Monday, May 07, 2007

Too many crossposts, not enough posts

Now that I made Wingnuts & Moonbats, I haven't been using this blog nearly enough. (I guess when you come right down to it, most of my posts here were political... Taking them away didn't leave much else...) The crossposts kinda stand as reminders that this blog needs another focus (or perhaps it is me that does).

So, who am I, anyway?

Well, I'm a guy who's really into politics, that's for sure 8>)

I like funny stuff, and I think a lot that goes on in this world is very funny, including too many things that aren't meant to be.

I like music of all kinds. I was a big ol' Deadhead in high school, and still indulge in them & the fruits of their legacy on my tastes; jambands, folk, bluegrass, jazz... Some new-age-y stuff speaks to me, or at least helps me sleep. Strangely enough, I've become *more* of a slave to pop as I've gotten older. The repetition used to bother me no end, & I'd tune away on principle. But now I find myself sold by it sometimes. I first noticed it with Ciara's "1, 2 Step" & "Goodies" a summer or two ago. Somehow, I found myself diggin' 'em, even though they weren't in my usual listening sphere, wide as it is. I also really dig standards, which I think has a lot to do with my father being a musician, somehow. I can still recall having an almost perfect moment 20 years or so ago, driving home from work one early spring day with Sinatra singing "On a Clear Day...," and realizing just how cool he was...

I used to be a voracious reader, but not quite so much, anymore... I still purchase the books, and start most of 'em, but I don't finish nearly as many as I once did. Maybe it has something to do with my being such a political news junkie, and the ever-changing nature of that.

I can take or leave most movies & TV. I watch a good amount of the latter, but I wouldn't miss it tremendously if it suddenly disappeared. I spent a good six months without one in the 80's, until a friend of mine on a visit home from the Navy couldn't take it, and brought one from home for us to have, so that HE could watch it while he was there. We kept it in the closet for a while, except when he was there, before finally giving in. Even now, my wife & I have one TV in the living room, & pretty much basic cable. (No movies, no sports...)

I am married to a most lovely woman. In some ways, we are magical together, but marriage isn't as easy as it looks... We're learning & growing all the time. (Neither of us are particularly healthy, which provides for opportunities for each of us to be at our best, & our not so best. Right now, she's the angel, & I'm... less so.) She makes me smile & be thankful for her every day, though...

I've primarily been in retail sales & support most of my life. (I prefer running the back of stores--inventory control, stocking, warehouse layout--but I'm also quite good out front, & tend to end up out there...). But, after going into a run of sustained Ventricular tachycardia (V tach) during a stress test, I became the proud owner of an Implantable Cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD). Complications with that--frozen shoulder & muscle achiness--kept me away from my last job longer than they liked, so they let me go. (About a month later, they let every full time employee go as well, so I suspect it wasn't about me, at all... I'm waiting to see how long it'll be before the whole company's gone. The CEO who took over in 2000 had high expectations, but has seemingly run the place into the ground.)

Bottom line is, I'm currently unemployed, not as physically able to do the work I did as I once was, and weighing my options. Diving back in is a little scary... ...but really necessary.

I'm not sure what else to toss out, here... Perhaps that'd be a good place to stop, at least until I have something else to say...

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good gravy, you have had a time of it, haven't you? Makes me feel like a Petty Patty.

The good news is that consumer spending remains strong, so if and when you're ready, your field should be ready to receive your experitise with open arms.

Onward and upward!

repsac3 said...

It waasn't so awful, really... I didn't have any symptoms beforehand, and went right from the stress test to the hospital to get implanted. There wasn't even time to think about it, much. I was too busy being shocked it was all happening. (Which is better than being shocked by the device, from what I'm told. Of course, I'm further informed that being shocked by the device beats not being shocked by it, and dropping dead. It's all relative, I guess.)

Aside from the frozen shoulder (which was more annoying than anything else), it wasn't so bad afterward, either. Within two weeks or so afterward, I felt ready to return to life, but was stuck staying out of work for another six weeks. I got used to it, eventually... I ramped up my internet addiction, and saw practically every episode of ER via TNT's "Primetime in the Daytime." Woo hoo.

Unfortunately, I also got fat, lazy, & a little anxious about getting back out there, especially once I lost the job I'd been doing for the last 10 years or so...

Theoretically, I'm ready, now... I just have to wrap my head around it, figure out something else I can do, and get to doing it. I'm on the board... I just need to dive in.

But, like you said, no whining... I've got some resumes & applications out there, so let's see what comes of it...

Thanks for your concern 8>)

Swampcracker said...

Wishing you success with your new resume and job hunt and continued health improvment (I had some angioplasty some years ago ... everything feels almost normal).

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