2010

Relationships

I’m still very happily married, so nothing really new there. However there is happy news for some of my friends. Most recently, Becky and I attended Josh and Jamie’s wedding. A little before that, John proposed to Paige. Lastly, Ben and Kara are having a baby. So yay to all that.

Sports

This year it seems like we went to more sports games than any other year. Royals games, Chiefs games, K-State games. So much fun.  The teams themselves had varying results. The Royals still suck. The Chiefs made the playoffs for the first time since 2003. The 2009-2010 Men’s K-State basketball team made the Elite 8.  The 2010-2011 team is currently 11-3 and ranked 17th. Some disappointing losses in there, but still quite good. Hoping for another deep run. Fantasy Football this year was good for me: second place.  Sadly, this is the same result as last year. Perhaps even more sad, I could have won if I had started some of the people I had on my bench.

Work

XTEC is still pretty much the same. There were a few notable changes, however. At some point, I don’t recall when exactly, I decided to change my working hours from 8-5 to 7-4.  With Becky usually getting home around four-ish, it just made sense for me to try and match our hours a bit better.  After the initial dislike of getting up getting up about an hour earlier, I’m quite happy with the decision. I think Becky is as well.  The other change is some newer software we’ve been working on.  I’ll spare everyone the nerdy details, but I enjoy it.

Fun

My birthday is August 8th. Horrible date, really. When you’re a kid and your birthday is during the summer, you never get the school birthday parties or the assembly recognition.  I’ve heard this has changed since I was a kid, too late for me, though. Anywho, to celebrate my birthday we decided to go on a float trip.  Awesome decision, if I do say so myself. After Becky and I’s float trip the prior year with Josh and Jamie, we were really excited to go again. I’ll go ahead and leave out details of the trip, but suffice it to say it was a glorious time. This has already been decreed an annual event.

The other fun thing we did was finally go on our proposal hot air balloon ride.

I’ll quickly tangent into a summary of how my plans for that day went completely awry: I took Becky to lunch at Noodles and Company.  While there, I call up the balloon guy to confirm we’re on for the secret balloon ride later in the day.  He tells me it’s windy and he’s sure we’ll be able to go; he calls it 50-50.  I say I kind of have big plans for the day and we’ll risk it. By the way, balloon guy lives like 3 freaking hours away.  Fast forward three hours and we’re in a Wal-Mart parking lot.  It’s windy. I call balloon guy and the short version is “It’s too windy, can’t do it.”  Which, I pretty much already knew, but didn’t want to accept. He says he can come show us the basket we would have been riding in had we actually gone up in it. For some reason, I think this is ok and say sure. In retrospect, what is the fucking point? Seems like rubbing my nose in shit.  Whatever.  Anyways, at that point I inform Becky that I was going to take her on a balloon ride and she’s happy, but also disappointed.  She doesn’t yet know the grand plan.  So, we leave the parking lot with the promise that we can go up at a later date when it’s not so windy.  A shitty consolation prize, but a prize nonetheless. We decide to tour the grand cityscape that is Parsons, Kansas. While driving around I’m desperately trying to figure out a plan. We find an arboretum, but it’s December, so it pretty much totally sucks.  We leave to continue our tour. We find the city park and decide to go play in the playground.  Becky, in her infinitely childlike wisdom, decides that the the green T-Rex rocking thing should be played on immediately.  She also demands I ride it with her.  I, of course oblige her. While sitting behind her on this stupid green thing, I reach in my pocket, slyly pull out the ring box, open it, and reach around her, and ask her to marry me.  She says yes, which I totally expected.  But what I didn’t expect was that when she tried to put the damn ring on, it wouldn’t fit.  Despite telling the jeweler her ring size, they apparently decided not to size the ring.  Fucking. Awesome. Could my day be worse? So, all my plans totally went to shit, but she said yes, so I guess that’s the point I guess.

Tangent over.

Anyways, so we finally got back to Parsons, which incidentally was home to the last place on earth where you could find an official Kodachrome development facility.  We finally get our balloon ride and Becky couldn’t have been happier.  I actually enjoyed myself as well.  I guess I haven’t mentioned, I hate heights.  A lot. The things men do for women.

School

I had my 10 year high school reunion this year.  It was an interesting event to say the least. I actually won an award.  The title was something like Most Technically Saavy.  Basically I’m the biggest nerd.  I may have campaigned for this title.  I may also have been incredibly drunk and I may also have wore a pink boa for a while.

Failings

I kind of had a lot of plans for bettering myself in 2010.  Most didn’t really come to fruition.  I did manage to continue keep my weight down, which I suppose is a good thing.  I kind of stopped going to the gym, which is beyond pathetic.  Also, I completely failed at making any postings on this site since May I think.  That kind of sucks too.  What’s the point in having a blog if you don’t post to it? I blame Twitter.

2011

My big plan for 2011 is the whole health bit. This is just like everyone else I suppose. I’ve been working out a bit already with the the weights I have at home, but it’s no real substitution for an actual gym. I’m also going to try and limit my alcohol intake during the week.  This will be somewhat challenging.  It’s hard to deny the allure of the of a good white Russian.  Also, Becky and I are really, really, really hoping we can buy a house this summer. We’d love to be out of our town home. My other goal is to make more posts here on this blog.  I enjoy having a blog, but when you’re lazy, you’re lazy.  I’ll change that.  In general, though, my plans are fairly simplistic and quite attainable.  That being said, we’ll see how this year goes.

I’ve been having problems with the Sync system in my 2010 Ford Escape that I bought last August (I think August anyways).  Everything was fine initially, then a few months ago when I pressed the phone button on either the dash or the steering wheel, nothing happened.  It was a button that simply didn’t do anything – like one of those “extra” light switches in old houses that you have no idea what they’re connected to.

After I noticed this, I took it into my car dealer – Bob Allen Ford.  They ran the car diagnostic tool on my vehicle and in the course of doing that “fixed” the problem – so I was told.  I thought to myself, “That seems odd, I don’t think that’s how diagnostic tools are supposed to work.”  But whatever, the problem was fixed, huzzah!

Only not.

A few weeks later – probably much less than that, I’m kind of lazy – I noticed the problem was back. Aiight, so I take it in again.  Explain the same problem. I ask if they can just replace whatever part it is inside that is causing this problem.  Yes, they can, however, not for me.  Why? Because I’m not on the latest software version for the part. Okay… I can buy that as being the possible cause of this – however, why didn’t they upgrade it when I had it in last time? My guess is it has something to do with them being lazy.  However, their magic diagnostic tool / version upgrade did appear to fix my problem.  Huzzah part deux!

Only not.

Same problem. Again.  Ugh.  When I last talked to the technician – Marcus was his name – he said that if the software update didn’t help, then he’d order a new part for me.  According to him, we had to see if the latest software update would fix the problem before he was allowed to order a new part.  Seems reasonable.  Since the update clearly didn’t fix my problem, I hoped I could call the dealership, tell them the issue that I’m having, have them order the part, then I’d show up when it came it and get my vehicle fixed.  No dice.  According to whomever I talked to on Thursday, I’d have to physically come in so they could order the part – some bullshit about needing some “numbers” off the part I already have.  I chalked this up to an issue with their ordering system as opposed to physically being able to order the part.  It’s a brand new car, how hard could this be.  But whatever.

So I called on Saturday morning to see if they’re busy and how long it would take them to “write down some numbers.”  Saturday being the one non-weekday they’re open and the one of the two days I don’t work.  TOO FUCKING HARD!  According to whomever I spoke to, a technician was required to write down these numbers.  Apparently the people who work there on Saturday are capable of doing oil changes and what not, but incapable of “writing down some numbers” to order a part.  Jesus.

SO, I go in this afternoon around noon – my lunch hour.  You see, while they are open during the week, they are only open from 7-4, you know, normal person working hours.  My only window of opportunity is my lunch hour.

When I get there I speak to someone who is training and obviously has no idea what the fuck I’m talking about.  He in turn talks to his manager, who apparently also has no idea what the fuck I’m talking about, but refers the trainee to another person.  Who is that person? Marcus.  The guy I’ve talked to like 3 times in person about this shit.  I should have just waited until Marcus got off the phone instead of talking to the trainee.  I don’t blame the guy, it’s just like, damn it, I want my fucking car fixed.  After about three minutes of talking to Marcus, my part is ordered and he tells me he’ll call me when the part comes in.  Wham.  Bam.  The best fucking part? Marcus doesn’t need to look at my car at all, so I’m free to go.  And why was that so easy?  Because all this shit is in their fucking computers.  If that asshole I spoke to on Thursday would have spent two fucking seconds to look this shit up, I could have had the part installed in my fucking car already.

Jesus I feel like I have fucking Tourette’s or some shit.

Here’s to hoping that the new part – that will be installed at some magic time in the future – will fix this fucking retarded problem once and for all.

However, I am not holding my breath.

Via: Daring Fireball

Update: I thought of another one that we’re watching that’s on hiatus.

Currently watching live:

Lost – Current

Archer – Current

Ax Men – Current

Chuck – Current

The Office – Current

Currently watching hiatus:

Sons of Anarchy – Current

True Blood – Current

Currently Watching – Old:

Dexter – Just finished Season 1

Recently stopped watching:

Scrubs – Stopped only because DVR recordings conflicted with Lost and The Biggest Loser

Never finished:

Heroes – I think I’m near the beginning of Season 3

Sopranos – Not sure where we left off on this one, Season 4/5?

Deadwood – Completed Season 1

Nip/Tuck – Seen up to season 3? I think

Oz – Haven’t watched this in a while, I think I’m somewhere in the middle

Macguyver – Dude, I have no idea

Completed:

Firefly – 1 Season Only

This is just off the top of my head and I’ll update this a bit more.  But at first glance, is the only series I’ve ever finished Firefly? What the hell.

Another thing I just thought of: mini-series.  I have watched quite a few of those.  Not surprising, they’re all from HBO.

- Band of Brothers

- Generation Kill

- John Adams

- The Pacific – This just started.

P.S. Jackie your former state is stupid.

Woo!