watchtower, site, repair

I stopped for fuel a few days ago on my way into work. I was just finishing up pumping the gas when a woman pulled around around my car to park at a somewhat strange angle near another pump. She got and approached me with a booklet in her hand.

"Would you be interested in reading...?" she started to ask and I saw it was a copy of watchtower and I began my polite but firm:

"No thank you..." and she had already turned and was headed back to her van.

I guess we both already had our lines memorized. She was gone moments later. I don't think she even talked to anyone else there - and I'm not even sure she got fuel. Maybe she had a quota?

In other news, I added a minor update to my website about my swimming - with a few photos of me at the ocean. No links on the main page yet, but you can get there here:

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

Finally, I'm taking my car into the shop this afternoon. The muffler sounds bad and although I don't think anything is going to fall off yet - there was a pile of rust under my car so I'm guessing it's only a matter of time.

This week has been busy, but productive. I've got a few projects to work on today before the weekend kicks in.

later...

(I just did a spell check on the page - and for what may be the first time, no spelling or typing errors. Hoorey!)

ambien

My room-mate has trouble sleeping after the long drive back. So, he decided to take an Ambien.

Now, I don't know if you've heard about the side effects of this stuff - but it is seriously dangerous.

from wikipedia

He took a dose last night and fell asleep in the tub. I managed to wake him up about 1:20 AM since I had to use the bathroom and it took me a while to convince him that he was actually in the tub and needed to get out of the tub, get dressed, and go to bed.

Then things got weird. He didn't recognize me, had no sense of balance, and was increasingly irrational. At one point he tried to choke me, but his lack of balance worked in my favor and I fought him off with a body slam into the closet door. I tried to keep him from going downstairs - afraid that he would fall - but his paranioa kicked in and he fought me on that as well. I gave up and helped him downstairs and then back up - with him fighting me most of the way. I finally got him settled and went to bed myself - with a sword at my side and a locked door. At this point, I didn't realize he'd taken anything and figured he's just gone insane.

This morning, I woke him up at 11:45 and asked him to explain what had happened. He had no memory of anything that had happened after he got in the tub after taking the now admitted ambien. I detailed everything that had happened and he apologized. I also made him throw out the ambien.

So, welcome back from your vacation - right into a drug fueled nightmare.

To the "Committee for the Most Understanding Roommate award" - don't bother with a plaque, just send cash.

I forgot to ask him if he slept well - I sure didn't.

beach trip - summary

I did a lot of swimming on this trip - more than I've done in the past. I think the total was around 14 miles - not too shabby. Someone asked me what I thought about out in the ocean and the answer is - not much. I mostly just paid attention to the stokes I was using and my breathing and trying to time the waves.

I did a lot of reading - I think I got through 7 books while I was there. Spent a lot of time in the sun and got a kick-ass tan. No burn this year, I was careful.

I wore my square-cut speedos while I was swimming and while I was working on my tan. I was a little self-conscious, but only a little. The swimming over the years has paid off and I felt okay about how I looked. I've swum in the ocean in board shorts and it does make a difference.

In the evenings, I played a bit of PSP and enjoyed the games I brought.

Overall - I did very little on my vacation. As it should be.

beach trip - part 3

7/19/2009

Went to Trip's for dinner - the Crab Cake this time around had peppers in it. I spent the rest of the evening burping the taste and it was not pleasant. We headed to the Ripley's Aquarium - which was one part lame and one part totally awesome. The had a viewing area with a saltwater tank full of sting-rays - really amazing. There were also aquariums with jelly fish and moray eels. The best, though, was the tunnel under the aquarium that was full of fish - and sharks. Amazing to see them swim overhead. And a little scary too.

One strange note - there was a sign outside about homeland security level at "elevated". Dunno why Ripley's Aquarium would be a target. They also had a uniformed security guard taking the tickets at the door.

45 minute ocean swim

7/20/2009

I swam twice again - the regular mile and then another 22 minutes for catch up. We went back to Drunken Jack's again - this time with a bit shorter wait. The sever recognised us from our earlier visit. :)

45 minute ocean swim

22 minute ocean swim

7/21/2009

We had been told that the buoys just off the beach were part of the EPA study. So, after my regular swim and after the lifeguard was done for the day, I swam out to take a look. They were labeled "hazard area" - so, I still don't know what they were all about. It also rained again while I was swimming.

45 minute ocean swim

7/22/2009

We were planning on coming back, but instead decided to stay an extra day. I swam for about 22 minutes before my left knee and hip started to bother me. I took a break for a bit and then swam again. Also, I had two people within 10 minutes of each other shout "shark" and point near me. I don't know if they thought I was a shark or if they were trying to scare me - but it pissed me off something fierce.

22 minute ocean swim

22 minute ocean swim

7/23/2009

Return home. The drive was even longer coming back. Lots of traffic and accidents - including a pre-fab home that fell off a truck and crash on the highway. There was also a huge thunderstorm while I was driving. My room-mate was nervous, but I just kept focused on the road and we did okay. Coming back when we did will give us both a few days to recover before heading back to work.

beach trip - part 2

7/14/2009

Went to Drunken Jack's for dinner - there was an over 2 hour wait. We've been to this place before and the food - while okay - isn't really worth the wait time. But, it's tradition, so we waited.

45 minute ocean swim

7/15/2009

Took a trip to the Piggly Wiggly for food and supplies. We didn't have a "pig card" and so were denied the benefits of the "greenbacks". Whatever that means. The crew played a round of "scene it" - I was the MC and tried to keep things on track.

45 minute ocean swim

7/16/2009

I tried my first Crab Cake today - it was quite good to my surprise. I also finished up the 4th of my vampire books I brought. Hey, if all you do all day is swim and sit in the sun, the books go by pretty fast. I swam twice again today - and got called in from the water by the lifeguard. Apparently, the water I was in was too deep and I had to go to "waist deep". Let me tell you, it's tough to swim in waist deep water in the ocean.

45 minute ocean swim

45 minute ocean swim

7/17/2009

I hung out with my room-mate's niece and nephew and we threw "toy-pedoes" at each other in the pool for a couple hours. I think they wore me out. It also might have been the short swim in the ocean - the waves and the wind were so rough that I ended up about a 1/2 mile behind where I started. I cut the swim short since I was tired and didn't want to get hurt. Later that evening, my room-mate wanted to send a note to a message board he's on for people that meet up while on vacation. So, reluctantly, I set up my PSP to connect to the free Internet. He wrote up a note, I showed him how to input text - and then he realized the "novel" he'd written would take forever to enter. He re-wrote it and I put the text in. Technically speaking, this wasn't "my" Internet usage, but I still felt a little dirty.

22 minute ocean swim

7/18/2009

The rest of the crew left early in the morning, but my room-mate and I packed up to wait for the new condo to be available. (we couldn't get the same place for 2 weeks). While we were waiting, we head to Books-A-Million to restock (I was almost out of books) and when we got back we unpacked again and I hit the ocean again - this time, I had to dodge surfers.

45 minute ocean swim

beach trip - part 1

Just got back from the annual beach trip with my room-mate and his family to Surfside Beach in South Carolina. I took some notes, so... here it goes.

7/10/2009 - the drive down. Took 10 hours straight through and we stayed at the Day's Inn the first night since we couldn't get into the condo yet. I drove about 2/3 of the way and was tired and cranky when we finally arrived - and even more so with the stupid slow elevators.

7/11/2009 - I woke up in time to witness a very slow and boring car accident from the balcony. Two cars, pulling out at the same time, slowly backed into each other. There was minimal damage and no one was hurt, so it was pretty funny.

We got moved into the condo and I noted that the owners had free wireless set up. I vowed to resist the urge to set it up and connect to the 'net.

I also hit the ocean for my first swim of the trip. It's hard to gauge the distance, but I know in the pool I can do a lap in just over a minute at my normal speed. 36 laps equals a mile, so I decided that if I can do 45 minutes in the ocean, I'm pretty confident that I'm doing at least a mile. So:

45 minute ocean swim

That night, I woke up at 3:30 in the morning and snuck out to the beach to do some streaking. Hey, it was very late and no one else was around. When else am I going to do it?

7/12/2009

The EPA was conducting a survey on the beach about water quality - and with the lure of a free tote bag and a check for $25 - how could I say no? Actually, I would have done it for free, but they had a grant and a process. I hit the water twice - and was very tired out when I was done. So:

45 minute ocean swim

45 minute ocean swim

7/13/2009

The whole group when to Angelo's for dinner. Later, we played a card game called "screw your neighbor". There's some strategy and luck involved - and I managed to win $9. Yea!

Earlier in the day I hit the ocean for a swim and got rained on. I didn't stop of course - I was already wet.

45 minute ocean swim

pelham, fireworks, pillow, vibrate

I went and saw The Taking of Pelham 123 last night. It was a pretty good flick with plenty of suspense and action, but plot was a little thin and I figured it out pretty early on. Denzel and Travolta were both good - I'd give the movie a solid thumbs up. I generally like my movies with a little less realism, but it was enjoyable.

When I got home, the neighbor kids on the other side of the trees in the backyard were setting off fireworks. At 10:15 PM. Now, I know it's almost the 4th of July, but it wasn't yet there and was really annoying - especially since I was getting ready to go to sleep.

So, I got a flashlight and a substantial pocket knife (just in case there was a fireworks luvin mob of zombies over there 'cause you never know) and walked across the backyard and through the trees to the cul-de-sac. I saw the teen-ager that was setting off the fireworks and I approached him. I asked if he was about done and he asked why. I responded that I had an early day at work the tomorrow and that I lived right over there. I told him to wrap it up and save them for the 4th. I turned to walk away and he responded with "whatever" - but either he was really out of fireworks or he actually listened to me because the fireworks stopped.

So, yea me. I did feel really old with the "hey, you kids. Hold it down," - but not everyone is on summer vacation, dang-it.

I needed the help with the sleeping environment since I've switched to a new pillow. Apparently, my snoring can be heard from the street and causes a seismic event that knocks cars off the road. The new pillow apparently stops this entirely, but it very difficult to adapt too. It's been a couple of nights now and I'm having trouble falling asleep and then waking up in the night. I'm also having seriously screwed up dreams. They are too disjointed to remember, but the general impression is that I need some professional counseling.

Finally, our building is shaking ("Regan, why aren't you in your room? My bed was shaking")

They are doing construction work to put in a ramp right next to the building and the machinery is making the whole building vibrate. I think they're finally done now, but it was pretty intense for a while.

Well, got a bunch of stuff to catch up on from my two days of usability testing - better get back to it. After a trip to chipotle, of course.

later...

cake, minion, cold, testing

My room-mate's birthday was this past Sunday. He's usually at the beach with his family on vacation, so I decided to do something a little different. Since I'm not really much of a baker or a cook, I found a no-bake cheesecake mix. I also grated some Heath bars to put in the mix. The crust didn't work as well as I hoped, but it turned out pretty good - we ate some while sitting outside enjoying the weather on Sunday evening.

I also got him a DVD set for when he's stuck at home after his neck surgery. And a fake lemon tree plant and some real lemonade mix. He's been feeling a little picked on at work recently and I thought a friendly reminder on attitude might help. I didn't make any "age" jokes - I already get letters from AARP wanting me to sign up - so, I didn't want to go down that road.

In other news... I picked up the Overlord game for the PS3. I have this for the PC, but could never get it to run. It's a blast to play and really funny. I'm making good progress and really enjoying it.

Yesterday, I headed up to the rec center for my swim. And though I was pre-warned about the lack of hot water - it was still rough taking a shower afterwards. I was still damp from the pool so I soaped up first - then turned on the cold water and rinsed as fast as I could. I suppose I could have skipped the shower, but I figured a little cold in the short term was better than somewhat itchy for the rest of the day.

Finally, I'm working with the crew on some usability testing again. My roll is mostly "keep track of the tech and render the video" - so, I'm keeping up with my emails and waiting quietly.

Better get back to the email and check in... later...

flush, pool

Yesterday afternoon, I headed to the restroom here at work. It was the kind of trip that, had I been at home, I would have had a book with me. But I was at work and bookless and proceeded to do my business without any reading material. Before I sat down, however, I noted that the toilet now had an automatic flush device installed. It looked like this.

Now, I'm not generally fond of auto-flushing toilet and urinals since I either can't get them to acknowledge that I exist or I can't get them to stop.

But, my needs were urgent and I was at the mercy of the technology. When I was done, I stood up and the auto-flush device made it's usual noise - but then nothing else happened.

No flush.

I sat back down for a moment - then stood back up. I will also admit to feeling a little stupid about this. Same noise - no flush.

I check the device and notice that there was a manual button. Relieved, I tried that. Same noise, but still no flush.

I tried a couple more times with the same result.

So, now what?

I washed my hands at the sink and left - then called the building coordinator to report the problem and got his voice mail. Next, I called the Facilities dispatch office and reported it to them. The building coordinator called me back and I confirmed what I'd done.

Then I made up an out of order sign, posted that on the door to the stall, and went back to work. I mean, what else could I do?

I got the update today that it's been resolved, so I guess things are back to normal. Or as close as we can expect.

In other news... I hit the pool today and it was once again filled with screaming children. And I mean screaming. Like some kind of sonic weapon - really intense. The lifeguard cleared a lane and I did my laps. They had cleared out before I was done, so at least the last bit was more calm. On a related note, a little more digging on the Swim for Diabetes site revealed some contradictions on length vs. lap - I may have earned the ribbon after all.

Work has really sucked this afternoon. I'll be really glad to get out of here today.

later...

father, uncle, guest, 100

I went to visit my folks for Father's Day this past weekend. Unfortunatly, Dad had to work all day on Saturday, so I only got to see him a bit on Friday and Saturday evening - though we had more time on Sunday.

On Saturday morning, when my sister came over for breakfast, she asked me a question.

"So, do you want to be called Uncle Anthony or Uncle Wade?"

Yea! My little sister is having a baby! She's about 8 weeks along and is due in January - just a little after my birthday.

My sister, mom, and I hung out on Saturday. We talked about baby stuff, my sister's food aversions, and about names a bit. My brother-in-law got there in the evening from a business trip and Dad got in a bit later from work.

On Sunday, after everyone got back from church, dad invited one of his friends and caretaker over for lunch. Dad's friend has a really severe case of cerebral palsy and is confined to a wheel chair. His caretaker wheeled him in and right over in front of me where I was sitting - and then everyone went off to do their own things. So, things were a little forced - and somewhat awkward. After a little bit I was able to understand him, but it took a tremendous increase in mental processing power on my part to understand him, stay focused on what he was saying, and keep the flow of conversation going. After a bit, we had lunch and the guy and his caretaker stayed. And he dominated the conversation and ended up overstaying his welcome. Dad eventually told him it was time for him to leave. A little blunt, but I guess he and Dad understand each other and I don't think offense was meant or taken.

We did the Father's day thing and I had a bite to eat before I had to get on the road.

Finally, I got an email from the Cleveland Diabetes Association. It was a follow up to the Swim for Diabetes event and made mention of those people who were in the 100 Club. Except, it turns out that it was the 100 laps club - not 100 lengths. Which was kind of weird since all the measurments for the event were in lengths. When I finished up my swim of 150 lengths - 75 laps - they handed me a ribbon for the 100 club.

And I don't think I really earned it. Which bothers me a bit. I'm debating taking another Saturday morning to swim 100 laps and "earn" the ribbon.

Well, time to get back to work.

later...

resolved, tea, mirror, planet, 48, call

I think my room-mate and I have mostly resolved things. I'm still slightly cranky over the way things went, but I'm getting over it. So, back to the news of the ordinary and slightly weird...

I've told stories of how my Dad makes iced tea - he adds water to a plastic jug, adds teabags and seals it up, then throws it in the hot tub for a bit. With this in mind, my room-mate decided to make some sun tea outside this past weekend. I didn't pay much attention to the process until he asked me how long it took. I told him to base it on the color - when it's dark, it's done. He said it was already dark and I realized I remembered him filling the teapot.

"Wait," I said, "Did you start with hot water?" He said he did.

"With sun tea, the sun heats the water so it brews. If you start with hot water and then put it in the sun, well, you're double brewing it,"

The tea, needless to say, was very strong. But, not too bad with a lot of sugar.

In other news... stayed up late watching Mirrors last night. Good flick, a little predictable and very gory. It was after midnight before I hit the sack - which made the morning that much more difficult. Also, I avoided looking in the mirror when I got ready for work.

I played a bunch of Little Big Planet yesterday - excellent game and a lot of fun. I think I may try a bit more of the level building feature this afternoon - or I may sell some of my PS2 games and pick up another one for the PS3.

I got my new blood donor card the other day - I'm up to 48 pints donated. That's 6 gallons lifetime. Not too bad. I think I'm eligible to give again in the first part of July.

Finally, I got a call at home last night. It was an akron number, but I didn't recognize it. I answered anyway and the girl asked for me by name. She said she was calling from The University of Akron Alumni office and asked if she could verify my address and if I wanted to provide an employer. I hesitated a moment, then told her, "The University of Akron". We both laughed a bit and she verified my uakron email address. Then she asked if I wanted to donate to the college of business and I politely declined and ended the call.

I guess that's it for now. It's a pretty quiet morning here again, but there's work to be done.

later...

trek, ps3, sun, trick

Went and saw Star Trek this weekend. Good flick, very intense - and while the plot was okay, I was a little disappointed in the direction they took. Eh, the explosions were nice. And I so have to get me some Red Matter.

I also went out and got myself a PS3. I've been holding out for a price drop, but since that wasn't happening, I gathered up my coupons and gift card and headed to best buy. The PS3 and one game ended up being around 480 dollars. With the coupons, best buy rewards, and giftcard - I got it down to $178. I think the clerk was annoyed at the gift cards, but it didn't bother me at all. I've been playing little big planet quite a bit and I really like it. I haven't gone online with it yet - mainly because people online are stupid.

I got a little sun today, sat outside and read for a bit. My room-mate came out and shared the funnies with me from the sunday paper - and they were actually pretty funny instead of the usual - "heh".

I was pretty warm and noticed his cup of lemon-aid. I asked if I could have a sip and he offered to get me my own glass. I said I just wanted sip and he handed it to me.

I took a sip and immediatly spit it out. It tasted horrible and I couldn't come up with enough spit to rinse my mouth. It looked and smelled like lemon-aid - but there was something else. I asked him what it was and he told me it was lemon-aid + vodka. And he laughed at my reaction.

Now, I don't drink. Haven't since college. Sort of drew a line in the sand on the whole thing. If other people want to drink around me, I'm generally okay with that provided they don't try to force it on me and don't get too messed up.

So, I put away my chair and took my book inside. I went to the cabinet and found the bottle of vodka and then poured it in the sink. Then, for good measure, I got a half-full bottle of wine out of the fridge and poured that out too. Both empty bottles went in the trash.

He apoligized - then sarcasticly thanked me for pouring out an expensive bottle of wine when he found the bottles later.

Was I being petty? Yep. Sure. Why not? Should have poured out more. Still might.

I think I need to do some cleaning or something. Need to create a little more order in my life. Maybe need to look at Apartments.com later as well. Yeah, it's that bad.

later...

chemical, guest

I got to the rec center at my regular time and as I entered the pool area and prepared to get in the water, I noticed that a guy was dumping a white power in the water at the end of the lap lanes. I asked the lifeguards if it was okay to swim and while they were unsure, they said it was probably okay.

So, I walked over to ladder and started to get in. The guy dumping the powder didn't react to my presence and he finished up before I was ready to start my laps. I did my laps with no ill reactions - and noted that at least a part of the powder didn't dissolve right away.

I'm still doing okay, no weird skin itches or anything. Still a little weird to be doing something to the pool water during regular hours.

The AA Founder's day is this weekend on campus. A few parking lots have been closed off and we've got a lot more people on campus than usual, but it hasn't really affected us much. I avoided the student union food court just in case there were long lines, but otherwise no biggie.

The afternoon is going slowly, but I'll be out of here soon enough. Looking forward to some sunshine this weekend.

later...

taken, gas, meeting

Watched the movie "taken" last night. Even though he was a jedi, I was a little skeptical about Liam Neeson as an action hero, but he pulled it off. Lots of "judo chop" moves and ass kicking - pretty intense.

I was standing in line at Starbucks today with my coworker. There was a man standing at the counter getting his coffee and a woman behind him. The two were good naturedly arguing and he said,

"better be careful, I've got a lot of gas today"

to which she replied,

"I've got a really long umbrella,"

prompting my co-worker to comment,

"I've got a lighter"

Ah, Friday morning on campus.

In other news, my FMR's mom and grandmother were supposed to come over for dinner last night, but had to cancel. The weather was a little bad yesterday so that may have been a factor.

Well, I was supposed to be 1/2 way through a meeting/training session - but they haven't shown yet and it's now a little after 8:30 Oh, well, makes for a quieter day.

That's it for now... later...

spam, headache, swine

I got a spam message today - from someone I know. Occasionally I'll get a message from someone that has been accidentally tagged as spam (the message, not the person) and of course I get a ton of spam from strange addresses - but this time I recognised the name and address of the person - but the content of the message was spam. It was from someone that had invited me to use Linkedin - I wonder if their database got hacked?

I went home yesterday with a headache. Not a migraine, but bad enough that I took some motrin and went to bed for a bit. It stayed with me most of the rest of the evening - sort of coming and going as lighting conditions and noise levels changed. And it's back again this afternoon - though not as bad. Don't know if it's stress, a hold over from this cold I can't seem to kick, or the flourecents in the office here.

Just got an email from Mom about WHO upgrading H1N1 to a pandemic. I don't have the body aches or fatigue, but I do have the rest of the common symptoms. Great. Swine flu. Just like Link Hobthrob.

Still got 2 hours to go today. It's been pretty quiet here though that doesn't make the time go faster.

My room-mate and I are having my FRM's mom and grandmother over for an early dinner this evening (they don't like to drive late). Should be fun - they are both fiesty old ladies from the Bronx. Meaning: fun, but don't cross them or you'll get a facefull of mace.

Guess that's it for now. later...

cold, swim, drive

I've been fighting a bit of a cold for the past few days - but since it's been combined with my eye swelling up again I at first dismissed it as some kind of allergy thing. And it didn't help that my neighbor had his charcoal grill and lawn mower going right outside our windows - thought I was going to sneeze my head clear off.

I'm doing better today, though my throat is still a little sore.

I hit the pool today and did 21 laps. Not my best, but okay considering I'm really not at my best. The water was really warm - I kept watching the lifeguards to make sure they didn't throw in any vegetables.

I did a little errand running on Sunday - got some supplies for a a few projects and bought an mp3 player and an external hard-drive. I've held off moving from the cds for a while - but some artists are only releasing music digitally now, so I'd better get on the bandwagon. I've got a big project ahead of me converting my cd's to mp3 - but I've got time and plenty of space now, so it should be fun to rediscover my music collection again.

later...

mario, crowd

I played some super paper mario last night - the Pitt of 100 Trials. Essentially, 100 levels of enemies to fight. Some rooms I cleared in 20-40 seconds, others took as long as a couple of minutes. In the very last level, I fought a huge dragon and at a crucial moment I meant to hit the button to open my menu and use a health item - and instead I hit the button to jump and smashed into an enemy on the dragon's back.

And died.

Game over.

I turned off the Wii and the television and went outside to read a book. Stupid game.

I hit the pool today for my swim and as I walked in I realized that the pool was busy - there must have been about 40 kids in there for some event. And they were also in the lap lanes.

I approached the life guard to ask if they had the whole pool reserved, but before I got the word out, she asked if I was going to do lap swimming. I said I was and she said she'd clear them out of the lap lane. And she did.

Yea!

So, I had a lane to myself and got in my laps. No records set, but it still felt good.

It's been a rough week here at work and I'm looking forward to getting out of here and getting some sunshine. And it's Friday, so, bonus.

later...

pants

My co-worker and I went to Chipotle for our weekly lunch event.   We met up with his cousin and sat at a table outside to enjoy the sunshine.  I was part way through my burrito when my co-worker spilled his drink.

I could see it racing across the table toward me and I had only a moment to act.  

Abandon the burrito and use the lag time that gave me to get out of the way 

or

Carefully set my burrito down in the tray, protecting it from the soda, and take whatever came at me.  

Well, there was really no question about which way that was going to go.   I carefully set my burrito down and moved away from the table - too late to avoid the onrush of soda that soaked my pants.   

But, the burrito was safe and that's all that mattered.   My co-worker felt bad, but my pants dried quickly in the sun.   And the burrito was awesome.

later...

clever, shoes, mile

As I was getting ready for work this morning, I remembered that I had a meeting today with a student group that had caused me some grief in the past.   I have to work with them, so I got dressed with an eye toward a carefully calculated impression.    Long sleeve white dress shirt with a UA logo indicating that I was part of the establishment and would be expected to follow the rules.  Sleeves rolled up to indicate that I was someone prepared to work.   Dress pants - and my dressier flip-flops - an indication that I'm cool and that I can relate.   Or at least that I'm trying to fool myself into thinking that I'm cool and that I can relate.     I never put this much thought into what I'm wearing under usual circumstances, but this group had been stubborn and I was going to need all the help I could get.

So, image complete, I headed into work.  And when I checked my calendar, I realized that I also had a meeting today with the Office of General Counsel - i.e. the lawyers.   And while flip-flops might be appropriate for a meeting with a student group  - they would not be appropriate for a meeting with the lawyers.  

One of my co-workers and I headed up to the student union for starbucks and I mentioned my footwear issues and that I might have to go  home and change shoes before my meeting.   He asked what shoe size I wore (10) and then offered to let me borrow his shoes for the meeting.   He had a backup pair in his car and no meetings - so, it would work out fine and though I had to go sock-less I was in much better shape than before. 

I 'shoed-up' just before my meeting and things went fine.   Back to flip-flops for my second meeting and that went fine too.

They say you have to walk a mile in someone's shoes before you really know them.  I didn't quite cover a mile, but I was impressed by his generosity and I appreciated it.  

I learned a lesson about planning and still ended up making the right impressions.

The rest of the day has been pretty much business as usual, but I'll head out of here in a much better mood than I had yesterday.

later...

600, day, swim

This is post number 600 for my blog and I had rather hoped for something deeply meaningful or a fundamental truth about existence.  Instead, I think it's pretty much going to be same old-same old.

I ended up  having a really really crappy day yesterday.   One task that should have taken 15 minutes lasted all day.  I had 2 meetings that annoyed me and promised to create a massive amount of work.  And then I screwed up the survey tool software by not carefully following the instructions - though, to my credit, they were very much counter-intuitive.

So, my swim was delayed and I didn't get to go to the pool until after work.  I was really looking forward to getting some of my frustrations out.  

Instead, the two lap lanes were in use.    There's a guy swimming in one and a mother teaching her kids to swim in the other one.   Now, it's a big pool and I'm pretty sure that a swimming lesson is not appropriate in the lap lanes, but I tried to not be annoyed by it and got in the lane with the guy swimming laps.   

I tried to stay out of his way - he was less concerned about staying out of my way - and as a consequence I ended up scraping my elbow on the wall.     I stopped in the middle of the lane, lifted my arm out of the water for an inspection and as soon as I did that, it started to bleed.

So, that was it for me.  I kept my arm out of the water and got out of the pool.   I snagged a paper towel and had the bleeding mostly stopped by the time I was dressed and on my way out the door.    When I got home, I opened it back up and cleaned it with alcohol and then slathered on the neosporin and a band-aid.  

I played some video games, read a book, and cooled down.      Today is not shaping up to be awesome, but I'm going to keep my head down and get through it.     On a brighter note, the boss is out of the office this week - so, I'm predicting a slightly longer than an hour lunch hour.

later...