Goldfish

It's supposed to get near freezing tonight so I had to dump out the fish tank on the back porch and put the outside goldfish in with the rest of my tropical fish. They should be ok but the goldfish are such bullies. I bought them originally to balance the PH of the tank so I wouldn't lose any other fish. Goldfish are nearly impossible to kill. That turned out to be a bit of a problem because now I keep another tank for the goldfish which are still alive after a year. Now I don't really know what to do with them. I know they're feeder goldfish which normally don't live but I can't bring myself kill them or just let them die. They're too small to eat anyway. I don't want to let them loose in the nearby holding pond because there is every possibility they could get into the wild and procreate. It's tempting to let them loose in the lake at a nearby park where people might appreciate them, but then again people might really not appreciate that. What do you do with unwanted fish? I understand this is the same dilemma faced by alligator owners, and probably the reason it is said there are alligators in the New York sewers. So next time you're thinking of buying goldfish or baby alligators, make sure you know what you are going to do with them for the rest of their lives.

Falling Off the Treadmill of Life

I got sick a week or so ago and had to take the whole week to rest and do nothing in order to recover. I have found that when I stop everything (usually when I'm sick) it is really hard to get moving again. I feel sluggish and have no energy, and can barely find the strength to just get through work. Last night I walked in the door and collapsed into bed. Next thing I knew, I woke up and it was around 9 PM and I was starving.

Today I decided I HAD to get to the gym to get some energy moving. When you work out your metabolism gets working again and you start making energy. Yes you have to burn energy to get more. I hopped on the exercise machine and started moving. I went at a very slow pace and it took a lot of effort to move the wheels. Each step was an arduous process but I made myself do it. Then I started moving faster and got up to a full sprint. As my speed got higher, the resistance actually got much easier. It was so easy to keep going once I was moving fast. It was the very first steps that were the toughest.

I have found it is the same way with life. I need to back off and rest sometimes or I will collapse or get really sick. But it's very hard to get moving from a standstill. I just have to power through it for a while before the momentum builds and I find myself running again.

Why I Don't Like Winter

I was born in Florida for a very good reason: so I wouldn't have to put up with cold weather. I was just about ready to write to my congressman to complain when the weather got nice again last week. I was out jogging in swimming trunks in mid-November just to revel in the fact that I could. It was beautiful weather yesterday, and today it's getting near freezing.

I also love the sunlight. There is an innate need to get at least some sun in most people. Your body needs to have sunlight to make compounds that keep you happy. It's commonly reported that people who don't see the sun enough tend to get depressed. I realized last weekend that I hadn't seen the sun all week. I see it for a few seconds as I rush out the door to my car, then spend all day inside at a computer. My monitor probably gives me a bit of a tan, but it's not the good kind. By the time I leave work, it's already pitch black out. I hate driving home from work in the dark. It feels like I lost the whole day and don't get any time to myself at home. I can't wait for spring again. I miss the pool.

A Break From Blogging

You may have noticed I took a bit of a break from blogging for a while. Sometimes life just gets too crazy and we need to stop for a while and rest. I feel like I have been juggling so many things with work, my personal life, and even myself. I can juggle a lot, but sometimes it just gets overwhelming. I have to drop a few balls or everything will come crashing down on me. Now that I have things a bit more under control, I am trying to pick the pieces back up again.

Growing up Alongside the Internet Part 2

When I got to college, the internet was in full swing. I was amazed when I first sat down in the computer lab and was introduced to broadband internet browsing. I was amazed to not have to wait 30 seconds to a minute to load a basic webpage. All my classes had some form of email or web based resources needed for them. By that time you had to pass basic computer literacy classes just to make it through school. Nothing was turned in unless typed and printed on Microsoft Word. Florida State University had campus-wide wireless internet. I spent hours in the middle of a beautiful field out under the blue sky surfing the internet while I studied.

I spent a scholarship check on a very good laptop when I moved on campus. This is when I really started enjoying technology. I became less afraid of technology and began embracing it. I had a desire to learn and changed my minor to IT. My IT classes became my favorite classes in school. I worked night staff security in the dorms, staying up all night and sleeping all day. Chatrooms, online video games, blogs, and social networking sites became the substitute for my social life.

When I left college I immediately got a job where I used technology every single day to manage the distribution of over 2 million hunting and fishing regulations for the State of Florida. After that I got a job as a site administrator for a blog site. My very livelihood and sustenance hinges on the technology that grew up along with me. We are like brothers, who didn't get along well at first but learned to be best friends.