![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Today at work: More welding! Unfortunately, due to requisition issues--we can't get more metal "coupons" to weld together, nor tanks of oxygen for cutting--we stopped welding around 3pm and will do other things--Maintenance and Repair on Forced Entry/Ballistic Resistant (FEBR) doors/windows, as well as FEBR installs--until those items can be purchased. (We've used an entire 55gal barrel of coupons in a day and a half of welding, when the previous classes have used 1.5-2 barrels total for five days. What can I say? We've been busy! :D)
At 11:30, everyone in the building gathered in the lab for an awards/recognition ceremony, mostly 3- and 5-year recognitions. (In fact, some people got both at once, because they haven't been available for a couple years!) Following this was a catered BBQ in the lab, which while tasty, wasn't worth the $10 per person that the catering company charged--especially since some of the food ran out before everyone got a serving!
After work, I headed up to Springfield Mall to get the daypack I mentioned recently, and found Hudson Trail Outfitters, one of my new favorite stores in the mall. :) I was looking to spend no more than $40-$50 for a decent small pack with a hip belt; after looking over their selection for half an hour, prices ranging from about $35-$100+, I was down to two North Face bags, on sale for $55 and $67, respectively. At this point, I figured I might as well spend the extra few dollars for the bag I liked better, rather than settle for the cheaper one. I also labored over a decision among bug repellents--the things target me, I swear--and among quality hiking socks and liners, selecting one of each of the above. (Repel 29 and Smartwool, respectively. You know you can get 95% and 100% DEET products?) At the counter, I opted to join their rewards program--$15 startup fee; $5 rebate for each $100 spent. (Given how much I drool over their merchandise, I think I'll get some use of it. ;)
On to Petsmart, where I fascinated the Severe Macaw with my tongue ring, got crickets, superworms, and a bird toy/ladder for the relevant pets, and got dinged by a door in the parking lot. I was sitting in my truck; on my left was a guy waiting in a minivan, on my right a woman getting her kid out of the back seat of her Lexus IS300 (For Sale!) She opens the door, wham! right into my door. Naturally, she doesn't notice. I twitch/cringe, pass one of those strained smiles, and look over to the guy on the left, who heard it as well. I grinned and shrugged, rolled down the window, said "whatcha gonna do? Her Lexus door probably took more expensive damage than my beat up Ford truck did." We commiserated, agreed, weren't upset, and I came home. :)
At 11:30, everyone in the building gathered in the lab for an awards/recognition ceremony, mostly 3- and 5-year recognitions. (In fact, some people got both at once, because they haven't been available for a couple years!) Following this was a catered BBQ in the lab, which while tasty, wasn't worth the $10 per person that the catering company charged--especially since some of the food ran out before everyone got a serving!
After work, I headed up to Springfield Mall to get the daypack I mentioned recently, and found Hudson Trail Outfitters, one of my new favorite stores in the mall. :) I was looking to spend no more than $40-$50 for a decent small pack with a hip belt; after looking over their selection for half an hour, prices ranging from about $35-$100+, I was down to two North Face bags, on sale for $55 and $67, respectively. At this point, I figured I might as well spend the extra few dollars for the bag I liked better, rather than settle for the cheaper one. I also labored over a decision among bug repellents--the things target me, I swear--and among quality hiking socks and liners, selecting one of each of the above. (Repel 29 and Smartwool, respectively. You know you can get 95% and 100% DEET products?) At the counter, I opted to join their rewards program--$15 startup fee; $5 rebate for each $100 spent. (Given how much I drool over their merchandise, I think I'll get some use of it. ;)
On to Petsmart, where I fascinated the Severe Macaw with my tongue ring, got crickets, superworms, and a bird toy/ladder for the relevant pets, and got dinged by a door in the parking lot. I was sitting in my truck; on my left was a guy waiting in a minivan, on my right a woman getting her kid out of the back seat of her Lexus IS300 (For Sale!) She opens the door, wham! right into my door. Naturally, she doesn't notice. I twitch/cringe, pass one of those strained smiles, and look over to the guy on the left, who heard it as well. I grinned and shrugged, rolled down the window, said "whatcha gonna do? Her Lexus door probably took more expensive damage than my beat up Ford truck did." We commiserated, agreed, weren't upset, and I came home. :)
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif){kind=small}