Free Your Mind and Your Ass Will Follow

Art by zinodaur.com

Bob Marley said that. Just as I wrote that I randomly associated that quote with Nelson Mandela's recent death and saw how that quote applied to him too. Maybe it's a somewhat racist comparison? I'm not struggling under "white man's burden" but life does seem to be a big struggle right now. Megan and I had a big fight on Friday. We're okay; so far (knock on wood) we've been okay after every fight we've had, but eventually these shallow cuts in our relationship will either scab over or bleed out, so we need work. That is in progress, and I hope we get the tools we need before inflicting too many more wounds. The barnpartment renovation progress momentum scale seems glacial, but today we were able to finish attaching the door frame, door, drywall around the door, and door knob as well as painting most of the downstairs floor. It was only four hours work, but seemed like more progress than we've made in the past week. So maybe I should step up the progress scale from glacial to annual. At this rate, we're hoping to be in by the end of the year, but I think January 15th is a more realistic goal given our time commitments and budget. We spent most of the day helping out friends in need. They're in legal trouble, so I can't go into details, but I'm praying all will sort itself out soon. I have faith they're in the right, I hope they can hang on long enough to defend themselves. Friday we leave for a week at Disneyworld. I'm not excited about this trip for many reasons, but I will do my best to put those reasons out of mind and focus on having a good time with my family. Until then, I will continue to dwell on it

Digging this Coffee Shop

I'm sitting at Coffee and Crema, a coffee shop in The Fresh Market shopping center here in Greenville.

I can't commend on the coffee much (except for the great aroma) as I ordered an iced chai. The chai was made with Oregon Chai extract so it's pretty standard. I needed something cold to drink. It was cool and overcast this morning so I wore a longsleeved tshirt, but now I'm being punished as the sun came out and now everything is hot and dry. 81 degrees according to my toolbar.

This place is pretty nice and has all the standard coffee shop stuff you'd want; free wi-fi, decent music, mood lighting, and local art on the walls. They have a pretty good spot as I can't think of any other coffee shops between downtown and Haywood/Woodruff Rd. And I think I recognize the barista here from when she previously worked as the barista at Books-A-Million. I'm sure this place is a big improvement, not only in coffee quality, but also in clientele. Books-A-Million always seemed like the WalMart of bookstores to me.

Anyway, go to Coffee and Crema. It's pretty good. And now I need a refill.

Kind of dusty in here.

Holy crap it's been ten months since I've posted here!

Of course, I'd had a lot of projects in that time, and most of the stuff I'd post here usually goes on Facebook now, but still, it's a bit disconcerting.

For mostly my own record, here's a list of major events in these past ten months:

1. I got married (yay!)
2. I went back to college almost full-time in addition to my job at EP.
3. I started a couple of websites that promptly died.
4. Finally jumped on the Linux bandwagon. Next up, the iPad bandwagon, coming next year. Maybe.
5. Megan and I took control of our finances and we're not hemoraging money nearly as much as before. Our non-mortgage debt is right at the 10k mark and we should be able to wipe that out in 2 years by the trusty debt snowball.

Not too shabby, but still lots of room for improvement.

Low-key Birthday

Didn't do a lot of my birthday this year, which was really nice actually. Last year I had a great time with several friends out at Dougal McGuire's pub and then off to see a movie, but this year I wanted something subdued.

I went out Friday night at 7pm to see 2012 and hang out by myself for a few hours. Disaster movies are my guilty pleasure, so I loved 2012 and would like to see it again, however unlikely the story is. After that I went to a Waffle House (first time in years) and had a Texas Cheesesteak Sandwich with Hash Browns Scattered, Smothered, Covered, and Capped. Afterward I drank coffee, smoked my pipe, and was pulled into random conversations. I didn't get home until 1:30am.

Saturday, my actual birthday, started out with me sleeping in late. Which was great. Meg and Josh went to run errands and I napped on the couch catching up on V and watching various movie halves. They got back and Megan got one of my favorite dishes for lunch - smoked gouda and bacon macaroni and cheese from Travinia Italian restaurant in Greenville. I then went out to rent Star Trek, and bought myself a new wok for my birthday. I came home and we watched Star Trek, I seasonsed my new wok with chives and pork fat, and then we watched GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra, which had fun explosions and interesting fake technology but atrocious dialogue.

All in all, a pretty good day.

31 Tomorrow

I'm fairly meh about it. I told everyone I didn't want a cake or any presents.

I'm getting out of the house tonight for a few hours after Megan gets home from work. I'm planning on going to a Poetry workshop at The Bird & Baby and then go see 2012. I'm not expecting much out of it, but I'm a sucker for post-apocalyptic movies.

Gaming Con Weekend

Well, this weekend Megan and I are going to the MACE Gaming Convention in High Point, NC. This is the third year I've gone to this convention, and although I usually have a pretty good time I think this might be my last time going to an event like this for a while.

I would just much rather play games with my actual friends than with random people at this point in my life. With MACE, ConCarolinas, and DragonCon I've gone to three gaming cons per year for the past few years. I'm sure the $1,000+ I spend at these can be put to better use elsewhere.

Maybe I'll feel differently on Monday. If so, I'll notate that here.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Back from the Dead!

Wow, my last post was in June when Megan and Josh moved in. It has been an interesting up and down road, but I think most of the bumps have settled down for now and it's just a process of getting through to the May wedding.

This past weekend several of us went camping in Hot Springs, NC. As usual, it was beautiful and we had a great time. Our friend Eric, a chef, came along and prepared steaks, omelets, roast chicken, and other foods way above par for a campout. Saturday night it was incredibly cold and I had to get out of our tent, rekindle the fire, and hang out there for an hour to warm up.

I've been playing a lot of Rock Band when I can these days...it's become my current obsession, and I'm thinking of starting a small business to host RB nights in bars and at other events. I hosted a RB party at my house two months ago, at a local philosophy club, and at our friends Cory and Lauren's wedding reception. This saturday I'm setting up RB for Warren and Laura's Halloween party. Should be a good time.

Life is mostly good. I'm constantly worried about not having enough money to pay our bills and my life has become more complicated than I generally like, but it's not bad.