recaplet

Yet another week-in-summary post:

monday
Got a call from Lisa. Talked for hours, but somehow felt much shorter than that. Tried to convince her to come to the Philippines with me in December. Tempted her with promises of scuba diving and durian. It still remains to be seen if she will take the bait.

tuesday
T proposed lunch at Costco, so we all piled into my little car and drove off. There were no seats left insode, so we decided to eat outside. Too windy. Decided to pile back into my car. So, like, totally high school. As we sat and ate our pizza, chicken strips & fries, we made fun of people walking by. Ahhh...high school memories.

wednesday
Had our department Christmas party at Monsoon. Pan Asian food in a funky space. Vegetable Pakoras dipped in a tamarind chutney. Yummy daal and naan bread. Pan seared halibut and mussels with deep fried crispy lotus root and yam chips. The tacky gift exchange got me a three-part gift: an oversized wooden fork & spoon set, a WHAM! cassette, and a Farrah Faucet puzzle which revealed nipplage. Boss Man coveted, so I graciously offered Farrah to him. It was the least I could do. He paid for everyone's meals. He deserved a bit of fun for later.

thursday
Picked up Raj after work and headed to Granville Island to catch The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged). Went to Sandbar for dinner, then laughed our asses off at the show. Rolicking good times!

friday
Finally finished one of my big projects today, including installation. Breathed a big sigh of relief. Got a last-minute creative brief that was a rush job. Freaked out. Panicked. Stayed at work much longer than I should have. Got home at 9:00 pm. Fifteen hours at the office is waaay too long. When the hallucinations begin, it's time to go home.

saturday
Picked up the new Gwen Stefani and U2 albums. Rocked along with Gwen on the drive home. I *heart* her.

sunday
Went to Chapters. Picked up a book to send to Lisa, and then proceeded to shell out $87.14 on magazines. Two fluff reads for the plane ride, one regular read, and an expensive ($49.50) necessity. Why must design magazines be so expensive? You'd think we were well paid or something...

Despite the gorgeous you-should-be-outside-playing weather, I went to the office to get in a few hours of work. Slaved away and got much more done than I had anticipated. By the time I left, it was dark and I had missed my opportunity to frolick in the sunshine.

Fortunately, there are only four more sleeps until I hop on a plane for the sunny beaches of the Philippines. Damn, I still have to pack, wrap up Lisa's books and get them to the post office, pick up some goodies to bring back for my cousins, and finish everything off at work. *sigh* It's hard work preparing to go on vacation!

Vertigo :: U2

highlights

Today's excitements (in no particular order):

let's see...

Made Pad Thai with T and stayed over for dinner with him and his wife. Creation of the gingerbread Hummer followed. It's looking less and less like a Franken-tuck, and more like what it's intended to be. Icing and final touches are scheduled for completion later on in the week. It's a delicate and time-consuming art, this gingerbread sculpting!

Bitched about various annoyances with "the wife" while we hid out in my office late in the afternoon.

Started my current mapping/wayfinding project today, and thought I was making some real progress until I went to the computer and plotted out an initial mock-up. I was confused as ever by what I saw on the screen, and will need to start from square again tomorrow. A full day to realize that what I had was crap! Ah well, not all was in vain. At least I now have a light table for my office. (At least it's mine until someone tries to claim it back.)

Found out how much the folks at the external ad agency make doing the same thing that I do, but more shoddily. Let's just say that they make more money putting together one lousy flyer than I do in a single year! Oh the injustice of it all!

Called a friend in Calgary and had a good long chat...mostly about work, but also a little silliness and gossip thrown in for good measure. Had a chat with an English girl on the other end as well. Being the lover of accents that I am, this had to make it on my list of daily highlights. "Spoke with a Brit. Check!"

Discovered that a co-worker has shingles - otherwise known as herpes zoster, or a version of adult chicken pox. Not sure how contagious it is, but my fingers are crossed that it isn't too catching since we were sharing a bag of candies in the office late last week. I kept scratching nervously today, but I think it's just psychosomatic. I hope.

Found out that a co-worker's partner was just diagnosed with type 1 diabetes over the weekend. It's a big deal, particularly because he's a pilot - and this news means that he is no longer allowed to fly a plane because of the possible effects of the illness. It's what he's worked for long long to be, so the news is pretty devastating. Although he seems to be taking it in good stride so far. This serves as a reminder for me that no matter how bad I think things may be in my life, it's not really all that unbearable.

I'm going to go count my blessings now...

customer service

I finally found a copy of Back Porch Spirituals online and placed an order today. This was the e-mail confirmation that I received:

Your CD has been gently taken from our CD Baby shelves with sterilized contamination-free gloves and placed onto a satin pillow.

A team of 50 employees inspected your CD and polished it to make sure it was in the best possible condition before mailing.

Our packing specialist from Japan lit a candle and a hush fell over the crowd as he put your CD into the finest gold-lined box that money can buy.

We all had a wonderful celebration afterwards and the whole party marched down the street to the post office where the entire town of Portland waved 'Bon Voyage!' to your package, on its way to you, in our private CD Baby jet on this day, Sunday, November 14th.

I hope you had a wonderful time shopping at CD Baby. We sure did. Your picture is on our wall as 'Customer of the Year'. We're all exhausted but can't wait for you to come back to CDBABY.COM!!

Thank you once again,
Derek Sivers, president, CD Baby
the little CD store
with the best new independent music
phone: 1-800-448-6369
email: cdbaby@cdbaby.com
http://www.cdbaby.com/

All I can say is, there had better be a gold-lined box encasing my CD when it arrives in the mail!

I love these people! I fully realize that the schmaltz is pure marketing, but I don't care. Put a beanie on my head and call me a sucker! Oh, and to the people of Portland, you're welcome. I hope you enjoyed the parade rustled up on my account.

let it shine

Went to T's place after work today to build a gingerbread house. Kinda.

A little background. There's a gingerbread house contest at work. And while I'm not usually one to participate in cheesy little contests like this on a regular basis, I allowed T to convince me that it would be fun.

So, rather than making a typical gingerbread house, we hashed out a few different ideas. The Chrysler Building, a Frank Lloyd Wright house, and Malibu Barbie's Dream House were all discussed, as was a scale model of the building we're currently in the process of remodelling. In the end, we gave in to our testosterone fueled imaginations and decided to build a gingerbread Hummer. So far, I've built the body and T has fashioned tires from ropes of black licorice. It's coming together quite well, I must say. Stay tuned next week as I attempt to make plate glass for the windshield out of caramelized sugar.

We're such dorks!

After a quick dinner of pizza and beer, we headed over to the Media Club to soak in the folk-pop jangle of Jeremy Fisher in concert.



At various points throughout the evening, I was singing along and toe-tapping and lap-drumming like a kid in need of ritalin. Honestly, how could one not love a skinny afro-ed white kid singing his heart out with just a guitar and a harmonica (and the recent addition of a three-man band) to back him up? The only disappointment of the evening was finally making it to the back of the club to see if I could pick up a copy of his 2002 debut album, Back Porch Spirituals, only to find that they had all been sold. If I wasn't a saner person, I'd hop on the next flight to Alberta, follow the tour and pick up a copy of his first CD.

I'll try my luck online first.


Singing on the Sidewalk :: Jeremy Fisher

embarrassment

I'm sick of looking at my generic looking, template driven blog. As a graphic designer, I should be thoroughly embarrassed not to have a fancy schmancy looking site. Shame on me! I should seriously be walking around with a paper bag over my head. *sigh*

Don't worry, I'll get around to it...eventually. After I finally get rid of this decrepit old home computer (and replace it with a sexier version), wrap up the current round of freelance jobs, make it through her highness, my sister's wedding, finish training my new assistant to the point where he no longer requires adult supervision, start working more normal hours, and manage to avoid missing meals.

In other words, don't hold your breath.


The Bitch is Back :: Elton John