Austin - I'm in love

Ok, so the Newt, sometimes, isn't so smart. I'll actually admit to you all what came out of my mouth last night.

The boss and I had just rented our car which is conveniently located right next to the baggage claim. We are at the first of 5 carousels.

Boss: Hmmm, now we just have to figure out which one our luggage is at.
Newt: Oh, must be 5, there's the tall guy in a cowboy hat.
Boss: Looking at me in a perplexed sort of way

wait for it
wait for it

***Lightbulb***

Newt: Oh, um, duh, we're in Texas aren't we.

As it turns out I did identify the same tall drink of water in a cowboy hat that was on our plane. But still, that's like picking out white trash at a pro-wrestling match.

Now, why am I in love with Austin? One word: WARM

We walked out to get our car, our shoulders did the Minnesota hunch. But as soon as the night air hit our bodies we both relaxed, looked at each other and grinned.

Oh baby that felt good.

Off to Austin

Hey kids,

I will be in Austin TX for the next week as I begin to see the fruition of my project at work. I put in 14 hour days but I think I am ready to roll with it. At this point there really isn't anything more I can do to be ready.

It's in the hands of Kinkos now. As well as all the good people back home still churning out data for me. I think I will show up at Kinkos with doughnuts and coffee. I'm sure they aren't really fond of me given that I just ordered about $10,000 worth of bound, tabbed, and labeled manuals, very few of which were duplicate jobs. But given that more of the data I need will be coming in last minute I'll need to ask a few favors regarding speed from them. As in, here's 8 more 700 page manuals none of which are the same. Can you have those ready by 7 am tomorrow? I know it's 6:30 pm now...................I know, I know, the copy machines do the majority of the work these days and they can print, what, a zillion pages a second. But still, they are the ones that ultimately are the hero's of the project. And I appreciate that.

This would be why I picked a 24 hour location.

Anywho, as I was scrambling last night to get the last of the files I could send over to the print shop ready I was getting messages from our data team letting me know that they were still making changes to functionality so the rest of the information I need really will be coming in last second.

Oh, the wonders of SAP implementation...................

Despite still being on the computer working at 10 at night I am having fun. The adrenaline is pumping. And I'm excited.

We don't actually "Go Live" till March 30th. My boss said something about all of the training team being in Calif. for it. And she mentioned the beach, a lot of drinks with umbrellas in them, and something about not remembering April fools day.

I like that kind of thinking......................

So, Homebloys, know any good places to eat in Austin? I have a few picked out but if you know of any in particular..............

We were sad to learn that at this time of year the bats are down in Mexico.

Dear fellow Homebloy's

The Newt was named "Project Manager" at work. What that really means is I get to work, worry, and agonize my ass off for the next few weeks. I love ya, I'm reading as fast and as often as I can. If I don't comment or post regularly, I swear I'm not going any where or snubbing anyone. I'm just currently buried up to my neck in getting ready for a big training blitz.

Thank god I get to take the project manager hat off in one month. Come February 8th everyone is welcome to stop by our place for a beer or 10.

I love my new job. This is a great feeling to have a project that I actually care about. That has a purpose. And that means something.

It's wonderful. And I'm excited.

I'm just also a little buried.

Love you all though!

WWC and the end of a great book

Strange

A strange and wonderful friendship

A strange and funny man

Black

A princess in black and white

*****

Last night I finished The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. If I could give this book more than 5 stars I would. It was beautiful. It was heartbreaking. It was amazing. I can't say enough about this book. I don't think I will ever forget the characters I met, fell in love with, adored, and cried over. Ok, I admit it, I bawled. I sobbed.

I will only say that when you get to Part 10 - pg 495 in my version that you read this at home. In a quiet place. Don't finish at a coffee shop or work. Not a good idea.

A few lines - non spoilers from various parts of the book:

*****

"....because I don't have much interest in building mystery. Mystery bores me. It chores me. I know what happens and so do you. It's the machinations that wheel us there that aggravate, perplex, interest, and astound me."

*****

"And then.

There is death.

Making his way through all of it.

On the surface: unflappable, unwavering.

Below: unnerved, untied, and undone."

This book called to me when I was in B&N. I'm so incredibly glad I listened. This now goes down as one of my all time favorite books ever. It's in my top 10, and actually, I think it is in the top 5.

Confessions of a geek

I'm a geek. There is no way around it. And I'm ok with that. Geekdom, frankly, is a pretty good place to be. The people are nice, well, at least the "normal" ones are. There are a few geeks that go overboard and get kinda scary but we try to avoid those.

I love SciFi. In fact it's gotten to the point that I either watch Sci Fi or a show that stars two huge geeks, Mythbusters.

I read Sci Fi. Though I also read a wide variety of books my favorites are in the geek category.

Except James Lee Burke, and he's on a pedestal all by himself way up high in my world.

I relate to geeks, I'm comfortable with geeks, I get them and they get me.

I'm not just left of center, I'm left of reality.

I have a vivid imagination.

At night my dreams take me to some very odd places normally reserved for drug induced psychosis.

I got to thinking about my geekdom when it dawned on me that I really don't watch any television unless it involves outer space or the mythical.

And a happy Saturday was spent deep in the world of Neverwinter. Actually I finished off the game this evening so I went on to Amazon and ordered the other two expansion packs. I've grown very attached to my little monk. She kicks some serious ass. And the little kobold bard that hangs out with her, well, I wouldn't know what to do without him. Grant you he gets himself killed more often than not as soon as a bad guy looks at him sideways but he's funny and kinda cute in a "he's so ugly he's cute" sort of way.

I will not reveal all my geeky ways. I won't make you suffer through them. And a few are just my little secret. Those things about me you might never know.

But we all have to have our secrets right?

Any besides, it keeps me out of trouble. And really, that's all that matters.

So what are you? Jock? Geek? Nerd? Cheerleader? Druggy? Thespian?

WWC and It Called to Me

Dear DSL,

Your service is excellent, I have no complaints. You almost never go out. However, last night you did. And, well, see, it might get me in trouble. I had an assignment due and because of you I have to be late. And that might get me ten pokes with a spork. And that would kinda hurt. So, if you could not do that again I would appreciate it. Or, at a minimum please do not go out on Tuesdays or Wednesdays. K?

Thanks for your consideration

Newt

Brown

The Quick Brown Dog Slept like a Lazy Fox

Shades of sleeping kitty browns

Patterns of my Brown Wood

Pattern

Newt's pajama pattern is Pooh

The Deathcicles hanging from our home - they have reached a length of 3-4 feet.

********************

Seeing as I wanted to start out on the right foot with my resolutions I did go to Barnes & Noble on the 1st. I wandered around looking at the clearance books, the used books, and the new and noteworthy. I perused the new and noteworthy once, twice, and then a final third trip down the aisle, just to see what might catch my eye.

Scanning, scanning, pick one up - eh, sounds ok. Pick up another, nope, no interest. Scan, scan. Oh, wait, what is this, this one hidden on the bottom, deep in shadow.

"The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak. Holding it in my hand it seemed to hum, just a little. There was an energy that I found attractive and alluring. The last time I felt a book hum was "The Thirteenth Tale" and before that, "Shantaram". That feeling that I have to drop everything I am doing in life and immerse myself in a book. That feeling that my life will never be the same by the time I close that back cover.

So I walked with my yet still humming book over to the coffee counter. Over the angelic music wafting from my arms I ordered a mocha, and a cookie (I said nothing about eating better in my resolutions). And then I curled up at the bar (it's not easy to do, but I managed) and cracked open the pages....................

The first chapter: "Death and Chocolate"

Well hell, how can you resist a book that starts like that.

and a few paragraphs later:

.........."The only sound I'll hear after that will be my own breathing, and the sound of the smell, of my footsteps.

The question is, what color will everything be at that moment when I come for you? What will the sky be saying?"

This story, it is narrated by death. And from page one the prose are lyrical and thought provoking and beautiful.

Death thinks he might like a vacation.

"Still, it's possible that you might be asking, why does he even need a vacation? What does he need distraction from?


Which brings me to my next point.
It's the leftover humans.
The survivors.

They're the ones I can't stand to look at, although on many occasions I still fail. I deliberately seek out the colors to keep my mind off them, but now and then, I witness the ones who are left behind, crumbling among the jigsaw puzzle of realization, despair, and surprise. They have punctured hearts. They have beaten lungs."

So far this book has stopped me several times dead in my reading tracks. I back up, I re-read, I contemplate.

I love, word after word after word. I love.

That New Year Smell

Ahhhh, 8 hours and 44 minutes into 2008 and it feels great! It still has that New Year smell to it. Breathe deep kiddies. It's gonna be a great year.

I contemplated what my resolutions would be for the year as I figure, it's worth at least a try to aspire to improve myself, set some goals. Be a better person when 2009 roles around.

So, let's see.......................

1. Do more crafts
2. Keep trying to finish those projects
3. Clean the house more
4. Read more
5. Drink coffee
6. Get lost in Barnes and Noble at least once a month
7. Buy more shoes
8. Clean out the attic

Ok, I'm gonna stop there. The pressure is already getting to me..............

There is a plus side to 2008. A very very very big plus side. This is the year that we get rid of Commander Coo-Coo Bananas. How can 2008 NOT be a good year? Seriously, think about it. After 8 dark and devastating years in which our country was spiraled down into quite a mess, we will all have a glimmer of hope, renewal, and change. Maybe, as 2009 dawns the world won't think so little of us anymore. We can renew friendships with nations that have had to turn their backs on our stupidity and random acts of terroristic war mongering and bullying. Hopefully the next president won't sanction and encourage torture. Hopefully we can begin to fix all the things that have gone horribly wrong.

The Oval Office sure needs that new office smell.

*********

Because I love a good controversy and Mythbusters is my favorite show I am exploring a current Urban Legend/Myth. I'm reading the Philip Pullman "His Dark Materials" series. I heard from a friend that The Golden Compass was the story of kids that set out to kill god. And, well, hell, I gotta look into that. I looked at Snopes. And they said it's sorta true but not really. Not in the literal sense of someone setting out to kill the Christian God but rather a false God. Though who that false god is I guess could be open to interpretation. I finished The Golden Compass and nothing in that story really even hints at that. But it's only the beginning of the full story. And the main character doesn't live in our world but a parallel one with some very different realities. Now, there is a powerful church organization in the story but there is not clear right or wrongness discussed.

I'm only at the very beginning of book 2. So I'll let you know how it all turns out.

So far I think they are a really good read. Much like reading Harry Potter I find myself falling into the books and really being there with the characters. I can vividly see everything that is going on. And that is my favorite kind of book. When I have to pull myself out of the pages and back into my own reality. Nothing is better.

The other idea I like is that in the main characters world everyone has a daemon. Which is an animal companion that you are connected with, they are part of your soul. Until puberty the animal can change into any form. Once you reach adulthood the animal takes on one permanent shape. And that shape reflects who you are as a person.

If we all had an animal companion that we could talk to, that kept us warm, made us feel safe, how much better might our world be? How less lonely would we all feel? The animal lover that I am thinks this is one of the coolest "wish it were real" ideas I have ever come across. And what form would our daemon take?

Well, Happy 2009 everyone. Let's make it a great blogger year!