Scared S#!tless

I like horror movies as much as (or more likely way more than) the next guy.

But when you're working late in the office on a day when there aren't usually many people around... Say hypothetically it's um... I don't know, give me a random day. What's today?... Okay, hypothetically a random Sunday.

Okay, say you're working late on a random Sunday, June 18, 2006, and you're in the bathroom. And most of the lights are off because it's hypothetically after 8pm, and they turn the lights off at 8.

Say hypothetically you're in my dark office bathroom five minutes ago, and you know you're alone in there because all of the stall doors are ajar, and the lights are off over the stalls.

Then one of the stall toilets flushes.

That would totally freak me out!

... hypothetically.

Clash Menagerie

Let's play a game.

Jen's parents live in the northern Adirondacks, so we drive through mountains and forests to visit them.... over the river and through the woods and all that jazz... And we usually see several animals on the way.

Which animal(s) did we see crossing the road on our last trip up last weekend?

a) a Deer
b) a Skunk
c) a Raccoon
d) a Monkey
e) All of the above.

If you answered e) All of the above, you're correct.

Now it was very late and we were tired, but we were both awake, we both saw it, and I kid you not -- on the side of the road, walking into the road so we had to slow down and swerve to avoid it, we saw an actual real live deer!!

And the monkey was gray and kind of bushy with a long tail. It looked like this:

Exclusive Photos

So we have these friends who are kind of famous. His name is Brad, and... well, we all refer to them as a blending of their two names. (Bradler)

Anyway, they went to Africa, and just had a baby, and they had an exclusive photo shoot with People Magazine.

Clearly we were really excited, so I scanned the cover here.

Manual Labor/Getting Your Hands Dirty

At my job, we have to work with video files.

I kid you not, today I overheard, "Tom, we need to get Paul a Master Beta."

(Repeat that aloud for full effect)

"We need to get Paul a Master Beta."

Seriously? In the office? How do you respond to that?

• Yeah, I can "handle it"
• I'll get on that right now
  
• Sure I'll shoot one over
• I'll "follow up with you" after I "give it to him"
• Yeah, it'll just take me an hour or so to finish
  

Who says being productive can't feel good...

Apparently work is very rewarding...

I take pleasure in my job...

My work is very stimulating...

... okay, I'll stop.

Isn't it Ironic: Part 2

Remember my friend who hurt himself a year ago on his way out to ride his new bike for the first time?

So after a few months of physical therapy and several months of regular gym exercise, he was finally ready to take the bike out for a spin for the first time, for the second time, the other day.

He remembered my advice about being VERY CAREFUL about unclipping shoes from pedals when coming to a stop (a lot of people fall when first riding with cycling shoes that clip in to the pedals).

...he remembered the advice and really took it to heart.

He really didn't want to fall outside on the streets of Manhattan his [second] first time on the bike.

...so he decided to practice clipping and unclipping in his apartment.

...and fell over and hurt his ankle.

...and didn't end up taking the bike out for a ride.

Hopefully the third (first) time's the charm.