October 7, 1999

So this new style is growing on me! I changed the link colors to try to make them a little more visible, but please let me know if it's horrifically ugly or if you still can't see them. If you are using a newer version of Internet Explorer, you will also note that I've made use of the hover tag! I thought that was kind of exciting, but I lead a pretty dull life.

I wanted to let you know that the supergush web site is finished, for all intents and purposes, so go ahead and check it out. I'm much happier with how this one turned out then the one I did for my internship, but I'm sure that's a function of the degree of freedom and creativity I had. For my internship, there were a lot of people to try to please, who all wanted input on the site. For supergush, the guys were pretty happy to just let me do whatever, because they trust me! I wish more design could be like that, but I know my internship experience is a lot more common in the real world.

Mary threw a surprise birthday party for Terry last night, except for the surprise part. I guess he knew about it. I was in charge of getting the cake from Carvel. Mary told us it started at 6:30, so I thought that meant Terry was going to be there at 6:30. I barely let Jim get in the door from work before I was rushing him back out. Then I found out Carvel doesn't take credit cards! So I had to run out to the car and get some cash from Jim. We sped our way over to their house, and got there a little bit after 6. Then we found out that Mary and Terry weren't getting there until 7! This turned out to be a great idea on Mary's part since some of the guests didn't show up until like 6:45. We all hung out until they arrived. The plan was to have Mary call Stimp as they were on their way home from dinner so that we would know they were on their way. Well, she had Terry call, and Stimp answered the phone "The eagle has landed" thinking it was Mary. He covered pretty well, but Terry said he knew before that anyway.

We played Pin the Tail on the Donkey, and I was laughing so hard I was crying. I don't know why I found it so amusing, but there's something about watching blindfolded adults waving their hands around and then taping a paper tail to the microwave that appeals to my sense of humor, I guess.

We left kind of early, because we had to stop by the bookstore so I could buy a book for a paper I have to finish before we leave tomorrow! While at the bookstore (Barnes & Noble), I thought it would be a good idea to pick up some airplane reading material, and encouraged Jim to do the same. He was going to get one of those Harry Potter books the kids are going crazy over, in paperback. I know that at least one of those books is out in paperback (and I just confirmed online that Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone is the title). The book is, in fact, #3 on the New York Times Best-selling Paperback Fiction List. Do you think we could find a copy? We looked in Fiction, Science Fiction, Children's Intermediate, Young Adult, on every display, on every table...where did we go wrong? I worked in a bookstore for 4 years - you'd think I could find a stupid book! We even looked on the Bestseller fixture - and it wasn't there! Sure, we could've asked, but I shouldn't have to ask to find a popular book like that. Maybe they were sold out.

I also have to do the Party of 5 recap. And read the book I bought. And write that paper. And finish cleaning the house because there's nothing worse than coming home from vacation to a dirty house. Wow, what am I doing writing a journal entry? I am a little proud of myself - I went to bed at a more reasonable hour last night (1:30 instead of 5:30) and was up at 9 this morning. And then I did all the dishes, and scrubbed down the gross stovetop, and even cleaned the floor in front of the stove and washed out the cats' food and water dishes. See, I'm productive. Sometimes.

Warning: These links will open a new browser window.

I'm listening to Rolling Stone Radio right now. I haven't made a verdict yet, but I'm not crazy about their stations thus far. Plus, it keeps cutting out.

Wow. CNN has a feature where you can plug in your birthday and see what your draft number would have been in 1969. If it's lower than 196, you would have been drafted. Jim's would have been 8. My brother's would have been 106. That's pretty freaky.

Borders claims to be rebounding from losses due to Amazon's success. I think long-term, they are taking the right strategy, but I'm still glad I cashed out my stock options while they were still worth something.

I'm really confused - I thought B&N already owned Babbages? And then they closed them all? Remember when B&N had little software stores in some of their stores - and then they closed? I thought those were Babbages. I am really confused. [All 3 previous links from Camworld].

Was George Clooney right to leave ER when he did? This EW writer thinks so. I didn't think his performance in Three Kings was that much of a departure from his earlier work, though.

Manchester Prep gets canceled before it even airs.

Donald Trump for President? Is this the year of goofy presidential candidates or what?