Told you I was sick

I told you I was sick and a bad patient. And for being a bad patient and not taking the medicine and not listening to everyone (she knows who she is...) I now am officially sick. Sick enought to take a day off of work. Now lemme splain sometin to ya....I am a contractor. What that means is that I get NO benefits. Taking a day off of work means I do NOT get paid. No sick pay, no vacation pay, no PTO, no holidays. Nope, nothing. So I lost 8-10 hours of my paycheck, recovering. I did goto the doctor. Why the hell not? I am losing money already, why not SPEND some while I am off. He confirmed, yes, I am sick. Normally, I am the typical american male. No doctor until I am too sick to drive myself there and even then I am protesting. This time is a bit different. Last year, around this time, I got a sore throat. This sore throat of mine developed into the worst tonsilitis I ever had. My left tonsil, yes just my left one, was so infected that the ENT (Ear Nose and Throat) doctor was seriously discussing surgery. I couldn't swallow, so the I wrote a diet book and made millions. No, I didn't. I couldn't swallow so I was drinking every meal. No antibiotics were helping. No amount of sprays, cough drops, or Robitussin did any help. This lasted for over a month. So, obviously, I wanted to avoid a repeat of this little episode. I was cleared of everything but a "cold". Yeah, that one thing that science has not figured out a cure for. So I took my day off, rested, let someone take care of me (yeah, her again), and got ready for the rest of the week. Not only did I not work, I didn't update the blog either. And for this I would normally be sorry but hey, sitting around while my every need was attended to was kind of nice.

Passion

This past Sunday we went to a Passion Play. For those of you not familiar with this, this is last year's film, The Passion of the Christ, only in play form that has been going on for about a hundred years. Here in my town this was first started back in 1918 by a church downtown that wanted to remember 8 parishoners that were in World War I. Ever since then, the founding church has sponsored, along with many others, the Passion Play. We know a few of the actors int he play and it is always a wonderful production. This is only my second year going and the second different church I have attended for this. This year we decided to take my oldest child. He is fairly interested in religion having grown up with it and we thought it would be ok to let him go. My youngest one is still a bit young, although there were many kids there his age and younger. I think these types of decisions are made on a child by child basis and it is entirely up to the parents to do the censoring. But that is a whole other rant and blog post. My oldest liked the play very much and is looking forward to next year's already. We'll see how my youngest is next year before I make any decisions about adding another ticket to my troupe.

The play runs about 3 hours and takes the viewer through the story or Jesus' final days. From the time in his life where he was starting to be taken seriously as a prophet and the messiah to his crucifixion and his resurrection. The actors are all volunteers and all, every man woman and child, do a terrific job of telling this story. Every Christian should see this moving production. Now I am not an overly religious person. I do believe and I have practiced. Not recently, unfortunately. My first marriage was done into a religious family. My exe's father is a retired baptist preacher, and after 10+ years of that marriage I do know the religious side of the coin. In fact, I still remain good friends with my ex-inlaws. After all, they are always going to be my kid's grandparents and they are very good people that I respect and admire. Anyway, back to my psuedo-review. The play is in two acts, with a short intermission. But the 3 hours seems like 15 mintues when you are enraptured in the story. The characters come at the stage from all angles. From the rear of the sanctuary, from the sides. The passion in this Passion Play is real. The actors are all very passionate about this story. I cannot single out one particular actor or character, that would be unfair. But suffice to say that the main characters are all portrayed with as much vigor and heart as can be done.

I look forward to next year's Passion Play. Probably more than I did this year's. Every time I see it, I am able to take away another piece of the story that I may not have learned or paid attention to previously. I can't wait.

More insight into the inner workings of a geek.

We ordered some items from an electronics, computer, audio/video retailer whose initials are BEST BUY. First off, we went into the store and had one really bad experience. More about that later. After not getting what we wanted, at all, from the bricks and mortar side of the retailer we ordered online. Another geeky move. Anyway, we ordered our items and had them shipped two day. And we have BOTH checked on the status of the order more than once today. That screams geek and borders on pathetic. Now onto our experience in the store yesterday...

Being a geek, I know when I walk into a place like this what I want, how much I am going to pay for it, and what accessories I might need to go along with it. We proceeded to the counter where they sell phones, PDAs, etc and asked for an item. Something we had seen online and available was not offered in the store! There are some items they just don't stock. What?!?!? Why would you advertise any of the models if you don't offer them ALL in your stores. And to top it off, the guy at the counter gave us an attitude when we asked him why they sell some and not others. Something about not selling enough to keep in stock. Well, there's a shocker. They don't sell enough of the items so they don't carry it in their store. That is because they don't stock it in the store!!!!!! Hello!!!! And this is not a cheap item either, it is one of the most expensive ones they have. So, off to another department to ask about an item that we need to add to one of our computers. I waited for an associate to get freed up, which they always seem to be understaffed, but I understand why. People usually don't make thousand dollar purchases without some research and questions. So waiting is not a big deal to me. Besides, I spent most of my school years, High School and college, working retail so I know how it works. Anyway, he asks if we need any assistance and I proceed to ask about the piece that I need. He responds that they don't make anything for that model of laptop. No biggie, so I ask about an adapter that I KNOW will work and he says he knows what I mean but they don't sell them. Listen, if you carry models that can't be upgraded but need accessories, then why not carry the accessories. This is not rocket science. But wait, it gets better. I mutter something about them not carrying anything that we wanted today and he proceeds to try and answer my complaint with an attitude. Now, here is a little lesson in Retailing 101. The customer is always right. Ok? Not a hard concept to grasp. If I can't find what I want, wether it is sold there or on the moon, apologize for it and ask if there is anything else you can do. Do NOT proceed to tell me that you do not carry certain items and then argue as to why. Now, this is not me buying plumbing or electrical supplies where I am clueless. I have been in IT longer than that kid has been walking. I have forgotten more than he knows but yet he still feels the need to get in my face and tell me what I should be wanting and why. It took me over an hour to calm down after I left. I was so heated that I didn't even get his name. Normally, I love to chat with the store associates wherever I shop. The checkout lines at Kroger and Meijer are my favorites. Just ask my fiancee. I have a grand old time. I know that what I want is not going to be bleeding edge in 5 years, maybe not even 3 years, or even 1, but I want it and you don't have it. End of discussion as far as I am concerned. Pacify me, tell me you are sorry, and let me go. Thats all. I may not leave happy, but at least I am not leaving wondering how I can get you fired.

Parent of an ADHD child

I am the parent of an ADHD child. My youngest is 8 years old and suffers from ADHD. Currently in the second grade, we held him back in the first after he was diagnosed, he is doing well in an advanced class. He does very well, he gets two doses per day. One with breakfast and one at school with lunch. It took his pediatrician, teacher, and school counselor all of 30 seconds to diagnose him. We struggled, all of us. But his struggles were by far the worst. I can sit on here and bitch and whine about how much I had to handle. About how bad it was to be at a restaraunt, or shopping, or how his school work suffered but no one, and I mean no one suffered like he did. He had what we called "bad" days. He knew he was having them but he couldn't help it and that was the most awful part. It was frustrating for everyone involved but I still can't imagine what he went and still goes through. He would constantly be disciplined. Not just by me but his teacher, the bus driver, his babysitter, it didn't matter. And he tried. He would cry at night asking why he was always being yelled at and why he was doing so badly. It would break my heart.

Let me state a few things....I am a very lucky guy. I have two wonderful kids. Both are loving and caring kids that go out of their way to do what is right. My youngest is so eager to please and to do what is right, and kind, that it is almost to a fault. He is always first with a hug and an "I Love You". His teachers cannot say enough about him. He will be the first one to give something up for someone else. I know I am biased being the dad but oh well. That is the way I feel about it. On top of the two wonderful kids, I have a beautiful woman that I intend on spending the rest of my life with. I live close to my family so that my kids can see thier grandparents frequently. I am still on friendly terms with thier mom, but only for thier sake, but still friendly. I get to see them about half of the time, not including sports or school functions. My kids love my fiancee, and I KNOW that is lucky. I have heard horror stories and thankfully she is wonderful enough that we have been able to avoid any real problems.

Ok, back to where I was before. His school days were bad. He would get up and walk around class. Just get up and walk around. It was distracting for the teacher and all of his friends. After a lot of counseling with his teacher and the school counselor, not to mention his pediatrician, the decision was made to hold him back. I have not regretted that decision at all. He is able to excel in class now, giving him a much needed boost to his ego. We took him to the doctor with the express intention of making sure anything that was done was not going to take away from his "personality". I wanted him to be better but not at the cost of becoming one of the horror stories you hear about. Walking zombies that were not kids any more but lumps. If I lost my perky, energetic, and most important loving, child then it wasn't worth it. The doctor agreed and he is on the lowest dose available right now. He will still struggle on days that he might miss his medicine but I do not regret any decision that we made so far. His "good" days far exceed his "bad" days. He is still loving. We still get hugs and kisses and I Love Yous all of the time. He is still as energetic as before. He loves his sports. I just wish we could have seen it sooner and helped him avoid so many "bad" days.

Geeks

I am a computer geek. I have been in IT for over 15 years. I have worked on everything from a 286 back in the mid 90's to the present where my laptop is a P4 with a Gig of RAM. I have seen the evolution of the PC, the Client Server side, software, Microsoft. I have even bet my career on Microsoft by becoming a certified Engineer and Trainer. I have kept up with the technology, or at least my little corner of it, via geek mags, websites, daily emails, whatever it takes to retain the edge. Currently my niche resides in the Disaster Recovery, Business Continuance arena. But that is not the point, just random background noise.

My point is this...you can be a computer geek and still have some semblance of a social life. I have worked with, for, and over a lot of geeks. In my humble opinion anyone who chooses computers for a career, or lifestyle because let's face it, if you are going to work with or on them for 8-10 hours a day then you are going to be learning about them 12-20 hours a day. Anyone who chooses to work with computers is a geek. And this does not include those who work in Excel on a spreadsheet at thier desk. I am talking engineering or programming.

That being said, there a differing levels of geekdom. There is the initial level. Those who work with computers daily but still carry on more than active social lives and skills. These are usually the fringe of IT. The sales side, the executives and the like. The ones who have a need to keep up on the technology but not in depth enough to sacrifice social skills. These are usually the people who everyone knows works on computers but is not quite knowledgeable enough to have everyone ask them about thier "computer problems".

The next level is a bit more complicated but it also holds the majority of the IT world. This is the level of geekdom that most people relate to. This person has the need and want to read all of the latest news websites, gets all of the pertinent publications, and still finds time for a family or friends that do not include an XBox party until 4am on a Tuesday night.

Now we start to sink into the next level. Very close to becoming nerds. The next group of people WILL sacrifice social skills for the gain of knowledge. But these are also the people that know, eventually, they will have to make that decision about family or friends or career. These people are or were gamers. The ones who had that ISP in thier basement in the 90's when IT was booming. The ones who can take thier area of expertise and put it up against anyone. The ones who understand packets, protocols, and project management.

The last and deepest darkest of these levels of geekdom is the nerd. The person who thinks getting to work at 10 is early because they were up until 4 rebuilding thier FTP and Web server to host 14 of thier friend's websites. This is the group that can tear apart a router and program a flash webpage in the same night. Thier expertise is only limited by the hours in the day and the more knowledge the better. No social skills to speak of but they don't care either. They want technology, the more the better. The last "party" they attended was a Halo 2 party where to get in you had to bring an XBox. These people don't get asked "computer problem" questions because normal people fear them.

This whole wedding thing...

For anyone, and I mean anyone out there, who might have read this blog at all they know that I am engaged. Over this past weekend, in fact. One of the things that my lovely wife-to-be and I discussed was the actual wedding itself. Now, being as we are both on our second trip down the aisle, things do not have to be nearly as big, huge, humungous, large, unwieldy, immense, enormous, gigantic, hefty, substantial, sizeable, or massive. It does however, have to be perfect. Yeah, I will admit that. This is my last try at this. I fully expect to be with this wonderful woman until I am old and crotchety. Ok, I am already half of that, so how about just old then. I would think that this would be no big deal to plan. Small wedding, bigger reception (for reasons that are personal) and thats about it. But we are dealing with the same things first timers deal with like who, where, when. I thought about it off and on all weekend and still had no real firm grasp on what I really wanted. I know part of the who....me and her. I know part of the when....before I retire. I know part of the where....on the continental United States of America. Other than that I am clueless, even more than normal. Why is this so hard? I will tell you why. Because it still has to be perfect. When you exchange vows, for the first or fourth time, it still has to be perfect. It still has to have all of the wonder and romanticism of every other wedding. It still has to be memorable. Everyone wants that. At least everyone who cares about thier partner. I have known some who have gone to Hawaii to get married. I have known some who have gone down the street to the closest church they could find. Why do you see people walking out of the chapels in Vegas or Gatlinburg in dresses and tuxedos? Because it still has to be perfect, even if Elvis is performing the ceremony.

Ugh

I hate being sick. I will tell you now, I am a horrible patient. I feel so sorry for my fiancee. I feel sorry for anyone that has to be around me when I am sick. I never want to rest. I never want to take my medicine. I will usually work and not even think about calling the doctor. If I am stuck in bed I get grumpy. All the usual symptoms of a really bad patient. And God love my fiancee for putting up with me. She makes my meals, brings me everything I need. A true saint. And I love her for it. But at the time, I argue with her about it. Every bit of it. Of course, after about 9 hours at work, I am praying for the day to end so I can go home and climb into bed. Promising to myself that I will get to sleep early and let her take care of me. Then I get home. I always see something to do. Put the dishes in the dishwasher. If there are none, then clean out the dishwasher and put the clean dishes away. Pick up my clothes from yesterday or this morning. Get the mail. Fix something to eat. Something that catches my eye to make me not follow exactly what I said I was going to do when I felt like crap just an hour earlier. You would think that after that many years, it would sink in. Yeah, right.