FuzzyTummyRumblings

To the.. west side?  West Coast is the Best Coast, right Jon?

Anyway- Carley got a job.  A real job.  Like a career.  So we're moving.  On July 25th, we depart these dry and congested streets in the shadow of the Rockies.  We leave our leaking, overpriced apartment behind and forsake our desk jobs for wetter, smarter climes.  Eugene, Oregon- here we come!  I approach this with some trepidation as I will be job hunting AGAIN and I may be done with cheerleading, though I hope not.  I'm done with MasterDrive until I can afford to start one out there.  We're leaving a lot behind but we're leaving it for some exceptionally good opportunities.  The cop thing is on hold for a little bit but I haven't cancelled it yet.  I may not.  We'll see how timing and such oppotunities pan out.

I love the mountains, but I hate the cities here.  Maybe we'll find a place I can whine about a little less.  I'm not betting on it.  At worst, I'll have time to write again while Carley is my sugar mama.

So Fathers' day was Sunday.  A day we set aside to pay a little extra attention to our fathers and remind them why they matter.  But why do fathers deserve a day like that?  Some don't.  My understanding is that Tom's father was only one in a biological sense.  But my father does deserve the attention.  And then some.

He has put up with some serious shit to earn his title as Dad.  The world is a messy place and he's been part of the mess.  His kids have been part of the mess.  His wife has been part of the mess.  And through all of it, he is loving, caring, and perceptive.  Our lives were never perfect but he always put in some effort to improve it.  There were times when it backfired- remember the "tail" incident in Jr High?  And there were many more when it worked flawlessly.  When Sean and I were little, money was tight. We had everything we needed but the "wants" category was often untouched.  But if we wanted a book, he found a way to make it happen.  It's the little things that make a father into a Dad.  My father had those things.

He set a good example.  Nobody is perfect.  My dad has never been a flawless exemplar of what it is to be the ideal father.  He has been a shining example of what it is to be human- warts and all.  He set an example for my brother and I as to discipline, hard work, and love.  Not only did he set this example, he then scooted us into the real world saying, "I expect you two to do better at this than I did."  That's not to say he wasn't good enough.  It's to say that he is (and now we are) aware that there is always room for improvement.  Good enough is neither.  Not good- not enough.  If you can make it better, you should.  This is how I was raised and this is why Fathers' day matters to me.

I love you, Dad.

So I bought a new computer a month or so ago.  It came with some downloadable software.  I'd had a good experience with MS money in the past so I decided I'd get it again.  The copy of MS money 2000 that I had was excellent.  It did everything I wanted it to do and it let me handle my finances with a lot more information on hand.  It was exactly what I wanted.

The new MS Money is worthless.  Quite possibly worse than worthless.  It probably has negative value.  The first step to getting into MS money is... signing onto your hotmail/passport account. WTF?  Microsoft can't build a stable and secure browser- why would I want my delicate and private financial information in ANY way tied to Hotmail?  There appears to be no way into MS Money without a hotmail/passport account.  Since I had one from years ago, I logged on and promptly told it that I didn't want any of my information online at all ever.

Next you go to set up your accounts.  But you can't.  See... this is tied into something online also.  When I tried to set up our accounts (we each have a checking and a savings at the same bank) it wouldn't let me.  I kept getting a message that said a service is not available.  It didn't say what service, how to fix the problem, or when it would be back.  So all I could do was say "wells fargo" then it would drop me back to the home page.

After all of that, I finally discovered how to manually enter account information.  But you can only enter a name, a balance and transactions manually.  not credit rates, lender, due dates... anything.  What little information you CAN access is counterintuitive and poorly handled.  Basically- MS money is a bad bad thing.

So I paid money for Quicken.

We got bikes. Shiny new bikes.  They are nice bikes too.  not NICE bikes- but nice :-)  Happy Anniversary to us.  We went out Saturday morning and got bikes, a bike rack that fits both cars, a pump, a helmet for her (I already have mine), some new waterbottles, and a few other bikely goods.  All told, it cost us almost exactly what the furniture set from last year cost us and I think it's at least as good if not a better investment.  YAY BIKES!

I got a specialized cyclocross bike called a Tricross.  I'm not sure if that link will fly or not... but that's pretty much what I got.  woot.

But never both

I can't feel sympathy for a person I love.  Empathy, sorrow, those kind of things yes.  Sympathy- to me- means sharing the feelings but nothing more. I don't do that.  When I love you, I love you totally.  Bad, good, whatever.  Carley's total inability to close a door? No problem.  Dad taking over half my life to open up emotionally?  No big deal.  Mom going through her adolescence when she's in her fifties?  I'm there.  Sean's obsession with Linux?  I can deal.  But these are not things that I just sit idly by and have sympathy for the person.  To me, sympathy is just that- idle.  I'm not sympathetic.  If you have time to mourn something, feel bad about something, whine, complain, whatever... you have time to do something about it.  When somebody I love loses somebody, I grieve with them.  People need to open up more and FEEL the world they are in- not just nod their heads in agreement and say "I know how you feel."  Bullshit you do.  If you "know how she feels" then you'd be crying to.

Carley graduates in 2 days. WOOT.

Countdown to me getting a sugar mama...