http://web.archive.org/web/19970706101420/www.mpp.com/mission.html

Now that brings back memories... Thanks Ducky.

MPP was where I got my start working in the computer industry, way back when I was still in high school, about 12 years ago. Wow, I feel old now... 

Note to self, bare linolium floors and being wet from the shower = concussion.

Jenn and Amber drove me to the ER last night because I was having trouble remembering things after slipping and falling on my face. No major damage but my whole left side of my body hurts including my head. I guess I broke the folding doors that enclose the laundry stuff in the bathroom too. ER doc gave me a perscription for Vicodin and told me not to drive for a while, but other then that I should be ok.

Time to get some bathroom mats I think...

It's been a little over a year since Jenn and I got together. Which was about a year after Mary left me. As odd as it may be to some, I met both of them in a MMORPG. No not that one, but this one. Laugh if you will, but its true.

Mary and I had been talking since the break up, and more so nowadays, but I digress. The whole time, she had mentioned her new boyfriends name as Tom, which was also the name of a guys name that she use to hang out with in game. It had always been in the back of my mind as a strangely odd coincidence, but a coincidence all the same. After all, he didn't live in NY state, and she had been telling me this was a guy she met at work. We were talking early this morning, and she was about to leave to go to work, to pick up her boyfriend, mentioning him by name. Now, I had always had a nagging feeling that the Tom's were indeed one in the same, but had never confronted her about it. This morning though, I popped that question, as she had mentioned that he played FFXI as well, and was even on the same server, but never mentioned his character name. So I asked her, "Wasn't Silverbanes' name Tom too?". "Yes." she said. Out it came, she admitted to lying to me about meeting him at work, to avoid drama in game. I had known him in game, more as an aquaintance as she so pointedly described, but I still knew him the all the same, and more so then just recognizing his character name. We had interacted in game for a while. I played that game for years.

I felt like a complete idiot. Sure I had an idea the whole time that they were one in the same, but I accepted her lies that it was indeed not the same Tom. I should have known better. At the time we started talking on the phone, she was lying to another guy in game when he would call, not letting him know that she was talking to me on the phone. Again, to avoid that nasty in game drama. Well, it did work. But only by prolonging my time in that game. If I would have known I would have quit the game right then and there. And there comes the funny twist. I met Jenn in game about a year after Mary broke up with me.

I didn't come to that realization, Mary did. She mentioned it, and she is right. If she would have told me that Silverbane was the same Tom she was with, I would have quit, and never had met Jenn, nor gone out to see her for an entire month earlier this year. I have always been a stout believer in telling the truth, no matter the outcome. But in this case, it really makes me wonder, would I have rather have had her tell me the truth, or lie to me as she did?

Funny how this game we call life works out sometimes...

So, I have decided that trying to buy a home in the greater Seattle area is pretty much impossible at my current income level, not for anything decent and close to work anyways. Even a condo near Issaquah would be ~250k, then add property taxes AND home owners dues and its just not manageable at my current income. Sure I could do it, but I wouldn't have a comfortable level of residual cash flow left over after housing. So, once again, I am renting. Good news, I am less then a mile from work, bad news, I'm on a ground floor unit and I work graveyards and the upstairs neighbors are excessively noisy. I'm losing my mind. Working 14.5 hour days and then not sleeping between shifts is contributing to slow degradation of my mental stability. I'm on the verge of snapping.

I am going to go talk to the manager when I get off work today, and see if the two carriage houses(1 bedroom apartments above three single car garages, no neighbors sharing walls/floors/ceilings) that were available last Thursday when I went to talk to him are still available. I sincerely hope they are, and that I can move into one soon. As it is, I actually dread going home after work, wondering if I am actually going to be able to sleep or not.

I'll add more to this post later, but I have posted a few pics from the trip to NYC Jenn and I went on. You can see them here. Camera equipment as follows:

Canon Digital Rebel XTi
Canon EF-S 10-22mm lens

I've been at the parents house for almost a year now. I feel pathetic about it, at age 28, but its all for a good cause. With no rent, I have been paying off debts, and seeing how that effects my credit score. A year ago, I had 5 different credit cards/loans, and as of today, I have only 1 loan left to pay off, not including my car loan. My credit score was around 620-650, and as of a few weeks ago its more around 720-750. Not too shabby for a years work. So, its now time to find a place on my own.

Initially, I had the hope of finding a piece of land to put a modular home on, but finding buildable land in King county is practically impossible. All the listings I have seen were in South King county, and had footnotes from the seller/retailer that they won't pass a perk test, but sewer is only a few years away. After a year of listings like that, I have changed my mind, I'm thinking its time to start looking for existing homes or possibly a condo. Condo is the last thing I want, after renting all these years, I am sick of sharing a wall with a noisy nieghboor, and worrying if I am being too noisy for a neighboor. But finding an existing home that is close to work, and affordable, is practically impossible. So, the condo route might be my only recourse. I figure, keep it for a while to build up some equity, sell it and use the proceeds as a down payment on a home. One thing for certain, I will not rent again. I am sick of throwing money away.

I am still in PA, and things are going ok. Jenn is at work right now, so I am sitting at her house till she gets home. I got so stir crazy to the point where I went out and bought a TomTom portable GPS navigation device. This way I have been able to drive Jenn to work in her car, then set out on my own exploring with out worrying about getting lost. I'll probably give the TomTom to my mom when I get back, she is notorious for getting lost if there is a detour on her way to or from work. It seems like a different world here.

I have never, ever seen as many religious, anti-drug, and teen pregnancy billboards as I have here. It stands in stark contrast to the west coast, where I can't say I have seen all that much. Maybe its just Central PA where I am, but wow. Also, I have never in my life felt as much like a minority as I do here. I would honestly say that on our trips to the store/movies/restarants, that its probably +90% caucasion here. I stick out like a sore thumb, it doesn't really bother me all that much, just an observation is all.

I do miss the creature comforts of home. A month away is a long time. I think I needed it though. I was getting really burnt out at work. I look forward to getting back home refreshed, ready to take on the steps of buying a place, and starting that next chapter in my life.

I don't think I have posted anything about my current relationship yet. Hrmmm, well, this post will break that streak.

A lot of people with think that I must be crazy trying yet another long distance relationship, and I think I would have to agree, to a point. I like to look at the past 2 failed ones as learning experiences. Now I know the things that work and those that don't.

I met Jenn much like my last girlfriend Mary, in the MMORPG FFXI. I had taken a long break from the game, and when I came back, she was one of the few people who seemed truly excited to see me back. From there started our courtship, the eventual exchange of pictures and phone numbers, physical addresses, and culminating with the announcement I am making now. I am taking a (well deserved) one month vacation to go see her out in Pennsylvania.

One WHOLE month! I'm so excited! Not only to meet Jenn, but to get away from it all. I posted a while ago how stir-crazy I had been getting. Mary and I still text message every once in a while, and I told her about the trip and how long I'd be out seeing Jenn. "Wow, she gets a month and I only got 3 days." she replies. Well, kind of helps that Jenn has her own place and I don't have to pony up for a hotel for a month.

Anywho, I can't wait, I've already bought the round trip plane tickets, and am already thinking about what I should and shouldn't pack. Anyone ever been out to Pennsylvania as a tourist and know any good touristy type stuff to see/do?

<sarcasm>The Earth made it around the Sun another time! Wooo!</sarcasm>

I spent both Christmas and now New Years at work, I'm not complaining as it was to be expected working in customer service. Still, there is something to be said about our strange obsession with marking dates and times. All in all, its just another day. Why put off things for next years resolutions that you can do now?