I returned Friday night from my week in Alaska. My family and I visited my stepsister in Homer, a small fishing, tourist, and artist town on the ocean in Southcentral Alaska.

Some of the things I did:

• Went to my stepsister's wedding last Saturday.
• Saw a moose and its calf on the street in Anchorage the night before we flew out of Alaska.
• Learned about Sarah Palin.
• Ate Alaskan king crab (delicious!), halibut, salmon, and moose meat.
• Took a lot of pictures.
• And saw lots

...

jobob

Tonight I bought the plane ticket for my stepsister's wedding, in Alaska, at the end of August.



I've never been to Alaska before, she hasn't been back to Michigan in about three years, and I missed seeing her when she was last here. We haven't been that close over the years, and it's a remarriage, so I was surprised to even be invited to her wedding.

However, she wants her family to be there, and I'm honored to be invited. As I get older --...

jobob

My doctor's office called last week.

The test results were benign.

jobob

I'm really sick and tired of being sick. I haven't been completely well for most of this month.

Two weeks ago I got a terrible cough. Which I just couldn't get rid of.

It's just about gone now -- thanks to three or four prescription drugs.

But yesterday was my biopsy. Not much fun, but thankfully not very painful.

Now I have to wait until Friday for the results. :crosses fingers: :taps foot: : plays "The Waiting is the...

jobob

It's been an interesting week, and it's only Tuesday night.

Monday morning, I had a second interview for a new job at work. It went OK. I learned a lot about the job, and about the manager. I'll know in a few weeks whether or not I'll have a third interview.

This morning, I took my follow-up mammogram. Around 12:20 p.m., as I was walking back to my desk after buying soup from the downstairs deli in our office building, my internist called me on my cell phone. She...

jobob

I had my annual physical on Tuesday morning. I am over 40, so it included a mammogram.

This afternoon, my doctor called. She said the mammogram found calcium deposits in one of my breasts and they wanted me to come back in for a second mammogram. And a possible biopsy. So I immediately scheduled the second mammogram for July 1.

And now that I'm finally home, I just Googled what "calcium deposits in the breast" can possibly mean.

Yes,...

jobob

Today I interviewed for an internal position at work. However, my chances aren't good. Because there are also strong external candidates for the job, and I'm not fully qualified for the job.

and

Truth is, I wasn't even sure I wanted this job. So why did it upset me so much when I didn't think I'd get it?

jobob

The other day, someone asked in their journal how Best Buy stayed in business. Good question. As someone with a love of electronics and not a lot of money, Best Buy is a store I both love and hate to visit. The Apple Store near my house has great service. But Apple Stores are few and mostly sell Apple products.

There used to be other, better, appliance and electronics stores than Best Buy. Here in the Midwestern U.S. in the 1980s and early 1990s we had Highland Appliance.
...

jobob

It's hot and humid in here, and I need an air conditioner. But I'm too broke to buy one. I can barely afford to buy a fan this week.

Except for the fact my little apartment turns into a little oven every summer, I love summer. Really.

jobob

I really like the new blog format. We can finally edit our entries, spellcheck them, add code, see who commented, and even add smilies without having to add the smilies code from memory.

I approve.

I may even make entries more than every three months.

jobob

Yesterday I told you I entered our NCAA basketball tournament brackets pool at work.

Today, after the first round of play, I found out I was at the top of the pool.



Really, I don't know much about college basketball. And I do know there's plenty of tournament left to play (some of which will be played at Ford Field, right across from our office). But since I'm pretty sure no one I work with is here on the Blue Crack, I'll tell you how I did it....

jobob

I have a March Madness bracket in our pool at work. Barack Obama and I, two people you wouldn't expect to have brackets, have brackets. (But not in the same pool.) All I really know is that I picked Michigan State to win today -- and of course they did.

I just applied for a different job in another department at my company. Let's just say I wasn't even going to apply until someone else talked me into it earlier today. Okay, he did say the words "it would...

jobob

I swore I wasn't going to do anymore of these surveys. However, this one seems different.


Four jobs I have had in my life:

1. hostess at a fast food restaurant

2. retail cashier/clothing sales clerk

3. telephone operator

4. adminstrative assistant


Four movies I have watched over and over:

1. Casablanca

2. Office Space

3. It's a Wonderful Life...

jobob

Who, just as the weather is FINALLY turning springlike around here, had to reminded us the biggest snowstorm in Detroit history happened in April.



Yeah, my late father liked to say it still can snow in April in Michigan, too ....

jobob

from the aftereffects of a cold I had all weekend



So if I do get laryngitis tonight, I'll have to call (e-mail?) in sick to work tomorrow.

What a shame.

jobob