by the seat of my pants

Tuesday night I had a few errands to run on my way to Homer's. The first place I stopped was the post office. When I got back into the car I noticed a strange sound. I felt the car seat thinking that maybe I sat in something. Nothing.

I stopped by the gas station and contemplated on how cold it was. The weather seemed to cut right through me.

I went to Home Depot and returned some materials that did not fit in our bathroom. I also headed to the plumbing section to pick up the last couple of things necessary to get our sink into working order.

As I bent down to look for a specific part that I need I noticed the same noise I heard in the car. This time it was more distinct so there was no doubt what it was. I had torn the seat of my pants. Later, I would confirm a seven inch tear along my rear left pocket.

I wonder what the people who saw me before I realized what had happened thought. Did the guy filling his mini-van at the gas station get a laugh out of me shivering with a tear in my pants? Did the people in the aisle at Home Depot with me hear the tear? Did I look suspicious because of how quickly I left the store? So many questions, so few answers.

a few updates

This is just a quick update on the status of things in my world and stuff I have posted on recently.

Since NJ is our priority, I'll mention him first. We're getting pictures of NJ done tomorrow. That doesn't seem like a big deal, but it has proven difficult to time pictures so that he doesn't have a bump on his head. Last week under my care he crawled head-first into the back door.

Regarding school, I got an email today saying that the four-credit reduction in my MBA program's requirements applies to anyone graduating December 2007 or later. That will save me almost a semester's worth of work and just short of two thousand dollars once textbook prices are considered. I'm ecstatic.

While I'm talking about school, I'll mention that I am two weeks from the end of the semester. I think I officially mentally checked out two weeks ago, so that's probably not a good thing. Anyhow, two weeks from this Thursday I can start going to coffee night again at Homers. The hiatus feels like it has been longer than the few weeks that it has been.

Regarding the site, I decided to take the poll down for now. It wasn't getting used much and I wasn't really happy with the appearance. I may put another one up in the future, but I need to think it out more before I do that. The last poll results are below.

Regarding my exercise routine, I should probably be doing more. I have walked quite a bit, and I actually did some physical work at work on Thursday. I don't know how a person is supposed to take the time to exercise with a job, school, a baby, and Kansas weather (which kept me indoors this week), though. It seems I have more pressing concerns than my body.

my past two days

Thursday:

The manager over our group visited the office for the first time in two years. We visited Copelands, because cajun food was a consensus favorite.

Also, like the last time he came out, we decided to do laser tag. In our first game a team of ten-year-olds kicked our butts. We figured ahead of time that a team of kids would be rough, and this isn't the first time it happened, but I would've preferred to win that game. I attribute that to the fact that my gun was broken. After getting a working gun and switching our team color to one that could be distinguished more clearly, my team took first place twice.

Around 9PM I was still getting ready to go to Homers when BB called to see if anyone would be there that night. Apparently I wasn't the only person running late. BB was the only one there yet. Coffee night was fun, but shorter than usual since I got there kind of late (or latte if I want to play with the pun).

Friday:

I went to the dentist right before lunch time. I scheduled the appointment then because I forgot that I would get a novocaine shot and not be able to eat for a few hours. It was 2PM before I was able to eat lunch and it was 4PM before I could fully feel my lower lip.

The movie for the evening was the second Underworld flick. I liked it except that it ended in a way that I know there is going to be a third movie.

symmetryrtemmys

Golden and I can combine to form one OCD person. She checks things like the faucet or the locks on the door multiple times. This is not something that I will do. I have other traits, though.

I have already said that I do things in fours. I tap my foot in fours, I scratch my neck in fours, I eat chips or M&Ms in fours, I do just about everything in fours. This is a trait that Golden does not have.

Something that we both have is a sense of symmetry. This does not run as deep in Golden as it does me, though. Golden likes to make sure that things are decorated symmetrically, but there are two things that don't bother her at all that irritate my sense of symmetry.

First, she doesn't notice or care if a picture is not hung straightly. If I am in a room with a crooked picture I have a very strong desire to straighten the picture. Homer's Coffeehouse has a lot of crooked pictures.

Second, at night when Golden puts on socks to sleep in or to lounge around the house in she will simply grab two socks and put them on. They don't have to be a matching pair in color or style. I don't know why, but it irritates my feet just looking at her mismatched socks.

The picture below is a not-so-extreme example of what I am talking about. On this particular night, the sock colors were the same but the sock styles were not. If she is going to do this, I wish she would at least hide the socks behind some sandals. That should be a rule.

for what it's worth

To whom it may concern, I found out last night that I have a catch phrase. In case you were wondering, it is something that I tend to use quite a bit in both oral and written communication. Interestingly enough, it is a commonly used introductory phrase that signifies to my audience that I am about to say something of importance to me.

As a matter of fact, many people have catch phrases that seem to infiltrate every aspect of their communications. Back in the time, I remember getting a chuckle out of an acquaintance who used to always say, "to make a long story short," then continue to make a short story long.

I was just thinking, and I wonder if the introductory phrases that a person peppers his or her speak with point to how that person's mind works. In a manner of speaking, these phrases may point to a person's need to introduce a thought, and the inability to constantly come up with a creative means of introduction.

In that case, I must lack some creativity. That is all I have to say on the subject, for what it's worth.

a day in my life

Yesterday our pastor spoke on what we devote our time to and had us fill out a calendar with what we generally do with our time. I think the purpose was either to show that we could give God more time or to show how much of our time is wasted. If that is the case, my calendar had the opposite effect on me. I recognized that a lot of my time is already spent on church-type stuff. Though quite a bit was devoted to reality TV too.

Here is a typical weekday in my life.

7:30 AM - Wake up and get ready for work. - brain power: 10% capacity
7:50 AM - Head off to work. - brain power: 20% capacity
8:15 AM - Have first cup of coffee at office. - brain power: 50% capacity
8:30 AM - Do various things related to my job that cannot be easily described. - brain power: 50% capacity
12:00 PM - Play Quake III or Hacky Sack at lunch. - brain power: 80% capacity
1:00 PM - Back to work. - brain power: 60% capacity
4:00 PM - Kick work up a notch (BAM!) when I realize that I have more than one hour worth of work left for the day. - brain power: 60% capacity
5:30 PM - Get things reasonably wrapped up and vow I'll do better tomorrow. Talk with a friend at work about irrelevant things, then leave work. - brain power: 80% capacity
6:00 PM - Arrive home, eat, and listen to Mrs Dust talk about her day. - brain power: 70% capacity
7:00 PM - Watch TV - brain power: 50% capacity
8:00 or 9:00 PM - Depends on the day of the week (play volleyball, church, go to Homers coffehouse, etc) - brain power: 80% capacity
10:00 PM - Mrs Dust goes to bed. Watch TV. - brain power: 90% capacity
12:00 AM - Try to go to sleep. - brain power: 100% capacity
2:00 AM - Actually go to sleep. - brain power: 10% capacity (which is also the average brain capacity of drivers on Interstate 35)