Thunder of Wade

a new domain and a "new" blog

2011-06-07T05:01:00.001-07:00

I've finally taken the leap and purchased my own domain.

http://thunderofwade.com

and set up a new blog there. Well, not so much "new" - more like "moved, consolidated, and renovated"

visit me here:

http://thunderofwade.com/blog/

I'll eventually shut this down - so update your bookmarks.

week 3 of Sumac 2011

2011-06-02T07:27:00.000-07:00

So, I'm just past the midway point of week 3 of my poison sumac experience. I'm doing much better, but it's still not quite gone yet. Still doing the long-sleeve shirts and calimine lotion - with a dubious effectiveness. Though there have been a few times where I've stopped and thought "hey, it doesn't itch" - which of course makes it instantly itch again.

I hit the pool yesterday after work - the first time I've been back since the itch began. I think the chlorine in the water helped a bit - but it was counter-balanced by massive cramps in both calves. Very painful. I managed to "limp" my way through the last two laps, but it was rough. They are still sore today. Guess I need to eat more bananas.

I went over to the neighbor's for dinner on memorial day - they had grilled out. I had a couple hot dogs and two ears of amazing corn on the cob. I have a "kernel extraction" technique that impressed those assembled - and that was about the extent of the excitement for the weekend.

Work has been rough this week. I can't really go into it - other than to say that there are those that are actively opposed to their own success - and mine, incidentally. I'm getting close to unleashing some wrath.

Tired, sore, cranky, and itchy. Still so very itchy.

poison

2011-05-23T15:36:00.000-07:00

The weekend before last, I decided to do a little yardwork. I don't do much since I rent and the landlord does the mowing - but a storm had knocked down some trees and branches into the yard. And instead of cleaning them up, they just mowed around them.

So, armed with a really wicked tree pruner, I went after those branches and tore through them. And of course, I got more than I bargained for.

Poison oak - or sumac. Doesn't matter what it was except that I got a bad case on both arms. It didn't really hit me at first, but this past weekend it went into overdrive. The itch was maddening. And, try as I might, I couldn't stop scratching. I'd do okay for a bit, then the madness would strike and I'd tear into my arms like I had a flesh-eating scarab beetle burrowing into my... well... flesh. And to make matters worse, I've actually made some progress on breaking my lifelong habit of biting my nails. So, when I dig in - I can really dig in.

On Sunday, I had an appointment to donate blood - a double red donation. Not really sure of the protocol I went anyway and I signed in. It was at a Best Buy and they were giving out gift cards and t-shirts. They handed me a gift card when I signed in and sat down to read the red book. The woman seated next to me was getting an explanation of the double red. The women decided against it - mainly, it appeared, because she would only get one gift card. I could tell that the staff were a little disgusted by that as well. I went back to do the history and did the full disclosure. The staff member took a look at my arms and said the poison was too close to where the needle would go in and they wouldn't be able to to disinfect it properly.

They thanked me for coming in anyway and offered me a shirt. I declined and returned my gift card as I left.

Kind of a bummer, but at least I tried - and I'll try again once the poison is gone.

Today, I was bad enough to take off of work and go to a stat care. They gave me a prescription and suggested a few things - and I think genuinely felt bad for me.

So, I'm on drugs and covered in Calimine lotion. I'll do another shower tonight and slather it on before I go back to work tomorrow.

Oh, and I've got a head cold too. Yea.

a good deed

2011-04-30T06:06:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, at the pool, I was doing my laps as usual and noticed that the guy in the lane next to me was a novice swimmer. Well, more novice than I am, as far as that goes. He also didn't have goggles and the pool is usually super-chlorinated.

So, when I finished up my workout, I waited at the end of the lane for him to come back. I told him that I noticed he didn't have goggles and how rough the chlorine is on the eyes. I handed him my goggles and said he could have them - and that I had a back-up pair at home. He was really surprised and gratefully - and put them on right away. I wished him a good weekend and went back to work.

balance

2011-04-27T15:46:00.000-07:00

I saw a set of signs up in the student union today. One said that graduating seniors could pick commencement tickets today. The other directed incoming freshmen to orientation.

Seemed like a circle of life kind of balance thing. Kinda neat.

Which was good, because the rest of the day was shit. As was last evening. As is, apparently, tonight.

So, at least I've got the circle of college life thing going.

easter weekend, saving the day, still standing, temp

2011-04-27T03:31:00.000-07:00

I went to my sister's new house for easter weekend - my parents stayed there as well. The new house is huge and on a great piece of property. We had a pretty low-key weekend; I got trounced by my brother-in-law at ping pong and we went for a couple of walks with my niece. She's babbling up a storm and working on new words all the time. We all enjoyed her exploration outside - the creek, the trees, the trampoline, and the trip down the quiet road in the wagon.

Back to work and a very stressful Monday - but on Tuesday I saved the day several times. It's getting close to the end of the semester and the pressure is rising. I helped several departments get things done yesterday and got some good feedback.

I'm still experimenting with the standing desk. I think I'm getting used to it, but my feet still get a little tired by the end of the day.

The heating and cooling system here at work is based not on the outside air, but on the time of year. So, we freeze in the fall and cook in the spring. A nice warm day - with the heat on in the building - means that we swelter. Yesterday, it hit 83.1 degrees in the office.

Hope it doesn't get that bad today, but we're already at 77.5 degrees and it's not even 7:00 yet.

dog

2011-04-20T05:07:00.001-07:00

I forgot to mention one part of the walk from the other night. I was taking a slight shortcut through a bank parking lot and out of the corner of my eye I saw some movement behind and to the side of me. I turned and saw a dog. Here's a reconstruction of what went though my head while I was busy being startled:

DOG!-straylostrabies?!-(werewolf?)-rabies!-lostdog-stray-help?-run?-CHASED!

I made a loud noise and shouted at it to leave me alone. It was a pretty good sized dog and it was a full moon - so, I was totally justified in the werewolf thought.

The dog wandered away and successfully made the trip across a busy road to pester some people at the dollar store. I continued on to Starbucks - and kept looking for the moon.

standing and walking - but not talking

2011-04-19T11:54:00.000-07:00

Today is day four of my Standing Desk experiment. I'd read about some studies that said that sitting at a desk for 8 hours a day can lead to some health problems, so I bought a cheap set of plastic shelves and configured them to sit on top of the cubicle on my desk. I still need to work on the height a bit, but otherwise I'm getting used to it. My feet are bothering though. I've got a foam pad that I'm using, but it's not enough and either shoes or no shoes, they still are uncomfortable. I'll give it a few more days and see how it goes - I can pretty easily revert back if needed.

I took myself for a walk last night - I was in the mood for hot chocolate and made a trip to starbucks. Total 2.9 miles. This is on top of the 30 laps I got in the pool at lunch + standing up all day. I slept pretty well last night as a result - once I finally turned off the video games and went to bed.

My phone is being a little...what's the phrase I'm looking for? Oh, right. Ham Doctor.

The screen won't go dark at the preset 7 seconds... or any number of seconds, apparently. So, the battery drains like it's trying to get a signal from Pluto. Which is, in fact, still a planet. A dwarf planet, but that's still real - right? I mean, it's not like the movie is suddenly called, "Snow White and the Seven _______"?

Anyway, it sucks. I charged it up last night and this afternoon I'm already down to one battery bar - which doesn't mean anything, apparently. I've seen it sit on one bar for days (though not recently) and other times I'll go from full bars to a plaintive beeping as it approaches shutdown in minutes.

You know, I'm pretty much indifferent to smart phones. People that have them seem to enjoy them. I'm on a computer 8+ hours a day so I kinda like to unplug. But I don't begrudge them.

I don't have a smart phone. I have an ordinary phone. Which apparently translates to "non-functional".

The really crappy part is that I can't even enjoy hating them since I'm stuck in another 2 year contact. Ugh.

I'm going to try a factory reset and a cell tower reset when I get home and see if that fixes the "no bars of any kind" issues I'm having. If not, I'm going back to the Verizon store. I don't care how shiny the phone is, I'm really getting tired of paying too much money a month for a phone that doesn't work.

karma

2011-04-15T11:23:00.000-07:00

I headed back to the School of Law this afternoon for a beverage and thought I'd treat myself since it was a nice day and I'd had a tough week. This time, my target was the vanilla frappuccino. I swiped my card, pushed the button and the machine politely registered my transaction and thanked me - giving me my revised balance.

And nothing else. No gears turned, no whirring noises could be heard. No beverage was even attempted to be dispensed. Nothing - except my card now has $2.50 less on it than before.

I switched machines and got an iced tea instead.

Apparently, the machine remembered me from last time and was still ticked off from the discounted-by-force frappuccino I got before.

I have learned my lesson.

accidental frappuccino

2011-04-12T14:04:00.000-07:00

I headed over to the nearby school of law today for a beverage - since the computer center vending machines don't have the selection or the convenience of using our campus ID for payment. My co-worker went with me since he wanted to get out of the office for a few minutes as well.

I swiped my card and punched in the code for a cranberry juice. The machine did its thing, but when the bottle dropped, it neatly wedged itself between the plexiglass front, a side panel, and the corner. I gave the machine an experimental shove and quickly concluded that I was out of luck. I swore quietly and my co-worker came over to give it a try. He used what was right on the edge of excessive force, and then went ahead and crossed the line to excessive. To the point that I thought he might break the machine - not a good thing in a building full of lawyers.

After a few moments, something odd happened. The cranberry juice bottle refused to budge - of course - but another bottle fell instead. In the far upper left corner of the machine are the really pricey drinks and apparently they are vulnerable to machine shaking. Down tumbled a cold bottle of Starbucks Coffee Vanilla Frappuccino - which I've never tried.

We quickly headed back to the office - leaving behind the stranded bottle of juice in favor of the iced coffee drink.

It was good. It tasted of anarchy. :)

the law

2011-04-10T17:17:00.001-07:00

Early on Saturday morning - before I headed out for my epic swim - I heard sirens outside. I looked out to see 3 police cars come down one of the roads near the apartment and make a sharp turn onto our road. A bit later, my room-mate heard something that could have been shots fired, but it was difficult to tell.

A bit after that, my room-mate looked out the back windows and saw a police care in our backyard. There was a black Cadillac parked/abandoned back there as well and we watched a police officer inspected the car. Not long after that, a tow-truck came, but they ended up driving the car out of the yard since the ground was too wet for the truck. In short order, everything was back to the way it was.

Later that day, we found out (from our neighbor whose brother is on the local police force) that the car had been stolen in a nearby township, driven it and been pursued by police until he got to our backyard, then fled on foot. He was captured a few blocks away.

This was all fascinating at the time, but now it's just disconcerting. I guess the trees in the back and along the road made me forget that I'm really still in the city. We're always very careful about locked doors and such, but it's still worrisome.

5 miles

2011-04-09T18:17:00.000-07:00

I hit the pool this morning and did 30 laps. I was feeling pretty good and worked my way up to 60. Figured that I could do better than that, I set my sights on 120. I was getting tired, but kept going. 150 came and went and by this point I was really tired, but I did some math and realized that another 30 would finish me at 180 - 5 miles.

I got through it, but I was really tired. I mean really tired. It was all I could do to pull myself out of the pool. I was feeling better when I got dressed and better still when I got home and ate. I think I'll sleep pretty well tonight.

5 miles. Didn't think I had it in me - and not bad for a 38 year old.

irritated

2011-04-05T05:52:00.000-07:00

I spent much of my Monday in a bad mood. Must have gotten up on the wrong side of the bed - I was cranky all day. And pretty much every email or phone call I got just ticked me off more. I couldn't even enjoy my swim - I got dizzy at the end and had to stop and rest. I got home, spent most of the evening cranky and went to bed cranky.

So, I get into work with a resolve to have a better attitude and I check my voice-mail. I had one message - from 5:30 the evening before - asking for help with a project that needed to be done that night.

Really.

Now, I'm pretty much used to the "last minute" on projects - it's kinda the way things go. But this one really took the cake. I called them this morning and they had worked around the system and gotten whatever Incredibly! Important! Thing! done that they needed to get done.

So, I actually had people contributing to my bad mood when I wasn't even here. A sort of time delay annoyance.

(insert head shaking here)

laps and news

2011-04-02T14:43:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I hit the pool after work since I wanted to go farther than my lunch hour would have alloted me. So, I did 60 laps and felt pretty good. Today, I hit the pool again and did 45. I would have gone farther, but I got really worn out. Still, not bad for two days.

Got some bad news from Illinois this week. My aunt - who has been fighting brain tumor - had a relapse. She had been doing better but had a seizure and was back in the hospital for surgery. They removed 90% of the tumor and some scar tissue and are still waiting to see how she's doing. She's a fighter and we're all pulling for her.

cold and feeling down

2011-03-30T18:51:00.000-07:00

My room-mate got some bad news this week - he lost his job. It was a sales job and a stop-gap measure at best - but still rough for him to hear. Apparently, he wasn't meeting the sales goals - though none of the previous 5 people in that job could meet the goals either.

He's going to get paid though the end of this week and he's already got some leads on a new job, but things are still pretty tense around the apartment for now.

Work has been kinda stressful for me these past couple of weeks. I'm holding my own, but the projects keep rolling in. Which is good, but it wears me out.

And, because I live in Ohio, I'm required by law to complain about the snow. "I'm tired of the snow" So, there you go.

catching up

2011-03-27T06:46:00.000-07:00

I just finished up my antibiotics today - I'm hoping that the trend of getting better stays the course. Still a bit of a cough this morning, but I'm feeling pretty good.

I fought through the cough this past week to get my laps in at the pool - and did 45 yesterday. The last ten involved coughing underwater, but I avoided drowning - which is always a good goal. So, 90 laps for the week and back on track.

Earlier this week I helped run a series of usability tests on part of our website for work. It went pretty well and I think we got some good information, but it took a lot out of me.

I also did my taxes. Which I despise. I don't know that anyone really enjoys doing their taxes, but I've taken it to a new level of despising. I'm getting some money back on federal and from the state - and I didn't owe the city anything. So, it's over and done for the year - just wish it wasn't always so complicated.

In other not-terribly-awesome news... I've decided to boycott chik-fil-a. I found out that - despite the tasty food and disturbingly polite and friendly service - they are kinda evil. Or rather, their corporate office funds other folks that are evil. I guess it's a bit like BP - though in their case they are pretending to admit they are wrong and then still being amazingly evil and greedy. I can respect that. Chik-fil-a thinks they are doing the right thing and that is a bit more disturbing. I'm considering writing an email to their corporate office, but seems a little futile.

Went and saw Red Riding Hood last night. Pretty good, nice twist at the end - though it did drag on a bit.

I've been playing Overlord for a while now on the PS3. I've played this before and didn't make a lot of progress, but this time around I've got some new tactics and it's a lot more fun.

And finally, I'm thinking about doing a little work today. I've got a survey to build that looked like a bit of fun - or I may work some more on my new desk for home.

humor in emails

2011-03-25T06:48:00.000-07:00

Two emails that I've recently sent:

"As Supreme Overlord ™ of the SYMPA List management system, my powers are vast and amazing. Unfortunately, while I can see what lists you are a member of, I don't have a way to view a list of lists that you own.

Guess I'm going to have to get rid of that "I'm omnipotent! Ask me literally anything!" name-badge."

and in response to "How can we end world corruption?"

"Wait… End world corruption? I've been trying to increase it all these years."

Just doing my part to keep my co-workers guessing.

coughing and crazy

2011-03-12T10:57:00.000-08:00

A week ago Thursday, I started getting a cough. By Friday, I was a mess. Took the day off and spent most of the coughing, then coughing so hard I would throw up, then throwing up so hard I would get dizzy. The weekend sucked. Took Monday off. Finally back to work on Tuesday, still sick.

I kept fighting it and finally gave up yesterday and went to the doctor. The diagnosis is bronchitis and doctor go met a prescription. I'm getting tired of the constant cough and having to sleep sitting up. I've even been too tired to play video games most of the time.

My room-mate has pretty much the same thing - though he has been mixing his over-the-counter meds with some disturbing results. The lines between "reality" and "crazy talk" blurred enough that he tried to convince me that the reason we were both sick with the same thing at the same time was that we were "taken" by space aliens. He explained that he had "awakened" at night and seen stars on the ceiling and then they started to move - he felt like he was someplace else.

And then he got ticked when I didn't believe him. Really. I tried to argue with him that his explanation was the "least likely" of possibilities instead of the "most likely", but then I just gave up. There's only so much I can handle when I'm that sick and I'd already broken my number #1 rule - "Don't f*@# with crazy people".

The next day he called me at work to complain about the people in his room and how a little girl plugged in her electric cat and let it run across the bed and then how someone peed on him. That evening, when I woke up from a nap and came downstairs, he got confused between day and night.

I finally got him convinced that he really needs to stop mixing the meds and he's doing much better now. Still as sick as I am, but way less crazy.

donating blood and a loss

2011-03-08T04:30:00.000-08:00

I went to donate blood yesterday after work. I didn't have an appointment, but it didn't really slow anything down. Went through the usual process right up until they did the needle stick. The nurse was alerted to a problem and hurried over to the snack table. A high-school aged guy had his head down on the table and was about to pass out. A couple of the nurses got damp cloths and carefully tipped him back over in his chair so his feet were elevated. It looked a little weird, but seemed to do the job. They kept him like that for a few minutes, then moved him onto one of the beds. He had turned a strange shade of green and stayed that way all through my donation - which went smoothly and uneventfully. (though the actual needle stick was a little rough - I'm guessing she was distracted) I'm guessing he didn't eat before his donation - I learned my lesson on that a while ago.

When I was done, I went to stop at the snack table, but there was no room. So, mildly cranky at being denied my juice and cookie, I headed on home - no worse for wear.

That evening I got a call from my former room-mate's mom. She told me that my FRM's former girlfriend's mom had passed away. Seems like a tenuous connection to me, but as much of a jerk as my FRM could be - he did manage to surround himself with good people. So, I get along well with his mom, his former girlfriend, and her mom. The service is to today and I can't get out of work, but I got an address and put a card in the mail. Doesn't seem like enough, but maybe it will help.

Busy day ahead of me - lots of work to do. Better get to it.

helping with moving day

2011-03-06T16:45:00.000-08:00

My sister and her family were moving to a new house over the weekend and I offered to help. My brother-in-law had rounded up a big crew and we managed to make short work of the furniture. Some of the heaviest pieces were a file cabinet, a dresser, and a freezer. I got on those and helped with taking them up or down stairs as needed.

And I paid for it. My back was bothering me this morning while I was still at my parents so I hit the hot-tub for a bit before I got moving for the day. It helped, though I tend to get a headache if I'm in there too long.

Still, I'm glad I was able to help - they have a great new house and I hope they have many happy years there.

The drive home was okay and I was hoping to do a little yoga this evening to stretch - but I couldn't find the DVD. Maybe the swim tomorrow will help.

That's it for now, time to wrap up the evening and get some rest. Got a big and busy day tomorrow.

spongeBieber

2011-03-03T04:51:00.000-08:00

One of co-workers and I have been sharing a SpongeBob SquarePants figure for a few months now. It actually belonged to one of his kids, but he brought it into work for some reason and we've taken to hiding it in each other offices. I get in earlier than he does and he stays later than I do - so, we've each got a window of opportunity. Sometimes behind a computer monitor or in the fake plants on my desk, the unspoken rule is that some part of SBSP must be visible. Not long ago, I decided to up the game. I tied elastic strings to SBSP's legs and hung him upside down from the ceiling in my co-workers office behind the door - as though the plastic figure had bungie jumped off the door. It was a few days before my co-worker noticed the strings hanging down from the ceiling and laughed out loud when he realized what I had done.

It took me a while to find SBSP when he was next hidden in my office and I decided to have a bit of fun. I did a little search on the internet and found a cartoon version of Justin Bieber. I resized this and printed it out - then used a little tape and string to make a mask for SBSP. I brought the now disguised figure and put it on my co-workers desk - right out in the open.

I'm looking forward to my co-workers reaction - and I'm already staring to plan for the next round. :)

Update -

I stopped by his office this morning and asked if he'd found SBSP yet. He said he hadn't looked for him and my eyes went to the spongeBieber on his desk. He followed my eyes, realized what I'd done, and burst out laughing.

Even better than I'd hoped - the disguise worked!

tires and tired

2011-02-26T13:31:00.000-08:00

A while ago, I had an incident with the snowy roads and the sharp turn into my driveway. I ended up missing the drive and sliding into the ditch. With a bit of luck, I managed to straddle the edges of the ditch and contrived to get myself down the hill to a smoother spot and got my car out and back onto the road. Ironically, that was the day where I had earlier complained about bad drivers in the wintertime in Ohio on Facebook.

I was pleased with myself that I had gotten out without a tow-truck - but there were consequences. I had somehow messed up the alignment and now had to pull the wheel to the right in order to go straight ahead.

I drove like that for a while, but realized that the terrible Ohio potholes weren't going to knock things back in place. Also, I needed two new front tires as they were going bald.

So, the day before the latest huge snowstorm, I headed up to National Tire and Brake. I told the guy that I needed two new tires and to have my alignment... re-aligned. He asked what kind of tires and I told him that I didn't need anything fancy - just round, made of rubber, less bald than my current ones. Taking it in stride, he asked if I wanted those in black or yellow. I smiled and said black would match my car. He gave me an estimate that seemed reasonable and said it would be about an hour. I walked over to Best Buy and got the new Adele CD - then over to Burger King for a snack.

Back at NTB, I sat in the waiting room while they finished up the alignment. The guy at the desk called me over in a bit and explained what they did and other services they could offer. I politely declined and paid the very reasonable bill.

I actually had a little trouble driving home on the highway - it seemed that I'd gotten used to the mis-alignment and it took me a bit to get used to the new steering - and the new tires.

My car is riding fine now and I'm pleased with the results. It's got 113,000 miles on it, but I'm glad I can hang onto it a bit longer.

snow day and singularity

2011-02-25T14:50:00.000-08:00

I got up at my regular time this morning and first thing I did was check my phone. Sure enough, there was a text message from the University - we were closed for the weather. In a word - awesome.

Also - Three. Day. Weekend.

So, I went back to bed for a bit - then got up again had some breakfast. I spent a chunk of the day doing little chores around the apartment. I also spent some time ripping some CD's and getting them onto my external drive.

This afternoon, I cleared the snow off driveway that had been missed by the plow.

There was also some epic video game time - I played a new game called Singularity. Time manipulation and lots of good "jump out at you". A really good story and a lot of fun. There was a moment when I'd been following a woman through the facility and we'd just survived a huge fight. I walked into a hidden room and rewound a message that had been erased. All it said was, "Don't trust her". I got cold chills - and can't wait to get back in there.

I'm planning on working on my new desk this weekend and enjoying the days off.

health, weather, mental dislocated

2011-02-23T05:32:00.000-08:00

I did an online health survey yesterday and according to that, I'm apparently near death. High risk for like half a dozen serious ailments and conditions. I guess I'd be more worried if the health screening I did recently was even slightly accurate and if the health survey wasn't so dang vague. I'm going to take this with a grain of salt - which I should be cutting back on - and just keep doing what I've been doing.

I got my oil changed yesterday and managed to get out of there without any "add-ons" this time - though they really really wanted to rotate my tires.

The weather has been a little rough here recently - and though I managed to make it into work yesterday, several of my co-workers got hit harder and worked from home. It made for a quiet day around the office - but surprisingly a little lonely.

I haven't been sleeping well - mostly stress and caffeine. The later of which I had cut out of my diet but somehow managed to creep back in. I guess I need to go cold turkey on soda again. Not sure what to do about the stress.

I've been feeling kinda weird recently - even weirder than I'm used to. Just mentally dislocated and not myself. I'm really missing the sunshine - that blip last weekend wasn't enough.

So, back to work. Webpages to make and the day to be saved.

a sunday afternoon swim

2011-02-20T14:33:00.000-08:00

I forgot my swim gear on Friday -and the pool ended up being closed anyway. Based on my rules...

Monday, Wednesday Friday + pool open + at work = swim

...I was in clear - but if I'd had my gear I could have used the other, not as good, pool.

It was closed on Saturday as well - but today was open. So, I got my gear and headed to campus and did 60 laps. I wasn't very tired, but I was a little bored, so I called it a day.

When I got home, my room-mate was alternating between the Daytona 500 and golf on TV. So, I did the only sensible thing and retreated to the office/media room/armory to play some Batman. I beat the game and only have about 3 more secrets to find.

Been listening to Adele a lot - her new album (which I can't seem to find in stores) is amazing.

And that's about it.

giving up on a book and on zinc

2011-02-17T05:06:00.000-08:00

Given any kind of downtime and I'm likely to be found with my nose in a book. I love to read and the shelves in my own library at home are full to overflowing. So, it's pretty rare for me to "give up" on a book - that is, start and then not finish.

I've been reading Engineman by Eric Brown. It started off pretty good and I enjoyed the first half - then I realized that the plot...

"Down on his luck spaceman falls for the token sci-fi chick and together they fight alongside the quasi-mystical aliens against an evil corporation that is destroying the environment"

...is the same as every single "grade B sci-fi movie" of the past 20 years. Even freaking Avatar had the same plot. Once the big reveal of the environmental damage showed up, I pulled my bookmark out and closed the book. Enough of that mess. Apparently, Paris gets destroyed later on, but I really can't be bothered.

I'm starting to feel that way about the TV show "V". The plot is so freaking transparent - I know how each episode is going to end in the first 5 minutes. And the big reveal of a character from the original series was marred - she just sits in the basement of the starship and has made a lifestyle out of being cranky. Really, Diana? That's all you're going to do?

I find myself almost rooting for the bad guys - at least they have a semblance of a plan.

In other news, I'm still sick. Bubonic Halitosis, I think. This stupid cough just won't quite go away. I read yesterday on the internet (so you know it's true) that Zinc is awesome for halting cold symptoms. I bought and tried some last night and discovered:

1. It tastes like cherry flavored crap.

2. The taste lingers.

3. It doesn't do anything.

Now, I guess you're supposed to take this when you first get sick - but I was still expecting more than just a bad taste.

So, I'm at work - and wearing a tie - already counting down the hours until I get to go home for the day. Not a good sign.

games and work

2011-02-16T16:11:00.000-08:00

Last weekend, I went to visit my folks, my sister, and her family for my sister's birthday. We went out to eat to a local Mexican restaurant and spent much of the weekend hanging out and playing games. I got some high scores in Quirkle and gave the rest of the crew a run for their money in Scotland Yard as the infamous Mr. X.

We also hung out with my niece - who gets more fun and awesome whenever I see her. She's just over 1 year old and is in full explorer mode.

After a fun weekend - it was back to work. This week has been crazy-insane-busy. It's really wearing me down. Plus, still sick. Today I tried some zinc - we'll see if that does any good.

I'm still swimming though - not going to let this cold get me down. I've been using my flippers a lot more - so, I go faster and get more tired.

Well, about time for dinner...

hearts, games, sick, test, work, hair

2011-02-09T13:39:00.000-08:00

I ended up making 300 hearts for the Hearts for Humanity dinner/dance. I timed myself and was able to make one heart in 50 seconds. You can do the math on that one - then add in time to actually cut the paper to 1/2 squares. I didn't get any feedback, but I'm still pleased with the accomplishment.

I've been spending a lot of time on the PS3 recently. I beat Assassin's Creed 2 last weekend and I've been playing a fun game called Nier - with an impossibly foul-mouthed character. She swears every time she talks and called someone a "shit-hog" before getting turned to stone. I'm hoping she comes back - her word choice is pretty funny. I've also played a little Batman. When he's fighting, he moves like a freaking ninja. When he's just walking around, he moves like Frankenstein's monster. I almost expect to hear a "clunk" when he takes a step.

I've still sick. The pink-eye is essentially gone, but I've still got a bad cough. It's just enough to be really annoying. If it doesn't get better, I guess I'll head back to the doctor. Hasn't stopped me from swimming, but it does slow me down.

The University is offering an incentive to us to go through a simple health screening and fill out a survey - then reward us with $120 in our paycheck. I was a little... ummm... disconcerted about this - there's a general feeling of unease with providing medical data that could be then used against you.

But, I reasoned that I'm generally healthy and in reasonably good shape -and the people asking for the data already have it since it's tied into my insurance anyway. The only potential worry would be my cholesterol - which, last time it was checked, was a little high.

So, I went to the health screening today before my swim and lunch. The BMI and blood pressure were normal - but they couldn't get the cholesterol test to work. They did the finger stick twice and the machine kept failing. So, they finally just wrote down that it didn't work and said I'd still get credit for the screening. Which works out nicely.

I had kinda earned a "something going right" - the past few days at work have been insanely busy. Non stop email, phone, webpages, etc - I've been in a kind of media overload. I got a lot done, but it wore me out mentally.

This afternoon, I got another "something going right". I went to get my haircut after work and only had to wait a few minutes. I got my stand "#1 buzzcut over my whole head" - since it's proof against stocking cap hat-hair. The stylist finished this in no time at all - then only charged me half the regular amount. She said she didn't think it was right to charge me full price when it only took 6 minutes to cut. So, I gave her a couple bucks tip and was on my way.

Well, back to the video games for me - I'm thinking about going out to dinner tonight.

strep, niece, eyes, salt, heart

2011-01-27T11:01:00.000-08:00

I'm still doing battle with the remnants of strep throat - though it's now reduced itself to a sore throat and occasional cough. It's rare for me to be sick for so long - and it's making me cranky. Or at least crankier than usual.

My niece's birthday was last weekend and my sister threw a party. It was rubber ducked themed and my sister made cup cakes that looked like little ducks. My niece enjoyed the presents - or rather, the boxes they came in and the cards - and had a lot of fun running around. I tried to keep up with her - but she wore me out.

Earlier this week, I woke up with a sore eye - which swiftly turned red and started, well, oozing. Kinda looked like the squishy gunk when you fall asleep - but before it turns to "sand". There was a lot of it too. I bought some eye drops and an eye patch to try and give it a break. This has been a couple of days ago, and it's getting better - though this morning the gunk sealed both my eyelids shut until I could get some warm water on them. Gross and weird. My eyes are still pretty red, but getting better. It's most likely pink eye - which will go away by itself. I'm trying to keep from touching my eyes and I'm washing my hands like I've got OCD - so, I should be back to normal soon. Or at least as close as I ever get.

I watched Salt last night on DVD. Good stuff. Lots of action and some nice plot twists.

Finally, I've volunteered to make some origami hearts for a fund raiser dinner/dance coming up soon. I'm hoping to get the final count today before I can leave so I can get the paper cut and start folding this evening. It's not a very complicated fold, but it will take some time to get them done.

sick, birthday, paint, tron

2011-01-18T04:49:00.000-08:00

I'm still sick. Can't remember the last time I was ill this long before. I'm better, it's just a sore throat at this point, but it's still bothering me. I finished up my antibiotics over the weekend and I'm still taking cold medicine. Tired of being sick.

My family visited on Saturday for my birthday. We had some cake, went to a Paint Your Own Pottery store, went out to dinner, and had more cake. My niece was there and did much of the entertaining - she's walking everywhere and with much more confidence.

The pottery store was fun - though as we getting ready to leave, I bent down to pick up my coat and gashed the side of my head on a display table. I didn't break anything, fortunately, but I was bleeding pretty good. One of the women that worked there said she hits that all the time. I think she was trying to make me feel better, but I just wondered why they didn't fix it.

Went out to dinner with some friends on Sunday evening. Had a nice time and the food was really good.

I was off work on Monday and went and saw TRON Legacy. The visuals were impressive, but the sound in the theater was really bad and the story could have used some work. Still, the 3D was fun and I liked it overall.

Back to work now with a short week. Just heard the boss come in - I should go look busy now.

very sick

2011-01-07T14:10:00.000-08:00

Tuesday afternoon, I conducted two back to back training sessions at work and started to lose my voice. I didn't think much of it - I'm not used to talking for 3 hours solid. Once I stopped talking, though, it didn't get better. The next day at work, I had a sore throat and I sounded really bad.

Thursday morning I woke up and felt like crap. Terrible sore throat, horrible headache. I got out of bed just long enough to sent a "I feel like crap and I'm not coming into work" email and make an appointment to see the doctor that afternoon. One of my co-workers had to go to the emergency room with Strep throat recently and I was worried that I had the same thing.

So, Thursday afternoon I headed to the doctor's office and got the diagnosis - strep. He prescribed some antibiotics and sent me on my way.

I started taking them last night, but before they could do any good, I got much worse. I had the chills, some nausea, and my fever spiked at 100.5 degrees. Kinda scary. I went from sweating like crazy to shivering. All the while, I was in and out of this really messed up dream where I was trying to react to a constantly changing series of disasters.

I was still feeling rough this morning, but I took my medicine and tried to be productive. Got through most of my work email and I'm working on laundry now.

It's funny how quickly things can go from same old, same old to really, really bad. I'm doing better - though my throat is still sore - and I should be back to work on Monday.

Time to go gargle some salt water and see if that helps.

pothole

2011-01-03T06:01:00.001-08:00

This morning, on the drive to work, I hit a pothole so bad it knocked the faceplate off my radio.

Welcome to Ohio.

holidays and back to work

2011-01-03T04:58:00.001-08:00

It's back to work for me - feels a little weird after so much time off. We got out early on December 23rd and just got back into the office this morning. I kept up with a couple of email accounts from home, but it was still nice to be off.

I spent part of Christmas day with my room-mate and his family at his sister's house. The kids got a Kinect and I got in on some of that action - fun stuff. The sleeper sofa was... miserable, but I got though it. The drive there and back wasn't too bad - my room-mate is still recovering from the surgery and I did all the driving. For the record, though - he's a side seat driver. I figured he would be in charge of the money for the tolls (fail) and navigation. Instead, he commandeered the radio and we listened to 70's music the whole trip. Ugh.

After a week of doing pretty much nothing, I went stir crazy and cleaned up the office at home. (this was after an episode of Hoarders) and then I started on my building a desk-out-of-a-door project. I spent a lot of time on the legs and got them looking great - then realized they are too long - making the desk too tall. Oh well, it's fixable - though a lot of work.

I met up with my co-worker and his family for lunch at Chiptole. Their little one had a spectacular diaper blowout - but otherwise it was a nice time.

This past weekend I went to see my parents, my sister, and her family. We had a good time, played some UNO and hung out with my super awesome niece. She's crawling up a storm, starting to walk, and a great pile of fun. They'll be visiting me for my upcoming birthday soon and then I'll be headed back there for my niece's birthday in a couple weeks.

So, I'm back to work today and trying to get back into the swing of things - and getting back to the pool again after a break.

the scare

2010-12-23T04:53:00.000-08:00

This past weekend, I helped my room-mate put his old car away for the winter. It was a miserable job and took us much longer than we expected in the cold. We also had some trouble with the exhaust building up in the storage unit and the mothballs weren't pleasant either.

With the car finally stowed, we headed back to the apartment and about 1/2 hour later, he started to have pains in his stomach. He's had these for a while, but being stubborn, he hadn't done anything about them and a heating pad usually brought relief. No such luck this time - he was in a lot of pain that didn't go away. It lasted all night and into the next morning. When I left for work he said he would call his doctor to see if they could get him in and if so, his aunt would take him.

I got a call at work later that he'd been admitted to the emergency room and they were going to do surgery on him. Turns out the pain in his stomach area was a hernia that was allowing his intestines to poke through - could have lead to an obstruction if they didn't get it resolved right away. I had two of the most useless errands to run after work, but I made it to the hospital before he went in for surgery.

The operation was a success and I was able to take him home the next day. He's resting uncomfortably and sleeping a lot. It's been pretty scary, but could have been much worse. I'm hoping he learns a lesson about being too stubborn, but only time will tell.

100 miles

2010-12-17T16:38:00.000-08:00

I swam at lunch and again after work and hit 100 miles in the pool for the year. I could have done more, but I'm still pleased with the results. The pool is still open next week for a couple days so I could get in a couple more miles before the break, but even if I don't - 100 miles is still pretty good.

I'm a little sore this evening and plenty tired, but I'm not doing too bad for a 38 year old. :)

Lunch - Mauchan Yakisoba instructions

2010-12-17T11:53:00.000-08:00

For lunch today I had the chicken flavored Mauchan Yakisoba - an "asian" noodle and dehydrated vegetable dish. Here are the instructions - with the same formatting as on the package.

AFTER COOKING, LEAVE IN MICROWAVE FOR 1 MINUTE.

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

1. Open lid half way only and remove the two packets. REMOVE THE TWO PACKETS BEFORE MICROWAVING.

2. Open Packet #1 (Vegetables) and sprinkle packet contents IN THE SPACE BETWEEN NOODLES AND CONTAINER.

3. Add 1 cup (240ml) water to the Fill Line, as indicated on container, by arrows. FAILURE TO ADD WATER TO THE 'FILL LINE' MAY CAUSE PRODUCT TO IGNITE AND BURN.

BE SURE TO FIND THE CORRECT FILL LINE!

4. Close lid and cook in microwave on high (1,000 watts) for 4 minutes *. AFTER COOKING, LEAVE PRODUCT IN MICROWAVE FOR 1 MINUTE, TO COOL.

5. Grab the corners an carefully remove from microwave. PLEASE HANDLE WITH CARE, PRODUCT IS VERY HOT.

6. Remove lid, pour in Packet #2. Mix in the powdered flavoring... Enjoy!

* Cooking time may vary based on altitude and power of the microwave. Adjust time as needed.

AFTER COOKING: CONTAINER IS EXTREMELY HOT. HANDLE WITH CARE TO AVOID SPILLING OR BURNING YOURSELF.

quiet day

2010-12-16T10:31:00.000-08:00

It's been a pretty quiet day here at work. I'm getting some stuff done and answering a lot of user questions, but compared to the chaos of yesterday I might as well be napping.

At home, I've been working on a couple of projects as gifts for Christmas. I won't go into details until after the holidays, but I will say there's been a lot of sawdust generated.

In other news... I'm closing in on 100 miles in the pool for the year. 66 laps to go. I may be able to wrap that up tomorrow and then take a break for the rest of the year when the pool is closed. I could have done better for the year, I suppose, but it's still pretty cool.

I think it's time for a short break to get some fresh air and re-focus.

the icy touch of winter

2010-12-08T09:37:00.001-08:00

As I was leaving the building today, a single drop of icy water dripped off the frame above the door and bypassed all my winter defenses - hat, scarf, and jacket. It hit me on the back of the neck, in the one unprotected inch of my vulnerable flesh. I arched my back instinctively and inadvertently created a channel right down my spine for the water to follow. Intensely cold would be an understatement.

Well played, winter. Well played.

driving in the snow

2010-12-07T04:49:00.000-08:00

It took me an hour to get to work yesterday morning. It was our first big snow around here and there was a two car accident on the highway that brought traffic to very nearly a halt for most of the time I was on the road. Not fun.

The drive home was much better, right up until I didn't make the turn into my driveway. I hit a patch of slippery ice/snow and went right into the ditch.

Luckily, the ditch is narrow and I managed to straddle the sides and slalom my way forward down a slight hill until I could pull back up onto the road. I don't think I damaged my car - or anything else. Other than my wits.

I felt a little stupid about the whole thing.

7.6 miles

2010-12-04T10:56:00.001-08:00

This past week was a little rough for me. Lot of stress and to top it off - I missed my swim at lunch time on Friday. So, after work, I headed to the pool to get my laps in. I got changed, went out to the pool deck, and was immediately told that the pool was closed for a swim meet. I was told I could use the rec center - but that's not correct, the pool there is closed too.

So, I went back to the locker room, got changed, and left - thinking that some signs might have been appropriate. I was still fuming when I got home and things didn't get any better. I decided that I needed to take myself for a walk and cool down.

Literally.

Arby's sounded good for dinner, so I bundled up and checked a map. 3.8 miles one way. 26 degrees outside. 1 hour 18 minutes walking time one way. Bring it.

I had some socks issues - the right kept sliding down and my Achilles tendon rubbed a bit, but I toughed it out and made the trek. It was dark and cold, but I did feel better to have gotten out there and cleared my head a bit. I had my dinner at Arby's, then headed home.

I was tired last evening and I slept pretty well - no after effects other than being a little sore this morning.

I think I prefer swimming, but exercise is exercise.

the letter L

2010-11-30T18:34:00.000-08:00

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

2010-11-29T10:09:00.000-08:00

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

2010-11-24T07:44:00.001-08:00

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

2010-11-21T09:46:00.000-08:00

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)

2010-11-19T11:37:00.000-08:00

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

2010-11-17T17:00:00.001-08:00

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

2010-11-10T17:54:00.000-08:00

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

2010-11-10T17:42:00.000-08:00

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

2010-11-10T16:46:00.001-08:00

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

2010-11-02T10:13:00.000-07:00

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.

Pumpkin 2010

2010-10-31T09:33:00.000-07:00

I can't really call it a jack-o-lantern - but it's still a pumpkin. Not my idea - I saw it on the net - but it's still pretty clever and it turned out well. I think Dad will appreciate the humor as well.

Halloween walk around 2010 - Count Orlok

2010-10-31T06:09:00.000-07:00

This year I went for scary - all the way scary. The party last week didn't really capture what I was going for - and my fangs fell out - but for the big day, Count Orlok was ready to scare the crap out of people.

I got up early - and got my room-mate up early as well to help me out. Shaved head, whiteout contacts, fangs, white make over the whole thing. Black pants, black shoes, black umbrella - claws on my fingers.

I made my rounds in the computer center to start, then out on campus for the day. I covered a lot of ground and visited a lot of people. My friends took some amazing photos:

Count Orlok

I snuck up on a few people and got some good scares - and I may or may not have caused a traffic accident. I was walking down a street and several cars past me - and then one rear-ended another at a traffic light. No one was hurt - but I had a moment where I thought I might have distracted a driver. I considered approaching and trying to help, but thought that a vampire might not be welcome. I came back through later when the police were there and no one gave me a second glance. So, it wasn't me.

I was wiped out by the end of the day - when I got home, I took a long shower and almost napped. (I'm not very good at napping).

I bounced back pretty quickly and I'm already planning for next year. :) But no hints.

Trunk or treat

2010-10-31T05:34:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday, I got invited to go to and help out at a local Trunk or Treat - a community/university based trick or treat at a school's parking lot. I found out about the event from a former supervisor who called me and told me the coordinator asked her if she knew who "that guy was that dressed up in the great costumes every year". Her response was "know him? I hired him!"

So, I went with a couple of her colleagues and dressed up as Zombie Hello Kitty from last year - I didn't want to scare the kids. We handed out a ton of candy and I did end up scared a few kids - but hey, so did Zippy. On one side were some folks from the rec center dressed as cheesy aerobics instructors - I joined them for a few jumping jacks. On the other side, the UAPD were giving out candy and stickers. I went over and helped them with some gang signs - with my giant 4 fingered cartoon gloves.

When the event was over, I headed back to my car and then went to get my hair cut. The hairstylist was amused by my huge shoes - but then made short work of my hair to get me ready for my annual walk around on campus.

party and hiccups

2010-10-26T11:39:00.001-07:00

I went to a Halloween party over the weekend with some friends. I won a prize for my costume and had a nice time - though I ended up staying far later than I had anticipated. Didn't get to bed until almost 3:30 in the morning. I slept in the next day, but it was still rough to get back on track.

On Sunday, my room-mate got the hiccups and it lasted pretty much all day. One of his methods to try and get rid of them was to gulp air and then belch. Now, I'm a guy and - like babies - I appreciate the value of a good belch. But, I have to say, I actually started to get grossed out by the belching. It was impressive.

He tried peanut butter, drinking water, gasping, and several other methods before temporarily getting rid of them by holding his breath. They came back later and lasted into the night. I tried to get him to relax and eventually ignore them, but it didn't help. They finally went away yesterday - though he did throw up blood at one point.

I guess he's okay now, but it was pretty rough. And it didn't help that there was a story on the news about a girl that hiccups for 5 days, went crazy, and killed someone. Luckily, if it came down to that, I'm better armed.

Work has been very stressful these past couple days and again the biggest problem is people getting in the way of their own success. I had to take myself for a walk this afternoon to calm down a bit before I dove back into my email. Fortunately, the day is almost done and I'll be headed out of here soon. There are pumpkins to be carved at home and video games to be played.

Huffing paint and passing counterfeit bills

2010-10-19T04:10:00.000-07:00

I was in Home Depot over the weekend- part of wild errands-running event - and I needed to buy a utility knife, some electrical tape, and a can of spray paint. I went to the self checkout since I only had three items and there was no line there. Utility knife, no problem. Electrical tape, also no problem. Spray paint - problem.

The self-checkout stopped and flashed a message that a cashier would need to over-ride. I turned and the cashier for the area said/asked - with a chuckle - "You're over 18, right?"

I'm guessing he was commenting on my gray hair and bald spot.

I told him I was and apparently I had enough venom in my voice that he quickly followed up with "As of last week, right?"

Another chuckle. I shared this one with him while I completed my transaction and planned his death. I also got $20 cash back which will be significant later on.

As I understand it, the check he did was to prevent some kid from buying spray paint and then huffing it. Questions:

1. Are 18 year olds suddenly smart enough to not huff paint?

2. Are they responsible enough to keep the paint away from kids who might huff it?
3. I may have watched too much CSINCISSUV, but isn't the electrical tape and utility knife more suspicious?

I headed on my way and at my next stop, I paid cash - using the $20 I had just gotten from Home Depot. The clerk behind the counter used a highlighter to test the bill and make sure it wasn't counterfeit. More questions.

1. Are the staff at Walmart trained by the Secret Service or the Treasury Department to detect fake bills with the magic highlighter?

2. What, exactly, would have happened if the bill had been fake?

3. Granted, this is the kind of place where someone would try to pass fake bills made on a black and white copy machine - but seriously, a $20? I could see if someone threw out a $100 to buy a pack of gum, but what's next? A set of scales to measure coins to make sure they aren't fake?

Makes me glad I wasn't trying to buy cold medicine or board a plane as the pilot.

Whatever happened to the "innocent until proven guilty"? Two cases - in less than an hour - where it was assumed that an everyday process was a criminal act.

(insert head shaking here)

Same reason the terror alert is always orange - fear and control.

Okay, down off my soap box before I get myself worked up into a lather. I gotta get back to work anyway.

A comment I found on Commenting

2010-10-15T12:30:00.000-07:00

I was watching a video on Youtube and found comment as a parody of the Old Spice commercials:

"Hello People. Look at your comment. Now look back at mine. Now back to yours. Now back to mine. Sadly yours isn't mine but if you stopped posting without thinking and thought beforehand yours could look like mine. Look down. Back up. What is this? It's a comment with the look your reply could look like. Look at your Keyboard, back at the comment. I have it.The thoughts you wish you had. Look again. This comment is now epic. Anything is possible when you think before you post. I'm on the computer."

fast swim

2010-10-12T05:36:00.000-07:00

I got a new watch recently. It's pretty fancy for me - $34! Timex Ironman (no, not that Ironman, though that would be pretty cool). It's got a split time setting and figured I'd try it out while swimming. I forgot my trunks last Friday, so I went to the pool on Saturday. I didn't really get the split time to work properly - I may need to read the instructions - but it forced me to think and pay attention to my time. If I got this right, I did a mile (36 laps) in 38 minutes and 42 seconds. Which is not too bad for me.

On Monday, I timed myself for the 1/4 mile and really hauled ass - 8 minutes, 30 seconds.

My second 1/4 mile was... not that fast. :)

Still, I'm pleased with the results - not bad for a 37-year-old.

Michigan trip: Monday & Tuesday

2010-10-10T17:37:00.000-07:00

I got up early Monday morning and set off on foot to check out some shops we'd seen the night before. I got some books, a rubber duck, and meditation CD - sort of an eclectic mix of shops in that area.

When I got back, we headed out towards the Sleeping Bear Dunes on the shore of Lake Michigan. The first part was a scenic drive that was mostly boring except for one lookout area. We went out on the observation deck and enjoyed the view of the lake. When we looked down, we saw people all the way down at the edge of the lake. They looked like river otters or cats at first - but then they started the long climb back up and we realized they were people. Stupid people who shouldn't have gone down there, but people none-the-less. The incline was maybe 45 degrees and they could do about 20 steps before they had to stop and rest for a few minutes. We left before they had made much progress.

We stopped a bar/grill and got some amazing pizza for lunch - then headed out for the Dunes. This area was a series of dunes you could climb - 3 miles of up and down in the sand until you reached the lake. And then back. We skipped the shoes again and made most of the trek there. It was slow going through the sand and hard work and we gave up before we reached the lake. The trip back was just as much work and we were pretty beat when we finally made it back to the car.

For dinner we went to Bubbas Restaurant and I got a very disappointing burrito. I should have know better than to try and challenge the might of Chipotle - they didn't listen to my order and got the burrito completely wrong. I worked around it - not willing to spend the time for them to do it again. The tater tots were good though.

Another early morning on Tuesday as we checked out of the hotel and headed south. We saw some pretty cool wind turbines and made a brief stop in Cadillac, MI so that my car crazy friend could get his picture taken in front of city hall. Then back to Ohio.

It was a good trip, if short, and I was surprised at how pretty Michigan is. Might be worth a trip back up there.

Michigan trip: Sunday

2010-10-10T16:53:00.000-07:00

Sunday we got up early on the island and had breakfast again in the hotel. Then we carried the luggage back to the ferry, loaded up, and headed back to Mackinac City. Once in the car we drove to nearby Petrosky to looked for the fabled Petorsky stones on the beach - but really had no idea what we were looking for. We found a lot of smooth round and flat stones that were kinda cool and some stuff that might have been petrified wood - but mostly we just walked on the beach barefoot, though it was really too cold to spend much time there. We tried another beach, but there wasn't much there as well - so we ended up going on to our next destination: the Bayshore hotel at Traverse City. We hit the pool for a bit, then went to a "hip and trendy" restaurant that served food on "small plates". I got some sushi that was pretty good.

Michigan trip: Saturday

2010-10-10T13:36:00.001-07:00

An early breakfast at the hotel and we were off. On foot. We decided not to rent bicycles or a carriage and instead began a self-guided walking tour of the island. The first stop was the Grand Hotel - which, living up to it's name, charged $15 just to enter the building and walk on the porch. We declined. Instead, we continued on past the hotel and found a couple of neat walking trails through the woods. The next stop was the historical reenactment at the fort. I was a little less than impressed, but the muskets and the cannons were cool.

20 minutes for lunch at a pizza place and we were off again - this time to check out the shops and the downtown area. I was looking for some souvenirs, but everything was either vastly over-priced or "cheap". I walked away empty handed, but my friend got a book on ghosts of the island. After a short break at the hotel, we set out again - this time, following the book to locate the haunted areas. We didn't see any ghosts (it was afternoon, after all), but we did see a lot of the island and got lost a few times.

After a few more hours of walking, we headed back to the hotel to soak in the hot sauna and swim in the pool. Feeling a little more human, we headed out again to get some dinner. Over all, I think we were walking about 8.5 hours that day through some pretty rough terrain at times. Maybe 20+ miles? It was a hard to tell - what with the "getting lost". Still, we saw a lot more of the island than most visitors do and had fun doing so.

Michigan trip: Friday

2010-10-09T15:29:00.000-07:00

My friend and I took a few days off from work and took a trip up to Michigan. We got a pretty good start on Friday and - despite some arguments with the GPS - we drove on up to Cheboygan to get a picture and then on up to Mackinaw City.

Editor's note: Some parts of that area were called Mackinaw and others were Mackinac. I pretty much gave up trying to keep track. Both come from Michilimacinac anyway and I'm not going to very particular about which spelling I use.

We caught one of the last ferry's to the island for the evening. It was cold and raining a bit and we only went on deck for a little bit before retreating to the warmer cabin - not really a great start to the trip. The ferry docked and the bags we had checked in Mackinaw City were delivered right to the hotel room - by a cart pulled by a bicycle. The island doesn't have any cars or trucks on it - it's all bicycles, horse drawn carriages, and walking. So, after we got settled into the hotel room, we walked back towards "downtown" and found a place to eat called the Pink Pony - which, in Myrtle Beach, is the name of a gentleman's club. As in, strippers. On the island, though, it turned out to be a pretty passable restaurant. We walked back to the hotel in the dark and called it a day. Here are a few pictures from the hotel - the Island House.

Every time we went down any of the hallways in this place, either one or both of us would quote those creepy little girls from the Shining. "Come play with us,"

We referred to the hotel room itself as "quaint" - for values of "quaint" that include "small, weird, uncomfortable, and likely to result in a bruised head".

It does exist!

2010-10-08T12:33:00.000-07:00

In conversation, I tend to exaggerate wildly when I don't know the specifics of something - as an amusing clue to the listener that I don't really have any idea what I'm talking about.

So, a large amount of something becomes "extra gigantic" or "several bazillion". In geographic terms, a vague but distant location becomes "south central Mongolia", "downtown Siberia", or "Cheboygan" - which I was convinced was a made up place.

Recently, one of my friends and I took a trip to Michigan and we made a stop along the way in Cheboygan, MI. It was raining and we stopped just long enough to get a picture of me next to the "city limit" sign before driving on. Proof positive that the town really does exist.

I'll have more details on the trip later, but I thought I'd share this little bit.

games, knotting, doctor, sleep

2010-09-29T04:54:00.000-07:00

I played and beat a couple of games recently. Prince of Persia: Forgotten Sands (good gameplay, but the story was weak) and The Darkness (great game, amazing story, really cool). I've moved on to Uncharted: Drake's fortune - which is also, ironically, one of my new favorite songs by Sara Bareilles.

I made a necklace for my room-mate's niece (more hemp knotting) - just sort of a fun little project and I'm hoping that it passes the muster of a teen-aged girl. If there's a harsher critic, I don't know of one.

I went to the doctor last week as a follow up from my septum un-deviation surgery. I think both the doctor and I were both a little disappointed that I didn't have a more massive improvement. I may be breathing a little better, but it's really tough to tell. I'm still snoring, though maybe not quite as bad. He did tell me that the inside of my nose looks "awesome" - so, I've got that going for me. He gave me a sample of Omnaris (Omnaris! To the nose!) to see if that helps and gave me additional options for more surgery. This would include deliberately scaring my soft pallet to reduce vibration or implanting something in there - or removing part of my uvula or the back of my tongue. None of it covered by insurance. Ummmm... no thanks. So, I'll see him again - maybe - in a few months for another checkup.

In other news... the magic code seems to have reduced the problems with my phone. I still don't have a great signal at home, but it's enough that it doesn't kill my battery.

I try not to write much about work since complaining specifically about your job is a dang good way to get your ass fired. But, I had a rough Monday that was mainly about processes that got in the way of getting things done. I ended up in a sort of 'cold war' with colleagues to help our clients. Very frustrating. I got a little more information today and I'm going to have to jump back into the very-polite-but-also-kinda-tense fray to see if I can make some progress.

I also haven't been sleeping well. Just sort of restless. Which is odd cause if there's one thing I'm good at, it's sleeping. I fall asleep easily, wake up only if I have to pee, and then wake fairly easily in the morning. Not sure what's going on - maybe it's the new pillow?

Better get back to it - got a long day ahead of me.

training, travel, comic,baby, sword

2010-09-22T14:36:00.000-07:00

One of my co-workers and I went to an Adobe CS5 training session last week. It was an all day thing and I had other things going on at work that day, but we sorted things out and spent the day at a hotel conference room in Fairlawn. I left in what I thought was plenty of time that morning, but traffic turned into a big, steaming pile of crap. I did what I always do in traffic jams, turned on AM radio. Partly for the traffic reports, but mostly for the misery. People on AM radio are, generally speaking, having terrible lives. Helps put things in perspective.

Anyway, the training was okay, but parts were a little beneath me. I think I could have taught a couple of sessions and my co-worker could have taught them all - and they didn't use CS5 for the whole thing anyway. I learned a little, maybe - and it was still nice to get out of the office.

That Friday, I headed south a bit to visit my co-worker and his wife and new baby. I brought a baby toy and made some earrings for his wife - which she really liked. I got to hold the new baby for a while and then stayed for dinner. We had a nice time and they have a really nice place.

On Saturday, I headed back to Fairlawn to get a new battery for my room-mate's camera, some new books at the over-priced Barnes and Noble, and some craft supplies for about 5 different projects. One note about Barnes and Noble - there was some guy on the second floor that believed he was doing a stand-up comedy routine. When I first heard him, he was so bad I thought he was doing a mic check. He wasn't. He was as for real as he could get. I actually cut my trip - to a bookstore of all places - short, just to get away from him. Yes, that bad.

I worked on a couple of projects over the weekend and helped my room-mate get to the car show that he helps host each year. I also learned how to braid hemp fiber - one of my co-workers needed a new carrying strap for his drum - so, that was kinda cool.

On Monday, that same co-worker came into the office to see how we'd decorated his cubicle with pink streamers and balloons to celebrate his return to work after his baby daughter was born. He was really surprised and liked the decorations - he's kept them up all week.

Today, on top of not getting enough sleep and getting my beverage stuck in the vending machines - I forgot my trunks and couldn't go swimming. This is the first time I've missed a swim since I started and made my rule: M-W-F, if the university is open and I'm there, I swim.

Finally, I had a weird feeling today. I do not, as a rule, carry a sword when I'm on campus. It's not really allowed. But all day, whenever I was walking around, I kept reaching for a sword that I knew couldn't be there. Apparently, if I did carry a sword, I would wear it inverted on my back - so I kept reaching behind my back for the handle to grab, draw, and decapitate someone. Yeah, it's been that kind of week. How can you be in the habit of doing something that you've never done before? The feeling faded once I got in my car and headed home - which is a good sign. I got my oil changed and did a couple of little projects - I'm making replicas of world-ending technology. So far I have ICE-9, Red Matter, and a bottle of concentrated Time.

Ummm... yeah.

100

2010-09-17T04:16:00.000-07:00

I did 100 push ups yesterday as part of the "hundred push ups program". This was the final test for the program and I sort of surprised myself - it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. I mean, it was work and I was tired when I was done, but I didn't collapse into a pile of lumpy Jello afterward. I just kept a steady pace and kept counting.

I didn't do "nose to the floor" - didn't do that at all during the program. So, there's room for improvement and I'll keep going with it.

So, yea me - in a sort of anti-climactic way.

the hatred returns

2010-09-10T04:08:00.000-07:00

I used to despise cell phones. The dropped calls, the bad reception, the "minutes", the way people used them in stupid ways. And I was pretty much set on hating them - going so far as to write up a detailed rant about it and refusing to get one of my own.

But, being a geek, the lure of technology eventually wore me down and not quite two years ago I finally got a cell phone. I wasn't the last person on the planet to get one, but I did my best.

The phone was a little bulky, but it had a sliding keyboard that was nice since I didn't know if I was the kind of person that would text. The monthly plan changes annoyed me, but I figured that was just the way things were.

And slowly, I got lulled. It was kinda nice to chat with my sister on the way home from work. Text messages were kinda fun. I liked having a camera with me all the time. The service seemed pretty good in my area and I didn't have many dropped calls. It was... okay. And all that hatred started to fade into a quiet acceptance. I was careful to always keep it with me and dutifully kept it charged. The phone became part of my daily routine.

But about a month or so ago, something changed. I found that I had no signal strength at my apartment. In fact, after some tests, it appeared to die just as I pulled into my driveway. I'd have maybe one bar - if that - and the phone's battery would swiftly drain as it tried to find a signal. Instead of days between charging, I'd get maybe an hour at home before it was desperately beeping as it died.

So, yesterday after my haircut, I stopped by my local Verizon store to figure out what was going on. The guy there was helping someone and I waited patiently. At one point, he asked if I had a question while he was still working with customer and I told him to go ahead - I was in no hurry. And I didn't want some flippant answer to get rid of me to get back to the paying customer. A second staff member showed up after a while and she came over to help me.

Side note: She was dressed in the standard "uniform" - but was wearing a headband that might have been more appropriate at a jazzercise class. I'm not judging, but I'm just saying...

Anyway, I explained what was happening and asked what kinds of things might be causing interference in the signal. You know, science.

Her reply:

"I notice you're using one of the old (it's less than 2 years) Alltel phones. The towers in the area were upgraded and that might be causing the signal issues. You should be eligible for an upgrade on your phone."

Translation: "We changed something that had a negative impact on our customers without telling them and the only fix is to drain more money out of them by selling them a new overpriced phone they don't want or need and calling it an upgrade because we hate you all and don't understand the basics of customer service or human decency"

And in that moment, my hatred of cell phones returned. It swelled up around me like a fleece blanket, warm from the dryer. Then it burrowed into my skin, down to my very soul, where it began to fester and rot.

Ahhhhhh, yeah. That's the stuff. Feels sooooooo good to be back on familiar ground.

I told her that I wasn't prepared to get a new phone right then, but that I'd stop back.

Translation: "You've wasted enough of my time and I'm too angry to think carefully about the phone I'd get and vulnerable to your evil psychological sales tactics. I'm going to do some research so I can come back here and get a phone that is actually appropriate for my needs and doesn't get chosen for me to feed your commission."

As I was walking out the door she called out to me and said that if I hit *228 option 2 it might help, but she couldn't guarantee it. I thanked her and went on my way.

Yeah, right. Like I'm going to push some random buttons on my phone before I have everything backed up. Do I look like George Jetson? I like pushing buttons, but let's be serious here.

So, with the hatred spreading its poison into my system, I got in my car, filled the air with some deeply satisfying swear words (including a couple new ones I made up on the spot), and went home.

I'll do my homework, back up my data, and in a few days I'll head back and get a new phone. I guess the anger at being screwed with is tempered by the satisfaction of knowing I'm being screwed with. And I'm hooked on the convenience of a phone now - any kind of defiance is just going to hurt me and won't impact their bottom line much. I suppose I could switch carriers if I could find one that wasn't pure evil, but I doubt such a thing exists.

So, I'm back to hating cell phones. It feels like things are right with the world again, I've got a baseline to my emotional levels.

And though it sickens me to the core and makes me physically uncomfortable, I'm wondering it I can get a new phone in metallic green. (shudder)

2 miles, signed, chicken, say my name

2010-09-04T11:48:00.000-07:00

I swam 3/4 of a mile yesterday and this morning I headed back to the pool. I planned on doing at least 3 miles, but the lanes were set up the "long way" - and I got worn out and only did 2 miles. It was also a little weird - there was no one else in the pool. Just me and the lifeguard.

She was bored - obviously. It's not like I was going to drown, so she just paced slowly up and down the length of the pool with me. It was kind of nice, actually. When I finished up my swim, I walked over to her and thanked her for watching out for me. I told it must have been pretty boring, but it was appreciated. She smiled and said it was no problem. Might have been the first time anyone thanked her for being a lifeguard.

Not that I really needed a lifeguard - but they wouldn't have opened the pool if they didn't have the staff. So, I guess I did need her there.

I'm a little disappointed that I didn't do more -but I still have pushups to do this afternoon and my shoulders were starting to hurt.

I went over to Borders after the swim and found a couple of books that looked good. I stood in line for a while - longer than I should have had to. The problem was a woman who hadn't signed her credit card. The clerk rightly asked for ID, which the woman didn't have. So, we all had to wait for her to go out to her car and get her purse and get her ID.

You know what, people? It says right on the back of the damn card that you need to sign it. Period. If you don't sign it, they don't have to accept it. Also period. For those that think - "well, what if my card gets stolen?" - well, then the thief can then sign your name however they want and then go on their way. It's actually worse because they won't have to worry about matching a signature. Also? The post office won't accept your card unless you sign it. Do you really want to go up against the post office? Do you know where they got the phrase 'postal'? Sign your damn card and get out of my way.

Afterwards, I headed over to Chik-filet. (sp?) They have good chicken sandwiches there and I have two stories to relate.

1. I went there a few weeks ago and the line was so long I didn't want to fight for a special order to not have pickles. So, I just rolled with the standard bun-pickle-chicken-bun order and discovered - to my surprise - that I like dill pickles. Weird.

2. This time, they asked me for my name as I placed my order. When they brought the food over to me, they called me by name and thanked me for coming in today.

Now, my bank does this same thing too and it vaguely annoys me. (actually Borders did this as well today.) These people don't really know me. We aren't friends. The bank (and borders) is just reading my name off the screen after I swipe my card and Chik-filet only knew my name because I told it to them 45 seconds before that and they typed it onto a screen.

I guess they are trying to form some kind of relationship with me - trying to reinforce customer loyalty or something. But the name doesn't do it. Having the books I want - and short lines - will bring me back to borders. Having good chicken sandwiches will bring me back to Chik-filet. Having a nearby location and reasonable fees will bring me back to my bank. Having strangers say my name won't do it. Heck, I think I had a better rapport with the lifeguard and without my glasses I couldn't even really see her - and I sure don't know her name.

Hmmm... lot of time of soapboxes today. Better get back to the real world.

working out

2010-08-31T05:49:00.000-07:00

The past few weeks I've been on a fitness kick. Monday, Wednesday, Friday - still swimming at lunch time at the pool. Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday - pushups (part of hundredpushups) . And at least 2 miles a day on elliptical 6 days a week.

Feels like I'm training for something, but I don't know what that is. Maybe I'm just trying to look more reasonable in my Speedos.

It's been crazy busy here at work with the start of classes. I'm keeping up with most of it, but it's been a struggle.

I've started to acquire my Halloween costume supplies - should be a good one this year if I can pull it off.

I got to see my folks and my sister and her family this past weekend for my Dad's birthday. We didn't do much, but had fun with my baby niece. She's pretty adorable and very good natured. And she gets along pretty well with her uncle Anthony.

Finally, I'm trying to learn how to make an origami kangaroo. It's surprisingly slow going - I barely made it through the "basic shape" before I ran into trouble.

yesterday was weird

2010-08-05T05:29:00.000-07:00

1. The sign in front of the parking lot said it closed at 12 pm that day for resurfacing? Who closes a parking lot at noon? I pulled in at first thinking I had until midnight and that they had just gotten the sign wrong, but decided I didn't want to take a chance and pulled out and picked another lot.

2. There are two keypads and card swipes on the doors to different areas of the building. The buttons don't move when you push them - instead, they just beep to let you know that they've been "pushed". My colleague and I were trying to each use one of these keypads - and the beeps made it impossible to tell if we'd actually hit a button or not. I just stopped and let him go first and once he had his door open, I used my keypad and went on into the office.

3. Had a 'difference of opinion' with a co-worker over the intuitiveness of a webpage. I wanted the information on the form visible, he wanted to put it as a mouse-over on the checkboxes. We were both convinced that our way was intuitive. I'm pretty sure he was wrong. No, I'm certain he was wrong, but we ended the discussion politely and we're going to leave it up to the department to decide.

4. On the drive home, a car made a turn into the opposing lane facing me and the rear passenger door flew open and a suitcase fell out. The car slammed on the brakes as did I - though I was pretty much out of the way... right up until the driver threw open his door and walked into my lane to go around the car and reload. I managed to go on around him as he went on his way. It should be noted that his passenger in the front - the person ideally that should have made the move to fix things - just sat there.

5. I saved the best for last. I was swimming yesterday, just about to finish up lap #24 when the fire alarm started going off in the building. I climbed out of the pool, looked at the lifeguard and shrugged. She shrugged back, and I went on into the locker room. The fire alarm was painfully loud in there, but I figured it was a drill and grabbed my towel to dry off. Then someone came in and told us we had to evacuate the building. So, still in my speedo and with the towel partly wrapped around my waist (it was too small to cover me completely), I headed out of the locker room, down the hall, and out the front door. I was joined by others in t-shirts and shorts - who told me it could have been worse that a) at least I had my trunks and b) at least it wasn't winter. A few minutes later The director for the facility said we could go to the rec center and finish our workouts - so a few of us trekked across the lawn to the rec center. I hit the pool and did 6 more laps before I got the all clear. I headed back to ONAT, got into my regular clothes, and went back to work.

Like I said - a weird day.

projects, locks, game, exercise, and rearrange

2010-08-02T10:20:00.000-07:00

I picked up some supplies over the weekend for a couple of projects. I got a big roll of paper to make a gigantic origami star. Not sure where I'll put it, but it should be pretty cool. I also found a pump to make a small fountain for the patio. Not sure what the actual fountain will end up looking like, but finding the pump itself was a challenge.

I also helped my room-mate with the storage garage for his classic caddy. He called me while I was in Lowe's to come help with the door to the garage as it seemed to be stuck. When I got there, we first thought it was the vinyl flange at the top that was getting in the way, but then I took another look at the door locks after struggling with the door for a minute. There are two, one on each side. When the metal plates are lined up, the door is secured and you can put a padlock through the holes to lock it. One side had the plates apart (open) and the other had the plates together (closed). I slid the plates apart and lifted the door and it practically flew open. My room-mate, who wasn't watching when I adjusted the plates, was frankly astonished when the door flew open. He insists that he checked both plates - which struck me as a statement worthy of an eyebrow raise. But after further thought I concede that if the plates were not all the way open, they could have slid back into the closed position when lifting pressure was applied to the door. In any case, we had the door open and I went on my way.

I've been playing a game called Trine - a side scrolling platforming game with three characters that you can swap between at any time. I beat the game yesterday and I plan on going back and trying to get a "perfect" score on the levels with all the items and experience found.

I've also been trying to get more exercise. Not really with a specific goal in mind, just want to see what I can do. I've been keeping up with my M-W-F swimming and I've added in a daily 2 mile stint on the elliptical trainer. Next up is the 100 pushups, a program to get a person able to do 100 pushups at one time. On my initial test, I could do 20 - which is not awesome, but not that bad either. I'll track my progress and see how it goes. I guess that's part of why it appeals to me - I like the numbers. I'll try to do this T-Th-Sat.

Finally, I spent some time on Saturday re-arranging one of the upstairs rooms to include a reading nook - and finally putting my bench that I made to some good use.

So, lots done and lots to do.

rocking the speedo

2010-07-27T12:07:00.001-07:00

Two words: Beef. Cake.

One link: Here.

vacation: writing and exercise

2010-07-24T19:01:00.000-07:00

I did two things more than anything else on my vacation: playing my PSP and writing. I did a lot of writing, filling two notebooks with a story. It's crap and I know it, but at least it went quickly and passed the time. I've got another idea for a story that might actually be worth something, but it wasn't really flowing for me.

I got plenty of exercise on my vacation, swimming and a little kayaking. And I did some people watching and decided that between the morbidly obese and the ultra-fit people, I was somewhere on the fitter side - but still have some work to do.

So, I've ramped up my exercise and I'm trying to use the elliptical trainer once a day now. I'm also going to dust off the bowflex this evening and give that a go. No specific goals, but good intentions.

I got some "emerging from the ocean" pictures that I'll try to get posted later today.

vacation: the bad

2010-07-24T18:35:00.000-07:00

And now for the bad. And I have a surprising amount of bad from this vacation.

1. My grandmother passed away. I mean, how much worse could can you get?

2. The drive was 10 hours each way. Which is pretty horrific all by itself. Add in my room-mate - who has been going to the same place on vacation for about a thousand years - still not being sure of the route to take. This is with years of experience, a map, and a freaking GPS. Which he argued with for the first 2 hours of the trip back before giving up and letting her guide us. He's going to be pissed that I wrote this in the blog, but dangit, pick a route and stick to it. He knows how completely insane that indecision makes me because I've told him how insane that indecision makes me.

3. My room-mate and siblings argued with every single conversation they had. Every single one. I counted and it was all of them. Ugh.

4. I got bitch slapped and owned by the waves. I got in my time/distance, but it was rough. I looked good in my "Daniel Craig as James Bond" Speedos, but I was the ocean's bitch.

5. My room-mate drove the Sea-Doo like an old man. Every time we got up to speed, he'd drop the throttle and we'd slam to a stop. I mean, seriously.

6. I had computer problems to fix. My uncle's were easy to address on windows 7, but I had some vista issues on another machine that I could not surmount. Very frustrating.

7. Parking the Sea-Doo involved me getting into the canal and lifting on the machine while my room-mate pulled it onto the mini-dock. I did not smell very fresh afterwards and was quite sore.

8. We ate out at the same places we ate out at last year. And the wait on one of those trips? 2 hours. The food? Not worth a 2 hour wait.

8. We had plans to go places and do things, but ended up spending much of the time sitting in the sun. I was bored. A lot. And this was a bigger deal than it seems. I was just kinda of hoping for an adventure or two and it was just more of the same.

On the bright side, I wasn't at work. But, sheesh. I know I'm really poor at relaxing, but the lack of fun on this trip was staggering. There's got to be something more.

And just writing this has put me in bad mood. I think I need to go back and read about the fun parts of my trip again.

vacation: the good

2010-07-24T14:19:00.000-07:00

As I've done before, I kept notes on my vacation so I could update my blog when I get back to a computer. It usually ends up being the written equivalent of vacation slide show, and nobody wants that. So, instead, a few bullet points on the good of my vacation and then another post later on the bad. Also, I heard a new song: Sara Bareilles - King Of Anything Enjoy.

1. I went streaking on the beach at 3:30 AM. I mean, really, when else am I going to do it? And if you haven't, I recommend it.

2. I swam in the ocean. A lot. At least a lot based on the amount of time I was actually at the beach. I did about 5 1/2 miles total. Would have done more, but the ocean was really rough.

3. The flight attendants and the passengers on the planes thought my origami was great.

4. My cousins were fun to visit with, even though the trip (grandma's funeral) was rough.

5. I got to ride a SeaDoo and got tossed off. It was fun.

6. I got to try out a kayak. Pretty fun, but it wore me out.

7. The crab cake sandwiches were good.

8. The beach house we stayed at the second week had an outdoor shower. Nothing better than an outdoor shower to clear off the suntan lotion, sweat, sand, and just plain tired.

9. I was off-line nearly the whole time.

10. No sunburn, only a nice light tan. Thank you, SPF 30.

grandma

2010-07-23T18:17:00.000-07:00

I left for a vacation to myrtle beach at 8:00 on a Friday morning a couple weeks ago and my room-mate and I drove about 10 hours down there. We had checked into a hotel for the night and met up with his brother for dinner. That night, I got the call from my dad that my grandmother - his mom - had passed away. She'd been ill for a while and non-responsive - and not eating or drinking anything for several days - so it wasn't a surprise, but sudden all the same.

Dad said he was meeting with the funeral director the next day and would have more information on the arrangements then.

The next day I helped my room-mate and his family check into the condo for the week and I then waited for the call with the news about the plans. Mom called me on my cell and gave me the details and I called a bereavement travel service that my room-mate's company offers and made some travel plans to fly there for the service - since the visitation would be Tuesday and service on Wednesday - all in Illinois. I made a flight for Monday morning with a return trip to MB on Thursday.

I was at the MB airport bright and early, got checked in, and flew to Atlanta. There was a 2 hour layover, then on to Bloomington, IL. My folks picked me up and dropped me off to stay with my cousin. On Tuesday we met up at the church for the visitation. Grandma looked good - like I remembered her - but that didn't make seeing her there any easier. My parents, my dad's sister and one of his brothers and their spouses were up at the front to greet people and talk to them. The rest of the family - grand and great-grand children - sat in the pews and mostly kept ourselves. We were there for about 4 hours and there was a big turnout - grandma had lived in the town her whole life and had a lot of friends.

The next morning - Wednesday - we headed back to the church for the service. The minister didn't know grandma, but my uncle had met with him and shared some good stories. Instead of using those, the minister instead talked mostly about himself, which puzzled and annoyed most of us. We then went to the graveside and told my brother-in-law that they should have at least broken the speed limit for grandma in the procession - she was known for having an unapologetic lead foot. The service at the graveside was quick and on the way back to the church for lunch... I broke down. I'd had some bad moments, but riding with mom and dad as we left the cemetery I started weeping. I guess it makes sense it would hit me then, but even having made what I thought was peace with her loss, the finality overwhelmed me and it was a bit before I could get control of myself again. After the lunch at the church, my sister and brother-in-law headed back to Ohio and I got dropped off at my cousin's house. I had dinner that night with my uncle's family and helped with some computer issues.

And then we talked about my uncle that didn't show up at his mother's visitation, funeral, graveside, or luncheon. There's some bad blood there between his siblings, but I think we all thought that he would at least show up. My aunt sent him a text message when grandma passed - which sounds a little cold, but he doesn't answer his phone and leaves his voicemail full.

So, he missed the whole thing - a chance to say goodbye and maybe mend some fences. Now, I can't imagine my dad and his other two siblings forgiving this. Really sad.

My parents dropped me back off at the airport on Thursday morning and I did my trip in reverse, getting back to MB at 3:30. I wowed the passangers and the flight crew with my folding on the trips and now it was time to get back to my beach vacation.

A leak, a party, things created, and some guilt

2010-07-05T14:47:00.000-07:00

I went to give blood today in the early afternoon since I was off work. It was busy, apparently a lot of people had the same idea. The actual donation was fine, but while I was eating my cookies and having some orange drink in the canteen area, the guy next to me suddenly got up - clutching at his arm. He said something about having a problem and headed by into the donation area - leaving a trail of blood. I told a couple of staff people about it and they gloved up and got the area cleaned up. I headed on my way, thinking that it was the first time I'd seen someone have trouble like that. He was a little older, must not have "sealed" up quickly enough.

I went to a party on Saturday evening. A couple of friends were hosting and I had a nice time - which surprised me a bit since I'm not really an outgoing party person. But, I had some paper with me and a little origami magic will do wonders. I made a little person and a horse for a little girl that was there - she was amazed and managed to keep the figure intact longer than most 2 year-olds would have been able to do. I stayed pretty late, but started to get eaten alive by the bugs. No calimine or hydrocortizon to be found at home, but a little rubbing alcohol got rid of the itch.

I've been busy crafting things this weekend. Found a design for a brocade - a sort of spherical flower that takes 6 pieces of paper to build and can make some nice earrings. Provided the paper is small enough. 1 inch squares seemed to do the trick and while it wasn't hard work, it was very detail oriented. I made two sets - and some soap - as gifts to someone who "has everything".

A couple weeks ago I did something that has been nagging at me. It was after work and I had just left the building heading for the pool since I didn't get to swim at lunchtime. I had my phone out, getting ready to make a call and tell a friend that plans had changed. Just before I started to dial, I saw a guy exit the building in front of me, head toward the street, then do a sudden 180 and head back. He saw I had my phone out asked if he could borrow it. I told him "sorry" and that I "had to make this call". I kept walking and dialed - and made my call. It was only a few minutes later that I realized what was going on. The guy came out of the building expecting a ride to be waiting for him and wanted to use my phone to call and make sure he wasn't stranded. Or so it seemed, based on the moments I'd seen his behavior.

Was my call critical? No, it could have waited. Was I worried he might steal my phone and run off? Not likely, when motivated I can move pretty fast and I know the campus very well. Would he have wasted my minutes? No, I've got a pile and have never come close to using them all in a month. Do I have a good reason for not helping?

Not really. Pretty much just selfish. Which I really try not to do. I guess I was just tired of things standing in the way of what I was doing. I had spent all day just trying to move forward and I saw this as not a chance to help someone, but an impediment to the rest of my day.

He wasn't there by the time I went back that way - I guess his ride showed up.

So, it's been bothering me a bit. I feel like I made a bad decision. Not evil, but just not what I should have done.

Since then, I've been trying to be a little nicer to people where I can. Doesn't really make up for it, but I guess it's all I can do.

In other news... looking forward to a short work week. And I think it's time for me to get off this computer and go enjoy the sunshine a bit.

everyone is okay

2010-06-29T09:05:00.000-07:00

I talked to my sister last night - the camper they were towing jack-knifed as a result of their SUV having a tire blow out. My brother-in-law was able to get the SUV to the median, but the hitch snapped and the camper tipped over. My sister said they were going to try and salvage what they could from inside the camper, but that the camper itself was most likely a loss.

So, bummer on the camper, but good to hear they are all okay. Except for my brother-in-law who hurt his foot trying to change the tire on the SUV.

The rest of the evening for me was video games and a little bocce outside. I lost, but it was a close match.

My room-mate is still having drama with a couple of his siblings, but I think that's settling down a bit.

Work has been a little odder than usual, I'd better get back to it.

Party in da house

2010-06-28T06:02:00.000-07:00

Last week, my room-mate and I did a bunch of cleaning to get ready for his birthday party. We bought a lot of food and borrowed a table and chairs and on Saturday morning, I went and picked up the cake and 3 bags of ice. He also found out that his antique car was repaired and wanted to go pick it up to show to the party guests. I was less enthused about it since it would take up premium parking space and might distract the birthday boy from his guests, but he was determined and went along with it.

Another trip for more ice and hamburger buns and some time spent setting up the umbrellas and tables - and we were ready.

As the guests started to arrive, we set up a volleyball net and played a bit. Then a couple of games of bocce got the crowd going. It was a hot day, but we kept everyone hydrated and people took frequent breaks in the house.

When it was time to start grilling, my room-mate fired up the grill and immediately started to get distracted. Fearing disaster, I took over and did the cooking. I things turned out pretty well and I think everyone got enough to eat. My room-mate got a little choked up when we sang happy birthday and I know that it meant a lot that his friends and family were there.

I thought it was pretty cool how easily everyone connected - it turned out that one of my room-mates co-workers had also been a photographer at my co-worker/friend's wedding.

But the event was not without some drama. My room-mate wanted to take some of his friends for a ride in the caddy - at the exact same time that one of his sister decided that she and her family were ready to leave. No one was willing to give ground, so there was some hurt feelings.

Also, his brother didn't show. There was some kind of issue with time off or having to work - the story kept changing. I know my room-mate was pretty hurt by that and hasn't returned his calls.

I did a lot of the cleanup that evening and we finished things up the next day. It was a good party and the success means I think we'll be doing more of this in the future.

In other news... I saw on Facebook this morning that my sister and brother-in-law had some issues with their camper on the trip home. They weren't hurt, but the camper is apparently in bad shape. I'm hoping to touch base with her today and find out what happened.

Finally, I came into work today to find one of my co-worker's "uninterrupted power supplies" was going bad and setting off an alarm. Since he's not going to be back in the office for 3 weeks, I did the most logical thing when faced with locked down computers and passwords and a really annoying alarm - I turned the whole thing off. Which he should have done anyway when leaving the office for three weeks.

About an hour later, he shows up - which was a surprise since we thought he was already gone. Apparently, he's set up his computer to act as an intermediary for his email. And without that, he can't get his email. Why someone would add another, vulnerable layer of complexity to a system that works better without it for the sake of a perceived convenience is beyond me. He bypassed the UPS and got his machines going again before he left.

Insert head-shaking here as I get back to work....

the plan

2010-06-24T04:56:00.000-07:00

I've got a personality quirk - well, one of many anyway - that makes me really enjoy plans. I'm generally fine with going with the flow when that's appropriate, but if I've got a plan I'd really prefer to see that through. And I tend to get cranky when that plan is disrupted - based on a belief that the universe likes plans too and that disrupting plans usually lead to some degree of chaos.

Case in point:

I planned (see, here we go) to make a trip over to Target last evening for some items and then a bit to eat at burger king on my way back - and I asked my room-mate if he needed anything. He had a few things for me to pick up and also asked me to go to Lowe's to re-fill a grill tank. Not terribly out of the way, but still - it was not in the original plan.

So, I head over to Lowe's first, go inside to the customer service desk and pay for the exchange. I go back outside - with a disturbing lack of "someone will be out soon" - and wait. And I timed it, anticipating a problem. At 6 minutes I go back inside and then wait at the desk again for the clerk to be available. She makes a call and tells me someone was closing out a register and would be out there soon.

I resume my vigil. At 14:30, the clerk comes out and says she borrowed the keys to the propane tank cages. I stop my timer at this point, anticipating success. Unfortunately, the only cage with full tanks can't be opened with those keys. She goes back in to get the manager and I restart my timer. The clerk and manager return with keys that work and at 17:19, I get my filled tank and head on my way.

I note the times here not because I'm going to call their corporate office and complain - it really wasn't that big of a deal - but because I knew that this additional stop would be problematic.

Is there a deeper meaning to all this? Do I have a subconscious tap into the underlying order to the universe that allows me to construct smoothly executing plans so long as no one else interferes?

Unlikely, but it should be noted that I had no problems at either Target or Burger King.

paint and the neighbors

2010-06-22T04:49:00.000-07:00

My room-mate is unhappy with the painting he did in the hallway of the apartment. It's got some reflective qualities to it and didn't spread evenly. He thinks that in some light it looks like aluminum foil. So, he's making plans to repaint - which is too bad since the paint he got initially is fairly expensive.

Our neighbors came back from their trip yesterday and they stopped over to pick up their mail. She had just been visiting her mother - who is very ill - and had an argument with her siblings that had her pretty upset. While she was in our hallway looking at the paint on the walls her phone rang and she got the news that her mother had just then passed away. She was understandably in shock and my room-mate walked her back over to her apartment with their mail.

I didn't see him again for over 2 hours - he had put on his funeral director / grief counselor hat and was doing what he could to help them out. She and her husband have some rough times ahead with her siblings and with trying to sort out the arrangements, but she has already credited my room-mate with helping them through things.

In other news... I hit the pool again yesterday afternoon and did 18 laps, 1/2 mile. No records set, but I'm getting back to it.

father's day weekend

2010-06-21T06:38:00.001-07:00

I had a meeting that ran late last Friday and I decided to postpone the drive to my parent's house until Saturday morning. Instead of driving, I helped my room-mate with some yard work. I think I would have preferred fighting rush hour traffic. :)

On Saturday morning, I got up early and was on the road by 5:20 AM. I got to my parent's house at almost the same time my sister and her family was arriving - so, we all had breakfast together.

My 5 month old niece spent the entire day being awesome and adorable. She's learned how to roll over - but only in one direction. And she really has no interest in rolling the other way. My sister fed her some avocado and some cereal and most of the day was spent hanging out. We played a game and I made quacking noises like a duck to my niece that she really enjoyed.

My mom and my sister and I went together on some Father's day gifts for dad - he wants to learn how to paint landscapes and we got him all the gear he'll need to get started.

My sister and brother-in-law took the little baby home that evening and couldn't come back on Sunday - the little one has started teething and was not amused. Instead, my Dad's friend came over for lunch. He has a neruo-muscular disorder and is confined to a wheelchair. He's very difficult to understand, but not mentally impaired. He and his caretaker had taco salad with us and strawberries for dessert. His caretaker was pretty cool and lunch was fine - but it was a little weird and awkward.

After they left, I hung out with my folks for a while before getting on the road. When I got back, I found that my room-mate had done some painting. The color is okay, but I'm a little concerned about the spills on the wood trim and the floor. I think we got things pretty well cleaned up when I got home, but the lighting wasn't good and I'm hoping the landlord doesn't complain.

People are strange

2010-06-18T10:33:00.000-07:00

1. On the drive into work I saw a guy on a motorcycle. On the back, riding as a passenger, was a plastic skeleton (about 1/2 life sized) with long dark hair and the right arm extended. It was flipping everyone off as he rode down the highway. Oh, and the skeleton was surrounded by small american flags. So, you know, he had that going for him too. It was great.

2. I had a training session today for a student group on campus. The person I was meeting was about 10 minutes late and didn't have access to their office. So, rather than walk back to my office for the training or checking out a laptop in the student union - we instead snagged a kiosk and did the training in the hallway. It was a little loud and the computer was slow, but it all worked out.

3. I was hoping to get out of here a little early today - but then I remembered I have a meeting from 3:30 to 4:30 today. (FYI, I generally leave for the day at 4:00) Who schedules a meeting for 3:30 on Friday? I mean, I understand last minute and all that, but have they seen how nice it is outside?

4. I updated my twitter post today to comment on the weather and mention how it was a perfect day for streaking. Not that I did - though I did consider it - but I know it would have been nice based on prior experience.

washing machine

2010-06-15T09:36:00.000-07:00

The sound of the air handling system here at work has changed from what it usually sounds like - which is generally the sound of overworked fans. Now, it sounds like my washing machine at home, during the final spin. I keep expecting at any moment it will stop and a loud beeping sound will be heard - signaling that my clothes are done.

The level of constant anticipation is starting to get to me. Though if it finally beeps I don't know where my clean and damp clothes are going to end up. Or where I'm going to dry them.

No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die.

2010-06-15T04:01:00.000-07:00

Two stories.

1. I'm driving home from work yesterday, taking the same route I usually take at about the same time and traveling the same consistent speed - slightly above the speed limit. The lane to the right of me is about to turn into an exit only lane and the two lanes to the left of me are open.

Suddenly, a car pulls up on my left side. It's a black SUV of some kind and the driver is matching my speed. They then pull a little forward and then a little back, then forward, then back again. Mind you, this all happens in a few seconds. Finally, they slammed on their brakes and darted in behind me. I glanced in my rear-view mirror to see a woman silently shouting with rage and flipping me off so intensely that her hand was shaking. She then changed lanes again to the right to exit the highway. Not sure how to respond, I gave her a friendly wave and went on my way.

Clearly, there is more to the story, but I can only guess at what that might be. She pulled up next to me, then realized this was her exit. She was reluctant to go faster than the speed were traveling and disinclined to slow down. Apparently, once she pulled up next to my car, she expected me to teleport out of her way - or slam on my brakes to let her over. I did neither, and she was enraged.

2. We share a water system with our neighbors and recently the water softener in their basement hasn't been clearing out the smell or the iron in the water. The neighbors out of town this week so we're watching their apartment and gathering their mail, etc. The landlords dropped off some "rust out" salt on the neighbors front step and we didn't want to leave it there. So, my room-mate called the neighbors on their cell to get permissions to take the salt into their house - since they had left a set of keys with us.

The softener tank was already full, so we added some Rust Out powder to it, then headed upstairs to the garage. Hit the garage door button and... nothing. The neighbors had unplugged the opener as a security measure - and the only way to get to the cord and outlet was to climb on top of their SUV. Which was my job, since I'm taller and more limber than my room-mate.

I manage to get on top of the SUV without doing any damage to it or myself and get the opener plugged back in. It wasn't easy and when I started to get back down to help move the 80 lb bags in, my room-mate stopped me and said he would get the bags. He went over and pushed the button while I'm still on the roof of the SUV and all of the sudden he tells me to "look out!"

The garage door is coming up - and headed right for me. Like some kind of James Bond death trap. I shout to my room-mate to hit the button to stop it - but he was too far away already. I had two thoughts in my head in those moments. One, how to keep myself and the SUV from being damaged and two, how to I keep the door from being damaged by me. I tried to recline on the roof hoping the door would pass over me, but it stopped well short of hitting me at all. Still, I'm stuck and now have to wait for my room-mate to move the bags in the garage and then hit the button again. That is, after he stops laughing uncontrollably at me.

He gets control of himself, brings the bags into the garage, and closes the door. I pull the plug on the opener and then carefully climb down - still making sure to not damage the SUV. We lock up behind ourselves and go back to our apartment. My room-mate still thinks this is hilarious. I'm not quite ready to laugh about it yet, but I'm guessing that with change eventually.

a mistake

2010-06-14T09:26:00.001-07:00

After the division wide meeting this morning, I hit the pool for swim.

It was a mistake. I'm still having issues with it taking more effort/force to breathe out than it does to breathe in - so breathing out through my nose underwater was not very effective and quickly became somewhat painful. So, I switched to mouth breathing exclusively and while that worked, it felt unnatural. I only did 9 laps today, 1/4 mile, and I may wait until Friday to try again.

Disappointing, but hey, at least I didn't drown.

Unrelated items

2010-06-14T04:27:00.000-07:00

I got my car back on Friday afternoon. It's running quietly now and things seem to be back to normal. I'm still vaguely annoyed by it, but things could have been much worse.

I got a little sun this weekend and played some bocce ball. We tried to follow the "rules" at the start, but it sort of degenerated as time went on. I started to get over-heated and we cut the second game short. It didn't help that we were playing in grass that was too tall - the inaccuracy of the throws made the game much longer.

Watched the movie Legion over the weekend. It was okay, but somewhat predictable. The big battle at the end was not as over-the-top as I would have liked, but like I said, it was okay.

Did a little reading, played a lot of assassin's creed - good game. Watched some True Blood on DVD - excellent show. It follows the books to an extent, but then goes off in other directions that are just as good if not better.

We've got a division wide meeting coming up this morning. The free breakfast is nice, but the time it covers make it a little tough to stay on target for the day - I've got lots to get done this morning.

There's a noise

2010-06-11T05:18:00.000-07:00

There's a noise under the hood of my car. Or at least there was one yesterday at lunch time and again in the evening. A horrible grinding screeching noise. On the way to drop off my car at the dealership last evening, the noise seemed to stop. But since I'd already made an appointment of sorts (they are booked today, but they'll take a look at my car as soon as possible) - I went ahead and left the car and the key.

It didn't help matters that I was already cranky from the day at work. And I'm nearly always cranky when something goes wrong with my car. I'm a computer guy, not a car guy. I'm perfectly at ease in taking a computer apart - but only when backed up by information on the screen, or lack there off. With a car, though, it's all meaningless warning lights and undefinable noises. Then getting a straight answer out of mechanics I've gone to is nearly impossible. And if you ask questions, well, then you're an idiot that doesn't know anything about cars. Which, duh, is why I bring the car in to start.

So, my co-worker was able to drive me in and my room-mate should be able to pick me up after work. I'm hoping it's something simple and definitive - and not too expensive. Too much to ask for, I know.

My room-mate thinks I should buy his car when his lease is up - but, seriously, the headrests in that automobile are horrible. Seems like a silly reason to dismiss car, but I've ridden in there for long distances and after about 25 minutes I'm ready to cut my own head off to get some relief.

Makes me want to track down the engineer that designed those headrests and force him to sit in the car leaning back until he realizes what he's done and apologizes. There's where the recalls should be focused.

So, I'm not going to buy that car, but I may end up getting a Honda as my next car anyway. With a test drive focused on the head-rests.

See? I told you I wasn't a car guy.

Breathe in, breathe out; also, adventures in personal hygiene and grooming

2010-06-08T04:00:00.000-07:00

I had about 27 hours of clear breathing before a cold hit me - and now I'm fighting to keep a clear nose and I'm apparently snoring again. I'm hoping it passes soon, right now it's taking more force to breathe out than it does to breathe in - which feels pretty weird.

I've been busy here this morning, but feeling curiously out of sorts. Just kind of moderately irritated by little things. It doesn't help that I'm waiting on a phone call to launch a site and I really need to hit the restroom. They are already a bit late and I'm hoping they call soon.

(later)

Well, we launched the site and things went poorly - though while I was waiting to hear back from people about what was going on, I had plenty of time to go to the restroom.

I had to raise my voice in my boss's office - though not at my boss. I was trying to report in on the site launch and suddenly the room filled up with talking people. I finally raised my hands and my voice and proclaimed that I still had the floor. My boss backed me up and we finished up our discussion. I was still Mr. Cranky-pants most of the day though.

In other news...

I shaved my face the night before my nose surgery and then didn't shave again for over a week. When it was finally time - or some would say past time - to shave, my electric razor wasn't up to the task. Which was a bummer - since it takes three weeks or more to get used to using it. I'd suspected that I wasn't going to be able to adapt - it irritated the skin on my neck something fierce. And then switching back to a razor to get the job done means I've lost ground with the shaver. Might be time to clean it up real good and put it away for a while and just go back to using a razor.

Back during the winter months I decided to try a new deodorant. I was starting to get a little concerned about the amount of chemicals I was putting on or in my body and thought taking aluminum out of the equation would be a good place to start. I switched to a mineral salt stick - you wet it with water, then apply. Simple. And effective during the winter months when I don't sweat as much. Now that summer time had rolled around, it's less effective. Primarily on the right side for some reason. So, this morning I switched back - at least for the next few months.

Finally, in totally unrelated news, I just watched a trailer for Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. Looks like a fun movie, but before I could watch the trailer, I had to sit through a commercial for Outback steakhouse. Isn't a trailer a commercial for a movie? So, did I have to watch a commercial in order to watch another commercial? Is that what happened?

I'm doing much better now

2010-06-03T16:08:00.000-07:00

I had a doctor's appointment this morning and I headed out to the office from home a bit early with the idea that I might get in a little early and get the splints removed from my nose.

Except that the doctor has two office - one on Massillon road and the other up in Cuyahoga Falls. And I was at the wrong one. They called ahead to the other location to let them know I was on the way.

I got on the road right away and headed out. I ended up being about 8 minutes late - and then the receptionist ignored me for 2 minutes before getting me signed in. It was another 5 minutes before the nurse took me back. The doctor was in a few minutes later and got right to work. The splints were held in place by a couple of small stitches and he snipped those - then braced me for the "removal". His favorite part.

This is the best / least gross picture I was able to find on the web of what he pulled out of each side of my nose. The Splints. (sounds like the name of a band)

The only problem with this picture is scale - the splints from my nose were about 2.5 - 3 inches long and nearly as wide as a quarter. The whiter section in the picture was a tube and the whole thing was made of hard plastic.

It wasn't painful coming out - but it was... intense. Gross and covered in mucus, the splints seemed far too large to have fit in my nose - I suspect these were actually lodged in my brain.

The doctor jokingly asked if I wanted to keep them - and I was slightly tempted to. But I declined and he said that they make a note in the file of anyone that does keep them - labeling them a little crazy. He did a little more clean up in there and then the nurse left and I quizzed the doctor about using the saline solution, when I could swim again, and horrible taste in my mouth (which should pass in a couple days).

So, overall, not that big of a deal. It took me a couple hours to train myself to breath through my nose again, but it does feel a lot better.

When I was out on campus later today.... I could smell the flowers.

a funny taste in my mouth

2010-06-02T05:08:00.000-07:00

1. I've had this for a couple of days - might be a side effect of coming off the pain meds from my surgery - but I've got a weird chemical taste in my mouth. It's not horrible, but it's persistent and nothing seems to get rid of it.

2. Found out that my next door neighbors had their vehicles broken into. Well, sort of. One had a window broken and the still turned on GPS stolen. The other was left unlocked and tools were stolen out of it.

My room-mate and I are substantially more careful than they are in general, but we talked a little about how we can be a little safer. It's not a bad neighborhood by any means, but even good neighborhoods can be vulnerable to opportunity.

3. One of my co-workers has been without email for about 6 days now. His email is routed in a way that I'm pretty sure is unique to the entire campus - and I'm not sure why he just doesn't do it like everyone else. If I was without email for 6 days - involuntarily - I think I'd be pretty ticked off and looking for a solution.

4. I've been playing Final Fantasy 13 for a few days now. It's a good game - I think, I'm only 21 hours into it - but strangely linear for a game like this. The combat is fast paced and complex, but elements seem to drag or are overly simplified. I'm enjoying it, but it's really not what I expected.

5. One unpleasant side effect from my surgery that no one told me about beforehand is that the anesthesia inhibits normal bowel function afterwards. I've managed - with difficulty - to go a couple of times since my surgery, but I'm essentially, well, full of it.

6. I did a full day of work yesterday and did okay - though I was pretty wiped out by the time the day ended. I slept pretty well last night and seem to be doing okay today so far, but I'll be more glad than usual when the week is done.

7. I go in to have the splints in my nose removed tomorrow - which will be a relief though I've been told the actual process is terrible. Maybe I'll get a heads up on what happened when I came out of the surgery - I've been told I was combative, but I don't really know what that means.

8. Finally, the underside of my SoBe bottle cap told me yesterday "You're so cool".

The SoBe has spoken.

sneezing

2010-06-01T11:48:00.000-07:00

I just sneezed - twice. It was horrible. Felt like something inside my nose got knocked loose and was deeply pissed off.

It wasn't as bad as my first post-surgery sneeze. I was advised to "not hold anything back" and as a result - from across the room - I managed to spray bloody mucus on the door to the basement. Not a lot, mind you, but enough that it made a noise when it hit.

Someday - hopefully soon - I'll be able to blow my nose. I expect a choir of angels to appear and sing when that happens.

It's all blood and mucus

2010-05-31T18:02:00.000-07:00

You've been warned.

My septum un-deviation surgery was last Wednesday and while it wasn't a big deal as far as these things go, it was kind of monumental for me.

My room-mate was my driver and we got to the hospital at the designated time in the morning. I got checked in and I was signing some papers the clerk at the desk asked what the stack of papers I had was all about. I told her it was paper for Origami and my room-mate told her that I'd make her something. So, in the short time before the nurse called me back, I quickly made her a small origami person. She was excited and I was glad someone at least was having a good day.

The nurse had me change into a gown - which was more like some kind of purple construction paper than actual cloth (it also included what looked like a place to attach a vacuum hose that no one really explained to me) - and I got to keep my underwear on. Yea! Though, frankly, with the intense draining of my dignity I think I would have been better off naked.

The anesthesiologist made some jokes with us and seemed pretty cool - though she did mock me a bit for not moving my hand where they had harpooned me with the needle. She put something in my IV as they wheeled me away and there was no count down or anything. I was all of the sudden out.

I woke up in recovery with a horribly sore throat - cranky, and freaked out. Which I remember telling someone though I don't remember much else. I woke up later feeling a little better but still having a rough go. I learned later that I was "combative" I first woke up.

I was dizzy for a while and tired, but by the afternoon I was ready to go home. I slept in the lazy-boy that first night.

My sister was in town on Thursday for a meeting and she stopped by to see me - which was cool. She brought some baby pictures and stayed for lunch. I had the first of my many milk shakes.

My MFR's mom and grandmother stopped by for a short visit to see how I was doing. They didn't stay long, but told me that I could call them whenever I needed anything.

So, it's been a lot of napping - which I'm normally no good at - a lot of blood and mucus in my tissues, a lot of saline up my nose and a lot of breathing though my mouth. Which keeps the sore throat cranking away.

I'm headed back to work tomorrow, for a 1/2 day at least, and I'll play it by ear. My doctor's appointment isn't until Thursday morning, so I'm going to take it easy. I've had no bruising and only a little swelling - but the marbles up my nose are apparently enough to wear me down. I'm going to play a little of a video game and then try to get to bed early.

I'll try and fill in some of the gaps in this post later - I'm sure I'm forgetting things.

Oh, I wrote an apology to the staff at the hospital for being combative. It wasn't my fault, but I still feel bad.

That's it for now - wish me luck at work tomorrow.

I passed my pre-testing

2010-05-21T04:21:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, one week before my septum un-deviation surgery, I went in to the hospital for pre-testing.

Which was a waste of time. I was told in advance that it would 30-45 minutes - it took 15.

The nurse practitioner took my temperature, my BP and pulse, listened to my heart (she seemed to have trouble finding that one), my lungs, and oddly enough, my stomach - which didn't make nearly enough noise for her.

She looked in my ears, down my throat, and rubbed the sides of my neck. I have expected her to kill a chicken and examine it's entrails to see if I was a good candidate for the surgery.

A little bit of paperwork, a few vague suggestions, and I was on my way. No idea how much my insurance is going to be charged for that little visit, but I'm guessing it's a lot.

In other news... my sister is coming to town - and campus - to meet with one of our higher-ups about how we do our accreditation. It's right after my surgery so I'll be at home and not the best company, but it will still be nice to see her - if only for a short time.

Finally, we had a meeting yesterday - actually a webinar - about our recent usability testing. I got some praise for my role, once they got the right name, and then got slammed. In the nicest way possible. I'm not taking it personally - it was my first time running a session and I was bound to screw it up a little bit.

The meeting wrapped up with a "discussion" about the terminology used on the site we were reviewing. The people in the department insisted on using the terms you could only know if you had already been taught about them. I was in the "either explain it or change it" camp - and we nearly came to blows over it. It was like they had a secret club and you had to be "initiated" before the site made any sense. It was irksome to a geek like me.

adventures in retail

2010-05-13T07:48:00.000-07:00

I got a couple of gift cards to Barnes and Noble for my birthday and christmas and though we don't have any stores in the area, our campus bookstore is part of this chain. So, with two $25 cards in hand, I headed to the store in the student center.

The selection was not what I'd hoped for and decided to go online instead. Back at my office I visited the online version of the campus bookstore site and was underwhelmed at the selection again. I found a pair of shorts and a sticker for my car - with a total price of over $25 dollars. I entered the first card and then couldn't find a spot to enter another card or my credit card. Instead, the order got submitted - even though I hadn't paid enough. The shipping info said it would be delivered to the campus bookstore, so I figured that I would be contacted to sort things out.

A couple days later I got an email indicting a problem with my order. Which wasn't a surprise, I hadn't really paid for the items. I called the phone number on the email and was transfered to 5 different people before I got someone that knew what they were talking about. She indicated that yes, the system will let an order go through without sufficient payment. She asked for my credit card number to complete the order.

I suggested that since I'm on campus, we could just cancel the order and I could stop by in person. She said she would cancel it and I could pick up and pay for the items at the counter.

Shortly after that call, my room-mate called and said that someone from the bookstore called and said there was a problem with my on-line order. I thanked him for taking the message and explained I'd already called to sort things out.

After my swim, but before I got my lunch, I stopped by the bookstore and indicated that an online order was being held for me at the counter. They looked around a bit, then sent me downstairs to the online pickup area. I head downstairs, wait for a clerk and then explain what I'm doing there. They look though the records, can't find it, and send me back upstairs.

I go back upstairs to the counter and explain I've been sent back up. They call back downstairs and after a few minutes find the order sitting on the counter. Less than two feet from where the cashier was standing. I use my gift card and then cash to complete the transaction.

I was lucky to have been on campus to sort this out - it could have been much worse.

The shorts are cool and fit great, the sticker is pretty cool too. I think for my other gift card, I'm going to the main barnes and noble site and just get some books.

In other retail related news...

I don't listen to the radio much in my car, except when I'm stuck in traffic. And then I only listen to AM stations. It makes me appreciate how lucky I am to be in traffic than to be the kind of person that listens to AM radio all the time - and believes what they are being told. Yesterday, road construction prompted me to listen to a "doctor" that was promoting digestive health (i.e. over-eating cures) by - I think - "mud-packing emotional scars". This would align your Chi or something and make you not be fat. Or something. He also promoted a special formula for sale of 13 different types of pollen, specially blended to prompt genital health. Operators were, presumably, standing by. As his show ended and the traffic cleared, there were two separate announcements indicating that pretty much no one was willing to back him up on anything he had said.

On a final note of confusion, I went out to dinner with my room-mate and his sister. We had a coupon for one free entrée with the purchase of an appetizer and another entrée.

I usually get a "3 course meal" with appetizer, entrée and dessert. Which is not valid with the coupon.

He ordered green bean fries for me (which I was going to do myself as part of 3 courses) and another appetizer of mozzarella sticks.

The server left and I told my room-mate this might be a problem since the 3 course is usually ordered all at once.

The server came back to take our order and I asked if the previously ordered green beans could be shifted to my 3 courses. He said he would have to have his manager do it, but yes. I felt bad, but not as bad when the rest of the orders were taken. My room-mate's sister got an entrée and he then ordered pot-stickers. An appetizer - and thus not valid with the coupon. The server thought about it for a minute and said that if my order was not treated as the three courses -then it would count as one of the entrees.

So, everything worked out - and I made sure we tipped the server well for the trouble we caused.

getting caught up

2010-05-12T04:26:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago, I did my Swim for Diabetes. This was a week after I'd done three miles in the pool and I wanted to try it again. The pool was nearly empty, not many people were participating that day. I did my three miles without any trouble. In fact, I think I could have gone farther. My count matched up with the the official's length count - which was a relief - and I got a pin for my efforts. I'm in the process of gathering the donations now.

Last weekend, I visited my family - and my brother-in-law's family - for my niece's dedication at church. We played some games and had a nice time. The drive was rough again - can't seem to get used to that - but it was worth the effort. My sister and brother-in-law are doing such an amazing job with my niece - it's really awesome to see them in action.

My room-mate's sister is coming in for a visit. She'll be staying a few days and may help him do some gardening if the weather clears. I suspect we'll go out to eat a few times in any case.

In video game news... I beat Ratchet and Clank: A Crack in Time. Good game - and the Chimp-o-matic weapon is a lot of fun. (turns your enemies into chimps)

It's pretty quiet here in the office today. One of my colleagues is on his honeymoon and two others are at a conference. Our student assistant is gone for the summer and it's just me and one other colleague today. Speaking of which, I need to check to see if he got my email.

A new personal best in the pool

2010-04-28T06:04:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, I decided to do a "dry run" for my Swim for Diabetes swim. My goal was 2.5 miles - further than I've gone before. I was feeling pretty good and was able to push myself - and got through three miles. That's 108 laps in 2 hours and 5 minutes.

I was very tired afterwards and almost took a nap that afternoon - but I'm no good at naps and it wouldn't have worked anyway.

So, I should have no trouble doing 2.5 miles this Saturday for the official swim - but I'd still like to bump it up to 3 if I can. One thing's for sure though, I need to eat a bigger bowl of cheerios - the ones I had last Saturday gave out at 1.75 miles.

In other news... I got a text message this morning from a co-worker as I was driving into work. It simply said "hurry up!"

I got into work, parked in my regular spot and went on into the building. My co-worker wasn't there yet - so, I texted him back with "I'm here at work, where are you?"

He showed up a couple minutes later - astonished to see me. Apparently, he had texted me from his car - he had seen me pull onto the highway and blown right past me. And then driven much faster coming into work. Somehow, I had managed to get onto campus, parked, and into the building before he did the same. We don't park in the same area and I suspect the longer walk he has to the building is the factor - though I told him I'm the master of space and time and he that he shouldn't be surprised.

Taxes, testing, temperature, and time

2010-04-18T12:00:00.000-07:00

I did my taxes recently - yeah, I waited till nearly the last minute. My room-mate finished his up the day they were due, so at least I wasn't that late. I did my taxes online - completely this time instead of having to do my city ones manually. The forms were pretty easy, I'm getting some money back, and they didn't take too long. The city insisted that I send in my W-2's as well as doing the online form, but at least that was all they wanted off line.

I went to a Ear, Nose, and Throat surgeon recently to figure out what to do with my snoring. He had a med student with him as well and they commented on how normal my ears were. Whatever that means. The doctor also opened up my nose with some kind of instrument and they both commented on how messed up my nose was. On a scale of 1-10, my septum deviation is a 9. Like, it's almost one nostril. The doctor recommended surgery - big surprise - and was really pushing to get me to sign up for an time for the operation. When pushed too hard in any direction, I did what I always do - step back to consider. I held off making an appointment to think things over. Despite the somewhat casual attitude the doctor had, it's still a pretty big deal for me.

And with thought, well, I guess I'll go ahead and do it. I need to coordinate that with my work schedule, my co-workers schedules, my room-mate's schedule, and my swim for diabetes. And make dang sure that my insurance will cover it.

In other news... I've been conducting some usability testing on one of our websites. In the past, I've been the tech guy, but this time around I'm pretty much running the show. We did testing 2 days last week and it was interesting - but very tiring. I've been fighting a cold for a while now and that didn't really help. I've been trying to keep up with my swimming as well and I guess I'm putting more strain on my body than usual.

My room-mate has been fighting a bad cold as well. Like, bordering on bronchitis. He's missed a few days of work as a result.

I took myself for a walk yesterday, got a little stir-crazy in the apartment. My feet were tired afterwards and I was cold - but it was still good to get out for a bit.

So, mostly video games and music this weekend. And laundry.

Running hot and cold

2010-04-07T07:02:00.000-07:00

I got some bad news yesterday - my great aunt passed away. She'd been fighting an illness for a while now and while I wasn't all that close to her, it was still sad to hear. Seems like its been a rough time for our family recently - my aunt and now my great aunt passing away, another aunt fighting a brain tumor, my grandmother still in a nursing home and not getting better.

In brighter news... I got to see my niece (and her mom and dad) this past weekend. We all had a nice visit and she was a sweetie - at least during the day. At night, well, I had earplugs in. :)

I've been fighting a cold the past few days and it, along with a late night and too much exciting TV, meant I didn't get to sleep until around 1 AM last night.

On the flip side, it's been hot here in the computer center. Right now, my little temperature gauge on my desk is reading 79.5 F. We were in the mid-80's yesterday afternoon and some buildings on campus reported temps in the 90's. Our heating and cooling is determined not by outdoor temperature - but by time of year. And it's not yet time to switch over to cooling. I'm actually okay with temps in the 80's, but only when I'm on a beach with a cool drink in my hand and a gentle ocean breeze. In an office staring at a computer screen, it's really not pleasant. I'm still better off than the students though - imagine trying to sit through a lecture with those temperatures.

At least it's a swimming day - I'll get cooled off in the pool. Should make the afternoon a little more enjoyable.

Things are out of sync, it seems

2010-03-31T05:46:00.000-07:00

The latest update on my aunt is that she's in good spirits and recovering from her brain surgery. The doctors got 85% of the tumor, but the remaining 15% is "the bad kind" of cancer. Left untreated, she may have less than two years. She's got another appointment with a doctor once she's healed up a bit more from the surgery to see what treatment options she has. The surgeon estimates that if she hadn't had the seizures when she did, she might not have lasted 2 months. So, I guess the seizures were a good thing, but I don't think that really balances out with the negative of what they revealed.

I've got my own health issues plaguing me - though nothing as severe as what my aunt has going on. My recent trip to the doctor - and the subsequent bloodwork - has revealed that I have "moderately high cholesterol". They didn't give me the exact numbers over the phone, but told me to watch what I eat and get another test done in 6 months.

Which sucks. I mean, I already try to eat fairly well, but apparently there's been too much fast-food in my diet. I sense a lot of whole grain and salads in my future.

I've also got an appointment to see a doctor about my snoring, which continues to be epic. The doctor I'll be seeing in a couple of weeks is a surgeon - and that bothers me a bunch. I mean, aren't there more placebos and hack remedies to try first? I haven't committed to anything yet and I guess if I've got some kind of apnea the longer I wait the worse it could be for me, but it still worries me.

Work has been crazy busy - and we ran into a difficult situation recently. I think I've mentioned before that I've helped with usability testing on websites, well, we're getting ready to do another round of testing and I contacted the software providers about getting an upgrade on the testing application. They responded back and told me that it had already been done - by another on-campus department. When the project was first kicked off, my group supplied the software and the computer and another department supplied the location. And now we've got a third department that took over the facility and didn't bother to check with anyone on the software or - more importantly - the scheduling. Which has suddenly become more complicated.

To top it off, it looks like I'll be leading the sessions as well as doing tech support on the project. I sort of knew this was coming and it will be a good opportunity that I'm pretty sure I could do in my sleep (provided the snoring doesn't bother anyone), but there's still a degree of stress with that. We're getting it all worked out and in the long run it's actually better for my group - but still...

Yeah, yeah- I know. "Pity, party of one"

I've got a good job, a car, and an apartment. Enough money in the bank. I'm in relatively good shape and I get along with people - and I sleep really throughly. I should be happy, but a little misery seems to creep in.

In other news... I've resumed digitizing my music collection. I feel a bit like a robot loading the CD's into my computer and then removing then once the music has been added to my external hard-drive. But, I'm also rewatching seasons 1-3 of the Venture Bros. so the time goes by quickly.

I watched Lost last night - a good episode, but I think the "flash-sideways" into an alternate timeline is getting less interesting in the face of the "main" timeline. I also watched V - which is not bad but the pace seems a little slow.

I'm going to hit the pool again today. Planning on using my flippers again and seeing if I can do a mile with them on.

Well, time to wrap up a few projects before I go for my swim/lunch. Got a pile of meetings this afternoon.

After all that, I'm skipping my swim today

2010-03-26T10:40:00.000-07:00

This morning, I took an early lunch to go to the doctor's office to get some blood drawn. I would have done this on Wednesday when I had my regular appointment, but I didn't know I shouldn't have eaten anything. So, hungry, I get to the doctor's office and start to sign in. Oh, no, I'm at the wrong window. So, I go to the right window and they tell me to sign in and also sign in at a yet another window. I get in line there, sign in, and get out some paper - assuming a long wait.

Surprisingly, my name is called after only a short wait and I go into a small room where the very friendly nurse tells me she doesn't like to keep people waiting. In moments she had drawn the blood and sent me on my way - telling me to go right on past the other windows. No need to check out - or pay, apparently - since this would normally have been done as part of my appointment.

I head over to McDonalds to get some lunch and then back to work. Given the time of day, I had to park far from my office and walk back. I stepped on a patch of black ice...

... and down I went. I hit the ground like Whitney Houston hitting a crack pipe. (Okay, so that's a little mean, but come on, the woman had it all and destroyed her voice and career with drugs).

I landed on the meaty part of my butt, rolled onto my back, then hit my head on the ground.

Chicken nuggets flew everywhere.

(wait, that made it sound like chicken nuggets flew out of my head like some kind of poultry pinata. I meant that I lost control of my bag of McDonald's and the chicken nuggets went all over the place when I hit my head on pavement.)

I started to get up, then just lay there for a moment hoping to get some sympathy from a random passerby. When I realized that wasn't going to happen, I got up and gathered the remains of my lunch and my dignity. Lunch went in the trash and I went back to the office.

After checking in, I headed back out to try and find my sunglasses and get some lunch. Sunglasses found at the scene of the crime and I got some lunch at a restaurant on campus.

I'm back in the office, a little worse for wear. Headache, tired, and grumpy. I'd really just like to go home and play video games. Or nap, but I'd be too worried about having a concussion and dying in my sleep or something to enjoy it.

2 hours left to go in the day - better get back to it.