Thunder of Wade

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.

I gratefully got out of work early on Friday and headed down to visit my folks. My dad was already home, but mom had to work late that evening. I noticed that she had a package from Crocs on the doorstep as I came in and an opportunity presented itself.

I opened up the package, took the croc sandals out and put them in a carboard box – then taped it shut and wrapped it. Dad saved the packing slip and I put the box on the table, but didn’t say anything about it to mom when she got home. After a while, I brought it over to where she was sitting and told her I had a present for her.

She got a puzzled look on her face and asked what it was for. I told her “it was just because I loved her”. Still puzzled, she unwrapped the box and opened it to see the crocs. She was now even more puzzled and told her “I saw these and thought they would look great on you,”

These were, of course, the very crocs she had ordered for herself only a few days before and I finally admitted what I’d done. It was a lot of work, but well worth the effort. Both my parents thought it was great. 🙂

On Saturday, we headed over to see my sister, brother-in-law, and niece to meet the newest addition to their family. The new baby was very sweet and adorable and her big sister is old enough to carry on conversations and stay focused on what she is doing. In their own ways, both were great to be around. My sister is doing well, though still sore and not getting much sleep.

One of their friends needed some help done at her new place and my dad and I joined my brother-in-law to help. Our task was to convert a bed with box springs into a platform bed that didn’t need them. We used a piece of composite board to make a platform and had to make several trips up and down stairs until we had all the cuts right.

Back to my sister’s for clean shirts (it was really hot outside and at the apartment) and a walk in woods with the older niece before dinner – then more toddler and baby time until we had leave.

My folks are at church this morning and we’ll spend day together when they get home. Not sure if we’ll visit my sister again this weekend. I’m taking tomorrow off and buying a car on my way back home – looking forward to that, but already missing my current car. I’ve already cleaned it out and everything is in a crate (maps, manual, jumper cables, etc). Feels like I’m moving again.

Got some paperwork to do this morning while things are quiet – best get to that.

One of the techs figured out what was wrong with my password yesterday.  About a year ago, I had been working with a user that was unable to log into our systems remotely.  The computer he was using had the Slovenian language pack enabled and I replicated that on my machine as a test.  I undid all those setting when I was done, but apparently this were still set in the default profile.    When my password wasn’t working, I was actually in the default profile and the keys I was typing in for the password were getting changed by the language pack.  The tech that had been trying this had a password that wasn’t affected by this and my ID wasn’t showing a change – just when I typed the password (which I of course couldn’t see)

We finally got it sorted out and I got some recommendations for an upgrade out of the deal as well.  So very frustrating – especially since I could log in exactly the same way on another machine with success.

While literally doing the work of three people yesterday, I got a call from the Ladies from New York.  The younger of the two – relatively speaking – had recently had eye surgery and was unable to drive.  She asked if I would take them grocery shopping.  So, I headed over and picked them up around 6, took them to giant eagle where they bought enough food for maybe 2 meals, then took them back.  Must be a New York thing.  The younger complained about the heat – her mother wore a sweater.    I wish that their family took a more active interest in what they are doing, but I don’t mind the quiet bemusement I get when I help them out.

After work – but before the grocery trip – I invited our departments student assistant to join me for a swim.  It had been a long time since he had gone swimming as exercise and he was looking forward to it.   I figured that he would be faster than me on the first lap since I pace myself, but that in the long run I would outlast him.

Well, I hydroplaned past him on the first lap and he had to stop and rest for a bit.  He got in about another 1/2 lap and then got out of the pool.   I did 10 laps (with the long lane configuration) and got out of the pool to find him.  He was laying on one of the benches – sound asleep.  I woke him up and we headed out.

It totally wasn’t fair – of course.  I’ve been swimming for years and several times a week.  I’ve got my form down and my breathing and I know how much I can push myself.    So, I kinda felt bad for him – having been there at one time.  On the other hand – it was freaking awesome to out-swim a college-aged guy.  I may be almost 40, but I still kick ass in the pool.

I got a notice that I needed to change my main password at work and though I dreaded it, I started the process.  The password gets changed online, then I have to sync the password with the encryption on my desktop, then with windows.   This has never gone well for me.

This time, it failed worse than usual and I was totally locked out.  I called the support desk and patiently went through again all the steps I had already tried.  At their direction I rebooted again and they decided to open a ticket to get a tech over to look at it.

Side notes:

1. I dunno why I need to have my hard-drive encrypted.  My desk is the furthest from any door and I’m not even allowed to have any kind of sensitive data on there.  It’s always a pain in the ass.

2. Rebooting works far more frequently than us geeks would like to admit.  It never sits well with us when that is the best solution.

So, the tech comes over and we try changing the password again.  Still no good. Neither the old password, the new password, or the new-new password will let me into windows.  He can log in, but when he does, IE opens up in Russian.

Finally, I have them watch as I log into a laptop successfully – then type that same damn password on my machine and fail.  This was after the tech had called another guy over and he got stumped too.

It was time to leave for the day so we just shut it down and they promised to come back tomorrow.  If we can’t get it soon, I’m going to back up my files and have them install a new operating system on there.  Very frustrating since before I tried to change the password I was doing the work of three people and getting a lot of stuff done.

As a further side note, I asked my boss today about our evaluations  – since they are due soon – and he expressed some concern about the forms and their usefulness at gauging our performance.  He said that he needed a box on there for my evaluation that said, “Busts his ass all the time and gets everything done that he needs to”

So, I took that as a compliment and thanked him.   Hope I can get logged in tomorrow, I’ve still got way to much to do and would like to leave early on Friday.

So, this past weekend I got invited to an art festival.  The day was really nice and we wandered around the booths for quite a while.  There were a lot of photographers and jewelry makers – and a few that worked in glass – but I didn’t really see anything that a). caught my eye & b). that I could afford.  Still, it was nice to get out and see some cool artwork.

After the festival, my friends and I headed to the west Market street Chipotle.  And once again, the wizards at this Chipotle created an amazingly perfect burrito.  I dunno how they make it so much better than any other Chipotle, but they do.  And it was full-on awesome.

After dinner, we went back to the festival for ballet in the park.  This was my first ballet and while I don’t think I really got it, I enjoyed it.   Some parts were a little boring or repetitive, but the scene from the Dracula ballet was impressive and the ending number had some really amazing moments.  I don’t think I’m a ballet kind of guy – not enough explosions – it was still fun.

On the downside, I got eaten alive by mosquitoes.  I’ve determined that I must be delicious.