Notes, Quotes, and Root Beer Floats

Some thoughts while I wait for the Internet to catch up with me...

* I'm falling back into an old habit lately. For a while, I had a very hard time making it to work by 8:00. It wasn't exactly a New Year's resolution, but I stopped being late around the first of the year. I've been continuing that trend up until this week, in which I've been fifteen minutes late both days so far. It doesn't especially matter, because there's really nothing to do here right now anyway. Besides, the only person who might actually care that I show up late (our payroll person) shows up even later than I do.

* I walked through the shop this morning, and it's like a frickin' ghost town out there. There's almost no one left. They've been consistently laying people off since I started here, and there still isn't enough work to keep everyone busy. The guys out there are just wandering around, waiting for something to happen. I hate to break it to them, but it could be a long wait. All manufacturing jobs come through me (by way of Engineering), and I haven't seen anything yet this week. I have no idea how this place is still in business, and I don't know how much longer it can be. Personally, all I ask is a few more weeks. If this place is still viable by the end of the year, I'll be astonished. Unless some sales start coming through soon, that is.

* The reason I was walking through the shop this morning was, obviously, to get to the other side. On the other side of the shop is where they keep the vending machine that dispenses candy. I wanted to purchase for myself some Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, which I'm currently eating. Mmm.

* Speaking of work and the Internet...the reason it's so slow here is because there are eight of us sharing a single dial-up connection. Welcome to the 90s; too bad it's now 2004.

* What happened to Amazon? They used to offer unbeatable pricing on books, and I ordered from them all the time. Now it seems like they offer everything at cover price. Sure, if you order enough stuff, you can get free shipping, but then you have to wait over a week to receive it. I've been doing all my book-buying lately at Waldenbooks. At least there I get a 10% discount for being a Preferred Reader (a status you have to pay for, but in my case, it pays for itself rather quickly), and I get my books right away. Still, if you're looking for something that's even a little bit hard to find, Amazon is the way to go--they have (or can get) everything.

* My mouth region is in bad shape lately. I've got chapped lips which no amount of Chap Stick has been able to prevent, and there's a scab at one side for reasons unknown. I also have a cold sore inside my bottom lip, and another unidentified sore underneath my tongue, which keeps scraping across my chapped lips. Most unpleasant, and I'm hoping it all clears up shortly.

* On the bright side, I get to go to Anderson Arena tomorrow night, and that always makes things better, at least for a little while. Well...provided the officiating is decent, anyway.