comapny bbq

we just had our release party/bbq. we celebrated the release of three products and the end of a successful quarter. featured were:

• pine box derby (we assembled it 30 minutes after it was due and came in 2nd to last of 17 teams; one may say it was symbolic, but one may also observe that the car that came in dead last was beautifully painted/lacquered [rumored to have cost $200 to get painted] car that the sales team submitted may be a more symbolically meaningful entry)
• the “good enough band” featuring songs such as “Stacy’s Palm” and “All the Small Screens” (i’ll have to post the lyrics at some point; they are hysterically funny)
• tasty food!

when we got back to our desks after a two-hour fest, we found good-branded duffle bags at our seats. maybe they want us to pack up our things and leave. heh.

seriously, it was nice to have a nice party and feel like we aren’t clinging on the edge of despair every constant minute. it was nice to party like it was 1999 — which, by the way, was the last time i attended a company function as fun and laid back as this one.

in-n-out’s not-so-secret menu

i finally looked up in-n-out’s secret menu. this is the best list i’ve found so far:

“3-by-3” = three meat patties and three slices of cheese.

“4-by-4” = four meat patties and four slices of cheese.

“2-by-4” = two meat patties and four slices of cheese.

Note: You can get a burger with as many meat patties or cheese slices as you want. Just tell the cashier how many meat paties and how much cheese you want and that is what you’ll get! For instance, if you want 2 pieces of meat and 6 pieces of cheese tell them you want a “2-by-6.”

“Animal Style” = the meat is grilled with mustard, then pickles, extra spread, and grilled onions are added.

“Whole Grilled Onions” = onions are grilled whole and not chopped like animal style.

“Double Meat” = like a Double Double without cheese.

“3-by-Meat” = three meat patties and no cheese.

“Animal Style Fries” = fries with cheese, spread, grilled onions.

“Protein Style” = this is a burger with no bun, wrapped in lettuce.

“Grilled Cheese” = no meat, but everything else.

“Extra Toast” = buns are extra toasted giving them a crunchy texture.

“Veggie Burger” = aka “Wish Burger,” burger without patty or cheese.

“On the Sal” = this is just lettuce and dressing. Nothing else.

“Animal Fries” = fries with melted cheese, grilled onions, and dressing.

“Fries Well-Done” = extra crispy fries, even better than the regular!

“Fries Light” = opposite of fries well-done, more raw than usual.

“Flying Dutchman” = two meat patties, two slices of melted cheese–nothing else–not even a bun!

“Neopolitan Shake” = strawberry, vanilla and chocolate shake.

“Choco-Vanilla Swirl Shake” = chocolate and vanilla swirled together to perfection.

“Lemon-Up” = half lemonade and half 7-up drink.

“Root Beer Special” = half root beer and half Dr. Pepper

“Tea-Ade” = half iced tea and half lemonade.

a lovely addition to our household

i am so excited! we went to best buy monday night and looked at this oven, but chose to look up the model number when we got home instead of buying it right away. this turned out to be a good move because the floor model was displaying the wrong model number on the little sales sticker. we went back on tuesday and decided we wanted it, but the best buy guys told us that it couldn’t be delivered until october 27th at the earliest, which was not good for us. we then went to sears with the hopes that they would have the same model, but were disappointed to find that they did not have it out on the floor. undaunted, we asked the sales guy, and he was able to look up the proper model and order it for delivery for us. the best parts are that they did price matching (679.99 at bb, but 699.99 at sears, with an additional 10% off the difference) and that they can deliver it as early as thursday. we asked for saturday delivery instead, since we would be available to take the delivery. oh! i almost forgot. we were also able to put it on our pre-existing sears card (we bought the dishwasher with it), which gives us 0% interest until the end of september next year.

yay!

observations in e minor

1. i used to wonder how anyone could stand people with really shrill voices, how they could eventually find a life-mate. then i realized that there are totally tone-deaf people who are completely unothered by the sound, perhaps even enjoy it.
2. i think that i don’t entirely understand modern art, but i’ve come to my own revelation on what it means to people and why they create it. i compare it to my past inability to completely understand why the concept of visual perspective took so long to enter the art world. it seemed to me an obvious concept that things look smaller when they are further away and bigger when they are up close, and that this is a better 2D representation of reality than drawing everything to scale, or everything with right angles. but that’s the thing with perspective: it’s not an accurate representation of reality (that box isn’t really supposed to be smaller in the back and things aren’t to scale), but reality as we perceive it from where we stand. and so it goes with modern art: the abstract works can, at times, better represent certain thoughts/states/emotions/concepts/realities than our concept of classical art styles by showing us what we see rather than what we see. i may not really understand the individual pieces, but having this bit of insight helps me appreciate the field of modern art better.
3. both jokes and advice are only welcome when they are not obvious. a lot of people say really obvious things and guffaw without any tinge of irony or self-deprecation, as though those things were genuinely witty or clever. i think with the appropriate amount of irony, any obvious thing can be made funny again, but it takes awareness of the obviousness to get there. if that awareness is not there, it’s better not to say whatever you think i that clever. but then again, how will you know that it’s not funny if you don’t have the awareness in the first place? in a similar vein, it’s best to hold back advice if you think it’s obvious. of course, there is the off-chance that being so close to the situation, the recepient of the advice may not have been able to see the obvious path, but this will depend on the situation and your knowledge of the person.
4. i just got my car oil changed at jiffy lube. it was really fast and people were really nice. it was a positive experience. i was stunned at the speed with which they pulled up my car records — the screen had my info before i had a chance to get out of the car. if only doctors’ offices were this fast.
   

dc wedding

Edward and Jeanne got married on saturday, october 2nd, 2004. the wedding started at 1pm and the reception started at 3pm and went on until about 10 pm. Kevin gave a speech as the best man, causing almost everyone to start crying when he spoke from the heart about how long he and Edward had been friends and all the things they had been through growing up. the parents of the couple were so cute. they were all obviously very moved. kevin proved to be an exceedingly good host.

i really liked their wedding. i’ve really liked the last few weddings i’ve been to. being in love and planning to marry, i see the wedding couples in a different light than i used to. it’s not like i didn’t get it before; i did. but there is a subtle layer of poignancy that was lost on me before. either that, or i’m becoming even bigger of a sap in my old age. 😉

we saw a part of DC on friday, the part that tourists see and marvel at. indeed i too marvelled at the sights. the lincoln memorial is every bit as enchanting as they say. reading his words made me feel a new hope for the country and sort of an honor to be a part of the country that he helped to build, as well as a note of bitterness that both Lincoln and W can hold the title of president. it was a jarring comparison, to be sure.

the weather was stunningly beautiful — foggy mornings and evenings, bright sunshine during the day with gentle breezes, lush trees all around. it was a joy to be there. my impression of the city is that i like it and would like to spend more time there.

the one ugly moment in the weekend was witnessing a couple engage physically in a fight near the end of the reception. that, too, was a jarring comparison with the wedded couple and the other people basking in the reflected glow of love. i don’t know how they can witness a love like E & J’s without realizing that their own abusive, hurtful relationship is not one that is driven by love and trust. they need to get their heads out of their rear ends. it’s dark there.

seppo looks exceedingly handsome in his suit. 🙂