My love/hate relationship with Fridays

I both love and hate Fridays.

The atmosphere changes here on Friday. Everything slows down as people mentally prep for the weekend. Sometimes you might as well have a four-day work week the way some folks treat Fridays.

Normally I'm not one of those folks. Blogging is a 24/7 affair. I've developed, though, blogging techniques so that prepping Monday's batch isn't as arduous like earlier in the week. It also helps that I can post during the weekend, too, and from home.

So I sit in my cube, sipping coffee, restlessly determining what my next task will be that moment. Shall I continue my research for hotel for next month's auto race? Prep an article list for my freelancers? Or check office stock?

I need another cup of coffee. Oh! Happy Pirates' Day!

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Carpe Diem (seize the day)

Midnight -- Zero Hour

Well, I did it. I wrote twelve posts in one day.

Or is it thirteen? It doesn't matter. I'll tell you now it wasn't particularly onerous. But then, I had no particular goal in mind except to see if I could pull it off. Think of twelve topics? Check. Write one per hour? Check. I'm not particularly aiming for an audience which seems to be the goal for most bloggers. That's already a job requirement, something I don't want to bring in this second go-around with Words, Weights, Whatever.

Can I tell you a little secret? I started this blog back in 2002 because of -- gasp! -- old age. Or what I thought of the time as old age. You see, every time someone asked what I had done that particular weekend or day, I kept forgetting. I kid you not. Fearing I was suffering some sorta early dementia, I started the blog as a simple reminder of all the things I do/did in my life. Things, of course, didn't work out that way and which I'm forever grateful.

Do I still think I have dementia? Here's another secret. People who don't have dementia think they have it.

Twenty Three Hundred

Oh, my. Only one more post left.

so, how'd I do? Well, I discovered that my penchant for following multiple thoughts served me well in this experiment. If I had written down each one as a reminder and posted one each day, I could have easily filled a month or even more. All I have to do is think "what if...?" and bam! There's a post.

So what were some of those thoughts that crossed my mind? Well:

• What if I had sex with those co-workers whom I thought were attractive? What would we do? What would we say? And would I submit it to Penthouse?
• Why do I like Mazda cars so much?
• Superman is such a wuss. Here's why....
• Why normally smart gamers get stupid over 3.x versus 4E.
• G. should/shouldn't be a writer. (Here's why....)

Twenty Two

I could easily be dead now.

Unlike The Spouse and G., I was definitely not relationship-inclined. I would have enjoyed the so-called "sexual revolution", indulging in all those multiple partners, unsafe sex, and other lifestyles that I read about in history books and anti-sex rhetoric.

But I was born 10-20 years too late. Using condoms, "safe sex", monogamy, etc., are as part of my psyche as putting on a seat belt. (Remember when those were optional? I sure don't.) And while I have visited bathhouse and even sex clubs, I did so either between seeking my next relationship or in my relationship. (My spouse knows me too well, damn it.)

Yet I sometimes still dream of that bygone era. And dreaming, in the form of fantasy, is safe sex.

Twenty One Hundred

I normally don't follow politics. I do, however, follow entertainment, and that's an excellent word to describe the current presidential race.

Case in point: Lindsey Lohan. I cannot believe the media's put her in the middle between Obama and McCain. I mean, I'd never come up with those three in my most perverse threeways.

But there she is, the "is she or is she not a lesbian", spouting her views about the candidates on her Myspace page, and ultimately climaxing the media frenzy with her offer to Obama to help his campaign. Which was rejected which then prompts a response from her estranged father while also causing the McCain camp to attack Obama which then....

Entertainment, see?
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Carpe Diem (seize the day)

Twenty

Ah, the things one does for one's spouse.

I got The Spouse to like fast food, specifically Del Taco. This is a result of my role-playings and coming home past midnight. You see, the only eatery (I hesitate to use that term) enroute home is a Del Taco drivethru.

Thus, you can imagine the line. Cars, SUVs, and in-betweens, filled with (primarily) bored high school and strung-up college students, all of us waiting for our turn at the disembodied voice to ask us (in a heavy Spanish accent): "please wait." Argh!

Then double that. One time they forgot my drink. Too exhausted to be angry, I went back into the line and waited as the teens in front of me pretended to be American Idol contestants. Course, they sounded more like rejects. I did flag one staff down as he was taking out the trash so that I received my drink quickly when I drove up to the all-too familiar window.

Anyway, enough background. I recently discovered the local Taco Bell to be a much shorter wait (i.e., no line). Unfortunately, The Spouse prefers Del Taco.

So what's a spouse to do? Sigh. I hope the line's not long tonight.
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Carpe Diem (seize the day)

Nineteenth Hour

Would you show your sex life on-line?

A while back, G.'s former roommate R. mentioned in passing a website called xtube. Curious, I visited the site a few days later.

Oh, my.

Bluntly, xtube is the adult version of Youtube. At the site, you upload images and videos of yourself in action where folks can not only view, but comment as well. I spent a few minutes previewing the site before returning to e-mail.


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Carpe Diem (seize the day)

Eighteenth Hour

How long have you been on your own?

I've never lived on my own. I've always either had a roommate or, more often, lived with a lover. My siblings, on the other hand, have dwelled by themselves at some point in their lives.

I sometimes wonder if I missed something from the lack of solo experience, of being responsible to myself and no one else. What would it have been like, for example, to come home to a place that's all mine? Or to bring a date/fling and say, "here's my place"? Is it as lonely as everyone says it is? Note that folks who use such replies often are either looking for a relationship or are bitter in their solitude.

I wonder if I would found contentment in a solo situation? I often claim I'm a loner, but I wonder sometimes if it's true. Yes, I can easily get lost into a book or show. But I also enjoy the company of friends, and I know I get stir crazy when it's a Friday night and there's no one to talk with.

Hmmm. Time for nap.
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Carpe Diem (seize the day)

Seventeenth Hour

Lust.

That's how I feel every summer. I've noted the feeling for some time now; making a mental note where my eyes look, what my thoughts are, and where my hands go (over The Spouse, of course).

Is it the sun? Nah. See that pretty much every day here in SoCal. Food? Or the number of good-lookin' folks suddenly shedding as much clothing as decently possible to enjoy the former while avoiding the latter? I think it's both factors plus hormones and lots of it.

So, where am I going with this post? I enjoy the feeling. There would have been a time I would have mentally suppressed them, thinking that I had issues with my relationship. Nothing could be further from the truth. Now, it's an entirely different matter if I acted on said emotions. The feeling though...is just a feeling. Like the wind, the surf, and indigestion, the feeling, too, shall past.
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Carpe Diem (seize the day)

Sixteenth Hour

Here's a short list of some of my favorite music right now:

• So What by Pink
• When I Grow Up by the Pussycat Dolls
• Piece of Me (Bimbo Jones Remix) by Britney Spears
• Gimme More (Paul Oakenfold Remix) by Britney Spears
• Break the Ice (Remix) by Britney Spears

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Carpe Diem (seize the day)

Fifteenth Hour

My eyeballs feel like boiled eggs.

That's a problem when you work in front of a computer all day. Information --specifically, written information -- is your "product" day in and day out. All my blog posts, my team's posts, blog images, and communication are always in front of an Alt-tab away.

There's no letup, especially in this day and age. "Information overload" is a real issue for many of us in media. I spent a good half-hour to sometimes an hour each working day both in email and the Internet culling the so-called wheat from the chaff(?) to find my diamonds in the rough auto news. I post between 15 to 26 new posts a day during the week. That's a lot of diamonds to find. Then there all these images....

But here's the "sad" thing. You know what I do when I get home? Yup, that's right. After a brief nap, I boot up my laptop and start the process all over again but with new topics (e.g., personal blog posts, rpgs, news, etc.) I hope that, one day, we'll have artificial eyes, for I can see (get it?) that I'm going to need them.
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Carpe Diem (seize the day)

Fourteenth Hour

"It's your blog".

That's what G. said when I asked him a few minutes ago if it was time for another blog. The sharp response provoke the following topic.

Does one write posts for an audience or oneself? That's an extremely common question many bloggers ask themselves and even their readers. Who (or is it whom?) is one writing for? Since I write blog posts for pay, I'm in an interesting position to see both sides of the question.

And my opinion? It's both, naturally. I consider blog posts similar to short stories, novels, comic books, and any other auditory/visual medium (e.g., paper, webpage, podcasts, etc.) where an author tells/writes their thoughts so others can experience it. Posts, on the one hand, can be read by almost anyone depending on the permissions given (or how skilled is the hacker). If the blogger truly wanted to keep things for themselves, they wouldn't be publishing their posts.

On the other hand, bloggers need a source to tap for their topic and that's themselves. Yes, one can give a blogger a subject matter to write about, but their viewpoint, writing style, etc., is theirs -- and theirs alone. The blogger decides how much of themselves they're willing to bare not only to their readers, but themselves as well. As G. above recently said, he hates re-reading his reviews, something he shares with all writers. That's understandable, for every time one writes their thoughts down, they give something of their thoughts and hearts, which is not always pleasant to look in the stark light of reality.


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Carpe Diem (seize the day)

Thirteen Hundred

Don't you hate it when technology fails you and you don't know why?

That just happened to me. Here I am, doing my work, copying and pasting some text from a Microsoft Word document to Notepad. Why? Let's just say Microsoft likes to hide code which doesn't like non-Microsoft products (and even some other MS products).

Anyway, I select Ctrl and V keys to paste the selected text. What do I see? Well, I see text but it's the wrong one. What the frak? I think. Instead, I see the text from the prior copy/paste job.

A bit of explanation. MS Word apparently has a feature that records a certain number of copy/paste jobs in the Paste functionality. Normally it defaults to the most recent copy when pasting text. However, one can open this job list to paste in earlier material. I never use the feature, since I copy/paste what I want to paste the first time.

Anyway, I try again, copying the right text, then paste again. Still old stuff. Argh! This time I cut the material from the Word document, confident I could restore it using the Undo feature. Nope. Argh! (I'm beginning to sound like a pirate, eh?) I undo the Cut, then give up. I've dealt with this admittedly rare issue in the past and know of only one way to stop it. Yup. That's right. Reboot.

Grrr....
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Carpe Diem (seize the day)

Twelve Hours

One of my "faults" is that I, once I figure I like something, I can be quite obsessive about the new interest. The Spouse has seen it over and over: books, comic books, religion, cars, and role-playing games.

Now I'm interested in personal blogging as opposed to my blogger job. Today I'm going to generate one post per hour from noon until midnight. And these won't be half-arsed posts like a couple of sentences each. No, each will be at least four meaningful sentences.

So what will I be covering? Originally, I was going to cover what I did during my job. I decided finally that blogging about blogging was, well, kinda boring. Instead, I'll figure a topic at the spur of the moment. The Spouse always said I'm chockfull of ideas. Let's put that to the test, shall we?

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Carpe Diem (seize the day)

Outside Looking In

Last night I joined friends C., G, and R. (not The Spouse) at a local restaurant.

A little background here. C. and G. have been meeting almost regularly once a week at said restaurant. Both used to do volunteer duty at this center. We'd meet at the center, then move over to the restaurant where we'd chat over the latest dramas, movies, and books. At one point, we actually formed an impromptu reading group, selecting a book a month to read and discuss the next month. That has fallen by the wayside as new interests have taken their place.

R.'s is G.'s old roommate and currently lives in his old digs after G. moved out. All three maintain contact with each other, especially C. and G., who used to regularly attend the Happiest Place on Earth for Years.

That bond really hit me last night at the restaurant. There they chatted about people and events I had never heard of or attended. Later, G. teased R. about his alleycat ways with a casualness that was almost shocking (especially from G., whom I remember was the most uptight of the three. People change.) I was never excluded from the conversation, but I definitely felt like a fourth wheel.

It's my own fault, really. C. and G. have been more than generous in inviting me and The Spouse to many of their events and outings. We share plenty of the same interests to do so. But life, in the form of vacations, fatigue, other events, or just play bad timing, have made such rendezvous few and far between. Finally, The Spouse and I are quite insular with our free time to the point even our families barely see us.

Is it time to change the dynamics of my relationship with C., G., and R.?
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Carpe Diem (seize the day)

Sex and Me

One of my sibs sent the following questionnaire in one of those e-mail round robin thingamabible. Here's my reply (edited to protect the perverted):


Sex in the morning, afternoon or night?
All. I'm a guy. :)

What side of the bed do you sleep on?
When facing the bed, on the left.

Have you ever had to pull over on the side of the road to puke?
No.

Have you ever taken your clothes off for money?
No.

Shower or bath?
Shower mainly.

Do you pee in the shower?
Yes. I'm a guy :)

Do you want someone aggressive or passive in bed?
Both.

Do you love someone in your friends list?
My sister.

Do you know all the people in your friends list?
No.

Love or money?
LOL! Why yes, I would love money!

Credit cards or cash?
YES!

Have you ever had anyone in your family you wish wasn't?
Only after a major argument.

Would you rather go camping or to a 5 star hotel?
Hotel.

Where is the weirdest place you have had sex?
Pool.

Would you shave your entire body (including your head) for money?
Probably

Have you ever been to a strip club?
Yes

Ever been to a bar?
Yes

Ever been kicked out of a bar or a club?
No

Ever been so drunk you had to be carried out of somewhere?
No.

Kissed someone of the same sex?
Yes

Ever had sex in the bathroom?
Yes

Have you ever had sex at work?
Yes

Have you ever been in an "adult" store?
Yes

Have u ever bought anything thing from an adult store?
Yes

Ever been caught having sex?
Yes

Does anyone have naughty pics of You?
No

Have you ever had sex with someone and called them the wrong name?
No

Who do you think has the guts to re-post this?
My sister. Oh, wait....

Seven Months

As you can see below, my last post was back in February. I'd like to say there have been big changes in my life since then (e.g., winning the lotto, six figure advance for my first book, etc.) but life's been more sedate than that (thank the gawds).

Instead, I'm still employed, still partnered, and still healthy. For those catching up, I started working for the present company back in February 2006. The full-time temp position turned permanent around September that year. Having benefits again...are good!

The Spouse and I will be celebrating our 15th year together this December. 15 years. Damn. That's five times longer than my first major relationship. But don't look for posts about any future weddings. Though same-sex marriages are legal here in the Golden state, we've decided against it -- and even domestic partnership -- for the foreseeable future. That can all change, though, if we win the lotto.

I'm still healthy, abeit with a few more wrinkles. The spare tire, though, is definitely growing. I'm schedule to get a physical this month but am already planning to drop below 200 pounds in the near future. I can see the holidays, though, putting a major crimp in my goal. Oh, well.


More to come!
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Carpe Diem (seize the day)

Back

I'm back!
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Carpe Diem (seize the day)

test 123-3

Test 123-3

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Carpe Diem (seize the day)

Note to Self: Blog Topics To Consider

What the title says.

1. Update on Self (job, health, yaddayaddayadda, etc.)
2. Update on Family
3. Update on Friends (provide links if possible)
4. Current Interests (e.g., rpgs, writing, etc.)
5. Miscellaneous

test 123-2

hello? hello? anyone there?

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Carpe Diem (seize the day)

test 123

test 123

"Carpe Diem"
(Seize the Day),

Joel A.

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See how Windows Mobile brings your life together—at home, work, or on the go. See Now

test 123

test 123

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Carpe Diem (seize the day)

test 123

test 123 "Carpe Diem" (Seize the Day),