Minor Update

Can't believe it's been a full week since my last posting. It's been busy here. Not much of it was blog-worthy, in that it's about work or private family matters. So, here's a scatter shot update:

1. Crazy spring/summer weather finally broke mid-week and we've been in the 40s/low 50s with overcast skies. It even rained for a bit on Wednesday, hopefully enacting the weed-killing crystals I put down on our gravel.
2. I traveled to the east coast to pitch some new business for my company. Meetings went well and we're confident we'll sign that company up. Should hear very soon.
3. Our company had a fun off-site downtown yesterday, which put me in a good spot at 5:00 for some St. Patrick's Day fun. I went to a cool new bar, Doug Fir. It's a converted old Travel Inn motel, done up much like you'd find a bar in the movie, Swingers. Retro with a touch of modernitity. The cocktail waitresses were all biker/goth. Ripped fishnet stockings, big boots, torn t-shirts, heavy eye make-up, severe black hair, with sinewy arms. I'll be back.
4. I learned a colleague's 6 year-old daughter is reading at a ninth-grade level. Gulp. We have a lot of work to do with our 4.5 year-old Grady. The other day I asked him, "What letter does the word 'tree' start with?" He answered, "Car."
5. The painting we own by Phil Fake, Dualities, is on loan to him for his art show at a local cafe, just steps from where the painting was done.
6. For the first time in more than a decade, I've not bet money on the NCAA tourney, but I am participating in Chelsie's friendly, no-stakes contest.
7. I saw BillZ, fresh from Australia and New Zealand yesterday and today. Today he started a 6-day cross-country drive back to D.C. in his Mini Cooper, which he's stored here in Portland for the last six months. I predict he will move to Sydney before this time next year.
8. Learned from Bill that if you don't use your windshield wipers for at least six months, they disintegrate when used again.
9. Liam did the most disgusting thing this morning. He licked the entire length of the underside of the edge of our bathroom double-vanity. I was brushing my teeth this morning, and he was milling around, and I saw him out of the corner of my eye, but didn't focus on what he was doing until he was at the opposite end of the vanity. Yuck.
10. I switched to Vonage, and I'd give it a C+. It's crystal clear and is packed with features, but our broadband connection at home is a bit spotty, and everytime it goes out, the phone needs to reset itself. This isn't a problem if the computer is turned on, but the phones sit dead if the computer is off. And, we have it off most of the time because we keep our 40+ bottles of wine in the office, and the computer raises the temperature in teh small office about 10-15 degrees overnight. So, Vonage itself is great, but Comcast cable broadband is barely satisfactory.

Have a great weekend!