The Life and Times of Jim
Hi, there. I'm Jim. Welcome to my phlog!
This site was written for Las Vegas, then LouisVille. Now, it seems to be about anywhere. In these phlogs, you'll see a lot of my personal notes and pictures. I like to post my observations here to remember life and celebrate it. I'm not religious. I don't pray for good fortune. I'm ecstatically grateful for the gift of life and I think our time should be remembered and not taken for granted. I'm not a writer. I think pictures tell stories so much better than words. I love just about everything in this life, and, I guess that would have to include you. So, if you've seen me, don't be surprised if your picture is in here somewhere. Of all the critters, people are absolutely the most interesting. 
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Tue 
02/10/2009 23:23:50
 jim  A Song Writes Itself, Everyday of Our lives
I'm working in a new office. The people there are great! I can't think of a group of people that I've enjoyed more.
Its a family of sorts, and I feel like I've been invited in.
If my life were a song, it would be happy one.
And I'm proud to say, if I had the chance to do anything differently, I wouldn't change a thing.
Its all been a pleasure. This life has been a beautiful gift. I couldn't imagine anything better.
Sun 
02/08/2009 11:34:02
 jim   Apt Snow Melting - 2009/02/08
Sun 
02/08/2009 02:46:49
 jim  Music, Pictures and Memories
I realize I'm about the only person who reads this blog. That's kind of nice. I can say things here that aren't said anywhere else.
My thoughts at the moment are about Music and pictures, both of which I've collected throughout my lifetime.
I have over 17,000 pictures, and 1,000s of songs.
They each have a deep meaning to me.
I was just listening to Don't Speak by No Doubt.
In an instant, I am in my truck, parked at the Mgm Grand garage. That was the moment that I decided it was time to get divorced. Our marriage was dead. Drinking was all we had. My life was propelled by my desires, and hers were restricted by fear. With that combination, our destiny would have been to drink ourselves to death. Without words, a plan was set into action. The plan was to help her find happiness, so I could have mine. It took a year, but it worked. Now she's happy, and now I'm happy. We are still friends. The love wasn't lost. But it was that initial thought began in my truck, in the parking lot of the Mgm Grand, listenning to Don't Speak.
When I hear a song, or see a picture, something amazing happens.
Almost in 4D, my mind puts me in that time. I can smell the flora. I can feel the weather. My emotions match the time.
Even those pictures of when I was only 3 years old, I can remember that kid voice in my mind, with those scrambled thoughts, and its amazement of everything that I assumed would last forever. Lying on the grass, picking clover with my mom stands out. I asked her why everything was so beautiful.
Its easy to forget who we are, and what we stand for.
We are born to be something. We all have our functions to perform. Just what they are isn't quite so clear. But for me, I believe I've done what I was supposed to do.
In this blog, I hope to show a life that has gone by. The ups and downs show in pictures and thoughts.
One thing that should be clear, is, that I was never in control of anything. I was just following the plan that I was born to accomplish.
And the planner is so much bigger than any of us.
There's a universe much larger than the one we can see with our eyes
That universe is in our minds. It defies nature. It can freeze time, and can even reverse it. It can create. It can destroy.
Its where I live in times like now, in the middle of the morning. Thats when I go back and visit all of my loved ones and enjoy moments with them.
It is not insane to remember the loved ones in your mind. It is insane to think they exist in the world outside of your mind.
Fri 
02/06/2009 20:42:34
 jim  When Places Become People
There seems to be a time when a place just isn't just a place anymore.
Memories of the cold streets, faceless buildings, fields of grass, quiet bridges and empty streams become alive with the people that you shared memories with.
You'd know the feeling if you'd ever lost a love one. Every place you go reminds you of that person.
All of those fun times you had together come back like faint images on a foggy morning.
As contractors we know that we are dispensable employees.
We carry an emptiness inside us where ever we go.
From town to town, from group to group, we know it will end. In our hearts, we are saying goodbye when we say hello.
But sometimes...only sometimes....there are places that feel like home.
I've had that feeling in Louisville, San Diego and Pittsburgh. People knew my name and for a short time I had a sense of belonging.
It's odd that a sensitive person like myself would pick a profession where I'm a drifter, and I fear if I didn't have Becky to come along with me, I'd lose my mind.
Her memories and my pictures tie the times together, seemingly giving them purpose.
Today was a sad day for me.
We're changing offices at work. The people I've grown to like and admire so much, will be separated from us. All of the drifters like myself will be corralled together.
Changing faces, changing places. Memories past.
Once again, work will be just a job with endless computer correspondence and my life will be a cubical, with a monitor for a view.
Sometime soon, I'll be sitting at my desk at home.
I'll have those wonderful morning conversations with my brother, and I'll look in my back yard, and remember those 40 someone odd people that have lived in my home.
I guess, in the end, when everything falls apart, I will have been the glue thats held at least a few things together.
Fri 
02/06/2009 11:53:05
 jim  Packing Up Shop - 2009/02/02
Thu 
02/05/2009 18:58:11
 jim   Smokey Bones - 2009/02/05
Thu 
02/05/2009 15:06:17
 jim  I am going to miss these views - 2009/02/05
Tue 
02/03/2009 06:58:09
 jim  Greed is Good
'The point is, ladies and gentleman, that greed, for lack of a better word, is good.
Greed is right,
Greed works.
Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit.
Greed, in all of its forms: greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge, has marked the upward surge of mankind.'
- Gordon Gekko (Gekko was the main character in Oliver Stone's 1987 film Wall Street)
As long as someone has money, they'll spend it, and when they do, we'll have jobs.
Mon 
02/02/2009 02:26:32
 jim  The Steelers Win Their Sixth!!!
Sun 
02/01/2009 13:09:50
 jim  Apt Snow - 2009/01/29
Fri 
01/30/2009 19:54:50
 jim  North Park Lounge - 2009/01/30
Fri 
01/30/2009 11:56:14
 jim  Steelers Party - 2009/01/30
Wed 
01/28/2009 12:10:18
 jim  Wexford Apt Blizzard - 2009/1/28
Sun 
01/25/2009 14:32:26
 jim  Wexford Apt Snow - 2009/01/25
Sun 
01/25/2009 14:32:26
 jim   (Reply)..Wexford Apt Snow - 2009/01/25
When in Pittsburgh, do as Pittsburghers do. That's Becky wearing her Steeler paraphernalia.
Without these colors, our pictures would be on milk cartons.
Sat 
01/24/2009 00:00:10
 jim  Computer Problems
Fri 
01/23/2009 18:14:13
 jim  Heinz Stadium Rally
Thu 
01/22/2009 04:26:52
 jim  Obama Day - I am Jazzed About It
Mon 
01/19/2009 21:30:14
 jim  Martin Luther What?
My alarm clock went off at 6 am.
I got up, took my shower, put on my five layers of clothes, and sat down at the computer, to play with some programs.
The truck was buried in snow.
I had to dig my way through to the windshield. The roads were icy.
I ended up coming into work late.
When I got to work at 8:30,
the parking lot was empty,
I remember thinking,
Maybe my job went bankrupt!!!
The good thing about this morning:
I finished a program that lets me take pictures from my camera and put them almost directly to this website.
That means, most of the 17,000 pictures I've taken will soon be here. Cool, huh. The program is a Visual Basic.Net program. Also, LvDude is finally a .Net website. I converted it today too. What a day!!
Mon 
01/19/2009 13:40:30
 jim  Seattle - A year ago today
glitter graphics
Sun 
01/18/2009 20:20:50
 jim  Another Snowy Weekend has come and gone
Sun 
01/18/2009 20:19:22
 jim  Circuit City is closing...so sad
That leaves Best Buy and Walmart for Electronics.
Of course, there is Ultimate Electronics and Frys in Vegas.
Remember CompUsa?
Remember Chrysler and General Motors?
Hmmm.....Things are happening slowly, so slowly that a lot of us don't even notice.
Fri 
01/16/2009 07:32:29
 jim  Awwwe Cool!!! Its -8 Degrees in Pittsburgh
What we've got here is another ICE AGE !
Questions pop up into my head like:
Will my car battery work?
Will my hand stick to metal?
What temperature does gas freeze at?
Oh, and why is gasoline called gas?
I broke down, and bought a game computer.
It should be in the mail any day now. Its a Wii. My thinking was, its so cold out there, we're not going anywhere this winter. Staying at home could save our lives.
This winter, Wii is saving Us.
Wed 
01/14/2009 21:50:38
 jim  Where have we been?
Wed 
01/14/2009 17:18:16
 jim  20090114 Pennsylvania Snow
Mon 
01/05/2009 22:37:35
 jim  The Netherland Orange Festival

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