Do insects "play dead"? Because I just encountered an ant that did. I was in my kitchen, waiting for my dinner to finish nuking when I saw something out of the corner of my eye. I looked and there was a small, black...something on the counter. I leaned in for a closer look and there was a tiny ant lying on it's back, legs up in the air. I set my glass down and turned to get a napkin to pick it up with when then thing just flipped over and took off running! Crazy bugger! So I quickly pounced and terminated the crafty thing. I will not be outsmarted by an ant!

I concluded last night that my job is kind of like playing golf. It's frustrating and disheartening 90% of the time, but just when you're about to give up and you're saying, "There's no way I could ever be good at this," you hit this amazing shot. And the rush from the success is good enough to entice you back again next week to try again and endure another ego-pounding.

I stole this link from another blog, but the idea was so funny I had no choice but to steal it.

I am getting old. Not old old, mind you. But old nonetheless.

Yesterday, I attended X-Fest and I stood out from all the densely-pierced teenagers like a sore thumb. Granted, my Billy Joel concert t-shirt (circa 1981) wasn't helping matters, but what can I say? I like irony. Anyway, despite other efforts to look young and hip (Jackie O sunglasses excluded) I couldn't have looked much more like a narc if wore a fanny pack.

Oh well, at least I didn't complain about the music being too loud.

Did your family ever have a tape or record that was nearly worn through from use? You know, that album that you all knew the words to and you could sing every guitar riff?

This weekend I was listening to Fleetwood Mac's Rumours in my car. (An excellent album, by the way. Highly recommended.) Anyway, when the song "Don't Stop" came on, I was suddenly reminded of what that tape was for my family: Cruisin' Classics. Cruisin' Classics was a compilation tape Dad got for free with a fill-up from Shell, and boy, did we make the most out of it. It contained such wonderful hits as Elton John's "Crocodile Rock", "Sara Smile" by Hall & Oates, Steve Miller Band's "Rock 'N Me", and the O'Jay's "Love Train", among others. It was, needless to say, loads of fun. That tape made it through countless car trips, ran in the family stereo for months, and even did a stint in my sister's room. I don't know where Cruisin' Classics is right now, but I hope it's getting a well-deserved rest.

If you've never been to a laser light show, you're missing out. There's nothing like enhancing the experience of listening to great music with mesmerizing visual effects. It's kinda like staring at giant, trippy screensaver while listening to your favorite album...but much better.

I am spent. Do you ever have those days where just holding your head up and keeping your eyes open is a struggle? That's me today. It's hard to be productive when you're just concentrating on not slipping into oblivion.

Whenever I wear white, I plan on spilling coffee on myself within my first hour at work. Well, I'm proud to say that today my white pants have made it through coffee hour and lunch at Eat 'N' Park, with nary a spill. I'm probably jinxing myself by saying this, but come on! I've only got one more hour. What could possibly happen?

That should about do me in for today. Now maybe my sister will stop complaining about the lack of posts.

I've hypothesized on this for years, based on observations from nature. It's gratifying to finally see it backed by the scientific community.

Ugh. My brain is so tired I can barely think, but I will attempt to blog anyway. You will likely not get the usual high-caliber postings today, but it's been several days since I've posted so I'm sure you'll be happy with whatever you can get.

My buddy Jones and I were having a discussion the other evening about the importance of moderation. We concluded that moderation is important in all things, including moderation. You see, moderation, when taken in excess, can be harmful just like anything else. Too much moderation can lead one down the path of mediocrity and stagnation. Therefore, it is good to have an occasional excess in order to effectively practice moderation in moderation.

Do you agree?

I've got a great story for you. Now this did not happen to me. It happened to a friend of mine. She said I should post it, but leave her name out and I will respect her wishes.

Anyway, this friend, we'll call her "Gladys", has been dancing around going out with this guy, Drew, for months, but they're both really busy...yada yada yada... So Gladys calls Drew up on his cell and asks him to be her date for a wedding. He plays it cool, says "let me check my shedule" and all that but pretty much agrees to go. Gladys is excited and immediately sends a text message to a friend's cell saying, "Well I did it. I asked him out! First time I've ever asked a guy out." Only she didn't send it to a friend's cell, she entered the wrong number and sent it to Drew's cell. Yes. Imagine her emabarrassment when she got a text message from Drew that read, "I hope he's a good date!"

Well, I'm back. It's been a while, I know. But hey, I've been busy and decided to take a brief vacation from work and from the blog. So I went back to MI for a long weekend to spend time with family friends. It was a much-welcome break. It was hard to leave them all and come back. I was surprised by how many Michiganders are supporting the blog. I feel quite honored. So here's to you, Wolverine State! Hope I'll be back again soon.

Saturday night I went to check out an 80s cover band called Velveeta. It was a great time. Lots of great people-watching was just icing on the cake for an evening of fist-pumping sing-along to hits by Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, Rick Springfield, Michael Jackson, the Beastie Boys, Dexy's Midnight Runners, and oh so much more. But the best part is the name of the band. How cool is it that the two defining characteristics of Velveeta are also the defining characteristics of the 80s?

Fake. Cheese. 'Nuff said.

Everyone has their neuroses. One of my 5486 is that a sandwich must have the proper meat to bread ratio. I cannot stress enough how important this is. This is why the McDonald's cheeseburger just doesn't work. The patty is just too small and you're left with way too much bread which leaves the mouth too dry. It's no good. But it's a two-way street. Saturday I was ravenous and decided to to try out the double quarter-pounder with cheese. It would have been good except that, unlike the Big Mac, it had no intermediate bun between the two patties. That didn't work either. Particularly in this case, when you're consuming more Grade E beef than any human should have in one sitting, you've got to temper it with a few carbs. A harmonious balance is vital.

I hate it when I'm sleeping peacefully, nice and warm in my bed, in the middle of a good dream when...Oh, man. I've got to go to the bathroom. I try it ignore it and hang on to my dream, but pretty soon it becomes clear that this will not go away. So break out of my cocoon of blankets and try to hurry while still trying to maintain my sleepy stupor so that I'll have a shot at resuming my dream. It's all such a hassle. I don't know. Maybe I should just get a bedpan.

Nah.

Ugh. Went to the Eat 'N' Park breakfast buffet this morning before work and I'm still full. What is it about a buffet? For some reason I always feel the need to "get my money's worth", even to my own detriment. How dumb is that? That was a rhetorical question, by the way. Please don't answer...

In the past two days my site has been hit 14 times by someone searching for a snowmobile suit or a picture of a snowmobile suit. Am I the only person who has noticed...IT'S MAY!

My working situation is a little unusual. I hear from my boss about once, maybe twice a week by phone and see him in person about once every other week. That's about it. It may sound nice, and in some ways it is. But the thing is that when your boss only calls you once a week, it's usually not to say, "Hi, Sara! How's it going? Just wanted to tell you how much I appreciate all your hard work. You're doing a great job!" So when I got an e-mail from him today after he had reviewed my drawings with the contractor, I groaned. When I opened it and it contained a page-long list of items, I was terrifed. My first thought was, "Oh no. Boy am I gonna get it when I see him on Monday." But as I read, my spirits lifted. First off, the items on the list, well, very few of them pertained to me or the areas I am responsible for. Secondly, most of the comments were positive. "The drawings...look very good for this point in the project evolution, and I was proud to review the drawings with the group." Sweet! "Thanks! Today was a good day!" Always a good thing.

So to sum up: Today isn't looking so bad after all.