First day back at work, and I’m not dying. Yet. I’m thinking hard about how I can start to put all of this information into practice. That’s going to be key– trying to transition from knowledge to action. It’s the one thing that they didn’t really teach us, but then, when you cover a mini-MBA in five weeks, how can you?

Had to bag on Heidi today, which makes me sad, to do office things. We are going to 35 Chinese for lunch. Their web page lists dishes that you can order from the menu, but I don’t know of anyone who has ever ordered from a menu in that joint. Everyone gets the buffet. Except Heidi… she won’t do Chinese buffet in the United States. Of course, she also won’t eat at 35.

David Vecsey notes, and I think quite astutely, that we need LeBron to fail. This will certainly piss Todd Ito off– Carlie told me that he already has his LeBron jersey. But hey, I’m reasonably comfortable saying that I think Todd having a LeBron jersey is a symptom of the problem!

I’m watching True Lies, which has a house-front that was filmed in Chevy Chase, where I lived for six years.

Think I figured out how to do what I wanted to do with Moveable Type.

OK, so I think that Dan’s fire hydrant problem is awesome, and I would love to know what those markings mean, if anything.

I did a little looking at the warchalking website, and I’m extremely interested. I haven’t yet seen anyone warchalking in the Chapel Hill area, but I am thinking seriously of keeping some chalk on me so I can start. So, time to start keeping an eye out for this.

May warchalk my house at some point.

AC broke down. Well, it’s capable of running, but the pipe that brings the cold air into the house is frozen solid, so it needs some rest. Which is a drag, since it’s the hottest day of the year so far. 98 degrees, easily.

Heidi often calls me Mr. Freeze because I like it so cold when I sleep. I simply can’t abide by sweating while I’m slumbering… it’s so uncomfortable. Now, this might make more sense if I weren’t fanatical about using my down comforter every night of the year. But the suggestion that I sleep with just a sheet is heresy of the worst kind. Sleepers were meant to be bundled.

So, I’m sweating it out at home for a couple of hours until I can crank up the AC again and make it 70 degrees. Mmm. Shower tonight.

I am 50% hip.

Well, the NCSU Management Academy was certainly snowed. (OK, so only Russell was snowed.) Thoroughbred Imaging Systems won an honorable mention prize, which apparently Russell created just because he had two business plans that “really stood out.” Jesus. I’m embarassed. We had completely horrible, and by horrible I mean incomplete and what was complete was poorly done, financial statements. It was so bad that I just couldn’t imagine we’d have a chance at winning anything, and now I’ve got a groovy beer mug. I hate to think what the others looked like, if we were good enough to reward. (The ones who won were an actual business that has been up for a few months, and has a few clients. I would never in a million years purchase something from the guy running it.)

Hit Go! Room 4 to see Remover with Traci and her friendster boys. (She’s a nerd-boy dating machine!)

Remover is Darren Jesse from Ben Folds Five playing guitar and singing, a bassist and keyboardist that I’d never heard of, and Mark Price (formerly Archers of Loaf) on drums. They played to a fairly empty house, opening for The Sleepies, which is pretty sad considering that those guys used to be hometown heroes. I guess the publicity machine just didn’t get going for them.

Darren’s not what I would call an accomplished singer– he seems to be straining a lot. But he’s written some keen material, some really sweet stuff that I would love to hear recorded well. A good number of songs that probably sound fantastic when played acoustically. It wasn’t thrilling, though. It just didn’t get me all hyped.

There were two songs that just rocked out hard… those were probably the only two that I got really excited about. It was just about perfect power pop.

I guess the problem was just that Darren seems older and worn. Nothing about the show seemed like it was all that fun. I guess that was my complaint about later Ben Folds five… they just seemed like somewhere along the line, they forgot why they’d become a band. Ben got all contemplative, Darren felt alienated, and Robert was just floating through. And it doesn’t seem like Remover has made music fun again for Darren. Maybe I’m wrong, because I don’t know the guy, and he may be having the time of his life, playing to 30 people in Chapel Hill. I just don’t think so.

Will I see them again? Sure, but not the next time they’re in town. Maybe give them a chance to see if things get happy again.

When you are selling something, there are three groups you need to validate: the user, the customer, and the buyer.

Remember who is buying.

Management Academy at NCSU ends today… I’m wearing a full suit. Maybe I will take a picture so you sassy readers can drool over it. (Wait, I only have like two female readers of the new journal.) We did evaluations, which was fun. I like to evaluate things when given ample time and I don’t feel pulls from other constraints. I went off on this one, mostly in a good way. I’ve been really, really ready to get out of classes, because I have been busting my hump, but now that I’m almost done, I do feel a twinge of sadness, because I have learned a great deal here, and I would love to continue to have exposure to concepts like business management, finance, project management, entrepreneurship, etc.

We’re at that point where everyone will say goodbye and promise to keep up with each other, which we won’t do. I’m pretty resolved not to make any of those promises… I’ll keep up with the faculty and the recruiters (well, one of them) more than I will keep up with the participants. Not by desire, but by design.

I’m really ready to go back to work. Oddly, I miss it. I really do. Though I’m not looking forward to all the typing, since my wrist is starting to swell and the carpal tunnel syndrome is not feeling so hot.

I started a livejournal, mostly so that I would have a livejournal ID and could leave handy feedback.

I started silkscreening today. My first screen looks… well, it looks bad. Maybe I will run some ink through it when I fix it up a little. The pack did not have instructions… I have been doing the best I can with minimal guidance.

Built a desk at DSI HQ.

Drank beer at Linda’s.

Carlos Delgado has 84 RBI before July 1? Damn.

Don’t feel like being useful.