Post Xmas excitement and blues.

Greetings everyone for the latest installment of Rusty's amazing, fantastical, eye-opening, jaw dropping goodness from the incredible insight of my mind. In today's installment I would like to point out the feature to your right, the image gallery. As time progresses and I find things that I would like to share with you visually, I will be posting those images in that rotating gallery. The first image I would like to bring to your attention is my Xmas present to me. A WWII Military Rifle, the M1 Carbine. This handy little weapon served in the military from 1944, until early parts of Vietnam. Now the weapon I currently own, I do not know what action it saw, and I am not going to speculate, but I am searching for its records. I can tell you that it shoots very accurately out to 100 yards, and that I am, IMHO, a pretty good shot. Even Rachel likes it! still have to see about getting Rachel something very nice for her Xmas present. I feel pretty guilty about not getting her anything :( I hope she can forgive me that hers might be a bit late.

So that was pretty exciting for me.

Now for the blues...

What is love? What is the difference between being 'in love' and 'loving' someone? What does love mean to you? If I were to ask you the following question, and mind you, you do not have to answer this except to yourself, 'When it comes to your relationship with your (boyfriend,husband,girlfriend,wife), what does it mean to you to love them?'

I guess I am still trying to learn what it means to love someone, specifically someone you want to spend the rest of your life with. Does it mean changing who you are to fit their mold? Or does it mean changing you habits, ideals, morals, to become better than you have been?

I know that deep down in my heart I love Rachel because she makes me feel that together we are greater than we are individually. But we have had some very scary moments in our last 15 months, still I have worked on my behavior not only for her, but for me. I don't want to stress myself into a heart attack... In fact I have changed my behavior when it comes to several things, the most serious offender was my road rage. I have realized that I cannot change the way other people drive, just the way I drive. I am continually learning how to further better myself to the point where I don't even get bothered when someone else cuts me off. I am not getting as upset that I seem to be the only one doing the majority of the household maintenance in the apartment that I share with my beloved Rachel and roommate Crispy, but sadly that came with a price... I recognized that if I don't do it, it seems that no one else does it until I let someone know that its bothering me. So, originally I thought that I shouldn't be the only one with a sense of responsibility and can do these chores without being asked, but like other drivers, I cannot rely on this though. So I have resigned myself to knowing that if it needs to be done, just do it and be done with it.

I am really trying hard to be a better person for Rachel, but I am starting to feel like the changes I have made aren't enough, or will not be enough. She loves me because I give her 'warm fuzzy' feelings, but whats going to happen when I cant keep her warm anymore? I love her, and I desire to marry her... but does she feel the same way anymore? Did she ever feel that way at all?

Three more days...

Commercial Terrorism....

While I firmly believe in the holiday spirit, christmas, or Yule to those of us of pagan beliefs, I am starting to get very bothered by the tactical attacks by those that claim they are good Christians compounded by the commercial strikes against our pocketbooks for things that no one needs.

The other day I saw a commercial on TV for a childs toy (ages 18+ months and older), and in my quest to satisfy my curiosity, I checked the MSRP on this thing, and it was in excess of $300. I asked myself this very important question... When does it become 'necessary' that an eating and pooping machine need to have $300 spent on it when in 3 hours it wont remember that thing exists when a $3 rattle captures its attention?

Technological Terrorism....

I am not going to lie, I work for an isp as a tech support rep, and as a rep for said company, it is my duty to fix peoples computer connection. Now normally this isnt an issue, but when I get a call from some customer in BFE with a 'new' pc they bought, and that new pc turns out to be a win98se from some pawn shop. I want to reach thru the phone and slap them around. But I cant, and I have to do some limited support, and they get upset that they cannot connect, and then I get to tell them the wonderful news. We do not support win98 and the $1000 they spent on their pc could have been spent buying an edumakashun. It is usually then that they threaten to contact everyone from the ACLU to FBI and Interpol... Frankly I dont give a shit. Just dont yell at me for your ignorance.

Biological Terrorism....

You know... fruitcake just wont go away. Why does it exists, and I read somewhere that someone attempted to eat a 200 year old fruitcake... WTF?!??

Steps to deal with...

This is my self-help guide to you on how to deal with several of lifes major issues.

1. TSFTOG. Too smart for their own good. These people are generally indicated by the confident useage of technical terms, jargon and a general knowledge of systems. However this has a dark side. In your efforts to communicate with said individual, they generally respond with "Huh?!" "What?"

Solution: Reset equipment and get off the call as fast as possible. If you stay on the call any longer than absolutely necessary ^{(formula: (((time/2)*stupid factor)*0)=Time to hang up!} {stupid factor is equal to the number of technical words used in the opening description of the problem} Warning. DO NOT stay on this call any longer than it takes to solve the issue, probable issues that arise from such calls are, high blood pressure, frequent need to scream, and general feeling of stupidity.

2. Believes everything is someone elses fault. These people you just cannot reason with. They are stubborn and refuse to do anything you ask of them because they have done it all 10 billion times before and regardless of what you ask them to do, they think that its all your fault and want credit for it.

Solution: If they are calling from a VOIP, reset the thing and go on to the next call. Obviously its someone elses problem to them, so make it someone elses problem for you.

3. Smart enough to be dangerous. These individuals should be handled with care. They are prone to explosive outbursts including swearing, demanding supervisor, and combinations of both. Most calls are just fine until you request something of them, then they just go off.

Solution: Treat the explosion with sugar, remain calm and do not give in to their demands. The issue is under all probablilites something as simple as resetting their router. So, bear the brunt of this attack and then ask if they still want to speak to a supervisor.

4. Techies. We all know who they are, a specialized individual who knows alot about one thing and absolutely nothing about anything else. These individuals will speak to you in terms you understand, but they do not know what you are talking about. They, generally, are pretty easy to get along with and are willing to learn what you want to teach them, however, DO NOT spend more time than necessary on the phone with them and do not divulge any information that they may latch on to and use against the next tech they talk to.

Solution: use the Walter principle (Jeff Dunham) "Get yur shit and get out!" These guys will waste your time like no other.

I hope these tips help you.