ah, good times for a friday. i 'had' to leave work early in order to make it home so that austin energy (local power company) could come and install a new thermostat that gives me a cheaper rate and that they can control and cycle on and off in order to conserve power during the summer.

and since i got to go home at noon... it means the weekend started much much earlier than usual, which is always nice. i got to start making chili for tomorrow (its supposed to rain and get real cold). so i grilled the meat for it at around 2, which is somewhat surreal - most folks aren't home during the day, and they certainly aren't grilling during the week; but it was quite fun. then i got to go to one of the local stores i frequent in south austin and cash in on some sale items. so new ben sherman cargo pants for $30! nice to have cheap nice things. now i'm just finishing up the chili - it will be named pineapple ice scream chili because i, in a rather diabolical thought, combined the sweetness and tropicalness of pineapple with the spice of the hapenero and scotch bonnet. plus some chocolate and other tricks i threw in. so far its real damn hot but it still has about 30 min to cook and then i'm saving it for a game of poker at a friend's house tomorrow. so i'll update on how everyone receives it.

other than that it appears it will be a cold wet weekend. soccer is canceled tomorrow morning because of the recent and forecasted rain; and other than that, it will most likely be a relaxing time.

oh, and i finally got my christmas present from home yesterday (parental). it kicks ass, even for being a month late. good times.

merry weekending!

jeff

work = done

so apparently because of the last month or so of 4-day work weeks i have unknowingly become super productive at work and can finish my normal week of work in 3 to 4 days. this is nice in that i do not have to stress about deadlines, but i am now a bit perplexed at the extra time i have.

somehow i think i will have to find something else to do; or i could read my economist magazine and search for other jobs... it is a tough call.

so the sun; she is out again. only the second time this week i think i have seen her. i can't wait until the winter blanket is lifted.

other than that it is just another boring day of life and work. hurray!

food section day!

ah, the middle of the week - where work and productivity live.

so it rains yet again, which is good for everything seeing as we hardly got any rain at all the whole of last year. and it does indicate the recharge and flowing of creeks; and of course the use of ponds and things i design.

lately i have been tiring of the television in general; there are many shows i record on the DVR and intend to watch, but they are less and less entertaining these days. i have rediscovered and committed to good books. the key is balancing higher level tiring books with good flowing fiction books. it still amazes me how i can take 2 months to finish a book because it just doesn't flow and then finish another book in two days. ah, if it were only that easy.

so today will bring more work busyness, a chili cookoff at work which is sure to be interesting. as many would know; i sort of have a chili pedigree - i have been raised on the multiple styles, influences, regionalizations, and history of the food. and apparently that's not too common for a yankee. last year's competition was pretty much a travesty in that what won was more taco meat consistency (and not the good slow cooked, melded kind - more the taco packet, grease on top bowl kind). so this year i've held off on making an entry in order to be able to judge and hopefully bring a sense of dignity to the competition. heheh - i do sound like such a pretentious ass on this; but one must have uncompromising standards when it comes to the culinary arts.

a full week?

so its Tuesday and the warm sunny football filled sunday is long gone. although i did get a good long ride through the city in on my way to watch the bears earn their way to play in the super bowl. odd how its been 21 years since that last happened and i can barely remember the event except for certain odd details. but that seems to be the case with sports, rooting interests, and life events; it just seems more odd to have the common thread that rooting for one team brings. i think that's why sports and team allegiances are so strong, because they tie together most every point of your life from childhood to high school, through college; covering everywhere you've lived and all those that have passed through your life. odd it is.

so this week is full work week. and likely getting back into soccer after last weeks winter cold and wetness. not much else going on - just trying to find my place and determine some sort of goals.