balexhowe

re·spect (r-spkt)
n.
A feeling of appreciative, often deferential regard; esteem.
The state of being regarded with honor or esteem.
Willingness to show consideration or appreciation.

to me respect is one of, if not the most significant attribute a person can have. if you can not respect yourself, then how can you respect others. it is defiantly something that is earned, and once someone has done something to disrespect me, it is very hard to get that respect back. i think that may have a lot to do with my demeanor and the fact that not a whole lot bothers me. i try and respect everyone and expect the same in return. unfortunately that changed this weekend for some people whom i thought were my friends. i lost respect for some of them.

i think the crutch ‘well i was drunk’ has been played and i am tired of it. we are all grown ass adults, and should be able to handle the alcohol we consume, and know how to act. if you use the drunk crutch more than you should, maybe you should curb your drinking. the shit that was more acceptable when in college, does not fly with me today. and i am not saying that i am any better than anyone else, because i know i have done my fair share of stupid shit after i had been drinking, but i have never done anything to hurt the feelings of the people close to me.

i spent the majority of sunday thinking about how i was disrespected this weekend. and i tried to understand how the people that i have spent the majority of the past year with could say and do the things they did. i wanted to come up with a good reason for it, but i realized i am tired of trying to make excuses for people. no more excuses. what i realized was the lack of respect. respect me and i will do whatever it takes to maintain a good, healthy, relationship. disrespect me, well you will lose a great friend. and what did/will i lose from this? maybe some great friends, but if they did this to me once, what would stop them from doing it again?

details of what happened this weekend, are irrelevant at this point, and something i never want to bring up again. so if i seem distant, then maybe you are the part of the problem and need to be part of the solution. i may forgive, but i will never forget.

you hurt my feelings. i have since pulled the knife out of my back. the wound will heal, but the scar will always be there.

i have two things to offer on this great day. and if you think its about you, well then it probably is. educate yourself before running your mouth.

“There is no reply to the ignorant like keeping silence”
-Proverb

and

“Your ignorance cramps my conversation”
-Bob Hope

wow. what a crazy weekend. someday i might write about it, but for now i think my bed is calling my name. i realize i have been negectling my website, but i have other things going on away from the connected world. i have some of the greatest friends in the whole world. i could not have asked for a better group of people to associate with. with that being said a good friend of mine… whose birthday is this week had this posted on his myspace. cant say it any better. people better realize, recognize and re-evaluate their situation.

over the past 11 years many things in my life have changed. i have worked at 19 different places including five different gaps in two states and five different cities, three newspapers including the waco trib, boston globe and atlanta journal constitution, two gas stations, a liquor store, chilis, a hair salon, golfsmith, selling chinese babies, my current job and a few others thrown in there for good measure. i have lived in seven different places, three in waco, two in austin, and one in boston and atlanta. i have had four different vehicles including a ’91 chevy truck, a ’93 k5 blazer, an ’00 tahoe and an ’06 charger. several of my friends have been married and divorced, and of course i have dated a few girls here and there. through all of this change, which is normal by any means, well maybe not all the jobs i have worked, there has been only one thing constant over the past 11 years. my cell phone number.

i can remember when i first got my cell phone. it was one of those real nice big ones that had zero features and boiled down to a huge piece of shit. i was on the lovely at&t network way back when. i have since gone through several and i mean several different phones. my current phone the treo 650 is my fav thus far. even though i don’t use it to all its capabilities.

i was of course switched over to cingular when at&t was bought out and i have had some hefty phone bills before. when i was living in atlanta before companies did away with roaming, i amassed a bill of $1100…over the span of one month. i of course did not know i was roaming the entire time i was there.

now that long distance charges are a thing of the past i guess its not really a big deal when people hold onto to their numbers even as they move from city to city. so even though i live in 512 it will be hard for me to let go of my 254. like they always say, death, taxes, and my cell phone number. some things will never change.

are we living in a modern day wild west frontier and the six shooters that the cowboys once had strapped on their side have now become cell phones? not a day goes by without me having to witness the incredibly ridiculous amount of people with their phones affixed to their hip like they are waiting to be challenged to a dial off. just today i passed a guy on a motorcycle, had his little helmet on and tried to offer his best tough guy demeanor, and there at the red light, he pulls out his motorola razr that was attached at the hip and checks his voicemail. whatever street cred he thought he had…tossed right out the window.

now of course i wasnt around in the days billy the kid and wyatt earp, but i would assume there was some pistol envy back then, just like there is phone envy today. living in the techie community that i do, its easy to see the newest, most outlandish phones. i mean dont get me wrong, i have a bad ass phone, that i paid too much for, but it is where it should be, in my pocket and not on my hip.

and its just not toolbag guys with the phones on the hip. it seems as though the fashion craze, and i use that term loosely, has infected all walks of life. the geeks and dweebs, right on down to the socic’s and greasers. and dont just limit it to the male population, i have seen my fair share of annie oakley wanna-bes walking around with phones at their side.

so join me in mocking these people who are waiting to be challenged in the street to see who is the fastest dial. and if you are one who wears their phone on their hip, put it in your pocket, or purse and please turn the ringer off. and while you are at it, lose the damn bluetooth headsets. the real jesse james and wild bill hickok never had anything in his ear to communicate with others. they probably would have shot someone who appeared to be talking to them self. maybe it wouldnt be such a bad idea to bring some of the wild west back to the modern day.

it was a year ago today that i moved into my apartment in austin. i was writing about watching tv and connecting to the internet via WiFi and now here i sit at my third job since i have moved to austin. i must say my present job is by far the best becuase i get to do neat fun things. like build databases and output useless information. for example did you know that today is joe pesci’s birthday.

other things have changed over the previous 365 days. including getting a new car, ive learned new programming languages, i built a website or two, i no longer do freelance work for django, i still loathe my apartment, and fish got married amongst other things.

just like last year at this time i was getting ready to go snowboarding. this time it might be a little more painful as i am getting older and all that falling down and what-not doesnt sound as much fun as it did in previous years.

i still havent gotten used to the whole 8 o’clock thing, but i must say its much better getting off at a normal time. so tonite i dont know if i should celebrate a year a austin or mourn. i guess it hasnt been all that bad. i do know that i will awake tomorrow at 640 just like i have been over the previous year and shuffle off to work. i just hope that my hot water heater will stay on unlike a year ago tomorrow morning.

Dear AMLI Assclowns:

In December 2005 I expressed concern over the lack of parking in front of building 15. When I moved in mid-February, there was a red Toyota 4-Runner (License plate # XXX XXX) parked in one of the three spots directly in front of the building – with one of the parking spots being handicapped. That vehicle had been parked there for eleven months, with zero movement whatsoever, until mid-December 2005 when I first complained about this matter. There was another car that I mentioned, a red Ford Probe, which was between buildings 15 and 16, which has since been moved several times. When I complained about the matter, a sticker was placed on the window of the 4-Runner, and the owner moved it to the spot directly behind where it previously was. It has not moved again since. There is another car, a white Toyota Corolla (License plate # XXX XXX) that hasn’t moved since at least November. The hood is dented in and the registration and inspection stickers are both past due. These two vehicles are just sitting there taking up spots that other residents should have access to.

I have read and re-read the lease contract and understand that there is really nothing in the lease that states anything about these vehicles having to be moved if they are ‘operable and current on license, registration and inspection’. The Corolla is violating this as both the registration and inspection will be expired on Feb 1 2006. The 4-Runner, I assume, is operable; but, it never moves – so that is questionable.

Here is the problem and main concern of my complaint:

Over the weekend and past few days, cars have been parking under the carport next to the carport that I am paying for. There have been 3 different cars parked in that spot over the previous days. I have seen a blue 4-Runner, a Ford Explorer and this morning a silver Ford car. None of these cars had the required tag to be parked in that spot. My theory is that people are trying to find a parking spot near their apartment, and are not finding anything, which results in just parking under the carport. So, with the two cars that are just taking up spots, it is forcing others to park illegally and further away from their apartment.

With the positioning of Building 15 and the lack of parking around the other buildings, there is a trickle down effect that results in people and their guests parking in the spaces in front of Building 15. During the day there of course is not a problem with parking as the majority of the people are at work. At night and on the weekend it is completely different. I got tired of dealing with the small parking spots and the lack of spots so I decided to pay the extra money for my own spot. I do not mind paying for my spot, but I feel as though with the two vehicles that do not move, there would have been availability for myself and others.

Since the lease does not state that people have to move their vehicles as long as the vehicle meets all the requirements, maybe a compromise could be met. I suggest having the owners of vehicles move their vehicles further away from the building. If the vehicles are not being used, what would it matter if the vehicle was moved to an area with less need for parking spots? For example, over near the mailboxes or on the left side of the trash bin located near the mailboxes – or even on the other side of the access gates near the gym or front office. Of course there is nothing stated in the lease about where boats should be parked, and I am sure more residents would be upset if those two vehicles were boats just occupying those spots.

I look forward to your reply and a resolution to my concerns. Please contact me…….

Sincerely,
balex

this weekend i took a trip to waterloo and had to park on the side of the street. i pulled in behind this older lady who i guess didnt want to park in the spot she was in anymore. she decides to throw her jeep grand cherokee in reverse and back right into me.

she gets out of her car and goes “oh i didnt see you” of course my response….no shit. so had to call her insurance company and provide everything short of a dna sample and urine speciman. so looks like next week i get to deal with this crap. cant wait. although her comapny did state it was cleary her fault and they are gonna to take care of it. regardless i have a busted grille.

we are launching our new intranet at work tomorrow , so hopefully things will slow a bit. and i can write more here. my apartment complex is still a piece of shit. today i realized they upped the price to wash your clothes. im sure the dryer will follow soon enough. anyway….leave comments. let me know who you are if you are reading this when i do update. i will be implementing a new feature on my site hopefully this week. i think its pretty kick ass. hope all is well.

need i say more?

so yesterday when i came home from work there was a huge brown enevlope on the clip outside of my door. instantly i knew it was some crap from the apartment community. my first thought was its a letter telling me to get the keg off my balcony. but instead it was a folder containing a letter thanking me for being a resident for a year!! (come february) and part of this letter was to inform me that they are upping my rent a whooping twenty bucks a month and that i can lock in this special rate for only the next week!!

ok heres my question. what has this place done for me or the community to warrant the significant increase? lets see my car was towed. kandis’ car was vandalized. they charge me fifty dollars for a late fee even though i paid my rent on the due date, the hot tub has yet to work, the parking lot is out of control, my ac leaks rusty water into my tub, i got a letter for having a cooler on my balcony, the gates are never closed, the trash people come at 6am, a quarter of the washing machines dont work, and i guess my biggest pet peeve is the damn 4-runner.

so you ask yourself well what is up with the 4-runner. the day i moved in there was a 4-runner parked in one of the prime spots right in front of my apt building. this vehicle has not moved an inch since i have lived here. it causes so many parking problems. and again you say…how could one car cause parking problems. the spots are tiny as is. this truck taking up one spot causes others to seek other places to park. the people in other buildings park next to their building also in front of my building and it causes there to be no spots available. its like death taxes and that damn red 4-runner being in the same spot.

so all that being said i am looking to move to a house in round rock. i found a nice one that i already emailed the guy about and hopefully will go check it out tomorrow. i cant wait to get away from this shit ass apt.