the letter L

I found this photo for a project I did a while back. I got a request for a bunch of letter L's for a dinner that unfortunately got canceled. I got a bunch done and then stopped before I got too much further. Here's the prototype and some of the modules.

thanksgiving

I headed to my folks house on the Wednesday before thanksgiving and got caught in an epic traffic jam in Columbus. I listened to a lot of AM radio because most of the people on AM radio are more miserable and crazier than I am. Which helps. A bit. I also listened to French language which was kinda fun.

On Thanksgiving, the family went to help at a church that was serving a meal and delivering dinners to shut-ins. The folks there were a little disorganized, but it was for a good cause and I'm glad we helped out. I'm also glad I didn't immediately get struck by lightning when I walked into the Catholic church since I'm something of a heathen. Well, marginally Buddhist, but I'm guessing that isn't much better.

We spent a lot of time hanging out and watching football. I spent much of the football time reading and playing a video game. We ate too much, played games, and tried to keep my baby niece from eating dirt - which was a challenge since she's crawling so fast now. Oh, and Mom fixed waffles for breakfast and I put ice cream on them.

I did a little work on Sunday when I got back to Akron so today wasn't too bad when I got into the office. Got a couple of errands to run when I get done with work, hoping the day stays quiet.

A trip to the BMV

I seriously don't know what the fuss is all about - I've never had a bad experience at the BMV. Of course, I always have all my documents ready in advance and I pick a time of day designed to avoid long lines, but still, you'd think the odds would go against me at some point.

I had to get my registration and driver's license renewed recently. Well, not "had to" since I've got until my birthday in January. But I got the notices in the mail and figured I might as well get it out of the way.

I stood in line for maybe a minute before being called up to the counter. Rachelle asked me a few questions, took my paperwork, and directed me over to the eye exam station. I passed that test, then back over to sign a form. She took my check, handed me the sticker for my license plate, then directed me over to the photo station. In a couple minutes, the driver's license had printed out and I was on my way. I think I was in the building for maybe 15 minutes total.

The photo, however, is terrible and shall never see the light of day. Not Rachelle's fault - I don't think I've ever seen a really good photo on one of these things.

So, I'm preemptively legal and on the road.

collection, spongebob, tie, dentist, hand, game

After reading Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut, I was inspired to craft a few chips of ICE-9 as a sort of prop. I intended to go forward with a collection of doomsday items - including red matter from Star Trek - but then decided to expand the collection to include impossible things.

Impossible Things

I have this on display in my office, with each item neatly labeled with a name and a warning. It's pretty geeky, but so is noting when my car's odometer turns into a binary number.

Also in my office - at least sometimes - is a plastic figure of Spongebob Squarepants. The other half of the time, he's in my colleague's office. We take turns hiding the SbSp and the game goes back in forth. Except for this most recent time. I had found SbSp in my cubicle and hid him in my colleague's office. He found him, and had him out on his desk. I was going past his office, realized he wasn't in and saw SbSp - and hide him again in a new location. I think I've taken the game to a new level. :)

I had intended on getting my license and registration updated on Thursday after work - and wore a nice shirt and tie to the office that day. Now, I always try to look reasonable at work, but I rarely wear a tie. And it was remarkable enough that several of my co-workers asked what was going on. As I was headed out for the day, I noted on the forms I had with me that the BMV doesn't take credit cards in person. Since I didn't have my checkbook, I decided to defer it for another day. A day that, I'm sure, will be filled with people asking me again what the occasion is.

I had a dentist appointment on Friday and got to their office a little early. I signed in and they took me right back. The hygienist remembered me - and my origami - from last time I was in there and was again amazed at how much I was able to fold without looking. I couldn't really look at what I was doing since she had both hands and what I'm guessing was a belt sander in my mouth. At one point she poked my lip with a sharp object - enough to make me wince. She apologized and I gave her what I'd folded - so, we're still friends.

And now for the not-so-fun item. I hurt my hand on Friday evening. I was in the middle of a reasonable discussion turned into argument and lost my cool. Which was disappointing because I'd been doing really really well at keeping my cool up to that point. I slammed my fist down on the counter to:

1. Make a loud noise.

2. Get the other person's attention

3. Prove a point - or something, I'm still not entirely clear on what I thought I was accomplishing.

I did make a loud noise and got their attention, but I also hurt my hand. It started to ache, swell up a bit, and I found out a few minutes later that it was bleeding a bit. I left the discussion/argument with a very nicely worded parting shot, and headed out to get something to eat. I fully intended to make it a short trip, but I wasn't paying attention and got on the highway as though I was headed into work. Which is apparently my default destination and pretty sad all by itself - but instead of checking in at the computer center, I went to McDonald's for some chicken nuggets. I amazed the cashier with my PayWave card when I paid for my meal - she must have been new - and ate my meal with my left hand. The food was hot and tasted good and one of the employees did a passable job of singing along with the music over the speakers while she refilled the napkin dispensers. I started to get my wits back about me and was able to take stock.

I know I've got a temper that I try and keep under control, mainly because I know the futility of lashing out at - or arguing with - the irrational. I guess what set me over the edge was that I was so close to actually winning the argument. Which is sort of a crazy notion all by itself - no one actually wins an argument. If things get to the point where there's an argument, then everyone has already lost. But I almost won this one - and if getting the last word counts for anything, I at least scored more points.

I went to Border's after dinner and carefully worked at putting my keys and wallet in my left pockets. I'm still favoring my hand a bit, but the swelling has gone down and I'll be back to 100% soon enough. On the plus side, I'm surprised at the amount of force I was able to generate. I didn't damage the counter, but nearly breaking one's own hand is almost cool. Well, not really.

One of the books I got was a sort of self-help book. Which I don't normally take much stock in, but it was relevant to what was going on in my head and it's helped a little.

In addition to the reading, I've been playing a lot of video games this weekend. I've been working my way through a game called Sacred 2, looking to complete the Dryad's quest and get a super-ultra-awesome-mondo-powerful bow. Today, I completed the quest and got the bow. And it's surprisingly not as powerful as I expected. It's better than the one I had, but not by much. So, I think that game is going back on the shelf for a while.

I've got a short work week ahead of me - thankfully - and then a few days off. The holidays are approaching and I need to start figuring out what to get for people. And that also means that birthday #38 is on the horizon. Yikes!

apple pi(e)

I loaned out an old costume to one of my colleagues this year so her husband could scare the neighborhood kids and as a thank you, she baked me an apple pie. I shared this with the rest of the crew in the office and we tore through it in no time at all. I took the last piece home and shared it with my room-mate - then I washed the pie dish so I could return it. I wanted to do something a little special since the pie was really good and the costume loan was no biggie. So, I made her an apple pi(e) of my own.

She wasn't in her office when I returned the dish, so I left a little note with the apple pi(e) standing up in the dish. This was done with the sonobe module and about 46 pieces of paper. And some glue - I wanted it to last.

She left me a voicemail and said she thought it was hilarious - couldn't stop laughing. Her colleagues are amazed by the pi(e) and want to know how I made it. I think they'd be surprised how little there is to it. The office she works in does some university outreach - maybe I'll be called on to make a logo. :)

Binary number

Yesterday, on the drive home, my car's odometer reached 111,111. When I started to get close, I got my phone ready to take a picture.

It was stupid, I know. Raining, wet pavement, heavy highway traffic - and my phone kept trying to go into power save mode. At 111,110 I got ready and just after it ticked over I got the shot, saved it, and set my phone down.

I got away with it - no incidents on the road. Silly, I guess, but I'm a big fan of binary numbers and the almost zen-like quality those 1's and 0's have.

chocolate, smell, lemonade

I headed across campus to a meeting in one of the classroom buildings and as I entered I saw a table for the Liberation in Progress group. They were doing a bake sale/chocolate fundraiser and as I passed, one of the women there asked if I wanted a "chocolate vagina".

I politely replied, "No thank you,"

Now, I'm a fan of feminism and I think it's great that these women are working towards this cause, but... really? A chocolate vagina? Even if I wasn't running late to a meeting, was that the phrase that would make me rush right over? It was damn odd.

After work, I headed to the pool to get in my laps. The locker room, when I entered, was pretty much like a locker room -though a bit messier with the presence of the high school swim team practicing. When I got out of the pool and went back in to get changed - there was an unholy funk in the air. The worst concentrated body oder that a human being could produce. I nearly threw up - it was that bad. Now, I understand as males, we sweat more than women. And the sweat is funky. And it makes the clothes funky. And if I was in the air instead of the water, I wouldn't be 100% fresh either after my workout. But then I take a shower and take my clothes home and wash them. It's not rocket science, guys.

Finally, I went to TGI Friday's this evening and tried to order the made-fresh lemonade to drink. The server said that most people didn't like it. I pretty much had to insist that I get a chance to try it. And, though it was strong, I liked it. When I finished my first glass, she asked if I wanted water - apparently amazed that I finished the glass and assuming that I couldn't handle a second glass. I asked instead for a refill and finished that as well - mostly to prove a point.

I think this marks the only time when a server has actually tried to talk me out of an order.

And now it's late and I though I'm off work tomorrow, I need to take a shower and get to sleep. I hope that I don't dream about anything in this entry.

job

My room-mate got fired from his job yesterday. His boss had "cause", but not really. A mistake was made and instead of working around it and dealing with it, his boss decided to escalate the situation and made things worse to the point of the firing. Everyone, however, gets screwed since his boss has now gotten demoted to cover what my room-mate was doing and pretty much everyone else wants to quit now. Not to mention the customers that will suffer because don't have someone who cares.

So, he's pretty down at the moment, but it may be an opportunity for him to do something new and expand his horizons. I'm trying to be supportive as he figures out his next step.

baby in a box

Last weekend, I went to visit my parents to celebrate my Mom's birthday. My sister and her family came over as well and we got to spend some quality time with my niece. She's crawling like crazy now and can easily stand on her own with some support. She's also got a sort of walking toy that she likes to push. It won't be long before she's walking on her own.

I got my Mom a bracelet and made her some earrings. We all went together and got her a waffle maker - which she used for Sunday morning breakfast.

I also go my niece a toy ball that plays music and rolls around on its own. She seemed to enjoy it a lot. We also got a big cardboard box out for her to explore. She was hesitant on that a bit, but got to enjoy it as well. Eventually, we put her in the box so she could stand up and hold onto the side and she really liked that.

We didn't really do much, but it was nice hanging out with the crew.

with great power

I found out today that one of my colleagues had her baby this past Saturday. Her actual due date and doctor's appointment was this week so she was a little early. I had seen her on Friday while I was dressed up as the quite scary Count Orlok - and startled her. Hours later, her baby is born early. Coincidence? Or did I scare her into labor? :)

First the car accident and now this - just how influential was my costume? I need to be more careful and clearly less awesome.