Aaron Riveroll | Photographer

It’s 5:15pm. I’ve started the laborious task of cleaning out my desk. I didn’t want to wait for the last moment because I know that I have tons of crap. Plus, I would rather spend that time saying goodbyes to people that have been a huge part of my life for the last three years.

I stumbled upon old birthday cards and Christmas cards; and just like when I’m cleaning out pictures and letters at home, I had to stop and read a few of them. A lot of the people that signed them aren’t here anymore. And as much as I’m excited for this move, I’m also sad because I’ve lived with these people, man. I spend 9 hours a day in this little box, in this big room, in this building. That’s over 2,000 hours a year. You’re bound to become attached to a few people; even the ones that annoy the heck out of you. Troll, Gumby, etc. I will miss Moss, because she’s eye candy. I’ll miss everyone in the U/W dept, everyone in the doc dept, everyone in the funding dept, setup, etc. I’ll miss “psst-ing” Cyndi as I walk by her desk and Banks walking by to say, “Hey, A!”

And in Aaron Riveroll tradition, I found something in my desk. Something to appropriately commemorate this occasion of “last days.” I found a small sheet of bubble wrap. (For those of you who don’t know the meaning, that’s okay.) But I popped a few bubbles, looked at my nearly-empty desk, and made me realize how much I will miss coming here everyday, to a place that eats your soul for breakfast. Where people can be mean, rude, and condescending all in the same phone call. Where people needed things yesterday. A place that I called home for three years. All the bad stuff doesn’t even matter anymore.

But it’s been a good ride. I can’t complain. I look forward to tomorrow.

But I’ll also look back to yesterday…and that will make me smile too.

Good morning all you fine people! I’m going to make this quick because I have a rush file to work on (one of the last few I will ever have to do here!). Woo hoo!

So Brian and myself, along with his ‘rents, headed up to Anaheim yesterday after work to catch the Angels-A’s game. We made super-stinking good time and got there just in time to hear the national anthem (from the parking lot). The game itself was great; Zito pitched an awesome game, as did his counterpart. After a 1 point lead for several innings, the Angels snuck one by to tie it up. The went into extra innings, which of course is characteristic of A’s games. That’s what makes it exciting, right? It was only 9 when I thought, “this game can’t be finished in two hours!” And it wasn’t. They kept going, with several amazing plays on the part of both teams. Finally, the A’s picked another one up to get the lead…and eventually the win. I was on the edge of my seat. It was weird being the minority, surrounded by Angels fans…but we were fortunate enough to sit in a section of A’s fans, so that was good too.

After what was a fantastic game, Brian and I hightailed it to the other side of the stadium and across the huge parking lot to the Amtrak station. At first, we had no clue where we were going, but we found it with no problems, bought our tickets, and boarded for what was definitely a great fact finding mission. Lots of facts were found, and we made it back to San Diego in about an hour and a half. Trains are cool.

Alright, so now I have actual work to do. And even though I only have three more days so I could care less, I’m going to be good. I think I’m going to listen to Kelly Clarkson because she reminds me of a special someone. Alright, more later. And stay tuned for pics (I know, I keep saying that. I’ve been lame).

I just drooled on myself.

It’s amazing what gum (or a hot girl) will make you do. Salivation, baby!

Yesterday after work, I came home and washed my car. And then I did something that I usualy never do.

I talked on the phone.

I yapped like a chick. I fried some brain cells with the cell phone radiation. I evaporated some of my rollover minutes. I schmoozed.

For those of you that know me, talking on the phone is not one of my favorite things to do; but with friends that are far away, I enjoy this modern convenience. But I’m all about face-to-face interaction. Even writing is more fun because I can put some time and thought into what I’m saying. I feel like the “biggest” dork when I’m on the phone; which is only slightly more than the “big” dork that I feel like the other 99% of the time that I’m not on the phone. It was good, but definitely interesting…

First, “Jennifer” called. You see, I don’t know Jennifer because she’s a telemarketer from Florida. She asked if I had a checking account and if I would be interested in signing up for some vacation buying program. The trial period is free, but then $19.95 a month thereafter. Tempting, ain’t it? Especially for a guy who doesn’t go anywhere. :) So I noticed Jennifer’s cute southern accent and asked where she was from. I was informed, with a great deal of other information, that she has lived in every southern state except Kentucky. She is originally from Virginia (at least, that’s where her mom is from). She hates earthquakes, loves thunderstorms and rain. She talked about her mom and her family. She told me what she likes to do after work. She told me all about how she got her telemarketing job and what she did before then. We talked about a bunch of random details about her life that are too numerous to mention. I was on the phone with her for 20 minutes talking about everything but what she was trying to sell me. When I finally told her I wasn’t interested, she asked if she could call back. I asked if it would be her calling back, and she playfully giggled and said she wasn’t sure. But I did hear her asking for a pen and paper to get my number for a “personal” call. I said, “hun, if only you weren’t several hundred miles away.” She giggled. It was a good conversation, even though it was a telemarketer.

And again, if you know me, you know that talking to telemarketers is something I do for fun. :)

Another girl called, a girl that I met a while back, and we talked for about 2 hours about nothing. But it was so relaxing.

And then I was able to talk with Katrin, who is in town but is just oo busy for me. :) We tenatively planned some quality time. She’s going to pencil me in.

So I guess you could say it was an interesting phone evening.

Wanna call me? :)

At the indirect suggestion of my cool friend, Shea, I have broken down and actually watched several episodes of Laguna Beach. They had like marathons this weekend, so I watched a couple of episodes. And as cheesy and drama-filled it is, I am strangely addicted to it. I couldn’t bring myself to change the channel.

So there you have it. A confession, of sorts.

And apparently, I’m Talan. After all, we both have the same ultimate goal.

===

Take the quiz: “Which Laguna Beach Character are You?”

Talan
you are cute.. but your ultimate goal is to score the perfect chick

Well, we are back and I’m blogging. I had this definite disconnection from society, even though I was in a place surrounded by people all weekend. Weird. I’m a tech geek at heart, I suppose. But despite the lack of internet, we had a blast in Vegas. Video and photos to come. Oh, and we had fun at Dave Matthews too…the details, I wrote about on the way to Vegas. Anyway, if you are curious about the happenings of the weekend, read on… Read the rest of this entry …

It’s funny how stupid people are, even the ones who think they are so clever. I mean, come on guys, why don’t you try pulling a more intricate, well-thought out plan?

Oh wait. Here’s a thought? How’s about you send me a random email (with poor grammar and spelling, mind you), and ask me to hand over my account information??

For an account I don’t even have!

Genius or stupid crook? I’ll let you decide on that one. The latest is Wells. Before, it was Bank of the West. And even if I did have accounts at these places, I can honestly say that I’m not stupid.

Anyway, I thought that was so freakin’ funny that I had to have a little morning rant and rave about it. :)

I have posted a couple more pics from the Pads game a few weeks ago, courtesy of Ab-Faye and her spankin’ new cam.

In case you forgot where the pics were, click here.

Just a few images from last nights concert. They are a little blurry, but cool looking anyway.

Perhaps it wasn’t a wise idea to wear a long-sleeved shirt to work today; but I thought I would start my “countdown to WaMu” by actually dressing business casual. Tomorrow it’s jeans and a short-sleeve for this guy. It’s a little warmer than I would like it.

And just watch…it’s gonna be freezing here tomorrow.

Well, the rest of my weekend was quite eventful. I met with Keri and Sir Scott (whom I haven’t seen in close to a year or more), and we went to dinner at BJ’s (mmm, Pazookie!). It was great to be able to catch up with them and ride in Keri’s new ‘stang (“Lucky!” *spoken in a true Napoleon Dynymite-esque way*) We also saw Dukes of Hazzard, which was also appropriate in light of Keri’s new car; I wanted to joy ride home after the movie, but she didn’t think that was such a great idea. Oh darn! :) The movie was great too; highly entertaining. And of course, Jessica Simpson is an absolute goddess! I’ve said it once or twice, and I’ll say it again; Nick Lachey is a lucky man. Jess is absolutely gorgeous, sexy, hot in this movie…and the antics of Seann William Scott and Johnny Knoxville are funny too. Definitely an entertaining couple of hours. Not oscar material; but then again, who goes to see a movie like that for anything more than entertainment? I liked it. :)

Also managed to squeeze in another photo shoot; this time with a dude (yeah, gotta be well-rounded), and the pictures came out pretty decently. I’m really starting to enjoy shoots more and more as I get to know what I’m doing. All part of the learning process. I’m going to get a gallery up and running with some photos from shoots with Megs and Dea and others…I’m still trying to put together my portfolio for our business site and of course, takes time I don’t have. So sad. :(

Last night, Danny and I headed out to Copley Symphony Hall for the Ben Folds / Rufus Wainwright show. Talk about a smashing good time! The show was outstanding, with some highlights being the Dr. Dre song and Philosophy (with the dancing girl that rushed up to the stage and started the mob trend). Everything rocked, though. Pics to come later, so stay tuned…

Another highlight, aside from Ben and Rufus and their general awesomness, was Ben Lee, who opened for them. Very talented dude with a great sound. I would definitely advise anyone who has ears to give him a listen because it was a very enjoyable experience to hear his music.

And that brings us to today. Monday. Ugh. I wish it were Sunday…because that’s my fun day. More blogging later…now, it’s Ben Folds on the iPod and icky files to work on. Don’t work too hard, people!