Another Friday

The Friday after New Years has to be one of the worst days to work. Almost no one is here. It cost more to keep this building open and running than to just give us the day off. Ah well, I guess the upside is that it is quiet for the most part.

One sad point today is saying goodbye to a couple of co-workers. One is Jim, one of our computer guys who is retiring. Jim is the perfect mix for computer support, he's knowledgeable and friendly, unlike his two cohorts. One who is friendly and the other who is knowledgeable. It'll be interesting to see how our computer support quality drops after he leaves today.

The other guy is the one I'll miss. Jerry is an investigator like me, who is also retiring. He's funny, quirky, and the consummate mooch when it comes to free food. Jerry can be a lazy guy, but it's hard to be mad at him. He just cocks his head to one side and gives you that sh*t-eating grin and all anger vanishes. I guess Jerry is like the office mascot, kinda cute and cuddly of sorts. I didn't realize how much I was going to miss him until after he left today. The office dynamic is definitely going to change because of it.

Well, I'm acting boss for the day again, trying to catch up on whatever mess I didn't get to because of my cold. I'm watching the clock, waiting for 4:30 to roll around and have a weekend to recuperate a little bit.

Friday Questions... Because I'm Bored...

I have reports to write, but my mind keeps wandering and my eyes keep going back to the clock. So here are a few of the wandering questions in my head.....

1. Name a celebrity who you'd like to be for a day.

Bill Gates. There'd be a ton of lucky charities that day. And I'd go out and get the guy a decent haircut.

2. Name a celebrity who you'd least like to be for a day.

Michael Jackson. The thought of waking up and seeing that face in the mirror (**shiver**).

3. What song immediately makes you change the radio station?

"I'll Be There" by Mariah Carey. I heard that song every 15 minutes on the radio during the summer of 1992, enough for a lifetime.

4. What historical mystery would you like to go back in time and observe to reveal?

The true identity of Jack the Ripper or the mystery of the missing colony of Roanoke, VA.

5. What's the most difficult thing you've done recently?

Sounds silly, but giving up regular Pepsi. I miss it so much... five days already and counting.

Major Geek Moment

I dread these moments when they happen, but cannot help myself I suppose. While I was nursing a cold on the couch this past week, I started watching a “Law & Order SUV” marathon on TNT. About every hour, they would play a brief video of “The Goodbye Girl” by Hootie & the Blowfish as part of the preview for the upcoming “The Goodbye Girl” movie. I’m not a big Hootie fan, but I loved this song, and it’s been playing in my head ad nauseum since that day.

I decided to buy this song if I could. I checked Amazon.com and iTunes to no avail, until in desperation I went to the Hootie website and found it was on a free promotional CD that you would get at FYE if you bought a Hootie CD. That sucked. Being the nerd I am, I called several FYE stores only to hear that they either didn’t have the promotional CD or they hadn’t heard of it. Lovely.

I found it on eBay for a mere $25. Not a chance. Even I am not that desperate. After work today, I thought I would check the closer FYE stores just in case the teenage clerks were their usual selves and never checked if they had it or not. No dice at either place. I thought I might as well pack it in and head home.

Once home, I thought I would check two more FYE stores by phone and then give up. The store in Franklin, OH, had no clue. The one downtown ... had two. The poor manager said that the Hootie fan club had been pestering the hell out of him, but had not picked any of these last two up. Amazed I hopped in my car and zoomed over there to get one of the CD’s. The negative is that I had to buy the latest Hootie CD to get it, but I may be surprised and find a few songs on it I like. Happily I’m wearing out the “Goodbye Girl” song.

I admit this is one of the few quirks of my personality I don’t care for sometimes. I get in a weird drive to get a particular CD or book or DVD that is hard to find. I explore all possibilities until I find it. Strangely, I’m good at finding them and have even been asked to find things for friends of mine. Geek quirk, I know.