Reduction in force

12/17/08

It's cold and snowy.

I left the cube farm at lunch today. As I was leaving the building, I hit a big patch of ice on the sidewalk. I must have slid for ten feet. All the while flailing my arms and uttering a steady stream of expletives. I didn't crash. I'm glad I didn't land hard and break my tail bone.

In the interim since I last posted, my life has changed a bit...

I got married, bought a house, moved out of the city, moved to the country, went to Vegas for the first time (hated it), rode a mechanical bull, did some fishing, and bought a dog.

The dog is coming from a breeder in Kansas. She's scheduled to arrive on or about 1/7/09. She's half Golden Retriever and half Poodle (the dog, not the breeder). This makes her a Goldendoodle. I've posted pics of her (she's the puppy) as well as a pic of her older brother so you can see what she'll look like when she's grown.

The rumors are flying at work about possible layoffs at the end of the week. They use the much more sterile and clinical term of "reduction in force" or RIF. We'll see what happens. I think I'm safe because I'm not terribly well paid and I'm not one of the "dip-shits".

That's all for now.

TH

I've been away...

It's been 9 months since my last post. The normal human gestation period.

Here's what has happened:

I'm working. It's slowly and surely stealing my soul.

I fished less than I'd like. I did have an epic day tuna fishing. I caught 18 bluefin in one day.

The boat broke down. It was really expensive to fix and took a long time (1 1/2 months).

I'm getting married in 11 days. I'm flying to St Kitts and getting married on a Tuesday night.

That's about it. Not much going on...

thoughts

Haven't posted in 6 months.

New job. It's okay.

Same girlfriend. She's marvelous.

Same boat. Needs some work (VHF, nav. lights, etc.)

Red Sox are leading the AL East fairly convincingly.

Governor Patrick has been largely ineffective.

There's no such thing as a "tax loophole". There's the tax code, and people who know how to utilize the code. If you change the code to prevent this utilization, with the net result being an increase in the taxes one must pay, you've increased taxes.

Thursday 11/30

It's warm today. 69 degrees in Boston.
Brought the car in for an oil change. They performed to thorough inspection. Apparently it needs $1,600.00 worth of work. It's funny, regardless of what car I'm driving, when I get my oil changed, I always need new struts. The people at Meineke Care Care Centers suck dog balls. Regardless of what George Foreman says...

Paederasts

British Airways, Qantas, and a few other airlines have a policy...

Their policy is to not allow men to sit next to children who are not their own.
If you are discovered sitting next to an unrelated child, you are asked to move your seat. If you refuse, you are "interfering with the operations of a flight crew" and forcibly removed from the flight.

On a recent British Airways flight to India, a man was asked to move. He explained that he was the children's father and was allowed to stay put. Coincidentally, he is a member of the British Parliament. He wrote the attached:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2006/11/09/do0901.xml

Does anyone else think this policy is absurdly stupid?

Please don't think I support child molesters. In fact, I think there should be mandatory castration as a condition of release for anyone convicted of any type of sexual assault. But this is ridiculous.

Assorted

So...

Tomorrow's Thanksgiving Day. I don't care for Thanksgiving. I dig Christmas.

My 20th high school reunion is Friday. I'll probably blow it off. Most of my classmates are douche bags...

Chinese Thanksgiving is Saturday.

Election Day

Idiots.

Governor Deval Patrick. Good grief...

It's a good day for rapists, cop-killers, and the left-wing lunatics.
We can look forward to a return to 80's style tax and spend liberalism. You know the same policies that nearly forced Massachusetts into bankruptcy.

Oh yeah... I can't buy a bottle of wine at the grocery store either.

Idiots.

Halloween

I made it through the weekend.

Friday: Not being able to purchase indulgences (thanks Martin Luther), I went to visit Grandma and Aunt Gail. Everything is fine in Watertown.

Saturday: Once again, earned points with the Man upstairs... I drove a Hatian man to Walmart so he could jump his car. Then stood out in the driving rain until the car started. His children and wife thanked me (and blessed me). I felt sorry that the jumper cables cost $21. I wanted to figure out a way to pay for them but couldn't.

I then went to a Halloween party in East Boston. I was dressed as the Gorton's Fisherman (yes I know, but I didn't know anyone there).

The party was fabulous (there may be pictures floating around somewhere). These people really enjoy All Hallows Eve.

I love how Halloween has become "Wear something slutty and show off your bombs night".

Unfortunately drinking a quart of vodka mixed with warm Hawiian Punch was a bad idea...

Sunday: I recovered, watched several episodes of House, and spent the evening with D. It was a lovely way to spend the evening.

Lucy: What did you get Charlie Brown?
Charlie Brown: I got a rock.