A Rambing Friday

Today is Friday! And rather than spend time crafting an intricate or sappy entry, I'll just slop ome some down as it comes to me throughout the day.

7:15 am: The power went out last night and then camme back on a half hour later. I consider the fact that I made it in only 15 minutes late a testament to my fortitude. Either that, or a statemen on my inattention to personal hygiene. One or the other.

8:37 am: Three different people brought doughnuts to work today. The gods of evil are tempting me, trying to thwart FatQuest3 in the early stages before it can take root. Though my stomach does rumble for the sugary goodness therein, I will hold fast. Just remember the rice plate I have waiting for me at lunch. Remember the rice plate....I'm screwed aren't I?

8:54 am: Oh goodie. I get to call a podunk airport in norhtern Quebec. Why in the world would anybody want to go to northern Quebec?
Bonjour monsieur. Donnez-moi les informations s'il vous plait....Non!...Donnez moi les informations, MAINTENANT!...Tu es un American tres stupide....Mais le chat est sur la chaise et ma grande mereest en flambe. Vive la Wayne Gretzky!...Ah! Vive la Wayne Gretzky! Je t'aime. Je t'aime...eh, donnez-moi les informations? S'il vous plait!...Non!..Merde!

10:55 am: It's official. There is no more work to do. We have reviewed all the airports, we have edited the database, and we have audited each and every single file. I have written all the reports there are to weite, I have fixed every possible portlet on the webpage, and I even defragmented my hard drive. Twice. There is literally no more work left to do; not only for today but for the next several months as well. What fun!

2:23 pm: You might not think so, but I love the weather on days like today, when it’s cool enough to wear a jacket and the rain hasn’t quite made up its mind to fall just yet. I took a long lunch and walked down to Champps (don’t forget the double p!) for a Southwestern Chicken Caesar salad. Yes, FatQuest3 continues unabated. I’m closing in on the end of day 3. It would have been day 4, but I went to dinner at a bar after playing frisbee golf on Tuesday and ended up having a cheeseburger, a large pile of French Fries, and no less than three beers. That’s not exactly healthy fare, and although I went for my evening neighborhood walk, I didn’t quite feel right counting it as cannon. It’s always good to make the official start a good one. You don’t want to mire yourself in failure from the outset. While at lunch this afternoon, I started reading “Haunted” by Chuck Palanhiuk. The guy who wrote “Fight Club” and several other nihilistic books. It’s pretty strange thus far, which is to say it is just like every other book he's written. It's a collection of poems and short fiction set against the backdrop of a larger story about a group of people who take part in a writer’s retreat where they are cut off from all of civilization for three whole months. They are literally trapped in a large building with no means of escape. The only price is that they promise to work on their masterpiece. The stories we read are those written by the people who are trapped in this commune of sorts, and each of the stories is crazy. One of the first was the short story “Guts,” which apparently caused many people to vomit upon hearing Mr. Palanhiuk perform it at local readings. I’m guessing these public displays of disgust were staged, though, because even though the story was completely insane, it wasn’t all that bad.

I read it while eating lunch!

3:08 pm: Just so you know...

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3:20 pm: Don’t you just love it when you walk into a room and the previously loud conversation quiets to a whisper as the people involved share furtive glances in your direction? Me too.

5:06 pm: I'm outta here in 10 minutes. The end of another long week fast approaches. Have a nice weekend!