At Work, We Play The Hunger Games

Publicity still - Jennifer Lawrence as "Katniss" in "The Hunger Games"

Ah, it is good to be home at the end of the day. I spent most of the day running reports and analyzing data and though time consuming, it went rather smoothly. No smooth day goes unpunished though.

Just as I was about to leave the office I had a couple of customers contact me and report one of those persistent but intermittent problems. The kind of problem that happens some times, to some people, but cannot be forced or predicted. Those are the worst kind of technical problems, since they are the most difficult to trouble-shoot.

I got a frustrated there at the end of the day because it is either a network latency problem or a hosting server latency problem, but, unfortunately in a complex environment, there is too much wiggle room for groups to go "not us" and point at each other, demanding the others prove it's them. Very frustrating.

So, I vented in the privacy of my car, ranted and raved a bit, then got home, made a big salad, and all is good again. Tomorrow, I will see if I can push it up the hill and get someone to understand that it is a big problem and that it needs to be addressed. We'll see if I make any headway or not. I often joke that, with these types of problems, the only real headway I ever seem to make is to bang my head against the wall which is...painful.

Other than that frustration there at the end of the day though, it was a pretty good day. I was productive in regards to the reports I ran and the analysis I was doing. I had a nice lunch at Hobbee's. My team was in good spirits.

I've started reading "The Hunger Games". Given that it's a young adult novel, I am blazing through it fairly quickly. I am about a quarter of the way through in two nights, so I anticipate finishing the book within the week. I can see why it draws so many fans - it is a well-written little tale.

Jennifer Lawrence, who did such an excellent job in "Winters Bone" has been cast as Katniss (the protagonist of the novel), so I am looking forward to the movie as well. Indeed, the reason I decided to read the novel is because I am looking forward to the movie.

I think, in general, that young adult novels tend to translate better onto film - mostly due to complexity and length. This is a huge generalization of course, but adult novels tend to be both longer and more complex, which means that in the process of adapting the work for film something has to get left out.

My plan tonight is pretty simple and straight-forward. I am going to watch the movie "In America" on DVR and do a little writing and a little reading and just ease my way into the night. I'll probably invest a little time in bagging and recycling books as well. So, it should be a nice night.