UnpleasantlySexy

Well, first off, I want to thank those of you that sent me story ideas - they were excellent, and have given me enough to start work on the next segment. Woohoo!

Next, let me apologize for the blog inactivity - I been busy with the new job, and I've been reintroducing myself to the wonderfully difficult game of golf, with moderate success, I might add.

Thus begins this post: work, and then some golf.

I've begun to realize that the various departments in my company, all of which are working toward the same ultimate goal (a polished product), all hate one another. This may not be news to you folks that are accustomed to some of the more complicated office warfare, but in MY previous workplaces, EVERYBODY sucked, so ALL of them were the enemy. I was the lone wolf hero, fighting to save the maidens. Or something like that. At THIS place, clear lines have been drawn, and I am definitely fighting for the side of good. We are not fighting evil, however. No...this is really an epic battle of GOOD versus WHINY.

Here's the general idea: the WHINIES send us a rough cut of a product, we look at it, find all sorts of errors (grammatical, functional, etc.), and we send it back with a list of things that have to be fixed. The problems start when the WHINIES receive our edits. They have to set up at least three meetings, and at least four conference calls - just to complain and argue. The end result is always the same: we say something like, "Well, sorry, but it can't go out the door looking like this, so fix it." Thusly, the first shots are fired. This will happen four or five more times before the product is ready. Efficient? Yes. No.

That is my job, in a nutshell. And believe it or not, it's fun. Annoying, high-stress fun. Weird.

So I've picked up the ol' golfy clubs again (after a two-year, "too broke to do it" hiatus), and I've made a commitment to get into shape by going to a driving range once a week, and by walking 18 holes once every weekend. In the last three weeks, I've played 63 holes of golf, and here's the coolest part - I'm getting better. The first two weeks, I shot 102 and 105 for 18 holes. Yesterday, I shot a 91, and I made a birdie! That's huge! Plus, the birdie was on a hole that I've never, ever birdied before, so it felt pretty great! Yeah, I'm a nerd, but it's a heckuva workout, so I'm gonna be a super-in-shape, super-good-at-golf, super-nerd, and no one can stop me!

Oh, and I purchased a bunch of golf stuff (putter, shoes, etc.), including some wiffle golf balls, so I can safely whack 'em around the house. When I informed Julia of my purchases, the last thing I listed off was "a two-dollar package of wiffle balls." My sweet, beautiful wife then said, without missing a beat, "Your momma's a two-dollar package of wiffle balls."

I want that engraved on my putter.



Fore!