What do I need to do to get you to drive home in this today?

For some reason, today the office smells like a car dealership showroom*. That's a little unsettling. At least I haven't seen the slicked-back, greased down hairstyles and the hand motions of firing a gun as if to say, "Hey buddy, I got what you need".


* Of course, this could be due to my congested nasal passages and my brain misinterpreting (misunderestimating?) regular smells.

Blog-Reading is Not a Spectator Sport

Define world-class.

Ready . . . GO!



(Yes, seriously, let's go. The comments section awaits you . . .)

Lost in the Rain in Juarez

Well, I moved in just over a week ago to my new place and I'm still getting unpacked. A little naive of me to think that I would have been completely settled in that first weekend, hm? ;-) Stuff is still in boxes, bags, and piles. But at least I've got lighting, a bed, and all utilities turned on. A minor triumph. Slowly but surely it's coming together, but it's really been a bit of a mess these last two weeks. But aren't all life transitions, really?

Work is going well. Plenty to do and not enough time. I'm still getting frustrated with some of our arrangements with offshore workers, but it's a reality of the American workplace that I have to accept and learn to manage. It builds character they say...

Amid all this, there's the damn merger talks. Will they? Won't they? Are they the buyer or the seller? Will I have a job in six months? Will I get a promotion or a pay raise in three?

It can be a bit maddening at times.

I should really take advantage of weekends and just go somewhere, even if it's Chicago or something close. Just a chance to step back for a bit.

Maybe in a couple of weeks. Too much to do before I can up and leave for a bit.

I'm still working on a blog redesign. Be patient. Or just use a free newsreader and forget the layout of the blog. ;)

Until we blog again...

Friday Fun Song Funtacular!

They're back after an absence!

These are just the four most recently added songs to my iTunes playlist. Enjoy.

Banninated

I've been banned for thirty days from one of the online forums I (used to) frequent regularly. The cause? "Disruptive posting". I guess that's what they call having a dissenting opinion these days. We'll see in thirty days if it's worth coming back to.

So, the Christmas and New Year's holidays have passed without a blog entry. Not intentional, but so much happened and I was so occupied that I haven't had much of a chance to record any of my thoughts. In the next few days-to-a-week, I plan on reflecting on some things from the past 3 weeks. It should be a fun trip down memory lane.

Toodles! ;)

Service With a Smile?

Is anyone surprised these days when they encounter a surly or curt systems/network administrator? I mean, it was funny a few years ago on SNL with the "Nick Burns" skits, but that only worked because everyone could relate. Nowadays, there's really no excuse for not expecting your local IT professional to be snippy with you. ;)

My Wild Ambitions

Today was incredibly busy at work. Three projects, all for me. Naturally, I'm refining my multi-tasking skills at a breakneck pace. But all in all, it's good. I've got a surprising amount of responsibility (maybe it shouldn't be surprising?) and I think I'm doing well. People are coming to me for answers or advice. That's a nice feeling. My travel benefits will kick in entirely sometime in the next week or so, but I won't have much of a chance to use them until mid-January I think.

I was thinking about how to the most insane, gluttonous travel in the least amount of time (to minimize vacation days used); you know, your basic graph theory problem. What I've come up with is a whirlwind West-to-East trip that can be done in ~48 clock hours and about 39.5 flight hours. Leave Friday at 3pm, return home Sunday 3pm. Distance traveled: 17,983 miles. Rough rate of travel: 374.65 MPH (including layover time). The route would be: MSP-NRT-HKG-CDG-MSP. Out of pocket cost would be in the neighborhood of $300 or less, all in Business class. ;) I'll have to wait until April or later to attempt to do this because I need the upcoming MSP-CDG-MSP flight which doesn't begin until April 6.