Weekend Update

Both Katie and I have been suffering from some kind of cold; Katie seems to have gotten it first and then passed it on to me. It's the kind that involves a sore throat and lots of congestion. Katie has gotten over hers but I'm still fighting mine. Hopefully it will clear out within the next couple of days. It's mostly an annoyance but has forced us to stimulate the economy with Kleenex and Tylenol Sinus purchases!

We watched a few movies over the past few weeks: Slumdog Millionaire, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and Valkyrie. I would say that "Benjamin Button" was my favorite; it is themed on the idea that time is the destroyer of everything and I find that to always be a powerful motif. That movie mixes things up a little by having someone age backwards, which of course inverts the typical life experience.

Friday night we had a nice dinner at the Cottonwood Grille as part of Telemetric's annual holiday dinner. Katie got to meet some of my coworkers and we both got to meet their various family members. Of course we both got treated to a good meal as well! It was a well done corporate event; no cheesy party games or requirements to pay your own way.

Despite my ongoing cold, I went snowshoeing on Saturday with Dan (pictures and trip report forthcoming). We had a great trip, although the cold and wind didn't play that well with my runny nose and sinus pain. We spent the night in Jackpot, Nevada, one of those Nevada border towns in the middle of nowhere that cater to people in other states wanting to gamble. Some of Dan's coworkers were partying down there so we met up with them, hit the buffet for copious amounts of food, then went to their suite to watch the NFL playoffs over a few drinks. Dan went on to play a little poker but I was too tired and went to bed early.

We returned to Boise around mid-day Sunday and Katie and I had a quiet afternoon and evening together. I'll probably have to go to bed early again since this cold isn't moving out as fast as I'd hoped.

This upcoming weekend Dan and I may make another snowshoeing trip to Jackson, Wyoming, if the weather holds. While this frequency of trips may seem excessive, this time of year is Dan's only reprieve from coaching his daughter's softball. Thus we tend to put these trips together when the weather turns nice.

The weather in Boise (and really all of southern Idaho) has turned rather pleasant, almost spring-like. Most of the valley snow has melted and the nice weather is expected to last through the week. Can't complain about that!

One final update. Katie got a rude announcement Friday; NYK Line is laying off all temporary workers within the next month or so. Like everyone else, the shipping industry is seeing the effects of the global recession. Their office uses a lot of them so they will be way short on manpower pretty soon. If the official word is to be believed, Katie's job is not in any immediate danger. However their office has been training some people from Manila, Phillippines, which sounds an awfully lot like a "globalization" (aka outsourcing) initiative to me.