I'm apparently not that interesting.

I don't have much new to report on. I am over my cold, which is a relief. Work has been keeping me quite busy which is nice.

Hmm, I really can't think of anything else to share, so goodnight!

( )

I've been battling a cold for the past couple of days and it is starting to gain the upper hand. I don't have much of a voice right now so I sound pretty pathetic when I try to talk or even laugh. At least I have the weekend off to recuperate before going back to work on Monday.

In other news, Anna and I have almost narrowed down what we will be getting for our Renaissance Festival outfits. Its pretty exciting and we are both looking forward to it next month.

Home sweet home

I got back in town Friday evening, completely exhausted from both the intense training and the long nights out on the town with the other Agents there from the training. Our group did exceptionally well, the average grade on the exam for the group was 93%. I only missed one question and got a 98%.

We had a great time there, learned a ridiculous amount of information about troubleshooting and repairing Apple Macintosh computers. At the end of all the training, we got a great tour of the Best Buy corporate headquarters, sticking mostly to the Geek Squad-related areas. The founder of Geek Squad wasn't in the office when we went there, but they let us in to poke around and take pictures.




Our whole group went out to the parking garage where many Geekmobiles are kept along side the Geek Squad limo behind us. Click the picture to get a better view.

out of town

I will be in Minneapolis Wednesday through Friday this week with my colleague from work getting certified to repair Apple computers. We're both very excited to go up there, learn about new technology, meet other agents from the Geek Squad, and see the sights of Minneapolis.

We convinced the management here to just put us up in a hotel, otherwise we'd have 3 hours of driving every day round trip to get there and back, which they would have to pay us for, and the gas for the vehicle. Much less stress that way, and we wont have to deal with rush hour traffic as much since we'll be right there.

Huge success

Dinner yesterday went off without a hitch. The smoked ribs and homemade baked beans were absolutely delicious and everyone had a great time. We nice relaxing in the backyard with Anna and my parents, drinking beers and chatting. The weather was perfect and it couldn't have been nicer.

Right before my parents left, we loaded some wood they brought us into our shed in the backyard. I managed to drop the heaviest piece square on my big toe. Luckily it didn't break my toe but it hurts like hell, very bruised and a laceration (if that's the right word). It will probably be pretty sore for the next few days, but I'll live.

Stressed? naaaaah

Anyone that knows me knows I absolutely love to cook. The more complex and time-consuming the cooking process, the better. For Independence Day here in the USA, I will be making BBQ smoked shortribs and smoked baked beans. Its about a 5 hour ordeal and I'm very excited. My parents will be coming over to spend time with us and enjoy the wonderful food as we celebrate our fine country's 232nd birthday.

This will be the first year Anna and I do not go up to the University to grill, hang out, then watch the fireworks show. We noticed it was the same exact fireworks show every year and it would be more comfortable to grill and entertain here at the house. That and there is no security here hassling us for grilling in the parking lot at the university. Like I was the first person to ever grill in the parking lot there. Maybe they've heard of a tailgate party before?

It is done

I finished up the patio today and I feel great! It took 3 days to lay down all the bricks, but its finally done.

It looks a little goofy, but that's because of our yard. It is not even close to being level, so the patio somewhat follows the contours of the yard otherwise it would be way above it in some parts.



After dinner we celebrated by putting our chairs on the patio and making s'mores. It was a lot of fun and the fire was very successful now that we have dry wood.

Funny moment of the day

We went grocery shopping tonight and Anna really wanted to get a watermelon. She found the perfect one and we were on our way. She was really excited to cut it open when we got home, after all the groceries were put away, she got the biggest knife we had and went at it. I heard a "What the F__K is this?!?!" from the kitchen and looked at the cutting board.

We somehow got a watermelon that is yellow on the inside. It tasted like a normal one, just yellow in color.

Pictures!

Here is the lawn all dug up, ready for smoothing, sand, and bricks:


Load #1 of sand. 35 bags


I wasn't happy about having to go back and get another 20 bags

Sand all filled in, just have to place the bricks now