I don't think that I've ever been this bothered by someone leaving the company but here I am, near tears at the thought of life without my boss' boss, our faithful and compassionate leader.

In case I haven't mentioned it, NetFlix.com is the best place to rent DVD's.

Things that suck. I suppose working at a startup means that you're always worried that you'll run out of money, but damn. The kid who started the Den was a little punk, buying a Ferrari when they got funded. What do you expect? Although the guy who founded my last company bought himself a Chrysler sedan and they're still failing.

I just had to rent the movie Beavers: IMAX.

Something is seriously wrong with the world....Ebay Is Temporarily Unavailable.

Woo hoo!!! Our ReplayTV just came. I can't wait to get home and start playing with it.

Now I remember why I have no desire to go back to school. When you're in college, life is very self contained (you may argue that it's not, but to me, it is and it was), everything you need is on campus, they even make it hard for you to get away from campus. In class, you spend your time thinking analytically about things that may once have reflected real life, but are now so analyzed that they resemble nothing of the actual event.

I couldn't handle going through that again, even if the resulting Master's degree did possibly enhance my earnings potential. Yes, I'm glad I went to college, not just one but three of them (what can I say? I bore easily), and managed to fenagle a degree in the allotted 4 years, but I knew then, when we were reading some post-modern play in a lit class at Ohio State and I asked 'but how does this concept connect to reality?' not to be cynical, but because I couldn't figure it out, and the professor blew me off because he didn't know.

I just like the real world. I like knowing the exact value of the things I'm doing and not being forced to look further into them than the creator intended. I'm sure that the skills I gained in college enable me to see things more clearly, but that doesn't mean I want to revisit that suspended reality again.

But I do miss all those afternoon naps and the never-ending doobies I found at U of O.

You may be wondering what's going on, why I've posted so little this week. First I was sick, then I was blindsided yesterday by the resignation of my boss' boss, a woman I respect more than mere words can show. Knowing that this crazy market puts underqualified people in charge, working for her was amazing. Years of actual experience and a strong sense of compassion showed in everything she did. I wish her well, but I'm so bummed that she's leaving

I just learned that what seems to be the instinctive reaction to falling, putting your arms out in front of you, is actually learned.

Welcome to day 6 of my illness. Once again, I'm home from work. I was fine, I swear, until I went downstairs then I sat down and couldn't seem to get up again. So there will be no posting today, kids.

Huh? Spanish Internet provider to pay $12.5 billion for U.S.-based portal, Lycos.

Who Moved My Cheese? is a fantastic book title. Not that I want to read the book.

My uncle and I aren't particularly close, but since he dedicated his upcoming book, The Corporate Communications Bible to my mom, I'm swept with a momentary pride. Mostly in my mom, who is the most selfless person I've ever known but I'm thrilled that Bob recognizes that selflessness in such a public way.

That's it, I'm quitting my great job to become a Sexual Astrologer.

While perusing my referrer logs, I noticed that my site came up on a search of the word mullet. That was the LAST thing I had intended, hence the new name and a new cautionary note: be careful what you call yourself, it's all fodder for search engines.

In response, or rather, inspired by brig's tale of growing with out or out of a small startup...

For me, 50 people in a company is just right. Not so big that you don't know everyone, not so small that it's like a family. My most recent employer had 14 people when I joined, that was too small. Maybe if they had been the right 14 people, or led by the right 1 or 2 people, it would have been better. I don't know. All I know is that the marketing people across the hall may as well have been in Siberia, the way my boss (allegedy a marketer) talked about them and acted towards them and I'm sure they talked about us. Which led to a more marked separation, much more than what I thought was the natural engineering/marketing separation.

I think I like my current job so much because we really don't have any marketing people here yet. So nobody is making promises that we can't fulfil and nobody's bitching that marketing doesn't 'get it.' Because they're not here. Of course that also slows down the revenue stream, but at least there's no in-fighting.

Medicare is a huge fucking ripoff. Well, not Medicare itself, but the people who make a living off of it. And they get away with it because if you say anything to Medicare, they could decide not to cover your expenses and there you are, stuck with a huge bill that you can't afford.

How do I know this? My grandmother, the light of my life, has been in a hospital, then a nursing home for the last 6 months. She was rushed to the hospital recently, but not in an ambulance, in a private van, who charged 6 times what her regular transport guy charges. People like that are the reason there won't be shit left for me when I'm her age.

Anyone looking for a new pair of cute basset hounds? Bonnie and Clyde are between 4 and 6. Bonnie is blind, Clyde is her seeing-eye dog.

For all who were wondering, I went home sick yesterday. I think it helped but I still feel like walking death.

It seems that the Pho Hoa (you gotta love a website that's copyright 1995) near my house always has some entertainment value, beyond the service being fast but rude. Last night, this guy was describing with great fervor, the process he goes through with vendors at work. "They give us THREE COPIES of the receipt," he exlaimed "but nobody knows what to do with the third one! So they end up on MY DESK!" he cried with great relish.

This brilliant man bought "black plastic trays" then put the third copy in them, effectively cleaning off his desk. All of this was described in great detail and with such a commanding delivery that I was riveted.

His followup? Buying a shirt at Mervyn's. "I can use it to workout, or whatever!!"

Life is *so* better than fiction.

I'm sure you have been dying for a recap of my weekend visit to the happiest place on earth. The best word I can think of is: sick. Appendages to that word would be: runny nose, sore throat and the exitement of falling asleep as soon as I sat down on the rides.

Other than that, it was great.

Back from an exciting weekend in Anaheim. Sort of. Amusement parks when you are sick are not as fun as they ought to be, and let me assure you that log flumes late at night when you're sick and sitting in front are also a bad idea. But we made the most of it and had a pretty good time.