v23.8 - Fun in the Sun Friday!

Good morning folks,

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The gods have seen it fit to grant us all another day on this floating rock in the vast expanses of space.  Not only do we have another day to look forward to, but it is actually going to be a nice day here where I live.

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This weekend my son is having his 9th birthday party.  I get to look forward to a day filled with screaming kids of all ages in my house.  This year my wife decided to do something very simple but very interesting for his birthday; she created a concert.

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Of course we don't have Sting or Rod Stewart showing up this weekend to play at my house, the actual concert is going to be put on by the kids themselves.  My wife designed the the birthday invitations herself and they look just like a concert ticket.  On it is the location, date & time as well as some information on the kinds of things the kid will be doing.  My sister's boyfriend has graciously offered the lend of his console and two guitars for Guitar Hero tournament which will take place downstairs.  On the upstairs TV we will be having a "Dance Dance Revolution" contest.  All the kids are urged to dress in their best rocker outfit and there will be prizes awarded to the best dressed.

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She did a great job coordinating this and getting it all together.  The best part; it cost us next to nothing to do.  In fact, I think the biggest cost for the party is the cake.  Everything else was either donated or made by hand.  It is a proud achievement for her and I'm sure the party will be a smashing success.  That coupled with the fact it is supposed to be 20 degrees Celsius tomorrow (that's 68f to my American friends) I'm sure we're going to have a blast.

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I almost forgot, we even have some homemade Pinatas to smash to pieces.  My wife made one in the shape of a guitar which we've filled with candy from the bulk barn.  We plan on hanging it outside from the basketball hoop and equipping the kids with bats and letting them all go at it at the same time.

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Wouldn't that be a sight?  Of course I'm kidding, the kids will take turns (unfortunately) and I can guarantee candy is going to go flying.

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I'm hoping today goes by quickly.  I arrived at work earlier than usual (as I did yesterday for some reason) and immediately began working.  It is amazing how much more work you can get accomplished when you show up an hour before everyone else.  I a reminded of an article I read a long time about on a site I frequent called Zen Habits.  I have been reading that site for a long time now and one of the things Leo likes to talk about is being simplistic and find the time to get things done.  He prefers to wake very early in the morning to start his daily routine.  He enjoys the silence and solidarity that comes with the early morning hours and as such he recommends it.  Even for those who have a full day at work could benefit from the early morning riser routine as it helps you to focus all day long.  I urge you all to hop on over and check it out, he has a log of great tips and tricks for living a Zen life.

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Of course he is also the inspiration that keeps me writing.  Not only is Leo a blogger, he makes a living out of blogging every day.  He didn't start that way though and if you go back to the beginning you can actually "see" his transformation from working and disliking his job to shuffling off the shackles of his mundane work for writing which is his passion.  He reminds me a lot of myself in some regards; I wish I had the opportunity to do the same thing but money doesn't grow on trees and my family needs to eat and have a place to live so I keep coming back to this same desk and same chair every day.

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No, I'm not going to start getting all depressed about my job.  I actually don't mind my job that much these days.  I've come a long way since September 2005 when I started here and I'm pleased to say that things have changed a lot over the years for the better.  It isn't my dream job and if I ever have the ability to be free of IT work I'm going to take it.  I even have a whole post written and ready to publish in hopes that the act of planning it will result in it actually happening.  If you come by the site one day and see a post titled "Project Exodus", you'll know it happened.

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Well folks, I must continue with the mundane.  Arriving at work also has other benefits for me; it allows me to leave a little bit early.  I'm looking forward to the weekend and I look forward to releasing my new fiendz site this coming weekend (oh boy!).  Lots of good stuff happening, now if I could only find that million dollar bill I dropped :)

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Cheers,
Al