October 2006

Earl’s cake did not win a prize yesterday at the company hee-haw harvest dessert contest. While people were polishing it off in great numbers while I was there, no one was voting for it. Not even after I broke the ice by voting for it myself.

What do they know?

You know what did win in the Great Dessert bake-off? First place went to candied/caramel apples with your choice of nuts, candy corn or chocolate flakes as a coating and second place went to a a lively frosted dog made out of twinkies.

First of all, the caramel apples were brought in by a saleswoman who didn’t have to leave halfway through the gathering so that the other half her department could go to the party. So she had the opportunity to work the crowd by cutting up the apples and walking around offering them to people. Show a little leg and score yourself another vote.

Now the dog made out of twinkies was cute but I felt it was a rather low blow by going for the cutesy cartoon approach coupled with the use of twinkies. My friend Christine (who brought two delicious chocolate cakes) says next year she’s throwing some frosting on a cardboard cut out of a dessert to see if she wins a prize that way. I’m glad she’s going for the effort because I’m not stepping foot in another work sponsored dessert bake-off again. These fools would be happy with a McDonald’s Apple Pie for goodness sake. Maybe that’s what I’ll bring next year, McDonald’s Apple Pie.

Luckily, I’m not as bitter as I really could be because my co-worker Ryan made a delicious rum cake where he had tripled the amount of rum called for in the recipe.

So let’s toast to the desserts that should have won and all have another piece of rum cake.

It’s a whopping 37 degrees here in the beautiful area we call Upstate New York. Snow is forecasted for tonight. There’s a definite chill in the air and you can smell the impending flurries, almost as if Mother Nature is giving us a gentle warning.

For the life of me I can’t figure out why the air conditioner is still running full blast at work.

Now I don’t really mind the cold. I find it’s easier to warm up then it is to cool down. Just throw on another layer of clothes and voila, you’re warmer. It’s great to snuggle up to your lover when it’s chilly outside. But when it’s hot and humid, well, that’s another story.

I’ve often fantasized about visiting the north or south poles. I’d rather go to the North Pole and live there for a year, contributing to one of the handful of research stations. I bet the night sky (all 24 hours of it for approximately half the year) is absolutely breathtaking. I could maintain computer systems or be the base administrative assistant or heck, even dance on some tables for entertainment if they needed it, but I think it would be great to live at the North Pole for a year. I’d do the South Pole too, but I think I prefer the north. Less touristy and the toilets swirl the right way.

There’s a local restaurant that gives you a free meal if you get your picture taken somewhere famous whilst wearing one of their t-shirts. I tell Earl I’m going to get my picture up there someday while sitting on top of the North Pole, one foot in an American time zone and the other in a Russian time zone. My hands, open in a gesture of exuberance, would be in different days.

That would be a neat picture.

But for today I have to look presentable in casual business attire while sitting under an air conditioning vent, doing my best to keep warm without resorting to wearing my jacket, hat and gloves while sitting in my cubicle*. Of course the lack of beard is not helping. But I think I’m going to keep it off until the end of the year and then start a new beard on New Year’s Day.

I think the air conditioning at work is set to 60. Perhaps I need to set fire to my desk or something.

Here’s a link to a site about a guy living for a year at the North Pole.

* My cubicle isn’t really a cubicle, but rather 1/4 of a cubicle. I have a dividing wall and a desk with a little storage cubby thing above my desk. I have often remarked that it probably would have been easier just to go all the way and plop a discarded door on top of cinder blocks. This usually results in a glare from my supervisor.

So I’m back from my little three day road trip and have settled in for the night. Earl is still on his way home from Tampa. His flight was delayed a bit. He told me he would call me when he landed; I just tried to call his cell phone and got his voicemail. Perhaps he’s airborne.

I’ve just finished watching two consecutive episodes of Wonder Woman. They were both from the second season, when Lynda Carter’s hair was long, but the budget was big enough that they weren’t taking any “shortcuts” with stand-ins doing to the wonder spin and whatnot. These things are important. One recurring them I have noticed about Wonder Woman is that twins are considered evil. There are a number of episodes in that second season where the bad guy or gal is flanked by a set of female twins. Always female, always blonde, always identical twins. I’ve known a few sets of twins in my time and I don’t recall them both being evil at the same time. Mischievous perhaps, but never evil.

Tomorrow starts a week of on-call but I feel like I’m ready to take it on. I have some projects to do, including website work getting through all the photos I took on this trip. Plus I have two nights of school which always does wonders for breaking up the monotony of on-call with the added bonus of an education.

I chatted with my sister in Russia a little while ago. She told me that I can let the cat out of the bag. You see, Earl and I have been holding onto a little secret for the past six weeks or so – we’re going to be uncles. That’s right, my sister and her boyfriend are going to have a baby. She finally let my Mom know today and I am just thrilled for the both of them.

As Earl likes to say: “Life is good.”