Derelict in my duties hereabouts. I have a week of offsites and offsite functions that I am working. Because it is my life right now. The scary catered affair last night went off without a huge hitch- the weather didn't exactly comply, but it also wasn't a surprise, and everything worked out anyway.

I am hoping to take Friday off. Then I can catch up. And just breathe. Because all of the planning that I did for weeks and months is finished for now. Until the next offsite. In 2 weeks.....sigh....

Oh, it gets better. Seems we were televised during the game. And didn't know about it until Kman went to work and caught shit.

It was during the raising of the 12th man flag. BOOOORRRINNNG. Start the fucking game, already! So Kman is clapping in primo golf style, and I am looking at the field, seemingly confused. I love that- Apathetic and Addled! Ha Ha, I say!

The best things of the night:

the guy in a seat in front of us with my name in heart tattooed to his arm. He is my super-secret love now. Only, not really- he was kind of skanky.

The dance routine to Bittersweet Symphony that the chippie dancers kept performing. Despite the fact that the actual lyrics are about despair and sadness and death. Fitting? Probably. But this crowd doesn't seem to me to be heavy on the irony. So I'm sure I was one of very few who were all amused about it. Kind of like watching those Carnival cruise commercials where they are blasting Iggy Pop in the background. Lust for Life, indeed. Along with lust for a dime bag, baby.

Overall the day was good. And plenty of my co-workers were impressed by my sport-ticket buying acumen. Little do they realize that I am Addled. (cue up the opening chords to Iron Man- I think it would fit pretty well.)

Don't have much time to be all chatty and such. The boss is back from vacation today, and I suspect that it'll be a bit busy. Nothing like hitting a bee's nest with a stick.

We went to a Seahawks game Saturday night. It was pre-season. The tickets were absurdly good. It was fun. Doubt I'll do it again, though. Because I just don't care that much. Wanted the experience.

Not much else to report of note- gotta go get ready for chaos and mayhem. Because that's the way we roll around here.

All right- so last night's post- I am feeling remorseful. And if I had my druthers and felt like it, I would just delete it. But I'll let it stand. I am just all anxietish and all that. It happens. With some regularity- I'll blame the lunar eclipse. Mainly because I don't have a concrete excuse.

On another note- I do not have a 6'7" arm span. And I don't swim for shit. There is your Olympic moment for the day. Bye then.

So main complaint of the day- I think I took a joke too far. It happens. And it was in writing. So if it comes back to bite me in the ass, I have no one but myself to blame. I can only hope that all will just roll back over to normal, and the injured parties won't ever find out.

It was social. And it was very funny.

Oh, and I saw Bill Gates driving while I was on the way to work today. Should've known it would be a very strange day.

Once again there is an impasse. I just can't get the words out. I suspect it's because I talk so bloody much during the day. There are just no opportunities for quiet. Not really. Not in my head. Not really.

But that's to be expected, as Mama says. It's because I am a gemini. And was a busy child. Always hiding in the clothes racks at Hennesy's. Scared the crap out of her numerous times. But she never stopped taking me shopping. Would run off in the grocery store and explore. But she never stopped taking me along.

But all those words, just pouring out. I wonder if there is really an endless supply of them, or if someday I will just run out. It scares me sometimes. Like the elevator dream I had last night. We were trapped above the roofline of the building, hanging by a thread, with the door open and the elevator cab floating there, shifting from the left to the right. The others were trying to keep me relatively calm, because I was very unhappy there. Floating without a way down.

Weekend of death and destruction in the world- probably nothing unique with that, only the world was watching.

I hated the Cold War. It pissed me off. And now we are starting up again. Russia is really frightening. And all those years ago, when I was studying the language (don't even ask- I remember all of two gibberish phrases, but my accent is impeccable), I defended them as misunderstood by the West.

In retrospect I feel like a bit of a tosser. Should have been a bit less idealistic and a bit more cynical about it all. They appear to be bullies of the first order. And it pisses me off that we as a country are so severely overextended that we can't help our allies properly. But then, that is no doubt the whole sequence of events that caused that little conflict called WWI. And then led to WWII. Seems like it might be a blessing to have to lie low and let them get swamped by the bullies.

But it gravels. And I don't like watching. And I don't trust the stories I hear on the news. And I don't trust the perspective being fed to me. It's enough to send me back to bed for the day. Just to avoid all of this. But that wouldn't work. I would just lay there and worry about something.

So today is supposed to be some kind of lucky day. 8/8/08. All right. I'll bite. Why, exactly? What calendar are you using? Do you realize how many times the calendar has actually changed? If so, doesn't that figure in somewhere?

Too much maths for me.

Kman went to the new Batman movie last night. I stayed home and finished a book. Didn't want to see it yet- theatrical releases are just too intense sometimes for my delicate constitution- and funny that, I told someone yesterday that I am not a buttercup. But I am when it comes to the more intense movie offerings. I cannot sit still. It is an evil feeling. The Matrix about undone me. Totally undone Kman- but for a different reason entirely. See not to disclose secrets n all- but he has a thing about needles. Many do.

But those kinds of movies. I just don't enjoy them in a theater. Will likely love it on the tv- HD stylee. But not something I can reasonably sit through. And getting to sleep afterwards- not happening, my friend.

And so now back to it. You know. The thing I do all day long. Something careery. I dunno.

Remember this one?

The tax man's taken all my dough,
And left me in my stately home,
Lazing on a sunny afternoon.
And I can't sail my yacht,
He's taken everything I've got,
All I've got's this sunny afternoon.

Save me, save me, save me from this squeeze.
I got a big fat mama trying to break me.
And I love to live so pleasantly,
Live this life of luxury,
Lazing on a sunny afternoon.
In the summertime
In the summertime
In the summertime

My girlfriend's run off with my car,
And gone back to her ma and pa,
Telling tales of drunkenness and cruelty.
Now I'm sitting here,
Sipping at my ice cold beer,
Lazing on a sunny afternoon.

Help me, help me, help me sail away,
Well give me two good reasons why I oughta stay.
'Cause I love to live so pleasantly,
Live this life of luxury,
Lazing on a sunny afternoon.
In the summertime
In the summertime
In the summertime

Ah, save me, save me, save me from this squeeze.
I got a big fat mama trying to break me.
And I love to live so pleasantly,
Live this life of luxury,
Lazing on a sunny afternoon.
In the summertime
In the summertime
In the summertime

And how about this one?

And the sky was made of amethyst

And all the stars were just like little fish

You should learn when to go

You should learn how to say no

Might last a day, yeah

Mine is forever

Might last a day, yeah

Mine is forever

Well they get what they want, and they never want it again

Well they get what they want, and they never want it again

Go on, take everything, take everything, I want you to

Go on, take everything, take everything, I want you to

And the sky was all violet

I want to give the violent more violets

And I'm the one with no soul

One above and one below

Might last a day, yeah

Mine is forever

Might last a day, yeah

Mine is forever

When they get what they want, and they never want it again

And they get what they want, and they never want it again

Go on, take everything, take everything, I want you to

Go on, take everything, take everything, I dare you to

I told you from the start just how this would end

When I get what I want, then I never want it again

Go on take everything, take everything, I want you to

Go on take everything, take everything....

Ok, despite best intentions (and you know how effective those are), I haven't uploaded photos yet.

Mitigating factors: Kman bought a new motorcycle yesterday. It is nice. The guy delivered it to the house last night- there was drama- the title is going to be a bit delayed as there is financing involved on the seller's end, and there were many feverish calls and much internet searching the other night to resolve how to handle this. Sadly, this kind of thing has become very common- people living with way too fucking much debt to make a secure go of it- and having to liquidate things that they owe money on, at times for a loss. But the bike sure is pretty.

Mitigating factor redux: spent the day in training yesterday, and was bloody tired. It was one of those active participation kinds of things- one in which I appeared to be the only person in my group with significant motor skills. The rest apparently were "thinkers". I got the majority of the actual grunt work done. Which either means that I am good, or merely an idiot who falls for that trick. You guess.

Then: spent the evening trying to finish the rather downbeat but enthralling book about the Holocaust The Lost, by Daniel Mendelsohn. It isn't happy. But then I doubt that any book covering the attempted extermination of a large group of people could be considered happy. There are things that I have been reading that have made me think a lot. Stuff that I never knew and never considered. I like reading these kinds of books on occasion (if I did it all the time, I would no doubt off myself) mainly because it is a damned good reminder that I don't know as much as I thought I knew, and need to continue to learn more. Lots more.

That's about it. Oh, and I've started going to the gym again post-vacation. There you have it. The round-up of what the hell is going on here.

This week won't suck. Officially or otherwise. Not that I am some kind of psychic and can determine this from the bird offal steaming in a bowl. No, because everyone in my world who matters (or who I report to, to be succinct) is on vacation. Ah. Wilderness.

I will be on the clock, doing things that I shoved aside for saner times and venues. But it will be a more relaxed vibe, indeed.

And I might get a chance to download the photos from our trip. And then I can share. Otherwise it's just everyday crap. Nothing spectacular, spectacular.

Ok, I am back. Slacking like crazy, but back. Not feeling up to a bunch of catch up yet- work is bad enough- had over 400 actual work-related emails to slog through on Thursday and Friday. Alpha disasters and Beta disasters. It took time.

Now am cleaning house, watching crap recorded on the DVR while we were gone, contemplating writing more on the book, and other such nonsense.

But it is good to be home.

The orchids are blooming like crazy, the whole downstairs smells of Cattleya. If you haven't ever experienced that smell, get thee to a botanical garden or orchid greenhouse posthaste. You can NOT die without smelling a Cattleya in bloom. Amazing. Like angels. Or unicorns. hey.

The trip- I will have pictures soon. Kman took the camera on an overnight adventure with a bunch of guys owning old BMW cars. He sounds happy. Either it's a driving adventure, or they went to all the strip clubs and picked up hookers. I'll know soon. I kind of figure the pictures he took will be a giveaway.

Cool things- saw the Blue Angels (SeaFair week is here- whoohoo) from my office lounge overlooking Lake Washington. Very nice. Plants are happy- see above. Timmy the cat has fully controlled diabetes as of yesterday's blood test results- no more filthy lucre spent on that crap for a while, only meds. Sister got married to best.Kevin.ever. Saw lots of really fun stuff on the trip, spent quality time with family and friends, and got home before any real forest fires caused respiratory distress.

Other cool things- the sun is shining, had coffee with a good friend yesterday, and have some time today allocated to doing absofuckinglutely nothing. Huzzah.

Over and out!