Subject: Weekend Update: Feb 22-March 1 2001
Date: Thu, 01 Mar 2001 12:11:23 -0500

(Forgive the typos - I did not proofread my text)

One definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and
expecting a different result.  On Saturday of last week, Joy and I
finally got around to the job of priming and painting the spa room.
It was in the low 30s outside the room and in the mid 40s inside the
room; enough for paint to dry.  Unfortunately, the temperature
differential did not permit us to open the windows for proper
ventillation and it is likely that we shelacked our lungs because both
of us have been down this week with worsening colds.  I'm at work for
just a few hours to catch up and see if I am needed, but Joy is
tracking her cold about a day behind me which means she is feeling
really crunky today.

Another definition of insanity might be expressed in the experience of
purchasing a new car.  As of my last update, the price wars were
settled and I opened my wallet.  All that was left was the task of
registering the car with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.  I made
THREE trips to the Registry of Motor Vehicles.  On the first trip, the
RMV discovered that the dealer did not fill out the necessary
paperwork properly, so I needed to return to New Hampshire to get that
squared away.  On my second trip, the RMV informed me that my dealer
also got the lien holder section wrong, so I needed to make a trip to
Littleton to pick up a notarized letter from my bank.  Third time was
the charm and I walked out of there with a legal car... almost.  Since
I bought the car in New Hampshire, I needed a $29 Inspection/Emissions
sticker from Massachusetts.

Emily, who may have contributed more than we guess to our present
condition, went off to winter retreat armed with decongestants and
expectorants (or some other pharmachaelogical accoutrements).  She was
due back on Sunday at about the same time the weather forecasters were
calling for sleet and freezing rain.  (Now why would anyone call for
such a thing?)  As it happened, church wasn't canceled for the brave,
but from what I hear, there were very few courageous souls on Sunday
morning.  It wasn't the weather that kept me home, though, it was the
under-the-weather plus the weather that kept me home.  My mother used
to say that we could stay home from school if we had a fever AND were
vomiting, but one or the other wasn't just cause.  (She was a school
teacher and had seen too many excuses to be fooled by only one
symptom.)  We did show for the evening service to not sing our
scheduled duet, which would have come out like a couple of cats on a
hot summer evening if we tried.  That was mainly to pick up Emily who,
returning from retreat and despite her own infirmities, refuses ever
to have a bad time.

I put in a full day on Tuesday because my West Coast boss is in town
for a meeting and Tuesday was her day scheduled for me and my group.
Wednesday was a complete wash.  I even turned down free dinner with
the managers of my organization, so you know it was pretty bad.  (No
vomiting, though, Mom; but this isn't school anymore.  I hope hacking
and sneezing counts as more than one symptom!)

I did take my last drink of Coca-Cola for the Lenten season on Fat
Tuesday. It remains my primary beverage and material passion so it
takes a hiatus until Easter Sunday morning.

Pepperell still has a white blanket but the sun has turned it into a
thin crust of about 3 inches, unlike Quincy or other points south
where yellow matted grass can be seen.  Nonetheless, Spring comes in
the month of March, and even Pepperell will likely see the crocuses
before the month concludes.  I sure hope so!

Mark
--
+---_-----------+ Mark Metcalfe, metcalfe@cadence.com
| c a d e n c e | Cadence Design Systems, Inc.    Phone: (978) 446-6451
+---------------+ PCB Systems Division, Technical Communications Manager