A Hallmark

I wanted to make a quick note of something of a hallmark that passed today. For the last couple of months I have been working on transitioning the daily operations of my former department over to their new management. It was a very involved and detailed process that had about 140 plus distinct tasks on the line item list - each had to be documented, the new direction determined, then transitioned into the new state.  It was a lot of work over those last months - and today I officially declared the end of the formal transition period. Now, we'll go into the informal portion of the transition. So, today is the formal hallmark of the end of that transition. I am officially in the new role now. Fun and joy.

Dreams of Luggage

Okay, I in the last three days I have had two dreams that involved luggage.  Now, I admit to being something of a fan of a well made piece of luggage but I think this is the first time that I ever dreamt about it.

The Dream of the Yellow Duffle

I dream of a big, yellow, waterproof duffle bag. It is sitting on an oversize conference room table. The contents of the bag are arrayed over the table in neat rows. There are approximately fifty or sixty items. The table is surrounded by FBI agents.  The lead agent is telling them “If you understand the contents of this bag, you will understand the man.” It is as if they were attempting to construct a psychological profile from the contents of the bag.  I am in the dream – I am one of the FBI agents – and I am also the owner of the bag.

The Dream of Packing

In this dream I am somewhere on a trip with multiple people that I know.  We are getting ready to head to the airport from the hotel where we are staying and we are packing.  As we are packing there are multiple objects that do not belong to anyone.  Among these objects are several large containers (bottles and glasses) of change, the water pack portion of a Camelbak, a kayakers dry suit, and a rain suit (an anorak and a pair of pants).  All of these items are in excellent shape and don’t seem to belong to anyone in the hotel room, so the dream mainly consists of me trying to figure out how to get them into my luggage.

Murakami on Meaning

“It is not that the meaning cannot be explained. But there are certain meanings that are lost forever the moment they are explained in words.”


Haruki Murakami, 1Q84

Objects in Space

I was at work today, dealing with the usual Monday morning chaos, when I thought I would break my pattern, so I put Tolle on the iPod and settled in to do some transactional work.  Tolle was talking about objects in space for about an hour while I essential reset the day.  It worked very well.

I was thinking about how much our work is just that - moving objects in space.  Why do we allow them to bother us? Why do we allow them to get into our minds?  Why do we allow them to build up the stress inside of up. All they are is objects in space.  All they do is move.

Movie Review - The Cabin In The Woods

Another easy going day here.  A leisurely morning, breakfast, a few errands, then "The Cabin In The Woods" at AMC 14 in Saratoga.  I am generally not a fan of that type of movie, but Joss Whedon put a nice twist on it and made it enjoyable. I would recommend it for an afternoon of entertainment - and by all means if you consider yourself a Joss Whedon fan.  It is a clever and amusing movie with a different take on the genre.

Settled In For A Hot Day

We are supposed to hit the low nineties here today - and we are already well on the way.  A morning spent online with T.R., the breakfast with the guys at Hickory Pit.  A walk-through of Fry's where I picked up "Shaun of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz" for the Blu-Ray collection (the always entertaining Simon Pegg).  Then, a stop at Nob Hill where I picked up baby lettuce, sweet grape tomatoes, Greek God's yogurt, Silk Almond Milk (vanilla, unsweetened) and some organic chicken breasts.  While in Nob Hill I got my banking done at the Wells Fargo kiosk. Then, Petco for an additional bird feeder, a copper topped lantern style one, and some bird seed. Finally, the short drive home (84 degrees at 11:50 a.m.).  Once at home, put the groceries away, poach the chicken breasts, and now settling in to watch "The Guard", which may be followed by a Simon Pegg mini-marathon.

Patio Days

I spent the day cleaning and getting the patio set up for spring - then, it turned out to be one of the hottest days yet this year and I couldn't take advantage of it!  Ain't it the way it seems to go...

However, it was a very nice, relaxed, quiet day.  I spent almost the entire day just lazing around the apartment and cleaning the patio, intermixed with the DVR watching and reading.  Dinner was pizza with Tony, then home for a quiet evening with TR and finally, winding the rest of the night with a bit of DVR, then some Christopher Moore.

Yet another of those ordinary days that I love so much.

A Reluctant Day

I am having a reluctant day.
I slept late and was reluctant to get out of the bed.
I took a long hot shower and was reluctant to step out of it.
I lingered into the morning and was reluctant to go to work.
I'm at work and reluctant to go back to the office.
Just a reluctant day.
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A Question of Support

Following a couple of incidental conversations today a thought occurred to me.  Why is it some people have such challenges in supporting other people? 
The brief scenario - a friend of mine has a friend who is contemplating a radical career change in support of a desire to lead a different life.  They are contemplating abandoning career and relocating across the country and essentially starting over. 

My friend keeps raising up all the reason not to make such a radical change, as opposed to offering unqualified support.  Which would you do?

If a friend of yours came to you and said "I want to travel to the ends of the earth."  Would you be there for them? Would you back them up? Support them? Help them? Go with them?

 I don't have an answer myself - today wasn't the day for answers - today, I only have the question. 

Why do some people have a hard time supporting other people?

Sleep With Dave

Okay, I wanted to write about a strange work related dream that I had last night. I've been having my share of troubles at work, including having entered the year feeling very ambivalent about my job. But, the following is NOT a true story, it was just a dream:
I dreamed that I was at work and in a large meeting when they announced a new employee development program, the purpose of which was to provide entry level employees with an upportunity to spend time with a senior executive. The program was to allow the employee to shadow the executive day and night, and stay in the executives guest room for off hours access.
And the program was branded:
"Advance your Career! Sign up for the "Sleep With Dave" program now!"
In the dream no one at work thought that it was a bad idea...at all! That was one strange dream.
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