A few reasons why Jim is pretty content right now:

1) His tax returns for the Federales and for the state of West Virginia were accepted without reservation by the monolithic government agencies to whom these things are important. This is good because Jim didn’t have to pay the state a goddamn red cent, and because his tax liability to the United States was less than half of what he thought it was. This leads us directly into number 2:

2) Jim has a job that he actually kind of doesn’t mind, and his tax liability was much smaller than he previously believed. Therefore, he has money that he can now spend on things he actually wants, without living from paycheck to paycheck, and without being a total load to his incredible girlfriend and her incredible parents.

3) Jim has a job he actually kind of doesn’t mind. And Jim thinks that a lot of people are really surprised by that. And he likes defying peoples’ expectations of him. This makes him happy.

Some things make him unhappy, though. Someone who leaves this world for the next before Jim gets a chance to know him better is one of those things.

All joy must be tempered with sadness. I miss him.

Ok, it’s been a while since I updated this blog, so I figured I should probably let people know what was up.

I got a job. I’m a claims processor for Highmark (via a temp agency), in training for the next month and then off to a five month assignment in beautiful downtown Pittsburgh. I make the trek every weekday morning at 7:30 and get home at about 5:30. It was quite a shock for the first week, but the shock is slowly abating. I’m still not entirely used to going to bed at 10:30, and I hope that at some point I manage to sleep through the 5:30AM wake-up shower that fills the bedroom down here in the basement with a rattling, wheezing racket. I used to sleep through it fine, when I didn’t have to wake up a 6:45. I hope I manage that again.

I’ve been taking Tylenol PM, and it’s been a boon to my sleep schedule. Only once did I have the all-day zonkers, and but it was worth it. It’s an interesting experience; you take it and a half an hour later your hands, arms and legs feel like they’re filled with tiny bags of lead. The nodding-off and unbroken, dreamless slumber shortly follow. I actually wake up feeling refreshed, which is also a new thing for a guy who hasn’t gotten up this early this consistently in seven goddamn years.

The job is OK. It’s not mind-numbing data entry, but it comes about as close as anything could come without actually being it. If that makes any sense, which it probably doesn’t. I think it’s varied and diverse enough to keep me interested in it for the six months I’ll be doing it. That is, if I don’t find a different, better paying job more suited to my talents in the meantime. And oh boy am I still looking for that.

Aside from that, everything is going well. I write more than when I wasn’t working, so that’s a surprise. It’s not all useable or even good, but it’s words on paper.

I keep telling myself that I’ll get into the routine; I think I’m actually starting to believe it.

Oh, well. Some bad news very early this morning left me sleepless for much of the night, so I’ll be signing off before this drivel gets any more…drivelly.

I need a copy of this picture, so I can post it on or above my desk.

Why, you might ask?

Because if I don’t keep (or get, depending on the day) my ass in gear about writing, I’ll be Cliff.

You know, an obviously smart guy slaving away in a thankless job for the rest of his life, finding solace only at the bottom of a glass.

Or, a character on a sitcom.