Yes, Thirty (Almost Thirty-One) Year-Olds Still Dress Up For Halloween

... And they make their dogs dress up, too.

Okay, so maybe I don't have a character that I'm dressed as... but I'm dressed UP already. Anyone got a character for me to be? I just told people Coop & I were both punk rockers. Hey, they appreciated the spirit.

Also, I have another topic for the day (I know! Write it down!): street lights that go off as you approach. What's up with those stupid things? It's like there's a motion detector in there that "sees" you coming and subtracts light from your presence. Hellooooo... I was kinda using that light to walk by! Tonight, I took Coop & Kona on a bike ride after the trick'r treating died down. As I started up the long stretch of spooky, no-houses-there, semi-dark-even-WITH-streetlights road, the one streetlight that was allowing for a okay-this-is-not-that-scary ride just up and quit as we approached. And that was the second time that happened to me today (the first time was, luckily, in the daylight in the newly-completed SAV parking deck). Seriously, though... surely I'm not the only person who experiences this. Does it happen to you, too? Have the motion sensors been programmed to turn lights OFF when we approach? Is it simply a Halloween prank? Are there ghosts in there trying to freak me out? Yeah, that was my theory on it, too.

Hope you had a freaky-deaky ghoulishly happy Halloween!! Send me pics of your costumes. I mean it. :)

On the Road Again

Turn in the Prius and head back down south... that's the agenda for tomorrow (with a little bit of e-mail, project planning, and data gathering mixed in for good productivity measure). This bed has been so comfy, I want to go ahead and get to sleeping in it before I have to hop up & leave it for this trip. Speaking of this trip, the next last-trip-up-here has been moved to ATL... so it is quite possible I said my goodbyes to the SCE office (and town) this time. Somehow I doubt it. With the years spent here, it's inside me by now. And there are, of course (as you know), those individuals whom I love, love, love up here. One is at the emergency room with her dad tonight. Thoughts and prayers; thoughts and prayers. Another I keep meeting up with here in SCE (or ATL or DEN or wherever) periodically. Isn't it wonderful to be told how great you are sometimes? Is that just me? This particular friend gives me so much energy every time I get to hang with him... be it at Stony River, in the HGI hallway, or in any of our offices. There are just a handful of CORians I'll miss. Who knows?! Maybe we'll all meet up again someday... if not in the wild world of AIR, then somewhere else down the road.

I'll be traveling between 9:45 am and 2:30 pm -ish tomorrow. Hopefully, everything goes smoothly. I'll see you on the flip side of it. Meanwhile, Happy Halloween (and happy b'day, Jeff)!!!

What If I Felt Like I Belong?

Just a quick hello, then I'm off to HGI's comfy bed. I was up waaaaay too early to be up this late. But, I've felt semi-productive for the last little bit. And after a sucky day of feeling overruled, steamrolled, and just plain dumb, I needed some productivity! Luckily, I have the opportunity to have a productive day tomorrow without the patronizing new crew around to disrupt my chi and dirty up my aura.

Dad... tried to call you earlier today to tell you about my car that I picked up this morning (too early!) at SCE. It's one of the Hertz Green Collection... and just the type o' car you've been looking for for me. Yep... it's a Prius. It was freakin' cold when I picked it up this morning (after all, it was pre-dawn in the frozen Happy Valley). There was a pretty heavy layer of frost, and the ice took a while to melt on the blue Corolla from MDT before I could even get rolling toward SCE to trade it in. Since I'm lazy, I just waited with the heat on. Better than getting out in the breath-showing, toes-tingling morning to scrape the windshield! Then I forgot to check the mileage when I got to the airport... leaving myself yet another trip outside to do that. Finally, I get my "key" to El Prius and head out to my new car. Okay, no scraper, no problem. I'll do the same brave-it-in-the-full-blast-heat thing. Hmm. Well, only if I can figure out how to turn the freakin' car on! Who knew it would be that hard to start a car?! Luckily, they come with an owner's manual... or a little tiny square of "this is how you start me" goodness in the console. I love it. It's fun. It's novel. Maybe not for me full-time, but an excellent rental in this now-possibly-next-to-last trip back "home" in SCE. Oh yeah... 'nother trip to add to the already-full schedule now. Back up here in 2 weeks. Good gosh... where is home these days?!

So, the full crew (but esp. the fun table... which was, of course, my table) at dinner sang to me and bought me a dessert with a candle in it tonight. Aww. Sweet. But, I wanna go back here to celebrate, Mom... don't you?

Metaphorical Parties and Their Endings

What is it about this place? It generally feels like home these days. The drive from Harrisburg (I ended up flying into MDT instead of SCE because a delay in SAV for the original flight to CLT left me with very few options... the girl offered me: definitely get stuck in CLT for the night if you stick with the original flights, stay on USAir and get to SCE tomorrow at 1:40 PM, switch to United and get to SCE tomorrow at 10:30 am... um, no... so as a last thought, I suggested we try other airports and let me rent a car and drive in... thank goodness, that was pretty easy... and here I am... back in SCE via SAV, CLT, MDT, and Hertz) felt comfortable and familiar. It was home-ish. I used to make it periodically... I took the GRE in Harrisburg about 2001, flew in & out of MDT several times between 2000 and 2005, visited friends & family just beyond Harrisburg a couple times, etc. The only difference tonight? It was dark and I missed seeing the mini statuette of liberty as well as the most excellent hills/valley climbing the mountain to get into the State College area. One thing that was the exact same as it has been since we first moved here? The road construction. Ugh.

Couple of other interesting things tonight:
1) I can see my breath here. I'm glad I moved away from that stupid mess, but it's fun to see it periodically.
2) I'm back in my SAME room at the HGI. Does this room have my name on it or what? I was here a few weeks ago. Yes, right here. And I do believe it's been the same room I was in during some of my other most memorable visits to SCE. Some fun. Some not freakin' fun at all. There was one about a year ago that sucked... when I felt useless and ready to move on. One night in the hotel... especially not fun.

Anyway, back to work tomorrow. In an office. Yay? Yes, I think yay.

The Rockage

CLT Rocks. It's the best airport to get stuck in. Just in case you need to get stuck in one sometime. :)

S.n.o.o.z.e.

I am thoroughly enjoying watching the Happy Valley showdown. Didn't get to see any other football today, and since UO wasn't on the radio, I chose not to listen to any on the drive home either. Instead, I did some listening of my top rated tunes on the old iPod. Anyway, it's fun to think about Happy Valley when I'm on my way up there tomorrow. Maybe I'll meet up with Herby at ye olde SCE. But 'cept my flight doesn't get in until late... because I had to schedule it later in the day. Ugh. I hate the late flights.

So, yeah... I'll be in SCE tomorrow. Yay.

Meanwhile, we celebrated Mom's b'day last night at Outback in Blowing Rock with Mom, Dad, Granny, Haley & Mike. Everything was great, including Granny's ultra-meaningful acknowledgement of my attendance at Aunt Nina's funeral. Thanks for caring that I was there, Gran.

In case you forgot from last year, today is Mom's actual birthday. Happy birthday, sweet mother. Glad I was able to celebrate for a minute or two with you on the actual day. :) Cooper & Kona also wanted me to tell you happy birthday (to their Granny) and thanks for putting up with their craziness for the last couple of days!

Haley, be beautiful tomorrow. I know, I know. You really don't have to try. You're just that pretty naturally.

OK, peeps... off to bed. Gotta get up & pack in the AM. Sigh.

I Always Wanted Someone To Decide For Me

You Should Be a Politician

Confident, assertive, and dedicated - you know what you want in life and how to get it. Stubborn and opinionated, you can stand your ground... even if it's unpopular. And while you have strong views, you never overwhelm people with your opinions. A true charmer, you subtly influence people into seeing things your way. You do best when you: - Work according to your own rules - Can change the world with what you do You would also be a good lawyer or talk show host.

What Should You Be When You Grow Up?

One other thing that's REALLY meaningful to me at the moment: stupid trucks should not be allowed to drive on the interstate when it's raining. Period.

In Reference to Those Worrying Days

Rest in peace, sweet Aunt Nina

During our bike ride earlier, Kona, Cooper & I were talking about Aunt Nina. I was telling them about diverticulitis and a song popped into my mind. I'm sure Aunt Nina put it in there, so I immediately decided it must be posted here.

Well it's a great, great morning
Your first day in Heaven
When you stroll down the golden avenue.
There are mansions left and right
And you're thrilled at every sight
And the saints are always smiling saying "How do you do?"
Oh it's a great, great morning
Your first day in Heaven
When you realize your worrying days are through.
You'll be glad you were not idol
Took time to read your Bible
It's a great great morning for you.

Also on tonight's agenda:
- An excellent movie from way back (I'm trying to clean up the TiVo... as per my usual) that I recommend each and every one of you watch (and cry through): Terms of Endearment
- The meat-to-bun-to-condiment ratio on the most recent Big Bang
- Being patriotic about something other than war: A direct John Edwards quote on Bill Maher's last show (which was kick-ass, if you don't watch it... Garry Kasparov and John Edwards... two stellar guests... and Chris Matthews was actually quite enjoyable as well)

If I Just Lay Here With the Express Intention of Forgetting the World

Running gives me a headache. (Thank goodness this time I can actually spell that word without having to look it up on www.m-w.com! Let's face it, that particular night (with the migraine), I was lucky to remember how to spell m-w.com!) Anyway, so despite the resulting headache, I wouldn't trade the exhilaration of actually getting up out of my comfy chair and running. Gold star for me... and my headache.

Let's see... what else? The merger's moving right along. I actually may be back up north next week to do more work at the not-for-much-longer corp HQ. Yay... to seeing those folks again and another good time! Meanwhile, I'm doing my darnedest to come up with a good reason to have to go to Amsterdam again before we close. I could theoretically need to go to figure out the logistics of EMEA/AsiaPac payroll, but who would buy that? Well... technically only Mary has to. And she promised to go with me, so... :) Eh, we'll see. She seems to have a LOT on her plate at the moment... including icky family stuff. Anyway, for now, there seems to be the great white north trip next week... Orlando the week after... a non-celebration of 31 in between. Yes. Boo. And if you were going to forget, feel free to go ahead with that. Ugh. That makes me want to run to bed and pull the covers over my head. I think that's what I'll do now. I'm off to find the wizard... to see if he has a magic cure for this headache.

Peace & love.

The Overall State of Blowing

36:40 blows. Coughing, phlegm, and chest congestion also blow. I'm just saying. Dammit.

Because, Because, Because, Because, Because... Because of the Wonderful Things He Does

So... I was just reading through my RSS feeds -- you know, just to "clean up" a little around here (I've already cleaned up around the yard by spraying Round-Up around all the beds where I hadn't already weeded by hand... I prefer weeding by hand... don't ask me why; just some stupid thing about me... but it was so out of control that I just had to give in and spray everything... besides it's a good time with the doggies away from home so I don't have to worry about them eating too much of the Round-Up. AND I've already cleaned up around the house by steam-cleaning the carpet in my two highest-traffic rooms (bedroom and office), picked up around the whole house, emptied the dishwasher, started a load of towels in the washing machine, and swept out the garage.). So, it was time to pick up the computer and clean up here, too. Anyway, one of the last stories that caught my attention was on Lifehacker (which, I've told you before, is one of my favorite RSS feeds... those guys/gals at Lifehacker have a good eye for useful information and tips & tricks). Today's most recent post? They're asking their readers how they/we/you motivate yourself to exercise. Well, look no further, Lifehackers. I'm motivated to exercise just by you asking me! That and I've run out of things to do to feel productive at the moment. So, you're reading it here first (and I'm writing it here first... truthfully, to hold myself to it). I'm going running. Right now.

What are you doing still reading? I SAID I was going running right now. Quit reading so I can go already. Geez.

Moving Right Through Me With Another Darn 11

Golly gee, this day. And yes, there are other words I'd much prefer using. So... the first time I woke up this morning was to my sweet little sister's ultra-early phone call. She-who-also-likes-to-sleep-in was up & at 'em for a full day this morning and already on her way to work at seven-something... I was too tired to actually notice the real time. In fact, I was too tired to stay awake for the whole two-minute-or-so conversation. I think I fell asleep a little in the middle of it. She was quite understanding, though, having been the recipient of a way-too-early-get-the-heck-out-of-my-ear phone call several times before (only a few from me... one recently, which I clearly recall, as I was in my 2nd airport of the day already before she had even begun to stir). Anyway, it was like... "Hello?... Uh-huh... Yep... Zzzzzz... Okay, bye." And I have no idea what she said. Sad, yes. But true.

I swear, after that, I heard my alarm, both at 8:00 and 8:30; but Bob & Sheri's voices must've been extra soothing this morning. I don't even know what the Chat Room had going on. All I was doing was enjoying my lovely expensive and clean (i.e., no dog hair, no dirt/sand, no chewed-up holes) bedding. And my slumber was abruptly & rudely interrupted at 9:04 by my mean old boss. Yeah, yeah, yeah... blah, blah, blah... conference call at 9:00... waiting for you... blah, blah, blah. Oh C.R.A.P.

Once I get on the call, I was called on quite early in the conversation to give a progress report for the team I'm leading. Well, progress is HARD. Swing and a miss for me this morning on that one. It turns out I tried to cheat our employees out of an average of $1,544.35 just because I ♥ love ♥ Excel. I get excited over complicated problems that require functions and vlookups; and I lose sight of the goal. When the problem is 2 + 2, ask me to solve it in Excel using vlookup, a few other functions, and a pivot table; and I'll be so proud of my resulting spreadsheet that I won't even notice it's telling me the answer is 5. Oh well, as long as there's someone around to check my logic, I'll still be proud of my spreadsheets, I guess! Good thing I have a boss and couple of colleagues who love pointing out when I lose my sense. Okay... I don't really think they love it... but I continue to help them work on their constructive criticism skills. So that's good, right?!

Also, one more thing to say about today before I put it behind me and hope for a smoother tomorrow. Someone, please, if you see me in the grocery store, please tell me to step away from the doughnuts, return the cookies to their shelf, and back away from the chocolate cake. What is with me and junk food? I am a full-time grazer. Just call me 2x4.

But I had to celebrate. That's my excuse. Happy b'day, Rufus! Many x's and o's, sweet friend. Wish I had a chocolate oreo milkshake to bring you. Maybe soon, though; maybe soon.

Just a Number Always Counting Down to a New Start

Holy crap. I forgot how nice it feels to have nice, clean, expensive-but-not-worried-about-it-getting-ruined bedding. I miss my pumpkin, but my new sheets and duvet feel great. Meanwhile, I've been getting back in touch with my TiVo. It's been a while since we've had some real quality time.



Now, if I could just quit coughing and get sleepy.

An Overdue Thanks

I just wanted to take a few snuffly moments here this snuffly evening to say a snuffly thank you to he (or she) who gave me this cold. Wherever you are, without your thoughtfulness of passing along these germs, I wouldn't have remembered how much I love being well and feeling good. Isn't it always when we feel bad that we consider how great we normally have it? I also wouldn't have remembered how much I like spending time with you, with people... no offense to the doggies who take up most of my days, but companionship -- human companionship -- is quite underrated. So, no worries, whoever you are. Your cold is safe with me.

Happy sneezing!

Just Have Your Fun and Go On Keep On Keepin' On, Boy

As I went to bed last night, I had a feeling in the back of my throat. It's on the left side back of my throat. And it was kind of ouchie. Uh-oh, I thought. Yeah, uh-oh. I woke up several times during the night with a progressively ouchier ouchie back left side of my throat. And when I was finally awakened by my multiple alarms (one random international phone call that I definitely chose to ignore, the alarm clock playing some news, weather, and traffic during the Z102 morning show, and one welcome text from my favorite alarm clock of all -- who was already at work before eight this morning!), I had a full-blown sore throat. I hate sore throats. I think I can take any kind of sickness (well, except for throwing up... I HATE that) better than a sore throat. I think it's because I love food so much. If anything detracts from the joy I get from my three meals and multiple snacks per day, I'm pissed.

Anyway, so I battled the icky sore throat with a full glass of vitamin C (aka orange juice) and a swig of liquid Dayquil. It's been a while since I've taken Dayquil. I know there have been times in my life when I've sworn by it. The stuff is magic. And just like any too-good-to-be-true spell, there's a crash at the end. Dayquil works for five hours almost exactly in my body. It also has some not-so-fun side effects. But it keeps my throat from hurting. So I'll take the float-y my-head's-on-a-balloon-string feeling at the beginning and end of the five hours. It seriously is amazing how accurately the Dayquil and my body can measure time. I took the first dose a few minutes after 8 am, the 2nd at 1:06 pm, and the 3rd at 6:11 pm. A few minutes ago (around 10:47 pm actually), I decided I'd had enough for the day and came to bed. I do NOT like the float-y feeling when I'm trying to go to sleep, though, so I switched to Nyquil... which, oddly, doesn't have much of an effect at all on me (except, HOPEFULLY, blocking the sore throat). Thinking that I'd eventually crash with the promised drowsiness, I sat down with K&C to await sweet rest. They had other plans, though; and the Nyquil didn't seem to mind. So, we played for a good 45 minutes. Well, for most of it, they played, and I snapped pics. I know. I'm addicted. What else is new? Anyway, I'll try not to overwhelm you. But I enjoyed some continuous snap action.

Silly tongue-sticker-outer:

This one makes me laugh because their mouths are soooo wide open:

I think it's freakin' hilarious when Coop shows me his bottom teeth. He's so silly:

Then I decided it was time for a little howling... which Cooper always greets with a "Really?":

Then, an "Okay, YES":

By that time, Kona wanted in on the fun:

If you've ever been privy to one of those howling sessions, you know the decibel level gets pretty high pretty quickly... so we had to put a stop to that with the tennis ball. I love, love, love, love, love rolling it under the bed so Coop has to crawl in after it:

But what's this? A part of a wrapper? Hmm... keep crawling with ball... stop to chew wrapper... keep crawling with ball... stop to chew wrapper:

Oh yes, stop to chew wrapper.

Now, what was I doing?

Oh yeah, crawling out from under here. I feel like I'm forgetting something... oh well, it'll come to me eventually.

The Jumpey Thing, Part Deux

The Jumpey Thing

Ah, the fair. I love the fair. We kept putting off going for one reason or another... but I eventually made it one night (Friday) with Andrew, Amy, Karen, and Kim. And thanks to Karen & Kim -- who decided we WERE going to pay the $7 for a few bounces -- I let my inner child out to play. I know, I'm ridiculous. But it was FUN.

What Did You Laugh About Today?

"The most wasted of all days is one without laughter."
- e.e. cummings

The Pick The Brain blog post from today gives us "8 simple ways to enjoy life every day". One of those ways (with the e.e.c. quote from above as emphasis) is to take time out of whatever you're doing to laugh. Laugh at yourself, laugh with someone else. Find a joke, cartoon, some funny somewhere and just have yourself a little chuckle. I fully, completely, 100% agree. It is essential to laugh.

So, in the spirit of giving you something to laugh at now, I give you a few of my LOL's (laugh out loud's) from today:
- Haley's idea of the perfect Halloween costume for me (because of my dark hair, natch): http://www.buycostumes.com/Category/126/4294967190/Product/19512/ProductDetail.aspx
- My idea of the perfect Halloween costume for me: http://www.buycostumes.com/Category/126/4294967190/Product/17918/ProductDetail.aspx

Hmm... obviously I didn't laugh out loud nearly enough times today. I pledge to do better tomorrow... as long as you do the same. Meanwhile, send me your funnies. I need a laugh.

Okay, so, it's not an LOL... but it is a really sweet video:

How Many Sprinkles Does It Take To Regain One's Chi?

Okay... I had this whole paragraph about awkward encounters written. I wanted to be all thought-provoking about the individual differences that cause some people to be confrontational, some to be anticonfrontational, others to go for the awkward laugh, etc. But Cooper & Kona totally just disrupted my chi. They were out barking at the sprinklers... loudly... at 1 in the morning. (Oh yes, Cooper & Kona are wonderful causes of awkward encounters... between neighbors!) And to top it off, Cooper wouldn't come when I called him... because the sprinkler was sprinkling in his path... and he eventually caused me to get sprayed by it. At 1 in the morning... in my PJs. Great. Now I'm cranky, not only because my original awkward encounters paragraph was crap, but also because I'm... sprinkled. (And not the good kind... like the multicolored sprinkles on a chocolate-covered doughnut. Dang it... now WHO had to go and conjure up a picture of a chocolate-covered doughnut?! Mmmm... how yummy would that be right now?!)

Anyway, more than a couple awkward encounters (past, present, and future, natch) actually inspired my desire to write about them tonight... but I'll just share the one funny one (as observed between other people) with you. Do you watch The Daily Show? If you don't, you should. Jon Stewart is hilarious. And oh-so-thoughtful. And I'm a Republican. (There, I said it.) Anyway, on tonight's Daily Show, Jon's guest was Lynne Cheney. Yes, that Lynne Cheney. And if you think you might enjoy seeing Jon Stewart squirm, please please please go find the video clip online and WATCH IT. Classic.

Also, another one of my favorite reality-show-cum-social-experiment programs is back to "fresh" episodes (yes, it's on The CW... where "fresh" is some weird way they've chosen to tell us the eps are new). Beauty and the Geek also has some quintessential cringe-worthy awkward encounters. Sam & Rebecca doing whatever they were doing in the bed above Nicole? Boy oh boy, take me back to college. And, oh my gosh, on yet another reality show that I can't seem to get enough of (who knew I watched this much TV?!), Parisa let loose at the end of the most recent Real World!! OK... but really... we do not have to discuss my bad TV-watching habits. I actually think I could just quit TV altogether if I had something fun with which to replace it. Alas... my latest attempt at "something fun" was cancelled (I had enrolled in a continuing ed photography course).

What does it all mean? Who knows... I'm just gabbing... pretty much in those few moments of complete NON-lucidity right before I fall asleep. Shoot... for all I know, I just told you about the pink-haired lady on her bike with the apples in the horse basket. Talk about your awkward encounters. Later, kids.

I Would Title This Post With Some Clever Lyric From My Fave Song From Today, But I Have No Freakin' Idea What Soulja Boy Is Saying

Hmm... what to write about when you just don't want to write??? Well, first of all, let's just explore that feeling for a second. I started this blog because I wanted to. No one truly makes me write every night (okay, every weeknight). I do it for me, right? RIGHT? Well, the pressure's getting to me. It's not as fun anymore. I enjoy the end result, but I don't like the process. Hey, they reminds me of a deep moment I had recently... too bad my memory's as bad as it is and I really can't remember what that insight was about. Well, that's enough about that. I have no idea what that little outburst was about; but I'm glad it's over, eh? (Spending too much time in Canada recently!)

So, back to the point... what to write about when you just don't want to write. And here begins another cop-out post. So, given that you'll all reading this at a computer (of some sort), I'll take a moment to gross you out. Your keyboard has more germs on it than over 400 toilet seats. See? You really do learn something new every day. Want to know a more educated guess at how many germs really are lurking beneath your precious fingertips? Take the little quiz yourself at http://www.justsayhi.com/bb/keyboard.

Keep in mind, I work from home... don't share any of my workspace with anyone but Cooper & Kona (not that they don't have germs... I'm sure every little green monster on my keyboard originates from them!)... anyway, that's my story for the relatively low germ count on my keyboard. Just fair warning that yours is gonna be higher.

1,887,480How Many Germs Live On Your Keyboard?

Okay, maybe I'll be inspired to write more later. Maybe it'll be funny, interesting, sweet, meaningful, and great, too. Maybe maybe is the word of the day. Stupid maybe.

In My Humble Opinion, Dove Hits Another "Campaign For Real Beauty" Home Run

I Had the Ticket in my Hand

I miss SCE, and I'm not even gone yet! OK... I like the attention. I love being in demand. I live to be included. Tonight, Mary included me in the small circle at Zola's. I had a blast. George (his real name's Mark), Mary, Bill (the other one), good ole Larry, SOT, Mike P., and me. (No COR-M... although, he made many many "appearances" during the course of the evening. He's invited the next time... and to Amsterdam... read on, read on.) And I'm glad I didn't have to even SEE the final check. It was very enjoyable. And made me sad to see the end of the COR. We toasted the COR. We toasted the future. And yet we all looked around the table and knew that one, maybe two of us, would still have a job in 6 months. Oh well. Life is short. Live it up.

Meanwhile, we'll see if Mary is all talk tomorrow. M&D, she promised one more trip to Amsterdam before "the end". She said she was serious as long as I would plan it. And you KNOW I'm up for it. :) Actually, everyone at the table was up for it... in theory. We'll see what tomorrow's light of day actually brings. I just MISS being a part of the crew!!!

Anyway, it's off to an early turn-in for me tonight. I don't like this office-job thing. Dang it... I guess I'll eventually HAVE to get used to it, eh?

Missing life... XO

Curve

Veritable Mack Daddies: I Know, Right?!

I love that the networks basically put up all their new shows (multiple episodes going all the way back to the pilots, in some cases) online these days. I don't understand why one would purchase an episode when you can watch it online so easily. Well, I guess I do really understand... since the advent of iPods and being able to download and (i)tote music and video. But, still, I think that's dumb. I've been catching up on my new shows (and some old ones) via full-version episodes on the network web sites. I started on ABC's web site last week, finished one over there tonight, then started working on NBC's... but their web site was having problems, so I ended up starting down the path of CBS's new shows. Cute, huh? I like, too.

Let's see, let's see... what else?! Well, I'm in SCE this week to meet & greet with the new boss. The best news: she's a Tar Heel. The rest of the story... well, I'll reserve much more judgment until I find out more. Today felt very precursory... like it was strongly suggested that we all meet & greet in SCE without anything really being decided or any real direction set. So, no news. I did learn today, however, that my latest word du jour is actually. Hey... at least it's not evidently anymore... or WORSE, two thumbs up.

I couldn't get the rest of the crew to come with me after hours, so I headed by my lonesome to join the party over at Larry & Pam's. The party there is always fun. They're good peeps. Mary (my current boss) followed shortly (she was on a conference call and intended to take the new boss out to dinner to wrap-up after her looooong day... but new boss was tired... and Mary came on to join the party at Larry & Pam's, too. Pam is the absolute best cook I've been around in a really, really, really long time. She had some excellent beef, potatoes, asparagus, tomatoes, salad, and apple/peach pie. That crazy Pam. She didn't even know how many to prepare for, and she outdid herself yet again. Mary & Mike P. were in rare form... so, I was my usual jovial self. I thoroughly enjoy getting laughs. Anything... anything... anything for a laugh. And I got quite a few from the tippsy party attendees tonight. Therefore, I'll go for more again tomorrow... since I've been invited along for another evening meal with Mary & Mike P. Don't I feel special?! Well, I might've... had Mike P. not already called me "what's-her-name" numerous times today. Eh, whatever. The CEO told him my name when he couldn't think of it. What I'm MOST curious about (being the vain person I am) is how Mike P. described me to Dave & Mary when trying to get them to understand who he was talking about whose name he couldn't remember. (Did you follow all that?)

OK, anyway... off to finish this funny, funny show... and then to bed, I go.

Ouch, Migraine Symptoms Dissipate NOW

Headache... it's impossible to spell when in the middle of a migraine. First comes aura. Next come symptoms like a stroke where I can't even comprehend words and sentences. Jon sent me a message via IM a few minutes ago, and I could not read it at all. I thought I'd record the oddness of it by writing a really quick post. If it seems out-of-it or completely random and without any sense at all, you know why. It kinda goes in and out... sometimes my brain can come up with the word, sometimes I lose the word altogether. It's the oddest thing. As I sit here and try to remember a simple little word, my mind goes completely blank and I have no idea what I'm trying to say.

I need my brain please. Reboot. Sleep soon to ward off migraine symptoms.

G'night from State College... where I've found myself on a last-minute hello/goodbye trip.