It snowed last night

Norbert Ispin posits that we all need a mystery to solve. From the big - why are we here? The in between - the peculiarities of Edgar Allan Poe's death, for example, and the small (see picture above). The Lakeshore Village Bakery opened in the spring of this year. I had always intended to go as I'm fond of bakeries and the goods found therein. However, I may have missed my chance. A few months after offering the goods noted in its window, the bakery stopped being open. This isn't to say that it went out of business. There has never been a lease or rent sign posted in the window by the building owners. The homemade breads and buns on display have never been removed and are in fact looking quite sun bleached (I tried to get a picture but it didn't turn out). Truly, the interior of the bakery looks as though the owners closed up for the night and had every intention of coming back the next day.

So here's the mystery - what happened to the owners? You may notice the sign on the window that reads "bakery for rent." It looks like it was written quickly by hand on construction paper and its appearance doesn't inspire a lot of confidence. Would I wish to take over a store that has been mysteriously abandoned on the merits of a chintzy rent sign? No, I would not.

I can only assume that the bakery owners are still paying rent on the store space but why then are they not manning the store? Hopefully one day I'll find out.

And that's today's small scale mystery.

I saved this just for you

T. Gibbons writes:  Jesse V, sometimes your posts are a little negative (i.e. ‘I hate my job,’ ‘I missed camp’ etc).  How about something more upbeat?

Great timing Gibbs, here’s a post that’s sure to please.  Yesterday was my birthday; I think that out of all 32 I’ve experienced, this one belongs in the top ten (though to be totally honest I don’t remember several of the lower, single digit birthdays).   To celebrate the day Capital M took me to see ‘We Will Rock You’ a musical featuring the songs of Queen.  The performances were full of energy, the songs were great and I totally enjoyed the show.  But that’s not all.  There was dinner followed by ice cream cake (this alone would have made for a great day) and presents. 

The day reminded me of a scene from ‘Endless Summer 2,’ one of the surfers, Patrick O’Connell, catches a wave and exclaims ‘that was the best wave ever!’ only to repeat the same thing every time he caught one.  My day was full of great waves – thanks M.

Ms Temper - she's just a baby man

Who knew that there would be lowbrow espionage in my job? I've had two phone calls in the past week from people that I suspect were trying to ferret information about my place of employment and the programs it offers. I was on to the first caller but, to my ever-lasting shame, I was duped by the other. There’s a lot of money to made by retraining injured workers and I have been told that my own supervisor frequently monitors competitors’ websites to see what they’re offering and how the programs are being delivered. This has led to me being signed up for an online Dispatch training program and I can only shudder at the thought of whatever else may be in my future.
I think at the very least these spy tactics should have an element of danger, maybe a femme fatale and a few cool gadgets.

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In other news I recently bought a Venus Fly Trap. This will actually be my third attempt at growing one. So far I think I’ve been doing things right. I’ve been giving it distilled water, I fed it a bug that was hanging out on the wall far too close to where I sleep (I am concerned about bad karma and hope that the VFT starts catching fruit flies on its own), and it’s in a place that gets direct sunlight and then indirect sunlight. Capital M expressed her concerns regarding my metal health in the event of the plant not making it. These plants aren’t easy to grow and I took it to heart when the other two gave up the ghost. Hopefully the third time’s the charm.