Long Weekend

Ahh, it is good to be looking at the front end of a long weekend...no big plans except hanging out with the family on Monday, finishing off the Karamel Sutra and Coffee ice cream I just bought.

The annual trek to the cemeteries will happen Monday morning (thank Heaven it won't be in the full afternoon sun this year), followed up by lunch in the park and an evening of BBQ at my folks. With luck, there will be no sunburn to report on Tuesday.

Work seems to be going a bit better and I'm cautiously optimistic that everything will work out. The most exciting thing that happened this week was getting a box of books from Amazon yesterday, and setting up a date to go shooting in June.

Happy Memorial Day, everyone!

50 Books Update

I finished



over the weekend. Instead of your general, run-of-the mill, USA vs Russia or USA vs Mid-East bad guys, this spy novel is about the Israeli anti-terrorist group...hunting down those who commit acts of terror against Israeli interests world-wide. There was some very insightful commentary on the Arab-Israeli conflict and why it may never be resolved. Not exactly Shakespeare, but a good piece of fiction. 384 pages.

And...I am feeling much better, although it wasn't a fun couple of days.

19/50 6304/15000

I'm sick y'all

The worst part of this is that I'd already scheduled to take today and tomorrow off work. I was planning on spending a couple of days (during the less expensive shoulder season) at a local ski resort...now, I've resorted to lying on the couch moaning quietly between sprints into the bathroom. Perhaps that is too much information, but accurate nonetheless.

A word about last night's Alias episode. Lena Olin is BACK, baby...you really can't keep a "good" Derevko down! Does anyone know if JJ wrote and/or directed that episode?

Currently reading:

Happy Birthday, Macky

It was my 3 year old neice's birthday on the 6th. Lots of fun here are some pictures from the party:

Mitch is now a month old

 


Mack is stylin' with her new presents


M&Ms...best present


Erki with Mack's new glasses


New dress and scooter


Observing the new computer game

The Work and the Glory

The good news is that I still have a job; the bad news is I'm not sure I want it.

We were told last week (something I have known about for the last 3 months) that four positions were being eliminated and 2 new positions were being created. Everyone was told they could reapply for the 2 new jobs.

So, I secured one of the new positions, but I have serious concerns with the new structure and the associated "duties". I have expressed these concerns to my supervisor and await direction. In the meantime, I'm sort of looking for something new. You know, just in case this turns out to be a really craptastic situation.

In other news, I finished reading Greg Iles' Blood Memory


which was surprisingly good. It is about a forensic odontologist who is consulting in a serial murder case which may or may not be tied in to her past...including the murder of her father and possible abuse she suffered at his hand...throw in a little mental instability, a married detective, and one crazy-ass Southern family and you are guaranteed a good read. Previous books I've read by Greg have started out with a bang and fizzled toward the end. This book kept me genuinely interested the whole time. The ending was a little too neatly wrapped up, but overall I enjoyed it and would recommend it. 496 pages

Also this weekend I started watching Murder One on DVD:



I was a big fan of this show when it first came out and was a little sad it didn't do so well. I must say that I think both Daniel Benzali and Stanley Tucci are unbeliable as Ted Hoffman and Richard Cross. I specifically love the theme song which is running through my head right now.

My little niece Macky turned 3 years old recently...pictures may follow.

And finally thanks to Stephanie for letting me know when I will die.

You Will Die at Age 70

70 You're pretty average when it comes to how you live... And how you'll die as well.

What Age Will You Die?

18/50 5920/15000

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to my Mom and all the moms out there.

My siblings and I all went for a garden themed gift with a lovely window box planter (planted by yours truly) and both a garden gnome (called Gnomar Garciapara) and a turtle named Leg (so named by a 3 year old).


 

For all the mothers-to-be here is the Top 10 most popular names for 2004. Unsurprisingly, Caoimhe receives this message:

A problem was encountered while processing your request.
Caoimhe is not in the top 1000 names for any year.
Please try again.

Pissed Off!

Right now and for a while work has been culminating in one big suck fest. Yesterday things came to a head and won't be sorted out until next week sometime. This situation is the only thing I can think about, and unfortunately I can't blog about so...yeah, suffice it to say that I am not a happy camper right now.

I finally finished I Am Charlotte Simmons by Tom Wolfe. It is the journey of a North Carolina mountain girl's freshman year at Dupont University and a totally different world. It was...long...and I never really got all that interested in the story or the characters. Two words of advice, abridged version. 688 long pages.

Also, this blog is officially 1 year old, although I missed the actual anniversary due to the aforementioned suck-fest.

17/50 5424/15000