Yummers

You're trying to tell me that I can eat pork brains? And they're in milk gravy? You're joking right. Wait, it gets better? 1170% of my daily cholesterol per can? Can I please have seconds, sir? Thank you and goodnight.

On having a dog

"When a man is lonely, his dog is all he has."
- Mickey Rourke

Everyone loves Mickey Rourke right now. I'll admit - he was fantastic in The Wrestler. An outstanding performance, to say the least. His dog died just before the Oscars, and it obviously meant a lot to him. When it comes to owning a dog, you either get it or you don't.

I'm not lonely, at the moment. But there were a few times over the past two to three years where I could say that I was. Owning a dog is at times demanding, at times difficult, at times frustrating, but always rewarding. There aren't many things in life that are positive 100% of the time. Neither is owning a dog. You most certainly don't love owning a dog when you're cleaning dog poop from the backyard, when you're outside at 11 pm in the middle of January and he just can't find the right spot to go to the bathroom, when he starts barking at strangers enough that it becomes embarrassing.

But how about when you've had a bad day? How do you love owning a dog then? Try coming home ready to tear someone's head off and not calm down completely when your dog is so happy to see you he might explode with a massive case of the wiggles. You might still be upset, but you'll forget about it for a while. How about when you're laying around with nothing special to do and your dog does something so funny that you're still laughing about it 15 minutes later?

Anyone who knows my dog Jack knows that he has some "issues." He was abused as a puppy, which is slightly disturbing considering I got Jack when he was the 3 months old and the size of a shoebox - maybe even smaller. I still remember the day I went to pick him up. His foster/rescue family was kind of a hippy/outdoor family and they made me go on a hike with him and the other dogs so that we could "bond" in effect before I took him home. I thought it was a slightly crazy idea, but I didn't mind. Initially I was standing in the back yard with this man and his two sons. Their two adult dogs were out and very excited to be going on a hike. He told me that he would be right back and he was going to get "the puppies" (there were two - I only adopted one).

They were terrified. Jack (then known as Scout) and his brother Luke were not having any of me. They kept barking at me in their squeaky puppy bark. They would come out to examine me and then run back in through the dog door and in to the basement. This repeated itself about ten times and went on for approximately 15 minutes before we were able to start out hike. These poor little puppies were already deathly afraid of humans. Jack's brother had a bent tail from someone slamming it in the door. It was sad.

Then something odd happened - Jack came running up to my leg and licked my hand. He was still cautious but he was interested in me. (This is currently how he treats all strangers. Bark, approach in stealth mode, sniff, run away - repeat). The hike lasted 45 minutes and the dogs were allowed to roam free off leash. They ran all over the woods but Jack kept close to me. It sounds crazy but within that first half hour I already felt a connection. We finished the hike and they tried to talk me in to both dogs. I was already in love with Jack and wasn't ready for two puppies - so I separated the brothers. I was a little upset to be doing this but I knew he would be going to a good home.

I was with a friend of mine when I went to get him. On the ride home, she held Jack in her lap while I drove. Immediately once we got in the car he started a high pitched cry/whine that didn't stop. There were no breaks. He just whined nonstop for the 20 minutes it took for me to drop her off. As soon as she left and she set him down on the passenger seat so that I could drive the 5 minutes back to my house - he stopped crying. I guess he already felt comfortable with me.

Over the next months to year Jack grew from a tiny little baby to a big fat baby. He learned his commands and became a good dog. He was heavily socialized when he was a puppy - enough that I thought his fear of people would go away. It hasn't. But he's good enough in public that he behaves at the vet and in crowds and I have zero fear of him ever being aggressive or biting someone.

I get teased a lot for how close I am with my dog. Yes, he's a spoiled baby. And yes, it's probably my fault. But you either get it or you don't. You form a bond with a dog that's unmatched with few you will have in your entire life. You get unconditional love from very few sources. Apart from a dog - I would say that only other guaranteed source of unconditional love would be from a mother. So it's not something to take lightly.

There are many times when owning a dog is tedious or annoying, but I never question if it's worth it. When I'm driving home in a bad mood I don't even have to get home before I start smiling. I know what's waiting for me when I open the door. And I wouldn't trade it for anything.

I like surprises

This weekend Monica is taking me on a trip. Destination: parts unknown.

Besides possibly running in to the Ultimate Warrior, I am excited because it's not very often in life that you encounter a situation where you have no idea what's going on.

Surprise parties might approximate this - but if someone randomly keeps you out of your house for 5 hours in or around your birthday - how surprised can you really be?

I've been given a list of things to pack; some involving beach wear, others involving snow. We are driving, and it's the middle of winter - so obviously we won't be going to the beach. So - do I need a beach towel and my swim suit or is it just a diversion? Hell - there could be a hot tub there. That's the fun of it - you just never know.

I'm pretty excited. It's a fun way to turn 27. What a strange age 27 is. You're really just a baby, but you're old enough now. I'm investing for retirement. I own a home. It's funny to think that I "grew up" for good at 26. Delayed generation, indeed.

I'm slightly sad that my little Mr. Jackiekins will have to spend his 2nd birthday (two already!) in the kennel but I'll make it up to him by spoiling him. Which I typically already do every day.

Fun times!

All You Need is Love (or everything I need to know in life I learned from two badly burned koalas)

Everybody needs somebody!!

These poor koalas were just hanging out in their trees, stoned out of their mind on eucalyptus and the next thing they know they are running (ha!) for their lives from a raging wildfire?

At least now they have someone to hold tight. :)

Recession blues

Many of the reports on the news mention this being the worst unemployment since 1982, which coincidentally happens to be the year I was born. Obviously, this is the worst economic downturn that has happened in my lifetime. Up until recently, I thought I was not going to be affected by it.

That could still end up being true; but at the moment it is possible I might lose my job and that has got me thinking about a few things.

My House: It's very lucky that I even have it. I bought the house without putting any money down. A few months later this would become impossible. If I didn't get my house when I did then I would not be able to get a house for many years. I just don't have the money saved now and I have enough debt to pay off that I probably wouldn't for a few years. That's the good news. The bad news is that I have this house and I might not have a job. Well - if you don't pay your rent you get kicked out and while that is terrible... it does not negatively impact everything you plan on doing for the next 10 years. A foreclosure would. So this very wonderful thing becomes something else to worry about.

Credit card debt: I was and am in the process of completely eliminating all of my credit card debt. This is a noble goal and one that I can not wait to complete. I can only imagine the feeling of accomplishment when I put the last payment on my credit cards. Imagining it is something I need to stress at this point - because with the recession it's still a long way off. I am still not using the cards, that would be a very bad idea but I was planning on paying a large amount of the debt off this year with my income tax return. Instead - I will be saving that money in case I wind up unemployed. While this is the smartest course of action, it will directly cost me at least $750 in interest payment that I will have to pay that I would not have to pay if I were able to put down $6000 (or more) on my credit cards right now.

Dreams deferred: I have a decent job as a research scientist at a large Fortune 500 company. For a time - I thought this was what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. The problem with having to decide what you'll do for the rest of your life when you're 18-20 is that you sometimes make a mistake. I make good money - so things could be worse. But this is NOT what I want to do for the rest of my life. Maybe it's actually because of the recession but I am very interested in finance and economics lately. I want to get an MBA. The problem; now is not exactly the most practical time for an MBA. Worse - I can not afford to go back to school full time (back to the albatross of the mortgage) so I need to go to night school.

For most people this wouldn't be a problem and this is the accepted way to go about things. One small hiccup - I'm a bit snobby about the school I will attend. I just simply can not plop down to the local community college or small school and get a degree. I'm not sure if it makes me a bad person or what - but I don't want to "tarnish" my resume (cringe-worthy word but I can't think of a better substitute). Personally, I'd look at that and say hmmm...Cornell, Cornell, (some random school)...what the hell happened? I would expect an employer to do the same.

One silver lining is that most top schools offer online MBA degrees that are 100% equal to the standard degree. For most of these programs, you need to be out of school for a period of time - 3 to 5 years in many cases. I haven't even been out of school a year, so this is something for the future.

So - the main key with this recession happens to be something that I am in short supply of; patience. I have never been patient. This has been both a positive and negative aspect of my life. Ever since I've been a teenager I have been able to make whatever I want happen whenever I want it to. This has obviously been beneficial but along the way I did not pick up the valuable attribute of patience.

Hopefully I can learn it now - because the only way to ride this out is to be patient. Sit on my money in case something terrible happens. Swallow higher interest payments confident in the thought that the credit cards will be paid off very shortly and certainly before I'm 30, and to hang tight making money doing something I don't love because I have the rest of my life to be professionally fulfilled.

Patience is a virtue. At least that's what they tell me.

Inspiration

Always believe in your dreams.

Random Thoughts on a Friday afternoon...

Just some things on my mind while I spend another week training my supervisor...

• "Can you believe Obama's first act as President is to release all the terrorists! I knew it. And did you see how he totally messed up that oath. Sign of things to come. I'm moving to Canada." Shut up, idiots. If you're going to keep talking about how you're moving to Canada, you must really love America right? Enough to have made such a big deal out of a flag pin, right? Don't worry - there are backwoods parts of the great white North where you can get away with fucking your sister.
• Wall-E should have been nominated for Best Picture. I understand that it's an "animated feature" but there are very few movies starring actual people that can have that much emotion.
• Speaking of the Oscars - I was glad to see Robert Downey Jr. nominated for Tropic Thunder. That was a good performance. "Never go full retard." Same for Mickey Rourke. The Wrestler was an above average movie completely carried by a tremendous performance. I would have enjoyed it no matter what, due to my childhood and teenage obsession with the WWF, but ANYONE can enjoy the movie now. Rourke is just THAT good. See it if you haven't.
• The new Franz Ferdinand, cleverly titled Tonight: Franz Ferdinand is ok. If you like the first two - you'll probably enjoy this one. Lucid Dreams is a real standout track.
• I should listen to Viva La Vida more. Not the song that was overplayed on the radio; the whole album. It's hard to underrate one of the biggest bands in the world but it's a really good record. I wrote them off after the giant abomination that was X&Y... maybe that was a mistake.
• I wonder what it is about my personality that makes a large percentage of people feel the need to talk down to me on a regular basis. This applies not only to people I work with, but also to people who are very close to me. At work - it's obvious. I don't have a PhD. I guess that's my bad for not getting my super impressive SUNY PhD degree publishing a paper or two in a journal with an Impact Facor of 3 - like a lot of PhDs that I work with, but hey, that was clearly my mistake. Elsewhere - I can only blame my joke first personality. Is it worth changing? I'd say no. It's probably not a bad thing.
• Yesterday I read a story by one of my favorite sports columnists about his dog dying. Of course I cried. I always do when something bad happens to the dog. Why do I continue to read these stories and buy these books?
• I am saving over $1000 in 2009 just by doing two things: watching UFC PPVs on the internet the next morning instead of ordering them (savings: $45 a month) and no longer buying Jack his expensive meal bones (savings: $25 every three weeks). I have taken other steps to reduce my spending (some obvious - bring lunch to work) but just plugging these two little holes will yield tremendous savings. I think this is something everyone can do if they really thought about it.
• I really wish I could take a vacation. It's a shame that I can't until 2010.
• The older I get, the less I like confrontation. I have a friend who really needs to be set straight, lately. 100% of everyone who knows him agrees, but no one has the guts to tell him about it. I, unfortunately, am not even an option, because my propsensity in the past to call people out when they deserve it would render my opinion almost not valid. Either way, it's an embarrassing situation that I hope goes away in some shape or form.
• I never wanted to live in NYC but in some ways - it would be awesome. I get a weekly email from Ticketmaster listing all the shows "in my area". Just about every week I see something that catches my eye. The Killers, Bloc Party, Arcade Fire, and on and on and on. ALL in NYC. So much for my local Ticketmaster bulletin. Maybe I should just start listening to Nickelback and Hinder and pray they play the NY State Fair. On second thought, no thank you.
• Despite three Dr. opinions and an ultrasound I'm still not 100% happy with the lumps in my chest. I know they aren't cancer but I wish they weren't there.

Sometimes I wonder how many of the decisions I've made are incorrect. The most obvious one would, of course, be leaving my PhD program at UNC to come back to Cornell. If I had to say, this would be my biggest regret, as of now. But when I really think about it, I would still be broke - I'd have never met a lot of very important people in my life and I wouldn't have my little Jackiepants. I guess in a situation like this it will take years, perhaps even decades, to figure out if I made the right choice or not. I just hope I'm still around by then.

icanhazdirtycatsex?

Dirty!

Life in a snowglobe

Quick, what's the first rule of real estate?

I don't know any real estate agents (except the one who sold me my house) but I'm guessing that most people know that age old axiom off the top of their head; location, location, location.

I hate winter. I've always hated winter. Everyone who knows me knows this. So, you might ask, why do you live in Syracuse?

Good question.

This winter has been an abomination. We're already approaching 100 inches of snow and it's only January. The temperature the past few weeks has been -20s with the wind chill. I hate it. Leaving the house is a chore; taking Jack out is also a chore. Basically, anything is a chore. I'm constantly looking forward to April.

So why am I here?

I can't answer that. I was recruited for a job that seemed a lot better than it actually is (even though I really enjoy it). Other then that - I got nothing. Going to North Carolina and looking for a job without anything to fall back on would have been difficult and this was quite easy. I guess I took the easy way out.

Not to say that overall I'm not happy here. I just think that living in Syracuse is going to give me permanent seasonal affective disorder.

This is why I hate flying!

http://7.media.tumblr.com/VDfCw79gLirh450aph6zXeaxo1_500.jpg

Ugh!

Making this a fantastic year...

2008 was something of a successful year for me. I got my Masters degree in early May, I was hired by a top biotech company within two weeks, and purchased my first home less than one week later.

The day that I moved in to my first home ranks as the happiest day of my life. This was heightened by my surroundings the previous two months; living in the ghettos of Syracuse (they exist) and worried that all of my possessions would be stolen from me (or worse). I remember laying in bed that night, staring at the ceiling with a giant smile on my face.

People can debate as much as they want whether it's worth it to buy instead of rent, especially in this economic climate. But that moment alone was something that I will carry with me until the day that I die.

Personally, 2008 was also a fantastic year for me. I lost 40 pounds and finally shed all the weight I gained during some ill-fated college years where I didn't take proper care of myself (drinking didn't help). I met a girl, who I think is a catch, and currently have a very fulfilling personal life.

So how do I plan to top 2008 in the coming year? A few ways...

1) This blog

Silly, but true. As I mentioned in my debut post yesterday, writing is very important to me. I need an outlet and I need to know whether or not I can ever be a good enough writer to release material that people will want to consume in their free time. It's quite possible that the answer is no; but too many times people go many, many years telling themselves that they can do something while making any excuse imaginable to postpone it. I want to know. Writing, unlike many pursuits, is nothing something confined to the young. I have time on my side. But like any avenue in life, practice makes perfect.

I expect this blog to help focus my creative output and allow me to be comfortable writing long stretches of narrative. Making a cohesive story or post is not always easy and working through that is going to be key if I ever decide to write something of substance.

2) Achieving financial freedom

Those of you who may be reading this who knew me in college most likely know a very different person then the person currently typing. In college and graduate school - I freely admit that I was reckless with my spending; more likely to spend on something that I wanted instead of something that made the most sense. It was not uncommon for me to overdraw my bank account and from 2004-2008 I was able to establish $11,500 worth of credit card debt. I believe a strong case can be made for me shooting myself in the foot.

Everything changed, for me, the day that I bought my house. I knew that I had to buckle down and keep serious track of my finances. I started keeping a budget for the first time in September. I'm trying to achieve a level of responsibility that seemed out of reach just 12 short months ago. There are many things which my new home could use; but I'm choosing to forego them for the time being to achieve my number one objective: pay off all of my credit card debt by January 2010.

I began this task in October and to date I have already paid off nearly $1500 worth of debt. My cards are no longer in my wallet and have not been used in months. This is the first, and most important, step to achieving financial freedom. I have to admit - I will cheat in this goal. I will receive approximately $10,000 on my income tax return this year due to the first time home-owner tax credit and much of this money will be put towards my credit card. But it's smart to take advantage of the situations we are given and that is what I aim to do.

Here are some tips I use to get my finances under control and they are tips that I believe everyone else can use as well.

• Track all my finances with mint.com: Mint.com is a fantastic website that allows you to keep track of all your financial accounts in one place. This can include bank accounts, credit cards, loans, and even your mortgage. Not only can you keep track of how you are spending your money each month, but you can set a budget and determine if you are exceeding your budget for that particular expenditure. For those of us with iPhones - you can even download the mint.com iPhone application to have this information in your pocket at all times.
• Become more aware of how to properly manage personal finances: The main way that I currently do this is to read some wonderful personal finance blogs on a daily basis. My two favorites are iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog and getrichslowly.org. Each blog offers excellent financial advice and many practical ways to save money in your day-to-day life. The best part: they are not frugality blogs. If I ever find myself reading how to squeeze extra toothpaste out of a tube to save $0.30 a month, then I kindly request someone to come and shoot me in the face. Although I haven't gotten to it yet; I also plan to spend some time to read some of the many wonderful books written on the subject.

I think that by following these steps I will be very firm financial ground when the balls drops for 2010.

3) Getting in shape

From January to August of last year - I did about as well as one could hope towards this particular goal. I lost over 60 pounds and was teetering on being under 200 pounds for the first time since high school. Unfortunately, the second half of the year saw me gain back twenty of the pounds that I lost. There were a few reasons. The old standby - new girlfriend. That always contributes to a few pounds; for just about everyone. I was also busy starting my new job and it's more difficult to find time for the gym in the real world in comparison to graduate school.

Despite the setback, I'm still in great shape (figuratively). I did not regress back a size and I am still wearing size L shirts (get the X out!) and can still wear designer jeans. Unfortunately, designer jeans aren't for fat people; so if I ever have a problem fitting in to them then I know that society considers me fat.

My second tangible goal for 2009 is to get in to the best shape of my life. And for once, my motivation is intrinsic. I am not trying to get in shape to impress other people or to land a beautiful girlfriend. I already have one of those. And she's great. This is for me. I am still finding it difficult to go to the gym but the easy lapses in to unhealthy food have already been cut from my regiment. And they will remain cut out for the duration of this year.

My goal - simply stated is to weigh 185 pounds or less. Based on my height, my ideal bodyweight is somewhere around 155 pounds, which is a joke. Obviously an ideal body has no muscle on it.

This year is going to be one of the best years of my life; it's just a feeling that I have. I'm due after my years of graduate school each successively being the worst year of my life; each worse than the last. I think that if I remain true to the goals that I have laid out for myself then the sky is the limit. Hopefully everyone else can do whatever it takes to have a fantastic year themselves.

A Mission Statement of Sorts

It's recently been said that blogging is dead. I think that makes this just as good a time as any to start my third blog. My first blog was read by no one except myself - and I was ok with that. My second blog, started and maintained when I was something of a well-known internet poker player (yes this really happened) and in the process of dropping out of graduate school, got over 1000 hits a month and helped me to make a little bit of a name for myself.

One thing I really want to do is write more. I have ideas. Lots of ideas. But technically, I am not the best writer. People tell me that I'm a good at it and that I should write more, but being able to write a good comedy piece from time to time does not make you a good writer.

I am, to put it mildly, a man of many varied interests. I read technology websites enough that I can probably hang in a conversation with the biggest tech nerd you know. I watch any mixed martial arts that comes on television, and that does not just include the UFC. I watch every major league in the United States, and I also track down the major cards that take place in Japan. My only martial arts experience ended in embarrassment on my behalf, but that's a story for another time. I comb through GQ on a monthly basis to find out if it's acceptable for me to wear flip-flops or to see how all the kids are wearing their argyle this month (mostly I just check every month to see if it's ok for me to wear jorts again; it isn't and most likely never will be). I listen to the type of indie music that screams snob so loudly that you may wish to take a moment to punch me in the mouth. I spend many hours devouring tips on personal finance blogs and business websites; so many that I'm considering getting an MBA and just switching everything. I used to read Perez Hilton on a daily basis, but lately I just can't stomach it. There's a level of stupidity that I can accept and it's just too much. We live in a society where he has 10x the money that I do; I think that's neat.

I have two Ivy League degrees. Not only did I actually get accepted, attend, and pass but I excelled. I take a small amount of pride in this fact but there are very few people in my life that are very impressed. I find this very interesting.

I have a dog and a girlfriend and a house so these things may be mentioned at some point.

I'm going to take the time to post on all the subject that I am interested in; and if this blog ends up the same as my first blog at least I know that my target audience will be reading what they were looking for.