Go Red.

Hi all,

Hope you're doing well this evening.

Today at work we got to wear jeans and something red for Go Red For Women - a campaign by the American Heart Asociation to raise awareness of cardiovascular disease and stroke in women.

I had no idea that heart disease and stroke was the #1 cause of death in the United States. Apparently it claims more than the next 7 causes of death combined.

Anyway, enough about the serious stuff - the first time I saw the pin, it was sideways on a card and I coudln't tell (at first) what it was. I thought it was one of those cartoon hams with the bone on one end, and then the spiral on the other.

(shrug) Who knew.

Anyway, now I know better.

We're supposed to get hella snow in the next day or so. It should be interesting.

-Kirk

Taxing thoughts.

Hi all,

Hope you had a nice weekend. Like usual, a few things before going to bed...

I finally settled down and got my taxes ready for mailing tomorrow. Always a little nervous - Not because I'm cheating, but more because I hope I did them right.

I always laugh when I see the mailing address for the IRS - You know you're a heavyweight in town when you don't need a street address to get mail :) There's just the name, city, state, and zip.

So Mr. Taxman, the tax forms are in the mail. Keep an eye out.

-Kirk

Throwback scent

Hi all,

Hope you're having a nice weekend. It's sunny so I can't complain :)

So I have to meet with my school group today at 2 - While I was getting ready, I spotted the familiar green Polo cologne bottle on my nightstand. I hadn't used that scent since high school. So just for shits and giggles I thought I'd sport it today.

Whooohah. It's really strong.

Maybe that's why I don't wear it anymore...

-Kirk

Pineapple under the sea.

Hi all,

Hope you're doing well this evening.

Just some quick notes (as usual) before going to bed.

Today I tried to fight off the natural urge to take my after dinner nap. I might have lost a few times here and there, but for the most part, I didn't nap.

So I'm hoping I will be able to sleep better tonight.

For the past few nights, I've been up till 2:00 a.m., in bed, just not sleeping.

So I'm hoping avoiding the nap will not return my sleep schedule back to normal.

I know I'm way behind the curve, but you have to watch SpongeBob SquarePants sometime if you haven't already. I finally got a chance to catch my first episode and a half this evening and I thought it was great. I can definitely see how kids and adults like it.

On a more random note, I think PMPN8EZ would be a funny personalized license plate to have.

-Kirk

Smelly welcome.

Hi all,

Hope you're doing well on this warmer day. I was lovin it. I was outside today with just a long sleeve t-shirt and my winter jacket.

No sweater.

It was definitely a nice break from having to wear gloves, a hat, and a scarf.

So today my mom bought a welcome mat from Target.

It looks really nice, but it smells. Walking around the store, I was afraid that people would think it was us that smelled like that. Honestly I can't tell if it's a good or a bad smell. It's hard to describe too - The mat has a rubber frame (if you will) and the middle is some sort of natural material. The first thing that came to mind was hemp. Or hemp-like. Or hempy.

No, I'm not a druggie.

I'm sure it's not hemp - I threw the tag away, so it will remain a mystery. Forever.

Anyway, so it's a mix of woody smells. Like sharpened pencils and like a 2x4 cut with a circular or table saw. But then there's a pine vibe in there too.

So again, I'm not sure if it's a good smell or not. It's very strong though.

And I think it's following me into the house.

-Kirk

Cross 2 more off the list.

Hi all,

Hope you're doing well this evening.

Thursday morning I had to wake up early to drive out to Ann Arbor. So needless to say, my sleep schedule got totally wacked cause I didn't go to sleep early the night before.

Friday morning was brutal. I was sleepy all morning. And I was dragging arse the rest of the day.

It was a low productivity day.

I hate those days. I've got so much to do, but I am too easily distracted, I guess.

The funny thing was that the whole group seemed to be a little tired that day. We went out to lunch, and were really quiet.

Anyway, so last night, I met up with some former coworkers. It turns out that two of them are engaged (not to each other). Pretty wild. So it was fun catching up with everyone. We closed down a coffee joint - As we were exiting the place, it was like closing time at a bar.

Except it was quite a few hours earlier, and the people filing out of the door hadn't been drinking.

I love nights like that. Hanging out with friends where you can lounge hear each other talk (without shouting). Which is why the bar scene is not my bag, baby.

So day one of my 2.5 day weekend is over. I got some schoolwork done, and I lightly studied some stuff for my exam on Monday. I'll do more tomorrow.

-Kirk

Gross but in a clean way.

There are times when you can definitely see the value add of a bidet.

-Kirk

Corporate crustiness.

I am getting tired of hearing how budgets are tight / being cut, or how projects have to be delayed a year.

-Kirk

Job appreciation

Hi all,

Hope you're doing well this evening. Just a few things before going to bed. As usual, the 11 oclock bedtime is way past. (shrug)

Sometimes you listen to some old tunes from back in tha day and you think "damn, that was some good shite."

I was listening to some Guns and Roses yesterday and today. Good stuff, I tell ya. Starting from middle school all the way to college.

Good times.

So what's been on the mind as of late...

I've noticed that I've been staying later and later at the office recently. And if it weren't for my mom bugging me to actually leave work at a reasonable time, I would totally be a workaholic. Seriously. It explains why I never left work on time at my first job at the network service provider. I'd be at work for like 12 hours a day.

Cause I had nothing better to do.

I'd only leave the office when I was meeting people for dinner, or for chilling. Otherwise, I would just stay and finish up some work, or goof around the office.

Which tells me something about myself I think. I don't like to be idle, and I crave human contact more than I like being alone. Don't get me wrong - I like spending time alone and relaxing, but I tihnk after a while I'd rather be in an environment where there's people around.

Does that make sense? Hey, I never said I was easy to understand, did I?

So the thing above made me realize that I really do need to find a hobby that I can sink some free time into (besides work). Oh yeah, a relationship of some sort wouldn't hurt either :)

School just ain't cutting it - I think it's causing me more stress than enjoyment.

Anyway, so Tuesday my mom calls me at like 6:00 p.m. - She was at a family friend's place of business doing light commerical / industrial work. And of course I was still at the office. So for shits and giggles I went out to meet up with her and see what the place was all about.

So I spent Tuesday night unwrapping (what I think) were pistons. So I was the nicest dressed contractor - I was still in my business casual work clothes. So for a few hours I was sitting in the middle of a small warehouse helping process these piston things in a assembly line type of environment.

It made me appreciate my desk job. Big time.

I don't know if I'd ever go back to do more work, but I ended up meeting some new people and getting a potential tutoring gig out of it teaching English. So we'll see how that goes. I'll start in a couple of weeks.

After work today I went out to the parking lot behind work and tried to snap some pics of the deer that were chiling all around the area next to the trees. It was freezing. I was snapping pics as fast as I could, but I don't know about the quality of them. I left my camera out in the car - I figured if I did that, then I woudln't have to worry about any temperature changes taking the camera from the inside to the outside, right?

Wrong.

The temperature was so cold that my batteries all registered as being low - The only way I could get the batteries to work again was to heat them up in my hands. So lesson learned :)

-Kirk

No more drama.

Hi everyone,

Hope you're doing well this evening.

We had a guest lecturer for class today. He was pretty good. I felt bad for falling asleep.

I need to stop taking after dinner naps.

So anyway, sometimes I think my life is really boring. At the same time, I'm glad my life isn't filled with drama. I don't know what it is, but it seems like quite a few of my coworkers have lots of drama going on in their lives. I don't know if it's just cause they're more open to discussing it, they just happen to sit next to me, or what.

(shrug)

Sometimes dull is good.

-Kirk

Blowing off schoolwork (again)

Hi all,

Hope you're doing well. Just doing a quick note before going to bed.

Today I blew off all of my schoolwork and went outlet shopping with my mum. To see if I can satisfy my quest for new work clothes. I figured I had done enough work on Saturday and I could do some tonight.

So I got pants.

Two pairs of khakis that I didn't really need (for future use) and one pair of (slacks?) that I'd had my eye on for a long long time at the Gap.

I am still looking for some swank shirts and stuff to wear for work. But all the stuff that I saw at the stores were so dark and gloomy it bummed me out. So I need something more hip I guess. I did get this half zip sweater thing that I think will look pretty swank with jeans.

I've recently gotten back on the Joss Stone kick. I really like her Mind, Body, Soul disc. The song Jet Lag is my fav.

-Kirk

There's got to be a better way.

Hi all,

Hope you're doing well this evcning.

We were worldy today:

My mom and I celebrated the lunar new year eve with sushi. And then for dessert we had a paczki. So a little ethnicity and a little religion all in 30 minutes...

Anyway, so what's been on the mind today...

El had been telling me about this "He's just not into you book" that she read (or heard about, I forget) - And out of randomness, mention of the book came up at work today.

Which makes me think there has to be an easier way to meet quality people that are interested in meeting you.

Seriously.

-Kirk

11 o'clock bedtime.

Hi all,

Hope you're doing well this evening. Just a few quick notes.

I was seriously trying to get to bed by 11 this evening. And everything would have worked out of I hadn't gotten sidetracked by Cribs and the Osbournes. I will never get tired of Cribs, but Osbournes wasn't as good of an episode this time. Probably cause it dealt with more serious issues or somethin.

So by the time tv was done, it was already 11. Then I had to clean up my pile of stuff in the kitchen. And then I had to write a little bit.

And now it's almost midnite.

Maybe I'll try going to bed earlier tomorrow :)

Been listening to a bit of Maroon 5. My brother got me the album a while ago and am just getting around to listening to it now. I like it. At first, I thought the lead singer sounded kind of whiny, but the ladies love him cause he's hot or something.

And I guess somehow it makes the whininess more bearable (shrug)

Hot people have it so easy.

-Kirk

New old clothes.

Hi all,

Hope you're doing well.

Ahh, it's Sunday already. I can't believe it. Where has the weekend gone?

Well, yesterday I spent like 10 hours doing schoolwork - 3 of it was spent reviewing material, and 5 of it was spent taking an online exam. After a short break, I spent 2 hours doing another assignment that's due on Monday.

I'm a schoolwork pimp. (or ho, depending on how you look at it).

I know, I know, Sunday is usually dedicated to schoolwork right? Well, today I was supposed to drive out west and see Steve and E (Who I haven't seen in what seems like months). But it turned out they missed me and the area enough to come out here instead. Which kicked butt because it saved me like 3 hours of road time.

So I hung out with them for a few hours - we went out to lunch and hung out at the shopping mecca.

While I was getting ready, I felt like I was getting tired of my clothes - Rummaging around, I found a shirt that I had forgotten I owned! It was pretty nifty, like finding some extra money in a pants pocket :)

I've been feeling like I've been in a wardrobe slump latetly. I think I'm just getting tired of my work clothes. And the tiredness is making its way towards my casual clothes too. The thing is I've been trying to look for new clothes at my usual places but I haven't found anything that I've liked.

(shrug) Maybe I have to widen the clothing net - like at A&F- hahaha.

-Kirk

Special guest star.

Hi all,

Hope you're doing well this evening.

Today I think I had one of the most stressful days I can remember at my current job. I am not very happy with one of our vendors. They are trying to pull some stuff that isn't going to fly with me. I've been on that side of the table before.

And I know what the dilly is.

I had such a headache towards the end of the day. Not good times.

Anyway, that's all I want to say about that.

What else is up... Today for lunch I had fish and chips for like the 3rd or 4th time this month. I know it's totally bad for me, but it's so good. There's something so good about fried goodness. You can't go wrong with fried fish, French fries, and a good lump of cole slaw.

Mmmmmm Mmmmm...

I guess fish and chips are my new burrito.

So what else is going on. Last night / this morning I caught myself dreaming about the X. A guest appearance, if you will. I don't really remember what we were doing (don't worry, it was rated G), but I remembered thinking that it was odd to see her, but nice at the same time.

Don't know what's up with that.

But guest appearance isn't really accurate I guess you could say - It was like she was a normal figure in my life again.

I don't really see faces in my dreams. I just know the people in my dreams are who they are.

This weekend I'll be studying for a quiz for my class. Not looking forward to that. I'll have to look over 4 weeks worth of material.

Lovely.

-Kirk

Random buy number... eh, I've lost count.

So one last thing.

I'm now the proud owner of my own pool / billiards cue.

Thanks, Target impulse buy.

-Kirk

The food chain / Another world

Hi all,

Hope you're doing well this evening... It's warmer outside so I can't complain about the cold! I tell ya, you get one day where the temperatures are above the teens and I'm ready to bring out the spring jackets.

My mom is hoping that this will be the last of the cold.

I don't think so. Would be nice though.

Anyway, so a couple things to tell today.

Brian and I were coming back from the little store downstairs - we were coming back from a water run. As we're waiting for the elevator, Brian's boss' boss walks up with a 24 pack of bottled water - The exact same brand and size that Brian had.

Brian looks at boss^2 and makes a remark about how he's got a 24 pack, and Brian can only afford one. I forget what boss^2's remark was, but I just started laughing.

I was standing there with water from the tap. (which might as well have come from a garden hose)

That whole experience embodied the hierarchy of the Man and his machine, all the way down to the little cog.

Too funny.

Let's see, what else. I was meeting my mom and family friends for dinner today and the outdoor mall. And you know what? I make my usual stop at the Man's uniform store, and guess what - No more men's clothes.

How's that for a swift kick in the ass?

If you're a lady though, life's all good - the whole store is now dedicated to you (it's almost doubled) :)

Grr. So one less reason to visit that place. But anyway, so I had some extra time to kill before everyone showed up so I took a quick look around the place. And I got a bit of "culture" if you will. I couldn't really shop at my normal place, so I decided to get out of the comfort zone, if you will.

My lessons learned for today:
- Abercrombie is the kid's version of Abercrombie & Fitch.
- Hollister Co. kinda reminds me of A&F (see above)
- It is way too dark in the stores listed above
- The music is way too loud in the stores listed above
- I am not the target demographic (i.e., there is a reason wny I've never gone into these stores)

I'm not scarred for life, but I don't think I'll be going into one of these stores again for a long time.

Unless I start dating some lady that wears shortie jean shorts (or skirt) and a white tank top. I'm serious, every cluster of manikins at Hollister featured a lady figure with that exact ensemble.

And when you go in to the store, it's a whole different world almost. For a few minutes, I thought it was summer inside. (shrug) the people there were dressed like it was 80 outside and spring break was going to start after the store closed.

I felt bad for the parents that looked like zombies waiting / shopping for their kids.

That's love for ya.

-Kirk