Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!

Don't you just love those racetrack ads where the guy's voice sounds as if the veins in his head are about to pop? I do. Sunday! Sunday! Sunday! It's almost as if it's a religious service and that's the prelude. The rest of the adverts usually sound like a tape on fast forward and have something to do with stock car races, drag races, or moto-cross races. But always races. I've never heard an ad in which the "Sunday! Sunday! Sunday!" announced a bocce tournament at the city park or a bingo blast at the senior center. The frenetic cadence of an over-caffeinated announcer had no place in our day today.

Our day would have been properly introduced by a laconic "Suuuuuunday.... Sundaaaaaaaaay.... Suuuuuuuuuundaaaaaaaaaay." We got up at the crack of nine. Or so. Church service on Saturday evening was the victim of an uncleared parking lot. We took a pass on the opportunity to attend other services this morning. Instead, Katie and I checked out IM and saw a friend with whom we hadn't met in quite some time. So we invited him out for coffee at a local mall. It's always good to re-meet somebody. Today was no exception. Curiously, that part of the mall is an amalgamation of my favorite vices. We had coffee at Joe Muggs, where Books-A-Million faces Auntie Anne's Pretzels and the Tobacco Leaf. We indulged in three of the four. Katie got a book, our friend Jim bought the coffees and I sprung for a round of pretzels. Still, the siren song of processed leaves beckons me to return. When I do you can just bet that I WILL put that in my pipe and smoke it.

Grabbing a quick lunch we headed around the beltway to work. Katie, as you can imagine, was thrilled. She borrowed the iPod for part of the visit. The rest of the time she either curled up on the floor of Joan's cube or chafed at the injustice of being forced to go into the office with us. Think of the strain, folks. No IM. No cable TV. We're lucky she survived.

Hopefully, Joan still has a job. She and I slipped away for a moment to work on a document. When we got back to Joan's cube, Katie had jumped on the computer under Joan's login and was avidly perusing her Yahoo! account. That is very verboten at work. It bypasses all attempts to catch viruses before they hit the system. I couldn't tell if Joan was going to faint or pitch a fit. But something was fixin' to happen. She regained control and Katie is still among the living. For now.

When work was over, we got together with a very nice person who was also putting in the Sunday hours there and went to a nearby diner for dinner. Now we're home and organizing our schedules for the week.

We wish you could have been here today. The sky was a lovely blue, with bare trees brushing the fringes along the ridge. The sun was bright and the snow sparkled. Best of all, the flurries of yesterday were replaced by slow drips today. That's such a good sign. Because tomorrow starts my week of doing the evening equine feeding while the kids' Momma goes to Hawaii on business. Somehow my end of the stick seems rather short in this deal.

Snow day

Friday my friend and I tried to go sledding but apparently someone else had other plans because the snow wasn't cooperating. Coby had fun though. As we lay on our tubes, tired from trying to sled, Coby would rush up thinking we were in trouble. I guess he thought we were damsels in distress. He had fun, though. Especially running through the tracks we had made. Well that's all here. Are you guys enjoying snow?

a contrarian not...

Hi,
I guess its to be expected...like brother, like sister.
I, on the other hand, am not the sort of person who puts salted nuts with sweet things or the kind of person who will have a sweet as the very first thing in the day. I'm passing on the hotcakes in favor of something savory.... And when I have ice cream, I'll have unsalted nuts or no nuts at all, and with raisins the same.... It only seems right somehow.
Anway, there's hubby reclining in a chair that doesn't recline with his eyes closed with his iPod with a smile on his face.
Have a great Saturday in your own way.
P.S. HMMM... Then again, I do like Cracker Jacks once in a great while....

Oh the Weather Outside is ...

Whiteful. A very fine snow continues to drop from the clouds. The sky is a bleak mirror of the bright white ground. And it's still a great day. That's because I went, with the full permission of my lovely spouse, and purchased an iPod last night. I hooked it up and loaded it last night and listened to it this morning. It sounds great! Now the days at work will be filled with the sounds of jazz instrumentals, virtuoso guitarists, and all sorts of eclectic offerings. What a difference that will make.

Today we'll go dig out Anne and John. It shouldn't take too long. This is a dry, blowing snow. Meanwhile, I have hotcakes on my mind. That and a yearning to be elsewhere. I think I can combine the two urges and convince my ladies that breakfast would taste that much better if we had no dishes when it was over. For all you who are interested, this is a Contrarian meal. That means the flavor of the hotcakes must be nearly eclipsed by the flavors of butter and syrup. Any fruit garnish must remain on the plate until the hotcakes are gone. Side orders should be something on the order of a sticky bun or pecan roll. It's not about how you look, it's about how you feel. And nobody but you can tell you that. So eat heartily.

Habba Guday!

Still More Ice Cream

Well, I'm driving myself crazy with this. I just articulated (in type) a perfectly good post and I can't for the life of me figure out how to publish it. Let's try this again.

I read your blog immediately after finishing a similarly enjoyable meal-ender. I don't have salted peanuts (egads!) and though I agree they are the ULTIMATE in ice cream toppings, I sufficed with bananas, butterscotch and Hershey's syrup. It had to do. Next time............the nuts.

More Ice Cream

Well, I'm with you on the salted peanuts. They're the ultimate in ice cream accoutrements. But since I didn't have any, I just enjoyed a small bowl (LOADED TO OVERFLOWING with vanilla bean (Breyer's Sugar Free.........you'll never miss it), bananas, butterscotch sauce AND Hershey's syrup. I missed the peanuts, but it had to do.

On the Contrary

I'm starting a new diet. I'm calling it the Contrarian Diet. No. Scratch that. The Contrarian Food Plan. I think it's time. It must be. Because vanilla bean ice cream with lightly salted roasted peanuts has never tasted so good.

The basis for the Contrarian Food Plan is that it is not about weight loss. I am convinced that you look as good as you feel. I personally have never felt better than I feel when I'm eating vanilla bean ice cream. So I look positively stunning right now. And so could you.

In the "natural" or "real" world (by whose definition, I've never quite sussed), if you're "good" you can have a little dessert. Believe me, you're better than you realize. Have some ice cream. Isn't that even better? You bet it is. By the way, you're wearing a special glow. I think it may be the calcium. Did you remember to put the nuts on your ice cream? The juxtaposition of salt and sweet is what brings the magic out of those vanilla beans. Magic beans. People have been known to trade entire cows for moments like this.

If you've followed the Contrarian Food Plan this far, you're doing well. Now it's time to indulge. You've earned it. If you've eaten your ice cream (and especially if you licked the bowl), splurge. Have a teensy asparagus spear. It's the Contrarian Way!

I look forward to seeing more of the better, happier you.

Good Day

Well I woke up today not predicting what the day was gonna be like. I think little things like that make a world of difference! I went into tutorial today and am actually beginning to understand how to do some things in geometry which is fantastic! Then I came home, listened to my favorite songs (which are way over listened-to but oh, well.) You're supposed to listen to them. That's what they're for. Then I did my homework and got it all done without stressing. A big improvement. All in all I have had a great day and I hope for many more in the future! So how was your day?

Facili-what?

We had a meeting today of the Technical Writer's Interest Group. Yeah, I know. TWIG. I didn't name it. What do you think I am, some kind of sap? I think the name stems from a desire to branch out and garner a catchy acronym. The couldn't just leave it be. There are probably some deeply rooted issues there. I personally think they are barking up the wrong tree. If it were me, which it wasn't, that name would have been locked in a trunk. They probably took a vote and it was either love the name or be out of the group. I can imagine that conversation. Decide you. Us. Or nothing at all. Anyway, I shouldn't get needled by the whole thing. We met. We looked at what was on our plate for the coming weeks. It's a lot. And we found out that the facilitator of the group will be leaving in the next month or so. They asked for a new volunteer. A silence blanketed the room. Then I saw Joan at the other end of the table and I felt this overwhelming need to make her proud of me. I get fits like that sometimes. So I raised my hand. Now I'm the man! I'm the man with buyer's remorse. I don't even have a frickin' computer for goodness' sake. I have absolutely no business volunteering for this position. But somebody had to do it and I was feeling strangely like somebody at the moment. Somebody else. Who the hell was that guy?

Work has ceased to be boring. Unfamiliar people are showing up at my elbow and leaving piles of paper that seem to cry out for artistic applications of crimson liquid. Gosh I love this work. Who needs a computer when you can doodle all across somebody's heartfelt effort to relay information? I think I'm going to get some of those sleeve garters and a desk lamp with a green glass shade. I was born forty years too late. Then again, those guys didn't have iPods. I wonder how they survived.

At the end of the work day (my first with overtime!) another editor came downstairs to my vast one-table kingdom of an office and left me with a huge honkin' document filled with programming gobbledygook and those three words an editor loves to hear, "Due by Friday." Yes! So when I show up at 6 tomorrow morning, toss out the leftover coffee in the pot, start a new pot, and press "Brew," I'll have something worthwhile to occupy my time until I can get my injection of joe.

Hey, who saw the stars this morning? Wicked cool, weren't they? So bright. Just as well too. When it's that cold out your nose would drip all over your good clothes if you weren't looking up.

Seconds

It's been so good to read and catch up with everyone. Weimar's working hard consulting at Universal (every single day) so I'm on my own on the commute. Almost got t-boned yesterday on the way to work. Their fault, not mine (which would have been little consolation had my car and I been smashed). On the way home from work I hit a dog. Well, I think the dog hit my car but she definitely got the bigger scare. She's fine but was very surprised. Her owners were nice about it and said she shouldn't have been running across the road. True. But I still felt horrible about it. Life is truly measured in split seconds.

I've started my Christmas shopping. Nieces and Nephew - this is your last chance to let me know what you want and avoid getting something you'll just want to put in a garage sale next spring. Fess-up. What's on your list that Auntie Susie can try to spoil you with? Is there anything you definitely DON'T want? WARNING: I HAVE SOME ITEMS IN MY REGIFT CLOSET THAT I'D LOVE TO GET RID OF.... speak up now....!

By the way siblings & parents - I'm ordering my Fr. Richard Christmas CDs. They're going fast! Who wants one?

My friend Christopher is having a garage sale Saturday to raise money for a local dog shelter. I'm going to help out and take Beatrice and Helen (the two rescued kittens I still have from this summer) and see if I can get them adopted. Unless, of course a niece of nephew would love a beautiful grey tiger-striped kitty for Christmas. How about you Amy? Wouldn't your house cat like two little friends to pal around with? Beatrice has a tail shaped like a lightening bolt and she wags it like a dog. Neither cat meows - they both chirp like birds. Honest. Let me know.

Love to all of you-
Susie

Same old Same old

Well the day was fairly the same as everyday for me. Except I didn't go to dance. Instead I worked hard on geometry. Ok, ok, the truth is I did one page as a truthful student then on the second page my friend called and said, "Well can't you do your math and talk?" My friends corrupt me. I said in my mind, "Well of course I'm a woman, and as all women know we can certainly multi-task." So I did my homework and corrupted my ears with her rap music. Oh how I missed and longed for my beautiful country music. Then I got off the phone and calmed my ears with what to them is medicine. Now I need to go interview my dad about abortion for goverment so I'll catch up with you later. Love you all!

Does this Compute?

When I arrived at work this morning the computer on my side of the table was frozen. Solid. I did what any self-respecting geek would do. I rebooted. If it were a little softer, I would simply have booted, but I didn't want to injure myself. What did I get? Some arcane message about inserting a boot disk in drive A: for whatever that's worth. I was much more tempted to insert the whole computer someplace else, but there was nobody whom I felt truly deserving of the blame. And after all, it's a Windows world so I could really only feel sorry for the IT guys who are forced to work with such inferior equipment (do I reek of snob when I write that?). The unit in question is a Gateway box. They aren't buying those any longer, by the way. What I witnessed, or failed to witness, this morning is apparently one of just a few tricks the Gateways at our site know. I can't tell you the third, but the second is known as "the blue screen of Death" and was exhibited within the past few days by the same system. That's the sad news.

The glad news is that there are three other computers in my spacious office. I was able to use one of them and edit a document today. I still am deemed unworthy of a PIN that will allow me access to the network. Since the network belongs to the customer and the customer belongs to the U.S. government, these things take time. Two to ten weeks is the way I hear it. So I'm resorting to what was known as, in the golden days of personal computers, SneakerNet. Not to be confused with EtherNet, SneakerNet means that if I want to share a file I AM THE NETWORK! Yes indeedy, I get out of my comfy chair, leave my vast echo chamber of an office, trot up to the second floor, and beg for the file on a *gasp* diskette. You know Mac doesn't even put diskette drives on its computers anymore. I'd be so screwed if this were a Mac environment. Then I take my diskette back to the conference room on the first floor, shove it with all due ceremony into the drive, and do my work on diskette. How cool is that? I'd better not break my leg or the network will be down, you know?

So today it was in at 6 and out at 2. And speaking of networks being down, I got a bonus today. I took some CDs and a book back to the library. The book was due the 17th. But the computers were down today while they upgrade the system. They'll be down tomorrow too. I think I bought that book with the fines I owe, but it's like a MasterCard. The bill won't hit until long after the pleasure of the purchase has dissipated. Still, I feel as if my sentence has been postponed and I checked out LOTS of CDs and even got another book. I figure if I can get out of there without enduring the hairy eyeball for being so delinquent I should take advantage of it.

Katie's crashed upstairs. She has dance class tonight so I'll probably be sipping a Starbucks while she prances about the studio. It will be Starbucks because I'm too darn lazy to drive a couple of miles further to Barnes & Noble to pay just as much for the same coffee, but to do so surrounded by literature. Of course, if the alarm is going off at 4:50 a.m. I'd better get decaf, dontcha think?

Let's hear a little something from our neighbors to the north, our folks to the west, and our sis in the south. How about it?

Interesting Day

I headed to school today as most days are. I went downstairs with my bus buddy Lauren and I just chilled with my fellow friends. Then I went to my class of imaginary things and realized, "Well, it might help if you had an English binder." Oh I wish my school had escalators! Luckily my feet weren't on vacation today and they worked to get me back just before the bell. Third period arrived and we were doing a lab with colored lights I think I might have gotten too close to one and it blew the knowledge of how to do graphs right out me. Can I blame anybody though? I mean they gleam so friendly that you just wanna get to know them as if they were a person. Then fourth period passed and I was so excited. I had gotten done all my homework so I wouldn't have to stay after school. Then i walked out after saying "hi" to a friend and realized I didn't remember my bus number. As a result I got to sit and chat with this very nice girl and relax till my taxi came to pick me up. I can't say it was the Bahamas but it was very nice to sit and watch people go in and out of the school doors wondering what their life is like.

I Got it Good, and That Ain't Bad/Watch that Worm Roll Over!

This morning I got into work at 6:15. Following my first of several cups of coffee, I came back to the table at which I am residing and glanced out the window. I was impressed first by the colors of dawn striping the sky. One band rested at the eastern horizon. Another distinct band colored the sky above it. Between, morning clouds of bluish grey provided a stunning contrast.

When I got over that, I paused to think about this table, one of two set into an alcove with four bookshelves and referred to as "the library." It is really something of a coup. I've just started working here and I already have a window office. Some people strive years for this. I'm missing certain elements: a door, some walls, a computer, a desk with drawers, filing cabinets, and a defined telephone extension. But I have two tables, eleven side chairs, four bookcases, and even two plants. They are silk plants, my favorite type. More importantly, I have six beautiful windows, the elusive prize of the corporate organizational pecking order. Ahh, the life.

Later ...

Victory is so fleeting. My manager just informed me she is interceding to get me access to a computer in the conference room on the first floor. It's a very nice room with one table, many chairs, at least four computers, four walls, a real door, and not a single window. It sounds remarkably like some of those "basement" rooms we heard about in those English castles. I'll let you know if I seen any nice bracelet sets attached to the walls.

Still later ...

I have a roommate. He seems nice and he sits across the table from me. We surreptitiously stare at one another throughout the day. I asked him about the work is doing. I specifically asked him to describe it in a nutshell. He's probably due for new batteries in his Beltones because he obviously heard, "in detail." I had little better to do, so the explanation was enlightening and even interesting. And I think he will do well in his job. Then Joan appeared like a genie at my right elbow and told me that Katie had called. She missed the bus and was stranded at school. It turned out to be the corporate social equivalent of, "Oh my gosh! Look at the time." I took the announcement for an exit strategy, packed my things, and left work for the day. Now Katie is upstairs feeling puny, I'm about to cancel horse riding for this evening, and I'm trying to figure out how many mornings I can get up before 5:30 without expiring. I think my bedtime is going to creep a little closer to my dinner time if you know what I mean.

By the way, I was just having fun at my colleague's expense. He really is nice, sharp, and his zeal for his area of expertise is admirable.