The State of Steve

Sorry for not posting today. I actually have the day off, one of the benefits of working for a government contractor (actually, the long story is that it was our Good Friday off, but then that was broken out to be a floating holiday, which became cumbersome to manage, so they just choose Presidents Day). And I though I was going to get a lot done. There were some household chores that needed to be done. I did get those done. Then there was some homework. Which I didn't think would take too long, but ended up soaking up the rest of the day. So I didn't get to the writing parts I had wanted.

One of the things that was also supposed to happen today was to close on a refinance of the house. The papers they sent on Friday, however, were dated for Friday. And banks are also closed today, so we couldn't do that. We're refinancing to get a lower rate. While the rate we are getting isn't the lowest out there, it is actually a second mortgage which means the cost is zero. So while we're paying a full percentage point higher than what we could get, because there are no costs we stand to save an extra $2500. As you know, Bob, we're paying off our loan faster than our schedule (if you can afford to do it early, it really is a great deal). Right now we're looking at another 5 years of payments (if we can keep to our same monthly rate of paying). Now, with the lower rate we would have shaved off almost a full year and saved around $4000, but it was going to cost us $3000 to do that. So final savings would have been around $1000 (if we could keep to payments). One of the goals was to get lower minimum payment as we head into the reboot where I will be going to school full time (in a year or two). So having a lower monthly minimum would be a big help if it comes down to it. So with the higher percentage, we only gain a month and a half of possible payments, and we're only saving around $3500. But because there's no costs involved, all that is ours. And the minimum monthly payment is only $20 more.

On the health side of things, I gained around 12 lbs over the holidays. So far it's been rough getting it off, but I think I'm on a good curve downward now. Although when I did my weigh in last week I was still 4 lbs heavier than my last one. Whoops. I've had a cold for the past week, and that's been knocking me down as well. I eventually had to go and beg for the Sudefed behind the counter to help dry up the head (H1 blockers, yeah!). The calf muscle continues to get better. I think I'm going to try going without the brace this week. I'm still using a cane when I'm out, but not in the house (yes, I should, but it's a pain in the ass, and I don't walk around all that much at home). The worse thing, however, is my pinched nerve is acting up. More than likely it's flared up from being twisted around at work by trying to elevate the leg and having been moved to an office to work on uber Top Secret project. Plus being on the phone with the boss for a few hours before saying, "Hell, I'm in an office, I'll put this on speaker." It's still strange to feel pain in my shoulder and arm, but know the actual problem is in my vertebra.

I really hate that pain, btw. It's difficult to get into a comfortable position. Also, the therapy I'm using is a cervical tension devise which isn't much fun (especially with a stuffed up nose, and the chin strap pretty much keeps the mouth closed).

And then there's that project at work. I can't talk about it too much, but let's just say that the stress is driving me crazy. Not to mention that it's not like I don't already have a metric ton of work to do, most of which is already late. Sigh. This being the only designer in a half billion dollar company (which means there should be 3 of us, at least) is starting to drag a little.

And finally we come to the writing, of which there has been a paltry amount of words since the beginning of the year. Between work, commute, classes, chores, etc there has been little time left for me. I could probably scrap out a few hours in the week, but I find myself just mindlessly watching TV. Only when it's time to go to bed do I think, "Damn, I should have been writing just then." And then I forget the next time. Sigh. Must. Get. Back. In. Groove. So, I've moved the laptop to the table. Hopefully this will be a reminder to work on the writing. I wrote a lot of Bladesman at the table. And that's where I am now (having finally finished the homework).

Sorry for the typos (of which I'm sure there's more than a few). I was also using this entry as a test bed. One, it's been about 10 minutes to type all this. And I typed it directly into the blogger interface (which I haven't done for ages). So the good news is that I can get words out. Now I just need to directed them toward the WIP.

So that's me. Hope you all have been faring better.