Tanning

Until today, I had never used a tanning bed. Marc's been feeling gloomy due to our cloudy, grey weather, so he wanted to go tanning. I ended up tagging along. I'm not afraid of fake tans--I've just always gotten them from a bottle instead of a bed. I felt very proud of myself for making it all the way through middle school, high school, and college without using a tanning bed like what seemed like all of my female and some of my male friends. I guess it was time for my streak to end. It was interesting. Even though I was only in there for 5 minutes, I was surprised at how hot it was. I don't know how often we'll go. Probably not very often since our goal is to increase our levels of vitamin D instead of building up some killer tan.

I'm tired

I think I've written before about my intense fear/dislike of being a trainer at work. Today and tomorrow, I'm teaching a couple of people how to use our knowledgebase software. This isn't a big deal--one of the people was on my team when I started, so I've known her for five years. The other guy I've known for a few years, too. I know this software backwards and forwards. Every rational bone in my body told me that this wouldn't be a big deal. Now that the first day is over, I know it's not bad at all. But last night, some part of me sure didn't believe any of this. I slept for an hour, woke up, and then laid in bed until sometime after 2:30. Considering I get up a little after 5:00, that means I barely got more than 3 hours of sleep last night. This is not a good thing. Why am I still awake right now, you ask? I have no idea. On that note, I'm going to bed.

The oddness of the English language

I was thinking this afternoon. How do you describe how far away something is from you if it's more than a few feet but less than 100 feet? We have our base 10 system that we generally follow. I often think of things in 10s, 100s, 1000s, and so on. This doesn't work in some cases though--at least not for me. Something can be a few (single) feet away or hunderds or thousands of feet away, but I'd never describe something as being tens of feet away. I would say it's dozens of feet away, though. Is it just me, or is that weird?

Continuing the computer theme...

I got a new computer at work. Everyone in my department will be getting them over the next several weeks, but I was really nice to our IT guy (I even gave him cake!) so that I could get mine early. This is almost a curse though because it's such a PITA to reinstall everything, move my data over, and reconfigure all my settings. My desk is a bit cluttered right now with both computers still set up until I get settled on the new one. At least my fear of my 4-year-old laptop dying and losing all of my e-mail can now be squelched. I'm almost telling the truth when I say that I'd have to quit my job if I lost all my e-mails. I'm one of those people who saves EVERYTHING. I can still dig up crap from 2002 when I need it. It's insanity. I realize this, but I need it all.

My all-time favorite PC game

A few years ago we were at Best Buy and I saw a game for $9.99 called Pharaoh and Cleopatra. I'd never heard of it, but I'm usually into sim games like Zoo Tycoon, Roller Coaster Tycoon, Sim City, and The Sims. This game kinda seemed to fit the same genre, so I figured for $9.99, I'd give it a shot. It's about the best $9.99 I've ever spent.

This game is huge. It starts out small with a helpful tutorial that teaches you more complexities of the game as you progress, but it's not one of those really annoying tutorials that walks you through every step. There are tons (dozens) of levels. You can play through the scenario mode or select specific levels to play in whatever order you want. It's seriously like Sim City on crack. And that's about what my addiction to it is like. Crack. I'm really assuming what an addiction to crack is like though since I've never tried it. But anyway...

You get to build cities with farms, hunters, health facilities, education buildings, tons of industry buildings, entertainment venues, religious temples, and more--all based on what your particular city requires for you to beat the scenario. As you get into the later rounds, it gets pretty complex, but the way it introduces you to everything makes the learning curve pretty transparent.

This is a game that I'll play for a few weeks or even months, then I put it away for 6 months. When I bring it back out again, it's just as fun the next time around. I'm on my fourth complete play-through now.

I haven't seen this game anywhere since I bought it. Even its Web site is now non-existent. There are lots of copies on ebay though just in case someone's interested.

Why are microwaves rectangular?

Most microwaves nowadays have those automatic revolving thingies in the middle that help ensure even nuking of your food. I've never disabled the turntable on my microwave, and I've never witnessed someone who did. So why are microwaves rectangular? You can't put something in there that's longer than the short side of the rectangle or else it'll get caught up when the turntable goes around. Why not just make them square-shaped? Your thoughts are welcome...

Happy Valentine's Day!

We had a fabulous Valentine's Day! Just kidding. It's not really a big deal for us. We get cards for each other, and sometimes we get small gifts, but we don't do much else. So today being my day off, I slept in until 9:30. Then we installed some rock sliders on the Xterra. And when I say "we" I mean Marc. I was there for moral support. I think I passed a ratchet once, handed him a nut, and pumped the jack up a few times. Other than that, it was pretty pointless for me to be there. The truck looks good though!

To continue the V-day extravagnaza, we ran some errands for Marc and ate an early dinner at PF Changs. YUMMY!

On TV tonight, we watched the finale of Beauty and the Geek. We saw the first couple episodes, and then missed several weeks until recently. There were two teams of two people in the final round, and everyone who had been voted off the show before them got to be the jury who decided which team got $250,000. The decision was supposed to be based on how much or how well the team "changed" over the eight weeks of the game--becoming better, more accepting people. Or whatever. There was one girl in the running who was a total b!tch the entire game. She even admitted that she hadn't changed at all. She was completely self-absorbed. The amazing part was that her partner actually lobbied with the others to not vote for them as the winners because his partner didn't deserve to win.

Amazing.

In our world with Survivor and Apprentice and every other reality show where people throw out everything they have stood for or could possibly stand for, it was refreshing to see someone who wasn't there for the money.

Cherish the nice people in the world

Get ready for me to be mushy...

We got some bad news today. One of our coworkers is dying. Because the people who know the answers are (appropriately) not sharing them with the world, I don't have many details. There was some kind of medical event, and some complication. After being on life support for some amount of time, she has now been removed and is not awake. So it's just a matter of time.

I'm not that old, and I haven't had a huge amount of experience with people I know passing away. I do know that it sucks. And it really hits close to home when the person is honestly one of the nicest people you've met. She is one of those people who ALWAYS had a smile on her face. In my five years working at this company and in this department, I've never once seen her upset, agitated, frustrated, or angry. She's nice to everyone. She helps everyone. She's always pleasant. You could always count on her to be nice and cheer up your day. She wasn't someone that I socialized with outside of or at work, but every conversation I had with her was friendly and comfortable. She's thankful and considerate. I seriously couldn't describe a better personality for a coworker than what she exhibited every day here.

For reasons beyond my control, we didn't find out exactly what was going on until it was too late to talk with Cathy directly. If I could have, I would have told her how special of a person she was and how much of a difference she made through such seemingly small actions.

So here's my request of the day. It's something we've probably all heard before and we think about but don't always follow through on. Tell the people who make a difference in your life that they make a difference in your life. Everything that we all have and experience in this world is a gift, and we never know just how long we'll be around to enjoy it. Take every opportunity you get to share compliments, praise, and appreciation with someone. It can make a world of a difference.

Cathy, wherever you are, I hope you have at least an inkling of how much we all cared for you. The world will be a worse place without you.

Dairy Queen's bizarre commercial

Dairy Queen is pretty prevalent throughout the country, so maybe wherever you are, you've seen their popcorn shrimp basket commercial. It's odd. There's a dude shrimp eating "popcorn" from Dairy Queen. His wife comes up and he tells her how great this popcorn is. She tries some, she realizes that it's shrimp they're eating and not popcorn, and he comments on how he thought it tasted familiar. This isn't bothersome though--seemingly not at all. It's only when they realize their children are missing that they freak out.

From this I have to deduce that shrimp are okay with being cannibals (which also explains how they were able to identify a familiar tatse), but they're crossing the line if they eat their own kids.

Odd.

Wax-tastic

If you've ever paid a lot of money (more than $10) someplace to have some part(s) of your body waxed, have I got a deal for you. I stumbled upon Zip Wax on drugstore.com and decided to give it a go. In summary, it rocks. It's cheaper than the spa I've been going to, actually hurts less, and seems to work better. Only downside is that it takes me longer to do it myself, but I'm hoping that will improve as I gain more experience. I love a great deal!

All dressed up

Now that I'm refueled (aka, I just ate dinner), I'll start chipping away at my agenda.

Our company post-holiday party was held at the Governor Hotel again this year. It was a good time. This year they set up several party gambling tables in rooms on one floor, and we went to a different floor for dinner and dancing. I went all out with a new dress (nevermind that I had to buy three dresses to find one that I would wear) and new shoes (heels which didn't compare AT ALL to the comfort of my Danskos). To top it off, literally, I got my hair done. For the first time in a really long time, I splurged to have it colored at a salon, and then she trimmed it and curled it. When I first left the salon, the curls were so tight that my hair barely reached past my ears. It looked funny but the curls stretched out as the evening wore on.

I absolutely cannot stop laughing!

I haven't forgotten my agenda. I'm just neglecting it. Something far better has presented itself.

I love stupid, senseless comedy. Stuff from out of nowhere that makes no sense to anyone. Check this out. And, yes, if you ask me, it's worth the 2 or 3 minutes it takes to watch the whole thing. It's days old to me now, and I still laugh out loud every time I see it.

Thanks to PacoPico for bringing this awesomeness into my online life. :)