kapgar

Down at the Sunset Grill...

While on a very spontaneous date night with Katie on Friday to our local Japanese steak house, I discovered what could easily be the greatest job in the history of mankind... Japanese grill chef.

If you have no idea what I'm talking about or have never experienced what this is all about, I suggest you find some way to watch the "Benihana Christmas" episode of The Office from last season. There's no BS in that episode at all about what they're capable of. In fact, if I discovered anything, they downplayed their abilities in that episode.

Our chef at Ju Rin in Geneva was a really nice guy named "Homero." He came out with our food and just started right into his routine. He was flipping bowls and plates, knives and spatulas. He created grilltop art out of rice making a Mickey Mouse for the kids at our table as well as a flaming (and pulsing) heart. Of course, he also created the requisite onion volcano, but he made his flame instead of just steam. He had the moves and the charisma to make it an enjoyable evening for all of us.

So let's review why this might just be the greatest job ever...

• Playing with knives... check.
• Playing with fire... check.
• Playing with your (or, better yet, other's) food... check.
• Impressing the women with your cooking ability... check.
• Entertaining everyone sitting around your table... check.
• Getting paid to do all this and more... yeah baby!

Where do I sign up?

And guys, just as a note, there are few better ways to impress your significant other than with a completely spontaneous date night. Katie and I were simply out shopping for some Christmas gifts when we decided we needed to eat. The way things were sounding, we were just going to pick something up and take it home to eat in front of the TV. However, the night before, NBC replayed the "Benihana Christmas" episode and that got me hankering for steak and sushi. I recommended that we go to Ju Rin (the local equivalent of a Benihana or Domo 77) instead of taking food home and Katie was just beaming about it.

Afterwards, we went to a local candy store called Graham's Chocolates (yes, the same one featured in a recent episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show) and picked up a few items to take home.

It was, simply put, the perfect evening.

Totally Unrelated Aside (TUA): Katie gave me my Christmas gift over the weekend. It was Guitar Hero III for the Nintendo Wii. Totally sweet, totally cool, totally perfect. Now I just can't wait to play it. Very soon. Oh yes, very soon.

Totally Unrelated Aside (TUA) #2: I need to apologize to all of you. It may seem as though I haven't been around much lately reading all your blogs. The truth is I haven't. I've been so strapped for time that it's been tough just blogging for myself let alone read everyone else's. But I have begun a catch-up campaign in which I plan to get up to date with the more than 1000 posts that have accumulated in my Google Reader. It isn't pretty. Especially when a daily poster like Dave has 10 feeds I need to catch up on. Yeah, that's how long it has been. I'm really sorry. I will get there. I promise.

Workin' 9 to 5, what a way to make a livin'...

Katie and I were watching the news the other day and they had a special about successful women in the workplace and how difficult their personal lives are as a result of their professional ones. It was so bad, in fact, that one of the five or six women that were part of this panel interview had actually started a Web site dedicated to successful women attempting to find meaningful relationships.

This floored me. I know that there are many men who are threatened by successful women. They look at it as though their manhood is being trampled.

But I had assumed that the tide had been changing for a while now so that, ideally, maybe it would be a 50/50 split between those guys who are threatened and those who are not. From the sound of things, though, it doesn't seem as though this is the truth. It sounded as though none of the women interviewed had been able to find men who could deal with what these women represented.

Now, clearly, five or six women is not a truly representative sample of the full population of women in the workplace. In fact, it's likely that the panel members were screened ahead of time to get a sampling that was skewed in favor of the viewpoint that the news channel was hoping to present.

But, even so, you have to figure that there is still some truth to it all. And I find this sad. I find it sad that men can't handle the concept of a woman having greater success than them.

Why is it such a sin for a woman to make more money?

Katie and I decided a long time ago that, when we have kids, the one of us that is making the least money with the fewest benefits or who has the greater chance at being able to work from home would stay at home. We're both fine with this decision even now. We talked about it after the news report and we're still find with this choice.

Have any of you made this same decision? How has it worked out? Or have you been in situations similar to these women? This can be answered by the men reading this post, too. Let me know how you would feel if you were in this position.

BTW, got a meme for you in the extended post...

And it all started with a big bang...

One of the things I like about the new show The Big Bang Theory is the interplay of the four leading mangeeks. They do just what you would think four complete and utter geeks would do... play video games, debate scientific theories, insult each other using math equations, etc.

And, before you go and discount their portrayal as geek stereotyping, take this real-life exchange into account.

I was in a meeting with three guys from our IT department when one of them (to be referred to as IT Guy 2) started writing on a dry erase board. His handwriting on the board was absolutely miniscule. So tiny we could barely read it.

IT Guy 1: Yeah, he likes to write small.

Me: Ya think?

IT Guy 2: Is this really that small?

IT Guy 3: Um, yeah it is.

Me: Sorry, I'd never seen your handwriting before today... and I still can't.

IT Guy 1: I think he's writing in hi resolution. His brain is on 1024x768.

IT Guy 2: Actually it's 1600x1200.

IT Guy 3: In eight point font.

Me: Well, at least it's san serif.

And we all bust out laughing because to us, and probably to most of you, everything we said makes perfect sense.

So, while it may not have been the same level of sheer geekery as portrayed in The Big Bang Theory, our conversation was still pretty bad. And you can see that this sort of thing really does happen.

Totally Unrelated Aside (TUA): I need to thank El Dariush who sent me a postcard from Rome during his recent trip. Well, actually I should clarify. The postcard is from Rome as in it was purchased in Rome. But Dariush doesn't love any of us enough to justify spending the money to actually mail it from Rome. This postcard has a South Central, KY, postmark.

I know you, you know me...

Sometimes it amazes me how mine and Katie's lives have intersected in terms of the people we know. Yeah, I know it's expected now that we're married and whatnot. But to think that some of these crossovers would likely have happened even if we never met is kinda weird.

For example, one of my best friends growing up was a guy named C (clearly not really his name) and one of Katie's best friends was a girl named K (yes, there are lots of Ks in our lives). In college, I met K because we both held similar jobs and became coworkers. Katie met C and became best friends with him. Katie and I met each other's childhood friends before we met each other. Oh yeah, did I also mention that C and K dated for a long time and, I believe, were even engaged? So this constitutes a nice little four-person crossover.

Another example... Katie's principal in grade school was a woman named S. This woman later became Katie's boss when she returned to this school to teach for a while after graduating from college. Shortly afterward, S retired from that job and took another job... where I worked (prior to my current job). Katie's old principal and boss became my coworker.

Well, it has happened again.

In grad school, I had a second job outside of my grad assistant responsibilities because it was good extra money. The job was at a small hardware store and it helped me become acquainted with many of the tools and skills I now use to work around the house. The owner of this hardware store was a guy named R. In this day and age of the giant hardware megamarts like Lowe's and Menard's and Home Depot, R's little hometown hardware shop just couldn't compete. Since I graduated and left his employ, R has downsized his shop to a third the size it was before and now he is trying to sell it. In the meantime, to make money to support his family, he took another job... and became Katie's assistant manager. He just started a couple days ago.

Hey, Universe! While this is cool and all, it's also a bit freaky. Can you stop now?

The sky's the limit but my plane won't fly...

Paid Time Off...

Floating Vacation Days...

Personal Days...

Basically all are just different ways of noting that I have days off coming to me at work. But they're all designated differently. Some roll over from year to year, some expire at the end of a calendar year. With all this terminology, how is one supposed to keep it all straight?

I looked at my pay stub a week ago and discovered that I have one day's worth of personal days and three days worth of floating vacation days and they have to be used by the end of the year or I will lose them. Wait a second. I went on a five-day vacation at the end of May to Las Vegas. Why weren't they used up then?

Seems in my confusion over all this terminology, I marked the wrong box on my vacation request. I made the mistake of chalking up my time off to the only option that does not expire at the end of the year. D'oh!

And now I'm in the, I suppose, enviable position of forcing myself to take four days off before December 31. I know some of you are probably wondering why I'm whining. Wouldn't we all like extra time off? Well, yeah, and I've got plenty to do at home to keep me busy what with our wall project and everything. But I've got plenty to keep me busy at work as well. And trying to plan days off around my projects is never easy.

But I'll be damned if I'm going to lose these days. That's why I'm home today. I got to sleep in and, for the first time in a long time, was actually home while Katie was leaving for work. She's usually still asleep when I leave, so this is quite the change.

So I'll do some work on the walls, surf a bit, maybe watch Hot Fuzz since I got it from Netflix, meet Katie for lunch, work out, etc.

This grand list of potential accomplishments, of course, means I might get one of the above done. Probably the one about surfing.

Totally Unrelated Aside (TUA): I was in a Starbucks the other day and I noticed a sign by the register advertising a recall on children's mugs. The notice claimed that if the mug fell, it would likely shatter and, thus, create pieces with sharp edges.

Well duh.

Are we going to recall all ceramic, glass, wood, Plexiglas, and plastic products now? They all create sharp edges when broken.

Does anyone else think the Consumer Products Safety Commission is going a little overboard these days? A lot of these very same problems existed throughout my childhood and I like to think I turned out okay. I almost think the CPSC exists so people can be slack-ass parents.

Don't leave me high...

This is an excerpt of a conversation I had yesterday with my office mate (MyOM)...

Me: So I discovered why the break room has three different coffee pots. One decaf is for full strength and one is for half strength. The regular pot is for full strength caffeinated. They use one and a half packets of grounds for full strength and one packet for half strength although that doesn't necessarily add up mathematically.

MyOM: Sounds a bit too complicated for me.

Me: I agree. I think they should all be the way I like it... black, regular, and strong.

[awkward silence]

Me: Umm...

MyOM: Yeah, I'm not going to touch that one.

Me: It really didn't sound quite so bad in my head.

MyOM: It never does.

Totally Unrelated Aside (TUA): It was announced a few weeks back that Radiohead was going to ditch iTunes when they release their new album, In Rainbows. Their complaint was that, on iTunes, people could buy just a song or two and not the entire album. They feel their album is one complete narrative and that it should be purchased as an all-or-nothing deal.

Artistically, I can understand where they're coming from. But, as a fan, I think they're being selfish and bullheaded. That's the beauty of iTunes and other online music stores, you can buy what you want when you want it. And you'll own the music legally.

Then Radiohead made another announcement... In Rainbows is being offered up on their Web site in either discbox or download format and you pay what you think it's worth to you. Whether the amount is $0, the normal $10-15 for an album, or even more, you pay what you feel the album should be valued at. It's an interesting concept and one I'm willing to try. I'm especially willing since I'm not as big a fan of Radiohead's newer tunes. I much prefer their old stuff like The Bends and OK Computer. But, with that offer in place, I'll definitely give this new album a shot.

Upon further examination, you are subject to a transaction fee if you order the download as opposed to the discbox version. Not sure how much that is yet, but we shall see. Plus, if you order the discbox, you get it a week ahead of those who buy the downloadable format.

So what is Radiohead worth to you?

Call me...

More snippety goodness...

Caffeinated
There was regular coffee in the breakroom today! Yay me!

Cub-boom
Here's a quick note to anyone who knows that I am a Cubs fan and would like to tease me over the fact that the Cubbies are now down by two games to the D-Backs... yep, I realize it. And no, it doesn't phase nor upset me in the slightest. I am so desensitized by disappointment that any Cubs failure really does nothing to me. My expectation for success is about as high as my expectation that a Will Ferrell movie won't annoy me. Yeah, pretty low.

Now you know.

And knowing is half the battle.

Freebies
I love how the Apple iTunes Store gives stuff away for free. Most of the time, it's a B-side to a new album, or a music video, or some song by an artist or new TV show you've never heard of in a hope to give them a popularity boost. Whatever. The key is that it's free.

However, when the freebie is something that I know and love, it's all the better. Take, for instance, the free episode of American Dad that is currently being offered. It was this past Sunday's "Vacation Goo" episode which I thought was brilliant and left me in stitches. And to make it free? Score!

Overlay
I know it's common for areas to be "redistricted," for lack of a better way to word it, in terms of area codes for phone service. Heck, since I've lived in Illinois, I have had four area codes. The reason for this is because the proliferation of new technologies like fax machines and cell phones over the past couple decades has necessitated more numbers within an area code and, thus, the coverage area must shrink and new area codes must be added.

But what I hate is when overlay area codes are applied. This occurs when a single geographic area has two area codes working in it rather than redividing the area. This has already happened in other parts of the Chicago suburbs and now it will affect my area as well. We will soon see the 331 area code work in our 630 zone and all phones, faxes, cells, etc., must be reprogrammed because we must now dial the full 10 (or 11, if you need to use the 1, but cellphones don't need them) digit number to make a local call.

GRRRRRRR!!!

Redesign
I'm pretty sure I mentioned this on here somewhere recently, but I am going to make the jump to WordPress pretty soon. My hope was to have all this done by the middle of this month, but it doesn't seem to be happening. I've got so much crap going on that doing anything to my blog other than posting is just an impossibility. Heck, I haven't even transferred my domain over to a new host yet and that's really the first thing I need to do to make it a reality.

But I do think I finally have a photo in mind for my banner. That's one baby step in the right direction.

Speaking of redesign, I have two sites that I worked on in the past for friends and family to which I need to make some stylistic tweaks. Imagine my chagrin when I discovered that all the source files for these sites are nowhere to be found. Original raw images? Nothing. Layered Photoshop images? Nada.

This ticks me off. Now I have to recreate the images from scratch. So not fun.

Good to the last drop...

Having been a past part of the food service industry in two different capacities (host and server), there is one thing I'm very well versed in and I'd like to share that with you this morning.

At right is a black-rimmed coffee decanter. The black is indicative of the contents being fully caffeinated or "regular."

Caffeinated = what coffee was meant to be

Caffeinated = wakey wakey

Caffeinated = God's nectar

Caffeinated = important on a daily basis especially in an office environment

At left is an orange-rimmed coffee decanter. In this case, the orange helps servers and patrons, alike, know that the contents are decidedly decaffeinated or, if it's not regular, it must be "irregular."

Decaffeinated = no energy

Decaffeinated = sleep inducing

Decaffeinated = stripping coffee of centuries of hard-earned dignity

Decaffeinated = BLECH!

And this viewpoint is reflected daily in my office by the fact that the one black-rimmed decanter is almost always nearly empty while the two orange-rimmed decanters sit nearly full all day long.

Did you catch the irony in that statement? One caffeinated pot that is always low on contents while two decaf pots sit untouched. WHY? DEAR GOD WHY ARE THERE TWO POTS OF DECAF AND ONLY ONE REGULAR??? Is nobody paying attention to what the masses are clearly demanding? Are they intentionally attempting to create a non-productive work environment?

Yes, I know it's easy enough for me to brew a new pot of regular coffee. But, any of you coffee lovers out there know that when you want coffee, you want it that second. Not 10 or 15 minutes later when the pot finally stops brewing. The wait is hell.

Totally Unrelated Aside (TUA): Have any of you listened to Kanye West's new album Graduation? Any good? It's funny because all the hype seemed to be about the head-to-head sales competition between West and 50 Cent who both released new albums on the same day. However, I've heard jack about it since and never really heard much in the way of album reviews of either. All writing was focused on the competition.

Don't look at me, I don't want you to see me this way...

Correct me if I'm wrong, but whenever you take some sort of course on public speaking, be it a professional training course or just the basic 100-level communication class in college, one of the first things they teach you is to look up from your notes at the people who are in attendance, right? Another tip was to spread out where you look. Don't spend your entire presentation looking at one person.

Clearly, this last bit was missed by a woman presenting at this conference I finished attending yesterday. I swear to God, when she wasn't pointing to things on the projector screen, she was looking directly at me. No joke. Of the 75 minutes that the presentation lasted, she was looking at me for a good 65 of them.

Now, I realize I'm one sexy fine specimen of a human being (*COUGH* *COUGH* *HACK* *HACK*), and I can't say I blame you for wanting to look at me, but I really began to feel the jealous stares of those around me and I even think I caught on to the occasional envy-laced whisper.

Okay, all joking aside, please start looking elsewhere. You made me feel as though I really needed to pay attention to what you were saying. Almost like I was your confirmation of having done a good job during your presentation.

C'mon! What if I wanted to doze off, look at my Palm Pilot, read a book, or even scratch myself inappropriately? Not that I would actually do these, but you were clearly denying me my right to should I have felt the need! 

Next time, look at other people in addition to just me or whoever winds up being your visual target. Please?

Totally Unrelated Aside (TUA): Looks like I'm by my lonesome tonight as Katie will be hanging with my mom and the SiL at a city-sponsored "Girls Night Out." Not entirely sure what that entails, but I suppose she'll find out.

I think I may see another one of those NSFK (Not Safe For Katie) movies. Once again, I need your votes to decide. Will it be...

• 3:10 to Yuma
• Death Sentence
• Balls of Fury
• Shoot 'em Up

You have until 5 p.m. to cast your vote. And choose wisely, my evening's entertainment depends on you!

But I'm running out of time...

How many of you take part in freelance work aside from what you normally do as part of your job?

If you do, I would like to ask if you have any personal policies in place regarding turnaround time for a project or just how you prioritize, period. If it's a good policy, can I steal it?

I do very little freelance work, in all honesty. Not much comes my way and, many times, I'm kinda happy about it.

But when it does come in, it's like a tsunami. It just floods in and seems to engulf my world. And, as would be expected, it happens at the most inopportune times. I can be sitting around for weeks with nothing to do just wishing for it. Then, when my personal and FT professional lives are inundated with things to do, *BLAMMO* the freelancing strikes.

I don't want to say no because that can be a death sentence for future projects. I opt out and the word gets around that I'm not willing and able and the well dries up entirely. So I take them, but I'll be darned if I've figured out a good time during which to get this stuff done.

Unfortunately, the personal pursuits always seem to suffer first. Time with Katie? Gone. Sleep time? Zippo. Gym time? Nuh-uh. Blogging opps? Nil.

This has been my life since Saturday. Some big updates to a site I manage came in and I've been trying to take care of them. It's not easy. Katie's been in bed and asleep well before me lately. I haven't been to the gym since Saturday. My blogging feels rehashed (c'mon... a recap of my Friday stats and an April retrospective? Not exactly teeming with originality... sorry).

I just want this project done and I want future ones to come in when I say so!

And to quote the great Wayne Campbell, "Sheeyah, right. And monkeys might fly outta my butt."

Watch out boy, she'll chew you up...

I would just like to say that when I'm having a bad day or I'm tired or world weary, etc., there's nothing that cheers me up quite as well as seeing someone else who is angry at the world.

You know the type, don't you?

In the last couple days, I've come across two such individuals. I use the term "individuals" because, while one was human, the other was a goose.

Yeah, a goose.

The human factor occurred yesterday as I was leaving work. I was worn out from having stared at a computer screen for hours on end. But then I saw her walking into my building as I was leaving. She was about 15 or 16 with her hoodie drawn close around her head and her arms scrunched up tight against her chest. Her face looked as bitter as a person who not only had a broomstick shoved up their butt sideways, but also went so far as to have both the smooth ends broken off before insertion.

The goose happened two days ago as I was coming into work. The walkway up to the front entrance of my office is surrounded by big concrete-walled gardens. One goose was nesting in a garden while the other was standing guard on the ledge. He was at least three feet tall and standing up on one leg. Dunno why, he just was. With the gardens laid out the way they were, I had to pass within five feet of the goose and he didn't like it one bit. As he stood there on his single leg -- showing an incredible amount of skill and dedication to the craft, mind you -- he hissed. Not a warning quack, a hiss. Guttural, full of malice, and just pure evil.

After I edged sideways through the passage, all I could think was how lucky I was to be able sit my lazy butt in front of a computer as opposed to standing guard... on one leg... hissing at humans.

Things can always be worse. Count your blessings.

Another fine day...

These are the sorts of things I usually plan well in advance for.

Those inevitable little disasters that, in the grand scheme of things, don't amount to much, but can still ruin a single day in time.

Nothing but a miserable, heartwrenching, gut-punching, unavoidable, despicable pain my butt.

I had to stay late at work last night for a big meeting of all the big wigs from throughout my company and from the surrounding community. Knowing I would be here for a while, I dressed comfortably, yet professionally. But I also took into consideration that I would be eating two meals at work and, therefore, wore colors as opposed to my stain-magnet white dress shirt.

I chose my bright orange dress shirt with darker khaki pants. I also had a dark blue tie with diagonal orange and light blue stripes. Brown belt and brown dress shoes. Quite comfy. Quite professional. Quite safe.

Or so I thought.

Just before meeting my dad for lunch, I looked down at my shirt and saw, at gut level, large grayish grease stains that spanned the entire width of my shirt.

Holy crap! Holy crap! Holy crap!

How could this have happened??? Then I realized that a couple hours earlier, I had been leaning against a podium while talking to a coworker. I found out from him that the building maintenance crew tended to grease the holder on the front of the podium to facilitate the constant changing of the nameplates that were used on it.

Oh dear sweet baby Jesus, NO! Not today!

I frantically tried to get it out with my Tide Pen... nothing.

I tried water... zilch.

I tried warm, soapy water... zero.

NOOOOO!!! I had an extra tie at work for those emergencies when a tie would be necessary, but I didn't have a whole other shirt!

And, even though Katie was convinced she could get the stains out, that did me no good at work where I don't have access to a lot of the same stuff she uses to clean nor did I have the time to go home at the end of my workday, fix it or change to a new shirt, and return to work in time for the meeting.

I bit the bullet and wound up heading to Eddie Bauer, the closest men's clothing store and bought a new dress shirt. Really nice shirt that was also on clearance. Of course, it was wrinkled and I had to hang it near a shower in our fitness center locker room to steam it out. But I guess that's better than wearing a grease-stained shirt in front of all the truly big-named people here at work.

Oh crap. I suddenly realized I wore it in front of my boss. Before I noticed I had the stains.

He either didn't see the problem or was just keeping his mouth shut in an attempt to keep from embarrassing me or so he could laugh at me privately later or some combination thereof.

Shoot me.

Please.

But I guess to prove that every gray cloud has a silver lining, you remember the reporter that digs my blog? He visited me shortly after I returned from the Bauer. He said that while reading my blog, he discovered that he and I had pretty similar tastes in music. He then told me that he and his buddies swap "best of" mix CDs each year and that he made an extra copy of his CD for me. And his mix rocks! Some Wolfmother, Pete Yorn, Katie Melua, Josh Rouse, Lily Allen, The Killers, Corinne Bailey Rae, Ray Lamontagne, Paolo Nutini, Beck, Robert Randolph & the Family Band, Christina Aguilera, and several others. 20 songs in total that really made my day. I actually stopped griping about my shirt after that. Thanks, J!

They've given you a number and taken away your name...

Have you ever looked at yourself in the context of where you work and what you do for them and wondered if there was an ulterior motive behind your hiring? A more nefarious purpose for you at your place of employment?

Do you mean like that little catch-all tagline on your employment contract that reads "and other duties as assigned"?

No, no. I'm talking much darker. Far outside the scope of what would normally be considered a reasonable job expectation.

Like when Jim Carrey was promoted to serve as a scapegoat for his tech company in Fun With Dick and Jane?

Closer. But still much more evil.

Oh, do tell.

I shall.

I'm a Web designer and my willingness to adapt and learn other skills has resulted in me doing some graphic design work as well as writing, proofreading, and photography on the job. But I wonder, sometimes, if maybe my current job has really hired me to be a payrolled assassin.

What?!?! Have you lost it, dude?

Perhaps. After all, I am holding up two ends of a shared conversation within a single post.

Good point. So what evidence do you have to support this theory?

Well, only one bit of evidence so far. But it may just be enough.

Okay, give it to me, big guy.

Here you go. It's my ID badge. Well, more specifically, the cable winder that attaches the ID badge to my belt loop. This thing is a weapon. I don't know if it's a purposeful or an unintentional weapon, but I've seen enough spy and assassin films to know just what kind of damage this sort of thing can do.

If I pull on the badge, a thin, 2.5-foot-long string is exposed.

I always thought that the purpose behind this is so you don't have to detach your ID badge to scan it or show it to security.

Uh huh. That's what they want you to believe.

This should be good.

I think this device exists for the sole purpose of strangling an enemy at a time to be determined later by one of my higher ups.

Please stop it now. This really hurts.

Wait, just hear me out. It's kinda like The Manchurian Candidate... I could just be sitting there typing away and then a message will be received subconsciously by my brain which will trigger the killer instinct that has clearly been programmed in me by our HR department during those "sensitivity training sessions."

Yeah, some good that "brain" has done you to this point.

What did you say?

Oh, nothing. Don't mind me. You haven't thus far.

Anyway, they want you to believe that it's nothing more than a convenience item... make life easier... riiiiiight. They also want me to believe I'm just a Web designer, but I've uncovered the truth! I have seen the light! And it has an eerie blood-red glow to it.

Sorry, buddy, I'm outta here. I just can't take this.

Wait, you're supposed to be my moral compass!

Pal, you're beyond my help now.

---

Hey, got a meme for you in the extended post...

Someone to watch over me...

I've uncovered a funny thing... how my day turns out is determined by my watch of all things.

Since starting my new job, I've been pretty easygoing about things that happen. I don't stress out like I used to. I've been able to take things more in stride and simply shrug off problems that happen. I just do what needs to be done and that's it. It really makes professional life nice.

But one day, a couple weeks ago, the fit hit the shan, if you know what I mean. All kinds of stuff was being thrown at me and it was just generally not a good day. I just couldn't get things done the way I wanted to and there were not enough hours in the day.

This happened again yesterday. It started with me accidentally leaving a tie at home and not thinking much of it. Of course, when I got to work, I realized we had a pretty big deal event happening for which I needed to wear a tie. I had completely forgotten about this event as I never put it in my Palm Pilot. So, instead of looking like a shlub (sp?), I went out and bought one. The only tie I could find that I liked that went with the shirt I was wearing was the only brand of tie not on sale where I was shopping. And, of course, as a result of running to the store, I missed out on a meeting with someone that I also forgot to put in my Palm Pilot.

There were a few other little things that happened as well that I just don't want to bother listing. Suffice to say, they happened.

What do both blech days have in common?

I forgot my watch at home.

I always wear my watch. I'm naked without it. It's one of those items that just "brings it all together," per se. Kinda like The Dude's rug in The Big Lebowski. WIthout it, everything just goes to crap.

Lesson to be learned here? Don't forget your watch (or whatever item it is that helps keep you from falling apart at the seams)!

We're just here to do the Super Bowl Shuffle...

I'm in mourning.

I weep for an old friend I lost on Monday.

That friend being my favorite plastic bowl.

Yeah, yeah, big lead up, heckuva let down, right? Well, I weep all the same if that's okay with you.

Nearly 14 years ago, I purchased a Rubbermaid Servin' Saver bowl. It was one of my first purchases for college. One of those things you know you're going to need when you live in a dorm that has no kitchen and you will need to cook things every once in a while in a microwave or store things in a minifridge. So I bought it.

It went with me to two colleges, four dorm rooms, three apartments, two states, five cities, and three jobs.

It was beat to death, stained by pasta sauce, and pock-marked where heated contents melted away the inner protective coating.

But it never once gave out on me. I used it for cooking, storage, and eating. And I loved it for its tenacity.

And now it's gone.

At my new job, we have a dishwasher in one of the breakrooms. And, once in a while, when I use it to cook something that I have difficulty washing out by hand, I'll put the bowl in the dishwasher. So I did just that this past Friday.

On Monday, I went in to grab my bowl to use for lunch... and it was gone.

I checked cabinets, the microwave, the sink, even the garbage can and recycle bin. Nothing.

I pray somebody just decided to use it and will eventually return it. But, for now, I can only assume the worst.

It may seem like just a stupid bowl, but it's been many places with me and I planned to use it until the day I die... or it dies... whichever came first. I actually had a slightly sentimental attachment to it.

Even Katie knew exactly what I was talking about when I came home Monday night and told her "my bowl is gone." Her eyes widened and even she got a weepy look in her face. She's known the bowl for our entire relationship and used it herself many times back in college.

I can't bring myself to buy a new one.

Not yet.

It's too soon.

I need to know, for certain, what became of my Rubbermaid friend.