Jake’s Life

pI’ve seriously neglected this blog over the last few months. I’m glad that some of you still follow me and want me to post more! I’ll try to catch you up on things…/p pI no longer work in Public Safety. As of right now I’m working for a data support company that serves several carriers, and work primarily with smartphones and advanced data issues. It’s a really relaxed work environment and I enjoy it a lot so far. That doesn’t mean that public safety isn’t my calling. I very much know it is, I just need some time to get ready to make a bigger jump in that field./p pI’m also focusing more on my web design, and in the recent months have launched a website for a class A landmark building locally, a language instruction school with an online learning system, and currently received my first International client. /p pI quit smoking yesterday. Oddly enough, I felt pretty edgy all day today. /p pThe battery connecter on my laptop stopped conducting, so I broke down and bought a new laptop the other day. My previous one lasted for well over two years and can probably be saved to sell. /p pAnd, done./p

…I have become an “agent of the free market.” In the words of Kim Jong Il from Team America World Police, “It was inebitable.”

It’s not a bad thing, really. It was about time I kicked my life into gear. I mean, I graduated from college in 2007 and I’m still doing menial work that isn’t in the specific field I want to be in. I was working nights, away from Sandro, and having no time to pursue my own goals. This was coming…just a little sooner than expected.

Anyway, I have an interview for a full time position today, which I’ll be preparing for in a little bit. I’m also doing some side stuff to get me by.

By the way, the new DUI Seattle website is now up. I made his first website five years ago, and I’m happy he gave me the opportunity to update it with what I’ve learned in that realm to add another site to my portfolio!s

I’ll leave you with what has rapidly become my new favorite song/artist (Adam K.)…

I’ve also really been getting into Dub Step lately…

And this is just a given, I mean, come on! Who doesn’t feel better after hearing these theme songs?!

Well my hard drive crashed. All of my web design projects gone. Don’t I have backups you ask? Sure do, but I cleared that drive out to make room for Sandro’s stuff so he can send his laptop back for warranty. Literally the net day mine won’t spin up. Anyways after getting the wrong drive from NewEgg I broke down and bought one from Best Buy. And here we are.

Work’s going okay. I’m going through the pains of working with people I consider friends, so there’s some tightening of the attitudes all over the place.

I’ve been using Twitter lately, and while I’ve managed to not get caught in it’s spidery web, I’m now very much so. You can follow me at twitter.com/jakeslife.

Sandro and I finished moving on Sunday to our new place. It feels great to be out of the old one and here with each other. We made a last minute switch in new apartments from the 2BR to a 1BR down the street, and we’re so much happier with it. The apartment we moved into is less than two years old, everything is new, we’re on the 3rd floor (which makes it easier to be a day sleeper), and we find things everyday why we love the place even more.

On moving day Sandro’s parents decided that we have a moving truck and can get their new 63” TV from the store for them. By the time we got it to their place and to the floor it was to be on, we got their 52” TV for our new place!

Here’s Sandro on move-in day…we still have a few things on the shopping list…

Our bath tub, which I can actually fit in!

We have pretty high ceilings, so here’s something short to give you an idea how high they are.

Our fireplace.

Closet.

Kitty found an issue…the ledges are skinny…

It’s getting to freezing temperatures around here at night now, which means turtleneck time!

I haven’t worked weekends in a while, so here what I found this last weekend or two that I’ve missed:

Occupied stolen vehicle: The driver just got out of jail for, you guessed it, possession of a stolen vehicle. He said that the car dealership let him take the car overnight to sleep in because he was going to buy it. Oh, and that active warrant for his arrest? It’s a mistake. Right, because this is my first day at the rodeo.

Car vs. Guardrail Accident: Pouring rain out, and the driver of the vehicle is now missing a toe.

The Family: Where do I begin? The mother had a VUCSA for attempting to bring methanphetamine into a jail, and guess what she had in her purse? Her boyfriend just got out of prison for Theft 3rd degree for vehicle related crimes. He had a duffle bag full of burglary tools and car GPS’s. The 15 year old son, who was on his weekend with Mom because his father has custody, had similar charges. The family that steals together stays together. All in jail.

AWOL: The 19 year old AWOL Marine who someone pointed at and shouted, “He just robbed me!” Turns out he didn’t rob anyone, and after a bit of prodding he turned himself into my co-worker who happens to be a Chief in the Navy.

Man, I tell ya.

It’s not often that I go without a blog entry for this long, but the time has flown!

My full time job is working on piling a management position on me. We’re at seven times it’s been offered and turned down, so I have finally decided to give them the “I’ll think about it,” answer. I really am thinking about it, but not sure where I stand on it with where the current climate at work is.

My freelancing is going good. I’m still working on a few bigger projects, with a few others waiting in the wings right now. Dealing with clients has had its ups and downs, and partially reminds me why I stopped freelancing web design a few years ago. Overall it’s manageable and things are going good.

Sandro and I’s plans to move in are still moving along as well. We’re looking at places and have narrowed it down to a few places, one being the apartments I live in currently.

Sorry about not blogging in a while! Things have been definitely hectic. I had to fill some larger boots at work for a few weeks with my supervisor being gone, and picked up some overtime shifts in the process. The new 4/4 shifts are going great so far, but I am concerned over Sandro for my shift rotation on weekdays off. He insists he’ll be fine with it and we’re working out a system where he’ll still spend the night at my house during the week when I’m off. Mostly he’s happy that dinner will be made, his laundry will be done, and everything else will be taken care of while he’s at work and school.

Now that we’re on the topic of domestication, we’re officially looking for a place together. We’re both saving up and remotely checking apartments out. I’m on the lease here until next Summer so when we decide it’s time I’ll have to find someone to take the lease over, but if worse comes to worse he can cover the new place for a month or two while I do that.

In saving money I decided to get back into some freelance web design gigs. Within the last week I’ve set up three different gigs totaling $2500. One I am 95% percent done with and the only thing left to do is hand over the files, but I worked too quickly on it and am still waiting for the deposit check. The other begins in a few days, and the third client I am meeting with next weekend (my ex introduced us). Also, if any readers out there are interested in web design work definitely let me know and I’ll give you a good price. My largest contract, bid at $4000 by another freelance designer in the area, I signed her for $1500. I’m trying to keep the mind set of charging what the work is worth, not how much I think I can get for it. Oh, and if you hook me up with someone who needs a web site I’ll give you 10% of the total cost on it as a commission.

The other night Sandro and I went to see Eartha Kitt live at a jazz club in downtown. We got down there early to avoid the Saturday night pilgrimage to downtown and got parking. We stopped by Gameworks and played some video games, grabbed a beer at their bar, then walked to get our tickets. We had reservations and it was still another hour to go, so we went to the Westin and grabbed a drink at their bar before heading back over to the jazz club and stood in line. I was not a fan of hers and was going mainly for Sandro, but I have to say she put on a hell of a show. We sat at the first table in the very front center of the stage.

I’ll try to keep you guys updated more often! I have plenty of pics on my Blackberry that I still need to post too.

Wow it’s been busy lately. Life has been good, but there hasn’t been much time for it to be anything else. Sandro is still doing the school and work thing so it’s hard to spend the amount of time that I want to with him, and not living together makes it even more difficult to see him. We’re okay though because he understands my schedule working nights, and I know where he’s coming from working and going to school (it’s only been six months or so since I was doing the same thing). Blogging has obviously been lacking lately, and I apologize for it, but once things slow down it will happen more

Work is busy. Busy busy busy. The new RMS that I’m working on is going great to say the least, and I’m looking forward to its deployment (and payment from it!). I started this job with equal pay to my last and a lot less responsibility when it comes to overall operations, and with the introduction of a new supervisor that changed a bit. I’m one of three people with the same rank, but I am the go-to guy. I don’t mind it, as with the more responsibility I have the more purpose I feel, so it works out in the long run.

Here’s some lil’ diddies for you guys.

This entire week was weird. I’m sorry, I thought it was April, but evidently Mother Nature had different ideas for our Spring in the Northwest.

Complete with winds which knocked trees down into roads and parked vehicles.

I was getting into my work car the other night and forgot my bluetooth headset was in my lap. It ended up in the storm drain.

Gas prices are also pretty ridiculous right now. Thank god we have fleet fuel cards at work.

Taser arc, just for fun.

This weekend was weird, too. I was off work at 0200 Monday morning and slept from about four until noon, then again from one to nine. Back to sleep at two, then up at ten, back to sleep at one, then up at six. I got way too much sleep, which explains why I’m up so early for work today. If I didn’t have things to do I would run to work early and take my patrol car to the car wash and detail it out (it was just assigned to me and still…has the last person in it).

Yesterday I had a killer headache, so I popped half a Percocet (which, by the way, was prescribed to me for headaches when I had shingles…which I still have but that’s another story) and napped. Sandro came over and brought “headache medicine” for me.

We ran a few quick errands to get dinner, pick up something from my work (where he met one of my more attractive co-workers and confirmed my suspicion that he would find him pleasant to look at), and then came home, cooked dinner, had a few drinks, then made babies. Well, tried to anyways.

I got the schedule I wanted at work, which is 7pm to 3am. This leaves me enough time during the day to run errands and spend time with Sandro during the week, and allows me to unwind after work for a while and still get to sleep before it’s light out, which makes it really tough to sleep. I was also put in charge of vehicle maintenance supervision, so that allows me some flexible overtime in overseeing their condition and repairs during the week or one my days off.

I’m horrible at transferring photos from my Blackberry to my blog in a timely manner, so here is some catching up.

V-Day card I gave to Sandro. It’s almost waist high for him.

View from the cockpit.

Ready for meeting at my new job.

I said I was ready, didn’t I?

Sandro being lazy on my lap.

Not in the mood for BS during my last week at work. Taking pictures of myself does encourage me to get working out again though.

Statue on the mantle at Sandro’s parents’ house. Strong and just…I like it.