In our continued branding extravaganza, I bought 5,000 temporary tattoos featuring our Gato Project logo, suitable for handing out in training classes, distributing at parties, etc. We used tattoofun.com, who did a superb job creating them. Here’s me proudly modeling one of them:
In other work news, we’re starting up a technical weblog where we’ll be detailing some of the technical aspects of our work. If you’re interested in technical stuff, especially web application development, come on by!
THEN: Elderly shoe salesmen would attach themselves to you as soon as you entered the store. They would sit you down, measure your foot, bring you various shoes to try on, provide a shoehorn (and socks, if necessary), extol the virtues of various shoes, make sure there was enough room for your toes, have you walk around with the shoes on, ask you how they feel, and be attentive and persistent until you marched to the counter with a shoebox or two in-hand. It was a bit creepy at times, but at least you felt like there was someone who knew shoes on your side.
NOW: Young shoe salesperson grudgingly shows you where the shoes are, offers ill-informed and unhelpful advice only when pressed, and scampers away, leaving you to your own devices, as soon as possible. She’ll resurface only to take your money while scrupulously avoiding eye contact, making one wish one had just bought shoes from Amazon after all.
POSTSCRIPT: Yes, I know I sound like a grumpy old man who starts every sentence with a quavering “Back in my day…” Tough berries. If I have to look my 40 year birthday in the eye soon, I’m at least entitled to some of the crotchety pleasures of the older set, including blogging about young people and their hula hoops, soda pop, pokemon and rock and roll. Later, for an encore, I’ll tell those dern kids to stay off of my yard.
Madeleine L’Engle is an author with whom I have enjoyed a long and fruitful (though one-way) relationship. From the early years with her science fiction for children to the later pilgrimages through the linked worlds of faith, science and art, she has rarely failed to both inspire and engage me. It was, therefore with heavy heart that I read news of her death.
Thanks for all of your stories, words and wisdom, Madeleine. May they enrich many generations to come.
A few folks have asked about my recent purchase of luchador masks at work. Fazia has posted an excellent explanation over at her blog. (There are more photos on Facebook for those who just can’t get enough of knowledge workers dressed as wrestlers. Ooh, and knowledgeworkersdressedaswrestlers.com is still available! I’ll make millions…)
Kathy started classes at the University again this past Wednesday, while the kids kicked off their academic year yesterday. Though Kathy’s ardor for school hasn’t dimmed a bit over the summer, the kids were ambivalent about their return. Fortunately, their teachers seem like decent folks, and the prospect of getting to see all of their friends again has helped temper the homework angst that has come along with it.
Emily is continuing with her art studies, at which she’s doing extremely well. Abigail has joined band this year and will be playing French Horn, an instrument with which Kathy has some experience. Maggie and Liam are still crossing town to the temporary home of Crockett Elementary each day, but the district still maintains that the new Crockett Building, which is a block from our house, should be done and ready for kids’ return in January. Here’s hoping!
I spent three days out in Los Angeles two weekends ago for the bachelor party of one of my oldest and dearest, Ross Richie, who married Johanna Stokes, his lady love of 7 years, last weekend. I left Thursday along with Ben Mengden, my traveling companion and another close long-time friend. Ben was not only great company but also a phenomenal help getting everything organized and making the trip possible.
We rolled into Ross and Johanna’s new house on Thursday night and enjoyed a tour of their digs (really neat!), a tasty dinner, and some Gears of War before falling into bed. On Friday, Ross had to work and Johanna was busy setting the house, which they had occupied only 6 days, into order, so Ben and I set off on a hike to the beach. Between the beautiful weather, the chance to explore unfamiliar territory, the scenic beach, and the hours of uninterrupted conversation, this was one of the highlights of the trip. Returning that evening, we all compared notes on our days, enjoyed some more food, and toddled off to dreamland.
Saturday was the bachelor party, which Ross’ best man, Andy Cosby had organized. We started at Roscoe’s Chicken & Waffles, a Los Angeles institution in which I’m pretty sure we were the only white people, where I had — wait for it — chicken. And waffles. Excellent.
From there, it was on to Hollywood Park, a nearby race track. Though the horses weren’t actually running there, a few of the guys bet on races around the country while I admired the slightly seedy opulence of the place, which felt very much like the sort of spot Sinatra and Co. would be right at home. (Aside: like some demented dream of Marcel Duchamp, the restrooms featured the most urinals in a row that I had ever seen in my life.)
We then piled in cars and headed to the marina to board a sport fishing boat and cruise out into the Pacific for an afternoon on the water. Riding the sun-soaked waves with a fishing pole in my hand and the fresh wind whipping past made me think “L.A. might not be a bad place to live!” Unfortunately, it apparently made several other guys think “You know, I really like dry land,” and “Maybe I shouldn’t have had chicken and waffles,” and eventually “Please, someone kill me now.”
Ross hooked a shark, a sting ray, and a few other smaller fish, though only the latter of these made it onto the boat. Several other folks hauled in a variety of mackerel and other fish. I, being a charitable soul, merely fed my bait to the hungry submarine fauna.
The final chapter of the day was back at the house. Andy had contracted with a professional Texas Hold ‘Em dealer to run a card game for us. Unfortunately, “Big Al” seemed at least as interested in telling jokes as he did running the card game, and was eventually sent packing so that we could administer our own game. Poetically, Ross and Andy were left at the table after everyone else had dropped out, and they agreed to split the evening’s pot. Spent after his winning streak, Ross collapsed onto the couch and fell asleep while the remaining celebrants slowly trickled out of the house.
On Sunday, we poked town a bit, got a few wedding chores knocked out, and headed for the airport to enjoy a few days back in Texas before returning for the wedding. (Wedding account coming soon…)
My good friend Seth Dillingham has started his annual fund drive for the Jimmy Fund, an organization dedicated to cancer research. Not only does he ride in the Pan Mass Challenge to help raise funds for the organization, but he also puts together some fairly large-scale auctions of donated software. There’s always a ton of good stuff, and all the proceeds go to the Jimmy Fund. So go check out the auctions, get some great deals on software, and help fight this baleful disease.
