124th post!

Wow, 124 posts! And as you know, 124 is a really nice round number, so this is usually when you stop and talk about how much you've posted, right?

The prime factors of 124 are 31, 2, and another 2, you know. And it's the model number of some Russian airplane. And it's ... yeah, there's nothing special about this number. Unless, that is, you are counting in base 31, in which case this number is '4,0' but in that case you are out of your mind, you crazy people. However, I forgot to say anything on my 100th post, and it's getting embarrassing. Not that this helped.

The best thing that happened today was a decently good veggie burrito at Bajio's for dinner. It has caramelized onion and corn and sour cream and stuff in it, and it's one of my favorite things there. Of course it tastes much better chimi-style (deep fried and crispy), but it's a lot less healthy that way. I *do* try to be healthy sometimes.

It's a pity that the reason I was at Bajio's is because I was putting out fires at work and way too stressed to do anything leisurely for dinner. It would've been more fun to be going there because I felt like a veggie burrito. But be the reasons whate'er they will, it was a good burrito.

The fires are mostly out, by the way, but not completely out. One small consolation is that they are no longer my problem.

Feeling Vaguely Important

Last week was not my first time giving job interviews. I've given a few job interviews, occasionally to people that we hired. However, last week was my first time giving a job interview to someone significantly older than me. I'm aware that by the time you reach adulthood, age matters a great deal less in determining positions of authority, but it was still pretty strange.

I still hadn't had a chance to run out and grab cheese by mentoring time, so we ran by a grocery store on the way to my place and had him pick a cheese flavor. He went for sharp cheddar. I couldn't stand sharp cheddar when I was 10, but it tasted good and he enjoyed it, so no complaints.

At a certain sister's suggestion, I'm holding a Halloween party this weekend. If you actually know me then you're invited (I don't know how many random internet denizens I have reading my blog, but you guys are totally getting left out in the cold here). We'll be playing Rock Band and (maybe) Dance Dance Revolution. If you want to dress up, dress like a rock star (this requirement restricts you in no way, given what I've seen of rock stars; think of it more as an inspiration). It's also way past time I had a barbecue, so the food will be grilled deliciousness. If you are vegetarian and wish to attend, warn me and I will try to have something filling that doesn't contain animal products.

Toasted Cheese Sandwiches

It's funny. I'm always tired in the mornings, so why am I never tired enough to fall asleep at night? It's one of the great mysteries of the universe.

I'm hanging out with Camren the protégé after sleep and work (I'd say "tomorrow," but that's not strictly...). I'm planning on making toasted cheese sandwiches. I have good bread, but the only cheeses in the fridge are a delicious old world swiss and parmesan. I may have to go and buy some cheddar. I had the swiss with potatoes and veggies yesterday and it was awesome, but kids tend to have uncomplicated palates.

Work has been really interesting lately, but also pretty stressful. I'm working on some genuinely hard problems. I imagine many of my readers can relate -- the actual work can be very hard, very tiring, and very frustrating, but the immense satisfaction you get when it all comes together makes it all worth it. I suppose a lot of good things in life are like that.

One of my current pet projects* is to build some videos that explain what our software does and how it works. One of the big problems with working for a company that develops 3-d modeling plug-ins that provide a new formulation of curved surfaces (with associated modeling tools) within existing CAD/CAM packages is that I don't really have a comprehensible answer to "what do you do for work?"** Hopefully, a video that explains what I do will be a slightly better answer than "here, look at some pretty pictures of jewelry! Also, electric guitars!" which is how I currently explain it.

OK, time to attempt sleep.

* Yargh, I have multiple pet projects.

** That was a joke. Laugh.

What I did for General Conference

I listened to General Conference, of course, but I also visited my sister and her kids in distant northern Utah. The kids are very cute, but since this is a public blog, I shall not prove it to you. You shall just have to trust me.

While we were driving around, I ended up sitting in the back seat where my nephew usually sits. His favorite CD was playing, which included this song, the which is now thoroughly stuck in my head. Please visit that link and share my excruciating, yet catchy pain. Then, if you wish to escape that song, feel free to replace it with this one, which still qualifies as (A) the catchiest song in the history of the universe, the video for which is (B) the strangest thing I have ever watched. There is no way to escape from that song, by the way.

While up north, I bought a lot of swiss cheese. I was not previously aware that swiss cheese could taste so darn good. I already liked swiss cheese, mind you, but this was unusually good swiss cheese. Alas, there is no way to attach flavors to blogs, so I cannot share with you. You shall have to visit me and ask very, very politely if you want to see what I mean.