In 1998, I began working for myself. Thirteen years later, on Oct 4, 2011, I left the basement, put on clothes (had to buy a wardrobe actually), and rejoined corporate America to work 8-5 in Cubeville (think Dilbert) with the understanding I could maintain a little freelance on the side to support my existing clients. Although I am a full-time, benefited employee, I am technically classified as an LDA (Long Duration Appointment) which basically means I am on a three year contract which renews annually. Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing for my position to reclassify it from LDA to a regular employee. The catch? Outside candidates have applied so if today’s interview goes poorly, or the other candidates’ interviews go exceptionally well, I may find myself out of work and trying to re-establish my consulting career. Am I nervous? Oh yes, totally wigged out.
Category: Daily Life
Ramblings, often stream of conscious, journaling the events of my life.
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Stranded
Before I was of age to drive, I worked at a bus company "cleaning" the buses. I really learned to drive the buses (everything from 21 seater buses to full size city buses) including sliding them around in the snow for fun. I also drove the cars of the employees of the bus company and the surrounding businesses as they would pay us to wash their vehicles.
In high school, I learned to drive in a station wagon then had the pleasure of rebuilding a Triumph Spitfire.
In college I walked and used the bus for 3 years then bought a Dodge D50 pickup which was estimated to have a year’s life left in it. I made it last 5 years.
My first brand new vehicle was a 1995 (purchase date Nov 1994) Jeep Wrangler. It ran until a few weeks ago when the head gasket developed a horrid leak and it now sits in the driveway awaiting evaluation and repair. The engine may be beyond repair.
My wife’s first brand new vehicle was a 1995 Dodge Neon. It ran until a couple of weeks ago when it finally just died on the Interstate and was towed to the house. It is either a) a timing belt problem which is internal to the engine and makes the car scrap metal, b) a head gasket repair similar to the Jeep, or c) (hopefully!) a bad water pump.
We’ve been through other cars including an Aerostar, a red Ford thing that I cannot recall the name of, a motorcycle, and of course our current primary mode of transportation, a Dodge Grand Caravan.
Today, the Caravan decided it no longer wanted to shift gears. The diagnosis? A transmission rebuild and the family eats ramen noodles for the rest of the month.
A family of 7, with 6 people still at the house, 5 of driving age, 3 with licenses and a 4th taking his driving test today, goes from 3 cars to zero in a matter of weeks. Knoxville really needs better public transportation! And I need a full-time mechanic at the house!
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Reintegrating with society
I’ve been 7 nights in the Utah canyons (8 days) with 2 days in a hotel on either end for a total of 10 days away from the usual rigaramor (hmmm. can’t find a proper spelling nor definition). I swore to return with a clean mouth and even temper. I did return super chill but am finding my reintegration into society trying to drag me back into the pre-canyon temperament as strongly as the Sirens tempted ships to the rocks. I will not succumb!
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Packing Weight
Instead of waiting until the morning of our departure, I’m starting to pack early this time. Granted, I probably should have been packed by now. So, how much does my gear weigh? Let’s list it as we go:
- A 20 year old Osprey pack: 7 pounds
- Moonstone sleeping bag: 2 pounds
- Clothing: 5 pounds
- …more to come
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That time of my life…again
To accomplish the mass number of things that must be achieved before I can go camping for 10 days with my son, I must start brewing coffee at both 8am and 8pm. Deadlines must be met! No slippage allowed.
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Happy Memorial Day
In case you are unclear, Memorial Day is the holiday we remember the fallen soldiers. Veterans Day is when we honor the living soldiers. Memorial Day has its origins from the Civil War in a practice called Decoration Day when people would place flowers on graves of the soldiers. May 30th was Memorial Day. In 1968, Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act to increase the number of three day weekends for federal employees. Memorial Day officially moved to the last Monday of May in 1971.
Please be safe this weekend. The weather is beautiful! Relax some and be sure to take a moment to remember those soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice.
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Yesterday / Today
Yesterday, I worked hard and found a good stopping point on my project. My reward was getting to take Cathy, Amy, and Evan to a friend’s house for a Memorial Day weekend cookout. What fun!
Today I have to continue working on my project, I have volunteer work for the Boy Scouts that must be done, I need to begin packing for the backpacking trip to Utah, I need to order our final gear, I want to work on Amy’s clubhouse, I have to clean the garage, and we will have more Memorial Day family activities.
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Such a beautiful day!
Tis a beautiful Sunday
On a three day weekend
The sun shines brightly
And I think of working on Amy’s clubhouse
I imagine playing with my children
Riding bikes and swimming
Frisbee golf and adventures
Explorations and local attractions
I think of cleaning the garage
And improving the house
All while typing away at my computer
So that perhaps the next beautiful Sunday
I can make these things a reality. -
Bumping into friends
Knoxville really is a small community. Today is Evan’s birthday so while at Weigel’s buying milk, I decided to treat him to Krispy Kreme donuts. Of course, I walk into Krispy Kreme and lo and behold there’s a friend of mine with his daughter. We enjoyed catching up over donuts and coffee. Always finding a friend is one of Knoxville’s more pleasant attributes.
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Evening goal – relax
I really wanted to have a nice relaxing Saturday night to clear my head and find some extra happiness. Oh, of mice and men! Slow FTP. What could I do? Naturally, run to the steamed broccoli drive-thru. While at the local Chinese buffet, struggling to understand what the staff was trying to say, my phone buzzed with a panicked child, "The bathroom is flooding! Come right away!" I reply, "but I’m not at home." The ten year old quandaries, "where are you?" My head explodes, picturing a naive child talking on the phone, a wife unknowingly cleaning in the basement, while rivers flow through my home. All was well. The flood was bad. But our saving grace, were the tampons for they absorbed it well.
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Memorial Day Weekend
This is Memorial Day Weekend. To comply with the Uniform Monday Holiday Act of 1968, in 1971 Memorial Day was moved from May 30th to the last Monday of May thus creating a beloved three day weekend. Some people want to return the holiday to May 30th as they feel people have forgotten the roots of Decoration Day, a day of observance to mourn the dead of the Civil War, and that respect for our fallen solders has been overshadowed by vacations to the beach.
This Memorial Day weekend, I celebrate two of my children’s birthdays, I plan to spend 30-40 hours on a client’s project, dig through a decade’s worth of statements and receipts, and I will remember our fallen solders.
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Looking back 10 years
Right now I’m sitting down with a tax professional to review my past decade’s tax returns. See, I goofed an eon ago and skipped filing taxes. Had I filed, I would have received a substantial refund. Having not filed, Uncle Sam got mad and billed me for a ridiculous amount of money (5 digits). This tax bill has been a pain. If all goes well today, this will finally be put to bed; of course, it will take the IRS 10 or more weeks to finalize the paperwork so the party will have to wait until then. The lesson? ALWAYS file your taxes!
Update: It’s never good when the IRS agent on the phone makes your tax professional slam her fist on the desk and declare "bitch" after hanging up. However, that’s now one motivated tax professional! In short, over the past decade I’ve lost, not owed but lost, tens of thousands of dollars to the IRS. And they want more.
My Uncle Sam does bad things to me. It’s been our secret since 2002.
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From the mouths of babes
Tommy: "We need a kitten."
Me: "No we don’t."
Tommy: "I’ll take good care of it."
Me: "When you have your own place to live, you can have a kitten."
Cathy: "If you clean the litter box for our cat every day for one month, you can have a kitten."
Tommy: "Yea!"
Me: "Make it six months."
Cathy: "One month."
Me: "I don’t want another cat!"
12 days later, Tommy: "12 days and I’ve cleaned the litter box every day."I think I have roughly 18 days to build Tommy a small apartment near Amy’s clubhouse.