Lean On Me

(These stories are true, as far as I can remember. Names have been changed.)I shift uncomfortably in Maria's chair as she talks on the phone. "No, it was good...They screamed, they hugged me...yeah. Alright, gotta go. Love you!" Maria hangs up on her mother ( Read more... )

"Balance"

"I don't know what to tell you." I look again at my printout of the spreadsheet, as my boss looks over hers. "The numbers just don't add up."

"Well, make them add up. That's your job." Rosalie hastily gives me back the papers and dismisses me with a wave.

Sighing, I make my way back to my desk and reopen the spreadsheet. There's ( Read more... )

The Price is Wrong

When I first started telling people a few years ago that I was moving from Seattle back to the Bay Area, I got the typical range of reactions: good luck, we'll miss you, are you nuts? That last one was usually followed, in the same breath, by it's so expensive down there!I definitely had reasons to move down here, and they were ( Read more... )

A lot of people have been asking Katie and I about plans for the wedding and our life afterwards. The short answer: We don't have any plans yet. The long answer is going to take a bit of explaining ( Read more... )

"Fit To Print"

"You're sure this is happening?...One hour from now?...And I have the address right?...Okay, thanks."

Carlos hung up the phone on his tipster friend and looked at his notes. This is why I took this internship three months ago, he thought to himself. I'm going to be the one to break this story.
( But the chain of command had to be obeyed. )

Movie to see: Recently caught "Quantum of Solace", the new 007 film. It was...okay. "Casino Royale" was better; if you're going to see the new one, see CR first (a few things will make more sense, trust me). Good action, a few "huh?" plot moments, and a theme song that really doesn't show off Alicia Keys' talents properly. (Seriously, i like her, ( Read more... )

Scrabble opponents, according to this site, whom I have faced at least 10 times in tournaments (and my records againts them), plus notes:

Michael Baker (10-10): This was 1-7 at one point. They've almost always been good games, though.

verbophage (9-9): Including some absolute craziness (I believe at least three times we've both cracked 430), and the win that ( Read more... )

General life update: Overall, things are good: I'm settling into a rhythm at work, and they seem to want to keep me around; it's just a question of whether they can find a place to put me. The apartment is a bit of a mess, but I've got tomorrow to take care of that.

******

Sports update: Red Sox over Dodgers in the World Series--you heard it here ( Read more... )

"Show Me What You've Learned...but Put the Diploma Away"

Growing up, I was always told that I needed to get good grades, have a variety of interests, and post good scores on my SATs. Now, while all of these things are good in their own right, the people who were telling me these things (mostly my teachers and parents, but also society at large) saw ( Read more... )

 Anybody know of a good job for a somewhat-experienced accountant in the Seattle area? I need one, stat.

More on this later.

Mike