Every now and then, something happens that brings back a memory, or a series of memories.  Today, I had Nickelodeon on while my 2 year old was playing.  Power Rangers Samurai (or something like that) came on and my son stopped to watch the sword fighting.  It doesn’t seem like that long ago that my oldest was watching Power Rangers… Heck, I remember selling his videos on Half.com sometime between 1999 and 2001.  At least I think that’s when I sold them.

The show is cheesy.  It just seemed odd to see that the show or a similar one was still on the air after 15 years.  It didn’t seem like they were watched all that much back when I bought the videos, as most of the episodes were going straight to video.  Maybe teaming up with Nickelodeon will make them more popular.

Anyway, I need to get some sleep.  It was just something I found interesting.  Not much going on that I feel like ranting about other than work.  But work is best dealt with by gaming away the stress and aggression LOL.  Time for another rent run anyway.  One of these days I’ll get the job of my dreams, and I’ll be able to leave my current job behind.

Rereading what I wrote last time, I meant that I laughed at the video because I could put myself in the place of the ones at the marriage ceremony that were getting attacked.  I was laughing at myself more than anyone else.

I’ve been thinking about my father a lot today.  One of my cousins on his side is a friend on Facebook, and more than my older half sisters, my cousin makes me think of Daddy.  Even after 7 years, I think of him and miss him.  I really wish he could meet my youngest 2 kids.  He never even really got to know my oldest son.  My nieces and nephew got to know him, but they’re not much younger than I am because my half sisters are much older.  One of my nieces is 6 months older than I am.  I watch my husband play with my youngest son, and I miss Daddy more.  My husband does some of the same things with our son that Daddy did with me.  My ex played different games with my oldest.  It probably doesn’t help that an old ex’s birthday just passed, and like myself, this person is a child of a deaf adult/parent.  Though both of his parents are/were deaf, and only Daddy was in my case.  Sad, I just started to call this person an old friend, but we haven’t talked since a dear friend of mine died in 2006.  That friend’s death left another hole in my life.  He was the one who encouraged me to keep at what I’m good at.  I haven’t been.  I know losing my friend was nothing compared to what his wife and kids lost, but I shared things with him that I tell few others, even now.  I’m not very good at letting people in to my personal life.  I’ll share some things and not others.

I’ve been looking at my list of goals for the year.  I’m making good progress on the health category.  I foresee that my blood pressure and other factors will be normalized by the end of the year, whatever normal is.

You could say I’m spending more time with family… because we’ve had 2 snow days in the lats 2 weeks.  But it’s not good enough.  I need to be making improvements in the time I spend in the evenings.  Ideally, if I can move like I want, I’d like to get a bike with a trailer for myself and the youngest, then have his big sister ride her bike so we can all get some movement in.

The new job… I’ve been spending so much time researching what I want to do.  My goal was an hour a day, and I’m getting there, but it’s not the easiest to find the time sometimes.  I guess anything worthwhile will require a lot of effort on my part, huh?  Since I’ve strongly disliked my job for more than 3 years, I need to do something about the situation.

http://blog.games.yahoo.com/blog/350-from-vow-to-wow-getting-hitched-in-online-games (Opens in a new window)

No, this post isn’t going to be about what you’d think at first.  There was actually an article on Yahoo! news about getting married online.  That people are getting married in person, then having their characters in online games get married on the game.  Yahoo! is treating it as something new.

I guess they don’t count weddings on MUDs since they’re not graphic MMOs.  Yet, I know they were having weddings on Apoc before I started playing there in ’94.  I remember playing Realms of Despair in ’95 or ’96 and they had weddings on there as well if I remember correctly.  It’s been a few years now.

After reading the article, the only thing I saw that stuck with me was the link to the YouTube video where they held the wedding on a PVP/PKill server – I think on World of Warcraft.  I giggled a little because I remember how upset I used to get on Apoc.  They may not have allowed player killing except on certain nights, but stealing from other players was allowed more often.  And of course, if memory serves, one of the … I won’t say best PThieves, but definitely one of the most prolific was played by none other than SaTaN himself (or the guy who also played the character on Apoc named SaTaN).  I often wonder how he’s doing, and some of the other higherups that were around when Shar was a little mort.

Now that Mozilla spellcheck has gone crazy.  It’s bedtime.  Laterness.

Last year, I made a list of goals that I wanted to achieve before I turn 40.  Since I don’t make New Year’s resolutions, I kept everything general.  I seemed to somehow think that if I didn’t put pressure on myself, these goals would take care of themselves.  A year and some later, I don’t understand my thinking.  I’m not a hot-house flower, I don’t wilt under pressure.  I don’t crack under pressure, so why would I think that I could get away with making generalized goals, as if this was a good enough answer.

New Year’s resolutions hardly ever work.  You have to want something bad enough to make real changes.  Generally resolutions tend to be formed with a touch of regret when you look back on the previous year.  I’ve seen it time and time again in the weight loss world.  ‘This year is my year, this year is the year I lose weight.’  Yet these same people will binge and tell you that they fell off the wagon.  Or they’ll simply underestimate how much they’re eating, and try to fool you that they’re actually eating less than 1500 calories a day and they’re gaining weight.

New Years resolutions are unnecessary if you simply make a list of what you want to do for the year, research what needs to be done, and follow through on the action plan.  Yea, it’s really not as simple as it sounds.

Resolutions tend to fall under several different categories.  Health, and Money are two big ones.  I’m going to get a better job.  I’m going to write a best-seller and make over six figures this year.  I’m going to lose 100 lbs and be happy and healthy.  After all, if you’re fat, then obviously you’re not happy, and you’re definitely not healthy.  And if you’re not making a lot of money, then you’re not happy either, you don’t have enough money to buy all the things you want.

Yea, whatever.

My goals this year are related to

1. Money: I want a different job
2. Family: I want more time with my family, (my kids, my parents/brothers/sister)
3. Health: I want to do what needs to be done to improve my health

Obviously there are a number of sub-goals under there.  Spending time with my family would mean moving to FL where they now live.  Getting a different job will mean figuring out what I want to do, and finding a plan to get a job in that field, etc.

I think February may be the best month for reflection on the changes that need to be made in my life.  By now, the chaos surrounding the holidays has ended.  I no longer have to help my husband with his paper routes and can sleep through the night.  My youngest is slowly getting out of the habit of waking in the middle of the night as well since his dad and I aren’t in the living room rolling papers.  It’s still winter, and still close enough to the beginning of the year that I’ll have plenty of time to follow through on any plans throughout the year.

All in all, it’s a good time to decide what I foresee in the next 11 months.

I’ve been spending time reading other blogs lately.  There are a number of different blogs I read regularly, from a couple that are weight-loss related and written by friends I’ve met online through the years, to ones that are written by complete strangers.  One of the ones written by a complete stranger is also weight-loss related. The one I’m linking to tonight isn’t weight-loss related.  Though this person has written about weight-loss, or at least our pursuit of ‘perfection.’  Many of his posts are feel-good.  Others are meant to make you laugh.  After all, the blog title is ‘Single Dad Laughing.’

Single Dad Laughing: The Thousand Roads Through Hell (Opens in a new window)

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about where my life is lately.  I’m second guessing my choices, including when I chose to drop out of college – for the second time.  Of course, at the time I was spending a lot of time MUDding, but there were other things going on in my life as well.  Dropping out started one trip through my hell.  But, I got through and things brightened for me.

I’ve been in the middle of another, as if some of what I write isn’t enough of an indication.  I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, but it’s still going to be a long road.  Much of what’s going on with me is because I kept second-guessing myself.  I kept going back to the beginning and starting over, like it was going to help things improve faster.

Life isn’t always sunshine and roses, and I thank God that it’s not.  When we go through our own personal hell, we grow up.  Having the bad around helps us to enjoy the good, and there is much good out there for us to enjoy.  One of these days, I’ll be all the way through this latest hell, and life will be very good.  In the meantime, it’s encouraging me to change a few things about my life.  That’s something that I’ve needed to do for a long time.

Another geek funny for today.

Cuz there’s always a new invention coming from Apple.

“As beautiful as simplicity is, it can become a tradition that stands in the way of exploration.” ~ Laura Nyro

Sometimes the simplest things can be the most meaningful.  The last couple of days, my younger kids have been sick.  Unlike their older brother, they prefer to cuddle with me when they’re sick.  He just wanted to sleep in his own bed.  Then again, the younger two wanted to cuddle with their dad, but he was out, so I was the next best thing.

So I spent more time this weekend looking at the computer or watching TV.  I was looking at the HGTV Dream Home and started thinking about skiing and other outdoor activities.  I went to church while growing up, and our youth group used to go hiking quite often.  I would go skiing with a group from school.  Yea, I’m a computer geek, but I participated in sports and other activities.  I loved hiking.  I’ve been doing some thinking about outdoor activities lately.  I miss being able to go out and hike a nature trail.  I haven’t been able to find any closer than 45 minutes to an hour away, maybe further.

When I lived in NC, my oldest and I went hiking on a nature trail.  I think he enjoyed it.  I know I did.  With the genetics in my husband’s family, I want my younger 2 kids to stay active.  Granted, it’s harder in OK, so I need to find other activities – when it’s not 100+ degrees outside.  The park across the street is hokey, but they can do that.  I need to get them over there more often when we’re not under a heat advisory.  I know my oldest went outside a lot more than my younger 2 do.

The simplest things for us to do aren’t going to be things we pay to see.  Parks and outdoor activities instead of museums and other things inside are ideal.

My subject isn’t quite what the quote is about, but in a way it is.  The simplest thing to do would be to stay home; do the same thing all the time.  Instead, we need to explore and learn.  The exploration needs to be in more areas than simply our days off work.  I’m working toward having more energy so I can do more with the kids, and more for myself.  The simplest thing is to keep the status quo.  I’m not going to be doing that.  Though we’ve been told we’ll still have jobs, I’m exploring my options on other incomes.  I will not walk out on a job without another income, but that doesn’t mean I can’t explore other ways that we can get by.  It may be time to go back to school for real.  My goal – get my degree in web development.  That’ll include both programming and design.

I can’t find any more 404 Posters, so I’m going to just post funny posters.  They give me the giggles, and that’s what I need to face my week.

Enjoy the giggles for the day.  I am 🙂

If the above sounds familiar, it’s from ‘I Don’t Like Mondays’ by Boomtown Rats.  🙂

So it’s obvious that I haven’t been posting much lately.  I’m just at a loss for words.  I don’t know what to talk about.  Things have been going well, if a tad boring here, and I’m just … trying to sort through a few things.

Work, well, I was told that the person in charge of the whole department wasn’t going to make any changes to department staff.  She said ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’

Home… well I’m doing little other than going to work, coming home and spending time with the kids, though they both prefer their father over me.

I did see a good new TV show tonight on SyFy called ‘Being Human.’  Of course, it takes off on the whole vampire and werewolf thing that’s become popular since the Twilight books came out… not that I’ve read any of them.

Other than that, nothing to report really.  I hope to be back to blogging every day soon.  I just need to figure out what I want to say first.  If anyone has any suggestions, I’d be willing to listen, though I may not follow through if I don’t care for the suggestion 😛

This is my second part of the 404 Mondays. I may just have to change it to laugh Mondays because I’m not sure I’ll find any more 404 Posters 🙂 Or even Demotivational Mondays hehe.

My oldest posted this on his Facebook, my husband doesn’t get it.  I still find it funny 🙂