Wednesday, April 20, 2005

Dental hygiene at 45 MPH

After work most of the company went out to happy hour at a spot close to the office. A few of us ended up staying long after others had gone. We were engrossed in deep conversations that strayed from Nascar to passion to makeup. The guys commented how inappropriate it was for girls to be putting on their makeup in the car. At one point I brought up the fact that some guys will shave in the car.

Well... As if to top it all, Bill saw something on the way to work. A guy in a car next to him was flossing his teeth on the way to work.

I can't decide to be disgusted or amazed. Perhaps equal portions of both.

8:37 AM Posted by Big Dave | 0 Thoughts

Tuesday, April 19, 2005

Time to start looking

Here's a quote from a conversation outside of my office this morning. Names have been changed to protect the innocent. No this is not me, but my jaw dropped when I heard it.

Boss: Good Morning, {Employee}! How are you doing this morning?
Employee: Um yeah, am doing ok.
Boss: Good! Did you screw up anything today?
Employee: Um no.
Boss: Really? Glad to hear it. What am I going to do with you {Employee}?
Employee: (something indistinct)

9:56 AM Posted by Big Dave | 1 Thoughts

Monday, April 18, 2005

Massive Amounts of Testosterone

Saturday night Dezi and I went over to Rick's house. Rick owns Rick's Kicks which is where I take my jiu-jitsu lessons. Rick was kind enough to invite everyone over for a boy's night. The girls were invited too. We settled down to watch the Ultimate Fighting Championships. In this case UFC 52. (www.ufc.tv)

The boys bonded by eating bratwurst and watching guys get pummelled. The girls bonded standing in the kitchen, drinking margaritas and laughing and the noises coming from the guys.

Some of the fighters are people that Rick and some of the others have trained with. For myself I couldn't imagine the amount of abuse these guys heap upon each other. I know how taxing it can be to be doing some of that and we don't punch each other. I guess I don't have the killer instinct because I don't know that I could ever knowingly inflict that kind of damage on someone for a paycheck.

We had a good time and while Dezi didn't watch the fights she said we should do it again. I'm glad she had a good time. I'd like to do it again. As long as I keep Dezi away from the TV when the fights get bloody I think we might.

1:05 PM Posted by Big Dave | 0 Thoughts

Sunday, April 17, 2005

Just keep swimming

The last two weeks have been very busy. That can sometimes be good and bad. In this case it's mostly good. I finished a large project last Monday. Only to discover I already had new changes coming for that project.

One of our programmers put in his notice and left last Friday to go start a new job. I wish him luck, but things are just about to get busy again. Our system is so complex that it will take about 6 months to bring a new developer up to speed. Not the best time, but I guess there never is a best time.

Friday night Dezi and I went to see The Bellamy Brothers at Billy Bob's. Dezi had never been to Billy Bob's. It's hard to tell what she was thinking, but I think she was amused. Maybe what surprised her most was that we ended up taking a picture with a couple of ladies who were down from New Jersey. Dezi didn't understand that Billy Bob's is a landmark. I think she did after that.

9:17 AM Posted by Big Dave | 0 Thoughts

Sunday, April 03, 2005

Proud Papa

This weekend marked a huge event for me. I said goodbye to my good old Jimmy and hello to a great new car. I had a '98 Jimmy that had been developing a number of personality traits that I didn't particularly appreciate.

I started talking about getting a new car. However, I hated the whole idea of car shopping. Several years ago I went to a dealership and got yanked around by a salesman. I still think back almost 5 years later and get twisted.

Moving on...

I'd considered a number a cars, but never really got out to drive many of them. I would just look online and see what I thought I wanted. After a lot of thought I decided that I wanted a new car rather than a used one. I still had a large number of potentials. Easter weekend I sat in the garage at a family gathering and pulled out the car section. I saw that one of the Toyota dealerships was going to be open that afternoon. Dezi and I went out there and test drove a brand new Camry. I fell in love with it, but wasn't settled since I still wanted to drive some more cars. Well I started checking out prices online. I even went to Yahoo and submitted a request for a quote on a new Camry. I got an e-quote from Toyota of Lewisville that I decided couldn't be beat. I made an appointment for Friday afternoon. After 4 hours and signing my life away, I drove off the lot in a brand new car.

I drove over to Desiree's to show her and her parents my new purchase even though she had already ridden in it. I called and talked to my parents on my way over. I've had several complements from the people I've shown it off to. I decided I was being obnoxious so I've tried to quite talking about it.

At first I felt like I was just borrowing the car, but I think it's settled in that it's mine now. As much as I give Dezi a hard time for jumping up and down when I'm excited, I did just that. I'm delighted with my purchase. Unfortunately I kept waking up most of that night with nightmares about what could happen to the car before I got it insured.

The rest of the weekend has been very nice. Dezi took her Psychology GRE on Saturday. We spent the evening over a Josh and Jocelyn's hanging out and talking. Sunday was a complete wash but the time change can do that to ya.

10:32 PM Posted by Big Dave | 4 Thoughts