What a crappy day. Raining and 50 degrees. It's been like this all night and it's turned my backyard into a nice mud pit for the doggies. Poor gals -- I wish they had some better shelter, but considering what happened last time I let them stay in the garage during the day, I don't think I'll do that again.

Yesterday I came to work after my jaunt at the DPS and heard some great news. That project that we worked on really hard: you know -- the one we stayed up late nights trying to finish to meet the expectations of our "new business gurus"... A lot of it was basically a big waste of time. It seems rather than asking the right questions and double-checking our references up front, we bit off more than they could chew. Not to say that it didn't turn out cool, and hopefully we'll get to use the presentation again, but it appears we overdid it for the first round. I'll stop now for the sake of getting myself too pissed-off just thinking about the whole mess-up. It's going to be a good day, today.

I hope this rain goes away before I make my pilgrimage north tonight. The drive to Denton is bad enough with traffic in dry weather... I don't know how Dave does that 5 days a week. No thank you.

I also got everything up and running on the nerd network last night. I learned something trying to figure it out so my patience was well worth the result. I'm still having trouble getting the webcam to work through the USB card on my dinosaur 8500 computer, but I'll figure something out even if it means buying a firewire card and a fancy-schmancy firewire cam. The only thing I really have left now is the webcam and running the wiring to pump my MP3's through the surround sound in the living room. Oh, who am I kidding?... I'll find something else dorky to do before too long. Off to work, I go.

After much frustration (to myself and those around me) last night I finally got my new Airport wireless network up and running this morning. Maybe I'm just a bigger dork than I pretend to be, but I can't help but be amazed with the ability to access my DSL connection without wires anywhere from my house. How cool is that? Now I can turn my living room back to normal after setting up PowerBook nerd camp on the coffee table. Now all I need to do is find a cheap router on ebay to run a webcam for the dogs -- then my home networking project will be complete.

As I write this I'm experiencing the pure joy of sitting around the DPS office waiting to renew my license that's been expired for almost 5 months now. I figured it was time to stop pushing my luck considering it's been awhile since I've been pulled over. Right now, the wait time is going on 35 minutes and I've still got seven people in front of me. The little turd kids that keep jumping off chairs and screaming at the top of their lungs aren't making my wait any more enjoyable, either. Where's my paddle?

Class has now had three sessions and each one has become progressively better. The tension I had when I first walked into the class has vanished and everyone (for the most part) is doing really well with their assignments. Although I've downplayed the portfolio importance of this first exercise, they're not slacking off and I think they're anxious to begin the annual report and magazine redesigns. I am too.

Today at work I get to dive back into diapers at restrain my angst toward certain people who make things WAAAAAY more difficult than they should be. Oh well, I'm not worried, work is good and so is life. I'll deal with the little things. :)

I have an uncanny ability to sit in front of people who prefer to talk during a movie, rather than just sit and watch the damn thing like everyone else in the theatre. It happened again last night during Black Hawk Down. We almost had words. I can't abide that behavior. It was a good movie besides that little annoyance.

Yesterday pretty much sucked. My beloved Packers decided to bend over and grab their ankles instead of playing football. The Rams (who I freakin' hate) demolished Favre and the Pack by over 30 points. Ouch. Looks like I'll be rooting for the Eagles this weekend. Cripes.

Right now Jim and I are sitting up at work waiting for some crap to come down from upstairs after we've busted our butt all day to get our part done on time. That's usually the way things work... wait till the last minute then throw it together. I was supposed to make dinner for Jessie tonight, but I guess that won't be happening considering I won't get home to probably after 10:00. Yeeha. I'm really glad the people who dragged their feet on getting this stuff together last minute are so considerate of our time. Thanks, guys!

Looks like another week in the trenches. And I thought it was supposed to slow down after the holidays...

Most weeks go by without even a blip on the radar. Other weeks scream out loud and whack you over the head just to keep you in check… it's been one of those weeks.

I started the teaching my Publication Design class on Tuesday night and returned again on Thursday. It's an interesting experience to say the least. I mean, here I am barely out of school myself and I'm preparing a group of college seniors for life in the real world. Scary, huh? If it makes you scratch your head, don't feel bad -- I've done the same all week. Luckily all the students have been great (so far at least) and I'm making efforts to learn from the system I went through just a few years ago. I think going through the program myself and sharing my experiences is something they can appreciate. I really do want to see them do well and I hope their portfolio will be stronger when the semester is over.

As far as work goes, things have been a little busy for all of us lately. I've been working with Jim, Patrick, Darrel and Christopher on an RFP from a software company (think New Mexico dwelling compound). As usual, we're rushing to get it out the door. Why is that? It seems like the more important the project the faster they make us "throw it together". Luckily, we have some very talented people who work well in a crunch and it's looking pretty damn cool for something we've had to shoot from the hip on. Christopher is a hoot. He's fun to work with and he's making my life easier by helping out on the carrier. Together we came up with a really cool idea and I think it's gonna look great. I'm working closely with Darrel again, too. I sometimes forget what a total guru he is when it comes to flash animation. He makes my flat layouts come to life and a lot of the credit goes to him. He rocks. Jim and Patrick are okay, too I guess... they're usually more concerned with figuring out how to beat me at UNREAL rather than really working. Poor bastards. :)

I think today is the day the Christmas lights finally come down. Maybe I'll even clean the house and bathe the dogs. Then again, maybe I won't. Who knows? Whatever the case I have to get it done before I head down to Greenville tonight with figs and the boys for some pre-marital fun (for him, not me!) and to watch the Patriots beat the Raiders. Hope the weather stays nice.

And in other news: JDay is moving to Carrollton today (yeah!). I hope the ghetto doesn't follow her. :)

I took half a day off today to go to Denton and get ready for my class which starts tomorrow. I actually felt old walking around campus amongst the overslept undergrads waiting in line for transcripts and financial aid checks. I cringed as I wrote out a $100 check to the UNT parking office -- it seems I had some BS parking tickets that were blocking my transcripts. Bastards. I thought they were supposed to be paying me for a change. I guess the 30 grand I spent there wasn't enough.

Yesterday my family went out to Texas Motor Speedway to watch my dad enjoy his Christmas present. He took ten laps around the track in a real NASCAR going speeds upwards of 130mph. He said it was the scariest thing he's ever done (weenie). I was fun to watch. Afterward, my dad paid my way to experience the feel of going that fast (actually, faster), David and I took four laps in a NASCAR passenger seat riding along with a professional driver. Wow, You wouldn't believe the G-force going that fast around a mile oval puts on your body. It took a good thirty minutes to get over the rush of blood to my head. It truly was the ride of a lifetime. Thanks, Dad. :)

Tomorrow's the big night. I think I'm ready. I guess we'll see...

The weirdest thing happened last night. I came home from dinner with Jessie and my family to find my dogs covered in blood.

I don't understand what happened. It would appear that one of two things happened -- Kasha decided to go nuts and attacked Maddie, puncturing a vein in her neck in the process (therefore causing a huge surge of blood), or the more likely event that some small animal got inside the fence and instigated some sort of a dominance war. Luckily my parents were able to came over right after I got home to help out. I bathed Maddie and we looked over her as best we could through the thick fur. We found a few marks on her neck, but nothing that would appear to cause that much blood -- I mean, it wasn't like a little bit of blood; it was all over the both of them. We looked along the fence and there were patches of blood from the dogs of from whatever poor creature got inside that fence. It's still a mystery as to exactly what happened especially since there's no signs left like bones or fur from another animal.

This morning Kasha reminded me of one those plate-lipped Brazilian Amazon tribesmen you see in National Geographic. The entire half of her bottom jaw was swollen twice it's normal size. It looks funny in a way, but I know it's painful for her. She seems to be sleeping fine as usual, though. Maddie is still shaken from the incident and even more skittish than her normal self. I'm making an effort to be even more attentive to her than normal.

I wish I knew what happened so I could leave my dogs alone again without worrying, but it remains a mystery. Whatever it is, I hope it never happens again. I just want dogs that get along... is that TOO much to ask? Damn mutts.

It makes you sad to be inside on a day like this. There's not a cloud in the sky and it's a perfect 72 degrees -- California weather.

I'm eating too much crap lately. Too much orange chicken, too much cereal, too much Texafrickindelphia. And too much candy from a certain someone's candy bucket -- you know who you are. Get rid of it! :)

In other news, I need to file a tax return. Now. It seems I've dug myself a proverbial hole and I'm trying like hell to get out. Of course, money management has never been my strong suit -- no matter how much you make, you always find ways to spend it. I need therapy, I think. The good news is I'm reaching a point where the "stuff" I've either needed or wanted in the past year or so is finally mine.

Tonight I plan on cleaning the house and maybe eating healthy for a change. Maybe I'll find time to play around with the camera Jim loaned me for the weekend. Cool. Thanks, Jimbo.

The weekend finds me cleaning and doing some much needed things around the house. I saw one of my kitchen counters for the first time in about a month or so. It was nice to get some stuff taken care of -- I gotta make time to do even more today; like take down my "Sanford and Son" Christmas lights...

Last night Todd and I made a trip down the road to Sterling's to play a little foosball and SuperChexx. It was karaoke night and the usually crew of mullet crooners were in attendance singing such crowd favs as "Black Water" and "Rock and Roll All Night". I was again irritated by the short chubby bastard that DJ's the whole affair -- he seems to think it's his duty to sing every other song pretending he's Clarence Carter. What an ass. Todd and I both wanted to drop-kick him just on general principal of being such a show-off. I had Guinness in a bottle for a change. A tribute to Anthony, I guess.

Today is the last day of regular season football. Thankfully, my beloved Packers are going to the play-offs this year. I don't know how far they'll make it, but at least they're in. It's also the last week of our fantasy football fun and I'm hoping I come out on top so I can keep all the money everyone gave me... It's gonna be close -- Jamie and I might tie, which is fine because of anyone in the league who needs the cash, I know it's him (there's lots of new Star Wars crap coming out soon).

A busy week ahead with work -- hopefully this is the week we'll finally finish the damn brochure. I 'm looking forward to watching my dad take his laps in a week from now. I know he's excited.

The new year is starting off with a nice chill in the air (around 18 degrees, to be exact). It's days like these I appreciate having a garage to keep me from scraping ice off my windshield in the morning. Sure beats paying rent.

Work is still a sluggish with everyone still recovering from the holidays-- I think it'll start to pick up for everyone next week when we go back to a five day work week. Hopefully we'll all be back to five day work weeks soon -- I've seen too many friends lose their jobs for the trend to continue. Speaking of work, our printer brought a mock-up of the "eternal brochure" today and it looked fantastic. Hopefully the final pieces will look just as good. Connie and I are scheduled for a bindery check in the morning -- I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Why is it my dogs choose to fart only when I'm eating? Maybe it's their way of saying "you suck for not giving ME a bite -- take THAT". Good Lord! The problem with two dogs is you don't know who the culprit is, either. I love my dogs, but I could do without their Gastrointestinal gifts.

On a brighter note, I finally found the latest Simpsons stuff today, including my new favorite: Mu-Mu Homer. Good stuff. Looks like my pocketbook will be yet a little lighter for the next two weeks. Oh well, I need to get more done at home anyway.

The worst thing about having time off work is you eventually have to go back; and when you do it usually feels like someone's trying to wake you up really early in the morning when all you want to do is sleep. That's how today felt. I guess it started after waking up early to work out following a night at Starbucks with more caffeine than my body's had since college. I felt good to get moving. I'm trying to watch my health better than I have over the last few weeks and keeping myself in shape is part of my resolutions. Gotta stay the course.

Of course, lunch at Texadelphia doesn't exactly help the cause. Damn my co-workers for their evil lunch invitations. Hard to say no to the best cheesesteak sandwich outside Philly. But alas lunch at Texadelphia is never a dull moment... today's conversation: how to piss off your landlord when you're getting screwed on the rent. I think the best suggestion involved a bucket and some creative bodily fluids. I've said too much already...

It actually snowed today, too. Whodathunkit? It's really cold outside -- somewhere in the upper teens. I lit a fire and brought the kids in from the cold and watched the Stars win at home for a change on Fox Sports Net. Heading off to bed soon. I have lots to do tomorrow and I'm really tired. Maybe it'll snow 8 inches tonight -- wouldn't that be nice?

I finally did it. I got a new computer. Not just any computer, but a brand new, G4/550 apple titanium PowerBook. It is without a doubt the coolest piece of portable silicon ever to roll off an assembly line. Now, I can not only be a nerd at home, I can my dorkness with me. I guess I'm a cool-stealer (to quote chris) since both he, jim and dave all have one, too. But just wait 'til I get that damn cinema display...

So it's a new year and I'm starting it off broke as hell -- that's what a new computer will do for you. Oh, well. I keep reminding myself it's a worthwhile investment (as I switch between watching DVD movies and MP3 downloads). I'm also using my time to do something I've needed to do for a LONG time: update my website. Hopefully this, along with all my other resolutions for the new year will go smoothly. Guess we'll see.

Happy New Year, kids.