morrowlife

Here’s the view across the parking lot as I walked out of work this evening. Fuzzy picture courtesy of the exclusive Treo-cam. Red sky at evening, sailor start . . . umm . . . grieving, I guess.

Happy Veteran’s Day! It was a regular work day for me. No rest for us knowledge workers. And judging by the crowd on the train, it wasn’t a free day for much of anybody around here. As many of my Loyal Readers are no doubt aware, I trade away almost all of the Federal holidays (other than the really big ones, of course) for the Christmas week. That’s a trade I’ll make any day.

Anyway. Getting back to veterans. Thanks to them all. Really.

Today’s Morrowlife invitation: Find a veteran, shake his/her hand, look him/her in the eye, and give sincere thanks. I did it a few times today and don’t regret it.

Today’s Morrowlife Controversy: No controversy. Absolutely nothing controversial happened anywhere in the world today.

Thanks to my Loyal Readers for their helpful comments on the train/bathroom controversy. I think I’ll go with Loyal Reader Number Five’s idea. Loyal Reader Number Three also has a good thought, but the train’s many windows don’t open, alas. Loyal Reader Number One’s idea, on the other hand, just has me a little worried.

Long day at work today. I had gone home an hour early yesterday for Home Evening purposes and needed to make up a little time, so I dragged out at 4:00 this morning and got here at 6:30. The downside: I got up at 4:00. The upside: the food truck was there and I got a nice, fresh 5-speed burrito. Yum. Also very filling and an excellent start to the day.

Left the office at about 5:15 this afternoon. That’s the other downside. I’m thinking of proposing to my new boss that either I get credit for the hour-plus I put in on the train every day, allowing me to leave at 4:15 and arrive home at 6:30, or change my work hours to 6:30 – 4:15. The common thread here is a departure time of 4:15. I think my life would be better that way, don’t you?

I also think I would be more productive, since I usually get more done early than late. We’ll see what happens.

I’ve finally figured out how to get some work out of Fluffy. We’ll make her our bird catcher!

Time for other things. See you tomorrow.

Here’s Loyal Reader Number Twelve trying on her birthday jewelry.

Pretty decent weekend. I actually accomplished a few things! This is unprecedented.

Not much, though. Let’s try and figure out what it might have been. Ummm. . . I cleaned the pool filters. They were pretty dirty, to the point that the vacuum wasn’t doing much anymore. So that’s something.

Also hung out with Loyal Reader Number Twelve for a few hours on Saturday. Her folks went to a housewarming where little kids weren’t invited. Shocking! Anyway, we had a nice time together – played with Legos and babies, read a bunch of books, watched a little bit of Dora, had a snack, and took a nice, long, nap. Made for a thoroughly pleasant day.

I also spent some time trying to organize just a few things. I took care of a huge pile of books and put away a couple of other things. It’s a start.

Speaking of putting things away, the Loyal Readers and I have decided we’re sick of having so much stuff. We are ready to really clean the place out. As an incentive for ourselves, we’ve decided to sell all the junk and buy a solar heater for the pool. Wish us luck, Loyal Readers! And buy some of our old junk!

Normal busy Monday. No excitement, no complaints.

Today’s Morrowlife controversy: Should I hold it on the train from now on? My answer: Nah. I like living dangerously.

In other news, there’s finally something I like on MTV.

See you tomorrow.

Here’s another computer museum piece – an Apple II, seen at the Henry Ford Museum in a realistic-looking display. It’s amazing how quickly computers go from hot stuff to museum pieces, isn’t it. I’ve owned and/or worked on several machines I’ve seen in museums.

Fewer meetings than usual today, so I actually accomplished a few things. It was great! On the other hand, most of my afternoon was spent in a meeting.

Went to the Young Women’s camp fundraiser (is it starting again already?), had taco salad, and participated in a silent auction. I got one thing – Loyal Reader Number Twenty-Four’s chocolate pie. It’s delicious. Loyal Reader Number Two bought a coffee cake. Maybe we’ll try it at breakfast tomorrow. Thanks, LRN24 and soon-to-be Loyal Reader (link note: somebody should comment on this poor woman’s blog – she needs encouragement) Number TBD!

Situation otherwise normal. As mentioned before, Loyal Reader Number Twelve is coming over to be babysat tomorrow mid-day. Loyal Reader Number Four will be gone for much of that time, so we’ll just have to see how it goes. She’ll either have a great time or a terrible time. I’m voting for great. We have books. We have cars. We have Legos. We have yogurt. What more could she possibly need?

Today’s Morrowlife controversy: How many of these things have you personally said in normal conversation? My answer: With all due respect, I personally, at the end of the day, have absolutely said all of them. I know I shouldn’t of, but it’s not rocket science, you know. At this moment in time, it’s a nightmare 24/7.

Here’s yet one more reason to keep Loyal Pet Number Two’s cage closed. You never know when she’ll come after our pet kangaroo.

Dinner went long, then I read the new Reader’s Digest (well, I read the jokes, anyway), then I came up to blog. So the evening is gone. See you on Monday.

Here’s Loyal Reader Number Twelve playing with her exclusive Birthday Boulder. It came with her toy front-end loader, which her dad likes a lot. Picture taken at her birthday celebration last weekend.

Short shrift tonight – it’s Thursday meeting night. I’m composing this at the train station, so when I finally drag into the house slightly after 9:00, I expect to need only to sync the exclusive Treo, copy/paste into Blogger, add some Great Art, find a few links, and post. That’s still plenty. As some of my astute Loyal Readers may have deduced, writing is the easy part.

Possibly great news! Dan, my train-riding colleague, reports that they were testing yet another version of WiFi on his home-bound train tonight. He sent me a couple of emails, which actually got through. There’s hope! Still, they’ve gotten our collective hopes up before, only to dash them on the rusty old tracks of despair. So I’ll hold off on the celebration until a working system is permanently installed and working. And I still might not believe it for a couple more years.

It would sure be nice, though.

Let’s see, what else is going on? Loyal Reader Number Twelve is coming over for a solo visit on Saturday. Seems her Loyal Parents have an invitation to a Fancy Luncheon and she’s not invited. The nerve! She’ll rest comfortably in the Secret Undisclosed Location. Hopefully. She may rest loudly, but we’ll give it our best shot. She’s made it through a few hours of church with us in recent weeks, so we’re hopeful.

No improved poems. Come on, Loyal Readers. At least try. I can see why you’d be intimidated by my poem’s sheer awesomeness, but surely my clever, gifted Loyal Readers can come up with something.

I had a great idea the other day for putting a little lipstick on a pig. Loyal Reader Number Four was speaking in an aggravated manner about the nice folks at Safeway who have simultaneously reduced the quantity of yogurt in the single-serving container and raised the price. I figure they ought to be marketing such products as The Safeway Diet. They could claim that the smaller containers encourage you to eat less and the higher prices keep you from buying more. Hence, you lose weight.

I’m thinking of writing a new diet book, expanding on the concept. Rather than grousing at the grocery store, my book will thank them for their bold steps to help curb overeating in America! I’ll be happy to sell copies to all my Loyal Readers. Full retail price, of course, but I’ll sign your copies for only an extra dollar. Pre-orders are being accepted now!

That’s about it for today. See you tomorrow.

Here’s Loyal Reader Number Twelve celebrating her second birthday. Which happens to be today. Happy birthday, LRN12! Picture taken this weekend when we were together, which is when we had our family celebration. Check out that cool new jewelry.

Average day. All meetings, all the time. I can’t seem to get any of my own work done. And it’s really starting to pile up. Sigh. My hope right now is for Friday – since people alternate off Fridays, we tend not to schedule many meetings that day. So there’s hope.

At dinner tonight, Loyal Reader Number Two was mentioning some poetry work he’s been doing in English class. I decided to help out by composing a brand-new, never-before-heard poem on the spot. With a few helpful suggestions from Loyal Readers Numbers Two and Four, here’s what I came up with:

A hippo and rhino from France,
Put on their berets and black pants.
When forced to remove,
From their spot in the Louvre,
They said, “Why won’t they give us a chance?”

I have to admit it’s not my best poem, but I didn’t have time to change it.

Today’s Morrowlife Challenge: Improve my poem. All improved versions will be published on the actual Internet. As comments to the Morrowlife blog, of course, but that’s still publication on the actual Internet. Fame and fortune will be yours. Just like they’re mine.

Speaking of which, here’s today’s Morrowlife Financial Juggernaut update: I’m at $7.79! Made a penny just yesterday. I can feel the financial breakthrough just moments away.

News update: maybe holding hands isn’t such a good idea after all. I’ll chance it.

Here’s an unfortunate headline: Skydiver Dies in Second Fatal Jump at Virginia Airport in 2 Months. Don’t you think that skydiver should quit taking fatal jumps?

Yes, I know that’s not really what they mean. But it sounds like it.

Can’t find a controversy today. I guess the news people are too busy with election coverage, which I don’t plan to touch with a twelve foot pole. The Morrowlife Challenge will have to be enough to keep my Loyal Readers’ creative juices flowing until tomorrow.

See you then.