NickMizgala.net

Unexpected Frustration

Nick — Wed, 15 May 2013 02:43:23 +0000

So Angela has this 12 year old Flower Power iMac that she’s wanted me to refurbish for some time now. It’s a rare model and was happy to do it. Long story short, I fucked up part of it today.

I’ve refurbished plenty of old computers over the years and have a pretty good handle on what to do. So, when inadvertently damaging it during cleaning, it made me boiling mad. Usually, I would blow my top under these circumstances.

I couldn’t change the screwup, but the response to it was still in my control. Granted, it didn’t stop the anger, but at least I didn’t lash out at anybody or anything. Today, I’ll take what small victories I can.

Mother’s Day 2013

Nick — Mon, 13 May 2013 02:25:10 +0000

Since my mother died in 1998, I haven’t thought about the holiday much. This year, I tried to put some effort into it. She may be gone, but there are other mothers in my life to celebrate. It’s a hard job and they deserve credit for what they do.

Happy Mother’s Day to you all!

So, I’m 40

Nick — Sat, 11 May 2013 02:43:35 +0000

Another milestone reached, the age if 40. It means a lot of things to many different people. For all that get here, it certainly means one thing;

Congratulations, you’re not getting any younger, but you made it this far at least!

Funeral for a Coworker

Nick — Thu, 09 May 2013 02:30:04 +0000

Yesterday was the funeral for one of my coworkers. Technically, an ex-coworker, since she quit her job last year to move back to California and to be with her family. It was an emotional parting, since we knew something was up, but refused to say anything at the time. We didn’t find out what was up until December, when one of my other coworkers (one that knew her from a previous job) called around Christmas. That’s when we found out that she had cancer and was looking for some kind of hospice care. She smoked Menthols like a chimney all the 15 years I knew her (the interior of the computers she used looked as tobacco-coated as her lungs, I suspect), so the diagnosis wasn’t a huge shock. Still, it was still enough of one that it helped me quit smoking after 14 years this January.

I got a call on my day off this past Monday, telling me that she died the previous week. She was in Atlanta, visiting friends when she passed around last Tuesday. She was only 46 when she died… For some that may seem old, but when you’re just hitting 40, its too damn young. We were never that close (even after 16 years, I’ve never been close with any of my coworkers) and she was a pain in my ass sometimes, but she was someone’s daughter, someone’s mother. She left two daughters, one in College and one only 10 years old. They are the ones I feel most for.

For my ex-coworker, her story is done, all the parts of it written that she was capable of, good, bad and indifferent are now finished. Her children though, now must live with the hole she left in their lives.

We don’t know how long we have and must make the best use of it that we can. I don’t always do well in following that, but I try the best I am able.

A Rainy Weekend

Nick — Tue, 07 May 2013 02:11:58 +0000

Rain, rain, go away, come again some other day!

Baby, the rain must fall. It did, this weekend, often and every day! This is why we discovered that living in the Pacific Northwest, while interesting, is not the way for us (there was also the high unemployment rate, but we digress). Too much rain reminds me of the SAD issues of my youth in Michigan when we dealt with the endless cold, snow and gray skies.

Free Comic Book Day 2013

Nick — Sat, 04 May 2013 16:16:08 +0000

Today is 11th Anniversary of Free Comic Book Day! In participating comic shops all around the World, you will be able to walk in and get FREE comic books! Many of these shops are also hosting special events in celebration of today, so go find a comic shop near you and GO! If you don’t know where one is, the FCBD website has a form that you can type your location into and find the ones near you.