Observations from the Days Passed

Man on Weight Machine [to his lifting buddies]: I only hire attractive women — I mean, I make sure they have a personality, too... but ugly chicks are bad for business.

His friends nod and grunt, a telltale sign of agreement.

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On the Road
So I was out of town all last week, seeing 3000 miles worth of sights in 6 days before marking my return to the Midwest with a solitary flight. I will have pictures, and postings, as soon as I have time to sort through the mess of images from the road-trip portion.

Until then: suffice it to say the Tetons are lovely, and I was sad to return.

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On the Road... Again
Upon my late Friday return, I promptly drove an additional 320 miles (round-trip) to visit family for the weekend. I managed this while also manning phone calls from my boss, asking for me to put together five intensive pieces of writing by Monday morning for an important meeting. I agreed to try my best, without expecting reward, but was then told I'd be getting two days of comp time for my off-the-clock efforts.

I was thrilled by the notion, as that meant I'd regain two vacation days for other upcoming travels.

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Back to Work
The following morning — Monday — I was so amazingly exhausted that when I rose from bed for work, I was immediately daydreaming about returning home that afternoon and going promptly to sleep.

But the cosmos had other plans, and a man in an SUV entered my lane without checking to see whether or not it was occupied. He sideswiped my driver's side and forced my passenger side over a curb.

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The Positive
Damage is minor, and almost entirely cosmetic. Injuries are limited to a slightly jammed left index finger, which I'm not fussing over. The man immediately accepted blame, kindly apologized, and has made it clear he'll pay for any and all repairs. In other words: he's a decent fellow, which should make the whole process easier.

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The Negative
I've already used some of my comp time to have my car checked out for mechanical problems, and may have to take another full day to have the paint job done and the alignment checked.

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Parents
I've been informed that my parents and nephew (the subject of this particular piece) will not be able to make it to the photography exhibit before it ends this Friday. I otherwise would have been entertaining guests today and had previously rather looked forward to seeing my nephew's response to seeing his image on a gallery wall.

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Klutziness
Part One
In the past 24 hours, I fell while walking up the stairs at work, which wouldn't have phased me were it not for the co-worker walking down the stairs who witnessed the incident and asked profusely whether or not I was all right.

Part Two
Later at the gym when I went to engage my lock, my finger was sliced open by an imperfection in the locker's metal. I accept blame for the stair incident; the locker, however, was just pure, dumb luck. When I informed the gym of the incident, they taped off the locker for repairs.

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The Lesson
God hates me.