THE LAST FIVE ...

Closing up shop
- Wednesday, Aug. 02, 2006

It may be time for a change
- Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Entry in the air
- Friday, April 21, 2006

Still here
- Thursday, April 20, 2006

Music of the moment
- Wednesday, March 1, 2006

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101 in 1001
American Road Trip, 1998


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Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2002 - 3:46 p.m.

Pain in the neck

Literally.

I have the worst pain in my neck. I was drying my hair with my towel after my shower this morning and I think at one point I turned my head quickly -- jerked it for some reason or another. I felt the twinge immediately, but I also felt a more sustained tightness. It's just pissing me off, is all.

I got a corkboard today! That's big because the five of us who sit facing the wall have little to look at other than a dirty, dimly lit off-white wall. Putting up a calendar and a mounted 6-by-9 photo of Julie Bowen (no, not a photo of a mounted Julie Bowen) did not do much to dress up the place. So Dylan and I were given corkboards and, shortly after that, Casey brought me an extra copy of last week's Sports Illustrated with Notre Dame on the cover. Just moments ago, the cover became the first item on my corkboard.

But that did not come without a somewhat difficult task. I walked upstairs with Alyssa, who sits to my left, to the supply room. With this company, the only way you can get supplies (staples, folders, notebooks, etc.) is from 2-4 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. And you have to do it by filling out the supply forms to boot. So between the designated hours, you head upstairs to the mail room for your supplies.

The mail room is staffed by three men, from what I've seen. On my first trip up there, some old guy just sat playing around on the computer the whole time while I waited for my supplies. Then there's the big, gregarious guy who's always making jokes. And there's Joe Jr. I don't know his name but I call him Joe Jr. because he reminds me of the character from While You Were Sleeping who tells Sandra Bullock's Lucy "I like black unduweahs!" Our Joe Jr. wears two black leather wristbands (one of which is a watch) and tight black Jethro Tull t-shirts. His hair, though not greased, is combed back and curls a little at the bottom at the back of his neck, falling just short of a mullet.

So Alyssa and I walked upstairs and, since I only needed one box of push pins for my new corkboard, she just wrote it on her form. She put down for three because Dylan needed some too. Joe Jr. gives us two at first, but later checks to see if he has another case, which he does, so we get the three we need. On the way down, Alyssa and I couldn't understand why it mattered whether or not he had another case -- we were there first! Screw those lazy-asses who need push pins and didn't make an effort to get them!

It's October 1, but my watch says "31." There. Fixed it.

I put down for half a day off on Friday so I can go to Boston for the Springsteen concert, but I'm not sure what to consider "half." At the latest, I need to be on the road by 2 p.m. So do I leave at 1 and eat lunch first? Do I eat here and leave at 1 or 1:30? Should I bolt at noon? Well, maybe that's a little early. I think I'll aim for the 12:30-1:30 departure, perhaps even coming in closer to 9 a.m. rather than 9:30.

No way! There's a sliding platform attached to the underside of my keyboard tray on my desk. It's for my mouse, and I can slide it out either to the right or left. Until now, I'd just kept my mouse on my desk, with the keyboard on the tray. Cool.

Barenaked Ladies are going to be on The West Wing tomorrow night. That seems weird, but if anyone can do it, it's Aaron Sorkin. And some other chick is on too.

The baseball playoffs start tonight, and I'm happy. Not because the Mets finished in last place and fired Bobby Valentine today, but because I don't work for the newspaper anymore, I don't have to sit there each night and watch the Yankees, and I don't have to root for them to lose because (1) of said Yankees fans, many of whom are annoying; and (2) I won't have to work on a special commemorative World Series-winning section if they win. But I'll be rooting for them to lose anyway, just because they've had enough. And I've had enough of them. My intellectual pick: Athletics over Diamondbacks. My sentimental pick: Cardinals over Athletics. I'll root for the Angels, but I don't know if they can beat the Yankees. I have no problem with the Twins, but I know they can't beat the Yankees, let alone the A's. I think the Giants may have a chance to beat the Braves in the first round, but Atlanta can easily stumble against either the Cardinals or Diamondbacks, who are the two teams I like most and wish weren't playing in the first round. But that's the way it is.

My neck still hurts and the bowl of candy corn I put out on my desk isn't enough to take the pain away.

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