So, I'm not going to be walking in at 2 on Friday.

I'm going to be walking in at 3.

Either that or there's some overtime coming my way. Have to go in at 7 again tomorrow (the mere thought of which has me thinking I need to just go to sleep - which I would do if not for this internet radio show I plan on listening to at 10) so that'll give me 37 hours on the week (8-9-10-10). I need to think of what I'm going to do Friday morning. Probably go get my oil changed.

Also found out that we likely won't have Monday off. I'm not terribly happy about this for two reasons: one is rather obvious, and the other is that we had MLK Day off last year. I can't imagine session has any bearing on this, because they aren't doing anything Monday. State agencies will have Monday off. It's going to look like it did a couple weeks ago. Oh well, it is what it is. I can't control it, so I won't worry about it.

I met my representative's assistant this afternoon and told my dad about the test score thing, so I made a couple small steps in this "professional progression" thing. Assistant said to call her at the end of the week to get things rolling and we'll see how far my dad gets. If I have to go home and handle this I won't be happy...although I will make time if I have to when I go at the end of March.

Not much else to really talk about...given that I'm in the middle of a work sandwich I'll stop here and get some rest. Please believe I'll be in a much better mood - not that I'm in a bad one now - tomorrow. Y'all be cool.

Football game was fun to watch. Alabama (who I was rooting for) won. I didn't watch too much postgame because I knew I had to get to work early this morning...well, what I thought was early. Got to the office and had a pretty normal day. Talked to the records folks at lunch to get my scores for Mensa, but...let's say they won't be applying for membership anytime soon. I talked to my mom about their inefficiency and she said she'd get my dad to work on it (since he was in administration, he'll probably get pretty far). It's funny that I'm already having to use connections, considering 1) that's something I've never wanted to do; and 2) I'll likely have to do it to get where I want to go. I could have been there already, but I chose to do things the hard way - or earn it, depending on perspective.

Oh, before I forget...there were a lot of pretty women in and around the Capitol, as there usually are during session. Life is good in that aspect. No, I'm not going back on my quitting women/dating. Not in the least. Just enjoying the view.

Anyway, this new work thing they're doing with my schedule is going to be a mess. I know this, but I don't think they realize it quite yet. Let's take this week as an example. I worked my normal 8 hours yesterday. Worked 9 hours today. I have to work 10 hours tomorrow, since I have to be there at the insanely early hour of 7 AM. Now that'll be 27 hours through three days. They seem dead set against giving me overtime, so that leaves 13 hours between Thursday and Friday. See where this gets good? Well, there's no way I'm working anything less than a regular 8 Thursday...and I'd be willing to bet that another hour will be tacked on to that since my former-and-now-once-again supervisor doesn't believe in me getting there any later than 8 AM. So add 9 and we get to 36. They've said they don't want me to have a lunch on short shifts, which is completely understandable. So we're talking four hours on Friday. Me walking in at 2 on Friday is going to be hilarious.

Tonight I'm just going to fix some dinner and then watch TV. Can't do anything else - not only do I have to go in so early, I also have no one to do anything with and it's raining. I'll let y'all have the NH primary and all that. I'm going to need some rest.

Nothing really interesting to report, other than the fact that getting my records is going to be a little more difficult than I thought. I might just go take the test for Mensa. We'll see. Yeah, that's really it. Watching a bunch of stuff on TV (UConn game, national championship game, Raw) tonight and then I have to be in at 8 AM. Part of the new schedule. Going to dislike it very much until Friday, when I'll get to sleep in...or get paid some nice overtime. We'll see which it is.

So here's what happened...I did watch the football game last night. I did not go to the Moon. Wasn't feeling the best so I went to sleep. Woke up and saw Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Good movie. Won't ruin it, but I'll say it was worth seeing...better than Mission: Impossible, but it was a different kind of movie. It was a bit deeper, more of a mystery (which it may not have been if I read the book).

Saw the second half of Giants/Falcons (missed the first half due to the movie). That game was some nonsense. Then I saw that Broncos/Steelers game, which was all kinds of crazy. Checked out a Twitter friend's internet radio show after the game and that was it before I remembered that I hadn't been here yet today.

Well, I'm off to watch some playoff highlights and go to sleep at some point. Legislative session starts in a day and a half, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't ready. This is going to be a big week, in more ways than one.

Went out last night and had a little fun, then went grocery shopping afterwards to get it out of the way. Somehow I still woke up early enough to catch a 10:00 showing of Mission: Impossible. Problem was the 10 show was IMAX, so I walked around the mall and waited until the regular show at 10:45. I saw a pair of suit separates that I'd have liked to buy, but I left it on the shelf since my car insurance payment will be coming soon. Now that I think about it, I should have bought the pants since pants in my size are harder to find than jackets (and the pants are cheaper, of course).

The movie was pretty good: I somewhat missed one crucial part because I wasn't fully cognizant - the movie wasn't boring, that was due to lack of rest - but I caught up on it. There seem to be some interesting movies coming out in the near future, enough so that Saturday morning movies might become a weekly occurrence. I might even see Girl With The Dragon Tattoo tomorrow (which of course isn't Saturday, but still). Safe House, Man On A Ledge, and Ghost Rider all seem good. They ran a GI Joe preview, which I wasn't too happy about. I have this thing about not wanting to see previews for movies I know I'm going to see, which means I'm going to really hate it when Dark Knight Rises previews start.

After the movie I came back here and watched UConn's women lose to Notre Dame. Also worked out and caught the Texans/Bengals game. Going to watch Saints/Lions and maybe go to the Moon, depending on how late the game goes. Might wash the car tomorrow, or at least give it a once-over and lift the dirt off it. High's supposed to be 78, so it'll be a great day to be outside. Well, time to get this dinner on. I'll catch up.

Talked with my mom about the Mensa thing last night. She said to go for it. I'll see if I have test scores that get me in next week. Won't find out for a while, but I'll get the ball rolling. Went out last night and had a little fun, but I paid for it this morning. The morning passed by pretty quickly, but the afternoon dragged. Finally home, though.

Trying to figure out where to go tonight: the age-appropriate place that will likely cost more or the 'younger' place that may be more fun. Sigh. Might do both. Not sure what I'm going to do during the day tomorrow, other than work out and go see Mission Impossible (in the morning)...oh yeah, and watching the UConn women. I'm happy to not have the massive cleaning job in front of me that I had last week. That's all I've really got for today.

Last night was cold...not as cold as Tuesday, but cold. Watched some basketball (I know) and then listened to All Subjects Everything, which is an internet radio show that one of my Twitter friends does. It's pretty good. After the show I had some dessert and went to sleep.

Had all kinds of thoughts while I was asleep/waking up. Didn't write any down, but the two major thoughts were on how to write my MLK piece for this year (I'm thinking about listing quotes and then saying what they mean to me) or maybe going with a singular theme like I have the last couple of years. I also thought about trying to get into Mensa. I'm not going to lie: I'm scared about the Mensa thing. I've always prided myself on my intelligence, and it's really the only thing no one else can doubt. I'm not sure how I'd be able to take not getting in. Rejection from women? Fine: no one ever confused me for a ladies' man. Being thought of as weak because I'm skinny. No big: I'm not ever going to become Mr. Universe, no matter how much I work out. But that 'smart' armor is the best thing I've got going.

Maybe the ultimate reason to try for it is not to deal with the success, but the lesson I may learn dealing with that failure. That may be the thing that pushes me to not be afraid of failure (only fear I have) and lead me into a new chapter of life.

Work was work, although my supervisor and one of the lobbyists had a funny exchange. Leslie (lobbyist) brought in some baked goods yesterday, which David (supervisor) ate quite a few of. Today he told her not to bring in any more, and she quickly told him to go to the gym more often. I almost literally fell out laughing.

One interesting thing happened: as I walked through the mall, I saw a girl who looked a lot like the last of the women I tried to date in 2011. I had that nervous feeling and everything. Then I remembered something that, while independent of my decision, surely denotes the sense thereof: when my head goes against my heart, my head is undefeated.

Might go out tonight...but if I do, a nap would be a great idea. That said, I'll catch up with y'all later.

Don't worry, y'all haven't missed much. All I did Sunday and Monday was watch football, although Monday I did some more housecleaning and I had some crab legs for dinner with sparkling apple cider. Sort of a treat for myself. All the times I've had crab legs, that was the first time I ever prepared them myself. They were pretty good. Yesterday and today I was back at work. Just between us, I can't wait until next week when session starts. That's when work will get fun and the scenery will be so nice. I'm still not dating anyone - I'm actually surprised I haven't wavered on that at all in two weeks - but I'm sure going to enjoy the view. Worked out last night and watched UConn play a terrible game. Think that's about it...have meat sauce left over from last night so I'll probably have spaghetti tonight. Well, I'm off to watch some MLB Network.

Happy new year, all. Friday night I'd planned on just going to sleep, but a friend of mine was back in town (didn't think he'd be back yet) so we went to our usual spot. Not much of anything happened: I watched a football game while he watched a basketball game. There were hardly any women there, outside one at the table next to us who looked like a 1990s video model...which is not an insult at all.

Cleaned up around here yesterday: got my bedroom, bathroom, and living room in order. Washed my car. Worked out. Watched UConn whoop St. John's (by the way, I love SNY: I get to watch out-of-market UConn games on TV). Listened to a bunch of old school music. Think that was pretty much it on the day. Went to the Moon last night. It was funny that one of the guys "introduced" me to Girl #4 of the "why I'm through with women" post. I'm not sure if she remembered me, but my cold reaction was a clear indicator that I remembered her. Since that happened within two minutes of me walking into the club, I knew the night was going to get familiarly worse. Sure enough, I saw the ex in there with some guy.

But...she saw me and had this mad look on her face. That amused me for the rest of the night. I wasn't dancing with anyone like she was. Maybe I looked better than I thought. Oh well.

Today there's NFL watching on tap. May go to my cousin's dad's place, but I'm thinking I won't since today is the last day of NFL Redzone. Might work on the kitchen and the other room today as well. I'm thinking of getting rid of a lot of clothes I don't wear, although I'll likely hold off on actual removal until I go home in March. I'll also see what I can get rid of around here: there's some stuff I'm pretty sure I can do without - and besides, everything I throw out is stuff I don't have to move - and my one goal for 2012 is to move out of Tallahassee.