"We're as stubborn as mule with our blood on fire
 When we ain't in Sunday mass
 We'll look any man straight in his eyes, and say
 Kiss my Irish ass."
    Traditional

I know that has nothing to do with Halloween, and we might also point out that I am not even a small part Irish. However, I feel that phrase sums up my attitude at the moment quite nicely.

Had the MS company meeting yesterday and a short day was had by all.

Currently there's a couple hundred little kids wandering around my office building trick or treating with their parents. Ironically, its also one of the few days this year that my door is closed and my candy jar is hidden. Oh, don't give me that look. They keep coming and peering in my window like I'm some sort of zoo habit. "See the amazing North American red-tailed geek!" Yeah, up yours kid.

However, I am not without Halloween spirit. Yesterday I saw one of the scariest things I have ever encountered. I was standing on a street corner waiting for the light to change and suddenly... there's creepy music right behind me. The theme from 'Halloween' to be exact. I turn around slowly and there... there was a big... empty... yellow... schoolbus. Yes, a schoolbas was driving around downtown Seattle at dusk playing the theme from Halloween. Freaky.

Final note: I bought a rubber ducky yesterday (in homage to the gay playboy who used to rent my condo). I was walking past a window when I say a who school of these sinister little red ducks with black tails and devil horns. Its awsome.

Happy Halloween!

"Naughty, Naughty, Naughty"
    Scotty Claus

So listen: when you're running a piece of software on a Window's XP system and it crashes you get this dialog asking if you want to send an error report to Microsoft. YOU SHOULD ALWAYS CHOOSE TO DO THIS.

The data you send us is collected and eventually we sort through it and try and fix the bugs. Its awsome technology (called 'Watson'), but the bugs are really tough. I opened over sixty Watson bugs for our team to investigate last week and I assigned the out last night. Talk about a heard of white elephants.

Anyway, if you hit one of these crashes and it asks you to fill out a survey PLEASE DO SO. Here's a true story: I was investigating one of these bugs a few months ago and couldn't get anywhere. So I opened a survey on the bug and called it a night.

When I would up the next morning someone in the UK had hit the crash, filled out the survey, and sent in the data and his contact info. I emailed him that morning, he sent me his file that afternoon, and I had the bug fixed by the end of the day.

Ain't technology grand?

"Around and round you’re turning me
 I say to thee respectfully"
    Diana Ross

I've been having sudden flashes of vertigo for the last few hours. Its really freaking me out. Every now and then I suddenly feel like I just got off of some sort of crazy carnival ride. Bizzare.

Good weekend. Dante's & Giggles on Friday lead to a good mixture of drunkeness and stand up comedy. Well, perhaps we went a bit heavy on the drunkeness.

Saturday saw us at a good houswarming party for Ted's friend (and now landlord) Jeremy. Helped Cindy pick out clothes for job interviews.

Today I cleaned, ran errands, and just finished making fudge... There's that vertigo again. Anyway, I'm going to go lie down now. Have a good week.

"Well I woke up in mid-afternoon cause that's when it all hurts the most
 I dream I never know anyone at the party and I'm always the host
 If dreams are like movies, then memories are films about ghosts
 You can never escape, you can only move south down the coast"
    Counting Crows, Mrs. Potter's Lullaby

So Cindy and I have thrown in the Romantic Towel. I think its the right move, and I think its the right time, but I really thing Cindy said it best on her site

Went to the dentist. Have no cavitied.

Spent a lot of time walking around downtown in the rain. Narrowly dodged a huge wave of water kicked up by a passing car only to step into a deep puddle two blocks later. I'm sure there's a moral in that somewhere.

I have a new cell phone and a new cell phone number. I might even keep this one on. :-)

"Everybody is just a stranger but
 That's the danger in going my own way
 I guess it's the price I have to pay
 Still 'everything happens for a reason'
 Is no reason not to ask myself

 If I am living it right"
    John Mayer, Why Georgia

It almost always feels good to do the right thing. The trick is knowing what the right thing is.

Anyway, it was a great weekend. Went to brunch with Ted and Co. on Saturday. Ted's friend Jeremy is the grand master of Excellent But Little Known Restaurants. We ate at this little hole in the wall Vietnamese noodle place in the International District, and had one of the best friggin' meals I've had in a long time.

Went on a little hike with Ted, and then did dinner with Ted and Cindy. We cooked dinner at my place... actually, Ted cooked while berating me for having such a woefully understocked kitchen. He insulted my knives and whined when he burnt his hand because I have a pathetic little mitten for an oven mit. Some people are so touchy. It was great: I felt like a third wheel in my own kitchen. My only contribution came when Ted instructed me to 'Make cookies happen'. One of the few things I can do.

I also have a great recipie for ice.

Rounded out the weekend with some Improv and a lot of cleaning. Hope yall did as well or better.

"IS 5416"
    Agent Smith's License Plate, The Matrix Reloaded

"Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy."
    Isaiah 54:16

Rented Reloaded last night. I must admit that watching that movie makes me wish I was a little more well read. There are all these references that I know are signifigant (commander Locke, etc), but I have no idea who these people were. Ah well, to hell with the intellectual snobs. I'm going hiking.

"Payphones all were ringing as the crowd went roarin’ by
 Lovely dancers swayin’ to an island lullaby
 Beside the southern ocean taking stock of what’s to be
 Writing you this letter that you’ll probably never see"
    Jimmy Buffet, Distantly In Love

Today was a good day when taken as a whole I think. Rather than talk about the ups and downs I want to tell you about Very Scary Hairy Girl.

Tonight was the second time I've ridden on a bus with Very Scary Hairy Girl, and both times she was dressed in the exact same manner. She wears a big, puffy, purple fleece newsey-style had, a heavy blue and green fleece jacket, sneakers, and shorts. So she's dressed very warmly except for the short. With me? Good. Now, between her shorts and her shoes are TWO OF THE HAIRIEST LEGS I HAVE EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE!!! I'm talking hairier than most men I know. Yeti hairy. Tammy-Fae Baker's eyelashes hairy.

Now, I don't really care if a girl chooses not to shave her legs, but its a little unsettling that she feels the need to call attention to the fact. She's actually fairly cute otherwise. Its like someone made a collage with the head, arms, and torso of a cute girl, and then legs of a 60 year old Rogaine junky. Creepy.

"Gettin' robbed, gettin' stoned
 Gettin' beat up, broken boned
 Gettin' had, gettin' took
 I tell you folks... it's harder than it looks"
    AC/DC, It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'N Roll)

So just for fun I tried implementing a prototype of another big portion of the new proposed Access navigation system. Surprisingly I got it working pretty much perfectly in about two hours. (I think I'm getting the hang of this coding thing).

Anyway, I was on a huge geek-rush so I called up the Program Manager who owns this feature to show him what I had. He got totally excited and was monsterously impressed. As he was leaving I told him that it was no big thing and that I had just thrown it together. After he left my officemate turns to me and says

<French Accent>You should never tell them it only took you two hours. Make them think you worked all night and that it's incredibly complicated.</French Accent>

Maybe he's right. :-)

Anyway, this is for all you Hokie fans out there and this is for the rest of you. Goodnight.

"Nothing worth having comes without some kind of fight.
 You gotta kick at the darkness 'til it bleeds daylight."
    Barenaked Ladies, Lovers in a Dangerous Time

I think I just don't get Salsa. Cindy very kindly accompanied me out to a big salsa dance on Saturday night and while I did have a great time dancing with her I was still freaked out by the scene. Here's some of what I've figured out since:

1. I'm just not a very good salsa dancer and being in a room full of great dancers intimidates me a lot more than it should
2. Salsa music is intimidating. The songs are like fifteen minutes long, and when you only know three or four moves that you can lead it makes it hard to entertain your follow.
3. Salsa women are intimidating. They wear really crazy stuff like spandex bodysuits or a bikini top with a skirt. Plus a lot of them are really tall, and when you add that height to four inches of stilleto heel they're a few inches taller than me. Crazy.
4. Salsa dances are packed. I'm kind of used to dancing on croweded floors and bumping other couples, but salsa is a lot worse than any swing dance I've ever been to

"I've been out walking
 I don't do too much talking
 These days..."
    Nico, These Days

I think I've lost my nerve or something. I haven't been out dancing in months and so tonight I got my shit together and went salsa dancing... or tried I should say. I just sort of stood and watched for an hour and a half feeling intimidated. I don't know what's wrong with me.

F*** it. I just need some backup. Cindy, we're going dancing Saturday.

"Don't the hours grow shorter as the days go by
 You never get to stop and open our eyes
 One minute you're waiting for the sky to fall
 The next you're dazzled by the beauty of it all"
    Barenaked Ladies, Lovers in a Dangerous Time

The Rain has returned to Seattle. I'm glad its here: its like a Seattle trademark. However, it is sort of like the end of a really good party.

"#$&@!!!!"
    Me

I stubbed my toes really hard earlier tonight. I was in so much pain that I had to lie down because I was getting lightheaded.

I know this makes me sound like a wuss, but it reminded me of the last time I stubbed my toe this hard. Turns out I had broken my big toenail on my right foot up under the skin and I was in a world of hurt. I was home with my mom and sister and I remember them teasing me about making such a big deal about stubbing my toe. Then when we realized that we couldn't stop the bleeding withough elevating my foot were they a little more sympathetic. :-)

Ever since then the nail on that toe has grown in a strange "W" shape. Hopefully I haven't done quite that much damage this time.

"How do you like them apples?"
    Good Will Hunting

I feel the need to take a moment and explain something about the different types of guys. I was out drinking with Cindy and a bunch of my friends and co-workers Friday night. There were about ten of us and several major types of guys were represented.

Brian: a really friendly, easy-going, soft-spoken guy who could get along with anyone. If Brian has a fault its that he doesn't blow his own horn enough, but then I think that's part of his charm.

Matt & Dave: Guy's guys. Sharp, quick-witted, into sports, friendly, good-natures, but not the types of guys you discuss your emotional problems with.

Ted: Renissance Man. Open, well-traveled, self-made, confident, and self assured. However, also very considerate, kind, and dependable.

"John Doe": Former frat-boy. I'm not sure that John (Not his real name, but I doubt he'll make the blog again anyway) was in a frat, nor do I think everyone who was in a frat is a jerk, but John is not one of my favorite people. John is constantly trying to impress you by telling you about the type of life he leads, while simultaneously seeking approval for that life. Very Sad.

Anyway, Cindy and I called it an early night. Ted was the only guy who didn't work with us so I felt bad ditching him with a bunch of guys he didn't know. (Side note: three girls were also present: Cindy, Matt's Fiance Michelle, and Michelle's friend Sarah) I called him the next day to see how he had made out. He told me, "I didn't really hit it off with most of the guys, but I did have a good time with Brian and the girls".

I told Ted not to worry: that Matt and Dave were just hard to get to know and that I really didn't much like John myself. Ted laughed and then told me a story about how at one point in the evening Ted was sitting in a booth between Sarah and John when the following conversation occured:

John: You know what I can't figure out?
Ted: (Knowing this can't be good) What's that?
John: Why you are such a homosexual?

Did I already mention that I really don't like John?

Ted: Well that's an interesting thought since I just got Sarah's phone number
Michelle: Yep. He did.

What's the point? Well... there isn't one. I just like any story where the nice guys gets the girl.

"O me! O life!
 Of the questions of these recurring
 Of the endless trains of the faithless
 Of cities filled with the foolish
 What good amid these
 O me, O life?"
    Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass

Day Four: A Movie That Taught Me A Life Lesson

Well I would have said Dead Poet's Society, but Gwen already took that one. So I guess me second movie would be Weekend at Bernies.

See, when I was in 7th grade Bo Katana and I decided to go to a school dance. We lasted for about half an hour before we decided it was the stupidest thing we have ever done. So we called one of our parents for a ride, dropped like $10.00 on candy, and had a sleepover instead. We also rented Weekend at Bernies and watched it several times.

What did it teach me? That dancing sucks, girls are icky, and that the road to happiness is paved with candy.

"And love won't play
 any games with you,
 anymore If you don't want it to"
    Ryan Adams, New York, New York

Wednesday: Games

Screw this. If you want games got to PopCap