My Old Blog

I was in a bowling league when I first moved to Atlanta. I averaged in the 170s at my best. I have my own ball, but I have bowled probably 3 times in the last year.

I went home to Easley this weekend and bowled with Josh. After about two pitchers of beer, and maybe 4 or 5 strikes combined in the previous 4 games……I bowled a perfect game: 12 strikes in a row. A big 300.

That’s freakish. I can’t even properly explain the likelihood (or unliklelihood in this case) of that happening. Its like a glitch in the matrix.

The chances are infinitesimally small that a bowler of my skill would bowl a 300 (under any conditions…much less after two pitchers of beer, not having bowled in months, with people watching). I’d never even really gotten close before, even remotely close.

Let’s say every day you go to the gym and jump to touch the highest spot on the backboard you can. You can get about 9.5 feet up, give or take a few inches. This is just above the bottom of the backboard.

Then you take a few months off and sit on the sofa without exercise. You go back to the gym; your first 4 jumps are about the same, touching the bottom of the backboard. On your fifth leap, you jump over the entire backboard and into the bleachers.

Its freakish.

I knew if I were just patient enough that eventually something good would happen! Its like a miracle….with poor grammar. Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth though.

I will respond promptly with the following message:

Date: Wed, 28 Mar 2007 14:12:14 +0200
From: “vider Amachina”
To: ME
Subject: urgent feedback

From: Vierder Machine
Dearest,

Good thing to write you.

[Me] Yes…good thing. Thank you.

I have a proposal for you- this is however not mandatory nor will in any manner compel you to honour against your will. I also thanks you so much for your mail and your willingness to know what I want to discuses with you which is very important.

[Me] I don’t remember mailing you but it is important so I won’t keep you from explaining to me this important matter.

Mean while I want you to go through this my proposal and get back to me with your urgent response through my private email contact. I must not hesitate to confide in you for this simple and sincere help. I am Vierder Machine

[Me] Great name!

the only daughter of late Mr and Mrs Joseph Machine. who was a very dealers and wealth coco merchant in Abidjan , the capital of Ivory coast.

[Me] I’ve never been. I wonder what it is like to deal in Veries though. Ivory Coast must be a strange and wonderful place.

he was poisoned to death by his business associates on one of their outings on a business trip.

[Me] Maybe not as wonderful as I thought =(

before his death of one private hospital here in Abidjan he secretly called me on his bed side and told me that he has the sum of US1.500.000(one million five hundred thousand united states dollars) left in a suspense account here in Abidjan cote Devoir. He place my name as next of kin, and also gave the documents pertaining the consignment to me.

[Me] Did he have a fax machine by his death bed as well?

He also explained to me that it was because of this wealth that he was poisoned by his business associates, that I should seek for a partner in a country of my choice where I will transfer this money and use it to invest in a profitable ventures.

[Me] Vierder (or however you spell it)…..I’ll go ahead and tell you I’m not one of those gullible types. I’ve heard of those schemes from Africa where they try to sell some poor sap a sob story to get their money. Those schemes are usually from Nigeria though, so I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt for now.

I am just 25 years old and a university undergraduate.

[Me] Let me guess…..not an English major? Oh well, I won’t hold that against you in light of the fact that you’re about to send me 1.5 million bucks.

I have suffered a lot of set backs as a result of members of my late father’s family who has not stop disturbing me about the where about of this fund after they have succeeded in claiming almost all the valuable properties that he left behind for me, coupled with incessant political crisis here in Ivory coast. The death of my father actually brought sorrow to my life I will like every thing to be conclude soon so that I will join you for me further my study and also prefer to go pastoral school in your country.

[Me] A man of the cloth huh? Your proposal must be sincere then!! And you’re not even from Nigeria…how could I have doubted!

[Me] Also, you’d do better to call it “seminary”, “theology” or something of the like. If you try to enroll in pastoral school you might end up being a shepherd….not really a lot of demand for that in the US.

I am honourably seeking your assistance in the following ways. 1) to help me transfer the found into the destination account in your country

[Me] Absolutely, immediately. I accept checks, money order, and I have a pay pal account too. (Cash is preferable.)

(2)To serve as the guardian of this fund during and after the transaction. since I am just 25 years (3)To make arrangement for me to come over to your country after the money has been transferred and invest.

[Me] Hey man….you send me a million and a half dollars and I’ll make whatever arrangements you want to come to my country. In fact, I just checked. Delta flies round trip to Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire for about $2500. It takes 22 hours, changing planes in Paris. Stop for a few days if you want. I’ll pick up the tab.

[Me] I can’t believe you chose me man!!!!! Just think, I didn’t even write you that email….its just pure, dumb luck!!!! Completely awesome!!!

Moreover, I am willing to offer you any thing as compensation for your effort / input after the successful transfer of this fund to your nominated account. Furthermore, you can indicate your option towards assisting me as I believe that this transaction would be concluded within some days you signify your interest to assist me.

[Me] Super interested. Transfer away. I can’t quite figure out the tax implications yet….but after I quit my job I’m sure I can look that up on the Internet.

I will appreciate your early. I will be more appreciated if you contact me through my private email for security reason. Vidar_23@yahoo.com
responds. Anticipating to hear from you soon.
Thanks God Bless. ks and
Best regards,
Vierder Machine.

Who’d have thunk it? And they say it is hard work and education that pay off? I’ll tell you what pays off: bank transfers.

I am solar powered. I feel so much better when it is hot and the sun is shining.

I find lots of ways to waste time at work when I don’t want to do something. When I find it interesting, I almost jump out of bed in the morning and don’t mind staying late.

I think McDonald’s has pretty decent food these days. I used to never eat there. Now I eat there about as much as any other fast food restaurant.

I need new clothes. I wear the same thing all the time, and some of my t-shirts and shorts have been around for the better part of a decade.

I may need to replace one or two of the frets on my acoustic guitar. I’ve worn grooves in them. That’s OK I suppose. It has lasted over 10 years. I could just buy another one, but this one has sentimental value.

I need to stop picking at my fingernails. Its a bad useless habit.

Alright….I notice that I’m tired. I think I’ll go to bed.

I have a fair amount of vacation time this year. I’ll be honest, I can’t for the life of my think of anywhere I would like to go.

I can think of some places I would like to MOVE….but not just visit. Maybe I can sell my vacation time back to my company? They have a vacation day purchase program. I wonder if I can do the reverse?

I’ve looked into volunteer vacations in Latin America. They are, for the most part, MORE expensive than regular vacations. I guess you’re not just doing it for the money, but still…..something feels weird about paying to work when I know for the same amount of money I could be sitting on a beach chair drinking cocktails with paper umbrellas.

Maybe I can do an exercise vacation? Maybe I should go visit old friends I haven’t seen in a while? Maybe I should sleep, read and drink coffee for a week? Maybe I should try a new age trip where you don’t speak, talk to cacti, and wear robes? How about Mt. Kilimanjaro?

I guess it doesn’t really matter. Vacations are so expensive. I could just by a 60 inch plasma TV and be amazed by HD television for a week. I’d be amazed by any TV to be honest. Its been over a year now since I’ve had TV. I don’t really miss it, but I do like it when I see it.

Alas….my tennis team did not win the city championships. We had a great season and got beaten by a great team.

I won my match even though the team lost (it went 3 sets). I haven’t felt that kind of pressure in a long time. I was so stressed the whole match (my neck was killing me afterward). It is the city finals; my partner and I were the 1 line; and there were probably over 50 people sitting there watching everything we did, every time I missed, every mistake I made.

Nerves tend to snowball too. If you start playing badly, you think about it, which makes you more nervous, which makes you play worse. It is very hard to recover. Tennis is a precise sport too; very small variations in your swing can make you miss, and pressure produces those small variations.

Basketball was a bit easier. Effort does not decrease when you’re nervous. You can use the nerves to make you hustle even when you’re tired. Shooting does become hard though, since it is precise like a tennis swing.

I played pretty well….certainly not the best I’ve ever played, but I didn’t choke. I played about average, which in this situation was good enough. I watched all of our matches and just about everyone played a little worse than they usually do….which is sort of expected under those conditions.

I liked it to be honest. I enjoy the pressure. I don’t really get that anymore.

3 years living in Atlanta….that makes probably 10 or so Alta seasons?? Not sure. It doesn’t seem like that many, but it may well be. I’ve been to the playoffs a handful of times, and won the division a few times too.

My team is in the city championships this weekend for the first time. While it may seem small to get excited about…..I figure it is better than most things. All in all it is better to be champion that not right?

I met some new people tonight, listened to a lot of first time conversations, and had a few myself. Its so bizarre what people choose to talk about….I include myself in that.

Girls tend to smile and nod their head a lot. Guys tend to talk about themselves and try to sound smart and/or successful.

That is strange because it is actually women that talk more than guys once people get to know each other. Guys don’t talk all that much. Also, people (all people) tend to like people that listen to them, smile, and agree in some way or ask questions that show they’re paying attention.

That makes me wonder why men don’t just ask women a few questions to get them talking and then smile and nod…..like women do to men.

Anyway, it was nice, the pizza was good, and the bar was pretty cool too. I’d never been.

I guess not entirely, since other stuff did go on….some of which might interest people, some of which wouldn’t……but it doesn’t seem like much went on when I write it out like that.

I should go back and read 3 months of one of my travel journals. I guess that wouldn’t be very helpful though, huh?

One odd thing went on this week: I’ve had my resume posted on Monster.com for a little over 5 years and I never got one good lead, either by companies contacting me or me applying to other companies.

I’ve had 6 companies contact me in the past week….not just recruiters either. Three of them have produced initial interviews and are real, decent jobs.

One of them I said no to with Citigroup (even though I hadn’t of course been offered the job yet). It was a fairly decent gig making more money doing something similar in Jacksonville, FL.

The other two I’m considering going through all the interviews just to see what might happen (Workbrain and Bearing Point).

I bet I won’t do it no matter what. My job isn’t really that bad. On a similar note, in the an upcoming issue of nationally distributed business magazine the cover story will be the Top 20 Companies for Leaders. I’m participating in that research. Its sort of fun…and I certainly need that.

These are more or less in chronological order:

I went to an Atlanta Hawks game.

I didn’t get the job I wanted…very frustrated. They still have me “on hold” pending some work we are supposed to win in the March/April time frame.

I won’t hold my breath….good thing too, otherwise I’d be dead. I’ve been doing this job 3 years.

I went a Yoga class. I have been a few times….not much exercise, but very peaceful.

I’ve been on a few dates. I have never liked dating and still don’t. I guess I need to learn.

I went to a singles event to see what it is like. I don’t think I’ll be going to any others. If I ever get that desperate I think I’ll just join a monastery.

I watched Bill And Ted’s Excellent Adventure again and was remind what a totally excellent movie it is (cue air-guitar). San Dimas High School football rules!!

I played a lot of tennis. Why not? My team is in the semi-finals of the tournament……two weeks from now hopefully we’ll be city champs. Hey, you’ve got to look forward to something right?

Most of my floor at work moved to Ashford Dunwoody. I stayed in Smyrna. Its odd being mostly alone in a big office building.

I got to meet a guy that wrote one of the business books I’ve read.

Daniel (who owns the house I live in) moved out. Most everyone knows I live in a loft above the garage. Even though the whole house is now empty, I still never go in it.

A dog saved a man from a bear. I admit I got a little misty-eyed reading this. I love dogs.

This is too funny…it is billed as a “much-needed alternative to Wikipedia, which is increasingly anti-Christian and anti-American.” The site offers many great, “lesser-known” scientific insights….such as the fact that the Earth is only 6000 years old.

Some of you will have noticed that I haven’t said anything about why I haven’t written lately. I think it will have to stay that way for a while…don’t know how long yet.

One day I’ll look back and smile surely….right?