home ownership
One thing that is cool about owning vs. renting is that you actually get to make decisions on stuff and then make changes.
We recently decided that we were going to spend a little money upgrading our master bathroom. I say master, because it is connected to the master bedroom, but there is little MASTER about it. It is relatively tiny and just not that awesome. It is fine for us, but it could be way nicer. So we decided that we were going to give it an overhaul. Nothing insane, no moving walls around or anything, just some new coverings. We are going to replace the vinyl flooring with tile, the fiberglass shower surround in tile, the too large vanity with a better sized one. We will also replace all the accessories, etc.
The biggest thing is the tub (no pun intended). The issue is we have a space of 60x30 for the tub, which is a standard size, but we want a deeper tub. Rebecca actually TAKES baths, so having a deeper tub would be a great improvement. BUT alot of the nicer tubs are 60x32 and that 2 inches would involve moving a door AND putting the tub REALLY close to the toilet. So we are stuck with 60x30. And finding that 60x30 tub is proving a bit of a pain. But I think I can make it all work.
In observance of earth day (and the fact that the weather was perfect) I redid the backyard yesterday. I pulled up all the old grass, tilled up the dirt, removed the 2 bushes on the side, installed the in ground sprinkler system, and laid new sod. It was hard work, but nothing too complex. And I am really happy with the result. The line for the sprinkler is under the grass, but it is not buried in the garden box. I figure we will likely redo the garden soon, and we can bury it then. And by we, I most likely mean rebecca and her mom. Or somehow involving her mom.
I really like the sprinkler system. I know, it is lame, because we don't have the much grass. But they rule. They pop up, cover all the grass and the garden, with virtually 100% coverage and nearly zero overspray onto the patio. If is weren't windy, you could sit there and have the sprinklers on with out worry of getting wet. One of the heads isn't perfectly straight, and it is pissing me off. Provided it isn't raining at the end of today, I will be out there cleaning up the yard waste, and I will try to fix it.
But yeah, owning your own place rules. Once the garden and sod are all good, I will take some pics. It will be a great yard for mason too.
Work related stuff
So I have been kind of quiet about work related stuff lately, and there are a few reasons for that. One reason is my boss has created this really weird work environment for me lately by sending me extremely rude emails. It is almost as if he is trying to make me quit. It is kind of insane. I am telling myself that it is a result of personal issues he is having and it is coming out in the wrong way. I have decided to not let them ruin my attitude though. I read them, and attempt to take whatever is in them that I can put to positive use and move on. Under all the anger that he appears to have in the emails, there is usually something that I can use and work on. It is just unfortunate that it is delivered in such a way. The most recent one did have a couple points that he clearly wants addressed, so I am doing my best to meet those requests, since that is how being an employee works.
One is being at work by 9am, which is fine. I started there as a consultant, so I had an off hour schedule. Eventually I became full time, and the start time was not an issue then, provided I worked 40 hours, which I always have, as I am not out to take advantage of anyone. But evidently the 9am thing is a larger issue now, so I have been coming in at 9am. It is kind of annoying, since that eliminates any time when I can do simple things like reboot the servers unless I stay late. We have a few people that come in really early (pre 8am) so I can't really beat them into the office. But it isn't the end of the world.
I am also trying to keep my work area organized better. While it wasn't in the boss's email, it is a good thing to do I guess. While personally, I can handle clutter and it is rare that I truly LOOSE something, it does at times make finding things I only need to use 1/year or something easier to find. It also makes my coworkers happy, so that is a plus.
At the same time, I have decided to not do work outside of work. I used to read the work email when I wasn't at work, go through the work SPAM filters to look for false-positives, check on the servers, etc. I have decided that runs dangerously close to ruining my time off (and at times, has). Thus I turn off those email accounts when I am not at work. Nothing is that important, and if something goes down, it will likely be email and thus, it won't be effective communication anyway.
So that is roughly what is up with work. It isn't nearly as awesome a job as it once was, but that could be the ebb and flow of work. Or it could be that I have changed, or the job has changed, or most likely a combination of the two. But is a good job, I like the people, and I don't mind the work. Is it as perfect as it once was? No, but that is ok. Work is work, and the most perfect job still has its work.
tough decisions….
it is hard. My God says I can own slaves, but my government says I can't.
What is a good christian to do?
It is tough. And since I am told that being gay is wrong, and I thus feel that is true, then one can only come the conclusion that slavery is good. I mean, the bible can't be 100% wrong in one verse and 100% right in another, ESPECIALLY when they both are verses in the same book! I mean, how would THAT be possible?!?
Who stole my car!?! OR Zombie VW
Easter has come and gone... and easter, the jesus rising to a zombie thing, etc. I wasn't even into it enough to care enough to make bad jokes. I do find it odd that all these people see the following: Guy that is both loved and hated is put to death in a public spectacle, then he is buried. The next morning, the rock to the tomb is moved and the body is gone.
They see that and while logic would argue that the MOST likely situation was that his body was stolen. Not surprising when you consider the number of people that both hated him and loved him. But instead of following the most likely scenario, it is believed that he rose from the dead.
Now if you had bought the pope's VW golf (now on eBay) and you got it and put it in the garage. Then the next morning, you came out and your garage door was open and the VW was gone, you would most likely assume that the car was stolen. You would be hard pressed to convince the world that god came and TOOK the VW. I realize that this is not the same level as Jesus, but I think it ignores the most likely scenario. But alas... what do I care.
Believe what you want, but I would like to see more people think about it critically vs. just going to church and believing everything you are told.