Thanks to ColdEeze and another early night, I think I'm well on my way to being healthy again. I didn't take nearly as many drugs today and I only had a couple of sneezing fits.
Yay!
It's a good thing, too, because I'm off to a Poker tournament. Mary O and I are going to play with a bunch of boys. Hope they don't get too upset when we take their money. :-)
Actually, it will probably be Mary who takes their money. The O'Malleys have the most incredible luck when it comes to gambling. I'm hoping I can get a little of that luck by osmosis.
I whine when I'm sick. Not as bad as some people that I know, but I do complain. With no prompting, I'll say things like "I'm sick", "My head hurts", "I can't breathe", "I'm tired of blowing my nose", etc. I'm a real peach to be around right now, I'm sure.
Sugar Daddy's a whiner, too, but he's on vacation this week so I can't whine to him. I've sent him a text message every day that says, "Im sick". He finally sent me a reply today, "Yeah, I remember hearing that somewhere". I can tell he cares.
This cold is just pissing me off. It's so inconvenient. I mean, I have lots of stuff to do. People to see, projects to finish, beers to drink, poker to play, boys to flirt with. There's no time for feeling like a TB victim. Or, sounding like one. One of the things about living alone is that you don't have an opportunity to find out that you're losing your voice until you get to work. I found out today, after I called someone and could barely croak out a hello.
I'm currently trying to convince myself that I feel better this afternoon. It didn't help that Andrea told me I looked worse than I did earlier today but I'm trying to forget she said it.
Of course, I'm a total hypocrite about working while you're sick. I rag on everyone else to go home so they won't infect others but I refuse to take my own advice. If I'm not running a fever or expelling bodily fluids (beyond blowing my nose), I go to work. That's just what Type A control freaks who think they're vitally important do.
It's not like I haven't been taking care of myself, either. I've been taking my Flintstones and getting extra Vitamin C and I actually went to bed at 9 PM one night. I've also been popping some decongestants during the day and taking NyQuil each night (a contributing factor to the 9 PM bedtime as NyQuil knocks me out in less than 1/2 hour).
Hey, I think I can actually breathe through my nose...yep, on the road to recovery! To quote Buffett, "If I don't die by Thursday, I'll be roaring Friday night!"
Our last IT meeting was a group activity. I made it up, based on some other exercises that I've read about.
Here's the gist:
I broke the group up into four random teams, each with a randomly assigned Project Manager. The task was to build the highest structure (from the base of the building material to the top - base material not included) using only the building material I gave them which was two decks of playing cards. The PM was to determine the structure design and assign all tasks to the team. Arizona being a Right To Work state, the PM could fire anyone for any reason.
I gave them 7 minutes which may have been too long.
One of the teams had an honest to God engineer as the PM. I'm sure that, given a week, he would have created the absolutely tallest structure possible. However, for the first four minutes or so he just contemplated various designs until his team just took over and started building.
Another team asked me if it was OK to tear the cards. I actually hadn't thought about it. In my rule run world, you don't destroy cards! However, since I didn't outlaw it I told them they could. Another team started tearing the cards on their own while the other two copied the rest.
One team found some cloths in the room and used them as a base. It really helped them to keep the cards stable.
As I counted down the final 30 seconds, it was a frantic free for all as people rushed to build. No one ran out of cards but a couple of teams came close.
The winning team did a couple of things that gave them the edge. The first thing their PM did was to survey the team to see if they had any experience in building card houses. They were also the ones who started tearing the cards (halfway through and connecting them in a criss cross pattern). That actually wasn't the most efficient way to build. Their PM changed midstream and they moved to a bending the cards strategy. They also built a sturdy base but didn't over build it. One team spent too much time on making a strong base and ran out of building for elevation.
We had a good conversation on teamwork and how it helped to have different personalities (leader, creative, worker, etc.) on each team. We also talked about how you can't think too long, sometimes you have to just act.
Interestingly, no team adopted a sabotage strategy. Everyone was building on a table and it would have been easy to knock over the other structures at the last second. No one even thought about it. One person said she wouldn't have considered it because, despite the fact that it was a competition, we all belong to the same IT team.
I was talking to a guy last week who said he and his wife were ready for Christmas. They were giving each other one present.
One present?
That doesn't compute in the Pfister family. We're all about excessive giving when it comes to Christmas presents. Even in years when we say that we're going to cut back, there are still lots of packages under the tree.
Speaking of trees, Shorty put up four this year. Two outside, one in the living room and another in the family room. Spartacus was so happy. She spent December alternating naps under the indoor trees.
My contribution to the madness. The pile is made up of gifts for Steven, Shorty, my Mom, my two Uncles and an Aunt, my Godparents and long-time friends of the family.
The pile by my parents' tree. Yes, that is poker on the TV. That's another family tradition; watching sports on TV. We caught some poker, basketball and football throughout the day.
Spartacus sniffed every package that came into the house. She also fell in love with my new leather jacket - I guess she likes Cologne d'Cow.
Steven and I showing page 82 of the WalMart cookbook. Shorty entered Grandma Edie's (his Grandma) Chocolate Cake recipe and it was selected for the national cookbook. He was pretty proud. He even autographed the pages for us.
Steven played the Christmas Elf (no elf ears, though) and handed out presents. He had to mug for the camera, of course. Notice his shirt - Miller Lite is another Christmas tradition...when I'm not drinking Brandy and Diet.
I was trapped...presents on either side of me and discarded wrapping paper in the front.
The aftermath...it's like Christmas regurgitated in my parents' family room. That was only Christmas Eve - they were more presents exchanged on Christmas Day.
Despite the apparent commercialism, the best part of the holiday was spending it with our extended family. We had a great time and it was nice to share the day with some of the people we love.
Nope, this post isn't about the weather. It was close to 70 today so no complaints there.
It's about the annual disease spreading that goes through our company. Of the 9 people that were working in our department today, 5 have a head cold.
Yep, I'm one of them. We spent the day sniffling, sneezing and downing (legal) drugs. Oh, and whining. Well, maybe that last part was just me.
One of the young whippersnappers kept making comments like, "Hope you all feel better. I never get sick. I'm invincible!"
Not that I would ever wish ill on someone (Oh, who am I trying to kid on that?) but if he gets sick, there will be NO sympathy. As a matter of fact, there will probably even be some glee.
I watched several movies while wrapping Christmas presents this past week. (Yes, I had that many presents to wrap but more on that later). So, here's my take on what I viewed.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Johnny Depp was odd as Willie Wonka but it seemed to work. I liked that the story was more about his past and the little kid who played Charlie was just too adorable for words. And, the sets were quite interesting. However, Gene Wilder is still the ultimate Wonka in my books. Worth watching, though.
Dukes of Hazzard
What a colossal waste of time. I honestly don't think I laughed once. God, it was stupid. Johnny Knoxville is not one of my favorites by any means and to put him in as the 'sexy' cousin was bad casting to me. Willie Nelson seemed stoned the entire time and the guy without pants? Dumb beyond words. Steven LOVES this movie. Go figure.
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
I thought at first that this was going to be a stereotypical young chick flick. However, it sucked me in despite not liking the blonde, soccer playing girl. By the end of the movie, I'd boo hooed my way through four tissues. Great movie - especially for preteen and teenage girls. (I'm not so far removed from that, am I?)
For a change, the question wasn't coming from Shorty with a guilt inducing tone. It was coming from Tkay while we were sitting on her patio on a Sunday night in Tucson. Our pal, Mark Mulligan, had just performed his first CD release party and Tkay, Russ and I were hanging by the fire.
The date was November 26th and since then I believe there have only been 4 days where I didn't have to do something after work or I stayed home on a weekend day. Four days out of nearly one month. That's a crazy pace.
I'm my own worst enemy when it comes to scheduling down time. I never leave enough open slots to allow for last minute things and leave some 'me' time. The holidays just make it more complicated and this year, things are just not getting done or aren't being done to the degree of years' past.
Christmas Cards: they got done, horribly late but done.
Christmas Tree and Decs: no chance. Even Shorty gave up on asking me about the tree this year. If it were just putting it up, I might have made it happen but the thought of having to take it down...ugh. Couldn't face it.
Christmas Shopping: condensed and less of it. For the past couple years, I've taken my Mom out for an afternoon of clothes shopping so she can try things on and get what she wants. This year, I got the bulk of her clothes gifts in a speed shopping trip between work and getting my hair done. I figure we can have a post-Christmas exchange trip if they don't work out.
Sugar Daddy did the bulk of his shopping on his own this year. I usually get more involved in picking out stuff for his family and pseudo-niece and nephews but this year we could only put together one post-work trip to Mervyn's and Barnes and Noble and a couple of work lunch break trips to Costco and Bookstar. I still managed to spend a good chunk of his money, though.
Cooking: more frequent but less content. I only get my organic veggies every other week now and I've actually been using them pretty well. The one good thing I've done for myself is not doing any fast food dinners. No matter how late it is, I've resisted the easy out. However, the menus have consisted of pretty much one dish. It could be squash, greens, cow or chicken but it's only one item. OK, that's probably not very healthy but at least I'm mixing it up.
Christmas baking really didn't happen. I backed two batches of cupcakes for work but I didn't do any rolled out cookies or bread this year. Despite Sugar Daddy suggesting it a few times.
Reading: what's that? The last book I finished was a re-read of Angela's Ashes for our November book club. I checked out a business read from the library and kept it for weeks, unfinished, before I finally gave up and took it back. It was overdue and I'm thinking the fine's going to run into the double digits.
Blogging and Emailing: not so much being done here. I'm trying to catch up on reading my usual blogs late at night before going to bed. I'm also doing a lot of emailing then. The Babes have adjusted to my schedule - they send me an email before they go to bed and know that there will be a reply when they get up in the morning. Mike Finnegan and I have had a couple of IM sessions around midnight, too, so the lesson to be learned is that if you want to engage me in an online conversation, try it after 11 PM.
Club Stuff: trying not to let anything slide. We had our Holiday Party last Saturday and a couple of us had a PF Chang's Marathon planning meeting that morning so it was a busy day. The newsletter is due out next week and I haven't even started it. At least the elections for next year are over so we can start planning for 2007.
TV: thank God for the winter scheduling break! If all of my usual shows had new episodes going on, my DVR would be full. Fortunately, most of them are on breaks until January.
Work: the only place I'm not shortcutting. We just bought another company and I'm on the integration team so there's lots of meetings, data analysis and programming changes to be detailed out. It's been incredibly busy. I'm trying to not let it be all-consuming, though. Sugar Daddy and I spend a lot more of our lunch hour (which is usually less than an hour) talking about work than we usually do and I'm trying to limit working late to just one night a week (albeit a pretty late night).
Sleep: I vaguely recall the concept. The good news is my insomnia induced habit of waking up at 2 AM for an hour or so is gone. The bad news is that I'm not going to bed until after midnight so I think I'm just too exhausted to wake up at 2.
Fortunately, I'm used to constantly racing and I can tell when I'm about to crash. The song, Who Needs Sleep, by The Bare Naked Ladies is constantly streaming in my head. (I've got that in common with The Rogue Historian.)
Who needs sleep? (well you're never gonna get it) Who needs sleep? (tell me what's that for) Who needs sleep? (be happy with what you're getting There's a guy who's been awake since the Second World War)
The warning of an impending crash is when the music changes to an old Buffett tune, Trying to Reason withHurricane Season.
And now I must confess, I could use some rest I can't run at this pace very long Yes it's quite insane, I think it hurts my brain But it cleans me out and then I can go on
When that becomes the background noise in my head, I know it's time to take a break. It's only happened twice in the past month and I heeded the warning both times.
The first time was the day that Mark had his second CD release party. I worked registration at a golf tournament that morning and had Doona's cocktail party that night. Mark's show was in the afternoon and, much as I wanted to be there, I crashed instead. A three hour nap was just the ticket that day.
The second time was last Sunday. I'd gotten home from the club Holiday party at 3 AM, slept until 11, putzed around then napped during the Cardinal's game and pretty much didn't leave my couch the entire day. It was just what the doctor would have ordered if I'd consulted one.
That was the recharge I needed so I'm good to go for another few weeks.
Added a few minutes later...
I was proofreading the posted version of this post and it occurred to me that maybe my pace isn't all that excessively unusual. For those folks with kids and all their school and group activities, having 4 days open in a month is probably a huge luxury.
I was doing my last minute Christmas shopping and stopped in at Jo Ann Etc. One of the clerks was wearing elf ears.
Now, most people would think, "Oh, she's wearing elf ears."
Not me.
I thought, "Oh, she's an elf."
I went back to browsing until the Little Man that lives in the back of my head spoke up.
"Are you smoking crack? There are no such things as elves!"
I guess the Little Man had a point there. Perhaps I need to spend some time reading non-fiction and avoid rewatching any Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter movies in the near future.
Sometimes, my grip on reality seems tenuous, even to me.
I can usually remember my dreams and they're always kind of surreal but I think that just goes with the dream territory. However, I had one this week that was more out there than usual.
It started out that I was living in a little shack that was one of many in a row in some sort of complex. We're talking a studio type thing. I came home to find my door lock busted and my stuff stolen. Apparently, everyone on the 'block' had their stuff stolen, too. They were efficient thieves and even took the furniture and appliances. I was distraught because they took my laptop.
All of a sudden, this guy I know was in the dream and he wanted to go rent a movie to take my mind off of my material losses. We went to this video store and it turned out to be an adult place. The guy handed me money and told me what to buy and I was like, 'Why aren't you coming in?' and he was like, 'I'm not old enough.' (He totally is, BTW.)
I insisted he come in with me and we picked out a movie. Cut back to my place and we are going to watch it (how we could with all of my stuff getting stolen is a mystery). The guy started taking his clothes off and I said, 'Why are you doing that?' and he said he wanted to watch the movie in his boxers. He then started to make the moves on me but all I could think about was my stolen laptop so I wasn't even interested.
I told Sugar Daddy the dream and he said it proves that I would rather blog than have sex.
I don't know that his interpretation is accurate but I do know that I'm going to have trouble around my 'dream' guy because I can't stop picturing him in his boxers.
You scored as Victor Krum. If you went to Hogwarts you would be doing Victor Krum. At least until he goes back to Bulgaria. He is strong, silent, and stupid...just they way you like it. Hey, you don't need brains to what comes naturally! That thick slavic acent and that stern demenor, not to mention the fact that he goes to an all male school, lots of sexual frustration to be worked out on you. He had you on your back the second he marched into the Great Hall. Go ahead girl, go ahead get down...
You scored as Biting. When it comes to being kinky, your biggest turn on is biting. You love the ectasy of teeth sinking into your flesh, and are probably willing to return the favor. Sex just isn't sex without using your teeth.
You scored as Dracula. You are the smooth sexy cool Dracula. Patient and lustful. If you were any cooler youd be ice. Great style with a way of seducing those around you. And three brides who wouldn't want to be him.
Long time readers of my blog and long time friends know that I'm a scaredy cat. It takes very little, sometimes nothing at all, to make my paranoia kick in. I just need to hear one small sound out of the ordinary, see a disturbing shadow or freak myself out wondering if, after I've gone to bed, if I've bolted the front door.
I'm always sure there's an axe murderer just waiting to get into my house so he can chop me into little pieces and serve me up with fava beans...yes, I have issues.
So, the other morning I'm getting ready for work when I hear something. It sounds like it's coming from the roof and it's a clatter. I listened further. Actually, it was more like clicking. Upon further review, I decided it was much like like someone throwing rocks...on to my skylight!
I was puzzled and worried. Who would be throwing rocks on my roof and why? Was someone on my roof trying to get in through the skylight? Or, were they just messing with it?
I had only been minutes away from leaving for work so I headed out the door (thank goodness it was daylight or I would have had to stay inside). As I walked to my car, I gandered at the roof.
Nope, no one up there at all. Could it have been kids from the apartment complex tossing stuff? I didn't see anyone in the vicinity.
The next morning, I heard the same sound. Now, I was thinking maybe it was my HVAC or water heater or pipe rattling or God knows what that could cost me money to fix. I go from imminent personal danger fears to checkbook depleting ones rather quickly.
This time, I stood under the skylight and looked directly up. That's where I saw the needed clue. There was an outline of big pigeon feet clear as day. Then it shuffled around. I could follow the outline and hear the rattle on the skylight.
Damn bird's been doing its morning aerobics on my skylight.
My friends, Angela and Morgan, are having a Murder Mystery party on New Year's Eve. It's also their wedding anniversary and an early celebration of a milestone birthday for Angela.
Angela's writing all of the characters and it's going to take place in a casino so we get to gamble and solve the mystery. Cool. The poker chicks all clamored to get our roles early so we could prepare (I'm ready for my close-up!).
To sum my character up, I'm the Paris Hilton of NASCAR.
OK, I can tart it up and talk restrictor plates at the same time. Heck, I can even make that sound kinky. (I will, however, be wearing underwear so there won't be any crotch shots showing up on the web the next day. You should all be thankful for that.)
However, I thought about it and wanted a change. When we got together at the last poker game, I sprung it on her.
Me: Are Matt and Cameron going to be at the party? Ang: Yes. Me: OK, I want a rewrite of my character. Ang (while giving me a look that said "I've just written 40 different roles for this and the Princess wants a rewrite - will it ever end?"): What? Me: I want to be married to Cameron. You can ask him if it's OK. Ang: Okaaaaaaaaaay. (read a doubtful tone there)
Morgan showed up a little later and there was another conversation.
Ang: Kathy wants a rewrite. Morgan: What? Ang: She wants to be married. Morgan: Matt or Cameron?
He knows me so well.
See, Ang scored herself a younger man when she found Morgan so he's still a young pup.
Cameron is Morgan's younger brother.
Yep, he's 23.
Apparently, Cameron agreed and called it typecasting.
To the parents of young children - please, please, please don't take your kids out shopping after their bedtimes!
The kids will be tired and cranky and will end up crying, screaming or throwing a fit and you'll be tired and cranky and possibly crying, screaming or throwing a fit. However, it's your choice to put yourself in that situation.
I, on other hand, didn't get to choose to be in the store at the same time as you and your offspring. I mean, really, I should be able to have scream-free shopping after 9 PM.
OK, sure there are times when you have to run to the store with your kid. Maybe someone's sick and you need to pick up some meds or there's nothing in the house for breakfast.
But, honestly, did the woman with her 4 and 6 year old kids need to be at Barnes and Noble at 9:30 at night? What, was there some sort of book emergency!?!?
And, how about the parents with the literally screaming 2 year old buying their weekly groceries at WalMart at 11 PM? Hey, here's an idea. Why doesn't one of you stay home so Junior can be happily tucked into his own bed instead of letting his piercing cries carry throughout the store?
Thursday night was the keg tapping for the new winter brew at Rock Bottom. I went with a buddy of mine for the festivities. The place was packed with regulars and they had a nice little buffet set up for us.
The new brew is a Belgian Ale and tastes, well, wintery. My buddy thought he detected orange or pear. The brewer said he's been getting feedback from folks on all different kinds of flavors. I tasted it and said, "Cinnamon. No, not quite. Pumpkin pie spice...nutmeg! That's it!" One of the women in the buffet line backed me up and said she got the same taste out of it.
It's got a 7.5% alcohol content and is pretty rich so I wouldn't make it my beer of choice for a whole evening. It's worth checking out, though.
Without going into the fine details, I ended up at the end of the night (11:30 or so) with my friend's growler on the floor in front of my passenger seat. For those who don't know what a growler is, it's a reusable container (usually glass and with a 1/2 gallon capacity) that you use to buy microbrews and take them home with you.
The Rock Bottom growler is a thing of beauty...big, with a longish neck and a strong metal handle on it. My bud had it filled with the new brew (only $2 on keg tapping night!). As I was leaving the bar, I noticed it on the floor but thought it was pretty secure there since it had a wide bottom.
Boy, was I wrong.
One little turn while still in the parking lot caused it to fall over. The neck must have just hit my door in the exact spot to smash it because that's what happened. I had glass pieces and 1/2 gallon of beer all over the place. I pulled over and dumped the remaining beer out but there wasn't much left.
When I got home, I picked up as much of the glass I could see and left the sunroof cracked in the faint hope that it would help air the car out.
When did it occur to me that taking the floor mat out might make it smell less beery? Friday morning, after I got to work.
Sigh.
I did take the mat out last night after work, rinsed it off and am drying it out. Unfortunately, it had soaked through so I still have quite the winter ale aroma going on.
We've been going to see The Troubs since 2002. They are very talented and clever and every time I try to describe them to someone I get either a blank stare or a "Uh huh, whatever you say I think you're crazy but I'm pretending not to think that" look.
I get it. When you're trying to convince people they need to go see a band dressed in various shades of polyester whose songs include It Ain't Home Until You Take The Wheels Off, Aunt Beula's Roadkill Overcoat, Skinny Women Ain't Hip (one of my personal favorites) and My Baby Whistle When She Walks (think body piercings) they may not always be receptive.
But, they'd be missing out on a lot of fun. And, a performance by some really good musicians. And, in the case of Sunday night, a surreal appearance by an audience member.
The band was playing at The Rhythm Room which is a local divey-looking place that features great blues most nights. It's nothing fancy at all. Just a bar, a stage, some tables and chairs on the side and a small wooden dance floor.
They were a few songs into their set when this guy went out on the dance floor by himself and starting dancing. He wasn't bad, actually. He was an usual looking type for this group, however. Black guy with short dreads and a baseball cap that said "Fuck the cops" on it. Nice. A few songs later, he had elevated his dancing to doing it while on roller skates.
Again, he wasn't bad. Actually he was quite good. But, he was pretty distracting. Antsy, the lead guy, seemed to be especially captivated. I don't blame him - it was hard to keep your eyes off the guy.
The entire show was great and Antsy promised they'd try to get back to Phoenix more often (it's a long haul from Kentucky). I hope so and, if they do, you should check them out. (Insert your own blank stare here.)
You've picked up the majority of the classic rock basics. You probably have a classic rock collection and can sing along with most of the songs on your local radio station. This is not the highest score, but it is arguably the best: that subtle combination of impressive knowledge and not being a pretentious geek.
My test tracked 1 variable How you compared to other people your age and gender:
We have an out of town visitor here right now. Mike Finnegan of the Wasatch Mountain PHC is here on work for a while. I met him on the last Vegas trip. Nice guy and I even trusted him enough to put him in charge of Gary on that Friday night but that's another story.
As a total digression, I really like just saying the name "Mike Finnegan." I think it strikes a chord with my Irish roots (county Waterford). Plus it makes me immediately think of the little ditty called Finnegan's Wake. That's a song to which I've drunk many pints to because it's a standard drinking tune at The Dubliner.
OK, digression over and back to the story.
Mike was scheduled to be free on Friday night. He's a professional truck driver and can't drive his rig while off duty so the plan was that I would pick him up at his hotel then we'd go out for some beers (he's Irish, I'm Irish...what else would we possibly do?). His hotel was at Chandler and I-10 so I immediately thought of going to Rock Bottom Brewery which has some great microbrews on tap.
I called the Babes to see if they would like to join us. Mary was down with a bad cold but Kathy was up for it. She drove over to my place then offered to drive the rest of the night. Since she's very good about having just one or two beers (and I would rather not have to limit myself and, no, I don't think that's a problem...which may, in fact, be a problem) I thought it was a good plan. Mike called to say he was going to jump in the shower and I told him we'd be there in about 20 minutes.
Kathy's totally unfamiliar with that neck of the woods so I directed her down McClintock to the 60. We got on just fine and I got her over to the far left (one lane off of the HOV lane) and we were going right along. I was telling her how bad it is during rush hour and how it always seems to come to a stop right before it veers off to the 10 when, who'd a thunk, we had to come to a dead stop.
The lanes on either side of us seemed to be moving and we seemed to be crawling. Kathy's Volvo has a stick shift with an extremely stiff clutch. So stiff that it was cramping her foot in the more than 20 minutes we were stuck at a stop and crawl pace. What was really frustrating was that we were less than a mile from the 10. What made us (OK, me because I didn't have a cramping foot) feel better is that we weren't in the multi-car accident that was blocking the left three lanes.
Our 20 minute drive turned into more like 45. I kept telling her that, really, it's usually a quick trip but that wasn't making her feel any better.
We picked up Mike and I took us the back way to Rock Bottom so we avoided the freeway. Once we got there, the options were sitting inside with really loud music blaring away or sitting on the patio. I steered us towards the patio with the promise that they had exceptionally good space heaters (I know because I was there the week before). Kathy tends to get cold but she went with it. Wouldn't you know? They sat us nowhere near a heater. I told her she could have my jacket at any time, though. I'm a giver that way.
The waiter came to get our orders. Mike and I had Hefes and Kathy ordered a Miller Lite. Doh! They only have their microbrews on tap there. Those are really not her thing. She ordered their light beer and seemed to be OK with it. Thank goodness.
We had a great time BSing and called Gary up in Utah to check on the local phlocking they were having that night. He was actually at home. Mike told him he was in Phoenix and drinking with two blondes and Gary had no idea who he was talking about. Even after I got on the phone with him, he had no idea who I was and actually guessed I was this woman Tracey that they know.
So much for being soulmates - he can't even recognize my voice. Sniff.
Actually, he sounded pretty distracted so I gave him a break.
After we talked to Gary, I text messaged Lewie who's in Israel. I believe he turns his Blackberry off so I didn't bother trying to figure out the time difference. He replied later that night...at 2 AM! Since I don't turn my phone off, the little "you've got mail" tone woke me up. He informed me that it was 11 AM there and that he was just getting up because he'd been sick (hope you're feeling better, Lewie!).
Now, one could interpret that as just being an informational message. Or, one could read between the lines and infer that he was making a point of paybacks being a bee-atch since he got my text in the early morning and he was returning the favor...I'm just saying.
We finally broke up the party around midnight. I made sure to cover Kathy's portion of the bill. It was the least I could do since she was dreading the drive home. We did make it without incident and I'm hoping her foot cramps are all better before the next time I enlist her Designated Driver skills.
LastStanManning mentioned that Jimmie Johnson broke his wrist after falling out of a golf cart.
I know exactly why it happened. Jimmie Johnson is a guy. Guys in motorized vehicles do dumb things. It's entirely genetic; the poor things just can't help it.
I've been witness to two different falling out of the cart incidents. Considering that I've probably golfed less than 40 times in my life, that's like 5% of golfing outings result in cart mishaps. I'm sure it extrapolates out accurately.
The first time, we had all just hit our fairway shots and my partner and I headed out to our balls. Apparently, the driver in the cart behind us swerved on a hill and pushed his partner out of the cart. Said partner ended up cartwheeling and landing in a jarring heap on his shoulder. I say "Apparently" because the driver vehemently denies pushing the other guy out.
The second time, my partner (you may recall that I never drive the cart because I am the Princess) and the other two guys playing with us were playing a severe round of bumper carts for most of the round. We were on the cart path when my driver saw the other guy speeding up to ram us. He warned me to brace myself then slammed on the breaks.
Behind us, one of the guys tumbled out on to the ground. It wasn't the passenger, though, it was the driver. Hello, you're the one ramming us, you should know to hang on when you hit us!
It was the same friend who tumbled both times. Coincidence? Or, alcohol influenced shenanigans? I think it's the latter.
I wouldn't even mention the time Cheap Bastard got dumped off the cart by Beth except that Jimmie's incident was somewhat similar. CB was riding on the back of the cart when Beth took a tight turn and dumped him all over the ground. He was so dirty from hitting the turf that he had to go home and change before going out with us that night.
Apparently, Jimmie wasn't on the back of the cart. Nor was he driving. He was riding on the top.
We closed up the I.T. department this afternoon and headed out for lunch and some fun. I'd booked a room at Monti's La Casa Vieja (a classic steak place for my out of town readers that was the original Hayden Ferry building for crossing the Salt River a century or so ago) and the plan was to have lunch then play a No Limit Texas Hold 'Em tournament.
We try to think of something fun to do every year. We've done a group viewing of one of The Lord of The Rings movies, indoor go-kart racing, bowling and who can forget last year's debacle...er, I mean great fun. We've debated going to Game Works or miniature golfing but those events don't lend to the whole group getting to interact.
Believe it or not, poker was not entirely my idea. I was actually leaning towards lunch at the zoo with a scavenger hunt thrown in or Gameworks when a couple of the guys and I played a mini-tourney the day before Thanksgiving. We had a lot of fun so I threw it out to the team as a proposed holiday event. There were a couple of "not my thing but I'll go along with it" responses but no one strenuously objected so it was a plan.
I know it's a cliche but it is literally liking herding cats to get IT people organized. I counted out the chips and told them all the seating was going to be randomly assigned in two groups (there were 17 of us). First, I somehow ended up one stack of chips short and had no idea how it happened. Instead of waiting to be seated, they all grabbed stacks and handed them out. Turns out, a stack got put in front of an empty seat and wasn't noticed until we started playing.
Then, I had them pick cards from Ace down in a red suit and a black suit. I then announced black Ace sits here while pointing to a chair then explained how it would go in order of King, Queen, etc. for the rest of the seating. I then went to the other side of the room and said "Red Ace sits here and we'll go in order this way." Of course, one of the people with a black card tried to sit in the red section.
We finally got everyone started and found out that some folks really had no idea of what they were doing. One guy, who admitted from the first that he didn't play cards, thought he had a pair because he had two cards in the same suit. Um, no, that's not quite how it works.
My group played it pretty straight but the other group had mass all-ins on nearly every hand. They were having multiple side pots all over the place and spent a lot of time arguing over who won what. We finished our first round way ahead of them (which just meant more bar time).
By the time we were all finished with the first round, we had enough people out to combine into one group. Here's where the competitive side of me came out. Andrea had to leave early so she gave her chips to Wilson since he'd busted (or nearly busted) and no one balked at it!
Hello! It's a tournament! There are prizes awarded to most chips - how is giving some away fair? We had someone leave early from our group and I just took her remaining chips out of play. However, since no one seemed to care but me we let Wilson play.
That Andrea! First, she interferes with one of the hands that I was in then she's giving chips away. All because she had to leave early. She wasn't the only one to bug out before we were done. I'd told everyone it was going to be a 3 hour event but apparently they didn't listen since 4 people had to leave at 3. If they'd told me that was their curfew, I would have moved the lunch to 12...but, I digress.
I made it to the final 6 and was forced to go all in with an unsuited 4-3. I don't think I would have won a single hand even if I'd played all of them. That's how crappy my cards were.
We got it down to 4 players and paid them off based on chip count. First place was pretty good: $150 in our corporate bucks that can be turned into gift certificates.
I think everyone had a good time and it was nice to have a pleasant afternoon with the gang.
Stacey found the results from this quiz when she took it a while ago. Her results were pretty much spot on.
You come to grips more frequently and thoroughly with yourself and your environment than do most people. You detest superficiality. You'd rather be alone than have to suffer through small talk. Your relationships with your friends are very strong, which gives you the inner tranquility and harmony that you require. You do not mind being alone for extended periods of time. You are rarely bored.
My first selection was the same as Stacey's and, frankly, not me at all. I picked it based on the color only. My second selection was on the design and it's more me.
You are quite willing to accept certain risks and to make a strong commitment in exchange for interesting and varied work. Routine, in contrast, tends to have a paralyzing effect on you. What you like most is to be able to play an active role in events. In doing so, your initiative is highly pronounced.
The rest of that gang took the test and Morgan and Angela's answers were close to how they are while Chris' was sorta close (about as close as mine was).
The past two weeks have been tough to get through. We have all been consumed with Craig's passing and then Dianne's Mom's passing. Everyone can't help but try to empathize but I don't think anyone can really understand how crushing this has been for Dianne and her family.
Today was her Mom's funeral service. Each of the kids and her daughter-in-law spoke along with Mary Ellen and another family friend. It was clear that Kathy Deimeke was a special person and, while she will be missed, she had a great, positive life.
It's time for the healing to start and I'm sure it will take a very long time.
Any prayers and good vibes you can send to the Deimeke clan and their friends will be greatly appreciated.
I'm just killing time until I'm sleepy and trying not to think. At all. About anything that's going on.
It's not really working.
The Babes and I went together to the Visitation for Craig tonight. It was going to be hard no matter what but her Mom passed away yesterday morning. How incredibly sad is that? I can't even fathom it. Losing your husband when he's only 46 has to be damn near impossible to take but then losing your Mom only five days later?
I'd be a total basket case.
There were lots of our Parrot Head friends there and I hope Dianne is comforted by knowing how much we're thinking of her and wanting to help in any way we can. The service is tomorrow afternoon and most of us will be returning for that.
It just isn't fair.
So, that's why I'm trying to find anything and everything to keep me from thinking about it. Because it's so damn hard and so not right. I'd like to be able to put it in a locked cupboard in my brain for a while but it keeps coming to the forefront of my thoughts.
I know I'm not alone in my feelings and it helps to be able to share my thoughts with the rest of the gang. There were a lot of emotionally overwhelmed folks there tonight. There were a lot of emotionally overwhelmed people that couldn't be there but wanted to. We all want to help but don't know what to do except try to be there for Dianne and her family.
you are so sane it's almost...CRAZY you seriously need to get a life and let loose you inner craziness! LET THE VOICES TAKE OVER!!!! (do you ever wonder how many people actually read these things or even take a crazy quiz? don't you almost have to be sane to take a craziness quiz)
Sincere Lover. You are such a total sweetheart people have a hard time taking you seriously. Sadly, because you are so sincere and sweet you get walked all over. Try to hold your ground a little bit and beware of the selfish lover. The feed off of sincere lovers like yourself. Even though you get used and abused a lot you still have a heart of gold.
You are a passive green creature with a speech impediment. You always try to find a peaceful resolution to your problems, but also aren't afraid to kick some ass if you need to.
Damn! You may be a rebel now, but at your heart you are a mildy aged (no offense to Anthony Stewart Head of course) librarian that cares about the people around him.
not preppy yet not a complete loser. has good friends and doesn't revolve life around their looks or social status. All around good person. usually liked by everyone
You have odd obsessions that you cannot seem to control. You may even perform rituals to make you feel better. Counting and continuously obsessing over things happens frequently.
Congratulations, you do not drink the Republican Kool-Aid. You haven't been brainwashed and are able to think for yourself rather than get your daily marching orders from the right-wing media. Mindless submission to our leader has no place in America. You, sir or ma'am, are a patriot.
