Fej's Blog

The Girls. Installement #1...

2007-08-25T00:06:00.000-06:00

So I'm actively working towards becoming involved with another woman. There has been a lot of activity... but not so much of the sort that you might be thinking about. Let's just keep it clean here, k?

Yeah so my life is completely void of anything you might be interested in reading about, but since Blogger still hasn't deleted my account I'm still posting about my meager existence. Which means you get to hear about the lesbian, the soccer girl, and those others in-between.

As I may have alluded to previously, my lesbian friend is someone with whom I’ve fallen for. Head over heels I might add, it’s been a rough year for me. And let’s just clarify up front that I don’t know for sure that she is indeed a lesbian. The jury is definitely still out on this one. But the evidence is mounting and for the purposes of this blog I’ve decided to refer to her as such.

I worked with her before and she joined my new company also. We’ve lunched together. A lot. I don’t know how else to describe everything that has happened since then and where I am at now. It’s simply too much for me. And as for her, I of course can only speculate. At the lowest level, as an outside observer might relate; she and I appear to be in a relationship of some sort. That’s what I’ve heard anyway and I ‘spose that may be a pretty accurate conclusion to be drawn by the typical observer. But if you dare to dig beyond that and take what “little” I’ve learned about her since then, well then it becomes more complicated.

Damn. There is so much I haven’t talked about for a long time. I’d have to write a novel to catch you all up. By “you all” I mean the occasional visitor who actually still stops by. Really this is mostly just still an avenue for me to vent. If I had any “inkling” that any of this were to get out to anyone I knew, it would all have to end…

Let’s consider this an installment for now. I really do plan on additional updates; let’s see if it happens.

Fej

Howdy

2007-07-26T19:36:00.000-06:00

Been kinda busy since March... Didn't really mean to take so long I guess. I think this place has pretty much just become somewhere for me to type something up on occasion. I still don't see me getting back to regular blogging anytime soon, but who knows.

Trying to summerize what's happened in the last 4 months would be futile. Here are some highlights though:

Still not divorced. I probably never will be at this point. Anyone ever heard of a common law "divorce" by chance?

Still looking for someone, despite quite a number of dates. Internet dating, while it produces dates doesn't seem likely to produce someone I'm really interested in. I've become totally infatuated with a woman I could never actually be with though. I've been totally stressed out and distracted by this very complicated woman for nearly a year now. That's gotta count for something... naw, just kind of pitiful.

Oh well, just thought I'd stop by. You know, semi-annually or something like that.

Late,

Fej

almost said no

2007-03-26T22:23:00.000-06:00

You know, what bugs me is that I almost didn’t do it. I was sooo tired, sore, and I just really wanted to sit down. It had been a long day, my weekend was mostly wasted already having spent a chunk of it at work and on the phone with people there. The time I did have I spent working on my yard and other heavily neglected projects around the house. That stupid roto-tiller I rented just about killed me until I remembered how to let the dang machine do the work. Even after that it’s not exactly like running a lawn mower, actually not even close. Muscles I’ve apparently never used are still hurting as I type.

I just didn’t feel like it. They were having fun all by themselves, why did they need me to jump in? Friday night was spent on the phone and answering pages in the middle of the night. Saturday morning came unusually fast despite Friday night being the shortest of the week… and just knowing I’d have to go in to work again on Sunday night just killed my desire to do anything else that day. I didn’t have the heart to get after them for destroying the living room even further and asking them to do the “weekend clean up” just didn’t seem appropriate right before spring break. Well their spring break anyway. I don’t even know if I’ll be able to get Friday off like I want to...

All three of them were practically begging. My son was torn between being able to jump off the roof and just getting me to jump with them. What was I thinking anyway? How many 14 year old girls still want their dad to jump on the trampoline with them? Duh? All I could think about was how much work I had to do; at home, at work, with my ex, and how I wished my patio was done already so I could relax even more comfortably than I already was in my old decrepit lawn furniture.

I got up to tell them no, I was too tired and that jumping off the roof was too dangerous and I was stupid for even letting them do it once. And instead I found myself pulling off my shoes and wondering if I’d hurt my back by jumping with them. Then after a good 20 minutes of total chaos on nylon suspended by springs over a metal frame we all collapsed. I had farted and we all fell to avoid the stench and could hardly stand up because we were laughing so hard. We had jumped long enough where even my kids were a little tired. We just lay there and talked and laughed a little more. The weather was perfect, they were happy, I was happy and I wondered… how I almost said no.

Fej

Hey.

2006-09-15T23:53:00.000-06:00

So. I’ve been gone a while. And yet still some of you stop by and even drop a comment or two. I still appreciate it. And on nights like tonight I hope that you’ll stop by again.

Not that I’ll be checking out the blog-o-sphere much anytime soon but it’s nice to be able to vent and hear some feedback on things going on in my life.

I’ve been working some ridiculous hours recently. Hours that make me rue the day I became salaried… I had my last phone call from manufacturing at somewhere around 1:00 AM last night. But it’s still a good busy if you can believe that. Really, it is.

It’s the other stuff that still throws me into a spin every now and then. That still includes this girl I’ve mentioned before. I’m still not ready to discuss or for that matter am I even sure about what I know about the “complexities” of our friendship. I think the latter is pretty well firmed up, we get along just fine. I’m of course leaving out a bunch of details. How long would this post be if I explained the last two months I’ve been away? Really, really, long. Trust me.

Let’s just say that some opportunities have opened up for me recently. Some online (yes, I couldn’t resist the online dating stuff forever), some at work, and some old friends. But I can’t even get excited about these opportunities. Not until I can shake her from my mind. And it seems like, that's not going to happen any time soon.

Well, while you might walk away from this post a little curious, a little confused, or just down right frustrated that you made it to this point without any real information at all, I do feel better.

For me, it’s all about unloading the stuff you carry around every day. At least once in a while.

Thanks,

Jeff

Oh yeah...

2006-08-01T21:38:00.000-06:00

And I have a sense of smell again. Maybe I never made it clear, maybe I never realized it was that bad, but I have a sense of smell again.

Not all smells are good mind you, I had to have my vehicle's upholstery cleaned recently, and I've become aware of things in my home that need attention...

But in all it's been fabulous. Today there was a construction project in the nearby offices that requires some horrid glue product and while everyone else was complaining about it, I ran out into the hall and inhaled it all in. While that may not have been so healthy it was wonderful that I could smell it at all. And I complained (happily) then with everyone else.

And then there are you women out there... holy crow, while I figured your beauty was sufficient I had forgotten about your aroma. I was kind of hoping you'd make things easier though, not more complicated...

Jeff

Never dull here.

2006-08-01T21:28:00.000-06:00

Hey all.

Not that all that many of you are still dropping by but I’m not reading anybody’s blogs either. Ironic as it is, my life is at one of its most interesting points but I’m only driven to write about it every so often. And half of those don’t make it past MS Word on my PC…

But tonight, I think this one may make it out there. And maybe a few of you will happen across it.

I’m having a hard time summing it all up but how about this: I’m still loving my new job. It’s been the best change I’ve made in years. I was feeling down the other night, thinking that my chances of getting “back out there” again were slim and then I remembered the past year…

I have had two official “dates”, one or two unofficial “I’ll hook you up” kind of dates, and after this silent summer of events many more occasions of note that should make me stop feeling down.

Hell, I didn’t have this kind of action going on in high school and I’m not even legally available now. I think that’s a good sign. So, I’ve renewed my efforts to get things legally finished. It’s going to be rough for a variety of reasons even though things are clearly separated and established, the legal system doesn’t see things as clearly as many of us do here in reality.

I’m off for the weekend and then some to see a cousin of mine get married. That should be a good reminder and incentive for me to get things finished and then started again. It's a plan anyway.

Jeff

Hello.

2006-06-30T22:12:00.000-06:00

I went through with my nasal surgery after all. I could have had legitimate excuses and easily justified pushing it out a few weeks more. But I didn’t. It wasn’t any fun. Not even a little bit. I can’t say I’ve been in all that much pain, discomfort yes, and well let’s just leave it at I experienced one of the most disgusting things in my life just a couple days ago. But I returned to work just 3 days later. It will be another week or so before I really know if it has helped much. My fingers are crossed…

I spent a weekend in Chicago recently with the very woman that I was infatuated with some years ago. The trip itself was business related but the stay through the weekend was a prime example of ironic and unexpected fortunate circumstances. I don’t know what that means but it sounds right. I didn’t expect to go, I wanted very much to go, I fully expected not to go, and more importantly than the former, I didn’t expect her to ask me to stay through the weekend.

No, none of that sort of stuff happened. It was just a really fun weekend with someone that I think I get along really well with. I feel pretty comfortable saying she feels the same way. I know, so why aren’t we moving forward with things? We’ve been hanging out since then even more. It’s complicated. Those of you who have been around here awhile should know that few things come into my life without complications. She is a welcome complication. And one that might not ever be more than just a friend. I’m just going to leave it at that.

Oh, and just incase you think I’ve had a lack of crazy recently: My ex’s ex boyfriend finally got out of jail, has been in contact with me to get his stuff back (because she has a restraining order against him) and the one day and time we finally can meet, who is with me? Yes, this woman. I had already informed her that I had crazy in my life. After a few questions about why he went to jail she was okay being in the car while I met with him. It went fine.

Sometimes I think that if my life were simple, I wouldn’t enjoy it as much as I do. But I still wonder…

Jeff

Hoo boy, it’s been a while. But what the heck I’ll throw something out there.

2006-05-15T22:04:00.000-06:00

I’m thinking that since it’s been so long its best I don’t try to fill in all the details. I’ll just tell you what’s going on and if you need me to fill in the gaps I’ll try to get to it in a slightly better response time than the weeks it’s taken me to this point.

Another vehicle was totaled by my ex.

The new dog is sadly working out well for my old dog, which means I have one less excuse to get rid of the new dog.

I’m still totally enthralled with the stupid (growing) turtle.

I assisted in getting a woman that I was totally infatuated with years ago hired at my new job. And of course she is even more beautiful than she was 5 years ago and then some. Sigh.

I’m sitting on the couch tonight using a personal massager on myself. Because I tore the holy crap out of my right legs quadriceps about a month ago and I’m still out of commission. And you thought I was going somewhere else with that didn’t you?

A wind storm blew down two light poles, tore up my trampoline and left me without power for a whole 4 hours or so the other night. Guys don’t keep candles around the house. I was lucky they turned it back on before my flashlight died.

I bought a new bicycle and might start riding to work a few days a week. Assuming this massager thingy helps break down the scar tissue…

I’m scheduled to have endoscopic nasal surgery to repair a deviated septum, polyps, enlarged thingymajigs, etc. The bottom line is that people have been saying for years that I’m full of shit but apparently it’s all in my head.

There is more but this is all I got right now.

Thanks for stopping by.

Jeff

Need to talk...

2006-04-27T21:43:00.000-06:00

Hey. It was one of those weeks. One of those nights. Whatever, you know, just one of those times when you need someone to talk to. Or more specifically to the point; when I need someone to listen to me.

My dippy dogs don’t cut it. They are more concerned with what I’m snacking on. I’ve been working some rather ridiculous hours. I literally congratulated myself the other night on making it home by 7:00 PM. Then I realized that I had gone to work at 7:00 AM that morning and I was only excited by the fact that the sun was still up. Stupid daylight savings…

I went on another date. While it won’t go anywhere, apparently I’m datable and I’m not going to throw myself head over heels at the first or second pretty woman that happens by my way. I was kind of worried about that.

My ex called tonight and it was obvious after 10 minutes or so that she was trying to keep me on the phone and she had bigger issues to talk about. She definitely did. Have bigger issues I mean. Let’s just say that my past suspicions were on target more than I’d have liked. She’s still alive and our kids have a mom. That’s why I did everything the way I did I guess. I’m not going to go into specifics but lets just say that if I ever get nominated for a Supreme Court position, be sure to tune into C-SPAN. It ought to be some good programming.

Then I reassured her, at her request, that there was no chance we could be together again. The words came relatively easy for me but hearing her reaction was somewhat unsettling.

The direction of things haven’t changed. I suppose its just grasping reality in the face of unwanted change. Who the hell enjoys that?

Jeff

2006-04-02T22:52:00.000-06:00

All right, here goes. Germany was nice. It was a rather quick trip but I had a lot of time to myself too. The business part was rather brief but successful. Then I found that having a hotel room to myself was no longer the relief it used to be. When at home, I have a whole house to myself. I don’t need that sort of get away anymore. I’m not the sort of person who can just stay indoors though, so I spent a lot of time walking around Munich.

They have good beer of course. And while the weather wasn’t fabulous it wasn’t snowing like the week before and the rain was mild. Munich is a city where it would be nice to have someone to enjoy it with. I don’t mean from work either…

Everything else is normal. Despite my big talk about no more animals, I might have another creature joining my household. If my ex-mother-in-law gets another animal I will call the humane society and report her for abuse. She doesn’t abuse them, she just neglects them once they are no longer cute. I have a chi-poo staying with us this weekend, a Chihuahua/toy poodle breed that is actually a rather nice dog. However it is still another animal. The turtle is still too much and now another one. If he can keep my other dog from going insane while I’m gone during the day… he might have a new home. We’ll see.

There is more. An odd combination of extraordinary luck and a painful reminder of things of the past. This will get worked out this week though, and it might involve me making someone very unhappy. Not very typical of me but I’m not the same person anymore either. Don’t ask, I just had to say this much at least.

Jeff

2006-04-02T21:08:00.000-06:00

Where am I?

2006-03-19T22:07:00.000-07:00

On Friday I went out for a few beers with an old friend. We had fun, got caught up on each others lives and made it home on time for once. Now maybe his wife will let us go out again before this summer is over…

My floor is almost complete. I finished all of the laminate to carpet/tile interface stuff and the trim is painted and ready to be put back in place. I’ll miss having an excuse to have power tools lying around in the living room but it will be nice to have everything finished finally too.

I managed through another weekend with another kid sick as a dog. They should know by now that you don’t get sick on weekends, save those days for during school. Hello?!

I finally got my youngest tying his shoes by himself. He was pretty happy about that. So was I. My oldest and I spent a little more time on the tennis court too. She seems to really enjoy it. I just wish it wasn’t after I just finished an hour and a half of soccer. I’m hurting right now. We played some Star Wars Monopoly, watched the newest Harry Potter movie and even managed to catch the newest Raven episode.

I’m glad it was a good weekend even though we didn’t manage to do half the things I had wanted to do. I leave for Germany on Tuesday morning and I won’t get back until Sunday evening. My parents are taking them to Colorado for a few days during spring break so hopefully that will make up for me missing a weekend. I’ll get Saturday there on my own because the flight was considerably cheaper if I stayed one more night.

That’s where I’m at.

Jeff

My Schematic

2006-03-09T22:40:00.000-07:00

I’m not wired this way. It works. But I don’t like it.

I’m making new friends, solidifying a key spot within an up and coming company that might make it big, I’m totally involved… with myself.

But I don’t feel like me. Something is missing. Besides the ever so obvious lack of a woman in my life.

It’s my kids. Holy crow. I’m not much of an individual without them. I’m horrible at this single crap. I’m missing so much that is so more important than this job.

She is doing better. Which is good. My kids are doing okay, but not great. The weekends fly by faster than they used to. The weekdays drag on… I even have a new floor. It’s fabulous compared to the crap I used to call “carpet”. But without three little things to mess it all up it doesn’t seem the same.

Don’t get me completely wrong, I’m not down, down. I’m just down right now. And I needed to tell someone about it. Things have been fairly good but I just miss them a lot.

Jeff

Turtle Update

2006-02-26T21:36:00.000-07:00

So the turtle and I are getting along fine. He’s up to three crickets a day and I suspect could easily devour more. I worry about feeding him too much though. I give him snacks of krill, blood worms, plankton etc. to pacify him in-between the crickets. Are you listening to this crap? Since when did turtles become ruthless carnivores? I’ve dropped in the pellets that supposedly can provide up to 60% of their diets but he won’t touch them. He just kicked the carrots right off of his turtle perch into the water. Live bait is highly suggested because of the health benefits. I just might do it.

Other than my daughter’s turtle eating frenzy’s, not much else is going on. Oh sure, work is keeping my very busy but no one wants to hear about that crap. Well, except that I will probably be off to Germany in a couple weeks. We’re probably going to buy a couple lasers from a company there and I’ll need to go sniff that out. I’m trying to push for an equipment buyoff in say around… October.

Still no more on the dating front but I have some inclination that at least one if not two women at work have some interest in me. I have some interest in them too except I’m pretty sure at least one of them is already spoken for and I’m still not too excited about the idea of getting involved with someone I work with. It’s never a good combination in my opinion.

I may take on a laminate flooring project over the next couple weeks. That will give me a justified excuse that my house is a mess but only until I finish. Then I’ll have to hunker down and get this place truly organized.

I hope all is well out there in your lives.

Jeff

A Bit More From Me

2006-02-07T20:07:00.000-07:00

Hey all. I’m still around for the most part. I still don’t get to read up on your blogs much so it really adds a tinge of guilt when I see you folks still checking in on me and leaving comments to boot. Thanks though.

If you were worried that I was off and heavily involved in a new relationship with my recent date, no need. Nothing has happened since and I’ve decided to not call anymore. Here is what I suspect: she inadvertently dropped a few comments that made me a little suspicious that she was still into her ex. They were subtle mind you but with him having trouble with his new wife and her and me going from another date to unreturned calls, it just made me wonder.

And that ladies and gentlemen is something that this guy with a freight train of his own baggage does not want to get involved with. Egad.

Several good things have come out of this though. For one, I went through some racked nerves and even a butterfly or two in my stomach and came out unscathed. This may not seem like much to you but let me tell you; this is big. My dating experience prior to marriage was minimal and well for lack of a better description, rather juvenile. I was just a teenager then. Also, I realized that I really need to get this freaking divorce over with! Yeah, that’s kind of a big deal…

I’m really starting to miss my kids too. It took a little over 2 months but I’ve come to realize that I’m not much for the single life. I realize I was okay with the full time dad stuff. Sure lunches, cleaning, homework, driving, driving, driving, stress, silly rambling conversations about the logistics of volcanic eruptions in our backyard and getting them to bed on time were tough sometimes. But I really miss it. A weekend night or two is quickly proving not to be enough. But this arrangement is still working for the original reasons we did it. I guess.

Someone gave my daughter a turtle for her birthday. They wanted to get rid of it and she wanted one, everybody is happy right? Well, I was a little less than thrilled when I came to find out that this particular turtle is illegal to buy or sell in our state, prefers to eat live bait, needs a ginormous aquarium and can live up to 75 years. Go figure.

Jeff

Hold On, Wait, Okay... Now Things are Still Unclear

2006-01-17T21:30:00.000-07:00

Sunday’s event never came. Not for the lack of a legitimate cause but at the same time nothing else has happened since either. Ironically or maybe appropriately I find my recent dating experience with someone who has more difficulty getting time alone than even I did a few months ago.

Always the eternal optimist I had not cast this opportunity aside, but I was kind of figuring nothing more was to come of it. Then, she calls as I’m typing this up. Go figure. Yes, I indeed have found a woman who can both match and potentially outperform me when it comes to lifetime drama. Again, go figure.

I do like talking to her though. She seems to enjoy the same. Life throws its curves and I’m thinking that a situation where things are forced to develop slowly might actually be the most appropriate for my first “out of wife” experience in over 15 years.

I’ll try to keep you all posted on things as they develop.

Jeff

A Bit About the Date

2006-01-13T19:38:00.000-07:00

The date went just fine. Luckily I looked at the sign of the restaurant I was walking into and realized it was the wrong one and managed to make it to the right one more or less on time.

All in all everything went really well. We have a lot in common and conversation never ran short. I had been straining all week to remember the details of her face. The whole event last Saturday was a bit of a blur. Last night though it all came back. We were a bit constrained for time since she only had a baby sitter for so long. Ironically I was not. Go figure…

We might have lunch on Sunday.

Jeff

This Time, it's for Real.

2006-01-08T22:26:00.000-07:00

I have a dinner date for this Thursday night. No, a real one. She smiled at me, rather earnestly. I doted around like an idiot for a while but eventually made it around to introducing myself and asking her to have coffee with me. All while at Target and both of us with kids in tow. Lucky I still have that behemoth of a vehicle…

Okay I’m getting a little ahead of things. We talked last night for a while. It went well. She is aware of my situation and I am of hers. She’s pretty. I cleaned my closet and it was like the biggest project I’ve taken on in years and I’m not sure if the two events are related or not.

So, given our limited history and a successful call on Saturday, none on Sunday, do I call tomorrow? Hold off a bit? Wait until Wednesday night? I can’t find a dating manual to fit my situation and lack of experience. Eh, I’ll wing it.

Jeff

Just Stopping By...

2005-12-15T19:14:00.000-07:00

Hey there. How have all of you been? I found myself typing something else this evening that I really don’t feel like typing, needed to reference a particular event and remembered that I had blogged about it. So I opened up my blog and found the event and the date I needed. Cool. Almost like a diary.

That prompted me to give a brief update. I guess an explanation of why I haven’t been updating at all might be appropriate as well. I think I had long exceeded my need to blog well before I stopped. Then when I put up that last post, it really felt like a last post. And I was okay with that. And that was an odd feeling. Especially since I had been such an avid blogger for the last year and a half.

That means I was doing it because I felt I needed to. I had a network of friends that I kept up with and they often kept up with me in return. I still wonder what’s going on in all of your lives but I just haven’t been on my computer much lately. I haven’t been reading the news like I used to, no chatting recently, nothing.

So, in the mean time… did you know that they show NFL games on Monday nights? And that there are lots of other channels besides Nickelodeon, Disney and Cartoon Network? And that animals can be just as annoying as children if not more so? I’m really not doing that much when I get home in the evenings. It’s actually kind of nice.

My weekends are crazy but they always were. Well, I suppose I should get that other document done about now. I hope everyone out there is doing well.

Jeff

Where I'm at. Where I might be going.

2005-11-15T22:50:00.000-07:00

I don’t know how much more I’ll be blogging. I’ve obviously been slacking pretty badly. In the past, my excuse has been that while I’ve been ignoring my own blog I’ve at least been keeping up with all of yours.

That hasn’t even been the case. Here is the problem:

There is this guy that needs more attention. He has been worrying about everyone else for a long time now. He doesn’t get much time to himself and when he does, he doesn’t even know what to do with that time. It’s new territory for him.

This guy suggested something a few weeks ago kind of figuring it wasn’t a likely possibility. But then things happened. Other people needed help (of course) and this suggestion he made came up again.

So, he’s giving this suggestion he made a chance. It’s new, different, and so far working. He has a new job and has to travel a little more, so the timing is also somewhat appropriate.

……….

I probably won’t stop blogging any time soon, but it’s probably going to slow down even more than it has. It’s been such a huge help to me to have a friendly and responsive medium to express my thoughts and meet people and to learn. I’ve made many friends that I’ll not likely ever meet in person, but that doesn’t reduce the influence they have had on my life. Especially given these last couple years have been a bit exceptional…

My main point here is that I could easily be blathering away again in a day or two but I don’t think that’s very likely. And if I visited your site daily in the past and now I’m not, it has nothing to do with you. It’s just that I need to work on me for a while, now that I have had the chance to get this far.

Yup. That’s where I’m at.

Jeff

Semi-sorta-weekly-update

2005-11-10T19:19:00.000-07:00

Well where do I start? Things are going very well at my new job. I’m even starting to get used to the idea of working 40 or more hours a week again. Boy did I have it cushy at my old job…

I will likely do a vendor visit next week sometime and I have a feeling I should renew my passport. They shouldn’t be long trips but I see them coming soon.

As for my needing a date situation… I might just have one. Pick your jaw up off your keyboard, I don’t know for sure yet. I placed a call yesterday afternoon to her since it had been a long time since we had talked. We had some awkward moments years ago but we didn’t cross any lines. Since then, either my life has been a bit too unstable or she was involved with someone herself. I guess she’s not involved anymore. She called me back late last night and we talked for quite a while.

I’ll try to keep you posted.

Jeff

Oh yeah, I have a blog.

2005-11-02T22:10:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone. You are probably sick of reading about how busy and crazy things have been for me. I’m sure your own lives have been also. I wouldn’t know though because I’m a super slacker who reads other peoples blogs like once a week at best.

I have been quite the dedicated new employee. My responsibilities, involvement, and understanding of things have improved immensely from this time last week. Some of these people are pulling 10-12 hours a day and weekends right now. I really, really, really, don’t want to do that but I will if necessary.

Things with my ex and her life are quickly reaching pandemic proportions. I’ve had to take evasive action and called in many a favor to assist with child dropping and picking up stuff. I’ve got a new plan in the works to hopefully take care of this issue relatively soon. And cute or not I have the stinking kitten again. She’s growling at my dog as I type.

Then there is the company holiday party. I need a date. More importantly I want a date. I mean I’ve wanted to start dating for some time now but now I have a fixed date, time, place where I will need one. At my old job, not like they’d have a holiday party of any sort anyway, it was no big deal. Everyone knew of my situation and I could go solo without any issues.

There is this pretty woman at work…

Jeff

An Up Coming Visitor.

2005-10-29T23:42:00.000-06:00

Hey, someone is about to be my 10,000 visitor.

That seems significant to me. If you happen to be that person or close to them, please let me know.

Otherwise, please don’t think that I don’t care or miss reading ou all, I just have been busy.

Jeff.

My First Week

2005-10-28T20:38:00.000-06:00

Oki Dokey. It was an easy but rather difficult and trying week. Yet I survived and made it to work on time 0 of 4 days for the week.

I was sucked into an engineering meeting for 2 hours of my first day but for much of the rest of the week I haven’t done a whole lot. I’ve read everything I could about the company, their product, the technology, the competitors and various potential vendors that I’ll be bugging soon. I only surfed minimally for non-business purposes. If you were a fly on my office wall you would have fallen to the floor many a time in total shock at how I used my time and resources at work for only work related purposes.

About the late part. Um, well, if you really knew me and my history and my tendency to attract negative or more specifically "non-punctual events” to prevent me from being on-time to work… well you’d be quite impressed!

I was about three minutes late my first day, maybe four-five the second day, close to 14 the third day, and well back to three or so today. And let’s just point out that today I was well on my way to being early had it not been for that slow moving and rather long train this morning. Seriously, there is me and the whole not wanting to get up and all and then there is the entire universe being aligned against me and my attempts to be punctual.

So now that I’ve been there four days and have shown up well before 90% of the people who work there, I think it’s about time that they see my true colors. After all, I have sacrificed soooo much already…

Jeff

My Last Day

2005-10-24T20:30:00.000-06:00

By the time it finally came around it was almost a blur. I really would have preferred to savor it a little more, talk to a few more people I won’t likely see often or even at all again and to just enjoy this day.

But no, in typical Fej style:

At approximately dead of night AM my silly dog was trying to crawl under, inside, on top of me, somewhere to hide from the horrible noise. The dreadful noise of a dying smoke detector back-up battery. Yes, they are especially horrible at this time of night. He just wouldn’t let up, I had to replace the battery or harm my dog. Luckily it was in a low hallway and while I nearly had to rip it from the ceiling I was able to replace the battery and go back to bed. Then, at just a little before 6:00 AM, my dog is once again trying to crawl into my skin. Did I put in a bad battery? Could it be possible that after years without replacing a single one, another battery went dead that same night? Yes, my friends. This is my life we are talking about so it is definitely possible. I waited until the last possible moment and of course it was in my oldest daughter’s room at a height requiring a ladder.

I retrieved the ladder, replace the battery and scared the crap out of my oldest child seeing a dark specter atop a ladder in her back lit doorway. After I had put the ladder away I went back to turn on her light and ask what she wanted for breakfast and the light bulb in her room burnt out.

$*%#!

I then had to rush out of the house to squeeze in two parent teacher conferences and somehow drop off another kid at school at the exact same time. Since that couldn’t happen, one particular male child of mine went without socks today and (in a rare moment of luck) it turned out that the conference was 15 minutes later than I thought so I was… on time.

Cool. So as I sat down in my office and started to peruse the usual round of internet news sites for my morning fix and I realized that I should really get things finished up at work. The news could wait. I transferred some files, sent some email, started some parts, gave away some stuff, and then made my rounds to say good bye. The latter part took me until mid afternoon, forced me to write a rather short “good bye” email, and even made me late to pick up my oldest from school.

There were several people though that surprised me, people I had talked to only a number of times over the last decade. They bent my ear and asked all about my new job, the industry, exclaimed how lucky I was and how they wished me the best. And it sure seemed genuine.

It was a good last day.

Jeff