Category: Uncategorized Page 21 of 153

I bought a pair of swim paddles online and when they came in I was super stoked to try them in the pool.  I imagined tearing through the water and creating a wake behind me. I figured I’d be tired and sore afterwards, but it would be worth it to master the water.

But, they didn’t work.  

If I had them tightened enough so they weren’t loose on my hands, the bands dug into my fingers painfully.  Too loose, and they would slap back against my hand with each stroke.

And instead of pulling me through the water, each stroke was a fight.  I would get the barest increase in power every so often, but I was mostly flailing about as I made my way down the lane.

I tried a couple laps, but was so uncomfortable with the paddles that I gave up on them and left then on the side of the pool for the rest of my swim.

They had promised to retain a feel for the water with their design, but instead I realized that I could really feel the water without them.  And had been all along without realizing what that meant.

It’s kind of a strange sensation  – to get a grip on a liquid and use it to pull forward like climbing the rung of a horizontal ladder.  And then finding that sweet spot where all the effort slides away and I slip between the molecules of the water like I was born to it.

I’ll keep after the paddles and eventually learn how to use them, but in the meantime, I can feel the water.  And I’ve mastered it as much as I’m able.

——————

Jim and I went out to dinner with a couple of our friends last evening.  We had brick oven pizza in a tiny, tiny restaurant and enjoyed an easy and fun conversation.

After dinner, we headed to a bar called the Hopping Frog to see a band called Shooter Sharp and the Sharpshooters – who played an old-school version of country music.  

…

Now, I was clearly out of my element.  I don’t drink, I’m not a fan of crowds, and well… I’m not a fan of country music.  There are a few artists that have a very few songs that have a sort of pop/country sound that I like, but this did not fit into that very narrow window.

The performers were all very technically talented and seemed to be really enjoying themselves.  But the acoustics weren’t great and I couldn’t make out what they were singing most of the time – though I did catch the title of one song was “You finally said something good when you said goodbye”

So, yeah.

I sipped my ginger ale and settled in – insisting that I was fine to my friends.  And I was.  The music wasn’t my cup of tea, but I was fine with that.   The company was excellent and the contents of my head are usually more interesting that reality anyway.

I counted the number of acoustic tiles on the walls of the bar (21), planned an escape in case there was a riot (I always do this when I go someplace new.  a). Only one exit visible, but we were seated near it.  b). Improvised weapons – broken bottle of ginger ale or mic stand/signpost.), and tried to visualize a 4 dimensional object (I couldn’t).

And I had fun.  Of sorts.  Though I apparently had some odd expressions on my face at times.  When the band took a break I joking said aloud, “Computer: End Program” in case it was a simulation.

It wasn’t.

I’m not likely to make that venue a regular occurrence for me and I didn’t buy the Shooter Sharp and the Sharpshooters CD – though that was an option – but I was fine.  

Really.  🙂

It turns out, I have an upper limit on the amount of bread I can eat in one sitting.  We were at Panera bread and I got the chicken soup in a bread bowl.  With a side of bread. I ate the soup, the bread bowl lid, the side of bread, and then the entire bowl of bread.  

It was delicious, but as we continued our errands, I started to feel… breaded out.  Jim was suddenly walking much faster than I was and I had to ask him to slow down a bit – and reminded him that I’d eaten a pound of bread.

Fortunately, there were no long term side effects of the bread-near-OD – which in a way is almost too bad, since I’ve clearly not learned any lessons.

By contrast, a recent trip to Subway had a group that approached the counter after us order a sub with no bread.

The sandwich artists had a tough time with that one and had to puzzle it out a little before deciding that it was essentially a salad. Also in that group was someone who wanted no meat on their sub – and a third that wanted everything but mushrooms.

I looked down at my sub of bread, meat, and mushrooms and considered.  I get that some people have food allergies or vegetarian inclinations – but out of all the restaurants in the area, why would that group have gone to subway?

And people call me weird.

—————————————

It’s been a week of mixed emotions at work.

I found out that one of my colleagues in another office passed away after a long battle with cancer.  She was 52.

I don’t think I got the full story on why, but someone brought around a Wonder Woman cape that we could sign for the family.  I’m guessing she was a fan and I think she may have had it on order, but that it didn’t come in until after she’d passed.  I made it a point to take a few minutes and sign the cape – and I got some cards for other colleagues that had worked closely with her.  The signature was easy – I do know my own name – but coming up with the right words for my friends was much more difficult.  I wrote out what I wanted to say on paper several times to try and figure out exactly what I wanted to say.

Some magic words to make it better and easier.

I finally realized there were no such perfect words to be had and just tried my best.  I’m thinking about their whole department this week and my heart goes out to them all.

I also found out that one of my co-workers is resigning.  He’s got a great job offer ahead of him and on the one hand – I’m happy for him.  He’s going to be making more money at a well established company and that’s going to be good for his career and his family.  On the other, I’m sad because he’s my friend and I like working with him and I’m going to miss him.

On, I guess a third hand, I’m a little cranky at the timing.  School starts in a few weeks, we’ve got some huge projects that have to launch before that, and the stress levels are starting to go up.  I think he’ll have time to get those wrapped up before he leaves and it’s not his fault that it’s now – but the timing still bites.  We’ll get through it, but it’s going to be rough on the webteam for a while.

————————————-

I hit the pool after work and got in a fast ⅔ of a mile. I think I may be back to my prior speed and though I had a lap with a twinge in my arm, I picked up the pace and really tore through the water.

I got out of the pool and headed to the locker room – and saw (in my non-glasses-wearing blurry way) that there was a guy standing at the lockers opposite mine.  I said hello and he did too as I started to work on my combination lock.  He rightly guessed that I wasn’t a student (duh) and I turned to shake his hand and introduce myself.  I knew who he was – the VP for Finance at the University – and though he had no idea who I was, we’d actually met several times before.

Including a couple times in that very locker room – in that same aisle of lockers.

Which is not really surprising since it’s common to choose the same locker if you are a regular at a gym.  Nor was it odd that he didn’t remember me – I have adopted a process of “quietly awesome” over the years at work – and fly below the VP radar where I can.

We talked for a little bit about workout schedules and the nice facilities, and by an odd coincidence we both ended up completely naked at the same time – me transitioning from speedo to my work clothes and him heading the other direction as he got ready for his work out.

It could have been more awkward, but we were both doing the standard “I’m very focused on what I’m doing here and not acknowledging anyone else directly at this stage”.  

In a few minutes I was dried off and dressed and he was in his gear.  I wished him a good workout and we both exited in opposite directions.

As I headed to my car with my gear bag over my shoulder, I wondered if he’ll remember me the next time I have a meeting with him.  Will he ask where we’ve met?

“Yeah,” I’ll reply.  “ONAT locker room.  I was the one rocking a blue speedo”

Or perhaps not.

I got a fortune cookie with dinner last night that read “You will receive some high prize or award soon.”

Today… was not that day.

Unless you count something going wrong with literally everything I did at work.  Which… I don’t.

Nothing major, mind you.  Just a steady stream of annoyances.  Every single thing I touched went slightly to moderately wrong all day.

At one point, I was trying to schedule a meeting that I didn’t really want any part of  – but felt obligated anyway.  They asked when I would be available and I responded “Friday afternoon”.  

“Great!” they replied, “We’ll see you at 11 on Friday!”

Now, in what universe is 11 am “the afternoon”?  Since it’s before 12 pm, it’s literally impossible for that to be “after noon”.

Finally, as the day was winding up, I got contacted by a student who wanted help backing up their data.  And the only time they had to do it was right then – at 3 pm.  My day is usually done at 4, but I figured that we could wrap this up pretty quickly.  I was annoyed since I’d already given her detailed written instructions, but, well, sigh.

At 3:30, I got a call from the computer center saying that my appointment was there.  And that’s great, except I don’t work in that building.  So, I had them direct her across campus while I worked on a tedious project and settled into my pissy mood like I was wrapping myself up in a snuggie – assuming that I’d be there late.

The student arrived a few minutes later and we set to work.  She appreciated my help and I glanced at the dissertation files as we packaged them up.  Her dissertation was title:

“Hope and Suicide”

And things changed.  

This wasn’t just a student that needed some technology hand-holding, this was a future doctor that was committed to helping people.  And this wasn’t just some data, it was a story about people’s lives.

We got everything backed up and saved in multiple formats.  And I’m pretty sure she was about to hug me when she realized that might be unprofessional – and then settled for an enthusiastic handshake.

It was 4:01 when I grabbed my swim gear and headed out the door.  I stopped on the way to my car to look over at the bridge where I had helped stop a guy from committing suicide back in October.  Just under the bridge is part of the towpath trail and some artists have painted a mural on the side of the bridge.  It reads:

“Imagine you wake up with a second chance:”

It’s been up there for a few weeks and I’ve noted the coincidence, but never more strongly than today.

I had a good swim, read a book when I got home and had some dinner.  Dishes washed, lawn mowed and now, blog updated.

Despite the thousand paper-cuts of annoyance, it turned out to be a good day after all.

This is going to be pretty random… sorry.

1.  A typical conversation with Jim and I..

Jim: I need to work on a project for class using oil pastels.
Me: Didn’t he invent penicillin?
Jim: What?
Me: Oh, I’m thinking of Louis Pasteur
Jim: [rolls his eyes]

Except, Pasteur is famous for vaccines and pasteurization (duh) – Alexander Fleming discovered (not invented) penicillin.  

Sigh.  Complete misfire.

Also, a couple days later, I mentioned to Jim that a song on the radio sounded like Andy Grammer.  He replied, “Wasn’t he from Mayberry?”   I sighed.  “You’re thinking of Andy Griffin.”

So, turnabout, I guess.

In the car a couple days ago, a song came on that had a great sound.  We were both jamming to it and Jim started singing, “Working on my website Working my website Working on my website”.  When I questioned him about it, he said that’s what it sounded like to him.

You be the judge:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MArUWLN-kqs

It’s official.  He’s now sillier than when I first met him.  I blame me, obviously.

————————————————

2. I had a dream the other night that I was desperately trying to turn on the subtitles for the DVD of season 1 of the original Full House.  When I woke up, I was still in a panic about it and was mentally going through the menu again to try and figure out what I’d missed.  It wasn’t until I rolled out of bed that I was able to claw my way back to reality.

Sigh, again.

————————————————-

3. This past weekend was an almost-pizza grilled cheese sandwich (with tater tots) at Lockview, a scoop of Blimpberry ice cream at Chill, and then ballet in the park.

Aaaaaaaand, I didn’t get it.  The first two acts were classical ballet, the third was more contemporary dance, and the final was 8 mini-acts of 1940’s dance.

The performers were all very talented, graceful, and athletic.  The costumes and the lighting were well done.  And no one could argue that it wasn’t sophisticated art – and that we were lucky to have a free show in the park.

And I tried.  I really really tried to enjoy it.  I paid attention, didn’t fold paper, and didn’t look at my phone.  But I got bored.  The dance was repetitive and I didn’t like the music. There were a few minutes total of the contemporary that I liked and I thought the shirts were cool, but I was otherwise bored for 2 hours.

I feel kinda bad about this – everyone involved put so much work into it.  And I would have rather been reading a book or playing a video game.

Sigh, the third.

——————————————–

4. Every so often I get a little…well… nihilistic.  It doesn’t happen very often fortunately and this time was nerdier than usual.  (At the atomic level the fundamental elements of the universe don’t give a shit.  About anything. And who are we to question atoms?)

So, yeah.

The best fix for me is to take myself for a walk.  Getting back into the world – and not in my head – usually settles me down in short order.

Last night, things must have been a little more entrenched than usual since it took me 7 miles over the course of 2 hours to get back to my version of normal.

I hadn’t intended to go that far, but I felt physically okay at each chance to shorten my route.  And then when I was really tired, well, I was so far away that even a direct route was a long way from home.

I had lost the light by the time I reached my street, but got home safe and sound – even with Firestone Park’s notorious vampire problem.  I was okay except for some…well…chafing.  I hadn’t rinsed off from the pool after work and the chlorine  + sweat + boxers = well… I was walking a little funny the last few blocks.

And that’s kind of it for now.

I wrote a letter to the director for the Student Recreation and Wellness Services at The University of Akron:

John,

Haven’t talked to you in a bit – hope your summer has been going well.

I’ve been trying to get back into a regular habit of swimming in the ONAT pool in the afternoons and I thought I’d share some questions/observations.

1. Is the water always so…wet?  It’s been awhile since I’ve been a regular swimmer and I don’t recall…well, I’m just soaked as soon as I hit the water.  Right to the skin – even my trunks are drenched.  I’m able to dry off pretty quickly when I get out of the pool, but it still catches me off guard when I first jump in.   If this is the way it goes, I can get used to it.  But, maybe you could put up some signs?  Like, “Caution, water in the pool is extremely wet”  Just a thought.

2. Is the length of the ONAT pool still regulation?  The few times I’ve been in the pool I’m pretty sure the deep end is somewhere in Barberton.  I mean, there’s no “welcome to Barberton” sign, but I think I smelled broasted chicken down there.  I didn’t eat any because, you know, fitness, but wow – that deep end is really far away.     Could you get a student assistant or a lifeguard out there with a yardstick and check out the distance?    Also, swimming back from the deep end to the shallow is a lot of work – going uphill, you know – and if you ever get the budget to level out the pool I’d be happy to help with the project.
3.  That whole, “you have to wear a swimming suit” rule – how important is that?  I ask because, if we can’t do anything about the dampness of the water (see 1 above), it would be a huge time-saver to not have to dry out my trunks.  I’m usually rocking a square-cut speedo – in UA Blue, naturally – and while that dries out pretty quickly, being able to skip it would save some time.  Plus, wear and tear on the swimsuit dryer in the locker rooms.    Is that a policy you’d be able to change yourself or would we need to take that to the board of trustees?

No concerns about the facilities (always clean and well maintained), or the staff (always friendly and helpful) – but if you could look into the above items and let me know, I’d appreciate it.   

Thanks,
Anthony Serpette
Assistant Director, Web Services

His response:

Hi Anthony,

It’s great to hear from you, welcome back!  Congratulations on realizing some of the recent changes we have made in the ONAT pool.

1)      We have increased the water wetting properties determined by a force balance between adhesive and cohesive forces over the skin so the water is wetter now J.  I like the sign idea and should talk to communications and marketing on that.

2)      The pool length does extend into Barberton as an approach to attract more Barberton students to UA and provide a unique way to travel to campus as well as get their work out in.  Next time you’re in at lunch can you stop by the broasted chicken place and get some take out?  I have been craving the chicken and I am a terrible swimmer, I also can’t stand that uphill swim from the deep end.

3)      Unfortunately I think it might be a challenge on the whole swim wear request.  Keep on rockin the UA speedo!

Thanks for the laugh, it totally made my day and came at a perfect time.  I look forward to seeing you the next time you’re in.  Have a great weekend.

John MacDonald
Director
Student Recreation & Wellness Services

This past weekend I headed to my sister’s house for my youngest niece’s birthday.  She’s turning 5 – my niece, not my sister – and was dressed up in wild and colorful birthday skirt and shirt.  Again, my niece, not my sister.  

We took a trip to the library, the farmer’s market, and the craft store before going to wendy’s for lunch.  By then it was time to start getting ready for the party and I kept the girls entertained with some lego building before the guests arrived.   

My sister always does a great job with party planning and we did tie dye shirts and had a rousing indoor snowball fight (with crumpled paper) before pizza for dinner.  They then moved on to press on nails for all the little girls and I opted to skip that one.

It was a good trip and I had fun, but I’m really not a good traveler.   It was worth it, though, to hold both my nieces’ hands when we crossed a street.  So much love and trust there – it was really special.

————————

I’m writing this post from my new laptop and there’s a story in the purchase.

It was the Fourth of July and I was on the hunt for a computer.  Best Buy was having a big sale and I was jonesing for a chromebook.  

I scoped out the various laptops and strongly resisted correcting a best buy salesman as he gave bad information to a customer.  (Well, not bad, just a little scarier than it needed to be).

To my surprise, they had a fairly good selection of chromebooks and I found one that I liked.  Even better, they had an open box of that one for another $50 less.  Sweet!  It was Geek Squad certified and while I had a slight twinge, I went along with it.

I made my purchase, took it home to charge up, and got it on my network easy as pie.

It wasn’t until I opened it up a second time that I found a problem.  The chromebook has a touch screen and something had gone terribly wrong with the connection.  Instead of sitting patiently for me, the screen went crazy.

Windows appeared and disappeared.  Things zoomed in and out so rapidly it was a blur. Confirmation boxes leaped in and out of focus.

It was possessed.  

I closed it and reopened  – and got it under control enough to use for a bit before shutting it down.  It was an intermittent problem – the worst kind to try and diagnose – but I was able to get it to repeat enough to record a short video in case I needed proof.

And then, receipt in hand, I headed back to Best Buy.  

The clerk at the counter was sympathetic and didn’t need the video to get a return started.  We found the “powerwash” function to clear me out of the machine and I went back to the laptop area to find a new one.  I took it back to the counter, paid the difference, and was on my way.

And yes, I know I said I didn’t need a laptop – but oh my gosh this is so damn shiny.  Did I tell you it had a touch screen?  And a built in pen!  And it’s a Chromebook!  And it’s so SHINY!!!!

Ahem.

So, I’m now able to blog from my first floor or my front porch.  Or anywhere with a wi-fi connection, for that matter.

It’s so shiny.   

————————

Jim and I went to PizzaFire for dinner tonight.  The pizza was excellent, but the experience was a little rough.  Terrible acoustics, disruptive/unsupervised children, a loud kitchen, etc.   We opted to eat outside where cars idled with terrible music and motorcycles charged down the street.  

I ate quickly as I usually do and tried, mostly unsuccessfully, to keep my cool.  I don’t get noisy.  I would vastly prefer the quiet and still.  So I sit here with my laptop and listen to deadmau5 on low in the background.  There’s a warm cup of tea at my side and a cat doing his best to not chase the one mosquito that managed to sneak into my house – thanks, Thunder(cat).   And I wonder at the human impetus to make as much noise as we can.  

I’m tired from my swim and an already a long week of work – I suspect there’s an early night ahead of me.

I took a couple days off around this weekend go to Illinois to visit my cousin and her family.

The trip started on Friday morning as I headed towards the turnpike and about 15 millions hours in the car.  Or something.  I underestimated the amount of tolls I would need to pay and reached a point in Indiana where I didn’t have enough cash to legally exit the turnpike.

Fortunately, there was a travel plaza with an ATM before the final exit and I cashed up – though I later realized a debit card would have worked in a pinch.

I got to Illinois a little ahead of schedule and my cousin’s kids were crazy excited to see me – Iike, literally jumping up and down excited.  Which was pretty cool. We played some games for a bit, then went out to eat and to a birthday/pool party for one of their friends.  It was a blast – lots of swimming and water slides – and we were all pretty tired when we headed back to their place.

Saturday morning was pretty low key, but we went out on the lake on their boat about 1:00.   We didn’t get off the lake until 8 that night and I spent almost all that time in the water.  The kids all had life jackets and the adults used pool noodles to float, but a noodle would have just slowed me down.  So, I treaded water and swam – and took very infrequent breaks to have a quick snack or get a drink of water before I was back in the water.  

A couple times I corralled a kid who drifted out too far or got freaked out – but I mostly stayed near the boats and let kids climb on me.  There were a lot of them.  🙂

The best game was when I would dive underwater and the kids would try to guess where I would surface.  They were always amazed when I slipped past the and surfaced behind them.   I managed to surprise them every time.

And not only did I “prune up”, I reached a point where I was starting to lose skin from my hands.  Crazy.

I think I impressed the adults that were on the flotilla of boats that gathered that day, but I was very tired by the time we were done.

I ended staying up late, though, because my cousin and her husband are such great conversationalists.  I sorry to end the night, but pretty much asleep on my feet.

Sunday was a lazy day of video games – much to the delight of the kids since I’m fluent in minecraft.  We went to my aunt and uncle’s for a early dinner and the kids and I had more adventures playing in the backyard.

There was a lot of good food, fun conversations, and origami over the weekend, but there were also some tears this morning when I left.  My cousin’s kids kinda melted down when they had to say goodbye.  It was sad, but really sweet too.  I got some sad text messages while in route and tried to be reassuring when I replied when I stopped for lunch.

I got slowed by traffic when I hit Ohio – of freaking course – but made it home safe.  I spent some quality time with the cat and then Jim took me out from dinner.

It was a good trip, but such a long drive solo.  It took me a little time to get my land-legs when I got home and I think I’ll sleep well tonight.

The most recent time I went camping with my folks, I got to ride a bike around the campsite.  It more fun than I recalled and I decided that I should own a bike again.

So, I took myself to Dick’s Sporting Goods with a plan.  I’m a quick decider when it comes to purchases – which is why I’m no longer allowed to go shoe shopping with my Mom.  Or grocery shopping – after the “green beans incident”.

I went to the bike area and started looking around and then the bike expert arrived and asked if he could help me.

I told him I was looking for a bike, a helmet, and a rack to put it on my car.

He asked if the bike was for me and I told him it was.  He then asked where I’d be riding it and I told him “mostly paved roads, but I don’t want to be uncontrollable if I hit a little gravel”

He nodded and then pulled a bike off the rack. It was a red and black Schwinn.  He said that they had just put that together recently and it was on sale.  He made some adjustments to the seat based on my height and I told him I’d take it.  There’s one.

Next, the helmet.  There were helmets on sale and I quickly picked out a black one that would match the bike.  And two.

Then, the bike rack. There weren’t a lot of options and we found one that had my style of car listed as viable. And three.

He put the bike up on the work-station and gave it a once over again to make sure everything was good while I filled out some paperwork.  From there, we headed up to the front and I paid for the bike.  Smooth sailing.

Riiiiiiight up until I had to get the bike rack mounted. Oh, there were plenty of instructions with little happy and frowny faces as guides, but having never put one of these on before I was wildly unconfident.

After several partial successes (i.e. failures), I managed to get the bike mounted with some trepidation. I fired up the GPS, set a non-highway route, and headed home.  I was going along okay – keeping a close eye on the bike through the rear window – when I went through a green light and had the driver of the truck next to me lay on the horn and shout at me that I was in a turn-only lane.  I came to a complete halt, let him proceed, and was mortified and relieved that I had almost caused an accident.

(note: the next time I went through that same intersection, I realized my lane had been “left or straight” and his was “right turn only”.  I was, as it turns out, in the right.  Insert sigh of relief and vindication here.)

I stopped at Jim’s house to show him the bike and then went on home.  I’ve been riding it around a bit – it’s harder work than I remember – but haven’t tried the bike rack again.  And I’m still concerned about highway driving.  I mean, with the bike on the rack of my car while I’m driving the car on a highway. Not riding my bike on the highway or highway driving in general – in case there was any confusion.

So, I’ve got a bike now.  And I’m technically able to participate in a triathlon, though I’m totally not going to do that.

I was doing a little paper folding and watching a dvd recently when I got a knock on my door.  It was a guy trying to sell home security systems – or, rather, smart home systems.

The company was one I had heard of and though I wasn’t really interested I figured I could hear him out. He had an ipad with demos, talked about the features and deals, and then asked what features I’d be interested in.  

Instead, I told him that I was actually more concerned about introducing potential vulnerabilities into his secure system the more devices were connected to it.  If my phone was compromised or stolen, or I hooked up a “smart fridge” with an unsecure password to my network, then his system  – no matter how secure – could be compromised as well and my physical and digital would be at risk.

I apparently tipped my hand and he asked me if I worked in a computer field  – and when I said I did he said he could just tell.  Yeah, right.  He didn’t address the connected devices issue (surprise), but instead went on to tell me about the video archives on a terabyte drive and the cloud storage.  

[Do I want video of what goes on in my backyard stored on the internet?  No, I do not.]

Then he asked if I knew how many gigabytes were in a terabyte.  

Really?  Quizzing the geek?  You wanna go down that road?

I told him “a thousand” with a barely suppressed eyeroll as I mentally rounded and he replied that he thought it wasn’t exactly a thousand. I sighed quietly, agreed, and told him it was 1024 because it was by powers of 2.

Sigh, again.

The deal included free equipment and installation – and then $80 a month for a system that I didn’t want or need.

It’s just me here and my cat.  I’m careful about locking my doors and I don’t really own anything that valuable.  If someone does break in when I’m not here, they’re going to really disappointed.  If I am here, well, nothing says “crazy homeowner” quite like a katana.

So, no sale on a smart home.  I’m fine with my dumb, but interesting, house with physical locks and a carefully monitored network.  And I hate the idea that I’m supposed to feel afraid.  And that a camera on my doorbell will somehow make me safer.  Big brother is here – and we’re spying on ourselves.

And, seriously?  Don’t try to out-geek a geek.  We are not to be trifled with.

I got a thank you sent to my work address for helping with the commencement this past spring.  It was a form letter.   Which is fine, except that it said it was for the fall commencement.  And it took 3 weeks to get through the campus mail.  And the envelope had the “verboten” logo of Ohio’s Polytechnic University – i.e. getting rid of their old envelopes.

Sigh.  I think they could have skipped it, frankly.

I also got a thank-you for another project.  This one included a hand-written card and, for some reason, a scratch off lottery ticket. I dutifully scratched off the ticket and found that I had won!

3 dollars.

Not really worth the effort of turning it in, I guess. I had worked with my boss’s boss on the project, so I took a picture of the winning ticket and emailed it to him with a note about how we won.  And that I owned him $1.50.  🙂

He emailed me back with a photo of his winning ticket – for $15.00 – and said that he owned me.  

Pretty funny.

I don’t quite get the “scratch-off lottery ticket” as a gift and though I was a little disappointed in the form letter, I’m a firm believer in thanking people – especially when they go out of their way.  Seems like the right thing to do and I think we need to do more of that.

So, thank you for reading my blog.  🙂