I mentioned a graph in my last podcast episode and here it is. I call it my "Relationship Satisfaction" graph.

You'll see that relationships have times of rollercoaster-type of emotions. And you'll notice that things haven't been spectacular for the both of us for the past few years, right? I'm not going to go into too much detail about it but you can see for the most part I was a happy man. And I guess you're curious why the graph doesn't look like this:
Well, I don't think anybody can be 100% happy with the quality of their relationship. Everybody has good times and bad times. Sometimes things people say things to you and it's so hurtful, the relationship can't go back to the point it was before. I think everybody starts out at the point where they ask themselves "Is this the right thing to do?" You tend to build a little bit of caution into what you're going into. Once a person is comfortable where they are, then the happiness increases and just major things happen along the way. What lead to the demise of this relationship? Lack of communication and also different cultural beliefs. I'd have to work hard to "change myself" which is a dramatic kind of change. And after trying for so long to please someone else, you get to a point where you don't want to do it anymore.
Oh, and if you want to make fun graphs for your presentations and to show how nerdy you are, try OmniGraphSketcher for Mac.
A life-changing decision in the making...
So, as I said before, I would make a decision about what I would do as far as moving by today. I knew that I would make the decision a lot sooner than that and I did. Leaving Australia won't be easy but I think it's the right thing to do.
I also talk about Pride 48, looking for places back in Texas (from across the world), some of my favorite Mac apps (Omni), my learning style, my confusion of why people are attracted to me and a few other things.
Yes, I am fully aware I am posting outside my "schedule". I couldn't post on Friday due to appointments.
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Length: 20 minutes 30 seconds
File Size: 9.4 MB
I probably don't have to tell you this, but the next idioPod episode will come later this week. I didn't feel like recording a new one early this week, so yeah, I didn't. I'll wait until Thursday or Friday to post a new one. Probably Friday though. As far as my decision goes, I'm sure you all know where I'm headed.
So alright, I've relayed the message to you. That's all that I was obligated to do.
So alright. It' Saturday morning and I'm absolutely exhausted. I stayed up until 3 am playing Bejeweled 2 for my iPod Touch and earlier I was playing Bejeweled Blitz on Facebook. So naturally I didn't wake up until 8 am. Of course that wasn't my own doing, that was more like my dog driving me crazy to wake up for about 5 seconds, then hauling himself in the living room to take a huge, wet crap in the floor. I also had to do my weekend cleaning stuff that I hate to do like washing dishes and getting the clothes together. I'm still very tired though and contemplating going back to sleep for an hour or two.
Speaking of sleep, I, again, had really strange and vivid dreams. This time it was about my sister and I finding a big stone angel in the middle of the forest and I did something to knock it down and it shattered. People were around and they were pissed. They were Australians... they even had the accents.
Nothing else has happened in the world. That's because the media circus has started once again about Michael Jackson. So I'll spare you all of that and you can hit up one of the news sites and read all about it. And just some useless trivia, my favorite song by him is "Smooth Criminal". When I was a kid, I thought he was singing about Annie Oakley. I thought the lyrics were really her.
So anyway, that's it from me. I'm going to attempt to sleep a little bit more.
The focus is now, the blur was yesterday...
Mark in Canada asks me questions about what's happening with me with my finances, moving and such. I complain a bit about the religious right in the USA, pros/cons of going back (religious pressure, the location of my parents, not being able to bring my weenie dog, etc.), financial unbalance between partners, my love for Canada, my cookies and a few extras.
And though this is not in my podcast, I feel sad for Michael Jackson. As scary as he looked, he was a huge influence on a lot of artists. You guys have heard enough of that anyway, I'll spare you.
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Length: 24 minutes 30 seconds
File Size: 11.2 MB
Hey ladies and gentlemen (and those that fall in between). This isn't going to be an exciting weblog entry but I just wanted to let you know there have been a few little updates to the website lately.
- New Projects Page: I was never happy with the way it looked. I have changed it and removed a few of the projects that didn't really need to be up there.
- Menu Fixes: A few links were opening new windows when they really should have been doing that. Fixed it.
So what now, you ask? I'm going to be working on a few other things with the site over the next few days. Those are:
- Listen to the latest audio podcast episode while you do other stuff on your computer. It's actually up, but no links to it yet. It needs cosmetic work.
- General code cleanup: My stylesheets are a mess. My code is a mess. I've crammed a lot of javascript in my site and just need to clean it up a bit.
What does tomorrow bring you ask? Why, I'll be posting not one, but two podcast episodes. Both were idioPod 81 but only one gets the privilege of being on the feed. I thought I would show you what exactly I throw away. There are actually a few podcasts where I started over but saved what I already made. Some of them include my very old ones I did in 2007 with Brandi.
So look for "Humble Jumble" tomorrow. Hopefully soon I will be back to my pre-2000 self. j
Oh and have I mentioned how much I am looking forward to Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland?
So alright I did a few posts today but thought I'd do another one though my Twitter says:
"I'm going to sleep because I'm tired. And bored. Mostly bored though. So bored that I'm tired. It's a vicious cycle I tell you!"
And yes, I am bored. My boredom overpowers my sleepiness. So here I am. One of the things I've been drooling over is Tim Burton's live version of "Alice in Wonderland" which I'm looking forward to like you would not believe! If you look back in my journal entries, you will read that "Alice in Wonderland" is my favorite Disney cartoon. And though I really like The Duchess who isn't in the cartoon, my heart is set on the Queen of Hearts:

That is Helena Bonham Carter, folks. And I know that she's going to be a really good Queen of Hearts! Hardly anything that Tim Burton does disappoints me so I'm really looking forward to this. I don't have the high resolution picture of Johnny Depp as The Mad Hatter, but I have to say he's pretty creepy. Hooray for creepy!
Over the next few days I will be doing some trimming of website code, moving things here and there and adding a podcast player that can play in the background. Of course that's just the latest episode. I need to hammer out some details. I'm also working on other stuff relating to my website for the people I host but I've run into some security problems. (My logins aren't very secure...)
I was tempted to start recording the next episode of idioPod 81 today but then I know what will happen. I will want to talk about things later in the week and push it to the next week. And I hate when I do that because it gets "stale" and "old news". So I'll start recording either tomorrow or Thursday at the latest.
Well, my boredom continues but I wish you all well. Need to sleep.
Eccentricity is stretching it a bit...
Once I realized what I've said, I pretty much repeated everything in the last podcast episode except a few tidbits about how evil eBay and Skype are, the local cafe(s) where I grew up in Texas, and a bit of my planning process, favorite burgers and my coffee. Of course none of that is in order. :)
I sound like I'm crazy in this but I'm in a good mood from being able to sleep decently lately. Hooray, sleep!
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Length: 21 minutes 22 seconds
File Size: 9.8 MB
Are you looking for a place to go for your vacation (or holiday as they call it in Australia and the UK)? Why not take a trip to one of the exciting cities across Asia or Australia? With airline tickets being at some of the best (and lowest) prices ever, it's a great opportunity to go somewhere new and to save money while doing it. Heck, why not come down to Melbourne and stay at a nice hotel for only $79 AUD per night? (That way you wouldn't have to listen to my snoring or have my dog jump all over you when you stay here.) There are also great rates in Hong Kong for as low as $62 AUD or in Beijing for as low as $44 AUD.
With Accor Hotels City Super Sale, you can take advantage of up to 60% when you book online between 23 to 29 June for stays between 10 July and 30 September 2009! And of course different rates apply for Accor's different brands like Sofitel, Pullman, Grand Mecure, Mecure, All Seasons and more. So this is a limited time kind of thing so you can't dilly or dally, you have to book these awesome rates soon!
I'm not sure how many of you know this, but I haven't really spent much time in Asia. Weird, right? And of course I'd always wanted to visit India for all the historic stuff and to really get immersed in their culture. And if I could, I'd head over to India during that time frame so I can save a bit of money (I've heard horror stories how expensive it can be but rooms start at $72 AUD during this limited time sale) and stay in one of Accor's hotels! (Plus I'd go crazy eating Indian food too because I just love it and it will give me a chance to have the authentic stuff!)
And of course, if you go somewhere I really wish you a wonderful and fun trip! Let me know how it goes!
My rambling can stir up a rumble...
This podcast episode has too much to be themed so I named it "Ramble Rumble". I talk about school, the status of my relationship, coming or going, my love for American mustard, Miracle Whip and sliced cheese, my Facebook is at http://www.facebook.com/theonlyben and just general life around here in Melbourne. I talk a little bit about my dreams and also about my weekend plans and the religious people in Texas and why it deters me from going back.
Also, my local Texas number doesn't work anymore. I cancelled my subscription.
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Length: 19 minutes 40 seconds
File Size: 9 MB

