New Band

Check out the link for The Maldives that I added to the layout ---->
Another great Seattle Alt Country band...are we the new hotbed? I can only hope!

Mario Kart = New Favorite Wii Game!

Just think of all those afternoons I wasted in high school, and now I can relive it all!! Mario Kart is back! And with the Wii Wheel, it's a dang good time!

Question...

What has 236 ft/lbs of torque, 134 horsepower, a six speed manual transmission and enough room to make Home Depot runs? Oh that would be...


Geoff and Jaime's new Volkswagen Jetta Sportwagen TDI! Yeah!!! That's right, Jaime's out of town, so what does Geoff do? He puts down a deposit for a brand new, black on black Sportwagen with 17" wheels, iPod connectivity, Panoramic Sunroof and all the goodies! (I did skip on the nav system...we all know men don't get lost!).

The car itself is currently still being built, and we should be able to take delivery sometime in late August/early September...YEAH!!

Hangover = Fun Weekend

Jaime and I had a nice weekend! Saturday we went and drove a Volkswagen Jetta Sportwagen with my brother. Yeah yeah, it's a family car...suck it! We're still waiting for the diesel version, however, as it's rated at 44mpg on the highway.

Later that afternoon we met back up with Michal and niece Kendal and headed down to Kenmore for the Washington Brewfest! Sunny Day? Beer? Designated Driver? Win! Bubblegum/Strawberry flavored shave ice after an afternoon of sun and beer? Epic Win!

I, ahem, rested for a brief while, the car ride home, and we started all over again - Dinner with our neighbors - Margaritas, Red Bull + Vodka, Pinot Noir and some damn good pork loin!!! Carter and Dan are great hosts, and Chris and Yvonne are always fun to hang out with as well! See this post for my last experience!

Sunday morning came WAY too quickly - Jaime and I had a nice leisurely morning, went for a walk down to Lincoln Park, came home, and headed off to her Aunt and Uncle's house for her cousin's graduation party. THEN we headed over to the elder Graves' house for MY birthday party! I am proud to be celebrating 18 year old Geoff; 10th Anniversary Edition; New and Improved!!!

(and a big thanks to Jim and Judy for calling and actually singing to me on my birthday since they couldn't be here!

Happy Birthday to you...

Happy birthday to you

Happy birthday to you

Happy birthday dear Geoff

Happy birthday to you!

Can't post, busy cleaning!

Oh crap, Jaime's on her way home...gotta vacuum, do the laundry, wash the dishes, clean the bathroom, recycle all the beer bottles...

Top 10 Things I Learned in Maastricht:

10. Dutch sounds funny

9. People ride bikes everywhere: men in suits, ladies in skirts, old, young, everyone - 2000 bikes parked in the hospital parking lot!

8. Everyone in the Netherlands speaks English... its amazing

7. Netherlands is "Les Pays-Bas" in French or "the low lands"

6. The hospital at Maastricht has an excellent surgical ward- but slightly funny scrubs

5. The dutch are way nicer than people in Brussels

4. Red Sea Perch is not good

3. The showiest business in the city is called "Carwash USA" - think red, white and blue sparkles

2. The Dutch are super environmentally conscious (yes, even compared to Seattle)

1. Getting buzzed on red wine is hilarious when you have to ride a bike back to the hotel

Today's Rant

I don't care how "cool" you are. I don't care how old and dignified you are. Heck, I don't care if your name is Eddie Vedder...
Audible flatulence at the gym is NOT COOL!!! In fact, any flatulence, audible or not, is NOT COOL while I'm gettin' my sweat on!!!

Nice work, Best Buy!

Best Buy will begin offering free electronics recycling - 2 items per household per day (with restrictions)- check out the details here...

Work Related News...

So I got setup with some new responsibilities at work...not a promotion really (no pay raise) but still cool none-the-less, mainly because I didn't apply for anything. The person who is in charge the work application that I (and the rest of the help desk, and Nordstrom IT for that matter) use to track my work (HP Openview Service Desk) is going on vacation later this month and wants me to step in while she's gone and keep up on reporting and maintenance. It's not a huge deal except that she picked me out of the entire help desk (about 20 people) because she felt that I took the best notes and made best use of the application. I'll also serve as her backup from now on. I get to go to more meetings and delve a little more into Nordstrom IT. It's a great opportunity for me and certainly looks good on my resume. I must say having never been singled out for an opportunity like this before, I felt very flattered, even though it's not a huge step up. So yay me! Now I've just gotta work on that raise!