Take That, Hillary

I'm sure some musicians and actors will do the same for Hillary soon...

Buzzkill

Deb informed me that one needs to run nearly 1.5 miles to work off the calories consumed in one 12 oz. Budweiser. Not good news. I've attended one going-out-of-business bash, one standard (for lack of a better word) birthday party, one surprise birthday party, and one leaving-the-country party over the past three days/nights. I might need to run a marathon today.

Hail to the Future Chief

My chances of meeting a President (past, present, future, U.S., French, or otherwise) has increased from 0.00 to 0.00001 percent. I don't know if the Democratic or Republican candidates make a point to visit their caucus headquarters, but if so, I'm going to be spending a lot of time in the bathroom. I found out this morning that Barack Obama's HQ is about 30 feet from my office. All the second-hand information I could ever want about the man is just around the corner, so let me know if you have any questions. If he actually visits, I figure it would be a crowded affair, and my best chance to cross paths would be in the communal lavatory.

Foot Feeding

"If I didn't have arms, I don't think I'd eat as much."

Bless my friend, Juliette, who uttered this gem on Saturday night. Maybe you had to be there.

Taking the Stairs

Late last week, a colleague and I were leaving the our building. As with most multi-level structures, there are two main methods for reaching the street level - the stairs and the elevator. He opted for the elevator; I took the stairs. When we met again two floors lower, he grumbled something about my good knees allowing me to tackle 50 stairs.

His self-deprecating mumble triggered an interesting revelation. Over the last five years, I've worked with a main core of about 10 guys. Of those, four men would be considered by many to be...umm...husky. One gentleman lost probably 40-50 pounds in the last two years, spurred by a diabetes diagnosis. A second man has had serious back issues and multiple back surgeries. A third co-worker currently has some back problems, walks gingerly, and struggles with stairs. A fourth, the man noted in the opening paragraph, apparently has some knee and wrist problems.

I'm neither a paragon of health nor without my ailments, but my less bulky colleagues and I can generally handle physical tasks that are tough for at least three of our co-workers. This is a very general, black-and-white overview of a small group, but I find it interesting to note the clear weight/ailment delineation in this one office.

Blah

Blah. Contrary to the previous post, that's how I'm feeling at the moment. Maybe it's just Monday. Maybe I haven't been sleeping well. Maybe it's the New Year. Maybe it's simply one of those days when malaise seeps in for a few hours.

I blame it on all the pizza I ate this weekend.

This morning, we wrapped up what will likely be my final major project at my current job. Typically, such a feat would be met with a smattering of applause, but the final sign-off trickled by with only a "We're done" sent via IM. My guess is that we're all too mired in the reality of looking for work to celebrate much. I believe it's best that I don't send my colleagues these links:

Paul Krugman: "From Hype to Fear"
Paul Krugman: Charts to back up the article

He addresses the most recent unemployment report and compares the job data during the Clinton and Bush presidencies. It's a reminder that my two periods of unemployment (late 2001 into 2002 and now) occurred at the same time as two poor swings in the U.S. economy. These times also (sadly) came shortly after my two real forays into the market, only to watch my money dwindle.

Never fear. I'll cheer up soon enough.

A good reason...

Yes, I'm being lazy and posting a video, but there's a good reason. The guy who sits next to me at work shaved his head over the weekend and is wearing glasses today. He doesn't really look like this guy...but a corner-of-my-eye view generated the memory of the dancing man. Enjoy.

Done!

The NFL regular season is over. Thank goodness. I know this is a time of mourning for many football fans, but yesterday was a time of celebration for me. No more long Sundays in the office, eating crappy food, festering under the heat of 10 televisions, complaining with co-workers, etc. Oh, it wasn't all bad, but I'd rather watch football with friends or solo on my couch.

I'm not much of a dancer, so I'm letting Mr. Edwards celebrate for me. At least I think he's dancing. He seems happy anyway.

For those interested, here's how my various fantasy football seasons fared (listed in terms of importance/money invested):

League 1) Made it to the playoffs, lost, won, lost...which equals sixth place. Probably won't play in this league next year. Braylon Edwards did his best to carry my team. Larry Johnson did not.

League 2) Didn't make the playoffs, won, won, won in the toilet bowl...which means I get the number one pick in 2008. Sweet. Hello, Mr. Tomlinson. Thank you to Mr. Westbrook and Mr. Owens for their contributions.

League 3) Made it to the playoffs, won, lost in semifinals. It was a free league, and I was not eligible for a prize...so who cares? Won't be in that league next year.

There you have it. Not a terribly successful campaign, but I don't really care right now. It's time to soak in the NFL playoffs, find a new job, and then get ready for fantasy baseball. Care to know about my keeper list?

Dammit

My lame-duck job offers very few perks these days. Let me see if I can count all of them. One, they still pay me. Two, free coffee. Three, heated garage. Four, I can play Guitar Hero during works hours because nobody cares.

Well, you can cross one thing off the list. Although we have more than a month left in this office, the powers that be called down and had our coffee maker and water cooler taken away today. No more liquids for this crew. I can only imagine how difficult it would have been for someone to flip that switch 30-some days from now.

Damn them. If it wasn't for my stuffy head and sore throat, I might be able to generate some more vicious bile over this move.

Sorry...

...but my niece is just so cute.