Good morning online world.  It's a whopping 8:51 on this beautiful Sunday morning and I've already been domestic as all hell.  Already done the dishes and baked muffins.  Go me.

So what's new in the world of Kevin?  Let me think a bit. 

Work has been going as usual.  There are spurts of heavy activity followed by brief lulls in the action.  I can really use a day off and I'm eagerly awaiting summer hours at the end of May.  If only I can hold out until then I can take two fridays off and only get charged for one day (summer hours bring longer days except for Fridays when you get out at lunch).  Also, Mr. Sheppard wants me to take management courses so from mid-April to the end of May I will be in York for one day a week learning how to manage others effectively.  From what I understand it is the first step towards taking a step up at the Sheppard company.  I also joined a golf league that plays 9 holes every Tuesday night.  So every Tuesday the pump tech center will be sucking it up on the golf course (well I'll be bringing down the team, anyone that has ever seen me golf knows what I'm talking about).

Denise and I are eagerly awaiting the coming of nicer weather and it is finally starting to arrive.  I'm ready to get my motorcycle out of storage (hopefully it will start) and to see a bit of the countryside.  Hopefully this summer we will get to go out and do a bit of the camping that we hoped to do last year.  I am debating getting a large get together of friends out on a camping excursion sometime towards the fall or end of summer - stay tuned.   Denise and I are also planning a trip to Philadelphia for the King Tut exibit.  Yes, we are nerds and love it.

I have been reading a bit lately, but mostly because I am so sick and tired of watching T.V. (I really don't watch that much as is).  Lately I have been reading the works of Issac Asimov but am considering going to the non-fiction realm very soon.  I have taken up trying to learn Microsoft Access so that I can organize things to a nats ass at work.  It will also look great on a resume.  So if anyone knows Access really well I might need some help in the future. 

Well, time to dig into muffins.  I hope that this message finds everyone well.

K

It's true, I'm lame.  The worst part about it is that I'm far more lame seeing that I never update my online journal.  The only thing that could possibly be worse are those people who feel the need to update their journal multiple times in one day.  Honestly, if your life was that important and exciting you probably wouldn't have the time to update that often.

I am not quite sure where I left off last.  Maybe Thanksgiving? 

I went to New Jersey for Christmas which was somewhat relaxing.  It was interesting to be back in New Jersey with not a whole hell of a lot to do.  I did get to hang out with my younger brother for quite some time which was really cool for a change.  Now that he has grown up it isn't like hanging out with a little brother but just one of the guys.  It was also awesome to spend some time with my uncle, even if he did hand my ass to me in ping pong.   The only person I didn't have fun with my grandmother.  If I hear one more time that I should make up with my sister I am going to gag.

I also got to see Abe and Lucia (at seperate times of course).  For the first time in a long time Lucia seems happy and good.  I couldn't be happier for her.  Abe, well the only way to describe my time with Abe is that him and his family have been more of a family to me than my own in many respects.  I will be forever in their debt for their kindness and generosity.  I also tried shrimp gumbo that evening.  Despite my reservations it was actually supurb. 

Books that I have read.  The last two books that I have read are Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and Diary by Chuck Pahlulniuk (sp?).  Diary was pure Chuck and had one of those twist endings that I wet my pants over.  Aside from those two I haven't read too much.  I'm trying to motivate myself to start studying so that I can begin my masters classes.  So far to not much success but I did study calculus once.  I shit you not I had a blast (honestly not a bit of sarcasm in that statement.  I love calculus.)

Music.  My musical pallette has been all over the map lately.  If I haven't reccomended the new Brand New album (the devil and God are raging inside of me) I highly reccomend that you give it a couple of listens.  I say a couple because it is an album that will have to grow on you a bit.  Other than that, Say Anything is always a great bet.

Work has been extremely busy lately which is both good and bad.  I get to show off my engineering and project management skills off which is awesome, but everything is so hurried that the pace is hard to keep up with.

I guess I should cut this short and run out the door.  I hope that this finds my online fans well and that I get to talk to them soon (unless your my sister, in which case I hope you come down with a rare strain of highly contagious foot rash.  Yes.  If only Karma were real I'd be having a field day)

Goodnite

So I probably should feel bad about the loss of a friend, but to tell the truth, after all that has happened I'm actually quite apathetic to the whole situation by this point.  For those who don't know what I'm talking about, I had a friend go and totally change who he was for a girl, when I actually told him about it I was pretty much told to get bent and that he hadn't changed and if he did I could pretty much suck it up because that is who he is now.  Well, this has drug on for about 3/4 a year now and this still seems to be his additude.  I guess it is finally time to move on, no more time to be spent here.

Work has been pretty busy the last couple of months, mostly on the warranty front.  I currently am training a new employee to take the former temps position.  I figure in another 3 months she should be up to speed and I should be able to get back to doing what I do best. 

The holidays are almost here and I have no idea what to put on my X-mas list.  I have ideas of what to get other people but no idea what to ask for. Hmm.  All of this running around will undoubetly lead to new pictures so maybe i will actually update the picture site at some point.  I will be going to DE for Thanksgiving but I am not quite sure where I will be for Xmas.

I am still running, but not nearly as hard as I had been for a while.  Now I run on my lunch breaks and go either for a 3.1 or 5 mile run depending on what the other guys feel up to. 

Denise has started her marketing position and I think for the most part she likes it.  I think she will be a lot happier with it once she actually gets deeper into things and can have her chance to shine (which of course she will). 

I will not be moving out of my apartment in January as previously thought, but will probably look to move out around April now.  I recently found out that my pricing agreement isnt up until April so if I don't need to move around the holidays I really don't want to. 

Well I think that is pretty much it for this update.  Been busy lately but haven't gotten myself into too much trouble.  My class has been taking up time that I would use to get into trouble. 

Peace and Love  - Kevin

Fall is almost here and damn I'm glad.  The summer gets quite boring and repeditive when each day is sunny and hot, sunny and hotter, and sunny with oppresive heat and humidity.  The weather changes brings changes in moods and ideas.  Phew.

Training...  I ran my first practice half marathon yesterday (for those unfamiliar that is 13 miles).  I'm feeling really good and my speed is really picking up.  I ran 3.1 miles in 22:06 with two hard days of training before that.  With fresh legs I hope to break 21:00.   The half marathon is at the end of October so it will be at least a 10+ mile run each weekend. 

For those of you who missed it (and I'm honestly glad you did) my birthday has come and gone once again.  **Rant coming, if you don't want any part in this you can skip to the next paragraph**  I got a birthday card which I assume was from my sister due to the postmark of central Mass.  The lack of a return address was deliberate but I'm a bit smarter than that.  This card has been or will soon be returned unopened.  I imagine that the card said Happy Birthday, but if the bitch truely meant it she wouldn't have bothered.  I don't want anything from her, and if she were to drop off the face of the earth tomorrow I'd be indifferent.  More oxgen for me.  If she wanted a brother she should have thought about that before she decided to go on a power trip.  Not giving me a say in whether or not I was to participate in her wedding was strike one.  The nail in the coffin was her second attempt at a power trip in her assuring me that I had a marvelous time at her own wedding.  (Not only is she a power monger she also is delerious also)  If she hadn't done enough to try and treat me as less than an adult already, a few months back she tries to go behind my back and work Denise to her cause.  Apparently I'm not old enough to decide whether or not I can like or dislike my sister, she has to try and work my girlfriend for an angle.  There was a short period of time where she treaded me as an equal and we got along great.  I'm not about to be treated as less than an adult and feed her power hungry ego trip.  So she can go get bent, permanently.  Makes perfect sense that she is a teacher.  She has a class of kids that she is actually smarter than and can exert her influence and control over.  I'm sure that makes her feel real good at the end of the day.

Phew.  Sorry about the rant.

Work.  Work has been up and down lately depending on how many projects I have going at any one time.  It seems as if the work load is either feast or famine.  As long as I have plenty of work to do I'm extatic.  I am begining a class on Geometric Tolerancing soon and can't wait to begin.

I recently read the book Lullaby by Chuck Palahniuk and it was honestly the best read I've had in about a year.  The author is the same idividual who wrote the screenplay for Fight Club.  Vastly different storyline in Lullaby but the same overall aura and style prevail in both.  This book was a real page turner so go out and borrow it from your local library today!

Music.  My musical pallete has been all over the place lately.  Recently I've bounced between Cute is What We Aim For, The Weakerthans, and a bit of Say Anything.  Oh I almost forgot.  From time to time I feel the need for some good bluegrass.  Check out the Old Crow Medicine Show on myspace if you get bored.  Quality listening.

Denise may have found a part time Marketing position!  Furthermore, there is a possibility that it may become full time.  I know this isn't exactly what she wanted, but I still am extremely proud of her for getting her foot in the door.  I know that she will excell. 

I guess that is all that I have for right now.  Everyone wang chung tonite.

K

It has been quite some time since I updated last so here goes nothing.

The summer has been quite good to me despite some of the usual ups and downs. 

The family has finally made their move to Deleware leaving the gma as the last Simon outpost in New Jersey.  It was really weird going to my uncles and seeing new people living across the driveway in a house that used to be mine.  Certain aspects will be missed, but others certainly will not.  Most of all, I will miss having a place that I could retreat to that was different from Hanover but familiar and safe also. 

Mike and Mellisa celebrated their wedding the other week and we took a trip down to South Jersey to celebrate with them.  Overall it was a really fun trip.  We stopped down in Bath on the way to Jersey and visited Denise's church picnic.  Oh the food we ate and polka we rocked (can you rock polka?  fuck it, we rocked the polka).  The wedding was really fun and I attempted to drag Denise out on the dancefloor as much as possible.  (Sidenote)  Despite what most people think about me, I really do not mind attending weddings.  The whole fiasco with my sisters wedding stemmed more from her not treating me as a human being let alone family.  If she could have understood that I had a personal issue and respected that then we would have been cool today.  Apparently women (basing this on one woman - my sister) become psychos when it comes to weddings and it doesn't matter who they trample to get what they want.  Im not about to play that.

I recently read One Flew Over the Cocoos Nest and found it to be a quality read.  I would stronly recommend it to all. 

Mr. Secker stopped by the town of Hanover last weekend and fun was had by all.  That friday we went over to Cadorus mountain biking.  It was an absolute blast, painful but a blast none the less.  After about an hour of riding around the park we discovered that I had a flat tire.  Mr. Seckler rode all the way back to the apt and then back to pick up my skank ass with a flat tire.  The next day Abe, Denise, and I all went to the rail trail starting in York and heading south.  Another quality day was had but with yet another not so quality tube in my rear tire.  The only saving grace was that we were only 2 miles from home when I discovered that this one was going flat.  It was really good to see Abe once again.  It is great how after months of seperate and limited communication that we can fall right back into where we left off.  I appreciate that more than anyone can know.

Denise had a job interview last week near Bethlehem!  From what she hears from the lady she interviewed with, she did extremely well!  She has not heard back yet as far as whether or not she got the job but either way I am extremely proud.  She has no idea just how great she really is.  On a somewhat related topic, Denise turns 23 on Monday so make sure you get your well wishing and birthday spankings in soon!

The job, yes the job.  Right now I'm extremely frustrated with it.  Friday marked the last day for our summer help Josh.  This really is going to be hard on the department because he really eased the work load during the short time that he was there.  Even with him there though, I have way too many balls to juggle at this period of time.  It is either feast or famine where I work.  This week I'll be luck if I have time enough to wipe my ass (if I don't have time it might work to my advantage, no one will want to talk to me to assign me more work).  It really is cool that I am the point man for so many things, but I really wouldn't mind forfeiting the warranty aspect of it.  I really am making a lot of contacts and gaining a lot of valuable experience so I'll stick with it as long as I need to.  In the meantime though, I am trying to gear myself up for the inevitable job searching that will commence when Denise finds her new job. 

The half marathon, we are a little over two months away now.  I am starting to look forward to getting it done and over with so that I can cut my training back drastically.  With the last few nights being quite cool it has been really nice running.  I can run so much harder and faster in 70 degree weather instead of 90 degree weather.  

Oh well, hopefully I haven't bored you all too much.  Everyone have a great one, and remember to keep the emails flooding in.

Kevin 

It has litterally been raining for the past (4) days..  it's kind of a drag.  I have been forced to exercise indoors the past two days which is one of the most boring things known to man and does not nearly provide the same impact as running.  Training has been coming along great despite the past couple days of rain and I recently picked up a bicycle for cheap so that I may now ride back and forth to work.  All this training for the end of October, (4) months away. 

Things have been pretty quiet around Hanover lately.  My parents are getting really close to the move out date which even though I won't be around for it, is still kind of weird.  I haven't considered New Jersey home for quite some time, but it was still a place that I could go to recharge and have everything be as it was (6) years ago.  It is going to be odd as anything to sit over my uncles house and see new people in my old house from across the driveway when I stop by in mid-July.

Despite struggling with working different shifts, Denise and I are doing amazingly.  The end of this month marks the one year - six month mark and to tell you the truth it all seems surreal.  In some ways it seems as if we have dated forever since we have been friends for so long, but in other ways it seems as if we just started dating.  I really don't know how she puts up with all my crap and how boring I am, but somehow she can and God bless her for it (just shows me how blessed / lucky I truely am). 

Things coming up this summer.  This weekend Denise's parents are coming up and hopefully we will all be going to Gettysburg for a day of re-enactments.  I'm just ready to see mortors go off as promised in the advertisements.  The weekend after that Denise's father is coming back to town for the weekend.  Looks like we will be shooting some pool and just relaxing.  There is also Mike and Mellissa's wedding in mid-July as well as R.H. Sheppard's summer shutdown.  I'm also certain that there will be a trip to Deleware to see the family and hit the beach sometime in August.  I am also trying to get a camping trip together somewhere in here so that I can get to see my old roommates.  The challenge will be finding a date that we can all go, and then a place that we can all have something to do at.  It will be nice to see the old guys once again.

Well in short, everything is going great here in Hanover and hopefully i will either get to your neck of the woods soon, or you will visit me here in mine.

Peace, love, and dorittos

Kevin

So I had an extremely interesting weekend.  How interesting?  Well for starters I got shot down by a 90 year old.  Furthermore, the 90 year old was my grandmother.  OH SNAP!

For anyone who was unaware, Denise I and I made the trek back to New Jersey in order to attend my grandmothers 90th birthday bash.  I can't complain about traffic, but all the travel has since worn me down and out.  I believe that Denise and I were both in bed shortly after 10pm last nite.  Thats early even by our standards.  Overall it was a good time.  There was dinner, dancing, and free beer............ whats not to love?  There was even that one really akward dude who no one is sure how he is related to the family who got extremely drunk and made a complete ass out of himself which was amusing beyond anything (especially when he was grinding up on my grandmother).  I have a handful of pictures from the event which I will be sure to post on my picture site sometime soon.

And now for the inevitable rant about my sister since she also attended this event.  Feel free to skip this paragraph if you like.  What I really want to know is how stupid can one person be?  She has attended a degree granting instatution, obtained her degree, and is persuing more, yet I don't think she understands something as basic as when you are told something the person telling you this is probably not doing it for their health.  She wants to reconcile apparently (according to her husband), I will respond to this in the same fashion that the germans got when the asked for the surrender of allied troops in the Arden forest "balls".  The time for reconcilation is over, we are family no more.  This should not be any shock to her, in fact, this is what she decided she wanted before the wedding.  I gave her the option of having me be in the wedding but disowning her afterwards, or letting me just attend with no consequences, and she opted for having me in the wedding.  I don't understand what is so fucking hard to understand.  Honestly, family doesn't make that decision.  Family would strive to keep their family in tact other than segregating them.  Now I hear all this bullshit about but she's family.  No.....  She made that decision and I clearly gave her the option.  She is not family and to be honest with you I'm not sure if she is even human.  A reconciliation now?  Not going to happen.  I gave her that option after the wedding and the ungrateful bitch had the nerve to tell me "What a great time I had at the wedding".  You know.  Shame on me.  She didn't listen to me before the wedding why the hell would she listen to what I had to say afterwards.  Well, I'm not going to let that happen again.  Fuck her, period.  I also am suprised that she had the nerve to try and get Denise involved in all this mess.  It is akward enough as is for her let alone if we were to "all go out for happy fun hour".  All I have to say to my sister is, grow the fuck up.  You made your bed, now sleep in it.  I'm not going to reconcile.

Other than that things are going great.  Tons of new CDs are coming out including the new Thursday album which comes out today.  This weekend I am planning on some R&R, and maybe getting the motorcycle out to the shop for an oil change as well as a new air filter. 

Oh well.  Looks like its time to get going to work.  Keep it happy, keep it schnappy, keep it gay keep it gay keep it gay (the producers for all you uncultured people, ha!

Its been a rough couple of weeks, maybe that is why I haven't updated this thing in a while?  I digress.

Work has been extremely up and down lately.  I finally have a pretty cool project which I get to work on from time to time, and my concept for a prototype is almost ready to submit for review.  All in all, I'm learning a lot from the project.  Other parts of work?  Boring as all shit. 

On top of work usually being pretty boring, I have had tons of problems with one friend, and then family. 

As far as the friend shituation.  Yes, shituation.  I used to have a pretty good friend, and when I saw him taking a road that would force a rift between us, I did something very uncharacteristic of me.  Instead of just saying fuck it, I tried to be patient and save a friendship.  Well, the whole thing backfired on me.  Instead of this individual realizing what I was trying to do, they just took a really defensive position and wouldn't stop to see what even other people were noticing.  All in all, I hope him and his new girlfriend are really happy together and continue to be (this is not sarcasm I sincerely mean it).  I am happy for him, but in another instant I see him making a huge mistake.  Not that he is dating this girl (she is actually really nice), but that he is changing himself into a mold of what he thinks she wants and needs.  I also have never been so disapointed in a friend.  This friend was close enough to know that what I was doing took huge leaps for me, and yet they threw this back in my face and told me that I couldn't be pleased and that everything he did was wrong in my eyes.  I tried for months with this friend, if he doesn't get it by now I'm forced to go my own way and let him go his own.  No hard feelings, just honestly don't like the person he's becoming and I don't need another 3-4 months of fighting.  Also, anyone who says I just swear friends off that easily apparently doesn't realize just how hard it is on me and how much it actually takes for me to do this.

On the family front.  I can not win with my family.  I am stuck in a situation where my mother says that my sister is wrong, yet I am wrong for sticking up for myself.  I understand where she is coming from, just wanting peace and all, but what I don't understand is if she knows that my sister is wrong, and she wants peace, then why doesn't the onis fall on my sister? 

Both situations bring me to the thought of a short story that Abe once had me read entitled " I have no mouth and I must scream".  This is honestly how I feel, except that I can scream just fine, but no one has ears to hear my cries.

If you don't want to read something corny you can just skip this paragraph and move on to the next.  Really who I owe my sanity to right now is Denise.  She has always been able to keep my sanity (relative) together despite whatever I am going through, and she can pull me through it laughing the whole way.  I am forever in debt to her and all that she has done for me. 

Now what everyone really wants to know.

I have been in training for about a month now in order to get in shapt to run a few 5Ks this summer.  I have spent the last month exercising indoors on my indoor trainer as well as the usual pushups and situps.  Finally with the beginging of April I have started my road training.  It is extremely rough, but I absolutely love getting back out there.  So far I am up to 3 miles.  I could probably push myself a bit harder but I am afraid to push my knees too hard as I have done in the past and put my knee out of commission for two weeks.  As much as I love running I love limping less.  Unless it is somebody else limping.  Gimps are hott.

Music.  Lately it has been Brand New and Say Anything.  I finally picked up the first album by Brand New (Your favorite weapon) and have fallen in love with Failure by Design as well as Soco Amaretto Lime.  Music to look forward would be a new release by Taking Back Sunday, Thursday, Murder by Death, and a couple other that escape me right now.  The new saves the day is horrible.  Rediculously horrible.

Movies.  Denise and I joined Netflix.  We are in the process of watching King Kong and legally blonde 2 is next.  After that it is Fun with Dick and Jane, Narnia, Closer, and a couple others.

Books.  I currently have not had much time to read but hope to read more now that the weather is getting nicer and can sit outside on the balcony.  If anyone has any sugestions I will entertain it at least for a second or two.  Denise and I were in Gettysburg the other weekend and found a really cool used book store.  Now every other week it looks like puppy shop and books for me..

Bot gotta run.. later everyone.

K

So sue me.

I can't really say that I do anything so much around here not to update, but every day seems to be extremely packed.  These things happen I guess.  Its is currently 7.06 in the am and I am just killing some time before work.  My love is still sleeping, and I pretty much am still sleeping also............until the coffee kicks in.

So how is everyone today?

For anyone that has not gotten the memo, I have started to email many of you asking for updated email addys.  IM has lost its flair, and it seems to be impossible to catch anyone on the phone, so I figure email is going to be my new and influential tool of the year.  Or maybe im just the new influentual tool for the year.

But I digress.  Either way, get those email addys to me.  Im not kevinjsimon@hotmail.com

It is mid January and because of the absolutely rediculous weather that is being had here in central PA I have still not gotten to go skiing (despite me having a night seasons pass).  Lame

Work has been almost been tolerable this week.  Last week we got more training on Pro E Wildfire and Friday they installed it on the machines.  So I have been spending way too long to do the simplest of things.  Its fun that way.  Aside from that shizzle I just have to write some reports today.  Fun huh?

Im rocking away on one of my new years resolutions but have yet to kick in the second one.  Ive been exercisizing at least 4 times a week, but have no picked up a book to study yet.  I feel as if I am forgetting everything.  Someday I might need to know just what the emmisivity of aluminum is........ You know, the shiny side.

As far as musical selections lately?  I have been on a huge phantom of the opera kick since denise got me tickets to go see it on broadway for xmas.  Shes great isnt she?

Well time to take care of my love.