W_L

Months of inactivity is over, real life is a bitch (why do we use such a misogynistic terms to denote a bad experience in the first place?), but it passes. Let's see some updates on my life, I am still employed, I am still a homeowner with a decen sized mortgage, and still quite alone as a gay man in his late 20's. Nthing has changed in the last 3 months concerning my life. As for my writing, I have been holding off for so long, but I want to get back to it again. Between my grandmother's hospitalization, the mad dash to get her into a long term care facility, and the bureaucratic struggle to get her Medicare approval to pay for it, I have been side tracked for close to year now. My real job is also not helping, I have had to train a new employee, had her pleading me to keep her employed despite poor performance, and her making a death threat against me after her termination (I have already filed a police report), it has more or less taken a good amount of time too. The most precious thing in the world is not money, not politics or power of groups and nations, but time that we have to live and really impact the things that we care about in our life. Another interesting lesson learned, despite doing your best and wanting the best outcome, enemies will arise from both places that you expect and places that are closer to you than you know. My corollary to the old agage of friends and enemies is this: keep your enemies as close as you can manage, but your friends should be close as you can safely accept them. Nothing has really changed in my life, but the lessons learned are definitely worth a lot. The lesson I learned in 2014 is that time should be valued, the time we have is limited.

1-3 Record ain't something I'd be happy with; though I know they lost guys in the first few games. I agree with you on pure stats; I like the Rams, but there is just too much movement and re-organization in their line up. Also, I am not impressed by Hill's performance as QB.

Sadly, he got cut 2 days ago. The Rams got a lot of free press drafting him and there's relatively little press with them tossing him (in the same year and as one of the last roster cuts). Well as for me, I am dropping my Rams DST line on my fantasy Football team

Yeah, I think it got cancelled Still, look at Girl Meets World that show is still going strong. Michael Jacobs did a great job setting up Boy Meets World characters and touching this generation with its brand of humor. A reboot series or a sequel is not a horrible idea, nor is a biopic behind the show series.

Thanks for the suggestions, I am also an Enrolled Agent with the IRS and have a masters degree in taxation, which i rarely use outside of tax season. I majored in accounting for bachlors. I did at one point volunteer at a free tax clinic, but my work caught up to me. As for work life balance, i think it is more of an ideal than reality. Finance and accounting unlike sales is a grind without a visible target. At our firm, ironically, I am the one helping to set the targets based on running estimates and projections against client volumes and potential expansion in new regions. Probably, my job should be split into three managers, but I am the guy at the center. Between account managers haggling to keep their goals flat or grow at a slower rate, an operations team arguing about fees and schedules with medical contractors (I am the referee in those battles), and contractors extorting me for money or else they won't complete their patient examination/reviews (Doctors can be vindicative too), plus everything else, I am just caught in a world wind of issues. The world of American Health care is much more complicated than anyone truly understands and there's a lot of players that have parts in it, beyond just doctors and insurers.

I know I am workaholic; I have my problems stemming from a need to prove my ability and self-worth. It's just recently gotten to a point where none of my usual outlets seem to get me out of the mindset. I am no longer in a relationship, I am working on several major projects at our firm, and my boss is preparing me for a promotion to Exec at the ned of the year. I'd be one of the youngest finance execs in America, who did not start a business. When I feel like just slouching and slowing down on my work; I look around me and at what I handle. I've got the livelihoods of 500 people, 2000 contractors, and even more patients from third party insurers to look over. My problems with existentialism and my needs to express my artistic and creative side comes after their needs. I am not a Steve Jobs, nor a Mark Zuckerberg, I am not an inventor, so my job is more about building on what exists and expanding it. I do like to build and expand things. When I was a kid, my favorite games were Sim City 2000 and Civilization II. I still play their modern equivalents today, but I just don't have time to really do those things anymore. Sometimes, I just wish I could live a simpler life, writing stories that most people will never read, tending o a moderately sized self sufficient farm, and living my life with someone that can speak volumes to me with just a touch, a laugh, or a smile. That's what I want in the end, but I feel like even my dreams are becoming compromised as I push forward on my career. I get what you guys are saying, but I can't just drop my responsibilities.

It is so hard to get out of the work mindset and write or read a story; play a video game, or watch a movie for me anymore. The higher I climb the corporate ladder, the further removed I feel from other things in my life. In the last few weeks , I probably spent only 2 hours on any creative outlets or interactive activity. I watch TV but zone out the details. I even start watching reality TV, which I detest. I know it is considered a mental issue if you are detatched from reality, but what if you are detatched from fiction. Anyone else feels like this

So much doom and gloom Alrigh t some fun predictions: A new music genre combining latin dance, american rock, and pop will breakour Wearing a tank top in most public areas for guys is normal and being shirtless is considered fashionable, forcing a new push for exercise and diets On seasame street, Bert and Ernie will finally come out, marry, and adopt elmo, (not likely but fun to think about)

No flying cars, no colonies on the moon, and no Vulcans Can people predict the near term future of a few months or years better than distant future of decades from now? I want to start a thread where we all try to make predictions about the near term future under 10 years from now and explain why. I think it can be fun and if things come true or we're way off the mark, we could all look back at this thread like time capsule of our thoughts at any given time. I'll start: I predict within 10 years we will have regular commercial drone delivery and courier services througout the US and maybe even parts of Europe and Asia. The technology for commercial use of drones is there, but the organization behind it is still being constructed by companies like Amazon and UPS. It is definitely the next step to this technology beyond blowing people up or spying. Any now you....

Hm...sounds interesting, I wonder how suggestive Drugs aren't.cures for everything, sometimes they are merely crutches to live a semi normal life. It is a tragedy, but life itself is a drug too. Thrill seeking, excessive eating/drinking, and who knows what else are just as deadly. I am just a workaholic

Advertising is not supposed to be high art or blockbuster film quality, it is made to draw attention and sucker you in to these places. As for malls, not my cup of tea, I prefer outlets and fighting the other guy for a 70% off polo Ralph lauren during summer clearance. It is really fun to shop for bargains.

Unrelated thing about gamers: Come on kitty cat, gamers come in all sizes and shapes, the plus size guy stereotype is dead, just look at who takes on the madden challenge or the starcraft tourneys. The MMO guys are the closest thing to the stereotype. As for horror games like this, in my generation, we started this type of survival/horror gaming For those in their 20's and into this kind of game, you probably played one of the "fatal frame" games.

Happy birthday CIA!

I am a big gaymer and I love Creepypasta, which have some really interesting game related stories/urban legends. Slenderman is a modern Freddy Kreuger/Jason Vorhees/Sandman...He is one of the most iconic horror villains to come out in the last decade, but he is entirely based on the Internet. For me, this horror icon is not part of my generation, but I still like it and can understand its roots. Also, I got creeped out by this simple found fotage/Blair witch type game as well:

Happy Birthday from an admiring pup!

I'm not black, I'm not White. I am just a Chinese boy, who happens to like boys and is blind in one eye. Being gay and blind is already a rarity, race for me usually does not become a major subject. Yet, I know there is racism in the world; especially in the deep south. My oldest childhood friend is black; we're both blind in one eye and we're both highly intelligent. (I have a 132 IQ, he has 138). However, our lives diverge from there. While I got my Masters' degree and currently make upper five figures salary (average professional); my friend never finished college and is living off welfare/SSI supplemental income right now. When we were 12, his parents decided to move back to Alabama and I did not hear from him for 10 years. At 22, I got a phone call from him and we talked about life and how things were going. I was just starting my new job at that point as an accountant at my old company and felt grateful to have landed a job in 2009 despite the bad economy. He on the other hand could not find even a cleaning job, because he lacked "experience" and "did not fit" their requirements, i.e. code for physical disability. However, beyond that, he also pointed out something to me that I still remember. "{WL{ you're not black and don't get it. I know you've probably gotten dirty looks and stuff, but it's different. I go into a place looking for work and people give you slight glances. They think you won't notice, but even with just one eye, I can see 'em. I am a black man to them first, not some guy looking for work" This is Boston, not Memphis, not Biloxi, I really never thought that it mattered. I thought about that with the recent issues in Missouri with the Police officer shooting a black youth, Michael Brown. I know the back and forth, "He was trying to grab my gun", "He put his hands up", "the kid robbed a grocery store", and "This is just another case of southern racism". I get all those viewpoints, but there is something about this that I connect with. In my friend, I see untapped potential, who, in a better environment, could do more with his life. I don't have answers to this age old issue, but I do wonder if it will never go away.

Mmmmm...I'm hungry and that car is nice !

That's an epic road trip and it sounds like you got a lot of things worked through from it. I was in New York on Friday too, but I was in Flushing and only went over to Manhattan to catch my bus back up to Boston. While I hate New York traffic, it does give you time to think and wonder about all those things in life that had been, are happening, and might still be possible.

Depends on the person Hemingway was an alcoholic and he wrote some of his best work under the influence (Although, I do wonder if his editor ghost wrote some of his work) Some of the best ideas are invented while buzzed, (I am not counting facebook in this category though) I do believe that there is a functional alcohol consumption limit, but it is arbitrary based on the individual.

You know the other fish in the restaurant tank will be looking at you

He was a great comedian, an actor of extraordinary talent, and a great human being, who fought against many issues. If the preliminary reports are correct, he took his own life, sadly. He was a touchstone for all generations and will be missed.

"From the stars we came to the stars we return" May he rest in peace!

I know it is a cliche, two people date and think it is something meaningful, but one starts to feel like it is not working out. The guy breaking up first is usually villainized and the other partner is pitied. I have a problem with a guy that is sweet and nice, but we really can't speak to one another too well. He's Brazilian and it is so hard to understand him or even hold meaningful conversations. In addition to that, we have vastly different outlooks on life, i am a workaholic, who prefers quiet and peace outside of work. He's a fun loving guy, who likes dancing and clubs. The stereotype would lead you to think he'd break up with me for a hot twink, but he is completely loyal. I just don't think we work as a couple, but I lack the courage to just dump him. He has done nothing wrong to me, nor do I want to cheat on him. Inlike past loves, he is not emotionally needy, nor is my life interfering with us. I have talked to him about it, but he doesn't think we have an issue and thinks it will go away with time and a few cocktails. He's a good guy, but he's not right for me. Can any of you guya give me ideas on breaking up friendly.

Haha! I've never used a typewriter, thank god! However, this does make me want to buy one, stockpile paper, and white out for the Zombie Apocalyspse

Happy Anniversary! And Many more to come!