Winter Sucks...

... but if you know me, you already knew this.

Still, there is a silver lining somewhere between the biting wind, the browning snow and the black ice.

For starters, I'm still employed. ***applause*** I'm certainly grateful for the opportunity to continue to get paid. However, I've discovered pretty quickly how truthful the recruiter and my then-future supervisors were when they told me the learning curve would be rather steep at the beginning. Well, I'm still very much in the "beginning" stage. It's stressful, to say the least. It's definitely motivated me to take more steps towards starting my small business.

Speaking of which, I've taken a few small but important steps towards starting said business. I applied for my federal EIN (Employee Identification Number) earlier in the week. Today I printed off some forms that I will have to turn in to the city. No need to register at the state level at this point, per their information.

The holidays were a time for Cathy and me to appreciate what we had; in other words, we were broke! LOL We were also dealing with nagging sinus issues that affected us in different ways. After I finally went to urgent care last Sunday, I'm taking some medication to address my "acute sinusitis". It's working pretty well so far. I'm looking forward to getting back in the gym and getting my "beach body" ready. (HA!)

As a belated holiday present to my regular readers, I will offer no political commentary in this thread. Happy New Year!

So far, so good with the new Justice gig. I already realize that I need to work on my concentration as the procedures are simultaneously complex and rote.

Thanksgiving was enjoyable down in South Carolina with my Dad and our extended family there. I try to cherish these gatherings nowadays, not only because my Dad, Aunts and Uncles are approaching an average age of 70, but also due to the untimely passing of one Aunt.

I decided to go "all in" with one of my favorite interests and devote the next few college semesters at NOVA to complete my certificate in Travel and Tourism. I figure in this economy, if you don't necessarily like what you're doing, you may as well pursue something you love. To hedge my bets, I will probably also pursue a certificate in Library Technology in preparation of a Master's in Library Science. But since libraries aren't exactly in a hiring boom these days, I'm in no rush to get started.

I'll say one thing, though: it felt good to be able by some new clothes for the job with the money that I earned from it.

So it finally looks as if I may have latched onto a long-term gig.

On Monday, I began my new role as a contractor with the Department of Justice. Without getting into any potentially classified details, let's just say I'm reconciling expense accounts. Not too difficult in theory but nonetheless I'm a bit anxious. I will have to learn a lot of new terminology and procedures. Even though I've been told by several that the learning curve usually lasts about three months, I do tend to be pretty demanding on myself for getting up to speed on things. I also would like to make a good impression as this kind of opportunity could open up other doors with the government. Having "cleared" the hurdle doesn't hurt in this area. It would be nice to slide over to the National Archives or Library of Congress one day.

It also feels good to make a more steady financial contribution to the household. Even though The Lady feels that I have contributed in other ways - I could have starred in "Househusbands of Northern Virginia" - I feel more independent and "manly" being able to win some of the bread myself.

I still don't think that I will retire as an accountant... but there are surely "worse" careers to be in these days.

Another Side Of Yours Truly

Hey Everyone,

I've created my new blog and even submitted my first post. While it's a little more elaborate than this one, the graphics are still a work in progress. In any case, here it is:

http://travelandmusicwithtony.blogspot.com/

Enjoy!

Something New

When I set out to start this blog, I didn't know what direction it would go in but I knew that it would be a place where I could express my political views without all the partisan rants from either direction that I read in many other blogs and forums. As it turns out, with the exception of a few posts about my "consulting" gigs, it's been pretty much a platform for me to express my liberal/progressive leanings.

However, out of my surely vast and loyal crowd of readers, I'd say at least 50% are afraid they might hurt my feelings, 25% could care less LOL and up to 25% are too busy with life to tend to their own blog let alone read mine.

So I've decided to go in a different direction... and a different blog. I'm still going to keep this one and make commentary when the mood strikes me. I don't want to publish yet another open diary for the masses... but I do think a more light-hearted approach might draw some interaction.

I'm thinking that the theme will be two of my biggest passions in life: travel and music. In particular, I think I will chronicle some tales from the Summer of Love Tour that Cathy and I ventured out for. I have a lot of (mostly illegible) notes from the trip and it would be nice to share them in print. Who knows... it may become a semi-professional marketing device for my future ambitions as a travel agent.

I'll probably need some help designing the cover page as you can obviously see I did not have any imagination - or skill - in designing this one. Anyone... can ya help a brotha out??? :)

Why Is It?

Why is it that the "typical" liberal would like government to be involved as much as possible... except when it comes to social/personal issues?

Why is it that the "typical" conservative would like to government to be involved as little as possible... except when it comes to social/personal issues?

Now That's What I Call "Fair and Balanced"!

Despite the fact he always reminds me of Kermit the Frog, I have to commend Fox News Channel anchor Shepard Smith for channeling his inner Alan Colmes when interviewing GOP Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming regarding the inclusion of a public option in health care reform:

SMITH: Over the last ten years health care costs in America have skyrocketed. Regular folks cannot afford it. So, they tax the system by not getting preventative medicine. They go to the emergency room in the last case and we all wind up paying for it. As the costs have gone up, the insurance industry's profits, on average, have gone up more than 350%. And it is the insurance companies which have paid, and who have contributed to Senators and Congressmen on both sides of the aisle to the point where now we cannot get what all concerned on Capitol Hill seem to believe and more 60% of Americans say they would support, which is a public option. This has been an enormous win for the health-care industry, that is an unquestioned fact. But I wonder, what happens to the American people when we come out with legislation now which requires everyone to have health care insurance -- or many more people -- but does not give a public option? Therefore millions more people will have to buy insurance from the very corporations that are overcharging us, and whose profits have gone up 350 percent in the last ten years. It seems like we the people are the ones getting the shaft here.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/06/fox-newss-shepard-smith-g_n_311627.html