It's the end of the month, so I should make some changes around here. Please hold ....
4:28:00 PM
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Going to bed early on Tuesday messed up my schedule for the rest of the week. I was in to work early every day, home early and to bed early. I'm barely keeping my eyes open as I type this.
A strange week at work, lots going on behind the scenes and I am essentially having to re-think some of the decisions and plans I'd made for the next couple months, as the Mac refresh project came to an unimpressive halt (we're basically finished). I'll be busy with an FTP Server project for the month of September, and am clueless about after that. I need to fill a couple months. The good news is that Katie G might be back from maternity leave on a part-time basis from mid-September.
I've figured out how to rip cd-quality audio from my DVD's, so I'll be paging through my disks to see if there are any audio clips I want to capture. Sunday dad and I will head over to the Boivins' for an End of Summer bar-b-que, weather permitting. And I have monday off, to do nothing.
It's looking less and less likely that a trip to the UK next month is in the cards.
3:56:00 AM
Thursday, August 29, 2002
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It's my good friend Jeffrey Charles' birthday today. Happy 33rd!
2:18:00 AM
Wednesday, August 28, 2002
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I've just seen that people on IMDB have rated My Big Fat Greek Wedding 8.1 out of 10 (almost 2000 people having voted). Maybe I was just in a crabby mood. For a change. So unlike me.
2:59:00 AM
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7:00 Up an hour earlier than usual to meet with the Remedy consultant who has been contracted for eight hours work to fix a problem with SMS integration. SamuelJAlburyIIISeniorRemedyDeveloper is unable to work with him as he's scheduled training this week, and it's too late to change the consultant's arrangements.
8:00 Meet with the consultant, Tom, an affable fellow who is very professional, polite, and thorough in his plan of action.
12:00 Don't take a lunch break, as Tom is at a sticking point and needs to be escorted everywhere/always, and is on the phone with Remedy tech support.
5:00 Don't leave for the day, as the problem still isn't fixed and Tom's offered to stay until it's resolved one way or the other, as he can't come back tomorrow.
9:00 Consume a really rotten hamburger I've purchased at McDonalds' on my way home from work, finally.
9:30 Shower
10:00 Bed. I'm wiped out.
2:57:00 AM
Monday, August 26, 2002
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Just in case you're keeping track:
Last saw/heard from Jimmy: June 15
Last saw/heard from Nicola: July 30
Last saw/heard from Steve: August 1
Last saw/heard from Art: August 8
Other than my family (including the my extended-Boivin-family), that's the sum of my social sphere. How sad is that? Where is everybody?
I went out for a couple beers with the guy, David S., who has been hired to work on the mac refresh project, after work last Tuesday. It was kind of strange but kind of nice to get out of the apartment.
6:52:00 PM
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I finally put some more stuff on ebay over the weekend, and sorted through old books and magazines. Tossed a couple sack-fulls of stuff. Where does it all keep coming from? I actually threw out magazines that I hadn't read yet, that were just piling up -- something I found very difficult to do.
I hadn't meant to only post twice a week, but it's a combination of things: not much to relate, really. I know I've been going on about the heat, but for some reason this summer I've found it exceedingly oppressive, and haven't been driven to do much of anything after work other than grab a bite and vegitate. It's a shame really as I'd like to be taking advantage of the extra daylight and I know I'll be complaining in two months about how dark and cold it is. You just can't please some people...
6:32:00 PM
Thursday, August 22, 2002
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From yesterday's Washington Post. Tired of me complaining yet?
A record-tying string of heat-charged days of 95 degrees or higher, which ended Monday, has earned August 2002 a place in the record books. The last time the thermometer soared to these brutal highs and lingered for eight days in a row was July 1993.
Already this summer, temperatures in the Washington area have hit the 90-degree mark 49 times. The average for 90-degree days in a single year is 37. [Last year there were 16. The year before that there were 12]. If estimates hold true, National Weather Service forecasters say this could become the third-hottest August on record.
9:39:00 PM
Monday, August 19, 2002
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Friday's belated birthday dinner for Cathie B. was delightful, as always. Beth met me at Dunn Loring & we met the rest of the crew at Temel, a great Turkish restaurant off Fairfax Circle. My meal was plain but exactly what I was in the mood for, and very tasty. Cake & Ice Cream back at Beth & Kelly's afterwards, where Cathie opened her gifts, including a "voucher" for a new car from Leo!
Saturday I met up with Beth and Cathie in the afternoon to see Possession at Lee Highway and then out to Sweetwater Tavern for dinner. The food and service there were both surprisingly excellent. I'm sure going to miss them when the time comes....
9:26:00 PM
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I have to run to the Harris Tweeder after work to pick up another bag of cat litter. Rob K. left for university yesterday and as he is living in the dorms he is not allowed to have pets, and I have agreed to watch his two until:
* he moves into an apartment, or
* I move
at which time his mom will store them in one of her bedrooms in Waynesboro. In the interim, it's nice and cozy with four furry creatures.
I think Rob was a bit apprehensive about school, but I got a note from him saying he's settling in OK.
9:24:00 PM
Thursday, August 15, 2002
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I've been trying to locate my sweetie darling friend Nicky, but there's no sign of her either at work or at home. Perhaps she's taken a journey?
8:40:00 PM
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I called the embassy. I found out that my paperwork is not being sent to Ireland (in fact, the process does not require it) and that it's still under review.
8:33:00 PM
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From today's Washington Post:
Yesterday's high of 99 degrees, recorded at 3:20 p.m. at Reagan National Airport, broke the record for the date set in 1995.
It was the 42nd time this summer that the temperature rose above 90.
The Washington area has experienced eight days of "Code Red--Unhealthy Air Quality" --the most in the past decade-- and the summer has weeks left.
8:32:00 PM
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Sunday was slow going. We slept in relatively late (except for Ainsley, who ran the Race for the Cure), then met up for brunch before John & Mom hit the road. Dan, Ains and I decided to see Stuart Little II, which I didn't enjoy probably half as much as I would have if I'd seen the first in the series. Afterwards we went to the BX where we didn't buy underwear but I did get a pair of Tommy sunglasses, fashion whore that I am. Dinner was spinach lasagna, bread & wine; the after-dinner activities included a blazing game of scrabble. Just for future reference, "batten" is too a word, but the jury's still out apparently on "ex."
I had a lazy morning Monday watching TV and reading the paper with Dan, before he left for work. Ainsley kindly drove me to the airport for my 8 hour trip home. I was not looking forward to getting up for work the next day, particularly as DC has been hit with another heat wave & it's been 98+ since my return.
I have a nice dinner with the Boivins to look forward to on Friday, but the rest of the weekend is free and clear. Hard to believe August is half over, and that in a little over a month I'll be 34. Too quickly!
3:02:00 AM
Sunday, August 11, 2002
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The workweek passes by quickly when you actually have something to do other than surf the net for forty hours. I hadn't really given much thought to my trip to CO until late Thursday/early Friday, when I decided I needed a haircut, some clean clothes, and a way out to National (excuse me, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport TM).
Friday I got food and litter for the cats and actually finished packing by 10. Up at 5 to get a $13 taxi to the airport, where security seemed a bit less strict than my last flight. Non-eventful out to Cincinnati & then on to Colorado Springs by 9:45a.m. Mountain Daylight Time.
Dan, Mom & John picked me up and we went to a Scenic Overlook for some photos before meeting up with Ainsley for lunch. Unfortunately the trendy house music seemed to have affected my appetite, and it being my first meal of the day probably didn't help. I had a nice nap before Ainsley got off work & we all drove up to Denver for the Cubs/Rockies game--a complete blowout, with Sammy Sosa hitting three 3-run homers in three innings to lead the Cubs to a 15-1 win. By midnight when we got home I was Well and Truly Tired.
6:56:00 PM
Wednesday, August 07, 2002
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August 5, 2002
Ms. _____ _______
Embassy of Ireland
2234 Massachusetts Ave., NW
Washington DC 20008
RE: Application for Entry in the Foreign Births Registry
Ms. ______,
I am writing to enquire about the status of my application, submitted on December 10 of last year. You left a voice message with me on June 19, indicating the additional paperwork I had provided to you would be forwarded for review, and that I might hear word within a month or so.
As that time has past and I have not yet received word, I wondered if you would be so kind as to look into the status of my application. If there is any additional supporting paperwork or fees required, I would be happy to supply them. Thank you very much for your assistance.
Sincerely,
2:52:00 PM
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The office moves over the weekend could have been worse. A dozen colleagues and I started Friday at 5:30 and finished about 9 that night, moving about 60 computers down five floors to their shiny spanking-new offices. I was in the next morning (Saturday) at 8 to hook them up, change printers, etc. Finished that about 11. Each without any AC, and each on day six and seven of the Heat Wave from Hell (not a day under 95 all week).
I took an hour long nap before meeting up with Beth B., roommie Kelly & friend Sarah for a road trip to see the Drum Corps International East Coast Classic. Eight of your best drum & bugle corps, whose performances ranged from poor to flat out awesome, viewed from the roof of a dis-used campus stadium, complete with bugs, burnt pretzels & 98 degree overcast skies. The road trip was fun, too. I slept most of the next day, and that was your weekend.
Work: supervising is almost as much effort as doing yourself.
3:48:00 AM
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I really ought to start plotting it out on a graph: it's "people at work better not f*ck with me" time again.
3:43:00 AM
Friday, August 02, 2002
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Steve F. and I saw Aida at the Kennedy Center yesterday. This is the Disney/Elton John/Tim Rice version which we both had seen in NYC in December 2000. Not much had changed, though none of the principles was as strong as in the original. The set design and lighting were strong and original, but the actors/singers seemed to be over-miked. Wasn't there a time when performers and the "band" didn't use amps and speakers?
9:57:00 PM
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WHAT, Friday already??!
The week has flown. We got a new contractor on board Monday to work on the Mac Refresh, and we've been working out some kinks, but I think all is running smoothly now. I'm not worried about being gone for a day next weekend. My manager called me into her office yesterday to ask if I like doing the Web Admin stuff, or would I rather pass it along to someone else once Katie G has finished her maternity leave. I told her I was happy to help out when she was in a crunch, but that I have more than enough on my plate to keep me occupied & she should feel free to take the web stuff away from me without hurting my feelings.
Also, I got a spot bonus.
I'm working tonight and tomorrow - I volunteered to help about a dozen other colleagues move office equipment, computers etc.
9:55:00 PM
