Trying to Remain Positive

Posted on January 12, 2004 by Frog

Today at ye olde contracting job we were told that we had to get our new security cards between 3 and 4 or as of Wednesday we won’t be able to get into the door. I thought that there was no way that I’d be able to get one of those since I still don’t have the id badge. I went with my supervisor to prove that I really do work there.

There was a line of more than 100 people. There was one person handing out the security cards. There were lots of people whining and yammering. There was one person behind me who got into it with the woman giving out the cards. In case you didn’t notice pal you arguing with the woman who is clearly swamped is holding up the line. We wrestled our way back out the door and then groused about how much money the agency lost by having lots and lots of people stand around for 20 minutes waiting for a security card.

But, if you think about it, there are lots of people who waste more than 20 minutes every day at their jobs standing around chatting, drinking coffee, smoking, deciding about lunch, talking to their whomever and in general not working.

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Just like a date

Posted on January 11, 2004 by Frog

Last night the better-half and I went out and it was just like a date, in fact, you could call it that. First we went to Cabo’s for dinner and everything was pretty darn nice. He had fried oysters, caesar salad and sea bass with a risotto. I had vegetable spring rolls, mixed green salad and jumbo scallops. His oysters were good but not outstanding and that was the only real complaint about the experience. I’m glad we went there for dinner.

Then we went to the symphony (his Christmas gift from me) and were well entertained. The guest vocalist was very talented and it is nice to see people on stage who really want to be there. Richmond is lucky to have such talent.

After the show we moved the car out of the parking deck and swung around the corner to enjoy a few pints (a black and tan, a guinness and two fuller’s) at the newly re-opened Penny Lane Pub. Man o’ man they did a good job converting the space into a cozy pub. There is an upstairs as well and I assume that’s were the games are but I didn’t venture up the staircase. If there was more smoke (not that we didn’t come out of there reeking of smoke) and less food we could have imagined ourselves in a real pub in England. The owner is from Liverpool so he knows a good pub. I’m really glad they’ve opened the doors again after having to move. The place was hopping so I guess we’re not the only ones who are glad the pub is open again.

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Because we can’t eat CPUs

Posted on January 9, 2004 by Goat

I saw this quote in a daily newsletter:

”I can’t understand why we continue to pour resources into the industries of the 19th century.” – Intel CEO Craig Barrett bemoaning U.S. agriculture subsidies

I felt compelled to respond.

Answer #1: Because we can’t eat microprocessors?

Answer #2: If we lose even the basic ability to produce food for ourselves, the rest of the world has us by the balls…

Answer #3: Corporate mass production of food has a less than stellar record (in terms of health of its consumers, environmental effects, food monoculture), with some truly scary genetic-modification propositions. We ought to hedge our bets with the individual farmers.

Answer #4: When we lose the individual farms, the corporations have the entire nation by the balls. And corporations have a singular focus: munny trumps everything else.

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Getting a Good Laugh

Posted on January 9, 2004 by Frog

I thought I’d post a picture of the snow that is falling here in the Richmond area. The title of this post is an invitation for everyone to get a good chuckle out of our snow. I’ve read posts on other blogs over the past few weeks where they can’t find their cars because of all the snow falling. I will hand it to the local schools for not canceling today.

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Snow?

Posted on January 8, 2004 by Frog

We’re slated for some snow tonight according to the weather gurus. I could have predicted as much from the pressure in my head that is getting progressively worse as the day gets longer. I think we’re only going to get an inch or so but I say bring it on.

On a totally different subject, check out the House Proud section for a little homeowner introspection.

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What to Do

Posted on January 8, 2004 by Frog

We’re in soul searching mode with the house right now. Over the weekend we were sitting on the patio since it was down-right balmy and both said it is a day like this where we can’t imagine living anywhere else.

Then we started getting practical and looked at the destruction in the basement and the need to waterproof it and then put walls back up and do something about heating and flooring down there. And then we discussed what our kitchen needs, what our hardwood floors need, the fact that the washer and dryer are in the garage, etc. The dollar figures for doing all of that work make our heads spin and we haven’t even talked to a professional yet. We got our tax assessment in the mail over the weekend and at least from that perspective our value has increased decently in the time we’ve owned the property.

We’re pleased to live on 7 acres because that gives us privacy we wouldn’t have if we lived in a subdivision or in a town. There is a trade-off though and that includes probably waiting another 3-5 years before a wireless network comes anywhere close to us so that our cell phones work or give us a fast connection to the internet. We’ve been told we’ll never have the benefit of cable because of the distance we are from town and the road we live off of is a historic road so that means no real digging, expansion, etc.

With all of that said, we really are torn between spending a shload of money on expansion on our house to have everything we want and selling the house and buying something in, say, Ashland-which is the area where the better-half grew up and is the proverbial small town.

I’m not sure what we’ll do. It is probably prudent to find out how much it will cost to do what we want to do to the house and then decide. Honestly, though, it isn’t that simple. We got married in this house and we planned on staying here until we were too feeble. Emotional attachment is definitely something we have to consider.

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Lotto Winner

Posted on January 8, 2004 by Frog

No, say it isn’t so…she lied. That revelation is totally from left field, isn’t it?

Posted in General Spleen Venting | Comments Off

If you are in Memphis

Posted on January 8, 2004 by Frog

If you are in Memphis today you should head on over to Graceland. After all it is the birthday of Elvis.

Of course I don’t really understand birthday celebrations for people who are dead, but it sounds like there’s plenty going on in Memphis today.

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Vacation

Posted on January 7, 2004 by Frog

I know I just posted about how glad I am that it is cold outside but if I’m not a tad unbalanced then I’m nothing. This post is about how happy I am that the better-half booked a reservation for a week’s vacation here in late August.

Posted in Generic Thoughts | Comments Off

Ahh

Posted on January 7, 2004 by Frog

Winter has finally come to Virginia. I realize that other states have been inundated with snow and freezing cold but as recently as this past weekend we slept with the windows open. Today I broke out the down jacket. I’m so happy…yes, it is a weird world when someone says Amen it is cold. But the way I look at is this: if I live in a temperate zone then I’m supposed to have seasons–4 of them. How can I enjoy the Spring if I don’t have the Winter?

Speaking of weirdness, last night when I was driving home I noticed a car was entering the same ramp to I-95 as I was (I was coming from 195 and he was coming from I-64) and it had no lights on. For those of you who don’t live around here there’s really no reason why a car would not have its lights on already since it isn’t like that driver pulled out of a parking light and then immediately hit the interstate. His lights did come on and he and I exited I-95 together. At the light at the end of the ramp he rolled pretty far over the white line so I immediately thought that when the light turns green I’m getting as far away from him as possible. I’m thinking no lights+creeping way over the line=drunk. The light turns green and I am able to get in front of him because he’s driving so slowly and his lights go off again. Now I start thinking he’s not drunk he’s just driving a hunk of sh*t. As far as I know he drove along a very dark road for an extended amount of time with no lights on. I considered calling 911 but then I thought what do I tell them? I can’t see him, obviously, and he could have turned on a side street so I wished him and everyone else well and went home.

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