June 17, 2003
Guess whose birthday it is? I didn't realize until I saw Google's logo for the day:
How cool is that? Yep...the 105th anniversary of the birth of one of my favorite artists: M. C. Escher.
May 27, 2003
Just for fun...I updated my Longhorn Baseball page. I've been wanting to do something there for ages. I think I'm going to turn it into a sort of pseudo-blog. It'll require some work on formatting and what not. Which means I'll need to devote some time to the project. And, we all know how short I am on time. Oh well. We shall see.
May 9, 2003
There was a note posted on my door two or three weeks ago saying my building was finally going to get painted this summer. They're doing the whole complex. I think it's about a 10-year project which means that when they finally finish, they'll have to start over again. The note prompted me to finally do something about the pine tree in the patio. It's too big. Many of the branches are only a couple of inches from the walls of my townhouse. It took a couple of weeks but I finally remembered to send an email message to our property manager asking for the name of the tree trimmers they recommend. I got the name yesterday morning and gave Justin a call. No answer so I left voice-mail. He called back yesterday afternoon and I told him I'd like him to look at the tree...that I wanted to remove it or, at the very least, trim it way back. He said there'd be a $150 minimum. So, I gave him the address and he said he'd drive by today and give me a call.
He called just after I got back from lunch and said he could trim the tree above the roof line, give it some injections (of what, I have no idea), and it would be great. I said I thought it was really too big for the space and was expecting that it would have to be removed. He assured me it would be fine to keep it so I decided to do that. I mean, I really didn't want to be cutting down a tree if it didn't need it. So, I asked when he wanted to do the work. "Right away." Oh. What about payment?...did he need me to come over? Nope. He said he could just swing by and pick it up after he was done. I feel compelled to note at this point that I've not said a word to him about where I work. So, I told him to go ahead. He called back about 2 hours later to say he was done and ask for directions. I gave him the intersection and told him to call when he got here and I'd take a check down. 'Bout 20 minutes later, he was downstairs. I went down, looked for a pickup, found one across the street with a long ladder and tree saw in the bed, and hollered for Justin. Around whipped his head. So, I gave him a check for $150. This to a guy I've never seen before that I'm assuming did the job he said he'd do. Hmmm...
Odd way to do business, eh? I'm rather bemused by the whole incident. I wish I'd thought to take a picture this morning before coming to work. Of course, at the time, I had no idea the tree would be trimmed today. I thought he'd give me a call, we'd set up a date, and then the tree would get trimmed, removed, whatever. I can't wait to get home and see what I paid for.
Update. The tree looks great. I wondered what I'd find at home. Would there be a pile of limbs left behind by Justin and his helper(s)? I mean...we didn't discuss it, really. So, I was very pleasantly surprised to find that not only did they take away any debris they created, they also cleaned up all the pine needles that had accumulated in my patio area since the last time I cleaned up. Which was (I'm not particularly proud to admit) probably about six months ago. Cool.
April 3, 2003
Oh...my! Those wacky Brits! The Royal Mail has issued
do-it-yourself
stamps!
Can you imagine the fun? I would be dreaming up all sorts of reasons for sending snail mail to people. How long before the U. S. Postal Service follows suit? I can't wait!
My favorite sample is...but of course...the lemon. Heh.
March 25, 2003
Looky there...one month since the ice storm. Time has been flying and it seems more like two or three months. Ah well...to my point...
I just got three "URGENT AND CONFIDENTIAL" messages from one Anthony Bram:
I'm sitting on the edge of my chair wondering why Mr. Bram felt so strongly about the urgency of his message that he had to send it to me three times. Wow. I have to sign off now and go read my very urgent and confidential mail. I'm sure it'll bring me great gobs of wealth. Millions of dollars hang in the balance. I can just feel it. Can't you?
February 25, 2003
Ice. Ice. Ice. The icy sleet started as I drove home last night. A drive that usually takes about 15 minutes took an hour. I thought I'd be headed in to work late this morning. Uhhh...nope. Not headed in at all. There's a quarter-inch layer of ice on all the roads and sidewalks around my house. Very pretty but quite trecherous.
I went outside about 10 and took a few photos. 'Looks a little like snow, eh? It's ice, though. Select a thumbnail to see larger versions of the photos.
February 23, 2003
A couple of snippets of conversation. I participated in one and overheard the other. Both took place this evening.
First, I stopped in at the post office to check my mail. The place was empty (it is Sunday, after all) except for a woman standing at a counter writing furiously on a piece of notebook paper. I had a vague sense of déjà vu as I walked past her. As I put my key in the box, she asked me how to spell "final." "As in 'the divorce is final,'" she explained. I spelled it out for her. "F-I...what?" she asked. I spelled it again...this time a bit more slowly. "Thanks. I don't suppose you have a blank envelope, do you?" Sorry...nope. I left with the most peculiar and eerie feeling. I could almost swear I had the exact same conversation with this woman at this post office a few months ago. Weird. I wonder if she frequently hangs out in that lobby writing letters?
I then made a quick stop at my bank to get some cash. There were a couple of teenagers (about 14 or 15 years old) standing at the ATM. A woman sat waiting for them in a station wagon. Here's the snippet of overheard conversation:
Girl: What does "ATM" stand for?
Boy: Automatic transaction... something... I dunno.
Girl: <silence>
Boy (as they head back to the waiting station wagon): You know, I could steal so much money from my mom if I wanted to. This one time...
And, they walked out of my hearing range so I have no idea what happened that one time.
February 15, 2003
If you have Flash installed, you really need to check out The Flash Mind Reader. Way way too cool. Heh.
February 11, 2003
As I rode down in the elevator on my way to lunch earlier today, I was shifting back and forth from left foot to right. I looked down at my feet and was rather stunned to see that I'd worn mismatched shoes to work! So sad. Oddly, nobody else noticed unless I pointed it out.
Sigh...those "senior moments" just keep coming more frequently!
February 6, 2003
Happy Birthday, Larry!! Woo hoo!! 27!! Yeah, man!! Heh.
And, on a completely unrelated note, is there no end to the idiocy? Student sues to get A+, not A. Puh-lease.
January 9, 2003
So, Kate came and went. We had a great visit. We tried to hit all the good restaurants but...alas...two weeks is only two weeks. We did hit Tien Hong, though, and I got a great fortune in my cookie:
Hmmm...surrend? How'm I gonna make that happen? I don't even know what that is! Heh.
December 15, 2002
Bruce said Kate Campbell was coming to town. Based on his description, I thought she sounded like my kind of singer. So I fired up my browser, tried katecampbell.com and lo...it was her. I listened to a few (okay...all) of the song samples and was duly impressed. So, I ordered her most recent CD (Monuments) that same day. And, made my reservations for the gig. The CD came and I listened to it almost exclusively in my car as I drove around town waiting for her arrival. Wow. What a good CD. And, now...after seeing her in person, you can bet I'll be buying the rest of her CDs. Let me just add that hearing the explanation behind "Corn In A Box" was a big relief to me. I could not begin to imagine what "You can't grow corn in a box" meant. I mean...really...what could that mean? Too funny.
joanna@joanna.org
URL: http://www.joanna.org/archive/Dec2002-June2003.html
Last updated: June 17, 2003