The perfect game

Basketball season is really get interesting as teams are starting to take shape this year. Even if you don’t like basketball but can tolerate watching one game every once in a while, I suggest you watch the Rockets vs. the Lakers tonight at 9:30 p.m. on TNT.

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“It’s Round 2 for Shaquille O’Neal and Yao Ming as Houston takes on the Lakers at the Staples Center. (Live)

The first-ever meeting between the behemoths was a must-see event for hoopheads. ESPN’s telecast of the Rockets’ 108-104 overtime home win on January 17 was the second most-watched NBA regular-season game ever on cable TV. Shaq put up his usual good numbers, posting 31 points and 13 rebounds. However, rookie phenom Yao, voted the West’s starting center in the All-Star Game, made his presence felt and blocked O’Neal’s first three shots. Yao finished with a respectable 10 points, 10 rebounds and six blocks, while teammate Steve Francis piled up 44 points.”
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This means I’ll have to stay up way past my bedtime, but it’ll be well worth it to watch my two all-time favorite teams play each other! I can never decide who I want to win when these two play one another. It was really hard to decide when Elise took me to see the Lakers and Rockets play each other at the Compaq Center a couple years ago. That was the best birthday present ever.

Oh yeah, despite everything above, I’m going to the Dallas Mavericks this year. Hmmmm???

Glad to be gone…

Another reason why I’m really glad that I no longer work at Scott & White. It looks as if the Marketing department is completely gone now. I got this e-mail from my former cohort this afternoon:

Have you heard about Mary? She was given the choice of accepting a demotion or a severance package. she took the severance. Market Research department was dissolved. Angie and Chris are going to IS. Pat & Dean were laid off.

Luciana is applying for a transfer for your old job. So far, she’s going to get it. There haven’t been any qualified applicants. Doneva is also applying.

Form to Fax

Sometimes I surprise myself. Well, I don’t really surprise myself, but I make myself happy. No – no, sometimes I do surprise myself. I can’t think of anything right now… but today I made myself happy.

Since I started my new job, my boss has mentioned some things he would like to change about the functionality of our clients’ websites as well as a few adjustments to our corporate website. One of the first changes he wanted was a server-side form handling script (you know, when you fill out a form on a website and your input gets magically sent to wherever it’s supposed to go). When he first mentioned this, I said “Sure… no problem, I can do that with my eyes closed.” So, I sat down and started customizing a script that I had used in the past. Well, your humble narrator is used to working on Linux/Apache servers. I’m used to perl/cgi scripts. We’re on Microsoft IIS servers. That means active server pages (asp). Okay, too technical. So now I’m having to learn asp. By the way, that’s pronounced Hay (silent “H”) Esss Pee.

So I created a form that’s handled server-side in asp. Great, groovy, fantastic. Another idea my boss had been kicking around was having the ability to have an online form send a fax. To make a long story short, I customized a form handler script that will send a fax with prescription refill information to a pharmacy. I pretty much spent all day on that today and now my eyeballs are about to rupture as I write this. That’s it. Yeah, thought it was going to be something cool, huh? Well, it’s the little things.

Now I just wish I could figure out how to lick my damn elbow. Oh well… I think I’ll go run with scissors now and see how long it takes before something bad happens.

Useless facts and trivia

The first couple to be shown in bed together on prime time TV were Fred and Wilma Flintstone.

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Every day more money is printed for Monopoly than the US Treasury.

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Men can read smaller print than women can; women can hear better.

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Coca-Cola was originally green.

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It is impossible to lick your elbow.

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The state with the highest percentage of people who walk to work:

Alaska

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The percentage of Africa that is wilderness: 28%

The percentage of North America that is wilderness: 38%

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The cost of raising a medium-size dog to the age of eleven: $6,400

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The average number of people airborne over the US any given hour:

61,000

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Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.

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The world’s youngest parents were 8 and 9 and lived in China in 1910.

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The youngest pope was 11 years old.

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The first novel ever written on a typewriter: Tom Sawyer.

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Those San Francisco Cable cars are the only mobile National Monuments.

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111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321

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If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle. If the horse has one front leg in the air, the person died as a result of wounds received in battle. If the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.

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Hershey’s Kisses are called that because the machine that makes them looks like it’s kissing the conveyor belt.

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Q. What occurs more often in December than any other month?

A. Conception.

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Half of all Americans live within 50 miles of what their birthplace

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Q. If you were to spell out numbers, how far would you have to go until you would find the letter “A”?

A. One thousand

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Q. What do bulletproof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers, and laser printers all have in common?
A. All invented by women.

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Q. What is the only food that doesn’t spoil?
A. Honey

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Q. There are more collect calls on this day than any other day of the year?

A. Father’s Day

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Q. What trivia fact about Mel Blanc (voice of Bugs Bunny) is the most ironic?
A. He was allergic to carrots.

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Q. What is an activity performed by 40% of all people at a party?
A. Snoop in your medicine cabinet.

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In Shakespeare’s time, mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes. When you pulled on the ropes the mattress tightened, making the bed firmer to sleep on. Hence the phrase “goodnight, sleep tight”.

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It was the accepted practice in Babylon 4,000 years ago that for a month after the wedding, the bride’s father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink. Mead is a honey beer and because their calendar was lunar based, this period was called the honey month we know today as the honeymoon.

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In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts. So in old England, when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them to mind their own pints and quarts and settle down. It’s where we get the phrase “mind your P’s and Q’s”

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Many years ago in England, pub frequenters had a whistle baked into the rim or handle of their ceramic cups. When they needed refill, they used the whistle to get some service. “Wet your whistle” is the phrase inspired by this practice.

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In Scotland, a new game was invented. It was entitled Gentlemen Only Ladies Forbidden…. and thus the word GOLF entered into the English language.

At least 75% of people who read this will try to lick their elbow.

Elise’s birthday

I’ve had no time to do anything recently – especially update the website.

Work has been keeping me really busy. I’m really enjoying my new job. I was hired on to help a few people out, now I feel like I need someone to help me out! As I was told from the beginning, my job entails quite a bit of production work. I also have these left-handed, research and development projects. I’m hoping we can expand soon and I can start focusing more on the R&D. I still enjoy the production work… it makes me feel… well, productive.

The past month has been a blur. It’s hard to believe that I’ve been back in Austin for six weeks. Things look like they’re finally starting to settle down a bit.

Jenni and her boyfriend, Brett came to visit this past weekend. They made it to our apartment before I got home from work on Friday. We all visited for a while, then I had to play accounts receivable and shipping department for all of my recent eBay sales. I don’t know why I keep doing that to myself. I decide that I want to sell things on eBay, so I list them all at once. Recently I’ve been trying to track who bought what, for how much and by which means.

After I finished ‘business’, the four of us jumped in the Jeep and had dinner at Threadgill’s. We all came back to the apartment, each had a few glasses of elixir and listened to some tunes. I showed Brett the joys of gratuitous game play violence. Hilarity ensued.

Elise, Jenni and Brett woke up early and went to the Red Apple Sale at Foley’s. I woke up later to shave the hair off of my tongue that apparently grows quite nicely when fertilized by scotch. I hopped in the shower and then headed to Central Market. I got home just before the Mall Squad and made California rolls and spring rolls.

We ate lunch and sat around the apartment for the rest of the afternoon.

We went to Romeo’s later that night to celebrate Elise’s birthday. The food and company were great – the weather wasn’t. We tried to go to the Gingerman. They had reached capacity. We walked next door to the Fox & the Hound. To spare you the details, Elise and Jenni tied a few on. John and Christine met up with us after we had been at the bar for a while. We all had a great time (at least those of us who can remember!)

We closed the Fox & the Hound. When we got back to the apartment, Elise and Jenni decided it was time to sing and dance. Brett and I laid low in the kitchen and had a night cap. I had to make mad dashes into the living room to turn the stereo down just enough to keep the pictures from falling off of the walls. I have most of this episode of Star Search on video if you want to see it…

We got up in time to go to lunch on Sunday morning. Seeing how it was Elise’s birthday, I wasn’t going to complain about the restaurant chosen. Seeing how it is now the day after Elise’s birthday, I will say that I will never eat at Magnolia Cafe ever again. I’ve always disliked their food and this visit put the icing on the cake. Elise didn’t like her food either. I’ve tried different things at Magnolia in the past and have never liked the food. This time, I tried the nachos thinking “How could anyone screw up an order of nachos?” Go to Magnolia Cafe on Congress – they’ll show you how. Elise had the Love Migas. I think she stomached half of her plate. Victor, who could eat a rusted gas tank off of a bulldozer didn’t seem like he swung on his meal either. Jenni and Brett got lucky – they both said their food was good.

I took Elise to Oshman’s and then to Academy where, after 15 pairs, decided on one pair of tennis shoes that she liked. That was her birthday present from me. We went over to Sam’s to do nothing but walk around and say “Why are we walking around in Sam’s?”

We came back home and I gave Elise a big basket full of wine and chocolates. We just sat around like a couple of bumps and watched cheesy movies on TV.

Breathe

I found that breathing is kind of good for you. I was sitting at work earlier this week, chugging through some html that we had generated from Excel, and I sighed. It then dawned on me that I hadn’t been breathing for about two hours. So, I started taking deep, concentrated breaths and my eyes opened and my mind cleared. I need to put a Post-It note on my computer that reads “breathe.”

On Tuesday, Elise and I went to Central Market for the first time since being back in Austin. We bought mushrooms, some spicy, mayonnaise-based dipping sauce and some tortilla chips. It was nice to be in one of our favorite grocery stores again. The mushrooms were for the turkey tetrazzini that I made last night.

I have a bunch of stuff on eBay right now. The extra cash will be nice.

Travis came over last night and we started hammering out the details for his site’s relaunch. That’ll be a fun project for a while.

Elise’s birthday is Sunday. We don’t know what we’re going to do in celebration. Some friends are coming in from out of town. I guess we’ll just play it by ear.

Back in Austin

I finally feel at home now. We have Roadrunner at the new apartment now. A computer seems 80% useless without a pipe sticking out to that www thing.

Work is awesome. Unlike my previous job, I have a ton of stuff to do (versus a ton of meetings to attend). I go in to work every morning know that I have work to start on and have to bust ass all day so I can try to get out of there at a reasonable hour. I really like my new job and the people that I work with.

I ran over to UFCU today and reopened our checking account. I’m really glad we decided to put our money into a credit union. I used to use the Bank of the Northern Hemisphere… actually I banked with Bank of America – same difference (nothing personal Victor). Anyway, Elise and her family used credit unions and when El and I got married, we stuck with UFCU. We get better rates on everything and far better service than any big city/share owner bank. Well, the only ‘thing’ we have is a car loan, but even still…

Money has been tight the past couple weeks. I had to pay rent at two apartments and all kinds of fun deposits for utilities and phones. I’m irritated with the util company in Temple – they just sent me my final bill (that I have to pay), and then they’re going to turn around and return my deposit (which is more than my current bill).

Elise is finally done with Temple. I was done with it two weeks ago. Elise went back yesterday to scrape the blood off the walls and return our keys. Hopefully we’ll get our deposit back on that place as well. I will miss Sherry though. She was the leasing manager and has to be the nicest lady I’ve ever met. When I would go into the office to pay rent or pick up a package, she would make me eat a cookie and tell her how my day was. Sherry told Elise that she used to manage a complex for low income families. She said she would always organize some community event – pool parties, barbecues, etc. etc. Once Sherry took over at the Brooke, she organized a pool party and barbecue for us. She organized trips to local hockey games… all that jazz. Anyway, I don’t know what my point is. I guess I’m trying to convince myself that there are some things about Temple that I’ll miss.

Elise and I lived across from a relatively young couple and their son, Corey. El and I pretty much watched Corey go through his growth spurt. When we first met him, he would say “Hillo!” {high pitch}. Before we moved, he would say “Hellow!” {low pitch}. We made a few friends in Temple. I’ll continue to talk to them via e-mail, so all’s not lost. Elise made real nice-like with some girls she worked with at Sallie Mae. I’m sure they’ll continue to call each other. Other than that, we’re both really happy to be back home.

Oh yeah, Hi Paul Henderson (your roommate told me to say that).

My birthday, Super Bowl

We finally had a nice, calm weekend. When I got home from work on Friday, my stomach started hurting. I attribute that to the leftover chicken that I ate combined with a couple frustrating hours of playing Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. I sat on the couch for a while until my nausea passed.

Elise and I decided to cash in on a free video rental from Hollywood Video. We rented Signs. We both thought it was really good. I was really looking forward to seeing it in the theater but heard that it stunk. I didn’t like any of M Night Shyamalan’s movies, so I figured I wouldn’t like this one either. Anyway, we liked Signs.

I got up early on Saturday and ran errands. I took the Jeep in to get the oil changed. I think the guy we bought the Jeep from didn’t change the oil regularly. I’ve had the oil changed three times now. The lube tech dude showed me how sludgy the oil had become. I had them flush the engine. It was also recommended that I have gear box and differential fluids changed. Didn’t have the cash for that, so that’s another thing we have to get done.

After forking out more money than I had intended, I swung by Half Priced Books to sell some books. After having to wait an hour, I received my $2.00 in cash. Woohoo. Score.

I then went to Goodwill to dump off some stuff we would ordinarily throw away. I got a receipt. We started saving all of our Goodwill and Salvation Army receipts. This year I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of minute tax break we’ll receive for keeping record of our charitable donation.

We went over to Tommy’s later that evening. After many hours of existential conversation, we all fell short in solving any pressing social or government issues. Really we just sat there and made fun of Philip.

Elise and I slept in on Sunday. People called to wish me a happy birthday. I watched a special on Orange County Choppers on the Discovery Channel. We ordered a pizza for lunch and I opened my presents from El.

We went to the Copper Tank with Philip and Rob to watch the Super Bowl. Philip won a Super Bowl party from 101X. He got to invite three friends and was given $50 for food and drinks. We all received non-winning raffle tickets. Philip was entered to win a 52″ TV. Philip claimed he would win it. Needless to say, we didn’t get to help him load a large screen TV into the back of his truck. That would have been nice though.

The game was boring. The company and free beer and buffalo wings were good though.

Elise and I went home after the game. I cranked up Van Halen on the stereo. Eddie Van Halen and I share the same birthday. I always play Van Halen on January 26th.

Mom

Two words came to mind after I hung up the phone. Selfish and thankless.

My Dad called me last night. I didn’t think anything of it after I first heard his voice. He said “Hey Josh! What are you up to?” Then he went on to tell me that he had to take my Mom to the hospital on Tuesday. I was cooking spaghetti at the moment and my heart literally dropped. I had always heard that expression, but never really knew what it felt like. My heart dropped because I was anticipating what my Dad was going to say next.

My Mom has been feeling pretty sick for the past couple weeks. The short of it: she had surgery today to have her gallbladder removed. I’m sure I’ve heard of the procedure before, but I’m terrified because it’s happening to my Mom.

My parents came up this past weekend to help Elise and me move. Dad and Elise drove to Temple on Sunday to finish moving some little things. Mom and I stayed in Austin and unpacked. My Mom came into the office and asked me to do something. I was really short with her. I had no reason to be.

When my Dad told me that Mom was in the hospital, before he said that she was having a simple surgery, I thought to myself: “The last time I can remember talking to my Mom, I was an asshole.” I know my Mom will be okay, but made me realize that need to be more appreciative.

Still unpacking, birthday coming up

Life is hectic now. I’m without Roadrunner at home so I seem somewhat cutoff. The cable guy coming tomorrow morning to install cable TV. We get a half price deal for the first two months. The same special applies for Roadrunner, but cannot be combined with cable. So, I’m going to have to wait a day to call and order Roadrunner.

In the meantime, since the move, I’ve accumulated a nice pile of stuff that I’m going to sell on eBay. Speaking of the move… I’ve become reacclimated with my ninja skills, dodging boxes in a very stealth-like manner. Elise has gone back to Temple the past two days to take care of miscellaneous business. We’re managing by unpacking a little at a time.

Work is going well. I’m staying busy. I received an e-mail from Apollo Hosting today. They said they would like for me to come in for an interview. If memory serves me correctly, I think I sent them my resume four months ago.

My birthday is on Sunday. I can remember only one other time when my birthday was on Super Bowl Sunday. It would be really cool if my birthday fell somewhere during the NBA finals.

This birthday doesn’t seem very significant. I’m going to be 27 (I think). Nothing else really happens after to you turn 25 and your insurance premiums decrease (ever so slightly). Speaking of which… I wonder what happened with that speeding ticket I got in Ft. Worth… Hmmmmmm… better check on that. Anyway, I guess I can just say that I’m in my late 20’s.

Moving back to Austin

Don’t want to write too long – it’s after hours at work and I’ve been itching to get home all day.

Elise drove in to Austin on Friday evening to pick me up. We got back to bustling Temple around 8:00 p.m. We stayed up until 3:00 a.m. packing boxes.

Elise and I both woke up at 7:00 so we could finish packing and so I could run some errands. Mom and Dad came up to Temple at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday. We loaded up the goose-neck trailer and headed to Austin. We didn’t leave Temple until 3:30 or so.

Needless to say, you find out who your real friends are when it comes time to move! With the extra help we called upon, we saved ourselves a few extra hours of lugging stuff up the three flights of stairs to our new apartment.

We’re officially moved. We’re still kind of living out of boxes, but at least we’re finally back home!

My muscles are still aching. I’m going home now.

New job and back spasms

Life has been pretty rough this week. My back is killing me because I tried sleeping on an air mattress for two days. I deflated the air mattress on Tuesday night. I think I might have slept for an hour. I got up at the sound of my alarm on Wednesday and could barely walk because my back was hurting so bad.

Last night I decided to rectify the situation. I walked to Target and bought two twin sized foam egg crates. I brought them home and put them under the deflated air mattress. That didn’t give me quite the comfort that I was seeking. I put a pair of my jeans under the air mattress. A little better. I put my only bath towel under there as well. Getting better. A couple fleece pullovers. Hmmmm. Two bath mats later, I had a pretty nice cot.

My new job has been keeping me very busy. I really couldn’t ever say that about my last job. I’m happy that I’m busy now. I’m think I’m still a ways from being really productive – right now, I’m in that rookie-who-asks-a-lot-of-questions-phase.

The new apartment is really nice. I have some books, a small television, my PS2, a collection of DVDs, some food, my customized cot, alarm clock and a guitar.

Tonight it is going to freeze. I’ll probably walk to work tomorrow. I (I say I right now because technically Elise is still living in Temple) live 3.2 miles from work.

Tomorrow Elise is coming to pick me up and we’re going back to Temple to pack. My parents are driving to Temple on Saturday to help us move. That’ll be it – we’ll be done with bustling Temple.

I miss Elise.

Last day at Scott & White

Today was my last working day at Scott & White. It hasn’t sunk in yet nor has that enormous weight been lifted. I find solace in knowing that I will be happier and more fruitful in the coming weeks.

It’s funny to go back and read previous posts on this site. Man, was I excited about working at S&W. I was excited about moving to bustling Temple as well. I just think that’s hilarious.

I had to endure the corporate exit interview mumbo jumbo today. I spent most of the day cleaning out my e-mail box, all of my files on my computer and all of the files and papers on my desk. The marketing department had a little going away party for me at 1:30. That was really nice of them. Someone baked a killer cake. Red velvet something or other with a really sweet cream. It was good.

Being the rebel that I am, I wore dirty jeans and my motorcycle boots to work today. I semi-complied by tucking in my shirt. I didn’t have any meetings and I didn’t see myself getting fired. One of these days I’m going to really let loose and run with scissors.

Elise and I are going to some new years eve party tonight. I think there will be a lot of people from Elise’s work there. I’m sure we’ll stay up too late and sleep in tomorrow.

I’m going to take the rest of the week to clean up, get organized and start packing.