Hells yeah....great news. My table's legs are the right dimensions and the table stands pretty well. They aren't fully complete, so I suppose it could turn out wobbly, but it doesn't seem it will end up that way. But that's great news...to go with the bad news, which everyone will find out eventually...but now is not the time, nor the place.

Off to the bar I go, to meet my friends from home...

Has anyone ever gotten junk mail like this? It has to be junk mail, because I went to Google and did the search, and didn't find myself anywhere...I wonder if it's Google junk mail, trying to drive up their hit numbers? Here it is...

X-Apparently-To: southsideandy@yahoo.com via 66.218.78.169; 08 Mar 2003 15:10:51 -0800 (PST)
X-YahooFilteredBulk: 66.14.230.219
X-Track: 28: 20
Reply-To: CRChickadee@Yahoo.com
From: CRChickadee@Yahoo.com
To: southsideandy@yahoo.com
Subject: Wanted wholesale purchase of green coffee beans
Sender: CRChickadee@Yahoo.com
Date: Fri, 8 Mar 2002 15:13:03 -0800

Hello, I did a search in Google, for "coffee bean distributors", and your site and e-mail was presented. I am looking to purchase wholesale, green coffee beans. If this e-mail address for you is correct for the search/list and you selll wholesale, green coffee beans, would you please advise me of your wholesale, bulk pricinging? If the Google search and list of your site was incorrect for my request, please disregard this request for information to you. Sincerely, M. Denver

Well, I got a raise. 4 percent. I don't know what to think about it right now other than, it's better than nothing. But then I think how that comes out to roughly $100 per month. Sure, it's $100 I didn't have, but how much will that help me, really? I have some thinking to do on it though, along with on the incentives program that was introduced today as well. Basically, we HAVE TO come up with 5-8 money-making ideas for the company apiece--goals of things we'd like to do. And they don't want "savings" plans...like, if we shut the lights off, we'll save X amount of dollars. Or if we fire the person who runs our Web site, we'll save all sorts of money and a whole lot of heartbreak and angst.

Anyway, at the end of the year, the bosses look at our goals and any that have been accomplished are noted. They look at how much the company made off those ideas, and the person who had the idea gets a nice cut of the profits. It was, of course, highly talked of as "you could make an extra $10,000 to $15,000 if things work out right," and it's intriguing. Which means I'll probably stick around at least another year...unless something ridiculous happens. Now, if I could just think of five money-making ideas...(the thing they fail to understand is, if we could, wouldn't we start our own magazines?)

I was then approached to work this Sunday...how nice. :)

So we'll see what I think...

Potentially big day today...at 12:20, I have the last meeting of my annual review. This is with Hub, the publisher. I will find out if I'm getting a raise or not. Thus, I'm a little psyched about this. We'll see how I feel about it later. Much like many things in my life, I don't know right now what I'd prefer--a big raise so I can stay here, or nothing so I can go out and find something else. I guess I'm weird like that.

Since Kim commented, "No bruises, HOORAY!", I felt I should describe Day Two of post-goalie mortem.

After feeling great about my performance, I quickly realized I was in pain. I got little sleep last night (Wed-Thurs.) because of the soreness of my lower back, hips, legs and everything in between. Oh yeah, and I forgot to mention the huge scrape on the "bottom" of my forearm and the giant bruise on my elbow, where my body apparently first made contact with the floor on my beautiful Pete Rose slide save. My left knee also hurts badly like it's bruised inside, meaning the pads I had must have slipped to the side or provided little protection on one of my saves.

But you know what? I'd do it again. :)

Blog. Then shower. Then bed.

Man, I'm tired from hockey. I put the new cup to good use though...we were missing our two goalies, so I subbed in. It wasn't terrible. I let in seven goals, which isn't too bad, I guess. Still, there's a lot of refinement that needs to be done. :) Of course, I told Nick and Troy I hadn't played any sort of goalie since about fifth grade, and I just sat on the floor then and swatted at the puck whenever it came by me. Today, kicking it seemed to be the move of choice. I had some nice saves, but boneheaded misses. But all in all, it was cool. The highlight was my Pete Rose flying slide (if you haven't seen Rose slide head-first into a base, you wouldn't understand) to cover the ball that was getting away from me quickly, which I covered successfully. And I didn't break any ribs in the process, so that's good.

Almost forgot to blog about this, but I find out a little more about my financial and career future on Friday. That's when the big boss sits us down for the last step in our annual reviews. I'll know if there's a raise or not and how much. Talk around the office is that we'll get something, but the prevailing question here is, will it be enough? Of course, don't ask me how much "enough" is. I'll just know. This is huge, because it will determine much about the next few months. Will I be job hunting? Will I be apartment hunting? Where and how much? What of a potential new position revealed to me at the Super Bowl by my editor-in-chief that could bring about a promotion and such (though I probably wouldn't find that out on Friday)? Many questions, hopefully answered Friday.

401K report: Up $14. After losing $33 the first period (I think it's a quarterly report), I gained $47 this period. So, woohoo, I'm making money. Or something. Too bad I can't touch it forever. (I know that's not 100 percent true, but it will be for me, if I can help it.)

All right...now Blogger was on the fritz. Beautiful. Well, hopefully that will end too.

I had ideas for posts, but they're all gone now.

I am glad we finally got some snow, but it ruined the evening I was scheduling with Luis. We were going to celebrate Fat Tuesday downtown somewhere. Of course, after "24," the minute we got on I-55, we said screw it. We ended up at the crappy bar a mile or so from my house called "Tailgaters." It was still crappy, but mildly entertaining.

Tonight, hockey playoffs. I purchased a cup, so I'll be running headlong into shots on goal and passes and such with blatant disregard for my personal well-being. I have to go carbo-load now. Need...more...energy.

Anybody know anything about bumpy, itchy, rash-like patches of skin? I got this bumpy rash on my left bicep last night after I scratched it (not too much though). And it hasn't bothered me all day until now, when I just got home. I'm not itchy anywhere else or rashy anywhere else. I put some lotion on it, but who knows how that will work...theoretically, maybe it will just go away.

Hopefully that grossed you out. But if it didn't, know that I've made a major decision in my floor-hockey playing career. I'm going to the store tomorrow sometime and buying a cup. Imagine that! Ha-HA! I've decided that this Wednesday, I'm going full-on at the puck without a care for my bodily well-being. Reckless abandon, baby! If I have a cup, I'll be fine, because I can deal with welts on other areas of my body. But I've got to protect the family jewels. At any rate, I've decided that damn goalie that killed us last week is not getting off another full-ice shot. I'll be in the way.

Just win, baby.