Thursday...

It's Thursday - nothing much happenin' this week.

The Rams are thisclose to hiring Scott Linehan as their new head coach. Word is that he's on the same offensive level as our former coach. That's fine, but I hope he hires a high-level defensive coordinator to give our defense an extreme makeover. Does he come equipped with thick skin? I hope so. I guess all NFL coaches do, to some degree. I hated to see Joe Gibbs and Tony Dungy lose their games last weekend. They are both good men and excellent football coaches.

Last night was my division's annual holiday party. This year it was a holiday/retiree party due to the 11 people in my IT division who have retired or will be retiring soon. They all took the early retirement buyout that was offered last fall. Unfortunately the new VP got stuck dealing with a systems problem and didn't make it until very late. That's the breaks when you're in IT, unfortunately. (side note: luckily, our new corporate parent didn't replace the retiring VP with one of their guys. They promoted from within our ranks, which means he is temporarily doing his old job while also being the VP of the division.) The party was held at the Moolah Theatre's basement bowling alley and lounge. We dined on Hodak's famous fried chicken and sides, and a marvelous sheet cake for dessert. Yours truly even bowled a few frames.

I should clarify why our holiday party is held in January. A few years back, my boss was recovering from surgery in December. Therefore, we decided to hold the Christmas party in January, when he could attend. It worked out so well that we have made it a new tradition. This ensures a better attendance, since we invite executives and manager-types from other divisions that we work with.