Today's my birthday! Yep, I'm 27 years old today. Tick Tock, time keeps on slipping, slipping, into the future... I've worked on the site today a bit. You've already seen some of the changes if you've made it this far. I've probably done more work today in one sitting than I have in months. Normally, I would have spent some time at work, and thus had less time to dwell on this, but since It's my birthday, I'm trying to leave work where it belongs. I said that I was going to go into more detail about my trip to Denver, but as I get further from the trip, the things that occurred are dulling in my brain. Enough is happening now to fill an entry.
This has been a good weekend. On Friday, we had a party to say goodbye to a few of us in my company. I was one of the honorees at this happy hour, and it was nice to see some people that have gone. There were a few more people that I would have liked to have seen again, but they couldn't make it for one reason or another. Someone brought up the idea that I should have another party in two weeks, since I'm still working. Any excuse to have a happy hour, and I'm as good as the next one. We had a surprise visitor from one of our client sites at the happy hour, it just goes to show how you can build relationships with the people you work with, even if you never see them. It was too cold on Friday to have happy hour on the deck, but it was cozy nonetheless.
On Saturday, we had our softball party, once again it was a success, yet, I would have liked to have seen more people attend. The team gave me a trophy for coaching this year, and it's really cool! It has my name on it and #1 Coach across the top. I don't have many trophies, so this will be one that I cherish. I couldn't have played with a better bunch of people. We had a good record this season, and we had fun. We didn't tear each other down, like other teams do and we always encouraged each other. Almost all of my experiences working and playing with this company have been great. I'm a little concerned that I won't experience the same level of fulfillment that I have here. The thing about the Northeast is that it often takes a while for you to get to know people, but once you do, they are friends for life. I like that. I'll reserve the goodbyes for an entry closer to my departure date.
I have to go now. I'm going to eat dinner with my parents tonight and I have to leave shortly. Thanks to everyone who came out and shared some of this weekend with me, it's been a good birthday, and a great year thus far. Oh yeah, I got my bonus on Friday. Yippee!!!
Last thing. I got the most brilliant birthday card today. The downstairs neighbors made it and slid it into my door jam. I'm still chuckling thinking about it. It's so cool! Here's a link: Birthday Card.
The countdown continues: 14/30
Well, I've been working on the site tonight. Mostly maintenance work. Nothing particularly brilliant. I've added a number of entries to the Soundtracks section of my U2 site. I'm trying to get this portion done before I go, so that I can pack it for the long term during my move. Once the scans are in, I can enhance the things around it to present it in the best possible light.
Speaking of U2, I have been pretty quiet about what has been happening in the U2 world, but I must say that I'm very excited by this new release. I hate to say that it's a throwback to the 80's U2, because it seems like a defeat in regards to artistry and pushing the envelope. The reality is that it sounds good. It's not Pop candy, it's song writing, done U2's way, but to my ears, there are several stand out songs that don't sound like anything that is out there currently. Matchbox 20 put out a decent album this year, but it was sometimes difficult to pull the songs apart, which isn't a knock really, but sometimes things blend into the background. I don't think that this Album will fade amongst it's competitors. It may not be a commercial success, but it won't be because they sound like everything else released. The timing is perfect, the theme is perfect. The album comes out the day before I leave Albany. The theme of the Album and tour is travel and luggage. Since I'm embarking on a major journey, this is monumental. I'm giddy just thinking about it.
Well, it's getting late, and I started writing too late to really get into this subject. All I can say is that I also wanted to write the soundtrack to accompany my life. Thankfully, I've found a worthy substitute.
Goodnight Ya'll
The countdown continues: 13/29
I'm listening to the Radiohead single Fake Plastic Trees, and I just realized that the whole song is about Fake breasts. Check out these lyrics "Fake plastic watering can...That she bought from a rubber man, from a town full of rubber plants, to get rid of itself... I used to do surgery, for girls in the 80's, but gravity always wins. And it wears it out, it wears her out...She looks like the real thing, she tastes like the real thing, but fake plastic love. But, I can't help but feel it... fat chested, love, and it wears me out, it wears me out... If I could be all you wanted, if I could be all you wanted, all the time...
I can't believe I didn't notice that earlier. With Radiohead, I get into the vibe more than the lyrics. I've also been listening to the new Radiohead release Kid A. The new release is an ambient release, they are planning on following this up with an album of traditional structured songs. These guys are insane. Some people are just artists. Not pretenders slinging guitars for their fake plastic trees. I'm way too linear, to right clever lyrics, because as soon as I try to mask this stuff under innuendo, I can read right through it, and I feel false.
Just a quick little observation, really, I'm fine. Radiohead, is the type of band that puts me deep in thought, which suits my mood tonight. I've poured my second full glass of Merlot, and I'm just sort of wondering, or is it wandering through my day. No one likes criticism. Not that I explicitly received any today, but we've had some issues at work, and I will admit that I could have offered my assistance sooner, and bailed out the situation before it became one, but it's always in the back of your mind that you've could've done more. Remember, I'm leaving next week, and I really need to divest myself of any responsibilities that remain. I witnessed the flailing of someone whom is trying to explain the deficiencies that surround him. Nothing happens in a vacuum and it's hard to criticize or critique someone who is working their hardest, except when you realize that hard work is not what is necessary. When a tragic flaw presents itself, which will never allow that person to achieve what it sets out to do, it's very hard to inform that person of said flaw. I'm not speaking of me, but it can apply to me as well. I'm still in reactionary mode. I've been in reactionary mode since at least June. It's hard to rationalize or plan inside a fire. We did the planning early on, but as you may know, the best laid plans of mice and men, do not occur. Every side insists they are right. They build the better mousetrap, because obviously, we were flawed in what we did. That is the only possible explanation for why it doesn't work here. Like I said earlier, nothing happens in a vacuum. If we could be the best we are, we would, wouldn't we?
On to other territories... I called a moving company this week. It's going to cost me less than expected. I can probably move for under $1500. I'm not doing it myself, every time I've moved in this city, I've incurred expenses that I didn't foresee. Plus, it would be a big hassle to move 400 miles. So, I'm pleased, I set myself up for a much more expensive move. I'm meeting a mover on Tuesday who is going to estimate how much it will cost to pack my valuables. I can pack the books, etc., but I want them to do the glassware and lamps and pictures. I don't do glass. I also talked to a good friend of mine last night, and she may move into the apartment. I've been polling all my friends about moving in here, because I think the apartment is fabulous, and I would love to see friends move in, instead of strangers.
Hmmm, I wonder if I'm going to be called tonight. I was called twice last night. I'm looking forward to getting out of operations work. The truth is, I love to troubleshoot. Life is a puzzle to me anyway. So as long as I can spend time unraveling it, I should be pretty content.
Well, that's about all for tonight. I've got more scanning to do, and I really need to rework a few of the other band sites. Too bad I'm having a problem being a visionary at the moment. I really don't know what I'm going to do with some of these.
Goodnight all.
The countdown continues: 10/26
Man, am I beat. It's a little after midnight and I just finished working on something for work. I'm about done here, not just in the literal sense. I'm approaching my finishing point in all ways. I'm emotionally exhausted. I have a very hard time getting up in the morning. Once I'm at work I'm fine, but getting there is a battle. I'm still doing more than has been expected of me, but I'm doing it at different hours. I arrived at work at 10:00, skipped lunch and went home at 6:30. I got on the computer soon afterward and started to work at home. I finished at 12:00 midnight. Tomorrow I'm headed in later, because I have someone coming to my house at 11:00 to assess how much it will cost me to pack stuff. I'm going to try to pack as much as I can before they get here, but I want them to pack the dishes and other breakable items. Clothes, books etc. will be done by me.
This weekend, I started my goodbye tour. I went out to Syracuse and saw my best work mate (At this early point in my life, she has been the best person I've worked side by side with) She and her husband are living the American dream, working at the same company and living in a beautiful house. It was a pleasure to see them, and I enjoyed just hanging out with them. Along the way, we went to see a Syracuse game, left early, ordered take out from the Dinosaur BBQ (Excellent, by the way) and went Pumpkin Picking. A messy afternoon that I never would have experienced otherwise. On the way back, I had dinner and watched football with my former right hand man. He worked in my department for two years. It was a good weekend. I'll miss them all.
Today, I received a little package from a CD company in California. They hastily shipped my new Beautiful Day promo CD!!! Now I can listen to it anywhere, yeah!!! The single comes out tomorrow, but since it has a different cover, and I don't know when I'll lay my hot little hands on it, I was game. I also picked up a few other promo's while I was at it. Well, it's time to call it a night and publish this baby. Tick tock, it's almost over...
The countdown continues: 6/22
It's been an odd two days. These have been the first two days in which I'm unemployed. I'll be honest, I don't like it. Many people would probably be content having some time off in which to get their stuff together, I'm sort of bored. I've been dutifully getting my stuff together. I've got at least 6 bags of items that can be pitched or sent to Goodwill. I'm trying to reduce the amount of things that I have. I still have more things to go through. I haven't even gone through my clothes yet. Which reminds me, I can now ditch my Air Force gear. I'm planning on keeping one set of each uniform and nothing more.
It's been a interesting trip. I'm going through items that I haven't looked at in years. Emotional detachments have diminished and my view of the world has changed. Therefore, it has been easier to get rid of certain items. Today I got rid of some cards and letters from ex girlfriends. It was surprisingly easy this time around. I know I won't regret doing it either. Looking at past relationships and reading about how they felt at that moment doesn't do me any good. Some people can look at those sort of love letters and get a kick out of them, or they may feel special about it. I don't. It's a closed chapter in my life. Speaking of which. I did something this weekend that I hadn't done before. I actually deleted all correspondence with my last love. Normally, I keep the last one, because I'm not ready to let it go. To a certain degree, I'm not totally healed of it, but I realize that it will be better for me to delete the e-mails then to be reminded of that person. I don't have any anger for her, only sadness that it had to happen the way it did. For the most part, it's a detached sadness that crops up only when I see her name or if I see a certain car, or a particular moment unique to her. Here is an example of that. This weekend, I was watching VH-1 and they had the top 100 dance songs of all time. Donna Summer had a song in their called "Love to Love You". She used to joke about having to do her aerobic exercise to that song. I hadn't heard the song until I saw the show, and it tugged at me a little bit.
In quirkier news... I returned $14.65 worth of bottles and cans yesterday. I've had these bottles since February. That is one thing I won't miss about NY. I had to call customer service at the grocery store twice, so that they could empty the bins. I felt like I was playing the slots at Vegas, with each bottle put in, I was wondering if it would be my last, before having to call them. For that matter, everyone jealously guards the machine their working with, even as they are reaching for the next bottle. It's a strange law, primarily because it's money maker for NY state. Who knows if they actually recycle this stuff. The cost of goods is still pretty expensive, so we obviously didn't win on that front. Hmmm, I could take a political tangent from here, but I'll pass on this occasion. I can say that I sent in my request for an absentee ballot. Hopefully, I'm in time to get it returned before I leave.
So many thoughts, but I'm getting tired of typing. Next time I won't wait this longer before adding my thoughts. I figured that if I waited I would be able to encapsulate all the interesting ones in one sitting, but as I am realizing, most of my thoughts are downerish. That's not a word, I just made it up. Like I said before, I don't like being unemployed. It's nice having people around you all day and having a purpose for living. Wait, don't take that the wrong way. It's just that when you have an absence of family and you're working for yourself, your motivation takes a dip. I'm always willing to work harder for someone else's needs. It's the same way with defending myself, I defend other people better, primarily because I know that it isn't self-serving. It's about pure motives and all that. Not that my motives are always pure, in fact that is precisely why I'm careful about what I defend. I would hate to change someone's opinion so that it will serve me alone.
This is too heavy. Too much time on my hands. On a good topic, I finally received my copies of the new U2 single "Beautiful Day"! Yeah!!! The only problem, is that I already heard the B-Sides on the internet, which took all of the surprise and some of the joy out of hearing them. I have conscientiously decided to not download the songs from the new album. It's hard to wait, but I knew that if I heard them now, I wouldn't get to enjoy the CD in quite the same fashion. I've added the scans already, so take a look if you're curious. Talk to you later....
The countdown has been reduced to one number: 14
I just finished watching the film Entropy. I liked it. I didn't think I would, but it had U2 in it, so I had to see it. Entropy is a semi-autobiographical account of Phil Joanou's life, or at least the last few years of it. Phil Joanou directed U2's Rattle and Hum. I thought it was amusing at times, and it had plenty of U2 content in it. The story revolves around Jake and Stella. Stella is a model. Stella and Jake fall in love, they separate, Jake falls apart, goes back to Stella, Stella can't be with Jake, Jake makes film about Stella. One interesting thing about the film was that at the end he mentions that he hasn't seen Stella for two years, and yet he makes a film about her. He said "Everyone has their Stella, once they meet that person, there will never be someone quite like them again". I wonder if it's a short sighted romantic view or if it's really true. If it's true, have I met Stella yet? Time will tell, I guess, but I'm pretty sure I haven't. If I have met her, then obviously, I haven't been involved with her long enough to miss her in quite the same way as he did. In any case, it's a recap of the true love perspective on things. Do I think there is true love? Not really. I think love should be easy, meaning in the beginning of any relationship it should just be easy. Sustaining love may be a bit of work, but falling in love should be simple.
On a completely unrelated topic... I'm having movers come and move me out of here. My whole move is based on weight. The more I have, the more it costs me. They estimated me at 3200 lbs. I think they are wrong. The estimator, or whatever his title is, said that he is usually within 200 lbs of being correct. So, basically I have to beat the estimate by 200 lbs. It's the only game I can play right now, plus it will save me money if I reduce the amount of stuff I move. I'm actually walking about the house picking up books and other items, and I'm weighing them in my mind. "Hmmm, this feels like it's about 2 lbs, that'll save me 30 cents"
Man, do I have to get out of the house. Gotta go, I have to artificially weigh a handful of receipts from 1992.
The countdown remains: 14
I just found a box of letters from about 3 to 4 years ago. I had a host of cards from this one particular girl with whom I was involved at the time. It ended really messy, and I had completely forgotten these letters. The importance of these letters, is that I now realize how well she treated me at that point. My memories of that time were not as good. I remember conversations with her, and I was always wanting more. As it turned out, we ended up as vinegar and oil. We didn't mesh. I learned a lot of valuable lessons about myself during that time. Mostly, from bad situations, but in the end I learned about what to avoid in myself. I'm much the better for experiencing the whole of it. What I've learned from this trip down memory lane is that for as much as I see about the world around me, I still miss quite a bit. I'm a little concerned with what I'm missing now. As most people can attest, it's hard to tell when people are interested in you, or if they like you. You never can tell. Sometimes you need to be hit over the head. It's funny, I used to be accused of reading too deep into what people say to me. At times I'm equally guilty of reading too little. That's all my musings for now.
The countdown is: 13 days
I surfed my site from Netscape for the first time ever last night. I friend of mine has Netscape on her computer. Netscape does not interpret my site very well. Anytime I use Absolute positioning on my site, Netscape totally hoses it. I know how to get around most of it, but I'll have to take the time to retool my site so that it works for both I.E. and Netscape Navigator. Basically, I'll need to take everything that has absolute positioning and tuck it into a table so that it will work correctly. It something I should do anyway, but it will take a lot of work to do so. As it stands, the new pages I've been working with are using less and less of absolute positioning. I've been working the invisible table aspect of things. I used it on the U2 Soundtracks section and it works pretty well. That in conjunction with Frames allows me to do what I want anyway. Time is getting short. Talk to you later, I have to publish the changes that I made to the Radiohead portion of my site. I completely overhauled the whole thing and added some new discs that I've bought over the past 6 months. Radiohead was the first band that I tackled when I created my site.
The countdown is: 10 days
I redid the entire U2 section yesterday and then cleaned up what I missed tonight. It took me forever to make all the changes. In the end it will be a better site. The fact is that I have too much time on my hands. I'm glad I didn't take the entire month off. Once again things have worked out perfectly for me. The two week extension at work gave me an extra paycheck and I didn't have to sit on my hands for 30 days.
Buck Star is having is annual Halloween party on Saturday. As of yet, I don't have a costume. I've been bouncing ideas around in my head, but I haven't settled on anything. I don't want to wear a lame costume, but at the same time I also don't want to rent anything either. I'll look for something tomorrow.
Hmm, no job, no life, nothing to talk about and all the time in the world to do it. Oh yeah, my parents just bought a beagle. He's a puppy and he's cute. I don't know if they have named him yet. I'll talk to them and find out what they decided on. I'll keep you posted.
Since my life is so mundane, I've been actively involved in the football pool at work. If Miami wins, I'll be within 2 points of 3rd place with one week remaining. 1st, 2nd and 3rd place get cash prizes. If I do get into 3rd place, I'll just put it towards the second half of the season.
Well, that's all for the news.
The countdown is now: 8 days
Not much to report. I had lunch and dinner with two of my former co-workers today. It was nice to see some of old friends and peers. *Chuckle* I've been gone a week! It's only been a week, and their now classified as old friends, old workers... You would have thought I had been away for eons.
BTW, I'm watching the 3rd game of the subway series. I'm rooting for the Mets. Primarily because the Yankees have had enough World Series wins. It's the bottom of the 6th inning and the Mets have bases loaded with one out. Mike Bordick former Oriole is at the plate. Oh yeah, it's also a tie game. Tension is mounting at Shea... Meanwhile, I'll tell you about my parents puppy. They named him Jonah. I guess that Bono was out of the question. The dog is cute, but he's no rock star. Back to the game. Full count the bases are loaded...and it's a Strikeout! Two down, bases loaded and they pinch hit. The batter is Daryl Hamilton. Will he be the hero at Shea? Nope, force out at second.
Well, I'm going to post this now. You'll have to read the news tomorrow to find out who won. Time to go to bed.
The countdown is now: 7 days
It's almost over. Two more full days in Albany, and then I'm leaving on the 1st. This past week has been sort of mundane. I've been working on packing up the house and getting my affairs in order. I had lunch with a couple of my former co-workers. Last night I went to the annual Halloween Party at Don's house. This is the 3rd straight year that I've attended this party. The first year I went as Napolean, the second year I went as Bono. This year I went as a bum with a sandwich board. Most people seemed to like the costume. The Sandwich board was filled with about 50 statements that covered everything from the state of being unemployed to ironic statements about life, as well as sexual innuendos (the topic you bring up when you can't think of anything else to say. ). I worked on the costume for a long time, it would have been cheaper and quicker to buy a costume. In any case, I'll post all the slogans after I get pictures from the Party's host. That way you'll understand what I'm talking about. Towards the end of the night we played Twister. The last time I played Twister was in the 70's. For some reason I haven't played it since then. Hmmm Naked Twister. Yeah, it sounds cliché, but if you were to combine that with strip twister, where you play round after round, and the loser has to take off an article of clothing, then you're talking about some serious foreplay. I mean, how hot would you be, if you had to wait for over an hour before progressing to the next point. It would be a great, non-kinky way to breathe some life into your relationship. I guess it all depends on what you call kinky, but I think it would be pretty normal to have fun prior to getting intimate. On a completely unrelated topic, I was able to say goodbye to a few other people that I haven't seen in months. They are quite the cute couple. They are both outstanding people, and I wish them both the best of luck. It's good to see good people finding good people.
Next segue. U2 has launched their official site and it's cool. The flash intro is great, and the look is pretty impressive. One of the better looks on the net that I've seen. The album comes out on Tuesday and I'm very excited about listening to it for the first time. I've been good about not downloading the songs, though they are out there for downloading. I want the experience to be total when I get it.
Well, I gotta finish packing. This grand adventure is ending, and I have to face the early arrival of the movers. Here's to the next grand adventure! Cheers!
The countdown is now: 2 days
The day is only a couple of hours old, but it has been interesting nonetheless. The movers have arrived to take me to that other place. They have finished packing all the things that I didn't and are now enjoying a cup of coffee prior to carrying it all out the door. They have been pretty good thus far and am looking forward to them completing the move, so I can clean the house and return items to their proper location. As you can tell, I've opted to go ahead and drive my computer down to Virginia. Without my computer, I'd feel kind of out of the water. E-mail is my primary method of communication these days, so I prefer having it with me. Hopefully, I'll be able to fit everything in my car. I'm a little worried about that actually. I've also kept the bare minimum of my stereo with me since I want to hear the new U2 album on it before I leave. Yep, priorities, priorities.
My cat Honey is now officially freaked out about this. The movers have been moving about the house and she is seeing everything boxed and ready to go. Soon she will run out of hiding places, as the furniture will be moved out of here shortly. The drive is going to be bad enough for her. Over the next two days, everything familiar will be removed from her. Then she'll find herself in a new home with 6 extra people. I hope her heart doesn't give out. It's stressful for everyone involved. I've tried to give her comfort, but every noise makes her jump. She still comes when I call, but it's hard to get her to relax. I brought her upstairs a few minutes ago, so that she could get some peace, but perhaps the bathroom would be better for her, at least in there she won't be bothered, plus she can lie down on the bathmat, one of her favorite places to bed out.
Boy Scout moment: Today, I helped a blind girl across the street. There is a song by the Mighty Mighty Bosstones called "Knock on Wood". One of the lyrics in the song is "I'm not a coward, I've just never been tested, but if I were, I know that I'd pass". The reason I bring this up, is that I was watching this girl standing in front of my house, listening for an opportunity to cross. I watched her for a few minutes standing there, and I realized that she was beginning to get a bit frustrated, because she couldn't hear any calm in the street. I felt a little responsible because the truck that is here to move my stuff was parked in the middle of the street and people had drive around it, thus making traffic more congested. She was to the right of the truck and it was very hard for her to distinguish between all these noises, from buses and trucks to cars dropping off their kids at the elementary school. I'm very reticent to extend myself in situations, unless I think it's clear that someone might want help. She was very gracious and thanked me, and I don't think that I put her off at all by offering my assistance. I would love to be a gentleman more often, but I often don't react to situations by being aggressive. Don't get me wrong, I help people out when they are having problems, but I don't try to swoop in like Superman for my own gratification. I guess, I'm glad that I had the opportunity to help someone out. It does feel good to be of assistance. On a related do-gooder note. I dropped off a ton of stuff to Salvation Army, that one felt good for a different reason. I was able to get rid of a bunch of stuff and it won't go to waste. It's hard to throw away perfectly good items, so I'm glad I was able to pass them on. If I had things of any value, I might've had a garage sale, but when it comes down to it, I assume that when I buy something, I'll never get anything for it in the future.
Well, that's about all for now. I'm sure I will have more adventures to retell. This moving thing is certainly interesting.
The countdown is now: 1 1/2 days
Well, well, well. A monumental day to say the least. It's Halloween 2000, and U2 has just released their album "All That You Can't Leave Behind". An appropriate title for me as I finish cleaning up the house, and deciding on what I can afford to leave behind. I found out that for all my efforts, I still had 3400 lbs of stuff. Fortunately I was locked into a specific price prior to the move. It's a bit lonely in this hollow apartment. I've kept enough toys with me to keep it from being unbearable, but I'm just sorting of waiting it out. I'm doing a little bit of work, stopping for a few minutes while I go on-line, back to work, pet the cat, back to work, read a few chapters, back to work, you get the picture. I'm sort of holding on to the familiar here. It's been two years to the day, that I moved in to this apartment. It truly was a new beginning for me. It was the first time that I've truly lived alone, the apartment I had prior to this one was beneath two friends of mine, so I wasn't really alone. This has been good for me. Just me and Honey, and all the space I could ever really need to stretch out in.
I've listened to the entire album 4 times now. I'm still absorbing it. There isn't a bad song on it and the music is good. Many of the songs have fantastic intro's. They sort of just start you on your way, even if it isn't how the song is going to be. I was going to try to point you in the right direction for which songs are stand out, but the truth is that I think it will be up to the listener. There is a lot to swallow in this release. As always I will comment more when I get the chance to post the album info on my site.
Last night I got a chance to say goodbye to 4 of my other friends. We had dinner and a few beers together. I'm going to miss them. One of the good things about having my parents up here is that I have a good reason to come up to Albany to visit. Otherwise it would be a stretch to come up here. I forgot to give props to my friend Don who had the coolest costume. He was the Pet's.com hand puppet, equipped with microphone. He even had the voice down. It was fantastic. Hopefully he'll put pictures up soon. He's also known as Buck Star. I'll let you know when I see them up there on his site. I'm also waiting for my picture. When I do I'll put it up. Apparently, one of the shots captures me in all my pathetic glory. I'll share when I can.
Most goodbyes are anti-climatic. It's not like the movies. I'm so tired of the moving process, and just want to move on, so I'm killing time writing. Honey is in my lap, hopefully she won't be too stressed over the next few days. She mirrors me, unfortunately, it's a tough thing to do. I'm not overwrought or visible screwed up, I'm just afraid to move, figuratively, not literally. You propel yourself despite the fact that it is uncomfortable. What choice do you have in the matter anyway.
See you all on the flip-side. Once this ends, I can fling myself headlong into the job search.... Oh, when will it ever end? (Feigned Drama) It's not that bad, I just need to stand on at least one foot while doing this life thing. All any of us needs is solid footing. If you're reading send me some mail, it'll help me out. Thanks!