If I Had A Few Million Dollars...

“MEGA MILLIONS! MEGA MILLIONS!”

It’s all over the news today. Seriously. This is overshadowing the Republican Primaries on CNN right now. Personally, I’m just fighting the urge to post lyrics to “If I Had A Million Dollars” by the Barenaked Ladies all over my social network feeds.

Honestly, haven’t you always wanted a monkey?

However, it does lead to thinking, what WOULD you do with that kind of cash? I figure that if you take the lump sum payment, minus taxes, you’ll be sitting on ROUGHLY 250 million dollars. That’s the type of change that makes relatives that you never even know existed come out of the woodwork.

Now, of course we have the normal dreams. Get ourselves out of debt. Pay off our house, or break our lease and buy a house. Help out members of our family, and our close friends with their debts. Set up our children for life. Quit our job the way we’ve always dreamed of because, honestly, who can’t shake arson charges with that kind of money?

Okay, seriously, Office Space. It’s a play off that. I’m not seriously going to burn the building down just because they took my stapler.

But honestly, is that all we’d do? If we’re thinking big, let’s think big. And we’re geeks, we can think really big.

First, I do believe that the house will have a small theater in it that is accessible through a hidden door. “Oh yeah, tilt back the bust of Shakespeare and the door opens.” Nope, it’ll be behind a Han Solo in Carbonite. You’ll hit one of the switches on the side and the door will open into a home theater. Now, some of you that know me are probably asking why I wouldn’t use a Tardis shell, because obviously the theater room would look bigger on the inside?

The Tardis would be the wardrobe. Seriously, don’t you pay attention?

And then there are the cars.
Back To The Future DeLorean? I could learn to drive stick.
Batmobile? Heck, yes. I’ll take a ’66, a Keaton, and a Tumbler. You can keep your Kilmer and your Clooney.
Herbie? Let’s trick it out with some extra effects.
Ecto 1? After I also get a clean ’59 Caddy for Shannon. Those are the rules.

Oh, and the time. Have everything invested where I have a steady income, just off that? I have always dreamed of just travelling the country and geek exploring. I want to explore and build the definitive database of Geek Points of Interest. I want to cover everything from Comic Book Shops to movie shooting locations.  I just want to be able to afford to take crazy chances like that. I want to be able to go through Kickstarter and go “This looks like it’s really cool. Let’s do it,” and make someone’s day.

Dreams, that’s what I’m buying.

Honestly, though?

I’m just going to be a few bucks poorer come tomorrow morning.

Good luck to you all,
Tony

Little Bit of Catch Up

Good morning, peoples! Are we well? I certainly hope so!

Wow, I’ve had a busy week so far with my writing, haven’t I? Decent sized posts talking about the Lexington Comic and Toy Expo and my dinner at the Brewstone Beer Company, plus a little blurb about the conventions around Indianapolis. However, now we’re back to me sitting at the keyboard, staring at the screen, wondering what to do next. So, I’m just going to put up a few random thoughts, as is what I normally do.

First, I’ve pretty much whittled my whole internet money-making thing down to just Swagbucks. It’s the only one where I feel like I’m actually getting a return off of it, even though I’ve still done the occasional job on Amazon’s Mturk. So far, off of these, I’ve received enough Amazon money to purchase the Matt Smith Doctor Who Christmas Specials and the David Tennant Specials on Blu Ray. Next up is an arm case for my Evo, plus one for Shannon if she would like one. However, I’ve been loving it, and my little brother has also started doing it, and he’s been loving the heck out of it as well. My only complaint is the limit per month on gift cards, but if my only complaint is “How dare you limit my free money!” then it’s not really that strong of a complaint, is it? Feel free to check the widget on the side bar if you’re curious about it.

Next, I’m back to dropping a bit of weight, but not that much. I think it’s weird that when my alarm goes off at 6AM, it doesn’t matter how much sleep I’ve had, I’m up and out of bed for work. Yet, I can go to bed early, get 8 hours, and when my alarm goes off at 4:30AM so I can walk or ride my bike, and I just turn it off and go right back to sleep. Dang it, I was able to do this last week, so why can’t I do it this week? Either way, it’s not stopping me from trying. I just need to get in the habit of it.

My final little thought for the day is this: social networking is a privilege, not a right. Just because our paths might have crossed once in the past, or because we’re family, it does not mean I’m going to have you on my lists on Twitter, or Facebook, or Google Plus, or Linked In. I’ve been pruning my lists, and I’m going to do more pruning this weekend, and you know what? If you’re no longer on my list, there’s a reason. Maybe I don’t want to see you keep complaining about everything. Maybe your blatant and persistent preaching and linking on your pet subject or charity or religion is spamming my feed. Maybe I put you on because I wasn’t thinking, and I’ve realized that I have no idea who you are, or that you’re someone that has never been on my radar. Honestly, I’m using my Facebook page less and less, and when I’m on, I don’t want to see your scripture quotes, or your political causes, or how much you hate where you live. I want to see pictures of you having a good time, I want to see how your family is doing, and I want to know you well enough to care.

If you’re on Twitter? Heck, that’s for Caticorn jokes. I’ll keep ya.

See you tomorrow,
Tony

I Am NOT A Food Blogger, But I Like To Eat

I have a tendency to pull in good stuff on Twitter. I've won Blu Ray Discs of Battlestar Galactica and Doctor Who, I've won free food from Ruth's Keystone Cafe and New York Slice, I've won software, training lessons, and the occasional argument. A few nights ago, I won something new.

I live just east of Castleton Square Mall, and I work at the offices behind the Fashion Mall at Keystone at the Crossing. In between these areas is a building that used to hold a place called The Music Mill, then the Cadillac Ranch, which I still can not confirm ever actually opened for business. Soon, this location will be the home of the Brewstone Beer Company.

I found out about the Brewstone Beer Company through a friend on my Twitter Feed, so I started following their Twitter Feed because it looks like they have a large craft beer selection, and they were very close by. A few nights ago, the person running their feed posted up an offer that the first twenty people to tweet about their grand opening get reservations to their VIP Opening on Tuesday night. I think I was number 13. This means that I got reservations and complimentary food last night at a new restaurant here in Indy, and I would be a fool not to use this as a reason to fill a blog post.

Now, before I go any farther, I want to lay out a few things. First, everything was ON THE HOUSE. It was a soft opening, getting the staff ready for the Grand Opening later this week. This means everything was comped. I paid for nothing, although our waitress did get tipped handsomely, especially for a table of 3. This was a contest, they don't know or care that I have a blog, be it personal or whatever. I received no extra compensation for this, I just like the opportunity to write about my experiences with places.

Also, well, you know I'm not that great of a writer, let alone a food blogger. Heck, I was too busy eating and enjoying the experience to get many photos. So please keep that in mind as well. Finally, I'm only going to focus on the FOOD, since trying to judge the wait times would be grossly unfair.

Interior photo, taken for Foursquare.

Now, the restaurant is located by the Barnes & Noble on 82nd St. between Castleton Square and Keystone at the Crossing, right before the bridge. The patio seating has a couple of fire pits and a lot of tables, and the inside seating had a large bar, and plentiful booths in a very warm and inviting room filled with televisions, and rock music playing at a good volume.

Our waitress was Jesse, who was really on it and looked excited to be part of the training/soft opening festivities. After informing us that it was, in fact, a complimentary meal to help work the kinks out, we were offered drinks. Alcohol was consumed, and we went into an appetizer or two.

Appetizers. Yum!

We wanted to try both the Fried Calamari and the Spinach & Artichoke Dip, which Jesse recommended trying with the lobster. We followed the recommendation, and they showed up a short time later. The Calamari was really good, being a mix of regular calamari, calamari rings, and fried zucchini and fried onions, with a really tasty dipping sauce. The addition of the lobster to the spinach & artichoke dip was stellar, although they could have added more tortilla chips to the platter, as they were pretty sparse. Either way, nothing to complain about.

Oh yeah, pics BEFORE devouring.

Moving to the main course, I had the Ribeye with mashed potatoes and green beans. The ribeye was medium rare, and was gloriously bloody. The mashed potatoes were more like smashed potatoes, with chunks of potato and skin mixed in, and were really tasty. The green beans were also well seasoned, and I cleaned my plate of the whole nine yards. I unfortunately didn't pay too much attention to what my parents had, although I did hear my father mention that the lobster bisque was a bit too salty, so hopefully that was just one of the kinks they're working out, and it will improve.

Since this was comped, and I was looking for the full experience, we actually ordered dessert. My parents split a Brownie Sundae, which looked so rich my teeth hurt, and I had the New York Cheesecake, which was not thick and dense like many other cheesecakes, but was very light, and the berry sauce drizzled on it almost had me licking the plate. After we were done, we spent time talking with Dave, the Manager, thanking him for the meal and asking if they wanted us to fill anything out, and then we were on our way.

Now, this was all free, so the question is, would I pay for it?

Yes.

The atmosphere was good, the service, even while training, was excellent. I can easily see getting off work and hanging out with some of the co-workers on the patio, grabbing a beer and waiting for traffic to die down. Oh, the beer... even without all the options that are on tap being available yet, they still had about 40 bottled beers available, so it's going to be fun drinking my way through those and making notes in Untappd on my beer journey.

So, tl;dr: Brewstone Beer Company is opening March 29th at 6PM. Information is located on their website, so please, check them out.

See you tomorrow,
Tony

Indianapolis Comic Con?

Good morning, everybody! First off, thank you for your patience with the posting yesterday. As I was typing it up, I realized that I took a lot of pictures of some great costumes, and I wanted to put some up there. Since I normally type up the blog posts while I’m at work, I don’t have the ability to add the photos to the postings, so I had to wait until I got home. So, thank you for your patience.

On the way home from the convention, we were talking about doing more conventions together, and the subject of a Comic Con in Indianapolis came up. Have you ever noticed that we don’t have a Comic Con? We have this huge, beautiful, world-class convention center, but we don’t have a comic con. That’s not to say we don’t have any conventions, however.

The biggest we have is GenCon, billed as the best four days in gaming. GenCon is held every summer and focuses on gaming, specifically tabletop, collectible card, and role playing games. They normally have some comics people, mainly web comics and publishers that focus on fantasy books, but not much in the way of actual comics and toys.

We also have a couple of smaller, fan run cons that I can think of. On the literary/fantasy front, we have InConJunction, and on the Trekkie/SciFi front, we have  Starbase Indy . I know we also have a few horror conventions in town, but since I’m not much of a horror geek, I don’t have much information on those.

If you go north on I-69 to Fort Wayne, there is Summit City Comic Con which is a wonderful little Comic Con that I also had a chance to hit the inaugural year of, but it’s not in Indianapolis. It’s close, but it’s not an Indianapolis Comic Expo.

Plus, I know there are other small, fan run cons out of Lafayette and Kokomo, and I'm sure there are others around the state, but they're all very difficult to track down sometimes.

I started a bit of a discussion of this on the Geeking in Indiana Facebook page last night, and there has shown to be a bit of interest. One thing I’ve remembered, though: there is no way that I would want to have any part of running another convention. I’ve had enough, and I much prefer to attend them than try to run them.

Anyway, this was just a random thought that helped pass the time driving back from Lexington on Sunday.

One exciting thing going on tonight is that I won an invite to the pre-opening of Brewstone Indy on the North Side tonight, and my reservation is for 5:30. Tomorrow, I’ll post information on whether or not this is worth it, an explanation on how I scored it, and whether it’s someplace I’ll want to hit again. It’s looking to be a good time, and I’m looking forward to it.

I hope you all have a great day, and I’ll see you tomorrow!
Tony

Lexington Comic and Toy Expo

Good morning, everybody! Did we have a good weekend? I know I did!

The entrance, WELL after opening. It was a madhouse for the first few hours.

As you probably know, this past Saturday we hit the Lexington Comic and Toy Expo down in Lexington, Kentucky. It was a one day convention, from 10-5, and it was my nephew’s first convention.  My nephew is almost 6 years old, and he’s a huge Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers fan. This convention’s draw was stars from the different shows, including the long running actors who play Tommy, Bulk, and Skull, so he was excited to meet all of them. Add the convention to the fact that he was able to stay at a hotel with an indoor pool and room service, and he was excited for the weekend. My brother just wanted to make sure they got autographs for his son and himself, plus he was looking for a Star Wars action figure based off the Expanded Universe character he had named his son after. Me, I just wanted to try to find an Eleventh Doctor’s Sonic Screwdriver.

First, let me say this: the convention center area down there is beautiful. Plus, if it were just my brother and I, there were plenty of watering holes for us to hit so we could grab a bite to eat and a brew. However, with a wee one, there didn’t seem to be THAT many family friendly places to eat, so that was kind of disappointing.

We showed up to get our wristbands at 9:30AM, and the venue was already starting to gather a crowd. The main hall had already been open for half an hour for the couple hundred VIP badge holders, but everyone else was waiting for the 10AM general admission opening. After getting our wristbands, we got into the line waiting to get into the hall. During the wait, there was a woman in a Pink Power Ranger costume working the line, along with the ever-present Imperial Stormtroopers of the 501^st Legion, which my nephew got his picture taken with.

Don't blink. Don't even blink.
Blink, and you're dead.

At 10AM the gates opened, and we started flowing in. Right as you got on the hall floor, there was a long banner with the con’s logo, which my nephew got his picture taken with. Then, they saw the Back To The Future DeLorean replica, and that was when my brother realized he had left his money back in the hotel room. Since he had the little one, and since I needed the exercise, I hot footed it back to the room to grab his money clip. By the time I got back, he had already scored his first autograph, his Green Arrow #1 which was signed by Mike Grell.

When I got back, we split off, with them going to start waiting in lines for autographs, and me going in hunt of the merchandise and just looking around. There was a LOT of long boxes of comics at this con, along with a lot of Power Rangers figures. Luckily, since I was solo on this portion, I was able to take my time, get the layout of the con.

Who ya gonna call?

One great thing about a convention isn’t just checking out the merchandise and guests, it’s the people who are attending. Outside of the normal 501^st Stormtroopers and Clone Troopers, there were also the Custom Mandalorians, the Ghostbusters, and a lone Jedi. I also saw a Dark Knight Batman, Phoenix, Rogue, Mal and Inara from Firefly, Walter from The Big Lebowski, characters from Scott Pilgrim, a Weeping Angel, an amalgamation of different versions of Doctor Who, an Eleventh Doctor, The Question, Doctor Fate, and not-Neil-Gaiman’s Sandman, Captain America and Red Skull, and of course furries and Steampunk. I know there were other costumes, but this is what I remember through the haze of the onset of Con Crud.

BTTF DeLorean from http://bttf.com

The DeLorean was also a big draw, and if it wasn’t for past experience I would have been drooling along with everyone else. I know my brother and nephew loved it, but being friends with DeLorean builders, and having seen some dead-on replicas that use parts taken from the same sources as the original cars, I was slightly disappointed. Honestly, though, it made people happy, and it was raising money for Team Fox, so I guess that’s okay. I’m still a little disappointed at them selling the Hot Wheels BTTF DeLorean toys for ten bucks a pop, though.

On the personal end, it was a great con. We were able to find everything that they were looking for, although I’m still without my Sonic Screwdriver. My nephew got to meet stars of his favorite show, get his picture taken in a car from a movie, and got to meet Stormtroopers, Batman and Ghostbusters. My brother got a comic signed by one of the creators he admires, found the toy he’d been looking for, and got his picture taken with an awesome Batman costumer. Me? I got another con under my belt, got some pictures of good costumers, and got to spend time with my brother and nephew. All in all, it was a good weekend.

Now, for the part of me that normally writes about conventions, and used to run conventions, I still think it’s a great convention. I’m not sure how many attendees they were planning for, but the con floor was packed almost the entire day, and most of the vendors I talked to were happy with the haul. They had a good variety of guests, and the attendees all seemed to be having a pretty good time. If anything, the corner with all of the Power Ranger stars was very congested due to the lines for autographs, but since you really don’t want to stick them out of the way, it was something that could be worked around.

On the way back, my brother already started talking about wondering if the convention was happening next year, and that we should make this a yearly thing. 

Congrats, Lexington Comic and Toy Expo, you have done your job properly.

See you tomorrow,
Tony

Con Geek History, Part Two

Good morning, everybody! Are we still doing okay? I hope so. Now, today I’m on my way back from Lexington, so I’m going to give you another day of convention experiences. I hope you don’t mind that I’m not really here, but this seemed like a great time to talk about past conventions I’ve been to.

I have had some great experiences at conventions, both as a guest and a host. However, some of my best experiences have been as a guest.

First, I remember a small convention that I found out about and hit when I was working at Big Entertainment back in the late 90’s. I don’t remember a name or precisely when it was, but it was a big deal to me because I got to meet both the great Luke Ski, and the gentlemen who work with Magic House Productions.

The great Luke Ski is a parody artist specializing in sci-fi and pop culture rap dementia, and since then I’ve had a chance to see him grow and improve, moving from small cons to being a backbone of the current Funny Music scene. He is regularly played on the Dr. Demento show, is a founding member of the FuMP, or the Funny Music Project, and is still as great a guy as he was when I met him.

Magic House Productions and its founder Marc Racop, which came out with Rock and Roll Starship, now also has a business building Adam West-era Batmobiles, licensed by Warner Brothers/DC Comics. If I’m not mistaken, they’re actually part of their DC Direct line. Both of these guys are great, and it’s outstanding seeing them succeed in their fields.

Next, at San Diego Comic Con back in 2001, I was walking around with Shannon. She was dressed as a Biker Scout from Return of the Jedi, and I was in an X-Wing Pilot costume. We had spent some time with the local 501^st contingent, and I was one of the only pilots there. Yes, I was blaze orange in a sea of white armor, and that is what I credit for what happened next.

I was approached by a film crew, a film crew headed by the guys who did American Movie, which someday I will seriously watch so I know who the heck they were. They were filming a segment for an upcoming episode of David Letterman. Being a fellow Hoosier and a showoff, I was more than willing to perform for them. So, I signed the disclosure papers, did my stint, struck a “heroic pose” and went on with the con, stopping for photos and talking with friends.

A few weeks later, I got a call from Worldwide Pants that I had made the cut. It turns out that I was towards the beginning of the bit. The guys from American Movie introduced themselves, they showed a wide shot of the con floor, and then they showed the shot of me in my “heroic pose” shooting up from the top of my boots to my glorious helmeted mug.

It’s great when your 15 minutes get wiped out in 2 seconds.

A few years later, Shannon and I were walking about GenCon in Indianapolis, this time she was dressed as a pirate, and I was a Rebel Fleet Trooper. That time, we were stopped by yet ANOTHER camera crew, this time headed up by Adam Sessler from X-Play on G4. Finally, someone we actually recognized. He interviewed us, commenting on the weird paring of a pirate and rebel cannon fodder, and we signed our forms and moved on. When we saw the bit later, we weren’t on it, but we were kind of glad because it look like he took some honest interviews and they were recut to be snarky and put people in a poor light.

You’d really expect better of a channel that caters to geeks.

Either way, conventions have provided some interesting experiences, and I’m never quite sure what’s going to turn up next.

Tomorrow, I’ll let you know if something turned up in Lexington.

Have a great day!
Tony

Con Geek History, Part One

Good day! This is your Virtual Tony, writing to you from yesterday. Since I’m in Lexington today, attending the Lexington Comic and Toy Expo, I decided to actually SCHEDULE a blog post or two, and remember my past conventions that I’ve been to.

My first convention was a Star Trek convention in Cincinnati, OH that I hit with a fellow Scout Camp counselor that we shall call “Waldo” back in the early 90’s. I remember that Majel Barrett-Roddenberry was there, and I THINK John DeLancie was there as well. That was my first real exposure to some of the different collectibles available for fans, having just gotten into Star Trek myself, and also my first exposure to movie prop and costume replicas. It was a good time, although Waldo’s car had issues, I had to carry the car battery to a shop, and battery acid ate a hole in my Spock shirt. Weird the stuff you remember, eh?

From there, I started hitting local conventions, like Starbase Indy or InConJunction, but mainly Starbase. I joined Starfleet Command, and started wearing costumes to cons, like a Star Trek: The Next Generation medical blue, or a fantasy-inspired cloak outfit. It was opportunities like this that got me into costuming and props, with garage kits available from groups like Paraphernalia from Beyond Planet X or Dimensional Privateer.

I also have had the chance to help run some small conventions in Anderson, IN. There were a few Paracon’s held at the Paramount Theater downtown, where we raised money for the Order of the Arrow chapter of the Boy Scouts and also for the restoration of the theater. There was also a small con at a hotel off I-69 that I worked with another group that I unfortunately don’t remember a lot about, even though it was a lot of fun. I also hit many smaller cons around Indiana, Ohio and Illinois, most of which were a good time.

When I moved to SoCal, I had a chance to hit the mother lode of cons, San Diego Comic Con, along with some smaller cons out there. It’s amazing how similar many cons are, it’s just the size and the scope. You’re not going to be stopped every 20 feet for a picture at Starbase Indy, where you will at a Comic Con or GenCon.

Back in Indiana, I’ve had a chance to hit Summit City Comic Con up in Fort Wayne for their inaugural convention, which was very nice and strictly comics. I’ve hit GenCon a couple times, once in costume and once in civvies. I’ve also continued to check out InConJunction and Starbase Indy.

Conventions also help provide some interesting experiences, some of which I’ll touch on tomorrow.

Until then, Live Long and Prosper.
Tony

This and That on a Friday

Good morning, everyone!

I’m a bit more well-rested today, and I’m only working a half day, so Friday is looking up. Sure, it’s raining, but it’s raining and in the 60’s so it’s actually kind of nice.

Don’t you love it when you have people walk up to your desk at work, you tell them you have a lot to do because you have a half-day, and they insist on talking to you all through their 15 minute break? Yeah, I try to be very sociable since, well, I AM the Front Desk face of the company, but seriously? You work here, you know better. Oh well, I’m probably wasting more time thinking about it than it actually took to do, so I’m just going to move on with life.

You know what isn’t that great about unseasonably warm weather? Insects think that it’s spring. I’ve already seen ants out and about, and wasps are already sighted in the office building. Oh well, minor quibble.

So, this weekend is the Lexington Comic and Toy Expo in Lexington, Kentucky. I’m leaving work early, meeting my brother for lunch, then picking up his son from school and heading on out. They’re excited because there are going to be many Power Rangers stars there. I’m just hoping to find an 11^th Doctor Sonic Screwdriver at a decent price, so I don’t have to order it online. I’m also planning on getting some shots of my little brother and nephew at their first convention, and tracking down good costumes. I also know that there are some other stars and artists that are going to be there, but since I’m not an autograph person, I’m not quite as excited about them. I am interested in the DeLorean that’s going to be there, and seeing if there are any 501^st and Rebel Legion members there.

I also believe this is one of the first years for this con, so that is going to be interesting. It’s always kind of cool to see a new convention in its infancy. You just need to remember not to compare it with some of the older, larger conventions you’ve been to.

I’m going to try to do some writing and schedule some blog posts for this weekend as well, so feel free to take a look at the site.

I hope you all have a great weekend, and I’ll see you tomorrow,
Tony

Long Day, Burnt Out

Good morning, folks.

Pardon me if I’m more scattered than usual this morning. I’ve had a busy day, and it’s not even lunch time.

Seriously, between re-learning to ride a bike at 4 AM, and then having to be in early and running around like a madman at work all morning, I am burnt out.

Oh, and I am not complaining. I’m glad I have work to get me this burnt out. However, it does cut into the thoughts I look to put out there into the ether.

However, since the ether doesn’t pay the bills, and the job does, guess which wins?

I’ll see you all tomorrow.

Tony

In Which I Ramble About Beer

All right, happy hump day, everybody! That’s right, it’s Wednesday!

So recently, a friend introduced me to yet ANOTHER Social Check In application called “Untappd.” This one is actually used for Beer. Yeah, it can be another version of “LOOK AT ME DOING THINGS, INTERNET!!!” or it can actually be used to keep track of a beer that you actually like, and where you found it.

I like to say I’m a novice homebrewer, but honestly, I have a Mr. Beer kit and I’ve done one batch. However, that is one batch more than some have done, and it was good, according to friends who drink that type of beer, so I guess I didn’t do that bad. However, since I didn’t know that much about any beer that’s not Guinness, I didn’t know how the Golden Lager was supposed to taste. So, in order to “improve my craft” I have felt the need to start trying some different ones when I’m out and about, or when I hit my Friendly Neighborhood Liquor Store, and no, I don’t know the name. I just know it’s on 96^th Street near Aldi’s.

Now, as I’m picking up beers there, I’ve noticed that I’ve failed in trying to expand my horizons. So far, I’ve had a Schlafly Oatmeal Stout from St. Louis Brewery, a Black Chocolate Stout from Brooklyn Brewery, a Too Cream Stout from Dark Horse Brewing, a Young’s Double Chocolate Stout from Wells & Young’s, and a Tres Blueberry Stout from Dark Horse.

I know, the way to branch out to other types of beer than Guinness is NOT by drinking other stouts, but it’s what I gravitate towards, so I’ll have to pay closer attention next time I’m shopping.

Now, when I’ve been out, I’m a little more attuned to what I’m trying. When I hit the Castleton Grill, I tried a Wee Mac Scottish Ale by Sun King. That was a tasty drink, for some reason that tasted better the second time I tried it. However, during my father’s surprise retirement shindig, I tried a Dragonfly IPA by Upland Brewing, and I wasn’t too fond of it.

So far, one thing I have noticed is that I’m not a fan of India Pale Ale’s. At least, that is what I think IPA stands for. There is something about them that tastes off to me, and they are very… well, I don’t know how to describe it other than something I just don’t like.

A major issue with trying to figure these out is that I don’t know squat about the different types, the flavors, what it means when a beer is too “hoppy” or things like that. I’m just buying, trying, and making notes on whether or not it’s something I would drink again.

So how about you? Do you have any recommendations? Any tips, any tricks?

Feel free to let me know. Or don’t. Whatever works for ya.

See you tomorrow,
Tony

Evaluating My Goals

All right, it’s Tuesday. Counting down until I head to Lexington on Friday.

Well, I’m getting back on the horse. Last night, I went back to the fitness center and hit the treadmill. It wasn’t nearly as fast as it has been, but I still put in 30 minutes. I’m just… yeah. I’m back up to the weight I was last year when I got started trying to drop, and I’m pretty ticked at myself.

I’m behind on my goals, and I’m dropping some things to be a bit more realistic.

First, I’ve realized that I no longer have the time, the money, or the interest in movie prop and costume replication. I’m going to fade out of that. I’m not caring any more about Star Wars groups, or costuming at conventions, or anything like that. Heck, I’m not quite sure how many more conventions I’m really THAT interested in attending.

Also, I have decided that I am not, in fact, going to take up knitting. Money is tight, and I don’t have enough to keep up with current hobbies, let alone take up new ones.

I am, however, going to continue with the blogging. Keeping up with this blog and trying to get the Geeking blogs up and running again are going to become part of my “hobby” focus.  I really need to get them both back up and running, but I’ve been more focused on actually getting the computer that I’m going to run them on actually up and running. Plus, I think Shannon might have some ideas on things she wants to get online, so I need to have everything clean and organized in case she wants to add something to it as well.

And of course, there is the exercise. I’ve lost my focus since Shannon left for Cali, and I need to pick it back up. I’m thinking it should help my attitude and my general focus. Plus, with the unseasonably warm temperatures as of late, I have no excuse not to get out of the apartment and do something. I also need to look into some vitamins or something to help with joints. Fish oil, or something like that? My knees click something fierce, and it kind of worries me. That’s another reason why I don’t walk/bike as much as I’d like, is the worry about my knees just saying “I give up!” and no longer carrying me around like they’re supposed to.

Either way, let’s see if I can end March on a strong note, and carry forward into April.

See you all tomorrow,
Tony

After Sunday, Comes Monday

Good morning, everybody. Did you all have a good weekend? I know I had a busy one. Well, maybe not quite busy, but definitely full.

Friday night I headed out to the middle of nowhere to house sit for my folks. I was there through Saturday night, pretty much just watching films and eating too much home-made pizza. By the time I got home Saturday night, I just cracked a beer in honor of St. Patrick’s Day, and crashed. Days like that make me realize that I should get a buffer of posts built up for weekends, but I digress.

Sunday was the normal laundry, cleaning, and PC day. However, it didn’t start until late, since I slept in, and I got bored with the PC and turned on Fallout 3 for a few hours. Yep, I’ve got newer games, games I’ve never completed, and I’m playing Fallout 3 again.

I learned some things this weekend as well. First, I have a beautiful, nice bicycle that’s just been sitting in the closet since I got it. It’s in great shape, but the tires are flat. So, I pick up a tire pump at WalMart, and I go to fill up the tires.

Did you know they have more than one type of bicycle tire valve stem? I didn’t. So now, I’m trying to get air in my tires. I was able to find the adapter that I’m supposed to use, but I am still having problems. I might have to hit up Bicycle Garage Indy on my way home from work, to find out what I’m doing wrong. Honestly, putting air in a bike tire should not be this difficult.

I have another busy week ahead. I’m working for Friday, when I’m going to be heading down to Lexington, Kentucky for the Lexington Comic and Toy Expo with my brother and nephew. I guess my nephew really wanted Uncle Tony to go, and who am I to say no to a convention? So, if I don’t have a buffer post written, that will be another Saturday and Sunday with no posts/weak posts going up. Perhaps it would be a good time to post up some convention memories.

Oh, and no, I did not by the New iPad.

I hope you all have a great week, and I’ll see you tomorrow.

Tony

Out of it

No post yesterday.

Just this today.

I'll write more tomorrow, since I have to be at work, and I'll have the time. Right now, is rest.

T

Odd Wants During Nice Weather

You ever just get hit with a weird urge to do something that you haven’t done in years?

I’m a former Boy Scout. Actually, I’m an Eagle Scout, although I haven’t done anything with the program since the mid-nineties. However, I used to go camping at least once a month during the spring and summer. This is something that I haven’t done in years, but looking out the windows these past few beautiful days makes me regret the button up/bow tie office just a bit.

You know, until I remember I have the need to eat and provide for my family, which I wouldn’t trade for anything.

However, the idea of grabbing a tent and some basics, and if nothing else just heading over to Turkey Run State Park to spend the next few days camping and hiking is stuck in my head. Yeah, it’s not really roughing it, but it is a beautiful park with some great trails and some really nice scenery.  I’ve spent time there with Scouts, with friends, and with my wife, and I have no issue heading back at any time.

We’re just going to gloss over the fact that I don’t have enough time off, a tent, a sleeping bag, or the opportunity to head over there any time soon.

Things like this come to me when the girls are out of town.

I’m not trying to put any stereotypes out there, but Shannon refuses to go out and sleep anywhere that doesn’t have a private shower. That kind of shoots down anywhere that doesn’t have a AAA Rating and a roof. Combine that with the lack of needed equipment, and camping is right up there with the rest of the things I’m not doing any time soon.

Like seeing my toes.

Tony

Ruminations On This Space

I’m not much of a writer.

I admit it. I never paid attention to my English classes in school, so my sentence structure is horrid. I’m a decent speller, and of course we all have Spell Check now, so that’s not a concern. Creative writing courses were never in my interest because, honestly, NO courses were in my interest, which would explain the sheer amount of Unauthorized Withdraws that caused me to leave college my third term. I have a tendency to go on an unplanned tangent. I write as I think, which isn’t that organized and sometimes makes sense only to me.

And yet, here I am, pumping out blog posts almost every day. I think that, since I began doing this at the beginning of the year, I can still count the number of days that I’ve missed posting on one hand. Some of my postings I have received good feedback on, most of them just sit there. I’ve had a few that have received multiple hits, most have had a half dozen hits, while a couple have had no hits what so ever.

There are days that I just don’t want to write, there are days where the words are not even there. There are days where the posting is only a few lines long, and then there are those who take a page and a half in Word before I copy them over here where someone can read them, if they so desire.

I’m not doing this to push readership, or advertising. I’d keep going if I wasn’t getting any hits to the site. I have ads up here just in the off chance I can recoup some costs for other websites I run. Okay, think I run. Realistically, they’re kind of abandoned at the moment. Anyway, I’m not doing this for readership, or to get anything out there, or any sort of enrichment of others.

I’m just doing this.

Like I said at the beginning of the year, I’m curious to see if I could maintain the output needed in order to maintain a personal blog. So far, and this doesn’t cover everything, I’ve put in 69 pages, and 26,090 words into Microsoft Word, which is where I write everything when I’m at work. I’ve had other posts that aren’t in here, and I have the one from December 30 th that I really don’t count towards my 2012 goal.

They’re not all good, they’re not all quality, but they are all mine, and I’m going to keep spewing them out there, moving towards 100 posts, and beyond.

Have a great day,
Tony

Little Things Pile Up

Happy Pi Day.

You know, normally I don’t have much to complain about, but sometimes the little stuff piles up. I’m still dealing with a burst water heater from last week, and while they did have someone come in and clean all the carpets, the fumes from the cleaning chemicals kept me awake most of the night and I had a headache most of Tuesday. Luckily, it was warm enough that I could have the windows open to air it out a bit, so it could have been worse. When I went home Tuesday, the fumes weren’t nearly as bad.

Tuesday evening, as I was starting to get some more files transferred from my dying laptop to the new desktop, bam! All the lights go out, and my laptop goes to battery power. I get up and look out the patio door, and there are lights on across the pond on the other side of the complex. I check my breaker box, nothing’s been switched. Then I look out the Geekling’s window, and everything is dark on our side of the complex. So, I just finish laying out my stuff for the morning and crawl into bed. Right as I’m starting to pass out, everything comes back on. I’m STILL trying to figure out what made the screeching beep when the power came back on, but I nearly soiled myself. So, I reset everything, hook the wifi back up, and pass out.

2AM. At 2AM I’m awakened by my upstairs neighbors who think it’s acceptable to not tread lightly when it’s late, at let’s admit, 2AM is LATE. It took me a half hour to get back to sleep over the thrum of their TV and the fact that they could not stand still in the room above my bedroom. I really don’t want to come off like a jerk, especially since we have a toddler who doesn’t understand the phrase “inside voice” when playing inside, but seriously. I need to have a talk with them and let them know how not cool it is. That way, if it continues, I will not feel bad or hesitate to start filing complaints at the office. If they DO decide to bring up the Geekling, then I will have to pull out their constantly barking/howling beagle.

So I finally get back to sleep, and my alarm goes off this morning. As I’m getting dressed, I go to put the tie on, and the knot isn’t working with me again. This is seriously not cool. Before the power went out last night, I did a quick practice run and nailed it. I wake up this morning, and go to put on the tie, follow the same steps, and it doesn’t work for me. So, I’m rocking the clip on again.

It’s all stupid little stuff, but it’s the sort of stuff that piles up and gets to you. Now, it’s Wednesday, and I’m exhausted, dark circles under my eyes, and ready for 5PM to get here at 9AM. I have to keep listening to CNN which is never good for my attitude. However, I will make it. I always do.

They say that which does not kill you, only makes you stronger. I’d rather stick with free weights.

Hope we all have a better day,
Tony

I Miss My Golf Clubs

I miss my golf clubs.

They’re not expensive golf clubs, nor are they particularly high quality golf clubs, but they are my golf clubs. The problem is, my golf clubs are nowhere near my location. They’re located in the storage unit in Southern California. They’re not buried, either. They’re right across the front door. They’re right there, but unless I want to purchase a case for them so I can fly them back out here, they’re kind of stuck there until I either get a moving truck to move everything back out here, or I find a job that allows me to live in Southern California, and neither seems to be in the cards for the moment.

I’m not a particularly good golfer, nor do I play it often. I normally only play 9 holes, and I believe I’ve only ever really played on one, MAYBE 2 courses. Which courses, you might ask? I honestly couldn’t tell you. Oh, wait, I have Google. Let’s see… Hancock County Golf Courses. Nope, not Hancock County, Iowa. Hancock County Indiana Golf Courses. Ah ha! Arrowhead is the one I’ve been to the most, and it looks like the ONLY one I’ve hit. It looks like, from the map, that while I normally play the front 9, I have played the back 9 once. Whoops.

I’ve come in under par once, and I don’t think I’ve EVER cleared the small pond in front of the green on, well, let’s look at that map again. Okay, it’s the 4 th hole. My long drives are neither long nor do they drive well. My putting can’t stand on a course with a windmill, let alone a real golf course. I’m just not very good at it, and I really haven’t put any practice or work into getting better.

Then why do I miss my golf clubs?

It’s time that I can spend with my father and my brother. Golfing is the closest we have to “man time.” It’s a couple hours where we can rib on each other, congratulate each other, and just relax. Normally cigars are passed around, although now that I have quit smoking, I’m not sure how much I will partake of that, and we pass over the alcohol in favor of actual hydration, but it’s still a good time.

Now that my father is retiring, he has a membership to Arrowhead, so I know he’ll be spending more time out there. I know my brother will be spending time with him as well, and I wish I had my clubs, so I could join them too.

You never know how much time any of us have left, so you have to take advantage of the time you have.

Have a great day,
Tony

It's Monday, Again

Good Monday, everybody. Did we have a good weekend? Have we got all of the complaining about Daylight Saving Time out of our system? I do hope so, I’m personally running out of ways to politely tell people to move to Arizona or Hawaii.

I don’t know about you, but it’s been a busy weekend for me. After work on Friday, I had to drive down to the Wyndham by the old airport for a shindig for my father. He’s retiring at the end of April, and they wanted to recognize him at his last conference, and they wanted his family there to surprise him. So, after being up since 6AM and putting in a work day, I drove from the office at Keystone, at 5PM, down to the old airport, and was there until about 11PM.

This was easier when I was younger.

Anyway, it was a success. He didn’t even see us come in and have a seat at a table in the front row. All he knew was one moment we were there, and the next moment we were. They also showed a slide show covering his years working with the organization, and then we snuck away for dinner, since my nephews were also there, and you don’t keep small children in a meeting if you want anything done in said meeting. My brother’s family left a bit early, but I stuck it out for the cake and reception. That’s why it was so late.

Friday was also my brother’s birthday, but with dad’s shindig, we really didn’t get a chance to celebrate until Saturday. We were meeting in Hagerstown for dinner at the old Welliver’s, but I had to head out a bit early because, even though I had his gift, I needed a card and a gift bag. I went to the Hallmark on 96 th Street since I knew it was on the way to his house, picked up the stuff, went out to the car to pack it up…

And realized I had left the gift back at the apartment.

Normally, this would just be a quick jaunt back, but I live in Castleton. You know what traffic is like in Castleton on a Saturday? Yeah, it’s stupid. Stupid like me leaving the gift at home, so I guess it’s a good match.

Luckily I made it back, got the gift, and got out of dodge. Brother enjoyed gift, we all went to dinner, we came back, I bought craft beer, and I went home.

Sunday was a normal day of laundry, cleaning, and putting in work orders at the apartment office. I felt bad for the office staff because the bag of douche in front of me obviously didn’t get the “Don’t Be A Dick” memo, but with me, it went well.

With a busy weekend, I didn’t put much up. Heck, Saturday I didn’t put ANYTHING up. Sorry if you were disappointed, but since you never say anything…

Have a great week, and I’ll see you all tomorrow!
Tony

Taking a Break

Not writing too much this weekend, too much else going on.

But I did want to put this out there.

If you don't like switching your clocks around for Daylight Savings Time, move to Hawaii or Arizona and stop filling up my social media feeds with your complaining.

Thank you,
Tony

Don't Be A Dick

And it’s Friday again! That exciting magical day that only means anything if you have a Monday through Friday gig. If you’re one of those lucky people, it means you get to do your shopping and relaxation along with everyone else that works Monday through Friday, so enjoy that. Otherwise, you’ll be one of those in the service industry that has to deal with those who work Monday through Friday, so enjoy that as well.

Since I am one of those Monday through Friday people, yet I’ve also been one of those weekend Service Industry people, that is why when I DO have to go out and be a consumer on the weekend, I’m really trying to keep a good attitude, be patient, and be pleasant.

I could go on for pages about how people treat people in the service industry, be it retail, or fast food, or at a theme park, but it can really be distilled down to a few major points.

·         You are not always right. Whoever came up with that did not take into account self-entitlement.

·         If you treat a worker like crap, don’t complain when you don’t get outstanding service. You know what? Service workers are human too. “Well, if they don’t like it, they should just find another job.” You know what? Have you seen the job market? Not happening. Have you ever realized that it’s not the fact they hate the job, it’s the fact that they hate you and your self-entitled butt that’s treating them like a piece of minimum wage garbage who’s beneath your “station”?

·         Seriously, in the words of Wil Wheaton: Don’t be a dick.

Of course, it would help if the managers would back up their employees, and if THEIR corporate managers would back them up when they called a customer on being a scamming, self-entitled piece of garbage. Well, maybe not using those exact words, but you know what I mean. I know Pay Less Shoe Source is bad at backing up their employees and their managers against a customer who’s known for scamming the system, and abusing the staff, and that’s why I don’t shop there anymore.

With that, I’m going to ask that as you go out this weekend, be kind not only to your fellow shoppers, but also to those who are working in the stores and the theaters, the markets and the parks. It’s obviously not a job you are willing to do, so respect those who are.

Have a great weekend,
Tony

Short Thursday Blurb

First things first, I’m actually wearing a bow tie to work that I didn’t just clip around my neck and go. I think I’m starting to figure out the knot needed to make this all bowey around my headstalk. I can honestly say this is the proudest I’ve been of a knot I’ve learned, and I’ve messed with a good number in my history in Scouting.

Second, I went home a bit early yesterday, and my apartment still had not been worked on. I was very polite when I walked in to the office, and they promised that it would be taken care of immediately. So I went out, picked up my brother’s birthday gift, checked for more inexpensive bow ties at Macy’s, was completely ignored by sales people at Penny’s, and visited a friend at Half Price Books. By the time that was done, I went back and the carpets were cleaned. However, my water pressure is still lousy, and there is a slight funk in the apartment. They said they’d work on the water pressure, and if the funk is still there next week, then I’m back to the office to complain more.

I hope everybody has a great day, and if you’re in Indy, try to stay dry!

Tony

Not A Good Wednesday

My little brother’s birthday is Friday. I know what I want to get him, but I’ll be damned if I can remember where I found it.

Anyway.

How are YOU doing today? Personally, I’m having some issues with the apartment that are throwing me off, stressing me out, and so I’m exhausted. Once I see how this is handled, I’m actually probably going to throw a posting up about it since it’s been an ongoing issue since before I moved in, so don’t ask what’s going on right now.

Not like anyone IS going to ask. I have had a couple of people comment on here, and a couple bits of feedback on Twitter, but I’m not sure past there how many hits I get are people actually READING this.

Moving on.

So, this Sunday is when we “spring forward” for Daylight Savings Time. I’ve seen some shock and complaint about “ALREADY?!?!?!” and how it is perhaps one of the worst things that has happened in their life.

Folks, this happens every year. It should come as a surprise to no one. You don’t act surprised when Christmas is coming, or that Easter is right around the corner. Maybe if we had decorations around the mall, with car dealers and furniture stores having major sales, then people would be aware.

Anyway, with the issues at the apartment damaging my calm, I feel that this can get really snarky really quick, and I’m trying to avoid the snark.

I hope you all have a great day, and I hope the issue is resolved when I get home.
Tony

SwagBucking

Good morning, everybody!

I’m very excited right now. I finally got enough in my Amazon account to order the two Matt Smith Doctor Who Christmas Episodes, Christmas Carol and The Doctor, The Widow, & The Wardrobe, on Blu-Ray. And I didn’t spend a dime of real money, it was all from the different apps that I’ve been trying out, mainly SwagBucks.

FYI, those Blu-Ray discs were almost $30 together.

And the good thing is, I still have about $10 pending approval in SwagBucks, and I’m going to be able to cash in for another $5 tonight.

Seriously, if anyone is curious, I added a widget to the right hand side of the page. Feel free to check it out, or just go ahead and click http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/tokarrai to give me a direct referral.

I like the referrals, because I get to earn off the search points as well. I recently heard from the person I signed up under, and I guess I’ve earned him about 475 points in the last month and a half or so, so he’s received $5 off of me. Hey, since nobody is looking to get rich off of this, it’s cool.

I’m going to push this every so often, because hey, a little extra cash never hurts anyone. Just remember, you’re probably going to be signing up for stuff, so use an e-mail address that you don’t mind spam coming to, and if you need a phone number, I recommend one through Google Voice that isn’t hooked up to any other line.

Have fun with it, and I’ll see you tomorrow!
Tony

This & That & WalMart on a Sunday

First, let me say this: Learning to tie a bow tie is difficult. I mean, wow, is this a weird knot. I’m an Eagle Scout, I know weird knots, and this is a weird knot. However, I will persevere, I will defeat this knot, and I will be rocking the real bow ties.

Oh, and the apple yesterday? Crunchy, and just a bit tart. It was a delicious apple, and a lot better for me than Cadbury Cream Egg Salad.

Does anyone else think it’s messed up that it’s snowing? Not necessarily that it’s snowing in March, because this is still Indiana, but the fact that it’s snowing after the warm weather last week, and the mess of bad weather on Friday, and then they’re talking about 60’s in the next couple of days? However, I guess I shouldn’t be too thrown off, since this IS Indiana. I remember going on a camping trip to a Boy Scout camp in Southern Indiana in July, and we had a freeze one night down there. In July. Yeah. I love this state.

So, it is Monday, which begins a fresh new week. However, I’m not doing any review of last week, nor am I writing down plans for this week. Why is that? Well, honestly, I have been having a lousy time keeping up with them, so I’m just trying to center myself, and start March off fresh.

Speaking of centering myself and starting fresh, have you ever tried shopping at a WalMart on a Sunday, especially in the early afternoon? If you are wanting to test your ability to keep a positive attitude, test your ability to be patient with your fellow man, and just generally test yourself every which way, do it. If you REALLY want it to be a full test, try hitting the one on 96 th Street in Fishers, because then you have all the traffic to test you as well. My trip yesterday involved people cutting over from the onramp lanes to I-69, to cutting across the parking lot lanes, ignoring the traffic going the right direction. Inside the store, I had people camped out in front of products for 10 minutes, looking at nutritional info with their cart blocking everything else. There was a woman going through produce that the poor team member had yet had a chance to put on the shelf, with her cart abandoned in the middle of the aisle, with other people’s carts around it so the aisle was completely blocked off. There was a man right in the middle of the toothbrushes, just staring. Then, you hit the blessed Free Sample kiosks, which we won’t get started on. So what did I do around this?

I pushed my cart carefully, I peeked out before I left an aisle and went into another one. I was friendly, I was smiling, I helped people get things off high shelves, I yielded to people in tight packed aisles, and I generally took my time and tried to be pleasant. It made it better for me, hopefully better for others, and it went by quickly. Plus, it was a shock to see the look on their faces when I was helpful and considerate, especially when I was like that to the employees.

Everybody, this week and every week, try to do the same. If we’d all be a bit more patient and friendly, we’d all have a better week.

Make it a great one, Tony

It's Sunday

I wish I could say I had something funny or witty for you today, but it's been a busy day preparing for the return of the wife and the Geekling.

Oh, and I ate an apple.

While I'm at it, what would you think of an Egg Salad made from Cadbury Cream Eggs? Replace the mayo with either whipped cream or Nutella? I dunno, it makes my teeth hurt just thinking about it.

I hope you all had a great weekend, and I'll see you tomorrow.
Tony

Bow Ties

I wear a bow tie now. Bow ties are cool.

So my job is a very "business casual" atmosphere. Mainly polo shirts and khakis, occasionally a bowling shirt or a button up shirt, but no one wears ties.

Except me.

I don't know why, I think it was first on a dare, then it stuck, but when somebody walks into the office, one of the first things they see is my mug, dressed in a shirt and a tie.

Well, I decided to kick it up a notch.

Like a chunky, dorky Orville Redenbacher.

Yeah, I have a bunch of Doctor Who fans in the office, so I got a lot of the "Bow ties are cool" comments. However, let's face the facts. I'm a costumer, I know how this works. I look NOTHING like Matt Smith. I don't rock the bow tie as well as Matt Smith. I am much more comparable to, maybe, Jimmy Olsen or Orville Redenbacher. I've also had comparisons drawn with a barbershop quartet and a soda jerk. The fact is, I'm rocking the tie, so I have to have fun with it.

The tie I'm pictured wearing is actually one of the kinds I really don't have to tie. I just put it around my neck and go. The two pictured above, however, are actual bow ties. I have to educate myself on their proper application tomorrow.

Thank you, Tie A Tie Dot Net.

When I have it figured out, and have it on, I'll get the pictures up so you too can revel in the glory that is a bow tie.

Because no matter what I look like, the Doctor is right. Bow ties are cool.

Now where's my fez.

Tony

Friday Time

Good morning, peoples. It’s Friday. We’ve made it through another week. Don’t we feel accomplished? Anything? Are we at least happy we’re still drawing breath? All right, excellent.

So does anyone have any big plans this weekend? I know I’m heading out for a flick and dinner with some friends tonight, then I’m heading down to Edinburgh Outlets tomorrow with my folks. Yeah, I’m still family-free, and I will be until the end of the month. Then Sunday, it’s going to be responsibility day, what with the laundry and the house cleaning and the grocery shopping for the week.

So anyway, you know it’s going to be a good day when it starts with Human Resources asking you to make sure the emergency radios are charged and ready to go. Yeah, working on the 17^th floor does have some downsides with tornado threats, I guess.

I hope everyone has a great weekend, and I hope you make it through it smiling, happy, and perhaps a few bucks richer.

I like money.

Tony

Long Hours Eat Away at Everything

It’s March! We’re Marching towards the end of the week, slowly but steadily.

Yesterday, I pulled into work around 7:10, and I left work around 7:15. And that’s AM and PM. Yeah, talk about a late dinner.

So, while dinner was cooking, I pulled up the Avengers trailer that I’d been trying to watch all day, but no place would stream to my phone.

Is it May 4^th yet?

Anyway, I made enough for two nights so I wouldn’t have another hour wait for food tonight, so that will be nice.

With this new work schedule, I’m still trying to figure out how to get to the fitness center. After 12 hours, I have no food in my stomach so I can’t go right after work. Once I get home, cook dinner and eat, it’s almost 9. I want to give the food time to digest, so the earliest I’m looking at getting there is 10-10:30. By the time I reach that point, I’m too fried to want to do anything other than pass out.

And trying to get up early has been a complete and utter failure.

Oh well, I can’t complain too much. I’m back to eating better, so I’m losing weight again, I’m just not getting fitter, which is my other goal.

We’ll see what happens.

Have a great day, people!
Tony