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Back, again, to a regular schedule, so you are all, once more, well come to the thoughts of Chairman Mike.

The biggest event this week was the trip to downtown Portland yesterday to Kells Irish Restaurant and Pub at 0700 to watch the Celtic v. Rangers soccer match. Hoo boy, what a game! With their respective recent performances I was expecting the worst, but I cerainly never expected what we got. A 5-1 humiliation of Rangers was more than we ever could have hoped for. Much jubilation all round. That still leaves them 7 points behind, but it was an impressive performance that gives more hope for a better future than previous results.

The repairs to the car have been pretty much a farce. It was taken into Leif's, the bodyshop people, on Monday, where it sat until Thursday doing nothing. We were supposed to get it back on Friday, so, of course, that didn't happen. The rental car was provided by Enterprise, and when Cathy went down after dropping the car off at Leif's she had the choice of 6 cars. At least we didn't have to pay any extra because of it. However, Cathy chose a Dodge Ram, probably the biggest truck you can get. Enterprise (rental company) also persuaded her to take extra insurance, so we were effectively paying for 2 policies. They then tried to explain it was only a deductable (excess in the UK) cover. On Saturday they confirmed it was full insurance. Leif's were not happy to find out that Enterprise had been pushing insurance (which is a big rental scam anyway - they wanted almost $14/day) and had words. So far I wouldn't use Leif's or Enterprise again, especially Enterprise. The latest is that they 'hope' to have our car ready for Thanksgiving (Thursday). I certainly hope so, or more words will be said. Again.

On the work front there was a bright end to the week. I heard from the Oracle attorneys that the had engaged some chap to evaluate my experience in terms of university degrees. He's come back and said that it is at least the equivalent of a bachelor's degree, which is all I need. They now expect the visa application to be approved within the next couple of weeks. Pity I have to wait until the end of the project...

I also had my CPi review this week. This is one of the things that are a positive benefit of working contract - no reviews. It's even more of a waste of time, considering I'm going to be leaving soon. Anyway, another straight batch of '1's, a 1 meaning excellent. (Shucks, blush)

The previous day I had lunch with other CPi people (I love these company lunches!), especially the account manager for Salem. The topic of extensions and the future after the project came up, so I just let her know that she didn't need to worry about it. She's real sorry to see me go, but she agrees that I'd be far better served by joining Oracle.

Around the house not much has been going on. Graham had his first visit to the dentist for 2 fillings. He's got another 2 visits to go. He seemed to get on fine, and got a small toy for his first visit.

Over the past few months we've occasionally been looking for a desk for this computer thingie. At the moment the monitor sits on top of the monitor box, the printer on top of the printer box, and the scanner sits on top of a custom designed plinth. No, only joking, it sits on top of the scanner box. The keyboard/mouse sit on top of the ironing board, when Cathy's not using it for its original purpose. It's all functional, but kinda short on storage space and comfort. The only concession to a real working environment is the leather executive chair, which we got at Costco with $75 off, down to about $120.

Anyway, we've been looking for a decent desk for a good while. I know what I want, a corner desk, with a surface either side big enough for a game map (to get them off the floor), and space for the printer, scanner and all the books and other computer stuff. I had seen one that looked really good on the Internet from Computer Furniture. However, it cost about $1800, a tad more than I really wanted to pay. So, we've been trawling round the furniture stores off and on looking at desks.

Finally we've seen the one that we want. Well, I want, but Cathy agrees it's just what we need. It's also just $1100 and has all the bits and pieces - storage sections for the system unit, printer and scanner; a centralized power control unit; 4 drawers, including one for vertical files; 2 cupboards and plenty of shelf room. It's pretty big, extending 81 inches from the corner in each direction, but it's just the business. It's supposed to be on special offer, but it's been like that both times we went to look at it. I almost bought it today, but I think I'll hold off until Friday (the day after Thanksgiving) when most stores have big sales. It would allow us to get at least a fair amount of stuff up off the floor, and make room in the closet by relocating some of the books, games and DVDs. And let Cathy do the ironing without having to remove the keyboard and mouse!

Well, that's enough for this week. I'll catch you all next week.