This and That, Weekend Edition

Weather: For the past week the weather has been warm and beautiful. Temperatures have been in the upper 60s and they even made their way into the 70s. It's been wonderful. But it is Colorado and it is January, so the temperatures are returning to normal. It's only in the upper 30s right now, and we might get some snow. Even though I've been enjoying the springlike weather, we probably need the snow because we really need the moisture. So I'll welcome the snow...

Work: I think it goes without saying that things are still busy at work. I brought a ton of work home with me, and I'm really not looking forward to it. But maybe I can do it on Sunday. If it snows, I'll probably stay in and I might as well do some work. But I'm hoping that this will be the last time that I'll need to work over the weekend. I know it won't be the last time, but hopefully it will be the last time in a long time...

Inauguration: I realized that I never made any comments about inauguration day. At work, we normally have one of our weekly scheduling meetings on Tuesday. Unfortunately our meeting would have fallen right at the time when Obama would be taking his oath. So the manufacturing leader and I (being the good leaders that we are) spoke to each other and we decided to cancel our meeting. We were all set up in our conference room and trying to watch the streaming video from CNN.com, but our feed kept breaking and cutting out. Obviously too many people were trying to watch at the same time. So we missed the actual oath. But then some of us found a radio in the office, and we were at least able to listen to his speech. After his speech we all went back to work, but in the middle of the day when I was eating my lunch—at my desk, of course—I went online and happened to catch the parade down Pennsylvania Avenue. I plugged my headphones into my computer, and I was able to watch and hear the whole thing.

Just seeing and hearing the reaction of the people as the Obamas walked down the street was amazing. You could see the energy and excitement in the air. For the first time in eight years, people seem to have a genuine sense of hope. After being downtrodden for eight years, people can finally feel optimistic. It was inspiring. I think that everyone knows that Obama has a tough road ahead of him. The Bush administration created such a mess, and it is going to take a long time to clean up that mess. We know that Obama will not be able to solve all of the world's problems in the first year with a snap of the fingers. It will take time, but there is some comfort in knowing that he is in charge. He is intelligent and seems willing to listen. He doesn't seem like the type to make rash, impulsive decisions, but rather seems like the type who is open to dialog and discussion. How amazing is that?!

Current mood: rested
Current music: iTunes on shuffle—Aerosmith "Rag Doll"
Current drink: coffee

Weather

Because I haven't posted much, I'm making up for lost time. I just had to comment on our weather right now. In a word, it's beautiful. It is bright and sunny, and there are only a few clouds in the sky. It's about 55 degrees. It's so nice outside that I've opened my windows and sliding door to let in some fresh air. It's wonderful! It almost feels like a typical "winter" day in California.

Current mood: rested and relaxed
Current music: iTunes still on shuffle--Melissa Etheridge "Mercy"

This and That, Weekend Edition

Once again it has been quite a while since I've last written a post. As usual, work has been getting in the way and I've been exhausted when I get home at night. Things have been really busy at work. We have a lot of books going to press this month, and at the same time we're getting a lot of new books into production. For someone in my position, the two most time-consuming periods of book production are the first and last stages. Everything in between is a little easier and smoother. Basically you're moving the manuscripts from one person to another. But the busiest times are when you're evaluating a project when it first comes in and then when you're trying to finalize everything before sending it to press. This past week, I've been trying to finish two books and start four. So, needless to say—since I've said it already—I've been busy...and tired...

Fortunately this will be a long weekend, because we have the day off on Monday. I'm looking forward to the extra day of rest. Although, I do hate to admit that I did bring some work home with me, but I'm hoping to not touch it until Monday afternoon. My real plan for this long weekend is to rest and relax as much as I can. I deserve it.

On other news, I'm really hoping that somehow we can watch the inauguration at work on Tuesday. Tuesday will be a rough day because I have a few meetings and a book going to press. But I would also really hate to miss such a historic inauguration, and I think a lot of people in the office feel the same way. We'll see.

Current mood: tired
Current music: iTunes on shuffle—LeAnn Rimes "The Safest Place"
Current drink: coffee

A Sandwich That Could Kill

Today at work we had an almost all-day training seminar. The company was nice enough to cater our lunch, and they brought in boxed lunches from Panera Bread. I've been to Panera a few times before, and I've always liked their sandwiches. They were yummy and tasted great. I picked a Bacon Turkey Bravo sandwich. The sandwich had a lot of turkey, lots of lettuce, tomatoes, smoked Gouda cheese, bacon, and their "signature" dressing. I assumed that it wouldn't be entirely unhealthy because turkey is pretty lean and there were some veggies. Sure, maybe the bacon was unhealthy. I looked at Panera's Web site, mostly because I was curious to see what else was on their menu. I clicked on the nutritional information for the sandwich I had, and I was mortified. 840 calories. 11 grams of saturated fat (55% of your recommended daily allowance). 100mg cholesterol (35% daily allowance). 2930mg sodium (122% daily allowance). Oh my God! Who knew a sandwich could be so bad and unhealthy?! Might as well just eat a cheeseburger.

Now that I have a week's worth of sodium in my body, I suppose I need to double my potassium intake.

Dinner: Bow Tie Pasta with Turkey and Spinach

Because I had a chance to go shopping yesterday, I finally had a chance to cook a dinner for myself. For whatever reason I had about four boxes of farfalle (bow tie) pasta in my pantry. I needed to use them somehow, so tonight I made Bow Tie Pasta with Turkey and Spinach. And it was pretty darn good!

mmmmm.....

Updates

I've been pretty bad about updating my blog lately. To my four, five, or six loyal readers, I apologize for leaving you breathless in anticipation for a new post. Needless to say—if you've read the last few posts—I've been busy, as always. The end of the year, last year I suppose, was busier than expected. Work was naturally busy and because I took some vacations for Thanksgiving and Christmas, things seemed busier. The vacations, though, were wonderful, welcomed, and well-deserved. It was nice to get away from the office to rest, relax, and recuperate.

This week was my first week back to work after my vacation. Even though I was rested, I was also thankful that it was only a two-and-a-half day week. We were able to leave the office early on New Year's Eve, and Friday was a work-from-home day. Technically Friday was a normal work day, but our boss said that we could stay home as long as we check our e-mail every now and then. I checked my e-mail a few times, as required, but also took the opportunity of a day off to do some shopping.

My New Year's Eve was pretty quiet. Instead of going out, I decided to stay home for a quiet evening. I think that the older I get the more I become an antisocial curmudgeon and hermit. I like my quiet, alone time. Besides, I think I might have outgrown the need to stay out late partying and drinking all night long. I'm getting old and I'm usually tired and ready for bed by around 10:00 p.m.—and sometimes I'm even ready for bed at 10:00 a.m.!

This weekend will probably be a quiet one. It will be one of those chore-filled weekends. I need to do some laundry and some cleaning. Not too exciting, but nonetheless important I guess.

Current mood: can't complain
Current music: iTunes on shuffle—Maroon 5 "If I Never See Your Face Again"
Current drink: Barq's Root Beer