Life

Normally, I'd had things broken up by week, but since the beginning of August, I haven't had much time to think, much less to blog. So what else is new? Silly question, but here goes.

Work, for one, is new. I remember back in the day when I began at my current company. It seemed like there weren't enough hours in the day to handle my small workload. Now, I handle data on two of the biggest competitors in the telecom industry. Their data is top priority for me every day. No matter what happens, it is all high priority. Why? Because these two competitors are just that important. Our clients want to see their data accurate to the day, which means that if one of them changes everything, I've got my work cut out for me for the day. The problem with this is that I am not the most efficient worker known to exist. When I start experimenting with efficiency, I start taking short cuts. Short cuts are not efficient in my work -- they will only cause more problems later on, leading to a greater inefficiency.

It sounds fairly stressful, and at times, it is. This past few months have been one big fight to stay on top of things. Of these two high-priority competitors that I manage, I have owned the data for one in the past, and I've owned the data for the other since I began at the company. Thus, when I had to take on the one that I used to own, the learning curve was much less steep than it could have been.

In any case, outside of work, I've been busy with my workout routine -- well, that is, until I got home to Texas. After that, it fell apart. I work so much during the day that it's hard to take 30 minutes to go jogging. The most exercise I get is throwing my nephew and niece around every so often. No, not literally "throwing", but lifting them in the air to do things like walk on ceilings. Oh, I did push ups with each of them on my back, too.

I've also been busy with weddings. Ryan and Maria O. got married several weeks ago, as did Pat and Niki a couple weekends ago. Alex and Ashley are about to get married, and after them, Corey and Maria, and then MikeE and Carissa. I always have a lot of fun at people's weddings, whether I'm DJ'ing or not.

So, yeah, speaking of Texas, I'm there now, and it's more than half-way through my stay. I've been so busy with work and trying to visit people that I haven't had a chance to work on this blog yet either. For your entertainment value, though, here is a picture of three little buggers whom some of you are probably interested in seeing...

The weather is actually fairly nice here. I went up to visit Emma and her family last week, and this week, I saw Kelly. I fly out on Tuesday of next week, and I still haven't seen Jenny yet, so we'll see what happens there. I hope to be able to get a picture of everyone before leaving, but I don't think that will happen, either. I need to be more proactive in this little matter of taking pictures...

This is Mary Claire. She's cutting her teeth on religion. It's usually a choice between these or my medal around my neck if I'm holding her. She's just too cute. Seriously. I just look at her and say, "Hey, little girl! Why are you crying?" and all tears disappear and she is bright and sunshiny. If I ever have kids, I hope that they are like her when they are babies. She is so happy. The only reason she is looking less than thrilled in the camera is that chewing on a Rosary is hard work. If you have Facebook, I'll be posting more pictures there soon enough. Just keep your pants on. Unless you don't wear pants, in which case, keep your kilt on. Unless you don't wear a kilt, in which case, keep your skirt on. Unless you don't wear a skirt, in which case, keep your clothes on. Unless you don't wear clothes, in which case, I'll need either A) the name and number of your doctor to let him (or her) know that you're in need of mental care, or B) your exact address and what times of day you prefer to be in the buff so that I know to never come around then...