Tuesday, December 18, 2012

On my New Blog

So far I am having an absolute blast with my new blog, The Catholic Nerd. For one thing, it feels like this is the kind of writing I've always wanted to do, but haven't had the opportunity to (been too wrapped up in trying to sound professional and serious). For another, I get to do things like equate the atheistic version of God to a cross between Superman and Jason Voorhees, complete with picture.

Speaking of pictures, the only real problem I've run into so far is the fact that I keep having to delay posts until I can find and/or make the right illustrations. This has necessitated my re-installing Photoshop on my old laptop and spending a little too much time messing around in Garry's Mod. It also means that I generally have to wait until I get home to publish them, since I can't make the pictures at work. Like I could have posted my recent piece on atheism today, but I decided that I really needed a Time's Square ad from an uptight spinster to illustrate my point properly, and so I must delay.

I've got big plans for this blog. I'm hoping to make something really unique and wonderful out of it. Stay tuned!

Monday, December 17, 2012

Work Complaints

I've come to the conclusion that I don't much like my job. The pay's good, and all (though I confess I have an irrational dislike for benefits packages brought on by three years of dying a little inside everytime I hear the word 'healthcare'), and the environment is generally pretty quiet, and as long as I get my work done no one minds if I write or blog at work.

Okay, put like that, I have pretty much nothing to complain about, job-wise. Except for the insane uselessness of the accounts payable people. I mean, do they ever even read my e-mails? Cause if they do, they certainly don't act like it. One day I'm going to test them by writing the most incredibly insulting e-mail my twisted mind can create, and then when they complain I'll just say "Oh, so you do read my e-mails! So why do you never pay the phone bill like I ask you to, you..."

But I digress.

I suppose my real problem with my job is that I honestly don't care about it much. I have no interest in cars except as a means of transportation, and even less in car parts like wipers and lighting. I have even less in...whatever it is I actually work with. Numbers, and papers and that bloody SAP program and vendors who somehow keep managing to lose the numbers off of the purchase orders that they'd like to get paid for now. Then they start furiously complaining that they aren't getting paid soon enough when I tell them the PO is marked for payment next month and they yell at me for that, then I have to inform them that the company only pays twice a month, so it'll be another week and then the payment date falls on a weekend so...

There I go again.

It's not the fact of the problems; I know there'll be problems everywhere I work. It's the fact that these are such ridiculous and dull problems. They're the kind of problems that makes one think "what am I doing with my life?!" and then return to that fantasy of going down south and opening up a rattlesnake sanctuary (yes, I have seriously considered that. Rattlesnakes need protection too, you know!).

In any case, I am now firmly convinced that my future does not lie in the corporate world (or at least, not in administration). I will probably work here for at least another year or two, but I'll be looking for a way out. In the meantime, I thank God I have a good, steady job that isn't actively odious and that gives me time to write things like this.

Saturday, December 15, 2012

Day 7: Manhood Pt. 2

"What men in my life exemplify the qualities listed in Day 6?"

I've been fortunate enough to know a number of great exemplars of manliness in my own life. In the interest in space, however, I'm going to confine myself to three who particularly stand out:

My Father: The best example of manhood I know is my father, who exemplifies the qualities of strength channeled through duty. My father has always been there for us all while we were growing up. He never failed to tell us that he loved us, or to make it known that he would always support us.

My College Latin/Honors Teacher, Prof. Smith: Probably the finest scholar I ever knew, Prof. Smith was a large, white-bearded man who could control a class effortlessly while simultaneously dropping a classical philosophy of education as the uncovering of reality. I'd say I learned more from him in two years than in my entire prior education.

My Brother-in-Law, Seth: My brother-in-law  is an excellent example of Catholic manhood. He works as a mason (the job, not the secret society), plays guitar, and farms with my sister, their beautiful daughter, their dog, and a dozen or so chickens. Together they comprise the best example I know of a truly Catholic lifestyle.

P.S. I'm sorry this one took so long; I'm generally not very comfortable talking about people I know so directly online. I'll try to blog more regularly in the future.