Not enough Bloggin'

well it has been brought to my attention (on several occasions, and by several people), that I do not blog enough. Fair enough. You know what's strange? When I get to work it just leaves my head. I think about blogging when I'm in my car on the way to work, or when Jill is blogging. But as soon as I have unobstructed access to the internet, my blogging brain fails me. I make no promises, but I'll try to keep things up to date a little bit better.

Sooooooo, where to begin? Ah, yes, the bargain. For those of you who don't remember, Jill and I made a bargain not to have sex anymore until I was 185 lbs. Well, THAT didn't last long, BUT I have been working out a lot lately. In fact, I have been running every morning this week. Even yesterday when it was pouring out (I ran inside in our fitness center). I must also say that I'm proud of Jill for wanting to try running. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hopes high that she can reach her goals.

In other news, our trip to Las Vegas is coming up and I am REALLY excited. I want to just relax the whole time we're there. I know there are some plans to do all kinds of crazy fun things, such as getting a table at Tao and going dune buggying. But really I don't know if I want to do all of that stuff. Partly because I'm kind of over drinking a lot, but also because the cheapest of those activities would cost $140 a person. Ouch! And while I'm on that subject, those clubs are SUCH a rip off! For 8 people it would be around $140/person. That's almost $1,000 for 8 people and TWO bottles of liquor. Granted that includes mixers and the entry fee and the table, but seriously what the hell? I could literally go to Home Depot, Menards, and best buy, create a similar (although admittedly less hopping) atmosphere for about $100 TOTAL. Anyway, we'll see I want to have fun and not be all penny-pincherey, but that just seems a bit crazy to me. Though Jill did say it was close to what she was expecting.

Ok, well this is getting a bit wordy now (I know if I blogged more often...) so I'd like to finish off with one more thought. I have been working out really hard lately and I've actually gained weight. Thinking about that and the fact that I feel like I look thinner, I've decided that weight is really a stupid number that I shouldn't pay attention to. If I look sexy, I look sexy and the scale be damned.

Favre, Pickles, and Football

Ah, it's August friends, do you know what that means? It means that once again football is upon us! this is the best time of the year for me. It's really the only professional sport that I love, and can easily talk about without sounding like a little kid desperately trying to join an adult conversation. already this morning I have been a part of three football conversations and it is only 10:30! Football allows me to become closer to the guys and gals in my office that can talk about the "grid iron." It opens up doors of communication that for 6 months out of the year are closed to me. Am I excited, you bet I am!

Speaking of football, I'm sure by now you have all heard about Brett Favre being traded to the NY Jets. All in all I think it's a good trade for everyone. the Jets were in desperate need of a reliable quarterback, Brett was in need of a team that needed an idol, and the Packers were in need of letting go of a 100 pound Guerilla. So everbody got what they wanted, except Chad Pennington, but really if he'd have played up to his ability he wouldn't be in this predicament. So good bye Brett, I've loved the energy and charisma you brought to the Green Bay Packers, but I will not miss you post season waffling that held the team in limbo. For better or worse, it's over. So, good luck and good riddence.

In other news, there is general excitment in my office. yesterday while out to lunch with a mall landlord, the topic of conversation turned to refrigerator pickles. Instantly, I got excited because Jill has often talked about them and has been wanting to make them at home. I have not allowed her to do so because I hate pickles, and didn't want a huge batch of pickles stinking up the fridge (I know, very nice and supportive of me). Well, it turns out that one of my co-workers LOVES them too, and is sad because her mom can't make them anymore. So last night I told Jill about it and she has agreed to make a batch and share them with the office. People are genuinely excited, and I think Jill is too. She used to like to make things for my old office in Ann Arbor. She is a little nervous never having made them before, but I know she'll do great. I'll let you all know how they turn out, because even though I hate pickles, I'm intrigued enough to try one!

Friends and Fun

Last night Jill and I went out with some friends to one of our favorite places in Minneapolis: Busters. They have really good beers from all over the world, and it is a constantly changing list. So there is always something new to try. The best part; it's affordable! $5 for a pint of delicious foreign beer? You can't even get miller lite for $5 at most other places. That is something that I enjoy greatly, the ability to go out with friends and have a good, cheap night out! Nothing too exciting or extravagent, just friends and fun. You can't ask for much more than that.

Trips A-hoy

Well well well....it looks like I'll soon have some more ammunition for that book I'm writting. In the next two months I'm planning on traveling to Miami, London, San Antonio, and Las Vegas. That's right folks, that's a grand total of something like 18,000 air miles. Aaaaallllll riiiight! Now I can hear you people saying, wow that must be sweet. Well it is. Honestly though, the travel can get to be a bit overwhelming, especially when you have to leave your loved ones at home most of the time. Luckily, on two of these trips Jill will be accompanying me. Am I excited, you bet your sweet buns I am. I'll definitely givce an update on how the trips went once I get back. But you can probably expect to see a count down in the next two weeks.

On another note, the bargain is fairly stagnant. I've lost a little bit of wait, but I'm definitely not making the progress I was hoping to make. A minor back injury slowed me down for a little bit, but I'm back in the saddle, and I'm hoping on track as well. Further updates will hopefully have a bit better news. Thanks for the support everyone.

Elevators and drivers tests

Ok, first things first. Why do people insist on charging into the elevator before the people inside have a chance to get out? I'll admit that I'm one of the first people to make a move into the elevator, but I always leave ample space for people exiting the elevator to get by first.

This morning on my ride up to the sixth floor of the B building of Best Buy's corporate campus I was in a fairly good state of mind. I've got a big project to work on, Jill and I had a good night last night (though I DID wake her up this morning while getting ready for work), and I had a piping hot cup of coffee to start me on my way. The door opens and I'm geting ready to step out and someone decides that they can't wait to get into the elevator and pushes past me as I'm trying to exit. I spill some coffee on my hand while attempting to avoid him (did I mention that it was piping hot?!?!?) and choke back an explitive that may have ended my career at Best Buy a little pre-maturely. Seriously people, its called common curteousy!

On a brighter note, I finally passed my Minnesota state drivers knowledge test yesterday afternoon. I say finally because as some of you know, it took two tries. On the first attempt, I ignored Jill's suggestions to quick check out the manual for some last minute updates. Good advice considering it's been ten years since I looked at this stuff, and believe it or not, some things have changed. So after ignoring her good advice, I got 28 out of 40 correct. For those of you keeping score that's 76% correct, which is not good enough to pass the test. However, upon my second attempt I passed with flying colors gaining 100% on my second attempt. So hooray, I have a new license coming so I can no longer be confused for a Michigan resident. Let the good times roll.

Workin' out

I'd like to give an honest update on the "healthier Tim" bargain: Jill and I caved. I can hear you guys in the audience cheering; however, it doesn't mean I have given up on my target weight. And if nothing else, it has remotivated me to work harder because I now have a more recent idea of what my reward will be. And I'll be darned if that isn't some serious motivation!

So much motivation, that I decided to get up early today and ride my new bike around the nature preserve just down the street from our apartment. That's right folks, and early for me means early 5:45 in the AM. I saw the sun rise and everything. It was quite a nice ride actually there are a bunch of different types of scenery and it is a fairly long trail. I'd guess somewhere around two miles (Jill correct me if I'm wrong).

So, I'm still working at it, the scale has stopped laughing at me everytime I enter the bathroom, and I already feel a little bit better. If only these damned work functions with free food would stop getting in the way. Thanks for the support folks, I'll keep you updated.

Making the right move

Sometimes it is nice to have your decisions vindicated. Especially tough ones that cause a certain amount of unrest and upheval in your family's lives. Today I head about some lay-offs at the company I left about 4 months ago. One of my co-workers came up to me and told me that one of the guys from my old office was applying for a position that we have in our department. I was suprised since he has a family with kids in High School. I said as much and he told me he thought it was because he was laid-off. Instantly I was concerned. After all, I spent more than three years with those people and didn't want anything bad to happen to them. The story isn't too nice, but apparently people were asked to step up and diversify teir clent base. After a couple of months, their time was up. Four people didn't make the cut, they were handed a paycheck, told it was their last one and then escorted from the office. Not so nice. The reasons behind each one's dissmisal are probably a little different, but I'd wager that they didn't really see it coming. My heart ges out to them, and I hope they all find work soon. However, it may be for the best in the long run.

In any case, I have Jill to thank. I don't think my job would have been on the line, but it can't be a very comfortable place to work with such things happening. I was conncered about such a thing happening and was told in no uncertain terms that it wouldn't happen. So now that it has, it makes me incredibly grateful to be where I am now. In a wonderful new job with a lot of potential. I loved working with MapInfo, but it was time to move on, and I'm grateful for Jill's forsight and courage to help us move on with our family.