it is just after 1:00am on christmas morning, i've been catching up on some podcasts (currently listening to Tag In The Seam - Episode #31), feeling really, really tired. some may wonder if its so late, why dont you just go to bed ? i dont know, i guess im just not feelin' it.
i have a little update on my "Oh My #@!&'ing God !!!" posted a few days ago. i went through the weekend constantly checking my bank account to see if my paycheck and bonus check had posted. unfortunately that didn't happen till monday morning (christmas eve), but it happened - so i was happy. did alot of last minute running around but was able to get most of it done, which is nice, but i still have some stuff i need to complete within the next day or so.
i've been extremely lax on getting anything out for my podcast in the past few months. maybe it was the holidays, maybe it was me not being able to pull anything i thought would be good together ... not really sure. not planning on ever taking this long between shows again.
something had been mentioned to me recently about my podcast. it wasnt really a direct comment, but a comment amongst friends, where someone would specifically not call The Webcramp Project a podcast, but just a show. while i know there was no malice behind the comment, it bothered me a little. i mean, what i do with the show is exactly what every other podcaster is doing. i even checked on wikipedia, just to make sure that i wasnt missing some hidden rule of podcasting.
im starting to feel like i need to focus a bit more on a specific direction. the randomness is a bit confusing to people and might be adding to them not taking it seriously. i do this cause its fun - nothing else. if people like it, then great, if not ... well, there's really nothing i can do about that now, can i ?. to each their own.
btw ... hope you all are having or have had a great christmas. later.
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earlier this evening i went to check out a live x-mas stream of The Rock and Roll Geek Show at Talkshoe.com. unfortunately, because of numerous technical difficulties (on the side of talkshoe i might add) the show was axed. they did however decide to re-record the show through skype. so a few of the guys that were in the initial recording in talkshoe (including myself), logged onto skype. because of my location i was having a really hard time getting good audio. it seemed there was a constant hissing sound that was bleeding through the recording. ya see, i didn't have my microphone with me, so i was left with having to use the internal microphone. the guys were messin' with me about it a little, which was cool, but i still felt kinda bad about it. i felt privileged that i was even included in the roundtable at all.
it reached a point that the background noise was bothering even me, and the last thing i wanted to do was screw up the show. especially after the talkshoe trainwreck that happened a few hours before, so i mentioned i was gonna get going. i guess that was the trigger that started everyone asking me questions. some about my show, some about me, and a number of questions about my tattoos.
it was the first time i used skype in a conference call setting ... i thought it was fun. i'd like to be able to use this feature for my own show at some point, just not sure when. shortly thereafter it was time for me to get going. it was (and still is) late. while on the skype call i was informed of another podcast, the Plan Nine Rock Show. this is hosted by one of the other guys that was in the conference call named jasper. i haven't had a chance to check it out yet, but i'm looking forward to it. all the guys seemed really cool, and as i said before i had a really good time hangin' out with everyone ... even if the audio wasn't as good as it could have been.
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yesterday we had our company christmas party. just a little get together in the second floor office area. all seemed to go very well, especially when being told we would be getting a very nice bonus check along with our paycheck on friday.
fast forward to today. around 10:00 am the bi-weekly paychecks were distributed along with the previously mentioned bonus checks. the day went on as usual till about 4:00. while talking with a co-worker, i found out one of the other employees had some issues with his money being deposited into his bank. specifically stated ... it wasn't. since i have worked for this place, i've never had an issue with my checks being deposited, never. and with it being the last day before our christmas break, most of the office had gone home early - including the woman who does our payroll. i'm unable to check my bank to see if the checks cleared on the internet because our computers are restricted. virtually 99% of the net is unaccessible at work. still, i didn't think anything of it as i have never had any problems.
until today ...
i get home from work, relax for a little bit them mosey on over the the laptop to make sure the checks i received posted in my bank account. they didn't ... i immediately get on the phone with my bank to find out what the hell happened. luckily i was able to get connected with an operator promptly, and explained my current situation. she checked the same things i had online, but also checked a few other areas that only the bank is privy to to make sure something wasn't pending in a direct deposit transfer or something. unfortunately, there was nothing listed. i asked if there was a possibility that the deposit might show up tomorrow (this would be my only saving grace). with my account showing no pending transfers at all she couldn't guarantee one way or the other if it would go through by then. f#@K !!!
so here i am, 4 days before christmas with presents to buy, with not enough $ to be able to buy anything. the thing im most pissed about is the lady who does payroll didn't say anything to anyone about there possibly being a problem. not even after being confronted by person i mentioned earlier. i cant even begin to tell you how pissed i am right now. i am just hoping to hell that these checks post tomorrow.
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gonna make some changes.
this year i think i'm gonna try the new year's resolution thing. i don't usually buy into it, but whats it gonna hurt ? it's nothing bad, just adjusting my life a little to make it a little better.
that's all.
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i've been thinking alot about photos lately. specifically photos with me in them. my parents have a fairly healthy collection of pictures of us kids, but i noticed as the years passed the picture taking seemed to fade. sure there is the occasional photo at a family function, but in general picture taking was few and far between. i've been taking alot of pictures in photo booth on my mac and uploading them to my flickr account, but i want to post alot more. i've also been trying to take as many pictures as i can when im around my family and friends. but i don't think most of them realize how much taking these pictures mean to me.
i was talking to my sister earlier today about our family christmas get-together we'll be having this weekend. i mentioned about how im gonna be taking pictures and probably some video. then i heard it ... that "you and your camera" thought running throught her brain. then i mentioned the importance of why i take these pictures, and why i take the video. so that in 10, 20, 30 years when i want to look back at these times (and probably laugh), i can. because without these times being documented, all im gonna have to go by is my memory, and trust me thats not workin' all that good right now.
you may not think its important, but trust me ... document to your hearts content. there is no reason why you shouldn't be taking pictures ... i mean come on, they have cameras in almost every cell phone nowadays & virtually everyone has a cell phone, right ? in the coming years it may be the one thing that will connect you to your past, and take it from me, sometimes the past ain't all that bad.
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for those of you that dont know, recently Led Zeppelin reunited and played a show in london on 12/10/07. for those interested, here is a little clip of the show.
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just over a week away and i have to say, without any question, that i dont think i've ever had a christmas that felt so little like christmas than this year. i was very fortunate growing up. my parents were not rich by any means, but they knew how to make it seem like it to us kids. then again, back in the day if you had a 20 dollar bill a kid probably though you could buy anything you wanted. i remember rushing downstairs (after my parents ok'd it) running directly to my pile of gifts, and immediately started counting. while im not materialistic by any means, i always wanted to have more packages than any of my siblings. i have 1 brother, and 2 sisters - all of which are 8+ years older than me. so having more gifts than anyone else was fairly easy. my parents were smart about it. they would split gifts up into separate packages to make it seem like there was more than there actually was. smart move if ya ask me.
over the years i started caring much less about the gifts, and much more about the family being together. as of last year my family doesnt even get together on christmas anymore. my parents and my brother/sister-in-law live in separate areas in AZ, and my sisters & their families still live in the chicago area. we get together with some other local family before the actual holiday, but even with that, it seem more like any other day rather than christmas. my parents are older and have a number of medical issues which keeps them from flying anymore, and the thought of driving across country in the middle of winter is probably not the wisest idea for them, no matter how much we would like to see them.
as of this post very little snow has fallen, but from what i understand this weekend we are suppose to be getting at least a few inches accumulation. i guess that will help a bit.
if you have a good relationship with your family, and will be seeing them this christmas holiday, i hope you have a great time visiting with them. things may not always work out the way you would like, "but sometimes they work the other way too."
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i come home from work yesterday, and upon entering my building i go to check my mail (you know the box that holds all the credit card approvals and sale papers). i've been waiting for a particular piece of paper for a while now & was hoping i would see it today ... unfortunately, no such luck. what i did notice though was a grayish looking plastic bag. kind of like the same type of bag you would receive magazines in, to protect it from the outdoor elements. this bag however was very soft. now i knew i hadn't ordered anything recently online, so i was trying to figure out what the hell this could be.
as im walking up the stairs to my condo i start thinking of things i had done in the past week. other than going to work, nothing really stuck out. then i remembered ... almost 2 weeks ago i had made a post about a t-shirt site that had this really kickass Steve Clark "tribute" shirt. i know i had gone back and forth adding and removing it from my cart, but i didnt think that i would have received anything - i mean i never even entered any information to be charged for a purchase.
at this point i still hadn't opened the package, i was trying to find the correct key to unlock my door so that i could relax on the couch for a bit. all i could see was my name and address on the packing slip facing outward ... i was at a loss. so i finally get inside, i put all the letters and sale papers on the kitchen counter & proceed to tear into the bag. i see that it is indeed a t-shirt, the same one i posted about almost 2 weeks prior. SWEET !!! i pull out the packing slip to see if it mentions anything about the person who purchased it. it did. after seeing who sent it, it only seemed logical that it was them that did (jesus, im making absolutely no sense now - lol). i guess what im trying to say is ...
thanks sully.
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i dont even really know why im attempting to post anything today. it's just been a clusterfunk. work was fine, there have been warnings on the news about the weather changing. it's been raining most of the day, problem with that is the temperature is suppose to drop under the freezing marker ... the warning is in effect until midnight i think. i got out of work slightly earlier than normal partially because of the weather, but also trying to make up some time i stayed late a few weeks ago. my supervisor has been trying to get me to leave a little early for a while, so i figured this was as good a reason as any. plus i had a s**tload of things to try and get done around the house. while some of the things i've completed, i still have many more to do.
the main concern im having lately is a check im suppose to be receiving (i was figuring i would have had it by now). this check is goona be a big help once i receive it, its just the waiting im having a hard time with. i need someone, or many someone's to shoot some good juju my way, maybe it will help me get this check ... i can only hope.
i tried doing some recording for the 'cast on the way home. i didn't have my recording device, so i attemped to record via my voicemail line. unfortunately my cell phone decided it didnt want to send my 3 minute rant to my email (rats :( ) show 6 is coming, i promise.
its late, i'm tired, i'll talk to ya all later
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