the tournament area making sure things were running smoothly. That was fun because I got to yell at the top of my lungs. And it was great to see how people play the games I work on every day. Very enlightening. No joke.

The show was also cool because a couple of people told me I looked good and that I must have lost a lot of weight. That made me feel good, because I haven't actually lost any weight lately, but apparently I've converted lots of fat to muscle. Woohoo! And the people that commented on it were guys, so it must have been noticeable. I'm very happy about that.

Otherwise I've been playing catch up and work and trying to get my laundry done from last week. Speaking of which, I'm off to throw some in the wash and then go to the gym.

Bye!

Hello again!

I'm back from the Origins convention. It was a heck of a lot of fun -- and I actually learned a bunch of stuff, so that was cool.

I'd post more, but I'm tired.

More tomorrow.