After tonight I only have 8 working days of the graveyard gig left before we rotate it to some other lucky bastard (yes… they decided to rotate the shift to each member of the team, since we can’t hire anyone this year).

This is not going to break my heart in any way, shape or form.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s kinda nice at night. I have very few interuptions leaving the way clear to figure out the whole coldfusion thing (I’ve been put in charge of developing a few applications in coldfusion to make life easier for the group), but it’s impacting my life in a fairly hardcore manner. I work, sleep, get up and eat dinner, sleep again, then go to work.

<CFIF Graveyard IS “1”>
       <CFSET life = 0>
   <CFELSE>
       <CFSET life = 1>
</CFIT>
<CFOUTPUT>Currently, your life mode is set to: #life#. This means: </CFOUTPUT>
<CFIF life IS “1”>
       <CFOUTPUT> You have a life </CFOUTPUT>
   <CFELSE>
       CFOUTPUT> You have no life </CFOUTPUT>
</CFIT>

Well… in theory that should work.

In other news… I think I’ve totally tosed my back again. The pain in my leg is returning and I’m having problems just tying my shoes. Oh rapture! Watch me jump up and down in joy as I think about doing the whole surgery shuffle one more time (or not… as that may fucker it up even more).

Well, my weekend is officially over.

It wasn’t too bad either!

On Friday, we caught a cruise on lake Coeur d’Alene on board the Osprey (which looks pretty much like the pictures below)

EDIT: Images have been removed from the website I was hotlinking to. 🙂

Of course, it was smoky as hell because of all the fires in Montana.

On Saturday, the seeSTORE and her man-toy showed up to eat dinner and do their laundry (can you say “abused”?). Of course, this just gave us an excuse to have a couple of beers and… being the wild and crazy people we are… play Rummoli (if you don’t know what that is… you’re defiantly not Canadian).

Today was all about digging a trench in my front yard. I just watched as my wife, kids, and neighbors removed a section of dirt 2′ wide, 9″ deep, and 20 feet long (not only do I have a fuckered up back… I’m a lazy bastard too!). They then put in the form for pouring concrete into (it’s going to be the footer of a retaining wall in the front yard). After all that good fun lovin’ was finished, we went up to my Grandmother’s for a wild if not somewhat dysfunctional family gathering.

On the way home, police had blocked off Market Street. Apparently someone had gotten squished by a car.

Oh hell yeah… I lead the rock star life!

In unrelated news: Mox rocks my sox (and she gave me a plug, so I’m returning the favor).

Link of the day: nope.

Sleeping today was kind of a bitch because of the activity in the neighborhood.

Around 3:30 a 40 acre fire broke out on Beacon Hill, which is about a block from my house. Planes and helicopters were flying directly above my place in a desperate attempt to dump water and retardant on the blaze before it got totally out of hand. There were a few evacuations and they closed off most of the roads leading into my neighborhood, but it seems like they got it under control for the most part by the time I left for work.

Of course, this isn’t the first time we’ve had fires up there. Last summer there was a whole rash of them… all started by kids with lighters (I was stupid enough to walk up and take pictures of one of those events).

Being alone tends to make you notice things that you may not have seen before.

Tonight I’ve been entertaining myself by walking past the vending machines in the hallway by the cafeteria.

All the vending machines are hooked up to motion sensors. To save power, the display lights shut themselves off after a period of time and the machines go into low power mode. When you walk by, the sensor detects your presence, all the lights flick on, the bill readers make a “whirring” noise, and theres a couple thumps and bumps.

It’s as if they’re saying “Hello Human. Look at my wares… aren’t they temping? Buy some now!”

Perhaps I shouldn’t be left alone like this.

In other news: the blaster worm is flying around the net. Do us both a favor and download the patch for your pc (leaving one less computer to get hosed by it).

Link of the day: Lady Yevette’s Sexy Long Toenails. Um… k.

This new shift is boring.

No social interaction, no stimulus, nothing. Just dark and empty hallways.

Sigh…

So, I wrote a haiku:

Sitting in the dark
Alone with my own stupid thoughts
Graveyard shift sucks ass

A couple of graveyard observations, if I may.

Nissin “Cup Noodles” actually taste like “Cup Crap”, and the machine that vends “Freshly Brewed Coffee” actually despenses “Freshly Brewed Yuk”.

In unrelated news, I’ve resigned my commission in the clan my son had talked me into joining. It seems that they’re not forming a Battlefield1942 branch after all. Perhaps I can still get in with the folks over at spoklan.net (Home of the BF 1942 Kamikaze Jeep Patrol ™ and Flying Circus).

<rant>

Not that I’ll be able to join in the fun… BECAUSE I WORK FRIGGIN’ GRAVEYARD.

</rant>