Yes, this will be a "what I did this weekend" post.
(But I'm going to talk about other stuff too, honest)
I think they must have done some work on the HVAC system in the building over the weekend. I'm back at my desk this morning after the long holiday break, and things just don't smell right in here. Then again, I've got a bit of a cold. So who knows.
Anyway, I loathe those "what I did for summer vacation" posts as much as anyone, but it's inevitable to talk about it a bit after a holiday weekend. I'll try and make it as brief as possible by using my favorite friend, the list!
- Friday night:
- Tried to get some Wendy's for dinner. They hosed up the order and I had to go back and get it corrected. I was miffed, but they gave me my money back and new food. And they apologized profusely. I'm pretty sure someone got yelled at as well, but I don't speak Farsi so I can't be sure.
- We watched, um...some movie. Then there was CoD. Jessi is playing using her headphones again. She is also kicking my butt on a regular basis again. Coincidence? I think not. Time for me to get some headphones.
- Saturday:
- Woke up a bit late, grabbed some breakfast from McDonald's. The rest of the day was spent preparing for that night's Indy Ars Meet.
- I got a haircut. I usually either buzz my hair myself or go to the old timey barber shop in Zionsville to get one of the crusty old dudes to give me a proper haircut. I've been forbidden from buzzing/shaving my head EVER AGAIN and there was no time for a trip to Zionsville. I went to a...Great Clips. As I sat there allowing a strange woman to wield her instruments of destruction in close proximity to my eyes and brain, I knew I was not going to like the result. When it was finally over, I was apalled at the results. Jessi's well-intentioned attempt to give me the Roman-style haircut that she apparently finds attractive had yielded a disaster of a haircut. It's too long for my tastes and sticks up a bit. However, it's gotten better over the last couple of days and I'm much less unhappy with it than I was on Saturday. That being said, it's the last time I'll let a non-barber cut my hair.
- We stopped off at O'Malia's for lemon bar ingredients and they had a vet there taking donations for the U.S.S. Indianapolis survivor's group. Being both a history buff and a bit of a bleeding heart when it comes to vets, I bought a hat and donated five bucks. This guy does WW2-inspired artwork (and did a lot of the principle design for the U.S.S. Indianapolis Memorial downtown) and I really wanted to pick up a very cool painting he had of the Indianapolis in rough water. Unfortunately, it was a bit out of my price range. I don't even wear hats, but I can probably give it to my dad or something.
- After a haircut and groceries, it was time for Burkhardt and I to go in search of beer for the Ars Meet. The desired keg of Blue Moon was nowhere to be found, so we ended up getting four cases of Blue Moon at a liquor store on 86th St. It cost me an arm and a leg, but as usual the folks at the meet took care of me and I only ended up spending about $40 out-of-pocket for the beer.
- That night we drove up to Noblesville for the meet. We had a really good time, even though Jess wasn't feeling well and had to leave around midnight. I stayed until about 2:15PM and had a killer evening. Good food, good drink, excellent conversation. Since Jessi's digital camera is a bit long in the tooth and there were going to be far more proficient digital photographers at the meet, we didn't take any pictures. If you want to see a few, though, they can be found on the last page of the thread in the Lounge. Good times.
- Sunday:
- We did a lot of hanging around on Sunday, playing a lot of CoD and watching a movie or two.
- Sunday night, we had a free steak dinner thanks to a mistake Longhorn made on our last visit there. Bonus.
- Monday:
- We woke up late and went to Henwen's sister's place for more grilling and fun. I got to see my best friend Kevin, who I haven't had a chance to hang out with in months. It was a lot of fun.
- Last night, we basically rested from the weekend. We had a light dinner of fruit and cheese, watched a dog show on television and went to bed early.
Yeah, so that was my weekend. I had a good time and I'll be the first to admit that I'm not very thrilled about being back at work today. The Great Republican Purge is still in effect. Our new "dress code" goes into effect on August 1st, upon which the simple silver earring that I've worn in my left ear for ten years will be officially verboten. Nevermind that women can wear all the earrings that they want and never mind the fact that our agency, being a government entity, has very strict policies regarding equal treatment of the sexes. They're going to make a big deal out of my silly little earring, something I thought I could stop worrying about after I gave up flipping burgers when I was 18. I'll be filing a merit complaint with State Personnel, not because I'm all that worked up about my tiny earring, but because at some point we have to stop rolling over for these goons. My merit complaint isn't going to change everything, but I just don't feel like I can give up without a fight. They're already making me buy a new wardrobe.
Jerks.
I've also been informed by an anonymous source that our supervisor has some rather unpleasant plans for our group. The fact that we're being forced by the Indiana Office of Technology to migrate all of our Netware servers to Microsoft in the near future is not news. We heard it was coming. We're also not surprised to find out that our own futures here are in question. We knew this was coming as well. However, we didn't know that there was an active plan to bring in contractors to do this migration, leaving those of us without Microsoft-heavy resumes (because, you know...there's no way I could learn any of that stuff) to support only our legacy servers until such time as they can just cut us loose.
Jerks.
So, outside of work there's something else that's been bothering me this weekend. Being Independence Day, it's a weird time for those of us who are less than pleased with the current state of the nation. Somewhere along the way, we got it into our heads that July 4th is the day that we celebrate our country itself. Some people have recognized this and instead choose to celebrate what our country once was, in an almost mournful fashion. Instead, I propose that we use July 4th to celebrate the idea of America. Rather than mourning a free nation that may or may not have existed, let's celebrate the thoughts that those men put onto paper. Let's celebrate the America of our dreams, where all men truly are equal and our government fears and respects the people who give it power, not the other way around. Let's celebrate an America where religion is respected and virtue upheld, but not at the expense of the separation between the government and the churches that our founders thought was so crucial. Let's celebrate an America where we lead as an example of individual liberty and responsibility, not a nation that is reviled by the world for our callousness and gluttony.
As long as those of us who have not bought into the lie that is the America of today keep those principles in our hearts and don't forget them, there's hope that one day that America of our dreams might be a reality. Our parents had an America of their dreams, and they sold it for luxury cars and houses in subdivisions. They had a dream of an America based in love, and they sold it for the stock market and a minivan.
I have a dream of an America based in liberty and self determination. I will not sell it for anything, and I encourage you all to do the same.
-Sam
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