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Below are the 16 most recent journal entries recorded in
sir_razorback's LiveJournal:
| Thursday, December 20th, 2007 | | 12:17 am |
Update for today, some good news Ok, we managed to pry a grant out of DSHS that covers rent for the next couple months, all is stable. Now that the car's fixed, I can get my hours back and stability can return. Let me tell you what though, I think I'm going to sleep tonight the best sleep I've had since November. Merry Christmas folks! | | Tuesday, December 18th, 2007 | | 9:27 am |
Once again, things do not go as planned... Ok, a while back I posted that I was going to be starting a new job. It was going to be a grind, but with good pay. Well guess what? I got a phone call the Friday before I was going to start, and was told the whole bloody project was cancelled. My first thought? "I'm fucked." It's turning out OK for now though, at least for the next couple months. I've been talking with DSHS and they told me that they would be able to help us with a grant this month. The only catch was that I needed to get my old employer to fill out a form that states I'll be working for them over the next three months, which I can now that the car is repaired. (I just need $$$ from this grant so I can get insurance back on it, so I can actually go back to work.) Considering that we have an eviction notice pending tomorrow, this is welcome news. Also, it's killing me to put them up for sale, but I've managed to find a buyer for my PS2 and 360 systems. He's giving me $700 for everything, so I'll be able to pay next months rent as well. No bites on the Classic XBox, but I don't think I'll re-list that as long as no other disasters blow up in my face. So my plan is to go back to work where I have been most of the year, and try to find something local that gives me more hours. (My old job averages out to about 30 hours a week.) This should get us back on our feet, and I'll even be able to pay Ian back for repairing our car out of our tax returns next year. Keep your fingers crossed for us, the next three months are going to be damn vital. Current Mood:  anxious | | Monday, December 17th, 2007 | | 9:39 am |
Some bad news about Terry Pratchet. It has not been a good year for fantasy authors. http://www.paulkidby.com/news/index.htmlAnd here's the text from that news article, because it will scroll off there eventually. 11th December 2007
AN EMBUGGERANCE Folks,
I would have liked to keep this one quiet for a little while, but because of upcoming conventions and of course the need to keep my publishers informed, it seems to me unfair to withhold the news. I have been diagnosed with a very rare form of early
onset Alzheimer's, which lay behind this year's phantom "stroke".
We are taking it fairly philosophically down here and possibly with a mild optimism. For now work is continuing on the completion of Nation and the basic notes are already being laid down for Unseen Academicals. All other things being equal, I
expect to meet most current and, as far as possible, future commitments but will discuss things with the various organisers. Frankly, I would prefer it if people kept things cheerful, because I think there's time for at least a few more books yet :o)
PS I would just like to draw attention to everyone reading the above that this should
be interpreted as 'I am not dead'. I will, of course, be dead at some future point, as
will everybody else. For me, this maybe further off than you think - it's too soon to tell.
I know it's a very human thing to say "Is there anything I can do", but in this case I
would only entertain offers from very high-end experts in brain chemistry. |
| | Thursday, December 6th, 2007 | | 9:25 pm |
More good news, this time it's about my car!
Back on Nov. 6th I decided to celebrate my birthday early by wrecking my bloody car. Nobody was hurt, and I had insurance, I'm crazy, not stupid. Unfortunately, I only carry the bare minimum insurance and as a result, I wasn't going to get any $$ to fix my rig since technically it was my fault.
What happened was that I was driving up Oregon's Highway 26. I was getting ready to take the 6th ave. exit and a car came up alongside me on the right, and pulled in front of me. He didn't give me alot of room, but since I wanted to take the exit anyways I didn't think anything of it, and turned my head to check the lane to my right again. Make sure nobody was coming up behind him, because Portland drivers are insane. Well, no sooner than the guy squeezed between me and the car that was in front of me than he decided it was time to slam on his brakes in the middle of the damn freeway. My best guess is that the car that was in front of him decided he needed the exit too, and hit his brakes so he wouldn't miss it. As you might guess, all this happened *while* I was looking to the right to see if the lane was clear. I piled into his ass moving along at around 40 MPH. (I was slowing down to take the exit, it probably saved me from more serious damage or injuries.) Note: Seat belts in 1992 Corollas don't engage unless you slam your brakes on, evidently. Mine sure didn't, since I never slammed mine. I heard the *bang*, and my chest was mashed into the steering wheel. Fast forward to today, and I get a phone call from my father-in-law, Ian. The man is gold, he's really like a second dad to me. He says that he contacted the local U-Pull-It wrecking yard and they have the right Corolla there to take parts off of to fix mine. Hell of a lucky break, it was even the same color! Se we spent two hours down there stripping off everything out of the front end of the car, the hood, a fender, and I tried to get a new door handle out. Gave up on that though, it was getting late and we were wanting to get out of there. Final bill for all the parts was $270! I thought it would be $400 or more. The major parts we replaced were the right front fender, the hood, bumper sleeve, both radiators, A/C assembly. An assortment of small stuff too. We might wind up going back for more, but for now we're pretty sure we got all the major stuff covered. Looks like all the time I spent working as a production operator paid off abit. It's given me an eye for figuring out how things come apart and go back together. I'll be on the road again by the end of the month! Merry Christmas everybody! Current Mood:  happy | | Tuesday, December 4th, 2007 | | 8:06 am |
It's the time of year for miracles, right? =p I've been holding off on this until it was absolutely confirmed, and now it is. I'm starting a new job on Friday that's coming right in the nick of time to save our butts! Things haven't been very easy for us, and where I have been working didn't always have work for me to do. Bills were piled up pretty damn high, and it was looking more and more likely that we were going to lose our place by the end of the year. Friday though, I was poking around on Craigslist.com, which is something I rarely do. I was looking around their job postings and something caught my eyeball. There was a production job listed out in Portland that pays $900/week! I called them, left a brief message, and they got back to me on Saturday and interviewed me later that afternoon. It's going to be a sacrifice, though. Clocking in at 72 hours a week (6x12), I'm not going to have alot of time to spend with family for a while. It's a necessity, however. We'll get used to it, and if I'm lucky I'll be able to work my way up the food chain to a better position with friendlier hours. When I know more precisely what it is I'll be doing I'll update this again. Right now I'm still really excited about it! Current Mood:  giddy | | Wednesday, October 31st, 2007 | | 5:56 pm |
Happy Halloween! Hmm... Halloween's always interesting around here, since it's also the big kidlet's birthday. Going to try and assemble a kid sized pool table in her room while she's out trick or treating. Ought to be good for a squeal or four when she sees it. Here's her new Grade 1 picture, BTW! Jessica Ann Smith, age 7!  | | Wednesday, May 16th, 2007 | | 2:58 pm |
Jason Christopher Smith. 8 lbs, 5 oz of fresh Y-Chromosomes, born 2:54 AM on Mother's Day. His sister isn't looking forward to dooty duty, but she owes us about 2 - 3 yrs worth of dirty butts, and we're going to collect. =p  | | Wednesday, April 4th, 2007 | | 9:41 am |
Hmm... For all 4 of you who know that this exists, here's a job update. I've been working mostly full time at a place called Contractors Temporary Employment Servce. Although the last week or two has been pretty dead, generally the keep me busy. Tuesday I had an interview with Dollar Tree for a position at their main warehouse here in town. Not as bad as it sounds actually, pretty decent benefits and pay starts at $10. I'll be hearing back from them by Fridy at the latest, and hopefully I'll have good news to report. Got this job lead due to yet another random event in my life popping up.
I was at my local comic book shop and I overheard the shop owner talking behind the counter. Hard not to listen in, it's a pretty confined space. I caught the name "Jim Woods" and perked up abit. WHen he got off te phone I asked if he was holding a package for Jim Woods, and if so could I leave my name and number on t. He was gracious enough to let me leave a note for him, and it turns out that it was a friend of mine I had lost contact with.
He's a pretty cool guy from back in my local modemgeek days, has a couple sproglings now even. Only has custody of one though, a girl that's a couple years older than my own. Just him and the kid, but I now have a friend that I can take Jessie with me when I go to visit. Those are pretty hard to find, I think I have four that qualify. =p Jack, Ralph, Adam, and now Jim. Could take her wth me to Tom Boyle's place as well, if I knew how to get ahold of the bastich. | | Sunday, April 1st, 2007 | | 9:07 am |
This is funny shit. I posted this over at Scans-Daily a few days ago, figured I'd post it on my own page too. =p
First, the joke that was mde on the webcomic Year One.
 Then a couple weeks later I found this image. 
Yes, that's the same 8-9'ish yr old girl. =p
Katie Power
| | Sunday, February 11th, 2007 | | 6:18 pm |
OS quiz with a twist
You are MS DOS. Often seen peeking out from around corners, you are shy but indispensable.
Heh.. THanks Wildlock. Entertaining one ya found this time. Current Music: Sonic the Hedgehog | | Saturday, November 11th, 2006 | | 1:02 pm |
What element are you quiz Thanks to Wildlocke for pointing this one out. Now, on to the weather! "Boy, it sure is wet out there Bob." "That's right Bill, and expect it to get wetter tomorrow!" "It's a good thing I kept that ancient ark plan I found, Bob! Now, Back to Becky with today's Basketball scores!"
Current Mood: Very damp
Current Music: Bunny Rabbit Hearts - Danny Dollinger | | Saturday, November 4th, 2006 | | 1:41 pm |
Urge... to kill... rising...
You know, at the rate the last few months are shaping up I plan on getting royally plotzed on new years and kick 2006 square in the ass out of here. It all started back on Labor day, when I was called at home by my temporary agency telling me that the job I've been working at for the last 2 1/2 years told them they don't want me there anymore. Seems I threw out too many parts the night before that were actually good. Here's the fun part though... every single part I chucked that night was visually confirmed by a supervisor! So I was let go for doing what I was told.
Agency was on my side, was willing to fight for me to get a new position there in a dif department. However, a better job came up so I decided to try it. Was also through the same agency, and I was told it would be a long-term assignment with potential for permanent hire. This was over at Leatherman, the folks who make those pocket knife tool kits with the built in pliers. After a week on the job, I found out that they over-hired and I was part of a batch of 16 people or so who were sent home.
So I start drawing unemployment, what there is of it I can get. This lasted a few weeks, mebbe 3 or 4 when I was contacted by my agency again, this time with a job closer to home helping to manufacture glue. Didn't even involve horse hooves! Oh, the wonders of modern science! Well, once again I was told this would be a 90 day temp-to-hire job. I showed up for 8 days on time, worked as hard and as fast as I could, and was told "Ehh.. we got our big order done, thanks for the help, you can go home now". The owner was nice enough to spend $45 on me outside of my check when he bought me a tail light for my bicycle, so I'm a little confused about how to think about this one. that job ended last night, haven't told my wife about it yet. Figure I'll wait until Monday before I break the news, why spoil her weekend.
Think I'll talk to my agency Monday when I turn in this week's time card and see if there's a way I can go back to my first job in a different area. Not sure what else to do at this point.
Current Mood: Irritated
Current Music: Lego Star Wars II background music | | Thursday, November 2nd, 2006 | | 11:53 am |
New job, bleh...
I have a new job as of last week making glue. Dosen't even involve horses. I really hope this one works out, it's been really rough ever since Labor Day. Think I'll post a recap of the whole mess later, just too much to get into right now. | | Wednesday, June 14th, 2006 | | 1:38 am |
I will eat your babies!!!
Obake-Yuurei
You scored 21 in Malice and 23 in Chaos! |
The Obake-Yuurei is like a regular Yuurei, or ghost, except much more malevolent. Obake-Yuurei are the souls of those who died in great anger or heartache, and continue to wander the earth in search of someone, anyone, to avenge themselves upon.
Obake-Yuurei sometimes appear as pale, crying maidens sitting by some lonely and forsaken place; these demons, although evil, are no more than the products of their sadness. If one should happen upon an Obake-Yuurei, the best way to defend himself-- for, in the end, sad or not, Obake-Yuurei have only murder and vengeance in mind-- is to cut through the center of the Yuurei and remove the shard of corruption in the heart which stains the soul. |
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My test tracked 2 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:
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You scored higher than 99% on Malice |
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You scored higher than 99% on Chaos |
| Hmm... does this thing actually work I wonder? Neintales posted this on her journal recently as the result of one of those personality-test things. I tried it, and got the same result, but amped. :p They're fun though, and only somewhat taste like chicken. The URL for the test itself is in the above linky-fest. 99th percentile... Yeargh!!! Kill 'em all, and eat their babies!!! | | Sunday, April 9th, 2006 | | 12:16 pm |
A snapshot in time, Nov. 9th...
A friend of mine came up with the idea of going to wikipedia and looking up your birthdate. The rules are to post three events, two births, and two deaths from it on your livejournal blog. Since I never get around to adding anything else to this, figured I'd go ahead and do that.
Events
1965 - Several U.S. states and parts of Canada are hit by a series of blackouts lasting up to 13 hours in the Northeast Blackout of 1965.
1989 - Cold War: Communist-controlled East Germany opens checkpoints in the Berlin Wall allowing its citizens to freely travel to West Germany.
2004 - Halo 2, one of the most anticipated video games of all time, is released for the Xbox.
Births
1934 - Carl Sagan, American astronomer and writer (d. 1996)
1970 - Susan Tedeschi, American musician
1973 - Me, Damnit!! Why am I not in there? =p Wikipedia is incomplete and faulty!
Deaths
959 - Constantine VII, Byzantine Emperor (b. 905)
1888 - Mary Jane Kelly, (Final) Victim of the infamous Whitechapel serial killer known as Jack the Ripper (b. 1863)
There's even a few holidays and observances and such.. here's one of them:
Germany - November 9th is often called Germany's Schicksalstag (day of fate) due to the events of 1848, 1918, 1923, 1938, and 1989. | | Wednesday, April 27th, 2005 | | 1:00 am |
Hmm.. what should I do with this blog thing?
I'm a big fan of the wheel of time series, and I think I'll start out by writing a summary of it. Will take me a while, they're about as thick as a troll's head. See what I can do with it though.
Current Mood: creative |
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