Today?

Well, it's 7:43 AM and all is quiet. I will post any updates as they occur...

Maybe today isn't the day...

So maybe I'm not getting laid off today. But that isn't to say that it's not going to happen.

I woke up and I checked my direct deposit and it wasn't there. But after making a few calls, sending a few emails, and exchanging a few IMs it was undetermined whether we get paid on the 30th or the 31st. I've worked myself up to the thought of getting "the call" today and will be disappointed if I don't (how odd does that sound?).

But I did find out a rather interesting tip while making my communication rounds. I found out that ten employees from the UK office are being let go on Friday (er, rather, are losing all network privileges effective Monday).

So layoffs are happening. For sure. Will I be on the victim (redemption?) list? We'll have to wait and see...

Marley... the new addition to the family!

Will has a bearded dragon at his father's house named Marlin. He's had him for a few years. His buddy, whose dad breeds bearded dragons, offered to send him home with another one - a female. We've decided to name her Marley.

I've never had a reptile as a pet so I'm relying on Will's expertise. She seems to be doing well. She has a pretty nice setup, thanks to Feeder's Pet Supply. I hope she lives a long and prosperous life.

As for the layoff ('cause you knew I was going to mention it), my best guess is that it will happen Thursday morning. I get paid on the 15th and 30th of each month and Thursday is the 30th. We'll see...

Oh, and Pat, I feel for you. That sucks. And it sucks levels of magnitude more if *other* people managed to earn bonuses and raises :(

"Everybody's rep... will be affected this week."

This is what a client just sent me in an email. Everybody's reputation will be affected this week. It's Go time for him, which means it's Go time for me. I've been working with him for the past 90 or so days getting a tool of his up to speed and working the kinks out for him. He pays us per month about the same as I make per month. So the pressure is on the make things work flawlessly for him this week.

I suppose a lesser man, given the same situation I am in (knowing that an impending layoff is coming in the form of a telephone call to me later this week), would... well, I mean, what kind of loyalty do I actually garner toward a company that is going to end our relationship? What kind of respect can I hold toward a company that has asked so much of me over the last 18 months only to end things like this? What kind of confidence do I have in a company that is laying off so much of their IT folks (I found out today that they are laying off their 2 remaining Infrastructure team members... uh, who is going to babysit your servers and stuff?)? Everybody's rep will be affected this week? So if shit went down what is the worst that would happen? If the user experience was so bad would you actually pull your contract (you know, the one that is worth about as much as I make?)? Does vengeance get any easier? Seriously, could it be any easier to sabotage my soon-to-be-former employer?

These are the questions a lesser man asks himself.

I am not a lesser man.

Unfortunately, the only people that will know this are the people I tell... my wife, my family, and you - the reader. So the next time you ever find yourself asking "What would Eric do?" in a certain situation, you better bet your ass you should know that he'll take the high road.

Why? Why, when this situation is so nicely gift-wrapped and delivered at his feet? Why would I shoot down this opportunity to get back at those who are about to strike at me? It's not right, no, but is what they are doing right?

Well, it doesn't really matter. Because, bottom line, it isn't right. And I am better than the lesser man. I am because I got to be.

Motivation at an all time low this week

How does one generate the gumption to get through the grind? (does that last sentence count as alliteration?) Some weeks are slower than others. Some weeks blow by. Some weeks are bone-crushing, skull-busting, heart valve-blowing bad. Some weeks are cake (with icing!). You've gotta love what you do to stick it out. Fortunately, in most of my work experience, I've really enjoyed the work that I've done.

What about this week? I know that a phone call is coming. When I get that phone call - it will probably be Tim - I will answer it and ready myself for the words that he'll say. He will say something to the affect of, "Eric, we're going to have to let you go." I'm ready for it. I know it's coming.

But how do I motivate myself until that moment hits? Obviously I can close up shop and kiss off this job once I get that call. But what do I do in the meantime? I really can't justify kicking ass and putting yet another 50-hour work week in. I don't see myself staying up 'til 1AM babysitting a process that runs nightly for a third week in a row. I don't see myself waking up earlier than everyone else to get the day started. My daily scrum meeting? What the hell am I going to say? We all know - at least most of us secretly know - that some of us aren't going to be around next week. My boss is out of town this week. What about my support meeting on Tuesday? Hell, I think I can blow that one off.

But if I start blowing stuff off where do I stop? My work ethic tells me that I can't blow anything off. My bitterness tells me that I shouldn't work another hour for those fucks. I'm sure I'll fall somewhere between working a 40-hour week and working a 0-hour week, but where will I fall?

What an odd predicament I'm in. Just waiting now...

Bombs dropped (so much for karma)

Mom called pretty early this morning and dropped a bomb. She told me that Melissa, my pregnant sister, was on her way to the ER after her fifth day of suffering a fever. Fifth?!? Sweetie, at some point you gotta stop putting your faith in those holistic kooks and rely on good ol' science. The wonders of science gave you your first born. Don't turn your back on it now. She's tested negative so far for everything and the baby seems strong and well. She's being tested for swine flu and an infectious disease doctor is going to see her tomorrow. Swine flu? Seriously?

But the day was far from over and the Enola Gay had not yet delivered her payload.

Amid the layoffs and the rotten work load and the working from home (not the mention the fact that something who could/would be in the "know" told me I'd be losing my job soon) and numerous other unmentionable red flags, I have slowly come to realize that my job may be in jeopardy.

Well, Alex, I'll take "Layoffs" for $400.

"This person will be losing his job, most likely later next week."

Do I need to give you my answer now - and do I *really* have to offer it in the form of a question?

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck :(

I did my good deed (and *not* 'cause I want the karma kickback)

The wife and I went to Walgreens tonight, among other errand-running places, to pick up some prescriptions for her. The young lady behind the counter plucked two bags of medication and scanned the first. Then her eye caught something on the computer screen and she went back to the bins and pulled another, larger bag. She scanned that one and tallied up our order... $25.

Okay, by my count, that was three medications but only 2 "beeps" from the scanner. And $25? I knew the eye drops were $20 and figured each of the others were $5 apiece. I asked her, "Did you scan all of them?". She smiled and said that she had.

I paid the total and we walked away. I checked the receipt as we walked down the aisle and I only saw two medications on it. The other, a $5 medication, was missing. I gave my wife a look and went back to the counter. I pointed out the mistake and they made some kind of comment about how honest I was.

I mean, I suppose I am wrong in thinking that people would normally do that. I know one time I got an extra $20 from the ATM machine and I never gave it back. But do I feel bad about that? Seriously, who was I going to give it back to? The bank was closed. I probably pissed it away on pitchers at Wick's or O'shea's. Had a teller miscounted I could turn around and give it back. And I would.

The grrrl seemed so shocked that I bothered to come back.

What an odd little world we live in.

Fantasizing is not cheating on my wife

Well, the above statement is true in at least one sense of the word...

FANTASY FOOTBALL, BABY!!!!!!!1!!!!111!!!!!one!!!!1!!!!11!!!!!!!

I got my annual invite this morning to the private league I've played in for years. The description of the league reads as follows:

"Badasses only!"

The automated draft is on August 2nd, so you already know I'll be posting my roster along with thoughts and predictions. I love FFL. I love it so much. My wife has noted that I stay in a bad mood for a day or so when I lose. I never exhibited that kind of behavior when I actually *played* soccer, so you know...

This news totally makes up for the rotten day I had yesterday. Oh, and I already went out and purchased my copy of Watchmen: Director's Cut this morning. Who watches the Watchmen? Me, sucker!

Fun with Painting!

I invited my niece Caroline over to help Kelsey and me paint the background for the pieces that I'm doing for Center for the Arts. It was just going to be a background that was going to get pretty much washed out but I figured it would be fun for us to do. But she bailed on us (which was a good thing since I had only stretched canvas onto 2 of the massive 60" x 60" frames so far) so Kelsey and I went on without her.

I set up the area - the wall on the other side of the skate ramp. I cleared out anything that didn't need to get splattered with paint. I packed up the Art Cart with all of my paint and rolled it over. I filled jars and buckets with water. I grabbed all of my massive brushes. I had all of my drop cloths. I had paper towels. We had cokes. We had music. We were set.

Kelsey came downstairs. I gave her free reign of the paints. Before I could finish explaining and offer her a brush she was squirting paint on the canvas and then attacking it with her bare hands. She was timid in her use of paint at first but then really started laying it on thick. Paint was flying everywhere. She smeared it on with brush and fingers. Spray bottles were "pffftsh"ing away. She swiped it with her forearm. More paint. Pfftsh. She smeared some more. Even more paint. We turned the piece on its side. Paint. Pfftsh. Paint. She even pulled up her pajama leg and used her feet! She was a machine.

She admitted she never really liked abstract work but, after our painting session, she certainly understood how much fun it can be. It's too bad that all of her hard (and messy) work will be covered up with a bunch of washes.

Caroline, we still have two more pieces... and they (and Kelsey) are waiting for you!!!

Double Shot of Anime

I started the arduous task of stretching canvas over the 60" x 60" frames that dad built last night. To keep me company while I did it I watched a couple of DVDs. I started with the anime classic Fist of the North Star and followed that up with another classic, Ninja Scroll.

There is no way I can pinpoint the moment I fell in love with anime. And it would be equally impossible to determine which feature-length movie was my first. Maybe Akira? That's one helluva way to start a career in lovin' anime. But I digress.

Fist of the North Star was one of the first anime movies I ever saw. It is based off the manga of the same name. The movie is ultra-violent - easily the most violent anime I have ever seen. The animation is below average (or possibly worse than that) by today's standards. The action is over the top and the violence is simply visceral. If you sit through the whole movie without thinking to yourself, "Whoah!", "Gross!", or "Holy Shit!" then you, my friend, have seen too many Saw and Eli Roth movies. Go to therapy now.

Ninja Scroll is an absolute classic. Ninja. Bad ass wandering samurai with his bad ass sword. Ninja. Seven devils of Kimon. Ninja. Tokugawa shogunate spy and wizard. Ninja. Ninja. And more ninja! This anime has it all. It's violent. It's fantastic (meaning, filled with fantasy - although it is also fantastic in the sense that it is a great... oh, hell, you know what I mean). As soon as I started watching it I wondered why I've never shown this to Kelsey (who shares my love of anime) - this is penultimate anime.

And then I realized, I haven't because... It. Is. Pen. Ul. Tim. Ate. ANIME! It's misogynistic. It's chauvinistic. It's brutal. It has copious amounts of nudity. It borders on the perverse. In other words, it's a 15-year old boy's cinematic wet dream but not something I want to share on the couch over popcorn with my daughter quite yet.

It's a genre-defining movie, sharing the top ranks with Akira, Ghost in the Shell, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, Vampire Hunter D, and... aw jeez, I better stop there or I'll just rattle off every title in my collection :)

Moon is a movie everyone should see

It only makes divine sense that I review the movie Moon on the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 launch. Forty years ago today, at exactly this time (9:32 AM EDT), the Saturn 5 rocket carrying the Apollo 11 crew took off. I'm a space junkie - love everything about our space program - and I can't wait to get back to the moon.

So Moon... it's an awesome movie. It is seeing only limited release and is only playing in a small theater ("last theater on the left") at Baxter here in L'ville. Kelsey went with me to see it. I knew it was a bit of a mystery but had read no spoilers. I had only seen the trailer. She went into the movie completely cold.

It's not an alien movie and it's not a summer blockbuster yellin'-explodin'-cgi popcorn machine. The movie takes place in the near future and is about a guy who comprises of a one-man crew at a mining station harvesting Helium-3. When the movie utilizes music it is creepy. The base is worn, yet sterile - desolate yet oddly comfy. Sam Rockwell plays Sam Bell, the lone human on the mostly-automated station. Kevin Spacey lends his voice acting as Gerty, the AI robot on the base. And that's pretty much it. Rockwell is an acting dynamo in this film. I really only am familiar with one role he played, Zaphod Beeblebrox in Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (although IMDB lists him in several movies I've seen), and no one should attempt to gauge his acting prowess from that over-the-top character.

I *really* can't go into the movie without giving too much away. Suffice to say, if you go, you will not be disappointed. It's better (and waaaaay smarter) than any summer movie I've seen this season. It keeps you guessing. It keeps you on your toes. You spend so much time waiting for "something" to happen and it doesn't. But the story takes you for a ride and leads you, eventually, to where you think it is going to go. Yet it isn't predictable.

It is rated R, but only because of some mild cursing and a little bloodshed and, I guess, a shot of Rockwell's butt. So go see it. Just go. It's an awesome movie and the "1" of the "1-2" punch duo of movies that I'm anxiously waiting to see this summer (The Hurt Locker being the "2").

What a night!

How is that Marcy still single? Sheesh, that grrl knows how to have a good time. I mean, with all the fun that grrrl has between the dancing and the drinking (not to mention what she did on top of that table) I don't know how Mr. Lucky hasn't swooped her off her feet! :D

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Jooj and I went out for dinner. I had one of the best Margaritas I have ever had and my meal included half a chicken, sliced from head to talon down the middle, along with the fixin's and some veggie empanadas. But the party was only just starting (a fact that my wife had somehow failed to mention to me... silly grrrl).

We met up with Jim and Susu and little KT. I've already shared a drink with Lala since she turned 21 but hadn't had one (legally, at least) with KT. We all were amazed by the blue mountains on the Coors Light glasses (I kept turned the peak into "snow-capped" by applying pressure with my finger, thus turning the blue to white... we were easily amused).

The aforementioned Marcy showed up. Some food was served. We had word that Lala was coming. The rest of her clan? We didn't know. But then Pat, Kim, Karen, Kara, Patrick, Leigh Anne, Lala, Dillan, and Denver Joe all walked in. Holy cow! It was nearly a family reunion. All we were missing were Mimi and Poppi, our kids, and Caroline. Oh, hey there, Caroline, you decided to come up too!?

We took over a small section of the patio area of Joe's for a while. Drinks were had. Laughter was let out. Smiles abounded. And then the ABC-fearing security gang started shutting us down (you gotta bring your ID to bars, Lala... the "parents will vouch for me" line only works in the movies).

Overall, it was a great night. What a way to spend my anniversary. And sorry, Marcy, we didn't take your advice after we left :)

Two years and counting...

Today Jooj and I celebrate our two-year anniversary. We're going to Havana Rumba for dinner - the place where we shared our first date. The kids have graciously decided to stay home for this one (they're going to be watching Michael Jackson's Greatest Hits DVD).

I hope to celebrate this date each year for the rest of our lives! Love ya, Jooj!

Just stand up, dummy!

So I've been skating since about May of 2006. I feel like I have done an admirable job for starting my skating career later than everyone I skate with. I am not quite as bouncy and injury-resistant as I was back in my youth. I've taken some falls but I wear full pads and a helmet so I ain't skeered :)

So I have some tricks under my sleeve or up my hat... er, whatever. I like the park and my specialty is speed. I like to rip through the 'crete as fast as my little butt can crank it through the runs.

One trick that has eluded me is a good 50/50 grind. This is when the trucks of the skateboard (the metal that connects your wheels to each other and the board) "lock" into the coping. You slide on the coping, metal against metal, and then drop back into the bowl. It's a balancing act since your wheels aren't really coming into contact with anything... it's your axle against the metal coping of the bowl.

I've attempted this trick as long as I've skated. And I finally got it today. I just decided to stand up. And voila! I nailed it. And I kept nailing it. I was leaning into the bowl a little too much every time and it was sketchy - even when I did manage to kinda hit it.

So yay me :D I can't wait to try it at the Barnacle and next weekend at the park.

Those Catholics are fun!

I just got back home from an evening out with the wife, Jooj. We went down to the St. Joseph picnic. Her parents were there, and my parents showed up with little Emma. We had ice cream, corndogs, french fries, a few beers... it was loads of fun. Little Emma caught a second wind and starting dancing to the music. It was adorable.

Jooj and I left the fun and went to Dundee for some beer, white zin, salad, and cheese balls. Delicious!

So I have a little buzz and will probably go to bed early. Hooray!

The Days of the Jeep...

... may be drawing to a close.

On the heels of the battery trouble I noticed a new problem. I jumped in her today to go check on my wife and noticed that I had no gas. That isn't normally a problem except that she had a 1/2 tank just the other day. When I drove back into the driveway and into the garage I hopped out and looked under it. Shit. Gasoline was just pouring onto the ground.

It may be something easy to fix. But it's not getting fixed now. And if she keeps this up, she's going to get the boot.

Life After Michael

Michael Jackson is in the ground. His memorial was yesterday. I did not watch it, but it was only because I was not in a room with a television. It was covered by every network. Seriously? When was the last time that happened? The State of the Union doesn't get full coverage like that. Fox doesn't carry the president's speeches. It leaves those to the big three networks. So what gets that kind of attention? The only thing I can think of is when two little planes rammed into our beloved trade center. And is this really impacting us like that? I mean, seriously... let's not be ignorant (vague South Park joke there) :)

Jooj pointed out that at 12:34PM today it was 123456789...

12:34:56 on 7/8/9

The Kings Island Trip

The kids and my cousin Matt went to Kings Island on Thursday. Wow! It was a blast. We had so much fun. We arrived at the park right at opening and left around 9PM. Here is a rundown of the trip...

Started the day with The Beast
Vortex
Flight of Fear (better than I remembered but kinda lame)
Zephyr (ya know, the swings? So relaxing... love that ride)
Subway ($35 for subs? Ouch!)
Firehawk (WOW!!! Maybe my new favorite!)
Racer (no more backwards Racer??? Lame!)
Adventure Express (lame)
Viking Ship (it was pretty weak... the smaller one at Kentucky Kingdom goes higher)
Invertigo (fun but short)
Flight Deck (formerly Top Gun)
We stopped and had some Dippin' Dots... yummy!
Diamondback (the new coaster... this thing is bad ass!!!)
Hand Dryers (we all went to the bathrooms and the hand dryers in the bathroom were just utterly amazing... you put your whole hand in them and they were dry in a matter of seconds)
The Crypt (Will didn't know what the ride was [none of us did] and he did not like the idea of riding some unknown ride... he freaked a little but it turned out to be a weak ride)
Train Horn (as we left The Crypt we turned a corner and the park train blew its horn... Will jumped high off the ground and suffered his biggest shock of the day... hilarity!)
Vortex
La Rosa's Pizza in front of the fountains
Ended the day with The Beast

Firehawk and Diamondback are two contenders for my favorite right under The Beast. Some of the rides suffered from having the brakes applied a little too much (Vortex and Viking Ship!!!). We didn't have the group's Go to ride Drop Zone or the evil-looking Delirium. Maybe next time ('cause there will certainly be one)...

"Honey, I never drive faster than I can see. Besides that, it's all in the reflexes."

I just dropped a can of Coke. I get on Will about that all of the time. He drops things like it's his job. I don't. But I guess we all have a case of the dropsies from time to time. And, ya know, as I kid, I think I had some grip lapses myself. But I am getting off subject...

I just dropped a can of Coke. It dropped, bounced off my office leather chair, and I caught it in mid-air. Sure, some Coke spilled. A few drips on the desk. Drips on the mouse pad. Drips on the plastic mat. Drips on me. But it could have been a lot worse. It could have been disaster.

But it wasn't because I caught my Coke on the bounce. I feel like Jack Burton in Big Trouble in Little China (hence the quote) after he snatches the bottle that Wang shot his way after his failed attempt to slice it in half. Yeah...