Thursday, June 28, 2007

My comfort zone


I have THE best seat at work. Except for the office dwellers (which would be the boss above my boss and our HR person), I have the best location. Back in the corner. No one behind me. No one in front of me (empty cubicle), a wall to the left and the only person really near me is on the right, but our cubicle design really keeps them away. Basically, I am in a land of my own. If someone comes to talk to me, I can see them from a good 20 feet away. I feel in total control of the office. I'm no control freak, mind you. I just like things a certain way.

Well, all that is about to change. They are flipping the seats around. Being that I am right next to the lab, they have an idea for the three cubes over here (me, empty and Patamint). So I guess Patamint and I are getting the bump. And I may NOT be moved to the back of a row. That is what I am really bummed about. I do not like being on display. If I want attention, I will draw it to myself. And I work best without anyone looking over my shoulder.

It was fun while it lasted, I guess.

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

The Bayan (and Weird Al)

It's like an accordion, but just slightly different.





Monday, June 25, 2007

Sigh....

5-1. 2-1. 3-0. This is dreadful.

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Organization, stress and the rest...

So my life is in total disarray. Who's isn't, right? With all the responsibilities of being a parent, spouse, employee, home owner, friend and about a million other hats, it's very simple to live a life of complete chaos. Then factor in my incredible skills of....well....suck-a-tude, and you have a recipe even Rachel Ray would turn up her nose. I really don't know how I got to this point, other than to believe one or more of the seven deadly sins (I'm looking at you, Sloth) had a huge role in it. Then we factor in that my doctor tells me my cholesterol is high, my sugar is high, my good cholesterol is low....blah blah blah....and that's enough of a wake up call that says it's time to kick Sloth to the curb, along with his pals (not so fast though, Lust).

Just kidding....you can leave too, Lust.

Anywho - so changes are in the works. For starters, a good "To Do" list, with all the crapola I always forget on the list, with actual completion dates and such. The dates are the hardest part (contrary to what Tom Petty says). When the list is as big as it is, trying to knock out tasks in an orderly fashion and on schedule is difficult. Then have someone quite....well....suckful, trying to make some sense and create a viable sequence of said tasks - that's a challenge. So it's a slow go right now, but a go at the very least. Better than the past, which was a long series of inefficiency.

Then the whole doctor thing. For starters, I have eaten more fruit in the past two weeks than any fruit bat. And man, I really want a Hostess cupcake! But I do feel a little better. My back is still ....well....suckage, but that will come as I get the weight loss in gear and start the exercising. Eating healthy is a chore, but it is important to me. My wife mentioned something that cinnamon helps with lowering cholesterol. I wonder if cinnamon sticks are tasty to chew on, ala beef jerky.

And finally, the bills. I don't think I need to go into any description of the total....well....suckedness, of the family finances. Budgeting, yet another ability I failed to receive. It is definitely a learned talent. One would think with my mad math skillz I would have no issues with budgeting. Well, I can handle balancing a check book. That is simple. Balancing the out going cash.....that is a skill. A friend (Kayla) is incredible at money organization. I just need to continue picking her brain.

So my goal is about 210lbs and just some medical debt by 2008. Then I won't....well....suck.

Friday, June 15, 2007

Random musings 6/15/07

I love payday. I hate the bills that suck up the cash, but I am grateful the day arrives and I can help the family survive another week.

Saw POTC3 during the week. What was wrong with it? It wasn't as bad as I have read.

I need to pick up my Star Wars stamps. I hope my wife doesn't mind a $300 purchase at the post office. I hope the couch is soft this weekend...

My doctor says my cholesterol is high, so I need to get that down. I don't think anyone has eaten as much fruit as I have in that past week. He also said my sugar is high. Geeez - I am missing the vending machine on my 2nd break. Getting old bites.

I am amazed how good I am feeling each week after softball. Maybe I am not that old. (I almost typed that without laughing)

Thank goodness for all the Viagra ads in my email. I just don't know what I would do without knowing of the 56.3 million places I can buy it without a prescription. I am getting old, ya know.

Wednesday, June 6, 2007

Sometimes, you can't go home (or at least you shouldn't)

So I had a doctor's visit yesterday. Nothing too serious (some stomach thing), but really, that is not the basis of this post. So let me explain.

My family doctor moved his practice out of state a few months back, so we have been on the hunt for a replacement. My mother suggested her doctor, so I made an appointment with him. His office is located in Evergreen Park, so I headed there after work. As I said - no biggie, take these pills, see you in a month, blah, blah, blah.... I left and headed home. Being where I needed to park, I found myself at 99th and Crawford, so as I live south of 99th street, I turned left. I called home to let me wife know the baboon heart transplant was not needed at this time (we had surmised either that or I would need a partial lobotomy - insert your own joke). As I was driving, I was commenting on how the neighborhood had changed (side note - I grew up in the area. Maybe I should have told you that before. Sue me.). This place was gone, this place had changed.....you get the idea. Well, I hit 115th and Crawford (Alsip) and comment "Hey - I am near my old house, I should drive by" which my wife returns with "go for it". So I turn down 117th heading for the old digs. Small talk as I drive ("The ball fields are still the same. Man, the trees are big. There's my grammar school that we used to climb on top of the roof."). So a jog here, a turn onto Rosemary and then a right onto Howdy Lane (yes...Howdy Lane. If you want a story on the name, you will have to ask). So the chat continues - "The Grant's lived there. I forget the name of the people there. These peop....". I stop. For I see the house. The house I grew up in for the first 17 years of my life. The house I threw a rubber baseball off for hours each day in the summer. The driveway I rode my skateboard, minibike, bicycle on and shoveled in the winter. The bushes I would dive into when the neighborhood kids would play "war". The garage that I still remember the day it was built - there is a 1972 penny embedded into the concrete. The sidewalk that was the ramp for many an Evil Knieval bike jump over numerous Tonka trucks. There was my house.......and it was ruined.

For hanging from the awning....... was a Cubs banner.

I felt ill. I felt my entire childhood just ripped from my soul, thrown to the ground and trampled. "What evil incarnate life form would do such a thing", I thought. Are we truly in the end days? Is there a forecast for fire and brimstone in the near future? How can such a thing happen? I almost pulled over and ripped that offending flag from the house, in an attempt to save it from further embarrassment. But I drove on, knowing that I must. I am no longer that 5 year old, with the clubhouse in the crawl space. I am no longer that 8 year old, sneakily watching TV after bedtime by lying on the hallway and peeking through the space between the stair runners at the basement television. I am no longer that 10 year old, playing "running bases" along the sidewalk and tearing up the grass when we slide. I am no longer that 12 year old, sledding off the garage roof into the huge pile of snow from the blizzard of '79.


But I do have an appointment back in the area in 4 weeks. That could all change.

Monday, June 4, 2007

Random thoughts....

(This could be scary. You have been warned.)

Yard work sucks. I hate it. Oh, I like how it looks when you finish, but I do not enjoy the pain you get at the end of the day, or for the next three for that matter.

Gas prices are down.....from impossible to unreasonable. I like how John Stossel totally kissed the butt of the oil companies on 20/20. His logic is completely unsound and his claims are total lies. The fact is that oil companies have made record profits for the past two years, while they reap tax benefits. I think Stossel is bucking for a job with Fox News. All he needs to do is spend 3 years talking about Anna Nicole.

NEW-HOO LEEA-DER!

The Sox bullpen makes me cry.

Rented "The Departed" this weekend. Ummm....what the hell was that? So Scorsese got his Oscar for that movie. Well, "Gangs Of New York" was a 100 times better of a movie than "The Departed". Just when you get into one of their stories, it flips to the other. Bad editing. I should have watched "Zoolander" again.

My next life, I want to be rich and stupid.

Beer qualifies as an appetizer. I have an Outback steak house coaster that claims that, so who am I to argue.

Friday, June 1, 2007

South Side...."What the??"

I think I got all too chummy on the Sox last week. I don't know what we need, but this team just isn't cutting it.

On a side note......ok - I don't have a side note. At all.