Dear Legion of Devoted Readers,
I'm moving to a new site, danschlung.blogspot.com and shutting this suckamotha down officially effective now. Obviously, its not been updated since July anyway, so really just making it official.
I named this blog "Being Soporific" sort of on a whim, and mostly because I tend to communicate in a meandering, steram-of-conscious way that I'm sure must be quite tiresome. Then about a week later, I hated it because I thought it sounded pretentious. But since I had tens of thousands of readers I figured I'd run with it. Then, a few weeks ago, I wanted to use "soporific" in a sentence while talking with my wife, but I felt like I couldn't because it was also the name of my stupid blog that I don't update any more. There are really not a lot of times where the word "soporific" is appropriate in conversation, so i decided I'd make sure I didn't feel hesitant the next time the situation arose.
Also, I figure the new site will be a good excuse to start blogging again. Only this time, it will be so fracking awesome it will blow your face off. If you're the kind of person who is into that sort of thing, subscribe to the rss feed to get updated when it is.
Anyway, there's nothing yet on the new site, but I'm thinking I'll put something up sometime this weekend, maybe tonight if I get bored. Right now, it is tenatively named On The Couch, because that's where I tend to use the computer,as we are lacking a desk in our household. And also because I'm a huge fan of Nevil Shute. (The last part is just a joke; geez, I'm funny.) Anyway, countless throng of readers, let me know a better name and I'll probably use it.
See you there soon.
Dan
Friday, December 11, 2009
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Awesome
Everyone should try this. Results are very interesting & it allows you to comare to macro results submitted by other user segments. very, very cool.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Summer Trip to Phoenix (Or, Yeah, We're Nutzo)
(Sarah and I planned this, then unplanned it, then planned it again, then pretty much unplanned it again.... But now we're back on, but for good this time.)One of the really cool things about Sarah's job as a teacher and my job as a consultant with a fairly flexible work-location constraint is that the summer actually gives us a chance to venture out in world a little bit. (Or at least I think it does - this is really the first summer that we've both been settled into this situation and not had an infant to worry about.)
So here's the dilly, at least tentatively: We are going to leave Illinois around July 17th and drive out to Denver for a day or two (Anna and Kyle don't know this yet, but not to worry, guys, we're staying in a hotel), and then we're going to head out to Phoenix for a couple of weeks, at least until the 2nd, 3rd or 4th - i'm not really sure yet - to visit Sarah's family and hopefully hang out with some old friends and also attend our (I guess really just Sarah's) cousin's wedding.
I'll work full time while i'm out there, but the time difference will have me working to 3 or 4 in the afternoon at the latest, plus i'll have a couple of weekends. We'll probably swing by Denver again on our way home for couple nights and then I'll take a few vacation days to recuperate and enjoy some summer days back her in Illinois. Visiting Arizona during the middle of summer for a couple weeks should give us a quick reality check on how bad we really want to move back there when we can afford to do it (although we're not planning on basing our decision on that any more than one should base their decision to move to Chicago on a January visit...)
Anyway, I'm really excited. This will be my first time back to the Valley since Anna & Kyle got married in January of 2008. I know there are only a few people that read this, let alone a handful who live in Phoenix, but I really would love to catch up with you guys while I'm out there. Let's make plans to do so.
*Disclaimer: I guess the dates are contingent on Sarah's parents or something. I dunno. I'm just planning on it anyway & will update the dates if need be. Sarah's parents are great, great people and I love them very much but they are not the world's earliest planners.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Sarah Is Blogging Again. Woot!
Yeah, Sarah!
She gets sad when no one reads her blog (even if their reason is because she hasn't posted anything in 3 months and they give up on there ever being new content there), so go check it out and comment her so she knows you're reading and keeps it up. She is going to try for a weekly update. If you can't get on her site, leave me a comment & I'll ask her to add you to her readers list.
She gets sad when no one reads her blog (even if their reason is because she hasn't posted anything in 3 months and they give up on there ever being new content there), so go check it out and comment her so she knows you're reading and keeps it up. She is going to try for a weekly update. If you can't get on her site, leave me a comment & I'll ask her to add you to her readers list.
Bring on the Zoloft!
When I get stressed out, I become even more introverted than I normally am, which is why I haven't posted in a few weeks. I know that is probably the most counterproductive thing I could do, but whatever. I got the remaining good news I was hoping for today, so I feel like I can peek my head out of my shell a little bit.
Anyway, here is what I have been stressed about and how God came through for me:
1. My Job
Most folks reading this know that I work as a consultant for a large technology services company. I was originally signed on to our current client until 12/31/2009, but received a call on 4/10 that said my contract was going to be terminated early due to budget cuts (bad economy). I was told that my last day would be 4/30. In consulting, this is not necessarily a huge deal, because you can roll on to another project and usually continue life as normal. However, while the company i work for is in good financial health, I was nervous because I had seen a few people recently not able to get placed in a new project (read: they got laid off), thus this was a real possibility for me as well. However, early the next week, I received a call that I was going to be placed on a new project by 4/20. So I stopped worrying.
Then later that week I received another call that said the budget for that new project was also cut so i wasn't going to be placed there either, but that another opportunity was available. This actually ended up happening a couple times, which was a little tough on the ol' ticker. I was really starting to worry that there was a real possibility of getting either let go or reassigned to some place like Pennsylvania (thanks, but I hate the Eagles).
The days started peeling off things & were looking more and more uncertain. I was anxious to find a position before my current project was finished, becausing being non-billable (not assinged to a customer, therefore not generating revenue) is not exactly a good place to be when the economy is in the crapper. I have a good relationship with our our Operations manager and several key members of our leadership, but was told that the firm simply doesn't have the budget to hold onto non-billable resources these days, so being non-billable was not a place I wanted to end up. Unemployment + Sarah's Teacher Salary = My Bills Don't Get Paid, so it was pretty nerve-racking not knowing what we'd be facing.
On the very last day before I was supposed to get put on our "corporate deployable pool," the last step before termination, I was offered an excellent local opportunity that seemed to come out of the blue, which I gladly accepted. The work is going to be entirely different from what I was doing before. I will be a web analytics manager, whereas I was previously doing project and client management work. It will expose me to more of the business side of the company I'm contracted to (as opposed to the IT side for which i was working earlier). I'll be partnering with folks from IT and Marketing to help make the online order channels more profitable for the company & more friendly to users. There'll be a pretty decent learning curve, but I'm really excited about stepping into this new role, and the people on my new team seem extremely intelligent and friendly. It will be a great opportunity for career growth and professional development, even if don't end up doing it for the rest of my life (which I likely won't).
2. My Health
I had some routine blood work done around the same time that I found out my old job was being phased out, that returned some abnormal results. I was told there are "multiple slight abnormalities" that would require further tests. I had previously experienced some issues with my liver enzymes (which I'm sure had nothing whatsoever to do with the now-defunct "heavy drinking & eating jack-in-the-box & filiberto's every day" phase of my life), so i figured some of that stuff was resurfacing. The person who called me with the information didn't have any details to share, so i just figured I'd talk to the doctor when I went in for my follow-up blood work.
The doctor actually ended up not being in, so I didn't get to talk to her before the nurse took my blood. I was there with Addie (who was quite fascinated at watching the blood be drawn from my arm, by the way), so it probably wasn't the best environment for asking extensive questions, and I was pretty occupied with her for most of the visit. As I was about to leave, I turned and asked the nurse, "By the way, what exactly are we testing for," figuring she would tell me that it had something to do with my liver, which would not be good news, but would likely be manageable. She says, "Oh, let me see here... um, looks like you have elevated calcium and protein levels, so we just need to run some more tests to see if everything's okay."
I had to get Addie to her own appointment a town over. It was really nice outside & I was hoping to hit up the park first, so I was anxious to leave. Happy to hear that the tests had nothing to do with my liver, and thinking it didn't sound too serious, I just said, "Okay, thanks!" and headed for the door.
I didn't think about it again until the next day, when I figured, "Geez, I wonder what elevated calcium and protein mean anyway." So I asked my trusty advisor, Google McInternet, and he told me that I had cancer. Specifically, he said, "Dan, my friend, you have multiple myeloma, which is a rare and incurable cancer of blood plasma, and has a five-year mortality rate of about 70%. Maybe you'll see your daughter turn 7 or 8, if you're lucky. But yeah, that's definitely what it is and you are definitely gonna die, buddy." I mean, that is pretty much what happened, anyway.
So I slowly went into freak out mode. At first, I didn't want to worry Sarah so I tried not to think or say much about it, but it took a long time (10 days) to get my results back, which gave me a lot of time to be anxious. I won't get into all the details, but thinking seriously about your impending death is not a pleasant experience. In fact, I would go so far as to say it is markedly unpleasant.
So a few minutes ago, I get the call I have been waiting for from the doctor. I'm trembling as I answer the phone. I can barely say hello.
"Dan, this doctor Legursky's office, calling back with your test results. Everything came back normal & we just wanted to let you know."
A wave of relief rushed over me. "Oh, thank God! I had been reading on the internet that high calcium and high protein usually-"
"Oh, you really shouldn't do that," the caller interrupted. "You're totally fine."
Yeah, i guess so.
Anyway, here is what I have been stressed about and how God came through for me:
1. My Job
Most folks reading this know that I work as a consultant for a large technology services company. I was originally signed on to our current client until 12/31/2009, but received a call on 4/10 that said my contract was going to be terminated early due to budget cuts (bad economy). I was told that my last day would be 4/30. In consulting, this is not necessarily a huge deal, because you can roll on to another project and usually continue life as normal. However, while the company i work for is in good financial health, I was nervous because I had seen a few people recently not able to get placed in a new project (read: they got laid off), thus this was a real possibility for me as well. However, early the next week, I received a call that I was going to be placed on a new project by 4/20. So I stopped worrying.
Then later that week I received another call that said the budget for that new project was also cut so i wasn't going to be placed there either, but that another opportunity was available. This actually ended up happening a couple times, which was a little tough on the ol' ticker. I was really starting to worry that there was a real possibility of getting either let go or reassigned to some place like Pennsylvania (thanks, but I hate the Eagles).
The days started peeling off things & were looking more and more uncertain. I was anxious to find a position before my current project was finished, becausing being non-billable (not assinged to a customer, therefore not generating revenue) is not exactly a good place to be when the economy is in the crapper. I have a good relationship with our our Operations manager and several key members of our leadership, but was told that the firm simply doesn't have the budget to hold onto non-billable resources these days, so being non-billable was not a place I wanted to end up. Unemployment + Sarah's Teacher Salary = My Bills Don't Get Paid, so it was pretty nerve-racking not knowing what we'd be facing.
On the very last day before I was supposed to get put on our "corporate deployable pool," the last step before termination, I was offered an excellent local opportunity that seemed to come out of the blue, which I gladly accepted. The work is going to be entirely different from what I was doing before. I will be a web analytics manager, whereas I was previously doing project and client management work. It will expose me to more of the business side of the company I'm contracted to (as opposed to the IT side for which i was working earlier). I'll be partnering with folks from IT and Marketing to help make the online order channels more profitable for the company & more friendly to users. There'll be a pretty decent learning curve, but I'm really excited about stepping into this new role, and the people on my new team seem extremely intelligent and friendly. It will be a great opportunity for career growth and professional development, even if don't end up doing it for the rest of my life (which I likely won't).
2. My Health
I had some routine blood work done around the same time that I found out my old job was being phased out, that returned some abnormal results. I was told there are "multiple slight abnormalities" that would require further tests. I had previously experienced some issues with my liver enzymes (which I'm sure had nothing whatsoever to do with the now-defunct "heavy drinking & eating jack-in-the-box & filiberto's every day" phase of my life), so i figured some of that stuff was resurfacing. The person who called me with the information didn't have any details to share, so i just figured I'd talk to the doctor when I went in for my follow-up blood work.
The doctor actually ended up not being in, so I didn't get to talk to her before the nurse took my blood. I was there with Addie (who was quite fascinated at watching the blood be drawn from my arm, by the way), so it probably wasn't the best environment for asking extensive questions, and I was pretty occupied with her for most of the visit. As I was about to leave, I turned and asked the nurse, "By the way, what exactly are we testing for," figuring she would tell me that it had something to do with my liver, which would not be good news, but would likely be manageable. She says, "Oh, let me see here... um, looks like you have elevated calcium and protein levels, so we just need to run some more tests to see if everything's okay."
I had to get Addie to her own appointment a town over. It was really nice outside & I was hoping to hit up the park first, so I was anxious to leave. Happy to hear that the tests had nothing to do with my liver, and thinking it didn't sound too serious, I just said, "Okay, thanks!" and headed for the door.
I didn't think about it again until the next day, when I figured, "Geez, I wonder what elevated calcium and protein mean anyway." So I asked my trusty advisor, Google McInternet, and he told me that I had cancer. Specifically, he said, "Dan, my friend, you have multiple myeloma, which is a rare and incurable cancer of blood plasma, and has a five-year mortality rate of about 70%. Maybe you'll see your daughter turn 7 or 8, if you're lucky. But yeah, that's definitely what it is and you are definitely gonna die, buddy." I mean, that is pretty much what happened, anyway.
So I slowly went into freak out mode. At first, I didn't want to worry Sarah so I tried not to think or say much about it, but it took a long time (10 days) to get my results back, which gave me a lot of time to be anxious. I won't get into all the details, but thinking seriously about your impending death is not a pleasant experience. In fact, I would go so far as to say it is markedly unpleasant.
So a few minutes ago, I get the call I have been waiting for from the doctor. I'm trembling as I answer the phone. I can barely say hello.
"Dan, this doctor Legursky's office, calling back with your test results. Everything came back normal & we just wanted to let you know."
A wave of relief rushed over me. "Oh, thank God! I had been reading on the internet that high calcium and high protein usually-"
"Oh, you really shouldn't do that," the caller interrupted. "You're totally fine."
Yeah, i guess so.
Friday, April 3, 2009
When I can't sleep, I start thinking about doing things such as
...the Twitter thing (see Simple Statements, below), but I'm self-conscious I'll end up tweeting to myself, as if I don't do that already for all intents and purposes. Took me forever to get a myspace (long since abandoned), blog (rarely updated), and still haven't done the facebook thing for the same reason (in addition to two other reasons that I won't talk about presently.)
For a person who works in technology, you'd think I'd be more embrasive. (Yeah, that's right, I'm using words that aren't real.)
For a person who works in technology, you'd think I'd be more embrasive. (Yeah, that's right, I'm using words that aren't real.)
Simple Statements
A (Christian) philosophy professor that I studied under for a semester, and a proponent of the Argument From Reason, Victor Reppert, maintains a blog that I follow. Most of the stuff he says is either over my head or at my hairline, but I enjoy his perspective, his tolerance of other ideas and his encouragement of open and intellegent discussions. He concluded a recent post with the following thought. It resonates with me on several levels.
"Maybe God doesn't want to give us demonstrative knowledge of his existence. God doesn't perform miracles to show off."
I think that, on a theological level, one could argue both for and against that statement, but in the context of his discussion, it made good sense. Anyway, it just got me thinking that, in many ways, I'm beginning to really enjoy simple, summative statements over drawn-out explanitory dissertations.
"Maybe God doesn't want to give us demonstrative knowledge of his existence. God doesn't perform miracles to show off."
I think that, on a theological level, one could argue both for and against that statement, but in the context of his discussion, it made good sense. Anyway, it just got me thinking that, in many ways, I'm beginning to really enjoy simple, summative statements over drawn-out explanitory dissertations.
Dear Jess,
I do not know you. You have a fantastic shirt that says LOVE. I think you are related to (or somehow know) my cousin-in-law's-husband (That makes sense, right?!), but you are one of 4 people who subscribe to my thoughts via RSS, thus show up as a "follower."
That is so kick ass. And no, I'm not joking.
I've been meaning to tell you that for a while. I guess this is me formally (awkwardly) saying hi.
That is so kick ass. And no, I'm not joking.
I've been meaning to tell you that for a while. I guess this is me formally (awkwardly) saying hi.
A Song I Think Quinn Might Like
Maybe others too, of course, and I could be totally wrong. This is a memory from the mid-90s: Honcho Overload, Miserable.
Listen here: http://music.yahoo.com/track/1355864
(You might have to have a yahoo account to listen to this. Its on iTunes here. Not sure why I'm using a full url for the former and an abridged link for the latter, btw.)
I still think this song is one of the most intense "songs about a girl" I've ever heard. This guy's voice is perfect for this song. Perfect. Worth 99 cents for those of you fashonistas with iPods. Be warned, the iTunes preview does not do it justice. Just spend the buck and trust me.
Word to the mother.
Listen here: http://music.yahoo.com/track/1355864
(You might have to have a yahoo account to listen to this. Its on iTunes here. Not sure why I'm using a full url for the former and an abridged link for the latter, btw.)
I still think this song is one of the most intense "songs about a girl" I've ever heard. This guy's voice is perfect for this song. Perfect. Worth 99 cents for those of you fashonistas with iPods. Be warned, the iTunes preview does not do it justice. Just spend the buck and trust me.
Word to the mother.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
A Reflection on Weather & Relative Satisfaction
Those of you who know me (which I would imagine is most everyone actually taking the time to read this, though I do get an occasional stranger leaving a disagreeable random comment on a "Green Bologna" post I did a year ago that I one day plan to expound upon, so I guess there are some people reading this that do not know me, but I wouldn't imagine very many, and I think most of them stumble upon that post via googling "Green Bologna" - its the 3rd result, by Jove! - anyway, so they probably aren't readers of my blog, per se, which I... ~Self-inflicted interruption/aside which should be considered personal progress:~ My lovely sister-in-law visited recently and reminded me that my longwindedness, penchant for tangents and, um, asides, tend to dampen my ability to tell a good story or convey an effective message, so I guess I should get back on task with the point of my original post ~End Aside~
Okay, reset:
Those of you who know me know that I really enjoy weather. I'm clearly not a scientist (I have but 3 credits of actual education on the subject), but I do think about it a lot, I like to witness it, understand it and I even like to track it's patterns, as evidenced by this very creepy, obsessive and utterly dorky spreadsheet I maintain. The weather too tends to do a pretty decent job of molding not just my day-to-day moods, but impacting my mid-to-long-term outlooks on a variety of different things. When I lived in Phoenix, I really let the summers beat me down. Here, outside of Chicago, the 7-month winters are plotting to literally kill me, I just know it. (Until I get a $200,000 pay-raise so I can afford to live in San Diego, I guess I just have to deal with climateological imperfection.)
I was thinking about this recently and had a repeat realization that my personal satisfaction with the weather is so relative, so fickle. In January, if the thermostat raises above 40, I will literally just diddle around the yard or in my garage just for the opportunity to experience the unseasonable mildness. Maybe it is about longing for something better that the frigid, empty winter, but I revel in it. Now it is April, and it it 50 degrees outside - 10 degrees warmer than my much-desired January day, but 10 or more degrees cooler than it could be this time of year. Now, it is not warm or "mild," it is cool and rainy and entirely undesirable. I am slower and less optimistic because of the crummy 50-degree weather we've had over the last couple of days. I think we all do this to a degree, but I am a repeat offender.
This made me wonder how many other areas of my life I succumb to relativistic enjoyment of a given situation, when in fact, were it a different season of my life - maybe even one that had just recently passed through - I would be basking in it. How many times am I not satisfied with what I have, or do I covet something "better?" How many times do I long for something, only to obtain it then long for even more? I think this is a major tendency I have, and one of the reasons I tend to need a little Zoloft every now and again.
My friend Quinn has been thinking recently about Ecclesiastes, and I'm pretty sure my friend John has the entire original Hebrew tattooed somewhere on his body that only his wife has seen. I also like to consider these writings because they are so contemplative, so perspective-oriented, so personal. Anyway, the same day that I was thinking these things about the weather and about myself, Quinn posted his reflections on having just learned he was forced into a salary cut. I am dealing with some uncertainty at work, so it hit home.
In the passage referenced, there is a line: "Whoever watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks at the clouds will not reap." I thought this to be a perfect analog to both my obsession and my unhealthy tendencies, a perfect dose of reality. I spend too much time watching the wind, waiting for the clouds to lift. Foolishness! I'll steal Quinn's own closing and reuse it here. Its poignance lies in its simplicity: "I can’t help but think this book teaches that life is uncertain, but God is certain."
Okay, reset:
Those of you who know me know that I really enjoy weather. I'm clearly not a scientist (I have but 3 credits of actual education on the subject), but I do think about it a lot, I like to witness it, understand it and I even like to track it's patterns, as evidenced by this very creepy, obsessive and utterly dorky spreadsheet I maintain. The weather too tends to do a pretty decent job of molding not just my day-to-day moods, but impacting my mid-to-long-term outlooks on a variety of different things. When I lived in Phoenix, I really let the summers beat me down. Here, outside of Chicago, the 7-month winters are plotting to literally kill me, I just know it. (Until I get a $200,000 pay-raise so I can afford to live in San Diego, I guess I just have to deal with climateological imperfection.)I was thinking about this recently and had a repeat realization that my personal satisfaction with the weather is so relative, so fickle. In January, if the thermostat raises above 40, I will literally just diddle around the yard or in my garage just for the opportunity to experience the unseasonable mildness. Maybe it is about longing for something better that the frigid, empty winter, but I revel in it. Now it is April, and it it 50 degrees outside - 10 degrees warmer than my much-desired January day, but 10 or more degrees cooler than it could be this time of year. Now, it is not warm or "mild," it is cool and rainy and entirely undesirable. I am slower and less optimistic because of the crummy 50-degree weather we've had over the last couple of days. I think we all do this to a degree, but I am a repeat offender.
This made me wonder how many other areas of my life I succumb to relativistic enjoyment of a given situation, when in fact, were it a different season of my life - maybe even one that had just recently passed through - I would be basking in it. How many times am I not satisfied with what I have, or do I covet something "better?" How many times do I long for something, only to obtain it then long for even more? I think this is a major tendency I have, and one of the reasons I tend to need a little Zoloft every now and again.
My friend Quinn has been thinking recently about Ecclesiastes, and I'm pretty sure my friend John has the entire original Hebrew tattooed somewhere on his body that only his wife has seen. I also like to consider these writings because they are so contemplative, so perspective-oriented, so personal. Anyway, the same day that I was thinking these things about the weather and about myself, Quinn posted his reflections on having just learned he was forced into a salary cut. I am dealing with some uncertainty at work, so it hit home.
In the passage referenced, there is a line: "Whoever watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks at the clouds will not reap." I thought this to be a perfect analog to both my obsession and my unhealthy tendencies, a perfect dose of reality. I spend too much time watching the wind, waiting for the clouds to lift. Foolishness! I'll steal Quinn's own closing and reuse it here. Its poignance lies in its simplicity: "I can’t help but think this book teaches that life is uncertain, but God is certain."
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