I wouldn't have done this for a long time without this blog and my readers. I don't need to explain how badly it needed to be done.
Also, there's more goin' on in the Flickr badge now. It's still mostly internet content, but there's some of my own stuff too.
Took another picture of the towers at the plastics plant on the river today. I'd say this one turned out a little better, wouldn't you? Also took one of the switch indicator at the railroad tracks.
My confession is that when I said I'd "clean everthang," I totally didn't. Time for bed now.
Well I couldn't sleep last night because I'd been staying up till 5 and 6 in the morning the two nights prior. I'm awfully tired and I'm going to bed.
This is a picture of me with salad tongs and a woman. We had excellent sets back in those days.
I took some pictures today and they were not good. This is probably the best of them, and only now as I look at it do I realize what that light pole did. I also bought some more video games. Marvel Ultimate Alliance and Metal Dungeon. On video games, I read a review of Deus Ex: Invisible War that makes it sound a lot cooler than I'd given it credit for. We'll see. Back to work tomorrow, and I have little to show for all my free time.
Sandy came over and worked out tonight. Pretty good workout. After publishing this post I'm going to pump up, take a picture, and use it for reference in a post four weeks from now.
Alright, a reader told me it was important to post every day, so I'll try and honor that. (On my television, Cinematech is showcasing Virtual View: Megumi right now. If they keep it up in the next segment, I'll have to turn it off.)
Today was the beginning of my Produce weekend. I got a late start, won't say how late, but way too late. I went to the credit union and deposited some checks, went to Best Buy and bought a tripod for my camera and a microphone/headphone set, then went to Rhino games (there goes another Nip in a bikini, gotta turn it off) and bought some games. I've played them all a bit, except for Forza Motorsport, which seems to be scratched. Destroy All Humans gets a thumbs down. It's a hypnotic sandbox-type game, which ain't really my bag. Deus Ex: Invisible War deserves closer attention before giving it a final verdict, but I'm gonna go ahead and give it a thumbs down. It seems clunky. Let's see, what was the other one? Ok, EA's Return of the King. This one is good, though I shouldn't have bought it, as I'd already beaten it. It attempts to recreate the movie in a game, and it succeeds. Excellent game to play with a friend.
Tomorrow I'll finish cleaning everthang, take some pictures, and maybe visit a talent agency and tell them to put me in pictures.
Since I didn't take any pictures today, I'm having Bill Clinton echo my feelings about Megumi.
I saw this guy ringing his bell for the first time a few days ago and knew I wanted him to be a regular contributor. So what I'm going to do is, I'm going to have hime ring his bell every month that I don't spend ANY time trawling the internet for images of sexy women. I've tried this sort of thing before, with limited success. I think that with his kind of enthusiasm I can't help but succeed.
By doing this I'm not trying to make a moral point about pornography, though I do have an opinion. Opinions aside, for me porn is often a great bloody waste of time, and this is an exercise in discipline.
In other news, I've taken to sleeping in my "living room" because it's clean and my bedroom hasn't been touched. (My living room is also heated.) I'll clean my bedroom next, then my car (documented like before), attempt to maintain, and afterwards move on to something more difficult. Your suggestions are welcome.
I got a camera today and took some illustrative snaps for you all (one). (I'm going to try doing this today while simultaneously listening to KBLO, which is distracting.) You're seeing where I'm at as far as neatness goes. (I've got to turn off the radio, I can't concentrate.)
As you can see, it's a mess. To be fair, I've purposely let it go to hell for greater contrast. I've put off cleaning up any until I got this camera. To be just, it's been worse.
OK. The plan. What are we dealing with? Clothes mostly. I know what to do with them. Receipts. Consolidate, organize by month, tabulate. Garbage. Throw it away, and for goodness' sake, take the bag out to the bin (it's starting to smell). What else? Well, let's do that (above), snap a picture, then come back and edit the post.
OK, done. It's a good start, but it took me too long. About three hours, to be more precise. During that time I also fooled around with Technorati (pardon me while I move detritus back to the end of the desk), watched television, and, for the benefit of shallow alchemy (loser's first commenter), I ate two peanut butter sandwiches. My eating them didn't benefit him, but my talking about it just might. Lately I've noticed that I put too much PB on my sandwiches, resulting in an unfortunately high PB/Br. These two were just about perfect.
Last night I went with a close buddy of mine to the Root Bar, where I had a great time and spent a lot of money. I was active, but I was not profitable. I entered the East Coast Rootball Championship, spending twenty dollars on the entrance fee, losing two of two games, and having a great time.
Close Buddy and I got pretty drunk, listened to Steel String Theory, walked to Waffle House, ate, and went home. Close Buddy revealed that he and the rest of my friends loved me, which was heartwarming. Close Buddy also dishonored a UNC-Chapel Hill bus.
Right now working on a new template.
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All right, finished. It doesn't look exactly right, but it's better than before. Let's try it on IE...No, still not right. There's supposed to be a masthead of white snowflake-looking things. Maybe I'm supposed to find my own...No, got it. I was missing a single quotation mark.
Have to get to the point on time tonight, as I am now drinking a protein beverage, and will have to exercise at digestion time. This post will not be well thought-out or polished, which might make it the best one ever.
Before I go into any specific goals, I'll share some fundamental goals:
In no particular order (numbered for the purpose of later expansion):
1. Be clean
2. Be active
3. Be profitable
4. Be sexy
5. Be organized
That should do for right now.
(1) Be clean. I don't think this goal requires too much explanation. Proverbially, cleanliness is next to godliness. As mentioned yesterday, my living environment is a damn mess. I don't really know what worldly resources are available to me because everything is everywhere. My goal? Another proverb, "a place for everything and everything in its place." Personal (bodily) cleanliness is something I've got a handle on, though I'm no extremist. I eat food off the floor and I probably always will.
(2) Be active. I have been very lucky with my formative-years environment. My parents gave me love, good genes, good siblings, and a beautiful city to grow up with. This gave me a significant advantage, and in school, I didn't have to try until about the sixth grade. At this time I began a downward spiral, and though I managed a 1350 SAT score, I didn't graduate high school, and at age 29, I do not have a college degree. I need to be active, set goals, and work to achieve them. I love being alone and reflecting, but I need things to reflect on. I live in Western North Carolina, home to possibly the oldest, and definitely some of the most beautiful mountains in the world, but to me they're just a backdrop, I need to go to them and experience them.
(3) Be profitable. I love money. Beginning around 2000 BC, currency has fertilized and facilitated the exchange of ideas, and if you get enough scratch, you can empower your own. That's about all I've got to say about that. Oh, one more thing. When you're working in produce, money is relatively hard to come by.
(4) Be sexy. I feel a little silly using the word sexy, but I'll have to get over it. I want it (take that however you like, you're probably correct). To this end I've put an (awesome) olympic weight bench in this room, and have had some success with it over the past year. Being sexy is more than that, though (see (3), above). It's kind of a catch-all. Are you strong and lean? That's sexy. Are you rich and powerful? That's sexy. Are you a creative genius? That's very sexy.
(5) Be organized. In my mind, and for the purposes of this post, this goal is similar to (1), above. The first specific goal I think of in regard to this is tabulating the flood of gd receipts I have, scattered everywhere. In a more general sense, this goal should be read as the "planning" part of last night's post:
"...So. How [will I make myself great]? In no particular order, discipline, planning, and outside help."
That's it for tonight. I'm going to try and get hold of a camera so's I can better document my current situation. I'll give you pictures of my messy rooms, my beloved hoopty, and I don't know what-all. Good night.
OK, the purpose of my blog is to detail the steps I take and the achievements I make on the road to winnerdom.
When I was a kid, I always had a feeling that I would be famous. I told my brother about the feeling one day, and he said, "I think everybody feels that way." Still, I know I have it in me to be great. But I'm not. I'm far from it.
I work produce at the grocery store. I sleep too much. Naked women on the internet captivate me. I play Xbox games because my computer is too slow. I'm addicted to nicotine. I'm benching 185 (and I'm proud of it). My home (by that I mean the rooms I live in; naturally I rent and don't own) is messy, and that's being charitable. I speak one language. I cant' write. I could go on.
I've managed to do a few things I'm proud of. I became a Marine on Parris Island. I've acted on television. I've read The Penguin History of the World. I've read the Bible. I beat Civ III on Emperor.
Now let's put that into perspective. Alexander the Great founded a city when he was a teenager. He destroyed Thebes when he was twenty-one. Isaac Asimov wrote hundreds of books. My brother beat Alpha Centauri on Transcend. I'll never be the youngest to do anything, I've waited too long for that, but I want to be great.
So. How? In no particular order, discipline, planning, and outside help. Possibly your help, if anyone ever reads this.
Tomorrow I'll share plans and discuss goals. Initially the thrust of my blog will be about me, but I want it to be something others will care about and enjoy reading, so as I build momentum, I'll share others' successes and God-only-knows what else. Good night (damn, it's late, have to get rest to succeed).
Right now I'm still a loser, but with your help, and the blessings of Providence, I'll turn myself into a winner.
