Let there be lounge!
Well we got us a loveseat for the living room. Finally! You can still see the old canvas chair folded up in the corner (why the heck is that still in the room?). We went originally to go look for a full couch. I didn’t want to spend a ton of money though, and a lot of the stuff we were looking at was pretty pricy. To make matters worse, I really made it hard when I ruled out that microfiber/fake suade feeling stuff. That material drives me crazy. Apparently I’m the only one, but it just feels like tiny little velcro on my hands. This is similar material, but a lot more ‘fuzzy’ feeling.
It’s still weird sitting on a comfy… (I’m just gonna call it a couch) couch and watch a movie or playing the Wii. I’m so used to that squeaky uncomfortable canvas chair. All we’ve had is the one recliner since we moved is as our only real piece of furniture. But I think I’ll get used to it. Hehe.
Happy New Year! (Year in review)
New Year in Sayuri. Courtesy of biebsworld.com
Andrea and I spent New Year’s Eve in La Crosse at Biebs’ place. A couple of his friends showed up and we had ourselves a “Wii Party”. It was a good time. Found out I’m quite the fencer in Mario Olympics! And as the time ticked down, Biebs fired up his Animal Crossing town and we counted down with Tortimer and his very cool marquee board. He handed out party poppers and at midnight fireworks filled the sky! It was very neat in that cute and subtle Animal Crossing way.
2008 was quite the year for us. Getting married, new town, new jobs all in June. Went to Hawaii in August. All along with the assorted hailstorms, new Wiis, promotions, birthdays, holidays, and highs and lows that came our way. It started out tough with Grandma Pat going into the hospital for her stroke. She’s had perhaps the toughest year of all, but Grandpa said she was able to come to the house for Thanksgiving, definitely something to be thankful for! The beginning of the year also meant saying goodbye to my 1977 El Camino, as the landlord chopped down a limb and it smashed in the roof of the car. On the bright side, the insurance company ended up paying me more for the car than I bought it for!
Spring for me meant job hunting. I applied to a lot of places for a lot of different jobs. I wasn’t even sure I’d be staying in radio at the time. I had even applied for a job as far away as Georgia. Job hunting is seriously one of the least fun things a person can do, and with the tough economy, I feel for all the people out there that are looking for work. Looking back on it in retrospect without all the stress, there were some cool adventures. Like the trip out to Gove, KS where I stopped by the small little town where my car was sold and got to talk to the guy that actually sold it! Something I’ll remember and hopefully he will to for quite a while!
Once the job hunt ended life REALLY started to fly by. My last day a Platinum Broadcasting was on a Wednesday in June. Thursday we moved to Great Bend. Friday we were in Udall, KS for the wedding rehearsal. Saturday we were Mr. & Mrs. Althouse. Sunday we got back to our “home” that we had yet to even sleep in. And Monday I started work at Rocking M Radio. We never could have done it without all the help we got from our family and friends, and it was a time that we both were reminded how many absolutely fantastic people we have in our lives, and how blessed we are.
From this point on the year has FLOWN by! Getting settled into our new jobs and the general disorientation that comes with it really makes you lose track. It seems like no time and we were on the long flight to Kauai. Hardly a day goes by I don’t think, “Man, I wish I were sittin’ at Duke’s with a cold drink in my hand.” While I realize living there is a bit un-realistic, I sure as heck plan on going back a few more times before I kick the bucket. That whole trip we had a whole lot of nothin’ planned, and had the time of our life!
I hope they're still holding our table at Duke's.
Everything from the wedding to the honeymoon seemed so surreal, that it took a little bit to adjust to our new reality. But things are finally starting to seem “normal” around here. I’m starting to get the hang of my new Program Director position, and I feel like 2009 is going to be a good year for growth for the stations I’m working on. The holiday travels are almost over, and I’m looking forward to settling in to a long boring stretch of steady progress. We’re looking to get Andrea’s car painted this spring, and maybe even investigate buying a house. Who can say what will happen? God only knows. But I have a feeling this year will be almost as action packed as the last one!
12.23.08Working out
One of the perks of my job here is I get a free family memebership to the fitness club here in Great Bend. Until yesterday I’d never utilized it. But Andrea and I decided that it couldn’t hurt us to be a little more active. I already knew that I was phenomenally out of shape. That and I could stand to lose a few pounds so starting this week we’re going to start going at least twice a week.
I’m certainly no health nut, so I couldn’t tell you what a “smart” workout is supposed to be like, but we started out 20 minutes on a treadmill. I did a brisk walking pace of 4 mph. I was quite embarrassed by how quickly my calves and shins developed that burning sensation. But it was tolerable, so I powered through at the same pace for 15 minutes. I planned on running the last five minutes, but I could only make it about three and a half before I slowed it back down. Now my chest was burning in addition to my legs. I used the last few minutes to cool down at a walking pace, and when I stepped off my legs felt real weird. Like they were going to keep walking away without the rest of me!
Next they had a bunch of equipment setup to work different muscles, so we went down the line. I tried to do two sets of 10 on each piece of equipment. Some I could, some I couldn’t. The one that really kicked my ass has you hanging at a 45 degree incline doing crunches. I got about 15 in and that was all I could handle. So I went over and picked up some dumbells and tried to look like I knew what I was doing, but I could tell I was starting to get a little queasy from the crunch session.
I don’t really remember what Andrea was saying at the time. All I remember is feeling real shaky and then a cold chilled sensation on my face. I took long deep breaths trying to get the nausea to subside, but the more I thought about it, the more overwhelming it became. She was in mid-sentence when I calmly headed straight for the front door. When I was outside in the freezing cold in shorts and a shirt, I took the opportunity to color me some snow.
Oh how out of shape I am! But I guess that’s why we’re doing this. I don’t have any aspirations of running marathons or anything. Just be a little healthier. I still plan on going tomorrow (if they’re open). Hopefully we can stick with it!
A crazy Thursday
Well, it’s official…tomorrow is Dan’s last day. My feelings on the issue are mixed, but by and large, it’s the best of a crappy situation. It came down the horn that something had to give. Either everybody takes a hit or one person is sent packing. Now, as is well documented here and on my Twitter feed…I’ve never big the biggest Dan supporter. Be that as it may, despite his many shortcomings, he is a decent guy at heart. He had the option of skating out today and still get paid for the rest of the week, but he chose to stay the rest of the day and even come in tomorrow to make sure everything transitions over smoothly. I’ll be honest, if it were me, I’d have packed my things and been working on my second six pack by noon.
Speaking of transitions, as of Monday I will officially be Program Director of three radio stations. Granted they’re all syndicated stations. But it’s an opportunity to do something with them. It’s a place to start, and hopefully someday grow them into something more local. It’s more B.S. than bragging rights, but I’ll give it my best to make them sound as good as they possibly can.
So no pay cuts…which is good. But I’ll admit I felt some knots in my stomach seeing Dan shook up today. I don’t wish for anybody to lose their job, what a terrible feeling. In all honesty I was just as prepared for it to be me. After all, I haven’t even been there 5 months. But in that short time, I’ve tried to inject as much energy and enthusiasim into my position as I can. I try to be reliable, helpful, creative, and insightful. To be completely honest I haven’t had to work too hard at it. Maybe it comes naturally…but I don’t think that’s it. After the last job, I learned a lot about what I appreciate in my employment. And above all else it’s the people I work with. I look forward to seeing everyone here…most days. When I’m at work it feels more like a fraternity or a family. And even Dan has his place there. Like the weird uncle. I never imagined it…but I’ll miss the guy.
So life goes on. It will be a fast and furious couple weeks until I get a routine nailed down. But I’m looking forward to the challenge. Some of the obstacles that are part of this position look to provide some actual intellectual stimulation and I look forward to having the freedom to apply my style of solution to them. It’s a truly bittersweet moment. But a lesson in many respects: Don’t take for granted the good in people. All it takes to be noticed it some genuine intrest and good intentions. And no matter what life throws at you, it’s up to you to make the best of it.
11.5.08The election is over…I’m SO HAPPY!
Not because Obama won. I’ll be honest, out of all the candidates on the ticket, he’d have been the last guy I’d vote for. I’m happy because it’s a clear victory. It’s over. There’s no ambiguity this morning. Obama’s going to be the president come January and we’re not going to be dragging this thing out even longer.
It’s so funny, I’d been observing people the last couple days leading up to the election. The atmosphere was really more akin to the Super Bowl. People were talking about the strategies, making predictions, even planning parties and talking about drinking games to play during election night! Ha ha. And then when it’s all over, there’s the jubilant cries of victory, and the hanging heads of defeat.
Perhaps it’s because I’m not as electrified by politics as those people, but I wonder what the catalyst for all the emotion is. Is it really the morals and ideals? Or is it just to be on the winning team? If it was REALLY about voting for who you believed in…why does it so often come down to two the “lesser of two evils”?
Government is such a large collaborative entity that no one official, even the president, can “doom” the country, or save it. If we as citizens want to feel an honest change in our ways of life…shouldn’t we spend hours more time listening to the issues of our LOCAL political races: City, County, State… Do not the decisions made in these offices make a larger impact on our day to day lives? Not that we should ignore federal positions, but that your vote has a much larger voice on a local level. Especially in a state like Kansas.
No matter what, I’m willing to bet the world keeps turning. Things usually are the way they are for a reason.
A remarkably productive weekend!
Well with the glorious weather we’ve been having, I was able to get quite a bit accomplished this weekend! I had several goals lined up, and I think I achieved them all.
First goal was to get Andrea’s exhaust fixed. It took $10 and about 20 minutes on my back with a grinder, grinding old rusty bolts off…but I got it off, and now she has four inches of shiny new exhaust pipe underneath her car. No need for extra strength coat hangers anymore!
Second, the drain pipe for the sink in the bathroom started leaking. Luckily it had just worked its way loose somehow. I took it apart. Cleaned out the grody mess, and put it back together and it works like new!
The big goal for the weekend was get at least the front of the house painted. I FINALLY got my ladder! It’s a little on the light duty side…i.e. wobbly. But it works, and once you get used to the ladder swaying back and forth and you realize it’s not going to topple over, it’s not too bad I guess. But I did get MOST of the front of the house painted and the whole west side. So I still need to get actually on the roof to finish the front, but then I should be good until spring at least. Unless we keep having 70 degree days all winter. Then I should be done in a couple weekends! I’d take some pictures…but we left our camera in Wichita. You’ll just ave to come see for yourself!
10.8.08Sweet! A dryer!
Sweet! The 1981 models are out!
Well, I’m on my lunch break and just got our new (to us) dryer hooked up. We got it last night for the princly sum of $50. It’s got the sweet fake woodgrain topped control panel, which I am CERTIAN will soon be back in style.
I tried hooking the vent up last night. They gave us some sort of flat duct thing that you can slide right up next to the wall, and I did my best to duct tape it to the dryer and to the vent going outdoors…that didn’t work so well. The dryer moves a good volume of air and it gets quite hot (both good things) but it got hot enough to goo up the duct tape to the point it wasn’t sticky any more. At which point it just blew the duct right off the dryer. Well that ain’t going to work!
So I picked up some real duct work and metal clamps. I can’t slide it as close to the wall, but it’s a nice tight seal, and works like it should. I’d throw some laundry in and have it dry while I’m at work, but I’d like to be home to keep an eye on it for at least the first couple run thoughs. If a 30 year old dryer is going to burst into flames, I’d like to be there to stop the blaze before it consumes the rest of our belongings!
Happy Birthday Andrea!
Andrea is 24 today! No privlages to speak of, but I have to do whatever she says all day long. Not too different from every other day!
Love you, sweetheart!
Cheap gas?
I got up and headed to work this morning and my low gas light was FLASHING at me. It’d been dinging for a couple days, but since I only have a couple miles to drive to work, I wasn’t too concerned about it. But I figured since it’d gone the extra step to get my attention, I’d go ahead and fill up.
I’ll admit I was almost giddy when I saw the sign reading $3.15 for regular gasoline! I haven’t seen it that low for a long time! Still kinda sad that I’m getting excited about gas being over $3.00. I still think it’ll get down into the lower $2.00 range, though it might be a couple years from now. People say I’m crazy for thinking that. But I bet back in the 80’s people never thought that gas would be less than $1.00 again, but I sure remember it being 73 cents back in 1997.
Sad thing is, when I was filliing up this moring, the pump had a $50 limit on it, so I still couldn’t quite get a full tank. Hopefully gas keeps going down and it’ll have worked out!
09.6.08We put it off long enough…
Now I can do fun stuff like this!
We finally broke down and bought a Wii. We were in the store today and I saw one on the shelf. I almost didn’t tell Andrea about it, because I knew I was weak and she’d talk me into it. But she walked over while I was looking and saw it. Next thing you know we’re walking out with a Wii, Mario Galaxy, Mario Kart, and an extra controller. Ha ha!
It’s been fun, sitting there, creating Miis, getting the WiiConnect24 up and running. I’m really excited about the virtual console, although I’m going to wait a while to download any games, as I think we’ve spent enough money as it is!
So if anybody wants to come over and play Nintendo, just let me know. Now I’ve got all of ’em!