Today's 10k a day pedometer count: 8,100 steps. That's with no treadmilling. Not too bad. Hopefully I'll average out at 10k a day for the week ;)

-Kirk

Huh.

the blogger interface changes again. Back to the older skool one again.

Oh well.

How's it going?

Just got back from the Irish dancing thing. Pretty interesting. Although I was yawning a ton, I managed to stay awake through most of it. There was a ton of filler in between the dancing performances. there was a little band, a 30 minute intermissioni and dancing numbers slotted in between. The show started a little after 7:30, and we were out by 9:30ish. I am not saying the performance didn't justify the ticket price, but I think I would have liked a little bit more performance.

The weather was absolutely perfect. Not too hot, not too cold. Juuust right. A perfect summer evening.

Overall though, the performance was pretty good. And for the one dancing dude, with a troupe of 15 or so lizzadies, that's not bad odds. Provided that the ladies could love him, and he would love back ;) (shrug) As you would expect, I wasn't as enamored with the dude dancing. The ladies, however, were lovely.

The costumes were great, the music was pretty good as well. But my favourite routine was when there was no music, and it was all just synchronized rhythmic dancing. Very cool. I think at that time, you could really see the skills and hear them when they would speak. Plus, they got to show some playfulness and attitude that wasn't evident in the "with music" routines.

Would I go again? That's a toss up. Maybe. I think my mom really liked it thought, so if the group is ever in town again, I may take her. We'll see.

Tomorrow's Thursday already. Time flies.

-Kirk

Hey all,

What's goin' on?

The weather's been perfect these past few days! Love it. Warm, not too hot, not too humid. Perfect convertible weather.

Internally, I've decided to put the convertible dream off until 30. It may be in lieu of the BMW dream. We'll see. Maybe if I'm really lucky, I can combine the two ;) That would be nice.

You may ask, what is the BMW dream? Back when I was a younger bloke (about 3 years ago) in the platinum paved streets of the internet boom/binge days, my age 30 goal was to buy a BMW 3-series coupe (or convertible) with cash. No car payments, just throw down the green and walk away with the keys.

Key words here are the "internet boom/binge" days. Ahh, the days of excess.

Those days are definitely over. Alas.

So, like many other companies, I had to revise my accounting and budget plans, and "repost" my goals, if you will. I'm just looking to fulfill the convertible dream at age 30. Something nice, quick, and really fun to drive.

The BMW dream is not lost however - It's merely been postponed a little...

Hmm, what else...

Today's step count: 14,160. The # seems a tad high, but I dunno. I did treadmill today, and walked around quite a bit at work. We'll have to see. I hope the pedometer is accurate and is not miscounting :)

Oh yeah, tomorrow, I'm taking my mom to go see the Trinity Irish Dance Company at Meadowbrook. I hope I don't fall asleep ;)

-Kirk

Hey all,

Hope things are going well.

At work, I've gotten peer pressured (they really didn't have to pressure too much) into joining the 10k a day program. I wasn't able to find a general program informational link, but here's the page from Los Alamos National Laboratory. In a nutshell, it's a program that promotes walking 10k steps a day to stay healthy. For the low low price of $3.00, we get this clock style analog pedometer to keep track of our daily steps.

I got my pedometer at like 4 today, and at 11:30 p.m. (ish), I have clocked about 8,400 steps (with treadmilling). Not too bad for about 7 hours. I ate really badly as well for dinner. I feel better now though that I've exercised. Hopefully I can reach 10k with a full day at work. We shall see. I'll let you know what I do tomorrow. I'll probably semi-track my progress on my blog.

Better go to sleep.

-Kirk

whoa. New interface for blogger indeed.

(shrug) Whatever :)

Hi all,

Hope you've had a good weekend! I've had a very tiring Sunday, but it was definitely fun.

Today, Drew and I went to the Firestone Indy 400 at the Michigan International Speedway in none other than Brooklyn, Michigan (yeah, don't ask me where it is exactly, beccause it's still a mystery to me). We pretty much just magically drove our way there and back. Never a dull moment, I tell ya ;)

Anyway, Drew got us the major hookup with tickets to this race. With all the fixins. We got lunch, the race program, got to meet / see some of the drivers and whatnot (more on this later), and most importantly, ear plugs. If we had gotten our butts there earlier, we could have had breakfast, gotten to go down to the pits, and a few other things. No biggie though.

When I checked the weather yesterday, The Weather Channel had predicted scattered thunderstorms the entire day. In the typical Michigan weather fashion, it changed and cycled from cloudy to sunny. When it was cloudy, I was a little worried that we'd get rained on (never the case). When it was sunny, it was freakin hot.

Luckily, Drew's friend Kara had brought along sunblock so I didn't burn as badly as I would have without any protection at all. My skin still feels hot on the neck, so I'm sure I'll feel pain tomorrow.

I don't know how the people that drank beer did it, but I was unsuccessfull in fending off dehydration. Despite all of the super crazy loud noise from the cars, I managed to take some catnaps. With all of that noise going on, you know that I had to be pretty tired to be able to fall asleep. The funny thing was, when I looked over at Drew, I saw him nodding off as well. Heh.

About the 150th lap (or somewhere in the neighbourhood of), we decided to get out of there. We were pretty tired, and we wanted to beat traffic (or something like that). Riiight. We were just pretty lame ;)

For what it's worth, we did at least listen to the rest of the race on the radio. :)

So would I do it again? I dunno. Probably not. Car racing as a spectator sport (especially on an oval track) is best done at home. Kicking back in your favourite chair (and not the hard metal bleachers of the grandstand), with filtered water in one hand, and munchies in the other. That way, if you get tired, you can channel surf to MTV or something.

Yes, watching the race at home would have been nice...

But then I wouldn't have met her.

2 words: Sarah Fisher.

The only reason why I'd continue following the IRL (Indy Racing League).

Although the entire race day experience was fun, the highlight was actually meeting Sarah. It was kind of on accident, really. We were sitting there eating in the hospitality tent, and she was there meeting fans and giving autographs.

There was some other racer/driver dude there to whom I paid no attention, but of course, my ears perked up when I heard her name announced (you shouldn't be surprised). It's nice to have a young lady in a sport that's so dominated by dudes.

After her line looked like it was dying down, I decided to see if I could get an autograph. At first, I was too late - there was a worker dude at the end of the line saying that he was the end of the line. But he felt sorry for me and let me cut in front of him (thank you, sir). Now here I was in line, waiting to talk to this lady that I had no idea who she was (other than some lady that drove a indycar). Actually, I don't think I even remembered her name at the time. Anyway, I was behind all sorts of "superfans" that had her t-shirts and other fan gear. There were young kids in line, parents, all saying how she was an inspiration, and that she was the only reason that they watched the sport, etc., etc.

And then there was me.

She signed my program booklet thing (with her car #, 23) - which I will keep hermetically sealed forever in the plastic pouch that it came in.

I thanked her and wished her good luck :)

Unfortunately, even with my good luck wished upon her, she only placed 15th. But that's ok. :)

If you ask me nicely, I may show you her autograph ;)

-Kirk

Oh yeah, I forgot...

Today I was in downtown Detroit. Not too bad. Of course, the buildling I was in was a little ghetto, but that's ok. I didn't get a chance to go to the "headquarters" but we were at some other building downtown.

I had the downtown Coney experience. This place was great. If Brizzai hadn't taken me there for lunch, I would have not had the balls to go there myself. Not that it was sketchy, it wasn't a place that I'd frequent on a regular basis, I guess.

There were no waiters. Just people handing you stuff from over the counter (to the table) - it was a trip. There was a menu posted on the wall, but everyone that came in knew exactly what they wanted. There was an old school analog cash register on a lazy susan so people could be serviced on both sides. Pretty nifty, huh. I had 2 coneys. Minus the onions because we had a meeting (the whole reason why I was down there in the first place). I think I would have liked the coneys with onions too. Maybe next time.

-Kirk

Hey,

At last, tomorrow's Friday! Sweet.

I finally got the oil changed in the supaflyride. I was getting nervous there. I was almost 150 miles over my owner's manual mandated 3750 mile change milestone. I know it's silly, I just get nervous around that mileage, like how I get nervous when milk gets to the expiration date :)

Drew is hooking me up with tickets to the Firestone Indy 400 on Sunday. Should be interesting. I've never been to a racing event before. It'll be the first time I see the Michigan International Speedway too. Should be pretty cool. Drew got the tix from a supplier or something, so we're going to get some nifty perks too. Woo hoo! I'm going to take my digicam so hopefully I can get some good pics in.

Let's see, what else:

I keep on forgetting to mention. I think of it every morning, but I always forget to remark it...

Cookie Crisp is the best breakfast in the world. I strongly recommend you have it for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or as a snack. Your life will not be complete without trying the heaven in a bowl they call cereal.

That's all for now.

-Kirk

As a sidenote, there was a really nice silver 200X BMW M3 parked outside at the house in the city today. Road presence, I tell you.

Hi everyone,

Hope things are groovy.

Yesterday, Drew and I went to see Carrot Top at Meadowbrook. Totally cool. I haven't laughed that hard at a show for a while.

Mr. Top puts on a really great show. I was so impressed at how well things were orchestrated. None of the soundeffects were off cue, the props and inventions were all really clever and well done. He had trunks full of just random props that he "invented." I would definitely recommend the show to anyone. I don't think I like him enough to be a groupie and follow him around the country though ;) But yeah, it was definitely different than the stand-up comics that I see on Comedy Central on Friday nights. Ok ok, so my social life isn't all that. The cat's out of the bag now ;)

Just two things that were kind of wacky:

One:
Drew and I were the only two Asians representin' at the show. Seriously. The entire time we were there, we didn't see any other Asians. There were supposedly 6,000 people at this place. Who knows. Either way, unlike the umich admissions process, we were definitely a minority at the venue. But no big thang. We managed to hold our own... I guess we don't fit the "carrot top" demographic or something.

Two:
People brought their little kids! I didn't know what to think of that. I sure as hell wouldn't bring my young children to a comedy show. I'm sure shit is going to be a popular word in the vocabulary for the next few days. ;)

Getting out of the place was a cluster. First of all, finding the car in the sea of cars was a little nutty. Cars were all over the place. Parked cars, cars ready to go, etc. Once we did find the car, there was a standstill for a bit since everyone was trying to get the hell out of the parking lot. Overall, it was pretty cool though. There were people just hanging around in the parking lot - Drew and I just sat around and talked, took the t-tops off the Mr. 2 (he's got a 1993, which is from the same era as the supaflyride), and listened to a little DMB while exiting the lot and driving home.

There is something to be said for open air motoring at night - It's pretty sweet.

What else... Tomorrow I'm going to our offices downtown for a meeting with a vendor. That should be interesting.

-Kirk

"Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's BMW..."

Hey all,

It's me again.

I need to get better at remembering stuff - I was totally late to a dinner meeting tonite because I totally forgot about it. All the nuttiness with the tornado watch and whatnot made me forget even more. Oh well. I did get to see everyone though, which was cool.

So back to the quote above...

As I drove home today, there was a bright and shiny silver BMW 5 series parked in front of the country house. (My neighbours are getting their driveway re-paved so they can't park on their driveway for however many days for it to cure correctly.) It was pretty nice. The BMW 5-series is definitely a classic. A car that has what I call "road presence." Love it.

I was checking the car out (maybe a little too closely) when the owner's wife came out and caught me eyeing the car. Don't worry, I came clean. ;)

Ahh, the BMW dream. One day, the dream will come true for me too.

-Kirk

Hi everyone,

So I'm still at work. Not because I have to be or anything. There's a tornado something right now (I forget if it's watch or warning), so the building people have sounded the alarm, and we're supposed to go into our hiding positions.

OK, so you caught me. I am not in my hiding position. I'm at my desk, listening to music and writing in my blog. I'm ready to duck under my trusty cubicle desk if it gets crizzazy.

I'm actually getting some work done, so that's good. Can't complain about that.

-Kirk

Hi all,

(yawn). At least, the week is over. Payday was today too. So it was a nice ending to a tiring week. Not sure why I've been so tired as of late. I think I must be fighting off a bug that I had or something. Huh. Who knows. Maybe it's allergies.

Again, I skipped treadmilling today. I hope I haven't fallen off the wagon.

I feel like I've wasted the whole night. I was helping my dad out, and it ended up taking much longer than I thought it would. Partially because I was careless, and partially because it's just taking forever. Oh well.

Rumour has it that it's supposed to be super nice tomorrow. Hmm. Hopefully I can do something fun.

For all of the John Mayer fans, his new CD is coming out on September 9th. Hopefully his new disc will be as good as Room for Squares was.

-Kirk

Hi everyone,

I was bad today - I did not treadmill. I was feeling lazy and stuff.

Sushi was for dinner though. Can't complain about that.

This week has definitely flown by. I can't believe tomorrow's Friday already. Good thing though. I am feeling mighty tired.

I went to the dealership today to partake of my lifetime oil change. But I was denied. Too many people. I've got an appointment for next week though. I may try to go early in the morning to see if I can just do a walk in type of deal. I'm like 20 miles away from the mileage that's written on my window sticker (of when I need to get my next oil change) :) I know it's no big deal, but it feels like I should get the change done soon. Kinda like how I get nervous when the milk expiration date approaches.

-Kirk

Hi all,

Hope things are going groovy.

2 main things on the mind today:

I was at Target today with my mom - I wanted to get her out of the house, so I took her to help me spend money.

While I was there, I believe I saw a lovely young lady that I knew in high school. I'm about 95% sure it was her. She kind of smiled at me when she passed - I reciprocated with a smile, but I didn't make the connection until it was too late. Ahh well. I was afraid to say anything to her, just in case I was totally wrong. I should have said something to her though - I guess I'll just mark it up to a missed opportunity.

So the other thing. I had to buy a new printer cartridge (color). Normally 33 bucks, it was on sale for 24 bucks. My mom spotted a brand new printer on an endcap - The price? 28 bucks. Crizaziness. So for 4 dollars more, I could have bought myself a (most likely) higher quality printer! What's up with that? I would have bought the printer, but I had no idea what to do with the old one(s) that I have... How sad. So now we have disposable printers :) Same with electronics where it's cheaper to get something replaced, instead of trying to fix stuff. I wonder when cars will be that way...

-Kirk

From my picks of the week:

The Acme Product Catalog.

Kinda funny.

Hey all,

Hope things are going well.

Attraction is a funny thing, isn't it? What is it that makes people attractive to some, but not so much to others? I know there's all the fun social science stuff about beauty and whatnot (you know, like face symmetry and whatnot) but the whole thing is just very interesting to me. I'm talking about the whole package - What's on the outside and the inside. For strangers, there's usually only the former - But for people that you know, you get the whole thing. Even with total strangers, there's an odd dynamic. There's the run of the mill and stereotypical "hot" individuals. But then there's the indescribable vibe you get where it makes unknown people attractive in a whole different way. You know, that "thing." Something about them. The smile? The eye contact? The sense of style? The behaviour? Ahh, I've experienced all of these nice traits.

Huh. But I guess the things that cause people you don't know to be attractive apply to people that you know as well. But the funny thing is that people can become more or less attractive as you get to know them. You know what I'm talkin' bout. And then there's the people who you don't really notice at first, and then think that they're just absolutely lovely afterwards. Heh. No, I'm not in love. I just crush easily, I guess. Maybe too easily. It's just one of those things. Kinda high-schoolish, I guess.

OF course, there's the flipside ;) People can become, err, unattractive as you get to know them... But I won't get into that now. I'm sure you get the idea just fine.

Not trying to have a deep thoughtful moment and write a thesis. Just a few thoughts I was having today.

A coworker of mine went to the Eminem, Missy Elliott, 50 Cent show on Saturday in Detroit. She gave me the funny visor hat thing that she got while she was there. Apparently, the person who she got the ticket through had quite the hookup - She got special VIP parking, got to sit in a suite, got wined and dined, got free goodies, and everything was quite swank. I was jealous. I don't know if I'd ever wear a visor hat type of dealie, but it was nice to get it - just in case I ever am in the sun that long ;)

Let's see, what else is on the mind today.

I have been very pleased with the great weather we've been having as of late. It's like we're in SoCal, but we're not :) I've been able to drive around comfortably with the windows down for the past couple of weeks. Hopefully the summer will continue to bet his mild. (hope I didn't jinx it).

I one step waxed the car on Sunday. Again, it looks good. I don't think I'll ever be able to get rid of my car. I'm going to keep it until it dies on me.

As a sidenote, the lady that is trying to sell her 2000 yellow MR Spyder still hasn't - It was in the parking lot taunting me today.

-Kirk

Hey all,

Hope you're having a good weekend.

Imust have skipped the chapter in my social development when it came to the part about going to bars. I just don't get it. I didn't really get it in college, nor do I get it now. Is it just me, or are other people bothered by the loudness, smoke-filled stinkiness, and lack of lighting? Maybe it is just me.

I dunno, I guess I'm not very enamored with having to shout at others for them to hear me (and vice versa) and/or coming home and feeling absolutely stinky and gross. Meeting other people at the bar? Fugghetaboutit. I could see going to a club to dance though. I guess that would be aiight. Oh well.

I took out the winter floormats of the supafly ride today. I know, it's a tad late, but better late than never :) Vacuumed like a madman. I didn't wash the exterior today, because I'll be going up to Ann Arbor tomorrow to see Drew and his new ride. Should be fun. I'll wash tomorrow evening after dinner.

I also cleaned up some of the wiring inside the car and mounted the neon light inside. I didn't do a real hardcore drilling screws into sheetmetal, but I just kind of half-assed it. (I'm still too much of a wuss to drill random holes in my car). I'll road test everything tomorrow to see if my customization worked :)

-Kirk

"Holy Catfish!"

Hey all,

Hope you're doing well.

It has become quite the tumultuous time for me as of late. More on that in sec.

So happy birthday to Elizabeth today (it's still Friday for me). We all had some good times eating and gambling (some more than others).

Anyway, back to the tumultous time. Now Tumultuous. That's a very expensive word. Odd, it just popped into my head though. Not important. So you're probably asking what the opening quote was all about. That's what the gift certificate lady at the shopping mecca said when she found out that I was 27 when she thought I was 12 to 16. :) And no, I'm totally not making this up.

I should have known something was goofy when she asked if the credit card that I was using to pay for my purchase was actually mine, or my mom or dad's. Not in a fradulent way, just to make sure that my name was on the card and I could actually sign for my purchases. There was a sign next to the desk saying how only individuals whose name was on the credit card could sign for purchases.

She even carded me. I was making small talk with her, and just for shits and giggles, I asked her how old she thought I was. Once I told her (as I was giving her my ID), that's when her jaw dropped open and she said, "Holy catfish!" I guess she's not a big fan of mackerel? She would have scored major points with me if she had said the "saltier" version of that comment, but oh well. I think she was a little embarrassed, but I assured her it was ok. I wasn't offended (I wasn't really at the time). It made for a good story though.

Until it happened again. Later the same evening.

The dude checking IDs at the door of the establishment we were visiting clocked me at 16 as well. He too was surprised when he saw how old I was on my ID. Crizaziness.

I gotta start dressing differently or something. That's why I can never get the ladies to notice me. ;) They probably think I'm some punk high school kid. I know, one day I will want to look younger than I actually am. Maybe then I'll be able to get the young ladies to notice me ;)

Oh yeah, and then the other revelation that I had...

Button fly jeans. Not practical as an everyday jeans. If you must buy/have them, then the less buttons for the fly, the better.

Don't get me wrong, I think button fly jeans are fun, amusing, and sexy when they're coming off (of someone else), but for everyday "maintenance" activities (e.g., restroom business), it's a pain in the ass. I think I must have buttoned and unbuttoned those 5 buttons on the fly for what seemed like a million times today. Just from the water I drink at work and at meals. Sheesh. Maybe I'm just not adept at the button and unbutton process yet. Or, the jeans are still too new so the button holes aren't loosened up yet. Hmmm. We'll have to see. I've just been lazy and just rip the buttons open - with my luck, one of those buttons is going to go flying. Into the toilet...

Wouldn't that be just grand? Glad I haven't been in a hurry to go.

-Kirk

A few links from my Yahoo Picks of the week:

The PBS site about race. Try the Sorting People exercise.

I've sent this out to my friends, before, but it came up again. I think it's great. See Eric show an emotion :)

Peas,
Kirk

Crizaziness.

I know it's good for me, but drinking 48 oz of water while treadmilling is a pain. I end up going to the bathroom a million times all night long.

Hey all,

Hope you're doing well.

So let's see. Couple of things today.

I met the big boss today. Real briefly. Not what I expected at all. I expected him to be a little older I guess. Not so Miami Vice-ish maybe? I wasn't sure how to read him either. Sometimes I got the vibe that he wasn't very genuine, and sometimes he sounded ok. Who knows. Until then, I'll be the little cog in the machinery of the Man.

But ithe whole thing was funny. It seemed like many people got dressed up (I didn't really because I had to travel to another office today). But whatever. While we were waiting for him to show, it was like waiting for a visit from Elvis. Seriously. People were scurrying around to make sure everything was ready and all set for his arrival. Sheesh. Suckup level was relatively high. We only had 1 hour of his time. He was late to top it all off. Not a big fan of the political games and whatnot if you couldn't tell.

What else. Oh yeah - After years of being the "solutions provider," I got to sit on the other side of the table today. I was the client. :) Come on, I wasn't busting balls, but I was onto the games and consultant talk. Cause I've been there. :)

I can't believe tomorrow's Thursday already. Hopefully the week will continue to go as smoothly as it has so far.

On the way home, I took a sidetrip to the Gap. There was one on the way home. How conveeeenient :) Picked up some jeans for my jeans days. Woo hoo! I forgot to bring my special gift certificate thing, so that's a bummer. Oh well, there's always next time... I'll just have to go again.

I tried to check my work e-mail from home today. Denied. I couldn't get the dialup thing to properly authenticate me. Bummer dude. Damn security. I wasted a good hour on it. Tech support was no help either. Suuure, they'll call me back.

-Kirk

Oh snap. Blogger is acting all funky again. The animated publishing icon is all wacked and is making my computer click.

Hi all,

Just a shorty blog entry today.

My brother's in DC tonight. He'll be there until Saturday. I was text messaging him back and forth today at work. It was pretty fun.

I have to go to a different office tomorrow for a project. Hopefully the drive out there won't suck.

I guess the big(ger) boss (4 up from me) is going to be at our dept meeting tomorrow. I guess I should dress up or something. We'll see how I feel in the morning. I should stay awake too ;)

Apparently, my dad passed me while I was driving on the way home. Luckily, I wasn't driving all crazy :)

-Kirk

Hi everyone,

I guess you could call this an addendum to the previous blog entry.

So I skipped out on a wedding today. Not that I had anything against the bride or groom. I was just weddinged out, I guess. It was a family friend - We have a pretty long history with the groom's mom and dad. We've known them for as long as I can remember.

Anyway, I was talking with my parentals about the wedding. It seemed pretty nice.

I'm still not sold on the idea of a big event for a wedding. Don't get me wrong, I think the ceremony is important, but the whole orchestrated event to me seems like too much. So much planning and whatnot for half a day.

I have a feeling that my future significant other may not share the same feeling, so I've been making mental notes on what I like and what I don't like. Hopefully it'll come in handy someday. We'll see.

The wedding giveaway (other than the centerpiece that my mom brought home) was a custom CD created by the bride and groom, all nicely labeled and whatnot. Pretty unique.

I'm still feeling the crunch of not being in a relationship. I can't seem to shake it either. Grr. I don't know what it is.

As an added bonus, I'm having dreams of my X again too.

Crizaziness.

-Kirk

Hey all,

How's it going? Just got back from dinner.

The cheesy restaurant attached to a shady looking hotel is no more. It's now blossomed into a real deal restaurant that looks pretty respectable. I was impressed. Like the Jefferson's, the place is movin on up :)

Tonight's musical selections are mp3 tracks from the official Norah Jones website. They're pretty good - all live recordings from a gig she did at the House of Blues in Chicago. I cut the tracks onto an audio CD so I'll be able to enjoy her muzak anywhere in the house :) I guess I'm just sulking a little because Norah Jones is in concert tonight around here and I'm not there. Alas.

So let's see, what else.

I have the "drug dealer / pimp pager" this week, because Brizzai (the boss) is on vacation. It's been a while since I've carried a pager. It made me reminisce about my older skool Motorola that I used to have at the network service provider. I remember when it used to be cool to have a pager. And I remember earlier when only drug dealers, pimps and doctors carried pagers. How funny. How times have changed. Now I'm not really sure what to do if the pager goes off for a legitimate reason. I guess I'll just have to hope that it doesn't :)

So today I put together my model car. Something that I probably won't do for a while again.

I don't know if I've ever mentioned it, but I collect 1:18th scale model cars (among other things). I haven't figured out exactly what to do with them (I need somewhere to display them), but I figure until I decide, I'll just keep buying them. I know, twisted logic, but hey, it works for me.

So while shopping at a toy store, I saw this diecast metal kit where I could put together my own 1:18th scale model. For the same price as a normal pre-built car. (which later, I realized that it should be cheaper since I'm putting the damn thing together myself. I figured I'd try building one of my own models, thinking I'd get more satisfaction out of it.

Yeah, satisfaction. That's it.

Now begins the sweatshop experience.

I bought a tube of modeling glue today. I didn't think I needed it (I just figured things would snap or screw together). Well, lesson learned for next time - There's no such thing :)

So I spent a large part of the day assembling this car (a yellow Ferrari Testarossa, for those curious). As with all of my other assembly jobs, it always takes about two times longer than I estimate. I wasn't patient to allow the glue to dry all the way, so I had to reglue a few things here and there. Also, I had to break down and rebuild a few pieces because the included instructions were a little unclear (at least I thought so) :)

At the end of the process, quality control was marginal. I wasn't going to win any J.D. Power and Associates awards, that's for sure. Maybe next time.

So I spent a large chunk of the day putting the car together. I'm not saying it was a waste. I guess it was fun. There were times I was swearing up a storm though. As an added bonus, the model kit costs as much as a pre-constructed one. End satisfaction? I dunno. The jury's still out on that one.

Oh yeah, I've still got a full tube of modeling glue if anyone ever needs it. The glue smells like oranges :) Not sure why.

Ugh, I'm still so full. I think I ate too much.

-Kirk

A moment of silence for the great Barry White (1944 - 2003).

Oh y eah, I forgot to mention.

Today was the 4 month mark at the new gig. :)

Hey all,

Ahh, the shortened workweek. I think a 4 day workweek is perfect. I used to work four 40 hour days at my first real job. The 3 day weekends were pretty swank. I probably took it for granted though (after a while). Now I will appreciate it :) Plus, I didn't have to work 40 hours ;)

My posture while sitting is really bad. I'm starting to realize it now (not because someone mentioned it, mind you), but how my arse and legs fall asleep after I've been sitting a while. Not sure why. I'm sure the chair has something to do with it as well, but I'm sure my slouch isn't helping either.

So let's see, what's been going on.

My boss is going on vacation next week again. I'm always nervous when that happens, because my security blanket will no longer be in reach for a week. Hopefully I'll make it through ok.

I really really did not want to treadmill today. I was totally dreading it. But I know I had to work off those most excellent Costco chocolate chip cookes that I ate today. So good. The cool thing was that I ended up exercising anyway, even though I was totally dreading it.

Kudos to Ikea for their most excellent customer service. When I was in Toronto, I bought two of the Poang chairs. When I tried to put the chairs together, a part was missing on one of the chairs. (it was small, but a vital part - a plastic spacer to keep the wood pieces from scraping against each other). Elizabeth told me that I could just call the store and they'd hook me up with a replacement part.

I called up the Schaumburg, IL store (I didn't want to have to go all international), gave them my sob story (how I bought it in Toronto and the Schaumburg store was closer), and their customer servicepeople sent out my part the same day. I was pretty impressed. I'm glad I didn't have to go back ;) It would have been a while indeed.

It's starting to get pretty hot outside. The humidity is starting to creep in too. Not looking forward to the end of July and August. It's going to be killer.

No real plans for the July 4th holiday. I will probably just hang out at home and do my normal - Not much :)

-Kirk

Hi everyone,

Hope you're doing well.

Love the abbreviated work week. Payday is tomorrow too!

I think the highlight of my day today was lunch :) I got to ride in my boss's boss's (yes, that's not a typing mistake) Sebring Convertible. We had the top down and everything. I was sitting in the back, so it was a little harder to hear the people up front - No big thang though, I was happy to be outside, in the sun, and feeling the air. I guess being cooped up in an office building all day long starts to take a tool on you.

So yes, I got part of the Celine experience. I felt the wind blowing. We didn't drive all night, but we were tempted to just keep on driving past work, never to return from lunch. Heh. Not that it would ever happen with my boss's boss. It was funny to think about though. Let's see what else. Oh yeah, there was no old guy either ;)

So for lunch today, we went to this golf club in my 'hood. I've seen the signs for the course, but I never thought to stop by and partake of the facilities. I dunno, I guess I just assumed it was a private gig or something. It was indeed public, and everything looked very nice and well maintained. I felt so posh. I wanted to steal a golf cart and drive it around the course. The young ladies working at the place were lovely too. (I kept that to myself though). I'll have to go back sometime :)

-Kirk