I IT

I love being in IT. In any other role, mixing constant cynical remarks with avoidance of peers would be grounds for termination. Here, it's justified by stereotypes and outdated expectations.

Long live outdated expectations!

Gotta go... I sense a principal heading my way...

Gregsta'

How to remodel a house in the slowest possible manner...

I can't seem to finalize a plan to save my life. Why? I'm as indecisive as the Bush Administration about why we invaded Iraq.

Colors, finishes, styles. It's enough to make your head spin.

Back to to the cranial centrifuge...

Gregsta'

Tweakers

Portland has become innundated with Tweakers. They're everywhere. All the security people and cops can do is shuffle them around. I think it's high time we start hiring assasins and cleanup crews and fix the problem once and for all. Sure, we might loose a few innocent citizens in our great society. Hopefully it will just be a few politicians or copier salespeople. There are plenty of both.

Problem Solvingly,
Gregsta'

Addicted

For the MySpace addicts in my life.

Confession

I have a confession to make.

I like lattes'.

I like them a lot.

I like them so much, that everywhere I go, they know exactly what I want. Why? I've visited before. More than twice.

Why do I crave the concentrated bean water with such passion?

I don't sleep anymore.

I drink coffee.

Lots of coffee.

Lots of water, too (no use getting dehydrated).

Gotta go.




I'm back. What was I saying? Oh, right. Coffee.

If Bets' finds out about my lust for the Kona bean, it could be ugly.

9:43 pm. Last cup for the night. Next to last. Maybe.

Can't type. Shaking.

Gotta go.


Caffinatingly,
Gregsta'

Back from Bend

It went by fast, but it was fun. Bets' and I headed down to Bend for a few days in the middle of the week to get away. Good thing, too - I was ready to take a hostage at the office. Props to the McMenamins folks. We stayed at the St. Francis School in Bend (an old Catholic school converted into a McMenamins restaurant, theater and hotel). It seemed a little strange to be staying in a once holy place for valentines day, but I'm not all that concerned about it. There's some thrill involved in partaking in naughty acts on blessed grounds...

Back home now and the tasks are mounting. Pick up the truck from the shop, take the cat to the vet, clean the cars, clean out the junk room, update the server, clean the kitchen, shampoo the rug, etc. Sounds like a honey-do list, right? More like a self-inflicted Gregster-do list. Bets' is staying out of my hair tomorrow while I bust ass on this stuff.

It's 1:30 in the morning. Normally, I'm asleep by now. Can't fall asleep for some reason. So, instead, I'm babysitting some much needed maintenance on my server and plotting my day tomorrow.

I've discovered the beauty of DVR. I can now record anything on my Satellite and watch it whenever the hell I want. My goal is to stay on top of all the Family Guy episodes I can. Life is good again.

That's all for now.

Pre-sleepingly,
Gregsta'

Cleaning House

I manage to find, collect and hoard all sorts of goodies all the time. About this time every year, I start going through my crack-head-style collection of things and say to myself "Why the hell did I buy this?"

It has never ceased to amaze me what I can convince myself of needing:

Gregster: Hmm, a broken digital camera. Just needs a little work from a Nikon repair shop.

Conscience: You NEED that! What if you run across a suicidal Nikon repair person who's desperate to start a career in digital photography!?

Gregster: You're right! I might save someones life!

Goodwillingly,
Gregsta'

Why do I love food so much?

I just finished devouring an Itallian lunch (more like a dinner for 2) at one of my favorite places to eat and now I feel like throwing up. That's not to say the food was bad, but the portions.. oh the portions..

Just like any other self-disrespecting American, I can't not finsh what's in front of me unless I've already gone way beyond the point of being over-full.

Was there a point to this? Um. No. Not this time. Stay tuned for more opinionated bullshit coming soon!

Gregsta'

Strange Days, Indeed

This week is already starting out to be challenging. I got perhaps 3 hours sleep last night (no more just-before-bed snacks), my Grandfather will likely pass in the next few days and work is busy.

Everything was great this weekend. This has been the trend for some time, though - great weekends, hectic and stressful weeks.

Gregsta

Destroying Childhood Misconceptions

I hate it when I don't have the facts straight. For me, this often means that songs that I once innocently interpreted lyrics for are corrected and my blissful memories of times associated with these false memories destroyed in an instant.

For example, Kyrie by Mister Mister (circa 1980-something) was until this afternoon one of these glee filled memories. I thought to myself, wouldn't it be nice to know what the hell they're really singing? knowing well that my interpretation of the lyrics might be wrong.

My Interpretation: Carry me like an Angel down the road I must travel.

Real Lyrics: Kyrie Eleison down the road I must travel.

Kyrie Eleison? What the fuck is that? Is this some sort of sick joke ?

According to Wikipedia (the most credible source on the Internet, BTW), it's a reference to a Roman Catholic Prayer. Did I get fooled again? This continues a disturbing trend of songs that I always misheard as a child with religious references and undertones. Was that on purpose?

This is one of those moments when the Internet isn't my friend, but instead the evil friend that spoils the end of a movie by telling you who dies at the end right before the climax of the movie. Fuckers.

Gregsta'

Productivity 101

It's funny to me that the coffee served in our kitchen is called Hairbender. Gives you a sense of the productivity expectations here...

Only in an Architecture firm...

Gregsta'