Blogs, Business Blogs: March 2006

Rally Sons

Tomorrow begins my final tour de work (Am I allowed to say that? Probably not.) and I couldn't be happier. Two more weeks of traveling and I will finally be finished. Hooray. My bags are packed, my presentations rehearsed (well, sort of), my (car's) oil changed, my whiskey consumed; the time is now.

I'm pretty excited for the trip, despite the fact that I completely loath the idea of being on the road for another two weeks. I think it's because I'll be visiting areas that are largely familiar to me...going to Chicago is always nice, and I'm about due for another trip to South Bend anyway. Some buddies from the math program here will be in SB the same weekend; combine that with SPO, Fullback, a few familiar establishments,* and Jim's grill and you've got yourself a solid weekend.

Well, there you have it. Time to finish packing.

* The 'Backer, Parisi's, Oyster Bar among others.

I'm just like all those boys from Texas

Since we're still in the midst of March Madness, I find it necessary to give a few bracket updates. I rebounded quite well from the sustained losses I mentioned in my previous post. In fact, on Friday I was in first place in my bracket at work* and third place amongst my O'Neill Hall & Friends Bracket.

This weekend my picks plummeted. I think Florida is the only team I have left in the Final Four. Damn you, LSU, for beating Texas. What kind of nickname is Big Baby anyway?

Ok, time to move on. This weekend I'll embark on my final business trip. It should be a good one, too. First, a big trade show, then an installation, finally, a return to glory. I'm more excited about this round of travel than I have been all year.

One last thing before I get back to work: huge thanks to Vnak for his surprise donation of Prince cds to the "cause for giving me prince cds." A mildly amusing story was meant to accompany this post explaining the arrival of this package but I decided to omit it. Sorry Vnak.

* I know what you're thinking...software engineers can't pick good brackets. This may be true, but the salespeople at work can - and do - pick winners every year. They must be stopped.

B for Bad Bracketology, Betas, Bugs, and Bird

The luck of the Irish was not with me yesterday, as the demise of Michigan State and Kansas was accompanied by that of my bracket picks. Is there anything more humbling than losing to both friends and coworkers in a game of 'who will win?' Probably, but I can't think of any at the moment.

I saw V for Vendetta today. If it weren't for Natalie Portman and her performance there would be little to speak of with regards to this film. Seeing it made me want to see Garden State all over again.*

This past week was slightly crazier than I thought it would be. I'm here in Charlottesville, VA assisting in the installation of my new product. It's going alright but this site is turning out to be more of a beta site than a commercial installation. See, they're using our software in partnership with some layout/design software that we have yet to use with our new product, and the two aren't playing quite as well as they should. Combine that with a couple of to-be-incorporated-soon-but-not-at-this-time features that they really want and you've got a recipe for some tense times. The site has been great about it all, though, and I couldn't have asked for more knowledgeable people to help us work through these issues.

We're having some Adobe CS 2 training sessions all this week at work; it's bad enough I have to miss Monday but I'm on a 6am flight home Tuesday morning so I can make it to the rest of the show.

* despite the fact that I just watched the last half of it last week.
Current Music: The Mysterious Production of Eggs ~ Andrew Bird. I love this guy.

(small) worlds collide?

1. I joined the local YMCA last week. It feels great to be lifting again.
2. I've already begun the small task of brewing some travelin beers to take down to the Deuze-Clairesja wedding.
3. Back in Virginia...the weather is most definitely here.
4. March madness...fantastic.
5. My iBook broke. Again.
6. While running today I passed an apartment complex, Turtle Creek, here in Charlottesville. It shouldn't be surprising to some how many memories rushed to the surface of my mind at this find.