Random thoughts and ideas

So, I figured I’d take a bit of my downtime here at my new job and update my blog.

Speaking of my new job, things are going good. For those who may not have heard, I started last week at the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families. Yes, I am a government employee. But I feel like this department actually does some good, as it takes care of children in need and their families. Oddly enough, the department would probably be where I would try to get hired once I finish my Masters in Counseling Studies (or whatever program I switch to). So, when the time comes, I already have an inside track on becoming a social worker/counselor for the State. It’s like there was this grand plan or something…

School is going ok. Had a bit of a hiccup last week involving deadlines for posting discussions. Apparently my new school sets mid-week deadlines for posting new discussion topics. This is fine, and pretty common. But in my past experience, it’s been more of a guideline in order to allow others time enough to respond. However, this school enforces it by not allowing new posts after Thursday. From then on, you can only respond to other people’s posts. So, my grade for last week will suffer, as I didn’t get to it until Saturday. Stupid rule, considering it’s an online school. But, meh. I’ll deal with it.

So, Sunday was my wife's first 5k. She had started running to lose the baby-weight, and found she really liked it. She looks awesome these days, and I often have a hard time keeping my hands off of her (not that it's really ever been different). But, anyways, she decided as a goal to runa 5k. Well, she did it. And faster than she expected. And now she's looking at marathons, triathlons and an Iron Man. I say more power to her! She amazes me with how much personal motivation she has sometimes. I am very proud of my honeys.

I’ve been editing my Ryvor stories based on some feedback. I like the edited versions better. So, I may try to submit them for publication soon. Speaking of writing, with a new full-time job and going to grad school, writing will be taking a back seat for a while. I’m not giving up on it. It’s just that supporting my family and stabilizing my life is more important right now. That being said, I am constantly barraged with new ideas. I need to carry a notebook around to jot stuff down in.

Yesterday I was reading a couple of articles by a friend of mine. Phil Elmore is a writer who runs a website called The Martialist. There he reviews and discusses all things pertaining to combat and fighting. Martial arts, knives, guns, etc… He also likes to expose frauds in the martial arts community, and one of his favorite targets is Ashida Kim. Without going into detail, the things I’ve learned about this supposed “ninja master” from the 80’s has me in stitches. The guy is a certifiable loon. The funny thing is, people buy his BS whole-heartedly. So last night I had this idea of creating my own martial art on paper, a persona to sell with it, and market it to unsuspecting saps looking for a fantasy. It would be a hoot, I think.

Other than that life is going as it goes. I got permission to take the last week of October off for my court appearance in Fresno. If all goes well, Faith will be coming home to where she belongs in Wisconsin sometime in December.

Generally speaking, life is pretty good.

Oh, and congrats to my Dark Master, Scott Oden, and his beautiful new bride, Shannon. They tied the knot on Saturday, and they looked great!