coffee corner

(or, “I really can’t think of a catchy title”)

I went in to the office today for a couple of meetings. It’s always good to catch up informally with folks that I haven’t seen in some time. One of the things that is lost when working “virtually” from home is the coffee pot conversations and other informal chats that make up much of my day. Some of my best ideas come from those. Because my immediate work teams are all distributed teams, I’m close to instituting a Friday “coffee pot conversation” teleconference. The rule is one hour, max of three people, and no set agenda. Just set aside a bit of time to talk with your peers and find out what they’re up to. I need to get that off the ground soon. (It beats out the “Professionals in Pajamas” support group idea, for those of us who always work from home.)

Christine is out of town this weekend on a knitting retreat with a “famous sock author” whose name escapes me. This is good for me, as I can plan out and cook all the - and I quote - “stuff that makes the house stink” this weekend. I’ve got a few chickens’ worth of bones stored up in the freezer for making chicken stock, and I need to go out and pick up beef bones to make a big pot of beef stock. I may even make braised cabbage, which Jason liked. (I will admit, simmering beef bones for 24 hours isn’t an entirely pleasant aroma, although it’s far from unpleasant. And the cabbage cooks covered.)

Finally, I’ve become hooked on Guitar Hero II. Seriously so. It’s like Dance Dance Revolution for nerds who can’t dance. Jason likes it, too, which has meant we’re slowly taking over the living room to ROCK!!! Fortunately, there are no pictures yet.