Friday free!!
It has been a long time coming, I am finally finished working Friday overnights at the hotel. My energy level is way up from what it has been in three years. I'll be working the coming up Friday while the owners are out of town, but that will just add some more cash to my budget this month, so I'm cool with it. It actually turns out that I get two extra nights because I don't have to go to bed really early on Thursdays to save energy for a workathon. I plan on pouring myself into my hobbies and into self improvement. I started going to the gym again to play basketball and do the treadmill. I'm going to be doing a lot of swimming to really trim down and get my cardio built up. Being fat is a pain in the ass, besides the fact that women aren't too impressed when you've got glasses and a beer gut. So before I turn into some fat ass loser old man, I'm gonna put a spark in my life and right the ship. I'm having a lot more fun with life lately. I got a chance to play some competitive chess again and get back into things. Internet and computer chess is so abstract that it kinda dulls my passion for the game. Playing someone at the board is much more exciting. It sounds terrible, but I'm kinda like Fischer in a way. I really like to see how the game turns the emotions of my opponent. I played a game last week against an A player and nearly beat him. It was really enjoyable to see that guy stressing out when he thought he was going to lose. My ultimate goal is just to completely crush people at chess. I want to reach Master standard and be at the top of the tournament players. The idea of being the top 1% of competitive chess players is very very nice. I'm going to work very hard to make that a reality. I've accomplished some pretty good things and that is without really making an honest effort to get better. Now that I'm going to be utilizing all the tools that I have, my progress will be remarkable.
Keeping it 100, or, how to piss people off.
In recent months, I have had the delight of having a curious phrase come onto my radar. My favorite implementation of this verbal genius has to be its use during the interview process.... for a job. The phrase that has caught my attention is, "I'm gonna keep it 100 with you." The english translation of this would be to say that the person is going to 100% honest. This brings up a few hilarious questions to me. The first would be to question just what percentage of truth is most of their communication, since they feel the need to point out that they will be telling the truth following the aforementioned statement? It's almost as if to say, 'well, my arms are getting tired from all the horseshit I've been shoveling your way, so I'm going to take a break and tell the truth for a minute'. The next question is whether or not people are ready for unadulterated truth. I think about if I were to keep it 100 with a customer, and how quickly I would get stabbed. Here's an example:
First up, real life---
CUSTOMER - 'I saw a DVD player over there for 1.44..... does it work?'
Mr Mike - 'I'm sorry, that is one of the units that would need to be repaired.'
CUSTOMER - 'Why are you selling it then?'
Mr Mike - 'Some people have repair shops and know how to fix them, so they buy them and fix em.'
CUSTOMER - 'Oh, ok'
Now, let's see how it would go if Mr Mike kept it 100---
CUSTOMER - 'I saw a DVD player over there for 1.44..... does it work?'
Mr Mike - 'I'm sorry, that DVD player, somewhat like your brain, is broken and needs repair.'
CUSTOMER - 'You are very rude. You shouldn't be trying to rip people off selling broken shit.'
Mr Mike - 'Well, a lot of people are smarter than you, and they can fix these things.'
CUSTOMER - 'Fuck you'
As we can see from the preceding example, perhaps Mr Mike isn't the ideal candidate for 'keeping it 100'. I think I'll stick with 25% truth, 75% bullshit and deception.
Surgery is done, yahoo!!!!
Well, I'm just about two weeks removed from my surgery. My body is already much better now than it was. I am really excited for the summer when I can start going to the gym all the time. I want to make the most of my opportunities as they become available in my life. I am right on the edge of success. Recently I have been thinking a lot about how I can break out of the working rut I am in. Screenwriting is a very good choice for me if I can just manage to muster up enough energy to write something. Working 64 hours a week is just killing my ambition because I am so damned tired from work. I have only 9 more weeks of working Friday overnight shifts, so life will be much much better in just two short months. When I finally sell a screenplay, I will make just about two years of pay. That would change my life forever. I could buy a new car, new wardrobe, cut down to working just one job, and plop about 30000 into the bank. I am going to make a list of all these things that would be possible if I sell a screenplay and I'm going to put it where I will have no choice but to see it every single day of my life. I seem to be one of those people that needs to be smacked in the face with things to get motivated. I'm really hoping working less hours and going to the gym four days a week will bring more energy to my life so I can reach my dreams.
One week left!
There are just seven days until my surgery! I am really looking forward to getting it all past me and get back to having a healthy body. I will be doing stretches for the next two months and will be hitting the gym starting in June. My life is going to get way better soon. I am so excited to get out of this rut my life has fallen into.
New year, old failures.
Well, the new year is underway. I haven't really done anything towards my goals because I am still really good a procrastinating. I do have my surgery lined up for March 16th, so things will look up after that. Right now I really need to tackle the money problem. It seems as though I'm always working and using my time resources because I have no money resources. Because I work so much, I am lazy when I get home and just chill instead of actually getting anything done. I feel like such a piece of crap. I know I'm busting my ass, but it seems like I am not having any success at all. Everyone else looks like they're having a grand old time with significant others and free time and money. My stupid ass is sitting around alone in my apartment. For once in my life I'd like to not feel like such a goddamned failure.
2008 not so great: 2009 all mine
Yeah!! 2008 is just about over. I went through some more crap this year like having my van die, but it went well too, like the Lexus to replace the van. It's really close to tax time, so that means I'll be able to get my stupid hernia surgery done soon. This is going to be a huge rebuilding year in my life. I've got lots of things lined up and lots of things started already. There is a really great woman I've been chatting with that I'll hopefully get to meet up with in January. My training for Master in chess starts this year. I'm anxious to see what my potential is. I plan on writing some more comedy stuff too, and possibly do some open mic if I get a solid enough routine. After I heal up from my surgery, I'll be hitting the gym to get in great shape. I plan on returning to my athletic fitness and putting on some muscle. I've been headed down fat road way too long. My finances are going to be doing well too. I'll be putting 10% into savings every check and getting out of the check to check living bullshit that has plagued my life. I've got a cello in layaway and I already own a violin, so I will be putting those to use a lot more. I would also like to take a stab at some visual arts like painting or photography. Another aspect of my fitness goal is to learn to cook a lot better and take care of my body better. I really want to get down to eating as much natural food as possible and stop damaging my body with all this fast food and processed food. I'm going to be getting my apartment and my fashion in order too. So that's my New Years resolution list type thing. Yea for me or something.
Holiday season
Well, it's just about Christmas again. Just had the first snow of the season, well, the first snow that's gonna leave pain in the ass ice and crap behind. I am going to move to a state where it doesn't snow. I'm so sick of driving around in shit weather. Like any good winter season, my car decided to not work the first day of constant snow. Battery completely dead, probably due to a power leak problem that I don't have the money to fix right now. I am REALLY looking forward to June this year so I can start having surplus money to make my life better for once in a long long time. I think the last time I had that type of money was when I lived at home with my parents. I'm not going to know what to fucking do. I am going to throw myself a big ass party once I get $1000 in my savings account. That bottle of Crown Royal Cask 16 and me will have a nice little party. Other than my car zapping the minescule amount of wiggle room my account had, I've just been playing chess online and talking to this great woman on myyearbook.com. Hopefully I don't fuck things up cause she seems like the kind of person that would be a great match with me. I got some hockey time in right before the snowfest came in, so I'm super stoked. Even though my life is nearly consumed by chess (jesus that is pathetic), I don't even like that half as much as I like hockey. I really miss hockey. After I get my hernia surgery done, I'm getting back into playing shape. I'm rambling, so I'll be rambling on now.
