back on track

After a slow start to the month, I have made significant progress in the last week, and just finished my 100th book for the year so far, putting me on track to hit 150 for 2011.

sitter

The dog sitter came by to meet Fiver, and he didn't hate her. He even sat on her lap.

up and down

Boyfriend fixed our garage door opener, so we can open and close it using remotes again. Definitely beats getting in and out of the car every time.

care package

I got home and the house was clean (not a surprise, since the cleaning lady came today), and I had received a package in the mail (definitely a surprise, since almost every package I get is something that I ordered, and they are always delivered to my office).

I opened it, and it was from my high school headmaster. I went to a Catholic high school, so my headmaster was a priest. I'm not a religious person, but I have to say that Father McLaughlin was always (and still is) my favorite priest ever. He was an excellent headmaster, and is just a super-nice guy. He enclosed a brief note, saying that he had been going through his files and found an award certificate (enclosed) that hadn't made it to me back in 1995, and also included a couple of notes I had written to him years ago. It was like getting a time capsule I didn't even know had existed. It was surprising and sweet to get a package from him after all these years.

maternal interest

My mom gave me a bunch of savings bonds that she bought for me, one per month, from over fifteen years ago. It's kind of sweet imagining her getting them and setting them aside for me every month, and then going through her files periodically to give me the ones that are mature.

god

Just closed out a deal with a fairly small partner that we called out of the blue, and it's one of the most fun deals I've done, just because the guy is so positive and friendly and giddy (not the reaction that a work call usually elicits), and because he has said several times that he's just amazed that we called him and keep calling him, and that getting a call from us is like getting a call from God. Who knew God was a random lawyer with questions about compliance?

changing gears

I am finally starting to see progress on transitioning some of my old products to their new owners, so that I can focus on my current, official products. The new stuff is exciting, and I get to talk to a completely different group and kind of people than I usually do in the course of my normal work, and it's inspiring to be surrounded by people who are intensely smart and incredibly passionate about this project. Fiver also loves it, because their building doesn't have many (any?) dogs, so everyone is always really friendly and happy when we show up for meetings.

gimme a break

Taking a break from a busy week to go to a movie with a few coworkers. I will admit it here. We are going to see the Glee 3D movie. Hey, we've been busy and stressed, and we;re looking for fun, carefree entertainment.

now serving

This is what I'm having for lunch today:

Pork Belly with Smoked Tomato Jus   

Local Rock Fish with Tomato Fennel Sauce  

Sweet Corn, Tomatoes and Mushrooms

Insalata Caprese   

Capay Tomato Gazpacho   

vroom

About to go on a ride in the robot car!!

nice people

The receptionist in my building at work adopted a dog recently, and the dog was sick, and died only four days later, after racking up $3,500 in vet bills :( The people at work found out and raised enough money to cover all of his bills within a few days. Doesn't replace the dog, but at least he can think about adopting a new one without having to worry about paying off the bills for the first one.

oh yeah

Oops!! One of my favoritest people in the whole world was in town for two days over my birthday weekend, and I forgot to mention it here!! We were too busy going to dinner, the Cal Academy of Science, shopping, and hanging out for me to update.

important meetings

I really like it when the powers that be decide to name conference rooms according to humorous themes. Just because you're having a business meeting doesn't mean that everything has to be boring. For instance, I've been having meetings in a building that has LOTR-themed rooms, so I might take a conference call in Moria and then talk to an engineer in The Shire. Just found out that some new YouTube conference rooms are meme-themed, so you could book a meeting in More Cowbell, Haters Gonna Hate, or Honeybadger.

truffle

I came into work today and one of my coworkers had snagged a bag if this truffle cheese popcorn from the microkitchen for me before they ran out.

lesson learned?

I've been severely time constrained at work lately, and also running low on patience, and I've had a few calls or meetings that I had to cut off rather abruptly. In a couple of those cases, it actually seemed to make things happen a lot more quickly. Sometimes, forcing a call to end and cutting the conversation short works better than trying to be extra nice and spend extra time on it.

zip

Went ziplining for the first time yesterday, and it was for work! Also got back on a climbing wall for the first time in maybe two years, (my physical therapist had forbidden it until recently, because of my wrist problems).

tgiw

Fun midweek drinks with coworkers to wish one goodbye before she goes to New York for six months. Lots of embarrassing stories came out for public entertainment.

fail safe

If you want to make people laugh, tell them the story about that time you farted really loudly when your boyfriend was on a conference call.

early

My coworker surprised me with early birthday treats: cupcakes, balloons, a princess party hat, and an inflatable whale.

good morning

On the way to work today, I saw a different guy commuting to work on the biggest unicycle I've ever seen. He was going uphill over an overpass, which appeared to be quite difficult. It was fun watching him chugging along with so much determination.