New Beginings, and the State o' the Union

Well, Day One. First day in the new gig. Much paperwork. Much signing of names and exposing of private data. Many, many new names to memorize. The biggest difference between the public and private sectors? Wine in the office kitchen. No wine at the old gig. Wine at the new one. That's an upgrade. (I don't think I'm allowed to drink the wine during the day, it's probably for special events... Perhaps I'll test that next week.)

Anywho, got a nice new office, with a window that actually opens. Haven't had an openable window in eight years. I suspect my masters knew I was liable to throw myself, or, more likely, someone else, out of it at any time. The new folks don't know me that well yet.

Oh, and opening your window in January is not appreciated by your floormates, no matter how novel it is for you. Just thought you should know.

Oh, by the way, watching the State of the Union while I'm typing this and just caught John Kerry with a "I can't believe I lost to this nitwit" look on his face as Bush pronounced "insurance" like Cooter from "The Dukes of Hazard"; (INN-sur-ance).

Got taken out to lunch by my new boss, and in another novel experience, it was not from a place that could've employed John Belushi doing his "cheeseburger cheeseburger, no Pepsi, Coke!" routine.

(Ugh... Now it's vee-HICK-kles" for vehicles... Gack)

Oh... My... God... He just called Global Climate Change a "Serious challenge". Holeee crap.

Hey, that's neat, he spoke while Dick Cheney was drinking a glass of water. Neat ventriloquism trick..

Oh, Republicans, you can relax. That one sentence about "serious challenge" was the only mention of climate. And he called for an expansion of domestic oil production in "environmentally sensitive" ways. Excellent. I think he means making sure there's enough Palmolive dish soap in Alaska to wash off the sea otters when there's a drilling accident in the Arctic Preserve.

Anywho, the new job was fine, although the only thing taxed today was my memory of my social security number. I suspect it's not going to stay this easy.

Hey, Hillary's sitting behind Obama. Wonder if she's balling up little pieces of paper and throwing them at him. She looks like the type.

Well, gotta get going. If I'm going to listen to the rest of this speech, I'm going to need some libation...

Cheers.