mdog : u n l e a s h e d

what!

just got back from the glory that is grandville/grand rapids, michigan, from a mars hill bible church conference. rob bell spoke. and i really only put that last sentence in here so that i can watch my google search hits skyrocket to astronomical heights. good sessions, good thoughts, good times. much to process.

thanks for the invite, paul... it was a great time with great people. i love road trips!

Posted on Wednesday, January 24, 2007 at 06:47PM by

mdog |

10 Comments

smile vs frown

[via toothpastefordinner]

Posted on Friday, January 19, 2007 at 08:30AM by

mdog |

11 Comments

semantics

me: maybe we're just cynics.

kt: i think we're... thoughtful consumers of information.

me: okay, so, i'm a cynic. you're a diplomat.

Posted on Thursday, January 18, 2007 at 09:58AM by

mdog |

5 Comments

$1

between the use of a food discount that i believe was entered incorrectly, and a surprisingly gracious auto repair business, my entire lunch and trip to the shop was one dollar. it's a good day so far.

huddle tire is my new favorite business. not only have they, in the past, allowed retrieval of my car after it was clearly closing time; they have also, today, fixed a leak in my brake line. for free. and fully within the scope of my one hour lunch break. i will smell like the tires in their waiting room for the next thirteen hours, but this matters not to me. friendly, knowledgeable, reasonably priced. if you are in athens, i totally recommend them.

Posted on Wednesday, January 17, 2007 at 12:19PM by

mdog |

6 Comments

frosty

nothing like several days of moisture trapped in your car to create frost on the inside of the windshield during a cold snap.

a thought i had while scraping That Maddeningly Thin But Still Opaque Layer Of Frost off all of my car's windows, except the rear windshield: we should really have front windshield defrosters. not the fan kind, the heating element kind. surely we can find a way to make those transparent, no?

Posted on Wednesday, January 17, 2007 at 08:40AM by

mdog |

6 Comments

uninspired

i just now wrote that title planning to say something humdrum about encouraging you cingular users to call me, since i am now on the free mobile-to-mobile bandwagon. but now that i think of it, i suppose "uninspired" could be a multi-purpose description for several life areas.

i know it's a bad idea to blog about work, but, what the hell. besides, i'm not sure it's workplace-specific, anyway. i've been wondering for awhile now if i will ever be in a place where i am not constantly scanning the help wanted ads. i know i'm not entirely fickle, as i was quite thrilled with my first "real" job for some time. i enjoyed the work, my co-workers were great, my direct supervisor was fantastic; morale was high, the grants were rolling in. it was a good two or three years until i really started looking for an escape, mainly due to upper management after my ex-direct-supervisor went back to grad school, partly due to wondering if the organization [and i use that term loosely] was just going to flop over and die. at any rate, i escaped through a rabbit hole and into an only slightly less dysfunctional workplace. no real policies, procedures, or communication; no room [or desire] to move up. on the bright side, i no longer have to worry about scraping together money for payroll and accounts payable from various funding sources. which, believe me, is a total score.

i don't even know why i'm talking about all this. what it comes down to is that while i do enjoy accounting in some sick sort of way... who really cares? or, as kt aptly describes, it's a "make believe" job. i mean, sure, in any culture we technically need people who can count and keep track of things, or in katie's case, people who can give counsel and guide others through trying times and conditions. but really? ask me to do basic things like grow food, or construct shelter, or build a fire, and i'm toast. and i know it's irrational, but sometimes i just have to follow the logical conclusion that i have a make believe job based on make believe rules set forth by make believe laws and somehow at some point we have accepted the fact that we have made things unnecessarily complicated just because... well... i don't know. because we can, i suppose. i can't figure out if it's the "make believe" aspect of things that leaves me uninspired, or if it's the organization, or the management, or the co-workers, or what. i hold on to the hope that given the proper mix of environment and purpose, i can put my skills to use and actually feel fulfilled in the workplace.

i can't recall ever seriously thinking i would be anything other than an accountant [though i did toy briefly with the thought of being a music major in college; of course, my much stronger practical side won out]. so it really throws me off when i start wondering if i want to do this for the rest of my life. i don't even know what else to contemplate as an alternative. marketing was my second major, but that seems like an even more make believe job. i'm fascinated by the counseling profession, but that's about as far as i go. hell, i didn't even take psych 111 in undergrad.

on top of all this is the knowledge [fallacy?] that there will always be some bigger and better job out there. gone are the days of loyalty to an organization, of working for 40+ years and trusting there will be a pension at the end of the rainbow. we aren't into commitment. we're into ourselves.

and anyway, i've been thinking lately that i could use any random skills i have and be perfectly happy as long as the environment and management are right, because thus far, i've never wanted to leave a job because of the actual tasks i'm called upon to do.

wow. this might possibly be the most disjointed post in the history of unleashed.

but seriously? call me if you're on cingular.

Posted on Sunday, January 14, 2007 at 10:29PM by

mdog |

8 Comments

alternatives

posters

[via dooce]

game, with updates here and here

[via kamp krusty; thanks to paul for the link]

Posted on Friday, January 12, 2007 at 12:19PM by

mdog |

sweet... sweetness

go watch this movie.
do not rent; buy.
trust me.

Posted on Wednesday, January 10, 2007 at 01:26PM by

mdog |

11 Comments

41-14?

oy.

Posted on Tuesday, January 9, 2007 at 08:20AM by

mdog |

5 Comments

self-referential

"mdog reminded us that all things are made new again. new year. new quarter. i really appreciate the freedom i feel in that. it's nice to remember that i don't have to be anything just because i once was."

- via liz [emphasis mine]

i'm referencing a blog that is referencing my blog. how's that for ego stroking? metablogging, if you will.

reinvention. it seems that whenever we move -- whether it be to new cities, houses, schools, jobs, or even just through time [happy new year!] -- we inevitably think something along the lines of, "well, we can start with a clean slate." it makes sense, really. who doesn't like a fresh start? new places, new people, new perspective. what better time to reinvent?

it sounds promising; refreshing. positive. if you're anything like me, though, there is sometimes more to it than moving towards a wide open future. the subtext behind the "clean slate" train of thought is that there is a certain amount of regret; perhaps some bad decisions or experiences. or the uneasy feeling that we could have done more, or better.

it's nice to remember that i don't have to be anything just because i once was.

a few months ago i had some realizations, things i discovered about myself that i wanted to change. i wanted to become more open, or maybe responsive is a better word. a little less reserved; a little more affectionate. more self-aware and others-aware, and more aware in general of how the two affect and relate to one another. less angry that what i do and what i say and how i look will always, always be taken into account before anyone even gets to the inside, and more accepting that this is just how things are. more comfortable with who i am, no matter how comfortable i feel already. i think i've done this to some small extent. not nearly as much as i would like... but it is a start.

i wonder what would happen if we would just start working on whatever it is we want to change about ourselves, whenever we get the thought or urge. we don't need to move, we don't need to change jobs, and we certainly don't need to wait until a shiny ball drops in times square.

what we once were is not what we have to be in the future. maybe we can begin to appreciate the freedom in that.

Posted on Saturday, January 6, 2007 at 01:21PM by

mdog |

5 Comments