14 Questions 
Friday, May 5, 2006, 07:39 PM - Random Thoughts
Yay! Another fun LIST from Hanuman's website!



1. If you could be any person in the world, who would you be, and why? Heck, I’m already FIVE people!


2. Describe a place you remember from your childhood. I remember visiting my grandfather (years before he got sick with cancer and died.) He used to cut my hair when I was six to eight years old. Sometimes he would take me and mom out to the golf course restaurant to eat brunch after church. I remember he was one of the first people to own an Atari 2600, and I was totally obsessed with “Breakout” and “Combat”. I remember how awesome it was the year he built a swimming pool in the back year of his house.



3. How did you meet your closest friend?
My closest friend is also my partner. The hilarious thing is that I had run a personal ad in which I described myself as, “An average guy who likes really bad movies, reading cheap paperbacks, and playing Dungeons & Dragons”. Doug had just moved from Memphis to Baltimore and had read my ad in the City Paper and found it to be the only one that didn’t gloat over the length/width of various appendages. The rest is history. 5/15/06 will be our 7th anniversary.


4. What is something you do well?
I am very good at assimilating existing concepts in different ways in order to create something new. A lot of my writing is like that. My roleplaying game has certain elements of six different games, along with a lot of original content. I’m also good at multitasking and creative writing.


5. What would have happened if you didn't leave the house this morning?
I’d probably lose my job, since I am a probationary employee for another seven months!

6. If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Ireland. If there is anywhere on Earth that really has a Twilight Gate, it will be Ireland.

7. What sets you apart from the crowd?
I have a very unique sense of humor while at the same time being a total workaholic.

8. What do you want to be remembered for? I’d like to be remembered as a good person, whose faith prevailed in the face of some truly horrible catastrophes and abuses.


9. What is the nicest thing you have done for someone?
I don’t know. It all depends on how the beneficiary of the good deed interpreted my help. I rarely go out of my way to be mean to people – except for hurling curses at the junkie beggars.


10. What is the greatest lesson you've learned so far in your life?
God rewards the people who have hurt me the most.

11. What is your favorite day of the week? Saturday (the workweek is over, and the weekend has just begun!).

12. How old would you be if you didn't know your real age? 24.

13. Name some things you are thankful for. For Doug (my partner); for Nancy Stavely (the choirmaster at my church); for having decent health; for having enough food to eat; for having a new job that I enjoy; for being able to retain my faith through the dark years; for being able to write creatively; for being able to retain some measure of sanity in the aftermath of being on the receiving end of many years of child abuse; for finally making peace with being gay.

14. What was your favorite childhood toy?
I had a stuffed animal that was in the shape of a shark.


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Pretty gross cheese 
Friday, May 5, 2006, 05:41 PM - Dumb Happenings
Y'know. . . I never thought I would find a type of cheese that I DIDN'T like. But last night, I managed to do just that. There's a Wegmans' grocery store in the Baltimore and Wegmans is the Mecca of grocery stores. I's got a huge aisle dedicated just to CHEESE. So Doug and I have been trying out a new kind of cheese each week.

Well, I tried this imported German cheese (with the writing in German, and an English translation in very small print). It was just listed as "traditional German semi-soft cheese". I cut the package open and the first thing that I noticed is that the cheese smelled like POOP! I'm not kidding! The cheese was also really oily. The "semisoft" texture was the same consistancy as poo also.

UUURRRGGHHH!!!!!!

It looked like cheese, but that was about it. I almost threw up when I took a good whiff. It went right into the trash.

It was only then that I thought: Are the Germans actually KNOWN for making good cheese? :P

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Performance Review 
Wednesday, May 3, 2006, 09:35 PM - Random Thoughts
My fifth probationary performance review went well. As an entry-level law enforcement agent, I'm on probationary status for a whole year. What a drag! The trainee pay is pretty low too. But at least in seven more months, I get made permanent, I get a promotion from Investigator-trainee to Investigator-I, and I get a $5000/Year raise.

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Choppers 
Wednesday, May 3, 2006, 09:13 PM - Random Thoughts
I had a dreaded dentist appointment today. I have to go in for a checkup every three months instead of every six Because my teeth are so weak. And my teeth are weak because of the malnutrition and neglect I experienced when I was a kid. I've probably spent about $3,000 per year for the past seven years getting my teeth fixed.

But today, the dentist actually didn't find anything wrong! It was really just an ordinary exam! Maybe my teeth will finally hold up for a while.




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Proud of Doug! 
Tuesday, May 2, 2006, 08:13 PM - Cool Stuff
Doug has lost 22 pounds on his weight loss plan. He lost two pounds this week. I am REALLY proud of him!

A lot of people in his family are big, but he's bucket genetics! I am really happy for him!

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My Roleplaying Game Forum 
Monday, May 1, 2006, 05:26 PM - Cool Stuff
I added a forum for my roleplaying game (located at www.gaianar.com) It's pretty cool. I don't know how many of the readers here enjoy Dungeons & Dragons, but I wrote a roleplauying game from scratch that is in the fantasy RPG genre. The big difference here is that my game is FREE, heh heh.

Aside from game topics, I'm going to use the forum to host political rants as well (including a special section dedicated to bashing Bush!)

If anyone wants to check it out, just visit my RPG site and click the "Gaianar Forum" icon on the lefthand menu bar

World of Gaianar

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A Shining Ally 
Friday, April 28, 2006, 01:40 PM - Dissociation & Switching
Choir practice is always a fun activity. Sometimes I think that I enjoy the practice sessions more than the actual church service.

Most of my music capability comes from Thistle. There are times that he just seems to shine with goodness, energy, and purity. I wish I had those features. For me, the instances of shining are few and far between indeed.

I don’t know why my integration centred on Indigo instead of Thistle. I’m not as nice a person and I tend to be more judgmental and aggressive. Thistle does not have these moral failings. He also never has doubts of faith.

If the integration had somehow made Thistle the primary personality, I wonder if I would be in ministry now instead of law enforcement? I know I’d be a lot thinner than I am now because angels don’t eat, ha ha.

I guess that I sometimes become aware of what a broken and morally flawed individual I am, and how Thistle is *not* broken or morally flawed. I guess that’s the difference between being a human and being an angel.


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Dinner with a friend 
Thursday, April 27, 2006, 08:55 AM - Cool Stuff
Last night’Doug and I had dinner with Larry, my friend and former supervisor. The company I used to work for closed 90% of its stores. In the late 1990s, we had 80 locations and now the company has EIGHT. Larry runs the last remaining store in Maryland.

He seemed to be doing okay. His wife went back to work now that his income has dropped 75%. On the other hand, he doesn’t work 65-hour work weeks anymore either.

Somehow, Doug and I got talked into helping him sell wireless phones at a baseball game on May 12th. Ha ha ha! Doug has never been in sales. On the other hand, I’m not one to turn down some easy side-money!

The thing to know about the cell phone industry is that it is rapidly moving away from a brokered/contracted product. I predict that within five years, cell phones will just be sold “off the shelf” without contract or credit check. The end user will just key in a credit card number and use on-screen prompts to select rate plans and features.

Personally, I don’t sign contracts anymore. The “full” price of a phone is a lot less than the early termination fee. Besides, most “free” phones on contract are junk.

It was nice meeting up with Larry again, however. We had pizza and salad at Pizza Hut. It was a pleasant evening.


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The Power Company Parody 
Tuesday, April 25, 2006, 10:01 PM - Random Thoughts
For you British readers, BGE is the power company that services Maryland. They just became a deregulated monopoly and announced a huge rate hike. They have this condescending spokeswoman who lecturespeople on conserving energy.


Here's MY version, ha ha.


More Tips From Allegra
A BGE Parody

Now that price caps are ending and BGE is becoming a multi-billion dollar unregulated monopoly, we’re going to nearly double your bill over the next eighteen months, and charge you extra for the process of raising your prices! But our spokesperson, Allegra, is here to tell you how you can cut back even further on energy use!

>>> Set your hot water heater to 80 degrees. It’s tepid, uncomfortable to bathe in, and isn’t hot enough to wash your clothes or dishes -- but you’ll save so much money!
>>> In the winter, set your thermostat to 50 degrees. Wear a sweater, parka, mittens and boots indoors for extra warmth.
>>> Have a fireplace? You can burn the Baltimore Sun and other junk mail for extra heat. Breaking down no-longer-needed wooden furniture is also a smart, cost-effective way to keep out the chill.
>>> Buy a dog. Not only do they add household security and amiable companionship, dogs are great for keeping your couch or bed warm.
>>> Buy a Toyota Prius and siphon off electricity from its internal 500-volt power plant. Who says hybrids just save you money at the pump!
>>> In summer, stay at work later so that you can enjoy your boss’s air conditioning system. The extra overtime will help pay the rate increases!
>>> Consider moving the Family Room to the basement. Underground dwellings tend to maintain a comfortable 59 degrees year-round!
>>> Own a three bedroom house? Trade it in for a one-bedroom flat. The energy savings will let you afford to put your kids in boarding school.
>>> Buy a treadmill. Losing weight increases one’s circulation and therefore ones tolerance to heat and cold.
>>> Savvy seniors: you, too, can afford the rate hikes. Just take your prescription medicines every other day to save money for your power bill. Smart seniors have also already learned that cat food isn’t just for cats anymore! Take those grocery savings and pay for your August air conditioning!

See, Citizens? With just a few common-sense adjustments, you can not only pay the 72% price increase, but ensure that the BGE directorate gets their billion-dollar year-end bonuses! And doesn’t that give you a warm feeling?



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The Quiz 
Monday, April 24, 2006, 06:50 PM - Random Thoughts
I got the clever notion from Sunshine's page. Just click the link to take a groovy 10-question quiz on how well you know me!

http://www03.quizyourfriends.com/linkquiz03.php?quizname=060424183950-478764&
Quiz

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