the day after...

Hi all,

Hope you've had a good turkey day weekend, and are ready to go back to work tomorrow :)

I've had quite the eventful weekend. One of the busiest in a while, I'd have to say...

Yesterday was the long awaited, 10 years in the making class reunion. Overall it was good. No real surprises, as pretty much everything that people that I'd surveyed had said would happen was true. I'm not sure exactly what number of people showed up (I had heard about 100 or so). I think it may have been more, but I didn't bother counting or anything :)

There was a good mix of people, but I must say, the nerdier population (the groups that I mostly associated with) had a smaller representation. I shouldn't be surprised, right? But let me tell you, I wasn't complaining. Everyone looked really nice (especially the lizzadies) - It was like we were in a movie. I kept waiting for the choreographed dance sequence to start where everyone just rushed the dance floor and we'd bust out the latest dance moves all in unison like a Janet Jackson video.

As you may have guessed, nothing like that ever happaned. bummer. I guess I'll keep waiting. Who knows, it may happen at the 25th reunion. Then again, maybe not ;)

I ended up hitching a ride with my buddy Elliott (who I've known since grade schoool) - We got there really early, so nobody got to see my helicopter, nor my leased bodyguards. ;) So I rented everything for nothin.

The venue was nice - I had never been to this place before - it was this mondo banquet complex that could be divided into multiple rooms, depending on how much money, err, I mean people you had. The decorations were nicely done as well. Lots of balloons :)

And I have to give a nod to the DJ as well. He was actually mixing the tunes together, so everything sounded pretty swank.

So about the event:

I was pleased because all of the people that I ran into were really nice. The hierarchy of popularity seemed to have broken down for the most part. (although I heard the hierarchy was still in effect for some people, but I did not have the pleasure of talking to them). Anyway, I caught up with a few people and found out what they were up to...

Lots of professional people, lots of married couples, and of course a bunch of my classmates had kids as well.

All this time I'd been hanging out with people older than me let me blow off the idea of feeling the pressure to settle down. But yesterday my serene state was all wacktified, because everyone was "my age." I think the oldest kid I had heard of was 2 or so years old. Crazy. Experiencing fatherhood at 26 would be very odd for me, that's for sure.

I did have some nice surprises though, as people that I didn't know well in high school came to talk to me. I know, it sounds really highschoolish, but that's just how I remembered everyone, since that was when I last knew them. Does that make sense?

So it was a late night last night. I didn't get in till 2 this morning. Plus, as an added bonus, I was having trouble sleeping because my brain was working overtime thinking about the reunion and whatnot. I even thought about getting up to write in the blog last night, but I knew I'd be even more trashed today. I don't know what it was though, I kept on playing back stuff that happened during the evening, trying to sort out who did what, who's married, who's got kids whatever. All the facts were blending together. I knew when I lookat the clock and it was 5, I was totally screwed.

Needless to say, I was totally dragging some major arse all day today.

The funny thing, was that I got invited to a party after the reunion. How crazy is that? Here I was, thinking I was ready to go to bed, right? I could have partied all night if I wanted to. Feeling old and feeble, I had to decline :( I don't think I would have gone anyway if I was up to it anyway. I will definitely try to keep in touch with the inviter though ;)

Fast forward a few hours to today:

So I had purchased tickets to take my parents to the Detroit Symphony Orchestra this afternoon. I had thought I could handle having a late night last night, but I was wrong. Similar to how I was as a kid attending any classical music concert, I fell asleep quite a few times. During the good song too :) My parents used to get mad when I did, because of course, they didn't want to pay all this money for me to fall asleep, right? Well this time they couldn't really say anything - I had paid for the tickets :)

And anyway, why are classical music songs so long? Why do they have all of these multiple parts? what's up with that? ;)

I would never fall asleep at a pop music concert ;)

On to work tomorrow :)

-Kirk

Hi all,

Hope all's well.

Unfortunately, I had to go into work today. Unlike at the dot com, the not-so-new-anymore job doesn't give me the day after days off. Oh well.

It was nice though, there were minimal phone calls and e-mail, so I got a chance to get some work done. I got to leave a tad early, so I thought I'd partake in the nuttiness of the biggest shopping day of the year so I ventured out to the shopping mecca. In my usual wait until the last minute fashion, I was looking for a new shirt to wear to the reunion tomorrow.

I found some good candidates for shirts, but nothing exactly what I was looking for. What was I looking for? To be honest, I wasn't really sure, but I just knew that the stuff that I saw was not it :) How's that for an answer ;)

It was nutty at the mecca, don't get me wrong, but I managed to navigate my way around quickly and was in and out of the stores quite efficiently. I was hoping that most of the shoppers would be tired out from the early morning activities, and the poor schmucks who had to work today would get our chance. Well, it looks like stripes, checks, and solids (like usual) are in this year.

The other day I was driving to work, and I had a great experience that made me ready for winter:

It was quite cold outside, but he inside of the car had warmed up to the optimum driving temperature. Nat King Cole was on the radio singing the Christmas Song. I couldn't have asked for a better Christmas moment. I felt all warm on the inside and the outside :) It was a wonderful feeling.

Which reminds me, I have to write and get my holiday cards out soon. I'm always impressed by the people that consistently send out cards right after Thanksgiving. Impressive indeed.

I tell ya, writing roman numerals ia a pain in the arse. No wonder we don't use them anymore ;)

Class reunion is tomorrow. Exciting and nervous, I tell you :)

-Kirk

A single friend of mine once told me that watching romantic movies made her depressed because it reminded her of what she didn't have. I look at it the other way. Movies remind me of what I could have, and continues to renew my optimistic beliefs that true love is out there for everyone, even when you may hear otherwise.

-Kirk

Hi everyone,

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving holiday.

I applied for my grad program this morning. It was so quick and easy it was like I placed an ecommerce order for some electronics goodies. Heh. It cost like one too ;)

So I was looking at my grade transcripts from grad and undergrad. I can't believe it - I must have blocked it or something, but I was a shite student in undergrad. Let's just say that I wasn't failing all of my classes, but I wasn't acing them either ;)

Anyway, even though my academic career wasn't the greatest, I wouldn't have traded my years at Michigan for anything in the world. I know I sound like a cheesy college brochure, but it's so true. I especially loved the lifestyle that I had.

Grad school was much better, probably because I was a litlte bit more interested in what I was doing. This upcoming program should be pretty good as well. I hope I get in :)

So let's see, Thanksgiving. I actually did not have any turkey today :) It was a turkeyless holiday. By choice of course.

Drew's parents didn't end up coming down from NJ to see him this weekend, so we ended up hanging out for a large part of the day. It was nice. My parentals went to a neighbor's house for dinner (that's where they are now), so everything worked out groovy.

Today I had this breakfast buffet thing that totally hit the spot for me. I've always been tempted by belgian waffles, but have never wanted to eat a whole one. Then there's the choice - Strawberry syrup or apple? Do you really want to commit to eating an entier waffle with one topping? Decisions, decisions. So I ended up having two quarter pieces, one with (you guessed it) strawberry and one with apple. Then I had the other breakfast goodies that I craved. A most satisfying meal, to say the least.

We also saw the movie Elf. It was pretty good, if you like Will Ferrell. It was nicely done. There may have been a little too much Will in tights for some to stomach though ;)

Alas, it's back to work tomorrow. I guess I've traded my day after Thanksgiving and Christmas for my other holidays :)

-Kirk

Hi all,

How goes it? Hope you're doing well.

So my brother asked me why I didn't remark that it was my birthday yesterday. Not sure why. Maybe I'm still in denial ;)

Yes, I'm a year older. I'm now 28. Apparently, according to many of my parents friends as of late, I look like I could still be in high school or college. Yes, I got clocked for high school at a stinky Asian food mart. Greeeeat.

Again, I don't feel any different. Which is good, I guess. If you read my blog last year, I kinda felt the same way. Although last year, I had said that I needed a change. A few months later, I was unemployed. So I don't think I'll ask for that again this year ;)

However, I am still on the hunt for a new hobby of some sort. The search continues.

I am seriously thinking about going back to school this time though. But it's still on the d/l cause I'm totally sure yet. (so don't tell anyone ;)

I went out to lunch with a few coworkers today. It was quite nice. I like lunches where work is a minor part of the topic of conversation :)

This evening I went to the city home's association meeting. An interesting crowd, I tell you. I felt poor. But I must say, we have quite the diverse age group of homeowners :)

Here is a link from my brother. Mushroom Mushroom. Don't ask, just click. It's work safe, just turn down your speakers if you have to be quiet. Quite the silly, but strangely funny as well.

Allright, better go to bed.

-Kirk

Hey all,

A quick note before going to bed...

I had forgotten how good the Spice Girls were :) Yes, I admit it. I still like the Spice Girls. I was going through some of my old muzak, and I came across some old SG tracks :) Yes, when there were still 5.. I have their latest album as well, but I never really listened to it. (shrug). After Ginger Spice (my favourite) left, the group's popularity just went down. They shouldn't have taken so much time to regroup after Ginger left to crank out their follow-up album.

I did some shopping during the day today - I had taken the day off. It was really really cold outside today. With the wind blowing, it was crazy. No more nice days out, I guess...

There were a ton of people at Costco today. I guess a bunch of people had taken the day off as well. I'm sure some lucky people got to take the whole week off as well.

Anyway, being outside in the cold gave me a BFH (Big Fucking Headache). I hope I'm not coming down with anything.

On that note, I should go to bed...

-Kirk

Hiya,

It's me again...

So the reunion is less than a week away. Kind of nervous and excited at the same time. It'll be nice to see people and whatnot again, although I don't know who exactly is going to be there though.. I don't know why I have some anxiety about it though. I am a little bummed that I didn't release my clothing line in time, but oh well, maybe at the 25th reunion I will have that achievement done.

I think I still have time to rent the helicopter...

-Kirk

What would you do with a million dollars?

Hi everyone,

Long time no write. I don't really remember what's happened since the last time I wrote. These past days have been kind of funny that way. Like a haze.

Rewind to last week - did anything of note happen? Brizzai got back from hunting, and he did get a buck. I'm sure it was a very proud momen for him even though he was quite modest about the whole thing.

I'm still having computer "issues." Still in "ironing out" mode there. I bought a pretty inexpensive sound card to replace my old one that's no longer supported by the company (thanks guys). I also get a chance to do some computer media organizing over the weekend. I had some storage bins for my old 3.5" disks (remember those) and I bought some of those nifty "easy steal" cd binders so I just threw everything into the storage units. I've got a truckload of empty CD cases now though :)

I've been kind of in a funky funk as of late I think. I'm not sure why. I'm sure that Seasonal Affective Disorder thingy has something to do with it. However, for the first time last week (in what seems like a while), I was able to leave at 5 and it was still light outside! I was not used to it being light outside - I'm usually driving home in the dark or in yucky rain.

Yesterday was the last day of curling class. I'm going to miss doing it. I will definitely sign up if it's offered again.

Today Steve and Elizabeth took me to the new Hard Rock Cafe in Detroit.. I know, I know, it's very corprate Man-ish but I just couldn't resist the commercial temptress known as the HRC. It's about time one opened up in Michigan. :) A little on the small side, but it's still a respectable place. You should go ;)

For some reason, we had a discussion about grown up stuff like careers and life and stuff. And sadly enough, when Elizabeth asked me what I'd do for a living if money were no object, I had no idea. Honestly. Would I do what I'm doing for a living today? Probably not, but I'm not entirely sure. I still look back fondly about the internet binge days as a consultant, but I don't know if I could go back to that either.

Btw, that's what the first line's about. Remember in the movie Office Space? The answer to that question would be what you'd want to do for a living (your most desired career). Or somethirng like that.

Anyway, like I said, I have no idea what I'd do. I was thinking I'd be a bum and spend my money. I know that's not a good answer though :) Do a lot of people know the answer to the question already? Am I the only one that doesn't know?

Hmm.

-Kirk

Hi all,

How's it going? Let's see, what's been on the mind as of late...

Brizzai's coming back from vacation tomorrow, so it makes my day go by faster. Hopefully he was successful in reducing the deer population a little...

So this morning, I was dreaming some weird-assed shit. Not sure why. I don't remember much of it anymore - what I remember was that I was doing some sort of a stand-up comedy gig at a venue. I was working the crowd and they were laughing at my jokes, but the weird part was that I was swinging around the room by the microphone cord. Just swinging around and telling jokes. I think I was at Helen's wedding again. And instead of calling her man Kent, I called him Colorado (which is where they live). Wacky, huh. I woke up for some reason, and I was all sweaty and stuff. Bleh. I must have been nervous from being on stage or tired from all that swinging :)

What else... I felt like I got nothing done at work today. I will blame it on the weather. It was raining like crazy today. Craziness.

So today we had some function at work that was catered by a local pita joint. Anyway, there was this really good raspberry cheesecake that was served. Did I mention that it was hella good. As a value add, there were white chocolate chips on top too :)

You can bet your ass that I exercised tonight. ;) I'll probalby have to do more tomorrow to make up for the small slice of heaven that I had.

I chatted with JDizzle tonight as well - He just took delivery of a new pc :)

-Kirk

Hi all,

Long time no write... At least it sure seems like it. So I figured I'd sit down to write a little sumthin sumthin while I was relaxing for bed. Call it my Doogie Houser moment, if you will.

Man, so what's been going on? I don't even remember.

Brizzai has been on vacation since Thursday. So it's been kind of lonely at the office without him and Peggy there. It seems that the land of purple couches with yellow pipng is treating her well. If you didn't know any better from her stories, you'd think that that Internet binge days were back for that office. Just the stock price is lower ;)

Last Thursday was the last watercolor class of this session . I think (as planned) I'm going to retire the brush and look at other stuff to do. There was a place that was offering ceramic courses that I thought I'd like but the classes were mostly offered during the day. And the place seemed to be pretty serious, not for flaky hobbyists like me :)

Hope you guys had a good opening day for hunting (if you participate, that is). I actually got to participate a little in the hunting spirit, kind of. No, I didn't go hunting per se. :) It's kind of funny - I used to be against the sport of hunting. I just thought it was one of those rednecky things to do, I guess. I'm not saying that I totally agree with the whole concept, but I now understand why people enjoy it, and see the necessity of the sport. (cue Circle of Life). Talking to Brizzai and hanging out with him has really made me appreciate the outdoors more.

I'm not much of an outdoorsperson, but I could see getting into a few things here and there.

So this weekend, I did some housekeeping at the city home. Unfortunately, I didn't finish - I just finished vacuuming the top floor. I still have to do the lower floor and the rest of the stairs. I hate doing stairs with the vacuum. :P

Sunday I went with my dad to this travel expo thing. It was ok. Made me want to take a cruise someday. But I think I may be more in love with cruising than the destination. I saw a presentation for Alaska. Pretty nifty. But I was just imagining how much fun it would be on the boat :) I wouldn't mind doing one of those cruise / tours around the world sometime. Just have to split up vacation money among toys and other recreational activites :)

After the expo, I wrestled with the pc in the basement for a while. I tried to put in some new hardware, software, etc. Like all computer projects for me, it's not a smooth process. I am glad I don't do this for a living :)

And yes, I'm still trying to work on the damn machine. I feel like I'm getting nowhere. Thanks Billy G.

-Kirk

Lend me some sugar - I am your neighbor!

Hi all,

How ya doin? Hope all's well tonight on this windy evening.

so let's see...

As of late, I've been diligently brushing my tongue. I think I'm going a little overboard though. It's starting to feel like it does when you burn your tongue on a hot beverage. You know what I'm talkin about? The taste sensations are a little dulled and your tongue feels like rougher than usual? Yeah, that's it.

I'm not sure if I can tell a difference on a daily basis though. It's the internal satisfaction that keeps me going, I guess.

So let's see. I caught the end of Cribs today. I cannot get enough of this show (and the other ones, like the VH1 Fabulous life of... series. I blame my love and need of the bling and other materialistic goodies on these shows.

By the way, Rachel Hunter is pretty hot. I can see why Stacy's mom has got it goin on...

And the recent Outkast song? Hey ya is a great tune. But it's one of those songs where you absolutely love it, or you think it's just plain silly. I think the song is great. Just FYI, that's where the opening line comes from.

Must go to sleep now. Very tired.

-Kirk

Hi all,

Hope things are going groovy.

Here I am, on the last day of my 4 day weekend. The time has definitely flown by. I now see why Brian tells me that I have to take a full week of in order to be fully rested. Maybe next time.

-Kirk

...dance like no one is watching.

Hi all,

Hope all's well on this fairly chilly November evening.

The weekend is ending for me, but I still have 2 bonus days to use and chill out. Unfortunately, Monday is going to be an "administrative" day - I've already got a few things planned to do in the queue.

I went out to Ann Arbor this afternoon to hang out with Drew. I needed to get out of the house, so we met up for lunch and just some general hanging out time. We did quite a good amount of cruising in the MR2. Kind of accidentally, actually, because we kind of got lost taking an alternate way back to his house. Not to worry though, we managed to make it back in time for me to make dinner with my parentals. Oh yeah, I saw Drew's new home theater equipment - It's pretty swank. It's going to be pretty kickass when it's all setup.

So I'm sure I've mentioned, but I am terrible at e-mail management. Seriously... I have random messages here and there from back in the day (like 1995). I just haven't gotten around to deleting them. It's like I'm worried that one day I'll need that piece of information again (when I probably never will). But of course, like everything else, I'll probably need it the minute I throw it away.

Well, anyway, why did this come up all of a sudden? Every so often, I go through the old old messages to see what I can delete to pare down the mailbox size. I remember at the old network service provider I'd have like 1000 messages in my work mailbox. :) Sad but true.

Anyway, so I came across an old e-mail that a friend of mine from grad school forwarded me. I have always liked the "thought of the day" quote at the end. I got it as an e-mail forward, so I had no idea who has actually written it. With the help of my friend Google, I think I've found out who actually wrote it.

It goes:
Work like you don't need the money,
Love like you've never been hurt,
And dance like no one is watching.

The original piece is written by Crystal Boyd.

Anyway, I not sure why I like the 3 particular lines so much. I think it's because when I read it the first time, it was really relevant to me. Not so much the first line, but the latter ones.

Now they all apply to me.

As of late, I've had what I'm calling a slight relapse in regards to the X. I know, I know, I'm supposed to have gotten closure, right? But this time, it's different. Yesterday was her birthday - Always easy to for me to remember because she's 16 days older than me. Anyway, so she's been on the mind as of late.

Anyway, back to my so called relapse. That's the thing. It's not a relapse per se, I don't think - But I'm not sure what to call it. It's different. I don't wish to be back with her again, but lately I've caught myself reminiscing about the really nice and sweet things that she used to do for me. I guess I really miss that.

Which is kind of a change. Usually, my relapses are filled with angst about what happened at the end of the relationship and how not so fun it was.

Is this what happens when you get closure? Or is it one of those things that happen over time with anyone that you've had history with? Are the bad memories just shed and you're left with (and just remember) the good? is this what people mean by saying that time heals all wounds?

Oddness.

I do miss her though. It's too bad we don't keep in touch anymore. I did send her a card for her birthday though.

-Kirk

I think it's kind of silly when there's ads for pharmaceuticals where they don't tell you what the product does. Just to "ask your doctor if ____________ is right for you."

Do people really do that? I dunno, I just figure if the commercial doesn't tell you what the drug is for, then it's probably for a really bad or embarrassing condition, and I hope I never have to use whatever they're advertising.

-Kirk

Why aren't there Senior mints?

Hi all,

Hope you're having a great weekend.

I'm off till Wednesday, so I'm pretty happy. Thanks to Veteran's day, I only had to take one day off :)

Going on vacation is always a little traumatic for me. Why? I can never leave without making a clean break. Like yesterday, I was at work later than usual, not able to finish all that I'd liked to have before taking my extra day off. I usually like a clean handoff on projects, but I have never been able to do it. So then, I know I have something hanging over my head when I come back. Not a fun feeling. Oh well.

Anyway, on to happier things.

On Friday I got a chance to satisfy my Potbelly Sandwich craving. I've had this craving for a while, but just haven't gotten a chance to go. I took Brian with me, and I'm sure he liked it as much as I did. And it wasn't just because of the food ;)

Every so often I forget I like something. For no particular reason, it just slips my mind, I guess. This time? Junior Mints. The candy with the familiar white box and green lettering. Every Halloween I come across them, and I just love them! I know what I'll be getting next time I need a candy fix.

So has anyone wondered why there's not a Senior Mint? Or just a Mint?

Don't get me wrong. Junior mint is just the right size and mix of mint and chocolate. But in the age of supersizing and whatnot, why don't we have a Senior Mint? I know, I know, there's extra marketing issues to overcome with a Senior Mint, but still. You have your junior, and then your senior, right? So I was thinking, what size would it be? I would say, with the Junior Mint as the Baseline (about the size of a nickel), a Mint would be the size of say, a silver dollar? And then the Senior Mint would be about the size of a Duncan Imperial Yo-yo? Oh yeah... And then the super size Senior Mint would be as big as a burger. That is a lot of mint, my friend. Becareful not to squeeze it while eating either...

Anyway, enough candy dreams.

As usual, it was a pretty slow day today - I went to sleep pretty early last night, so I didn't sleep in too much. We were off this week for curling too. Bummer.

Oh yeah, so from my lesson learned last year - I brought the good old snowthrower out today and got it gassed up and ready for the winter. After a few pulls, I got it to start and everything seemed to be working well. Bring it on, baby. Bring it on.

-Kirk

Breaking up is hard to do...

Hi everyone,

Hope you're doing well.

So today I parted ways with my work girlfriend (Peggy). She's moving on to a different company now. I'm sure we'll still keep in touch, but it's just never the same, you know? Her new gig does sound pretty good though. She'll be travelling all over the US in the next few months. We will all miss her... I'm sure she'll miss working with Brizzai and me as well.

The breakup went smoothly - no tears or over emotion. I get most of my stuff back, but she gets to keep the Frankie says Relax t shirt ;) You get some and lose some.

Now I'm sure you're probably thinking I'm wacked, but come on - I know that some of you feel me here. Once in a while, there's that certain person at work that just "gets you" and vice versa. Like you're supposed to work with them but you sometimes end up talking more than you get work done? I probably talked to her at least once a day during office hours.

Now why a work girlfriend as opposed to a friend? Not sure - It just came up in conversation today. Just one of those things, I guess. Don't get me wrong, there was nothing romantic going on, but I felt pretty comfortable around her, so maybe that's why.

We're not sure who will take her place or anything, so who knows what will happen. (shrug)

-Kirk

Hi all,

How goes it?

I was looking at Car and Driver today, looking at what's in store for cars in 2004. Apparentely, Mini is going to have a convertible in 2004. Nothing on the site yet (that I saw), but I found the Motoring Course Racing Game to be quite amusing :) I suggest you try it sometime :)

-Kirk

enjoy the afterglow...

Hi everyone,

I tell ya. No matter how much talk there is about music piracy, there's really no feeling like opening up a brand new cd and listening to it for the first time. Seriously. Holding a CD in your hands cannot be matched by having the music files on your harddrive, legal or non-legal. Sure you can burn the files onto disc, but I don't think it's quite the same thing.

So yeah, I got the Sarah CD today :) I've pretty much waited 5 years for this CD.

I went out during lunch to get the disc, but I didn't get a chance to listen to it until now. I guess I could have gotten it after work, but no big thang.

So far, it's a pretty mellow disc, reminding me of Surfacing, my all time fav. Although I don't listen to it anymore, I thing the songs on it are brilliant.

The album art has pretty trademark Sarah pics too. All very zen and earthy. :)

-Kirk

'

ok ok, one last plug...

Sarah's new cd Afterglow comes out tomorrow! woo hoo!

I won't be driving an hour roundtrip to get it this time like I did with Mirrorball though. I did consider for a little bit going out to the 24 hour shopping mecca to pick up my copy at 12:01 a.m. But then I would have just brought it home and fallen asleep. I'll probably go get it during lunch tomorrow. :)

You should get yours too.

-Kirk

Hi all,

hope all's well.

So I'm a sucker for infomercials. I'm not saying that I buy the products that they sell (I never have, yet). I was telling Brian and Peggy about this nifty product that I saw during my television marathon over the weekend. It was this product, the somethingorother 2 (I wished I remembered the name - a link would be really nice about now). It was this neat oral care gadget that seemed really cool. I say oral care gadget because it did everything. Not only was it a electric toothbrush, it was a flosser and a tongue scraper! How cool is that. You used the same handle part, and it had these different attachments. Craziness!

Sorry, back to the story...

We were going out to lunch today and I was telling Brian and Peggy about this neat infomercial that I saw this weekend. And they just started laughing because they had come across (and watched) that same infomercial over the weekend. It was pretty funny :) and I thought I was the only veg in front of the television this weekend.

Now don't get me wrong - I don't dig all infomercials. Like that "set it and forget machine?" Fugghetaboutit. How often am I going to be cooking 9 steaks? A whole chicken? 9 salmon fillets? With steamed vegetables on top? Come on. If I ever bought into the hype there, I'd have my one steak rattling around the cooking cage every time the cooking cage spun around. Who eats like that nowadays?

I'll be honest though - Even though I think some things are stupid, I just can't resist the advertising, so I end up watching a good part of it. I try to guess how many easy payments of 9.99 (or some form of, just add a digit to the beginning of the number) the advertised item would cost me, and see what kinds of bonus items I'd get if I ordered right now.

One thing that I learned from the somethingorother 2 infomercial was that I need to be more diligent about brushing my tongue. I guess a ton of bacteria builds up in the back or something. Who knew?

Anyway...

So tonight, I tried to be all corporate and stuff - There was this mixer type of event tonight at one of the offices. It was this event where "new" minority employees got a chance to meet upper management. Our CEO was going to be there, so I thought I'd give it a try and go. Unfortunately, I didn't get to meet him, but I did hear him speak. I was impressed when he gave his whole speech without any notes at all. I don't know if he just pulled a speech from his internal "speech file" or what, but nonetheless it was pretty neat. I guess that's why he's CEO.

Anyway, so this morning, I threw on my corporate white shirt / uniform and headed to this meet and greet after work. I'm glad I had the corporate whites on - There were so many suits in that room that I felt pretty underdressed. I'm glad I made some sort of effort :) So it was a very corporate event - more than I was definitely used to, that's for sure.

I don't know - I just can't get into corporate mode. I just can't. It's just not my bag, I guess. I admit, I'm a sucky schmoozer. I'll never be able to hock stuff for a living. Making forced or fakey conversation about work stuff is not me. I wouldn't mind trying to sell some cars though. Just to see how I'd do. Luxury cars would definitely be my bag. My top choices? Benzitos, BMWs and Lexus. That's what I'm talkin bout.

Anyway, at the end of the day, I'm glad I don't work downtown. It's definitely not my style. Wearing a suit everday? come on. I prefer to be in the 'burbs in operations :) Actually, I wouldn't mind even being in the call center where I could wear whatever the hell I wanted. Ahh, the good old days.

-Kirk

Hi all,

Hope you're doing well.

The sun tried to peek out for a couple of minutes today while I was driving around, but that was about it. No more. Just cloudy. Ah well. Hoepfully the whole winter won't be all grey like this :)

Saw the 2004 Honda S2000 today in this nifty metallic blue (Suzuka Blue Metallic, to be exact). Kind of subtle changes on the outside, but apparently there were quite few changes under the hood. The car still looks very good. It's definitely on my wish list ;)

It's been quite the uneventful weekend. I've done pretty much nothing worthy of note. Curling was fun, but that's pretty much it.

The supaflyride needs a washing very very badly. Unfortunately it's going to rain all this week, so I guess I'll leave the car wash to the gentle (but sometimes acidic) hands of mother nature. My brother, on the other hand, took advantage of the somewhat warmer weather and did some car stuff this weekend. I'll be honest, I thought about washing the car for like a second but decided against it. I'm so lazy. :)

There's plenty of stuff for me to do, trust me. It's just there's a certain lack of motivation on my part. Oh well, there's always next weekend ;)

-Kirk

Hey all,

Just a few quick notes...

On VH1, you can stream Sarah McLachlan's new disc, Afterglow. You can also hear the tracks on Sarah's website :)

I watched a crazy amount of television today. I've not done that in quite a while. I saw about 2/3of the umich / msu game (while talking to my brother on the phone) and caught the Must See TV episodes that I taped during the week. I don't think I moved much between lunch and dinner tonight. Now I'm on the computer ;)

-Kirk