Brilliant idea for a book

Or at least I think so.

"the germaphobes guide to being clean"

People are always amused by my cleaning quirks. Like the fact I take
clorox wipes to the laundry basket in between clean and dirty loads.
I could do an entire chapter just on doing laundry, and every
germaphobes wort nightmare- the laundromat.

I think if this book was written cleverly enough, it could be really
entertaining.

I think I would have to survey other germaphobes to get some more
cleaning tips- because I might not have enough quirks.

Chapters I've already thought of:
-the kitchen
-laundry
-pets

I'm going to put some thought into this.

i win!

i passed.  not with as high of a score as i would have liked, but it's a pass fail test so it doesn't really matter.  

my treat to myself is a ticket to see snow patrol in October.  Of course the pre-sale tickets went on sale on Monday, and I bought them then- because they're actually playing a smaller theater (yes!) and i didn't want to not be able to get a floor ticket by waiting.

so, now that's over.  you never have to read about LEED again, because i will never get a LEED project. 

unless of course (and this is what i think they're going to do, because they like to make money) is say, "all those who were accredited prior to july 1, 2009 have to be re-accredited under the new rules and format to qualify as the ID point on the project." i know they're going to turn this against us somehow.

but for now, this is enough. 

now to spend the rest of the weekend relaxing, and to throw away all my study materials, because come july 1st, none of what i learned applies anymore.  

fail!

i just took a new practice test online, one i'd never seen before and got a 63%.

i need an 85% to pass.  and it's too late to cancel.  even if i cancel and don't take it, i'd owe them $300, so i have to take it.  

this is the true meaning of blerg. 

i have a 4 hour meeting tomorrow, starting at 8:30, a ton of work to do before leaving the office at 1:15 for another meeting at 2 (meaning no lunch) and then from 3:30PM tomorrow to 12:30 saturday i'm doing nothing but studying.  NOTHING.

30 rock

i can identify a lot with 30 rock

(yes, i'm supposed to be studying but i've got 30 rock going in the background because i study better with sound. i love that seasons 1 and 2 are available to stream on netflix.)  

there's a lot about liz lemon that i can relate to. work and life.

anyway- it makes me wonder

a) how would i deal with a boss who really was like jack.  yes, he's hilarious- but would he actually be more annoying than he was amusing?

b) what would it be like to be a page?  would it be fun to do for a day just to see? kenneth enjoys it, but kenneth has little to no brain.  

c) there was another thing but i forgot.

part two of this- i'm trying to figure out what to get myself as a reward for passing LEED.  the iphone is now out of my budget, so i need to find something else that is a big enough treat, but is still in my price range.  i've got 5 days to think.

anyway, i should get back to studying.

Anvil

Anvil = Canadian metal band that has been together for 30 years, still trying to make it.

The movie follows their recent attempts to go on tour, record an album, and get a label to distribute it.  You have to give them credit for not giving up on their dreams, but you also have to say, "guys, its time to give up on your dreams."  The movie is hilarious, and worth checking out if you even have the slightest interest in music.  

http://www.anvilthemovie.com/

finished with the DMV!

i have a drivers license with my real name on it.

i have registration stickers that will last me until may of 2010.  

and hopefully- nothing in the system is screwed up this time, so i'll just be able to re-register my car over the internet next time.  

i don't expect people making minimum wage to actually care about their jobs, but you'd think they want to do it right the first time so they don't create more work for themselves.  that just seems like the smart thing to do.  

now- passport renewal time.  i'm not planning on leaving the country any time soon, but with how long it will take for me to get a correct passport, i might as well start trying now.

6 ways to win friends

1. Become genuinely interested in other people.
2. Smile.
3. Remember that a man's Name is to him the sweetest and most important sound in any language.
4. Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves.
5. Talk in the terms of the other man's interest.
6. Make the other person feel important and do it sincerely.

yesterday we had training with the dale carnegie people and we were handed a little booklet of dale carnegie's golden rules.  i saw the above and thought, "this reminds me of _______."

except for #1.  i don't think he's mastered #1 yet, so i've always thought he was extremely fake.

which leads me to say, the above practices, in this person specifically, have only inspired me to say, "i want to get to know him better so i can find out what he's really like.  he can't possibly be this person all the time."  

that's probably not what dale had in mind when he came up with this training.

i want to go where caesar lived.

i saw the hangover last night.  and now i want to go back to vegas.  

the nice thing about living in LA is that it is just a weekend trip.  you can leave after work on friday (traffic is horrible) but you get there, take a quick nap, and then get ready to go out.  its the sunday drive home that's the really painful part (even if you're not hungover.)  everyone from LA is driving home, on the only road available, and again the traffic is horrible.  plus you're tired, most likely at least a little hungover, and just want to sleep.

if you go with the right people, vegas is always going to be fun.  last time i went, i loved the people i went with, but their planned activities were not my planned activities.  i'm not much of a club person, so going to Jet and Tao weren't high on my list of things to do.  everyone else enjoyed themselves.  now at least i can say i've been.  my preferred activities are gambling (low buy-ins of course.  the $5 blackjack tables are perfect.)

its fun just hanging out, wandering around, drinking, taking in the sights, etc.  and if you do it right, its not even an expensive weekend.  the first time i ever gambled i think i came home just $80 poorer (that means i won enough to offset the hotel, food, everything.)  the guys in the hangover spent a TON of money, but... that's a movie.  the villa they rented did seem pretty nice. 

plus for some reason i just really want to go lie out at a pool right now.

oh DMV

my car and the state of california do not have a great track record.

today was my return trip to the DMV to fix the fact that my last trip led to a driver's license that read "Drobertson." 

and to pay my registration fee.

and to figure out why they sent me a "suspension" notice in the mail telling me that i don't have insurance coverage.  

turns out the DMV doesn't take care of the suspension notice, and i have to take care of that separately, and so i paid my fee, and left without new stickers- called the number to try to figure out why they think i don't have insurance (that's figured out) but it will be another week before the paperwork gets straightened out.  so another week of driving with expired tags, and hoping that i don't get pulled over.

of course while i'm taking care of all of this- i'm sitting in the parking lot with my car turned off WITH THE LIGHTS ON!!!! and my car battery dies.  i look up, and there is a AAA guy parked right in front of me.  do i have AAA?  no.  But i go over, and say nicely, "I don't have AAA, but can i pay you to jumpstart me?" he says no, but that he'll do it for free.  i tip him the only cash i have on me, $4. and go on my way.

i must have had some karma for the fact that i was nice to people today at the DMV when i wanted to be like, "Drobertson, does that sound like a real name?."

this test will be the death of me

"if greater than 50% imperviousness has implemented a stormwater management plan that reduced pre-developed 1.5-year/24-hour rate and quantity discharge by 25% of the annual stormwater load falling on the site. (This is based on actual local rainfall unless the actual exceeds the 10-year annual average local rainfall-then use the 10-year average.) This mitigation can be through a variety of measures including perviousness of site, stormwater retention ponds, capture of rainwater for reuse or other measures."

do i know what the pre-developed 1.5-year/24-hour rate and quantity discharge information is?  do i know what that information will look like?  no.  but i'll memorize the above section for the test.  the book is 2 3" binders.  they talk about teachers teaching to the test.  well here's one student who will be studying to the test.

i spent $49.95 on online practice tests that i can log into and take as many times as i want before the test.  i scored a 25%.  

the test is 80 questions, and they don't actually tell you what each question is weighted, or how the scores are figured, but if you get above a 170, you pass.  so with the practice tests you have to aim for an 80%.  so- here's to bringing up my score 55% in the next 17 days.  

LEED and the new iPhone

in 18 days i take the LEED exam.  i haven't started studying yet.  i was supposed to start studying tonight, and really crack down every single night until the test comes along.  but i left the book on my desk at work.  crap.  

today they released the information about the new iPhones.  the one i want is $299.  the LEED test is $300.  if i pass the LEED test, i get reimbursed by my company for the full amount.  sooooo...  i'm kind of tempted to tell myself that i can take that money and buy the new iPhone.  its got 3G, 32gigs, GPS, all the bells and whistles that one could want. plus i need some sort of incentive to study for this test (seeing as i will never actually get a LEED project with the way my company has been restructured- i feel like it's pointless.)  

nevermind that my car needs a tune up and a new clutch.  i need a new mattress desperately.  i need to re-register my car with the state.  there are a million things i NEED to buy, but they aren't as fun as the iPhone.  

i'm trying to tell myself that i don't really want the new iPhone, because they have the stupid plastic shell instead of the metal one like mine has.  but the 32gig storage is winning that battle.  since i no longer have an iPod (thanks plumber) having more storage is vital.  i have to delete music in order to put anything new on my phone, and that stinks. 

new favorite website?

or not?

www.badspiderbites.com

i was bitten on sunday by what i thought was a fire ant.  4 days later i realize, that's no fire ant bite.  it's a spider bite.  i can see the two fang holes in the middle of a dime sized large red welt.  i go on line and type "spider bite" into the search engine and it comes back with "bad spider bites dot com"  and the pictures are amazing.  

but... now i'm convinced that my spider bite is something serious and a week from now i'm going to look like the worst of pictures on there.  it HAS been getting worse every day. and it did hurt like HELL when it happened.  and the site says "flu like symptoms" and i feel like sh*t.

i would feel completely stupid going to my doctor saying, "i got bitten by a spider, can you look at this?" but i would also feel stupid if in a week it is even larger and redder and i have to go in and say, "well i didn't want to make a big deal about it before because i thought it was nothing."  

the thing is, i almost never kill spiders because of that kids book where they kill all the spiders at the zoo and all the animals end up miserable because they're bothered by flies.  i leave them be, thinking, "i hate flyingbugs more than i hate bugs that just mind their own business in their webs."  if this gets worse, i'm killing every spider out there.