cold (and good) times with friends

leaden skies over gaithersburg

The road goes ever um… round and round?

good habits

I walked around the lake near the office again today. Only two laps this time, but one of them was extended in distance to accommodate some retail therapy. The lake is bordered by hotels and a shopping center on one side, and trees and a grassy hill on the other. Don’t go past that hill, though, or you’ll end up in the middle of I-270. It’s not the prettiest walk but it’s better than nothing.

I’ve been feeling stressed lately, and these walks are really helping. I can just listen to music and let my mind go somewhere else for a while. Oh and it’s good for me. The retail therapy – not so much – but I have time to work on that.

frah-gee-lay

I think the office cleaners have started moving stuff around on my desk after I leave at night. Two of my kanizas had their caps on backwards, which means they fell or were knocked over. They aren’t the sturdiest of toys and the lil black & white guy has particular sentimental value. I employed the passive-aggressive art of note-leaving. If that doesn’t work I guess I’ll just have to remove anything fun, colorful, or indicative of personality from my workspace. Don’t touch!

snap?

I’ve decided to try out mobile blog posting through Flickr. Let’s see how it goes…

v.a.t.s. the way to do it

Still plugging away at Fallout 3.  Still loving it.  I’m going to have a lot to talk about when it’s review time.  I never thought the designers would pack in so many recognizable names, places, and details (five words: hexagonal metro station floor tiles!).

The only things that have been able to tear me away are Nate and the election.  Oh, and that pesky job thing I do, too.

this is my president

This man will soon be my president, and I couldn’t be more proud.

Everyone picks the issues that are most important to them when they vote.  I don’t doubt that those who voted for McCain had their reasons, and I have no authority to say that those reasons were bad reasons.  I can only speak to the things that are important to me.  And now, for the first time in my voting life, I feel that those things have a voice, and a face that the whole world can see.

I have a lot of hope and optimism for the next four years.  I believe that prevailing politics run in cycles, and that parties rise and fall in turn.  I’m sure that in the next multiple-of-four years I’ll face disappointment and discouragement again, but I hope that we don’t end up back where we’ve been the last few years.  I hope we can move forward.

I don’t want the divisiveness, the yawning gap between left and right.  I don’t want to feel as though I should question the integrity of my family or friends if they don’t check the same box I do.  I don’t want red or blue states anymore.  I feel that we are at once victims and propagators of this atmosphere and I hope we can move forward.

Now excuse me while I mop up this bleeding-heart mess I just made on the floor.

did you?

I voted this morning and felt really frakking great about it. My mom told me that she’s been voting for 40 years and this is the most excited, happy, and hopeful she’s ever been to cast her ballot. GOBAMA!!