full of sound and fury

Epic had its spring picnic on Saturday. More than half the attendees were under three feet tall, which is quite a change for a company that was once 90% bachelors...

It's garden-giving season here in North Carolina. A good friend invited me over for a dinner of pasta and fresh vegetables, because all of her clients have been giving her squash and cucumbers when they pay her. If that doesn't scream "south" I don't know what does! (Turns out she's an awesome cook, how did I miss that all these years?)

When I was in Madrid about a year ago, I was very lucky to attend the Real Madrid v Dinamo Kiev game. The stadium seats 100,000, and puts to shame any place I've been in the states. Seeing Zidane was a treat; even at the end of his career he controlled the midfield. Michael Owen had limited minutes but had two more gears than the Kiev defense, brilliant to watch. The one real disappointment (besides Beckham, who was injured) was mega superstar Ronaldo. His footwork was still enchanting, but he had no gas in the tank. He was clearly overweight, jogging slowly, very slow to return on defense, etc.

Thus I was surprised to hear that Ronaldo just broke the record for most World Cup goals, with 15. (Although many say that he's actually tied for the record, because he is improperly credited with a goal from 2002.) I guess if you want him to run, it has to be for the yellow and green of Brasil. The 27M that Real Madrid paid to buy him away from Inter Milan wasn't enough to get him moving...

To keep up with my restaurant reviews, I tried Red Robin in Cary on Monday for lunch. The restaurant just opened recently here in Cary, but it's part of a larger chain that many Epic folks know from elsewhere. Huge burger selection, nice wait staff. Our waitress had only a few days' experience and made an honest mistake with the order. No less than four different staffers and managers came by to apologize, and they comped the dish as well. Can't complain about that! Then, distracted by the last-minute Italy win on penalty kicks, I managed to leave my corporate credit card behind. I kid you not, the rather lovely manager drove to my office after she left work to return it. Now that, dear reader, is Service.