Jack's Diary

I did some good work on my todo/habits app yesterday. I cleaned up some code, simplified the habits display, and added priority to the todo list.

I like the habits display because I have a few habits up there like "study 12 Japanese grammar points a day", "meditated 10 minutes a day", "read at least on NKH Easy article every day", "get to bed by 12:30", "never let a day go by without doing at least one todo", "practice guitar 10 minutes a day". "do one programming quiz per day".

These are good because it's a place where you can remind yourself of the habit your shooting for.

What would be really cool is if I made some kind of chart or calendar showing how many days you actually did your habit. That would be a real motivator, but it would also take a lot of work.

If this job with my old company falls through (it could, although I haven't heard anything yet), my plan B is just to find another job.

But Plan C is kind of tantalizing, which would be to at least take some time off before finding another job.

I'm considering getting out of being 90% in the S&p 500 back down to a more diversified one. It would be nice if the 500 climbed up to 2932, which is where I went all in. If this job doesn't come through, there's no doubt I will do it. I should know by the end of the week.

It's probably a good idea to diversify anyway. But my brother knows his stuff and he likes to be aggressive. I kind of do too, but not when I don't have a job! Even if I did, I don't like worrying about it, though.
 
There's some kind of minimum stuff I have to do in order to get my app viewable to employers. Essentially a sign-up form and the logic behind it. I will need to add users to the database.
 
Hanging out and still cheering for the work offer to come through - of course you've plenty of other options, but it sounded such a good fit, and such a vote of confidence from people who knew how good you are. :)

How's your knee doing?
 
Hi Aiminglow,

About the job - I heard from the temp agency yesterday that my company was willing to offer a 6-month contract - but the implication was they would still be going through the temp agency.

So, that's good and bad. I told the temp agency that my understanding was that the company was going to buy out my contract and I was going to go freelance. That's certainly the content of the discussion I had with HR.

When I told the lady that, she sounded a little disappointed, but said that she would let her boss know and would work things out with my company to that effect. I'm hoping this was just a weird attempt by the agency to leach their way back into the middle.

But, anyway, it's not like my company has changed their mind or found someone else. It looks like they are going through with this one way or another, so that's good.
 
Well, I got up at 4 and work on a computer course I've been taking online. But, I feel like with this window before going to Japan, that I could just bone up on Japanese the whole time. But I don't feel quite safe to do that, at least until the contract is signed, sealed and delivered.

I got some shopping done yesterday at Marshall's in Boston. They have a much better selection than the local one, but the prices are great.

Arrhh, I'm sleepy!
 
Good news that it sounds like your contract is on the way..
BTW the Mississipi John Hurt song was Spike Driver Blues.
 
Hi guys - yeah, the wheels are in motion. I'm just hoping the temp agency doesn't gum up the works. I didn't like that unexpected offer to work through them again - wtf was that all about?

Mols - wow, that is a cool tune. I listened to a few more from him - talk about the ultimate old-time blues player. What a gem.

Yesterday I did finally advance into the TDD course I bought last year on Udemy. But, I'm thinking I should focus on Japanese as much as possible before the trip. Afterward, I'll shift my priorities.

Well, last night I committed the ultimate food crime - I went out and got two bags of pretzels at 7-11 and ate both of them - just before I went to bed. I tipped the scales at 169.5 this morning, are you kidding me? I was 166 yesterday. Arrggh!

Not only that, my knee was pretty sore throughout much of the day. I haven't jogged since Monday, but due to the soreness I've experienced since starting up jogging again, I'm ruling it out. So I'm stuck with dieting and lifting, maybe extra situps or something, to get back down to 165. Well, I'll start this morning.
 
I really am bad with free time. The Celtics are considering a trade, and I spent a lot of the day following (and commenting) on those rumors. So, one thing I have to do today is not that.

I really need to change my errant ways. One mistake I made yesterday was getting up too early - like at 4 a.m. Instead of going back to bed, I worked on the TDD, but was so sleepy that I went back to bed at six, and didn't wake up again till 10, which just kind of messed up the timing of my day. Because, I was still sleepy, and finally took another nap in the afternoon. I arrived at Panera at 6, and screwed around there till about 8, then came home and had dinner. Plus, I have this persistent cough which is still leftover from the cold I got weeks ago. I don't get that. Right now my throat feels ok, though. And my knee isn't bothering me right now, either. So, it's a new day.
 
I really am bad with free time. The Celtics are considering a trade, and I spent a lot of the day following (and commenting) on those rumors. So, one thing I have to do today is not do that.

I just watched a video about spirituality and money. It's very enlightening:

 
So, I was down to 166.5 this morning. I did some walking yesterday and lifted, but I think the pretzels (plus some bananas) caused some temporary bloat. But I didn't have any that yesterday. I want to keep it temporary. It's weird how the weight can swing like that, though.

I heard from my company yesterday. It was the guy who will be my boss, I already know him pretty well. It was kind of hard to hear on the cell because I was outside watching my niece's game. But essentially he let me know that they were still working on getting me free of the temp agency and expects it to be wrapped up by mid-week. So, that's good.

Less good is the fact that he wants me to start next week, too. I was hoping at least until July. Something about a handoff. Plus, I know the lady who replaced me is struggling to get the PC made. The overseas company she was hoping to do it just kept making demands - they didn't want the job. So she's called me a few times (that's ok - she was kind of screwed over, although here attitude initially was like I'm not going to do this).

The other thing is he mentioned about converting to an employee. I had told him I preferred that over freelancing due to the benefits, especially the health plan, plus the security. But if the rate is good enough, then I'm not so sure. I will have to negotiate the rate still, it's not settled yet apparently. But he did throw out a number, so I know it's in their budget.

Actually, after watching that video, I had kind of made peace with the idea of going for a long stretch without work - maybe even retire. As Eckhart Tolle says, the ego always wants more. I mean, I took a bit of hit to get back to 60 / 65% stock funds, just because of the uncertainty, and the security of diversifying. So I sold at 2886 when I had bought in at 2932, the absolute peak. About a .4% loss, but it adds up when you're talking about that kind of money.

But, the new job has some interesting stuff. There will be more travel, possibly some training, more front-line trouble-shooting. It's not actual programming, but I'm hoping to keep my hand in there via the troubleshooting route. The programming background is a huge reason why they want me for this. Because of all my bug-fixing, they were able to release three different variations of the final version of their legacy software last year. That's a big deal business-wise. It's got to be reassuring to have someone with a technical background like that on your team.

As a software developer, there's a risk to getting out, because you might struggle to get back in, at least from an employer perspective. They might think you couldn't cut it in programming. And tbh the interview process is pretty intensive these days. That's one reason why I'm going with this company. I just don't feel like going through that grind again. And the company is pretty good, too. They take care of their old-timers - there are quite a few of them around. They have profit-sharing, 401k, health, reasonable vacation - if I go full-time, I might negotiate that. Company's don't mind giving the extra week or two of vacation, because now they've got you and it doesn't cost them any extra.

Ok, well, enough of that. I'm trying to cultivate the habit of living in "day-tight" compartments.

I'm picking up my car today. I had $900 in repairs on it this week. Well, at least with the new job, I can think about getting a new car.
 
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jackbenimble said:
So, I was down to 166.5 this morning. I did some walking yesterday and lifted, but I think the pretzels (plus some bananas) caused some temporary bloat. But I didn't have any that yesterday. I want to keep it temporary. It's weird how the weight can swing like that, though.
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It sounds like your morning weigh-ins are helping keep you accountable and get yourself right back on track. I think I can put on 4 lbs of water weight by looking at pizza lol it's a fluctuating journey. I also have had knee problems my whole life but have to get that cardio in our I feel crappy. I found taking glucosamine chondroitin with tumeric helps me so much with my joints. Maybe that could help you out as well
 
Hi Oneuanimous,

Thanks for stopping by! I've heard people say it's better to weigh yourself at longer intervals, but for me, the daily check-in works. Stuff like pizza and bread blow me right up.

I dunno on the knee. I have tried glucosamine chondroitin, but it doesn't help as far as I can tell. I think the problem is it's kind of a stress injury that happened to my left knee only, but the knee was already weaker than the right one. The doctors say it's probably arthritis. One suggested I give up sports. I resisted initially, but that's kind of where I'm at right now. It's just that the soreness gets too distracting. I can live without sports, walking is fine. I just hope that I can do that without aggravating it - I'm going to do more walking, we'll see.
 
jackbenimble said:
... for me, the daily check-in works.
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For me too, though it means if I'm away from home (where the scales are) I feel somewhat at sea.
Sorry about your knee; I know lots of sports can involved dodging and sudden turns, sudden stops, which I can see would all be pretty bad for a stressed knee (in fact, could turn an unstressed knee into a stressed one!). Walking has the huge advantage over that sort of sport that it can take you to interesting places - or to beautiful places, even better! :)
 
Thanks, Aiminglo. The knee was good yesterday feels decent today so far. I walked maybe a mile or so at the beach. It was kind of sore for a few days there. It's a relief to have it gone.

Still no word on the job - it was supposed to be settled yesterday. I'm assuming the complications of dealing with the temp agency, plus possibly the mechanics of setting up a contract and maybe figuring out the consultant vs. w2 thing are holding things up.

There is always the possibility that the thing falls through, which would suck. But, at the same time, I could maybe retire and just do uber or something for a while. I have a pretty good nest egg, though not necessarily awesome. I hope the stock market keeps coming back. I'm talking to the Vanguard guy on Monday. He's recommending a 50/50 split stocks/bonds. If I turn management over to him, he re-adjust the portfolio every 3 months to keep the balance. With retirement so imminent, it's important to be diversified.

I've been working on my to-do/habits app. I want to make it be able to display a year-calendar, where each day you did your habit, you get a green mark. I'm about half-way there. I've found a nice calendar widget which displays the whole year, and have figured out how to mark a given day green. It will be about a week before I get it working, probably.
 
Yes, it would suck if the job falls through. I hope they sort it out Monday, since it seems they haven't by COB Friday.

On the other hand, great about your knee - and on any scale, a working knee is more important than a not-desperately-needed job. :)
 
Hi Aiminglow - on the job, I heard back from my manager on Thursday. So, it seems like things have been cleared with the temp agency, and they just wanted to check if I knew what the rules were on freelancing (quarterly payments, double FICA basically). I told him I was, had done it before, no problem. So, at this point, I would be pretty surprised if the offer doesn't come. The next step is what they offer as a pay-rate. I hope it's what I asked for!

I weight 168 this morning because I had like 5 bananas last night. I'm being better today, although I just had a rare couple of spoonfuls of ice-cream. That stuff is deadly for me, like bread. It doesn't take much.

I talked with my neighbor today for a while. He has a boat, which he loves, but man does he get big in the summers. Just sitting around in a boat with a barrelful of beers will do it to you. Great guy, though.

Man, I was stuck on a bug on the habits app for like three days. It's in Angular, which is a new language, and I just had all sorts of difficulty figuring it out. I finally just now got it, so I'm taking a break. I was ready to give up! But it will be good now. It will show you every day you succeed in doing a particular habit. It's a calendar for the whole year, with the successful days highlighted in green. Very cool and motivating!
 
I hope the job does work out for you, Jack.
I wonder why you ate 5 bananas in particular. Maybe your body was craving/lacking potassium B6 or magnesium. I just ate one as I felt I really "needed" a Banana & had looked it up. :)
 
I've been struggling to keep the weight off without the benefit of cardio. It just requires that I don't eat at night and don't overeat. I was at 167 this morning, so I'm getting back to 165. But, I did try a bit of jogging on the sand yesterday, and will do some more today. With only 12 days before Japan, I want to at least be around 165. Having a few pounds to spare would be good. Hopefully the jogging will help out. But if it starts bothering my knee, I'm just going to try to leave a little on the plate from now on.

Well, I finally signed on with my old company as of yesterday. If you factor in SS payments and vacation, it's actually at a lesser rate than before and I had to push them for that - even they cut out the middle man. I'm a bit teed off about it, but then again, it's work for the next six months. The idea was it would lead to a job, but they are making it clear that they want my salary to be "aligned" with the position. Ok, but I also have the option of moving back into the ranks of software engineering and finding a new job where my pay would be "aligned".

Anyway, right now, the pay is decent and I can continue to save toward retirement. That's the key.

Oh, yeah, I turned over my investments to a Vangaurd guy. It's .03% a year, which is really reasonable. He'll just take care of it all, I don't have to worry about it. He'll keep in balanced in a mix of stocks and bonds. I won't have the growth of S&P 500 only, but it will have the downside protection which is important when you're this close to retiring - something I might do in six months time, but most likely in a couple of years.
 
jackbenimble said:
The doctors say it's probably arthritis. One suggested I give up sports. I resisted initially, but that's kind of where I'm at right now. It's just that the soreness gets too distracting
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One of the keys for dealing with Arthritis is to keep the joint moving, complete rest is one of the worst things you can do if the problem is Arthritis. That does not mean go overboard with the exercise, keep it moderate.

My doc told me to take turmeric for my arthritis, I did not notice a difference, but it apparently works for some people and has had some scientific studies that lean towards it helping with a high enough dose.
 
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