Take me out

The company outing was great. We got to the ballpark just in time to see two home runs hit very near our seats and then the rains came. We managed to get fairly trashed waiting inside the stands and finally I got dragged off to Bill's Bar, where I felt sick as a dog for some unexplained reason. But I recovered enough for a pleasant journey home and that's all she wrote.

Monday morning

Okay I guess I was a little overly proud of my corporate-speak prowess...turns out everyone who works here has mastered it far beyond my capabilities. I didn't even mention "stakeholders" for instance. I hate that word, I'm not sure what the hell it really means. Who comes up with this crap?
What happened this weekend? A bike ride, a Kurasowa film (Dersu Izala...a joint Russian production...visually sumptious), and um...the usual shopping for food, washing of clothes, and cleaning of home (I love the Swiffer). Tonight we have the annual company Red Sox game thing. I always imaging it's going to be an uprorious good time, the kind people are constantly having in commercials, but it always ends up with me just sitting there watching the game while people just clam up and get weird around me. But then again, maybe this year will be a non-stop funfest...you never know.

Pride

I had to draft my "development plan" for my "performance management" something that they make us do (so we can get raises). I pondered this for a long time and finally came up with the following:

Innovate solutions to exceed service levels.

In one sentence I have brilliantly said absolutely nothing. But in a perfectly acceptable, one might even say commendable way. By corporate standards. I'm so proud of myself...let the innovating begin!

Rust never sleeps

Last night the rug rat upstairs starts pounding on the floor above me. Like with a hammer or something. Pounding, pounding...on and on. It's not enough that his feet are made of lead and every time he moves it's like a bowling ball hitting the floor. After a long truce with my crazy upstairs neighbors I finally snapped again and screamed "What the fuck are you doing up there????" Then I started playing music real loud...I went with Neil Young's 'Hey Hey My My' from the 'Rust Never Sleeps' album (not the acoustic version...the one where the guitar is ramped up to the "just making noise" level). They are, no doubt, pissed off and things are tense again. I vow NEVER will I live on a lower floor again...EVER. You never know what kind of idiot is going to end up above you. I could also get off on a discourse of overly indulgent parents (Oh he's banging on the floor...isn't that cute), but whatever.

Staring into the abyss

I've been feeling giddy for no good reason lately, and in such instances I have glass box in my house which states "In Case of Unexplained and Therefore Unsustainable Giddiness....Break Glass." Inside is a Bergman film. Last night it was "Winter Light." Excellent in every way of course, if 1 hour and 20 minutes of staring into the abyss is your bailiwick. Everyone's life was blunted, wretched, and meaningless. The whole time I was watching it I was thinking "Why am I watching this?" And today I'm still thinking about it. And I'm grounded again.

Animal Rights Lady Update

A reliable source spied the Animal Rights Lady at South station last week...and she has a new act. Gone are the tortured kitty pictures and the "SIGN...PETITION" wail...instead she was stopping everyone in sight and claiming that she had lost her purse and needed to "make up 7 dollars, can you help?" What next, a fake limp?

Friday

I went out drinking with my co-workers the other night, an activity always fraught with peril...but I don't think I did anything outrageous or offended anyone too much. And still had a good time. Well, it's Friday...I wonder what Yasuko is doing on her first day back home. (Inside joke.) (Along the line of The Aristocrats.) HAR!

Smile

I grew up sharing a room with my brother who was a huge Beach Boy fan. I did not share his enthusiasm at the time (I have since) but I certainly did become an expert on every album, song, and corny message to their fan club ("If you happen to be listening to this record right now...") that they ever released. Thus it was that I found myself with said brother over the weekend at the Brian Wilson Smile tour in Saratoga Springs NY. It was an awesome show. They did a total of 25 songs along with the whole Smile album. The band and the sound were great. They seemed to be having a lot of fun and Brian even seemed to get into it...at times (between odd body jerkings and beaming smiles he tends to sit on a stool with all the presence of a sack of potatoes). My brother's wife, through some machinations, obtained "meet and great" status for us and so after the show we were ushered around back, past the tour busses and into the great man's presence. He looked like a man who was politely waiting for this excrutiating bit of torture to end. He signed a few items we thrust before him and I thanked him for "a great show," which brought a wry smile from his face and the comment "Thanks, BYE BYE." It was said with all the insistence of one who has learned the hard way how to say no. It was a thrill.

Rain, rain

Visiting my brother and his family over the weekend was fun. We spent Sunday crammed on his tiny front porch watching the rain. For hours. This is the sort of thing that a lot of people SAY they would enjoy doing, but after ten minutes they would be engaged in some other frenetic activity. It reminded me of my small town roots, where you squeezed as much enjoyment as you could out of every mundane activity. In such a world a bolt of lightening is a major event and requires quite a lot of conversation to fully absorb, not to mention material for all sorts of attempts at humor. God...I'm such a hick!

Dog Days

This time of year is always the same to me. It's sun, it's haze, and it's hazy memories. In fact I don't have any strong memories associated with these dog days of summer. Nothing much good has ever happened to me, and nothing much bad. End of Summer, transition time. The crisp cool days of Fall and all the movement of youth suggested by that season await us. But until then there's this last gritty nub of heat, washed out skies, and sticky skin to grind through. Okay, sounds good to me.