I know it's not currently Labour Day, but since I'm so far behind in my blogging, and want to remember my life in its correct order, I'm backtracking a bit in my blogs.

So, August 31st was my last day at collegeboard.com -- I had a good experience there, but this consulting thing isn't for me. They said I did a great job and wanted to keep me, but there were budget constraints. They thought there would be more work for me as well, but there ended up not being. To pay my hourly rate for doing nothing isn't in their best interest. The Hearst gig was supposed to be 2 months, ended up being 6. CB was supposed to be 6, ended up being 3 (although I did not have a contract w/ CB, so it was kind of day to day). 

So, taking the month of September off. Have a list a mile long already of projects. Last year did the living/dining rooms floors. This past spring did the bedroom floors and walls (pale green). Now I plan on reorganizing the closets and storage unit, get estimates on the kitchen remodeling and paint the living/dining room walls -- thinking sand for the living room and maybe maroon for the dining.

Went to Princeton, NJ on Friday for the holiday weekend and to celebrate Greg's and my birthdays. Went to Hannah Mason restaurant in downtown Cranberry (historic town where George Washington apparently visited). Normally the experience there is impeccable. However, this time our server needed major training. Her mistakes:

• waited 15 min for water -- should have it w/in 2 min of being seated
• she introduced herself and i complimented her name (don't remember it now, but it was an unusual and beautiful name). she thought i was referring to the restaurant name. no idea why
  
• someone else put carafes on the table, but she kept trying to refill with her pitcher. would rather she have brought out our food.
• brought out introductory apps. she said, "these are free from the chef." no! no! no! you say, "these are compliments of the chef.
  
• i ordered an appetizer as my entrée (as i always do) -- way after everyone else's apps were completed, she came out and asked if i wanted a starch w/ my app. i think she just didn't understand what i ordered.
• alex ordered a steak. she took his regular used knife and put it back on the table. keep in mind, this is a very fine restaurant.  i was horrified. so, to help her out i said that since alex ordered a steak and would be getting a steak knife, that it would be ok for her to take his used knife. oy!
• she brought out the steak knives. asked who ordered the fillet and who ordered the skirt steak. now, i don't think there are different knives for the type of steak. if i'm wrong, please let me know. i think it was to figure out who ordered what
  
• come to find out, i was right. when she brought out the food, she kept asking, "and who ordered the salmon, and who ordered the fillet..." darlin', this ain't the waffle house! hell, most diner waitresses know who ordered what. there are little tricks like starting the ordering at a certain spot (5 o'clock) and going clockwise; or making notes next to the dish like, sole (glasses), chicken (bald), burger (brat), etc.
  

Drove home on Monday afternoon. Made great timing. Buddy did get a little sick each way, but we have a new system. We attended a wedding out of state last year and in the hotel we got a gift basket in an ugly stainless steel bowl. Turns out it is perfect as Buddy's puke bowl. It stays in the trunk (after being washed, of course) with his travel bed and seatbelt harness.