I'm heartened by the fact that Ev got a "congrats" letter from St. Thomas rather than a "see ya later" letter. In case he had any notions about wanting to do his own thing it has now been decided. The good news is that his best bud is also attending the school come September. They can jump the bus, catch a ride with me, or find alternative means at their disposal to get there each and every day. It is a college prep kind of place with a heavy emphasis on sports and academics and not necessarily in that order. I'd like Ev to pursue a couple of activities and see where it takes him. He's a hell of a swimmer so that's number one. He's also developed into something of a badminton bad boy and has been referred to as the best player in 8th grade in his school. Who knew. He can't stop talking about the 68 year-old man ho showed up at his school recently and bested him in a 20-4 rout. I think he was quite incredulous at the fact someone that age could just walk in and do what he did. I know he stays after school to play and may even play during recess. I think that boy has found himself a passion. As a parent of an otherwise seemingly aimless adolescent, I couldn't be more pleased.

As I was checking out of the local natural health food store last night with my little baggie of oregano I thought to myself that if I were to fall in love with an herb it would be oregano. I just love that stuff. I will have to do a little research. It may have an effect on certain parts of the brain that may help explain my head-over-heels relationship with the herb. I could use a little something for endurance when running on the treadmill but that wouldn't be oregano. More likely, we would be looking at bee pollen. Maybe even ginseng. I'm just talking about an extra 10 minutes or so. Nothing serious. My body is willing but I get a little distracted after about 45 minutes and maybe it's just boredom. I thought loading up my iPod with music to run by would make a difference but that too only gets me so far. Maybe running isn't the elixir I thought it was. Anyway, I wanted to be more lavish in my praise of that elegant herb oregano when checking out but thought better of it. I made more of a mainstream comment to the effect that the price was right for sampling the herbs in their store. That, she understood and showed her appreciation for the comment with a smile. Not a come hither smile, mind you. More of a "come again soon" smile. It's the story of my life where store clerks are concerned.

Did I mention that I get to keep my job for while longer? At least, it looks that way. There have been all kinds of machinations in our business model as of late but not much that seems to put what I do at risk. Things could change tomorrow. I would not want to be looking for a job in this environment. There are too many people looking and too few opportunities out there. I will continue to do what I do and make an extra effort to provide more than the usual value. You got to do what you got to do to stay competitive. Maybe that means coming in earlier every day and staying a little later. Maybe that means forgoing lunch to do a few extra things at my desk. Maybe that means bringing ideas to the table in a way that increases my premium as an employee. Better to let the bum with no ideas and an eye towards retirement go at the end of the day instead of the other guy. I think I don't have that mindset. I like to work and don't see work as a timeline ending at retirement. Maybe I lack perspective. Maybe I didn't get the memo. Did I tell you that I got two bike rides in this month? I was telling my darling that on one of the rides that the notion of being cold never once crossed my mind. I was too busy chasing endorphins and enjoying the scenery. i wasn't the only guy out there on the boulevard. Dude.