Tuesday, May 31, 2005

I feel like crap. I haven't slept this poorly in months... Stupid going into work early for meetings... *sigh* Going to bed early for me tonight.

Saturday, May 28, 2005

Emily and I are off to Williamsburg for the weekend. We've been instructed to eat at Sno To Go as often as possible. We'll be back on Monday, call my cell if you need anything in the meantime.

Friday, May 27, 2005

Yay!! Emily got a new job! One with normal hours and in an office! =)

I love Fridays before long weekends. No one is in the office. The parking lot is deserted. Everyone's just kinda lazy. It's like how I wish every day could be!

Thursday, May 26, 2005

The Best Buy trip was a bust, so I ended up going to CompUSA instead. *shudder* I hate that place so much... But I needed a USB CDRW and I needed it now. I know I could have found a better one for less at MicroCenter, but that's a half hour away and Dave's a very impatient person.

You know it's a good day at work when you get to go to Best Buy in the middle of the day on official business. =)

Wednesday, May 25, 2005

I went to go see Star Wars Episode III last night with Ben and my dad. Awesome. Lucas has redeemed himself. Yes, of course there are a few things that nagged at me afterwards, but on the whole, I was thoroughly entertained and very impressed. Even knowing the eventual outcome, Lucas managed to throw in a few curveballs along the way that made the story more interesting instead of watching a forgeone conclusion. It was fun to have a guy's night out, even when my dad started pretending his umbrella was a lightsaber in the lobby...

Monday, May 23, 2005

I figured out who I think Ben looks like now with his hair: Mikey from American Chopper!

Beth rules! =) She just got Manish and me approved for a cell phone stipend of $60 a month since we have to use our phones so much for business purposes. Yay for what amounts to free cell phone coverage for Adam!

I knew I shouldn't have stayed up to watch Episode II last night... Apart from it's overall mediocrity, I wanted to see it anyway, in preparation for watching Episode III this week. But I got home after it started, so I had to wait for it to end before I could watch the whole thing. Even fast-forwarding through commercials, it was still 12:30 before it was over. I think I liked the movie better this time through, but the acting still left a lot to be desired and the aliens looked more cartoony than I remembered. More importantly, I got a refresher on some of the plotlines that I had forgotten about, so now I'm ready to see the last movie. Actually, right now, I'm about ready to take a nap. It's going to be a long day... Time to go get some coffee.

Right on cue this morning, the landscaping guys showed up at 7:30 and the horrific noises began shortly thereafter. I know the grass around my apartment needed mowing, but does it aways have to be done so early?

Sunday, May 22, 2005

I hate being guilted into things or feeling like I'm being taken advantage of. Especially when decisions and assumptions are made involving me and I'm not consulted until after things are in motion and for me to say no at that point would cost someone else a large sum of money. I understand that not everything is under your or my control and occasionally your plans get disrupted as a result of someone else's inconsiderateness, so sometimes there's really no alternative, but this sort of thing seems to happen more than it should. I try to be accomodating, but I think asking my permission or at least giving me some advance notice would be the courteous thing to do in the future...

Friday, May 20, 2005

Latham is running a demo today and so I had to come in early (for me) to make sure everything was setup. I went down to the lab a few minutes ago to find Greg and bug him about getting me some bay time with a TB23 system and all the lights in the lab were out, so I was flipping them on so the SUBLANT guys wouldn't be getting a demo in the dark when Latham came in to make sure the bay was up and everything. I told him everything was good to go and if anything went wrong during the demo to just give me a holler. So then he starts talking about how the Navy guys that were here the other day really liked the training materials I put together and that they were "really jazzed about what you did." Holy crap! I know one of the guys that was here last week was a Captain... Today must be some sort of crazy backwards day. Latham complements me on two separate things today, I get into work by 8:30, and the Navy is "jazzed" by my work. Now I just need Ken Landers to come by and tell me that I just got a bonus worth 6 month's pay. Then I'll know for sure I'm still snuggled up in bed and dreaming...

Thursday, May 19, 2005

I watched the last That 70's Show tonight after taping it last night. I didn't really like the way it ended. Donna as Leia was awesome, and Kelso and Eric's goodbye was pretty good. Red finally acted like a father is supposed to. But the Jackie/Hyde/Kelso thing at the end was retarded. I really dug the series as a whole, even if the gags were predictable. Now I'll have to find something else to fill the void on Wednesday nights.

In entertainment news:
The last Star Wars movie is out. Manish says it's as good as Return of the Jedi (arguably the worst of the original trilogy, though still vastly superior to the first 2 of the new episodes). After being so sorely dissapointed by The Phantom Menace, and even more dissapointed by Attack of the Clones, you'd think my desire to see Revenge of the Sith would have reach some infintessimly small amount by now. Sadly, that is not the case. Knowing what has to happen in this movie in order to bridge the gap and set up A New Hope, I'm genuinely excited about giving Lucas more of my hard-earned money. Don't ask me why, I can't really explain it. It's a geek thing. However, I don't particularly feel any need to see it RIGHT NOW like so many others. Maybe Ben and I will go next week sometime, or maybe I'll just go by myself in July when the crowds have died down. Whatever. I'm going to see it in a theater, it's just a matter of when.
Also, Emily and I are thinking about a King's Dominion trip this summer. Anyone interested? The more the merrier they say. Maybe in early June before kids get out of school? I'll be sending an email invite out I guess.

It was nice to visit with Kristin for a little while last night. She came by to drop off her ailing computer in the hopes that maybe I could fix it. It sounds like a BIOS problem, like maybe it needs to be reset, but I'll see when I get in there. It'll be nice to have a project for next week (that and my newest Simpsons puzzle) since Emily will be in Philly for work. I'm kind of bummed about that because I haven't seen her much since she started working. But on the flip side, I'm really happy that she likes her job, and at least I'll get to spend time with her almost every weekend and a coupel other nights here and there instead of the one weekend every 5-6 weeks that it has been over the past year. So in the end it's all worked out pretty awesome I think. So our schedules don't mesh very well during the week, I can't say I didn't anticipate that would probably happen. I'm just glad she's found a job she enjoys with fun people and in an atmosphere where she feels appreciated and is rapidly advancing. =)

You heard it here first, Mr. Trump = idiot. How does this man have so much money and power when he is clearly so lacking in areas such as judgement and character?

Wednesday, May 18, 2005

I just watched Spanglish with my family. Adam Sandler finally pulls of a really good serious role! Emily had told me it was really good, and then I was totally sold on the movie being good right up front when I saw none other than Mr. James L. Brooks with writer/director/producer credits. As I hinted at before, anything this man touches is gold.

I really should know better by now than to eat garlic before bedtime. But I really wanted to finish my leftovers from Macaroni Grill, which happened to have tons of garlic cloves in it. Oh well. I ate it before poker (where I netted $5), but even when I went to bed several hours later, I had crazy crazy dreams again. I've forgotten what most of them were, but I remember having them. Sometimes I wish I didn't like garlic so much...

Tuesday, May 17, 2005

Two updates:
1) I got my courier badge today. This is good because it makes me look more important since I have another badge on my belt. This is bad because now I'm going to get sent all over the place with classified material that normally Dave or Manish would do, or that we would have mailed instead.
2) If the Batman idea didn't fly, what change does my Friar Tuck outfit have? Sounds like I'm going to have another opportuniuty to wear my tuxedo though, so it's all good.

Monday, May 16, 2005

Weekend recap: Saturday Emily and I recooperated after my hell week at Lockheed and her 10 hour interview at Venture (which turned into a job, so yay!). We ran a couple errands and had some delicious burgers for dinner and watched a movie. Sunday we got up early, went to Target, rented a truck, carried stuff up from Bobby's basement, swapped beds at my apartment, and then helped this other girl move out beore moving Emily in, returned the truck, went back to Target, went to dinner with my parents, ran into Tiffany Lipp at Macaroni Grill (the girl who used to live across the street from us in Mantua, I was friends with her older brother), took the rest of Emily's things to her new apartment, watched the taped Simpsons, Family Guy, and American Dad, made my new queen bed, and finally just collapsed. Today I am suffering from lack of energy. I wonder why? But Emily's got a good setup, I got a bigger bed, and so far everything seems to be moving along swimmingly.

Too much Indian food for lunch... I'm entering a food coma.

There's nothing like coming into the office for the first time in basically a week and getting 8 meeting reminders that are all several days overdue...

Friday, May 13, 2005

Hooray!! Emily got a job today! =) She just called me from her new office to tell me that they made her an offer and she accepted! That was exactly the pick-up I needed after working 45 hours this week, 40 of which were at Lockheed. Stupid dirty vortex-based Lockheed... But now Emily's got an apartment which she signed her lease on yesterday and now a job to pay teh rent with! I'm so excited now! I can't wait for her to get home tonight! I was going to complain about a bunch of stuff about work and Lockheed, btu now I just don't care anymore. Yay for things all working out like they're supposed to! =)

Monday, May 09, 2005

Lockheed is awesome... They rescheduled our PVTs this week to fall on the same day at the same time. We explicitly told them that was impossible because they use the same piece of equipment and we can't give them another one. But no no, they did it anyway. Fortunately, since it's, you know, impossible, they're going to have to change it back to the way it was before with one on Thursday and one on Friday. I would love to find out who rearranged our schedule this way... and introduce them to Mr. Baseball Bat. *sigh* It's always a struggle with those people out in Manassas... Nothing is ever easy and nothing ever goes according to plan, especially when plans get changed.

Happy birthday to James L. Brooks, possibly one of the most important people in entertainment because of the quality of work he has always put out. Writer, director, producer: he's a triple-threat! For turning The Simpsons into what it is today, for writing and producing As Good As It Gets, for producing Big, thanks Mr. Brooks!

I hate when I forget to take my Claritin in the morning. Now I'm going to feel gross all day. My throat feels slimey and I can't breathe through my nose. Whee!

Sunday, May 08, 2005

I just cooked the best omelette I've ever made for myself and no one was here to see it. It didn't all crumble apart when I flipped it over. I got almost a perfect halfway fold. The eggs were nice and fluffy. All the stuff inside was hot when I pulled it out of the pan. I used the perfect amount of pepper and tabasco this time. I am so the best cook ever (in my apartment right now).

The new hotness: Samsung 46" DLP Projection HDTV Monitor. Happy birthday to me! I finally got around to getting the new TV that my income tax refund paid for. It's almost too big for my living room. I had to push the couch back about a foot in order to get to a good viewing distance. True to complaints I'd read, regular TV does look a little grainy due to the upconversion, but I still think it looks better than my old 20" CRT. Plus, you should see DVDs on this thing. *drool* Also, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes looks amazing, even without the Gamecube's component video cable. Probably one of the best ideas I've ever had, especially since I've got 15 interest-free months to pay it off.
LOTR:ROTK in hi-def looks oh so very sweet

I was watching the Travel Channel tonight and the WPT finals were on, so I watched the final table. I'm recognizeing some fo the more frequent players now, so it's kind of fun to watch because you get a feel for how certain players will play each hand and get to knwo when they're going to call before they actually do. But the amazing thing was this 23 year old kid from UW who actually won it all. First place of something like 1.5 million. And when the tournament started 5 days ago, he didn't have the cash to play, so his father spotted him the $1000 entry fee provided that he agree to split any winnings 50/50. First off, that's awesome. Second, he's the youngest player to ever win a WPT championship. Guess school is paid for now... So between this kid (John Stolzmann) and Josh Beckett winning the World Series in 2003, these other young kinds are making me look like a chump. And then Alex Smith getting picked up in the draft for millions of dollars, and he's 23. Whatever. These kids are the exception, not the rule. As long as I keep that in mind, I think I'm actually doing pretty well for being 24. I forsee a promotion withint the next year, and I should be in a position to buy an actual house (not a condo/townhouse) within 2-3 years with no problem. Take that everyone else! I think I'm beginning to get kind of incoherent now, so I'm just going to go to bed before I say something even dumber.

Friday, May 06, 2005

I'd say this pretty much hit the nail on the head when it comes to my personality:

Your Birthdate: April 25
Your birth on the 25th day of the month (7 energy) modifies your life path by giving you some special interest in technical, scientific, or other complex and often hard to understand subjects.

You may become something of a perfectionist and a stickler for details.

Your thinking is logical and intuitive, rational and responsible.

Your feelings may run deep, but you are not very likely to let them show.

This birthday makes you a more private person, more introspective and perhaps more inflexible.

In friendships you are very cautious and reserved.

You are probably inventive, and given to unique approaches and solutions.


What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

Hooray for pay day! Hooray for Friday! Hooray for Emily coming this weekend! =)

Stupid Lockheed... Nothing ever works right out there. The thing that's supposed to be set up isn't and the thing that's not supposed to be ready is running like a champ. So at least my trip over there wasn't a total waste, but it's still sort of aggravating that I went over there planning to be there all day testing stuff and couldn't test one thing I wanted to look at. Oh well. At least I can get some stuff done here instead and maybe go home a little early. We'll see.

Wednesday, May 04, 2005

I'm not entirely sure what these results indicate... Just add in San Diego, Chicago, and Tampa and I can apparently live anywhere in the US. I am a little disturbed that a Texas city got as high as 50%, but I'm going to just chalk that one up to the attrocious inaccuracy of this test. It's funny actually that Denver is first on the list because my senior year of high school I was all about moving to Denver after college. Shows just how little you know when you get that high school diploma in your hands...





American Cities That Best Fit You:

55% Denver
55% New York City
55% Seattle
50% Austin
50% Honolulu

Which American Cities Best Fit You?

All this lack of sleep can't really be helping matters any either.

I'm no Shakepeare, but it's still a classic tragedy (minus the iambic pentameter):
  • ADAM: I'm so exhausted and next week is only going to get worse.

  • ADAM'S BRAIN: I'm outta here! *ka-BOOM*

  • STRESS: Muwahahah! I win again!

  • ADAM: *drool* Duh.....
  • So it looks like the trip to porstmouth may be back on for next week. Which probably means Dave will go by himself. Manish is on vacation starting tomorrow and I need to be here next Thursday morning to run PVTs at Lockheed. Under teh current plan, we'd leave Tuesday night (after supporting the Seawolf demo at LM on Monday and Tuesday), work all day Wednesday, then come back Thursday afternoon/evening. Except that one of us (me or Dave) needs to be here on Thursday for the PVT stuff, so I could take a red-eye Thursday morning to get to LM in time for that, then come home and die. Dave's irritated now that all this crap is happening at once and and we only have 3 systems engineers to support it all and one of them is going to be on vacation. I'm irritated that my potential trip keeps getting moved and that all this insane schedule stuff for work is occuring the same week that Emily moves up here. I know she's going to be here all summer, but she won't be working yet next week, and I was looking forward to being able to spend time with her before her life got all hectic too. *sigh* Work sucks sometimes. I like my job, but sometimes the scheduling portion of it sucks. Especially when people like NSWC and Lockheed get involved. Okay, enough ranting. For now.

    Doing anything at Lockheed always takes 10 times longer than it should... Especially when they decide to rekit the bay 2 hours before a demo. Whatever. At least Manish and I got Cold Stone out of it, and I was out of the office all day. Which also kinda sucks because it's hard to get projects done when I'm not here. But now I think I know almost everyone who works out there in the IDP lab, so if anything ever goes wrong, I know who to ask now. I was at work aroudn 8:30 this morning, it's now 5:30, so I feel like I should go home, but I haven't really accomplished anything yet today. *sigh* Maybe I'll get some stuff organized and just call it a day.

    My business trip is postponed again. I would be kind of dissapointed, but under the currently stressful circumstances, I'm actually rather relieved.

    I'm confused. When I left for work this morning, there was a black thong (Victoria's Secret, size M) on my door knob. I've heard of a neck tie, though I certainly have had no reason to put one there recently myself. But a thong? What does that mean? I didn't have much of an opportunity nor a desire to inspect it very thoroughly on my rush out the door, but a cursory glance suggested it was rather worn. Does anyone have an explanation for this bizarre occurance? Case of mistaken identity perhaps?

    Tuesday, May 03, 2005

    Whoever invented plastic "pry-off" screw covers should be beaten to death with a sack full of their own tortuous invention. And whatever Ford engineer greenlighted their use in the Contour should be made to swallow every last one of them that I had to pry off tonight to replace my speakers, especially the ones I had to crawl undearneath that Ranger across the way to find when they finally came flying off and across the parking lot. "But they cover the screws! Think of the astheics!" Idiots.

    Monday, May 02, 2005

    Go to hell Hotmail. Every other email service I've ever used notifies its users before a planned server outage, or at least updates the service status if unplanned downtime occurs. Okay, so maybe a drive crashed. I refuse to believe that a company like Microsoft doesn't have a RAID setup, or at the very least, redundant backup servers. They're hardly scraping the barrel for profits, so it's not like they need to scrimp and penny-pinch on equipment, especially for a high profile service like Hotmail. I love how Google has now beaten Microsoft at everything web-based but building a browser. And given another couple years, and I can easily see a Google/Mozilla browser dominating IE too. Stupid Microsoft, stupid Hotmail. All I want to do it check my email. Is that too much to ask? For the last 2 hours, apparently yes. Grrr...

    Dear weather, what the hell? It's May! Why is it only 50 degrees and why is there a freeze warning in effect for tonight? *sigh* Yes yes, 85 degrees was unseasonably warm a couple weeks ago, but I'd be perfectly happy with highs in the low 70s and lows in the 50s. But no... Stupid weather.
    Sincerely, Adam

    When did it get to be 4 pm all of a sudden? Last time I checked I had just gotten back from lunch... Granted our food took forever to arrive (and our waiter was unapologetic, so we didn't feel too bad leaving a lousy tip), but I'm pretty sure we were back at the office by 1 pm regardless. How did it become 4 pm? Aaack! Too much to do, not enough billable hours in the workday!

    Holy crap it's cold in my office... It's even chilly in the lab, and that's never a good sign. I guess they've turned on the A/C, though I can't fathom why since high temperatures during the day have only been in the mid 60s the last couple weeks and I don't think that's expected to change anytime soon. At least it's cold rather than hot; it makes staying awake easier. Unfortunately, my going to bed at 2 on Friday night became going to bed at 3:30 on Saturday night and 2 last night as well. I slept like a rock once I was in bed, but 6.5 hours simply is not enough sleep for me. Especially when no matter when I go to bed I'm awake by 10 am on the weekends. There's no way to "catch up" on lost sleep per se, but going to bed earlier on the weekends would be a good way to prevent the need for "catching up." Stupid body...

    Sunday, May 01, 2005

    For future reference: Getting aftershave in your eye? Not such a good plan.

    Resurecting old computers always takes longer than it should and always ends up lasting until 3 am or later somehow. I'm not done with what I wanted to do, but I gotta go to bed. I'm too tired to concentrate anymore on what I'm doing, and that means I'm likely to fry a hard drive or drop a screw into a moving fan or onto a live mobo and short something out. Bed. Now.

    About me

    • I'm Rev. Adam
    • From Oakton, Virginia, United States
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