Labor Day Weekend, Ahoy!

Good things for today:

- It's Friday
- There was a bake sale outside of our building and I bought a brownie
- There's barely anyone at work
- My whiteboard is now hung in my office
- Wookiee was insane this morning and I loved it (she likes playing with Dave's drumsticks)
- Camping this weekend!
- I had a cute chauffeur drop me off


Bad things for today:

- I woke up late
- My new shoes make my feet extremely sweaty
- My new car won't arrive until October :(
- I ate the brownie and want more, more, more!
- My desk is like a trash heap
- Must... resist.... coffee... urge........

Eat My Shortz

I've been doing zillions of crossword puzzles lately, and I think I'm getting pretty good at it. It helps that the clues are repeated pretty often. Everyone at work was excited to tell me that Will Shortz (the NY Times crossword puzzle editor) was to give the commencement speech at IU this year. I guess that's cool, but I wasn't about to drive an hour to hear a guy talk about puzzles.

Uncle Randy and Aunt Julie were generous to invite us to their condo in Pennsylvania for Memorial Day weekend, so that's where we're headed early tomorrow morning! We'll be headed out of Indy just as thousands of people are headed in to see the big race on Sunday. One of these days we'll go.

Last night we went to Abyssiana, the Ethiopian restaurant on 38th St. It was a rough start, with 10 people all trying to figure out what we wanted to eat and share, but it was a lot of fun. The food was really good, and it was perfect "group" experience. After we were sated, the chef came out to ask us how we liked the food; he was so short and cute.

My employer just began a health-care incentive plan thing, where if you are in good health, they compensate you with money. I started telling my coworkers what a great idea I thought this plan was.... really excited about it. So we were all discussing this, and I said how I think people who were overweight should have to pay higher health care premiums because of all the extra health care costs they impose on the greater population. If they have a glandular problem, then that's something else... but if they just didn't exercise and didn't eat correctly, then it's a preventable problem. Someone counter argued the strong correlation between lower-income people and obesity, and how they would unfairly have to pay higher health care premiums than higher-income workers. He was right. How will the behavior change if there is no punishment? I use the word "punishment" not because I'm a jerk, but because there's a Boy George song playing on the radio and my vocabulary area of my brain is blurred right now. If someone gets 10 speeding tickets, their car insurance premiums are increased, and there is an incentive to save money by driving the speed limit. If someone is overweight, should their health insurance premiums be increased? I would think that a shorter life span and the various other weight-related ailments should be enough incentive to not let yourself become overweight, but I think it's obvious that it's not. If anything, people are motivated to lose weight mostly because of aesthetic reasons. Hey, I just remembered about those Whirlpool employees who were riled up because their health care plan imposed higher premiums for smokers. Same issue.

I took a self-defense class today at work and now feel confident that I can successfully knee an attacker in the groin, if needed. I've always wondered how I would fare in a fight, and while I am able to knee people in the groin, that's about the extent of my abilities. Thanks to some mega-padding, I got to try my self-defense skills on a guy, and I didn't perform too well. Is that very Mennonite-ish of me?

Oh, by the way... I brought $160 with me to Vegas and came back with $210. THANK YOU, WHEEL.

Let Me Rest

I just did not want to get out of bed this morning. Our clock is turned away from the bed, and I thought for sure that I had slept for 12+ hours, but it was only 9 AM when we got out of bed. Sprinkles kept sleeping. Her latest fad is to sleep on the stack of clean towels I keep in the guest bathroom cabinet.

I just finished reading Beautiful Boy. It was pretty good, though awfully depressing.

I love drugs and drug culture.

I want to do lots of drugs. I would never, of course, but the curiosity is still there. I just love the idea of manipulating my body with chemicals. It's a neat thing. And scary.

Good Things in Pictures

Our bulb(asaur)s are poking through (!):

My new jersey with super zipper action:

Sprinkles vs. The Squirrel:

Maybe I Shouldn't Have Said That

Me and Dave were watching CNN tonight:

[ Anderson Cooper is shown on tv ]

David: What happened to your face? (to Anderson) You get punched??
Katherine: Uh... he has skin cancer.....


Also, here's a video of Sprinkles vs. Popcorn.

Organize This

I visited the office supplies area today at work. There was a box of blue ink RSVPs (see Unofficial Cheap Pen Test), so I snagged a couple for the homestead.

I'm changing jobs at the end of the month (from SEP to Bluefish Wireless), and I must say, I'm excited to investigate my new employer's office supplies. I get to explore a brand new stash that will hopefully include RSVP pens and many varieties of notepads and sticky notes.

I love the thought of me being meticulously organized.

I also love the thought of completely clearing or flipping a table in response to an outrageous remark or disastrous ending to a board game (...Risk comes to mind).

Mail + Potential Study #0

More snow today. It's never enough, though. I am dying to go sledding.

A few days ago we went for a walk in the snow. It was quiet and peaceful and beautiful outside, and we spent time commenting on our neighbors' houses. Surprisingly, there were a lot of jumbo mailboxes. Like, triple the size of ours.

I wonder what a graph of the amount of mail the USPS delivers would look like over the past two decades. Has email lessened the amount, or have credit card offers counteracted the email effect? I am curious to see how much junk mail we receive annually. It's terrible. I love mailmen, though. And mail trucks.

Very Tiny Veins, Very Bad Veins

As I was walking to work this morning, I passed the Bloodmobile parked outside of the Barnes & Thornburg Law Firm. Instead of feelings of appreciation, it gave me feelings of rage. Rage for my tiny, selfish arm veins. I have attempted to give blood three times in my life, and all three attempts have resulted in a barely-filled, thrown-away bag of my blood. I think I am ready to give up.

On Simple Living, or Something Like It

There are so many things about religion and politics that I don't understand, and feel like I can't even begin to understand.

I've never read the Bible in its entirety, so I am unable to argue about many religious topics with "quotes" or somesuch to back me up.

The basis of my 'religion' comes from what I feel is right in my heart. I don't know how to explain it in any other way.

Does God want us to live simply? I guess so. Why? Should I feel guilty about owning a large house? Why? I do feel guilty for having so much while others have so little. Where is the line crossed? Should I feel guilty for enjoying a hobby, or should I spend all of my time helping others? Why are there so many misguided people? Why is it so hard to find out what God wants us to do in our lives?

Etc., Etc.

I'm in Chicago right now on business. Rosemont, to be exact-ish. I think Marlo's parents live close by, but I'm not 100% certain.

I have lots of random things to say because I'm just laying on my hotel bed in the semi-dark.

My music of the moment is the Silversun Pickups. A lot of people (here's looking at you, Pitchfork!) have said that they sound like a Smashing Pumpkins rip-off band, but honestly - that's why I like them. I HATE the new Smashing Pumpkins music. I just wanted them to keep churning out records with their mid-90's sound. The Silversun Pickups almost sound like a mixture between a Gish-era bootleg mixed with the Stars. PERFECT. Thank you. Carnavas makes me feel like I'm in high school and have a crush on a boy. You know the feeling.

I was about to write a paragraph about how much I hate business lingo, but I can't think of any examples. Wait, I just thought of one: "It's just the nature of the beast." Okay, I can't think of any more.

I need gloves. Badly.

What is up with my feet!??! How did my black shoes get to stinking so badly??? I'm afraid to wear them anymore.