*sigh*

It’s been over a year since my dear friend Bobbi passed away. She was like family to me, and even now I still regret not going to see her when I had the chance.

I was thinking of her earlier, and I said to myself “Damn Bobbi, I’m sorry. I wish you could see Jessie now … she’s beautiful and she would have loved you as much as I do.”

Well, maybe I jinxed things by posting about them …

Both UAB and Alabama lost their games, so they’re out. However, I did have a great weekend despite the men’s basketball woes.

Saturday: Jessie and I spent the day together shopping, playing, and just hanging out. I think Jim needed the “away time” and I wanted to take her out to fly kites … she’d never done that before, and I remember it being pretty fun. Needless to say, we didn’t really have enough wind for the kite to take off on its own, so it kept falling but we had a good time anyways.

Sunday: Jim, Jessie, and I went to see my parents. Saturday was Dad’s birthday and today is my brother, Jeremy’s. The day couldn’t have gone more perfectly. We were a little late getting there, but as soon as we did my parents both fell in love with Jessie. And I think she found a new playmate in my brother.

I hadn’t seen Jeremy act like he did since we were kids. I mean, think about it … this young man will be graduating law school after next month, and is already making plans for his political career … but for a brief couple of hours yesterday, he was 6 years old again. He was rolling and playing in the grass with Jessie, chasing her around the yard, playing football with her … it was beautiful. I wish I had taken my camera!!!!!

My mom and my dad doted on Jessie. Dad and Jim talked sports. My dad showed Jessie and Jim old (embarassing) pictures of me, LOL. It was great.

Yesterday will definitely be one of my fondest memories.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again …

ROLL TIDE!!!!
Bama’s moving on up from the Sweet 16 to the even sweeter Elite 8. w00t!

“Earnest Shelton scored 22 points to help Alabama move into unchartered territory with an 80-71 win over defending national champion Syracuse.”

Oh my how the days fly by!

I looked at my calendar and suddenly it’s March 23rd! I had been meaning to post sooner, but Life got in the way … you know how it is …

I had thought my video card was crapping out on me, it turned out to be my monitor. I’m partly relieved, but partly upset because this thing was only a few months out of warranty! Oh well, this gives me the excuse I needed to start saving up for an LCD … which is what I’ve been wanting for a while anyways!

I’m looking at replacing my case in the new few weeks. I finally ran across an aluminum/window case that I actually like! It’ll look great with all my green lights and fans.

Work has been mega busy … but I’m starting to think that maybe I need to find another job. There have been several legal-related issues that are bothering me lately. One of which is their refusal to pay me proper OT pay for my time spent working from home at night and on the weekends. Their current stance is that any time over 40 hours earned on company property is considered Over Time, but otherwise I’d get regular pay.

I know this is against the law, and that I have rights … BUT I also get to leave early on Fridays a lot. The last time I brought this up, it was suggested that I started staying late on Fridays.

Anyways, the amount I’m not getting paid isn’t really enough to bitch about, but lately it’s been several things hitting me all at once. Without going into too much detail, let me just say that there have been practices I’ve observed there that make me question their business ethics. Call me what you will, but I don’t like working for “questionable” businesses.

It seems the more I get to know the business owners, the less I like them. Oh well, it’s a job, and I have bills and a family … and a case to buy. (heh)

On a lighter note, I’ve found a new addiction … Neopets. Go ahead, laugh … it’s ok. A friend of mine finally talked me into signing up. I did it thinking I could sign up, and give the account to Jessie because it looks like something for kiddies. I have to admit I’m a bit impressed. Their whole site and system integrated … even their little flash games interact with the site. Someone obviously put a lot of hard work into this thing.

And my pet is so cute.

This is Naiasys, my pet Eyrie. He’s basically a griffin. I feed, house, play with, shop for, groom, and train him.

I’m a sucker for “cute” … (shut up, Matt! ;P) … I felt pretty proud of myself on the name. I wanted something that sounded Egyptian, so I threw together a few syllables: N’eye-uh-sis.

Anyways, other news: both the UAB and UA men’s basketball teams made it to Sweet 16, so I’m thrilled!

ROLL TIDE!!!!!! (and go blazers! )

OMG, you’re gray!?!? Thanks, I hadn’t noticed …

I recently saw an old friend, someone from school that I hadn’t seen in years. The first words out of her mouth were “Oh my God, your hair! Is that gray?” I think to myself, “Thank you, as if I hadn’t noticed it myself.” *laughs*

I found my first gray hair at 16. My hair color in school was usually a light auburn — I spent a lot of time playing sports and being outside around my parents pool during the summer. After college, I landed a job with a company as a programmer. This position allowed me the luxury of being eccentric, so I dyed my hair all kinds of colors. However, the last 2 jobs I’ve held do not allow for that sort of thing, and I’ve had to keep a mostly “normal” appearance — so I dye my hair a color pretty close to what it was growing up: an auburn red or reddish brown. BUT, as all dyes will, it grows out within weeks — especially on my hair. My hair and nails have always grown quickly.

Now, my gray had never bothered me until recent years … but thinking back, I often switched hair colors on a whim, so I probably never really saw it until the last couple of years or so. And I’m not sure why it bothers me that I have gray hair. I look at it and think “This makes me old!”

It could also have something to do with the fact that I’ll be 29 this year. One more year until the “Big Three-Oh.” This is my last year of “Twenty-Something.” Maybe that’s what I’ve been lamenting — I dunno … Yeah, I know what some of you are thinking already “Big deal, you’re still young” … and I will most likely say the same to someone else when they are on the 3-0 approach.

I remember looking back at 25 thinking to myself, “Wow … 25 years. That’s a quarter of a century, but I don’t feel that old.”

It’s funny what a difference of 5 years can make.