First Day Back

After losing my last contract and officing out of the corporate location since then, I started a new position with my company today, on another contract, that took me back to Tinker AFB as an on-base employee for the first time in four months. I can't really get into what I'm doing, but it is all very new to me, and likely to keep me very busy. And it was great to be back. I think I'm going to like it.

White Christmas Eve

By looking at this picture, you wouldn't know it was in the 60s here in OKC a couple days ago. But here we are on Christmas Eve, in the middle of Oklahoma City's first blizzard warning in who knows how long.




Update

Here's an updated picture. People are getting stuck all over town. Including in front of my building...




Update

Well, it's Christmas morning, and it's still white outside, so, we got a White Christmas after all. Typically in Oklahoma we get snow that doesn't stick, doesn't last beyond a day, or is just plain ice (which lasts a week).

Last night of Fall

It was a nice, crisp final Autumn evening, spent partially admiring the Christmas lights at the Botanical Gardens in downtown OKC. I just wanted to take a moment to thank Autumn for being mostly kind to us this year. I wish you didn't have to go. I'm not a big fan of your frigid sister.

Winter Piano Recital

Darby has been feverishly practicing for a piano recital at school this evening. Unfortunately she started feeling bad yesterday and woke up with a fever this morning. She missed school today, in fact, but the recital is a grade in her major and we were told there were few make-up opportunities left in the semester. So, she showed, and she played.



I was supposed to leave work a bit early in order to swing by home and pick-up the camcorder. But I couldn't leave as early as needed and so had to head straight for school. And as my point-and-shoot camera was flashing low-battery, in addition to being low on memory card space (again, didn't have time to go home), that left my phone as the remaining video capture source. That might have worked out great, but I forgot to change the default format from MMS quality so the frame-rate is low AND the predefined length is one minute. Really frustrates me that I didn't think to change that setting. So anyway, here we have the first minute of Darby's ninety-second song.

First Orchestra Performance

The girls had their first orchestra performance tonight at school. Even though Darby is in her third year at this school, it's her first year in the orchestra, and of course this is Shelby's first year for both this school and orchestra. As Shelby is a strings major, there will be a lot more of these for her. Darby is not a strings major, but has really been enjoying it, and so may keep doing it as well. Darby, being a piano major, has a piano recital on Friday (what, you're not watching the calendar?), so keep your eyes out for pics from that soon.

Here's a picture of Darby's orchestra (Beginning Orchestra).



Here's a picture of Shelby's orchestra (Intermediate Orchestra).



I took some video with my actual video camera, but not sure any of that footage is going to make it here. The girls neglected to let us know where to optimally sit for the best view, so in both cases the conductor obstructs our view of them.

Did you just squirt me with soy sauce or are you happy to see me?

Names are being omitted to protect the innocent. Or, as it were, the blatantly guilty that simply prefer to remain nameless. But those that know me know that I am... aloof, to be kind. So if I showed them a picture such as this, of a soy sauce-stained shirt, they would simply shrug and say, "meh, it's Shawn".


(note there is splatter on the chest AND arm area)

However, on this day I was the victim, not of my own condiment mishandling, but rather of a co-worker's well-unaimed projectile saucing. Even so, I added my own oblivious flavor to the moment, as can generally be expected. So, imagine, if you will, a soy sauced-filled egg roll being casually and non-maliciously bitten into, but in such a way as for said soy sauce to squirt-out rather violently, only to land. ALL. OVER. MY. SHIRT. And, incidentally, my face.

Are you imagining? Well, I was not. I was looking at my plate, eating, minding my own business. In fact, myself having heretofore no involvement of any kind with the aforementioned soy sauce. And it was about then that I noticed something out of the corner of my eye.

What's this? I asked as my eyes focused upon a spot on my shirt. Did I do this? As I questioned it, I increasingly widened my focus and gained awareness of the magnitude of the "incident". I looked up at my co-worker and... that look... the culprit became clear. There was a moment of shared anticipation... and then... minutes of solid laughter. Several minutes. Laughter. Tears. Embarrassment. And thorough distraction to the rest of the establishment.

Those several minutes later, we wiped the tears from our faces. I dabbed my shirt with a napkin. We attempted to restore the meal to some semblance of order. But we could not enjoy the remainder of the meal without the occasional regression to laughter. Even upon return to the office, we couldn't pass in the halls without a smirk. Or a lewd comment in the spirit of "nice shirt". And we may forever refer to the moment as "the great soy sauce incident", or perhaps simply, "the squirting" for short.

Sadness for Saturn

I am a creature of habit. And I am stubborn. With minor exception, when I find a solution to a problem that I like, I'm sold, and I'm loyal. I'm probably an advertising agency's dream. So, the fact that I've been a Saturn driver for the last ten plus years should be no surprise. And with a car-buying decision likely in my future in the next few years, I had intended stay the course. However, the tragically poor operation of what I call a foundational American company has led to the collapse and inevitable vanishing of a brand and its fiercely loyal customer base. And make no mistake brand saboteurs (you know who you are), we are quite pissed-off about it. (kids, pardon my language)

This is old news I realize. The elimination of the Saturn brand of cars is a done deal. But today it hit me hardest because I saw it first hand. I visited the dealership for what may be the last time. And death was in the air. The lot was half-empty of new cars (presumably no new vehicles are being built or delivered). There were new faces everywhere (as though the folks I seen around for years knew it was over and wasted no time getting out of there). And most importantly, NO ONE WAS THERE TO BUY CARS and NO ONE SEEMED TO BE SELLING CARS. Everyone at the dealership was there for service. No wonder they tried to up sell me on a service that's only needed every 100,000 miles, which I got probably 50,000 miles ago.

Well, farewell Saturn. You will be missed. Deeply. And as to not reward those that most failed you and us, I pledge to do my very best to never buy another GM product again. They did not try hard enough to keep you. And I will not try hard enough to keep them. So, in the paraphrased words of Dr. Rick Marshall, GENERAL MOTORS CAN SUCK IT!


Update, 8 March 2010
A professional over at Forbes basically concurs with my thoughts.

Yukon Lights

The girls and I visited the Christmas lights in Yukon, OK tonight. I highly recommend them. Much to see. Biggest I've seen that's for sure. Plus two animated light shows. However, expect it to take awhile, the secret is out and the lines are L-O-N-G...