It's Starting Now

Just a note for all those that aren't checking the new site regularly ...

The first post is up at TheLowestExpectations.blogspot.com.

There's also a place over there to sign up for regular updates, so that should keep everyone abreast with the new venture.

That is all.

The Jim

Just a note for all those that aren't checking the new site regularly ...

The first post is up at TheLowestExpectations.blogspot.com.

There's also a place over there to sign up for regular updates, so that should keep everyone abreast with the new venture.

That is all.

The Jim

That's All, Folks!

The new website is up. I'm going to be reviewing "stuff" on a weekly basis. I have no idea if the new site will have any more staying power than the last one, but I think it's worth a shot.

If you have any interest, go check out TheLowestExpectations.blogspot.com

I guess that's it. Thanks to everyone who bothered to read and comment on this - my first attempt at writing for public consumption. For a brief period, I enjoyed this thing.

So long!
The Jim

Almost There

So I think I've figured out what I'm going to do next. It's nothing earth-shattering, but it could work ... Maybe ... I guess ... Who am I kidding? It'll probably fall apart in a month.

Anyway, I'm still setting it up. And as always, I take my advice from the greatest Mars-based movie ever. So, I'll be starting with the new site in ... TWO WEEKS!

I'll post a link here when I'm ready,

Until next time,
The Jim

So, After a Brief Delay ...

So you ever meet someone at a party, or your first day of work, or some other social situation? You get introduced to someone, but you didn’t quite hear the name, and 1000 people are coming at you. You see the guy again a few days later, and he says hi, but you’re busy with some paperwork or a phone call, so you don’t try to catch his name then. Then a week goes by and another week, and finally, you’ve been working with a guy or living next to someone for 2 months but you have NO idea what his name is.

At that point, it’s just too awkward to ask, because you sound like an idiot. Now you have to find a smooth way to work back into an introduction, but there’s no good way to do that. Every day that goes by, it’s more awkward, and OF COURSE he knows your name, so that just makes you the jerk!

Well, as odd as the analogy sounds, that’s exactly what happened on this half-ass site. I took a break briefly because I had a ton of things going on. Then every week that I got further and further out of habit, it became harder and harder to find time to write. And when you realize that a grand total of 4 people are following your ramblings on your latest trivial interest, it’s hard to stay motivated. Eventually, 1.5 years go by, and you want to start up again, but you have no good way to get back to it.

So here we are. In the last 1.5 years, my wife and I have had about 5 job crises, a graduation, a new job (for her), a promotion – of sorts (for me), 2 nephews born, 2 sisters wed, a mother-in-law remarried, financial struggles, a family cancer diagnosis, and 3 miscarriages. And I also got a Playstation 3.

Yesterday, I heard my future child’s heartbeat for the first time. That’s neither here nor there, but while I’m listing my recent history, I thought I should top it off with that.

I’ve decided to get started writing again. My incredibly inflated ego will almost assuredly continue to harbor grand delusions that I’ll have an ever-growing thong of admirers. In reality, I’ll be lucky to have the same 5 people reading my crap that used to do so.

That being said, I need a clean restart. I mean, it worked for Batman – why wouldn’t it work for me? I’m still working on developing some sort of regular theme beyond “The Jim’s Stupid Complaints”, but that may be all we get. I’ll still keep this site up as an archive (because – again - my inflated ego thinks an archive of my brilliance is required).

I’m going to spend a week or two coming up with the next step, and I’ll post updates here to redirect to the new place.

Until next time,
The Jim

Getting My Name Out There

After the recent job craziness, I'm trying to make a conscious effort to improve my networking. Now, I'm not very good at chit-chat with random strangers ... that's really more of a Mrs. The Jim talent ... but I still need to get a few people in town to actually know who I am.

Many of you probably already know about LinkedIn. Instead of "social" networking, this is a site dedicated strictly to professional networking and contacts. I won't go into the details of the thing (I barely know them myself), but it's something I started using during the job search thing.

Well, one of the elements of the site is that you can upload a picture to go with your name, job history, résumé, etc.. This, I would think, helps you to stand out, as well as making you more memorable.

So, I've been looking through some of my options for a picture. Here's a few:

#1) The Grinning Buffoon:


This was a picture my last employer took to possibly use for marketing materials. Needless to say, they went with a different head shot. I don't know why, but I have an extremely difficult time looking natural when trying to smile for photos. That fact, though, doesn't excuse whatever I'm doing with my eyes.

#2) The Big Shot:


Smoke makes me gag and wheeze like an idiot, and yet I decided it would be a good idea to smoke a Cuban cigar in Mexico during by bachelor party. This shot looks ridiculous in its own right, but it's even better when you consider I couldn't breathe for about 10 minutes after it was taken.

#3) The Seersucker Pimp:


If I was more secure in myself professionally, or if I thought engineering companies had a sense of humor, I'd put this out in a second. Alas, I don't think this will cut it. (Side note: This picture is currently serving as the logo for my painfully mediocre fantasy football team. Yes, I am exactly THAT geeky.)

#4) Soldier of Fortune:


This is a personal favorite of a reader, so I felt obliged to include it. Everyone has an embarrassing photo from their high school days. What sets me apart ... this is one of the LEAST embarrassing pictures of me from that time. Seriously, I actually think that's not that bad, considering some of the other horrors I've unearthed.

#5) The Relief Pitcher:


Really, I could have gone with any of the photos from The Beard Experiment, but this shot has at least one or two fans. I can't imagine anything more damaging professionally than using this picture as my "Business Jim" face.

After looking through my large image collection, it's painfully obvious that I don't really take good pictures. Maybe I should go get a Glamor Shot done. They still do those, right?

Until next time,
The Jim

Haiku Wednesday XXVII: The Inevitable

Amid the chaos,
Shrieks of grief resound for miles.
My winning streak ends!

Since the college football season has started, I've been in the mode to play some video football. I restarted my college football seasons on the Wii, and have played almost 4 seasons with fake Texas A&M.

I had gradually ratcheted up the difficulty on the competition and after some early stumbles, I just kept winning. I had a 39-game winning streak going into tonight. Alas, it finally ended.

It was a crazy game, with 15 combined turnovers, and with me almost coming back from a 31-0 deficit. True, it's extraordinarily meaningless, but it still pissed me off to finally see it all end.

Of course, what all of this really means is that my wife is staying in Fort Worth for 4 straight days due to school responsibilities, and I'm really, really bored.

Until next time,
The Jim