From the Desk 7/9/2008

I woke up this morning determined to break my habit of a cup of coffee once I got to work. I managed to avoid repeating this inexplicable morning ritual...until 10:00 when I decided to have a cup. I actually missed the taste of it, not the effects because the one cup I have been having hasn't really impacted my alertness level. I worked on answering/opting out of many offers for advertising and sponsorships this morning. It is definitely the time of the year where people are bombarding the Box with offers to advertise in Back-to-School special publications and donate to many different, albeit noble, causes to kick of the start of yet another school year. I spent the majority of my morning on the phone or responding through emails.

After enjoying a not long enough lunch break, I returned to working on the catalog mailing list for the next mail out in early August. I spent a large amount of time on Google maps typing in addresses of accounts that were missing the zip codes necessary to complete the mailing. I had around 150 addresses left and managed to make it through about half of them before my eyes had had enough of looking at the same spreadsheet for 2 hours. I also double checked all of the flyers I printed as Leland would be spending the day at Town Center tomorrow preparing the bags for new teachers in the counties we service. I had contemplated seeing if anyone wanted to go hiking after work, but I soon realized after looking outside that the weather was not conducive to outdoor activities. It began to rain just before I walked out side to leave for the day.

I drove home through the downpour and lightning (which only seems to occur when I am going to and from places). I ate some dinner and then took a brief nap to recover from the weekend. I'm not particularly good at regaining lost hours of sleep, but I am able to keep going until the fatigue doesn't seem to have an effect on me anymore. That's probably not a good quality, but it keeps me going. Christina called me when she got out of class and she came over to hang out. We ended up watching a comedy special on DVD: Jeff Dunham's (a ventriloquist) Arguing With Myself. It was hilarious as it always is, no matter how recent I've watched it. Christina really liked it to as there were parts we both couldn't stop laughing at. When that was over, we watched an episode or two of Criss Angel: Mindfreak. He is a magician who specializes in doing tricks in very public places in front of impromptu crowds of onlookers. I took this opportunity to show my own magical skills and performed my trick: driving a penny through a table using a salt shaker (Thanks to dad for teaching me this trick!). It went off well and then we watched a trick on TV and I felt my trick's impressive shrinking faster than your wallet when you buy gas. I walked Christina to her car and said goodnight. I then checked a few things online before turning in for the night.

Meditation for the day: Jeremiah 32:17 “Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.”