come with me if you want to live

First off, I would like to thank everyone for your birthday well-wishes. Molly even went so far as to send me an actual birthday card, which apparently is what people used to do back in the olden days. She said I should be expecting it today, and when I got home from work I saw a giant box sitting by the front step. Of course, I instantly assumed that Molly had sent me something spectacular, like a PS3 or a unicycle.

But it was just a box of books that Thad had ordered. Yet Molly's gift was no less thoughtful, and even came packaged in an Austin newspaper with a half-page story on Icelandic travel tips. I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt that she did this on purpose.

As great as it was to see my Country of Destiny getting some media play, it is a bit discouraging in that now, when I finally get to go to Iceland, there will be like, other people there. And this will severely compromise my travel itinerary which consists almost exclusively of sitting around reading with the locals.

Did you know that Iceland has the highest per capita Coca-Cola consumption in the world? This is a true statement! Worthy of full acceptance!

Not much else to discuss though. Busy weekend afoot. My father is going in for surgery tomorrow. It's just a matter of routine maintenance on his robotic endoskeleton. I suspect that half-way through the surgery, he will get an email on his Motorola Q (Big Jer would not feign to use a mere Blackberry), he will then wake up, finish the surgery himself with a Dremel tool and a pocket knife, and then go back to the office.

The doctors will try to give Big Jer crutches. Big Jer will eat them. The crutches. And the doctors.

I also have an MSC (Mandatory Settlement Conference) tomorrow in my biggest and least favorite case (the one with all the dames). An MSC is a curious little process; unlike most settlement thingies, it actually takes place in front of a judge - in chambers. Usually it's not your trial judge, but sometimes it is. This makes things interesting. I've never been a part of an MSC that didn't settle, and the prospect of putting this case to bed makes me, I dare say it - giddy. I hop and clap and squeal.

And then it's off to another fabulous Halo trip, to do more repair work and renovations and other various and sundry tasks for which I am vastly under-skilled and under-qualified. But I do this in every other area of my life, so it's a seamless transition. It looks like we'll even have a couple of rookies on-board for this trip, which I always enjoy. Just because it's a ministry does not mean that I won't haze some people.

Anyway, with such shenanigans drawing nigh, that's all the absurdity I can muster for now. Oh, wait! I got something else...


"Don't tell your mother".