I just discovered a pile of old writing, some of which I did during an internship and some of which is from a college creative writing class. (And a good lot of the latter is thinly veiled college student angst, so you can imagine what that looks like.)
I'm totally mortified, and I can't believe I actually submitted this stuff to be graded. (And, come to think of it, the professor was probably very generous. He's a poet I have a lot of respect for, and one he might have been the only professor whose office hours I attended.)
On the bright side, I also discovered the Windows installation disk I've been searching for for the past couple of months, so there's your silver lining.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Monday, March 26, 2007
Random thought of the day
You would think cinnamon-flavored toothpaste would be not so good, but I have found I enjoy it.
In fact, I am thinking of permanently switching from my beloved Fresh Mint.
Discuss.
In fact, I am thinking of permanently switching from my beloved Fresh Mint.
Discuss.
Friday, March 23, 2007
Stop making the rest of us look sane
Considering that I haven't been to the gym since mumble, mumble, I probably shouldn't be critiquing other people's exercise habits.
But I drive home from work a little after 3 in the morning, and just about every night I pass the same jogger. He's decked out in a reflective vest and has a blinking light on one shoulder. So, he's done his part to keep himself safe, but as someone recently pointed out to me, if something does happen to him (drunk driver, heart attack, whatever), it's still 3 in the morning. Maybe he carries a cell phone.
Anyway, is anyone's schedule really that crowded? That they have to jog at 3 in the morning?
And it's not helping that you're making me feel bad about my lazy ass.
But I drive home from work a little after 3 in the morning, and just about every night I pass the same jogger. He's decked out in a reflective vest and has a blinking light on one shoulder. So, he's done his part to keep himself safe, but as someone recently pointed out to me, if something does happen to him (drunk driver, heart attack, whatever), it's still 3 in the morning. Maybe he carries a cell phone.
Anyway, is anyone's schedule really that crowded? That they have to jog at 3 in the morning?
And it's not helping that you're making me feel bad about my lazy ass.
Sunday, March 18, 2007
A touch of authenticity
Washington has one of those Chinatowns where they try to create atmosphere by having the signs in English and Chinese. The local businesses are on board, too.
But Chinatown happens to be next to the convention center and the arena, and the whole area has become a bit gentrified. So, after walking a few blocks earlier tonight, I'm dying to know what the Chinese translations of "Bed, Bath & Beyond," "Chipotle" and "Legal Seafoods" are.
I hope they're doing a better job than they are in Beijing.
There's also a multiplex in the neighborhood. Now, if they really wanted to be authentic, they'd have a guy out front selling bootleg copies of "300."
But Chinatown happens to be next to the convention center and the arena, and the whole area has become a bit gentrified. So, after walking a few blocks earlier tonight, I'm dying to know what the Chinese translations of "Bed, Bath & Beyond," "Chipotle" and "Legal Seafoods" are.
I hope they're doing a better job than they are in Beijing.
There's also a multiplex in the neighborhood. Now, if they really wanted to be authentic, they'd have a guy out front selling bootleg copies of "300."
Marketing run amok
Question: When was it decided that snowstorms needed names?
It seems the fun blast of snow 'n' ice we got in the Northeast on Friday was officially known as "Brendan." When we were growing up -- and yes, we are sooo going there and using the royal we throughout this post -- we had our own name for this kind of weather. It was "winter."
We really hope this is not just something one of the local TV stations cooked up as a marketing idea, because then we would really have to move. Immediately. (Not that we needed any additional motivation to do so.) But as we said to someone earlier tonight, naming a snowstorm is like naming a thunderstorm. And if they are naming snowstorms, why didn't that storm that pummeled upstate New York earlier in the winter get a name? (Something like Winter Storm "Anal Rapist" might have been appropriate.)
Another question: While we were at work this evening, we watched a line of trucks carting snow off company property. This didn't strike us as odd until we left for home, at which point we wondered: Where are they taking it all? We assume there's an field somewhere where they're piling the snow, but maybe it's all going on some schmuck's driveway.
Anyway, we will have to ponder this further.
Finally, we are taking a quick jaunt down to D.C. later today, so if we stumble across anything interesting we will post from the road.
Aren't you all tingly with anticipation?
It seems the fun blast of snow 'n' ice we got in the Northeast on Friday was officially known as "Brendan." When we were growing up -- and yes, we are sooo going there and using the royal we throughout this post -- we had our own name for this kind of weather. It was "winter."
We really hope this is not just something one of the local TV stations cooked up as a marketing idea, because then we would really have to move. Immediately. (Not that we needed any additional motivation to do so.) But as we said to someone earlier tonight, naming a snowstorm is like naming a thunderstorm. And if they are naming snowstorms, why didn't that storm that pummeled upstate New York earlier in the winter get a name? (Something like Winter Storm "Anal Rapist" might have been appropriate.)
Another question: While we were at work this evening, we watched a line of trucks carting snow off company property. This didn't strike us as odd until we left for home, at which point we wondered: Where are they taking it all? We assume there's an field somewhere where they're piling the snow, but maybe it's all going on some schmuck's driveway.
Anyway, we will have to ponder this further.
Finally, we are taking a quick jaunt down to D.C. later today, so if we stumble across anything interesting we will post from the road.
Aren't you all tingly with anticipation?
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Grumpy
I'm not terribly excited about the NCAA Tournament starting today, so I know something is off.
(Feel free to stop reading right now, because I'm just venting here. It's not really interesting stuff, so I apologize in advance. Thanks, and come again.)
My attitude about my job has swung squarely back into Negative, after a few months in Ambivalence. It's a shame I like (for the most part) the people I work with, because then I could just be down on the whole damn thing and say, "Screw it." But I was talking the other day with a relatively new hire in a different division, and we agreed that the corporate culture here is a major source of frustration.
Granted, this culture is a lot better than the one I came from -- we're paid and given raises based on merit (imagine that!). Of course, if you're a deadbeat that just means they give you a slightly smaller raise. But back to my point, which is that the corporate culture here seems to reward those who talk loudest and most often, even if they're just repeating what someone has just said.
I'm usually dinged on my evaluations for not "communicating" well and not exhibiting "leadership skills" (that is, not verbally expressing every single thought that enters my head.) This is mostly because I am trying to, you know, do my job, instead of constantly talking, butting in on every conversation, and celebrating the completion of any task that requires an above-average amount of effort as though I'd just cured cancer.
Maybe this is just a side effect of me not being used to being one of the most experienced people in my department. Or maybe it's just that this isn't the right work environment for me. At the least, I have a sliver of hope ahead, but I can't talk about it right now.
(Feel free to stop reading right now, because I'm just venting here. It's not really interesting stuff, so I apologize in advance. Thanks, and come again.)
My attitude about my job has swung squarely back into Negative, after a few months in Ambivalence. It's a shame I like (for the most part) the people I work with, because then I could just be down on the whole damn thing and say, "Screw it." But I was talking the other day with a relatively new hire in a different division, and we agreed that the corporate culture here is a major source of frustration.
Granted, this culture is a lot better than the one I came from -- we're paid and given raises based on merit (imagine that!). Of course, if you're a deadbeat that just means they give you a slightly smaller raise. But back to my point, which is that the corporate culture here seems to reward those who talk loudest and most often, even if they're just repeating what someone has just said.
I'm usually dinged on my evaluations for not "communicating" well and not exhibiting "leadership skills" (that is, not verbally expressing every single thought that enters my head.) This is mostly because I am trying to, you know, do my job, instead of constantly talking, butting in on every conversation, and celebrating the completion of any task that requires an above-average amount of effort as though I'd just cured cancer.
Maybe this is just a side effect of me not being used to being one of the most experienced people in my department. Or maybe it's just that this isn't the right work environment for me. At the least, I have a sliver of hope ahead, but I can't talk about it right now.
Monday, March 12, 2007
Help needed
I still have a significant amount of money left on a couple of iTunes gift cards I got for Christmas.
I spent some money catching up on a TV show, but I'm pretty much stumped when it comes to buying music these days. It wasn't long ago that I'd pick up 2 or 3 CDs a week, with money earned from laboring in a dusty bookstore warehouse. Now that I can afford to buy as many CDs as I want, I've become a curmudgeon.
So, any tips greatly appreciated.
I spent some money catching up on a TV show, but I'm pretty much stumped when it comes to buying music these days. It wasn't long ago that I'd pick up 2 or 3 CDs a week, with money earned from laboring in a dusty bookstore warehouse. Now that I can afford to buy as many CDs as I want, I've become a curmudgeon.
So, any tips greatly appreciated.
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
C-c-c-c-c-old
So after temperatures in December and January were among the warmest on record, it's been among the coldest Marches in several decades in my part of the world.
When I left Central New York this morning, it was 7 degrees, with a wind chill approaching 20 below. Connecticut, on the other hand, was a relatively balmy 18 degrees when I got back late in the afternoon, with the wind chill merely around 0. (Right now, at 7 p.m., it's 10 degrees with a wind chill at 7 below.)
It looks like we have a few more days of this, but starting Saturday it's supposed to climb into the 40s and 50s for at least several days.
This, by the way, reminds me that I used to think the bright side of this kind of weather was that it would be too cold to snow. But that's not true. Another childhood belief unceremoniously debunked.
When I left Central New York this morning, it was 7 degrees, with a wind chill approaching 20 below. Connecticut, on the other hand, was a relatively balmy 18 degrees when I got back late in the afternoon, with the wind chill merely around 0. (Right now, at 7 p.m., it's 10 degrees with a wind chill at 7 below.)
It looks like we have a few more days of this, but starting Saturday it's supposed to climb into the 40s and 50s for at least several days.
This, by the way, reminds me that I used to think the bright side of this kind of weather was that it would be too cold to snow. But that's not true. Another childhood belief unceremoniously debunked.
Friday, March 02, 2007
Rearranging the furniture
Since I was forced to upgrade my Blogger settings, I'm going to be a tinkering with the site for a bit. If you hate it, you can leave a comment which I probably will ignore. But the look will change until I: 1.) Find a look I like, or 2.) Get tired of fiddling and leave the site with whatever bizarre settings are in place at the moment.
If you're a betting person, I'd put the odds on option 2 at 3-2.
If you're a betting person, I'd put the odds on option 2 at 3-2.
Infernal machines
If Y2K had gone down as some feared, I pretty much would have been screwed. Didn't buy any bottled water. Didn't stock up on batteries. Didn't have much in the way of non-perishable food. Lucky for me, my prediction that things would go smoothly came out fine.
On the other hand, this year's change in Daylight Saving Time is starting to worry me. We've been getting ominous messages at work that Outlook may explode. Several times a week, it takes forever to shut down the computers because that's when they install the updates. (Aside: At 3 a.m., I just want to go home, so instead of waiting for the updating to complete and putting my laptop into that unlocked drawer, I slyly perch my keyboard over the computer to hide it. Although the laptop police have backed off a lot lately.)
Also, the time stamps in one key program have been switched to GMT in an apparent, half-assed attempt to temporarily get around the DST problem. This has the side effect of many bewildered cries of, "Wait, when did that get updated?" throughout the day.
On a side note, the technology woes at my office also have affected the men's room, where the toilets and urinals have automatic flush systems. But the sensor in one of the urinals keeps breaking, so it doesn't flush. No one ever bothers to post a note saying the urinal is broken, so people keep using it. Toward the end of the day, it smells lovely in there. I can't prove the DST issue has anything to do with this, but I bet it does.
So I'm not predicting Armageddon or anything, but I won't be surprised one bit if we wake up on March 11 and find robot armies marching down the streets of our major cities. Not one bit.
On the other hand, this year's change in Daylight Saving Time is starting to worry me. We've been getting ominous messages at work that Outlook may explode. Several times a week, it takes forever to shut down the computers because that's when they install the updates. (Aside: At 3 a.m., I just want to go home, so instead of waiting for the updating to complete and putting my laptop into that unlocked drawer, I slyly perch my keyboard over the computer to hide it. Although the laptop police have backed off a lot lately.)
Also, the time stamps in one key program have been switched to GMT in an apparent, half-assed attempt to temporarily get around the DST problem. This has the side effect of many bewildered cries of, "Wait, when did that get updated?" throughout the day.
On a side note, the technology woes at my office also have affected the men's room, where the toilets and urinals have automatic flush systems. But the sensor in one of the urinals keeps breaking, so it doesn't flush. No one ever bothers to post a note saying the urinal is broken, so people keep using it. Toward the end of the day, it smells lovely in there. I can't prove the DST issue has anything to do with this, but I bet it does.
So I'm not predicting Armageddon or anything, but I won't be surprised one bit if we wake up on March 11 and find robot armies marching down the streets of our major cities. Not one bit.