So, I had my annual performance review and salary review at work. I got "Above Average" on my rating, which I think I definitely deserve, since I work my butt off for them, and the salary isn't as competitive as other companies in the translation & localization industry. They did give me an 8% pay raise, and I should be getting between $1,500 - $2,500 for a bonus at Christmas time, which will help. They also want to move me into middle management within the next 6 months to a year, which will increase my salary, benefits package, and bonus package. Hopefully that will happen, because my plan is to start looking for a house this time next year, and once I have that, I would really like to explore the possibility of adopting a child. My parents aren't really keen on that idea, but I've been feeling my biological clock really ticking for a while now.

I've sent Chapter 3 of the new story to Sharon for editing. She's been doing a great job so far, and we're lucky to have editors here at GA like Sharon who are willing to donate their time to read through the messes some of us authors send them, to hopefully make our stories better.

I know I've been saying since the beginning that it would probably be two weeks between chapters, and so far it's been once a week. But, after Chapter 3, I think it will actually be two weeks before I post Chapter 4, since I haven't even started writing it yet (the outline is done, though) ... but, we'll see. I'm also going to be releasing the first chapter to Nifty this weekend. I always keep the chapters at GA ahead of Nifty, but posting to Nifty has its benefits, mostly in bringing more people over here.

The Detroit Tigers are pretty much out of the hunt for the wild card spot now, which is really disappointing. They were the best team in the Majors before the All-Star break, and then they just fell apart. Hopefully, their GM will do some stuff in the off-season to get their starting pitching in better shape (I'd really like to see the Tigers go after Johan Santana, who will be a free agent -- and they have the money to do so now). Fortunately, they have a good GM/CEO, so I think next season will be a good one.

The Florida Gators are also off to a great start, but they're going to have a few big tests in the next couple weeks, namely Auburn and LSU. Tim Tebow, the Gators' star quarterback, has been absolutely phenomenal and has almost single-handedly carried their offense so far this year. He's only a sophomore, but is #1 in contention for the Heisman trophy. Anyway, we'll see what happens.