Life in a nutshell

... So my buddy Brian told this story today that was so good I just had to share it ...

... He was on his way to work one day last week and waiting at busy intersection for a green left turn arrow. As the crossing traffic light turned red, he saw a semi approaching the intersection with no signs of slowing down. Obviously, Brian decided he would wait to go after the semi had passed...

... but then he noticed a sports car tailing the semi close behind. And as the sports car approaches the intersection, the driver, with his window rolled down, sticks his head and hand out the window and yells in Brian's direction 'Don't go! I'm coming through!'

... By the time Brian could make his turn, he'd had a green arrow for several seconds.

* * *
The key/lock remote for my little green machine has stopped working ...

I realized this a couple days ago as I, like every morning, opened the garage door and pressed the unlock button on my way to my car, only to find the door still locked ...

What an inconvenience! ... ah, technology.

Now, every time I arrive at my car to go somewhere or head home is punctuated with a long, frustrating sigh at the fact that my key/remote hasn't magically unlocked my car the way I grew so accustomed (and spoiled) to over the last five years ...

* * *
The masters madness has begun ...

Kates started working on her masters over the winter, and I kept wondering when the stress and piles of homework would surface. She was taking classes once a week and cranking out a fairly short paper for each class. ... Seemed easy enough, right?

No more.

School let out last week, which means the masters classes go into full gear this week. She had her first class yesterday morning, arrived home shortly after 1 in the afternoon and then spent the rest of her waking hours (until about 11 last night) reading and studying ...

And she's doing it all over again today. ... Our conversations last about a couple minutes at a time and then promptly end with her saying (as sweetly as possible, of course), 'OK, I've gotta keep reading... '

* * *

... so the results of our six-week Corporate Cup Challenge were announced today during the company picnic.

Our team, the Fitastic Four, took the top place with 1,735 total points, beating the second place team by 30 points.

whew.

... I was kind of worried we might not make it. Through the first three weeks, we had annihilated the other 11 teams and seemed well on our way to cruising toward the win. But another team, Improved Circulation, started making a strong run and actually topped our point totals in weeks four and six. They even tried outsmarting the other teams by saving most of their wellness points for the last week, whereas our team used them in the first week. Luckily, we had worked up enough points throughout the challenge to hold on to our lead ...

Our prize? A company lunch bag and a $50 gift certificate to a local shoe store.

Woo hoo.

* * *
It's more than two weeks away and the Summerfest preparations are well underway ...

(cue angel chorus)

Guster. Train. The Go-Gos. Bowling For Soup. The Bangles. The Fray. Counting Crows with the Goo Goo Dolls ...

... and the list goes on and on.

CAN. NOT. WAIT.

For my posts on last year's Summerfest outings go here, here and here.