Tag / 30DPC

by jim

30 Day Picture Challenge Day 21 – A Picture Of Something You Wish You Could Forget

It was a normal Tuesday morning at work when the Consultant stopped by my desk to say that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center and that we were under attack.  Little did I know that for once, Chicken Little was right and the sky really was falling.

Most of the morning was a blur.  Updates were hard to get through traditional sources and most of the news I was getting was from the old Warren Ellis forum on Delphi and whatever incarnation of the Bendis Board was up at the time.  I tried to go out to my car to get an update from the Howard Stern show, which at the time was on a one hour tape delay.  Unfortunately, Chicago was one of the few markets that cut away from the show in order to simulcast a news station.

We all know what happens next: the Pentagon gets hit, another flight crashes in Pennsylvania, and, eventually, the buildings fall.  It’s a day that, for a little while, unified the country, but at great cost.  A day we would all like to forget.  A day we never will.

by jim

30 Day Picture Challenge Day 20 – A Picture Of Somewhere You’d Love To Travel

I would love to travel more.  I’ve been to Europe twice and Canada twice (barely).  One place I would love to go is Australia.  Unfortunately, my size makes it uncomfortable to fly under the best of circumstances, and a 20 hour flight would not be considered the best of circumstances.  Hopefully, one day things will be different.

by jim

30 Day Picture Challenge Day 19 – A Picture And A Letter

This is more of a picture of a letter than a picture and a letter.  I received this letter a few weeks back informing me that the Christian Brothers, the folks who ran my high school, were filing for bankruptcy protection and if I was touched inappropriately during my high school years, my ability to receive compensation now had a time limit.  So, in the spirit of today’s challenge, I give you my response.

Dear Omni Management Group,

Continue reading →

by jim

30 Day Picture Challenge Day 18 – A Picture Of Your Biggest Insecurity

As you could probably guess from a recent post about inspiration and the weekly Global Fit posts, I am, for lack of a better word, fat.  Beyond fat, even.  It affects my life every day, mostly in negative ways.  It’s why I don’t actively look for dates.  It’s why I don’t travel nearly as much as I would like.

Now, you’re probably wondering why I’m not doing more to change my situation?  Why do I pay for a gym membership that I hardly ever use?  Why do I come home from work everyday and just lie on my bed and watch TV?  I wish I had a good answer.

by jim

30 Day Picture Challenge Day 17 – A Picture Of Something That Has Made A Huge Impact On Your Life Recently

OK, this one is a little meta and will take a bit of an explanation.  Two years back, there was a big initiative at work to bring the IT salary structure, which was set up around position clusters, to the band structure that the rest of the company used.  While nearly everyone in my position was placed in the “D” band, there were three of us that were put in the lesser “C” band.  To make matters worse, the other two were quickly promoted to the “D” band, leaving me as the sole occupant of the “C” band for my position family.

So, as you can probably guess by now, this week I was finally promoted to the “D” band, which won’t make much of a difference in my day-to-day duties, but should have a decent effect on the bi-weekly direct deposit.  On the downside, I did promise my manager, who has worked almost as hard at securing this promotion as I did, that I would stay for a year.  Which, given the rate that we are losing our best employess, will be very difficult.

by admin

30 Day Picture Challenge Day 16 – A Picture Of Someone Who Inspires You

So why would Jared Fogel, the Subway spokesman, be inspiring to me?  Because he has managed to do something that I would love to do, but have been unable to do to this point, and that is lose a ton of weight and become a normal sized person.  At my best, I was able to go from extremely fat to just plain old fat, but I have never been able to break through that barrier.  Part of the reason I post the Global Fit results every week is to encourage me to exercise more in an effort to lose weight.  If I were honest with myself, I would say it isn’t working.

by admin

30 Day Picture Challenge Day 15 – A Picture Of Something You Want To Do Before You Die

I must admit, my first instinct was to turn this in to a joke and go with someone I wanted to do instead of something, but, after a bit of introspection, I decided to take it seriously.  My dreams of playing professional sports were dashed long ago (a consequence, I suppose, of being in your late 30s), so that meant I had to do some thinking before landing on this: being a contestant on Jeopardy.

Last year, I took the online contest search test for the first time and I don’t think I did particularly well.  I even missed questions that I should have known (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo was originally published in Swedish, not Danish.)  But, watching the show, I still think I could do well.  So, when it is offered, I will take the test again and hopefully move on to the next steps: the in-person test.

by admin

30 Day Picture Challenge Day 12 – A Picture Of Something You Love

As a senior in high school in the fall of 1991, I applied to three colleges: Northern Illinois University, DePaul University, and Purdue University.  One year later, in the fall of 1992, I arrived in West Lafayette, Indiana, ready to matriculate as a member of the Purdue class of 1996.  Nearly 20 years later, the affection that started with an acceptance letter has grown, and continues to grow.  Whether it is the crumpled sweatshirt on the floor behind me, the recently taken pictures of me and my niece and nephews on the same fountain seen above, or the basketball tickets I just ordered last week, or the friendships I still cherish, the love is as strong today as it ever was.