2010 Christmas

WE TAKE HOME THE WIN!!!

Here is a link to the album with a few pictures. Enjoy

Tonight is the night.

Tonight is the judging for the Holiday Decorating Contest. I have up about 15,000 lights this year and it's all gone pretty smooth. I did find out that this year there will be one winner per community, which I think is crap. Almost makes it too easy. So I'll find out tomorrow if I am the victor. I still need to get some good pictures and video posted.

Later.

The Office

A necessary evil that plagues the lives of nearly every person on the planet, the office is a place of love for some, a place of hate for others, or a place of content for the few. Offices vary in every profession, every country, and every environment. My profession, as an IT professional, generally demands the same cookie cutter setting, in every situation.

Part of the office experience is the journey to the office, known as the "commute"; this journey is not a glorious quest, nor a noble voyage. It is usually spent half asleep, perched behind the wheel of my neglected vehicle, sipping on a caffeinated beverage of some sort. I look at the other commuters most days, just to see how they relish there last minutes of freedom before entering their offices. Some fiddle with the radio, others are quickly stuffing a single serving breakfast down their throats, women are putting on last minute touches to their makeup, and some are doing just as I am; observing. There are those who believe getting to the office is the goal of the entire day, they drive fast, change lanes aggressively, peel out, screech to stops, and when others get in the way impeding this behavior, they resort to the honking of the horn, the gesturing of the hand in profane manners, and the yelling out the of window. All of which are really dramatic, all of which I love to instigate, getting a bit of joy out of their turmoil; road rage you say, nope just passing the time.

On my approach to the office, I normally draw in my last breaths of freedom and the last sounds of silence; this is how I prepare for the next eight hours of the office experience. I sit in my car, the engine off, my brown bagged lunch in hand, staring at the clock, waiting for the moment to embark on the next leg of the office journey. Tick-tock tick-tock, every second more precious than the next, until the final second has passed and the assent must ensue. I know exactly how long it takes to trek from my car seat to that desk chair and just how late I can be without anyone saying anything. Like I said the seconds are precious in this game and if I can shave a few off company time, I grasp the opportunity. Walking to the entrance, I see the smokers getting their fix in the designated smoking areas, the late employees hushing to the door looking at their wrist watch watching the second fall away. The hallway on my way to the office is lined with the doors of the offices of the many people that I work for. These people have offices with doors and windows, and personal space, none of which I am not afforded.

Arriving at the door of my office, I must gain access with the swipe of a card that dangles from the standard company issue lanyard around my neck. The card has my name, my picture with the fake smile, and division where I work. The door beeps, granting me access to the mayhem that lies behind. Grasping the door and pulling with all my strength, the air rushes into the negative pressure of the room, like fresh air onto a starving fire. Upon entering the office I observe the situation, attempting to feel the climate of the day the come. I approach my desk, looking first to see if there is already work piling in the inbox, scanning the area to see if anyone seems to be waiting for me, and last wondering if I left now would anyone be the wiser. The inbox is the where the seeds of work are sown, whether it's a physical box on the desk or the virtual email inbox, this is where the work is grown and harvested. There are co-workers that wait for you for you, not giving you a chance to take off your jacket or sit down. These people are like predators waiting for their prey to enter the kill zone, and once they have you in their claws, surrender is the only option, because they will come back relentlessly, until their needs are fulfilled. Would anyone be the wiser if I left before even getting started, my luck says yes. I sit and breathe the stale air and listen to the hum of the computer systems. Others around me chatter about the day’s events to come, I try not to listen; ignorance is a little more blissful than enlightenment in my office experience.

My office setting is comprised of cubicles placed in rows, like corn in a farmer’s field. Each desk stamped with the same basic equipment, slow computer, broken stapler, out-dated calendar, dry highlighters, TPS report coversheet memos, and a self of books that never get used. Each person sits in their cubical, or as I like to call it "a little slice of Hell", staring into the computer monitor. I’ve notice that a person tends not to blink while staring into the computer monitor; hypnosis is the key to corporate productivity. Technology has made lives easier; however every second using it sucks a little more life out of us. Technology has enslaved us, we are just puppets under it power.

The office is a work camp of all classes’ people, the rich, the poor, the average, the hard working, and the slackers living out there days, to necessitate the end of the work day in order to return back to their houses, apartments, or dorms for a short break, before it all starts over again the next day.

2010 Christmas Extravaganza

Well the time has come once again to flex my incandescent muscle. This years display will have approx. 17,000 lights. I started on friday, the day after thanksgiving, and worked thru sunday. About half is completed so far and I haven't even stepped foot on the roof.

There are a couple of new additions this year that require a little fabrication and time. A 12' foot tree of lights is one and 8 small mini trees is another. But I think that the result is going to be well worth the effort.

Worked on the porch roof this evening a little past dark and it got cold. For today I got three windows, a wreath, a set of bells, and the porch roof line. In the middle of it all Matt called because his bike wasn't starting. A quick jump start and he was good to go.

So what do I have left.the garage roof, the main roof, driveway, sidewalk, and the mini trees. That's what I can think of right now, I know there's more. I hope to be done before sunday.

again more to come.

Georgia Appalachian Trail Completed

I started this journey in October of 2008, with aspiration of finishing in one trip. The plan was to start at the GA-NC border and south bound to Amicalola Falls in 5 days. Well it didn't quite work out that way. I started at the border was feeling great until the end of the second day when I twisted my ankle. I was about 7 miles from Neel's Gap when I camped for the night. When I woke up in the morning my ankle was huge swollen and I was completely out of duck tape. I ran into a guy headed north early on the first day who had a sprain and I used the tape patching up his ankle. So I struggled and limped the 7mi. to Mountain Crossing at Neel's Gap and called a shuttle to take me to my truck. Section 1 ended at 37 miles and a limp.

So for the next go round the plan was to continue from Neel's Gap heading south to the falls at the end of May 2009, about 38 miles. To add to the fun, I would be bringing along my daughter Christin. This is what she wanted to do for her 8th birthday. We had been training for a couple of months and got her all the gear she would need. I needed her to be able to do at least 10 miles a day with her own pack. Her endurance really surprised me and she was able to do it with no problem. We were dropped off at the Mountain Crossing hiker hostel and headed out the next morning. From Neel's Gap it's strait up 2 miles to the top of Blood Mountain and on top of it all it was raining. We endured all day through the rain and mud, then camped at 9.5 miles in. About 10:30 that night it came a raging thunderstorm and had no sign of stopping. Christin made the decision to call off the rest of the trip and we called home to be picked up the next morning at Woody Gap about 3 miles away. Sleeping was rough almost the entire night because the rain and wind was so loud against the tent. We made it to Woody at the same time my wife was pulling into the parking lot, perfect timing. Section 2 ended with 12 miles completed.

I had 28 miles remaining to finish my task. I had little delay due to getting deployed to Iraq for 6 months January through July 2010. The last weekend of my vacation was Labor weekend (Sep 2010) and I decided to go for it. I invited along my friend Matt to join me and he brought his dog Crockett. This time I planned for us to start at the Amicalola Falls State Park and head north to Woody Gap. 8 miles of approach trail, 20 miles of AT and 3 days to do it. The weather outlook was great, with low temperatures in the coming days due to a hurricane moving in to the North Carolina coast. The trip went quite well, except for Matt getting tangled up with a nest of angry ground hornets on the second day. His spirits were down after getting stung 7-8 times on the head, neck, face, back, and arms. He quickly came around and was ready to get back down the trail. The nights were cool but not freezing and we made good time. We finished early on the third day, concluding my journey to hike the Georgia section of the AT.