I won’t say that it was a bad day at the office, but it was quite frazzling. I also know that almost everyone else I know found today (and/or the entire week) just as un-fun as I have, if not even more so.

You’d better believe I’m going to wring all the enjoyment I can out of this weekend, baby, and I recommend that you do the same.

And since nobody’s used it yet: If you look at the top menu bar, there’s a “Contact” link. It takes you to a form. I’m pretty sure you’re all smart enough to know what to do from that point. Of course you are!

You know those days when it seems like you can’t do anything right?

And by “days” I mean “weeks.”

At least my laptop’s Windows 2000 reinstall is going well… so far. (Yes, 2000. The machine ain’t beefy enough for XP, and Linux seems to dislike it rather strongly.) Other than that, though, the suck just keeps on coming.

I guess the good news is that it’s Monday night so I guess it’s not so bad.

Friday night: Was date night, though Lil’ and I were basically dead tired the entire time. Still, we had some good food and the usual excellent company. We amused ourselves by window shopping at Best Buy (well, kind of… ahem) and taking bets on whether the generally-unattended small child would set off the alarm by trying to go through the emergency exit at Outback.

Saturday: Was a bit of a blur, punctuated by housework, followed by Alexander’s one-act play night. We stayed for the first half of the series of plays (which included his, naturally), and left at Intermission because there was a tired youngster and a couple of not-so-perky oldsters to take care of. Alex was very good, even though he had only a few lines. Unfortunately he got stuck in the play that made me cringe the most out of the three we watched (which is saying something, considering the one that came after). While I generally agree with the sentiments expressed, a political diatribe is the fastest way I know to bring an evening’s entertainment to an abrupt cessation. I’m sure I wasn’t the only audience member cringing. Luckily the play’s end was amusing enough to make up for that somewhat, though I’m still not sure what to make of the fact that my son had a rather good-looking young lady draped against himself as the lights fell. (If I tell you about the dialog, I suspect my son will implode from embarrassment. I certainly wasn’t expecting it!)

Sunday: Was more housework, shopping, a trip to go work on an old friend’s computer equipment, at the end of which I ended up with a used laptop. (Dell Inspiron 8000, 1GHz CPU, 256 MB of RAM, 20 gig HDD, now wiped clean and freshly installed with Kubuntu Edgy. In case you’re wondering. Oh, and it weighs a freaking ton. But, hey: Free.) Followed by retrieving Kyla from the train station and a night of gaming.

Today: Was work, punctuated by blustery wet weather, followed by some City of Villains and…

Sleep. Shortly. G’nite, everybody.

Dear Lady In A Hurry, In Hillsboro:

Please allow me to clear up a misunderstanding between us. You may be under the impression that just because I was wearing a long black coat that I’m some sort of juvenile delinquent. You may also have interpreted the fact that I backed out of your way as I was crossing the street as some sort of defiant gesture. I can’t imagine how, mind you, but I’m willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. However, I’m fairly certain that it was thoroughly unnecessary to stop in the middle of the crosswalk, roll down your window and tell me in a nasty tone of voice that, “It would help if you wouldn’t wear black.”

Why, yes, I know I was wearing black. Have you any idea how few good-looking non-black trenchcoats there are out there, let alone coats as warm and comfortable as mine? I also know it was a dark intersection. This is why, when I saw you swerve onto the main street from the side street at considerable speed and then turn on your blinker, I backed away from your most probable path. I like to think of this as using good survival instincts, since I’m not very visible under those conditions. You might even consider it an act of courtesy that I didn’t insist on crossing the rest of the street as I actually had the right-of-way to do. I’m a nice guy that way. And, I like not being run over in the dark by stupid people driving at high speeds.

In conclusion, please save your vitriol for someone who actually earned it. Thank you.

Yours, etc,

The Little Grey Duck In The Warm Black Trenchcoat

So, after a solid 30 days’ posting, I decided to take a few days off. Did you miss me?

Of course you did.

I’d say that the highlight of my weekend was the trip on the Mt. Hood Railroad, complete with “murder mystery.” Kyla and I joined The Roomie and His Girlfriend at the company holiday dinner party, way out in the frozen and windy Columbia River Gorge. We drank (cocoa and Martinelli’s for me) and ate (prime rib… very, very good prime rib) and were entertained by the swaying motion of the train as it crawled ever-so-slowly up the hill and back again, as well as by the amateur theatre troupe hired to amuse and mindboggle the passengers. If I’d been paying the least bit of attention, I’d have guessed “whodunnit.” Alas, I didn’t really care, as I was having more fun keeping company with friends and coworkers. We all had a pretty good time; it was deucedly cold, though!

On Sunday, we went shopping and quickly spent my Christmas bonus (note: about twice as big of one as I ever received from my former employers!) on about 1/3 practical stuff (clothing), 1/3 toys for me, and 1/3… well, you’ll find out in a few weeks. Neener.

Today was just another normal day at the office for me, and if I’m lucky the week will follow suit…

Our month-long nightmare of daily, banal posts from Yours Truly is almost at an end.

What did I do today? I slept, mostly, and then read a book. I didn’t even eat until about 6pm. I suppose the good news is that I’m feeling marginally better, though still tired and feverish.

Yay?