Days 7-8: Celebrations

Apologies for not posting more pictures.  I left the cord that hooks my phone up to my computer at home.  The picture above is from a triple work birthday party on Tuesday.  As a gag gift, my boss got this co-worker a sash and fake mustache (he didn't have to wear the mustache through dinner).  We got a lot of good laughs out of it!  Birthday dinner was held at an elegant establishment called "Uncle Yuu's".  (The name is a bit deceiving, but it really was nice.)  I had beef tenderloin medallions and beautiful orange prawns.  There was wine, smiles, and combat over the lazy susan that held our appetizers.  All in all, it was pretty amazing.

Also, I have a bit of good news.  The doctor completed his tests on my grandpa and found that he is 100% cancer free.  My family and I are breathing a collective sigh of relief.  Big thanks to everyone who expressed their concern.  :)

In the work world, I started my first week of training (ever).  Most of my class sizes have been small, but I've really enjoyed interacting with the workers and bringing them up to speed on how to use our software.  We bribe them to pay attention with candy.  :)  I find it highly effective when I don't eat all the good ones myself.

Tonight, I ate dinner with my friend Toni and her fiancee.  We went to a new place called Sushi Station where the tea was luke warm (but tasty), and the sushi was decent.  In terms of value for our dollar, I think we did fairly well.  It was also neat to learn about the goings on at Toni's work.  She has a cool opportunity coming up, and I'm excited for her.

When I finally got back to the hotel, I joined my co-workers in a game of "Cards Against Humanity".  It's like the messed up adult version of Apples to Apples.  Best of all, the game is relatively free.  It costs about $6 to print the cards at Kinkos.  You can download it here.

Lastly, my romantic life is still going pretty slow again (not the worst thing ever).  I did manage to patch up some hurt feelings with one of my ex's, which makes me happy.  Hopefully, we continue to make forward progress as we get to know each other again.

I was remarking to my friend John that I'm starting to feel like the old, light-hearted Lancifer is rising to the surface again...long overdue in my opinion.  It's really hard telling where tomorrow will take me, but this week has been a good start to what could be some vast improvements in the quality of my life.

Well, it's time for a  little sleep.  I'll catch you all later.

Days 4-5: When It Rains It Pours

(My buddy Jason messing with Popeyes workers)

(My Friday night diet - chips and juice)

I had an epiphany today.  I don't miss Jenny (romantically).  Sure, I miss having someone close that I can confide in and take comfort in, but I don't specifically miss her.  I think that is an important distinction to make.  I hope that she gets done soon with whatever she's doing to move on with her life.  I'd like to re-establish our friendship if possible.

My quest to get whatever I want whenever I want has been put on hold temporarily.  I found out today that my grandpa has a mass on his stomach and is getting it checked out on Monday.  The doctors suspect cancer, but that remains to be seen.  For those of you who don't know, my grandpa is among my top two role-models and a very important person to me.  I know that he is getting old and that his days are numbered, but I don't like acknowledging that he is mortal.  It's like Lex Luthor actually killing Superman.  You just don't think about it.

Regardless of how things work out, I have a lot of great memories from the time I've spent with my Grandpa.  I guess that's the most important thing.

On a side note, I've resolved to talk up one stranger per day (as opportunities present themselves).  On my plane flight back, I met a lady from Spokane, WA.  She was flying with her youngest of six children.  The family resemblance was uncanny; every detail from their long slender noses to bright ginger hair were identical.  I learned that she grew up in Arizona but didn't do much sightseeing when she lived there.  She hasn't even seen the Grand Canyon, which made me laugh.  Her husband is a mechanical engineer from the University of Idaho.  He did not ride with them, though.  We shared a lot of other conversation, but I don't want to bore you with the details.

Well, back to science.  Toodles!

Day 3 - Family Dinner

Today was a grueling day at work.  We had non-stop meetings with people that droned on forever about all the paperwork they have to fill out for their jobs, what problems they experience with their current tools, etc.  I did, however get to talk to some QA folks that had interesting stories about the quality of the food they purchase.  For legal reasons, I can't repeat them here, but I can say that I'll never look at salad kits the same way.

We finished up the day with a big dinner at a quality Italian restaurant.  The Cajun Chicken Fettucini was outstanding!  A member of our client's team, joined us and brought his baby son, John Franklin.  Needless to say, John Franklin stole the show.  Well, I'm running late for work.  More to come later, perhaps.