The Myth & The Majesty

The Snooty Cultural Weekend was a screaming success -- and I think Mia Sorella would agree. We kept moving all weekend, from roughly 7PM on Friday until I left at 4PM on Sunday. It was craziness. I'll have more for you when I'm NOT thinking about sleep, however. I'm tired ... Alas, my sleeping "patterns" have been wholly interrupted. Maybe it's better that way -- I'm leaving for Colorado Springs in about 40 hours and I certainly won't be sleeping much more when I get there. It'll be like college all over again ... A weekend with my guys! Woot!

W e'll see how well pictures forward to the blog here ... Moonie sent this one to me this morning and I had to laugh. [Censoring edits are mine, since this is a "family friendly" blog.] ------------ Blog post from Penny Arcade: Lil' Gabe is 3 and a half now and so it's very important that we always have a ready supply of fruit snacks. If we're out shopping or at the bank or whatever, fruit snacks have the ability to soothe the savage three year old. We like to let Gabe pick out his own fruit snacks and he usually will choose Spider-Man or maybe SpongeBob. However I came home recently and found these in the pantry. I would love to know what sick bastard at Kellogs came up with this genius idea. I just spent the first three years of my sons life trying to get him not to eat blocks, and now you're telling him they taste like [-------] strawberries. Thanks a lot [--------]. Seriously, how in the hell did this ever get past their legal department. You can&

Don't get me wrong. I'm glad it's already Thursday. Sort of. Part of me wishes it were Friday -- except that tomorrow also happens to be E-Train's last regular day here. For that, I really wouldn't object to rewinding a couple of weeks. It's going to be a little sadder around here -- except for the weeks that he's forced to come back, that is. Tomorrow, I take the Admiral to the airport bright and early in the morning, put in my office time, and then head off to Minneapolis for a Snooty Cultural Weekend with Mia Sorella. Next week, I'm off to Colorado Springs for the 4th of July ... Yay. Summer travel is finally kicking in. Seems only appropriate -- until this week it didn't really feel like summer. *Sigh.* For now, I sit in my half-cooled office and write reports. Well, one report really. Not a terribly interesting week. [Anybody else out there live/work in a place that uses chillers instead of "standard" air conditioners? T

It's funny the way things seep into you, soak into your skin and get caught up in your organs. The way places can grip you from the inside out and refuse to loosen. The way people can strike into you and get lodged there, stuck forever. It all sounds so grotesque, but that's what addiction is. And my addiction to the Hills just got a jab when I got a phone call from Missy ... Eleven of my favorite people on the planet, largely those I worked with in the summer of 2004, are together right now at one of my favorite restaurants in Rapid City. All I can think is -- WHAT THE HECK AM I DOING HERE? ?! I knew I missed them. I knew I missed the Hills. I knew that it was going to be hard to be away from Storm again. But until that garbled, short phone call (and the subsequent text messages) I didn't realize just how painful that withdrawal could be. I have to work in the morning, 800 miles away from home in a small fabric-covered cube. There is absolutely nothing about that sentence

Yesterday I hit one year with Sophie. Coincidentally, on Saturday she hit 20,000 miles ... I guess that's the punishment for being 450 miles from home.

I'm not sure what happened to me. It's been a week since I actually spent a night at home by myself and relaxed. Something about that isn't terribly normal. I shouldn't complain. A year ago I was going crazy with too much alone time.

I sit in my cube Waiting for Excel to work Staring into space And blowing bubbles Leftover from a wedding Attracting odd looks My coworkers think Something must be very wrong With this engineer

After an absurdly productive day at work (well, sort of, if you consider getting a lot done but ending up in the same place as where you started productive), I came home and made it an absurdly productive evening. Actually, I feel rather domestic. After nine hours at the office, I ran to the store, got home around 6:30, mowed half the yard (M-Kay took care of the other half), started bread, cleaned my kitchen (the never-ending battle), and cooked myself supper. Now I'm going to finish the bread and -- not even joking -- finish sewing a couple of throw pillows. And probably watch a movie and have a glass or two of wine, because dangnabbit, I earned it. Why all this in one night? Well, because Sunday I fell asleep within an hour of getting home, yesterday I was too lazy, tomorrow I'll be out with the Cool Table crowd, and Thursday is volleyball night. All of the sudden, it's the weekend. Somewhere in there, I need to find time to finish cleaning the rest of my apartment so th

Well, I made it back! It was a good weekend ... and a very interesting one. Yes. The wedding was unique in a lot of ways, and the mix of guests (I was amazed at how many people I actually knew) was eclectic and kept you on your toes. But I'll have a lot more to say about that one later, I suspect. And pictures, as soon as I get them from Matt. Neglected to do that before we left. Oops. Now, I'm in recovery mode. I think I got enough sleep, but I haven't eaten enough in the last 24 hours to make me NOT loopy. Oy. Right now, though, I should be working. Off I go. Have a good week, everybody.

Interesting week. New work project, some serious domesticity at home (I love my new sewing machine), a work party this evening -- and tomorrow I'm headed to Minnesota for Andy and Kajda's wedding! Woot! Aside from the fact that it's a wedding (I like weddings), I'll also be catching Colt and Josh (search "boy band excited" for last year's adventure to Bridget and Evan's wedding) and ... drumroll please ... Ashli! My roommate-for-life that I haven't seen in a year, which is just plain nuts. And a bunch of other people, too, who I'm afraid to list because I'll miss someone and add people that won't be there -- you'll just have to wait till I get back. Yay for weekend road trips. How I've missed thee. Now my summer can really begin.

Okay. Now, I recently launched into an opera kick. This song in particular has been going around and around in my head ... It’s odd to hear a language you don’t actually speak in your brain, just for the record. Like the inner voices are speaking in tongues -- with the drama but without the spiritual ramifications. I put no guarantee on the translation. I’m sure Mia Sorella will correct it if something’s wrong, though. ---------- Nessun Dorma Nessun dorma! Nessun dorma! [Nobody shall sleep!] Tu pure, o, Principessa, [Even you , o Princess,] nella tua fredda stanza, [in your cold room,] guardi le stelle [watch the stars] che tremano d'amore [that tremble with love] e di speranza. [and with hope.] Ma il mio mistero è chiuso in me, [But my secret is hidden within me,] il nome mio nessun saprà! [my name no one shall know... ] No, no, sulla tua bocca lo dirò [No, no ... On your mouth I will tell it] quando la luce splenderà! [when the light shines.] E

Some more tidbits from the PatentStorm website, along with some observations of my own. What a strange, interesting morning this was. ------------- Today in history: John H. Kraft granted a patent for the "manufacture of soft surface cured cheese". "I think there is a world market for maybe five computers." Thomas Watson Sr., chairman of IBM ; 1943 "There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home." Ken Olsen, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corporation ; 1977 [An inclining coffin?! Creepy!] "It is my heart-warmed and world-embracing Christmas hope and aspiration that all of us, the high, the low, the rich, the poor, the admired, the despised, the loved, the hated, the civilized, the savage (every man and brother of us all throughout the whole earth), may eventually be gathered together in a heaven of everlasting rest and peace and bliss, except the inventor of the telephone." Mark Twain, Christmas

...that one person who claimed to be the inventor of the television is Russian émigré Vladimir Zworykin? In 1929 David Sarnoff, founder of RCA, asked Zworykin what it would take to develop TV for commercial use. He said: a year and a half and $100,000. In reality, it took 20 years and $50 million! Before his death in 1982 at the age of 92, Zworykin said of his invention: "The technique is wonderful. It is beyond my expectations. But the programs! I would never let my children even come close to this thing." (Directly from the PatentStorm website. I'm spending my morning sifting through US Patents, and the tidbits on the side make it much more awesome.)

Listening to: Billie Holiday Thankful that: I decided to stay home this weekend after all Oh, what an agonizingly long night. Sort of. Those of you who know me or who have been reading this for any significant length of time probably know that I am prone to bouts of insomnia. Nothing to compare to my sister's bouts, thank goodness, but there nonetheless. (If it is in fact genetic, my dad gets the blame -- he has the same problem.) I am a morning person -- sort of -- and a night owl. I am not an afternoon person. The problem seems to come when those nights blend right into the mornings and I then sleep into the afternoon. Last night started like so many Fridays. I've been taking Fridays off lately from the social scene; we have an active group here that can keep busy virtually every weeknight. By Friday, I need some me time. With that in mind, I left work yesterday and headed straight for JoAnn Fabrics. That felt odd, simply because I'd never been in there and I've never

Pump cavitation: when a liquid going through a pump boils due to a drop in pressure, causing little bubbles that implode and vaporize. Enough imploding little bubbles and you have a noise problem and pump damage. (Tiny bubbles ... Here! Gone! Here! Gone!) [End chemical engineering lesson for the day.]

Did you know that you can set blogs to "invitation only," even on Blogger? I mean, I knew that you could do that with others, but not Blogger. Until this morning, that is. One of the blogs I frequent seems to have gone that route. So unless you add me to your list, dude (I hope so ... I'm on your blogroll ... Or at least I was, last I read it!) ... Well, I guess if you don't add me I won't frequent your blog. Not really a threat so much as a fact. Kind of a sad fact. Unless your address changed again, which seems unlikely. While we're on the topic, dear reader, I recommend trying something. After you're done here, try hitting that "Next Blog" button up at the top in the Blogger navbar. Just do it. It'll be fun.

"Let It Rain" by OK Go Super automatic pilot motor running down circles in the parking lot Self-sustaining system bit her in the neck and quick and kissed her and took all she got Did you come here to dance? What's in your glass? Do you feel better? Let it rain, let it pour Let it rain, let it pour Hallelujah, hallelujah Let it rain, let it pour Cruise-control distressed, her kind of cursed and kind of blessed her, engine running on the fume Vision blue and blurry, falling angels in a flurry, spinning thru the empty room Did you come here to dance? What's in your glass? Do you feel better now? Let it rain, let it pour Let it rain, let it pour Hallelujah, hallelujah Let it rain, let it pour...

Happy June! And happy Mon -- oh. Oh yeah. Hm. I'm at least a little excited about this week. Why? Because as of today, I am no longer the only female engineer around here. That's right, there's another one starting. Rumored to be three of us (two process and one mechanical) by next week -- !!! Considering that I've been the only one for the last 65 weeks (that's three weeks after I started), I'm rather psyched about this. The men around here could use some dilution, among other things. Well, back to work. Have a tolerable Monday, folks.