Speaking of work...

I just reviewed my blog for the month of June, and all of the posts for the last 2-3 weeks have had something to do with my job. I think maybe, just maybe, it's been a source of stress for me during that time, and I appreciate you, my readers, for bearing with me.

This is a picture I took of me not working at work on Friday. I mean, I was at work, but this was after I was off the clock, so I was no longer working. Not that it didn't take some work to construct this photograph, but... oh, never mind. You get the picture.

More of the same, only different

The composition consisting of wrench heads from my previous post used to adorn my work computer as the desktop artwork. A few weeks ago, my new manager noticed this and asked if this meant that I still pledged allegiance to my previous work group, where I worked on tools. Since then, I have been looking for a way to rework this same theme using the medium of my current projects.

Today I had the opportunity to shoot some photos for our next catalog. My new screen backdrop is a byproduct of that endeavor.

Continuation of a theme

Sounding Board

I don't know why, but I'm feeling a bit more abstract tonight. Perhaps its the fact that I'm trying to lower my dependence on caffeine, or perhaps it's my midweek "I need to do something creative" mindset. Either way, I like the pretty colors.

Oh, the places you'll go

When I woke up last Wednesday in Okemos, Michigan, I saw this in our hotel parking lot.

You can find out more at the C-Span Bus Website. Apparently its quite a big deal. If you don't believe me, just check out these ringing endorsements from the Teacher Quotes page:

"What is so great about these resources is that they show government doing things that we as government teachers usually just have to explain to kids and 'hope' they understand. But, as you know, government is so intangible, confusing and arcane. With these clips, government is brought to life."
Dan Fouts, Gov't. Teacher - Des Plaines, IL

"C-SPAN is as good as a field trip for students."
Myriam Oliver

"As Head of School, I often use information gained from C-SPAN for my readings or comments at our weekly Morning Meeting. I also refer teachers to available materials in my role also as Head."
Pamela Bloom

Dear Diary

This post won't be much for words. That's mainly because after this last week, my brain has turned to mush, and I'm just trying to recuperate. Here are a few excerpts from my diary over the last week:


Saturday: Birthday. Mowed lawn. Met new neighbors. Slept a lot. Good day.

Sunday: Spent the afternoon with my cousins. Good conversations. Fun afternoon.

Monday: Drove to Michigan for training. Ordered a burger "medium well" at dinner. Remembered how dry and flavorless anything over "medium" is. Won't do that again.

Tuesday: Training all day. Learned enough to be dangerous with a $250,000 test system.

Wednesday: More training. Hopefully learned enough to keep me FROM being dangerous with the $250,000 test system. Drove back to Chicago. Got home around 11:00pm.

Thursday: More training, but unrelated to the other training. Brain totally exhausted.

Friday: Showed up at work, but completely useless due to mush-brain and lack of sleep.

Saturday: Slept in. Watched Cubs beat Toronto. Bought a lawn trimmer. Mowed lawn again. Already feeling much better.

My favorite email ever

I received this email today from my parents. It made me smile!

-----
Adam,
Four score and seven years ago, minus three score, your mother, and father, and a doctor and some nurses, brought forth on this continent a new Adam, conceived in...well we won't talk about that, and dedicated to THE LORD!

Happy Birthday! Best Wishes. Much Joy, Success, Happiness, and Love.
God is Good!
Love, Dad and Mom
-----

Thanks, Dad and Mom!!!!

Everybody's Workin' for the Weekend

Ah... Lover Boy and those irrepressible images of Chris Farley dancing his heart out.

But, alas, that is unrelated to my post other than to provide an apt title.

Allie and I had a very busy weekend all around. Allie worked a little later than usual on Friday night, so we went out for a nice dinner followed by a little shopping for the baby. We arrived home at about 9:30pm only to find that the power was out in our entire neighborhood due to several severe storms earlier in the day. With no electricity to provide us with entertainment, we went to bed early hoping to wake up to the flashing red LEDs of an unset clock.

That never happened, at least not during the night. We each woke up several times to the sounds of work crews out and about trying to fix the problem, but the electricity remained off.

On Saturday morning, I went into a recording studio with our church's worship director to work on tracks for his upcoming CD. Allie stayed at home, powerless, until about 2:15 in the afternoon. I finished up around 9pm after a full day in the studio and headed home. I know that doesn't sound like much, but neither the power outage nor the studio work should have lasted more than a few hours, and they felt like they consumed the whole day.

If Friday and Saturday were busy, then Sunday was a complete blur. After church we hurried out to a bridal shop to get Allie fitted for a bridesmaids dress for a wedding in October. We rushed home, changed, and headed to Winnetka for Libby's (the 5-year-old Allie takes care of) ballet recital. As soon as that let out, we drove further south to babysit three young boys for one of Allie's work friends. All of this went better than anticipated, but we were worn out by the end of it.

I'll include one picture from the ballet of which I am particularly proud. Great job, Libby!