Diary of a Network Geek

What a way to spend the weekend!

My wife and I shopped all weekend long. Saturday, we were at Target, which we pronounce Tahr-jay, like the French. We both had gift certificates from our respective birthdays and the whole family needed clothes. I was quite pleasantly suprised at their selection. Not only did I get the socks I needed, but I found two pair of really nice, affordable dress pants. I was shocked!
My wife got a bunch of clothes there and at Academy Sports, too. But, we never were able to find any school uniforms for our daughter. Too late in the season, I guess. We’ll just have to tell her to stop growing!

Sunday, we dropped off our daughter at her biological father’s and slipped off to Niko Niko’s, our favorite Greek sandwich shop, for lunch. After that, it was an expensive little stop at Half-Price Books. We hit the mother lode there. We got two huge tattoo books, several art books, a couple of books on type and typography, and even some fiction by William S. Burroughs. And all at half-price, or better!
Then, it was off to Texas Art Supply. We did even better there. Not only did I find more books on type, but my wife found a great acrylics set that was at half-price! Though, we didn’t know that until we’d checked out. What a great suprise!
Finally, we were off to British Isles to get my frou-frou aftershave. Well, they were out, but, not only did they promise to call me when it came in, but they gave me the tester for FREE! Of course, we then felt guilty and had to buy some stuff, but I think that might have factored into their decision a little. In any case, I can’t say enough about the wonderful folks who own and run this store.

Whew! I’m so tired I need to get to work and rest!

Well, I just got back from getting my hair cut and my wife told me that the MySQL server on which The Diary of a Network Geek, The BLOG Version depends is back up. So, finally, I’ll be able to make an entry that I should have made Friday.

I got the job.

I got the call very late on Friday from my headhunter telling me that they’d made the decision in my favor. It was welcome news and made my weekend a whole lot more fun. Well, fun except for when I had to shave my beard.
I don’t like not having a beard, but it’s not as bad as I thought it would be. I don’t look like I’m 12, but I do look a lot different. My wife must be getting used to it to because she’s stopped crying. Actually, as I took the beard down to nought in stages, she commented that she thought I looked “cute” with a goatee. And, I have to admit, I didn’t look bad that way. I’ve always secretly wondered what I’d look like with a goatee, but practicality won out over curiosity. A full beard is a lot less work.
In any case, it’s gone now and my pink, shining face is exposed to the world. I made my wife take pictures at each stage of the reduction, so eventually, I’ll get that done into an animated GIF or a Flash “thingee”, or something. I had to do something to make if fun or I would have started crying myself!
Sunday, we went to a store in Rice Village called “The British Isles” which carries products from, you guessed it, the British Isles. I picked up some great after-shave by a company called Geo F. Trumper. I figured, if I have to shave every day, by God, I’m going to get my favorite after-shave to pamper myself!! And, my wife is a bit of a Scot-o-phile (is that a word?), so she can get her fix there, too. She also used to be involved with a Canadian who corrupted her with the evils of English candy, including Smartees, which, to me, are really just big M&M’s. But, it makes her happy.

So, now, I’m just waiting for the headhunter to get the details wrapped up on the contract end of things. After they do, I’ll schedule a time to head into their office to get things signed and take the drug test. Then, I’ll start the new job on Thursday, barring any tragic accidents. So, you can bet there will be updates by the end of the week. It’s going to be strange going into an office and working after a year of looking for a job.

Oh, and the title of this entry? Headhunter, think headhunters. More about them in another entry.