comics, pregnant co-workers, party planning, dead squirel, zombies

Yeah, kind of a broad range of topics today. First up, no comics this week. My local comic retailer was sold out of the Flash - again. He suggested coming back next week - which I may do since a subscription won't kick in right away anyway. I'm going to sbuscribe to one or two comics and stop messing with the monthly trips to the comic shop for the regular doses of disappointment.

I'm on a committee to help plan a holiday party for the division and we had a meeting yesterday. During the disucssion, I found out that three of my co-workers were pregnant. One of which sits right across the cube aisle - and whose husband I've worked with for about 7 years. She's due in December and I just found out yesterday. Not that I'm anybody special for them, but it seemed odd that they wouldn't have made some kind of announcement.

In non-happy news, I found a dead squirrel on my back porch yesterday. The poor thing was facedown in a pool of his own congealed blood - and stiff as a board. So, I got out my shovel and a plastic bag and disposed of the body. I suspect he got zapped by the power transformer behind my place, but I haven't had one of those in a while since the tree back there was cut down.

Finding the squirrel must have affected me more than I realized - I had a steady stream of horrible nightmares last night. Zombies, of course, but this time my family was there as well. One problem was that we couldn't tell the zombies from the "shell-shocked" normal humans. I spent what felt like days and day of trying to keep myself and my family safe.

This morning, when the sun finally started to come up, I crawled out of bed and got myself to work. It's looking like a rough day for yours truely.

Well, time to get back to work...

The dead squ

noticed and unnoticed

On the way to get lunch I noticed a student organization performing a tribal dance piece in the student union. Or rather, I couldn't help but notice. They were very loud and taking up the entire hallway. I'm sure they were very talented, but I frankly just wanted to get past them.

I saw a girl wearing purple satin pajamas and fuzzy bunny slippers - at quarter after 12:00.

I saw a guy in full hippie gear - getting into a really expensive car. Might be ironic on that one.

And finally, things I didn't notice. Instead of a bottle of pepsi - I was given a bottle of diet pepsi at lunch. Didn't notice until I was back at my desk. I suspect it will be horrible.

later...

weekend improvement, further car issues

On Saturday, I met up with some friends for a block party. Not my block, someone else's block. Apparently it's a yearly event and I got to be an honary resident. The food was pretty good and the music was fun. They also had some games going - and I won at one of them! Blind folded, no hands, spun around - try and bite a doughnut on a string. I used some Zen techniques and "let the doughnut come to me". I got two bites without much trouble - even though one of my friends was messing with by tapping the side of my head with an extra doughnut. There's a firestation on the corner and the firemen got invited over as well. A few played the games with us - they were a little stoic, but I think they had fun too. One game has a team of four in a relay running to a distant point with a suitcase of random clothes - then quickly putting on all the clothes over top of their garments and running back. Then the clothes are put back in the suitcase for the person. The firemen cleaned up on that one and explained that getting dressed quickly was their forte. Which made sense.

On Sunday, I made yet another trip to the not so soft side of sears and bought another wrench. Got it home, let the car cool off and tried it. Based on the new O2 sensor - it would have fit perfectly. But, due to a vicious design flaw, there's a pointless flange in the way. I think I might be able to reach it better from under the car, but I'm not sure I want to buy the ramps and go that route. And ironically, the Check Engine light on my car has gone out again.

I hate cars. Wonder how much a bus pass is...?

Well, that's it for now. Time to get back to work...

not a good week

This past week has, in a nutshell, sucked. Seemed like whole armies of people were working together to make things vastly more difficult than they needed to be - and then dumping their problems in my lap.

I spent all day Friday angry. And I nearly slugged a lady standing far too close to me in line to get lunch simply because she had a British accent. Which I normally like or at least don't mind -but on Friday it was a high offense. I am aware that this is wrong and I didn't even let on how annoyed I was.

Thoughout the day I tried to calm down and get though things. Everytime I took what I hoped would be a cleansing breath, the phone would ring and I'd get a spike of pain in my head.

Not sure how much longer I can keep doing this. Maybe it's time to start looking...

The week hasn't been a total loss. I did pick up the new Star Wars lego game and that's been fun. Princess Leia has a melee combat move where she walks up to a bad guy (or really anyone, for that matter) and hauls off and slaps them. And Chewbacca rips peoples little lego arms off. Which is all good.

Still no luck on the car - don't have the right tools. And my landlord still hasn't gotten back to me about fixing the carpet on the stairs.

So, I'm going to spend much of the weekend drinking tea and reading. And maybe going for a walk. And try and somehow relax...

That's it for now...

sleeping issues

I went to bed last night around my usual time and despite what I would consider nearly perfect sleeping conditions - I woke up this morning feeling as though I'd:

a). Not gotten any sleep at all.

b). Been hit by a tonka truck, in the head.

c). Been crushed under 2.5 tons of pillows. Which, while soft, is still very heavy.

d). All of the above.

It's been suggested to me that my breathing habits while I sleep are less than optimal. I.E. I'm not doing enough of the whole breathing thing while I'm sleeping. It's possible, though I don't have any direct proof yet. And strangly, the notion doesn't bother me as much as I would have guessed. Still, it's something that should be investigated. I also need to get my TMJ looked at again - seems to be getting worse.

It's noisy here in the cube farm, even this early in the morning. I'm trying to decide if a psychotic episode is a good way to start the day - I think maybe a blueberry pop tart may be more appropiate.

okay, back to work...

busy weekend - car, tools, books, tattoo, folding

I had a pretty busy weekend - started off with a little more work on the car and when I finally found the oxygen sensor I realized something terrible. I didn't have enough tools! So, I made a trip to home depot to remedy that - but the depot ultimatly let me down. The tools that I thought would work, didn't. So, I put everything back and called it a night. The next morning I tried again, but still no luck in getting the oxygen sensor loose. Instead, I headed up north to the 1/2 priced bookstore. The drive was uneventful, though I think the directions and signage could have been a bit more clear. I dropped off my big pile of books and did some browsing. I found three books then got called up to get a receipt for my trade. It was a little disappointing, but I did a little more looking around, realizing that I'd have to pay out anyway to get the few items I had. Then I found the comic books section.

Instead of a neatly organizied rack with the comics bagged and boarded - the comics were stacked on a shelf in piles above eye level. No place to look through them, no order, torn covers, etc. It was terrible. A cursory glance turned a couple potentials, but the sheer chaos turned me away. I made my purchase with a heavy heart and headed home.

I stopped off at the depot again, holding out hope that my eye would stumble on the perfect tool. No luck. A mild brainstorm and I headed for the mall and the not-so-soft side of sears.

Ah, yes, this was the tool place. I located a craftsman wrench that should do the job. There is, of course, a problem. To use this wrench, it's going to have to go over top of the current O2 sensor. And to do that, I'll need to cut some wires. Not a big deal in this case - if I've got the right tool and can remove the sensor. If I have to put it back, then I'll need to reconnect the wires. Which I can do, but I'd really rather not. So, that is on hold for a bit until I work up the courage.

And speaking of courage - I decided to get a tattoo on Saturday as well. I headed over to Pain Hate Pain on Market street and met with a nice guy with lots of facial piercings. He called the tattooer in and after a brief dicusssion about the tattoo I wanted, Shad got his equipment set up and got to work. It hurt about as much as the other ones I've had done, but cursiously, didn't bleed at all. I mean no bleeding whatsoever. Not during nor afterward. It was kinda weird.

He did a good job and the price was reasonable - then I went to the drug store to buy some lotion ("It puts the lotion in the basket or it gets the hose again") to help with the aftercare. You can see a picture here:

http://gozips.uakron.edu/~aws/tattoo.html

Finally, got some more paper for another project I want to work on. I may not have picures for a while - the indivdual units aren't complicated, but the assembly may be rough. I also got some transparent report covers for a series of water-proof origami.

Oh, and I made some more progress in Star Ocean. I wailed on what I thought was the final boss and when all was said and done, he was gone in a burst of light while I did a small victory dance. Except he wasn't the final boss - and there are clones of him everywhere. I've got some better weapons now, but it's like a mini-boss battle every 20 feet. And I'm not sure how to advance the story anymore. So, I stopped playing for a bit and went back to God of War.

Back to work...

car care

Yesterday, I filled up my gas tank and then headed over to Auto Zone to get the pesky check engine light investigated. I also bought a replacement light bulb for the stop light in the back of my car.

During the diagnostic we learned that:

1) I had a blown fuse for the diagnositc system as well as the lighter - which I've never used. We got the fuse replaced so that a connection could be made and it came back with 2 codes that meant the same thing -

2) Faulty oxygen sensor

So, I bought an oxygen sensor and took it home. The replacement light bulb was tricky and I'm still not sure if I got it in correctly - can't very well step on the brake and stand behind my car at the same time. (well, I could. But it would violate the laws of physics and motion - and I'd damage the fabric of the universe. Which seems excessive.)

Then I took off my dress shirt, got out my tools, grabbed a flashlight, and popped the hood.

I spent a little time poking around in there - then I called my dad for suggestions. He'd never replaced one before but suggested somewhere near the air filter. Seemed like a good idea, so I focused my search there.

For a while, I was feeling pretty cool - most of my "work on a car" in the past has been, "take it someplace to be looked at".

Just by observation, I learned quite a bit about what's going on in there and I cleaned out some dry leaves I found. Ultimately, though, I didn't find the oxygen sensor. It started to get dark and I started to get frustrated - so, I closed things up and called it a night.

The internet seems to have a solution - I think I've located a step-by-step. So, I'll snag a print-out and give it another whirl tonight.

Otherwise, a pretty quiet evening of video games and reading. Our intrepid heroes made it off the moon-base and over to the time gate - where they find that their entire universe is a computer simulation. It's pretty cool when they figure out how to get to the "real" world and kick some ass over there.

I guess that's it for now - we've got a division wide breakfast meeting coming up. Later...

cleaning, video games, kung fu, fruit on the bottom

More whirl-wind cleaning last night - the de-crapification continues. I also worked on a mask I'd been contemplating for several months - it was either start/finish it, or throw out the parts. So, 20 minutes and one glue-gun induced blister later, it was finished. I'll try to get pictures one of these days.

Played a little more Star Ocean last night - now we're at a friggin moon-base and we still have to use swords. Granted the Ice Blade is kinda cool, but it takes forever to charge up and costs too much MP. The only ray gun in the group belongs to the chick with blue hair.

Also watched Kung Fu Hustle last night. Pretty cool movie - the story was a little slow to start off, but once it got going, it was really cool. The effects were excellent and the fighting was way over the top. Shaolin Soccer is next on my list, I think.

I believe I may have mentioned my disdain for yogurt with "Fruit on the bottom" before. I feel that, as a consumer, I should have my yogurt pre-mixed. Normally, I do the extra work that the factory should do by shaking the unopened vat of yogurt vigorously. I recently did this and when I opened the container - it spit yogurt at me. I laid down a thousand curses on the cruelty of fate, then cleaned up my shirt and ate my yogurt. It was pretty good too - blueberry.

That's it for now...back to work...

movies, books, music

"This is some shit, up with which we will not put" - so says Brenda in Scary Movie 4. And though I up with the movie, I didn't really enjoy it. There were some funny bits, but I think they were trying too hard.

I've also recently watched the unrated version of The Hills Have Eyes - and despite the jump out and scare you moments (which I enjoy) the violence was really gratuitius. There wasn't much point/plot to the whole thing.

Silent Hill was watched during the same evening - much better movie and more visually interesting. I thought the ending was a little weak, but still a good flick. I haven't played the game, so I don't know how it compares.

Last evening I did a little cleaning - mostly just tossing out junk and re-organizing. I also set aside 53 books that I'm going to sell to 1/2 Priced books. Selling a book, for me, is a big deal. I'm much more interested in buying new books, but these were ones that I had read and didn't like, or couldn't get into. So, looks like a trip up north is in my future.

I've been listening to Tori Amos in heavier rotation - she's got a song called Goodbye Pisces that's a simple, quiet little song of the destruction of the spirit. Sad, but beautiful.

I've also been thinking about a new web comic. Differnt characters, more photos, same basic humor.

Guess that's it for now...back to work...

student loans, headache, folding, video game

I was paying bills recently and realized I only had three payments left for my student loans. It's going to feel weird - and good - to not be writing that check every month. Next up, working down that credit card.

Although it was nice long weekend - I spent most of the time with a low grade headache. Must be the weather changing.

I also worked on some origami people - you know, for my army of minions. Soon, very soon, we will be ready to conqure. If you've like to begin groveling now, I'll see to it that your death is quick and painless.

I got stuck in a video game last night - the Lava Caves. Low on magic, low on health, lost and alone - it was tramatic, especially since the only door out was freaking locked. I mean, really, if you're going to put a door inside a cave filled with Lava, do you really need to lock it? Apparently, yes, you do. So, I looked online today and discovered that the key is behind the statue of the giant bunny. Of course it is. Bastards.

Anyway, its Tuesday and it's time to get back to work...

Dad's birthday, more folding, the end of the comic

I visited my family over the weekend for my Dad's birthday. He wanted things pretty low key, so we watched movies, ate some birthday pie, and spent some quality time in the hot tub. I also brought all the origami for my sister's wedding to my parent's place for storage. I think they were impressed - and while it was good that I could do this, I'm also a little glad that my living room isn't covered with purple and purple paper anymore. :)

I also finished up my web comic today. Had some fun with that and it was a good run. You can take a look at it here:

http://gozips.uakron.edu/~aws/

Well, that's it for now. Back to work...

giving blood and open mic night

Right after work yesterday I went to give blood, since if I didn't there's a chance they would have come to my apartment and demanded 2 pints. The lady at the front desk wasn't, as Scotty would say, "firing on all thrusters" but was nice enough. There was no line so I read the paperwork and headed to the history station. That's mostly on computer now, which is much faster. Back to the dazed lady to get a bag, then over to the donation site. The guy doing the collection did the best job I've had done so far with the needle and I told him so - it almost didn't hurt at all. The actual donation went quick and I was having cookies and juice in no time.

Which was good since I was going to meet some friends that evening for dinner and a trip to a bar for open mic night. Dinner was pretty good - once we finally got the table for 11 issue sorted out. The bar was right next door and several people I knew got up an performed. Mostly music for the evening - but one guy we didn't know got up and receited 3 really long and complicated poems. Almost a dramatic reading of sorts - he really got into it and was impressive.

Not one to grab the mic, I instead sat back and impressed the local crowd with some origami. I made a couple of module based rings that everyone wanted to hold - and most ended up breaking. Easily reassembled though. One girl came up to our table and wanted to borrow one of the rings to hang on the mic for good luck - so, it was almost like I participated or something. :) I also made a small army of origami people and a small table for them to stand next to. It was suggested that I make little chairs, plates, and utensils - but I really needed to get home and to bed since it was a school night.

So, a busy, but good evening. Tonight I'm headed to the comic book store with the hopes that the new Flash comic is in. Be prepared for anguish tomorrow if it's not in yet or sold out.

Back to work...

cursed rest stop dream and red cross demands

I had a dream last night that I was at a rest stop in out west with my family. We had just pulled in when a park ranger explained about the curse on the place that would be starting again in a few minutes. Intrigured, we hung around until, in the middle of a hot summer day, it suddenly snowed several inches in a matter of seconds. The rest stop was across a bridge on an isolated mountain area and the bridge was retracted until the curse went away. Apparently, a long time ago a man stopped at this rest stop with his family, went crazy, and killed his wife and two daughters before coming out of it. It had been in the winter time and now everyday between 2 and 2:15 pm - it snows to recreate that day. We then saw an old guy come down on a snowboard and managed to jump the gap before he even realised it was there. Very odd.

In other news, I got a call at work from the red cross about a blood donation. He asked me about giving blood on tuesday and wanted to confirm if I would be there. I said I was planning on it - then he asked if could further confirm that I would be there barring a dictionary defined "emergency".

I think this is about tailoring the staffing to see that they've got just enough people to cover the donors coming in - but it doesn't solve the problem of people seeing the sign out front and just stopping in - thus overwhelming the staff at randomly peak times.

I said I would be - but was a little puzzled that he didn't set me up for an appointment. I'll be there because it's the right thing to do - but it was a little odd.

Today has been going pretty crappy, but I'm not going to dwell on it. I just need to get through it and get out of here for a much deserved weekend.

back to work...

comic update, comics update, and the wrong way

I finally got around to updating my web comic a bit - had some fun with some minor graphics. You can check it out here...

http://gozips.uakron.edu/~aws/comic.html

I nearly laughed out loud at my own cleverness. Hope someone else enjoys it too. Oh, and I put in some navigation so you can jump to whatever page you want.

In other comics news...I went to my local comic book store yesterday to pick up the Flash #3 that the DC Comic's website promised me would be shipped and arriving in stores yesterday. Oh, sorry... it's been delayed till next week.

CURSES!

In unrelated news... I was driving to work this morning across a one way bridge when the car in front of me pulls into the other lane and I see headlights in front of me.

Now, let's stop and ponder this for a moment. You're on a one-way street. The only thing you should see in front of you is tail-lights. So, if you see headlights, something it very wrong.

Turns out a van had pulled down the wrong way on the bridge and had just decided to stop until enough traffic had pulled around him to make room so he could turn around.

There were no accidents and no big issues, but it was damn odd.

That's it for now - I've got a surprise meeting to attend so I'd best get moving.

catching up, picnic, debit vs credit

It's been a while since I blogged, got a little catching up to do. First, the division-wide picnic last week went well - though it was a lot of work to set-up. The rented grill was the worst - lots of waiting around for it to be delivered and then picked up. But, everyone seemed to have a good time and the food was pretty good. We even tried making smores with various degrees of success.

Work has been extra busy, lots of stuff coming at me every day. We're supposed to be getting some help - but it's not going to get here before the start of school. So, we stay busy.

Couple days ago I went to the grocery store to get some. It was late afternoon and only two regular lanes were open - one of which closed as I approached it. So, instead of the long line, I went to the self checkout. If I've only got a few items, it's not too bad, but I would really rather not deal with the potential hassle of a defective bar code. Anyway, I'm doing the self check out and use my debit card. A quick pin number and a receipt and I'm on my way. I no sooner get out the door when the clerk runs out after me. "Hey," he says, "you gotta sign this," as he waves a charge slip. I start to follow him back in and tell him - "I used my debit card," We get to his counter and he says, "But you were right over there," "No," I tell him with a tired shake of my head, "I was over there,"
I pointed to the correct location and he said, "oh,"

I turned around and left while he tried to chase someone else down. I mean, really, he's got 4 stations to watch and I could accuratly describe the 2 other groups that were there - and it's not even my job. Thus, I was annoyed.

The comic strip has slowed to a stop, but I'm going to try and make some updates at lunch time today.

Finally, a made a big folding push last night and made 75 origami boxes in one sitting. I should have the rest of this project down in a couple of days. At least the folding part, I'll still have to put things together - but that's a whole 'nuther project.

That's it for now - gotta get back to work...

bear dream, car issues, Pi

I had a dream the other night that I was in a park and got attacked by a grizzley bear. There were a few other people around, but the bear headed straight for me. I braced myself and when it charged me, I knocked it over and proceed to beat the crap out of it. Finally, I had the bear pinned down with my knee on it's neck - and no one would come over and help me restrain it. I was very pissed off when I woke up. I'm guessing this a work stress dream.

Over the past two weeks with my car I've:

1. Had the muffler replaced.
2. Replaced 2 burned out tail lights.
3. And replaced the left front tire.

Still got one more light to replace and the check engine light to investigate.

I don't think I like cars anymore.

Finally, I took a little time to work out the final digit of Pi. It's a three, in case you were wondering.

back to work...

identity crisis dream

I dreamed last night that my former co-worker and his wife move into my apartment. We all seemed to be getting along okay and had pretty much the same reaction when my next door neighbors came in the back door to use our shower, namely, "what the hell are you doing?"

My co-worker had a birthday at that time and got a new drivers liscence. Somehow, though, it messed up my entry in the system. So, the next time I use my debit card to make a purchase they ask for my driver's liscence. I don't have it with me, so they conveniently print it out for me - but it's got the co-worker and wife in the picture - not me. Which is dang odd and to the clerk, more than a little suspecious. I pay cash.

I decide to skip work the next day since I'm sure the computer system won't let me in - but a frantic call from another co-worker (who's also left the university) brings me in to open the door for him and help get the phones set up for the helpdesk - where I used to work but don't currently. I was untangeling phone cords when I woke up.

Not sure what that means - other than a random collection of synapes firing.

Maybe it's about trying to bring back the past and keeping a sense of who I am. I've been kinda down that we've lost three co-workers in the past year (out of a team of five, yes, we're down to two) - and my workload and stress have greatly increased.

Well, I've now got a 2 hour training session to attend - not really looking forward to that, but I've got to learn the stuff. Pressure...

Back to work...

games and taxes and a horrible dream

Picked up a couple of used games recently...

Star Ocean - I pretty cool Role-playing game with some nice elements and story-line. On the downside, assigning stats is a bit of a pain and a little confusing.

And then there's the puzzle with the turtle. You've got to steer a giant turtle through an abandoned mine shaft. I've tried it dozens of times and I either end up back at the start - or I die. Somehow, not so much fun...

The other game is TombRaider:Legend. I'd been burned on the last few in this series, but I'm happy to say that Laura Croft is back and better than ever. Easy to use controls, target lock, and amazing graphics. I'm ready to take on a super-complicated puzzle and I can't wait.

In less fun news... I got a letter from the city about unpaid taxes for 2004. Which is insane since I've already taken care of this twice. So, I'm headed over there after work - wish me luck.

Over the weekend I had one of the worst zombie dreams of my life. Armies of alien zombies that moved fast and were able to learn. I lead a small band of survivors and held off them off for what felt like weeks from the night of the invasion. It was terrible. And I kept slipping back into the same dream when I managed to wake up. Feel like I should just start carrying around a sword all the time now - seems like the armies of the undead should be showing up any day now.

Hmmm...that might make the taxes thing go a little easier as well.

Anyway, back to work...

two things that made me swear

So, I had a support bracket on my muffler break. It was hanging down and though the muffler was still in place, it was only a matter of time. So I head to my local Midas shop to get the bracket replaced. Only the bracket, mind you. This will be an important factoid later.

I sit in the waiting room after handing over my keys and after taking their own sweet time, they raise the car and take a look. I've read both the newsweeks and the TV is set to sesame street. This does not bode well

The tech comes to the door and invites me into the work area - which seems odd with safetly concerns and all, but what the hell. He explains the bracket is broken - which I knew - and also pointed out that I've got the makings of a hole in the muffler. It's not there yet - but only a matter of time.

We go back to the waiting room and he sits down to tell me what all he's got - along with an estimate. I'm due for an oil change and the right rear and center lights are out. Replacing the muffler is the big one - over $250. I point to the number and tell him that I wasn't prepared to spend that much money today - can they just fix the bracket now and I can come back later for the muffler?

No, they can't. See, the manufacturer puts on a "special magic super nifty" NON-STANDARD muffler. So, no one else carries those and no one carries the brackets. Except the dealerships.

But I didn't request a special muffler - I just wanted the most ordinary one they can put on a car. Sorry, package deal.

So, to replace the bracket and keep the muffler from falling off, they need to replace the bracket, the muffler and an extra pipe that connects it to the rest of the exaust system.

The tech at least "pretended" to sympathize at my indignation - but there was nothing to be done but sign the form and hand him my debit card. I was also a little cranky at the labor costs per hour. I wish I could change people that much. Maybe there should be some kind of sliding scale. If you change $70 an hour to fix to my car - I'll charge you $70 to fix your computer. Instead of just getting cookies or something.

So, I go for a walk while they do the work and have a disappointing experience at Kaybee toys.

Finally on my way and I get home - and the phone rings. It's the red cross, telling me about a blood drive. I listen as the women, in the occasionally halted tones of someone nervous, tells me about the location and times - as well as a drawing for a new car. I make the standard vaguely interested noises and at the end - she tells me to press one to repeat the message.

It was a f*@%}^& recording! I was so pissed. 9 times out of 10 I can tell, but this time I couldn't and actually tried to have a conversation with a recording.

I got a surge of white-hot fury that even this last bastion of human contact had been stolen from me - angry enough that blanked on all the information as I hung up the phone. So, I checked the website today and it doesn't list any blood drives in my area for tomorrow - which is when I thought it was supposed to be. I think I remember the location, so I'll drive past to see if they have a sign out.

All I'm saying is that there had better be a Flash comic #2 waiting for me at the comic book store today or there's going to be hell to pay. They were sold out last week and I was promised that this weeks shipment would have one.

back to work...

bravo & origami, shoes, and work stress

I went out to eat with a friend to Bravo - which was a little difficult to plan since their reservation system is complicated and usually full. But, we got in and while I was waiting for various things to happen, I got out some paper and did a little folding. The server was deeply impressed - and thrilled that I gave the model to her. I also impressed the manager that came around - and he did origami too! So, we talked shop for a bit and shared a moment about the first squash fold we had accomplished - it was magical. :) Anyway, I impressed the crowd with a micro-crane and we went on our way. Incidentally, the food was pretty good, but I think I could have gotten the same meal at Bennegan's for less money - except for the chrispy potatoes - I'd have to go to Bob Evan's for those.

I also did a little shoe shopping over the weekend - my tennis shows go ruined by the kitty litter. Two hand scrubbings with a wire brush and a huge amount of Febreeze couldn't save them. I found some cheap tennis shoes and then some short boots for work. Kinda cool, fairly comfortable, and 80% off - can't beat that. Yeah, not really the most exciting weekend I've had.

It's been confirmed - another of my co-workers is leaving. This makes three within the last year. We spent some time last week trying to do a little knowledge transfer, but since he's our graphics guy, I'm not sure how much I'll really be able to do. I'm also going to try and organize some kind of going-away party for him - and I'm running out of time.

I guess that's it for now...back to work...