Perchance To Dream

It's almost over. I just got home from work, and there's one more day to go until the end-of-year rush is complete. Most of the important work at the office has been finished, and there's just a few more minor things to do. Beyond that, I think I'll finally take that opportunity tomorrow to sleep in. It's been a long time since I've been able to do that. See ya.

Fate Of The Floppy

I cleared half a shelf of floppy disks, and I still have a long way to go. My scanning project seems to be permanently stuck in the seventies, and I have more paper than I started with before I began filing. All that said, it's pretty normal around here. Here's today's view on the fate of the floppy disk. You decide. See ya.

Happy Holidays!

Happy holidays, everyone!

I know that I've been a bit preoccupied with lots of other stuff -- new job, new city, new everything. But, I've got he next week off (sort of), so it's time for me to catch up with everything that I've been missing. Let it snow, just don't make me drive in it!

See ya.

Still Stuck In The Seventies

Will I ever get out of the 1970's? I hope so. I started a reorganization project a while ago, and there have been so many other distractions. Earlier this year, Bill Gates was mentioning that the floppy disk was dead. I wasn't invited to the funeral, but I had the premonitions. It's a good thing that I have a couple USB drives. My current problem revolves around the 3000 floppy disks that are taking up space on my bookshelves. So, my original scanner project has been put on hold once again, as I try to move my 3000 floppy disks onto 10 CD's. One of these days, I'll start scanning again. Maybe I'll move beyond 1978 soon. See ya.

Greater Than The Sum Of Its Parts

It took a while, but I finally came to the realization that we're all more than the sum of our knowledge and experiences. I spent the weekend working on a few projects at work, and it was nice to get back into the world of programming once again. It's nice to know that I remembered how to do some of that stuff, and I could adapt it for some new uses. It's also been a while since I started heavy-duty office work on the weekends, but I guess it's okay once in a while. See ya.

Random Babbling

Where does the time go? I've been busy, yet not accomplishing too much. It's getting to be a lot longer between posts, and I have had a lot to write about. However, maybe keeping up multiple blogs is a bit counter-productive. I've been the rare single guy in a predominantly "family"-oriented neighborhood, so it's been a bit awkward fitting in. I really haven't been doing too much else lately.

Jon and Lulu spent the Thanksgiving weekend here. I dug out my old Playstation, and we played Crash Bandicoot for a while. Then we started on 147 levels worth of Gauntlet. On Friday, we went out to one of the local casinos, and then out last night for some seafood, a rare event for Jon.

My cell phone broke down this weekend, so I had to get a new one. I got stuck with another 2-year plan again. I think they fix these phones to break right before your 2 years are up so they can stick you with more charges. I also just special-ordered a new calendar. I've been using the same calendar style since 1996, so I figured, why change now?

See ya.

Interlude

This is the first time I have had a chance to sit back and do nothing. I've been traveling a little, and work has been keeping me pretty busy. I've had a few speaking engagements and for the first time in a few decades, I've moved into an uncharted territory with my new career. It's kind of scary how easy it was to slide right in to a completely different line of work. Anyhow, Jon and Lulu stopped by last weekend, and we went to Harrah's. After that, I spent a lot of time getting caught up on my home paperwork -- you know, bills and stuff. Well, I've let all of my papers pile up on my desk again, but I just felt like sitting back and relaxing today. Maybe I'll join Procrastinator's Anonymous -- tomorrow. See ya.

Dude, Where's My Midlife Crisis?

I guess it was bound to happen -- I've gotten a little older, maybe a bit wiser, but not too much. It's been about six months since I decided to make a few career changes. Looking back, I think -- no, I know I've made the right decision. It hurt a lot financially, but it's given me a better outlook for the future. I had been living in such an accelerated travel mode, that I zipped right through my mid-life crisis.

Even though my new company just went through a recent acquisition, the outlook for the company seems strong. I went through this once before, and it was a downward spiral for six years before I realized how bad it was, and how miserable I had become. Now, I don't know if I'll have the same job in a year, but at least it's nice to know that I'm more than the sum of my resume. See ya.

Let Freedom Ring, Again

Once again, today is Constitution Day. In the last 217 years, we've come a long way. As I mentioned in last year's column, we're celebrating the day the Constitution of the United States was signed. Ratification did not occur by the states for some months afterword, but we recognize today as the anniversary. I'm still here to exercise my freedom of speech, and hope to be here for many years to come. Let the rantings continue. All patriots, please rise. See ya.

The Long Weekend

My friend Jon came by for the holiday weekend. Jon wanted to buy a book at a local bookstore, so we spent the first evening shopping. The next morning, we had breakfast at one of the local restaurants around San Diego, and then we went to one of the area casinos for a few hours. After contributing to the local Indian economy, we went back home. Since Jon was visiting, it was a good excuse for me to set up the wireless router that I bought several months ago. Now I can use it with my work laptops, too. On second thought, maybe it wasn't such a good idea.

I've still got another day to finish up a lot of household stuff. It's been about four months since I've moved, and I still need to get things unpacked and back in order. Now that my house is internet-ready, maybe I should buy a personal laptop and a wireless card. Maybe I'll stop by Fry's tommorow, or maybe I'll just buy it on-line. See ya.

Memory Error

I admit it. I'm starting to get old and forgetful. I told myself that this would be the weekend that I keep up with my editorial duties on all of my websites. Unfortunately, there is that horrible aging issue that I've been grappling with lately. You see, I had this really neat title and topic for my monthly update to my road warrior page, but after thinking about it this morning, I suddlenly lost it after I got to the keyboard. Now, it's going to bother me for the rest of the day. I really didn't think that I would ever be old enough to start getting these memory issues. I'm thinking about going to the store to get one of those stupid micro tape recorders so I can dictate stuff to myself. Man, never thought I'd be needing one of those. Anyhow, I hope I remember that topic I was going to write about, since I haven't missed a date on any of my monthly editorials in close to three years. See ya.

Writer's Block

It's begun once again. I guess the real temptation here is to sleep. After all, I've been taking early morning flights to get me out to some of these exotic east coast destinations lately, and I've been waking up not quite knowing exactly where I am. Yes, I've really gotten back into my life as a road warrior. But there's more to life than collecting frequent flyer miles. I've still got to think up a topic for an editorial for that other web site of mine. It's not that easy coming up with some of this material.

I've been told that the most successful writers are the ones that write about what they know. I'm not vain enough to call myself very successful in all of this. It's not that I have a lack of material, but I'm wondering if I still have an audience. I mean, does anyone still want to read all of the mundane ramblings of a road warrior? I've got to catch another flight in the morning. This time, the adventure takes me to Portland, Maine.

It's time to give into the temptation that I mentioned earlier. ZZZZZZZZzzzzzzz. See ya.

Anyone Out There?

I'm wondering if anyone actually reads this stuff. I guess it's only right to give an update about my so called life for the last several days. I saw The Bourne Supremacy on Friday night with some friends. It was a pretty good movie. I spent today in the Los Angeles/Orange County area closing up some of the stuff related to my recent move. I had lunch with my friend Jon, and saw my friends Dan and Iris in Los Angeles. I hadn't seen James in nearly a year, and he's now taller than I am. I don't think he's updating his blog these days, but you can check it out with the link on the side panel. Anyway, if some of my readers (all two of you) are wondering what I'm up to next, I've decided to restart the reorganization project. Remember the scanner project of 2003? Well, I'm still stuck in the seventies, but at least I'm starting to move forward. Hey, remember the eighties? See ya.

Just Desserts

It's been getting to be more and more challenging to get some time for anything lately. I'm sure my one or two readers out there might have missed the latest episode of The Universe According To Brent. I must apologize for not updating my sites as of late. I'm back for now, so it's time once again to stroll down memory lane for one of those lessons from history. You see, a century ago today, it is noted that the ice cream cone first made its way into existence. Now that's a reason to celebrate! See ya.

Stamp Of Approval

It's been a while since I talked about some of the more interesting aspects of life. For example, 157 years ago today, the United States Post Office issued its first stamps. We've come a long way since that day in 1847. Moving along with the times, the post office has finally entered the information age. In fact, I just bought some stamps on the web from the post office. For that, the post office now has my stamp of approval. See ya.

Off The Rotation

I've actually had a social life for the last few weeks. Since I got out of the non-stop work rotation that I've been on for the last three years, it's been kind of weird. I've still managed to fill the hours with some of the other aspects of my life, but I've been trying to take things at a slower pace. I don't know how I lasted on the crazy roller coaster that was my life a few months ago. I'm beginning to think that traveling around the country is a game for the young.

It's going to take a few more months to get my life back to a state of normalcy. I've noticed that my web site updates have gotten a little less frequent. Maybe once I get some form of high speed connection in my area, life will get back to normal. Until then, I've still got to get unpacked and organized. See ya.

Bare Necessities

I'm finding that I now have some time after work to run a few errands, or simply take a quick nap. What a concept! In the past I might have done a little on-line shopping, but these days, I'm actually spending some time at actual stores. Instead of buying my geekware on-line, I actually made a stop at Fry's Electronics the other day. I got myself back in line with the current decade, and bought a wireless router, and some other cool stuff. I'm not quite finished with my move into my new home, but at least I have my bed and my computer -- all of the bare necessities of life. Now that I have a wireless router, it would be nice if I could get some high speed access, but that probably won't get here until next Tuesday. See ya.

Comforts Of Home

We've all heard the saying -- Home is where the heart is. I think another important aspect to that saying must be mentioned. I believe that home is where the bed is -- more specifically, the mattress. There are really a lot of things to consider when purchasing a mattress. After all, a normal person purchases a mattress once every other decade, so you really need some sort of authority on the subject to guide you through the process. For example, the beds that they have at Westin Hotels are really nice, but way too pricey. There are other options with your mattress springs or memory foam and then there's the box springs, along with your frame and headboard. Too add to the price, some of these items are positioned as Sleep Systems. Hmm. I don't need a Sleep System to control the sleep aspect of my life. I just need more hours than I usually get. Don't we all? So, after wading through the options, I decided to just buy a standard king size mattress set. It's just one of those comforts of home, I guess. I'm going to bed now. See ya.

The Universe Unfolds

Yet another week has passed in the new job. After two weeks, countless meetings, and many other interesting events, I'm starting to feel like this is where I belong. I should have done this a long time ago. I'm happy again, and I'm starting to get back into a semblance of life once again. I found my smile again. Who would have thought that I'd find it in San Diego?

I guess you just don't realize how bad things are, until you leave them behind. It's kind of hard to deal with leaving the security of familiar work, but I suppose there are limits to the nonsense that one can stomach. And now it's time for one of my favorite quotes: "If there's nothing wrong with me, then there must be something wrong with the universe."

See ya.

The Long Road Back

I'm in the first week of my new job, and it's really great. In another month or so, I'll be working from home once again. Then I'll be back on the road where I belong. I can't believe that I put up with all of the crap from my previous boss. It wasn't the travel, or the work -- it was the fact that he did not establish any kind of trust, and he had a strange problem controlling his anger. It was quite apparent during several "road rage" incidents where I thought that I would get killed in the car by his driving. I'm really glad I left, because it was starting to get really annoying with all of the retaliatory things that were going on toward the end. Anyhow, I'm enjoying the long road back home. Yes, the new job does kind of feel like I'm back where I belong. That's one of the best feelings of all. See ya.

Way Down South

... to San Diego, that is. I'm in yet another bidding war for a house. I'm trying to get the housing mess cleared up before I start my new job. It's always nice to have a place to live near the new job. Well, I suppose it's a good thing. I'm trying to get all of my business taken care of within the next week, but work always seems to get in the way. Anyhow, all I have to do is buy a house, move, and tie up all the loose ends of my present job within the next week. Well, that seems rather doable. If only I wasn't stuck in Miami, Phoenix, and Kansas City while attempting to complete all of those tasks... I need a nap. See ya.

Leftovers

I spent yesterday morning searching for houses in San Diego. Unfortunately, there were only four in my price range, and only one worth putting a bid on. So, of course, I put a bid on the house, but I won't find out until Thursday. This is going to be a long week. I still have a really bad cold, but I have to continue to Florida tomorrow morning. One final cross-country visit for this job, and another set of short hops halfway across the country, and I'll be finished. Then it's onward to some new challenges. I'm on several medications right now, so I'm feeling quite loopy. I guess I should have consulted the handy PDR, but I don't have access to one at home, so I'm out of luck. I could really do without the whole weakness thing that accompanys the cold. That's the part that really sucks. I'm not really feeling very motivated to get my butt out of my chair at the moment. See ya.

Death Warmed Over

I've got a bad cold or the flu or something. I had to get on a few airplanes this week, and now my head feels like it exploded, and all of the little pieces are spread out somewhere over Dallas. I guess I built up a resistance to DayQuil and NyQuil, so I tried a new miracle drug, Tylenol Flu. I highly recommend it. It's great stuff. Anyhow, I still feel like death warmed over, but at least I'm home now. I could use some sleep. See ya.

Aftermath

With really mixed emotions, I put in my resignation today, and then I got on the phone and notified scores of colleagues of my departure. I don't think my bosses realize the bond that was created between all of us in the field. I spent several hours on the phone today, and I'm expecting to be on the phone all weekend. Apparently, my departure will create a few disruptions in the continuum of the company, but I'm sure it will subside within a few weeks.

I'm working on buying a new home in my new town. I'm expecting to be in escrow within the next ten days. Yes, I have a really agressive schedule to get moving. Now, I'm in a race against time. I'm starting to feel alive once again. It's a great feeling.

See ya.

Search For Tomorrow

I might be off the road for a while. My options have arrived and the job search is finally over. I went through many different interviews internally and externally, and all I have to do now is make a decision about what the future will bring. I'm going to be moving my base of operations, but I still have to make my final decision as to where that base will be. It's a very interesting phenomenon. Sometimes, the things that you go after in life aren't necessarily what you really had wanted out of life, but you don't realize it until almost actually get it. Okay, that was a bad sentence. What do you expect? It's after 2am, and I'm getting a little too old for this. Anyhow, the bottom line is the fact that I have a big decision to make, ironically on April Fool's Day. How appropriate. See ya.

A New Hope

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away . . . Wait a minute. It's only been a week, and we're back here on Earth. I've got some new prospects out there. I had a nice set of interviews, and my resume has gone out to several places today. This has been a very long and drawn out process for me. I've limited the scope of my search. I know I'm not staying put, since that would make me quite miserable. I know that I'm not desiring a move to North Carolina. However, I could move to San Diego or Phoenix or maybe even Las Vegas. I've started some packing and cleaning, but I've got a long way to go. I'm hoping to get hired into something else within the next few weeks. See ya.

The End Begins

I've started a new project. I just bought a new printer/scanner/copier device, since my printer is going back to the company upon my termination. I'm thinking I'm getting laid off shortly. I'm finishing up my taxes, and then I'm consolidating some of the paperwork. I've also started packing some stuff away, since one of the jobs that I'm considering would require a move. The job search intensifies. See ya.

Back To Basics

After that epiphany that I had last week, I'm going back to basics. I'm off to my interviews this week. Wish me luck.

Happy Birthday, James!

See ya.

Leap Of Faith

I just finished yet another update to that web site of mine. Those editorial pages really take some thought these days. I actually let some of my personal issues spill over onto the editorial for the month. I'm ready to move on to other challenges, and I'm just not sure if I'm ready to give everything up just yet. You see, after a while, you can get into a bit comfortable with your sense of permanence. If I'm going to have any kind of personal and professional growth, I've got to leave my current job, and I've got to leave immediately. The job search has progressed nicely, and I do have my share of leads, but I really need to start focusing on my departure relatively soon. Since it is leap day, it is an appropriate time for me to take that leap of faith, focusing on that career change ahead. See ya.

Daze Of Our Lives

These days, it seems that so little time is given to rest and relaxation. There has been a reversal trend for a lot of us in the private sector. Once upon a time, in a century long since past, a normal work week was in the range of sixty hours. In later years, the work week decreased as low as thirty-six hours in some cases. The U.S. average work week is a little longer than that. These days, my average work week exceeds seventy hours, which is admittedly more than the national average. I'm sure a lot of my traveling colleagues will agree that the work that they do sometimes requires even more time. With all of the marvels of technology, we seem to have created a lot more work for ourselves. I think we all need to just stop and smell the proverbial roses once in a while. That's my soapbox for the day. See ya.

Changing Times

The end begins today. No, this isn't some sort of doomsday type of warning. I'm just starting the interview process heavily this week, and I will hopefully be setting up more as the weeks progress. Yes, I haven't been kidding when I said that the job search was still on. I've been with the same company for quite a while now, and I've seen it grow from a small company to a large corporate entity. We got there through icky corporate acquisition until we finally started being run by a bunch of bean counters, who sucked the life and spirit right out of the company. The search for new employment hasn't been easy, since my last formal managerial assignment was close to ten years ago. I'm also thinking about making an attempt at promotion within my own company, which may force a move back to the east coast. In any event, after my longest stretch of employment, I think it is definitely time for a change, whatever the result. I'll let you know what happens. See ya.

Weekend Routine

Another weekend was lost once again to the rigors of work. I did, however, have some "me" time, though. I slept in on Saturday, and I mean I really slept in. I think I got up around 2 or 3 in the afternoon. Then I got a haircut. After that, it was the usual Saturday routine. I stopped by the dry cleaners, where Michelle waited on me. She's been there just about every Saturday for the last year. It's nice to have some consistency in the universe. Then I picked up my mail at my mailbox. After that, it was the good old mound of paperwork. I've really got to get this weekend mountain of paperwork under control. The mountain keeps growing, and every week, I think I'm going to be buried underneath it. On top of that, I had a few things to take care of at work. I almost wound up on a plane to Tampa this evening. It's a good thing I didn't travel tonight, though. Those red-eye flights really age you fast. Anyhow, that's it for now. See ya.

The Waiting Game

It's amazing what comes to mind when you're sentenced to 10 - 20 in an airport waiting room. There's no such thing as time off for good behavior. I've been wanded, poked, prodded, and branded (inside joke), so much lately, that I think I'm radioactive from the sensor sweeps. Due to elevated threat conditions, there will be louder speakers with more annoying voices telling you things that you should already know. I'm beginning to think that this is someone's idea of hell. The TSA seems to be making more inconveniences for the everyday traveler. Sorry about the crossover into the saga of the Road Warrior, but it's been a week from hell. Anyhow, back to the waiting room... I feel like I'm in some sort of bad television series or something. I'm sitting next to a guy that is standing and talking on one of those cell phones with the earpiece, so it looks like he's talking to himself. Another lady is actually talking to herself, and no one seems to know the difference. The people next to me are talking about facial hair and its benefits. I really wanna go home!!!! Rescue me, please! See ya.

Extending The Dream

I've got some opportunities out there. For the first time in quite a while, I feel like I actually have some options. As I mentioned earlier, sometimes you have to take a step backward in order to move forward. I might have a good opportunity, but it would require a relocation, but it would be something that finally offers great career advancement. The other job would allow me to stay where I am, but it would be in yet another sector within my industry. Decisions, decisions... I never thought I'd get to the part in the job search in which I actually had some choices. It sure starts to relieve the stress factor. Anyway, I'm going through the normal paperwork that I always have when I return home. I've got a lot of work to do this weekend, too. Guess I should update those other sites of mine also. I'd better get to work. See ya.

Burnout Revisited

Another year has passed, and the dreaded sales meeting looms before me. I have a real aversion to attending these meetings, as they have proven to be an excessive waste of time, money, and resources. In the past several years, they have also had the tendency to demoralize the staff, and have caused excessive stress, fear, and loathing. People plan weddings, pregnancies, and major surgery to avoid these meetings if at all possible. As I don't have any major surgery that I can plan in time, I must travel to the meeting later today. The other thing that they like to do is punish anyone who does not live in the same time zone. We west coast people are required to be there a day early, because I can't get a flight in on Sunday that arrives before the deadline. Ok, I'm complaining a bit too much. Yes, it's obvious that it's time for a career change. See ya.

Vacation Daze

Despite the fact that I'm actually taking a brief vacation, there are still things that need to get done. I just finished clearing off the desk once again. It's amazing what grows on your desk when you travel all the time. I swear that the papers breed and multiply, because there's always so much more junk on the desk every time I take a moment to look. After clearing most of the stuff, I continued onward to my laptop to do a little more work. I was going to actually take some time off, but duty compels me to finish a project that must get done before the end of the week when I officially return to work. So here I am, once again, and I'm just not feeling as recharged as I should be. For the first time in quite a while, I actually took a couple of days just for myself. I had forgotten what that felt like, and I felt kind of guilty about it. Isn't that stupid? I'm off to Hawaii, and then onward to Tampa for what will probably be my final Sales Meeting -- at least for my career with my current company. It's obvious that many people have lost faith in my company. If it weren't for this stupid work ethic of mine, I would have stopped working a long time ago, and started enjoying this vacation of mine. The job search continues. See ya.