Book of Jamez

55 y/o malcontent, something of a writer

Category: Jamez

  • Gas Prices… Where It Really Hurts

    Gas prices should not affect me… I should, as a pedestrian/mass transit user, be completely immune – But I’m not.

    I finally recognized what it was last night. The tons of people that don’t know how to use the turnstiles at the metro, the people with oversize bags – looking like they could be mugged at any second, the people that don’t wait for people to come off the train before boarding…

    Yes, I’m talking about the sudden influx of passengers onto my buses and trains. These people follow the rules less than the teenagers, these people need to go.

    PLEASE, I BEG OF YOU… FIX the price of gasoline, get these people back up on the highways and byways where they belong and off of the relatively quiet, orderly subway.

  • My Blood Will Be the End of You!!!

    … the title of this post comes from one of the bosses in WoW (www.worldofwarcraft.com) my video game… and well..

    My cholesterol wont go down. I test the same for my cholesterol whether I’m doing spinning classes three times a week or sitting on my behind playing video games 24 hours a day… nothing makes it better.

    So… I’m going to take a pill for 4 months to see if that helps.

    Disclaimer: My cholesterol levels aren’t “Run to the emergency room and get a transfusion” bad, just “Oh, wow… this could be bad in 20 years” bad. So don’t panic.

  • Deception

    The other night I had a date at the theaters near Chinatown metro. I came straight from work and realized that I might want to buy a mint or something for my breath. Remembering that the CVS is being remodeled and therefore closed, I walked across to the Starbucks to buy a small tin of mints. When I walked up to the register to pay for them, the cashier looked at me and said:

    “You came all the way over here for mints?”

    I looked up at him and said:

    “Yep, I have a date and don’t want to have bad breath when she gets here.”

    “she”… wow… so in a split second there at the register I somehow found the need to conceal who I really am. Isn’t that odd.

    ——–

    My best friend Suzanne was recently telling her boyfriend about me. She said “He’s gay”. I wasn’t there, but he must have rolled his eyes or something, cause she said: “You can’t really tell.”

    ——–

    It was always one of those little things when I was a kid:
    Don’t hold your hands that way.
    Never ever let a limp wrist show.
    Make sure you don’t walk like a girl, talk like a girl or drool at boys like a girl.

    What does that do to the inside of your mind growing up if you can’t be who you are, can’t express what you really feel. Its odd to think of these things now, but it’s what’s on my mind.

  • Company Milestone

    At this point in time:

    1. All personal investments (for the start up costs of the company) have been paid back
    2. All bills have been paid (even the cost of server/computers that we did with financing)
    3. All consultants have been paid for work they’ve done for us
    4. A raise has been implemented for both Jim and I
    5. And we have a money left over in the account to gain interest

    I’d say that’s pretty good given the state of the economy. The horizon continues to look very bright with The Department of Justice issuing notice to adopt new standards under the ADA its possible that our work load will increase significantly.

    It is a nice feeling to be a part of something so new, good, and fun. I can honestly say that I don’t miss mind-numbing meetings about harebrained ideas at all. I prefer working at a company with it’s feet planted firmly on the ground, financial goals within reach, comfortable atmosphere and profit.

  • The Day From Hell

    Actually, I think it started last night with a serious headache that had me in bed asleep at 9:30… it only got worse from there.

    I went to the office like normal, and grabbed the mail to take directly to the Post Office, on my way I realized I needed cash from the Bank of America ATM which is on the OTHER SIDE OF THE STREET…. so I could go to my favorite barber in Takoma Park. I do hate backtracking.

    After the Post Office I arrive at the ATM, slip my card in and enter my PIN. I then select Withdraw from the options and “Other Amount” as I want enough cash for my trip, but also a $10 just in case I need smaller. I enter $130.00 and it tells me that I don’t have sufficient funds for that withdrawal amount… *double take*. It allows me to check my balance, which indeed shows me overdrawn by $3,425… $3,425… WHAT?!!!???

    But, I actually, stop and think about this… I know what this is, this is the Check that I used that was sent to me by Bank of America to use anyway I saw fit, the check that I discussed with two financial people before even thinking about using it to pay off a credit card debt. I even waited two days for the check to clear my financial institution before paying off the credit card (a CHASE card). Everything was fine, that was last week… Friday everything was fine.

    I enter the bank, talk to a Bank of America rep, who says he can’t help me and that I’ll need to call the Credit Card department. I go back to my office, call the credit card department and they say, indeed this kind of thing happens a lot. A LOT…. OMFG. I suggest to him that perhaps they could make the letter a little clearer. See what happened was, the promotional letter with the checks was based on my existing credit card balance with BOA.. and that had some money taken out of it already, so the check bounced… bounced I say. He and I apply successfully for a credit increase and he assure me that they will transfer the money over to my checking account in 4 – 5 business days… OMFG. He tells me the Checking Account people know what happened, as this kind of thing happens a lot…. A LOT … and they will void all my overdraft fees and such once they receive the money in the transfer. On the phone with her, she doesn’t know what I’m talking about, has no clue but says “Once the money has been transfered you’ll have to call us back, as we can’t do this automatically”…. OMFG

    I check my email and my bosses email once last time (at 2 ish) and see there is nothing pressing and leave. I take the Subway to Dupont Circle (ok… side bar: very cute guy on the escalator, nice fine hair on his arms and his legs, gray hair, blue eyes… just gorgeous… and he smiled at me… but considering that I didn’t get my hair cut I know he’s only being nice.) and go to my 2nd Favorite barber, as my first barber doesn’t take credit cards and I don’t have any cash cause I’m $3,425 overdrawn on my account and don’t HAVE MF CASH…. My barber cuts my hair and as he’s finishing up my phone starts vibrating… it’s not an email as it vibrates multiple times… it’s my boss calling.

    I call my voice mail to get the message and he needs me to send something to a Client right away, something we sent a different client that will also help this client.

    What you need to know about my boss that you may not understand unless you’ve worked for this type of guy (kind hearted, dedicated, willing to bend over backwards for a client – for special clients anyway). He has this thing he can do with his voice, a kind of desperation that motivates you to want to help this client as soon as possible, to do whatever you might be able to do to make sure this Clients needs are met. I can’t resist when he does that thing with his voice, and I am compelled to do whatever I can to help. If I can’t for some reason do as he asks for this client, I feel a sense of disappointment, not from him… but within myself. Oh, I know he somehow mystically put it there, but there it is.

    I search in my Blackberry for sent items, I remember this thing, but I can’t find it. My Blackberry’s sent items folder is set at 30 days, so I can’t get it… I start heading for the Metro to go back to the office…. it’s about 3:30.

    As I’m walking down the block, the rain starts, just a drop here or there. The wind starts to pick up and you can feel a strong gust here or there as the clouds begin to darken. I did bring my umbrella today, on the off chance it might rain…. but I know with the way the sky looks it wont help much. By the time I reach the Metro, I am soaked from head to toe, even my wallet is damp, thank God there’s no money in there as I’m $3,425 overdrawn.. OMFG.

    The Metro takes me ever so slowly to my destination, Takoma, and I walk off umbrella in hand to my office. The storm has been kind enough to knock the power out at the office and its running on the generator… I still manage to find what the Client needs, sent it off to her and then leave.

    The rain has stopped, the wind as well, and here I sit at home typing this note. I certainly hope that this isn’t the start of how my entire vacation will go… I don’t think I could deal.

  • Quitting a Church

    Obama,

    You’re quitting your church, that you’ve been attending for how many years due to some comments that keep coming out of it? This church hasn’t been touting the same nonsense for the previous years that you’ve been a member, just now… yeah right.

    You belonged to the church because you believed the fundamental message that the church was preaching. Now you’ve suddenly had a change of heart after how long? What opened you’re eyes? Why the sudden change of heart? Did you suddenly find that the religion of the all powerful media is a stronger faith than what you’ve been used to?

    Stop for a moment and look at the fools we let talk that are “religious leaders”: Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, Billy Graham, the Pope…. these fools continue to say incredibly insensitive things that should have them banned from the airwaves, the pulpit and certainly not ever be allowed in the White House… yet you think what’s been coming out of your church is more outrageous? Come on… Grow some balls…

    At this point it’s too late, you’ve left your church… going back now and saying that you let the media and polls tell you to leave and that you want back in is stupid…

    This was a dumb move. Don’t let “them” decide what is worthy of believing in a land where we preach, but don’t often practice, “freedom of religion”.

  • I've got a bike…

    I should be riding it. I think this Thursday morning (boss is in class that day) I’ll take it to the bike shop and have them make sure it’s ok… I think one of my tires is a little low, and want to be sure I don’t get stuck somewhere. There is a bike rack to park my bike right outside my office building, so that is very convenient… I also understand that it is only 4.2 miles to Takoma Park (where my office building is located) so that works as well.

    I’m eagerly awaiting the implementation of DC Smart Bikes in the city, I think that will bring a great change to the way everyone gets around. I suppose there is no helping tourists, they just walk where and when they want, but the residents and workers of the city will find a lot of benefit to bikes for rent for cheap.

  • Travel

    I’ve got a lot of upcoming travel.

    In June I go to WI for my nephew’s going away party (he’s joining the Army) and instead of being in DC for Gay Pride, I’ll be in Nashville, TN for the first time. It’s hoped that I’ll get to see the Hall of Fame and the Grand Ol Opry.

    In July, I travel to WI once again, this time for my 20th High School reunion, well kind of… I’m not meeting many of the people from high school, as most of them are a blur in my mind, but I am meeting a few friends that stand out in my memory. It will be good to see them all, and the bonus is that I get to spend time with my Ma & Pa and Rhonda.

    I was kind of hoping to get to NYC this summer, there is a Superhero fashion exhibit at the Met that might be interesting, but I’m not sure that I’ll get up that way. Does sound kind of interesting though. Maybe it’ll travel to DC, I hear shows like that sometimes do.

    There is a potential trip to Cancun this Fall (looking for good prices) with friends. Hopefully I’ll find a nice guy to date and take with me this year.

    And I’ll be traveling to San Diego this year for my 38th Birthday in December. I’ll be staying at a hotel that is very close to the Zoo and hope to do the Zoo, Sea World and the museums… maybe find a nice man to have fun with also.

  • Hard to believe in some prayers

    I have been finding myself saying the same prayer over and over and over again:

    God, save me from being angry
    This is a sick man
    How may I be helpful to him.

    But, I don’t believe it yet… I don’t put conviction behind it and I don’t really want to be helpful to him in any way.

    But I keep praying, maybe I’ll believe it some day, but not today.

  • The Stalker – Updated

    I’m spoken to the Police and we’re going to start a case against him. The officer assured me that he is indeed demonstrating stalking behavior and we should take steps necessary to nip this in the bud.

    OK, because at this point I am just god damn creeped out and pissed off and frustrated I’m putting it here.

    Many years ago, I slept with a guy named Rod. His name is spelled Raad I guess and he’s middle eastern. I only slept with him once, just once, it was just sex, no date no dinner, just sex.

    Well, he’s become obsessed with me, and several years ago he could not for whatever reason understand the word NO, and continued to send me emails from several accounts. He, at one point, took a job a block or two away from my house to watch me walk home. He collected pictures of me, put them in a circle collage that he shared with me to show how much he loved me. When I responded to his email that that was beyond wrong, and scary he let me know that he had indeed talked to his roommate who agreed that yes this was creepy and he agreed to stop sending me emails.

    This summer I went to a bar, for whatever reason, and there he was… Jesus Christ talk about ruining an evening. He came up talked to me and I said hello, and then goodbye. I had hoped that was the end of it, but no… now I’m getting spammed by his IM’s on a site I frequent, I’ve asked him to stop, he will not listen. I’ve reported his profile on the site, I’m posting this, and I will have to report him to the authorities as he’s a god damn nut job that is stalking me.

    If anything bad happens to me, it was this guy that did it.