Let's start the year off right...

Just because I was curious, I looked at my blog and realized that it's been nearly two months since I wrote anything in here. Two months I tell you! 60 whole days! There is absolutely no excuse for someone (like myself) who likes to write to go that long without...writing. So, for your reading misenjoyment, here's a little ramble-ation (did I spell that wrong?) to make your day.

We're in a new year---an even-numbered one at that. Which means that my car is due for a smog check. Speaking of said vehicle, come February 2, I will have had it for exactly ten years. Purchased new on 2/2/2002. (And I think we got TO the dealership about 2 in the afternoon...TOO!) This is a very easy date to remember, and it was the very first vehicle that our salesman had ever sold! I have no complaints about it at all. It's held up well and still drives like new*. Here it is parked in front of the house:

* Note:  This vehicle has had a new set of tires installed since this picture was taken. Actual vehicle may vary in appearance, and owner reserves the right to refuse transport any person in this vehicle at his discretion. Vehicle owner's home is not shown in this photo in order to protect privacy. Other structures and vehicles appear in this picture at their own risk and as such are not due any compensation. So there.

Anyway...this is me we're talking about, so I can't let you go without a peeve du jour. (Just couldn't make it to the door that fast, huh?) How annoying is it when people refer to California as "Cali?" Do people in Denver call their state "Colo?" Or how about a trip to Walt Disney World? Yeah, I haven't been to Flori in awhile. You get the picture (and the frame, too). To me, this is right up there with saying "congrats" to someone who's made an achievement of some kind. "Congrats." Really? I'm sorry, but that just doesn't sound very sincere. Even if it has become accepted, still... Perhaps Twitter is finally affecting us---we're shortening everything to save space. My own brother has started referring to Facebook as "Face." My own brother! He'll say, "I was on Face today." Whose face? Maybe I should tell people that I drive a "Hon." After all, it is shorter than "Honda."

A BONUS PEEVE SELECTED ESPECIALLY FOR YOU: The dollar sign goes before the dollar amount (i.e. $10), not after (i.e. 10$). I'm seeing the latter one more and more, and it's really starting to annoy me. And while I'm on the subject, things that cost less than a dollar are written as 98¢ or $.98, not .98¢---unless you can figure out a way to get change from your penny...

Then there's the job market. Ah, the old job search. Biteage. Suckage. Blowage. Cartilage. (Well, I was on a roll...) Now that we're in January, many companies with new budgets for new projects need new people to get that work done. That annual phenomenon has already been reported for this year. We'll just see about that. Looking for work is definitely not like it was in the past. Going door to door is considered "creepy" these days. If you do get past the front door and make it to the receptionist, s/he tells you to submit your resume to their website or use a particular agency, and sometimes not take your hard copy (or do so as a courtesy to you, only to feed their shredder before you get back to your car). Even when you do that, you rarely get any kind of correspondence that acknowledges the fact that you ever applied for the job. Is it too much to ask for a company to get back to me and let me know that I'm no longer being considered for the position? If not, tell me why so I can make adjustments to improve myself? Don't even start me on the nonsense about people being out of work for longer than six months. They're no longer considered? Do companies have a clue as to how much experience they're missing out on?

I think you've read enough for the time being. There will be more to come. What I write in 2012 will make what I wrote in 2009, 2010, and 2011 pale in comparison. And despite some negative issues, I'll try to be more positive about things. If nothing else, writing positive stuff just might cheer me up.