(Locals will get the reference in the title. Non-locals? Here you go.)

The way the office smelled every morning: newspapers and fresh brewed coffee. How can a workday be bad if it starts out smelling like a Sunday morning? (workday suck often triumphed over the pleasant aroma)

My plucky family of coworkers.

Proximity to shopping. There are no stores in lunchtime-walking-distance to TNP.

The patch of grass in the parking lot where I used to pitch my beach chair and read in the warm weather.

Admin privileges on my PC. Every day there is an Adobe update I can’t install. Drives me crazy.

The pride of working for the local newspaper. Love it or hate it, everyone knew of the Courier-Post. And we did good things. I believe if we weren’t owned by Gannett we’d have done even better things. But I used to see the trucks go by and smile because I was a part of that. It used to be really good.

…and that’s about it.

This means that I have to dress in layers for work.

When I get into work, it’ll be cold. Our building is older and doesn’t adjust well to changes in temperature.

Then at around 10am, someone will meander by, unlock the plastic box over our department’s thermostat, turn the heat up and re-lock the box. One coworker will complain that the temperature is fine, ignoring the 8 women sitting around him/her wearing coats and shawls. But soon, it’ll be lovely in the office.

At noon, the one coworker who is always hot will mention that it is hot. This coworker will continue saying this in a louder and louder voice (much like a child who wants you to look at him and nod) until eventually this person emails building services saying that it’s BOILING in there.

Then someone will come out, unlock the plastic box over the thermostat, turn the heat down (or off) and re-lock the box.

And our shawls will come out again.

Your lesson for today: Never doubt the ability of one person to make everyone uncomfortable!

Updated to add: iStoopid! My phone somehow changed from Fahrenheit to Celsius while I slept. I know, I’m not a believer in the “it changed it all by itself!” school of thought so I must have done it myself. But the end result is a VERY TOASTY me here at work, with a long sleeved shirt, sweater and scarf over top.

Dec 19: Body Found in Newton Lake
Dec 9: Update: Oaklyn Man Dies After Driving Car Into Newton Lake
Sep 8:That’s Crumby: Man Caught in Alleged Doughnut Dumping
July 9: ‘Submerged Vehicle’ Brings No Comment From Oaklyn Police

(sorry, C-P…Patch doesn’t archive stories)

Today: raining. Blah, but expected.
Tomorrow: Partly sunny. Okay.
Sunday: Sunny. Great!
Monday: Cloudy. Eh.
Tuesday: Rain. Good. If not the 823 mushrooms that have sprouted around our apartment will surely die.

Saturday. Saturday…what’s that? No. Can’t be..

Dandelions! Yes…HAS to be dandelions.

(re: my last post — you guys are great. <3 )

But back to Michael… a few notes:

The nearby casinos were charging $20 for parking. But if you look one block back from the casinos, you’ll find cheaper parking. We found a $10 lot which smelled like losing bets and pee. But it was $10.

We literally were sitting in the last row. But we had an almost straight-on view of the stage and didn’t have to deal with people standing up and dancing in front of us. They were too afraid they’d tip over and fall to their deaths. See? Fear is sometimes a good thing.

The audience spanned generations. Women from their 20s to 60s and beyond were swaying and swooning.

Golly, Michael Bublé’s a cute one.

Besides being a great singer, he was really funny too. He had the audience in stitches quite a few times in between songs.

The opening act was Naturally 7, a vocal play band. Difference between a capella and vocal play is that in vocal play, the singers replicate instruments. Have you ever heard a guy “beatbox” a harmonica? Yeah. They were great and did a fantastic rendition of Phil Collins “In the Air Tonight.” (Singing starts at :30) Seriously!

And while he didn’t sing either of the two songs we were waiting for — no biggie, as they were three albums ago — we left with our toes tapping and barely noticed the gigantic line of shifting, restless men waiting to enter Bare Exposure LIVE NUDE DANCING as we went back to the car.

Come on, swing it.

The celebrity spokesman for Graduate to Go is Mark Walhberg, whom I like because of his NKOTB connection, his lovely underwear ads of last century and the song Good Vibrations, which is part of my summer playlist.

As Marky Mark menacingly stared at me from the Taco Bell window I realized that while he brings the starpower, he’s probably not the BEST spokesperson for staying in school. Mark Wahlberg dropped out of high school and after a REALLY rough period of time*, evolved into a Hollywood super-player — an Oscar/Golden Globe/SAG nominated actor and producer — with a fat bankroll and gorgeous wife & family. So obviously, the lack of a high school education didn’t hold him back much at all. (Yes, he got a GED later, but I don’t think that opened any doors for him.)

I think a better spokesperson for staying in school would be “Itchy” Bob the hobo.

“Hi, I’m Robert. I dropped out of high school and now I live on the corner of Cuthbert Boulevard and Hampton Road. I bet if I stayed in school, the guys at the soup kitchen wouldn’t call me Itchy Bob. Please give $1 to this program and can I have half of your burrito?”

* Not defending Chris Brown at ALL, but look at Marky Mark’s past and tell me if people aren’t a BIT too angry/grudgy at Chris Brown.

August 2009

• Caber tossing (KILT ALERT!!)
• Bocce
• Alligator wrestling
• Extinguishing fires on themselves
• Sumo training
• Atlasphere
• Escaping a constantly rolling boulder
• Keg tossing
• Dwarf tossing