Spiritus Bound... Again

04.23.2008

Dec 6, 2006: My last official day as an employee of Spiritus, Inc, due to funding cuts on the contract under which I was working.  The Boss' words to me as I was processed out were "I'm going to get you back, just give me some time."

Apr 22, 2008: I turn in my notice at Westar to let them know I'm going back to work at Spiritus.

Spiritus, and the group of people which constitute the company, was one of those places I like to be.  I liked working there, I liked the people, I liked the atmosphere.  My job at Westar as been a good job - atmosphere, people, the actual job.  But Jim has been the one boss I've had that I've wanted to be loyal to.  He was always upfront with me and I respected that.  When he told me back in 2006 that he was going to bring me back, there was part of me that believed him, but another part that said "yeah, sure".  I found out back in November that I was still on the payroll (but not drawing a check, obviously).  Shadiva, in charge of the payroll, would ask Jim if she should take me off, to which he would say "no, you're just going to have to put him back on again later."  That pinged the loyalty thought in my head a little harder once I heard that.

When Jim called me 6 weeks ago and said that my old job might be opening back up if I was interested, I had to think hard about it.  There was no active reason for me to leave my current job.  Like I said, I enjoy my job.  It's not a place I was looking to leave.  But an opportunity was opening up.  And then there was that loyalty thing.  So I made a list of questions (6 in all), and I went and talked to Jim.  If he said "yes" to my 6 questions, going back would be the right thing to do.  At the end of our talk, I had 6 check marks next to "yes", along with 2 more that had popped up during our talk.

After that, the gears of progress ground (grinded?) and I got word that I would indeed be Spiritus bound again.  Thankfully, I think, I'm going to still be working at Westar part-time/at night until they find my replacement or get tired of me.  Or until Jim changes his mind and decides I take up too much room.

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Up The Beach Without a Camera

04.19.2008

For the first time in 2 or 3 years I take a vacation beach trip with Gina, and with all my packing I manage to leave my camera on my desk.  At home.

I'm currently on Day 4 of my 5 day vacation in Destin.  Tomorrow is the 7-ish hour drive back home.  Not a lot to look forward to when you view it that way.

It's been a good vacation.  The weather has been cool, with highs in the mid-70s.  Not exactly beach weather, as the water is still chilly.  I have managed to catch up on some reading - I finished the novel I started a little over a week ago, Shatner's "Collision Course", which turned into a pretty good Trek book which goes against all of the pre-TOS Kirk/Spock storylines (the book has Spock and Kirk meeting when they were both teenagers).  Shatner usually has a co-writer, and this one (wish I could remember which it was) did a nice job.  Most of the Shatner Trek books I've read always revolved around Kirk getting older and trying to ignore it.

Thanks to the local outlet mall in Destin, I've corrected my HD-directed mis-step into the world of High Definition and purchased myself a [refurbished] blu-ray player.  It was in part an impulse buy, but I've had a max price I was willing to pay when browsing eBay and the auctions always went over that amount.  The Sony outlet store had the player right at the price I was willing to part with, so I'm looking at that as a sign.  Now I just hope everything works when I get it home and hooked up, otherwise I'm going to have to take a closer look at the return policy that's printed on the receipt.

The seafood portion of the trip has also been great.  I've tried some different types of fish instead of sticking to shrimp baskets the whole time.  Wednesday night I had some really good crab cakes with a tomato-and-something tartar sauce that was very tasty.  I've gotten used to crab cakes that have been frozen and deep fried (maybe not in that order), so pan-cooked crab cakes have a much different taste and texture.  A much better taste and texture!

Oh, on the food route but off the seafood tract, Gina and I tracked down a Godfather's Pizza in Ft Walton.  Ever since the Godfather's Pizza we had in Gatlinburg, 5 or 6 years ago, topped our list as the best pizza we had ever had, we've been looking for another to try.  I visited a Godfather's outside of Gulf Shores a couple of years back, but it wasn't nearly as good.  This time the pizza was good, but while the Gatlinburg pizza somehow got even better when we had it for breakfast the next morning, this one merely remained adequate the next day.  Alas, Gatlinburg Godfather, ye be missed.

I wonder if there's any cheese still melted to that box?

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Amazon Loves Me?

04.10.2008

Found in my Inbox yesterday:

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Amazon.com Special Offer: $50 Off a Future Purchase
Dear Amazon.com Customer,
As someone who purchased an HD DVD player from us before February 23, 2008,* you might like to hear about a special offer available from Amazon.com.

New technologies don't always work out as planned. We at Amazon.com value our customer relationships more than anything and would like to support customers who purchased these players by offering a credit good for $50 off any products sold by Amazon.com.** Just use promotional code ####-#####-##### when checking out. The code is valid through April 9, 2009, so you have plenty of time to use your credit. Purchases from third-party merchants on our site are not eligible.

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Not that I blame Amazon for selling me an HD-DVD player mere days before the HD/Blu-Ray war was over - I blame myslef for that - but it's pretty nice of them to offer me $50 off. And it's good for anything Amazon sells, not just DVDs or players. Add that to the $300 in gift cards I cashed in from my credit card rewards program, and I'm having a good Amazon year so far!

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Yet Another Random Update

04.09.2008

After Mom coming to visit over this past weekend (and catching up on her sleep), I've found myself having a busy week.

Monday I went to the Correctional Officers Training Academy in Selma to give a demo and get some feedback for work.  It took just shy of 4 hours to drive there.  43 minutes of demo and feedback, then I started my return trip.  I took a break in Alabaster and walked around the local Books One Million and Wal-Mart before sneaking off to Whattaburger for lunch.  10 hours after leaving home, I returned and was ready to flake out for a while.

Tuesday brought me my final shave and a haircut from my California-bound coifist. Tonya is one of those people that enjoys her job and really doesn't need the money, so she gives the best haircuts (and shaves!) in the known world.  Afterward my smooth-skinned face took Gina out on a date where I tried something new at Outback - Tilapia with some kind of crab meat topping served with some asparagus.  I'm not usually one for Tilapia or asparagus, but it was quite tasty.

Today I get to have lunch with Gina thanks to a doctor's appointment on her behalf.  After work, I think I have a play date with Jerry, the details of which I only know include showing him what my plebian knowledge of World of Warcraft can do.

All of this is working oward next Wednesday when I take a vacation and head to Destin for 4 nights! 

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Of Slyboots and Yard Work

04.01.2008

There are days when your brain just doesn't want to work.  That's bad when the brain needed at the office.  I had a fairly easy task today, and it was a task I had picked out for myself.  Mock up some screen shot/web pages to take to Selma Monday for approval.  I started at 8:15 and was off to a good start. 

Until around 8:45, then things started going down hill.

Nothing bad was happening, I was just having a hard time focusing and working on my goal.  It all seemed so mundane.  Looking out the window was a lot more fun.

After a day of fighting looking out the window, talking to anyone who would walk by, and successfully avoiding any obvious April Fools shenanigans, I gave up around 3:00 and came home.  My goal for home this evening was to mow the lawn.  The inaugural mowing of the year.  There were thunderstorms forecast for the evening, but the late afternoon was perfect for mowing.  70° with a slight breeze, cloudy enough to keep a harsh sun at bay.

The first mowing of the year is a time that gets my mind off everything.  I look around the house and the yard, usually wondering what's going to fall apart.  The grass isn't thick enough to clog up the mower, so the actual cutting of the grass goes fairly easy.  I uncovered 2 ant hills, and afterward doused them with left over ant killer from the last ant killing season.  For good measure, I use up the remaining last season ant killing dust by surrounding the house with a light barrier.  Take that you ants!

After a post-mowing shower and dinner, I booted up the computer and found that my brain had returned.  I was able to churn out a little more work (thus not feeling guilty for leaving a little early - I still got my hours for the day in!).  It seems my brain just needed a little break.  Or maybe my brain just likes mowing the grass?

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