Jumping over fences to pet kangaroos

Before my wife (Michal, as if you don't know) met me, she was dating this other guy who we will call NJB. NJB was a nice Jewish boy. He was in fact very very nice, which is why Michal was dating him. That said, there was something missing, but she didn't know what it was which is why she kept dating him.

One day, while on tour in Australia with him, they saw some kangaroos on the other side of a fence. Michal wanted to pet the kangaroo, as she had traveled a long way and wasn't likely to have another opportunity to do so for some time. However, there was a sign on the fence that said not to climb it and NJB wasn't going to disregard it for the sake of an impulsive pet. Michal, however, jumped the fence, leaving NJB behind and petted the kangaroo. It was at that moment that she knew what was missing in her relationship with NJB.

Today one of my coworkers spotted some tents set up in our parking lot. It was a free cookout for all Siemens employees. There were booths from Sprint giving away free foldable Frisbees and containers of mints away, a booth that displayed the Siemens-sponsored NASCAR race car, but most importantly a buffet of burgers, hotdogs, cookies, cakes, and Coke! Score!!!

The only hitch was it was for Siemens employees only and I'm an Anthem employee. Now, the other two team members I was with were having hesitations about crossing into enemy territory for food, but I saw that there was no one checking for ID badges, so I suggested we move forward and liberate some edibles. So, with me in the lead we forged ahead and filled our supplied paper plates with the food offered. I have to say, it was one of the best burgers I had in a long time.

Sometimes you have to say, "Screw the sign, let's pet some kangaroos."

15 Billion and Counting

I have a new job. I work for Anthem/Wellpoint. You may not recognize those names, but you probably know the names Blue Cross and Blue Shield. They own them. I have worked for a lot of start-up companies, the most recent start-up I worked for was a company called Med-E-Com. They had aspirations to go public, that is, to get to a point where they could offer shares in their company to be publicly traded, allowing a company to grow dramatically. They never did. My experience with start-up companies has been so bad, I vowed I would never work for another small start-up company again.

Anthem just released their annual report as required of any publicly traded company. The report states that the company made over 15 billion in revenue.

OVER 15 @#$@% BILLION!!

Okay, even I have to say I have over-achieved this goal.

This is especially good because as an employee I get a percentage of the profits from the company each year. Based on past results, this will likely be around four digits. I am really beginning to like this company.

I know, I know, I'm working for the man. But the man pays really d**n well.

Hooray

We're officially moved in, we have pictures on the wall. The cats love to hang out on the couch in front of the window, and on our bed. I'll take pictures of the place later today.

We celebrated Jonathan's birthday yesterday in style. He had a stressful day at work, but he had brought in donuts at least. And we had carry-out Indian for dinner. It was sooo good, and we didn't even finish half of it! I'm looking forward to leftovers already.

Also, and perhaps most importantly, I finished Harry Potter! I won't say anything here, in case people haven't read it, but suffice it to say that I enjoyed it immensely. It's one of the best-written of the series, and tied everything up nicely.

Today I have a phone meeting with the student rabbi who had my congregation last year, to talk about the upcoming High Holidays. I'll start practicing my shofar calls soon....

Oy

Sorry all. My gmail inbox is out of control, the phone messages are piling up, and I haven't even started Harry Potter! But we now have the furniture in place, most of the books are up on the bookshelves, all the IKEA pieces but one are assembled (Jonathan's doing, not mine), the basement is organized, and I probably have a hundred or so boxes waiting to be broken down outside. This weekend our goal is to put up all the frames and wall hangings. I'll be in touch with everyone I owe calls/email to (at this point, probably everyone who reads this!). It just probably won't be for a few more days. :)

House husband now brings home bacon

Could it be that this hasn't actually been posted?! I think Jonathan thought I would post it, and I thought he would, and so it never got here.

Jonathan has a job! He started Monday at Wellpoint, the umbrella corporation for Blue Cross/Blue Shield, as a technical project manager. He maintains the nationwide program that transmits the information from someone's insurance card to the pharmacy. It's going well so far, it's just a bit stressful, as any new job is at the beginning. He's gone from around 8am-6pm, so if you want to catch him, leave a message on his cell or call home in the evenings.

I'm now in the supporting role, for the next month at least. He's been very kind about it, and has even eaten the (slightly burnt) breakfasts I provide with enthusiasm. :)

Back to basics

No one liked my new template (sniff). So the old one is back.

As far as news... nothing much for me, really. The apartment is great, albeit empty. The car arrives tomorrow, the bed we ordered arrives Thursday, and all our furniture comes Friday. It will be a busy weekend!

New blog

Duh. We have one. Thank yous go to Viera, who rightfully pointed out that we're six weeks and half a world from Jerusalem.