17 January 2001
Last year: It was scary, and we fled.
One of my readers wrote in yesterday. As a self-touted "short chunky guy" who loves bike riding, he offered some suggestions and advice on avoiding the problems I'd encountered with Kris' bike. Most of them were things to keep in mind when buying my own bike, and some of them I already knew, but there were some good suggestions in there for the meantime, while I'm still trying to decide whether to get my own. You know who you are: Thanks!
Just to tell you how weird I am: I made Matt ask Braz to come over and help him set up our new DVD/VCR. I even knew it shouldn't be a big deal - after all, the old VCR had all the same plugs; it was just a matter of transferring them to the new equipment. But for some reason, I really didn't want to deal with it.
I'm not sure even I know why. I'm not afraid of technology. (In fact, I went home yesterday and promptly started fiddling with the new cordless phone. And after they got the DVD player up and running, I played with the remote and pushed buttons until Matt got somewhat nervous.) I joked with the guys that I made Braz come help because I didn't want to be the one moving the furniture, if it turned out to be necessary to pull out the entertainment center to get at the plugs and wires - but that wasn't really it, either.
Maybe it's the same reason that I can't stand watching anyone else work on my computer. Though I can't really explain that, either. I'm a worry-wart with a mile-wide bossy streak. That should be enough.
But the new DVD/VCR is very nice. Now, to get some DVDs.
Let the games begin!
I just got word that the head manager of my office - who was planning to retire in two weeks - went into the hospital last night with an irregular heartbeat.
It's not exactly a surprise. He's had heart surgery more than once, smoked two packs a day, and has been in a slow but steady decline for months. Any normal person would have retired five years ago, but Dave is just too much of a workaholic - and too damn stubborn - to quit. I knew when he announced his retirement that his health had to be failing seriously. So, as I said, it's sad, but not unexpected, and hopefully an enforced rest and respite from smoking will do him good.
But back here at the office... Personal loyalty to Dave is what's kept a lot of people working here. We put up with a lot of stupid corporate bullshit because it makes Dave's life easier. The managers immediately below Dave in the office hierarchy are, for the most part, complete assholes. We've put up with them for Dave's sake.
But now that Dave's gone, and those managers will actually step into his shoes...
Someone save me the Classifieds, okay?
Actually, working in the section of our office that I do, I'm pretty isolated from the managers. In fact, the only reason I know Dave's in the hospital is that my dad knows we never get any news over here, and he came over to tell me.
That isolation could work for me in this changeover. I hope it does. I had my performance review yesterday, and my supervisor gave me very high marks - and confirmed for me that I'm not only being tracked for management, but fast-tracked. I'm hoping that will translate to a good raise when the raises roll around in March. I don't expect it, but I'm hoping. We'll see what happens.
Word of the Day:
augur - to foretell or predict the future, esp. from omens
Currently Reading:
- nothing
Current Projects:
- Kris' afghan