It’s been one of those weeks where you seem to have the opposite of the Midas Touch. Instead of turning to gold, everything you touch turns to a big steaming pile of shit. Of course there will be weeks like that from time to time, but this one was just exceptionally bad. I’m just starting to come down from the caffeine-fueled last week of class while on the road and readjusting to life as a semi-normal person. The antibiotics I was taking for a sinus infection didn’t quite get all of the little bastards, so I’m fighting off a sore throat again and not sleeping all that well. So, yeah, generally the week has been a real pisser.
Author Archives: jdtharp
WoW…
So I have a new obsession. Thanks to an old friend, I discovered the infamous World of Warcraft. So now after a long day at work, I get to come home and thump on flying dogs and zombie bastards… This is an unexpectedly enjoyable way to burn a few hours… and at least to this point has been totally cathartic. In fact, I think I’m off to slice and dice a few things before my fogeyish bedtime of 9:30. Something else will distract me soon enough but for now this is pretty slick.
P.S. Yes, I know I’m a geek. Sue me.
Change in Status…
It’s just before 9:00 AM. The last assignment is posted. The last course evaluation is turned it. My status is changed from MBA student to MBA candidate. Once the final grade posts, I can apply for graduation.
I’m battered and tired, but I’m done. Tomorrow is a federal holiday and somewhere out on the Atlantic, the sun is over the yardarm. It’s time for a tasty adult beverage and I’m heading to the casino.
Stupid dichotomy…
There are few things better in life than a full tank of gas, an open road, and new songs on the iPod. Those things are less good when your road trip takes you from Memphis to Mobile, Alabama. My drive today could have been a case study in rural poverty. Almost 400 miles of nothing dotted with trailers, closed storefronts, and the battle flag of the Army of Northern Virginia fluttering over it all. Having grown up “down the crick,” I thought I knew something about the indigenous redneck subculture of the Eastern United States.
Clearly, I was wrong on that score. Sure, I know intellectually that there are examples of crushing poverty easily within a few miles drive of where I grew up, but I really hadn’t ever given much thought to places like that still existing… but there they are. Right there on the roadside somewhere, almost anywhere, between Memphis and Mobile. Once you manage to overlook the scenery, or the distinct lack of scenery, it was a hell of a drive. I think on my way back to Memphis, I’ll plot an all-interstate course to avoid the unpleasantness on my way back to suburban bliss.
3600 words and counting…
I’m in the midst of my big push to the end of this interminably long MBA program. With 3600 words down and probably another 2000 or so to go, I can say with unmitigated giddiness that I am totally over this whole process. I’m ready to be done. I’m ready to have my weekends back. I’m ready to have another pretty certificate to hang on my “I’m wonderful” wall. Still, somehow, I can’t quite quiet the small voice inside my head that spends its days whispering “what’s next?”
I haven’t given it all that much thought yet, really and at this point I don’t really want to. Just now, I’m basking in the reflected glory of knowing that in 9 days, I won’t *have to* do anything. I’m thoroughly looking forward to a stretch of only doing those things that I want to do for a change.
Pickets…
If a man’s home is his castle, mine is now defended by a 6’2’’ stockade fence. I was just in the back yard and not only could I not see the dipshit neighbor’s overgrown yard, but their poor dumb Rottweilers didn’t know I was out there; which means they didn’t spend the half an hour barking at me.
It was peace, quiet, and a significantly decreased level of annoyance. I know of at least a few trees that didn’t die in vain.
Fencing…
I’m probably a lot more excited about this than I should be, but I finally found a landscape contractor and have him under contract to put in my fence. Assuming the weather holds, there should be a crew here tomorrow setting the posts. No more view of the neighbor’s ratty-assed, weed ridden back yard… Now that’s worth twice the estimate.
Income Redistribution…
I want to set one thing straight right now: If you don’t pay income taxes in the first place (i.e. your income falls below the taxable level according to the Internal Revenue Service), you should not be entitled to an income tax rebate. In case you’re wondering the command and accepted definition is a “rebate” is money back that one has already spent (i.e. I got a $100 rebate when I bought a new cell phone). How is that difficult to understand?
If you are going to take from the people who do pay income taxes and give it to people who are exempt from paying income tax, call it income redistribution not a tax rebate or a refund. You’re not “refunding” anything since those people didn’t pay a red cent in the first place. How incredibly gullible do the administration and congressional leaders think people are? You can call it roast beef on rye, but if it’s a turd wrapped in Wonder bread. It’s still a shit sandwich.
First time for everything…
In 5 years of service, I’ve never turned down any task that’s come my way until yesterday. I had to give up an all expense paid trip to Kansas City because of this damned bug that keeps disappearing and then coming back a week later to kick my ass. So yeah, I said no to my first assignment ever this week and it bothers me more than it probably should. Putting self above work is sort of an unnatural act for me. It goes against my basic instincts.
In this case, though, I think getting on a plane yesterday afternoon would have done god-awful things to the inside of my head. Apparently if you let a sinus infection fester for too long, it turns into something really bad… Which helps explain why I’ve been feeling like my brain is trying to sneak down the back of my throat and make a run for it. Fortunately, my case is only regular bad and should be cleared up in a week or two with the help of our food friend penicillin. I’ve said it once, but I’ll say it again… Hurray for better living though science!
Total lack of motivation…
So, I have had a total lack of motivation lately. And I’m not just talking about blogging, but a total lack of motivation for class, for work, for much of anything, really. My black dog apparently takes a little longer to kick in during winters in the south… must be because it stays warm longer. I’m sure this lull in the action will lift at some point, but for the moment, I’m just… blah.
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