Another beautiful day...

I think. It's still dark outside.

Galina just dropped me off at the office and is on her way back to pick up Natalie and deliver her to work by 8 am.

I commandeered the DVD player last night and we all watched the screener of League of Extraordinary Gentlemen that I received in the mail. I remember I had wanted to go see this when it was still playing in theaters, but was convinced by ominous comments by Natalie to hold off, as the movie was not highly regarded in general.

Ultimately, although I have to admit I was fascinated by the characters, the film is just a little too over-the-top in terms of plotting, and reminded me too much of the Batman movies in terms of cityscapes. Sunlight must've been at a premium when this film was shot.

On the other hand, I am such a Sean Connery fan that I think I might well derive pleasure from having him act out, say, the first few pages of the Manhattan phone directory, if you can imagine such a thing.

On Monday, I worked at one computer, and then was moved on Tuesday to another work station, further "back" in the pack. The latest buzz is that I am to be moved yet again, today. The boss says it's simply to make room for Yet Another New Hire, which is fine by me, as I'm not sure I can go another day without opening my mouth to contribute my two cents to some of the terminology discussions that go on around me, although the hardest part of the assignment is probably the highly controlled nature of the physical environment, which is about as far as I'll venture in that direction. The computer on which I am typing this right now is about the only concession to the idea of allowing people to have access to the Internet (or to the network, for that matter).

Lunch yesterday was at a place called Fuddrucker's, just across the street or so. It's a burger place from which it is difficult to walk away without having dropped at least $10. I had a portobello-and-cheese hamburger with a shake, and the portion was - as usual - more than adequate.

As of yesterday, we are 25% through the period where Galina and I are both away from Pagosa.

Time to get to work.

Cheers...

Winding down...

I expect to be asleep real soon, but need to rest for a couple of minutes and clear my mind. How better than to update the journal?

Crazy car-less life continued as Galina picked me up at 4 pm so we could go pick up Natalie at work and then deliver her to the HCC campus downtown for her German class. In the meantime, Galina and I went looking for a place to eat and ended up at a lonely looking south Indian place called Pavani, on Richmond. The restaurant features an impressive buffet (at least to me) with the most variety I've seen in a while, for Indian cuisine.

Drew called and we spoke about store business for a little while and he told us that Shannon's mom is in the hospital, having suffered a heart attack induced by a blood clot. We all wish her a speedy recovery, so she and John can join us all in Pagosa soon.

After dinner, we returned to pick up Natalie, who asked to swing by the Teahouse-Tapioca-and-Tea place for some refreshment (Galina held off, as she had really stuffed herself at Pavani, as did I... although I have more experience at recovering from such binges... sadly enough, but I digress...). I ordered my second tapioca-laced drink and also bought a dry ounce of flower tea for Galina; I think she'll like it, and it's supposed to have beneficial medicinal properties.

Upon returning home, I sat down and did an "extra" assignment for the office, which Lev had given to me with a smile on his face earlier in the day. The work consists of a one-page letter from a Russian religious nut case addressed to a senior member of the astronaut corps (NASA gets such letters every once in a while... go figure). On the one hand, it's really no fun to translate the meanderings of someone whose mind is clearly a few verses short of a chapter; on the other, it's a challenge to make such musings sound at least marginally rational. I may or may not have succeeded; I just know I sent the thing off a few minutes ago after giving it my best shot.

I suppose we'll repeat the commuting drill of the past couple of days tomorrow. Who knows, we may get used to it. In any event, I must go to bed and get some shuteye.

Cheers...