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I took the younger (relatively) of the Ladies from New York to dinner last evening.  I had invited both she and her mother, but the elder wasn’t feeling up to it.  We went to Rockne’s and she remarked how long it had been since she’d been there – we figured it must have 1996 or 1997.  I congratulated her that she was “still kicking” and she replied that she had had some close calls.  I reassured her that she was “too stubborn” and she laughed.

This morning as I got into the office, one of my co-workers reported that I had just missed the bio-hazard crew.  Apparently, a custodian had reported “a trashcan full of needles” to the Health and Safety office.  He was mystified and sent them on their way, but I correctly deduced what had happened.

Our student assistant is diabetic and sure enough, he had carefully capped a used needle and disposed of it in the trashcan at his desk.  Hardly “full of needles”, but still apparently enough to freak everyone out.

I called Health and Safety and reported what had  happened – and asked for the correct disposal procedure.  Before we could implement anything, the building coordinator stopped by and told us there was a sharps container in the building already.  I updated our student via email and we should be fine.  Still, bio-hazard?  Must be a Thursday.

I got out into the sunshine at lunchtime and got some really excellent sushi.  I sat out in the sun, wielded my chopsticks like a pro (I know, you aren’t really supposed to eat sushi with chopsticks but it’s fun), and ate a fresh pear on my way to the bank.

The bank tellers are always friendly – must be some kind of gas they pump into the building – and I was on my way in no time.

I’m hoping the rest of the afternoon goes as smoothly.

So, I lost the USB cable for my camera.  I’ve got all kinds of USB cables, but none that this particular “standard”.  I went to Radio Shack to see if they had a replacement one.  The clerk met me at the door and walked me over to the cables section to find one that would fit my camera.  He even opened up the package so we could check it and make sure.  It fit and I was directed over to the counter.

And then the questions began.

1. Do I need any batteries? (for my USB cable?)  I said no.

2. What cell phone provider do I have?  (Again, for my USB cable?)  I told them Verizon – and that I have a contract.

3. What kind of phone do I have?  (Again, USB?) I told them I had a crap phone.

4. They offered to sign me up for a automatic notice – plus a $5 dollar coupon for when my contract expires.  (Sigh. Really?)  I told them no thank you and that I was just there for the USB cable.

5. Do I want a 3 year warranty on the cable?  (Really?  The USB standards are likely to change before the warranty expires and really?  a warranty on a cable?)  I declined.

I swiped my card though the reader and was asked if I wanted to contribute to the Livestrong Foundation.  I declined, again.

6.  I was asked if I needed a bag. (For my one cable in a plastic box.)  I declined.

Finally escaped and it really did feel like an escape.  I don’t think I got this many questions when I was being picked for jury duty.

In better USB news… my new car has a USB port that lets me load up a simple flash drive with MP3 files and just plug it in.  All the controls are through the car and I can go through folders and files and play the music right through the car speakers.  The sound is amazing.  I was really jamming when I was driving around last night.

Dinner tonight with the Ladies from New York after my swim.  Looking forward to getting out of here for the day – it’s been a rough one.

I got 20 laps in the pool yesterday – bringing me up to 99 miles so far for the year.  After work today, I’ll do another mile and be at 100.   Since my goal is 120 miles for the year, I’m feeling pretty good about being able to reach that.  Not Olympic by any means, but not bad for an almost 40 year old geek.

I got to see my former co-worker and his family last night.  They came over so that he could pick up his stored music and we went out to eat with one of my friends .  They got to see my car and we had fun chatting with their 2 year old.

And I had turned on my air-conditioner for the first time.  There was a 2 year old in my house and I want to stay on her good side.  The adults are less likely to get audibly cranky when the house is hot in the summer – the 2  year old is less reserved.

Later that evening I played some Darksiders 2 – sweet game. Lots of clever puzzles and monsters to smack down.

Also got a little free mental analysis from my friend – he made a connection between my love of boxes and containers (I freaking love containers) and my tendency to compartmentalize my thought processes.    Seems pretty obvious in hindsight, but it was something of a revelation to me.    Not sure what to do with this new knowledge – though I’m not giving up on my boxes.   And I’m kinda fond of my mental walls too.  Yeah, it does keep people at a distance, but it also shields me against telepaths.    Good luck trying to get into my head, Sookie Stackhouse.  Or Professor Xavier.  Or Martian Manhunter.    You may scoff, but telepaths are a bigger problem than you think.  And I’m ready for them.

Did I mention how much I love containers?

Anyway, looking forward to my swim this afternoon and a nice quiet weekend.

I woke up this morning with a skull-splitter of a headache.  A full on migraine  – great way to start the day.  I called my boss and left a message for him that I was out, but would try to make it in later in the day.  I took an aspirin, knowing full well it was too late, then put in ear plugs, added a bandanna over my eyes to shut out the little light coming in, and tried to wait it out.

No luck.  Then the nausea hit and it was almost welcome.  In the past, throwing up has helped break the grip of the migraine.  Think it might be a pressure overload that does the trick.  In any case, I couldn’t throw up.  In desperation, I even gagged myself and that took several attempts before I was successful.

When I was done, I was exhausted, had a sore throat, and was thirsty.  I got some water, got back in bed, and finally fell asleep.

I woke up a few hours later around 10 and decided I was well enough to go to work.  The headache had faded to a dull roar and I was on the road by 10:30.   The drive usually takes me about 5-6 minutes and I knew I would have a little more trouble with parking that usual, but I was unprepared for what faced me.

Wall to wall, every space filled.  All of them.  I had to stop in the middle of my search to go refill my gas tank.  After 45 minutes, I ended up at literally the farthest away I could be from my office and still be on campus.  And this was after I had two spaces open up behind me only to watch them get filled in my rear-view mirror.

I had an apple with me and I ate that on my walk into the office.  It helped my mood a bit and I was very nearly a human being by the time I got to my desk.  And then I opened my email…

So, I’m at work and already hoping for the end of the day.  I snacked for lunch and may try to grab a bite to eat this afternoon.  I’ve got my swim gear, but I don’t know if I’ll be hitting the pool after work today.

I headed up campus this past Thursday for my afternoon swim and stopped to chat with some folks that were running a popcorn can cotton-candy booth for the home opener football game.  (we ended up losing)  Once I got up to the pool I headed for the locker room to change and had just started when the lights went out.  I started to plan how I would use the light from my cell phone in 7 second increments to get dressed again when the emergency lights came on.  I got dressed, headed out to the hallway and was informed, in clipped tones by the attendant, that – the power was out, we were running on emergency lights, and that the pool was closed.   All of which I knew or could figure out – and could have done without the attitude.

I left, got some popcorn on the way back and headed home to lay out in what little sunshine remained for the day.

On Friday, I took myself for a nice long swim and did 2 miles.    That evening I went out for pizza at The Hut and ate way more than my fair share.  Hey, I earned it.

Saturday, on the boat again with friends as we cruised the Portage Lakes.  We were out there for about 6 hours and I got in some swimming as well – even moved the boat around by myself when we drifted.   After boating we went our for dinner to celebrate a birthday.

Sunday, went to the Akron Art museum and found some artwork by someone I know.  She’s a professor in the School of Art and had one of her prints displayed.  It was pretty cool and I felt almost famous by proxy.

Monday was a trip to my friend’s mom’s house for a cook out and pool party.  The burgers were good, the pool was very cold, and the only downside was that one of the links in my watch got broken roughhousing in the water.  I’m going to try and get it fixed after work today.

So, a busy and very social weekend.   We’re just about out of summer, but I made this weekend count.

Went to the last outdoor ballet of the season this past weekend.  This time around we got there in time for the kids program and it was surprisingly fun to watch.  The leader of the group of kids was someone I know – she’s the director of the dance institute at UA.  And I built her website.  🙂  So, it was pretty cool to see a familiar face leading a group of happy children dancing on stage.

The traditional part of the ballet was a little dull, but one segment had Johnny Cash singing a song called Hurt.  The song was originally written and performed by Nine Inch Nails  – Mr. Cash did a cover of this in his own style shortly before he passed away.  The line, “You can have it all – my empire of dirt”, struck me as deeply sad and stayed with me.  The dancers acted out the song, one pair moving the others like puppets.  Haunting and very well done.  I discovered later that Leona Lewis also did a cover of the song – adding a pop-style to the moody and the country.

Strange how one song can convey so much depth and be covered in such interesting ways.  Guess that’s a tribute to the writer.

Also over the weekend I got to go with some friends out on the lake for a boat trip.  The weather was nice most of the time and we spent quite a while swimming.  It was a little cold, but that didn’t stop me from doffing my suit once in the water.   I swam out quite a ways from the boat and went down to see how deep the part of the lake was.  I touched bottom – at least, I hope it was the bottom.  It was squishy.

After a while, I put my suit back on and got back into the boat – managing to injury myself a bit in the process.  Too bad it wasn’t a lake monster – would have made for a better story.

In other news… today, I returned some food.  I had gone up to the student center to get some lunch and decided on a slice of pizza.    I got to a table, sat down and  took one bite – and nearly spit it back out.  Cool to the touch, dry and chewy crust, greasy, and the cheese was congealed.  I’ve sent back food before that didn’t match what I ordered, but this was the first time that I had taken something back that just tasted bad.  I waited until I attracted the attention of one of the women at the checkout station and asked to see a manager.  The manager came out and I explained that the pizza was terrible and what was wrong with it.  She offered to make it right and get me another slice (how that would help I don’t know), but I was already running late and had lost much of my appetite with that bite anyway.  So, I declined and said I just wanted to report it so that the pizza that had been sitting under the heat lamp could be discarded and no one else would get a serving of that.    I made do with my coke zero and a pop-tart.

So, after a very busy day in the office – it was a “webteam of one” for a while – I hopped in my car and headed over to the BMV to get the plates changed over.   No waiting in line, I had all the paperwork needed, the clerk was efficient, friendly, and helpful – and the transaction only cost me $4.50.  I was on the road in no time and took a CD to the Ladies from New York that they had asked me to find.  From there, I went to get my haircut and again didn’t have to wait in line.  I got a great hair cut from a friendly stylist and was on my way in short order.

I guess the Fates of Retail felt bad about the pizza because the rest of my evening went pretty smoothly.

Just wrapping up some laundry and then off to bed.

I went to best buy last night to purchase a GPS.  I’ve wanted one for a while, but my previous car’s lighter/outlet didn’t work – so, new car, new outlet, and new GPS.

I found the one I wanted, got the option for unlimited maps, and headed to the checkout.  The clerk scans the box and announces that best buy recommends the full geek squad service plan on the device.

Now, have you ever bought something at best buy and not gotten pushed into buying some kind of protection plan, extended warranty, or geek squad service?  It’s like they expect every product they sell to explode into a fireball of death the nano-second you walk out the store.  At least they seemed to have stopped pushing magazine subscriptions.  I’m in there buying a device that constantly gets updates from SPACE and they want me to sign up for print media.

So, she continues on about how they can repair it if there are problems and help if I have trouble downloading updates.  Now that got my dander riled up.   Download?   In my head I’m thinking, “Download?  Don’t you know who I am?  I will download the shit out of that device.  I will download that until it needs a support group to recover!”

I didn’t say that, of course.  But I did say, “No thanks.  I’m a geek.  I’ve got it covered.”

Which was maybe a little arrogant on my part because while I’m fairly certain I could download any update it needs, I’d be reluctant to crack open the case and re-solder the connectors.

She was a little taken aback, but followed up with “It also covers replacement if it can’t be fixed,”

To which I (mentally) replied, “You dare doubt my powers?!?” and aloud… well, I didn’t really say anything.  I’d already told her I didn’t want the geek squad protection and that was pretty much all I had to say on the subject.  I paid for the GPS and headed out.

I used the GPS to get to work this morning. I didn’t like the route it picked, but we soon sorted it out.  I also need to download some new voices.  There’s no British voice – which I prefer in other GPS’s I’ve used – and the one of the american voices has a sort of whine to her speech patterns.

So, I’m guessing some downloads are in my future.  Gee, who could I call if I can’t figure that out?

This weekend I got a chance to go up to Beechwood for a couple of rights of passage.  One, I ate pretty much the best pizza I’ve ever eaten.  California Pizza Kitchen.  I was a little skeptical – I mean, you can buy these in the grocery store – but it was awesome.  I didn’t lick the plate, but it was close.

As a new homeowner, it was inevitable that I make a pilgrimage to Crate and Barrel.  I was strong and managed to get out of there having spent less than 20 dollars.  [I got a blue glass bottle and a fake plant – but no crates or barrels].

On Saturday, went to another ballet in the park.  Or rather, the cemetery.  The cemetery was really cool and peaceful.  The ballet was… long.  Some of the performances were impressive, but there was a fair amount of repetition too.  I was polite and respectful of the performance, but would have been fine with a shorter show.  Also, not nearly enough explosions.

Went for a walk in the park on Sunday and did a little work on my Halloween costume. This year’s will be pretty involved and I’ll need more time than usual.

Other highlights from the weekend:

Went to Spaghetti warehouse for dinner and struggled again to get the meal I wanted.  Spaghetti, Pesto, meatballs.  Shouldn’t be that complicated.  They were having a rough night as it turns out – a party of 150 and another of 50.  Kitchen was slammed and a few people at nearby tables left without getting their food.

Played some Dragon Age Origins.  Cured the werewolves, stopped an assassin, and rescued a village from the un-dead. All in a day’s work for my Rogue Elf Archer.

Also played some minecraft.  Just got a little cave-house built and went outside at night to hunt monsters.  I was headed for an Enderman when a Creeper blew up right behind me.  Recovered from that, then chased the Enderman around while dodging arrows from the skeleton archer.  Very intense pixels.

Read some more of my Cthulhu books.  A couple of the stories were really weird and scary, but the rest are somewhat lackluster.  I was hoping for more evil fungus or a color that will make you crazy to look at.   You know, the classics.

Spent a little time outside, got some good quality sleep, and watched a little True Blood. All in all, a good, quiet, and restful – though somewhat busy weekend.  Oh, and I even did laundry and housecleaning.

Well, the great crocs experiment of 2012 has failed.   They’ve never been as comfortable as I would have hoped and they slow me down when I try to walk anywhere.  They were also wearing a sore spot on tops of my feet.

All this I could get past, but yesterday I saw a colleague wearing a pair very similar to mine and I was forced to admit that they look ridiculous.  And unprofessional.  Like really boring clown shoes.  Which I guess would be fine if I was some kind of corporate clown.  But then, aren’t they all?  (Ba-dum-bum!  Thank you, I’m here all week Tip your waitress.)

So, I’ve switched back to dressier, but no more comfortable, shoes. My “I’m on my feet all day and need comfortable shoes” saga continues.

As I write this, I’m seated at a desk at work.  Which is odd and uncomfortable – I’m at another desk while I wait for memory to be installed on my work computer.  I’d better call and check on that – all this sitting is making my back hurt.

What I really need is no shoes and a beanbag chair.  I can chill out for hours with that combination and a video game controller in my hand.   I’m guessing that won’t really be viable for work, but a fella can dream, can’t he?

I took yesterday off work and headed from my folks place up to Columbus to buy a car from one of my friends.  I was running early enough to take some time to sit in a park for a while and enjoy the sunshine – put me in a good mood.

I got to the dealership right on time and my friend met me at the door.  We talked about some used cars, then took a test drive.  I liked the car and within a couple of hours of walking in I was driving out in a new 2012 Honda Civic Lx.

Highlights:

1. This was far better than my last car buying experience

2. I had a higher credit rating than the finance guy had ever seen.

3. I put a good chunk of money down and my payments shouldn’t be too bad.

I took an easy drive back home with the AC on and the radio blasting.  The inside of the car has very soothing lighting and  – weirdly enough – it feels like a “grown-up” car.  Not really sure what that means, but I feel like I should be wearing a tie or something when I drive it.

When I got home, I mowed the yard and got some sunshine.  Even with buying a new car and the drive back to Akron, it was a pretty low stress day.