Actually … I went out Friday nite and last nite.

Friday nite I went to the Knickerbocker Liquor Locker (I just love that name) with Robin to see 32 Below. I was worried about the weather before we left, but the stuff I was watching passed before we left. It was definitely a hot, muggy nite. But it was still fun. Lots of people, great music, and a good friend. We wandered around people watching, ducking under the tent when it sprinkled (mainly because it’s hard for me to see out of spotty glasses ). Steve ended up coming out, so we harassed him for a while … or maybe I should I say that I did. So it was a good nite … at least until the sporadic sprinkles turned into a steady downpour with lightning around as well. The show was cut short because of the lightning and I think the rain was starting to hit the stage too. We waited a bit and then ventured out into the downpour to head to Robin’s car (and Steve wouldn’t drive us to her car … that putz managed to get a parking spot right by the damn tent). That was fun … NOT. We parked in a grassy area that turned muddy. There were no lights, so you didn’t see the holes until you fell into them. Luckily I was wearing capris, so I didn’t have to worry about my pants getting all crappy. But my shoes and feet didn’t fair so well. But our nite didn’t end there. Even tho we were soaked and had muddy feet, we stopped at the Windbreak when we got back to town. We didn’t stay long tho. When we left there, it was STILL raining … I think it might even have been raining harder. So it was definitely a wet nite. But despite looking like a drowned rat, I still had fun.

Last nite I went down to Fairmount for their street dance to hang out with Melissa. We haven’t hung out since I went to visit her in Kansas in 2002. 7 years is too long between times hanging out. But she was living in Kansas and then in Germany. Now she’s back home in Fairmount (has been for a while, but this was the first chance I got to go visit). I’m hoping we have lots more opportunities to hang out. I really missed her. They had a DJ for the dance, so the music was pretty decent and varied. There weren’t a lot of people there, but then again, it is a small town. But I didn’t go there to be around a ton of people … that was Friday nite. I went there to hang out with Melissa, and that’s what I did. Lots of laughs, catching up a little. I’m really glad that I went. She’s waiting for her truck to get to her (I’m not sure if she bought a new one or if it’s one she had when she was in Germany that just took a while to get back to her). She said that once she’s got that, she’ll come up to Fargo for a nite on the town. I’d love for her and Robin to meet. I think they’d get along pretty well. And it would be awesome to get to hang out with my oldest best friend and my newest best friend. I think we should get someone to drive us so we can all get hammered.

I’m still a little tired (the drive home from Fairmount last nite sucked, but I wanted to sleep in my own bed), and I’m definitely behind my regular Sunday routine. But my laundry is done and I have the Sunday paper (I haven’t started going thru it yet). I’m not used to going out 2 nites in a row … especially after going out last Friday nite. We’ve been going out about once every 2 months, so 2 weekends in a row takes a lot out of this old woman. LOL But it was good times … definitely worth the sleep deprivation. Can’t wait to do it again. Oh wait … next weekend is July 4th, isn’t it. And then the week after that is the Billy Currington concert. From once every 2 months to 4 weekends in a row? It’s definitely summer.

RibFest was last week. It’s always something that I look forward to. Not only for the food but for the entertainment too.

The food … the food … the food. The biggest thing I was looking forward to on the food side of things was the funnel cake. I love me some funnel cake. I’m craving one right now just thinking of it. My funnel cake cravings even got us (me, Lisa, Robin, and Neal) backstage to meet Emerson Drive 3 years ago. This year, I got my funnel cake on Wednesday nite when we (Robin and I) went to see 32 Below. As for the other food, I always go for a brisket sandwich. I got that Thursday nite. The only thing that I didn’t get that I wish I had was cheese curds. There’s always the fair to get those tho.

The music … the music … the music. Who can beat a concert for only $3 (or $5 if you don’t have a discount coupon). They usually always have someone there that I want to see. This year it was 32 Below on Wednesday and Rodney Atkins on Thursday. I’ve seen 32 Below so many times that I’ve lost count. But I will always go see them every chance that I can. Since I’ve seen them so many times, I didn’t take my camera with me. I have enough pics of them as it is.

This was the first time that I’ve seen Rodney Atkins. He did not disappoint. We were fairly close to the front (thanks to the fact that I was there early and staked out a spot), so I took a TON of pics. I ended up with 90 pics. I would have had more, but I deleted the ones that ended up blurry or had hands or heads in the way. The pic to the left is just a sample. You can find more in my photo gallery. I also took 4 videos. Unfortunately I don’t have any software to process the videos to put online. The only thing I have is Windows Movie Maker, and that crashes every time I try to save a video.

Overall, it was a good RibFest this year. And I’m glad the crappy weather waited until AFTER the concerts that I wanted to see. The weather was beautiful on both Wednesday and Thursday nites. There was a while on Thursday where I thought it was gonna rain … it sure did get windy. But no rain fell. I got my funnel cake and brisket sandwich … I got to see 32 Below, October Road (they opened for Rodney), and Rodney Atkins. I can’t wait to see who they get for the concerts next year.

… at my new job. Well, it was only 3 days, but So far so good. And I like it. It’s a small office, I think there are 9 of us total, including me (the IT department is only 3, including me). The company has offices in other locations, so it’s not a small company.

I’ve even gotten to do actual work already. I’ve made some updates to the websites and put together an email (from scratch … I didn’t even have a psd – I had to grab the graphics from a pdf file). It’s all been front end work so far, but I should be able to do things with php and even sql at some point. I’m still getting my feet wet on how the company does things. As of right now, I still believe it was the right decision for me.

There are 2 things about the job that I don’t like … but it has nothing to do with the company or the work. This is a contract to hire position (with the very strong possibility that it will become permanent after 6 months … perhaps sooner). The agency the contract is through required PAPER timecards, and they don’t do direct deposit. So Monday lunches will entail driving to the agency to drop off my timecard and Friday mornings (hopefully … they open at 7:30am) will entail driving to the agency to pick up my check and then Friday lunches will entail going to the bank to deposit my paycheck. It’s a little inconvenient, but I’m not gonna complain (too much … LOL). At least I’m working again.

I was unemployed for a total of 42 days. I guess that’s not that long a period, considering I was unemployed for about 7 months way back in 2003-04 when I switched careers (from meteorologist to web developer). And with the economy the way it is, it could have been a lot longer. I got lucky … this opportunity opened up, and a couple of people I used to work with had worked for the company at one time or another (I actually replaced someone that I used to work with).

As I said, things are going good as of right now. My supervisor even thanked me today for the effort I’ve been putting in the past couple days. I guess it’s a good thing to impress ‘em right out of the gate. I just can’t wait ’til I get to start working with php and sql (whichever flavor) again.

I’m going through a rough patch in my life right now. Hell, who am I kidding? I’ve been going through a rough patch for a while now. And I haven’t been handling it very well … at least not mentally/emotionally. I tend to bottle things up rather than talk about them. I’ve been doing it for years. I don’t really know when it started or why. I’m inclined to believe it was back in high school because of the way that I was treated. But I’m not going to get into that. That is the past … 15 years ago to be exact (damn I’m old … LOL). I’ve left that behind me. But apparently part if it decided to follow me anyways.

I believe that the fact that I don’t talk about things is the reason this patch has been so rough for me. I was using Twitter as a release for some things … but that’s not the right outlet. I’m surprised I still have as many followers as I do. But then again, they probably don’t pay attention to my ramblings anyways.

I’ve decided that I need to get things out somehow. So that is what this blog post is for. I’m warning you now … if you really don’t give a damn, then stop reading now. If you’re curious, then click on the link to keep reading the rest of this post (if you’re on the main page that is). Sure, I could have made this post private or password protected, but I’ve decided not to do that. Who knows … I may come to regret that, but I can always change things later if I want to. So … here’s your last warning. What comes next is going to be me uncorking that damn bottle … well, not fully but at least a little.

Read the rest of this entry »

While I wait to hear back from the job opportunity I interviewed for last week and the job opportunity I applied for yesterday, I need a project to keep me occupied. I only really have one idea for what that project should be. I’ve already done something similar with this idea, but I thought I would take it a step further this time around.

What is the idea? Well, it’s a weather widget. Yes, there are lots of weather widgets already out there on the web, but there’s no rule anywhere saying I can’t add one more to the mix.

My previous stab at this idea was just for my own personal use on my own websites. It displayed the current conditions only for Fargo. This time I want to create something that others can download and add to their own websites. I also want it to allow for customization of the location of the conditions by the person who is viewing the website that the widget is on, and I want it to remember that customization.

I intend to use the NWS XML feeds for the data source. That’s what I was using for my first version of this widget. I trust the data from the NWS. I see them as an official source. I know that there are other sources out there that might have more data points, but I prefer the NWS, so that’s what I’m gonna use.

I’ve already created a brief outline of what I want to accomplish. I even started sketching out the database schema over the weekend. Now I just need to force myself to sit at the computer and work on it. I definitely could use the distraction while I’m waiting. Once I have things finished up, I’ll most likely add it to this site for download (with instructions of course). I don’t know if anyone else will want to use it, but it will be good for me to put this together. And it will be something nice to add to my portfolio.

As I type this, I’m sitting out on my balcony enjoying the beautiful 75° weather. That’s the official temp anyways. It’s actually 81° on my balcony … and the sun hasn’t hit the thermometer yet. It’s kinda hard to see my laptop screen … darn glossy screens, but I had to get it in order to get the resolution that I wanted.

But I’m not here to complain (this time anyways). I’m just enjoying this beautiful day. And it’s only gonna last for a day, unfortunately. The high temperature forecast for tomorrow is only 48°, and there’s a chance of snow tomorrow nite. Yes … I said snow. Mother Nature sure is a bitch this year. LOL

But before long (hopefully), the weather will be warm on a regular basis. Then I’m sure I’ll be bitching about it being too hot. But then again, I’m not happy unless I’m bitchin’. LOL

One thing that I have discovered this afternoon is that I need a bigger table on my balcony. I can’t use my mouse … just no room. And it is rather short. It’s perfect for when I’m outside reading … to put my phone and my drink on. But if I wanna bring my computer outside, it just doesn’t cut it. In fact, I ended up moving the laptop to my lap. I can see the screen a little better, but it’s still pretty glare-y. Oh well. It’s too beautiful a day to be sitting inside.

If you won the lottery … if you never had to worry about money ever again … what would you do?

I know that I would have to keep working. There is no way that I could spend my days rambling around the house aimlessly with no purpose. I would go completely insane. I would HAVE to keep working. I have 2 dreams ideas of what I would do with the money.

Idea #1
For some time now, I’ve thought it would be cool to own a coffee shop. Just a small little shop that also sold pastries and sandwiches (like paninis) and such. Of course, it would have to have free internet available to customers … both on computers in the coffee shop as well as wifi. And of course the coffee shop would have a kick ass website that I designed. It would also have a Twitter account … to announce specials as well as to interact with the customers. It would also have a spot for entertainment … not a band with a major sound system or anything like that. But a spot for a musician or 2 to set up and play for a couple hours once or twice a week. Maybe some other sort of entertainment as well … the kind of stuff you would expect to find in a coffee shop.

Idea #2
The other idea I have (which is more recent) is to open up a country bar … an honest to goodness honky tonk. This town doesn’t have one … hasn’t had one since the days of the original Pistol Pete’s Saloon in south Moorhead (by the Safari 7 theater). It would be the kind of bar that I wish I could hang out in. It would have a large dance floor, a big stage, couches, LOTS of stalls in the bathrooms (especially the women’s). There would be live entertainment every weekend (Thursday, Friday, and Saturday). There would be both a men’s nite and a ladies’ nite. And like with the coffee shop idea, the bar would have a kick ass website and a Twitter presence.

No matter which idea I went with (I’m leaning toward #2 … I’ve spent too much time day dreaming of that one to not do it), I would ask my bestest friend in the whole wide world (Robin) if she wanted to manage the place. I can’t think of anyone better to do it.

I’m curious … what would you do if you never had to work ever again?

Wow. It’s been a while since I blogged, hasn’t it. No posts in February or March. I guess I haven’t been doing anything blogworthy for the past couple months. LOL

What have I been doing for the past couple months? I was working and looking for a job. Huh? Well, I was working a contract job. It was supposed to be a 3 month contract with the option to make it permanent. It ended up being a 4 month contract. They just didn’t have enough work to keep me on permanently. They wanted to keep me on (or at least that’s what I was told), but they just couldn’t.

I am still looking for a job. I do have an opportunity I’m waiting to hear back on. I’m hoping I hear back soon. I don’t know how long I can handle sitting around my apartment. I think I’m going to need to find a coffee shop to hang around in. But that could get expensive.

As I found out before I got the contract position, there aren’t all that many web developer/programmer job openings here in the Fargo/Moorhead area … at least not ones that don’t require .NET experience. But as long as I can find at least one opportunity here, I’m going to wait it out. I have money in my checking and (2) savings accounts that will last me a few months (at least). I just hope I don’t end up depleting those accounts. The savings accounts were for a house hunt I was hoping to start. But that is obviously on hold for the foreseeable future.

Why do I want to stay in the Fargo/Moorhead area? For starters, it’s something I’m familiar with. I’ve lived here since Oct. 1998, and I grew up about an hour south of here. But it’s not just that. My family is in this part of the state. Yeah, I don’t visit them as often as I probably should, but at least I have the option of going to see them and not having to plan a vacation to do so. My friends are here. I don’t have all that many friends, I’ll admit that. But the friends that I do have are true friends. I don’t know what I’d do without them. I don’t make friends very easily … being a shy introvert doesn’t help that fact.

I also want to stay here because of the people here. I mean come on … when you have volunteers make 3.5 million sandbags in around a week’s time (during a snow storm) to help save the community from flood waters (and WIN), whether they were directly affected by it or not … that’s a place I want to live. And that’s just one example.

I may bitch and moan about the cold weather during the winter, but that just gives me something to talk about. LOL When it comes down to what’s important, this place isn’t such a bad place to live. So I’m going to wait to hear back about my current opportunity and keep looking for others that may pop up. As long as I have the resources to wait, I’m going to. Family … friends … community. Those are things that make me want to stay here. It’s gonna take a pretty damn good opportunity to lure me away. I just hope the lack of opportunity here doesn’t force my hand.