Strange Sorts of Mondays

Today, at work, I made a foam hat for my Benjamin Linus bobblehead toy. It's not every day you can say that.

In case you're wondering who Benjamin Linus is, he's my favourite character on the TV show Lost. He's very intelligent and a master of manipulation. He's also a bit of a murderer who will stop at nothing to get what he wants. Naturally, I find him fascinating and intriguing. Hence the fact that I have his bobblehead on my desk.

You're probably wondering why I made him a foam hat. The answer is pretty simple: I had nothing else to do and it seemed like a good idea at the time.

Today was supposed to be a very busy day at work. It was the day of a software release when all hands are on deck, making sure it worked. However, when your entire network decides to stop dead quite frequently throughout the day, you tend to find yourself with some free time. Since everything we do is connected to the network in some way, it meant that we were a little handicapped when it wasn't working.

For a while, I tried to be patient but it got to the point where it was taking five minutes after you clicked on something to actually do anything. In the end, I decided to make use of the time wisely. I already had the foam. It came from a clock that I'd been given a little while ago. I found the foam more interesting that the clock and so I kept it. Today, I used paperclips to hold the hat in shape and made makeshift Mickey Mouse ears for Ben. He's proudly wearing them now.

I don't know why I feel compelled to blog about my foam hat. I think it's probably because it was just one of those days. It started out ok but when the network first started to go slowly and then just stopped altogether, it put a bit of an obstacle in the way of getting our software out.

In the end, we did manage to get almost everything done and that which we didn't is being postponed for the next release which will, most likely, be in about six weeks. Meanwhile, I got to make a foam hat for a bobblehead, take a very long walk to the bathroom to stare at the motivation posters, go into the kitchen to get coffee and ended up having a very pleasant chat about food with a coworker and also plan tonight's dinner. It was a very productive day, just not quite the kind of productive day I had planned.

Still, the hat is interesting and my dinner was tasty. I made salmon that I cooked in a salt dome like I've seen on the food network, fingerling potatoes with mint and an arugula and orange salad with parmesan crisps. I have to say, it was pretty tasty. Also, it really only took about 30 minutes to cook and prepare. I love dinners like that. Of course, since I'd already mentally planned it at work this afternoon, it probably did save me some time which is always good.

All in all, it was a very strange Monday. It was the type of day that is pretty much the exact opposite of what you expected to happen. I don't think I'm going to complain about that. After all, I got a foam hat for Ben out of the deal and a pretty good dinner. Also, I got to chat to my cubicle mates which is always fun when people are frustrated. One thing my years of experience of working with software developers is that they're a very sarcastic bunch when they're bored. It's highly entertaining, actually.

I'm hoping we have the same situation tomorrow although I'm sure my boss wouldn't agree. I'm thinking of making Ben a sweater vest to go with his hat.

Happy Monday.