Don't worry, I can assure you of the quality of this post

This morning I'm writing from the coffee house down the street, which is not atypical, but given that we are still in the midst of the 2011 Lenten Challenge I am drinking tea in lieu of coffee.  My selection today was cinnamon spice tea, and it is quite good.  The fact of the matter is, drinking tea the past couple weeks in place of coffee has been kind of nice.  It's lighter, more refreshing, and you don't have a "let-down" 45 minutes after you've finished the tea.  Plus, tea hydrates you, bringing you slightly closer to the recommended impossible daily fluid intake level.  Of course, coffee still does sound good at times.  Over the weekend Mom and Dad were in town, and after-dinner coffee is a staple with them (as well as morning coffee, second coffee, and elevensies), and I believe they may have questioned the legitimacy of my claim to be their son when I informed them I was abstaining for the time being.

Hmm....

Last night was no different in terms of the after-dinner coffee ritual when we went for dinner at the Blackwell.  If you're unawares, the Blackwell is a restaurant they have within the business school complex.  This was actually the second time I'd been back to the business school since picking up my piece of paper allowing me to claim (with questionable legitimacy) that I have obtained a mastery level knowledge of Human Resources.  The first time was actually the same day that I picked up my diploma, as I wanted to find a quiet place to get some work done in the middle of the day, and Fisher happens to be right next to the place where the diplomas were being kept, thus making it a convenient stopping location with which I was familiar.  The place where I picked up my diploma is the Student Consolidated Services Center, or something like that, and is contained within a new building that, by virtue of its waterless urinals, saves an amount of water each year equivalent to the amount that the average American household uses in a year.  I picked up this little factoid because they have it proudly displayed over each urinal in the men's restroom for your reading pleasure while relieving yourself.

Hi, I'd like to order something that will cauterize this wound

Seriously, why didn't I get this?

Tonight Sayak and I went for a dinner outing at the Elevator on High Street in downtown Columbus.  'Twas quite tasty, although neither one of us ordered the signature Elevator entree, which is the "Rock Filet."  For those not familiar with the Elevator, the Rock Filet is a cut of meat served uncooked alongside a very hot rock.  The purpose of the hot rock, if you couldn't guess, is to cook the meat right there at your table.  The patron who orders this entree can enjoy both the taste of the meat and the satisfaction that comes along with cutting off a juicy piece and applying it to the sizzling rock.  Numerous scientific studies have proven that sizzling something on a hot rock produces an overwhelming feeling of accomplishment, and the Elevator has wisely tapped into this phenomenon.  Personally I wonder about the Rock, because it seems to bring an element of danger into dinner.  For example, if you're going as a family to the Elevator, and you've got really small children, can you depend on them to listen to the waiter or waitress's admonishments about how hot the Rock is?  Probably not.  Probably you would end up with a small, cute, sizzling child's hand at some point during the meal.  If not danger, then at least the Rock draws focus away from the companionship of the dinner, because you know that the conversation would pause for some throw-away "Ooh, look at that, listen to that sizzle" comments any time a new piece of filet was applied to the heat.  The obvious solution to this issue is to order the Rock Filet, but hold the Rock.

Dinner was on me tonight, as I had lost a friendly wager over a 2 out of 3 ping-pong match a couple weeks ago with my comrade.  We ponied up the $10 to play at the RPAC, not knowing of a more suitable location around the area, and Sayak soundly trounced me in two straight games.  It had been awhile since I had really played ping-pong, and certainly a long time since playing with any regularity.  Back in the day, Nate and I would spend many-a-night in the basement at our house in East Liverpool, volleying back and forth on Grandad's homemade table.  I got pretty good, although I now realize that part of my "skill" was actually found in tactics that are technically cheating.

Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also

Sitting here at my computator at home tonight, recently returned from the Fisher College, where I just completed the next to last class of my Master's.  I did get the confirmation last week that my final paper/project had been deemed satisfactory, so it's just the "finishing touches" left now.  Just like on a work of art.  A terrible, crappy work of art.

As I sit here I've managed to consume four cups of fine Aldi Breakfast Blend coffee.  Because I'm eating breakfast at 10:00pm?  Haha, no.  Because I need to stay awake for the next few hours to complete a project?  No, no, remember that my MLHR project is done now.  Because Aldi Breakfast Blend is actually slang for an illegally smuggled substance that I need to eliminate all trace of before the Feds bust down the door?  Nope.  Because I want to attain a new level of spiritual enlightenment?  Why yes, that's correct.

You see, tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, which represents the start of Lent in some Christian traditions.  I've never been part of a Christian tradition that observed Lent, but I do have an affinity for challenges of a certain nature.  Therefore, the decision was made to participate this year.  Not in Lent, but rather in The 2011 Lenten Challenge!  (BOOM!!  Oh look!  Confetti!)

Several shades of inspiration

Is honorable discharge the same as graduating with honors?

Today was supposed to be the day that I would get the email telling me whether or not my final project for the MLHR program passed.  However, the email never arrived.  Coincidentally, today I sent in the official form stating that I would not be attending commencement later this month.  Perhaps that option was going to be chosen for me by default...

My rationale for not attending commencement (if I do have the option) is that 1) it will just be a big event with no real personal significance, especially given that I don't view completion of the MLHR as any great accomplishment, 2) I already attended undergraduate commencement at Ohio State, so I've "been there, done that," and 3) I don't know who the commencement speaker will be.  A quick Google search allows me to add to my knowledge database the fact that Ms. Donna James will be the Winter Quarter commencement speaker at Ohio State.  I will quickly summarize Ms. James for you by describing her as "accomplished."  National business advisor and corporate executive...Fortune 500...named by President Obama as chairwoman...blah blah blah.  No doubt Ms. James is deserving of some amount of respect, but you know who else is accomplished and deserving of some amount of respect?  My undergraduate commencement speaker, Senator John McCain.  You know how much of Senator McCain's speech I remember?  Yea, that's what I thought.