Static!

I don't know what the deal is but my pants and shirts came out of the dryer with static cling this last go-'round. I swear I used fabric softening sheets, I use descent soap when washing and I never overload the dryer.

It really is driving me crazy today. I'm thinking there has to be a way to get rid of this nuisance by releasing the charge. And, it's probably some really simple method that only a few engi-nerds know about.

I spent some time this morning researching different methods but everything I found relates to either washing the clothes or drying them. I need something right now before I breakdown and take everything off!

Don't tempt me static cling, 'cause I'll do it!!!! ;o)

My latest fetish...

I don't know why but I have the urge to get pick up some of these though I know almost nothing about them (i.e. price, quality, etc.). They just look really cool and I'm sure they're comfortable.

For the love! It's the Friday 5!

What a week! I've been slammed since I've been back but a lot has gone on in the past week so I'll have some interesting posts if I have the time.

1. List five people and a song that reminds you of them or that you think best describes them (list the person's name, the song title, and the song's artist).
Mom and Dad: just about any and every Jimmy Buffett Song but this song reminds me of my Dad a lot (in a good way).
Evan - Kid Rock: Cowboy
Mike - Southern Culture on the Skids: Banana Puddin'
Jason - 50 Cent: In da club
Brian - Metallica: pick a song. We were stage-hands back in the day and we listened to them all the time.


2. What would your life's soundtrack be?
Kid Rock - Cocky with maybe a little bit of Garth Brooks and Alan Jackson mixed in for good measure. Oh and a little known Jimmy Buffett song entitled "My African Friend".

3. Which would you prefer: to live somewhere that is hot or to live somewhere that is cold year-round? Why?
Without question, hot! The reason is simple; I've found it's easier for me to cool down than it is for me to warm up.

4. Suppose you had twins, a boy and a girl. What names would you give and why?
Jimmy Jr. #1 and Jimmy Jr. #2. hehe! I don't know. I like Elizabeth or Emma for a girl and I really dig my name: James (Jimmy, Jim) for a boy.

5. What's a quote/lyric that describes you right now?
GnR - All you need is just a little patience ;o)

Return from LA LA land...

The trip to LA was a success and I learned a TON while I was out there.

Here are some of the non-work-related highlights:

• The hotel was insane! They booked me in a room on the 30th floor which faced West. You really didn't have to ever leave the hotel if you didn't want to. It was like a city in itself.
• Since I was facing West, I saw the sun set every night and I could aaaaaalmost make out the Hollywood sign.
• The room was immaculate and the entire West wall was comprised of a series of windows. At night I would completely open the blinds and fall asleep looking at all the city lights. It was (to say the least) inspiring! I took pictures but of course my camera phone is lacking.
• My Sacto girl arranged for a (big) bottle of Crown, an assortment of non-alcoholic beverages, ice, a flower and a card to be delivered to my room. It made my whole week! T, you soooooooooo rock girl! It's sooooo ON when I get back to Sac.
• The hotel room in which I stayed had a clear view of the other hotel rooms to the North of me and I saw a couple going at it. I think she was a call-girl. She had rhythm but he totally sucked. Dude looked soooo awkward that I couldn't bring myself to look after about 2 minutes.
• I had forgotten how different the girl to guy ratio is there as it's compared to D-town. Gaaaaaaaawd, LA is jam-packed with beautiful women. I think I'll stop there before I get myself in too much trouble.
• I saw more Lamborghinis, Ferraris and Masaritis than I have ever seen.
• I saw more bums and crazy people than I have ever seen.
• The sushi was out of control. Probably some of the best raw fish I've ever had in my life.
• Green tea was everywhere. I still think that stuff tastes like crap but I've heard it's like THE thing to put in your body.
• I don't think I've ever paid $5.00 for a bottle of water so that was a new experience. I'm a big fan of the company dime!
• I finally saw the Santa Monica Pier. We had dinner at one of the restaurants. Very good. Very over priced...but very good.
• Late business dinners prevented me from checking out all that the night life has to offer but I'm sure I'll be back there soon...maybe even as soon as next week.

I posted some pics on my Flickr. Yeah, I know...I need a digital camera.

It's good to be home.

Friday Fiv(er)

TGIF...I'm draggin' azz today like no other. I grabbed the FF from this blog...I really liked her pictures. Enjoy!

Friday Five...weddings

1. How many weddings have you attended?
Probably like 15 or so. These last 4 years or so have been crazy. Now it's the co-ed baby showers. Baby showers are supposed to be for girls for the love of all that's holy. I guess it's an excuse to get my draaaaaaaank on.

2. Wedding registries: buy from the list or freestyle it?
They'll get what I give them and they'll like it or they get the hose again. Normally, I just give them cash.

3. Are you more likely to slow dance or participate in the chicken dance?
Both! If I have to sit through an entire wedding, I wanna at least cut loose at the reception.

4. The garter find/toss experience: cute or tacky?
I think it's one more piece of marriage propaganda used to alienate single people. Though I do have like 5 garters scattered around the house somewhere. I made it my personal goal to get as many of them as I could in one Summer. I think 4 is the record. I stopped competing after that.

5. If you could marry someone famous, who would it be?
hmmmmm...I don't know. I think Angelina Jolie would be a pretty cool wife. She seems to be down for anything, drama free and...well, let's face it...rich!

Enjoy your weekend. I'm going to go home and recover.

My brain...

...is about ready to explode. I've been sucking in as much information as I can about this LA project in the past few days. There's just so much to learn and so little time. It's kind of hard to become a subject matter expert in a week but I'm sure I'll get the hang of it once I get down there and get "my hands dirty". Just knowing I'm walking into a volatile situation to begin with is pretty intimidating but there's at least one mitigating factor: the two guys I will be traveling with are also pretty sharp so they (the powers that be) definitely put the right team together for this task.

My motto for next week: If I can't baffle them with my brilliance, I'll dazzle them with my bullshit.

In other news...I got a text from my ex-girlfriend yesterday. Here's the way it went...

ex-girlfriend: Hi, how have you been?
me (1+ hour later): Good! Thanks.
ex-girlfriend (immediate response): Anything new?
ex-girlfriend (1+ hour later): Anything new?
ex-girlfriend (2 hours later): Anything new?

Completely knowing where she was going with this question, I decided to burst her bubble. See the way she operates? She didn't know that her friends have kept in contact with me and that I knew as much as I did. This is the kind of thing I dealt with in the relationship and I'll be damned if I'm going to put up with it when we're not. Drama free, bebe! Thank God!

me: Jennifer, I've known for quite some time that you are pregnant and now you're married. Good luck to you. Is there something else you needed from me?
ex-girlfriend (immediate response): For 1 I am pregnant not married and I never said I needed anything from you. just wanted to see how your doing.
me (1+ hour later): Oh, good! Thanks.

OK...today I get a flurry of text messages and emails and I have yet to respond to any of them. She cracks me up. I mean, I deleted her number like months ago and I knew the only way I was going to ever see her again was at her Dad's bar (they have great Mexican food). Moreover, she's packin' a pup and if she's not married, she will be soon...shotgun style of course. So what's the point of contacting me? Why would she even have my number?

Blog lag!

I think this person needs to update her blog! ;o)

LA LA land...

Looks like I am on my way to LA next week. They just booked my flight. Apparently we'll be staying at the Bonaventure, a four star hotel. And, apparently said hotel will be hosting a modeling convention whilst I'm there. I guess the Bonaventure is the set for some up-and-coming movie as well. Of course, this could be propaganda so you can bet I'll be following up. I leave no stone unturned...especially when it comes to these things. Oh, and I guess we'll be working there too.

Boulder Chips...

I went to Subway for lunch today and I normally get the Jalapeno Cheddar Boulder Chips. Well, I was feeling spunky today and went with the Malt Vinegar and Sea Salt. Now my whole cube area smells. I tried to use one of those paper clip things to keep it shut and it still stinks. I'm thinking about trading trash cans with someone when they leave for a meeting. Dirty and underhanded, I know... ;o)

Hell yeah! The Friday Five BABY!

What a week! TGIF!

1. If you could invite five people to dinner from history, living or dead, who would they be?
Interesting. So I'd only get to talk to all 5 over dinner and that's it? Man, that's rough...

• Jesus
• Albert Einstein
• My Dad
• Bill Gates
• Wyatt Earp

2. Why have you chosen these five individuals?

• Jesus: not that I'm a holy roller or anything but there's a few things I wanna "bounce off" Him.
• Albert Einstein: I'm thinking he'd be a bit over my head but I'd love to sit and listen to him brain dump about the quantum theory, the theory of general relativity, the theory of relativity and E=mc2. Plus, he's German so I'd have a shot of RumpleMintz waiting for everyone when he's done speaking.
• My Dad: he's my father and my best friend. The man cracks me up. 'nuff said.
• Bill Gates: I mean, who wouldn't. Some love him...some hate him but, you gotta give it to him. The man is probably one of the (if not THE) greatest business men on the face of the planet. I've seen how much MSFT stock he sells on a quarterly basis. It's sick.
• Wyatt Earp: OK now...Tombstone is probably one of the greatest movies of all time. That aside, I've done a lot of research on his life and he was a pretty dynamic man.

3. What would you serve for dinner?
hmmmm...for that crew? I'd say Ribeyes, garlic mashed potatoes, salad and a German chocolate cake. Damn, I'm hungry now.

4. What would you like to ask them?
Oh, I have so many questions. I think I took care of Einstein above and Jesus would probably get the obvious questions as well as some of the things I really want (read: need) to know. But mostly I wouldn't structure the conversation. It would be stream of conscious and spontaneous.

5. Do you think everybody seated at the table would get along? Why or why not?
Probably not. Wyatt would end up getting tired of Bill Gates' "gas" and kick his azz. ;o)

A cube with a view...

Mooooooooooo! Yes, these are cows... right outside my office. Anytime I have to remind myself I'm not in Denver anymore, I just look out the window.

It's all good. Save a horse, ride a cowboy. ;o)

LA Bound?

So my boss-apple-sauce just told me that I may be going on-site in LA the week of the 15th to answer questions about and provide support for one of our products. Sounds good, right? I mean, I'm always up for changing my latitude and longitude. Here's the kicker...I've never even seen the product.

I'm conflicted. On the one hand, I was told that it is because I have a superior presence with customers so that stroked my ego a bit. On the other, I feel like I'm going to flounder because I have little to no exposure with the product and I only have a week to ramp up. I'm sure everything will work out...it always does.

In any case, there's nuttin' like work-travel to break the monotony of living life in cube-ville. Plus, LA is a pretty cool town. I'm sure I could get myself into some trouble there if I tried hard enough. ;o)

Oh, how I miss the lake...

Alright, so I didn't end up going to the lake last weekend (had to help out a friend) and this weekend doesn't look much better. I have a wedding to go to on Saturday and I know the reception will last well into the wee hours of the morning...they are Irish after all. The wedding albeit fun isn't as much fun as being out on the lake. I guess the wedding doesn't start until 2PM on Saturday and there's always Sunday but it forces me to stay in town and go to one of the few already overcrowded public lakes in the Denver-Metro area.

It feels like the Summer is slipping from my grasp. I blinked and it's already August? How the hell did that happen?

Blesshuuu!

OK, I'm pondering the proper etiquette of saying "Blesshuuu!". How many times should a person have to say it in a day to the same person if they perpetually sneeze? I mean, seriously! This chick sneezes all the time... everyday. And, it's not just me, other people try to chime in with their "Blesshuuu(s)!" but it's almost like everyone has given up (including me) because she does it so often. She's not really a nasal person when you talk to her like you'd normally find with a person with severe allergies...she just sneezes. I wonder if it's like a nervous tick or something. She's a nice person and always remembers to say "Blesshuuu!" to me when I let one go and it almost makes me feel guilty for being annoyed when she sneezes so much. I think I'm going to start making note of every time it happens so I can create charts and bar graphs. If I had to guess right now, I'd say she was averaging one every 8-10 minutes.

Havasu dreamin'

I stumbled upon this guy's photo set on Flickr a few minutes ago. Gaaaaaaawd, I miss Havasu. I've heard it's a lot more tame nowadays though...I heard they closed off the sandbars and Copper Canyon so you're stuck parking in the main channel by London Bridge. So much fun.

Our tax dollars at work...

I got this first thing this morning and I can't stop laughing. Enjoy!