It's My Life

Well, I haven't posted in a while, and a lot has been going on, so what to tell first?

Susan will be moving in tomorrow. We spent the weekend getting her stuff into the place, and rearranging things (my life), and buying new sheets. We also bought a little table to put out on the balcony. It's only a two-story building, so it's not like there's a great view, but hey, what can go wrong with breakfast out on the balcony?

Honestly, we've been discussing this for a while, and we both want it, but the thought of living with someone (even her!) is putting some serious butterflies in my belly.

I could be nerves from something else, though. I got a job offer, from a company that I freelanced with last year. They want me to take over for their senior copywriter while she's on maternity leave, and they've hinted that they'll keep me when she comes back.

This actually makes me more nervous than living with my girlfriend. I've been freelancing for 3 years now; the last "jobby-job" I had was back in college, at the bookstore. I don't know how I'll do, keeping to a regular schedule, and trekking to an office every day.

Still, it'll be a regular paycheck, with tax withholdings. No more figuring the taxes myself, and paying the whole nut to Social Security (which won't be there for me anyway). I've got another week to make the decision, which is good. I'm thinking of taking it, as soon as I wrap up the project I'm working on now.

And didn't I once say that I wouldn't let this blog be about my work? Ha ha, I guess I lied about that....

How about I talk about some news, then? I read this on Yahoo:

Police discovered the body of a second South Korean hostage slain by the Taliban in central Afghanistan while the group threatened Tuesday to kill more hostages if their demands were not met by Wednesday, the latest of several deadlines.

You know, does anyone else but me think that this just makes the Taliban look like a bunch of medieval barbarians? They seem to be dragging this out to put pressure on the Afghan government, but the Afghans aren't releasing the prisoners. The only people feeling pressured are the South Koreans, who want their people back, but they have no leverage with the Afghan government. So it looks like the Taliban are going to kill 23 people for nothing, except a PR disaster.

What really gets me, though, is this, at the end of the article:

On Sunday, Karzai and other Afghan officials tried to shame the Taliban into releasing the female captives by appealing to a tradition of cultural hospitality and chivalry. They called the kidnapping of women "un-Islamic."

First, the Taliban are holding and killing hostages. They seem to have no shame. And second, and again, this could just be me, if the kidnapping of women is "un-Islamic," does that mean that the kidnapping of men is OK?

These are some seriously screwed up folks in Afghanistan....

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it's off to Work I Go

I'm just posting a quick piece here, before I head off to work.

I'm pretty happy about it; I mentioned in my last post that I'm a freelance marketing writer, and I just got a big job in. I'll be spending the next couple of days at the client's office, getting details and documents, and taking notes, and then it's back home to write it up.

Last night, I went out with Susan's competition. That's really just our little joke. I took my 12 year old niece to get some ice cream. We went to Coldstone. It's not as good as the Penn State dairy outlet, but it is pretty good.

And what does a 26 year old guy do with a 12 year old? We talked about my brother, of course! She's been coming to me for advice for the last couple of years.... I'm 11 years younger than my brother, and 5 years younger than our sister, so Dana (my neice) just kind of gravitated to me because we were the closest in age, and I wasn't her father.

Her father, my brother, is a bum. He's been divorced for 3 years, and unemployed for 2, and he's living at my sister's house. The divorce hit him hard, but he never really tried to find work after he lost his job. Last month, he spent a couple of days in jail over unpaid child support.

These are the kind of things Dana wanted to talk about, over chocolate milkshakes. When I have kids, I think I'll be ready for the teenage years.

I'd post more, but I gotta run. The client is expecting me at 11.

A Busy Week

I haven't posted in a week, but it's been a busy week.

I'm a freelance marketing writer, and I just landed a big project. This'll show ya, Mom! I don't really want to give details, because I don't want this blog to become all about work, but I really am pretty excited about this.

I moved into a new apartment at the beginning of the month, and my new table was finally delivered. Yay! No more eating Chinese take-out on the couch... My girlfriend is thrilled.

And speaking of my girlfriend, she wants to move in with me, now that I am no longer encumbered by roommates. I can't deny that a double income and a single domicile will make us both far more comfortable, but I also have to say that I was sort of looking forward to having my own bachelor pad for a while....

Still, I don't think I'll tell her 'no.' I know that she'll see this a step towards marriage, and while I'm not ready for that yet, I can't think of anyone else I'd ever consider.

In other words, she'll be moving in when her lease is up, in two weeks.

Sounds Like a Fun Trip

I've always liked flying. A friend of mine has private pilot's license, and has taken me up a few times in a small plane. It's truly an amazing experience; very very different from commercial airliners.

This guy, however, took flying to a whole new level:

Last weekend, Kent Couch settled down in his lawn chair with some snacks — and a parachute. Attached to his lawn chair were 105 large helium balloons.

That just sounds like the coolest thing. Dangerous, yeah, but can you imagine the thrill?

And for an example of the low-tech nature of the enterprise:

With instruments to measure his altitude and speed, a global positioning system device in his pocket, and about four plastic bags holding five gallons of water each to act as ballast — he could turn a spigot, release water and rise — Couch headed into the Oregon sky....

...he used a BB gun to pop the balloons, but he went into a rapid descent and eventually parachuted to safety.

I don't think I would ever try it, but I would have loved to see it!

Relief at Last!

I'm getting the clavicle brace off today. Oh joy!

I've never broken a bone before, and honestly, I really don't want to break another one again.

And in the news today, it looks like even the Bush Administration admits that their Iraq policy is failing:

A progress report on Iraq will conclude that the U.S.-backed government in Baghdad has not met any of its targets for political, economic and other reforms, speeding up the Bush administration's reckoning on what to do next...

So here's my question: Who the hell do we vote for next year? I haven't seen a really good candidate yet. The Dems are on the way to nominating Hillary, or Obama, but I don't think that American voters are ready to send a woman or a black man to the White House; I'm not saying this to be racist, just realistic.

And the Republicans are fielding two types of candidates right now: idiots like Ron Paul, or folks like McCain or Giuliani, who simply aren't appealing to Republicans.

Looks like a fun election cycle coming up....

In Case You're Interested

I haven't posted in a while, because I broke my collarbone and wrist.

Oh, joy.

And how did this happen, you might ask?

Well, I was on that mountain bike, swerved to avoid an oncoming car just three blocks from home! hit the curb, and did a faceplant on the pavement. I think I'll stick to driving to work. It's far less dangerous.

I'll be back soon, I promise...