Dear Diary
I’ve been thinking it might not be such a bad idea to post a little bit more frequently. Summer’s definitely over now. The past several weeks have almost felt winter-like. Plenty of rain. Cloudy, windy days. I get into my office and immediately set off to the kitchen to make a pot of coffee. Several cups later, feeling cozy and warm in the glow of my monitors, I look out at the top of the tree just outside my window, east toward Redmond. I can’t see them, but I imagine thousands of Microsofties, all drinking caffeine in their offices. Thinking, like me, that it’s nice to work during the rain and the wind and the cold, because summer will come back, and it’ll be time to drink beer outside.
Work: it’s been going well. Andrew spent last week in town, and Dave and I shared him. He couldn’t have timed his visit better, since we spent several days at the Port of Tacoma completing a prototype and starting the integration of our platform. I think we’re all pleased with how much has been accomplished just in the past week. Bug-fixing seems to have helped our momentum, and issues with our product that have been lingering for months have been fixed quickly, and with less effort than I expected. One of the nice developments is that I’ve finally set up my Macbook with Vmware and Windows 7 so I can actually work effectively from home and/or remotely. It was nice to be able to work at the Port, and it’ll be nice to be able to work from home around Thanksgiving.
Non-Work: Thanks to my month-long sore throat, followed by my tonsillectomy and month-long recovery, I haven’t been on my bike for at least a couple months. At the top of my list for this weekend is to put the fenders back on my bike so it’ll be ready for next (presumably rainy) week. I’m a little nervous about riding again, in general, just because it’s been awhile, but in particular because of the end of daylight savings time, which means that I’ll be riding home in the dark. I don’t like driving a car at night (except long trips on the highway, for some reason) and I certainly don’t like riding my bike in the dark. As Kevin and I often remark, no light can be too bright, flashy, or annoying to drivers. I want to be seen, at all costs. Every time I look for new and additional lights, I feel like I did in college when I bought a climbing harness: these sure are expensive, but they could save my life. It’s probably not worth buying the cheapest one just out of habit.
My Apartment: Elly’s mostly moved all of her stuff out. Some of it was nice to see leave — the weird red urns that were on the bookshelf — but other things I’ll miss. I already found replacements for two big-ticket items: a couch and a mattress, both of which I’m happy with, both of which are from IKEA (although I’ve been warned now on multiple occasions not to buy a couch from IKEA) and both of which smell mildly like sawdust. I’m still in the market for a saute pan, some new pictures for the bedroom, and possibly a mess of cheap books to fill up a bookshelf. I haven’t quite gotten to the point of buying books I don’t plan to read to make the place look warmer and more inviting, but I suspect it would help. Eirin says I need a throw for the couch, and I think she’s right. I think I could probably use some different pillow cases too, and maybe even some different pillows. Andrew Z spent two nights sleeping on the thing when he was out here, and though firm, he said it was comfortable. Anyone else want to come to Seattle to visit? I have a nice place for you to sleep. Don’t be shy :)
Future Plans: I haven’t spent any time playing the guitar in the past several months. I’m not sure why, but I think it’d help to have a) some sort of rudimentary lesson-book of warm-ups or something I could use to get into a routine and b) some song to practice that I’d really like to play and/or sing along with. Something to perform for friends. I need to remember to buy some pint glasses from the Amherst Brewing Company, I want to buy an AUX input device for my car and take it on some sort of trip east of the Cascades. Winter is the season that it seems most appropriate to bake my favorite foods: Lit Crit Lasagne and Tator Tot Hot Dish, so I suspect that will happen from time to time. I’d like to bake some bread, since I’m in possession of “The Bread Bible” at the moment.