I had a great time yesterday, kicking off the holiday season with the Boivins, my dad and Beth's roommate Kelly. We stuffed ourselves silly and then watched "The Bishop's Wife," which Kelly hadn't seen before. (Actually, she still hasn't seen it, as she dozed off somwhere in the middle :-)).
I'm at work now, and this place is EMPTY. The train and the roads were completely devoid of the usual throngs. I figure I'll have a nice long lunch and then see how "busy" the afternoon is. I've brought a couple magazines and my christmas cards....
Next week Friday I'll be back over at the Boivins to help decordate some cookies and put up their tree.
4:03:00 PM
Irish Lesson #4:
Fine, thank you: Go maith, go raibh maith agat (guh moh, guh rev moh agut) -- "maith" means good. "Thank you", translated literally means "may good be with you".
3:59:00 PM
Thursday, November 28, 2002
I am SO FAR BEHIND, but at least I've bought christmas cards now.
I have to work on Friday. In fact, I'll be the only RSIS employee there as almost the entire rest of the office is taking leave. Should be a slow day, but I doubt anyone would approve of my sitting & writing christmas cards.
My dad is back from his whirlwind trip to the UK to visit my gran, and will be by to pick me up in a few hours so we can hang out with the Boivin crowd. I'm looking forward to a nice, relaxing day without thinking of work.
4:30:00 PM
Wednesday, November 27, 2002
I haven't decided whether I'm surprised by the following article:
LONDON (Reuters) - Britons have sex more often than Americans and Spaniards, but are outdone between the sheets by the French, Dutch, Danes and Canadians, a survey by condom manufacturer Durex found on Monday.
The Durex Global Sex survey revealed that Britons make love an average of 149 times a year, outdone only by couples in France (167), the Netherlands (158), Denmark (152) and Canada (150).
Those taking their love-making at a more relaxed pace included Americans (138 times a year), New Zealanders (135) and the Spanish, who limped in at an annual love rate of just 121.
2:40:00 PM
Tuesday, November 26, 2002
Irish Lesson #3
How are you?: Conas at� t�? (cunnus ataw too?)
6:56:00 PM
My first day at work at the US Chemical Safety Board went about as well I expected. I had a ton of packages to mail and it was a pain in the ass to haul them on the metro to the Post Office before work. About 35 lbs of packages, and yet another indicator of just how badly out of shape I'm in. I'm sharing a room with the two other RSIS employees: the web guy and the network guy. I was introduced to some staff and took two trouble tickets. A slow enough day.
I don't have a desk of my own, and the computers are so very 1999, but I have an awesome ergonomic chair, and my hours are only 9:30 to 5:30, and I'd forgotten how much I like working in the K Street corridor downtown. It's a 25 minute commute door to door so that's not bad. It'll do for now.
Tomorrow RSIS is delivering their holiday bonus for employees, and I picked two pies. Don't know yet whether we'll have Friday off but it's looking unlikely.
4:18:00 AM
Monday, November 25, 2002
Irish Lesson #2
Hello: Dia dhuit (deeya gwit) it literally means God be with you. Some people say dia is muire dhuit (deeya iss mwira gwit) which is God and Mary be with you.
8:41:00 PM
Why do I feel as if I'm running out of time?
I know I have Christmas gifts to buy, and sooner than I did last year if I have any hope of getting them to the out-of-state crowd, but I am scrambling for ideas. I should have bought my Christmas cards by now, and will probably have to pick through the leftovers now.
I squandered most of the day. I have no idea how. I don't even think I'm ready for the new job. I did laundry so I have clothes for tomorrow, packaged up some stuff to go out tomorrow, vacuumed, cleaned out the fridge, and had a nice long bath. I'd meant to go see either Harry Potter 2 or the new Bond flick. I spent about six hours on my ass in front of the TV. Why can't every weekend be a three-day weekend??
4:27:00 AM
Saturday, November 23, 2002
Ms. Cleo I am not, but I was accurate in predicting I wouldn't be up and about with the dawn. In fact, I've only been awake for an hour or so and will probably be heading back to bed soon. I feel like CRAP. Maybe it was that 3rd shot of tequila at CarPool last night. I had a great time though; a lot of people from work came by at least for an hour or two, and I didn't have to pay for any of my drinks. (That should have been enough of a warning.) One of the persons who organized it said that she had so much money left over after collecting donations for my going away gifts that we could probably go out another night too.
I wound up playing darts with some friends after the D A R P A crowd thinned out (and won a game or two) before realizing it was after midnight & I managed to stumble home. I woke up at 9 and found myself slouched over my computer desk, crawled into the bedroom, and fell into bed properly.
8:56:00 PM
Friday, November 22, 2002
I'm still having mixed feelings about leaving D A R P A. Only today has it really sunk in that as of Monday I'll be starting at a completely different location, with different responsibilities, different customers to please, and a different dress code. Still, it may only be temporary....
Today I was surprised by a cake and gifts at a staff meeting. About forty people showed up with a huge card & a leather portfolio and a leather business card holder (both with my initials) and a fantastic Cross pen. Some very kind words were said, and we ate cake. Tomorrow there is going to be a company-paid for Happy Hour at Car Pool. I have a feeling I'll be sleeping in late on Saturday.
My boss has also offered to lend me his Mac laptop so that I won't be without in the short interim before I decide to splurge on my own (used?) one. I'll definitely need a laptop for the upcoming job hunt, though it seems strange to picture myself hunched over an iBook in my Gran's sitting room with a phone cord stretched out so I can dial in to AOL. Don't know what she'll think of that.
4:56:00 AM
Thursday, November 21, 2002
The big news of the day is that the UK has decided to include mainland USA in its pets travel scheme. What this means is that properly certified dogs and cats can--as of December 11--travel to England without having to stay in quarantine for six months.
I'll have to investigate and weigh the pros and cons of bringing my kids with me; I love them to death and it would be nice to have them with me, but it's a long trip & the certification is a very complicated & time consuming process (and perhaps is too risky for my elderly pets). Mom has kindly said that she will still take them if that's what I decide to do.
2:19:00 AM
I started to post a table showing how many items and how much money I had colected from Half.com during the past year, but the spacing was wacked so I'll just summarize here: about 270 items sold, around $1670 deposited in my checking account. About half of those were CDs, about a quarter videos and another quarter books. That's much less that I'll have to ship myself!
2:16:00 AM
Wednesday, November 20, 2002
If it seems as if there's been a distinct lack of excitement and pizzazz in my life over the last week, you'd be right. And that's OK by me. I've been busy with more Ebaying; it's amazing what junk people will buy if you take a nice photo of it and market it to pieces. I sold some Wallace & Grommit figurines for more than you can buy them new in a store.
I also voluntarily had a crown put in Monday lunch time, so the rest of the day wasn't much to talk about. Yesterday it wasn't too painful. I know it's a myth that England has horrid dental care, but I like my dentist here & it's surely cheaper to have it done in the States than overseas.
Work is OK. This week has been occupied by loose ends & final lunches. I also had to turn in the only Mac I have, and will have to see about getting one for myself now. Those new iBooks look sweet....
3:51:00 PM
Tuesday, November 19, 2002
My 94 year old Gran (happy birthday Gran!) wrote me back after I wrote her to tell her I have the green light, to say that I can stay with her & that I need to learn Gaelic and teach her, because she hasn't heard it spoken since she was 16 and she "thinks a few words might have changed since then." So my sweetie darling friend Nicky has offered to teach me, one word at a time. Here's today's word:
Goodbye. sl�n (SLAWN) [sla:n]
Nicky's also offered to set up a night out to celebrate my new citizenship, at the Irish bar that her brother was just hired to manage. Looks like a fun night in store, sometime in early Dec.
9:22:00 PM
Saturday, November 16, 2002
Here's something kind of fun:
Wireframe Man
4:32:00 AM
Thursday, November 14, 2002
The long weekend threw off my sleep schedule, and no matter what I tried I couldn't get to sleep Monday night. So I wound up call in "sick" to work yesterday and stayed home in bed napping & reading. It was cold and rainy and blustery and grey outdoors, so perfect timing.
I found out that my last day at D A R P A will be next Friday, and that I'll start at the Chemical Safety Board the following Monday (the week of Thanksgiving). It should be slow & will give me a chance to get my feet wet. With some recent events at D A R P A, it looks as if it might have been a good time to go in any event....
4:25:00 AM
Monday, November 11, 2002
The bad thing about being home for the entire day is that the beasts think I'm there to entertain them only. I was trying to get some work done on the computer and 3 out of the four decided that I needed to love and pet them right now, no it doesn't matter what you're doing, yes the keyboard is a lovely comfey place to lie down, pet me pet me pet me, sorry did I spill that?
7:45:00 PM
I've been indoors all day and I can't tell whether I have a fever or it's just warm outside. I've actually put the AC on.
I've been very productive, clearing & sorting, and have started thinking about the holidays. There isn't anything around like the old eCircles site we used to use, so I've started an Amazon.com wishlist.
4:41:00 AM
Friday, November 08, 2002
50 Things you May or May Not have known about Me (Part Three):
30. I have a minor phobia about being in the front passenger seat in a car. It doesn't matter how careful the driver is, I don't like not being in control and not knowing exactly when the car is going to stop or which direction it's turning next. I really don't like people who tailgate.
29. The second and only other time I stayed overnight in a hospital was for back surgery; four years ago, I had a herniated disk (L5/S1) repaired. I had been in crippling pain for four months before the surgery, and awoke after with instant relief. I was out from work for almost twelve weeks, so that was a nice mini-holiday. Every member of my immediate family has had a similar operation.
28. While I believe that in certain cases it is justified, I don't believe the death penalty acts as a deterrent against grievous crimes.
27. During the past year, I have been selling my old CDs and videos on Half.com, and have so far made over $1000.
26. When I was a young boy, whenever I was asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I answered, "a painter." No, I didn't regard myself a budding Picasso or a Rembrandt. Instead, I wanted to wear a painter's cap and overalls and apply buckets of indoor paint to four walls, day in and day out. Even at that young age, interior design skills coming to the fore.
25. There is no number 25.
24. Although I've never done drugs, I have been falling down, three sheets, blotto, praying to the porcelain god, drunk. The worst (other than my swan-saving episode) was after a couple of fifths of vodka during my freshman year at GWU. I can't even smell vodka now without my stomach contracting. Curiously, I don't recall ever having an overly taxing hangover.
23. I actually like being alone.
22. The second most important class I took was Band. I hadn't had any lessons or training before taking up the saxophone my sophomore year of highschool, but I must have had a knack for it, as I made the International Honor Band my junior and senior years (or perhaps all the other sax players weren't so good?). Learning music theory and music history has given me the ability to understand and appreciate music of all types in the years since. I can, for example, state unequivocally that all rap music isn't.
21. I LOVE to read, and have for as long as I can remember. Living in Turkey for almost three years without television probably has a lot to do with it. I devoured all the Hardy Boys, L. Frank Baum's Oz series, Little House on the Prairie, and Beverly Cleary's Ralph Mouse collections. Nowadays, I have a hard time falling asleep, even if it is very late and even if I am very tired, if I don't read a page or three.
1:35:00 AM
The interview yesterday went very well, and I found out today that they liked me and are negotiating my start date with corporate. I now have senioritus at D A R P A.
1:05:00 AM
Wednesday, November 06, 2002
Pardon me while I drool: 1Ghz, 512MB Ram, 60GB hard drive, burns DVDs
7:05:00 PM
Since I was in the neighborhood this morning, I thought I'd stop by and pick up this:
5:33:00 PM
Work is OK, but annoying without a badge; I have to be escorted everywhere which just places a burden on others. I had to submit a plan on what I will accomplish during the rest of the month, and it was approved, so I'm employed at least through then.
As I mentioned earlier, RSIS may have a position for me downtown. Tomorrow I have an interview with the customer at that site at 10. Wish me luck.
Coincidentally, I have to announce that Nicky is the winner of our little prize give-away. She called me today to say she'd spoken to her mole at the Embassy, who let her know that my passport application was in hand & that I should have it in two weeks. A few hours later the Embassy called me directly to say it's ready for pickup. I'll get it tomorrow after the interview. I haven't decided what the small prize is, but it will probably be some English foodstuffs.
1:08:00 AM
The Star Wars flick at the IMAX wasn't bad; it was the opening weekend, and as a result it sold out. Luckily, I'd planned on the eventuality, and went down early to buy tix for Steve and me. The film itself was impressively large, but the plot holes and week dialogue and acting were magnified as well. Closeups (60 foot-high faces) were particularly off-setting. B- overall.
I had a very nice brunch with Linda T the next morning, and then helped her out with some printer and software questions back at her house. I had to dash but met Leo & Cathie at the metro for our hour-long drive out into BFE. As Beth stated elsewhere, it was friggin' dark when we got there and we would have been lost without her 1st class directions. I enjoyed the concert & it was a shame I only got to see Beth and Kelly a short while after. Thanksgiving is coming....
I felt guilty about not being home most of the weekend, so last night was Devoted to chores around the apartment.
1:03:00 AM
Saturday, November 02, 2002
Weekend plans:
Saturday afternoon: Star Wars II Attack of the Clones on IMAX at the smithsonian with Steve
Sunday morning: brunch with Linda T. at Carlyle Grand Cafe in Shirlington
Sunday evening: Beth's concert with Cathie
Every other hour: sleep
1:57:00 AM
Stop the rollercoaster, I want to get off.
It's amazing how much things can turn around in 24hrs. Just before I was about to head home for lunch, to turn in my 30 days' notice, my boss told me that corporate had called & may have a position I would be suitable for on another one of our contracts. This one doesn't require a clearance so my recent subversive activities won't be held against me. It's a help desk/software & hardware support position for a private company at 21st & K, downtown (near the Bank where I used to work).
I am leaning towards submitting my name for the position, so that I can take my time with getting out of my apartment, getting my kids to Grandma in OK and sorting my stuff. Corporate will probably want to have me interview with the customer some time in the next week or so. If it worked out, I'd keep my salary, leave and other benefits. If, for whatever reason, it didn't work out, then I'm back to my original 30-60 day schedule.
I forgot to mention yesterday that I sent my Irish Passport application to the embassy yesterday. That's supposed to take four to eight weeks. Here's a fun contest for you: guess the day I'll actually get the passport, and post your guess in the comments. The one who gets closest will get a (small) prize of my choice.
1:53:00 AM
Friday, November 01, 2002
If you have a high-speed connection, and like on-line games, try http://www.isketch.net. It's a kind of on-line Pictionary.
3:56:00 AM
Did I jinx myself? No, I suppose not, as I don't believe in fate or karma.
Tuesday's meeting was postponed to yesterday, but the agenda was changed drastically, as I found out in the morning that, after being notified by my company of my new dual-citizenship status, D A R P A decided to pull my badge & revoke my network access. Officially, I have until Monday to decide whether I want to keep my badge but renounce my new citizenship, or lose my job.
I had been very clear and upfront about my application and its process with my company for the past year, and had been told by the relevant security people there (who should have known) that it would probably be OK. They were mis-informed, as D A R P A policy overrides any DoD policy, and as the contract Program Manager delicately put it yesterday, "I guess Tim's screwed."
Late yesterday it appears as if a temporary arrangement has been made for me to be on site with a visitor's badge (and escorted at all times) with no network access, so that I can transition my duties, for 30 days. It may be shorter or longer than that, but not by much. I will therefore be giving notice at my apartment tomorrow, and my last day should be around Dec 2. I also have to figure out what to do with my beasts.
I've got a LOT to do in the next 30-60 days.
3:55:00 AM
