I can't be the only one who constantly finds that most other jobs seem more interesting than mine. It doesn't help that I'm going through a frustrating time at work where we're understaffed as we're expanding, so I get to deal with a ton of customers who aren't that happy with us because we're pushing back deadlines.

And I generally like my job. I'm paid very well relative to how hard I have to work, the company treats me like a person, and I like my coworkers.

But there are so many other jobs that sound cooler. For example, I've recently rolled over an old 401K into a new IRA, which means I can do a little playing in the market. So I've been reading market articles here and there, and I read about a "planned coup" at Lehman Brothers, and a lowball offer for a competitor by Precision Drilling Trust. These things sound exciting! And then you have the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac disaster, and the general unrest in the financial industry, plus releasing earnings statements . . .

All I have here are annual budget submissions. It pales in comparison.

Don't get me wrong, I don't want to be a day trader or a fund manager or anything like that. That sounds distinctly like work. What I'd really like is for someone to pay me for offering uninformed insight on the market. That would be pretty cool.

It will be six weeks on Wednesday since I had my foot surgery, and today I wore two shoes to work.

For many of you, that may not seem like a big deal. You probably wear two shoes to work every day. But try only wearing one for a while. Better yet, try only wearing one because your foot is so swollen that it won't fit into the shoe. Then you'll see.

So the foot is a little uncomfortable in the shoe, but not terrible. And I brought the boot, just in case. But I'm hoping to make it through the day with my shoe on.

The wife was sitting on the couch just now, so I thought it would be a good time to go have a little chat with our unborn child. I had been reading to it now and then. It is said that a story that the baby hears over and over before it's born will have a calming effect on the baby once it comes out.

But I've been slacking a little in my reading. So I offered to read the baby a story tonight. I offered again, asking it to move if it wanted a story.

It kicked me in the nose! The baby clearly wants a story tonight. And a story it shall get!

Originally uploaded by thetejon
Photo by Terp and Associates

August 19th, 2006 seems like a very long time ago, and also no time ago at all.

Here's to many, many more happy years of marriage.

My baby brother is leaving today for law school on the other side of the country.

It's a pretty mixed feeling for me. On one hand, I'm obviously happy and excited for him. Law school is a great opportunity, and it should be a great experience, and I'm glad he's figuring out what he wants to do with his life.

On the other hand, I'd kind of gotten used to him being close by, playing on the flag football team, and all that. Plus, he'll be in Arizona when his first niece or nephew is born next month.

Luckily, I'll be at happy hour when his plane leaves today, so I can have a drink for him. I think he'll appreciate that.

So how's this for a great Friday evening:

I'm sitting on the couch. To my left, the windows are open because it's a gorgeous spring evening. Right next to me on the couch, the wife is napping, waiting for the Celtics game.

I have a kitchen full of beer and wine left over from my birthday party last week. We have the ingredients ready for dinner, pasta with tomatoes and asparagus, plus some cauliflower poppers.

In front of me is my brand new work computer, on which I've just installed Launchy, which everyone should install on their Windows machine. It's similar to Gnome-Do for Linux and Quicksilver for Mac - I've been using Gnome-Do for a while and I love it, and wanted something like it for my Windows work machine.

And speaking of Linux, my personal laptop is currently downloading and upgrading to the latest version of Ubuntu, Hardy Heron.

So, I have sports, food and drink, computer geekishness, and my fabulous wife. I have no idea what more I could possibly want.

So I'm back at work after my birthday trip to Paris. There are a ton of pictures here. I haven't finished uploading them as of right now, but there are about 200 posted, so that should keep you busy.

And speaking of busy, I've been very busy lately, which is why I haven't been posting anything. I know it's the fifth law of the internet or something that anyone who runs a blog non-professionally must periodically go through a slow phase and not post, then apologize and say they were busy. The good blogs don't do this very often.

Anyway, hopefully things are slowing down a little and I can get back to complaining about things. There are certainly things to complain about.

This is posted in category "work", but it really should be posted in "the utter lack of anything resembling work", because I am totally free this week. Friday was my last day at my old job, and I don't start the new one until a week from today.

So here I am, wide awake at 7:53AM. Some vacation, you say.

Well, it is. I'm up now by choice. First, I rarely sleep in anymore, so if I lay in bed until what most would consider a reasonable hour, it would throw off my whole day. Second, I have things to do. I have a novel burning a hole in my head that needs to come out. I've planned this one more than anything else I've ever written (Although still way less than anyone who writes for a living would have), and I want to get started. Novel Writing Month isn't getting me any closer to having a novel fit for sending off in search of a publisher, so I'm trying a different technique.

So I'm going to start writing as soon as wife gets off to work and out of my hair.

Then, later, I have to take the cat to the vet. Then we're going to check out some day care centers this afternoon, and we have tickets to the Nationals game tonight (Assuming it's actually done raining).

Anyway, big day. And I see my coffee is finished brewing, and the wife is heading out the door, so I'm going to get started on my vacation. Sorry to all of you who have to work today.

There is no question that my wife is awesome. You may think I'm biased, but I assure you that my bias pales in comparison to her awesomeness.

Reason #1 that my wife is awesome: She refuses to rest on her laurels. The reasons she is great right now are not necessarily the same as the reasons she was great last year, or will be great next year. For example, earlier in our relationship, she had the opportunity to meet a bunch of my friends from way back all at once. They can be a little intimidating - it's a big group of people who have known each other a long time, and they're full of inside jokes and whatnot. Anyway, instead of being intimidated, she jumped right in and made friends. But that's not on the list now.

Reason #2 that my wife is awesome: She's taking me to Paris for my 30th birthday. She just told me today (Through a little treasure hunt). I can't wait. She's wanted to take me for a while. She lived in France for a year or so and speaks fluent French. I've never been to France, and can say, "I don't speak French" in French. But I'm very excited. We're renting a little efficiency for six nights in late April. It's right in the middle of everything, and we're going to see the Rodin museum and the Champs Elysees and we'll eat baguettes and cheese.

Reason #3 that my wife is awesome: She's pregnant. Yup, about fifteen weeks in. This is our first, and I'm more excited than I'm even going to get close to expressing. I got to see an ultrasound two weeks ago, and just watching my little son or daughter hopping around in there was surreal.

Anyway, more to come, but I think I'm going to get off the computer and go hang out with my awesome wife.

A summary of the race is up at Washington Running Report. The two high school kids who ran in shorts and no shirts passed me about a mile in - I was pretty sure they were insane then, and I remain convinced of it now.

The results have been updated - 41:07 was my clock time, but 40:38 was my actual chip time. That is, from the time they said, "Go" until the time I crossed the finish was 41:07. But the from the time I crossed the starting line until the time I crossed the finish was 40:38.

Crap. Now I have to run another one and get under 40 minutes.