These are the entries for October 2001.
I quit. Yeah, that's right--today I submitted my letter of resignation at MM. Since I don't want to go into details regarding this matter, please use your imagination as to what may have happened or brought this about. Your imagination will probably be more amusing or entertaining than the real story anyway. (And feel free to send me your fantasy resignation letter or day--mail to: susrobson@aol.com) I will say that the events of September 11th did play a role in my realization that life is very short and I shouldn't take everything so seriously. So, I'm looking to have some fun somehow. We'll see what the future brings.
Since I have a lot of unused vacation, today is my last day in the office. Can you believe I actually did some real work on my last day? I did. Then spent some time packing up all my personal belongings. Which reminds me--I still haven't unpacked all the boxes from when I left AspenTech. Looks like I'll have the time now to try to organize all my books and "stuff." The big project is trying to figure out what to do with all my "artwork." I use that term loosely since they were mostly projects from art school.
In the evening, a friend, K.A., took me out for a celebratory drink and dinner (also for my birthday--yes this is somewhat of a mid-life crisis as well!). I'm glad we met up for this because I had a lot of nervous energy and angst that I needed to work through and it always helps to have a friend there.
Figures! Get to sleep in and I wake up at 7:30. Geez.
Anyway, had lunch in Burlington with C.S. which we had already planned. C.S. always has a great perspective so it was good to talk with her. And, it was good to talk about things other than work even though that crept into the conversation a few times (it doesn't leave the head easily). Leaving there, my car almost didn't start. Wasn't sure at that point why but went on my way home once it started.
Another birthday dinner for me tonite at Luciano's in Walpole. Met up with friends for dinner. Nice place, nice conversation, nice people. My car was at K.V.s house so when we got back there I got in my car and tried to start it. Again, it didn't want to start but this time the car alarm decided to start blaring and I have no idea how to turn it off. Her neighbors are going to kill me!! I'm not sure why but as the alarm is bleating and screaming, the only thing I can think of to do is to open the hood. After fumbling around, I finally found the latch inside the car and pulled it, ran out to the front of the car and tried to lift the hood. I never did get it open which is probably good since I wouldn't have had a clue as to what I would do if it did open. I have no idea about anything inside the hood except where the windshield wiper fluid goes. And then it stopped. All on it's own it just stopped. K.V. suggested that I quick try to start the car while the alarm has stopped and luckily that worked.
My whole goal for tomorrow is to stay in my pajamas the entire day and evening and just veg out--totally decompress. We'll see how long I can last.
Got up a little later than normal which felt fantastic! Sure beats waking up at 5:30, hitting the snooze button as many times as possible for that extra 5 minutes of sleep. Had a nice leisurely breakfast while reading the paper--this is the life! Didn't turn the TV on until around 2:30 pm, which I think is a major accomplishment for a lazy day with nothing to do. Obviously there will be no adventure today. Accomplished my goal of staying in my pajamas the entire day though I actually had to convince myself of this as I was starting to get bored. But, one accomplishment under my belt.
Since I'm a little nervous about the state of my vehicle, I'm not planning to go too far from home today. Spent some time checking my email and my stock portfolio. I see that Larry Evans (CEO of AspenTech) is ringing the starting bell for NASDAQ today--go Larry! Looks like Jack Welch, GE, will be a speaker at the next AspenWorld. Not sure who pulled that one off but quite a coup. The AspenTech stock (AZPN) seems to be going up as well, which I'm seriously counting on, especially now that I'm out of work.
Went for a walk around Jamaica Pond with K.A. and then met up with F.Z. at Buff's Pub for some wings and confab. My car actually made it there and back. Good to hear the latest gossip from former friends and colleagues at AspenTech. Sounds like most people are doing well. Not sure what happened to others as they seem to have dropped off the face of the earth.
A good friend from back home, C.C., called and we had a nice chat. We talked about how our lives are not where we thought they would be and tried to figure out how we can now change that. There used to be a big group of us that all hung out and just had the world by the tail. For some reason, we all seem to be floundering at the moment in different ways. This has got to change and we are definitely ready for a change. The bigger challenge is to figure out what to do about it. This will obviously take some time to work through but I think we are all ready for a new challenge. What can a group of smart, fun loving people do in this world to make money but have a great quality of life? Hmmm. The age-old question, hey? We all have different professional backgrounds, have gone down different paths in our lives, but we have all stayed connected over the years and still value our friendship and our different personalities. I'll definitely have to do some soul searching on this one and it may possibly mean moving back to my hometown in the Midwest but you never know. The possibilities are endless, or so it seems. I'm sure the answer is staring me in the face, I just can't see it yet. Hmmmm...... Any ideas? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
Gee, my phone has never been busier. Spent a lot of time on the phone talking to family and friends. I'm a little afraid to try to start my car so I've decided to stay in all weekend. Lot's to do though so I've spent most of the day doing a little cleaning, a little reading, turning the TV on and off since there isn't anything good on.
Watched "The Blair Witch Project" in the evening. Seemed an appropriate movie for this time of year. I absolutely love scary movies so this was a good start to get ready for Halloween.
Other than that, I'm feeling quite relaxed and happy.
Where is the best place to be for the Halloween season? Salem, Massachusetts!! K.A. and I headed up there to do some shopping and just enjoy the day. What a great place. There were people everywhere walking through the shops, going through the haunted houses and just plain having fun. It's surprising how many people dressed up in costume for the day--kids and adults. It's also surprising to see the ones that look like they're dressed up but you really know they aren't "in costume." There are signs everywhere advertising Tarot Card readings, Aura readings and photographs, all kinds of psychic stuff. One of my favorite "haunts" (pun intended) has t-shirts and bumper stickers with the funniest sayings. Some of these are:
"Come to Salem for a spell"
667
Neighbor of the BeastAnyway, all in all, a very good day.
Goal for today: get car fixed.
Called Junior's Automotive to see if they could fit my car in today. Luckily they can. Unfortunately, my car is not cooperating. It won't turn over at all. So, I give AAA a call and they tell me a tow truck will be there within the hour. He finally arrives, tries to give my car a jump start but it just isn't working. Well, the battery isn't working so much but now the alarm decides to work again. He claims that he can't tow my car because it's facing the wrong direction and refuses to push it onto the road so we can hook it up to the tow truck. I haven't had my coffee yet and I'm not happy. He finally calls a smaller tow truck and then takes off. I waited around for a while but it didn't feel right so I called AAA back to verify that he really did call a second tow truck. Luckily, he wasn't lying but it will be another hour before they can show up.
Second tow truck guy shows up and gives the car another jump and this time it works. He was nice enough to follow me all the way to Junior's Automotive to make sure I get there okay. I do get there fine and leave the engine running while I run in to get my name in since Junior's is a very busy place. They do a great business, especially since they are right next to the commuter rail stop so people all over the state come to Junior's and can still easily get downtown to work. True to form, Junior is swamped and is actually talking on 2 phones at the same time. Everytime he tries to hang up the phone it's already ringing again. Junior, himself finally gets to my car--checks out the battery and sure enough, it's drained and not going to be revived. As he put in the new one I ask him about getting a new tire since I never did get the spare replaced with the last flat tire I had. After checking the bad tire (which apparently been slashed), he puts on the new one and puts the odd one on the back to be the new spare. But, for anyone who knows me, it's never that simple! The lug nuts would not go back on this time. As of this moment, my car is still hoisted in the air at Juniors which leaves me carless until tomorrow. I'm getting a little nervous about the timing since I still haven't bought any Halloween candy yet and don't have much time to do this now. I sure hope my car is ready by tomorrow.
Goal for today: Pick up car, attend local UPA meeting
Spent the morning checking email as well as checking my stock portfolio. I'm counting on AZPN to start skyrocketing to 50! It wouldn't hurt if Cisco would start climbing up as well since that's my only loser at the moment.
Hadn't heard from Junior's about my car so gave them a call and it is ready to be picked up. At least this is forcing me to go for a walk since it's about just under a mile from my house. Unfortunately, the bill is much larger than I expected but at least it runs and is ready. While I'm there I see that they have batteries for keyless remotes. My keyless remote hasn't worked in quite a while so I have Junior replace the battery. When he finished he suggested that I try it out before I leave so I go find my car and give it a try. Everything but the "Lock" works so I guess this is better than nothing. I played with it for a few minutes and decided that it's best that I open the car door to try "Lock" since I assume the keys are in the ignition. Once I opened the door, I heard the clicking of the alarm as it ticks off the minutes before the alarm will start blaring. From previous experience I know that the way to stop it is to start the car up so I hop in and try to start the car but the keys aren't in the ignition. Dang! And at that moment the alarm starts bleeping and screaming and there isn't anything I can do about it except run back in to get my keys from Junior. But where did Junior go? Ah, upstairs, according to the other workers who are laughing because they know what happened and can hear my car alarm wailing. Junior finally comes down and gives me my key and I can finally get back on the road. Went to CVS and picked up Halloween candy and then went home.
Time to head out to the UPA meeting being held at The Mathworks. It's been a while since I've been out there and I took a few wrong turns off Route 9. That's OK--I'm way early anyway. Finally arrive and D.D. let's me in the door and points me to the room we will be meeting in. Free food! Luckily they have provided snacks since I hadn't eaten dinner--lot's of fresh veggies and fruit. As people start arriving, we all talk about where we work or, in most cases, where we used to work! Lot's of similar stories and most of us are not working at the moment.
The presentation by one of The Mathworks people is great and generates some discussion afterwards. It's good to be around people in general but very good to be around people with similar circumstances and backgrounds.
On the way I home, the radio announces that there will be a full moon on Halloween this year--the first time in about 40 some years! Oooooohhhh.
No goals for today except to pass out Halloween candy.
Spent some time surfing the web. Ran to CVS--had to get a sympathy card. A former co-worker's 12 year old son died the other day of cardiac arrest during basketball tryouts so I wanted to get a card out quickly. I can't even imagine what the family is going through. He was the youngest son and was very athletic and healthy. Absolutely horrible.
Got a strange phone call tonight. A former co-worker from AspenTech, M.O., from quite a while ago called to find out if I was interested in making extra money. She wouldn't go into much detail except to say that it had to do with vitamins. She did mention the name of the company though I can't remember what it was called, except that it was not Market America--I definitely asked her if it was. I told her that I didn't know and would have to think about it. We hung up and a few minutes later she called back to say that there is something on TV on Saturday at 11:00 that explains it further. The weird thing is that it's on Court TV. I don't watch Court TV but assumed it was strictly court cases. I guess not. I'll take a peek on Saturday but selling vitamins is not the direction I want to head in. But... I'll try to keep an open mind.
M.T. called to let me know of a potential job opportunity coming up if I'm interested. Hmmmm.... it sounds pretty good but am I ready to go back to work yet? Not working is kind of nice, you know? I know of a couple other opportunities as well but I still need to update my resume. Maybe I'll do that this week.
Not many kids this year for Halloween. I wonder if you can return unopened bags of candy? Probably not, especially this year.