I tried to exercise

So, I know I need to get my fat @$$ back in the gym. I'm getting yelled at left and right by medical peoples, along with my scale. Friends of mine don't care about my weight. And the only reason I really care is the health issues I have from it.

Anyways, a really awesome friend of mine K from The Suffix is in town this week (it's a rarity since she lives in that really freezing cold place known as Minnesota). Anyways, for the longest time we had plans that when she came into town, we would go biking on the Silver Comet Trail. I figured it would be fun until I remembered that she has a tendency to run 50 miles for no reason (and marathons and races and other things. INSANE, I tell ya!)

Of course, I got laid off, and somewhat forgot about it.

My really awesome boyfriend brought his bike back with him on his last trip home, and the thought came back in my mind, so I txted K and asked her if she had any plans of coming down, and lo and behold, she did! So we started the planning of riding the Silver Comet Trail (well, part of it. It was going to be after work, afterall).

Anyways, last two weeks I've been sick, but I'm feeling mostly better. A little coughing every now and then, but that's it. We get everything scheduled for yesterday after work. I pump up the tires and get them loaded in the back of my truck and we head to the trail.

She hadn't been on a bike for several years, apparently. Add in the fact it was set on one of the high gears, and it was hilarious to see her try to get started. I was yelling "It's like riding a bike! It comes back to ya!"

So, we're riding down the trail and it's really beautiful. We're in that "Not quite spring" transition phase (just before the pollen count hits nine billion), and things are really nice out. And the weather is pretty much PERFECT.

About a mile down, K thinks she has a flat tire. I have her get in front of me to see what things look like, and it appears that the brake is rubbing a bit against the rubber, causing the noise. You know.. that whole "it's hot, and the tire's been flat for a while, so it's a little bowed and such" deal? We think very little of it and press on.

Two and change miles down and we hear a "POP-PSSsssss" -- and it was LOUD! Yep... Tire blew. I guess I didn't fully interpret Really Awesome Boyfriend's warning of "The tires are probably in bad shape."

So, we dismount and turn around and walk the bikes all the way back down to the start of the trail. It was a nice walk, but would have been cooler if we could have biked a little further... I mean, we didn't even get to the tunnel!

After dinner, the three of us (K, Really Awesome Boyfriend, and I) went to RuSan's for dinner and had sushi. It's always a good day when sushi is involved!

Why do people think I'm crazy?

So, people think I'm crazy for some reason unbeknownst to me. I don't go around saying "5 minutes to Wapner" or things like that. I don't roll down my window and ask the person in the next vehicle if they have any Grey Poupon. And I don't whisper an entire conversation in public yet yell "RECTUM" like my grandmother does. I like to think I'm fairly close to "sane."

So, lately, people have been calling me crazy.

9:42am I get a call, and I answer "Good afternoon." 3:18pm I get a call and I answer "Good morning." They tell me I'm crazy.

I have a light up LED tree at my desk. Everyone calls it a "Christmas Tree" -- I've decided it's not, rather the Crystalline Entity with a star on top.

I also have an aquarium at my desk. They find it "odd."

But, I think the best thing is the fact I got to reuse a line again!

Mother is a Braves fan and her birthday is coming up. So I decided to adventure to the Braves Clubhouse Store to buy her something. I found the cutest little bear wearing a Braves uniform, so I decided she was going to get that. The cashier put the bear in the bag upside-down. I exclaimed, "Don't put him in upside down! All the stuffing will rush to his head!"

The look was priceless!

When did I turn into an adult?

I keep asking myself that one. Occasionally I'll do things that make me "more of an adult." First it was paying taxes. Then it was getting a "real job." Then the next big step was buying a house. Then came property taxes. Recently I started wearing "grown-up clothes" when I got the job at The Company.

I didn't think I could become "more of an adult" after that.

Until yesterday.

I opened a brokerage account with one of my banks. I now own stocks!

It's kinda weird to say that I am a shareholder in a company. I want to be like that crazy lady in Futurama and say "I own one share in Planet Whatchamajigger, and I want my say!"

I made a good impression!

The next step of Extreme Makeover Dental Edition is straightening my teeths. Something I've wanted to do for years, but that insane fear of dentists kept me away from doing.

I've gotten the rest of my problems taken care of. My gums are in much better shape thanks to my hot lesbian dentist and hot gay periodontist. My cavities are filled in, and I have a crown (I like to call it a tiara tho) over my root canal. The only things that are really left are straightening and replacing the tiara because it has metal that my gums aren't liking.

So, the plan is to straighten my teeths, then replace the tiara because it's easier that way.

The plan to straighten my teeth is to use Invisalign. My hot lesbian dentist does them. I got my appointment squared away for yesterday. She also says I can do some whitening (using the Invisaligns as trays) for an additional $100. Seriously thinking about it.

So, I arrive at the dentist office at 15:56 for my 16:00 appointment. Apparently she was running a little behind because the person in front of me had a lot of work going on. I wasn't concerned. I was in their place before. I see the staff that has worked on my mouth and I'm like "So, you're ganging up on me now with my boyfriend, eh?" (He had an appointment that morning and they got him on a thing to make sure I floss more. C'mon.. EVERYONE needs to floss more!). Then at 16:20, I get called back for my X-Ray.

It's that panoramic X-Ray thing. I seriously should ask if I could get a copy of that emailed to me. It'd be cool to show. (Ok, the X-Ray that has my five wisdom teeths would be cooler to show). The machine stopped working just before it went to take the picture. So I had to get out of there, have them fix it up, then get repositioned again. Cool machine, but I hate having to stand REALLY STILL for it to rotate around my head.

Back in the waiting room I went for a few more minutes. Then they call me back for the impressions.

I wanted to do my Scooby Doo impression, but I've been sick and can't exactly perform then. Of course, that's not the impressions they wanted.

They fit me for these funky trays. I'm apparently an "Extra Large" mouth. (No jokes, please)

Then Hot Lesbian Dentist comes in. They goop up the tray with this purple stuff (which has a mild mint flavor, but not really... kinda gross) and they dry the top of my mouth. I'm told to open wide as she shoves it in my mouth and holds it into place. About 3 minutes later, they're like "It's going to feel like I'm pulling your teeth out" as they remove it. It did feel like they were pulling them out, but they stayed.

At first, that impression looked good. But there was a problem with it.

They decided to go to the bottom. Dry that out... Goop it up... and apply. Then I hafta stick my tongue out (you know how difficult that is with fingers in your mouth?). Three minutes... and pull... That stuff wasn't tasting any better.

We went back to the top. Another impression... 3 minutes... take it out... Nope. "Did I mention we're perfectionists?", Hot Lesbian Dentist asks.

Back to the bottom. Goop... Dry... Insert... 3 minutes... pull... Oohh, a nice one!

Back to the top. Goop... Dry... Insert... 1 minute in, she sees we're missing part of a tooth. Still have to wait the three minutes, though.

Again with the top. Goop... Dry... Insert... 2 minuets in, she sees we're missing parts of one side of my mouth. Grrr... Although the purple goop is starting to taste "acceptable."

Again with the top. We now know what the problems are. Goop.... Dry... Insert... She's looking around... It's looking good.... 3 minutes later and VOILA! I made a good impression!

She showed me the difference between the impressions. We're taking something very minor, but I understand the whole ordeal as to why it has to be pretty much perfect. Invisaligns don't have much room for error.

Then we had to do the bite impression. This time it's grey stuff. She has me open wide and she goops up my bottom teeth. Tells me to bite down and this time it's only for a minute.

Of course, NOW is when I decide I have to start coughing since I'm sick. But, I manage to make it. A minute later, I'm told to open my mouth. Of course, I can't. With help, I get open. Great impression!

Picture time.

Two metal like things are inserted in my mouth to help open wide. She takes a few shots. Then she needs the biting surfaces and shoves a mirror in my mouth. I'm told to smile as she takes a couple more pictures. You know how hard it is to smile with a mirror in your mouth?

The last three shots were of me against the wall. There's a "smiling shot", a "mug shot", and then a side shot.

Then we went back in and she told me what's going to be done with my teeth. Where we want things moved and rotated and the like. I should like it!

In four weeks, I'll be getting a video and such as to what is going to happen with my teeth. All this will be posted on this blog. Once I give the OK, two weeks later, I'll start the straightening! I'll keep y'all posted!

I am not that stupid...

So, I've been fighting with our internal applications department for the past two weeks because they put something in production that wasn't tested.

In fact, one of the comments was "We knew that BU was an exception. I guess we never had any test data for it."

WTF?

When I was in internal applications, I would have been chewed up and spit out by every person in my department if that ever happened. In fact, I sent that portion of the conversation to a colleague of mine at The Suffix and my colleague was in total agreement.

So, let's see -- I solved one phantom error message, gave them a way to solve another problem another area is having, and they can't even get things right? What's wrong with this picture.

So, I was fighting for two weeks with them and they FINALLY "got it fixed" and told me I can run the process. So I did. And it hung up. SERIOUSLY. They spent another day fixing it. This morning, I got a voicemail that said, and I quote, "Killing a process will effectively end it" (ok, it's probably a paraphrase, but still).

SERIOUSLY? If you kill a process, that effectively ends it? REALLY now?

From the person who said they were glad to hear I came from an IT background so they can speak geek to me and I get THAT comment? What have I gotten myself into?

Kids these days... I swear...

Growing up, we keep telling ourselves we'll never be like our parents. In some cases, we strive for it. We want to be better than them. But, there are some things we cannot avoid.

Growing up, when we did laundry, if there was an unmatched sock, we put it in a pile on top of the dryer. Eventually, we would go through that pile and pair up any matches, and every now and then we'd throw away the unmatched socks. (Made me wonder if there really WAS something in the washing machine or dryer that ate them).

A few years back, I was doing laundry, and there was an unmatched sock. Subconsciously, I threw said sock on the dryer and said to myself, "The other half will show up."

I stopped myself right there, went and hunted down the match, and put both in my dirty clothes basket. It was one less thing I wanted to be like my parents with.

I don't know why that side-story is in this post. It really is supposed to be about video games. In fact, I don't even know how I started on that. Anyways, let's let my ADHD go aside and hit the topic at hand. What was it? Oh yeah, video games.

Kids these days complain about how hard video games are. With all their cheat codes and gabillion lives, and let's not mention how many times your character is allowed to be shot, stepped on, trampled on, or whatever before you actually lose a life, what can you complain about? Then, when you regenerate your life, you're halfway through the level.

Back in my day, you got hit once, your character died. And when you regenerated, you were back at the beginning of the level. Oh, and we had a frog that couldn't freaking swim! What the flip is up with that, Konami?

And, let's not forget the imagination you had to have! If you look at Donkey Kong, he seemed terrifying to me as a child. I plugged in my Atari recently with Donkey Kong, and... well... laughed at him. What kind of crazy fool climbs some whatever that is supposed to be, and just stands there throwing barrels? (and I don't think he really did it... they just magically appear out of nowhere, it seems.) And, when you get closer, he doesn't do anything until you get next to dude's girlfriend? (And, seriously... an ape and a human... I don't get it...)

And who here doesn't know the swirling staticy noise that's at the beginning of a level of Defender? Seriously now!

Now, we had games that made absolutely no sense (Yars' Revenge, anyone?), but we still loved them. Except for maybe E.T. the Extra Terrestrial -- I think I was the only person who liked that one. But, no matter what, we had imagination to make it seem more awesome than the 8-bit graphics allowed.

Then video games progressed and we had games (like Super Mario Bros) that had never-ending pits. Not particularly realistic, but neither was The Mushroom Kingdom. In this unrealistic game, there were never-ending pits. You fall in one of them, and heaven knows where your character went. You never see the splat. But it was still hard because there were these mushroom people that killed you if you touched them any way but jumping on them. But there was this star that went "dat-dat-ble-dat..."

Nowadays, video games have to be extremely lifelike. But, they've gotten away from the things that make them truly lifelike. If your character gets shot, the chances of it being able to continue on and save the world are slim to none. Seriously. And we wonder why kids are getting in trouble "due to video games."

I liked them better when they were more cartooney. No way in our mind's eye that it could be real. We had to use our imagination to understand what was going on. If we forced our kids to go back to level of imagination, who knows where we'd be. Kids would probably do better in school because they're flexing their brain. Creativity would go up since they're flexing their imagination. The would could become a better place if we weren't focused on making video games "look real"

Weekends are crazy

Well, we started to figure out exactly what I needed to get my house network wired and such.

Except, my awesomely hot boyfriend started planning around other things and the scope creep came into play.

You see, here's my goals:

1. Network my house (Satellite boxes and other things are now wanting network connection for this that and the other. Buying wireless adapters all over the place is crazy, so let's run ethernet around).
2. Get an electric tankless hot water heater -- that will save money since I'm not heating water in the event I want to use it and provide more room in the utility closet for my mini network rack.
3. #2 causes a problem because I've only got 150 service into the house and I need like 200 (or was it 250? I couldn't remember -- I just needed bigger wiring to meet #2's requirement)
4. I also, at some point, need to replace my HVAC system since it's about 2/3 of my age. I was pondering around the same time as #2 so I could get rid of Georgia Natural Gas. But, that requires #3 to have been done.

With all this scope creep, the budget has been blown out of the water. I need to seriously sit down and figure out which order I want parts 1 and 3 done in. Partly due to cost, but mostly because I have a wonderful man helping me and I don't want him to feel burned out or have him think I'm using him for his skills. They're great projects to do, but I also want to spend quality time where we're not sweating because of the extensive work we're doing.

...So, if anyone wants to donate to the projects fund, you can donate via PayPal at... :)