Saturday

• Both cars washed
• Bought supplies at Lowe's
• Picked up comforter at cleaners
• Spackled ceiling
• Replaced shower head (Actually didn't. Instructions for new one referenced the 'leak' the existing one was having as being a 'vacuum release' required by code.)
• Another trip to Lowe's to return shower head and to buy...
  
• New shelves in garage leading to...
  
• General reorganization of garage
• Upstairs balcony tile scrubbed
  

I think that'll do it for today. It's 8pm.

I'm not buying Citgo gas any more

I, for one, will no longer be buying Citgo gasoline. Citgo, if you don't already know, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Petrol De Venezuela. If Hugo Chavez can't sell gas to the US market, he'll sell it to China, but in order to do that, he'll have to buy a fleet of tankers which he doesn't have, and absorb the expenses of shipping it across the ocean.

Sore...Stiff...Can't Move....

This is why.

The News Is Here!

Alrighty, and now we reveal the fruits of the secret project...

A couple of months ago, I had a series of bad bad bad days at work. I remember thinking that if I were the manager, I would probably fire myself. Well, that night, I made a foray into monster.com and sent in some resumes.

Well, those resumes got me two interviews. Those two interviews got me a follow-up interview. That follow-up interview got me an interview with a Vice President, and a week later, I got a job offer. That offer got me a chance to negotiate, and I got a better job offer and I accepted. Today, I informed my boss and gave notice. We are going to have to negotiate the notice because I need to give a bit more notice in order to collect for my untaken vacation, but it's official that I'm leaving and it's all out in the open now.

I'm getting a substantial raise, a shorter commute, a more narrow job description, a better management structure, a bigger company, and duties that I know how to execute and execute well. This will be a lot like the job I performed during my favorite time at IBM, before they decided to lay everyone off and let me do their jobs instead. I'm excited.

I do have to give up a trip to the mountains with Mama and Papa Lau, which I regret terribly, but on the plus side, I can stay home and make sure the cat doesn't get lonely and take revenge by peeing on something. I managed to salvage the Myrtle Beach trip and a few days of the Williamsburg trip in December, so all is not lost.

I hope some of you didn't die of anticipation! This was a big undertaking and I'm more than happy to reveal all and boast of my success. I think we may be financially secure enough to start thinking about kids now.

Don't Lose Interest!

I have news...I just can't post it yet. Don't you hate it when that happens? Tomorrow, I should be able to reveal all.

In the meantime, here's a video about talking cats:

They're coming!

Two weeks until Bernie's parents arrive! We've been housecleaning and also finishing off some of the home improvement projects that have been on hiatus. I finally got my office to look more like an office rather than a storage room, then we spent Sunday cleaning. Bernie did some new planting and landscaping. Only one more weekend remains to spiff up the place.

We also spent the afternoon and evening on Saturday with Brian and Sophie playing Empire Builder. We finished before 11pm, and I won and Bernie was sneaking up on me and finished second. She's the kind of player that you have to watch, because she starts earning money without you noticing and before you know it she's won the game. We love spending time with Brian and Sophie and little Elise, and should do it more often. Sophie says she'll bring Elise over on halloween for trick-or-treating, and we'll all have a grand time.

Quick Update

Not much going on that I can talk about, I'm afraid.

Haven't lost any weight in 2 weeks. Nutrisystem is a glycemic index diet and if you go off of it for a day, you can take several days to get back on track. I had 3 cheat meals this weekend, so I have to stay on the wagon all week this week.

The secret project might bear fruit this week, and there might be earth-shattering news in a few more weeks.

Stay tuned!

Oh, and PS: I accidentally kicked a chair leg last night and busted the bloody heck out of another toenail. Big toe this time. I must be cursed.

Happy Birthday, Bernie!

It's my darling's birthday. She had a pretty good one, I think.

Happy 33, my love!

3 day weekend! Rah!

Man, there's nothing like a 3 day weekend! Especially that feeling on Sunday morning when you can kick that feeling of dread out of your life for one more day, because there's no work tomorrow!

After spending the morning at the Matthews street fair and the afternoon watching football yesterday, I will be washing my grandfather's vinyl siding today. After that, I just might put up the pair of blinds that have been at the top of the procrastination list and maybe even buy one last pair for the guest room.

The secret project has progressed into phase 3 and I could possibly reveal all in a week or so.

I got Bernie a banana tree and an elephant ear plant for her early birthday present and she seems pleased with that. Her birthday is on Thursday, Sept 7, for those of you who don't know. She tried to get my family to "don't do anything for me" on her birthday, but that isn't how it works here. I can't wait for my father-in-law to try that one on us, as his birthday is shortly after he arrives in October. Hee hee.

I smoked some peppers a couple of weekends ago, and they've all dried out properly now, so I've been chopping them up and putting them in my eggs for breakfast. Very nice. I'm thinking that if Chris and Elizabeth do a BYODish event for their Christmas party that I might find a way to use them for that. Maybe a sort of inside-out jalapeno popper or chipotle-cheese-stuffed rice ball.

That's all for today. Bernie wants to shop, and I've got to get washing.