Recently in log Category
Not enough sleep, hottest week of the year, and I'm in stuffy pants and a suit, wearing a pair of Steve Martin's cruel shoes:
"He opened the lid and removed a hideous pair of black and white pumps. But these were not an ordinary pair of black and white pumps; both were left feet, one had a right angled turn with separate compartments that pointed the toes in impossible directions. The other shoe was six inches long and was curved inward like a rocking chair with a vise and razor blades to hold the foot in place. "
Nothin' spectacular to report on the new job as of yet, typical first day chores like fillin' in tax and direct deposit forms and all that. Many people are out on training or summer vacation, so learning new names and titles wasn't as overwhelming as it could have been.
Tomorrow I am wearing reasonable shoes. My feet are mangled stumps today. Even rugby cleats worn at the first practice of the season are more merciful than my "dress to impress" shoes.
All is (relatively) quiet in the house. I sent my brother off on his further adventures this morning. Being from Portland, Oregon, I don't think he liked the climate here much, but he had a good time. Although it's been a nice week in the 90s, relatively speaking, as the humidity hasn't been too high. Or maybe I've gotten used to summers here in DC. I just keep thinking that sweat is a moisturizer, and the summers here keep me looking young.
We went to see Hellboy II, which was a lot of fun and visually incredible. The director has a great imagination, and I can't wait to see how he presents The Hobbit. We also went to the Jim Henson exhibit at the Smithsonian, and I highly recommend it if you are even remotely a Muppet fan. Under exhibit glass were Bert and Ernie, Manah-Manah and his backup singers, Gobo the Fraggle, Kira the Gelfling, and of course Kermit the Frog. There were also a lot of design and concept notes by Henson, which gave fascinating insight on the final creations and productions.
I start my new job on Monday, but it's not firefighting - the link that has to do with the photo at left comes later in this entry. Summer vacation is over, but I'm excited about the new job. I'll be shopping for new clothes tomorrow with the gurls as most of my work clothes were fairly casual, and the new workplace is a little more formal. All my shirts and pants are kinda grungy, so it's time for new threads.
In accordance with providing a potpourri of pedestrian pastimes, here is a list of lascivious links:
Shirtless Spanish firefighter calendar (image at left is from the 2007 calendar.
New Zealand All Blacks annual naked rugby match on the beach.
Prostate cancer drug can prevent bone loss. The article's interesting, but what's up with the somewhat related image without a caption?
Mormons exposed (also shirtless). So is the calendar's creator, who's under fire from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Thanks Boo for the Mormon links.
Life suddenly sped up around here in the middle of an otherwise sleepy summer. In addition to the unexpected trip to NYC this weekend and the job starting up soon, my brother decided to pop in for a visit. Here's us last year at our hometown Korn Fest celebration:
We'll probably go see the Muppet exhibit, and whatever museum or attraction he'd like to see.
You can't really say that a funeral was fun to attend. I was pretty exhausted after all of it, but I needed to go, even though it was a shock to see him not moving around like he always was. But I think that was why I had to go, as some part of me still couldn't believe it. It's different when someone is sick in the hospital, you're prepared in some fashion if they pass. I did get a chance to briefly meet his family and good friends, which was nice. The lesson learned as always is you never know when some will go, so enjoy your time with good people when you can.
The funeral was also a convenient reminder that I need to buy a blazer and more white shirts before I start this new job. I had not been shopping for new work clothes the past couple of years, and most of my surviving clothes are either too casual, a bit ragged or just old-looking.
Odd news from the DC area:
Today was definitely one of those days, both very good and very bad. I finally heard back on an offer I was negotiating for at a new job. I didn't want to blabber about it here too soon as I didn't want to jinx anything. I applied for the job way back in April, interviewed for it in June, and learned that my references and former supervisors were being contacted this month. It's a job very much on my career path, with subject matter that is interesting to me, and the salary ain't bad either. I can't go too much into what or where it is as I've learned not to reveal those sort of things on this blog from past experiences. Anyhow, it will be challenging and interesting and also a very good step in the right direction for me.
But I also got word that a guy I dated in May/June passed away last weekend unexpectedly. I'm sure it was a surprise to everyone, as he was in good health. I couldn't believe it myself until I got the message about the location of the funeral. He was co-located in Manhattan, where the service will be held on Saturday. I hadn't seen him since I left for Ireland, and it will be good to see him again one last time. Brett was a bright star who knew where he was going, and was surrounded by good people I look forward to meeting at the services. He wasn't in DC for long, but those of us who knew him here will miss him as I will:
Photo of Brett and me by TJ, on a night out at JR's for a few.
A quick greeting from Ireland. We're on day 1 of the tournament and I've already been attacked by a Bear, and it was nice. Ginger everywhere . Some photos of my quick trip to the Aran Isles is here.
Greetings from Galway. I got here after flying over the pond with Michelle and Coach. As such I was not allowed to drink any alcohol on the plane because Coach France forbids it.
Some observations about Ireland and the Irish:
1. They don't wear shorts. Probably because of the ghastly white color of their legs;
2. Men use a lot of hair product. Fabulous men's hair here;
3. I cannot understand what the fuck they are saying here in Western Ireland. In Dublin, I could understand them, but not here;
4. The Irish are generally good-looking, and also look like everybody back home. These two perceptions may be related;
5. Guiness is everywhere.
