So how is 2009 working out for me so far you ask?  Well aside from the knifing sensation I’ve been feeling on my left face that had me screaming at the top of my lungs like a 6 year old girl in sheer agony for the past few days, 2009 is going just swimmingly. 

Right before New Year’s Eve I started feeling a dull ache near my left ear, which eventually turned into a full blown horror show of aches and pains that reduced me to a whimpering ball of misery.  I was in the bathroom when 2008 turned to 2009, (you could say I literally crapped for a year), then came out and cried for a while in my bed with a heat pad on my face until sleep mercifully brought me some relief.  Once again there would be no midnight kisses for this little wussy boy.  I hadn’t been able to eat for the past two days either.

It seems fitting that 2008 would go out like this, since it had been the year that saw me crippled with a garden variety of health problems that made me utterly miserable, and I’m only beginning to come out of the woods now.  My jaw ache (which I think was due to TMJ syndrome) finally began to dissipate yesterday, and even though I was in severe pain before, I still managed to clear a month’s load of work at my job so I could get a fresh start for the new year.  I left early on Friday and was able to recuperate for the rest of the weekend.

I even found time to add a new feature here called “Asides.”    There were many occasions when I wanted to express a thought or two on my blog, but it didn’t justify taking up an entire post for since these thoughts were never more than a sentence or two long.  Usually I reserve this kind of “micro-blogging” for Twitter instead, but I was never comfortable seeing all my brilliant one-liners disappear into the Twitterverse without a record of it being on my blog.

So… with a little bit of tweaking and the help of a few plugins, now every tweet I make will also be posted to my blog in a vanilla “Aside” format.  I’m even able to exclude them from my newsfeed so it doesn’t get inappropriately mixed in with my normal blog posts as well.  Am I awesome or what? 

This setup should be really good for filling the gap between blog posts, as well as please loyal readers who don’t use Twitter.

Now if you’ll excuse me, since I never had my midnight kiss, I’m treating myself to a glass of choco milk and a bowl of Hershey’s Kisses. 

Tags: agony, bathroom, health, health problems, midnight kiss, new year, newsfeed, plugins, TMJ syndrome, twitter
Categories: Lincoln's Personal Log
 
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I love blogging, especially when it gives me the opportunity to read some of my old posts and have a good laugh at what a stupid moron I am.  Case in point: check out my new year’s eve post from a year ago:

Still, there’s something about the coming year that makes me think I may be in for something different this time. The number 8 is said to symbolize new beginnings, and man, after this awful stretch I’ve been in since the turn of the millennium, a new beginning sounds just like what the doctor ordered.

Here’s what I hope I’ll be able to accomplish in 2008:

1. Clear up my health problems and get strong again (vith ripplin’ mosscles to impress de vooomen.)
2. Generate a stable income of at least $1250 a month via my blog.
3. Get out of my dead end job and find a new career, whether it’s with another agency or by becoming self employed.
4. Move somewhere else, either out of state, or to nowhere in particular, depending on how successful I am in earning a living off the Internet.
5. Meet the girl of my dreams.

What in crap’s name was I smoking that day.

Yeah, I think it’s pretty much safe to say now that I have accomplished absolutely none of these things.  In fact a month later my health got even worse, starting with my hands suddenly going numb, then my right foot, then my tongue.  It was like somebody had poured Novocaine on parts of my body or something.  Weirdest, most unsettling feeling ever too.  Then flecks of blood would come out every time I blew my nose, and I started having weird breathing problems as well.  Then I had a neck cramp, where if I turned my head slightly to the left, I would shriek like a 6 year old girl in pain, and man, that cramp stuck around for several months before it finally went away.  Through it all I was always fatigued and completely without energy.  It really killed whatever aspirations I had for the year, and yet for whatever reason I refused to see a doctor.  I guess going through all that made me kind of give up on life in general, not to mention all the goals I had.

And then of course, the economy blew up in our faces and the Antichrist’s little mini-me won the election.  Great year, huh? 

So yeah, I’m very much glad that this sucky-mcducky suck-a-butt crapfest of a year is finally over.  But in spite of all the major setbacks I experienced, I have the oddest feeling that 2009 is going to be the year that 2008 wasn’t.  I’m finally planning to see a doctor in January to get myself tested every which way so I can find out what’s wrong with me, and force myself to get back on the path to being strong and healthy again.  I also have something in the works to bring myself the traffic I need so I can finally earn money through this blog, and I’m also on an accelerated repayment plan to pay off my car loan and college loan, making me completely debt free by July.  Once that happens I’ll be making plans to move as well.  Maybe it won’t be out of state, but at least it will be far, far away from the awful memories of this evil town.

And then of course, there’s the event that made me truly believe that the girl of my dreams was real, and that she will be there waiting for me once I decide to stop being such a weenie.

So… 2009 will have to be the year that I man up for real.  The world is after all in grave danger, and desperately needs a hero now more than ever.  I for one am just studly enough for the job, ready to ride on my Black Stallion to save the day and get the girl, all to the tune of INXS, but of course. 

Happy New Year!

Tags: aspirations, black stallion, blog, debt, election, failure, fatigue, girl of my dreams, health problems, hero, new beginnings, new year, number 8, resolutions, world
Categories: Lincoln's Personal Log
 
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In all my years on this planet, I don’t think I’ve ever kept a single New Year’s resolution. Doesn’t stop me from making them though.

Still, there’s something about the coming year that makes me think I may be in for something different this time. The number 8 is said to symbolize new beginnings, and man, after this awful stretch I’ve been in since the turn of the millennium, a new beginning sounds just like what the doctor ordered.

Here’s what I hope I’ll be able to accomplish in 2008:

1. Clear up my health problems and get strong again (vith ripplin’ mosscles to impress de vooomen.)
2. Generate a stable income of at least $1250 a month via my blog.
3. Get out of my dead end job and find a new career, whether it’s with another agency or by becoming self employed.
4. Move somewhere else, either out of state, or to nowhere in particular, depending on how successful I am in earning a living off the Internet.
5. Meet the girl of my dreams.

As you can see, I have very modest ambitions.

Even though my basic goals of moving and finding a new job are the same, they may be realized in different ways. I might settle for simply finding another job (possibly with the feds) and moving to wherever that new job might be, but ultimately I would like to be self employed, and earn a living by blogging and perhaps doing affiliate marketing online. Doing so would allow me to fulfill what’s been a growing dream of mine: to travel and live from state to state as a working nomad, where the road would be my home. I’ve never felt at home here, and the thought of being tied down to one job in one location for x amount of years is about as appealing to me as doing time on Rikers Island.

Besides, I’ve always harbored the suspicion that my dream girl was never anybody local, and if I were to find her I needed the freedom of being able to travel and stay anywhere.

So, will 2008 be THE year? Time will tell, but it’s looking more and more like my fate will ultimate hang on 2008. As for 2007, I bid good riddance to that crapola of a year.

See you all on the other side!

Tags: affiliate marketing, ambitions, different ways, doing time, dream girl, earning a living, fate, feds, health problems, job, new beginnings, new year, nomad, number 8, resolutions, suspicion
Categories: Lincoln's Personal Log
 
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After a little over a year of this blog being online, I have finally reached my 200th post!

I have to admit that’s kind of sad. After a year’s time I should have had twice as many posts by now, and if I had stuck with posting at least one entry a day, my traffic would be ten times what it is now. Maybe.

Oh well, the good news is that when it comes to blogging, it’s all about endurance, and I just have to keep at it, even if I still don’t know what the heck this blog should be about. I went from thinking this blog would be based on my experiences in law school (and ultimately the legal field), only to end up griping about how online dating bites the big one, and how my health problems has been sucking out the life out of me, and how I think God is to blame for every little thing that has ever gone wrong in my life since I came out of the womb.

Still, I’m beginning to see the value in posting at least one entry a day. It’s helping me find my rhythm, and as the writing continues to flow I think I’ll eventually find my muse as well. It’s just a matter of time. Meanwhile my more frequent posting has already had an impact on traffic. I seem to be ranking highly in Google again, and as a result more people are coming from the search results they’re finding there.

I’m reminded of the Scripture, “Let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.“

And I guess that’s the important thing. No matter if I haven’t found my niche yet, or how bad my writing can get at times. Just gotta keep at it… keep going… let nothing break my stride, and just keep on movin’…

Tags: blog, blogging, dating, endurance, experiences, God, google, health problems, law school, matter of time, miletone, muse, niche, rhythm, Scripture, traffic, womb, writing
Categories: Lincoln's Personal Log
 
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I finally found a use for the Restatements of Torts and Contracts that I bought to help prep for law school.

I put some of the books between my mattresses to boost my bed at an angle, which should help with my acid reflux.

It seems fitting too, because I simply don’t give a crap about law school anymore until my chronic acid reflux/heartburn is completely healed. I’m beginning to realize attending law school this year is going to take a miracle anyway, beginning with my health problems going away, dropping all the excess weight I’ve been carrying around, and seeing all the pieces fall into place, from my class schedules to being able to prep enough material in advance of school. Then of course there’s the money involved. I have tentatively decided I will not attend law school until and unless every dime of it is already paid for. Ironically enough I would probably end up being more useful to the human race being debt free and without a law degree, than I would be if I were a newly minted attorney who also happened to have a $100,000 loan he’ll have to repay for the next 30 years.

Oh well. I believe in miracles, so it can all certainly happen in time for autumn, but if not, I could always fall back on my original career plan: winning the lottery.

Tags: acid reflux, attorney, autumn, career plan, contracts, debt, health, health problems, heartburn, law, law degree, law school, lawyer, mattresses, miracle, miracles, money, reflux, restatements, torts, winning the lottery
Categories: Lincoln's Personal Log
 
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No, it’s not love, it’s that damned acid reflux that’s been giving me “agita” for the past few months now.

I’ve never been what you would call a healthy eater. A delivery from Papa John’s or another local pizza joint is what I would consider a decent home cooked meal, and I usually got my meals on the run from places where I could get some serious grub in 30 seconds or less. For years I’ve lead a life where I made no time to do my own cooking, and while part of it was just the circumstances of life, most of it was my own doing.

Now those years are finally catching up to me, as I’ve begun to develop food allergies and other health problems as a result of my bad eating habits, which led to my current acid reflux condition. Now I have to finally face the music and hope these problems will only turn out to be temporary. I usually get heartburn a few times a day, and though it’s not severe, it’s annoying enough that it’s negatively impacted my life and affected my moods. One of the most frustrating things about this is not only having to develop a diet that would avoid all the foods that triggers heartburn, but going through the agonizingly growing pains of learning how to do my own cooking. It also has to be a diet that won’t leave me starving 15 minutes after I’ve eaten. The past couple of weeks has seen me fumbling and stumbling towards a new regimen that would finally control my heartburn issues. Sometimes I can’t resist (I just HAVE to had that can of Coke, or a bite of dark chocolate), but I’m beginning to realize I may have to do without tickling my tastes buds for quite a while.

What’s ironic about all this is that I used to have an interest in cooking, making my own breakfast and even preparing my meals in advance. One of the things I’ve wanted to do was make use of a cookbook so I could do my own meals without caving in and calling up Papa John for some of his deliciously greasy pizzas. The problem is, I wouldn’t even know where to begin to find a cookbook that would suit me. The problem isn’t that there aren’t a lot of options and possibilities, but that there’s too many.

Regardless, it’s clear my life in the fast food lane is coming to an end. I suspect God is using the problems I have now to force me into a more sensible lifestyle and help me finally shed the weight that’s literally been a burden to me since the 21st century began. I don’t resent it though, and in fact I’m willing to accept the consequences of my poor eating ways. But I do hope it’s not a condition that I will have to learn to live with. In a way I’m lucky, especially after having read the horror stories of people whose acid reflux problems were agonizingly painful, kept them up at night, and even had cases where they spit up blood. My problems aren’t nearly as severe, but if I don’t wise up now, they certainly could become that way.

For now, it’s time to fire up that George Foreman grill that’s been collecting dust for too long. Good times are here again.

Tags: 15 minutes, acid reflux, bad eating habits, buds, circumstances, coke, cookbook, dark chocolate, diet, food allergies, frustrating, growing pains, grub, health problems, heartburn, moods, music, papa john, pizza, pizzas, regimen, tastes
Categories: The Wealth of Health
 
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