Month: January 2006

  • Nothing beats the fact that i can now grab a halfway decent to-go order of polenta (with pesto or bolognese!) less than a block and half from my office.  Oh how i love our new office location.

    Work today has been a little less stressful so far.  Still have a TON of things to do today,  but i’m not quite as frantic as I was last week. 

    You know you place complete trust in someone,  when you let them cut your hair.  While I initially was a bit nervous about it,  it actually turned out really well.  Once Monika finished cutting it of course.  She trimmed it a bit at first,  but since i had to go home at 11,  she didn’t really cut the layers so it didn’t look that great.  After a tiny fight about it,  I implored for her to finish the cut and it turned out great.  At least it didn’t cost me $70 this time. Although I am planning to take Monika to a nice place (NOT Town Hall) for dinner in a couple weeks (an early Valentines Day celebration) so it all balances out.

    Another fantastic tournament over the weekend.  Played in a $5 tournament and finished 9th out of 520 entrants..  Won about $39..  Not bad,  not a huge payout but still good experience..  I think I have a better understanding on how to end up “in the money” for these tournaments.

  • looking at my paycheck,  one thing makes me smile. i have 175 hours of vacation time racked up. that is over four weeks.  i wonder if they’ll let me take every other day off for the next two months.

    sometimes i wonder if i’ve done all i can here.  i want to remain loyal,  yet if i’m being paid 75 percent of what my co-workers are making,  and given *twice* the workload,   maybe it is time to explore my options.

  • I’m so proud

    I have a girlfriend who mocks my [mild] geekiness.

    http://mandyass.blogspot.com/2006/01/im-so-proud.html

  • wow. this song is truly pop garbage,  but i am still digging it.  i think mtv-hits has truly corrupted my musical tastes. my friends and co-workers think i have excellent taste in music……oh how they’re fooled.   note to self…..turn off the videos,  turn on sirius.  (other than stern/maxim,  that is.)

    natasha bedingfield,  “unwritten”


    I am unwritten, can’t read my mind, I’m undefined


    Im just beginning, the pen’s in my hand, ending unplanned




    Staring at the blank page before you


    Open up the dirty window


    Let the sun illuminate the words that you can not find


    Reaching for something in the distance


    So close you can almost taste it


    Release your inhibitions




    Feel the rain on your skin


    No one else can feel it for you


    Only you can let it in


    No one else, no one else


    Can speak the words on your lips


    Drench yourself in words unspoken


    Live your life with arms wide open


    Today is where your book begins


    The rest is still unwritten




    I break tradition, sometimes my tries, are outside the lines


    We’ve been conditioned to not make mistakes, but I can’t live that way




    Staring at the blank page before you


    Open up the dirty window


    Let the sun illuminate the words that you can not find




    Reaching for something in the distance


    So close you can almost taste it


    Release your inhibitions




    Feel the rain on your skin


    No one else can feel it for you


    Only you can let it in


    No one else, no one else


    Can speak the words on your lips


    Drench yourself in words unspoken


    Live your life with arms wide open


    Today is where your book begins


    But the rest is still unwritten




    Feel the rain on your skin


    No one else can feel it for you


    Only you can let it in


    No one else, no one else


    Can speak the words on your lips


    Drench yourself in words unspoken


    Live your life with arms wide open


    Today is where your book begins


    The rest is still unwritten


    The rest is still unwritten


    The rest is still unwritten

  • Oh,  in my spare time,  I like to post reviews of San Francisco spots on yelp.

  • i’m not sure why, but i seem to always be posting on tuesdays.

    I had a fantastic weekend,  however the highlight has to be either my dinner at Clementine or the late-night free poker tournament I entered on Saturday night / Sunday morning.  610 players,  top prize,  $525. 

    An impressive knockout at the final table.  Oh how I love when players raise when I hold AA.

    The result of it all…..not bad for five hours of “work”……

  • I came into work today with much on my mind from an exhausting weekend which made me happy beyond words.  I thought today would be an unproductive start to 2006,  but I have surprised myself yet again.  In the first hour,  i’ve managed to wrap up two major customer issues which have been plaguing me for the last week and a half.  I am truly thankful to work for such an amazing company surrounded by so many brilliant minds.  And even though I joke sometimes about giving it all up to be a professional poker player,  it really is a joy to walk into the office every day.

    2005 was a year full of change for me.  I think i’ve learned more over the past year,  then I had in the previous five.  I shouldn’t take anything for granted.  Health.  Friendships. Family. Relationships. Home.   Over the past year,  I experienced some dramatic highs and lows with all of these.  College (as well as the first couple of years post-college) was relatively stable.  Sure,  it had its dramatic moments but things were relatively calm.   I think God decided to give me a swift kick in the ass (well,  actually a couple) in ’05 so I could truly wake up and see what changes I needed to make in my life.   I’m glad that happened.

    I am the happiest I have ever been.  I am madly in love and will make sure I spend as much time as I can with my amazing girlfriend.  I live in a fantastic city.  I want to explore neighboorhoods with which i’m not familiar and move into an amazing apartment which truly feels like home. I truly feel that I can tackle challenges head-on.  My diabetes will not control me,  I will effectively manage my diabetes by lowering my a1c,  eating healthier foods (although I will always be tempted to pick up the spicy thai kettle chips),  moving from injections to an insulin pump,  and regularly testing my blood sugar.  I want to travel.  Vegas. Europe. Australia.  Asia.  Even back to Chicago and the midwest,   since I haven’t been back since graduation. 

    I am quite scared/excited/anxious/curious as to what 2006 will bring.  And regardless of how great I feel now,  I know that this year,  things will just get better.

  • I want to wish all of you a safe and happy 2006.  HAPPY NEW YEAR!