A couple weeks ago we made Eggplant Parmesan for dinner. It was a frozen meal. All I did was heat it in the microwave. I really wished I had made a mental note of the brand because it was delicious! The following week I attempted to make Eggplant Lasagna. I found the recipe in Cooking Light, a magazine that is delivered to me every month (Thank you Barb!). The recipe was okay– as is usually the case, what you sacrifice in calories, you also sacrifice in taste. The next weekend I intended to cook but we decided to hit the Italian Restaurant, La Campagnola, down the street instead. It’s an independent, family-owned restaurant- no TGIFriday’s. I ordered the Eggplant Rollatini. OH MY GOSH! It was unbelievably delicious. It was so good that I insisted we go back the next week. Sitting there I found myself stuffing myself more on the angel hair pasta than the Rollatine. Could it be? I think I was simply hungry for my mom’s spaghetti!
I got home from work and I was about to order takeout but I decided I would make it myself. I rolled up my sleeves and I made spaghetti (no meatballs, I ain’t got no meatballs) and garlic bread and I poured myself some wine. I ate TWO plates full! I think I can finally say, I am all Italianed out!

I am in a less than marvel mood. I am angry with work. Angry that they make us sit through stupid learning seminars. I so wanted sales training and it seemed as if they finally understood but instead they deliver trash at an inopportune hour. It’s insulting. I am angry that our CRM application is slower than my old Commodore 64. It’s so slow that I get distracted. I get lost checking my personal email or surfing the web since I am trying to waste time waiting for that darn CRM program to just change screens. The page eventually comes up and I can’t remember what I was trying to accomplish. Makes me want to scream.

I want to go home and clean my house… That’s how frustrated I am.

Business is Great
People are Terrific
Life is Wonderful

Something happened to me at Elvis Week that I have kept to myself. Lisa was there when it happened and she too has kept mum. It’s a little odd and I am embarassed by it but I need to get it off my chest.

While I was standing in an Elvis gift shop, a woman came over to me and told me I LOOK EXACTLY LIKE CELINE DION.

I am not making this up. She seemed like a very normal person. She didn’t appear to be homeless or on drugs.

I gasped and stumbled back. What do I say?

“Thank you.”

Do I look like Celine Dion? I really don’t think so but maybe I am her doppelgaenger and just never noticed!

I plugged my external harddrive into my laptop and as I was about to back up the odds and ends, my computer shut down and refused to boot back up. This is typical. I am not overly worried. I am sure I will be able to get it to boot up eventually. I am just really beginning to wonder if restoring it to factory settings is going to do a damn thing. I think the hard drive and/or motherboard is shot.

After calming myself down and resisting the urge to throw the laptop out the window, I went for a walk. I ran into Joe and Janet and the bichons. Janet was hobbling along. Her foot was bloody! She said she stepped on glass and it went right through her crocs. I took the dogs from Joe so he could help her. I followed them back to the house and unleashed the dogs for them. I should call Janet this evening and see how she is doing. There was a lot of blood. I continued on my walk. Before I got very far, I ran into Trey and Adele. They were in a talkative mood and we just stood there and gabbed for an hour. It got dark and I eventually went home skipping my intended walk. At home, Joanie from the Ron Paul Meet Up Group called and we talked about where we would meet on Thursday when we go see I.O.U.S.A.

It almost appears I have a life.

HP says I should restore the laptop to factory settings. That means I lose everything I’ve installed on it. Which isn’t that huge a deal I suppose. And I already backed up my pix and music. I should be okay. I guess I’ll just comb through it and back up any odds and ends I forgot. I really hope the issues I am having are not hardware related. That would suck big time.

My personal laptop is acting totally wonky. It won’t turn on. When it does turn on, the screen stays dark. I turn it off and it turns on by itself. I somehow get it on and the wireless card refuses to work. I plug in with a network cable and I get online. Out of nowhere the computer freezes and all I see is a crazy screen filled with an image that had been on the Web site.

Does my baby have a virus? Is my baby just kaput? I’ve only had her about a year and a half. How can she already be breaking down? And why does it occur after the one year warranty expires?

Any suggestions?

Should I just buy a Mac?

The great enemy of clear language is insincerity. When there is a gap between one’s real and one’s declared aims, one turns as it were instinctively to long words and exhausted idioms, like a cuttlefish spurting out ink.
– George Orwell

This totally resonates with me. The tumor that was cut out of my life on Friday matches this exactly. I couldn’t help but squirm when I’d hear him say, “I’d like to dialog with you to determine any overarching needs that may be plaguing your….”

It’s so nice to be home. I also got the added bonus of coming home to good news. An issue I was having at work cleared up on its own. It’s not entirely clear and clean but at least the tumor is gone.

I had nightmares on Saturday night and last night I awoke at 3ish and couldn’t get back to sleep. I think it’s the knowledge that my vacations are over and it’s just work from here on out. Maybe.

I can hardly believe that it’s past the middle of August. In just a month and a half it will be October. That just doesn’t seem right.

It’s time to get myself out the door and to the train station. Gotta work. Gotta bring home the bacon.

I am home! Elvis Week was a blast. So much to tell and no energy at the moment to post any of it.