RATTLESNAKES

Hold on. The guy who is mowing my lawn right now is SMOKING while he mows. Ahahahaaa. Priceless. I don't think I've seen anyone smoke for the past 3 months. I don't think I even know anyone who smokes anymore. Oh, he's having issues with the mower now and trying to deal with it while holding the cigarette in his mouth. Honestly- what the...?! Put. The. Cigarette. Down. 

Anyhoo... our office building's maintenance department sent out an email saying that a 5-foot rattlesnake was discovered by the elevators on the first floor of our parking garage, and that another smaller rattlesnake (aren't they ALL smaller? yikes) was underneath the car parked behind the elevators against the wall. Um, that would be MY car. 

So Maintenance wrastled up some snake wranglers who reported that rattlesnakes are not nesting animals, so there isn't some central location that can be extracted to get rid of them. They're loners who roam free in the grassy area behind the building. We'll just have to be careful.

Over the next few days, two more large rattlers were seen on the sidewalk along the back of the building by the garage. (I've moved my car to the inside row, further away from the elevators.) We used to eat lunch outside along the sidewalk, at these picnic tables with a very nice shade cover and an unusual ever-present breeze, but NO MORE. 

Maybe when winter settles in.

*shudder*

Saturday 9: That's All (1983)
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) In the lyrics, Phil Collins sings of a time he was wrong when he thought he was right. Tell us about a recent time when you got it wrong.

A study nurse reported that she was told to enter a something a certain way in the clinical database. I told the team that wasn't true, that she could enter it the other way as well. Then I happened to be looking at something else in the casebook guidelines which I wrote, and the instruction is actually THERE to do it as the nurse had described. OOPS.

2) The song is addressed to a lover that Phil clearly feels is contrary. When he says, "day," she says, "night." Is there anyone in your life who seems to disagree with you all or most of the time?

Jeff. It's not just me though! He's a debater with everyone.

3) This was Genesis' first Top 10 hit in the US. Can you name another Phil Collins or Genesis song? 

In the Air Tonight

4) Phil Collins is a model train enthusiast. Is there anything special that you collect?

I have a pretty good collection of Mary Engelbreit stuff, but I stopped collecting it years ago.

Yeah!

5) Collins was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Berklee College of Music in Boston. At the ceremony, he delivered the commencement address. When did you last give a presentation or deliver a speech? 

I presented at an investigator meeting in Berlin in March. Next up- Dallas!

6) One of Phil Collins' early solo albums was called, Hello, I Must Be Going. He took the title from a song in the 1930 Marx Bros. movie, Animal Crackers. What's the last black and white movie or TV show that you watched?

I have watched very few black and white shows or movies in my life. Oh, there was Clooney's Good Night and Good Luck!

7) In 1983, when this song was popular, the Lotus 1-2-3 program made it easier for PC users to build spreadsheets. Are you answering these questions on a PC or a Mac? Laptop or desktop? Tablet or phone?

Macbook Air laptop

8) 1983 is also the year when McDonald's introduced McNuggets. What's your favorite chicken recipe (assuming it's not McNuggets)?

Chicken Parmesan

9) In 1983, President Reagan signed the bill making Dr. Martin Luther King's birthday a holiday. What's your favorite holiday?

Christmas