House -- sold

Yay.

The good news keeps on rolling in...earlier in the week we had an offer for our house (the first reasonable one we've gotten) which we then countered. About 15 minutes ago we were told that the offer was going to be accepted and thus, we have sold our house.

So, it looks like we will be moving out the week after we get back from our vacation in September. Which also means we need to shore up where we are going to live in the interim between moving out of here and completing the building of our new house. So, I'm off to Craigslist to find a rental for us.

And again, yay.

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More good news on the workfront

This just came over the wire about 10 minutes ago -- Cadence is NOT going to buy Mentor Graphics:

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cadence Design Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CDNS) today announced that it has withdrawn its proposal to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Mentor Graphics Corporation (NASDAQ: MENT) common stock and that its Board of Directors has authorized a $500 million increase to Cadence’s stock repurchase program. The Company said:

“Our goal in pursuing a combination of Cadence and Mentor Graphics was to create a company that would offer customers a broader and more fully integrated product and technology portfolio in a timeframe that would better enable them to address urgent and complex challenges associated with their next-generation product development. It is unfortunate for Mentor Graphics shareholders, however, that despite our best efforts, Mentor Graphics’ Board and management were unwilling to engage in substantive discussions on what we believe would have been a compelling opportunity to create significant value for both companies’ shareholders and customers.

“Cadence is a disciplined buyer and will only pursue transactions that make sound financial sense for our shareholders. Mentor Graphics’ failure to engage in substantive discussions on our all-cash premium proposal prevented us from confirming for our financing sources the significant synergies associated with this transaction. That, along with our revised outlook and the present economic climate, led us to conclude that financing terms for the transaction are no longer attractive for our shareholders. We remain focused on executing our strategy of delivering holistic solutions that address our customers’ key challenges, while ensuring that Cadence operates in the most cost-efficient manner.”

Cadence also announced today that its Board of Directors has expanded the Company’s authorized share repurchase by up to an additional $500 million, subject to market conditions. Together with the Company’s current share repurchase program, Cadence’s total share repurchase authorization is now approximately $912 million.

Cadence will repurchase the shares from time to time for cash in open market transactions or in privately negotiated transactions in accordance with applicable federal securities laws. The timing and amount of the repurchases will be determined by the company’s management based on their evaluation of market conditions, share price and other factors. The stock repurchase program may be suspended or discontinued at any time.

(source: Business Wire)

A promotion AND significant job security all in one week...things are going very well right now :)

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Hooray for Troy!

The day has finally come...I have been promoted from a CAE 2 to a CAE 3!!! Yay! My seven years of hard work have paid off :)

Now I'm off to golf (in a Mentor sponsored league). See, hard work.

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Back from vacation

Vacation is over, so it's time to get back to work. Links post coming up later and an update will be up on the other blog with "recent" gaming action.

No posts on the books I read over vacation, since I found a way to stay ADD and begin/continue reading 5 different things without finishing any of them (Frank Miller's Daredevil Omnibus, 2008 Pro Football Prospectus, Time's Arrow, various saved blog posts on my computer, and a couple crossword puzzles from a 3-year old copy of Games Magazine I had lying around).

I also didn't have the time I had hoped to have to write up my top 5 movies post, but I swear I'm working on that as I type this out and eat a delicious Noah's Bagels raspberry muffin. Maybe Monday?

One piece of good news though -- I've ran four consecutive times without being stung by a bee. Although I did have to do a fancy pirouette yesterday as I saw one coming at me! So if you were on Doaks Ferry Road yesterday and saw some guy dancing around on the sidewalk, that was why.

I think that's it for now...back to snack time and work.

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Revenge of the Bees

Many of you may remember the Great Bee Incident of 2007 (apparently I didn't blog about that) from last Summer, wherein I was stung three times on my thigh and stomach by a stupid bee while running and swelled up all big and couldn't breathe, etc.

Well, yesterday, again while out running, I felt a sudden *whap* right under my eye.  Needless to say it was again a bee flying directly at me and stinging me.  I uttered several loud profanities (mostly due to the fact that I had to quit my run -- don't the bees know I'm training for a marathon!) and realized I better just go back and take some Benedryl.  I did that and fortunately there isn't any swelling this time.  Still, I hate bees.

Since the bees have waged all-out war on me, I decided to do them one better by spraying a yellowjacket nest that was under one of the eaves of our house, killing about 8 or 10 of them, all the while cackling sadistically.  So there, I win. 

Although I better be on the lookout even moreso when I run now, since I've just escalated the violence level in the war on bees.  I have a feeling that in the bee community they have my face plastered up in all of their hives, ready to strike.  Well, just come and get me bees -- it's on!

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