Death and taxes

It's been a very eventful week...in several ways. As some of you may or may not know, I have been working the past few months as Crash Course Computing, Inc., a name I work under as my own business. However, it has gotten to be the "feast or famine" syndrome, and with Christmas being just around the corner, it's unfortunately been more famine than feast. Therefore, I begin working in a lab on Monday as a Computer Systems Specialist making more money than I've made in several years. This is a NEW position, so I don't have to worry about things like being ousted because of my predecessor deciding not to leave, or because someone's budget numbers didn't fit right, or because I couldn't meet the monthly quotas. I just work. I have been promised a company car because the job requires a considerable amount of travel, which should be fun. I just pop in the XM Radio and off we go!

Things with the child formerly known as my son have not changed. I still haven't spoken to him since August 20th, and apparently he's living it up--as he would with no rules or expectations. His grades for this 9 weeks are beyond miserable, pulling Cs and Ds everywhere. It's a sad statement, but I can't do anything about it. He chooses not to be a part of my life, and that is certainly his loss. Perhaps someday he'll come back around. Who knows.

Lastly, my ex-wife, as much as I despise her and her lifestyle, she has endured something that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy--the person she had been dating off and on for nearly a year died in a fall this week. It's just weird that someone that close that I knew died in such a sudden way. I guess it goes to show how fragile life can be sometimes. I know my day will come...I just hope it's later more than sooner.

Until next time...

Fall arrives

So, as the leaves begin to change colors and the days become shorter, I figure it's about time for an update. I keep myself busy doing just about anything these days, so I don't have as much time as I would like to update my blog--and my site. Oh, well...I guess it will someday just fade away.

It amazes me sometimes how people who think they have something of significance to say will do so, but they do it anonymously. After my last post, I get an angry email from some 'anonymous' person who makes all sorts of comments about my parenting ability and my lifestyle choices. I didn't post it because they didn't give any sort of real name or anything. I'm not one to censor, and had I gotten their true identity, I would have posted it for all to see. "Redass" just doesn't seem to be enough information as far as a name goes...but I do appreciate you stopping by!

Now, on to more important things. The business is going very well. I've been keeping busy with several website projects and even a few network administration jobs. I have a couple of remote clients (one in Portland, Oregon, and one in San Juan, Puerto Rico) that take up a significant amount of my time because they are relatively new networks and they have several issues that new networks have. I've also begun selling mass quantities on Ebay, which is pure profit. I'm selling stuff that we've been paying to keep in storage for two years, and the $$ is rolling in. With at least a half-dozen auctions going at a time, the packing and shipping adds to my list of things to do. Finding boxes for some of this stuff isn't easy! Electronic equipment has to have anti-static packing, fragile items have to have starch peanuts, and shipping in general has to have a box that's close to the right size, or you get tagged with shipping overage (read: less profit!).

My daughter is doing extremely well in her new school. She made the basketball team, and cheerleader tryouts are next week. My lovely bride is the cheerleading sponsor, and that keeps her quite busy in addition to her other teacher duties. Progress reports came out last week, and she is on course for a 3.0+ GPA. Her grades have never really been a problem, and she works very hard to meet the standards set on her by the more rigorous curriculum of the new school. There is none of the "good ol' boy" system here like there was at her previous school, so everyone gets an equal shake. She has adjusted well, and has a whole new group of friends that keep her phone line hot and her computer keyboard smoking. Ah, to be 13 again...

So, that's about it for now. And for my 'anonymous' visitor, please feel free to continue to send in your comments, but until you give a name, I don't feel obligated to publish you. Sorry!

Until next time...