Patriot Panda � 2 of 7 One of the cool things we saw in DC - the streets are filled with panda statues, much like our beloved Nashville catfish last year. We got pictures of maybe twenty of them. It was fun to have our picture taken with a panda bear.
Friday, finally. I have a meeting at 10:00, then I can spend the rest of the day studying, maybe. I can only hope that it will stay quiet.
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If yesterday was Wednesday, then maybe today will be Zen day. It's not quite the weekend, the week isn't completely over, and I still have a few hours to catch up on stuff left over from last week. Didn't get to study last night; had supper at Pizza Perfect and then made a trip to Wally World, my least favorite shopping location on the planet. The good news is, they had what I needed. The bad news is, it took 30 minutes of my precious life just waiting in the 10 Items or Less checkout lane. I just find that excessive - if it only takes me 5 minutes to locate my items, why should I have to wait half an hour to pay for them? Why hasn't Wal-Mart set up self-check lines like Kroger or Home Depot or Lowes? It's not like they'd lose that much more with the 5-finger discount. And it was all the more annoying to see lines of people snaking out onto the main floor, while over half the checkout lanes were closed. "We save you money by cutting down on labor costs - we
Are you sure this is Wednesday? It's been a strange week. I know my co-workers must be ready to nominate me for What Not to Wear . So far I've had a Fat-Day Monday, Tacky Tuesday, and Semi-Professional Wednesday. And while I'm glad to be back, it's hard not to lose my cool with the users, even after a week off. We seem to be going in circles on some things - I tell them no, they ask again anyway. And there's a pervasive fear among my fellow LAN managers of what's coming next - we've seen the future, and we've decided, futile or not, resistance is the only option we have. I'm trying to step back and figure out where I'll fit in the new regime...or even if I'll fit. Tonight we hit the books again - I have got to pass about five tests in the next two months. Something tells me that it's critical. Which means it may be awhile before I finish my pleasure reading.
I'm back, I think. I've only had half a cup of coffee so far this morning, so my status is still questionable. While I was away, we switched methods of responding to service calls, so I've got to devise a new daily work-flow to make sure everything is being handled properly. I think I'll need more coffee. Maybe I'll just make my own carafe and sneak it back here to my desk...
IMDb :: Boards :: Mariachi, El (1992) At last! The mystery is solved. I spent twenty minutes trying to turn off the commentary so I could watch/read El Mariachi, but I finally gave up and just listened to the man ramble. It was probably more entertaining that way. At least now I understand why Desperado seemed a little disjointed.
At last, it's Friday, and next week is VACATION. We're spending two nights in DC in the Hotel Harrington, which may turn out to be a dive, but I'm trying to think positive thoughts here. The price and location are perfect, and as long as it's clean and bug free, I'll deal with it. We figured we'd drive part-way Monday, stop somewhere in Virginia for the night, let Heather swim in the pool, then head into DC Tuesday. That gives us part of Tuesday, all of Wednesday, and Thursday morning to sight-see, then we start the leisurely trip back. Depending on how tired we all are of each other, we may stop somewhere along the way and spend t
There are certain things about Nashville which would drive a Baptist minister to drink - in public. One of these things is the entity known as NES. Whenever NES isn't out butchering trees, apparently they're arbitrarily turning off power to entire city blocks. Granted, we had a storm the other night. Granted, there were a lot of people without power, and there was a transformer damaged. But notifying Vanderbilt 15 minutes after you've already done it that there will be "intermittent" power outages, then leaving the power off for an hour and a half, just doesn't seem Kosher to me. Blakemore is very busy street, as is 21st. I know that the traffic lights on Blakemore between Natchez and 21st were out, no police presence, just reliance that folks driving in Nashville would know to treat the intersections as 4-way stops. Since I swear two-thirds of the population doesn't understand the concept of a 4-way stop, this was a bad idea. Meanwhile, back at the ranc
It was a dark and stormy night...
But most of the trees in my yard held on to their limbs, and none of my plastic deck chairs blew away. Kudos to Lisa Patton on News 2 for covering every lightning strike, every gust of wind - the coverage may be over the top sometimes, but I honestly think that it helps those listening and watching to decide when it's time to just take cover. When the worst was over, I turned off the TV and just collapsed into bed. After two days of chaos at work, I needed the sleep.
This time next week I'll be on my way to Washington DC. Until then, I'm here working on staying awake. I spent about four hours in West TN yesterday, mostly talking to the wonderful, hardworking folks who've decided that while their credit ain't perfect, they're real sure that the bank loan officers will see their way clear to loan 'em enough money to pay for the house in about a year and a half, seein' as how they'll have put about $3000 down in earnest money, and seein' as how the askin' price is pret' near twenty grand less than what it ort-ta appraise for...I'll be alright in a day or two, once I finish a couple of crosswords without consulting the dictionary, and maybe read another chapter or two of Blood and Gold ....
Many of us "Old Folks" (those over 40, WAY over 40 or hovering near 40) are quite confused about how we should present ourselves. We're unsure about the kind of image we are projecting and whether or not we are correct as we try to conform to current fashions. Despite what you may have seen on the streets, the following combinations DO NOT go together and should be avoided:
1. A nose ring and bifocals
2. Spiked hair and bald spots
3. A pierced tongue and dentures
4. Miniskirts and support hose
5. Ankle bracelets and corn pads
6. Speedo's and cellulite
7. A belly button ring and a gall bladder surgery scar
8. Unbuttoned disco shirts and a heart monitor
9. Midriff shirts and a midriff bulge
10. Bikinis and liver spots
11. Short shorts and varicose veins
12. Inline skates and a walker
13. Thongs and Depends
It's been a long and exciting Thursday. Between stupid user requests, installing flat panel monitors, and trying to fix a DNS issue on a printer, I finally decided I deserved a break and spent a few minutes here: lem32 I always did love this game. If you screw up, nuke 'em. Pretend they're users. Smile :-)
Back to work - and believe it or not, I'm glad to be back. The weekend went fairly well. My mother came up Saturday for the special at church. We were onstage for almost an hour straight, got a 15 minute reprieve while Dr. Foster gave a shortened message, then came back out for another ten or so to wrap things up. The watermelon was okay, but just as they were getting ready to start the fireworks, the bottom fell out and it started pouring. We watched from inside the truck. Sunday I was back at the church at 7:00-ish, trying to keep enough energy in reserve for three more services. We did a totally different program on Sunday, almost none of which we'd ever practiced, but we still sounded pretty good. I went home, ate some chips and dip, and passed out for a couple of hours. Around 5:00 Miranda and her boyfriend showed up, we grilled some burgers and hot dogs, then headed downtown around 7:30 for the fireworks. The crowd was overwhelming, but there was a cool breeze. We finall
" Morning has broken, like the first morning
Blackbird has spoken, like the first bird
Praise for the singing, praise for the morning
Praise for the springing fresh from the word ..."
So I'm not quite that cheerful. But it is Friday, it is another day above ground, the sun is shining for the moment, so I choose to be happy. And with any luck at all, since everyone's left for an early 4th of July weekend (those who haven't will disappear shortly after lunch), it will be a quiet day and I can study for my next test. Fravo is my friend ;)
The Lost Sea - A natural wonder ! This is one of the many places my parents took me on vacation - and one of the many I can't wait to go see again. There's nothing like the terror you'll feel when you're out on a 4 acre underground lake in a glass bottom boat wearing your flimsy life jacket while the tour guide gleefully informs you that no one knows how deep the water beneath you is....
Well, I now know what kind of day it will be - I placed a simple request to the Help Desk, and they promptly forwarded it to the wrong area. That wouldn't be so bad, I don't suppose, except I have no idea why they thought the finance department could help archive this guy's e-mail. Maybe I expect too much. Maybe my request didn't contain enough clues to get it forwarded to the e-mail team where it belonged. Or maybe the Help Desk staff forgot their meds this morning. I know! I forgot MY meds this morning ;) Thank God tomorrow is Friday, and seventy percent of our staff will be on vacation. I need a break.