Back, lack of focus, up late being bad, Australian Open
So I left work early yesterday to go pick up Ali at the airport. I also picked up Beverly who ran the marathon with Ali & Michelle as well as shacking up in the hotel room. Her apartment was on the way home so I was happy to provide shuttle service.
Ali filled me in on some more details of the trip during the commute home. When we got home she was of course greeted very enthusiastically by two very happy dogs.
Like I mentioned yesterday, it was our 13th wedding anniversary. Now of course we weren’t going to go out and do anything major last night considering Ali just got back. Ali had mentioned about grabbing a pizza on the way home for a little informal celebration.
On Ali’s desk I had a little congratulatory poster I made for her marathon accomplishment along with an anniversary card. I told Ali to just unpack while I took out the trash, made the dogs dinner and threw the pizza in the oven.
Before we sat down for our belated Friday pizza and tivo session we opened each others cards. There were no gifts exchanged this year, going out to dinner will be enough.
So after taking in last week’s Biggest Loser we were in the office doing some things on our computers. I mentioned something to Ali about the Amazon Visa card I applied for to save $40 off a purchase and how it might wind up being more advantageous in the big picture if we pump all of our purchases through it. Ali didn’t offer much thought on the subject.
A couple minutes later I asked if Ali if we could start depositing the funds I get from timing races into the budget column that used to be for Camry payments that now has been transformed into a Camaro savings column.
Well Ali exhales loudly, expressing her frustration that I insist on talking. She follows up by basically telling me that she was FOCUSING on her email and can’t do two things at once. In other words, shut the f up, reading my email is more important.
Well this came out of left field and of course I was immediately angered by such a response, my feelings of resentment being amplified by the day of the year it was. I angrily asked Ali what is so difficult about FOCUSING her attention on me while I am talking and then returning her focus to email when I was finished?
Of course there is no viable excuse for her reaction but Ali is not the type to readily admit wrong doing, especially right away. A very fast, “I don’t know why I said that, I’m sorry” would have diffused the situation. Instead we spent the rest of anniversary evening not communicating, what a nice way to celebrate lucky number 13.
I spent all remaining hours of Monday night into early Tuesday morning pile driving through the remaining episodes of season 3 of Breaking Bad. The plot was building to such a climax that I HAD to keep going. The last two episodes of season 3 are just amazing, crazy, crazy good. Unfortunately, much like what happened with Lost and Dexter, now I am held hostage until the next season is released on DVD. I already have heard from multiple people that this years season finale of the series is fantastic.
So this morning Howard was actually on air for one of his hellishly long 3 day work weeks. The subject came up about Scott the Engineer, one of the staff that has been a perennial whipping boy, wanting to take some of his own personal time off to participate in a PBA bowling event for the second year in a row after Howard declined to make it a show sponsored thing. Scott is an avid bowler who happens to be pretty damn good. Him getting to do this would be like the Phillies asking me to suit up for a series.
Well Howard proceeds to make a huge issue about this because it would require Scott missing time when the show is actually on the air. Howard’s acting like the show is still so important to him comes across as total fakery.
If it is important why is he perfectly happy to be off the air more than he is on at this point with 3 day work weeks and more vacation days yearly than most people get in a decade combined. To chastise Scott for wanting to miss 3 days was totally hypocritical.
Howard then had the balls to actually complain about the time he DOES actually spend on the air, saying he would rather be doing something else, he would like more time off. I loved that Scott called him out on it saying “You actually think you need MORE time off?” , something no other staff member has ever voiced on the air, expressing the thoughts of millions of an increasingly annoyed and disenchanted fan base.
Robin, who has become insanely annoying since they moved to Sirius chimed in how she makes sacrifices for the show. For example, she has not been able to attend the Australian Open because if falls on a “show” week. I laughed out loud before I turned off the radio in disgust.
Robin flies all over the world constantly, spending her Howard coat tail money almost as fast as she gets it. For her to say her “sacrifice” is not going to Australia is a sign of just how disconnected from reality she has become. She could leave the show tomorrow and I wouldn’t give a shit.