Appetite for Destruction

Man, work was something this week or at least the second half of this week was. I had a lot of very large issues to deal with concerning more than one of our larger clients, and after jumping through all the hoops and putting in the long days it seems to have paid off for everyone. So I'm looking forward to weekend, it feels earned.

A few of the guys at work thought we should do a guys' night out this weekend. The plan is to go to Club La Vela out on the beach and see a Guns N Roses cover band tomorrow night. One of my co-workers has apparently seen these guys before and said they were worth going to see and since it's not much to get into La Vela, that's the plan for Saturday. All the guys spoke to their wives and it would seem that we've all got our signed permission slips from home to go on the trip.

Sweet.

Kodak moment

I need to start carrying my camera with me at all times again. I haven't taken a decent photograph in forever. Soon I will reduced to taking snapshots of myself solemnly brushing my hair. Lame.

Work has been pretty sweet lately. I went from having my own office in a shitty building to having my own cubicle in a brand new three-story complex, so that's a trade I can feel like I broke even on.

My book on Gunther Howell, the first person to die at Disney World, is in the rewriting phase and my editor, Jill, feels confident that we've got a winner on our hands.

Also, I've taken up a new hobby. Auctioneering.

Death and Hot Dogs

I posted this video on YouTube and a few of my friends thought I was gonna kill myself.



No, sorry to disappoint. It was only a joke.

USA! USA! USA!

On the fourth of July, 2007, competitive eater Joey Chestnut won the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating contest, upsetting six-time champion Takeru Kobayashi. In the process, Joey set a new world hot dog eating record with 66 weiners in a mere twelve minutes.

So, after six long years of darkness the mustard yellow belt has finally come back to the United States of America. No longer do we have to hang our heads in shame or listen to the sickening laughter of Europe and Asia in our plump red, white and blue ears.

Why? Because we did it! We did what no one thought could be done. They said we had reached our limit. That we had reached maximum density. We heard the naysayers and the critics and the dieticians and we said SCREW YOU, PAL! We never gave up, we never got on that treadmill of defeat. We never ordered that salad of surrender. We rolled up our sleeves, wiped the thickening gel-like sweat from our brows and reached for that next weiner. The weiner of victory!

Thank you, Joey Chestnut. For restoring our nation's pride in itself. For bringing back the mustard yellow belt. It almost makes me forget about 9/11.

The end of the year

Christmas is now past and it was a good holiday. I think my wife and I got the most expensive bag of gifts we've ever had since being married. I have movies to watch until the end of the time.

My back is feeling better slowly, so that's another good thing. Been seeing more of my family, going to my Dad's, talking to my brother, Josh.

Kind of slow lazy short week at work right now.

I'm gonna have to post something more in the way of original material than just these update posts as of late. I think New Year's will bring me some inspiration.

Wednesday

Work has been pretty damn uneventful. Spent most of the day trying to quench my recent thirst for job-related knowledge by actually going into some of my fellow employees' offices adn reading books on their shelves. Some CAD Drafting material, but mostly Land Surveying subject matter like three-wire level notes and other such things.

I've been getting a lot of praise for my job performance lately. I find it kind of strange since I'm probably in one of my lowest levels of work volume that I can think of in quite a while. I think it has more to do with the fact that we've had several longtime employees leave and go elsewhere, and I've been given their workloads. But it really turned out to be almost nothing. Kind of strange really. Plus we've been given new software and I've been told I'm one of the few not to complain about it or struggle. I attribute this versatility and adaptability on my gaming skills and youthful mind. Most of my colleagues are near my father's age and seem to have a healthy disdain for anything involving "change".

Other than that, my back has been killing me since we've moved into our new Apt. and it's turning me into an angry person (I've got to do something about it soon). I've always ignored pain, but this is some real ridiculous stuff, it has to be a pinched nerve or a herniated thingamajig, know what I'm sayin'?

Later.