Working out

One of the perks of my job here is I get a free family memebership to the fitness club here in Great Bend.  Until yesterday I’d never utilized it.  But Andrea and I decided that it couldn’t hurt us to be a little more active.  I already knew that I was phenomenally out of shape.  That and I could stand to lose a few pounds so starting this week we’re going to start going at least twice a week.

I’m certainly no health nut, so I couldn’t tell you what a “smart” workout is supposed to be like, but we started out 20 minutes on a treadmill.  I did a brisk walking pace of 4 mph.  I was quite embarrassed by how quickly my calves and shins developed that burning sensation.  But it was tolerable, so I powered through at the same pace for 15 minutes.  I planned on running the last five minutes, but I could only make it about three and a half before I slowed it back down.  Now my chest was burning in addition to my legs.  I used the last few minutes to cool down at a walking pace, and when I stepped off my legs felt real weird.  Like they were going to keep walking away without the rest of me!

Next they had a bunch of equipment setup to work different muscles, so we went down the line.  I tried to do two sets of 10 on each piece of equipment.  Some I could, some I couldn’t.  The one that really kicked my ass has you hanging at a 45 degree incline doing crunches.  I got about 15 in and that was all I could handle.  So I went over and picked up some dumbells and tried to look like I knew what I was doing, but I could tell I was starting to get a little queasy from the crunch session.

I don’t really remember what Andrea was saying at the time.  All I remember is feeling real shaky and then a cold chilled sensation on my face.  I took long deep breaths trying to get the nausea to subside, but the more I thought about it, the more overwhelming it became.  She was in mid-sentence when I calmly headed straight for the front door.  When I was outside in the freezing cold in shorts and a shirt, I took the opportunity to color me some snow.

Oh how out of shape I am!  But I guess that’s why we’re doing this.  I don’t have any aspirations of running marathons or anything.  Just be a little healthier.  I still plan on going tomorrow (if they’re open).  Hopefully we can stick with it!

The gift exchange

First off…  Sorry about the sporadic posting lately.  I have no excuses.

We had our gift exchange at work today.  Our limit was $5.  There’s not a lot you can do with $5 these days, but Chris Elsen from the Nightshift sprung for a very….practical gift.  I’m now the proud new owner of a 9-pack of Charmin Ultra Soft toilet paper.

First off, I think he forgot to get something so he just grabbed something he saw laying around the house.  Let me be the first to say at least I didn’t get USED toilet paper.  But the more I think about it, it’s not a bad gift at all.  It’s practical.  It will defiently get used.  And I always hate having to spend some of my hard earned money on paper to wipe my ass with.  So I have a couple weeks’ reprieve from TP buying.

Thanks, Chris!  Merry Christmas.

For all you tax payers out there…

Thanks for the chocolate bar!

Picked this up at Andrea’s company Christmas party a week or two ago.  She works for a finance company and apparently AIG sent out some free candy bars.  I’m just glad they aren’t wasting any money.

Oh what a night

Well I got my first sour taste of the glorious “responsibilities” of being Program Director.

Last night I’m just relaxing as I usually do.  I take a shower and throw on some comfy clothes and sit down and play a little Wii.  I had some leftover Wii points that have been on our account for months, so I decided to go ahead and download Super Mario Bros. 3 for the virtual console.  Yeah, I have my NES still hooked up and everything, but the virtual console is so much more convenient!  So I’m getting ready to start the “angry sun” level in World 2 when the work phone rings.

The transmitter calls saying there’s an audio alarm.  Of course the station it’s calling for I can’t actually HEAR in the house.  I can just barely pick it up in my car stereo.  Then all of a sudden I have ANOTHER call incoming from one of the other stations.  WTF is going on?  These stations are 60 miles apart with studios in completely different towns!  But quickly they all come back and the alarms are cleared.  Then seconds later the Hays station calls again.  Welp, gotta at least go out to the car and try to tune it in.  Nada.  So I drive into the radio station so I can remote login to the computer in Hays.  It’s about 11:45 right now.

I still don’t know exactly what happened.  Either the satellite wasn’t feeding any audio, or the reciever locked up.  But I had to sit and play an hour of non-stop PSAs before the satellite finally came back.  I waited for a few minutes to make sure it was going to stay on and I finally get back home around 1 AM.  I get all set in bed, but I can’t get to sleep.  Then I realize I forgot to reset the log for the next day.  I could just leave it, but I decide that might as well go back and deal with it since I can’t sleep anyway.  That was my stupid mistake.  So I get back home, still restless and finally fall asleep sometime around 2AM.

Then what feels like 20 minutes later, the damn phone rings AGAIN!  I look at the clock and it’s 5:15 AM.  This time it’s the other PD’s station.  But of course, he’s on vacation.  Luckily this station actual has a signal that reaches Great Bend, so I head to the living room to try to figure out WTF is going on.   It’s a satellite morning show, and it’s supposed to play our local commercials automatically, well it isn’t.  So I have to head back in AGAIN.  Turns out that satellite receiver is locked up too.  So I plug in some emergency music and reset the damn thing.  Of course then I have to wait 25 minutes until the next break to see if its going to work.  At least I get a few commercials for the weekend done while I’m waiting in my PJ’s.

So at about 6:55 AM I finally get back home.  Just as I’m laying down in bed…the alarm clock goes off.  And so began this day.

First Snow

Well it’s official.  Winter is here.  Andrea snapped this picture at lunch of our first real snow so far.  Man was the wind blowing.  Made it cold, but at least it kept the driveway clear!

A bit of a confession…

Against my better judgement over the weekend I decided to log into my old Second life character. For those that are unfamiliar with the software, you can think of it in simple terms as The Sims except with access to all of the unwholesomeness the internet has to offer. If you want a house and any money to spend in the “game” you have to pay a monthly subscription (which I don’t).

In more specific terms, Second Life could be a graphical representation of the internet. Instead of having a website, you can buy a patch of land. On that land you can create anything you want. Maybe you just want it to be your own personal space. Or you can even make a business where you make real money. And of course just as porn abounds on the internet itself, so it does in Second Life as well. Fortunately these sections of the map are clearly labeled “Mature”.  That said there’s still plenty of “PG” areas where mature content is not aloud.

Honestly the concept really intrigues me. And the reason I use the phrase “against my better judgement” is because of the reputation the game recieves for attracting the most socially inept people in exsistance. Can’t make real friends? Your real job suck? Don’t do something about it…just play Second Life! …just an example of why I have reservations.

The part that fascinates me is the content creation part. While admittedly there is a learning curve, Second Life offers a playground of sorts to try out 3-D modeling, texture art, scripting, and the like. If you can imagine it, with enough skill you can probably build it in Second Life. You also retain the rights to anything you make. Which means you own it, and if you want, you can sell it. Whether anyone WANTS it is another matter.

So as of yet, I haven’t decided whether to pursue my fascination any further.

30 seconds

Wait... What?

Under our tree

Waiting for Santa Claus.

Halls be decked

The "family". Note extra tiny stockings.

Well we got our tree up tonight.  It was Andrea’s idea to get a real tree this year.  Sure does smell good.  And we’ve got PLENTY of water down there, so it should be good.  Already shed quite a few needles, but nothing we can’t deal with.  As long as it doesn’t make too big of a mess when we haul it out, I’ll be super fine with it!

Sure does look pretty though.  I enjoy the holiday season quite a bit.  So it warms my heart to see a sparkling Christmas tree in the house.  Nothing can compare to tromping into the house, kicking off your snow covered shoes and grabbing a cup of hot chocolate and a Calvin and Hobbes book and reading by the light of the Christmas tree.  Just reminds me of those magical times when I was a kid I guess.  I always looked forward to this time of year.  Yes the presents, but it meant I got to see all sorts of family too.  Grandmas and Grandpas, that sort of thing.

Real tree in all its glory!

We had a bit of a time getting the tree to stand up without falling over.  Again one issue you usually don’t have to worry about with a fake one.  But a little tree surgery and we were in business!  We picked up a wreath for the front door.  Even though nobody really uses the front door.  And pulled out what little other holiday knick knacks we have.  And what geek tree would be complete without some friendly Nintendo characters?

Yoshi. Joined by Mario, Bowser and the rest of the gang.

So happy holidays everybody!  Here’s wishing you all trees that don’t catch on fire!

Random update

I haven’t blogged in a while.  There’s not really a shortage of things to blog about, but just been busy enough that when I get home I’m really in the mood for something passive.  Lurking on the message boards, watching some videos or what have you.  The days are shorter and boy do they feel shorter too!  Painting on the house is done for the year, and I find myself wondering if most people actually have time to put Christmas lights on their house while the sun it out.

I’ve been in a weird funk lately and I haven’t entirely traced down the cause yet.  If I had to point my finger at one particular thing, I think it would be just a lack of having a free weekend.  Part of it is the nature of the holidays, but I don’t help things by planning stuff for every weekend for three months straight.  Two out of the last four weekends we’ve been watching Andrea’s niece and nephew.  Great kids and a good time, but I don’t exactly get kick it an play some Guild Wars, or work on the car.  The other two weekends we’ve been in Manhattan and SWK.  Again, both good times, but feels like I’m always runnin’.  Next weekend my friends Chris and Crystal are coming up, and the weekend after that we’re going to a wedding.  Then MAYBE a weekend off.

Work has been going well.  Slowly but surely figuring out what all needs to be done on all three stations and putting it into daily and weekly routines.  Found several things that have been put off for over three months that I’ve had to get us caught up on.  A little dissapointed that I haven’t really been able to focus on the actual sound of the stations yet.  But I first need to figure out the day to day stuff that actually keeps stuff on the air!  I’ve been putting in a few extra hours, but nothing too terrible.

I think I just need some solitary time.  I need some time alone just like most normal people need to have people around once in a while.  It keeps me sane and less grumpy.