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OMFG! These videos had me laughing until I cried! Did you know people have a fart fetish? I had no idea. I’m soooo sorry for making fun of you… but really… HAHAHAHA! Don’t watch these if you’re easily offended.
Well, it’s been 4 months since I started working for myself from home. 1/3 of a whole year. It’s hard to believe. When I first started discussing it on my blog, there was a lot of support, but there was also a lot of fear from people who would say “Oooh, that sounds scary. I couldn’t do that.” So I said I’d keep you updated and let you know how it’s going. Here’s the latest. Overall it’s been rewarding. I think if I had stayed at my former job I would eventually quit anyway. There was a lot of ridiculous drama going on there, and I wasn’t going to get sucked into it. Quitting was really the only way out. I don’t regret that, because I always wanted to go in business for myself anyway. I did it years ago, and I knew I’d probably re-visit it someday. The one thing that has been jarring is the slow spells. When the weather is nice, business goes down for a web designer. Potential clients are out on vacation a lot during these months, and I think there is a general mood of not wanting to be inside doing business on the computer. I definitely noticed a decline after the weather warmed up. Then there is the money. I think money is obviously the fear factor that keeps a lot of people from going out on their own. Well, when it’s good, it’s great. It seems like it will never stop coming, and life is amazing. But when it’s bad, it’s reaaaaally bad. I don’t have any clients lined up for July. Nada. That’s pretty damn scary. I just have to ride the wave, as Rodney says. He’s right. All businesses have ups and downs, especially when they are new. I’ve actually done really well thanks to the connections I built BEFORE quitting my job. I have some interested people, so I’m keeping an abundant mind that new projects will materialize from them. Everything could change tomorrow. That’s how it goes. That’s the news. I still recommend taking the risk. I seriously don’t think I could ever go back to being someone’s employee. I get sick to my stomach just thinking about it. I just am not good at dealing with the structure of most employers. That subliminal mindset that somebody is the “boss” and I’m supposed to bow down to them. Ack. In my world, which I’ve created for myself, I call the shots and I work hands-on with my clients to do things the way I think they should be done. It’s so much better and I thrive in the role of a leader.
I like to burn candles, but they make me extremely paranoid about fire hazards. Thousands of homes are burned down due to candles every year. So despite my love for candles, I rarely burned them. Enter the candle warmer. It’s basically the same thing as those coffee mug warmers. It’s a hot plate enclosed in a protective ring. Nothing spectacular, you can get them at Wal-Mart or Target for $5. But I have to say that I am extremely impressed with ours. I bought a $20 Yankee Candles in March to use on the warmer. I’m certain this candle has lasted well over 100 hours. You can’t even tell it’s been used! The wax is still completely filling the jar to the top! The candle warmer package claimed it “doubles” the life of candles. I’m not even sure how that’s accurate. This has more than doubled it. I doubt this candle will truly last “forever”, I was just using that as a figure of speech. But if you like candles, you would be wasting your money to burn them. The candle warmer is flame free and instead of burning the wax, it melts it. When you turn it off, the wax dries back to its original shape until you melt it again. The only downside is that if you use it on a candle, you have to commit to it. The wick becomes ruined and gets lost down in the wax, so you won’t be able to burn it again. But that’s fine with me. I have no desire to ever burn a candle again. Happy waxing!
I’ve won an award. Yay! Who doesn’t love an award, right? Maybe this award will make up for the empty hole in my heart that was left when I didn’t win “Most Likely to Succeed” in high school. I had my own online business when I was 16, and the person who won was some football player. Is he playing in the NFL now? I don’t think so. Whatever… I’m not bitter. Anyway, my little Rey of Light (get it?) gave me the award for being a blogger that makes him think. Now, as part of my acceptance tour, I must give back to the community. And no, I won’t be cutting the ribbon at the new Piggly Wiggly. Instead, I am asked to tag 5 other bloggers who make me think. If you are tagged, you are to pick 5 people that make YOU think, and show this award icon, which came from Gay Men Rule:
(And if you snub me, Lewis, I will track you down. I know where you live.) So without further ado, here are 5 bloggers who make me think, who haven’t already been tagged. In no particular order: 1. Chris 2. Lewis 3. Dan 4. Mr. Ed in Australia 5. Jason Okay, I did this incorrectly. I wasn’t supposed to say WHAT they make me think about, but I’m a rule breaker. So I’m hitting Publish. If you weren’t included in the top 5, please don’t take in personally. It just means I’m still mad because I didn’t receive a Christmas card last year. (Kidding!)
[ This post is not directed at anyone on my blog, or anything about me. It’s really just a sharing of ideas. ] I love the concept of blogging because it’s something anyone with a computer can do. All you need is an e-mail address and you’re ready to go; ready to share your unique personality, ideas, experiences, and feelings with the world. Some people treat their blogs like a forum. They want it to be an ongoing conversation with other people, and they do so in the comments section. Since that’s what they want, that’s what they do. Other people look at blogging as a way to express themselves and their story. It isn’t necessarily a priority to interact with other readers or have a conversation or debate. Again, since that’s what they want, that’s what they do. Neither one of these scenarios is “right” or “wrong”. There is no rule book when it comes to blogging, just like their is no rule book to being human. You create your own rules, and you live by them. Sometimes your way of living will not align with how others live. Whenever two things don’t align, it causes tension. One person’s way of thinking does not “fit” with another’s, and that can cause misunderstandings. It’s okay to disagree with how someone else runs their blog. Tension is a natural part of the human experience. But the downside of blogging is that sometimes we can take things personally when they aren’t. We can automatically assume that a person is snubbing us when that really isn’t the case. That can lead to saying things that are cruel and untrue about the person. I find that most people have a difficult time sitting face to face and saying cruel things to a perfect stranger. But online, they feel uninhibited and just let the insults fly. While there are no rules to blogging, nor life, I do think that most people can agree that being kind is the ultimate act of being human. We don’t have to be kind, we don’t have to play nice. But when we spend all our energy saying hurtful things about other people, what we’re really doing is hurting ourselves. Hate breeds more hate. In that sense, you are actually bringing more negativity into your life, and punishing yourself for the anger you feel towards others. Do you want to punish yourself? You may disagree, and that’s fine, because that all is covered in what I said in the opening paragraphs about creating your own rules. But I do have a challenge for you. Look at your life (and your blog). Do you spend a lot of time talking trash about other people, who you don’t even really know? If the answer is “yes”, ask yourself why you do it. Does it make you feel better about yourself? Does it make you the person you really want to be? And if it doesn’t make you feel good, the cure is simple - stop doing it. Stop today, and you’ll start to feel better immediately. When we are kind to others, even when their personalities don’t align with our own, we are not only being a better blogger, but we are also being better humans. For anyone reading this who may feel the need to be cruel on their blog, I wish you the peace and the strength to let go of it all. You deserve better, and so do the people you’re talking about. Blessings to you.
My dear friend Rey tagged me to post 8 things people don’t know about me. So here goes: 1.) I have the cleaning tendencies of a straight guy. 2.) I have a non-sexual armpit fetish. 3.) Even though I’m gay, I don’t really like dicks. 4.) My spiritual guardian taps me on the shoulder at 12:53 AM & PM. 5.) I secretly check up on my exes through MySpace. 6.) I am a forward thinker. 7.) My shirt size is Small, pants are 32×30, shoes size is 10.5, and underwear is Medium. 8.) I’ve always thought it would be fun to create mass hysteria during a scary movie. Okay, so now I have to tag 8 people… Crap, I’m so bad at this part. Okay, this is free for all! Do it if you want.
Whenever I go to the bank, I take our dog Petey with me. It’s just up the street, but he loves it. I don’t know if you knew this, but banks keep dog treats onhand. I don’t accept them because Petey would have it all over the car, but it’s a nice gesture. So today, I went to the drive-through as usual. The woman who helped me said “Would you like a treat for your dog?” “No thanks,” I politely refused. “How about you? Would YOU like a treat?” she asked. I couldn’t help it, I let out the hugest laugh that I’m sure echoed through her speaker. I immediately thought she was offering her snatch. I don’t know why, it just sounded so sexual when she said it. “No, um, thanks. I’m good” I said smiling. That was my laugh for the day.
Me: Hi, how are you today? Friend/Client/Coworker/Yomomma/etc: I’m really busy. How are you? ——- Does this conversation look familiar? Have you called someone recently and started out this way? Or how about a chat session over IM? Let me give you some friendly advice — if you’re the one saying you’re “really busy”, you’re being a tool. Stop today, before everyone hates you. If you look back at the history of etiquette, you’ll find that people asked each other how they are doing as a form of good manners. When you say you’re really busy, it sends a mixed signal that contradicts the purpose of this etiquette. I feel like it puts the receiving person in an awkward state. You’re starting off by insinuating that you might be stressed out or right in the middle of something, which could result in you not paying attention. This makes it difficult to proceed at all with the conversation. It’s even more jarring when the person calls me and starts out this way. So they called me, but they are really busy. What does that mean? If they are busy, does that mean they don’t want to talk? Should I hang up immediately? This particular quark carries over into IM quite frequently. In fact, I had so many friends who would say they were “really busy” that I stopped chatting altogether. If you’re that busy, you should turn your IM to the “Away” mode, or turn it off completely. I once brought this up to a friend of mine. Every day, this friend would say she was really busy. Finally I told her that there’s no point in setting her IM to “Available” when she clearly is not. That didn’t seem to register with her, because the pattern continued. So I just stopped talking to her, and finally she got my point and started using her “Away” message when she was busy, then setting it to “Available” when she wanted to chat. Problem solved. I just think it’s odd that some people are busy every day, every week, every month. If the pattern never changes, then I’ve got some tough news for you — “Busy” no longer applies. This is your life, and it isn’t changing any time soon. If you were busy, it would be a temporary period, not something that’s ongoing. So if you don’t like the way it’s going, you need to change it. We are the result of our decisions. We make commitments to clients and co-workers, and that results in the consequences. The bigger picture might be that we haven’t mastered the technique of saying “No.” Many people would rather suffer than risk disappointing others. But sometimes we do have to disappoint others because their expectations are too high. We have to put our health and well-being first. I don’t think these people who are “busy” every day are doing that. Also, I think it’s alienating to tell people you’re “really busy” when they initiate a conversation with you. They will eventually get fed up and stop talking to you at all. That’s my Etiquette 101 for the day.
Our dog is retarded. (No offense to any retards who read my blog.) He is a very curious little guy, and he manages to poke his nose into the blinds and then lift them up onto his head so he can see outside (are you getting a visual?). Well, at night, his face reflects in the window and he thinks he’s looking at a dog outside. Then he goes berserk. *BARK BARK BARK BARK BARK!* He has the shrillest damn bark in the world. I come downstairs to see what’s going on. There he is, barking at himself in the window. Like I said… retarded.
Woohoo! Summer is here! There’s a fucking block party in front of my mailbox! Okay, well not really… I’m not sure. Every day, I notice there is an accumulation of cigarette butts and trash next to our mailbox. It appears that there has been a party and I was not invited. But when do these parties take place? I am home at all hours of the day and night. Often times, I’m up until the wee hours of the morning, and I never seen anyone out there. I visualize several people with lawn chairs, hanging out by the post. One of them takes a drag off the cigarette and then says “Duuude, partying at Nathan’s mailbox is the life.” Then he passes it to his friend, who squints when he inhales (why do smokers always squint?), and his friend says “Yeeeah…” Don’t ask me where these characters come from. They’re just there. Perhaps this is just a trashy neighborhood and I’ve been living under the guise that it’s clean. Further down the street, this one neighbor often has odd pieces of trash on their sidewalk. Like last week, there was an empty bag of chips. What events lead up to this? Were they out in their yard, chomping on some chips, and then just decided it would be way too much work to take the bag inside with them? “Eh, the wind will take care of it,” they say, as they toss it to the ground. This same neighbor had an empty pack of cigarettes on the sidewalk. Again… what happened here? They finished off their last smoke and couldn’t be bothered with the trash? Hey! Maybe it’s THEM! Maybe they are the ones partying in front of the mailbox. I see a story forming.  ©2005-2008 Nathan Exposed . All Rights Reserved Meet the Cast
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You can file this under useless information, but I really thought this was cool.
