Big Ass Rock

So far it is a nice slow start to the work week. My email and calendar have not exploded "yet" and things seem to be moving along at a decent pace. Hopefully I am not speaking too soon and get hit with a major rush of requests in the next couple of hours (the trend from the last couple weeks). If so I will do my usual hunker down and dig in.

Excel

So I have never really done much with the Microsoft suite of Office applications during my career. Sure I use Word occasionally and receive Excel spreadsheets on occasion, but that is where it stops.

Well because of my new position and some of the things that I want to learn to do better as well as ideas I have to make some things better I decided to do a lengthy online course for Excel. So far the class is pretty good and I have already learned some things I was not aware of that would have proved beneficial even in my read only sort of usage until now.

The instructor does have a tendency to repeat certain aspects often but that is not always a bad thing, especially for those that may be newer to computers and the application. Repetition will solidify those techniques into their memory.

I have only completed 20 or so lessens so far out of the 100+ lessons total in the course so I have a long way to go. I hope that I can watch them at the gym as well but I think my phone may prove to be too small to see the details in the video that I need to be seeing. Things like menu items and so on.

No matter it's money well spent. I just have to be careful that I don't over extend myself. With baby on the way, school starting up in another week, classes at work that are mandatory for me to take and tons of other projects on my mind.

SLAM!

Holy SHXT! So I am driving on the highway, Interstate 395 south, when I see this massive thing bouncing and flying towards me down the highway. OK giant may be exaggerating but it was about the size of a rubber bouncy ball you get out of a gumball machine (if any you actually remember what those are).

Next thing I know it's taking one last bounce and coming right at me. Here I am with no where to go and headed right for it at 70 mpg. Then the impact - SLAM! It hit the windshield so friggin' hard that it sounded like a basketball sized rock. I actually sort of cringed and ducked a little out of instinct which probably looked funny to cars around me that had no idea what I was doing.

Immediately I looked for a crack and felt bummed that it had happened. Wait, what, no crack or star in the windshield - only a small chunk out of the window filled with debris from the rock? At that moment I am not only impressed but extremely grateful that is all that came of it.

Once at the dealership to drop my car off for service I got out and inspected for damage - "there just had to be some" I thought based on the sound of the impact alone. As luck would have it there was no further damage and only an unrepairable dent in the glass. Although I can see it and know exactly where it is in the window it probably will not crack or be noticed by anyone else.

I appreciate the little slice of karma and hope that I can repay someone with more of the same in the future! That could have easily been a few hundred dollar rock had it not flown up and over as perfectly as it did. Again, thank you karma I owe you one!

Photo: Yum! Nothing like strong, thick complementary car dealership coffee to start the day.