Haven't been here in a while!

"Thank you for your patience," said the Frod representative after I blew up (well, more than I usually blow up - I got really sarcastic) about waiting eight weeks for their "silent rebate" check and finding it hadn't even been started because they got *copies* not originals, of the receipt for repairs, and didn't bother to let me know.

This came on the amazingly frustrating coattails of dealings with Pacific Bell and SBC for DSL service at home, which ultimately ended with me cancelling the order and thus remaining with no internet connection. And dealing with the other office at work again (and continuously) and their whimsical changes to the template that's been out there for review for more than three months.

The thing is, it wasn't my patience that got things done. I've always been patient, and crap like this NEVER gets done.

Haven't ridden the bike to work in almost a month. To be fair, there's been a lot going on - the reception went very well, all family members got in and out okay, and the County put on its best for that weekend for visiting Ohioans, Washingtonians, Coloradans, etc. 50-hour work-week last week.

Recently, a gradual lapse back into weekend drinking, and the first weeknight drinking since before xmas. Mixed feelings. I really like it while it's happening; afterward not so great. But it DOES add to music appreciation, to the point where, when I don't drink, I rarely listen to any of the 1200+ CDs in the house, and I'm kind of at a loss for anything to do. And drinking on a Friday night seems to provide enough recuperation time before work Sunday or Monday.

"Space Cowboys" and "Cast Away" last night. Not much to say about either, but neither was as bad as I'd expected/been led to believe. Figure "Cowboys" as a vanity romp for Clint Eastwood - he gets to play with NASA toys, maybe, in the course of presenting a forgettable but somewhat entertaining story. "Cast Away," similarly, gives Tom Hanks a vanity part in a film we can presume is underwritten by FedEx, where his most prominent co-star is a volleyball - pretty easy to look good with THAT kind of competition! Seriously, while not entirely believable, it kept me awake, and I generally liked the way things developed - it could have taken certain predictable "uplifting" turns and didn't. It made me think how I would fare, physically and mentally, if stranded on a tiny deserted island. Guess that's worth something.