Friday, September 29, 2006
THIS IS GOINGto be more of a photo post. For those of you not paying attention, we just moved in to a new house. We aren't fully moved in yet: I still need to get my weight equipment from the other place; we still have some painting to do; and we have to unpack A LOT. But already it feels like home, and we are happy we (finally) made the decision.
Before we could even get approved, we had to repaint an old shed. Here it is, all old and nasty (and covered in lead paint)
And here is the new version, mini-barn style.
The other big painting project was the living room. White is a horrible color for a big room, and this white paint was old and dirty, as seen here.
The new living room is burgundy. It looks like an english study, or a really classy bordello.
Here is the outside of the house
Front
And Back
As promised, when we bought a new house, we could finally get a dog. This is Boscoe, a Stafordshire Bull Terrier. He's about 70% paper trained already, but he still leaves some pee when we leave the house. Beyond that, he is one awesome puppy.
Monday, September 18, 2006
WOW A WHOLE WEEKIt feels like going a week without sex. I guess, considering it is blogging, maybe it is more like going a week without masturbation. I have started to feel like that lately. (Not like masturbation, the "started" in the last sentence makes THAT false). And once again wondering why I blog. But I found something that makes it worth it for me. I like reading my own posts. Egotistical its true, but I like reading my own posts. It feels like my thoughts don't compose themselves until I have composed them in type. And you know what, that makes me happy.
And my happiness might be at an all-time high as of late. Let me fill you in, reader (and by that, given the above, I mean me, I guess).
I have settled in to my job. It is not ideal for me, but I am coming to think no job will be. So this is as close as I can get without knowing what I want. My boss is, most days, a pretty ok boss. He is a bit wishy-washy about certain things, but I really think that is because he is still defining what my role with the group will be. I am not sure he had that in stone before he hired me.
But what I do know is I work with a good group of guys. All of them, the boss included. And I enjoy selling sports equipment, for now. I also enjoy the sense of pride I get in the store, when it looks the way I want. To be honest, I enjoy the disgust I have with it, somedays. And the whole process of customers, from vendors all the way to the sale, is like magic. And, just like magic, sometimes it is lame.
But more important than my job are the next two items. First, the Page wedding Jumpoff was a rousing success. I REALLY like my in-laws. They are a fun bunch to party with, I can tell you that. Maybe they don't get my dry sense of humor, or humour, but they don't have to. They let me play my guitar, poorly, and sang along. That alone is worth all the points in the system.
But the real news is they were all genuine. My family, at least the extended part of it, sometimes comes across fake The Walshes do not suffer that affliction. They genuinely had a good time just drinking around a fire. And they can all converse on a number of subjects, without getting bored with any of them. I cannot stress enough what an asset that is.
I would be remiss, though, if I did not include a shout to my peeps from college (I literally just typed and erased "highschool" there. Make of that what you will) It was awesome to see all of them again. Time passes, but they felt the same. Actually, we had all changed. What felt the same was our dynamic. It felt reassuring. I am not sure where I am going on this spinning ball, but it is nice to know I have that foundation.
And both sides helped make the Jumpoff happen. My sister baked a cake people could not stop talking about. It looked like a sandcastle (I am sure I can rustle up some pictures). And my new brother in law Mike cooked more food than even we could eat. It was awesome.
It turns out it was a good thing we had the party when we did, too. The gifts of money we received paid off some debt I had from college. Which is important, because it allowed us to be APPROVED FOR OUR HOME LOAN!!!!
That's right. We close Friday. Moving will be a chore, but it will be a labor of love. We will be homeowners, and right on schedule. We told ourselves five years, and we are making it in under the cut. It feels like life is finally starting. Grown up life, that is.
I was not sure we would be able to pay the stuff off, either. So unsure I called my friend for advice. He offered me the cash, no questions asked. He also talked to me about what to do. It turns out the latter prevented the former from being needed, but it felt good for him to offer. At first I felt shame. I wanted to do this on my own. (And, eventually, we did, in our own way). But then I thought it through.
See, really, I am not where I am today without him. Without everyone I named above, really. You don't walk this thing alone. Sometimes you get kicked in the gut, and you don't walk it at all. And sometimes it feels like you are running through it. But in the end, they are all with you.
Thinking of that, and all that has happened in the past couple weeks, THAT is my happiness.
Monday, September 11, 2006
PATRIOT PARROTSMaybe I am getting cynical in my old age. Something about last night's programming, and the scant few I have seen this morning, sticks in my craw. I cannot shake the feeling that we are being duped, and we are doing the duping ourselves.
For 364 days we reel against everything our culture offers. Just look through some random blog pages, and you will find no end to the USA hating rhetoric. But not on this day, no. On this day everyone wants to remember our heroes, our fallen, and a spot in our past we cannot forget.
And rightfully so, it should be this day. That is was a tragedy unlike any on American soil there is no doubt. But this thing should not unite us for a day.
I am reminded of so many funerals. Family meets, to share grief and love, and then leave. The rest of the year they hardly talk, except to say how uncle so and so is messing up, or how the new wife of whomever is such a whatever. That it takes such a tragedy to bring us together is equally tragic.
Try posting your patriotism on April 11th, or October 5th. Or try saying what you feel this day.
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
OOPSI think I rebelled against that silly game I entered. I am just not an everyday-posting kind of guy. And my life has been busy.
First, I have to say it was cool seeing Bil on TV. What a beautiful home you have. And what a carefully manicured head.
And speaking of which, we are sort of at a stand still on our home buying. Right now we are in the income verification stage. From the sounds of it, that's the last stage before approval. And our income is what we say it is, so no worries there. Of course, that still leaves three other post purchase stages that can go wrong before we can actually own the home. We are out of the woods, but in the thick brush.
The wedding I attended went surprisingly well. Unfortunately, the in-laws heard my plans to skip the reception, and they thwarted them. At least three different people asked, "Josh is staying for the reception, right?" But it turned out to be a good time. I met a couple almost exactly like us: right down to the climbing and biking. Hopefully we will see them again.
Climbing was an awesome day of failure. Chad and I really pushed ourselves and went after some big routes. Which meant big mistakes, and big rewards. We didn't even try anything under a 5.7, and the hardest was a 5.11 (which neither of us completed). The truth is, though, I feel closer to where I want to be after a day of failing than I have all the other times we have went out. Climbs work on a crux, or hardest move, and we were right in those moves. Once, I even had the move down, had my hand around it, and just slipped. I was RIGHT there. A couple more times out and we will have those.
And Chad is proving to be an excellent student of the game. He set his first top rope, and it was dead on. And his strength and natural athleticism will quickly vault him over my ability. It is nice having someone out there already pushing me.
I also had my last day of working for the bitch. It is a nice feeling to see 11 o clock roll around and not have to run home, glass slippers falling off, so I can go be a scullery maid for a bunch of retards, and the clients they house. I am still an early to bed guy, but now it is my choosing, and if I do want a night out, I can take it.
