So earlier today I told you about how I couldn’t find my W2 for the life of me … how I had to call people in HR and give them my credit card info and what not so that they could over night me a copy of my W2.

Tonight I get home from work, and there in my apartment is a bin of mail. Aparently there was a period of time when my mailbox was over full and there has been a seperate box of mail down stairs for me all this time … which I didnt know about.

Inside is of course … my W2.

So I’m getting a duplicate for no reason it seems, but I’ve already done my taxes now. It was a snap once I had the dang W2.

I’ve got issues … many issues. I know – not exactly breaking news, but it seems like about the right place to start this blog.

First things first, nice weekend this past few days. I’ll tell you about my purchase in a blog later this week. As nice as the weekend was however, it was a constant reminder of one of my bigger issues right now.

My plans for this weekend were varied and lofty and all started with “do my taxes”. For those of you who think I’ve waited too long to start that, I really haven’t (normally). See I have a very simple tax situation and I have the last five or six years worth of tax data in TurboTax. I can do my taxes and electronically submit them in about an hour. I can wait until the day before if I want and still have plenty of time.

This time however, when I started to sit down to do them I realized … I’ve no idea where my W2 is.

I’ve searched everywhere. I have a fairly small apartment and I have searched everywhere. My state tax forms are MIA as well … which means they are all likely continently together neatly awaiting tax time. I just have no idea where I put them.

I have a file folder here with all my tax data going back to 1999 and logically I would have put this years tax papers in that folder. But they aren’t there.

There are only a few plausible explanations, but none of them allow for me getting that W2 back. So with 5 days left I’m W2-less.

So this morning, in addition to catching up on the things that waited on me while I was in Florida, I have to call … someone … and see how quickly I can get a replacement W2. It probably wont be fast enough, in which case I have to file an extension for filing my taxes. And extensions are a pain in the ass since you still have to pay by April 15th even though you’ve no real way of knowing what you owe. sigh

Anyway last night I started watching “The Bourne Identity” pretty late into the evening. It was awesome! I purchased the DVD and also “The Bourne Supremacy” from a Borders in Florida. Naturally once I’d seen the first movie (it was great) I couldn’t wait to see the 2nd and I put it in afterward. It was like 3:30am before I got to bed. Both movies were great however.

I have a killer headache today. It’s one of those ‘lasts for a few days’ types of headaches.

It started yesterday afternoon and got progressively worse in th evening. Woke me up at about 5am – it was really bad then. This morning it persists, but enough Excedrin has been consumed that the throbbing pain from last night has dulled to a more tolerable constant pain.

I’m looking forward to the weekend. The weather is getting nicer and Florida has me excited about that even though I haven’t had any real chance to take advantage of it. Hopefully I’ll be able to bring the sunshine back to the Windy City.

Maybe I’ll buy that camcorder this weekend … or go GeoCaching … or both. Either would be blog worthy.

For now, I’ve got alot to do and not much time to do it in … and a headache to get under control.

Travel can be fun … or at least I seem to remember that it can be.

Unfortunately it has a way of destroying my plans of eating healthy. I know others manage to eat right and even work out and all that crap when they travel … but these are people who are already in the habit of doing so. People, I’m not someone who eats healthy. I can be … I was once … but I’m not now. I had a solid week last week (and saw measurable results thanks to it), but one week of constant and conscience will power does not a reformed man make.

So here I am on a business trip where a) there are business dinners at places with great food and b) I’m traveling with someone who is not so concerned about eating healthy as I am (and I don’t blame him … just makes it harder for me).

So this week has probably already (and it’s only Wednesday) undone all the good work done last week. This morning for example the guy who is down here with me from Chicago suggests stopping at McDs for breakfast …

I CANNOT resist McDs breakfast. The only thing that stops me from getting a breakfast burrito every single day is the fact that I’m too lazy to go get one. But when chauffeured directly to the golden arches before 10:30am … there is ZERO chance of my leaving without at least a Sausage McMuffin with Egg sandwich!

I’ll get back to eating right again naturally … but its too bad I’ve wasted a week. It seems every time I start one of these efforts something happens in week 2 (before I’ve had time to actually change habits … when painful will power is still needed) that sends it all to hell.

These sorts of things … often go awry

10:15am CDT – Midway Airport

So I’m sitting in Midway airport and I have about an hour and a half or so before my flight boards, so I thought I’d pull out the laptop and write up a blog.

It’s weird lately, I’ve been all about my website. I haven’t even been playing the computer games that usually take up my computer time. (MMPO Games are an addictive and time consuming leisure activity).

Lately, I’ve been coding and blogging and coding and researching and blogging and coding some more. I’ve got some cool stuff done, and am now desperately trying to learn the things I need to learn in order to do some even cooler stuff. Meanwhile Doug (DougMeade.com) has been upgrading his site as well, and as you all know today we both announced the upcoming addition of vlogs to our website primetime line up.

With all this new stuff going on on the website, it seems I cannot get enough of it. I mean, here I am writing a blog at an airport with no apparent way to actually post it to the site (sadly there are no wireless networks here and I’m not about to haul all my bags all over the place on the desperate off chance I can PAY to jack in somewhere).

Anyway, with all the stuff I’ve got to learn/do for “the grand vision” Doug and I have come up with for our websites, my web development/publication/production is bound to keep me very busy for the next few months.

I won’t suffer upon you a lengthy airport, I’ve-got-nothing-better-to-do, blog but I’ll pull out the laptop and make an update from the hotel before I post this to the site. I may update this on the plane as well, but honestly I doubt it (my personal laptop is freakin’ huge and would be a pain in the butt to me and anyone sitting next to me ….

ok … something just happened that I have to tell you about … Some guy just picked up the mic to address the airport and said “Yee-Ha! Attention in the airport … Southwest Airlines is now …” blah blah blah.

I’m sitting here making a face like “did he just say “yee ha”? when all the sudden he says it again in the middle of his sentence! “…all passengers should be in gate Yee-Ha B10″. Yee Ha!? WTF? Who says Yee Ha in Chicago? Who says it anywhere anymore?

Is gate Yee-Ha B10 different than the gate B10 I might otherwise go to? No longer looking at my computer but instead staring off into space with a look of holier-than-thou contempt … he says it two more times in short succession! “We thank you for flying Yee Ha! Southwest airline Yee Ha!”

Did this guy lose a bet or take a dare or otherwise pimp himself out for the amusement of others or is this part of a larger issue? Has Southwest airlines encouraged their airport personnel to include the words “YeeHa” to give their passengers a fun little taste of the Southwest, or has this lone employee taken upon himself to give the airlines announcements a Southwest flair? In any case … I am opposed to the use and encouragement of the use of “Yee-Ha”.

… where was I? Right, so I’ll post this once I get a connection (probably in the hotel). I’m sure by the time I get there my website will be overflowing with comments regarding my vlog teaser (Heaven help you all if you didn’t leave a comment *cough*Gina*cough*Todd*cough*.

12:50pm CDT/1:50pm EDT - 41,000 feet above Indianapolis en route to Tampa.

The Boeing 700 series aircraft I’m in seats 135 people I believe … I heard them say there are 52 passengers on this flight. So with an entire row to myself I did in fact have plenty of room to bring out the laptop once again for an in-flight update. I now get the opportunity to experience the one “con” that this laptop received when being reviewed … battery life. I’m down to about 20 minutes thanks to the brief period I was up and typing in the airport. Not a big deal to me … I’m more concerned with having it with me in the hotel than on the plane (and I can plug-in at the hotel).

Midway airport has come along way since I flew from there last (which was years ago). It’s much nicer than it once was. It’s got some nice shops and restaurants now. If you haven’t been there in a few years (I always fly out of ORD) give it another shot – fares are cheaper there sometmes. Of course there was a McDonalds not 30ft from my gate tempting me all morning. I had a McDonalds breakfast sandwich, which goes wholly against my current mission to eat healthy again, but I couldn’t help it. I did really well last week, and I expect to do well again this week, but airports are rough when you have nearly 2 hours to kill and I’ve always been a sucker for McDonalds breakfast. That doesn’t explain why I’m having the in flight snack (Ritz sticks and diet coke) but I’ll just have to make up for it later. I had one indulge day last week … looks like I’m having one this week too.

Anyway, we should touch down in the sunny state of Florida just after 3pm EDT. I’m not sure yet if we’ll be heading in to the office today or not – I’m betting that we will. But once I can get online I will rush to DavidMeade.com (as each of you do each and every day) and witness the amazing volume of comments you have no doubt left on the Vlog announcement.

About an hour and a half left of this flight, and 17 minutes left of battery life. Time to save, close, and get in a few good games of freecell.

10:23pm EDT - Tampa, FL.

Well, I’m in Florida and at the hotel. They’ve got a pretty fast wireless connection here thankfully. We went into the office for the few hours we had today and then went to a Borders bookstore. Stopped to grab some food, and then I watched one of the DVDs I puchased at Borders: The Incredibles. It’s a GREAT movie

Should be a full day of work stuff tomorrow, but should we be too wiped out to see the town, I also purchased The Bourne Identity and Supremacy which I can watch.

Wednesday, however, there is talk of festivities … we shall see.

I’ve a few hours left here before I HAVE to call it a night, so I think I’ll go grab a diet coke and catch up on my surfing.

Thanks for all the comments on the vlog announcemnet I think it’ll be alot of fun. I’ll talk more about it (and the reasons for the July 4th launch date) in a future blog

Avaliable Formats: [wmv] [mov]

Today, DavidMeade.com and DougMeade.com both are making historic announcements.

We are very excited to tell you about the latest feature to be available on each site. The way we communicate with you and the world via our websites is being expanded.

Stay tuned for more information and more teasers! In the meantime, use that lilttle comment link at the bottom of this blog and let me know what you think about the above.

I’m off to Florida on business this week. I expect to be pretty busy during the days, but I’m taking my new laptop with me so hopefully I’ll still find some time to blog at the hotel; so comment away … I’ll respond as soon as I can plug in.

Related Videos:

DavidMeade.com Vlog Teaser #1

DougMeade.com Vlog Teaser #1 (DougMeade.com)

I have trapped a bug. A very large bug.

Living on the 7th floor of a modern high-rise building in the heart of downtown Chicago … that just doesn’t happen all that often. In fact, this may be first one I’ve found and detained in my … 2+ years living in this building. Had them all the time at my last place, but here I haven’t. I’ve got new windows and all that, so it just doesn’t happen all that much.

Anyway, I’ve trapped him beneath a clear plastic cup that is weighted down by an old AMD processor. MWUHAHAHAHAHA … just try and escape from that you lil’ pest!

Oh I’ll go back and let him out … once he’s dead.

I know, I know “Aw, just let him go … take him outside and free him”.

No. Firstly there is the off chance that in moving the cup he’ll escape! Also, he’s been in there for like 20 minutes now … I’d wager he’s pretty pissed off. If I let him go who’s to say he’s not going to come back for revenge?!

No, no … best to see to it that he dies.

Then again … I don’t really want anything to have died in my bedroom … ever. I mean if there is anything worse than a large bug (which will for my own sanity go unclassified) it’s a the vengful ghost of a large bug.

Maybe I will let him go. Maybe not. Maybe I’ll keep him as a pet?

Well, this week I have been on several missions.

One of these missions was to start eating right again and stop at least the ‘ever-growing’ part of the ever-growing darkness thing. So far this mission has been going really well (although its so hard to guage these sorts of things after only a week).

Today however ‘the gang’ and I are going to P.F. Chang’s for dinner and drinks. I don’t know how many of you have been to P.F. Chang’s but let me sum it up for you in 2 words: Mongolian Beef.

P.F. Chang’s has what is, without question, the greatest dish ever created … their Mongolian Beef. It’s no ordinary Mongolian Beef … no … it’s … P.F. Chang’s Mongolian Beef … and its the greatest thing to come to humanity since we learned how to eat.

I don’t know what the P.F. in P.F. Chang’s stands for (mainly because I’m just too lazy to do a google search) but they really should just change their name to M.B. Chang’s for “Mongolian Beef Changs”.

Ask anyone who has been to M.B. Chang’s about the place and their first reaction is likely to be a glazed over trance like offering of the phrase “mmmmmm … Mongolian Beef”.

So tonight … my mission to eat better gets put aside for a few hours as I indulge with the Mongolian Beef at P.F. Chang’s … “mmmmmm … Mongolian Beef”.