Friday, September 20, 2002. Entry #185

A few catch up tidbits before we get to the Survivor predictions.

Corporate shakeups make me queasy.

Yesterday, it was announced that the Sporting Goods Company is no longer going to be doing E-commerce. We will still be having a website where people can peruse our catalog, but no longer will they be able to buy online.

Our department is being divided up into bite-size chunks and absorbed into the rest of the firm. I'm now officially part of the Marketing department with a new chain of command over my head. Frank is moving over to purchasing, and the big boss Mr. Crumb is leaving the company entirely. Theresa, our online marketing head, is going to be my direct supervisor now, harkening back to the days when I first started here and had two bosses.

Thankfully, my job isn't in jeopardy. It's likely there will be more creativity and flexibility in the site, now that it's moving away from a business model, so there'll be a lot more tasks to handle. No one, either than Mr. Crumb, lost their job, and since Mr. Crumb was making six figures, he's not in any sort of urgent distress.

I'll tell you more as the situation stabilizes.

Lisa was in for dental surgery yesterday.

A sad result of her years with braces is that her lower front gums had receded to a dentally dangerous level. The only solution was for a surgeon to attempt to rebuild her gums with a graft of flesh from the roof of her mouth.

My poor sweetie.

She's okay. She's got stitches in her mouth and a prescription for Tylenol-3's. She's back at work today, but will likely go home early.

My cousin Dave moved into his new apartment last week.

My uncle and his fiancée are selling the old house and getting someplace smaller, and it was decided that Dave would get his own place.

It's pretty sweet. My uncle spared no expense in setting up this cool bachelor pad. They even arranged for a 'roommate', a live-in assistant to help Dave with all the little craziness of living in your own place. She's really nice too.

Oh, and I finally found out exactly what it is that Dave has. It's called ACC, Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum. Dave's is a result of the extreme end of a cleft palate, where nothing in the two hemispheres of his head connected from the mouth on up.

Dave's been meeting other people with the same condition, and it seems to manifest itself differently in different people. Dave has mild developmental problems physically, and has the damnedest time with numbers and higher thinking. Another girl he knows primarily has trouble with anything less than gross motor functions (shaking hands for example), but doesn't appear to have much retardation in her thought processes.

Luckily, it's not a degenerative condition. He'll keep on learning and improving like everyone else.

All right. Enough namby-pamby 'life' stuff. I know what you're REALLY here for.

Phil's Survivor: Thailand predications!

Here's the merry castaways:

	Erin Collins
	Age:	26
	Marital Status:	Single
	Occupation:	Real Estate Agent
	Home Town:	Austin, TX
	Luxury Item:	Body Paint
	My Thoughts:	When they chose teams at the start of the game, this little mouse was the last picked. She's now got something to prove. That and her cuteness should get her past the merger at the least, but not all the way.
	Ghandia Johnson
	Age:	33
	Marital Status:	Married
	Occupation:	Legal Secretary
	Home Town:	Denver, CO
	Luxury Item:	Lucky Keychain with picture of her kids
	My Thoughts:	She came off originally like the big, tough black lady, but in truth, she's a big mushy mushpot. She cried a lot, and is really no good as sliding puzzle things. She's gone in the next two episodes.
	Helen Glover
	Age:	47
	Marital Status:	Married
	Occupation:	Navy Swim Instructor
	Home Town:	Middletown, RI
	Luxury Item:	Daughter's Doll
	My Thoughts:	Didn't get to see much of her. She's looking to come off really tough, that's for sure, and her swimming skills will come in handy. She's still over 40 though. The youngin's won't put up with her for long. I'd say she'll last close to the merger, but no further. Remember: She works FOR the Navy, but is not actually IN the Navy herself.
	Jan Gentry
	Age:	53
	Marital Status:	Married
	Occupation:	Teacher
	Home Town:	Tampa, FL
	Luxury Item:	Picture of her family
	My Thoughts:	We saw Jan all of twice last episode, and in both, she was crying. Boot. Next couple episodes for certain.
	Penny Ramsey
	Age:	27
	Marital Status:	Engaged
	Occupation:	Pharmaceutical Sales
	Home Town:	Plano, TX
	Luxury Item:	Pajamas
	My Thoughts:	Another one of the 'cute' ones. So far she's been pretty quiet. Hard to say, but I have a feeling she's one of those we'll learn more about later, so I expect to see her after the merger.
	Shii Ann Huang
	Age:	28
	Marital Status:	Single
	Occupation:	Executive Recruiter
	Home Town:	New York, NY
	Luxury Item:	Lucky traveling bag from China
	My Thoughts:	Tough cookie! She's got a chip on her shoulder and she's ready to lash out. She got in a fight with Robb on Day One, and her survival will depend on how the alliances shift around her. She kicks ass though. I think she'll go a long, long way.
	Stephanie Dill
	Age:	29
	Marital Status:	Single
	Occupation:	Firefighter
	Home Town:	Fayetteville, AR
	Luxury Item:	Fuzzy slippers
	My Thoughts:	Steph was my pick in the office pool, where we picked before the episode started, basing our choices solely on their bios and stuff. I still think she has the stuff to go long, especially given her complete lack of modesty. I call her to be one of the final three.
	Tanya Vance
	Age:	27
	Marital Status:	Single
	Occupation:	Social Worker
	Home Town:	Kingsport, TN
	Luxury Item:	Brush
	My Thoughts:	Second to last to get picked, and also ready to prove herself. He demeanor suggests she wants to be this season's Neleh, but she's too forward for that. Still, I think she'll gather the big strong men around her for protection. Definitely after the merger.
	Brian Heidik
	Age:	34
	Marital Status:	Married
	Occupation:	Used Car Sales
	Home Town:	Quartz Hill, CA
	Luxury Item:	Guitar & pick
	My Thoughts:	Home boy good looks, yet he obviously calculates his every thought. Doesn't want to fight, just there for fun... He's also an actor. His credits include 'Days of our Lives', 'Doogie Hauser', and a series of soft core porn flicks including 'Virgins of Sherwood Forest'. I think they'll catch on to his smoozing ways and vote him out just before the merger.
	Clay Jordan
	Age:	46
	Marital Status:	Married
	Occupation:	Restaurateur
	Home Town:	Monroe, LA
	Luxury Item:	Golf Club & Ball
	My Thoughts:	Before the show started, I had this guy pegged to go in the first three shows, and I still believe it. He owns a restaurant so probably isn't starving for cash, he's pudgy and obviously not in the best shape. Plus he's about 40, which is death in this game.
	Jake Billingsley
	Age:	61
	Marital Status:	Married
	Occupation:	Land Broker
	Home Town:	McKinney, TX
	Luxury Item:	Journal & Pen
	My Thoughts:	I also had Jake pegged to be gone in three episodes, but I'm thinking otherwise now. He's tough, damn it, and has a ton of obvious leadership skills. He might just go all the way.
	Jed Hildebrand
	Age:	25
	Marital Status:	Single
	Occupation:	Dental Student
	Home Town:	Dallas, TX
	Luxury Item:	Frisbee
	My Thoughts:	He's a handsome dental student who's also done Christian missionary work in Cambodia. He also argues with people and goes off fishing while the others build a hut. He's out in five.
	John Raymond - Eliminated!
	Age:	40
	Marital Status:	Married
	Occupation:	Pastor
	Home Town:	Slidell, LA
	Luxury Item:	Christian Flag
	My Thoughts:	I was spot on with this guy. Just from reading his bio, I knew he'd go quick -- he's 40 AND the token religeous guy? C'mon! And after I saw him go rock climbing while the rest of the bunch went and nearly drowned themselves, that was it.
	Ken Stafford
	Age:	30
	Marital Status:	Single
	Occupation:	NYC Police Officer
	Home Town:	Brooklyn, NY
	Luxury Item:	NYPD Shield
	My Thoughts:	The two tribes applauded when they heard his job, and that alone will get him to the merger.
	Robb Zbacnik
	Age:	23
	Marital Status:	Single
	Occupation:	Bartender
	Home Town:	Scottsdale, AZ
	Luxury Item:	Skateboard
	My Thoughts:	What kind of moron brings a skateboard to a tropical island. There ain't no concrete here homey! He's also smarmy, flighty, filled with youthful testosterone, and Cosmo voted him Arizona's Most Eligible Bachelor in 1999. If the universe is fair, he'll be turfed in six episodes.
	Ted Rodgers, Jr.
	Age:	37
	Marital Status:	Married
	Occupation:	Software Developer
	Home Town:	Durham, NC
	Luxury Item:	Shaving Kit
	My Thoughts :	He's the Big Black Guy. I think he's a big softie too. Big black softies go far, because he'll gather the young chippies and gruff elders around him.

There you have it! Place your bets now folks.

One Year Plus One Day Ago Today: When life kicks you in the teeth, where I finally broke my hiatus and talked about flying off to see my Grandfather in the hospital.

Oh, and in 1519, Magellan started the first successful circumnavigation of the world.

Two Years Ago Plus a Day Today: Short Wednesday, where I debuted my Notify List. What? You're still not on it? It's been two years, man. What are you, some kind of loser?

Mom Rating: 3 out of 5. Mom thinks I should post more 'life' stuff and less Survivor. She STILL doesn't watch the show.

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Take me home, big fella