I met my landlord for the first time since I moved in last year today. I really haven't had a hassle-free landlord for years. However, this time around I seem to have hit the jackpot. She hasn't tried to raise the rent, even though my lease is up at the end of the month. The condo association assessments have gone up somewhat, so she is no longer breaking even on the place. But she doesn't really have a lot more cash going out than is coming in from my rent. So basically she pays out a little bit and I pay her mortgage. Not really a bad deal for her, especially considering that I have yet to require that anything in the apartment get fixed.
I also attended a going away party for Steve Silber. For some reason, Steve feels his patriotic duty lies in signing up with the Army. He has been doing reserve duty for the last six months. One weekend every month. And he hasn't yet gone through basic training. That's what he will be doing at Fort Benning now. All the best of luck in not dieing of exhaustion, Steve.
Also at the party were a few people I know. Joel Aufrecht, Jessie Oberreuter, and a couple other people I've met on occasion through Jessie when we worked at Syndeo Systems together. THey also invited a few people that Steve has gotten to know at Expedia: Rivka Spivak, Logan, Alexandra Korolova, and another intern who's name I cannot recall. Probably the longest conversation I've had with Rivka since I started at Expedia. We work in different departments and so have never really gotten beyond "hello" in the hallway.
Then I meandered off to movie night over at Raven's. I caught the tail end of Almost Famous and all of Bridget Jones's Diary. I don't remember the book too well, but I recall it as being a fairly shallow look at a single, almost middle aged woman in London. Both the movie and the book try to be meaningful, in that they show a woman who discards the cad who treats her casually. However, neither of them show Bridget as anything separate from a man. In the movie, Bridget is at her best and most together when she is with a man. Alone, she cannot speak. But when a man helps her, she shines. Still Bridget isn't a bad sort. She has good intentions and she does deserve to find love. The love story is touching. I just wish they could have shown her in a better light.