| Is this thing on? |
[Mar. 20th, 2008|02:31 am] |
*thump thump thump*
Hey, is this thing on?
Well.. holy crap.. It's like, 2008.. where does the time go?
*brushes about half an inch of dust off the LJ..* Since the last post.. The roomie, Mila, bought a house in south Dallas, where I now reside at a rather competitive rate.. My firearm collection has remained at a stable level, despite a few swaps and an unfortunate loss of 2 pieces to a burglary (as well as my laptop)
I'm still 'gainfully' employed, that's nothing to complain about.. in fact, got promoted to network tech last February.. making some rather comfy cash.
The downside, I guess, is the days melt together into weeks which melt together into months.. and the next thing you know, a year's gone by.. amazing how fast it all goes.
My dad had a quadruple bypass in May, but he's now looking and feeling better than he has in years.
My brother's the service manager for a Lexus dealer downtown, and has taken up Golf. He must have gotten his hair from dad's side of the family, I've got a ponytail at 29 and he's going bald at 27.. :>
With everything said and done, 2007 maintained the status quo.. I'll have to post pictures sometime for the benefit of any lurkers still watching for me.
Until then, peace out the revolution, yo. |
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| Uncanny Accuracy.. |
[Feb. 18th, 2006|10:52 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  amused | ] |
LOL! How perfect is THAT!?
 | You scored as SG-1 (Stargate). You are versatile and diverse in your thinking. You have an open mind to that which seems highly unlikely and accept it with a bit of humor. Now if only aliens would stop trying to take over your body.
SG-1 (Stargate) | | 100% | Moya (Farscape) | | 94% | Deep Space Nine (Star Trek) | | 88% | Millennium Falcon (Star Wars) | | 81% | Serenity (Firefly) | | 81% | Babylon 5 (Babylon 5) | | 75% | Enterprise D (Star Trek) | | 75% | Bebop (Cowboy Bebop) | | 63% | Andromeda Ascendant (Andromeda) | | 56% | Nebuchadnezzar (The Matrix) | | 56% | Galactica (Battlestar: Galactica) | | 38% | FBI's X-Files Division (The X-Files) | | 38% | </td>
Your Ultimate Sci-Fi Profile II: which sci-fi crew would you best fit in? (pics)
created with QuizFarm.com |
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| Walking and breathing |
[Jan. 16th, 2006|01:44 am] |
Ok, we all know that this is just a bullshit post. Nothing new or spectacular happening here. It's been so freakin' long since I put anything up though, that I thought this might be a good way to let people who wouldn't otherwise know that I'm still alive and well. So, for now, that's all. More to come once I find some webspace to dump a little raw media to.
Peace to all my homies, and especially to a certain few half a continent away. I still miss and love you all, even though I am a damn silent spook. |
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| A brief update |
[Oct. 8th, 2004|01:21 pm] |
Just to let you all know.
I got my car back, repaired fully. It cost me $320, but I got just under $1000 worth of wheels and tires free, so I guess I'm ahead of the game. Still sucks though, I had plans for that money. Anyhow.. I'll be pulling an overtime shift tonight if they don't cancel it again, the OPS people here at work disallowed OT for the last couple days, Things have been kind of slow, I guess.
I'm looking at 20-25 hours of overtine this pay period, if I manage to get to work the extra hours tonight and tomorrow. Maybe I'll be able to get something taken care of next week when I get paid. The move is coming up pretty quick. I want to get everything moved over to the new apartment on or about the fifteenth.
Not much more to report @ this time, just working and carrying on. Was up waaay too late last night, running on adrenaline, caffiene, and sugar right now. Only got about 2 hours of sleep. Hardcore! |
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| Live From the Moon |
[Oct. 5th, 2004|05:31 pm] |
On the subject of losing touch.
It's amazing how quickly the time passes. It's been so long since I last posted to his journal, almost a year. I've got to wonder where all of the time went. Between the new job, and the troubles I've had with the school. (FYI, I was turned down for graduation, I need to make 12 hours more to raise my GPA. suckage) I've been so busy just keeping up with life that I think I've lost, or are losing touch with a lot of the things and people that make life worth living.
I regret missing AC this year, unfortunately the requirements of my new job and the financial situation would not allow for it. To Lulu, Bat, Faekitty, & Co. on NYC.. I'm sorry. The with the infreqency that I manage to communicate with you, I might as well be on the Moon instead of Dallas. I want you all to know, I think of you and miss you.
With the new apartment, the travel budget's going to be thin for some time, but I'll do my best to do AC 2005. If I'm still with the company, I'll have 2 weeks of paid vacation time to use.
Better yet, If I can find some supplemental income, I could make other arrangements.
Either way, I need to pay another visit ASAP, assuming I'm still welcome. It's been too damn long. |
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| Always an adventure (Second attempt) |
[Oct. 5th, 2004|08:20 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  worried | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Yoko Kanno- Walk in the Rain | ] |
Having accidentally deleted my previous attempt at this post, here comes #2.
Life always has to be an adventure of some kind..
Roughly three weeks ago, while apartment hunting with Mila, I managed to hit one of those big, hemispherical lane dividers we have in Texas.. and creaed the left front rim of my '03 Focus. So I took it into the dealership, and while we were looking at it, we noticed that the rear alignment was off, two other tires were forming sidewall bubbles, and both the right front and left rear wheels had flat spots. No problem, it's all covered by the tire and wheel warranty, right?
Yeah, right.
"Blackie" has been in the shop at the dealership for seventeen days now, for a repair that would take Discount Tire a couple of hours.
Why, do you ask, is this such an ordeal? Three words: Third Party Warranty. I dropped the car off two saturdays ago. When I checked back on the following Monday, the conversation went something like this:
Gazer- "How's the car?"
Mechanic- "We haven't started on it."
Gazer- "What? Why?"
Mechanic- "We're waiting for approval from Autonation [the warranty provider] to replace the wheels. The adjuster is supposed to come out tonight or tomorrow."
I should have seen this one coming, but I gave them the benefit ot the doubt. The next day, apparently, an insurance adjuster came out to report on the damage, and was supposed to have stated that "it would be no problem replacing three wheels and tires".
Fallacy!
By Friday, I hadn't heard a damn thing from the dealership. and when I called to check I was informed that the AutoNazis were requesting photographs of the wheel damage. Apparently, the insurance adjuster didn't bother to take any pictures of the damage. Idiot. So, I'm told pictures were taken, and mailed off. (Mailed? Dont you have a @#$%ing Fax?) Tired of bumming rides to and from work, I express my displeasure, and I'm issued a loan car from the dealership. I've been rolling around since in a shiny, champagne gold '03 Taurus. I want _my_ car back.
Fast forward to this past wednesday, now 11 days since the car was dropped off. I hear back from the dealership. I call them to get the message. Apparently, the agent at AutoNazis that was handling my case has quit in the interim and deleted all of the files off his computer. There is no record of my claim. The dealership now has to resend all of the information. *sigh*
Sunday I get another message from the dealership. The good news: the new rims have finally been approved. The bad news: there is a 'glitch'. What kind of glitch? Apparently the right rear upper control arm on the suspension is bent. I'm not yet aware of the exact nature of the damage to that part, but the wheel I damaged is front left, and the other three wheels never left the ground while the car was interfacing with the road hazard, so I doubt it was in the same incident. I have been in no other accidents with the car. I suspect the condition existed when I bought the car, but I have no proof either way. Maybe if I saw the damaged part. Sounds like a project for tomorrow.
And if that wasn't enough:
Mila and I signed the lease for the apartment last week. She moved in and unpacked over the weekend. I'd like to say I helped unpack, but, it was more like moral support. She did the unpacking and I provided company after ganking a metric asstonne of boxes to move myself. Now its my turn to cram my entire life into little boxes, pick up and move. I'm hopeful, but I'm also terrified.
Adding insult to injury, some lid vandalized the rental car that the dealership loaned me. They bent the rear liscense plate, took two of the code stickers off of the windows, and pried the passenger side power mirror of of its drive mount. Things just keep getting better and better. My brother's a mechanic, maybe he'll be able to get the mirror back on its mounts. I don't know.
On top of all this, I've been working two to three hours of overtime a night. I'm tired and pissed off. Don't need to be dealing with this right now.. At least I'm better off than some of my friends.
*sigh* |
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| Glasnost. |
[Mar. 1st, 2004|10:04 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | optimistic | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Carry On Wayward Son (Kansas) | ] |
Sweeping change.. Well, change anyhow, in my life of late.
Last month, "Go Kart", my faithful red '96 Geo Tracker had a massive coronary (ie threw a rod) and is gone on to that big highway in the sky. (Farewell, old friend)
However, after nearly a month of searching, I came upon a killer deal at the local Ford dealership. A limited Centennial Edition (celebrating 100 years of Ford automobiles) '03 Ford Focus ZTS.. Got the nice engine, the wing, the sway bars, leather interior, 6 disc in dash CD changer.. the little bastard's fully loaded. It's black, of course. (The original fords were all black), very pretty, and "Blackie" gets tons of mileage.. so, I'm happy. :)
My dad tooks some pictures. I'll scan and upload them as soon as possible. :)
Thanks to all those out there rooting for me.. I finally quit my crap job at Hobbytown. I've started training @ Telvista here in Grapevine Texas, to handle tech support for Verizon DSL. It's better pay, more hours, and a lot closer to home (7 miles instead of 35 each way. Dallas is big.) I've been handling the training well.. more on that as situation develops. For those interested: I woke up and joined the 21st century finally.. purchasing a cellular phone. Any friends tha want the number are free to E-mail me and request it, or get it from those-who-know.
Looks like things are showing some promise for a change. Hope it keeps up. :) |
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| End of the Tunnel |
[Dec. 12th, 2003|12:46 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  accomplished | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Beatles, "In My Life" | ] |
Friends, Furries, Countryfolk, lend me your ears...
-or, you could just read this post.
After six and a half long (oh Gods long) years, the light at the end of the tunnel is in sight. I've completed all of my coursework, and am poised to finally graduate with my Bachelor's of Science in Aerospace Engineering. Yep, Gazer is now officially a Rocket Scientist!
I just dropped off my last project, a CO2 cartridge powered rocket for the MAE intro course to use for demonstrations. (Regardless of its educational value, I'm sure it'll at least entertain the professors for a while.)
On the downside, however, I will not be walking the stage at commencement tomorrow, because the registrar has _lost_ my application to graduate. This means I'll have to reapply, and recieve my diploma in May. (Saturday, May 25 I believe is the date. Mark it in your calendars! Come to Dallas and watch! I need a cheer section in the audience!) Every cloud has a silver lining, of course. This does give me extra time to send out real announcements, get a new suit, and a cap & gown for that matter, and to start job-hunting. I've worked long and hard for 6.5 years, waiting another 5 months won't kill me.
Since the holidays are upon us, people are mentioning their Christmas lists.. well, All I want for Christmas is my degree... Oh, and a Soviet PPSH submachine gun for my collection. :)
Love to all of you, and happy holidays! |
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| Crunch Time |
[Nov. 20th, 2003|03:31 am] |
| [ | mood |
| | restless | ] |
Well, like the title suggests, it's crunch time for the foxie.
Lots to do, little time. Been gaming here and there to de-stress, but nothing's really effective. I need a topic for a two page architecture paper..
Since I've got the opportunity to post now, I thought I'd pass along a reminder to Lulu & the crew in NYC, and to my sweet raccoonie, Foz, that even though I don't say it as often as I should or would like, I love you all very much, and miss you.
Be well, my friends. |
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| Aero Engineer's Heaven |
[Oct. 24th, 2003|10:43 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | excited | ] |
My air breathing propulsion systems class went on a field trip across town yesterday, paying a visit to the American Airlines maintainance facility at Fort Worth's Alliance airport. This is a _Stupendously Badass_ place, folks. Saw lots and lots of nifty airplane bits and cutting edge jet engine technology. Paradise. :)
The tour began with the engine maintainance facility. Got to see all stages of the assembly, strip down, and inspection and rebuild process for the Rolls-Royce RB211 series engines (Used on the Boeing 737, 757) including the big beasties, the Trent-211 (Boeing 777). Those engines are MASSIVE! Bigger than my car, and that's without the cowl and shroud around it. Got to see one being tested in the test cell, amazing how you could sense the power coming from that thing. The Trent-211 is rated at something like 96000 pounds of static thrust, and it was awesome to see how such a powerful and complex machine fits together and functions. In a bit of a humorous moment, as we were leaving the first building, Mike Midor and I caught site of an AA employee playing solitaire on one of the computers in the shop, wearing, of course, a 'Proud Union Member' T-shirt. Ain't it great to be in the union? Not to mention the five guys out smoking near the jet fuel pumping station. Well, Cest la vie, non?
Next we visited the maintainance hangar, where there were three 767's in various states of dismantlement (Is that a word? Is now.), and a beautiful, brand-new 777 out on the ramp. My class got to examine the aircraft up close, and the servicing docks, which are a marvel of engineering in and of themselves. We also got to board the 777, check out the cabin and cockpit. 777 has what we call a 'glass cockpit', where all the instruments are replaced by LCD screens and flight data computers. No more flight engineer, his job is done by the computers. A much more organized and less cluttered cockpit than earlier jets. And Big. Really Big. 777 is a huge bird.
The climax (Or anti-climax, not much can top getting to play around with a 777) of the tour was a walk through the engineering offices. The offices were boring, but the job description is nifty. I'm certainly shooting a resume off to these people when I get a chance.
Anyhow, it's back to the salt mines for me.
Peace out the revolution, yo.
-SG |
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| I Have no Hometown! |
[Oct. 16th, 2003|01:34 am] |
| [ | mood |
| | crushed | ] |
The Cubbies choked..
Bastards lost game seven, 9-6. Florida goes on to the World Series.
I'm tempted to renounce my Chicagoanity.
Growf. |
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| People I wouldn't want to be |
[Oct. 14th, 2003|11:19 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | disappointed | ] |
Now here's a fellow I really wouldn't to be right now:
That poor kid down on the third base line at Wrigley Field in Chicago, that screwed up the out in the 8th inning of tonight's National League championship game..
I can't believe my Cubbies gave up eight (count 'em, 8) runs in the top of the 8th, losing 8-3.. when they were a mere five outs from the pennant and the World Series.
On the bright side, to all of those fellows who purchased game seven tickets:
I guess they're worth something now, eh?
Go Cubbies! |
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| From all sides... |
[Sep. 23rd, 2003|10:55 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  distressed | ] |
I feel like total ass right now.
I'm stuck, falling behind in class. I've got a traffic ticket to pay, I'm broke, and my last paycheck wasn't large enough to cover my bills.
I'm feeling lost, tired, and alone.. and I'm stressing myself sick wondering how I'm going to pull the rabbit out of my hat this time. I'll swing by my credit union tomorrow or the day after, and look into a loan if need be.
Wish me luck, and take care all. |
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| Finding a groove. |
[Sep. 13th, 2003|01:18 am] |
| [ | mood |
| | optimistic | ] |
I'm putting my life in order again, piece by piece. Trying to find a groove I can ride in for the rest of this, my final, semester of the adventure that has been my B.S. I'll be overjoyed when December rolls around, and I finally graduate. It's been a long, hard road, but I'm sure it will pay off. After that, well, who knows what might happen, but whatever does, I'll make the best of it.
To the crew in NYC, I miss you all very much. I wish I had the resources to travel the way I'd like to. Lulu, love, I miss you especially. I don't say it often enough, but I love ya, hon, and I can't wait for my next opportunity to see you. Distance sucks, and stuff.
Not much more to report, so I'll leave you at that.
Peace out the revolution, yo. |
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| (no subject) |
[Sep. 9th, 2003|03:49 am] |
| [ | mood |
| | tired | ] |
You are the Fourth Doctor: A walking Bohemian
conundrum with a brooding personal magnetism
and a first-rate intellect concealed somewhere
beneath your charmingly goofy exterior. You are
perhaps the most terribly clever of all the
Doctors, though your occasional bouts of
childishness get you in trouble. You never go
looking for a fight, but when someone messes
with you... good heavens, are they ever sorry
they did.
Which Incarnation of the Doctor Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla
But Doctor, how???
...I'll explain later. |
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| Holy F#$%, he posted... |
[Aug. 20th, 2003|09:06 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | nervous | ] |
Oh my God.. or Gods.. or Almighty Forces of the Universe, or whatever you might believe in... have mercy, Gazer actulally posted something. Now, here's the news.
Life is hectic right now. So hectic that I had to backspace and retype the previous sentence at least 5 times, I can't use a freakin' keyboard. (Don't ask how many times I re-typed that.) My job is steady, and not terribly bad, but my hours have been cut to 29 a week so that I can't be considered a full-time employee, so, as usual, I'm broke. University starts up on Monday. I still haven't registered. I will tomorrow after seeing Dr. Seath (The aerospace advisor). I have a lot of trust in him, the man has given me more chances to make up grades and keep on truckin' over the last few years. (I should have rightfully been booted out of the department after having to re-take Thermodynamics 1 no less than 4 times. I finally got it, though. And mad props to Dr. Seath for letting me give my final Design 1 presentation on the first day of Design 2, having accidentally _slept_ through the appointed hour.)
I've recently got a line on a better job, closer to home for me. I would be working for a startup manufacturing firm, making a shipping product for the electronics industry. Nifty, yes.. And the bossman out at the company wants to see me.. However, It would interfere with my school schedule this fall, and hence, in a worst-case scenario, delay my Bachelor's degree from this December to _next_ December. I don't know what'll happen, but I plan on finishing my degree as expeditiously as possible. 6 years in university is long enough! I won't know about the employment situatuion until I talk to the boss, but here's that much more to worry about, and it's making me even more neurotic than usual. I want to go shoot holes in things. :P
Happy to hear you all came through the big blackout in one piece. Safeguard nothing, it was bound to happen sooner or later. Anyhow, the important thing is everyone's okay.
So, that's the state of this here union. If there are any questions I haven't thought to address, go ahead and ask. Peace out the revolution, yo.
-SG |
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