Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Back at it

Tomorrow starts the first official day back to school. Bummer.

Summer just sort of...ended. Malia and I had a date last week, and then I was in a workshop until today. Tomorrow is meetings and setting up my office.

Hopefully I will get a chance to talk with the big boss lady about the job and get some more feedback and direction. It sounds like there are other plans being discussed about adding to my assignment, but it all depends upon how my position is written into the grant.

Time will tell!

Monday, August 23, 2010

Good Times

Last week I spent most of my days in workshops for school. Good times. Learned some things. Knew most of the stuff already. Meh. 2 more days of workshops and then it is back to work! Hooray!

Dave and I went to the Rifftrax Live show on Thursday. Very funny as always. Another show coming up in October. Woot!

Rejoined Facebook. Sorry to my legion of fans here, but it's just not enough! I am sure the comment section will be buzzing with worry and doubt, but I will still post here as well.

Monday, August 16, 2010

Sleep(y) in Seattle

After meeting Professor X at the airport, I boarded my plane about an hour after it was supposed to take off and headed to Seattle. Flight was ok except I was sitting next to a large woman who took up about 1/3 of my seat as well as all of hers. Silly me I changed seats. Had I not, I would have been in an aisle next to a skinny girl and had lots more room. Oh well. I watched Star Trek all the way there and finished it up walking through the airport.

Met John at Sea-Tac and headed to the house. Sadly they had to have the big tree in their deck cut down because it was rotting from the inside out. But, it does make the whole thing sunnier.

We hung out and talked about lots of stuff, cooked some kabobs, and talked more.

Saturday morning rolled around and we hit the theater. First up was the Expendables. The movie was taking itself seriously until the uncredited appearances from two big name Hollywood types. From that point on, it became a(n)(unintentional?)laugh fest. At least I thought it was funny. I thought Jet Li was the hardest working of all the guys in the film. After all, he is the smallest.

I give the movie 3 out of 5 stars. I kinda like Jason Statham. I have seen a few of his films and he can do more than just beat people up. I really liked him in Lock, Stock, and 2 Smoking Barrels.

After the movie we got lunch at a restaurant called Tejas. I order the Diablo Pasta. The chicken was good, the sauce was ok, the pasta was overcooked. I give it a 2.5 out of 5. John was happy with the burrito he got, so lunch was not a disaster.

We then decided it was time to see Scott Pilgrim. Scott Pilgrim rocked. It was very funny. The actors were very good. It had a good beat and you could dance to it. I give it a 5 out of 5. Well worth the time and money.

Dinner was in the city at Benihana. Benihana dinner is always good, but it wasn't what I was necessarily in the mood for. Oh well, it was a good time as always.

Sunday morning was breakfast at Starbucks and then off to the comic book store. I was able to get out without spending any money. Woot!

John and I watched Murderer's Row. Nothing like watching Dean Martin drink and drive! I give it 3 out of 5. Funny stuff, especially Ann Margaret in the flower dress.

After that it was time to head out to the airport. 1st stop, Baskin Robbins. Ice cream is good. 2nd stop, Wizards of the Coast. John is currently working on D&D stuff and I got to look around his office. Very cool. He also gave me some cool freebies! John rocks!

Got to the airport with plenty of time to kill. Had a really bad cheeseburger (1 out of 5) for dinner and then set out to wait for my plane. Luckily it was on time and I was in the air by 7.

I sat in the back this time and it wasn't too bad. The young lady next to me was quiet and I watched Kick Ass (3.5 out of 5). The flight got really bumpy about an hour outside of Reno. It felt like being on Indiana Jones at 30,000 ft! Woot! Movie ended just in time to land. Yea!

Landing was actually smoother than I expected, and I was one of the first off the plane. The airport was deserted. Two ladies behind me commented on that and one said, "Well, it is kind of a cow town." Ouch!

Best part was getting in the car with my family. It is always good to be gone, but just as good to come home!

It was a fun trip! 4.5 out of 5 stars!

Friday, August 13, 2010

I'm talking to Sulu!

Well, not Sulu but Capt. Picard.

While waiting for my flight to Seattle I heard a very familiar voice. Patrick Stewart, he of Star Trek and X-Men fame!

I didn't want to intrude, so I just shook his hand and said hello.

First celebrity I have met. (Edit: First "In the wild" as it were.)

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Shower Time

Well, almost. It is almost midnight here on the West Coast and I am waiting for a bit longer to see some of the meteor shower. I guess I could have gone to bed earlier and woken up between 4 and 5, but...Really?

So, I will finish this post up and go outside. Mayhap I will see something.

Mayhap not.

Addiction

Hi, my name is Chad and I am addicted to buying low priced t-shirts.

I have blogged about my love for t-shirts before. Recently it has come to my attention that I have more t-shirts than I actually have room for.

Now granted, my t-shirt collection does not even come close to that of my wife. However, I have run out of room for them all.

Woot Shirt is definitely my favorite place. Recently I got 5 shirts from there. I am especially a sucker for the Random Shirt day. I usually buy 3. 1 is usually awesome. 1 is usually ok. 1 is usually trade bait. This time I got lucky and got 1 awesome shirt and 2 ok ones.

However, I am kicking myself for not getting two shirts when they came out and now it is too late.

Here is the first one:



Fairly self explanatory and kind of funny especially for comic book geeks.

This next one though...this one I like on multiple levels. Mostly because it incorporates so many different themes.



If you don't get it, then let me 'splain it.

1. It is the Flash, a DC Comics character (BTW, DC Comics is redundant. DC Comics= Detective Comics Comics)who is apparently dead from biting a poison apple.

2. It has the Apple Computer Logo.

By now some lights may be coming on. Apple. Dead Flash. If you still don't get it do a search for Apple and Flash. See what comes up!

Heh. I laughed, but didn't buy it. Now I am wishing I did, but it is too late. Drat.

I was able to remain strong this week though. Another favorite websiteThink Geek was having a random t-shirt sale. I like their shirts as well, but did not buy any because I've spent enough money this month. I actually need new work clothes, but am holding off until payday.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Shaving Cream, Shaving Cream...

So, as the years have been unkind to my hairline I have decided it is time to begin shaving my head.

Cue-ball style.

Smooth as a baby's butt.

Kojack.

You get the picture.

I have shaved my head before, but never on a regular basis. So, geek that I am, I did a little research on the best blades for shaving the head. I came across this website, Headblade. It looked pretty cool and everything seemed to say what a good job it does, so I ordered the cheapest kit I could get.

A few days later it arrives. Malia is not too thrilled with the idea, but she loves me and respects my wishes, so I set off to begin the shaving.

I got in there and used the exfoliating scrub first. Kind of an odd feeling, but ok. I than lathered up the shaving cream. WAY too much of it. Apparently you don't need as much as regular shaving cream. I then proceeded to shave.

Nothing happened.

I turned it the other way and tried again.

Still nothing.

It took awhile to figure out that the blade that came installed on the razor was backwards. Once I conquered that aspect, I began to see some progress.

Now, as I said before, I have shaved my head on several occasions and I have never had a problem. However...this time I cut my head at least 3 times, including one so bad I was tasting and smelling blood. Not a good start I must say.

After I cleaned myself up and started to feel less dizzy, I checked it out in a mirror. Not a bad job, just need to be careful of the cuts.

Since then I have used it one more time and only cut myself 2 times. Small ones this time. (Malia thinks its a sign, I think it is just me being clumsy.)

All in all, I like the Headblade products. The exfoliating product called Headshed works really well. The shaving cream, Headslick, has a nice smell to it and works fairly well. I have only used one of the lotions, Headlube, that comes with it and that is the Matte finish. They have a glossy as well that I may try tomorrow.

Friday, August 6, 2010

If all else fails...

I could be a plumber.

Today we had a local plumbing/heating/ac company come in to do our annual maintenance. Malia also spotted a leak under the sink, so we thought we would have them take a look at that as well.

Apparently the garbage disposal was rusted out and water was seeping through, so it was time for a new one. They offered to install one for a discounted grand total of $338.

Um...we told them we would think about it while they finished up. As soon as they walked back out we both ran to a computer to look it up.

Yeah...super expensive ones cost $200. A good one about $120. A cheap one about $80.

While looking up the cost I came across installation directions. Super easy according to the site.

No way were we paying the "discounted" rate for that.

After they left we hit the big orange home improvement store and picked everything thing it looked like we needed.

Came home, took the old disposal out. Worked on getting the new one in. Turned out we didn't get everything we needed. No mention on the box anywhere of two little parts we had needed for the electrical. Grrr. Back to the big orange store.

Back home and easily completed the task.

New disposal installed and working with no leaks for well under $338.

Yea me!

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Movin' on...sideways?!?!

Good news, bad news.

Good news. I got a new job today! Still working at the same school, but in a pseudo-administrative position. I am now the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) coordinator. It ties in to the grant the school got and is paid for by that.

Bad news. It is a lateral move. No increase in pay.

Good news. It looks like it could be a really cool job.

Bad news. No idea what the job is actually going to be like.

Good news. The principal doesn't have any idea what the job will look like either, so I kind of get to make it up.

Bad news. It is a one year only position that is tied to benchmarks for achievement. If we fail to meet the benchmarks, we don't get the grant, and I lose that job.

Good news. I still have a job for next year even if this job goes away.

Bad news. If I lose this job, it looks kind of bad on me.

Good news. It has the potential to look really good on my resume.

Good news. I get a corner office, with at least one window! Maybe two!

Bad news. I have to share it with two other people.

All in all, I think the good outweighs the bad. It is an exciting opportunity for sure! As Mary (the principal) said, "It will be an adventure!"

Looking forward to the journey, I must say!

Carry on!