Coming back for a full work week after being on vacation for 10 days is tough. This has been one long week. Maybe that explains the dream I had the other night:
I lived in this little prairie town in the 1850's, and somehow we got into an argument with a neighboring town. So everyone in our town started marching towards the other town. They did the same. We met them on this dusty mountain road about half-way. All of a sudden a referee comes out and says "How many are you?" to our side. We respond "300 strong!" He asks they other side. "Nearly 1,000!" they say. The referee looks back at us and says "good luck!"
The rules of the battle were ridiculous. Everyone got one shot, and we took turns. So basically in order for this to be a draw, we'd have to kill roughly 3 people with every shot, while hoping they missed a few times. Then maybe one person would survive this ridiculous battle. Anyways, we won the toss and got to shoot first. So this little old lady with a bonnet on pulls out her rifle, walks about 10 feet away from the other townspeople, and fires. Only her gun jams. "Too bad," says the ref. "Ok, your turn!" So this guy walks up and guns down the old lady. it's now 1,000 vs. 299. We take another shot, and again the gun jams. Again, another of our people bites the dust. 1,000 vs. 298. I don't know how long this went on, but every time our side took a shot, something went wrong and we just kept on dying. Then I saw this pregnant lady on our side, and I just started crying uncontrollably. "We're all gonna die!" I scream and just collapse on the side of the road, waiting for my turn to get shot. Then I woke up.
Not my favorite dream of all time.
In other, less morbid news, Rachel has suspended me from mail duties until further notice. After leaving my mailbox key in the mailbox and having it returned by some nice man for the 4th time this year, she finally decided I am unfit to retrieve the mail from our box. Basically a 4 year old could get our mail, but I can't. And yet she married me. I must be doing something right but trust me, I don't know what it is.
Friday, July 13, 2007
Monday, July 9, 2007
Work...who needs it?
Remind me why I work again?
Today consisted of these things:
~I was informed that I'd be getting a bonus. The bonus comes out to roughly $300 after taxes. Yippee.
~I was informed that I am eligible for a raise, if the compensation committee approves it. The compensation committee does not deal with me on a regular basis. If I am approved for a raise, the MAXIMUM I can get is roughly $600 for the year. That's BEFORE taxes. Double Yippee.
~ Apparently hardly anything got done while I was gone. While part of this can be attributed to a switch in computer systems, I believe a large part is directly attributed to the work habits of one specific co-worker of mine. Despite the lack of work completed, she's thinking of taking a day off this week to "recharge after the rough week." Also today we had a power outage that lasted roughly 45 minutes. About 25 minutes after the power came back on, this particular coworker decided that she was still entitled to her 15 minute break, despite the fact that we sat around doing nothing while the power was out. This 15 minute break came roughly 30 minutes prior to a going away celebration for our coworker. Between lunch, the power outage, the break, and the celebration, I'd say that she worked approximately 25 minutes in the last 5 hours of the work day today. Impressive. Oh, and we're still backed up.
~I was also informed that I did not get accepted the accounting program at OSU. The reason? I have not completed the 4 prerequisite classes that NOBODY IN THE PAST 6 MONTHS THAT I HAVE TRIED TO GET ANSWERS ON WHAT I NEEDED TO DO TO GET ACCEPTED TOLD ME ABOUT! So now I have 4 more classes that I have to take, and if I get a B average in them, I will be pre-approved for the '08 year. But wait, there's more! One of the classes is only offered fall term, and it's already full. Furthermore, I'm not even eligible to register for it because I'm not in the accounting program. The accounting program that I can't get into because I haven't taken this class. I'm really impressed with the whole process really.
Today consisted of these things:
~I was informed that I'd be getting a bonus. The bonus comes out to roughly $300 after taxes. Yippee.
~I was informed that I am eligible for a raise, if the compensation committee approves it. The compensation committee does not deal with me on a regular basis. If I am approved for a raise, the MAXIMUM I can get is roughly $600 for the year. That's BEFORE taxes. Double Yippee.
~ Apparently hardly anything got done while I was gone. While part of this can be attributed to a switch in computer systems, I believe a large part is directly attributed to the work habits of one specific co-worker of mine. Despite the lack of work completed, she's thinking of taking a day off this week to "recharge after the rough week." Also today we had a power outage that lasted roughly 45 minutes. About 25 minutes after the power came back on, this particular coworker decided that she was still entitled to her 15 minute break, despite the fact that we sat around doing nothing while the power was out. This 15 minute break came roughly 30 minutes prior to a going away celebration for our coworker. Between lunch, the power outage, the break, and the celebration, I'd say that she worked approximately 25 minutes in the last 5 hours of the work day today. Impressive. Oh, and we're still backed up.
~I was also informed that I did not get accepted the accounting program at OSU. The reason? I have not completed the 4 prerequisite classes that NOBODY IN THE PAST 6 MONTHS THAT I HAVE TRIED TO GET ANSWERS ON WHAT I NEEDED TO DO TO GET ACCEPTED TOLD ME ABOUT! So now I have 4 more classes that I have to take, and if I get a B average in them, I will be pre-approved for the '08 year. But wait, there's more! One of the classes is only offered fall term, and it's already full. Furthermore, I'm not even eligible to register for it because I'm not in the accounting program. The accounting program that I can't get into because I haven't taken this class. I'm really impressed with the whole process really.
Back in Oregon
After being in the car for roughly 55 hours over the past 10 days, it feels really good to do something else.....like stand up.
Our trip to Colorado was a great time. We visited two National Parks (Grand Teton and Rocky Mountain) and saw some great wildlife. Buffalo, bighorn sheep, moose, a fox or two, and an entire herd of elk, which was amazing. Sadly, I was unable to get any great pictures of any of these animals, just some blurry shots that may or may not be actual animals.
I got to see some people I haven't seen for almost six years, which was also fantastic. It was great to see Kindra again and it was like we had seen each other just yesterday. She started right in on my eating habits and my addiction to Pepsi. Rachel just nodded approvingly. For a second there it was like I had two wives. But it's nice to know that people are concerned about me.
No real strange things happened on vacation, which I guess you could say is a good thing, although it'd be nice to share stories with you.
The best story I guess would be about the little kid who was staying in the same condos as us. I was playing catch with Rachel's 10 year old cousin Brett and this kid comes running out to play with us. The kid just didn't know how to catch the ball, which was kind of sad. His glove was always turned the wrong way and he just looked like nobody had ever worked with him on it. But the kid thought he was great, kept saying how quick his reflexes were and all this junk. That made me not want to help him out at all. Brett threw him the ball, and the ball clanked off his glove and hit him square in the face. Looked like it hurt pretty bad, so I said "hey man, you ok?" and he replies "Yeah, I take shots like that all the time."
Well, ok then. Keep it up kiddo!
Our trip to Colorado was a great time. We visited two National Parks (Grand Teton and Rocky Mountain) and saw some great wildlife. Buffalo, bighorn sheep, moose, a fox or two, and an entire herd of elk, which was amazing. Sadly, I was unable to get any great pictures of any of these animals, just some blurry shots that may or may not be actual animals.
I got to see some people I haven't seen for almost six years, which was also fantastic. It was great to see Kindra again and it was like we had seen each other just yesterday. She started right in on my eating habits and my addiction to Pepsi. Rachel just nodded approvingly. For a second there it was like I had two wives. But it's nice to know that people are concerned about me.
No real strange things happened on vacation, which I guess you could say is a good thing, although it'd be nice to share stories with you.
The best story I guess would be about the little kid who was staying in the same condos as us. I was playing catch with Rachel's 10 year old cousin Brett and this kid comes running out to play with us. The kid just didn't know how to catch the ball, which was kind of sad. His glove was always turned the wrong way and he just looked like nobody had ever worked with him on it. But the kid thought he was great, kept saying how quick his reflexes were and all this junk. That made me not want to help him out at all. Brett threw him the ball, and the ball clanked off his glove and hit him square in the face. Looked like it hurt pretty bad, so I said "hey man, you ok?" and he replies "Yeah, I take shots like that all the time."
Well, ok then. Keep it up kiddo!
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Stop! Hammertime!
So tomorrow I start my 10 day summer vacation. Sure doesn't stack up against the 3 month vacations we used to get when we were kids, but I'll take what I can get these days. Rachel and I are off on a road trip to Fraser, Colorado. Fraser is a tiny little mountain town with not much around it. We're meeting other members of her family there for a relaxing week of doing not much. Should be great. Plus, I used to work at a ski resort not that far from there, so I plan on seeing some people I used to work with.
In other news, congrats to the OSU baseball team for winning another national championship. It's hard to wrap your head around what the team just did....but with the way the ended the regular season and eked their way into the tournament, it's the equivalent of what George Mason did a few years ago in getting to the Final Four. Only we won. Two years in a row. The team is fun to watch, for the most part they stay out of trouble (Mike Lissman is getting a bad rap in my opinion.....he was just following his mother's lead. He was wrong, and he was punished by the legal system. He didn't need to be suspended, especially for a first offense.) and they're mostly local kids. Plus, they've made baseball relevant in Oregon. I heard that little league participation in Oregon is at an all time high. That's great, because so many kids were abandoning baseball for individual sports like skateboarding. Baseball is a fantastic game, and I'm so happy that more people are discovering a love and appreciation for it.
One thing I've discovered over the past few days is that women love Darwin Barney and Mitch Canham. I'm pretty sure they will have no problem getting endorsement deals if they make the big leagues. The women at work were swooning over the two of them for the past few weeks. Rachel also commented on the difference in their appeal. "Darwin is more cute attractive, like a little kid. Mitch is more of a "put your wedding ring in your pocket" attractive.
I don't think we'll be going to too many Eugene Emeralds games this summer.
I also downloaded this biorythms application for my facebook account. Apparently these rythms are based on your birthdate and I'm not sure what else. There are three different rythms: physical, emotional, and intellectual. According to my biorythms, I'm about as low as you can get in all three. I won't peak until November 2008. Great. Not like I'm going to need my energy this year.
Alright, I'm out for 10 days....try to survive without my blogs. I know they keep you guys going sometimes. After all, everyone needs a little of the Snacks every now and then!
In other news, congrats to the OSU baseball team for winning another national championship. It's hard to wrap your head around what the team just did....but with the way the ended the regular season and eked their way into the tournament, it's the equivalent of what George Mason did a few years ago in getting to the Final Four. Only we won. Two years in a row. The team is fun to watch, for the most part they stay out of trouble (Mike Lissman is getting a bad rap in my opinion.....he was just following his mother's lead. He was wrong, and he was punished by the legal system. He didn't need to be suspended, especially for a first offense.) and they're mostly local kids. Plus, they've made baseball relevant in Oregon. I heard that little league participation in Oregon is at an all time high. That's great, because so many kids were abandoning baseball for individual sports like skateboarding. Baseball is a fantastic game, and I'm so happy that more people are discovering a love and appreciation for it.
One thing I've discovered over the past few days is that women love Darwin Barney and Mitch Canham. I'm pretty sure they will have no problem getting endorsement deals if they make the big leagues. The women at work were swooning over the two of them for the past few weeks. Rachel also commented on the difference in their appeal. "Darwin is more cute attractive, like a little kid. Mitch is more of a "put your wedding ring in your pocket" attractive.
I don't think we'll be going to too many Eugene Emeralds games this summer.
I also downloaded this biorythms application for my facebook account. Apparently these rythms are based on your birthdate and I'm not sure what else. There are three different rythms: physical, emotional, and intellectual. According to my biorythms, I'm about as low as you can get in all three. I won't peak until November 2008. Great. Not like I'm going to need my energy this year.
Alright, I'm out for 10 days....try to survive without my blogs. I know they keep you guys going sometimes. After all, everyone needs a little of the Snacks every now and then!
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Baby Updates
couple quick things about the baby:
We're over halfway through the pregnancy......according to the literature we've read, the baby is about the size of cucumber. Rachel swears it's bigger.
I felt it move for the first time the other day. I don't think I've been that excited to feel something since the first time......well, let's just say I was really excited.
At our early pregnancy class last night, I was comforted to find out that every father there was hoping to have a boy....so I'm not alone in this.
Remember how we were going to repaint the nursery that brown with the squares of color? Well, after we got started, Rachel decided it needed to be brighter. So we ended up with the pastel explosion. If the baby ever falls asleep, it'll be a miracle
We're over halfway through the pregnancy......according to the literature we've read, the baby is about the size of cucumber. Rachel swears it's bigger.
I felt it move for the first time the other day. I don't think I've been that excited to feel something since the first time......well, let's just say I was really excited.
At our early pregnancy class last night, I was comforted to find out that every father there was hoping to have a boy....so I'm not alone in this.
Remember how we were going to repaint the nursery that brown with the squares of color? Well, after we got started, Rachel decided it needed to be brighter. So we ended up with the pastel explosion. If the baby ever falls asleep, it'll be a miracle
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
18 days to my first anniversary and barely hanging on
Many times I've wondered aloud how I duped Rachel into marrying me. I mean, she had three years to realize she was entering a bad situation. Yet she still said yes. Now, I'm wondering why she's still married to me. With a child on the way, she must feel like she's about to become a single mother of two.
Yesterday Rachel woke me up on her way out the door to work. "Honey, before you leave, can you turn the crock pot on?" A simple enough request. I say yes, then roll over and go back to sleep.
10 minutes later, I realize that I better get out of bed now, or I'll go back to dreaming about building a pirate ship in math class with my high school prom date again and forget the whole crock pot thing. So I get out of bed and hit the elliptical. Nothing to keep the brain firing on all cylinders like a little exercise right? I turn on the music player and start ellipticizing, or whatever you call it.
I think my thought process over the next 5 minutes went something like this:
"Man this is hard to do at 6 in the morning!"
"Why can't I turn the crock pot on now?"
"I need to shave"
"If I turned it on now, the food would be all dry and disgusting by the time we got home! Of course! This would be why she didn't turn it on herself!"
"Already burned 30 calories! Nice!"
"She's probably worried about this....last time she asked me to do this, I turned the crock pot on, but didn't plug it in.....Not this time!"
"Nothing like a little Avril Lavigne to start the morning off right!"
"Wow it's hot in here."
"I wonder how my fantasy baseball team did last night?"
At this point the crock pot was long forgotten. I didn't remember again until I talked to Rachel at lunch. She was mad, but she tried not to let me know because she could tell I was even madder at myself than she was. She's so sweet sometimes.
My punishment for ruining a perfectly good roast was to clean out said crock pot. I was doing great - until I dropped the damn thing and cracked it. You've never seen a more defeated man in your life than the one in my kitchen last night looking pitifully at a cracked crock pot while his wife laughed at him. Not that I blame her......it's about the only thing you can do in her situation. I believe her exact quote was "You know, I thought if I made you do this stuff more often, you'd get better at it, but it seems as if you get worse."
Husband of the year I tell ya.
Yesterday Rachel woke me up on her way out the door to work. "Honey, before you leave, can you turn the crock pot on?" A simple enough request. I say yes, then roll over and go back to sleep.
10 minutes later, I realize that I better get out of bed now, or I'll go back to dreaming about building a pirate ship in math class with my high school prom date again and forget the whole crock pot thing. So I get out of bed and hit the elliptical. Nothing to keep the brain firing on all cylinders like a little exercise right? I turn on the music player and start ellipticizing, or whatever you call it.
I think my thought process over the next 5 minutes went something like this:
"Man this is hard to do at 6 in the morning!"
"Why can't I turn the crock pot on now?"
"I need to shave"
"If I turned it on now, the food would be all dry and disgusting by the time we got home! Of course! This would be why she didn't turn it on herself!"
"Already burned 30 calories! Nice!"
"She's probably worried about this....last time she asked me to do this, I turned the crock pot on, but didn't plug it in.....Not this time!"
"Nothing like a little Avril Lavigne to start the morning off right!"
"Wow it's hot in here."
"I wonder how my fantasy baseball team did last night?"
At this point the crock pot was long forgotten. I didn't remember again until I talked to Rachel at lunch. She was mad, but she tried not to let me know because she could tell I was even madder at myself than she was. She's so sweet sometimes.
My punishment for ruining a perfectly good roast was to clean out said crock pot. I was doing great - until I dropped the damn thing and cracked it. You've never seen a more defeated man in your life than the one in my kitchen last night looking pitifully at a cracked crock pot while his wife laughed at him. Not that I blame her......it's about the only thing you can do in her situation. I believe her exact quote was "You know, I thought if I made you do this stuff more often, you'd get better at it, but it seems as if you get worse."
Husband of the year I tell ya.
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Weekend
There are new developments in the rock stealing adventure. Rachel's boss used to live in our neighborhood. He knows this guy. Rachel asked him "hey do you know anything about the guy who lives behind us?" and his words were "Oh stay away from him....he's weird."
Apparently this guy has had run-ins with everyone. Rachel's boss said "as I recall, the people you bought your house from had major issues with him." Thanks for the heads up Jeanne. He also said that the guy's girlfriend used to come over and talk to him when he was in his yard and tell him that she feared for her life cause this guy was so crazy. There's also unconfirmed reports that someone died over there at one point, though I have no clue how this person died, or when this was. All in all, Rachel's rethought her plan to confront this guy. I'm wondering if we might be able to convince the homeowners association to pay for a higher fence along the back of all the houses bordering his property, since the guy sounds completely looney.
Gotta love Albany!
Apparently this guy has had run-ins with everyone. Rachel's boss said "as I recall, the people you bought your house from had major issues with him." Thanks for the heads up Jeanne. He also said that the guy's girlfriend used to come over and talk to him when he was in his yard and tell him that she feared for her life cause this guy was so crazy. There's also unconfirmed reports that someone died over there at one point, though I have no clue how this person died, or when this was. All in all, Rachel's rethought her plan to confront this guy. I'm wondering if we might be able to convince the homeowners association to pay for a higher fence along the back of all the houses bordering his property, since the guy sounds completely looney.
Gotta love Albany!
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