Stress and Over commitment

Hello again my adoring public,


So, the last time we got together I made a number of grandiose claims of how I was going to spend my time and what I was going to do in order to help better myself in delightful ways...


Well, with some of those I've been doing very well. I only logged into Facebook once, and that was to pull up something from a conversation, didn't even click on the 98 (98!) notifications I had. Video games I've also been doing fairly well with, though not entirely of my own volition (more on that later). I've logged into Retromud a couple times to check things but haven't actually *played* which I'll take as something...so still improvements to be done there!


Then there was that itsy bitsy manner of writing chapter reviews on, well, everything I read. And that has hilariously gone out the window. I took good notes and wrote one for a chapter out of one of my Project Management books, took notes for another, and rapidly dissolved into just not having the time/brain power for the effort. As for my Bible reading...well I didn't read almost at all during ALS so I'm still working feverishly to catch up, which is hard to do when you start over a month behind and days won't stop passing, so no time to write right now, but maybe once I'm caught up I'll try and do something. Especially with some of the chapters from Psalms and Isaiah, a couple times I've thought it'd make a really good writing topic since it stirred them feelings, but every time I push on to try and eat a few more chapters to catch up. And fiction I still plan on doing it with, but I haven't read any fiction and don't know when I'm going to have time to read any...


Now that we've re-hashed some of what I talked about last time let us move on to the juicy new bits. As some of you may or may not know I'm not the biggest fan of my Job (not really getting into what I do because privacy, but feel free to email me and depending on if I actually know you or not I'll explain what I do). In addition to the normal part of my Job I've also been assigned as an assistant training manager, something I was initially excited about, and now just busy with. On top of that I received an additional Job that I ignored for the last few months (the last guy said it I didn't actually have to do anything with it and I believed him like the idiot I was). Come to find out not only is there stuff to do with it but there is an inspection on whether I've been doing the stuff...this month. So I've been scrambling to get that covered.


The combination of the school and the triple jobs I've been feeling incredibly stressed. To the point that after running at the gym (did I mention I have a PT test next week?) I felt about as close as I ever had to having some sort of panic attack/meltdown and nearly toyed with the idea of telling my supervisor that I don't give a flying fiddlers fart about any of this. Now, that's not actually entirely true but it would probably get me out of some of my additional work (and my line number for a promotion that will bring more, guess what, work), and probably streamline my leaving my Job in a couple years when my contract is up.


Oh, and I've been working on learning Japanese when I have spare time. This may sound like an additional stressor, but it's actually somewhat soothing, at least it is when I don't suck (I don't do it after 2am or the anger comes out).


Welp, that about wraps it up for now I think. If you have any tips for how to handle stress and over commitments when you can't actually take something away please let me know, I could clearly use the help.


~joe/ish

Calling all Bikers!

And not motorcyclists, I want real bikers. The ones that use their feet (and some fancy machinery) to get them from place to place. Preferably commuting sorts, though anyone with experience is free to pitch in. Or those people with strong opinions, they're okay too. However, if you have no experience, have no strong opinions, and are easily cowed by words...DO NOT COMMENT! Or go ahead and comment, really not to worried about it.

Anyhoo, here's the deal. Right now I ride 2.5mi to work, and sometimes 2.5mi back (lately it's been in the 100s so my wife has been giving me the truck on our lunchbreaks).

A problem? I ride a well used mountain bike on pavement. From my understanding I couldn't be much less efficient, unless I got a trick bike. Either way it's not that big of a deal, only 2.5mi. However, rather soon (in Dec) there is a decent chance I'll be living further away, at which point I'd want a real bike.

Also, I kinda want something I can carry stuff on. Like, grocery runs and such. And I don't think I've ever seen a hookup for one of those back things that you strap stuff to for a mountain bike.

And now to the point: Does anyone (I'm looking at you Dax) have advice for what to get? Or personal experience that says street bikes aren't really that much better on streets than mountain bikes (I would find that hilarious)?

Any other general bike commuting advice would be appreciated as well. Oh, and right now I use a $10 walmart satchel to carry stuff to/from work, so I'm open for suggestions for that too.

Adios!
~Joe/Ish

P.S. And did you notice what I did with the post?

Wow

So I really haven't posted in a month eh? Man, a lot has happened since then, and not much. It's a weird world, what can I say.
First off I no longer work at Texas Life. They let me know early in Aug that they wouldn't be continuing the internship and wouldn't have a full time position for me. There are good and bad points about this.
First we'll start with a bad point, I need a job. And seeing as I'm in a relationship I *really* need a job. Not to give me a sense of security (that's one of the things God is there for) or to provide for my needs (again with the God providing that), but for God to use to provide for my needs. If that doesn't make sense then HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA PURPLE MELONPOOLS ARE APPLES!
Second we'll do a good note. I don't think I was being very spiritually productive at my work there. I believe God will provide me with a position where I will be better capable of blessing others.
And I'll get into other stuff later, class is near over (we're doing review that I know), so yuppers.
~joe/ish

Sometimes free coffee just isn't worth it

So yeah, there I was at work, just sitting on the counter minding my own business. Me waiting for work to do, my coworker also waiting for work, but with a starbucks to sooth the boredom. After a very short bit, she gets called away to talk to someone, I forget exactly who, BUT she leaves her coffee there.

Now here we're left with a serious of choices. For one I could hide her coffee from her, but she'll know it was me, and thus I'll just have to fess up (by and large I'm a horrible liar). I could add something to her coffee, but I have a very hard rule that I don't mess with peoples food. Somethings are just plain wrong. So I decided to go with the third option, help myself to free coffee!

Me and most of my coworkers are really good friends, we all share our food, and if we have tasty drink, we'll share that too. So it's not like I was just drinking out of some random chick's coffee. But still, sometimes God reminds us that it's best to ask before we take that drink.

Usually, when you have a cup of coffee, if, for some reason, you take the lid off, you immediately put it back on. Or at least I do. As a result of this habit, I very rarely check to see if a lid is firmly attached, I just pick it up and drink it. I'm now rethinking this habit:



Yeah, it looks pretty bad. But I also have other, and possibly less silly, news! Onward!

So I was working yesterday, 7A-7P, and looking foward to the second half of Kara afterwards (much of which I haven't seen yet). About 17:30 my aunt calls for my cousin, so I pass her off and go on about my day, I figure one of my nieces was acting up or something. Shortly after that, my cousin comes back and asks me if I want various pieces of furniture that had prior to this been in the front room (they call it a porch, but it is very much not one). I was quite happy to say yes to some of it, and obtain rights to offer the AWESOME couch to my bro. I get informed that that's awesome, and asked if I could pick up the futon (I think that's how that's spelled) tonight.

At this point I think to myself, well, Kara starts pretty much as I get off, but I'm sure they'll understand if I show up 20min late because I had to pick up free furniture. So I agree, and go on about my work.

Seven rolls around and I get off, by this time I had worked myself into feeling guilty about showing up lateish to Kara, so I call my aunt and ask if it would be possible to pick up the futon the next night. She happily agrees, but inquires if I'm still coming to help move the rest of the furniture?

This confuses me, I don't exactly know where I thought the other furniture was coming from, but I was guessing they'd deliver it mid week sometime? Further inquiries showed that they had visited an auction and obtained a wonderful leather three piece living room set for only $1300. But Texas weather being what it is lately, felt the need to get it inside tonight. Normally this stuff only requires two people, but my aunt hurt her back recently, and my cousin is at work 'till midnight, so it's me and my uncle.

Now normally I try really hard not to flake on WoW, especially when nine other people are expecting me to be there in all my n00bishness and would get mad at me for not making it. But luckily I'm with the SD! Who understand that family comes first before WoW. Period. So I dial Wulfa, accidently waking Orclette up along the way, and ask her to pass on that I'll be late (around 8pm I think) and to feel free to replace me if they need two. Little did I know, that I would NOT be back at my house at 8pm.

Gotta run to work! I'll finish it up later, like tonight or something, maybe at work if it's slow, but prolly not!

~joe/ishvi