Someone's Turning Eight Today

I'm fond of kids. Not in the i-want-one-of-my-own way nor in the way the witch in Hansel and Gretel likes kids. Naah, not like that. I like kids because they're fun to look at. Except when they're throwing tantrums and making their parents transform into... well, not-so-parentlike people.

But in general, they're so amusing. There was one kid, for instance, who was so sleepy she wouldn't wake up even while her mother was rubbing her cheeks. They were about to get off the shuttle already and the mother was starting to get flustered since she was also lugging grocery bags. The daughter was so oblivious to her surroundings. The heck with everything, she's sleeping. Good for her. (Not-so-good for the mom, though.)

I was on an elevator with two brothers, probably eight and ten years old. They were with their mom, but she was too busy with her PDA. The boys were pretending that their dad was invisible and that whenever the elevator door closes and opens, they would guess whether their dad just came in or just went out. Cool kids.

There's actually a kid right now beside me in this internet cafe workstation who's poking me with a new unopened toothbrush. I've been waving at him and saying hello, but so far, the only response I get is a pair of wide eyes. Unblinking too, if I might add.

I was walking earlier today when I saw a middle-aged lady carrying a box of cake with a number eight candle taped on top of the box. I like kids so much that they amuse me even if I don't actually see them. I could just imagine the look on the kid's face when the lady comes home and sticks that candle in the middle of the cake and lights it. Priceless.

Wherever you are, happy birthday, kid. Have a great life.

The Fspecs Weekend

The security guard at the mall's entrance greeted me with the standard "good afternoon, ma'am" and gestured as usual that I was to open my bag for inspection. Sure. Wasn't bringing any explosives at the time. I found out, though, that I brought my fspecs with me. Not that it came as a surprise. I did place them in the bag myself. But at that particular moment when I saw them, it was so... unexpected. I was overwhelmed by how geeky it was to have a thick bundle of fspecs in one's bag while going inside the mall on a Saturday afternoon.

And, oh, of course, I've singlehandedly ostracized readers not from my field. Fspecs - or functional specifications - are what I'm being paid to do. Well, partly. It's not all I do, anyhow. They're blueprints, if you will, of the software systems we build. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to take them out of the office and I'm not even sure if I'll even have time to read them over the weekend. I'm sure though, that it's not... hmm, healthy. It's almost a disservice to one's self to read fspecs over the weekend - gosh, the weekend - instead of watching DVDs, catching up on sleep, getting fresh air, strolling in the park, saving endangered species, reenacting the opening scene of The Sound of Music ("... the hills are alive..."), taking a trip around the world, working for world peace...

Oh-kay.

I think I brought the freaking fspecs with me because my deadline's on thursday and I still have no idea what each button click is supposed to do. And being the obsessive-compulsive geek that I am, just the mere thought that I have the documents in my near proximity somewhat settles my nagging, stressed out mind.

Have a nice weekend, everyone. If I can't have it, I'm wishing it for you, at least.