Drinking

I have been doing a lot of drinking the past couple of days. I am on Vacation from work and my girlfriend is in town from Denver for a few days. Thursday I went to a Phish show in Raleigh. Friday night I picked up Liz from the airport and we had a big night. Saturday night was the Ladder Golf Tournament. Sunday was, well, the Fourth and a bottle of Jim Bean was consumed and a trip to the bar in balloon hats was made. I spent most of the day today with Liz and her family and we took a trip to the Farmer’s Market and I got flowers for my beautiful girlfriend. We grilled out steaks and drank wine.

Liz flies out to Denver on Wednesday and I officially start my new position with the company on Thursday. It is my intention to get back into the work game with a healthy dose of exercise. I have been feeling a little self-conscious about my weight and plan on attacking it with a vengeance starting with a two-week cleanse and some time off from drinking so much lately.

I was thinking about taking some pictures of myself and hopefully have a ‘before’ look that is quite dramatic. We’ll see about that and maybe I’ll share.

Anyway, that is the status of some things going on with me and I plan to share and write a bit more in the future.

Change Is Inevitable

If there is one thing that you can always count on never changing it is that things will always be changing. No matter how much you like the status quo, rest assured, the status quo will straight up morph on you like some Terminator made of liquid steel.

Not long ago, I made a huge change in my life and moved in with my girlfriend. On New Years Eve 2009 I smoked my last cigarette. Two weeks ago my boss suddenly resigned and I applied for his job. These are just a few things that are called into mind tonight as I reflect on the magnitude of changes that are currently going on in my life.

Today, however, kind of rocked my world in the area of change. My girlfriend called me after a job interview in Denver, CO. We both knew she was going to get the job. The understanding we had was that the training process was going to be a few months off, would take about 6 months and then she would be based out of our home town here in Greensboro.

The information I got today was not of this sort.

“They loved me!”

I knew they would.

“They made me an offer on the spot!”

I knew they would.

“They want me to start in four weeks… and the training may last up to a year.”

You are moving to Denver in a month? You will be gone for a year?

Damn.

Change.

Damn you, change. Damn you.

Exercise!

Last Saturday I did a five mile run that was sponsored by Old Town Draught House and helped to raise money for Special Olympics. The race started at 3pm and I was able to finish it in under an hour. I hadn’t really trained and about a mile and a half into the run I started to get some serious shin splints. Fortunately, after about the 3.5 mile mark it worked itself out and I was able to complete the race in my desired time. The weather was gorgeous and the turnout was great. I think there was about 650 people that ended up doing the run. For $25 you got a t-shirt and two beers after the race along with some delicious refreshments that included fresh cut oranges and bagels with cream cheese. I highly recommend this race to any who are so inclined.

Thankfully, this experience has motivated me to run more and work out the gym membership I have been neglecting somewhat. Now that the weather has warmed up and daylight savings time is in effect I am ready to exercise and get in shape.

I knew the race was going to be difficult for me being that I had not really trained for it, so I wanted to find a great DJ set to keep me motivated the whole way. What I ended up finding and choosing to listen to on the run is an absolutely incredible set. The set is by Sasha and was ranked as the best dj set of 2005. It is called Essential Mix Modern Classics. I had not heard this set until last week and I can’t stop migrating to it every time I sit behind my laptop or put on my iPhone earbuds. If you can search it out and find it you will not be disappointed.

Really?

It has been quite some time since my last post. I saw a new theme being offered on WordPress called Titan and I really like the way it looks. I was thinking about changing my theme but I want to tweak out some of it’s colors and I don’t really have time for that now.

I heard a horrific story on the way to work this morning about a guy from hilton Head, NC that was running on the beach and was hit and killed by a plane that just so happened to have lost it’s propellor and had to make a crash landing. So tragic. It just goes to show you that you never know what is in store for you. Both bad or good.

I got an email that said my domain name was about to expire and I want to port my blog – this one – to have the domain name that I own: thestatusbro.com. That is another thing that I don’t have time to do right now.

I just sent money for the first time using Paypal tonight. I’ve had an account for years but didn’t realize how easy it was to transfer money to anyone with an email address.

I need to ship some things and I’m thinking about going postal.

That’s about it for now. No pictures. No links. Just a quick ramble. Later.

Wake Up

I was heading into work this morning and wanted to make a quick stop into Starbucks for a medium Americano to help me wake up. (No, I don’t ask for a tall, grande or venti.) The location where I go, inside the lobby of Furnitureland South, sometimes has a small chalkboard next to the register with a Question of the Day written on it. Usually, it has spaces for two winners for a free coffee. This morning none had been entered yet.

The question was, “What language was the Old Testament written in?”

Knowing immediately that the Old Testament was actually written mostly in Hebrew and some in Aramaic, I wondered what answer she was looking for.

“The Old Testament was written mostly in Hebrew,” I said. “And some parts in Aramaic.”

“Nooo… Answer’s Greek. Sorry,” says the barista.

“Actually the Old Testament, which is Genesis through Malachi was written in Hebrew and Aramaic. The New Testament, which is Matthew through Revelation was written in Greek. Koine Greek, actually.”

“Oh,” she says quizzically. “I’ll have to change that. You know, I just finished a Religion class and we didn’t learn any of that.”

That made perfect sense to me. It was a religion class she took. Not a class on the Bible. Many religious teachings are based, not on the Bible, but on various traditions and philosophies.

“I remember the acronym H-A-G for Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek – the languages of the Bible and their order. I remember 88 keys on a piano and 66 books of the Bible. Things like that help me to remember facts,” I said trying to offset her embarrassment as she edited the question.

I wrote my name down on the winner #1 line of the board and walked away with a free coffee. I felt good that I didn’t have to pay for my coffee, but also had a kinda sad feeling. It made me feel like facts, especially when they are associated with the Bible, are dismissed as either unimportant or entirely debatable. There’s a reason why people have jokes about dusty Bibles.

Everyone has the freedom to believe what they want to about the Bible -the mostly widely produced and distributed and influential book of all time – but don’t try to come to class and do a book report on a book you haven’t even read.

That, my friends, is a fail for any book and for any season.

Blogging

There are a few things that I have been wanting to write about lately, however, all the writing I have been doing has been in my personal journal and some Moleskine notebooks and is not for public viewing. I have been keeping a diary on my computer ever since I got my iMac in 1998. What I write about there is mostly things that are happening in my life and my feelings about them. Lately, most of that has been about going through a break up. It’s not something that people want to read about. It’s not something that I want to read about or write about or experience ever again. It pretty much consumed me and I have to say that I am still not over the situation. I don’t know if I ever will be. I thought that she was just that special. Writing about it definitely helps me to cope and try to understand, though.

So, I have neglected writing about the random things that interest me. I have had plans to do a blog post about the new beer aisle at the local Bestway which is huge. I have been wanting to write about a few local companies in the area. I have been wanting to write about some local bands that blow me away. Instead, my writing has been consumed by emotion and it just hasn’t been the right for me time to tackle those pieces for this blog and they don’t seem as important to me now because of the loss of something that was, at least for me, amazing.

That’s the status, bro. I’ll keep you posted.

Third Thursday’s @ Studio B

Third Thursday’s have quickly become known as THE monthly event to attend to hear the best in getdown funknasty dj’s.

Mixing it up this month is a special tribute to the party scene that started it all here in Greensboro.

We are proud to bring you a former resident of legendary club Babylon…none other than local favorite DJ Mike Soden.

Dj Mike Soden will be mixing up a special blend of fresh beats and pay homage to the old school classics that got us all dancing in the first place.

MIKE SODEN – TEACHER FOR THE LATE JAM MASTER JAYS WWW.SCRATCH.COM KNOWN AS SCRATCH ACADEMY ………..WWW.USBDJS.COM WWW.MYSPACE.COM/DJSODEN
WWW.DJSODEN.COM
WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/DJSODEN

A BUMSQUAD DJ

As usual the night will be capped off with the drum and bass Greensboro loves to party to by:

PAN13 and Paul David
West Palm Beach Florida
Quick Dancefloor Reactionary Force
Duende Artist Promotion

First up and setting the tone early is…

Bryan Bro.
Studio B and 22trill

…playing some funky party house and broken beats.

As usual, featured live performance art by TR (Tom Roughton) and visuals for you to enjoy.

I know you will have a great time and we look forward to seeing you all there.

AT&T app for iPhone

In pure AT&T fashion, they are once again late to the meeting. It seemed to me that when AT&T got the deal to be the exclusive carrier provider for the iPhone the company wasn’t marketing or taking advantage of what a special and exclusive deal they had. Locally, all the dealers and service reps seemed pretty annoyed by the whole thing when I was asking them questions about when I could upgrade, price points and availability.

Now, 10 months into the app store, AT&T finally releases their app that should have been standard on the phone to begin with.

Called AT&T myWireless Mobile (which is a really crappy name) this application allows you to easily see minute and text usage and change different features of your plan without having to take a trip to the customer no-service desk at the AT&T store.

Now you can easily adjust things such as your Text Messaging plan. Unfortunately, there are still only three options that they offer. First, 200 texts per month for $5.00/mo. is the entry level. The next step up seems like a huge jump to me and I feel there should be something in between that and the 1500 texts for $15.00/mo. How about offereing 750 texts for $10.00? I don’t send anywhere near 1500 texts but am usually about 100 or so over the 200 plan I am currently on. For $20.00 a month you can get unlimited texts. AT&T needs to offer an additional tier. Oh, and when is the upgrade coming, Apple? Still no picture texts? Really?

At any rate, Kudos for finally getting this application out. Shame on them for taking so long to do the obvious.

nightmare

I just woke up from a nightmare and couldn’t go back to sleep. I really don’t like when I have a dream that seems so real and horrible. This was not a dream full of monsters or boogeymen, but rather something far scarier to me, namely, the death of a feeling.

In this dream, what was so scary was that it felt real. And what was happening were the very things that scare you the most. Those things that you don’t want to think of. Things that would change your life in such a way that it may just be too difficult to imagine on a conscious level, so they are only brought to your attention through the devious manner of a nightmare.

Although  just a dream, I realize that on many levels it has made me confront some fears that have only been fleeting thoughts up unto this point. I know feelings can change as people are found to not measure up. Especially is this hurtful, scary and nightmarish when it is you that is found to be inadequate. Unwanted. Disposable.

I have to ask myself now, sitting up late at night, writing these thoughts down: What am I doing to improve my life? What am I doing to better myself? What am I doing to be a more positive influence on myself and those that are around me? How can I maintain the positive relationships around me – despite the obvious (and not so obvious) obstacles?

Tackling those challenges can be a scary thing, indeed. Trying to control something that you have no power over is also an experiment in insanity. But somewhere, somehow  a balance is needed to be found.

Time and unforeseen occurrence befall us all. What you do with those two things makes all the difference.

I know the feeling of true emotional loss is perhaps one of the most difficult things to deal with. Emotions cannot always be controlled. Accepting this and bravely moving forward despite possible loss is the only way to learn, to grow and to live.

Knowing what is of value to you – be it an item, a feeling or a special person -  is key. Treasure it. Treasure them. Maybe, just maybe, the joy of it will stick around for a while.

Twitter Search often better than Google

I recently did a Google search to try and find out how to take a screenshot on my iPhone. What Google came up with was some links to various blog posts that were really not relevant. After spending a few minutes clicking on links that took me to places that did not have any useful information, I decided to do a search on twitter at www.search.twitter.com. Immediately I came across a tweet that had exactly what I was looking for from user @scalfon. Here is her tweet that said everything I needed:  http://twitter.com/skalfon/statuses/1444267492 

I really like search.twitter.com and see more and more that I am using it to find information and read about trending topics more so than using the Google search engine.