Stuff about Betty.

I learned some sad news about Betty today: tomorrow is her last day in my area of the company. Apparently, she interviewed for a position in the Accounting area a month ago. She got the position and is starting on Monday.I am totally bummed about this. Accounting is on the other side of the building from my area (though it is on the same floor).

I learned about this in our team meeting today. I managed to sit by Betty at the table (we got to use our regular meeting room this time), and our team leader made sure everyone had chairs to sit in. We were reviewing some changes in time off (nothing drastic), and then our leader announced it. We also talked about the upcoming "employee forum," and Betty asked if there was assigned seating. There isn't, so she told us (the team) that she would sit with us during it. She was quite chatty and witty during the meeting. I wanted to quote her in the entry, but I am having trouble remembering the funnier stuff she said. She joked about the semi-annual bonuses declining due to her joining the company.

I want to tell Betty something before we part company on Friday. Sadly, I haven't been that good at saying goodbye to her on my way out this week. I did say "See ya!" to her yesterday, but I don't think she realized I was looking at her as I said it. I don't think I should tell her I like her, since she has a boyfriend. But I don't want her leaving and thinking I didn't care at all about her. I certainly want her to feel like she can swing by and talk to me if she happens to be in my area of the floor. But I don't want to creep her out and send the wrong message either. What a dilemma! I hope I don't blow it tomorrow. It may be my last chance for a while to talk to her....

Spiders, Betty, and the weekend.

On Monday afternoon, I took the jar with Peter II's spiderlings in it outside and left it a few yards from the townhouse door with the lid off the jar. After a couple of hours, I retrieved the jar and put the lid back on. It looks like most of the spiderlings left, but I think I can still see a few in the jar.

This week, I have seen, waved, and spoke to Betty at various times. Nothing of a personal nature as far as the speaking goes, just work stuff. I also tried to be helpful to her whenever I could during the week, mostly by holding the door open when I saw her coming. I made it a point to say "see ya" to her before I left work on Friday, and she told me to have a "great weekend" (or maybe it was "good weekend"? I'm not 100% sure I remember this correctly).

I was pleasantly surprised by a call from Harry last evening. We hadn't gotten together in the morning because there weren't any new movies out we wanted to see this weekend. He and Liz had some stuff going on when I had talked to him on the phone on Saturday morning, so I figured I wouldn't see them until next Saturday. Anyway, he was in the neighborhood and wondered if I wanted to come over and watch a movie with him at his place. Liz was feeling ill, so we had a broader range of choices than we would have if she had been with us. He had gotten a new kitten from Liz recently, a kitten he named after the Marvel super hero Thor. The kitten was fun to hold and pet, though he meowed most of the time I was around him. After a lot of thought, I finally picked Alien vs. Predator: Requiem to watch, since I hadn't seen it since the weekend it was in the theater.

Today, I did stuff around the townhouse. I watched some computer training stuff on DVD. Diana wants me to help her and one of her friends set up a retail website, and she's willing to pay me for my efforts. I did some reading. I worked on my book list for what I plan to read over the next five months.

Birthday weekend.

Things did not go exactly as I had expected, but I still had a good time this weekend. On Friday, I had the day off of work. I did some vacuuming and some other cleaning around the townhouse. I finished a PS2 game I had been playing on and off for a while. Harry called me, and we decided to go see The Dark Knight that night instead of Saturday morning. He and Liz picked me up, and we ate dinner at the mall. I got some birthday gifts from them, including the new animated Batman DVD Gotham Knight. Afterwards, we went to AMC to see The Dark Knight. It was violent, unpredictable, and dark, but it did have some important messages in it about hope in the midst of trials and the dangerous road a person can find themselves on in the midst of personal tragedy.

Saturday was my 34th birthday. I got together with Harry in the morning. We went to a few comic book stores (I had a coupon for free comics at one of them) and had lunch in between. In the afternoon, I got together with Cosmo, Wanda, Gwen, and Diana. We went to a local arcade with a nine-hole minigolf course. We played minigolf, and I came in fourth (it wasn't my day for putt-putt). I had better luck with air hockey, beating Gwen with a score of 6-5 after leading the whole game. We also played ski-ball and a speedboat racing video game. Gwen beat me at the video game by about half a second. She was in the lead during the first and final thirds of the game, though I had taken the lead during the middle third of the game. Afterwards, we ran a quick errand and returned to the townhouse. Norman joined us, and we had pizza for dinner, followed by cake and ice cream.

Today, I confirmed something I discovered yesterday: Peter II is dead. On Saturday, I had looked in on her and thought the odd appearance of her legs was her feeding on the ant I caught for her Friday. This morning, she was in the same spot as yesterday, so I turned the jar around for a better look. The ant was dead less than a centimeter above her, but the spider was also dead with her legs bent in toward her body. I am pondering taking the jar outside so her offspring can disperse in the natural spider fashion....

Something about Betty, weekend plans.

I spoke with Betty a few times this week, mostly about work. We didn't have our team meeting today, so I didn't get to see if she would stand near me again. She passed near me a few times when I was at the copier this week, but it was probably more due to the stuff she was working on than a desire on her part to be near me. Today, I wished everyone a good weekend (I have tomorrow off), and she replied, "Have a great birthday!" Pleased that she remembered my birthday is this weekend, I said, "Thank you!" as I headed out the door.....

If all goes well, then I will get a lot of stuff done Friday, leaving me free to relax and enjoy my birthday on Saturday. I am eager to see The Dark Knight with Liz and Harry on Saturday. I also hope to spend some time with Cosmo, Wanda, Diana, and Gwen at one of the local arcades.

Double Feature.

Betty called in sick on Friday, so I didn't get to see her that day. I taped "Doctor Who", but it was kind of a disappointing episode. Basically, it was the Doctor on a stranded tram/train on an alien planet with a bunch of people yelling at each other. Everyone was freaking out when one of the people onboard started repeating everything the others were saying, then talking in time with them.

On Saturday, I went out with Harry and Liz and saw two movies. First, we went to see Journey to the Center of the Earth. We went to the nearby mall for lunch, then came back and saw Hellboy II: The Golden Army. After I parted company with them, I did the laundry and some ironing.

Today, I did my grocery shopping. I took a short nap, then played "Marvel: Ultimate Alliance" for awhile. Below is a picture of some of Peter II's spiderlings.

Betty.

I had some time close to Betty today. First, she sat on my left today at lunch. I was on the end of the table this time, so she sat on the seat closest to me on my left. Later, we had a team meeting, and she stood in the corner behind me like she usually does. She was closer to me than usual this time because we ended up meeting in a smaller room than we normally do. She was near me a few times later in the day when I was making copies, but she was busy with stuff of her own.

We didn't really talk that much to each other today, mostly because Betty kept bringing work stuff over to my desk when I was away from my desk. Whether this was intentional on her part or just a coincidence, I'm not sure. I didn't have anything to bring back to her today, so I didn't spend much time near her desk either. During lunch, she joined me while I was reading. She talked a little bit with someone else at our table (like she did the last time she sat near me), but not really to me (other than her asking if she could sit in the seat to my left).

Last week, Fourth of July weekend.

Before I begin talking about this past week, here is a picture of some of the damage done by the storm that hit my area recently. This big tree near my townhome got split and (as seen in this picture) fell on the roof on someone's condo. Last time I looked, the tree from this picture was cut down and hauled away.

This last week was an interesting one for me. I had Tuesday off for a dentist appointment (I lost a filling on Friday the 13th) and an orthodontist appointment. The dentist appointment involved numbing, then drilling to remove what was left of the old filling, and the installation of a new filling. The orthodontist appointment was much faster. Within five minutes of the doctor coming over to the chair I was in, I was done. He was pleased at how my teeth are faring with my braces gone.

I also had Wednesday off. I was seeing the doctor who drained my abscess for a checkup. She was pleased at how my back had healed. She drew my blood, had me give her a urine sample, and gave me a bunch of tests: hernia, eye, and some strange walking and bending stuff. She said something about my spine being crooked, but didn't seem concerned about it. She was puzzled about my urine (apparently it has protein in it, which is unusual), but I figured out later that it was probably due to all the walking I had done on Tuesday and Wednesday before I saw her.

On Thursday, we had a meeting at work. Betty stood near me, and I thought I heard her breathing funny at one point. We spoke briefly to each other a few times this week, but it was just work stuff. We had some eye contact moments, but nothing overly electric (at least not for me).

I had Friday off for the Fourth of July. Diana and I went out to get fireworks for the celebration at Cosmo and Wanda's. They live in the country, so we aren't as worried about fireworks hitting the neighbors' homes or passing cars like we would be here in the city. Harry and Liz picked me up, and we saw Hancock at AMC. We had theater food since it was around lunch time, and I was glad I didn't have to leave during the movie to use the restroom. Later, Diana and I met up with Gwen and Norman. We all rode together to Cosmo and Wanda's place. We met some family friends there and had dinner. Afterwards, I did our annual fireworks show using the fireworks I bought and the ones my friends brought from Missouri. Everyone seemed to enjoy the show, and I think it mostly had to do with the Missouri fireworks.

On Saturday, I spent most of my time at home. I did the laundry, watched TV, and spent time online. I played more of "Marvel: Ultimate Alliance." Diana and I went out and got some drive-thru for dinner.

Today, I did my grocery shopping. I watched TV and did some reading. All and all, a busy week.