I took the title of this post from a buddy of mine at http://geekeguy.blogspot.com/2010/03/squirrel.html. Seemed like an appropriate title for a post where I will talk about how many irons I have in the fire, and how many cookie jars I’ve got my fingers in. He said it well when he said that he changes direction more than his underwear. Then he went on about something else, blah blah blah SQUIRREL! I had already changed directions. He does paint some pretty awesome models, however! I saw what looked like a battleship, so I assume he’s working on ships now. But I digress…

I’m here to talk about me, and let’s face it, you are hear to read about me. You must be the poster boy, or girl, of boredom… or related to me… Or both… Probably both. So, it seems I haven’t written since January. Let’s see if I can’t catch you up, faithful readers.

Job. My job still rocks. I get to work with code and explore new technology. It’s my thang, you know. Nothing particularly interesting there. I’m working on .NET Remoting, which admittedly is not “new tech”, but it’s new to me, and it’s pretty neat stuff. I wish I could jump into WCF with the rest of the world, but the corporate machine moves slow and cautiously, so we are still using .NET 2.0 here. Nevertheless, .NET Remoting is proving to be some pretty neat and useful stuff. The foundation it is laying for me and my counterparts will no doubt be in valuable when we do move to .NET 3.5.

Bills are still piling up on us, like everyone else in the world. So, I still take side projects to supplement my income. It’s a great way to supplement the income and get some extra cash into the coffers. I’m doing this stuff at home anyway, so might as well make some cash at it too. I’m building up a nice client list and who knows maybe one day down the road it would be a sustaining income.

Heidi is slightly ramping up her cake decorating business again. I’m so glad to see her doing that. We both know it’s a passion for her, and I know that she would be wildly successful at it, given the proper time and place of business to do it. In the meantime, there’s yummy, home made, desserts at our house again. :)

The food we’re eating in general is much better now too, thanks to Heidi. She has taken it upon herself to make sure we are all eating whole foods at least 90% of the time, and that the meat we eat is properly handled through it’s entire lifecycle. We watched Food, Inc. recently and it was a bit of a wake up call for us. Nothing we didn’t already know, but we just got tired of being ok with it. I must admit, I feel a heck of a lot better now that my diet is better. Can’t wait to get further down the road with it.

I recently had to put in a new climate control system for my home office. Too much computer equipment in there now! Kinda neat to have that room on its own “zone”.

My son is still having heart “flutterings” or whatever. Not sure if I mentioned this yet, and too lazy to go check. But he’s been having some heart “vibrations” (that’s what he calls them). They last a couple seconds, and scare him sometimes. We had a monitor on him for a month to capture these things. Doc said nothing looks weird. So, not sure what it is. It’s pissing me off that we can’t find anything solid on it. More to come on that — hopefully a solution — soon.

Games!! We all know how I love my games! Well, there’s this new game called, “WORK YOUR ASS OFF CUZ YOU GOT BILLS” that I’ve been playing. … Stupid bills. I got a nice new gaming machine, and haven’t been able to stretch its legs yet… grrrr.

That’s about it… More to come hopefully… But you know how that goes. :) I’m gonna hit post before I change my mind and post nothing.

The holidays are upon us. That’s good, right? I’m finding myself a bit depressed tonight… I’m not sure why, but that’s pretty typical of me around this time of year. So, this year, I’m not going to let the crappy, seasonal depression and gloomy bullshit get a grip on me. First and most important reason is that I have plenty to be thankful for and happy about. I think this blog will be a perfect place for me to remind myself of all the good things going on. I’m going to try to stop in here every other day or three during the holidays and write about good things.

Let’s see! I have a ton to be thankful for, no doubt. I’m gonna pick a few to remind myself about today.

My family. I have a wonderful support system in my family. “Family” is defined by common goals, shared experiences, and commitment in addition to the obvious blood related definitions. I’m thankful that I’ve been lucky enough to have such a wonderful family. You all know who you are. I’m thankful that I’ve been able to share my life with such wonderful people who seek to build me up and who will always be there when I need someone.

Good employment. We are in tough economic times right now all over the world, and I am one of the lucky ones to still have employment. I have friends who are not employed right now, and friends who’s job takes them to foreign countries where their lives are threatened each day. Things could definitely be much worse, and I know it.

Are you feeling the holiday blues creeping up on you? Try to think of something positive, and write it down. :) It just might help. This post is already helping me feel better. :)

Happy Holidays!!

So, where have I been? Just doin the same ol same ol. Work has been a bit busy. It has been necessary to work at the call centers this week and last, and that burns me out pretty quick. I like my nice office! Today I get a repreive from the call center smells, sounds, and situations and get to work from my office so this is a nice change of pace.

I’m still plugging away at my studies every chance I get. Trying to breathe new life into my home schedule so I can get many of my side projects goin proper again. One site I’m working on right now was so near completion, and in the same spirit of the apprentice painter always putting that “last stroke” on the painting, I’ve had to tear it completely down and redesign it! Ahhh learning… :-D

Rhys’ big thing lately is fear. He’s scared of everything.  Like EVERYTHING: bugs, shadows, birds, shadows of bugs, being alone, his basketball hoop, the dolphin mobile in his room. You name it, and this kid will jump 20 feet in the blink of an eye! I guess it’s a phase. We are working with him, of course, but it’s slow goin.

He has found his new favorite game. His first real computer game that he fully understands! As a gamer dad, I’m so proud. We’ve been playing Peggle. It’s a PopCap game. If you like puzzle games, I’d recommend checking it out. It’s a good one.

Both Heidi and I have readjusted our outlook on things. Kinda stepped back to look at what is truly important in our lives, where we want to be, etc… So, we’ve redoubled our efforts to get back on track, as we both feel like we may have lost our way a bit. Things are goin good in that area, and we feel like we’ve got some good direction for once in a long time.

The Jag is doing fine. The bill at the mechanic shop was OUTRAGEOUSLY EXPENSIVE, but well worth the money. It’s a Jag afterall. Those of you out there who are interested in these semi-exotic cars should get used to mechanics prefacing their interactions with, “Well…. You understand it’s a Jag, right?” That should be your first warning sign of impending financial disruption. Which brings me to….

The Corvette. Well, you understand it’s a Corvette, right? I tried to install a radio in my Vette awhile back and discovered that Vettes are NOT AT ALL close to standard. At least at my level of experience. So, after I realized there was smoke emanating from my dashboard I turned the radio off. Yet, the rancid smell of melting electrical wire, and the nice steady plume of smoke continued to be present. After the smell, and smoke cleared I did a system test only to find my tail lights, dash dimmer, dash lights, and AC/Heat fan was wonky.

Since I don’t employ the services of an Endorian Wooky, I am stuck with plain ol human mechanics… Ugh.. I wasn’t about to go back to O’Rape Me Chevrolet, so I am testing out a new shop called Saguaro Automotive. So far, I have found they charge as much as the dealer did, but at least I feel like they have my best interests at heart. It’s not the money, it’s the service. I’ll keep ya posted.

I recently applied for a job in Virginia and got turned down. Likely this was a blessing in disguise. Our life right now is pretty mucked up. But, we are slowly making progress towards simplifying our over-complicated life.

Heidi is still enjoying her job. Though she is going through the trials of office diplomacy, she still says she enjoys her job as much as anyone could enjoy a job. She still has plans on the horizon regarding a craft store of sorts, but like me, has no time to pursue these things. She should be thankful she has the smarts to realize this (unlike her dumb husband who grabs the brass ring just because it looks fun).

My job is going fine. I enjoy the heck out of it — as much as anyone could. My side ventures are doing very nicely, and show much promise for the future.

That’s the news, and I’m outa here!