 | Tim.B.log - original Tim Bond's weblog. |
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
|
||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
|
|
Thursday, April 06, 2006
I've moved
posted 4/06/2006 03:49:00 PM
For what it is worth, I blog on Livejournal now at http://timbond.livejournal.com Thursday, May 13, 2004
Testing comments
posted 5/13/2004 02:07:00 PM
just a post to test the new comment ability Monday, March 29, 2004
And so it goes...
posted 3/29/2004 01:37:00 PM
It is somewhat sad to notice that my last blog entry is 3 days before the Democratic nominee was chosen (essentially) by the Iowa caucuses. The "momentum" of whichever candidate was deemed "winner" was never anything anyone could overcome. Oh well, Howard Dean, the one candidate this year who I truly believe is worthy of being our president placed 3rd in Iowa and was pretty much counted as being out of the running after that. I did canvass in Aiken, South Carolina, as planned, but I'm not sure I had much impact. Dean dropped out in February and last week endorsed the soon-to-be-nominee John Kerry.
Many people assume that "Deaniacs" like me who are so eager to get Bush out of office will simply transfer all the energy and enthusiasm we had for Howard Dean to Kerry. I'm ok with Kerry, but there's really nothing about him that excites me; he appears to be just another politician and, to me anyway, a pretty big letdown after knowing that an exciting, honest, real politician like Dean does exist. Kerry is, however, our only hope of getting Bush and Company out of the White House (as Dean points out pretty often), so I do support his candidacy. Until I can get enthused by Kerry, my plan is to support Democratic and anti-Bush efforts in general. I'm hoping that Dean's new group, Democracy For America, will provide me with an outlet for my political energies, such as they are. Locally, we are hampered by less-than-useful Meetups here in Augusta thanks to no one providing leadership with direction; they tend to fall apart into long, drawn out conversations about nothing in particular and, when anyone suggests actually doing something, the suggestions are either dismissed or ignored. I plan to keep attending the Dean Meetup in hopes of being able to get something going, but my pessimistic views of the Democratic and Kerry meetups were either confirmed in person or through reports of others. For those of you thinking, "Why the fudge doesn't Tim just take on a leadership role and stop whining?" I agree. I'd rather not say more in public, so let's just say there would need to be an unpleasant coup and, frankly, I'm not in the mood for that so I'll keep whining. Actually, more than just whining, I am working to get involved with the local Democratic Party. I'll be first to admit, though, that my motivation is waning. This past weekend, Toby and I finally got to go to the Cherry Blossom Festival street party, complete with fireworks. He invited me to the one in March 2003, but work prevented me from attending. Better late than never, though, and we had a great time. We also took in the arts/crafts show and saw a live tiger show down in Brown and Williamson's Central City Park [no one I know in Macon seems to know when the park got that name or, why, for that matter, the city would name the park after the tobacco company that is about to close the local plant leaving many Maconites unemployed]. I wouldn't classify Macon's festival as a "don't miss," but I would recommend it if you are in the neighborhood and looking for something to do. Friday, January 16, 2004
Politics and Life
posted 1/16/2004 01:58:00 PM
Just a couple months ago I go sit quietly at a Dean Meetup, and now I'm helping gather up a group of volunteers to canvass Aiken, South Carolina, this weekend for Howard Dean. I've never done anything like this before, but, luckily, some experienced folks are organizing things so I'll have some people to learn from. Wish me luck :) If you haven't visited DeanForAmerica.com yet, you really need to - and I strongly recommend that you read "Common Sense for a New Century". If you read much news or watch the talking heads on TV, you probably aren't getting the most balanced information on -any- of the candidates. If you haven't made up your mind, check out their websites and talk to their supporters. Email me if you want to ask me any questions about why I think Howard Dean, MD, is the best choice to defeat George Bush in November.
I've decided to try to sell a few of the buttons Claire and I have come up with: Dean MiniButtons - So far no one has shown any interest, but we'll see. It isn't for real profit, but rather to share my enthusiasm with other Dean folks. If nothing else, it might get some business for Claire's fledgling button company, E-ClaireButtons.com. So far, I've helped hooked her up with a few Dean volunteer groups with bulk orders. I hope things get even better for her soon! In my own life, things are very nice. I've come up with a budget that seems to work pretty well for me (never really had a problem budgeting, but I think I've made things much more efficient). Work is going well at ASU, and Linda and I are still plugging along at the Disney Store in Douglasville (although that will mostly likely end in March). Some friends and I are enjoying Trivia Time every week - sometimes even winning or placing! My apartment is working out wonderfully - close to work, big enough for me and LV, and very cozy. And, most importantly, Toby and I are happier than ever. Like me, Toby stays pretty busy with his work, so the 135 miles separating our homes hasn't been as bad as it might be. We got to spend nearly a week in Charleston in December and I was down in Macon quite a bit over the holidays. I finally met his mom last weekend (she has mentally blocked my identity and makes no connection to the guy Toby mentioned in his blog), and she seems like a perfectly rational woman. I don't know how/when Toby and I will be able to make a move to be together, but I am thinking it will happen this year... who knows, but I hope so! (I've got a wild idea we could run away to Walt Disney World, but we'll probably be more practical.) Monday, December 08, 2003
Getting involved in politics...
posted 12/08/2003 02:38:00 PM
Ok, ok - I know - how many months since I posted? And didn't I promise some info about the Disney trip? Oh well - I guess that's not gonna happen. Enjoy the Disney pics that are already posted on my homepage and look for more in the next week or so.
Earlier this year I started seeing information about different Democratic candidates running for President in 2004. Something has to be done about the current state of affairs and Bush must be defeated next November. Very early on, the only person in the crowd who kept clicking for me was Howard Dean, MD, former governor of Vermont. He's an intelligent guy, seems more honest than one should hope for in a politician, and, man, can he give a good speech! A few months ago, I ran across his website www.DeanForAmerica.com and signed up immediately. Not long after that, I found myself attending a supporters meeting, called a Meetup. Now, I check a few of the many websites daily, read the official Blog For America site several times a day and wear my Dean buttons everywhere I go (a friend of mine is starting a button business, so I even designed a few buttons and paid her to make me up a bunch. When her website is up and running, I'll post the link on my homepage). So, all of a sudden, it turns out Governor Dean is heading to Columbia, SC, just up the road from me on Sun Dec 7. A few of us from the Meetup decide to carpool and take a roadtrip in Franklin's van plastered with Dean posters. The governor and Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr., give some electrifying speeches and the crowd goes wild. We hooked up with a huge group of NC Dean supporters for lunch (and lots of them picked up some of the tiny 1" buttons I brought). After waiting outside the State campaign headquarters, I got to shake the good doctor's hand before he cut the ribbon for the HQ grand opening, making that the first time I've ever come in contact with a presidential candidate (I did see Clinton in person a few years back when he came by Augusta State University to promote an education plan, but wasn't anywhere near enough to shake hands). I only regret I didn't get to give him one of my buttons, but I did find out that Jesse Jackson, Jr., admired one someone had gotten from me and she gave it to him. Do check out Dean for America and find out why Dean is our best hope to take back our country and, if possible, find out how you can get involved to ensure we get Bush out of the White House! Friday, October 24, 2003
Happy Birthday Toby!
posted 10/24/2003 10:19:00 AM
:) Friday, October 10, 2003
a new season of Tim's Life
posted 10/10/2003 02:05:00 PM
Well, if you've tuned in over the last few months then all you have seen are reruns. I guess you could say that I've been on a bit of a summer hiatus :-) Truth be told, I'm a lazy blogger. It doesn't help that I moved in July to a new apartment and, to save money, I dropped the cable internet service. I didn't even bother to sign up for a dial-up account for weeks. Finally the inability to chat with Toby got to be too much and I signed on with Joi Internet - pretty good service so far for really cheap rates.
Let's see... what happened this summer? Well, after Disney Store and Eddie Bauer closed in the Augusta Mall, I was left with more free time than I've had in over 11 years. While I have been working at the Douglasville Disney Store a couple weekends a month, it has been wonderful to actually have my weekends back! You may recall at the end of last season, I had started hanging out with one great guy named Toby; contract negotiations have gone well and he will be staying on in the role of my love interest for future episodes :-D We've gotten to spend a few weekends together here and there and always have a blast. He has introduced me to astronomy and I even got to do a tiny bit of helping at his mega-successful Mars Mania event. Toby and I made it down to Walt Disney World in September for his first-ever visit - more about this in a future post. Yep, we still have a 2.5 hour drive between us for the time being... And, yes, I did move to a great apartment. I've always liked the "Hill" area in Augusta and I was excited to find a great place with cheap rent and nice landlords very near campus. LV enjoys it, too; she loves the wooden floors for running around, but prefers a rug or mat when she lies down. I like that her hairballs are easier to clean off the non-carpeted floors :-) What I really need to come to grips with is the different storage/closet options in this new place; I've got lots of stuff and it needs places to go. Anyway, the cheaper rent is making it possible for me to have a bit of spare change at the end of the month and I'm so close to the office I can walk it easily. Watch this space for more info about our trip to Walt Disney World and on from there... Monday, June 09, 2003 posted 6/09/2003 06:31:00 PM
Now it's time to say goodbye... (twice!)Disney Store in the Augusta Mall spent two weeks in liquidation - but sold so much so fast that we had to get other Disney Stores to send us more stuff! As sad as it was to watch the store go to nothing, it was nice to know we were still giving it our best and selling as well as we knew we could. On May 25, nearly every CM clocked in for one last shift. The day before the entire inventory dropped to 75% off so that last day we only had 5 fixtures with anything to sell on them - the rest of the fixtures lined up to block off the vast emptiness than accounted for over 2/3 of the store. A lot of guests came by to say goodbye and we kept up the Disney spirit until the very last purchase (made by yours truly). After we closed, we all went up to a restaurant in the mall and had a very nice dinner together. Kim, the assistant manager gave us each a Disney address book and an address/phone/email list so we can stay in touch. There were some tears, but a lot of us have become close enough friends that we knew it wasn't goodbye. We even all got together 8 days later to see Finding Nemo. A handful of us also showed up to witness the removal of the characters from the store. Since I had seen the store while it was being finished the night I filled out my employment paperwork, I wanted the closure of seeing it like that. (Not being totally right in the head or something, I did agree to stay on as a Cast Member at a store 165 miles from my home and work there 1-2 weekends a month. Once my fellow Augusta CM gets her 10 year service award, we both doubt we'll stay much longer - but we'll see how it goes... I did work there this weekend and had a blast working the huge Semi-Annual Sale.)So, you may be wondering, "What did Tim mean by 'twice' in the heading?" Well, Eddie Bauer in our mall is also going the way of the dinosaur, so they needed some extra help for their two months of liquidation. OK, sure, I could use the money. I took the job and told them I could start work this week. I called tonight to talk to the manager to let her know what nights I would have to work at the office next week, and she let me know that the store is having to close THIS Sunday. So, I'll work a week and get a grand total of 9 hours work time there. Will they even bother to have me watch the training video? It does give me some relief because I was looking forward to time off. I could have used the money though... Do you ever think your life feels like a TV sitcom or something? I know mine does from time to time. New this fall, Tim, now working only one job most of the time, will be living in a new apartment (I found a nice place in an old house near the university). I've even got a few season finale cliff hangers: Will Tim's new love interest, Toby, join the cast permanently as a frequently recurring character? (Inside sources report current negotiations are going quite well!) What will Tim do with all his new found free time? Will Laurie, one of Tim's best friends, move home to Augusta after being an occasional special guest star for the last two years? Will LV ever calm down and stop being a totally insane kitty? Tune in and find out! (Now I just need some major sponsors to provide production support...) Wednesday, May 14, 2003 posted 5/14/2003 02:55:00 PM
All good things...On April 25, 1992, Disney Store #428 held its grand opening in Augusta Mall, Augusta, GA. Exactly 11 years and one month later, May 25, 2003, Disney Store #428 will close the gates forever at 6pm. One Cast Member has been there since day one (Truck Day - April 11, 1992), and I am that CM. It is sad that the store is closing, but we are proud to say that we went out on top - with consistent good sales numbers and positive marks all around. Heck, even our liquidations sales numbers have been better than other stores liquidating in the last few weeks :-)Yes, I am disappointed to be losing a job for the first time in my nearly 35 years on the planet. I will miss the paycheck, but I do think I can probably manage without finding another second job. I will miss working with my fellow CM's, but I know we'll get to see each other around town. All that said, I am very much looking forward to having my nights and weekends back - not having to plan everything more than 3 weeks in advance. Yeah, I won't have much money to do anything with that free time, but I will have free time to do nothing if I want :) (No, I am not happy the store is closing - If I had wanted to leave, I could have done that at anytime in the last 11 years.) Sunday, April 27, 2003 posted 4/27/2003 10:40:00 PM
Just another week...This past week was very pleasant and calm. I felt like I was fairly productive at the office with my "To Do" list actually getting shorter by Friday (a rare occurrence as of late). With priority registration over and most students focusing on the end of the term, I didn't see as many students. However, I think there were still just as many students visiting the office and I know the telephones were ringing off the hook with new freshmen and transfers reserving seats in our orientation programs for Summer and Fall terms (well, many of the people calling are the parents, but that works). I did have one mother on the phone who could NOT understand why I couldn't just tell her ALL the orientation dates so she could pick the most convenient day for her daughter, but she seemed to calm down when I explained we have particular programs depending on which status the student is accepted under.At home, my cat, Little Voice (LV), had pretty much gotten used to me being the only one in the apartment since Brett left with his cat, Saffy, back in early February. Of course, since LV moved in ini August 2000, she's always had Saffy and/or Brett to play with or pester 24/7. Now, I'm gone most of the time I am awake and she never thinks I pay her enough attention (I do brush her and play with her, but she almost always wants more). Well - last week she got some company and attention with my sister Charlotte spending one night and Toby spending the weekend. Toby even brought her an amazing red dot that jumps and runs all over the apartment for her to chase, but, after a few days, she realized it only comes to life if there is a human sitting nearby holding something that looks like a pen. Now, when she wants to play, she lets me know and she goes NUTS jumping, running, falling after that bright point of light - never tiring of the fact that she can NEVER capture it. Also, she's acting bad like she did when she was a kitten again - getting up on the counters and furniture throwing things down and bugging me more for my food. I had to get a bit more assertive with her, and, so far, we've seem to have reached an agreement that I'll play with and brush her more and she'll avoid knocking too much stuff on the floor. I find myself thinking about Toby fairly often - not really distracted or anything particularly starry-eyed, just looking forward to when I can see him again. I even managed to switch things around at the store next weekend and get off Friday night with all of Saturday and Sunday. With any luck the weather will cooperate and I can join him Friday night for sky watching at the museum where he works. Well, I won't complain as long as we are spending time together. Wednesday, April 23, 2003 posted 4/23/2003 05:39:00 PM
Taxes, Love, LifeTax day came last week and I sent in my payments. I do have to pay a little every year, but that's life. Better than having to give the government my money interest-free for a year, right?Easter weekend brought some light into my life. Toby came up and we had a wonderful time together. I wasn't going to start dating anyone anytime soon, but, here I am falling in love with this terrific, intelligent, handsome guy. They always say the best things happen when you least expect them... I couldn't have expected Toby, and meeting him has been fantastic. He thinks it might be "doomed;" I am not sure, but I certainly hope it isn't :-) One of my friends recently commented that, over the last couple of months, I've gone back to how I used to be years ago: Happy and laughing and joking. I didn't realize I had become a sourpuss, but she says I had (and I can see her point). I've had some stress over different things and now I think I've managed to put most of that under some control (the main stressor will not be gone for many years, but it isn't gonna kill me). Anyway, my sunny disposition came back before I met Toby... and having him in my life hasn't hurt it at all (and, my friends agree that is saying a lot). Monday, April 14, 2003 posted 4/14/2003 08:32:00 AM
Give the heavens above more than just a passing glance...Last week I ran across a great website at http://www.heavens-above.com. You tell it where on earth you are and it tells you what's in the sky above you right now. It can even help you spot satellites as they pass overhead. So far, I've only used the sky chart in my apartment complex parking lot, so a brightly-shining Jupiter is all I've been able to spot with its help. Note: east and west seem backward on the chart so you can hold it over your head.Thursday, April 10, 2003 posted 4/10/2003 10:47:00 PM
Worked at the store tonight. I didn't remember it was my 11th anniversary with the company until some random guest stopped me to tell me that I must be new since she had never seen me before. I explained that I am the only person left at the store who was there when we opened in April 1992, but she insisted I must only work back in the back. Since I had work to do and arguing would do no good, I let it go and, after making sure she knew about our "Tiggerific" specials, I finished what I was working on. Now that I think about it, she said she'd never seen a guy working there before, and Joey walked out during our chat and I pointed out he had been there a few years himself.
This week has been one of the coldest/wettest weeks for the golf tournament that I've ever witnessed in my 20 years in Augusta. While the golf club has had to close the gates and postpone events some days, it has been a boon for our store. Normally, this week leaves our store pretty low in sales since so many locals go out of town (we do sell tons of park tickets in the weeks prior, but we are only a selling agent for attractions so none of that adds to sales), but the lousy, damp, cold days have driven the out-of-town folks into the mall this year. So far, our store has been on top of our district every day this week, as a matter of fact. Naturally, that means that next year we'll be up against some big "LY" (Last Year) figures. posted 4/10/2003 03:27:00 PM
Well, a few weeks into the war and the regime seems to have totally lost control of stuff in Iraq. No telling where Saddam and/or his officials have gotten off to, but there's still plenty of war to go, right?
Anyway... my life is very pleasant right now. I've met a really wonderful guy who, with any luck, will put up with me and the situation we find ourselves in long enough for us to figure out what, if anything, will work out. I will be happy if we can be friends, but I have some hope that it can be more. He deserves something really great and I would like to be part of it. Thursday, March 27, 2003 posted 3/27/2003 08:36:00 PM
Ok, it seems that 6 months between blog posts is about the best anyone can hope for from me. In spite of my past performance, I'm going to shoot for weekly posts for a while...
This week has been a long one and hasn't felt productive, although I've actually been having a good week. Over the weekend, some pals visited town and we spent most of the weekend out of doors in downtown Augusta and on the Riverwalk. Tuesday night I finally got to meet a chat buddy who lives in Columbia - who knew there was anyone out there who enjoys finding bloopers in movies even more than I do? At the office, I've gotten to give presentations to fellow ASU staff members, ASU faculty, and a few classes. I'm looking forward to a quiet weekend with a couple shifts at the store, but I would have liked to been able to accept a gracious invitation to Macon's Cherry Blossom Festival street dance Saturday night. I've been watching some of the war coverage on CNN and BBC-America from time to time since it started just over a week ago. I've never been a fan of this war, but it has started and there is no going back now. I couldn't imagine what made all the news folks really believe and report that the whole thing would be fairly quick and easy. Even the military spokespeople I saw speaking after just a few days expressed disappointment that the regime leaders would not just give up and turn on Saddam. Ok, I'm not a military analyst, but doesn't that seem impossible? If they don't ALL do it at once, then someone will rat out those who do plan on giving up and the coward/infidel/loser traitors would be executed pretty freaking quickly.... right? Anyway... enough for my armchair war planning... Wednesday, July 17, 2002 posted 7/17/2002 09:08:00 AM
Well - out of the blue I've decided to start posting here again. Yes, it will be just as boring as before... but, oh well, my life isn't particularly exciting.
Brett and I went to see "About a Boy" with Steve on Sunday. I had heard and read that this was a good movie, so I was glad i was finally getting around to seeing it. It is a incredibly good movie and I would like to see it again soon, but there are so many movies I want to see and the budget will only handle a few trips to the cinema. Monday, January 07, 2002 posted 1/07/2002 08:36:00 PM
A week into the new year. Today was a bit crazy at the office since the snow kept the campus closed for two days. Some folks had a hard time with the concept of everything being postponed by two days.
Saffy and L.V. seem to be as friendly as ever... maybe it is me keeping the thermostat a bit lower and they need the warmth. Saffy even sat still and continued purring when L.V. came up to horn in on Saffy's petting. Tuesday, January 01, 2002 posted 1/01/2002 08:06:00 AM
Happy New Year! I am not one to make resolutions, but I do hope that this year I can eat less, exercise more and not spend as much.
If possible, I'd like to travel as much as I did in 2001 (ok, there goes any chance of saving money). It has been several years since I've visited D.C., so I'd really enjoy going there during Brett's spring break. If D.C. doesn't work, we'll head down to Walt Disney World. Of course, after Brett graduates, we are hoping to make it back to Europe. Thursday, December 20, 2001 posted 12/20/2001 12:37:00 AM
Oh man - tonight was a killer at the store. Well, I guess it was really fun - we stayed busy, but not a dull moment. As many horror stories as you may hear about holiday shoppers being rude, I must say I've been very lucky so far. Most have been pretty fun to work with and only a couple have been unreasonable this entire season. Wednesday, December 19, 2001 posted 12/19/2001 09:21:00 AM
Not feeling too bad considering I got less than 6 hours sleep and am coming down with a cold. It is, however, taking me some effort to get psyched up for the second of 4 days in row of working both jobs.
Now, if I can just get those web edits done... posted 12/19/2001 12:30:00 AM
Whew - worked until nearly midnight at the store. I'm not convinced of the need for our mall to be open until 11pm - very few sales after 10pm... Tuesday, December 18, 2001 posted 12/18/2001 08:58:00 AM
Today I must complete ACES and Download edits... we'll see... Monday, December 17, 2001 posted 12/17/2001 10:36:00 PM
AbFab Series 4 finale was too funny. I can't wait for another series. posted 12/17/2001 06:29:00 PM
This is my first blog post. Just setting things up. |
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|