10 Things I Learned This Week

1. People Love Albert!
While some people clearly aren't very perceptive, the Albert being mentioned in comments this past week is Einstein, the regular picture that comes with your Sunday dose of iBlog. Love Albert all you want, but you still can't call the future wife "that broad in a hoodie" no matter what... thems fightin' words!

2. About the Dominican...
We're still going, it just might be with an entirely different provider. We're doing everything we can to get away from Marlin Travel and recoup some of the money that we've already shelled out for their craptacular service and have a local agent looking into things for us from this end. Words don't fully convey how angry I am about all this...

3. So Work Sucks
Back in September when I was hired out here, it was as a full-time bartender. Here is what that means to me: 30-40 hours a week predominantly behind a bar. Here is what it actually means: anywhere from 7-20 hours serving, occasionally in the bar. Ski season kicked off in earnest yesterday and while I worked a solid 4.5 hours, the $30 bucks I brought home in tips wasn't worth it.

4. Changing Directions
Yesterday being so crappy and the hours / tips ratio being what it's been out here got me to doing a lot of thinking last night. What I came up with is that all my spare time, every waking moment, has to be devoted to making money from my writing. That means an even stronger presence on The Love of Sports and a focus on my book and less time, unfortunately, some of the other places, this blog not included. I couldn't deprive you of your daily Spencer fix...

5. In the Words of Dr. Evil...
It's Frickin' Freezing! We've been getting slapped upside the head with a killer cold front for the last ten days and the temperature hasn't climbed above -20. Let me put it to you this way: when I take the dog for a walk, my fingers still get that burning cold sensation in them even though I have monstrous snowboarding gloves on. On a positive note, we still don't have much heat on in the condo and it's not that cold in here...

6. Speaking of the Condo...
She's pretty close to finished! Purchased our couch on Tuesday, they drop her off on Friday and we're all re-arranged and setup the way we like and it looks good. Pictures coming soon to Facebook.

7. Thursday is Christmas?
Where the hell did December go? Did we really move out here more than two months ago? 2008 is just about over? Was I in a coma for part of the year? How it's already been a year since the Bambi Incident is beyond me...

8. For All the Bitching I Did...
I really miss my crew from Montana's. I've stayed in touch with a bunch of them and now that I'm working in a similar enviro with different people, I realize how awesome it was to go into work with people you enjoyed seeing and hanging out with. Not that I don't like a couple people out here, but as a whole, the Montana's Crew kicked some serious ass!

9. By The Way, I Fell Off the Wagon
But I'm guessing you all knew that as soon as I stopped bragging about how well I was doing with the smokes. What can I say? I love to smoke... cough cough cough cough cough

10. 2008 has been the Best Year Yet
In every aspect of my life, this was the best year of them all. I got engaged, got a dog, got some great opportunities and met some great people. Here's hoping the pattern continues and 2009 turns out even better!

Have a safe and happy holidays everyone!