Bizarre Bradyisms

Spelling Errors

I hate spelling errors.  I really hate grammar errors.  I especially hate it when I make spelling and grammar errors.  The worst is when I post something incorrect here on my blog and the Google indexer creates a cache of it for Google Reader before I have a chance to fix it (see the third-to-last word of my previous post, should be “they’re” not “their”).  Forever in time I am displayed as an incompetent user of the English language.  Oh well, life goes on.

A Redbox For Books

Story time: I mentioned sometime back in March that I had been reading a lot and had been really enjoying it.  I would often walk into Barnes and Noble every now and then and wander the store for an hour looking for a new book I could enjoy.  This worked well for a time but I became aware of how costly this was starting to become.  One day I was thinking it would be cool if somehow there was a Redbox-like way for me to rent books so I didn’t have to buy each one I read.  And then the light-bulb clicked on in my head and I realized that there is this place called a library that does just that.  The sad part is that the story is true.  I didn’t think about visiting the library until I somehow arrived at the thought after connecting DVDs to Redbox and then books to… the library.

These are all of the books that I’ve been reading lately and I’ve quite enjoyed them all.  Some were a little odd and not the best thing I’ve ever read, but good enough to keep me interested.  I usually find time to read during my lunch hour at work when I break out the camp chair I keep in my trunk and relax under the trees on the lawn by the office building.  I get a couple of laughs from people passing by, but I think they’re just jealous.

Resignation

You might call me insane.  You might call me crazy.  You probably should call me both insane and crazy.  Why?  I just quit job yesterday.  I guess the more appropriate phrase to use would be that I submitted my resignation.  I’ve already let a few people know about my decision to leave and explained that I don’t have job waiting for me.  The most common reaction I receive is that of what I just described; they think I’ve lost my mind.  With the unemployment rate being where it is, why would voluntarily give up my job?  I won’t list the details here because this post is publicly available to all, but after much consideration concerning the direction the company was going, I decided I didn’t want to be involved with it any longer.  Plus, the stress was killing me.  Last night after I informed my boss of my plans was the first night it weeks I’ve been able to sleep all the way through the night.  When I woke up this morning, I felt great.

I’m not sure what my plans will be but I’ve got a couple of ideas.  I’ve considered taking out some student loans to finish my degree so I can focus just on that and not worry about trying to juggle work and school.  I’ve also considered picking up and moving somewhere random I’ve never been.  I’m just not sure where I’m going and I’m actually okay with it.  I will still be here working through about the 15th of September because my role is so critical to the survival of the company and although I won’t be around to see the company survive or fail, I’d at least like to give them all a fighting chance by helping them transition someone else in to my position.

Life is messy.  It is just as simple as that.

Moving Up In The World

This may sound a little silly to some, but as far as I’m concerned, it means at least something.  With my new job, I actually have my own fairly large office with a big desk and a real door that I can close so as to not be interrupted by everyone as they walk by.  This is a big step up from the no cubicle, to the shared cubicle I had while working in Colorado, and then the individual cubicle I had at my most recent job.  Now, because I’m such a great tenant, (his words, not mine) my landlord gave me a spot for my car in the garage that I can park in every night.  What more can a person ask for in the world?  Obviously that last statement is joke, but still, the little things like this can make a person feel good.

Bear Lake

Today, I didn’t really have anything planned and I really wanted to get out the city.  So I packed a some water and a small lunch and just got in the car to see where the in the world I would end up.  I know I’ve said this before, but I really enjoy listening to NPR on the radio and their weekendprogramming is just as good as their weekday programming.  I got caught up listening to their “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me” show while just enjoying the scenery as I drove on by.  Before I knew it, I was on my way up through Ogden and towards Brigham City.  After seeing one of the road signs indicating the way, I decided to go and visit the city of Logan since I had never been there before.  Once I got there, I saw a sign leading me onwards to Bear Lake and I again decided to follow it up that direction.  So, about two and half hours later I was some 150 miles away from home with no timetable or schedule to stick with.  I really wanted to go on a hike or something, but when I got out of the car and realized how stormy and cool it was, I realized I didn’t have a jacket of any type and had to nix the idea. 

Instead, I went down into the city next to the lake and just kind of wandered around.  I went and drove out to one of the random beaches you can get to and started to head down closer to the lake when all of a sudden my car stopped moving.  I’d been driving down a gravel road and then suddenly it had turned into about 2+ feet of sand and I was just spinning my tires.  Lucky me.  Before I knew it, I had dug myself further into the sand that I ever could have wanted and simply stated was stuck.  As much as I love my car Gwen, not having four-wheel drive is a definite disadvantage which would have been nice to have in the this situation.  I tried digging out my tires and placing rocks underneath hoping that would create a little more friction but all to no avail.  I was there for about 15 minutes when randomly a unknown gentleman stopped and asked if I needed help.  I explained the situation and with his pushing and me spinning the tires back as much as I could, I was finally free and clear.  I am so grateful for the kindness of strangers that still exists in the world. 

I backed out and thanked the guy for his help.  I decided to park back a little bit further in the gravel and walk down to the beach which probably would have been a better idea to begin with.  There was no one else around and so I found it extremely peaceful to walk barefoot in the shallow water for a good two or three hundred yards down the coast.  I finally go to where I could go no further and laid back for a short 30 minute nap. My mind is always moving so fast constantly analyzing everything and thinking about life, the universe, and everything.  It isn’t very often when I’m somehow able to turn off my brain and just be.  This was one of them.  It was grand. 

Finally I got up and headed back to the car and went back to the city.  Bear Lake is known for its raspberries so I thought I would take advantage of the opportunity and waited in the extremely long line for a raspberry milkshake that quite tasty to say the least.  The views of lake were just amazing and I would have loved to take some pictures, but my camera “gave up the ghost” recently and I haven’t spent the time to research what I’m going to replace it with. With the day winding down and knowing I had a good 2.5 hour drive back I decided I would be one my way. 

It was a great day and although I didn’t get any hiking in like I would have liked, the adventures at the beach more than made of for it.