*slides into first*

I'm feeling really dated for resisting making an "all your base are belong to us " joke. I'd say I'm rounding second and either about to make an awesome slide into third or maybe make it a home run. Life is getting better and better every day, through a lot of damn hard work, and a little (or maybe a lot) of help from my friends. I think 2013 is going to be a watershed year for me, a year when everything changes, and I look back and think "This is the year when I finally got where I was going all this time; I've finally arrived." But realizing I've arrived just means knowing I've arrived at the trailhead of the path I'll be on for years to come; I just had been meandering on other paths for so long, and I finally found the beginning of the one I want to head down for the duration.

I wish I understood the baseball references but I'll touch base anyway. Life's quiet for me at the moment, but I've a holiday to look forward to in March. Work is fine, except for some external stuff I have no control over which is knocking my confidence, but my bosses are all happy with me.

I like winter, even the snow. I work around it, I won't drive in snow. I enjoy the quiet days (like today) where the snow's falling and I have nothing I need to do except watch the football on TV.

Having a rotten rotten time at work right now -- too much to do, overtime hours, and was given a really insulting reason for not getting promoted -- but so far the weekend has been lovely and fun and I have tomorrow off as well to do anything I want. So, still batting above the Mendoza line I guess.

Who wants to be responsible for the base touching?

Not without gloves.

Costello: Well then who's on first?
Abbott: Yes.
Costello: I mean the fellow's name.
Abbott: Who.
Costello: The guy on first.
Abbott: Who.
Costello: The first baseman.
Abbott: Who.
Costello: The guy playing...
Abbott: Who is on first!
Costello: I'm asking YOU who's on first.
Abbott: That's the man's name.
Costello: That's who's name?
Abbott: Yes.
Costello: Well go ahead and tell me.
Abbott: That's it.
Costello: That's who?
Abbott: Yes.

But seriously, finally 90% recovered from the worst cold in years, which hit me just in time to ruin New Year's (definitely not the currently awful flu, a shorter list of symptoms). My voice has come back after being away for most of two weeks (well, right now, it's not exactly MY voice), but that's a common post-cold symptom for me (it used to keep people from bothering me when I returned to work after sick days). Currently trying to get my almost-dead 20-year-old Subaru minimally drivable in order to qualify it for the California Car Retirement Program that would make it worth $1000. Slowly re-assembling some of my old websites using a damn-near-universally-versatile WordPress theme rather than doing most of the coding myself (my Wendell.me blog is coming back as OtherCraig.me). I've been letting the cat I 'inherited' from a neighbor stay inside at night when the Central California nighttime lows are below freezing, and more than once I've awoken to find the unimaginatively named Kit out of her designated 'bed' and either (a) up on my desk (b) stalking my well-protected cockatiel or (c) curled up at the foot of MY bed. Having always been a Dog person, it feels kind of disturbing having a cat semi-bonding with me. And now that I'm health-wise back-to-mostly-human, I'll risk further illness by doing some early Spring Cleaning, evicting all the dust and mold and what-is-that-thing-under-the-bed from my tiny apartment. (Note to self: next drugstore trip, buy facemasks.)

Still alive.

Well, today I find out if I have to replace the subflooring in my bathroom. So I'll check in after. Unless I die of a heart attack at the expense...

Huzzah! Only $1200 worth of work afterall, no subflooring replacement.

tooooouching me

toooooooooucing yoooooooou

SWEEEEET Caroline ! BUM BAH BUM!

I am in Vegas for the first time! It's a lot of fun so far. Our company is having its sales meeting and it is such a welcome change to see people face to face instead of just emailing and being alone working from home.
It helps that they are really cool and I like most of them a lot.
I also get to meet the people from our British office and see a Cirque du Soleil show!
Pretty pumped right now after a great conversation with two managers in which we were all agreeing on new structure and process ideas.
Happily geeking out on work stuff and feeling pretty great about the people I work with and the company I work for.

Just made our save the dates for the wedding.
The big things we have left to do are the music, decorations, and officiant. I know there are going to be a ton of little things to plan, but once those big ones are out of the way, I will feel relieved that if all else fails, we will still have a cool party.

ah, yes, Sweet Caroline... having just turned 14 when it came out in 1969, I still consider it the peak of Neil Diamond's career. And the deeply creepy fact that he admitted it was inspired by the then-very-underage Caroline Kennedy does nothing to change my mind. Or its more recent associations with the Boston Red Sox, Caroline Rhea's short-lived talk show or Stephen Harper publicly singing it to his wife.