Pre World-Cup hype...not

1) The World Cup begins tomorrow. I was at work during the opening ceremony. Thus I didn't see the ceremony. I didn't record it on my DVR either. Am I to be concerned that I am not as feverish about this World Cup as I was about the last 4 World Cups? I think not. I suppose it is a part of growing up: letting go of your past, moving on to more exciting hobbies, etc. A decade ago, I would have been able to reel off every team, every player on every team, every group and all the teams in the groups. Hell at the Quarterfinal phase of France 1998, I recall that I knew all the scores of all the matches that had been played in all the groups during the group stages. Now I cannot even name all the teams in Nigeria's group! It is a weird change.

2) I played tennis a few days ago with my sister. It appears watching Nadal on television has helped my forehand. It rocks. Sadly, my backhand needs work. I really need to get a tennis coach as soon as possible.

3) I volunteered to be a mentor to young girls interested in the sciences and engineering. They are in middle school or high school, and all are from disadvantaged backgrounds. Most are probably ethnic minorities.

4) My sister and her fiance speak a lot on Skype. I don't really think there is any chemistry between the two of them, but really, whatever floats their respective boats. The fiance is absolutely insufferable - but outsiders often wonder what makes lovers so engrossed in each other's company. I am absolutely perplexed as to what they see in each other. And how (& why) they don't pull out their own hair as they go over the minutiae of their lives. Their conversation rarely goes beyond "How are you? Where is your sister (i.e. I), etc". I really just don't get it, but I have learned to clamp my mouth tight shut. Now it appears they are fighting. The other day, he called her "bullish", and not in a nice way. Already they do not necessarily appear to be happy with each other. Sometimes, in my more cynical phases, I wonder if they are together because they have been together for so long? Or because they wonder if they will not find anyone else? The whole thing is a mystery to me. Both seem miserable and artificial around one another. I don't understand it, but perhaps in time it will all become clearer to me.

5) I found out that I am fat again. Another time for a great diet and this time I mean a culture and lifestyle that I can support.

6) I really should call my friend Val. I rarely feel guilty about not calling people, but in this case, I do. He is from Bulgaria, and we were great friends in college. I wonder how he is doing now. He is in Grad school. I hope he is healthy and happy.

7) I have been in DMAIC training for the past 2 weeks, with people from all across the world. It has been fun. Today, though, there was a dinner for all the folks in the training - a lakeside buffet on a yacht. I couldn't attend it.

8) I bought an Invicta watch online a few days ago. It arrived today. As part of the perks of working at my awesome job, I got a discount of about 90%. i have a thing for watches, apparently. I can't stop buying them. The Invicta watch cost $40, but when it arrived, it was a little too large, so I might resize it.

9) My awesome job keeps sending me checks instead of depositing my salary in the bank. I really hate having to go to the bank. They tell me it will take a few weeks before my Direct Deposit kicks in. It's really annoying, though...

10) Since I just moved to Ohio and since this is the great USA where every state thinks it's a country, I have to jump through hoops to become a legal driver in Ohio. First I have to change the title on my vehicle to read "Ohio" where I now reside instead of "New Jersey" where I have lived since 2004 and where I bought the car in 2009. This was a long journey. I had to call the bank (which owns the lien on the car) to send the original title to the County Clerk's Office here in Ohio. This alone took about 2 weeks, since everyone at the bank acted like I was speaking Greek the first time I called about this matter. And then the County Clerk, in their infinite wisdom, instead of simply calling me or emailing me to let me know when they received the documents, sent me a letter by post to inform me that they got the documents. I mean, in this age, wouldn't an email suffice? Or a text message? Or a bloody telephone call? Save yourself the 44 cents it takes. Save yourself a trip to the post office or local mailbox. Save yourself the f*cking effort.


As you might rightly deduce, I am not a big fan of governmental agencies. They are some of the most bureaucratic monstrosities around. Indeed, I am not the only person who feels this way. Since I work in Lean Manufacturing, and my job largely revolves around eliminating inefficiencies in manufacturing processes, it is not a surprise that I read this post : http://blogs.reliableplant.com/1158/lean-in-washington/ and agreed with pretty much everything the blogger had to say. Indeed, his experience mirrors mine and that of probably millions of poor Americans at the mercy of fat, lazy, entitled government workers across the length and breadth of this country. And this is not to say that all government workers are entitled and fat and lazy, but in my experience, a good percentage of them are...

In any case, back to the car wahala. After I got the letter from the County of Clerks saying that they had received my title, I was asked to come in to get the title change completed. Once this was done, I saw a notice saying that I could change my driver's license to an Ohio license. I had completely forgotten about this. Upon inquiry, I was informed that I had to take a written test to transfer my driver's license from New Jersey to Ohio. Alas, this written test is conducted at another branch of another office (a half hour away), peopled by - you guessed it - fat, lazy, entitled government workers. In any case, part of the blame is mine. Hell, most of the blame is mine. I should have read all the requirements. I should have gone prepared. I should have known. Indeed I went in to the office only with the intention of changing the title from Ohio to New Jersey. But when I saw that this particular office handled license changes, too, I remembered that I had to change my driver's license and license plates. These all took place before the bombshell that I had to take a new written test and that I had to drive a half hour to take said test, and then return to the original office to complete the license change. What a waste of a 30-minute drive. A simple computer, set up to automatically administer said test, will not cost that much money to run. I mean, what is the magic involved in doing something as simple as this?

In any case, it is late (past 9pm!). And I had a long day at work, only leaving my office at around 06:45pm, more than 2 hours past my regular exit time. So I'd better go to bed!

Good night!