Any of you monkeys want a banana?

I saw "Shrek 2" last night....what a hoot! There's some truly funny scenes, some "been there, done that", and some jokes that don't work all that well. Overall, though, it's a funny, intelligent work. There's a little clip after the first set of credits that is quite funny, so make sure you stay for it. I don't often go to the theater, so it's always refreshing that a movie I pick to watch is actually worth watching.

I got to do a little target practice over the weekend. Rose ended up with Gene's 22 pistol. Since I was going to Salt Point for an overnighter, the pistol came along for the ride. We sat on the balcony and shot balloons, bocche balls, footballs, tables (Anthony gets credit for that), and trees. It was quite entertaining, almost addictive. I had to get the pistol out on Monday as well. I was determined to split at least one of those bocche balls, maybe both. I did hit it a number of times, but it was Tony that got the kill. He managed to split one of the balls, so the other is now sitting, all alone, waiting for us to come back and try again. I really like shooting Rose's pistol. It's easy to load and unload, has a nice balance to it, and is pretty accurate. It's also kind of neat to know that this pistol was probably one of Gene's most precious possessions. I'm sure he spent many hours firing, cleaning, and "playing" with it. Gloria reminded me that the last time her father shot it was on the beach at Salt Point in 2000. He had to be carried down and carried back, but it was a good day for him, I'm sure of that.

I'm home today (a normal workday) because this is my FDTHBTSB day (free day to help balance the state budget). It could have been worse (I could be looking for a job), but it still hurts a bit to have a forced day off. I wonder what the legislators had to give up.....nothing is my guess. When you write the rules, why would you write them to hurt yourself? Working for state government can be very positive. Dealing with the technology we use to run the networks has been a learning experience for me, and might become even more of a learning experience in the near future. The downside, however, is having so much dependency on tax revenues, public policy and politicians, the latest "grand idea" from Lansing, and the constant reorganization my department has been dealing with for the last 3 years, and which is likely to continue for another 5 years or more. Most people I deal with are trying to keep a positive attitude about it, but there is a possibility that our duties will be contracted out. There's also a possibility we will be absorbed back into our original departments, but that's not likely at this point. Going back to Corrections wouldn't be such a bad thing in my view. I'm not alone, by the way.

Laini and Sara should be here any minute. While Gabi is home these few days, she's trying to spend as much time as possible with them, and who can blame her? Once she leaves for her new position, I'm sure it will be quite some time before she returns home. It's a good thing to see your children go out and start trying to make their way in the world, but it's hard at the same time. It makes it even harder when you just know they don't have a clue about what it takes to be independent (it's not necessarily Gabi I'm referring to). That's something almost everyone eventually figures out.