king_mob

I began a pattern shift last April without really realizing I was doing so. But things keep compressing and accelerating and time has flitted by on me again. So, it's time for a newsletter for those of you who don't get the daily news.

Home and Garden:

Moved in to my own house finally. Been a LONG time since I had a house. I'm not alone of course, nothing is ever perfect. My roommate is a guy I have worked with for about a decade. Thought I knew him... but adages are what they are because they are usually true. He's a drunk, and a devout Christian and although 27 has a 17 year old level of maturity. But we have come to an understanding: He keeps his issues out of my face, and I don't get really angry. So far the center is holding. (Sorry, I have no garden news.)

Work and Finance:

I knew 2012 was going to be a milestone year, by sheer mathematics. The car loan, gone. The consolidation loan, gone. The Alimony loan, gone. All the stupid depreciation loans are gone which took a huge weight off of me I have been struggling under for over 5-10 years.
I had a lot of 'near misses' with jobs over the last 18 month, seemingly awesome jobs getting to 2nd or 3rd interview then disappearing like a fart in the wind. So I kept on independent contracting, basically running myself as a sole proprietorship. But the 'Be Your Own Boss' thing is a fallacy. (At least for me) You no longer have one boss, you now have 40. Money flow issues. Deadbeat clients. Taxes. Insurance. Expenses... getting undercut by someone 10 years younger willing to do it for half the cost. I found in the end my take home was around $10/hr which is less than minimum wage in Ontario. There's no easy street in my life. So I made a decision between corp politics and personal politics and put my bets on the stability of a large company. I spent most of last year working for DuPont in NY hoping they would finally see my value and take me on full time. No dice there. They wound up 'Not renewing my contract' in January after sending me home in November (A rather shitty way to fire someone). BUT, (and this is a huge butt, BUT...) I finally got in with a major cable utility company in November. It's a long haul to tenure there but there's an awesome benefits package waiting and the shift structure is exactly what I was looking for. But, it's been HARD. Like, really hard. I went from being a Sr Technician with 15 years experience to a new fish over night. I thought I knew RF. I did not. But I'm getting there. It's also physically hard. I have sat at home aching after a 12 hour shift and seriously asked myself if this is a job for a guy approaching 40? I still don't have an answer to that question, but it does bring me to my next section...

Health and Wellness

I just did the math getting back in to a X-fit class on Friday with the coach. It's been 90 days since I was there last. D:
So, I have a new annual tradition it looks like: Tearing my meniscus in the right knee. I did it in 2009 playing paintball on some lose ground and then again in 2011 doing some clean and jerks at the X-Fit gym. (You need to bounce more! The coach said) and then almost a year to the day later I fully tore my meniscus working the new job. I was in a brand new home and the stairs were hardwood and polished... Of course I did it my second week on the new job, which is a very physical job... so I can't tell anyone. I limp a lot now. Kneeling is agony. Stairs are not my friend. But it's healing, slowly with lots of supplements, lots of ice packs at night and being very careful how I step.

I caught the Plague on Christmas day. I really don't remember much from that week and it took me two more to shake off the Flu after that.

Oh! I am also down a tooth since my last update. Went in for a crown but Dentist goes 'oops!' then shows me the tooth now broken below the gum line which means an extraction. A week later I am still in pain. The Doctor asks me to plug my nose and try to pop my ears. Instead my tooth hole whistles. Seem, in the extraction the Dentist punched through in to my sinus cavity.

So, yeah. 2012 has been a banner year for pain. Guess you have to take the crunchy with the smooth as they say.

Love and Relationships
I have three cats...
[IMG] http://img.suicidegirls.com/media/members/4/62/214624/61550/4754485.jpg[/IMG]
....but seriously, I have some awesome friends. Somehow over my life with no planning on my part I have cultivated an awesome network of amazing people.

Travel and Leisure
Not enough of both. I did manage to finally visit Tuttifrooti in Indiana over Labour Day. I want to go again. Mneylu and Mylastsin are going to storm NYC for Chinese New Year, and I am trying to get down to Houston TX for a wedding in March. One of the things I really like about the new job is having several long weekends a month to do stuff like that.
I started shooting rifles again in 2011. Got my license and registration all up to snuff, and get to the range maybe once a month. For my current injury that works as we are not hiking over hill and dale for it. Have purchased a few rifles but am trying to keep myself under control. I had to sacrifice a few old hobbies due to time and money constraints to start something new. I miss those old friend circles attached to the historical miniature gaming. But there's only so much time and money in a month and that took up a lot of it.
I'm hoping to get my 'M' back on my license this year too and pick up a fixer upper bike to start riding again. It's been a loooong time. I think it was 2002 the last time I was on a bike. But that ties in to wanting to travel more.

Okay. That's it: the better parts of the last 4-5 months.