I love saving money. I just figured out how to connect to a Microsoft Access database from PHP using an ADO/OLEDB connection, thanks to ADODB. That opens up a whole new world of possibilities—the main one being that I won’t have to spend $1,300 on Cold Fusion MX. That means a whole lot of good news to the boss. Now, if I can just slim down the cost of a web server…

Joash and I hung out last night at an ol’ CRU hangout before CRU last night, although I didn’t go to CRU. We had fun catching up after almost two months of absence. Then, when I got home, I got a call from Tony Clifton himself. It was awesome. God really blessed me last night with awesome connections with good friends.

And, if it makes any difference, Quicken finally is balancing and reconciling Renée and my savings account correctly after about a month of weirdness. I still don’t know what happened, but I’m glad it’s gone now.

Well, even though it’s Friday right now and it’s almost time to pack it up and go home, there is no rest in sight. I have to work again this weekend. That’s the stinky thing about being a computer administrator/webmaster/network administrator/database administrator. You can only do things when no one else is on the server, and unfortunately, I need everyone off so that I can get things set up just the way I want things. This is all in effort to make life easier, so I hope it actually works.

But not only do I have to come in to work, but I have to do some more database design work for the Rotary Club. It should be an easy 15 minute fix, so I hope, but it still means I have to leave the apartment.

I do have Monday off, however. That’s comforting. Hopefully, it will be spent in utter relaxation without having to worry about what the world is doing. Then, on Tuesday, I’ll laugh as students all over the state go back to school and I…

Well, I’ll just go back to work. Hmm.

For all of the geek minded, I finally got Apache 2.0.43, ColdFusion 5, and PHP 4.2.3 set up, configured, and working. I guess the problem is that the “standard” web server for Windows 2000 is IIS, not Apache. So, all the software written for Windows servers naturally has support for IIS. However, Apache (in my humble opinion) is far better than IIS, partially because it’s not Microsoft. However, since I’m not running a Linux server, I have to search the ‘net far and wide for DLLs that will connect one with another. Sigh.

In other news, I went to the men’s bathroom while at work yesterday to apply some medication to my lip for my fever blister (almost better!). While I was in there, I thought that I heard the common-place passed-gas, but it sounded lower and quieter than normal.

I heard it again, and realized it wasn’t the escaping of gas from the behind, but the escaping of air from the mouth and/or nasal cavity.

Yes, a man had fallen asleep on the toilet.

I’m not sure how long he had been out or was going to be out, but I thought I’d help him along. As I was leaving the bathroom, I made sure to be extra loud and sing extra annoyingly.

“Ummm, Mr. Shorbach^*, I… uhhh… I… think that I… uhh… locked you out of your computer. I’m terribly sorry.”

Yeah, not a good move to make on a brand new client.

And what I didn’t mention was what I said after that phrase above: “Umm, I don’t know how to get you back in.”

Normally, this wouldn’t have been too big a deal, except that our friend here, the computer owner, doesn’t really know his own password, since it was a company computer from way back in the day and it was set up a little bit differently than I was used to. Ooops.

But after a little Googling, I came up with a solution. And you know what’s funny? The author uses Linux to fix Windows. I think that’s pretty cool.

* - names changed to protect the innocent … and me

Last night, Renée and I joined about 16 other friends at Courtney’s apartment for a game night. It was awesome! I got to see Laquie, Clint and Jess, Michael and Rachel, Brian and Julia, Don and Desirée, Charis, Renee Mueller, Katie Lee, Kelci, Courtney, TJ, Peter, and several others that I am sure I am missing. And I have to say, there is something about brownies freshly frosted and fresh out of the oven that does something to delight my soul… and expand my stomach, unfortunately. Court made us all Boboli pizzas and we have chips and queso, drinks, and tons more food.

Besides the food, we actually played games. There was a Nertz circle at one point, but TJ, Laquie, Kelly, Renée, and I opted for the calmer but subtley more intriguing game of Phase 10. I got to phase 5 before we quit, but we had an enjoyable time ragging on the Nertz people and their lack of “skill” in playing a “real” game.

Then we moved into the largest game of Cranium I have ever played, and I realized that we needed a bigger room to play that game because there were just too many people. We were four teams of threes and fours, and Peter, Kelci, Julia, and I decided to kick some patooty and ended up winning. Fun moments included the humming of the song “Feelings” and the cameo appearance of Godzilla by four people at once, and 12 other people screaming out the answer all at the exact same time.

Today begins another week at work, and I’m excited. I am writing some conversion programs for our internal database, and I’m stoked. That’s the geek in me, I guess. It’s just cool to be able to read in data, parse it, and transform it into something that we can use. Renée and I are going to finish up the last of the details of the wedding before she goes back home to Houston in a week to really begin final preparations. Only 19 more days of singleness. Then, I get to be joined to the most wonderful woman in the universe. And I have just one thing to say: praise the Lord!

Yesterday was one of the most interesting days I’ve experienced in a while. Knowing good and well that it was the anniversary of 9/11, I fully expected to experience an environment and atmosphere of somberness and of mourning at the office. But, strangely enough, it was one of my busiest days, moving furniture, meeting a new employee, setting up database programs… and either everyone forgot or everybody knew and just didn’t want to say anything, but the 9/11 attacks were never mentioned.

I checked a couple of websites to see what the reaction of the populace was, and I was excited to hear of all the events going on all over America. Not that I wasn’t scared something else was going to happen (I still am), but it was marvelous to see people being patriotic once again.

I think I need some red, white, and blue clothing!

For some reason, I am all out of topic. Where did it go? I feel the need to be deep and introspective, yet all that I can muster is the “daily routine” line. I can’t believe it’s Friday already, and I didn’t post anything since Tuesday. I really hadn’t realized it had been that long. I guess I’ve just been busy.

Wednesday night was spent with Renée and Laquie eating lasagna and watching a movie. It was a good night of laughter and fellowship.

Thursday night was the CRU barbecue at the Kelley’s house. Lots of old CRU peeps were there, along with some fresh faces. It was strange to be on the “out” side of it now. Since I’m no longer a student, I don’t really have the same place that I had before. And I’m sad. I liked being a student and leading a Bible study. I liked being in the band and helping to lead worship. I enjoyed being on the leadership team and sharing vision for how to reach the lost college students of UNM. Now, I’m in a much different place, but still with connections (her name is Renée). It’s strange to be working now, full-time, in an office doing real work and looking for every opportunity to be a witness to the greatness of the Lord.

Joash and I were talking last night at the BBQ and he really opened my eyes to the power of God through my life. He encouraged me and validated me that God does indeed display Himself through my life and that the people at work see that. All I need to do is continue to love Him and to know Him, and He’ll work out the rest. I’ve been trying too hard to take matters into my own hands, I think, and thus have become frustrated and angry because I haven’t had the opportunity to glorify Him as I have wanted to. Yet, He is glorified just by my life at the office. Thanks, God, for using me despite myself.

Busy weekend ahead. More later.

After ridding the world program of the mini-hoonies, Mark bravely sets forth this evening to make right that which was wronged. Pending quick bug tests and the completion of a reference list, Mark will sail off into the sunset…

… and then on Saturday will get to see his lovely bride-to-be!

(Of course, I had to interject that!)

Another exciting day in the life of Mark. I’m still dealing with a headache that I got suddenly on Saturday night, although it’s nowhere near the potency that it was then. It just kind of feels like tension in my neck, like it’s sore and it’s bleeding into the upper part of my head. I hardly notice it now. Matt offered to pop my head to make things feel better, but I forgot to have him do it last night.

Andy and TJ return tonight from a month-long (year-long for TJ) hiatus to the European countryside. I’m sure the jet lag will kill them for a couple days; that will certainly make things interesting as I progress with the rest of the work week. But I am super excited to hear about the exciting adventures on their International Man-of-Mystery tour.

A couple weeks ago, Brian and I hung out, and during the course of our hangout, we went to Steinmart on Wyoming and Menaul. We went in there with one purpose: to find the leather business bags. And oh, were they sweet! It’s funny how the backpack is now no longer “fashionable” as it was in college—I need the black leather business bag. I would just stuff notebooks in there to make me look professional, and would basically end up carrying a 20 lb. paperweight back and forth from work everyday. I don’t really need it just to carry a Zip disk.

But the prestige! The appearance! The status!