Smilin' Jim

About me:

..

Well, now that the important stuff is out of the way, what else do you want to know about me? I have worked for UPS since mid-2000. I love it... the hours allow me to spend time with my kids, the benefits are FANTASTIC, and the pay is pretty good. I'm certainly not going to get rich working in my current position (I process customs paperwork for international shipments, then move on to unloading trailers full of boxes), and it's certainly not very exciting, but life is full of trade offs.

Let's see... I'm divorced. I was married for eleven years, and about 9.5 of them were good. I used to be very diplomatic about this part of my life, but the truth of the matter is my wife divorced me because she wanted more stuff: a bigger house and more money to spend on things we didn't need and would rarely use. I thought I all ready had what was important: a wife and kids and lots of love. She disagreed. She divorced me and found a man who could give her the ability to buy all the stuff she wanted. Even if I sound embittered by it, I actually feel rather good about the whole thing. By the time I realized she was embezzeling money from our children's grocery budget to buy things for herself, I was pretty much done with her. It's funny though, because every year my X sues me for more money while I only worry about being able to see my kids as much as possible. Everyone has their priorities.

One of my largest areas of knowledge is MOVIES... I -=LOVE=- movies. My blog is full of movie reviews. Now, anybody can give thumbs up or down to the newest releases, but I like to delve deep into the cinematic vault and find gems that have been seldom seen and less often revealed to the public. There's a lot of good things out there, often the best are the hardest to find.

I'm a bit of a history nerd. I'm big into Ancient Egypt, World War II, US Civil War, and the historic impact on military weapons and tactics. I loved the computer game Civilization a bit too much and never play it any more, but I still like to get out games like Axis & Allies, Blood Royal, and Conquest of the Empire, even if I am missing adversaries.

So what else. I love learning. I've had some very unusual experiences in life and been given some unique opportunities. I love traveling. I love meeting people. I love being active and doing things. Life is just good overall, even if I come across cynical and jaded at times.

Anyway, I'm just being me... I'm a little weird, a little sarcastic, a little moody, a little annoying, a little boring, a little manic, a little romantic, a little amazing, a little long winded, a little shy, a little perverse, a little bit of a space cadet, a little arrogant, a little introspective, a little helpful, a little lovable, a little too smart, and a lot of fun!

SOUL SURVIVE
by Asphalt Ballet
I've seen everything a man can see
I've seen the strong survive
I've seen a young boy crying for food
I've seen an old man die
I've seen the system fall apart from the rules
...and all our presidents lie
I've seen the needle and the damage it does
...the wreckage left behind

But my soul survives
Forever doing time on a dead end street
My soul survives
Blood like wine running down to my feet

I've seen the broken dreams and broken hearts
I've seen the strong be cruel
I've seen a man driven by success
...break the golden rule
I've seen them execute a man for love
...blood running cold in the street
I've seen the wars and the heartache it's done
God bless our souls to keep

But my soul survives
Forever doing time on a dead end street
My soul survives
Blood like wine running down to my feet
My soul survives
FOREVER
My soul survives
Pick yourself up off your hands and knees