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.

Beware the Wheel...

Samantha and Patrick came to visit us yesterday, as Dave agreed to take them to the airport early (VERY early!) this morning. It's always great hanging out with them, even if Patrick kicked everyone's butts at TriBond. They also brought their cat Zoë, who was about to embark on her first plane trip. It was nice having a cat in the house again.

We donated some of Sprinkles' toys and beds (she had 3....), along with some blankets and towels, to the Humane Society a couple of weeks ago. We looked at the available cats and dogs, but none caught my eye.

Wednesday, I leave for Las Vegas, where I'll be until Friday night. Y'know... work-related things, of course.

Now, if you remember, Dave and I traveled to Las Vegas for Rachael & Chuy's wedding last August, and I ended up winning a couple hundred dollars, thanks to this bad boy:



Behold its beauty and wonder.

It is the Wheel of Fortune slot machine, and it is capable of both making your dreams come true and emptying your bank accounts.

Everyone knows that one of my life goals is to be on the Wheel of Fortune game show. Somehow, I think this is as close as I will ever get.

Seriously, though - the wheel actually spins!!!!! And there is fake applause sound!!!! And there are little animated Pats and Vannas!

I can't wait.

Oh yeah - and I hope we get a lot of work done.

Not the Best Timing

Dave is sick with a cold :( Poor guy. I hope he is well before we leave for Florida on Saturday. It sucks to fly with sinus congestion.

We visited his new workplace last night. That has to be the most beautiful office I have ever seen. I am so completely jealous. And I want to hire whoever did the decorating and furniture-buying. It was awesome.

After that, we had some massive chocolate/pastry/cake cravings, so we bought some Little Debbie chocolate chip cream pies and Chips Ahoy Big 'N' Soft chocolate chip cookies at Marsh. The Chips Ahoy ones were a little disappointing, because they really weren't very big.

We played a little Wii Smash Bros., and then I fell asleep on his lap.

Has anyone been watching Dr. House on Jeopardy???? We were super hyped while watching. This is better than watching the Super Bowl.

http://www.rose-hulman.edu/news/articles/house-jeopardy.htm

Easter 2008

Happy Belated Easter!

Dave is playing laser tag by himself right now. If you're wondering how that is accomplished, he is holding a gun in each hand and shooting at each one. Fun times, my darling.

I mapped out my route for commuting to work by bicycle. I'm a little worried about the last mile downtown. I'll have to ride on the street with traffic. Another negative -- it's $3/day to park my bike in my parking garage!! What a rip. My company won't let me take my bike up to my office; otherwise, I would do that. Actually, I'm lying. I AM allowed to take my bike up to my office, but I can't take it through the front door. This means that I have to go through the alley behind the building (which is full of glass and trash. mmm... glass and trash), press a 'call' button, and wait for an angry janitor to open up the freight elevator for me. Maybe I'm just being lazy about it. I think I'd rather pay the three dollars and avoid having our custodial and security staff mad at me for bothering me.

Frost and Bulbs

We awoke to see our lawn covered in frost this morning. I hope these cold days are over soon. The tulip bulbs are starting to poke through the soil, and I can't wait to see what they will look like when they bloom. I also hope that more than the 3 that are poking through will actually survive this crazy weather.

I got my hair cut yesterday and chose a drastic style - with BANGS. BANGS, people! I didn't think that I had the balls to go through with it, but the stylist was reassuring enough to convince me otherwise. I like it a lot, though I have been getting made fun of at work. They're calling me "Cleopatra." I have been meaning to get this style for a while, but I was always afraid of the long-term commitment that comes with bangs. That, and I wasn't sure that my poodle hair would be appropriate for that kind of style. Thank you, God, for creating people that created the hair iron.

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).

RE: Stressed Out

After meetings like that one, I can't help but wonder if I am not cut out for the business world. I get so completely nervous, and when someone asks me a question that I can't answer, I just stare at them until my brain spits out some words in the wrong order. Case in point: (this happened today, and please excuse the acronyms)

Person: "So, the question is, what is the benefit of holding onto ARRs versus directly converting them into FTRs?"

Katherine: "........"

Katherine: ".... Um, I was really just.... afraid of... um... well.... values... negative"

WOW. AWESOME.

I think I just need practice. Practice and confidence. Unfortunately, after my performance this afternoon, my confidence seems to have headed in the wrong direction. And this is the fifth meeting that I have run by myself.

Stressed Out

Ugh; I have to give a huge presentation later today and I feel ill.

One hour of ugh, coming right up!

Why did I have to invite the mean guy?

Unofficial Cheap Pen Test

I ridiculously love office supplies.

For some reason, my office pens disappear at a rate of about 1 per week. I'm currently down to one blue pen, one awkward checkbook pen, and three non-mechanical pencils that I have no way of sharpening.

We went to Target today for some odds and ends and I decided to buy a few pens for work. ....BUT WHICH ONES?????? HOW DO YOU KNOW WHICH PEN IS THE BEST?????

And that is how I came up with my unofficial cheap ballpoint pen test. Half were purchased, and half were found in our kitchen junk drawer.

The contestants (all medium pt., of course):

1. Bic Ultra Round Stic Grip USA


2. Pentel Wow! BK440


3. Uni-Ball Vision Elite (NON-BALLPOINT!)


4. Wisconsin Cheese Pen, missing ink shaft (DISQUALIFIED!)

5. Pentel R.S.V.P. BK91


6. Pilot EasyTouch


7. Free 5/3 Bank Pen


I'm trying to get away from using gel ink in my pens because I'm tired of having smeared ink on important documents, so the Uni-ball is not really my cup of tea.

If it were possible to buy more, I would declare the 5/3 Bank Pen the winner. It had the boldest, smoothest lines out of all pens. Unfortunately, the odds of us getting our hands on another one of those is slim. Therefore, the prize goes to the Pentel R.S.V.P.. Great price, great lines, and a good weight in your hands. Only $1.99 for a 4-pack at Target.

I'll have to do a more in-depth pen competition in the future. I'm passionate about this.

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.