Drained

I got 2 things taken away from me today....money & blood.

Tax time for the 3rd quarter. Paid a good chunk away to the State today. Apparently this 3rd quarter I did better then the 2nd quarter but not as good as the first. It certainly didn't appear like I had that much this quarter but I think it was because of some of my new wedding expenses. It all went POOF as soon as I earned it. I like being out of debt so I pay them off as fast as I can...only that doesn't leave me with a lot of room for expendable fun money.

I gave blood again today too. I know I've given over a gallon since 9-11 as I got this little "one gallon donor" card from the Blood Bank this year. It's not much but somehow I felt a little proud of it. I hope it's been helping someone...because I certainly don't enjoy the actual act of sticking needles in my arm. At least I can say I do SOMEthing good for others.

But there I was today giving away blood, thinking I was the most generous person in the world...but then they sat me next to this guy who was the top donor on the board. He's given over 216 pints of blood. They have a top donor board on the wall....he's the ONLY person who's given this much. I can't even get ON the board till I've given 56 pints. So it sure outshadowed my little donation. Laaaame! Next time I'll let them suck my blood out dry so I get a headstart on catching up with this guy hehe.

Been wanting to either take a basic photography course down at Pacific New Media labs or a cooking course down at KCC. I'll wait for the new schedule. I need to do something constructive other then working and staying home all the time or else I'll certainly become the dull boy.

My photography needs work. Even my fiancee says so, how brutal. I think I want something that will help me with composition. I mean, it's ironic that I'm in design so I can recognize what a good photo should look like...but taking one myself and getting the result I want is another. I got books that have taught me the standard "rule of thirds" but I think I need live people to give me tips and critique.

Cooking...well, anyone who knows me knows I don't cook. Not that I don't want to... I actually quite enjoy getting dirty in the kitchen and creating something. Only that I find I never know what to shop for and how I would combine them together. Experimenting with food ingredients would be too prohibitive in costs without knowing exactly what I want to do. There's a basic knife class I will probably take first...then I think there are "quick meal" classes I might be interested in. I gotta learn to cook for the wifey don't I? :)