v39.6: Back to School!

Howdy folks,

-slurp-

If you're a parent with children still in school, you're probably just as happy as I am that they are going back.  I'll never understand why they make the kids go back before Labour Day.  What is the sense of going back to school for a day or two only to have a long weekend?  I'm sure there are reasons behind it, but like most things, don't make a lot of sense to most of us.

I haven't had a lot of time to actually sit back and write these days.  Summer has busy for us and we've been doing quite a bit as a family.  The past couple weekends found us in the South Shore visiting family which was nice.  We don't get a lot of chances to go out of town to visit family so it was a treat to be able to do it two weekends in a row.  I'm sure my mother was thrilled to have us there.

We're being hit by some freakish heat wave here in Halifax.  Yesterday it was 32C, today was 33C and tomorrow they're calling for a booming 34C (89.6F - 93.2F for my American friends to the south).  Of course we're going to pay for it this weekend when Hurricane Earl blows through here on Saturday.  Currently a Category 4 Hurricane just off the East coast of Florida, Earl is projected to pass right through Nova Scotia and is predicted to be at least a Category 1 when it hits early Saturday morning.  A lot of people around here are reminded of Hurricane Juan which hit Nova Scotia without mercy in 2003.  The rumor is, the weather just before Juan hit was just like it is now, very hot and very humid.  Today, with the humidex, the temperature was around 43C (109.4F) and it is expected to be higher tomorrow.  I wasn't living here when Juan blew through, but from what I've heard, I'm very glad.

-slurp-

So what does this all mean for us?  Probably nothing.  I don't suspect we'll get hit with anymore more than a bit of wind and rain.  These things tend to get a lot slower as they approach the Northern Atlantic and run out of steam.

As I mentioned in my last musing, I'm anxiously awaiting my bonus which should be arriving on the 3rd of September.  I've been thinking a lot about it actually.  I'm also really looking forward to spending Friday night with some family here at our place in celebration, it's not every day the company I work for gives away free money; as you may have noticed if you're read through the last 5 years of musings.

I've also been thinking about what to do about the extra income.  I really don't have much in the way of bills right now given that I only pay for electricity and cable/phone/internet which together is less than $200/month.  I'm mostly caught up on everything so I plan on ensuring everything is topped off completely.  I've also put a lot of thought into buying a laptop.  I'm not looking to spend a lot of money on one but I'm also not looking to "cheap" out and just get one for the sake of having one.  There are a few things I absolutely must have in a laptop but I'm not willing to spend most of the bonus on one so unless there is a good sale (and there are) I won't bother wasting the money.  I've been wanting a laptop for awhile now.  There is something to be said about portable computing and being able to take it with you wherever you go.

These past couple weekends I brought the work laptop with me to my Mother's house.  It is a slow piece of crap (IBM Thinkpad T42) which is running a corporate image of Windows XP that is painful to use.  It makes a great web browser and surfs the web well (when it connects) but a lot of the "features" of the laptop are either disabled or not working properly (thanks to the afore mentioned corporate image) which only makes it more annoying.  I can't even "discover" wireless networks, I have to manually type in the SSID and keys to connect; it's a strange device for certain.

Anyway, I've decided to shop around and find the perfect laptop for me in the price range I'm looking to spend.  If I can't find one, I won't buy one but with the deals going on right now for Back to School, I'm sure I'll find what I'm looking for.  The sad part is I found the perfect laptop for the perfect price already, but the sale ends on the 2nd and I don't get my bonus until the 3rd.  Oh well.

-slurp-

Well folks, it is time to say farewell for now.  The heat is starting to drain my soul into an eternal abyss of fiery hell from which there is no escape.  It's also very hot outside.  Until next time, remember, just because ice is cold, doesn't mean it's safe to put in places that are hot.  You know what I'm talking about Juggs :)

Cheers,

Al

v39.5: Speechless

Howdy folks,

-slurp-

I know it doesn't happen often, but I'm speechless.  Today started like any other day, I woke early, got ready for work and drove to the office.  I arrived at work shortly after 7AM and began the usual tasks of checking email, restarting services (if needed), answering email and coding.  I do this all day long.

Today my boss' boss sends me an IM shortly after 8AM and asks me to come talk to him.  Usually I don't think anything of this since we get along well and he usually only needs to chat with me if he needs clarification on something or has some task for me to do.  I strolled over to his office, knocked on the door and walked in.  I started to worry a little bit when he asked me to close the door.  The only time he ever asks me to close the door is when we're talking about private things (work related you sick-Os) and he doesn't want to be overheard.  My first thought was I was being laid-off and would need to find another job.

Ever since I was moved to this new billing code at work I've been thinking the worst.  My boss explained to me that being put into this code would potentially be bad.  He explained the good and bad but emphasized on the bad parts because worst case scenario, I would be unemployed.

I sat down in the chair across from him and he immediately started with, "I'm sorry, but things just aren't working out...".  My heart dropped in my chest and for a split second, my entire career flashed before my eyes.  He smiled, let out a chuckle and said, "Just kidding".  You bastard!

The reason he had called me to his office was to let me know about an Employee Bonus incentive reward plan at work.  He wanted to let me know that he put my name forward to receive this reward and I was approved.  I couldn't tell initially if he was joking or not, so I went with it.  Basically, because of the hard work and good job I've been doing, I was recognized and as a result, my next pay will have a nice sized bonus on it; almost doubling my bi-weekly pay.  Now that isn't a ton of money, but it couldn't have come at a better time especially with the kids heading back to school and needing money for school supplies and other back-to-school things.  Needless to say, I was very happy with the meeting and left his office with a spring in my step.  Who would have thought such good news could come on a Tuesday?

-slurp-

Well folks, I must take off for now.  I just wanted to share the good news with everyone.

Cheers,

Al