I Hate My Job

Ok. I don't hate my job. In fact, I really like it. Maybe even like-like it. But in a manly way of course.
However, I did find this over at Murder Burger, a site for a hamburger restaurant in New Zealand, that I just had to share it. Enjoy, and if you are ever in Aukland - this sounds like a great place for a hamburger.

I Hate my Job

My job is so fucking unbelievable. I’ll try to sum it up by first telling you about the folks I work with:

First, there is this supermodel wanna-be chick. Yeah, okay, she is pretty hot, but damn is she completely useless. The girl is constantly fixing her hair or putting on makeup. She is extremely self-centered and has never once considered the needs or wants of anyone but herself. She is as dumb as a box of rocks, and I still find it surprising that she has enough brain power to continue to breathe.

The next chick is completely the opposite. She might even be one of the smartest people on the planet. Her career oppertunities are endless, and yet she is here with us. She is a zero on a scale of 1 to 10. I’m not sure she even showers, much less shaves her “womanly” parts. I think she might be a lesbian, because every time we drive by the hardware store, she moans like a cat in heat.

But the jewel of the crowd has got to be the fucking stoner. And this guy is more than just your average pothead. In fact, he is baked before he comes to work, during work, and I’m sure after work. He probably hasn’t been sober anytime in the last ten years, and he’s only 22. He dresses like a beatnik throwback from the 1960’s, and to make things worse, he brings his big fucking dog to work. Every fucking day I have to look at this huge Great Dane walk around half-stoned from the second-hand smoke. Hell, sometimes I even think it’s trying to talk with its constant bellowing. Also, both of them are constantly hungry, requiring multiple stops to McDonalds and Burger King, every single fucking day.

Anyway, I drive these fucktards around in my van and we solve mysteries and shit.

Christmas Letter 2009

Hello to all our friends, neighbors, family, acquaintances (and just who are some of these people anyway?):

Tide and time wait for no man, nor for any family. The Ohio branch of the Carter clan is still enjoying the good life in the paradise here, luxuriating in the beautiful . . . ok I almost got through that with a straight face. While we still aren’t in the big city, life in the suburbs continues on. This has been a year of changes, but then what year hasn’t.

The biggest change since our last annual letter is, wait for it, . . . Employment! And that is always a good change. The good news is that after two months of looking, I found a contract position with Computer Sciences Corporation. The bad news is it was in Detroit. A short term contract over the holidays turned into a three month engagement, and by the time I completed it I knew could drive I-75 in my sleep (and sometimes did ? ). Fortunately, after only a single week I was able to land a permanent position with The Design Knowledge Company in Fairborn – a difference of only 1200% in commute time (from four hours to 20 minutes). It is a strong, growing company and I am really enjoying working at a place that respects and appreciates its employees. In what little spare time I’ve had this year I chaperoned band camp again, and have continued to play games and win a few small awards.

Diane’s year has not been quite so strong. As is in the news, the Real Estate market is not the best place to be right now. The highlight for her (and for me) was her company’s annual convention – which was held on a Caribbean cruise in February. Diane continues to write the monthly band booster newsletter, as well as a monthly Women’s Council of Realtors newsletter (yet I am still the one that has to write the family letter every year – go figure!).

Becky is doing well for being almost two years out of college. She still works full time as a sign language interpreter at a high school, as well as doing some freelance interpreting, and interpreting through a video relay service. Lou got a puppy this summer and Becky is in love with her . . . and Lou too. She is still living in Minneapolis and having fun.

Jon is in his fourth year at Bowling Green State University, still majoring in Psychology with an art minor. He has changed apartments, and still continues to work for food services on campus. He had a bit of a scare this fall when his hand slipped into a vat of hot oil while demonstrating how not to clean the fryer, but it turned out not to be as bad as he first thought, and has completely healed up with no lasting effects.

Katie graduated from high school in May, and on her 19th birthday moved into her own apartment. She had started school at Sinclair Community College, majoring in creative writing. At the beginning of December she moved into a new apartment, this time without a roommate, and is looking forward to living completely on her own. She also has said that she is looking for a job, and we all are anxiously waiting for her to be employed again.

Erik is a senior in high school this year, and is looking forward to graduation in May. This fall he was featured five times in the marching band show, including opening the show with a solo. The band managed to qualify for finals at the mid-states marching championship for the first time in seven years – quite a big deal for them. He is still involved in the Jazz band (and you should hear him scat!). Ohio Northern University is currently at the top of the lists of colleges he would like to attend, looking at majoring in computer engineering (a micro-chip off the old block, you might say ? ).

Matthew is a sophomore at WCHS and also in the marching band, having loads of fun playing baritone, including being in a quartet with his brother (that the director liked to call the “Carter Brothers Gospel Quartet”). He is still growing, and looks to soon be the tallest one in the family. He was elected patrol leader in his scout troop, and just received his Life rank, and has begun working on his Eagle.

Scout spends his time sleeping, eating, sleeping, patrolling the yard, and sleeping, and doesn’t let anything get in his yard, except maybe the squirrels. He was recently upset by the idea that he might only be able to sleep for 20 hours in a day, however we quickly managed to bust that myth wide open.

2009 has been a year with many ups and downs, and we look forward to 2010 for more improvements. As always, we wish you and yours the very best during this season, and throughout the coming year.

Wishing you always...
Walls for the wind,
A roof for the rain
And tea beside the fire.
Laughter to cheer you,
Those you love near you,
And all that your heart may desire

Mike, Diane, Becky, Jon, Katlyn, Erik, Matthew and Scout

A date which will live in infamy

And how many people remember it today? December 7th, 1941. What strikes me is the parallel the attack has to September 11, 2001.

What is unfortunate is the difference in response.

"Always will we remember the character of the onslaught against us. No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory.

I believe I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost but will make very certain that this form of treachery shall never endanger us again.

Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory and our interests are in grave danger.

With confidence in our armed forces - with the unbounded determination of our people - we will gain the inevitable triumph - so help us God." - FDR, December 8th, 1941

What have we learned? Even more important, unfortunately, what have we forgotten since then?

It may be 68 years later, and it seems that as a country, as a people, we are but a pale shadow of those who came before.

There is a joke about the French, saying that they should be thankful to the Americans that they don't speak German now. What I'm wondering is, in forty years time, who might we be thanking that we don't speak Arabic?

Relax, nobody gets out of here alive

People never cease to shock and amaze me, and all too often not in a good way.

There are just way too many people who take life way too seriously. As Costaki Economopoulis says, "C'mon, it's jokes". I simply can't conceive how people can function without a sense of humor, especially in the modern world. While there is a place for being serious, there is never a time when a sense of humor does not help.

When a tragedy strikes, you can always tell that the healing has begun because the jokes start. When people say you can't joke about something - then that is exactly what needs to be joked about. Reader's Digest has always claimed that Laughter is the Best Medicne and I truly believe it.

Political correctness is part of this problem. You end up with some uptight upper class snobs who decide that someone else might be offended by something, so you can't say that any more. If you say something it might offend someone. Guess what folks - nowhere in the constitution does it EVER say that you have a right not to be offended. But you have people trying to ban books, music, tv shows and movies because they are offended by them, or even worse, because they feel someone else might be offended by them. To them I say - so what!!!

If you don't like it - turn the channel. Don't buy it. Support the things you like, but don't tell me I can't listen to it, read it or watch it because you don't like it.

So lighten up and grow a sense of humor. You not only will live longer, but you will enjoy it a lot more as well.

Proud 'fer ya

I don't talk about family much in my blog, mainly because I know that several of them read it and I'm not sure about writing things on more 'sensitive' family issues and people.

Usually, but not always.

I dob't consider myself southern, nor a redneck. My dad's famuily is from Missour, and that is just about the dfefinition of mid-west. They do come from down in the very southern part (the boot heel as it is called). My dad has his PhD in Government and history, and my mom has a Masters (I think in education). I grew up the son of two teachers in Colorado - so I'm not southern at all - i consider myself western, even if I have lived in Ohio for the past 20+ years.

However, once in a while, the redneck comes through, usually with a wink and a nod. Thus it was that I grew up hearing again and again how my relatives would say they were proud "fer ya" instead of "of you".

This afternoon I am down in Cincinnatti watching my boys marching band perform. (If you wanted to read something that gets straight to the poiint, then boy are you in the wrong place!). Erik is a senior, and he has 5 features in the show, including solos ro open and close the first number, a brass choir, a brass quartet (with his younger brother - the band director likes to call it "The Carter Brother's
Gospel Quartet"), and a trio to close the show.

Well the band has finally made MSBA finals (the first time since 2003) tonight. This is a pretty big deal for them. And as a father, I really want to say that I'm extremely proud 'fer my boys and the band.

I'm not sure if I ever say it enough, but I am very proud 'fer my boys, and I love them very much.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

One year later

It was a year ago tomorrow that my life turned upside down. For the first, and I hope and expect only, time in my life I was fired from my job. No severance, no explanation, nothing. 17 years with the company, and having gotten the biggest raise EVER from them the year before and I was out.

The timing was good in that very night was the quarterly meeting of former employees to drink and network. And drink.

It probably shouldn't have surprised me, but in so many ways that job was like my first marriage. And I reacted to it in much the same way. It took me two months to get a new job - four hours from home in Detroit - good pay but as a contractor NO benefits. The one month contract lasted for almost 12 weeks, including one weekend they called me back for. I got my current job only a week after that ended - starting 5 months to the day after being fired.

When I talked with people about it, I remember saying it would be a rough journey, but that things would be better on the other side. I can definitely say that was true.

In almost every way this job is better than where I was. I do have less vacation and have to accrue it now, and only get paid once a month, but those are very minor. The gross pay is slightly less, but takehome is more, benefits are better (if a little confusing), and no on-call!

Most important is the respect and appreciation here. Being treated like a valuable, contributing part of the company, not being micro-managed at0all, and real tangible signs that I am doing well and am appreciated. Not having the feeling of being watched constantly.

I am hoping that the one year mark will allow for me to finally move past this emotionally and put that behind me where it belongs. I want my ex-employer to be like my ex-wife - not worth the energy to ever think or care about.

I guess I do need to thank both of them - by getting rid of me, you enabled me to get out of a toxic, abusive relationship into a good, fulfilling and much, much better one.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Wetware

I think that both of my readers know by now that I'm a computer programmer by profession, and a geek by nature. Most of my personally geek nature is not toward computers - working with them all day (and all I still have to use them for in my personal life) tends to mean that they aren't my preferred way of relaxing (instead I like to play non-computer games, and build toy soldiers (pictures are available on my web site - conveniently linked in the menu the right). But that doesn't mean they still don't intrude in some interesting ways.

I have a BS in Mathematics w/ Computer Emphasis, and while I don't really feel I'm a big intellectual, I sometimes enjoy reading a bit of philosophy once in a while, especially when it comes to the nature of intelligence. Douglas R Hofstadter is one of my favorite authors, and I'm currently reading the Anthology "The Mind's I" he co-editted, and have two more of his books lined up to read before I'm going to read GEB for probably the what, 7th? time. So maybe this stuff has influenced me a bit, I don't know.

A few years ago, I had a thought stuck in my head for several days. It was persistent, and kind of annoying, simply because like a song stuck in your head, I couldn't get it to go away. For some reason, the question as to what operating system my (and thus other people's as well) brain was running was stuck in my head. The initial thought was UNIX of course (there is no way I could be running any form of Windows - I don't reboot nearly often enough) and even though I easily dismissed that, the idea of what it was running kept with me.

Then last night, amid the ceaseless tossing and turning, getting up to go to the bathroom nearly every hour, and general failure to get any (so it felt) real sleep, I did have a bit of a recurring dream, or thought going through my head. For some reason, in the brief bits of sleep I did get, I was dreaming that the reason I wasn't sleeping was because the XML for my dreams was incorrectly formatted, and thus not able to parse, preventing me from sleeping. There were no images, thus this recurring idea / thought / dream all night long, between looking at the clock, getting up, and occasionally fighting with my wife for the covers. To top it off, I was starting to be fairly sure that I could come in to work today and fix the bug that was causing my dream XML to be incorrect and thus solve the problem.

Now, if you ask me (though no one ever does) then our brains are all effectively organic computers (i.e. wetware). The difference between our brains and computers are that brains are not hardwired, instead being "wetwired", and the "software" in our brains (i.e. our thoughts) can actually affect the wetware - causing new neural pathways to form as we learn/discover new ideas, thoughts and emotions. No two brains are identical, though their operation is isomorphic to each other at the wetware level. We all have the same biology, that works in the same way, but none of us have the same neural pathways. However we all do have pathways for common items (the sky, colors, words, etc), though of course my concept of something may not match to your concept of something exactly. Kind of like the question is the color that I see as green the same color you see as green. The light frequency is the same, but is how you interpret it the same? And before you say yes, think about people who are color blind - so that they may not be able to see green at all, or be able to distinguish it from red. It reminds me a bit of last stanza of the poem at the end of the Moody Blues classic "Knights in White Satin" which describs the moon:
Cold hearted orb
That rules the night
Removes the colours
From our sight
Red is gray and
Yellow white
But we decide
Which is right
And
Which is an Illusion

So hopefully doing a core dump here will clear my buffers allowing me to actually get some down time tonight.

Kobayashi Maru

"How we deal with death is at least as important as how we deal with life." Star Trek II : The Wrath of Khan

I never took the Kobayashi Maru, nor have I ever truly had to deal with death. I've only had one semi-close relative that has ever died (I just wasn't close to my grandparents - I was just too young when they passed), and even then I hadn't seen him in four years when he was killed.

I've never had to deal with it for animals either - the dog I grew up with ran away when we added on to the house, the dog I had for my first marriage stayed with my ex, and every other pet except for my current dog had to be given away for one reason or another.

My parents recently had to put down their 17 year old dog, and it really got me thinking. I've never faced death, and I don't know how I will deal with it. From the logistics of a funeral to the emotions - it feels like yet something else in life that I never got the instructions for. Here I am, father of 5, married twice, 45 years old, and still don't seem to have this thing figured out.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Social Security 2009

Ok, I generally don't pass these on, and won't do it through email - however there is an extremely valid point here. I got this from my cousin - I don't know where it started so can't properly attribute it. However the idea is sound.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(This is worth reading. It is short and to the point.)
2010 is an election year for 1/3 of the senate and 1/2 of the house of
representatives. It would be nice if congress got the message; the voting
taxpayers are in charge now.

Propose this in 2009:

START A BILL TO PLACE ALL POLITICIANS ON SOCIAL SECURITY. If it's change our country truly needs, then let's "level the playing field" by eliminating the private retirement and health care plans that our Senators, Congressman, Congresswomen, Representatives; are receive and benefit from from the cost and detriment to us ... the "regular" people of this great nation.

LET US SHOW OUR LEADERS IN WASHINGTON "PEOPLE POWER" AND THE
POWER OF THE INTERNET. PLEASE FORWARD TO ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS.

IT DOESN'T MATTER IF YOU ARE REPUBLICAN OR DEMOCRAT!

KEEP IT GOING!!!!

Perhaps we are asking the wrong questions during election years.
Our Senators, Congressman, Congresswomen, Representatives; do not pay into Social Security and, of course, they do not collect from it.
You see, Social Security benefits were not suitable for persons of their rare
elevation in society. They felt they should have a special plan for themselves So, many years ago they voted in their own benefit plan. In more recent years, no congress person has felt the need to change it. After all, it is a great plan.
For all practical purposes their (Senators, Congressman, Congresswomen,
Representatives;), plan works like this:
1. When they retire, they continue to draw the same pay until they die.
Except it may increase from time to time for cost of living adjustments.
..... For example: Senator Byrd and Congressman White and their wives may
expect to draw $7, 800,000.00 (that's Seven Million, Eight-Hundred Thousand
Dollars), with their wives drawing $275, 000..00 during the last years of their lives.
This is calculated on an average life span for each of those two Dignitaries.
2. Younger Dignitaries who retire at an early age, will receive much more during
the rest of their lives. Their cost for this excellent plan is $0.00. ZIP!! NADA!!! ZILCH!!!
This little perk they voted for themselves is free to them. You and I pick up the tab
for this plan.
The funds for this fine retirement plan come directly from the General Funds;
"OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK"!
From our own Social Security Plan, which you and I pay (or have paid) into, every
payday until we retire (which amount is matched by our employer), We can expect to get an average of $1,000 per month after retirement.
Or, in other words, we would have to collect our average of $1,000 monthly
benefits for 68 years and one (1) month to equal Senator Bill Bradley's benefits!

Social Security could be very good if only one small change were made.
That change would be to IMMEDIATELY STOP THE "GOLDEN FLEECE RETIREMENT
PLAN" from existing! In it's place, put every Senator,
Congressmen, Congresswoman into the Social Security plan with the rest of us!
Then sit back.....
And see how fast they (Senators, Congressman, Congresswomen, Representatives),
would fix it!
If enough people receive this, maybe a seed of awareness will be planted and maybe
good changes will evolve.

How many people can YOU send this to?
Better yet......
How many people WILL you send this to?

P.S. The same goes for their (the Senators, Congressman, Congresswomen, Representatives) health plan.

Influences

Ok, try the mobile thing again - see if it gets there this time without me having to resend it.

Of course that has nothing to do with the title. So quit digressing and get on topic. (As if I actually have one).

This afternoon, I noticed my new office-mate was reading a book with, what I thought, was a very interesting title. "The Tree of Knowledge" - apparently about the origins of thought.

Which instantly reminded me of Hofstadter, both "Godel, Escher, Bach" and (though I could not remember the title) his more recent book "I am a Strange Loop".

Then tonight when I go to look for them, I can't find them. My last recollection of GEB was at Reynolds, and I'm afraid I lent them to someone there - and as such expect that they are gone. Until I place an Amazon order, of course.

What is it that makes some things in our lives so important? I've only read GEB five or six times through - and read the dialogs many, many more.

Lord of the Rings was great, but it did not move me like The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant. Again read multiple times.

Some things seem to shape our lives, and we can't imagine ourselves without their constant influence.

Hmmmm - I wonder if this is how religion affects those who truly believe?
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Walking and pop philosophy

Ok, since I seem to have the best ideas while walking, and I do have a blackberry - time to try some truly mobile updates.

I find it interesting, but also a bit scary, that so much of my personal philosophy comes from pop culture references. Is it just that I'm not well versed enough to recognize the original sources?

Case-in-point - I really identify with the line from "Batman Begins" where Alfred is talking to young Bruce Wayne, reminding him of a quote from his father. "Why do we fall? So we can learn to pick ourselves up again."

So as I'm walking I see a young family - the mother had obviously brought the young toddler to pick up the father for lunch, and as they walked across the parking lot the cute little tyke fell, as is so common at that age. I smiled as he picked himself us and rubbed his butt (though he had fallen forward onto his hands and knees).

It got me thinking - how much more harm do we do in our society by so protecting everyone that they never fall - and thus never learn to picke themslves up? At what point does protecting and rescuing others start to hurt them more than help.

Give a man a fish every day, and he will never learn to fish for himself. At some point everyone has to walk on their own, fall a few times, and learn to pick themselves up. As a parent isn't it part of my job to teach what I can, and then step back and let them learn, even if it is by falling?

Unfortunately very easy to think about and write, very very difficult to actually do. The hard part isn't the unsteady first steps, it is letting go knowing they will fall so that they learn to pick themselves up again.

(And doung this while walking isn't too bad, just have to pause when it comes time to cross the street :-) )
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Still alive, just boring

Yes, for both my readers, I am still alive - I just have not had much of interest to say.

No, that isn't really true. I've actually had a lot on my mind - what I haven't had is the opportunity to write anything while these thoughts are going on. I have been trying to walk every day at lunch - about the only concession towards actually working at losing instead of gaining weight, and it isn't much at that - and have a lot of interesting (at least to me, at the time) thoughts going on - but no easy way to get them out. Once I get back to work, well then I'm eating and trying to focus back on my job once more. The ideas just slip gently away, usually not to come back up until the next day while walking again.

Work is going quite well. I really like this job and company, and it is such a huge change from where I was for so long. Simple things like respect - it is almost hard to remember that the real world works that way. There are no poo-flinging monkeys here - it is a bunch of very good people all working hard.

The whole atmosphere is kind of different as well - because so much of what I've been working on is actual research and development, not generating reports or doing any sort of business processing. It amazes me still that after twenty years in this field, I am finally doing computer science, not data processing.

Somebody wrote an Einstein quote on the board in the big conference room. "If we knew what we were doing, then it wouldn't be called research." A few weeks later I found it on a placard - which now sits on my desk.

I had a bit of fun via my twitter feed on Thursday. The company is leasing half the bottom floor of a small (three story) office building, and we are simply out of room. Since I started they have hired 9 more people (one remote), and yet another is starting on Wednesday. Well they leased four more offices across the hall (sized for 1, 2, 2 and 4 people), so I played with the fact that I was told to pack up my desk - I wouldn't be working there any more. Instead I would be working across the hall - where it is even quieter, the office is laid out equally for the two of us, and we have a window!

I'll try to get back to this more regularly, and need to use it once again as part of a weight loss motivation. It is saddening to think that I've regained all the weight that I had lost two years ago, but it is true, and so far I have not found what it will take to get me to commit to reversing this trend and start doing weight watchers again. I know it in my head, but not to where I am yet doing anything about it.

Getting to know you

You've been tagged or you are reading this, you have the honor of copying all these goofy questions, writing your own response, and tagging 25 other victims. You have to tag me so really you just need 24 more people. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you - but not in a creepy stalker kind of way.

To do this, go to “notes” under tabs on your profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note, type your title as "Getting to know each other!", tag 25 people including me (tagging is done in the right hand corner of the app) then click publish.

1. What time did you get up this morning? 6:00 AM
2. How do you like your steak? medium rare - nice and juicy
3. What was the last movie you saw? The Ugly Truth
4. What is your favorite TV show? Lost
5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be? Colorado
6. What did you have for breakfast? Powdered eggs, horrid hash white potatoes, french toase, coffee
7. What is your favorite cuisine? japanese
8. What foods do you dislike? Vegetarian
9. Favorite Place to Eat? Sake'
10. Favorite dressing? Ranch
11. What kind of vehicle do you drive? '03 Kia Sedona
12. What are your favorite clothes? jeans and T-shirt
13. Where would you visit if you had the chance? Ireland
14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full? The cup is twice as big as it needs to be
15. Where would you want to retire? Colorado or Florida
16. Favorite time of day? evening
17. Where were you born? Lamar, CO
18. What is your favorite sport to watch? don't watch sports
19. Who do you think will not tag you back? I don't know
20. Person you expect to tag you back first? I don't know
21. Who are you most curious about their responses to this? Everyone
22. Bird watcher? no
23. Are you a morning person or a night person? both, it is the afternoons I have trouble with
24. Doyou have any pets? yes, Australian Cattle Dog that is too smart for our own good.
25. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share? nope
26. What did you want to be when you were little? astronaut
27. What is your best childhood memory? fishing with my dad
28. Are you a cat or dog person? dog
29. Are you married? Yes
30. Always wear your seat belt? pretty much
31. Been in a car accident? Yes.
32. Any pet peeves? yes.
33. Favorite Pizza Toppings? sausage
34. Favorite Flower? alstromeria
35. Favorite ice cream? French Vanilla
36. Favorite fast food restaurant? SubwayZ
37. How many times did you fail your driver's test? Once written, none driving
38. From whom did you get your last email? Sallie Mae
39. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? Best Buy
40. Do anything spontaneous lately? no
41. Like your job? yes
42. Broccoli? sometimes raw, never cooked
43. What was your favorite vacation? Caribean cruise
44. Last person you went out to dinner with? The entire band
45. What are you listening to right now? nothing
46. What is your favorite color? blue
47. How many tattoos do you have? none
48. How many are you tagging for this quiz? 0
49. What time did you finish this quiz? 3:48 pm EDT
50. Coffee Drinker? Yes

Word

USING ONLY ONE WORD! It's not as easy as you might think! Copy and change the answers to suit you and pass it on. It's really hard to only use one word answers. Send to 20 people. Be sure to tag the person you received it from!

1. Where is your cell phone? belt
2. Your significant other? Diane
3. Your hair? missing
4. Your mother? Shirley
5. Your father? Joe
6. Your favorite? sushi
7. Your dream last night? none
8. Your favorite drink? mixed
9. Your dream/goal? happiness
10. What room you are in? dining
11. Your hobby? gaming
12. Your fear? failure
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? richer
14. Where were you last night? home
15. Something that you aren't? rich
16. Muffins? blueberry
17. Wish list item? money
18. Where you grew up? Colorado
19. Last thing you did? drive
20. What are you wearing? black
21. Your TV? downstairs
22. Your pets? Scout
23. Friends? some
24. Your life? here
25. Your mood? tired
26. Missing someone? no
27. Car? Toyota
28. Something you're not wearing? wig
29. Your favorite store? game
30. Your favorite color? blue
33. When is the last time you laughed? today
34. Last time you cried? dunno
35. Who will resend this? noone
36. One place that I go to over and over? work
37. One person who emails me regularly? Diane
38. My favorite place to eat? Sake'

Happy Thoughts! :-)

Ok, I guess I don't have to write only the bad stuff. I can say that I really like my new job, especially now that I am starting to understand the framework so I don't feel like a complete idiot (just a partial one :-)).

It is nice working in an environment of respect, instead of being treated like crap. It will probably still be a while before I completely get rid of the feeling of being constantly watched over, but it is getting there.

My daughter is in her first apartment - that is good news. No more fights at home all the time. Now if she will get her stufent loans straightened out, get a job, get a driver's license then I can worry a little less every day (and have her not call at 1:30 am baking cookies and the oven won't turn off - no I don't know what she was talking about then either).

Getting ready for a big Warhammer tournament this weekend with my Grateful Undead army (pics are here - http://puggimer.net/gratefulundead.htm for anyone interested. The last 40 deadheads (zombies) including one for Michael Jackson will be based tonight, and I will take some new pictures with the display base and all 240+ models.

Band camp is in less than three weeks - was fun last year - kind of looking forward to it again.

Ok, enough happy thoughts - I now return you to your regularly scheduled whining and complaining.
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Moving day

I hate moving. I hate helping others move. The good thing about that however is once everything is moved, you can go home while they unpack and organize.

So the second kid moved out today. Would have been easier had it been a dorm, but an apartment is ok as well. Doing the father thing and helping (i.e. paying for) some of the things she needs.

It is the first step on her new grand adventure of life (and funny that it is on her 19th birthday as well), and like all adventures is exciting, scary, nerve wracking, painful and joyful; sometimes all at once.

Yes, I'll be worrying about her, but this day had to come, and both her and the rest of the family will be more peaceful for it.
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Shame on me

for not updating my blog. Yes, I've been busy, and with a good job there just isn't things to complain about. I'm still getting used to working for a company where both me and my opinion are respected, and though I feel like I am still watching over my shoulder - there isn't anything there anymore.

The work is very challenging (i.e. it is kicking my butt trying to understand everything) and I am the resident expert on several things which I feel I'm barely scratching the surface of. Of course then I turn around and am able to crank out some things now in a few minutes that a couple of months ago I was beating my head against the wall over.

Not that I don't get that feeling - it is just over new things now.

And the company is doing lots of new things - kind of the very definition of what we do.

On the white board in the small conference room someone wrote the quote:

"If we knew what we were doing, they wouldn't call it research" - A. Einstein

I do tend to update my twitter feed a least once a day, so it does give both my readers who aren't following me something to read.

In good news, I won Best Army at the Origins Warhammer Fantasy Battles tournament put on by the Olde World Warriors. I finally picked up a new digital camera - so there are new pictures of them up on my site - http://puggimer.net/gratefulundead.html

Reconnecting - like a debitaliting kick in the crotch

It is something you don't anticipate, don't expect, and are surprised both by the event and by the fact that you can still react to it.

With all the new ways to connect, make new friends and find old ones - you simply never expect to go out, do a search for old friends, and come up with something else entirely.

Looking back at high school, it really wasn't a great time for me. In fact an awful lot of it sucked pretty big time. Even back to junior high school. And it all had to do with two bullies. They delighted in picking on me in many and various ways. One of them was definitely the worse of the two as well - someone that while I have never had to see again since he graduated a year ahead of me.

Then today, just browsing facebook for people from my high school that I'd like to re-connect with (and not finding any), I found him.

Just seeing he was on there caused a pit in my stomach. Probably even worse than if I were to find my ex-wife (who has been incommunicado for three years now), because at some level I expect that.

A weird part of me wanted to contact him, but I quickly beat that small spark into submission. I really don't want anything to do with him, and just knowing he is 'really' there is bad enough. It bothers me a lot that it bothers me though.

Learning to fly

Ah spring. The snow doesn't stick around nearly as long, the chives are taking over the back lawn, and the maple is bursting forth with seeds soon to be twirling all over the neighborhood, until they fin the perfect place to grow - the gutters.

Birds are nesting (and crapping all over my barbecue grill - WTF?!? ) and soon little peeps (and not the stale marshmallow ones growing hard on the counter) will be chirping with the sunrise. Not long after that, and it is time for then to get shoved from the nest out into the wiode world, to make their own way (and find new grills to crap on).

But at what time is it right to cut the strings, to push then out, to let the little ones fly free? How much can you do to prepare them to go out on their own? How many lessons can you give them, how much can you teach them before they simply have to face things on their own?

We don't abandon them. We try to help out as we can, gently guiding them to find their own way as they take their first steps towards independence. We point them in the right direction, but at some point we can no longer guide them. Eventually they leave the "nest" and must fly, or fall, on their own.

What so surprises me is that it isn't my children I'm talking about, as relevant as this may be for them. No, it is about co-workers at previous jobs. How long do you help and give them support (for free on top of it)? At what point do they need to simply go on their own? It has been five weeks (tomorrow will be one month at my new job, and six months since I was let go from where I had been for almost 20 years). And I'm still getting questions - and it still feels like they are lost.

I'm afraid I'm no better at letting (or forcing them to) fly free than I am with my kids.
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It can't always be so serious - 75 questions

75 things you probably have never been asked... (I call shenanigans because there are 76 questions.)

1. First thing you wash in the shower?
My hair / balding head

2. What color is your favorite hoodie?
grey

3. Would you kiss the last person you kissed again?
Of course

4. Do you plan outfits?
since I'm a guy - of course not

5. How do you feel right now?
tired

6. Whats the closest thing to you that's red?
Clive Cussler's latest book - Corsair

7. Do you say aim or a-i-m?
aim

8. Tell me about the last dream you had?
I rarely remember my dreams

9. Have you met anyone new today?
nope

10. What are you craving right now?
a decent nights sleep

11. Do you floss?
Sometimes.

12. What comes to mind when I say cabbage?
Cole's Law - slimly sliced cabbage

13. When was the last time you talked on aim?
I can't remember

14. Are you emotional?
rarely

15. Would you dance to the taco song?
what is the taco song?

16. Have you ever counted to 1,000?
yes.

17. Do you bite into your ice cream or just lick it?
bite, nibble, and suck it into my mouth

18. Do you like your hair?
I try to not saying anything bad about it, because I don't want what little I have left to leave as well.

19. Do you like yourself?
yes

20. Have you ever met a celebrity?
how do you define celebrity?

21. Do you like cottage cheese?
yes

22. What are you listening to right now?
the news

23. How many countries have you visited?
4 outside the US

24. Are your parents strict?
I didn't think so

25. Would you go sky diving?
probably not

26. Would you go out to eat with George W. Bush?
why would I want to?

27. Would you throw potatoes at him?
why would I want to?

28. Is there anything sparkly in the room you’re in?
My water thermometer

29. Have you ever been in a castle?
Does Sleeping Beauty's castle in Disneyworld count?

Do you rent movies often?
No

32. Have you made a prank phone call?
no

33. Do you own a gun?
no

34. Can you count backwards from 74?
why would I want to?

35. Who are you going to be with tonight?
Diane

36. Brown or white eggs?
White.

37. Do you own something from Hot Topic?
no

38. Ever been on a train?
yes

39. Ever been in love?
Yes.

39. Are you in love?
Yes

40. Do you have a cell phone?
yes

41. Are you too forgiving?
probably

42. Do you use chapstick?
when I need it

43. What is your best friend doing tomorrow?
Probably playing computer games

44. Can you use chop sticks?
yes, though my hands get sore really quickly

45. Ever have cream puffs?
no

46. Have you ever seen The Butterfly Effect?
yes

47. What was the last question you asked?
I don't remember

48. What was the last CD you bought?
some comedy thing on the cruise

49. Boys or girls?
girls

50. What is your bus number for school?
never rode the bus to school

51. Is your hair curly?
what hair?

52. Last time you cried?
Saturday during the concert

53. Ever walked into a wall?
yes

54. Do looks matter?
unfortunately yes

55. Have you ever bought anything from Pac Sun?
no

56. Have you ever slapped someone?
yes

57. Favorite time of the year?
Autumn

58. Favorite color?
Blue

59. Are you sarcastic?
yes

60. The last person you held hands with?
Diane

61. Do you sleep with the TV on?
no

62. Where was your default picture taken at?
my basement

63. Do you hate or dislike more than 3 people?
yes

65. Do you like your life right now?
yes

66. How often do you talk on the phone?
every day

67. What was the most recent thing you bought?
sushi

68. Do you have good vision?
did, but it is getting worse the older I get

69. Can you hula hoop?
not really

70. Could you ever forgive a cheater?.
probably

71. Do you have a job?
Finally!

72. Can you handle the truth?
Yes

73. What are you wearing?
Jeans, off-white shirt

74. Have you ever crawled through a window?
Yes

75: What does the last text message you received say?
OK cool.

Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics

I continue to find the wit and wisdom of the past to be comforting. Mark Twain truly was a genius, and knew the human soul. (The title of this is a quote from him).

There are days that I wonder, what is the truth? So often we become mushrooms in our lives - living in the dark, being fed nothing but bullshit, and getting our heads cut off whenever we stick them up - that we start to wonder.

Don't get me wrong - while I may not have the most perfect memory in the world (and it takes me way too long to learn people's names), I do know the difference between reality and fantasy (if for no other reason than fantasy is so much more pleasant most of the time). Even so, one's perception of events, which is the truth for them, can be different from others.

The movie Vantage Point does an excellent job of showing this - I really enjoyed this (both seeing it in the theatre, renting it once, and watching it a few more times on cable) movie, especially then end where the final public story has no bearing at all on what really happened.

However it isn't the idea of truth itself that I've been thinking on lately, it is more of the difference between honesty and lies. Like fantasy, lies are often so much easier and simpler to believe (at least at first) than what is often called the cold, hard truth. I've had a lot of personal experience with this - because my ex-wife is a compulsive liar. I was sucked into many, many of these in the ten years I was married to her. In fact, the only thing I miss about her is the entertainment value in re-telling the soap-opera stories that were her life, because she made it that way.

I don't understand the persona of a person who habitually lies. Me, I'm not smart enough to do this. You have to be amazingly brilliant to remember what lies you have told what people, so that you can effectively keep juggling more and more balls in the air. Me, I'd forget what I told the first person and blow it right away, which is why I prefer honesty. It is just easier. My ex would keep juggling things more and more until they all blew up and like a juggler attempting one ball too many, everything collapsed. Then she would figuratively dust herself off, find a new group of 'friends' and start the juggling act all over again.

I guess the fantasy world that many people create is simply nicer to live in than the real world - and at least the people know you there.

Adjustments

Well, two weeks into the new job, things are going ok. The first week was really good - this week was ok. Somebody wrote a quote from Einstein on one of the white boards -"If we knew what we were doing they wouldn't call it research." I am never very comfortable in the ignorant mode - even when I'm working at eliminating it. It will be a while yet, but I'll eventually figure out what it is I'm doing and be comfortable with the work.

P, my ex boss, is working there - and he said to expect it to take a couple of months before the whole thing really sinks in - and you quit expecting all the bad stuff that I've lived with for the past twenty years.

To me, I just keep drawing parallels to my divorce. The whole shock of it happening, the grief over the loss, even of something bad. The struggle to get on with life. Now having a good, permanent job is like getting married again - still trying to feel it all out.

What I am really wondering is when I'lll finally, truly be able to let go. It has been over five months now - when can I stop feeling hurt about it, and get to the point where it doesn't matter any more.

I did it with my ex-wife. In fact, I sometimes find it humorous that Diane currently has more (negative, but more) feelings about my ex-wife than I do. I have truly put it aside - what she does and what she did no longer matter - I refuse to give her even the little bit of caring enough to dislike or even hate her. Hate takes way too much energy - and she isn't worth that to me.

Unfortunately I'm not there with Reynolds. I'm not where I don't care, even though I want to be.

Oops

Minor correction - it is Deus ex Machina, not duex. So much for me sounding educated :-)
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Bad taste in my mind

I believe the term is "Deux ex Machina" - the literal translation being "god in the machine". It comes from greek theatre, where at the end of the play a god would drop down out of the sky and save the day. In modern usage, it is where in a movie (or tv show, novel, whatever) the solution sudenly appears out of left field, with no logic or reason - often leaving you with a feeling of ?!?WTF?!?

Diane and I went to see "Knowing" last night. OMG what a horrible movie.

The best anology I can make is imagine eating a big chocolate candy bar - like a Snickers. Good, chewy, nuts. Then as you pop the last bite into your mouth, you suddenly realize that you eating a chocolate covered turd - with nuts. No matter how much you enjoyed the first 3/4 of it, you can't get the taste of the turd out of your mouth.

It could have been a good movie - if they took out the last 15 minutes or so (the huge Deux ex Machina turd) and actually wrote a real ending.

Not the absolute worst movie I have seen, but it really works hard for the honor.

I have to wonder if Nicholas Cage was broke or what to have made him make this steaming piece of cinematic crap.
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Back to work full time

I'm a bit nervous and excited. Starting a new job, this one 'permanent' (as much as any are) with great benefits. I don't like learning a new routine, but I'll be working with three people I have worked with in the past, so that is good.

It is funny, I always worry about timing and first impressions - I usually leave around 7:00 am and get in early, but getting in early really isn't an option the first day.
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Unemployed, again

It feels a little like I'm back where I started. The one month assignment I took in December is finally over - after only 12 weeks. Talk about a long month. :-)

I guess I should consider myself fortunate that I got it extended as long as I did - it gives me some breathing room until the next one.

Maybe that one will be soon (I hope!!!). I have several opportunities that look like they are progressing, though very, very slowly. And all of them local (ok, one is about 30 miles south between here and Cincinnati, but close enough). The waiting is the worst part though.

I've seen 160 out of 239 films

SUPPOSEDLY if you've seen over 85 films, you have no life. Mark the ones you've seen. There are 239 films on this list.
(X) Rocky Horror Picture Show (live, no costume)
(X) Grease
(X) Pirates of the Caribbean
(X) Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest
( ) Boondock Saints
(X) Fight Club
( ) Starsky and Hutch
(X) Neverending Story
(X) Blazing Saddles
(X) AirplaneTotal: 8

(X) The Princess Bride
(X) Anchorman
(X) Napoleon Dynamite
(X) Labyrinth
( ) Saw
( ) Saw II
(X) White Noise
( ) White Oleander
(X) Anger Management
(X) 50 First Dates
(X) The Princess Diaries
(X) The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
Total so far: 17

(X) Scream
(X) Scream 2
( ) Scream 3
(X) Scary Movie
(X) Scary Movie 2
(X) Scary Movie 3
(X) Scary Movie 4
(X) American Pie
(X) American Pie 2
(X) American Wedding( )
American Pie Band Camp
Total so far: 26

(X) Harry Potter 1
(X) Harry Potter 2
(X) Harry Potter 3
(X) Harry Potter 4
( ) Resident Evil 1
( ) Resident Evil 2
(X) The Wedding Singer
(X) Little Black Book
(X) The Village
( ) Lilo & Stitch
Total so far: 33

(X) Finding Nemo
( ) Finding Neverland
(X) Signs
(X) The Grinch
( ) Texas Chainsaw Massacre
( ) Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
( ) White Chicks
(X) Butterfly Effect
(X) 13 Going on 30
(X) I, Robot
(X) Robots
Total so far: 40

(X) Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
(X) Universal Soldier
(X) Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events
(X) Along Came Polly
(X) Deep Impact
( ) KingPin
(X) Never Been Kissed
(X) Meet The Parents
(X) Meet the Fockers
(X) Eight Crazy Nights
(X) Joe Dirt
(X) KING KONG (which one? 1933? 1976? 2005? - oh well I've seen them all)
Total so far:51

( ) A Cinderella Story
(X) The Terminal
( ) The Lizzie McGuire Movie
( ) Passport to Paris
( ) Dumb & Dumber
( ) Dumber & Dumberer
( ) Final Destination
( ) Final Destination 2
( ) Final Destination 3
(X) Halloween
(X) The Ring
( ) The Ring 2
( ) Surviving X -MAS
(X) Flubber
Total so far:55

( ) Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
(X) Practical Magic
(X) Chicago
( ) Ghost Ship
( ) From Hell
(X) Hellboy
( ) Secret Window
(X) I Am Sam
(X) The Whole Nine Yards
(X) The Whole Ten Yards
Total so far: 61

(X) The Day After Tomorrow
(X) Child's Play
(X) Seed of Chucky
(X) Bride of Chucky
(X) Ten Things I Hate About You
(X) Just Married
( ) Gothika
(X) Nightmare on Elm Street
(X) Sixteen Candles
(X) Remember the Titans
( ) Coach Carter
( ) The Grudge
( ) The Grudge 2
(X) The Mask
( ) Son Of The Mask
Total so far: 71

( ) Bad Boys
( ) Bad Boys 2
( ) Joy Ride
(X) Lucky Number Slevin
(X) Ocean's Eleven
(X) Ocean's Twelve
(X) Bourne Identity
(X) Bourne Supremecy
( ) Lone Star
( ) Bedazzled
(X) Predator I
(X) Predator II
( ) The Fog
(X) Ice Age
(X) Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
( ) Curious George
Total so far: 80

(X) Independence Day
(X) Cujo
( ) A Bronx Tale
( ) Darkness Falls
(X) Christine
(X) ET
(X) Children of the Corn
( ) My Bosses Daughter
(X) Maid in Manhattan
(X) War of the Worlds
(X) Rush Hour
(X) Rush Hour 2
Total so far: 89

( ) Best Bet
(X) How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
( ) She's All That
(X) Calendar Girls
(X) Sideways
(X) Mars Attacks
(X) Event Horizon
(X) Ever After
(X) Wizard of Oz
(X) Forrest Gump
(X) Big Trouble in Little China
(X) The Terminator
(X) The Terminator 2
(X) The Terminator 3
Total so far: 101

(X) X-Men
(X) X-2
(X) X-3
(X) Spider-Man
(X) Spider-Man 2
(X) Sky High
( ) Jeepers Creepers
( ) Jeepers Creepers 2
(X) Catch Me If You Can
(X) The Little Mermaid
(X) Freaky Friday
(X) Reign of Fire
( ) The Skulls
( ) Cruel Intentions
( ) Cruel Intentions 2
(X) The Hot Chick
(X) Shrek
(X) Shrek 2
Total so far 114

( ) Swimfan
(X) Miracle on 34th street
(X) Old School
(X) The Notebook
(X) K-Pax
(X) Krippendorf's Tribe
( ) A Walk to Remember
( ) Ice Castles
( ) Boogeyman
(X) The 40-year-old Virgin
Total so far: 120

(X) Lord of the Rings Fellowship of the Ring
(X) Lord of the Rings The Two Towers
(X) Lord of the Rings Return Of the King
(X) Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
(X) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
(X) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Total so far: 126

(2) Baseketball
( ) Hostel
( ) Waiting for Guffman
( ) House of 1000 Corpses
( ) Devils Rejects
(X) Elf
(X) Highlander
( ) Mothman Prophecies
(X) American History X
( ) Thor ???? out in 2011 unless you mean cartoon?
Total so Far:130

( ) The Jacket
( ) Kung Fu Hustle
( ) Shaolin Soccer
( ) Night Watch
(X) Monsters Inc
.(X) Titanic
(X) Monty Python and the Holy Grail
(X) Shaun Of the Dead
(X) Willard
Total so far 133

( ) High Tension
(X) Club Dread
(X) Hulk
(X) Dawn Of the Dead (which version again (black & white is better))
(X) Hook
(X) Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
(X) 28 days later
( ) Orgazmo
(X) Phantasm
(X) Waterworld
Total so far: 143

(X) Kill Bill vol 1
(X) Kill Bill vol 2
(X) Mortal Kombat
( ) Wolf Creek
( ) Kingdom of Heaven
( ) The Hills Have Eyes
( ) I Spit on Your Grave aka the Day of the Woman
(X) The Last House on the Left (original)
( ) Re-Animator
(X) Army of Darkness
Total so far: 148

(X) Star Wars Ep. I The Phantom Menace
(X) Star Wars Ep. II Attack of the Clones
(X) Star Wars Ep. III Revenge of the Sith
(X) Star Wars Ep. IV A New Hope
(X) Star Wars Ep. V The Empire Strikes Back
(X) Star Wars Ep. VI Return of the Jedi
( ) Ewoks Caravan Of Courage
( ) Ewoks The Battle For Endor
Total so far: 154

(X) The Matrix
(X) The Matrix Reloaded
(X) The Matrix Revolutions
(X) Animatrix
( ) Evil Dead
( ) Evil Dead 2
(X) Team America: World Police
( ) Red Dragon
(X) Silence of the Lambs
( ) Hannibal
Total so far:160
Now add them up and...Put "I've seen...out of 239 films" in the subject line and repost it

Again with the beauracracy

Once again I am sitting here at the client site (only two more weeks! (Careful though - it isn't like I haven't gotten extended before)) unable to work. My network access has expired - so I am waiting for the swift beaur*cratic machine to begin huffing and puffing and churning out whatever reams of paperwork are required to have the sys admin reset my account.

This job has been interesting, but having it go on for 3 months instead of one has been a bit hard. Not as bad as the off-shore people that they brought on-shore for 4 months, but still the weekly 4 hour drive each way on Sunday and Friday evenings is very tiring.
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Downside of vacation

Well, here we sit in the Ft Lauderdale airport, waiting. It aeems that is one of the things you do the most when travelling - wait. Wait to get off the ship. Wait to get through immigration ( though no wait for customs since all we had to declare was some tequila (Mexican Viagra!). Wiat for a taxin wait to check in at the airport. Then we can't check out bags before 3 hours prior to our flight - so there is another wait before I can begin the wait for that. And security is only processing for two hours before the flight - so another wait to wait there. And almost a 3 hour layover on Atlanta before the flight home, and the wait for the shuittle bcak to the parking.

When I said I can't wait for vacation, I did not expect that I'd have to make up for all of it coming home.

But wait - if that isn't bad enough - it is scary to see what my weight will be once I finally get home. Have to back on the diet and stay there.
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So looking forward to it

As I write this, there is slightly less than four days until we can board the ship for our cruise. I am really anxious to actually see the sun and be warm again. Plus just feeling the daylight on my face will be so refreshing.

I talked to the dr. Back in October before our insurance ran out and got on Welbutrin again for the winter and I think it has helped my winter blues (the dr. Suggested a few years ago that I might have SAD (I think I already wrote about that once before even)). The problem was that with no insurance, I started to run out and went to half a dose for the last month worth. I don't think it has been bad, and all thibgs considered I should probably go on it every year.

Still, it isn't the same thing as acrually seeing and being in the sun. And that is only three days (we are spending the night in Ft Lauderdale before we get on the boat) until I can really see it again!!!
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Who knew that anyone cared?

Looks like one of my nearly half dozen readers (ok, it was my son, but his clicks count) actually was wondering why I hadn't updated the blog in so long. Pretty much just been busy and lazy - do those really go together?

The temp job in Detroit has gone from a month to two, and it should be confirmed early next week if it will go until the first week of March. And the next month may include overtime as well - and that is paid overtime ( though not time and a half).

I am a bit frustrated at the multiple levels of beauracracy, both with my company and the client. We just found out that we have to use a specific subsystem that is never mentioned in the requirements, and it looks to be a big pain in the butt.

I am sick of the 4 hour drive twice a week, and that it feels like all I do on the weekends is to get prepped to go back (laundry, etc.)

So in better news, it is only 9 days until the cruise! WooHoo!!! I can't wait to be warm in the caribean sun for a week! The irony is that the weekend before and aftwr will be no more restful or relaxing ( as we fly out on Sunday, and get back the next Sunday about 1 am ).
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De-Lurking day +1 - better late than never

So yesterday was de-lurking day - the day one day a year when those who read these blogs are asked to comment, just the once, so that people can see who is really out there. And of course, I missed it completely.

However, if you want to say hi, I'd love to know who the two actual readers are!