Whoah there, watch out. For some reason I had to watch this over and over again. Perhaps this resonates with some of my more recent frustrations…

I just received this from my lovely colleague, Terry, who is without doubt one of the nicest folks I have ever met.

(3:03:37 PM) Terry: my latest in Freudian typos: wonderfu
(3:03:47 PM) Terry: definition: new geek script
(3:07:26 PM) Zero: that’s awesome Freud! I’m blogging that
(3:07:32 PM) Terry: heeee

This excerpt actually includes one of my favorite office-isms. I’m not sure if it was Al or Terry who introduced it into common parlance here in Ferndale, or at least from whom I absorbed it, butI have certainly adopted it into my IM lexicon.

*Usage Notes*

Usage # 1: Kevin: hee

Interpretation: Kevin is mildly amused or simulating polite amusement

Usage # 2: Kevin: heeee

Interpretation: Kevin is very amused

Usage # 3: Kevin: heeeeeeeee

Interpretation: Kevin is probably in danger of wetting himself if he has not already

Usage # 4: Kevin: heeEEEhehehehe

Interpretation: Kevin is probably IMing you while eating ritalin-laced broccoli and throwing sharp objects at his coworkers. In this circumstance, we recommend contacting the authorities immediately and locking the doors.

Heee.

Wow, it’s been a while. I must confess I can remember remarkably little of the last month and a half. And the two months before that are quite, quite blurry. And the 31 years and 6 months before that… well, they’re just gone, baby.

Let me add, briefly, that I hate the feeling that your brain is rising towards a boil and may rupture the top of your skull and escape into the atmosphere as a vapor. I’ve felt that feeling several times in the last month and a half, that I do remember.

So, let’s have a recap of recent events!

• December 14th: We turned the old PRWeb off, shuffled all its bits and bytes to its new home, and then turned it back on again. Nothing exploded. That’s the good news, but not the end of the story. A variety of software and hardware kinks made sure our sleeping schedules were unpredictable all the way through — er, actually, yesterday.
• December 27th: Joel Baker leaves. Again. And it snowed. He’d already been gone, in a practical sense, for some time… but his departure party reminded me strongly why I like the old curmudgeon so much. Joel, I’m going to miss you.
• December 27th. I know I mentioned this earlier but it bears repeating: it snowed, yay!!!!
• December 25. Christmas. Played taboo until we were all speaking in tongues. Five adults, one child, on large dog, and two cats coexisted happily in our tiny home, a touching (but not tidy) demonstration of the traditional meaning of the holiday.
• December 31. Whilst battling more code breakage using only a blackberry, a Nalgene bottle full of holy water, and my trusty remote-control vorpal blade, my sister and I made a sort of pilgrimage back to our hometown to visit my cousin Bjorn. My sister has referred to this as “Cousin Day.” We ate lots of junk food and some pizza I scorched thoroughly (along with my fingers) on the oven my grandmother used for a quarter of a century without any apparent effort. Sigh. It was an absolutely great day.  I would humbly request more like it from fate, even if she is a two-bit crack whore.
• January 1. My dad goes in for laproscopic surgery.
• January 3. I debut as a professional dancer thanks to Poem. Unfortunately, critics favor Jed’s limber movements and expressive face, and I am not asked to return to the Moulin Rouge.
• January 6. I finally get around to mucking aboot with my website to restore access to my painting gallery, which I uploaded like 2 months back.

That’s it! Hurray for blogging!

Mr. Castle, whom I have not spoken with for some time and whose critiques of our work ethics in the midst of crises have cut me to the quick, IM’d this to me out of the blue:

(12:28:24 PM) Castle: omg! they sky is falling! whaaaaaaaa
(12:28:29 PM) Castle: that is all.

Update as of Jan 7 2008!

Mr. Castle (who seems to be adopting the pseudonym “A. Fortress”) directed another drive-by IMing at me this evening, emerging from “Away” status just long enough to fire this off:

(8:28:52 PM) Castle: poop!! poooop i say!!
(8:28:54 PM) Castle: that is all

I didn’t even have the opportunity to fire off a return shot:

(8:29:31 PM) Kevin: what *is* that gruesome Penguin Puppet you have associated with your IM client?

Here’s his avatar:

Gruesome, isn’t it? Gives me the chills.  I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep at night until I discover the origin of this image.  Please note however that, due to Cari’s schooling, Mr. Castle avoided a repeat misspelling of the word “the.”  Granted, he accomplished this by avoiding its use; still, progress cannot be expected if it isn’t rewarded.  Good work!