Ok, now that I finally figured out how to get Blogger to display in English instead of Japanese, I have a post. It's actually the text of an email I sent to my brother a week or two ago, and he thought it was funny enough to be blog-worthy, so I've reproduced a slightly edited version of it here:
Somebody call the WAAAAHmbulance (I have to complain)
What is it with my people and stupid emails? I am such a curmudgeon about this sort of thing. Last week, I sent out a short note about a problem I had when I upgraded Lotus Notes (my calendar entries all disappeared), saying "don't bother doing research or anything- I just wanted to check if anyone else in the dept is an early adopter and if so, did you hit this problem") and I get like a reply from half the dept saying "Oh I would never be a early adopter of anything, I just wait until the bugs get worked out" (nevermind the bugs in the craptastic Notes 7, which I've been using forever and KNOW sucks), or "Wow, I can't believe you upgraded early, what a bad idea" type stuff.
Hel-lo-oh! Is that helpful? ...Nooooooo. Did I ask your opinion about the pros/cons of being an "early adopter"? ...Noooooo. Did I ask you "should I upgrade Lotus NOtes?" ...NO! In fact, I ALREADY DID IT so WHY TELL ME THIS NOW? WHY? All your doing is wasting my time by my having to open yet another stupid, unhelpful email, not to mention wasting my time as I get annoying about it it to the point of composing an email complaining about it to my brother, NOT TO MENTION WASTING MY BROTHER'S TIME READING SAID EMAIL OF COMPLAINT.
this type of email response is THE OPPOSITE OF HELPFUL.
I can't decide if these emails are more or less annoying than the other stupid emails some people love to send out. Such as, when I ask one of the non-technical ppl to do something non-technical (which is part of said person's job), and she feels a need to send me 1) a reply, indicating that she's going to do what i asked, 2) an update "I'm doing it now!" and 3) "I finished it!" and when, purely out of recognition that she obviously needs this feedback, i send a one-word reply saying "thanks" she feels it's necessary to email back saying "you're welcome"? I think even the thank-you notes are totally unnecessary. If you ask me a question and I reply back with the answer, you don't need to thank me. The "thank you" that you included at the end of your original mail is sufficient. (THANKS)
But even the totally unnecessary 1- and 2-liners are nowhere near as annoying as the last (and I promise you, this is the last thing I'm going to address) type of annoying email I want to mention.
These are what I like to think of as the "look-at-me-I'm-so-NICE" emails. Whenever somebody in the group is sick or has some personal tragedy which causes him/her to miss work, and hence send an email explaining the absence, to the group, there is always this subset of our dept who, in response, feel the need to make it known to all what KIND, LOVING, THOUGHTFUL people they are. How do they do this? By hitting Reply-to-all when sending a thoughtful, loving message of concern to the aforementioned victim. Is it really necessary to reply-to-all? Do we ALL need to see what a nice person you are? Do you think maybe, just *maybe* your sentiments might be construed as more sincere, if you sent them privately? Or maybe if, *gasp* you took the time to send a hand-written note, or perhaps flowers, or even a phone call- instead of rapidly jotting off an email which you proudly parade in front of the entire department mailing list?
Ok, I'm done, I promise.
It may be the case that I'm actually not *all that* annoyed about this, but was merely using it as an excuse to procrastinate... maybe...
;-)
~L
------------------------------------------
Post Script-
1. The Lotus Notes problem resolved itself mysteriously a few days later, when all my calendar entries magically reappeared.
2. I hope no one from my department reads my blog...
3. By the way, they're all wonderful people (really! we just don't always see eye-to-eye about email usage).
4. I (heart) my job.
#####
just a blog of my ramblings. really an on-line journal.
Monday, December 17, 2007
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Things Needed to Ride on South Lamar
(Especially during Rush Hour)
1. Nerves of Steel
2. Either deafness or a willingness to pretend not to hear when motherly pedestrians hiss through their teeth "Too dangerous!" as you ride by.
3. A bike you absolutely can count on.
4. Good health insurance.
5. If you have dependents, good life insurance.
6. Did I mention nerves of steel?
7. An almost 6th sense about where the cars behind you are, since turning around to look could be fatal, and you probably won't have time to check your mirror (if you have one).
8. A certain "devil may care" type of attitude.
9. One of the following: (a) a thrill-seeking personality, (b) a strong sense of necessity (e.g. "my car is broken down and I need to get to the drug store"), (c) an addiction to the ensuing sense of euphoria when you emerge victorious.
10. Did I mention nerves of steel?
(Especially during Rush Hour)
1. Nerves of Steel
2. Either deafness or a willingness to pretend not to hear when motherly pedestrians hiss through their teeth "Too dangerous!" as you ride by.
3. A bike you absolutely can count on.
4. Good health insurance.
5. If you have dependents, good life insurance.
6. Did I mention nerves of steel?
7. An almost 6th sense about where the cars behind you are, since turning around to look could be fatal, and you probably won't have time to check your mirror (if you have one).
8. A certain "devil may care" type of attitude.
9. One of the following: (a) a thrill-seeking personality, (b) a strong sense of necessity (e.g. "my car is broken down and I need to get to the drug store"), (c) an addiction to the ensuing sense of euphoria when you emerge victorious.
10. Did I mention nerves of steel?
Sunday, November 11, 2007
This entry is brought to you by, Jet Lag
I've been deeply surprised by the lack of culture shock I feel in Japan. It may be just due to the fact that I'm in Tokyo, which is a major metropolis, and perhaps all huge cosmopolitan cities share certain traits. I don't know. It's true that I do stand out a bit here. And I do feel a certain unconscious and perhaps unjustified affinity with other non-Asian-looking people I see here (in the back of our minds, are we all thinking "I bet that person speaks English..."? Probably not- I'm sure not every foreigner in Tokyo does. But I would venture I'm not the only one thinking it, which is proven by the fact that we gaijin will spontaneously start talking to each other in English, each in the assumption or hope that the other party will understand.)
I was really worried about the food over here, and afraid that I wouldn't want to eat anything, but now I'm thinking I should be more worried about whether or not I'm going to gain a few pounds over here. I suppose it's true that I've been limited somewhat- there are a lot of restaurants I won't go to because they don't have pictures outside or English on the menu. But there are so many other choices that do- it's really not a problem.
Riding the metro trains in Tokyo is just like riding them anywhere else. They have their own different ticketing systems, but it's not unlike navigating the public transit systems of NYC or Paris. Fortunately, most of the signage includes Romaji, in addition to the Japanese script and Kanji. Of course, there's always the fail-safe trick of counting how many stops have been made and getting off at teh appropriate time, which always works, even if you can't read the signs or understand the announcements.
Walking around the city, a certain silence comes over me, an awareness that I'm not sharing in all that's taking part around me. But it's not unlike walking around a city in America by myself. Whether I understand everything that's being said or not, I'm never a part of everything going on around me. And whenever I'm by myself walking around somewhere, a certain silence falls over me.
Like every time I've been overseas, I'm always surprised by the fact that not everyone automatically knows I'm American. So far only one person has asked me if I was. I've spoken in English to locals, Australians, Europeans and an African. I've done a lot of smiling and sort of half-nodding in a non-committal way to things said to me in Japanese. There is a lot that you can communicate using gestures, facial expressions and the like. I have to say, though, if you only were to know one language well, English is probably a good one to know.
I'll try to write another entry (probably tomorrow at some ungodly hour of the morning, if this jet lag doesn't subside) about the Japanese penchant for wasting ridiculous amounts of packaging (the stereotype is 100% true).
Now if I can just remember which of these buttons on the Blogger page is "publish..." (they look a tad different in Japanese...)
###
I've been deeply surprised by the lack of culture shock I feel in Japan. It may be just due to the fact that I'm in Tokyo, which is a major metropolis, and perhaps all huge cosmopolitan cities share certain traits. I don't know. It's true that I do stand out a bit here. And I do feel a certain unconscious and perhaps unjustified affinity with other non-Asian-looking people I see here (in the back of our minds, are we all thinking "I bet that person speaks English..."? Probably not- I'm sure not every foreigner in Tokyo does. But I would venture I'm not the only one thinking it, which is proven by the fact that we gaijin will spontaneously start talking to each other in English, each in the assumption or hope that the other party will understand.)
I was really worried about the food over here, and afraid that I wouldn't want to eat anything, but now I'm thinking I should be more worried about whether or not I'm going to gain a few pounds over here. I suppose it's true that I've been limited somewhat- there are a lot of restaurants I won't go to because they don't have pictures outside or English on the menu. But there are so many other choices that do- it's really not a problem.
Riding the metro trains in Tokyo is just like riding them anywhere else. They have their own different ticketing systems, but it's not unlike navigating the public transit systems of NYC or Paris. Fortunately, most of the signage includes Romaji, in addition to the Japanese script and Kanji. Of course, there's always the fail-safe trick of counting how many stops have been made and getting off at teh appropriate time, which always works, even if you can't read the signs or understand the announcements.
Walking around the city, a certain silence comes over me, an awareness that I'm not sharing in all that's taking part around me. But it's not unlike walking around a city in America by myself. Whether I understand everything that's being said or not, I'm never a part of everything going on around me. And whenever I'm by myself walking around somewhere, a certain silence falls over me.
Like every time I've been overseas, I'm always surprised by the fact that not everyone automatically knows I'm American. So far only one person has asked me if I was. I've spoken in English to locals, Australians, Europeans and an African. I've done a lot of smiling and sort of half-nodding in a non-committal way to things said to me in Japanese. There is a lot that you can communicate using gestures, facial expressions and the like. I have to say, though, if you only were to know one language well, English is probably a good one to know.
I'll try to write another entry (probably tomorrow at some ungodly hour of the morning, if this jet lag doesn't subside) about the Japanese penchant for wasting ridiculous amounts of packaging (the stereotype is 100% true).
Now if I can just remember which of these buttons on the Blogger page is "publish..." (they look a tad different in Japanese...)
###
Saturday, June 30, 2007
So far, and yet so close
I have this friend who I think is going through a really tough time right now. Actually, I suspect things have been bad for a while, but I think they've probably gotten closer to rock-bottom recently.
I haven't spoken to this person in almost 6 months. We haven't really hung out in much longer than that. We don't know what's going on in each other's lives. We are totally, completely out of touch.
I wish I could say something comforting, or do something kind, but I can't. Nevertheless, I am confident my friend knows that I care. We will always be friends.
###
I have this friend who I think is going through a really tough time right now. Actually, I suspect things have been bad for a while, but I think they've probably gotten closer to rock-bottom recently.
I haven't spoken to this person in almost 6 months. We haven't really hung out in much longer than that. We don't know what's going on in each other's lives. We are totally, completely out of touch.
I wish I could say something comforting, or do something kind, but I can't. Nevertheless, I am confident my friend knows that I care. We will always be friends.
###
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Bad mood/Good mood
last night i was in the blackest mood i'd been in for a long time. i won't go into details; not many people would understand it anyways.
today i went climbing out at Reimer's ranch and I just feel like a whole new person. Being outdoors, seeing the beauty of Jehovah's creation, feeling the good, solid texture of rock under my hands and feet... then swimming in the refreshing waters of the Pedernales river. All the while spending time with 3 of my best friends, plus a cute puppy....
does it get any better?
###
last night i was in the blackest mood i'd been in for a long time. i won't go into details; not many people would understand it anyways.
today i went climbing out at Reimer's ranch and I just feel like a whole new person. Being outdoors, seeing the beauty of Jehovah's creation, feeling the good, solid texture of rock under my hands and feet... then swimming in the refreshing waters of the Pedernales river. All the while spending time with 3 of my best friends, plus a cute puppy....
does it get any better?
###
Monday, March 19, 2007
The Microwave, and Geek Speak
There are 2 things I wanted to mention today. First off, I sometimes wonder- am I the only person who, oh maybe 1 out of every 4 or 5 times I use the microwave, if I look at the numbers as it's getting close to zero, suddenly pretend it's a time-bomb about to go off and start melodramatically fake-running in slo-mo away from the kitchen...?
Secondly, an interesting phenomenon that I only recently noticed. Computer people almost NEVER use the word "computer" when talking about computers to each other. We have a variety of euphemisms like "machine," "box," "system," etc. In certain instances we may refer to the computer by its canonical hostname (if it's a well-known system), its model or type (e.g. "my G4" or "that T31 over there-"), or even more generic terms that nevertheless are more specific than "computer" (e.g. "my desktop," "his tablet-PC," or "your Mac"). I can't ever remember referring to a computer as a computer unless I was talking to somebody who didn't know anything about computers.
I wonder if this kind of phenomenon is observable in most fields. Like, do chefs never use the word "food"? I imagine that lawn maintenance people might have an entire vocabulary of colorful slang words to describe grass. Maybe accountants never use the word "money" (I bet they don't- they probably have a whole bunch of fancy words).
There are 2 things I wanted to mention today. First off, I sometimes wonder- am I the only person who, oh maybe 1 out of every 4 or 5 times I use the microwave, if I look at the numbers as it's getting close to zero, suddenly pretend it's a time-bomb about to go off and start melodramatically fake-running in slo-mo away from the kitchen...?
Secondly, an interesting phenomenon that I only recently noticed. Computer people almost NEVER use the word "computer" when talking about computers to each other. We have a variety of euphemisms like "machine," "box," "system," etc. In certain instances we may refer to the computer by its canonical hostname (if it's a well-known system), its model or type (e.g. "my G4" or "that T31 over there-"), or even more generic terms that nevertheless are more specific than "computer" (e.g. "my desktop," "his tablet-PC," or "your Mac"). I can't ever remember referring to a computer as a computer unless I was talking to somebody who didn't know anything about computers.
I wonder if this kind of phenomenon is observable in most fields. Like, do chefs never use the word "food"? I imagine that lawn maintenance people might have an entire vocabulary of colorful slang words to describe grass. Maybe accountants never use the word "money" (I bet they don't- they probably have a whole bunch of fancy words).
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Cancer
I've been thinking about this awhile, and I decided to finally post something about it. First off, cancer sux. Secondly , I think it epitomizes human physical imperfection.
It strikes indiscriminately. Sure, if you do everything wrong (ie, smoke, drink excessively, sunbathe, etc) you increase your risk. But you can do everything wrong and still not get it. Or you can do everything "right" and get it. Like my aunt. Must be one of the healthiest ppl I know, up until now. Never saw her drink more than a glass of wine in an evening. Never touched a cigarette or any form of recreational drugs in her life. Had a healthful diet, reasonable amount of exercise, rest, etc. Why her?
The answer, of course, is that she's human. Struggling with imperfection like everyone else. I am reminded of Paul's words at Romans 7:14-23, where he talks about his struggle with wrong desires. To me, cancer is like a physical manifestation of that struggle. It's your own body, turned against itself. No matter that 95% of the cells in your body are humming along, minding their own business, working for the greater good, that damn 5% of rebels are screwing everything up for your whole body and making everyone who loves you suffer.
My aunt is closer to me than any other relatives outside my immediate family. She has taught me so many things. She taught me how to play piano, how to read music. She taught me about hospitality, kindness, and love. Now she's teaching me how to suffer selflessly- with dignity and grace. This is not fair. We need the new system, asap.
~L
I've been thinking about this awhile, and I decided to finally post something about it. First off, cancer sux. Secondly , I think it epitomizes human physical imperfection.
It strikes indiscriminately. Sure, if you do everything wrong (ie, smoke, drink excessively, sunbathe, etc) you increase your risk. But you can do everything wrong and still not get it. Or you can do everything "right" and get it. Like my aunt. Must be one of the healthiest ppl I know, up until now. Never saw her drink more than a glass of wine in an evening. Never touched a cigarette or any form of recreational drugs in her life. Had a healthful diet, reasonable amount of exercise, rest, etc. Why her?
The answer, of course, is that she's human. Struggling with imperfection like everyone else. I am reminded of Paul's words at Romans 7:14-23, where he talks about his struggle with wrong desires. To me, cancer is like a physical manifestation of that struggle. It's your own body, turned against itself. No matter that 95% of the cells in your body are humming along, minding their own business, working for the greater good, that damn 5% of rebels are screwing everything up for your whole body and making everyone who loves you suffer.
My aunt is closer to me than any other relatives outside my immediate family. She has taught me so many things. She taught me how to play piano, how to read music. She taught me about hospitality, kindness, and love. Now she's teaching me how to suffer selflessly- with dignity and grace. This is not fair. We need the new system, asap.
~L
Monday, January 22, 2007
Texas-isms vs Midwest-isms
Examples
in Texas:
A: "What kind of coke do you want?"
B: "I'll take a 7-Up"
in Michigan:
A: "what kind of pop would you like?"
Commentary: 7-Up is not Coke!! It's not even cola! For people not from the midwest, they wonder what the heck is "pop"?
in Texas:
I'm fixin' to go to bed now
anywhere else:
I'm going to bed now.
in Texas:
That cat's fur needs brushed. (note: real-life example!)
anywhere else:
That cat's fur needs to be brushed.
Commentary: I would imagine leaving out the "to be" is probably grammatically correct in some language (not English)
in Texas:
I'ma drink me a cup of coffee.
I'm finn'ina buy me a new ve-hi-cle.
anywhere else:
I'm going to drink a cup of coffee.
I'm going to buy myself a new car.
Commentary: Do we even have reflexive verbs in English? I wouldn't even know how to explain this if I hadn't studied Spanish.
| Texas | Midwest |
| y'all | you guys |
| parking garage (even if the whole building is used only for parking) | parking structure |
| tea | sweet iced tea |
| iced tea | sweet iced tea |
| hot tea | tea |
| fixin' | (no equivalent) |
| sliding glass door | door wall |
| coke | pop |
| using regular verbs as reflexives | use of the pronoun "myself" where needed |
| omission of "to be" | use of "to be" |
| vehicle (with "h" pronounced) | car |
Examples
in Texas:
A: "What kind of coke do you want?"
B: "I'll take a 7-Up"
in Michigan:
A: "what kind of pop would you like?"
Commentary: 7-Up is not Coke!! It's not even cola! For people not from the midwest, they wonder what the heck is "pop"?
in Texas:
I'm fixin' to go to bed now
anywhere else:
I'm going to bed now.
in Texas:
That cat's fur needs brushed. (note: real-life example!)
anywhere else:
That cat's fur needs to be brushed.
Commentary: I would imagine leaving out the "to be" is probably grammatically correct in some language (not English)
in Texas:
I'ma drink me a cup of coffee.
I'm finn'ina buy me a new ve-hi-cle.
anywhere else:
I'm going to drink a cup of coffee.
I'm going to buy myself a new car.
Commentary: Do we even have reflexive verbs in English? I wouldn't even know how to explain this if I hadn't studied Spanish.
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
And 2 drinks later, I start talking about love...
So I've been thinking- I have my own theories about love, and being "in love," as it were. I think I have a right to it by now. Oh yes, I have been "in love." I have felt the incomparable aching of wishing I could give everything to a person, of wishing I could sacrifice all that I am and all I ever could be, for the sake of someone's eternal benefit.
I disagree with the popular portrayal of love in movies, songs and stories. You don't "fall" in love. it doesn't just happen. it's not like it's something that you have no control over. Love is proactive. It takes effort to be in love with someone.
It's a choice that you make. Sure, certain circumstances probably have to be in place in order for you to choose to be in love with someone. Factors such as personality, proximity, physical attractiveness, (body odor?) may come into play. But once those factors are in place you can choose to love someone or not to love someone. You need to have adequate reason to be in love with someone. If you don't, then your love is as fickle and capricious as a passing mood. That's not real love.
It takes me a relatively long time to get to the point where I am able to truly love another person. But it takes even longer for me to stop loving someone once I've started. It takes me 3 times longer to finally be willing to choose to stop loving someone than it takes for me to start.
You'd think I'd learn to hold back more.
So I've been thinking- I have my own theories about love, and being "in love," as it were. I think I have a right to it by now. Oh yes, I have been "in love." I have felt the incomparable aching of wishing I could give everything to a person, of wishing I could sacrifice all that I am and all I ever could be, for the sake of someone's eternal benefit.
I disagree with the popular portrayal of love in movies, songs and stories. You don't "fall" in love. it doesn't just happen. it's not like it's something that you have no control over. Love is proactive. It takes effort to be in love with someone.
It's a choice that you make. Sure, certain circumstances probably have to be in place in order for you to choose to be in love with someone. Factors such as personality, proximity, physical attractiveness, (body odor?) may come into play. But once those factors are in place you can choose to love someone or not to love someone. You need to have adequate reason to be in love with someone. If you don't, then your love is as fickle and capricious as a passing mood. That's not real love.
It takes me a relatively long time to get to the point where I am able to truly love another person. But it takes even longer for me to stop loving someone once I've started. It takes me 3 times longer to finally be willing to choose to stop loving someone than it takes for me to start.
You'd think I'd learn to hold back more.
Sunday, January 07, 2007
Too Funny not to Share
So the other night I had a dream that a new restaurant had opened at a mall in Austin. I'd like to point out that the mall where it was located does not exist in Austin. However, I'm pretty sure it was a replica of a mall I've been to once in Florida.
Anyways, so you know how there are all these (lame) themed restaurants? (I'm about to piss off whoever's reading this that thinks those kind of restaurants are "cool." Well, deal with it! They're lame!!) Anyways, you know what I mean- like Planet Hollywood or Rainforest Cafe.
So.. in the dream, Trent Reznor had opened up a NineInchNails-themed restaurant. Yes, at a mall. Yes, a place where you would go with your parents. Yes, I thought it was odd.
Walking in, it was much like any commercial-oriented, mainstream-type restaurant. Everything was pristine and squeaky-clean. The atmosphere was cold and unwelcoming, but not dark and sinister. Well, maybe a little sinister. The color palette was a pale, sickly yellow, accented with browns, black and various shades of gray. Although I think when we walked in, NIN wasn't actually playing, it was something dark and angry. By the time we left, "Closer," was stuck in my head (and still was when I awoke).
Although the dream ended before I'd actually had anything to eat, I'm sure you can imagine the kinds of things you might find on the menu. "Head like a Hole Filet of Sole," perhaps (kudos to my friend Paul Marsh for that suggestion, when I told him about the dream). My friend August suggested perhaps "Cajun Catfish blackened like your soul." I envisioned a salad carefully placed on the dish in the shape of a downward spiral. The possibility for juvenile puns is endless.
On that (dark?) note, I leave you...
###
So the other night I had a dream that a new restaurant had opened at a mall in Austin. I'd like to point out that the mall where it was located does not exist in Austin. However, I'm pretty sure it was a replica of a mall I've been to once in Florida.
Anyways, so you know how there are all these (lame) themed restaurants? (I'm about to piss off whoever's reading this that thinks those kind of restaurants are "cool." Well, deal with it! They're lame!!) Anyways, you know what I mean- like Planet Hollywood or Rainforest Cafe.
So.. in the dream, Trent Reznor had opened up a NineInchNails-themed restaurant. Yes, at a mall. Yes, a place where you would go with your parents. Yes, I thought it was odd.
Walking in, it was much like any commercial-oriented, mainstream-type restaurant. Everything was pristine and squeaky-clean. The atmosphere was cold and unwelcoming, but not dark and sinister. Well, maybe a little sinister. The color palette was a pale, sickly yellow, accented with browns, black and various shades of gray. Although I think when we walked in, NIN wasn't actually playing, it was something dark and angry. By the time we left, "Closer," was stuck in my head (and still was when I awoke).
Although the dream ended before I'd actually had anything to eat, I'm sure you can imagine the kinds of things you might find on the menu. "Head like a Hole Filet of Sole," perhaps (kudos to my friend Paul Marsh for that suggestion, when I told him about the dream). My friend August suggested perhaps "Cajun Catfish blackened like your soul." I envisioned a salad carefully placed on the dish in the shape of a downward spiral. The possibility for juvenile puns is endless.
On that (dark?) note, I leave you...
###
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Lights
Every time I drive somewhere at night, street lights go off around me. I've noticed this phenomenon for the last year or so; lately it seems to have become increasingly pronounced. I probably am noticing it more because I'm paying attention to it more.
I find the fact of it puzzling. I've asked other people and nobody else notices street lights going off whenever they drive under them. I have this theory that maybe it happens all the time, like maybe the lights are designed to turn on and off periodically (maybe if they get too hot or something?) and just I'm the only person that notices it. I can't tell, because I haven't been able to get anyone else to start really consciously paying attention to watch for it.
My friend Colette said she saw this thing on TV one time about people who have a lot of problems with electronics and stuff because supposedly they have some kind of electromagnetic field that surrounds them. Sounded like one of those sketchy pseudo-science programs when she told me about it. I have a lot of problems with stuff malfunctioning, or crashing, but I always thought it was just because I'm a non-typical user. Maybe I do generate some kind of electromagnetic rays or something, and it's causing the street lights to go out. I dunno. Anyways, it's weird. I can't remember the last time I drove 20 minutes in the dark and didn't see at least 1 street light go out as I drove under it. Oftentimes it happens more than once just on the same stretch of Mopac or 183.
Weird.
Every time I drive somewhere at night, street lights go off around me. I've noticed this phenomenon for the last year or so; lately it seems to have become increasingly pronounced. I probably am noticing it more because I'm paying attention to it more.
I find the fact of it puzzling. I've asked other people and nobody else notices street lights going off whenever they drive under them. I have this theory that maybe it happens all the time, like maybe the lights are designed to turn on and off periodically (maybe if they get too hot or something?) and just I'm the only person that notices it. I can't tell, because I haven't been able to get anyone else to start really consciously paying attention to watch for it.
My friend Colette said she saw this thing on TV one time about people who have a lot of problems with electronics and stuff because supposedly they have some kind of electromagnetic field that surrounds them. Sounded like one of those sketchy pseudo-science programs when she told me about it. I have a lot of problems with stuff malfunctioning, or crashing, but I always thought it was just because I'm a non-typical user. Maybe I do generate some kind of electromagnetic rays or something, and it's causing the street lights to go out. I dunno. Anyways, it's weird. I can't remember the last time I drove 20 minutes in the dark and didn't see at least 1 street light go out as I drove under it. Oftentimes it happens more than once just on the same stretch of Mopac or 183.
Weird.
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Me vs. the Candy
So there's this guy Ken who is the PM for the group I'm working with out here in RTP. and he used to sit with Paul, across the hall, when I was in my swanky office that I inherited from a STSM (or some other acronym that stands for somebody more important than me). Anyways, Ken always has a plastic jar fully of candy in his office, specifically the chocolate variety.
When we sat in the offices, occasionally I would stop by and chit-chat w/ Paul, who's my friend and mentor, but in reality the reason I was there was so I could gank a piece of candy.
So about a week or 2 ago we all moved into cubicles, and in the 4-plex of cubes where I am are Paul and Ken. Ken has taken to placing his jar of candy on a table in the middle of our area. Buried within are numerous mini Reese's Peanut Butter cups, and they are calling out my name so loudly as to almost drown out everything else. It's really very distracting. "Laura," they cry, "eat us! Pleeeeeeeeaaaaase eat us!"
Paul tried several different methods to try to stop me from eating the candy. He even put some earplugs in a plastic bag with a note "In case of candy" nearby, in case the ear plugs would block out the sound of the candy screaming at me. It was to no avail. But then he stumbled upon a brilliant solution! Paul flipped the candy jar so that the opening was underneath.
The comparative silence was deafening. Not only was the candy made inaccessible due to it being trapped under the jar, but it didn't even seem as appealing. A yucky half-melted piece slid disconsolately down the side of the interior. Not a sound was heard emerging from the bottom of the jar. For at least half an hour, I had peace, until Ken came along and flipped it back over.
*sigh*
Oh well, I guess I'll just tack another half hour of running into the week's schedule...
So there's this guy Ken who is the PM for the group I'm working with out here in RTP. and he used to sit with Paul, across the hall, when I was in my swanky office that I inherited from a STSM (or some other acronym that stands for somebody more important than me). Anyways, Ken always has a plastic jar fully of candy in his office, specifically the chocolate variety.
When we sat in the offices, occasionally I would stop by and chit-chat w/ Paul, who's my friend and mentor, but in reality the reason I was there was so I could gank a piece of candy.
So about a week or 2 ago we all moved into cubicles, and in the 4-plex of cubes where I am are Paul and Ken. Ken has taken to placing his jar of candy on a table in the middle of our area. Buried within are numerous mini Reese's Peanut Butter cups, and they are calling out my name so loudly as to almost drown out everything else. It's really very distracting. "Laura," they cry, "eat us! Pleeeeeeeeaaaaase eat us!"
Paul tried several different methods to try to stop me from eating the candy. He even put some earplugs in a plastic bag with a note "In case of candy" nearby, in case the ear plugs would block out the sound of the candy screaming at me. It was to no avail. But then he stumbled upon a brilliant solution! Paul flipped the candy jar so that the opening was underneath.
The comparative silence was deafening. Not only was the candy made inaccessible due to it being trapped under the jar, but it didn't even seem as appealing. A yucky half-melted piece slid disconsolately down the side of the interior. Not a sound was heard emerging from the bottom of the jar. For at least half an hour, I had peace, until Ken came along and flipped it back over.
*sigh*
Oh well, I guess I'll just tack another half hour of running into the week's schedule...
Monday, May 15, 2006
A Dream
There's this friend that I'm estranged from. I feel weird saying that, because I'm not the type of person that is typically estranged from anyone. But, anyways, I am estranged from her. It wasn't my choice, it was hers. I tried unsuccessfully for a while to get her to talk to me again but then I figured maybe I was doing more harm than good, so I let her go, thinking eventually it would sort itself out. But it hasn't so far. The way she treated me really hurt for a long time, but it doesn't hurt anymore.
Anyways, so I hadn't really thought about her for awhile. I guess I thought I had more or less written her off. Last night I dreamed I saw her again, and she was bald. She had no eyebrows or lashes. She had gone through chemo. It turns out, she hadn't stopped talking to me because she hated me or anything, it was because she found out she had cancer and she just couldn't deal w/ me. I guess she thought I was too high-maintenance of a friend. Looking back, I think maybe I was. I didn't realize it at the time, but I was pretty depressed during the whole time we were friends. Partly it was due to physiological reasons, which are perfectly evident now, but which at the time, I was totally unaware of. For some reason it seems like we're never aware of these things at the time.
So in this dream, realizing what had happened, I felt pretty terrible. But not so much out of guilt, because I knew it was her choice to push me away, and she realized it, too. Mostly I just felt awful because of knowing that she had gone through so much suffering. And wishing I could have been there to help out in some way. Even if I was a "high-maintenance" friend, no matter how down you are, when somebody else needs help you get over your own issues to come through for them.
In the dream, my mom was with me. This girl asked "How do I look?" and I was about to say "awful" and my mom said "You look GREAT!" in this really sincere, enthusiastic tone, and I realized that she _did_ look great, in spite of it all. And I was like "wow, I'm so glad my mom said that." So I made a mental note when I woke up if anyone who's just been through chemo asks how do I look, I will tell them that they look great, no matter how awful they really look. Because being alive does look great, when you put things in perspective.
I also realized when I woke up how much I still care about this person. I am really worried about her and I hope she's ok. I know it's just a dream, but I can't help worrying somewhat. I'd much rather she stopped talking to me because she does hate me, and not because she has cancer. I want to call her but I don't know if I should. It would probably sound weird to call up and be like "are you ok?... I just wanted to make sure..." I don't know if I'll call her or not. I don't know if the phone number I have for her is even correct anymore. There's a lot of stuff I don't know.
I do know that dreams can have meaning. I don't think this one came out of nowhere.
###
FOLLOWUP:
I did call her. It was a really difficult thing for me to do, I don't know why. But I did call her, and I'm glad I did. I keep thinking about a line from a Kingdom Melody that says something about when difficult problems arise, you often find, the answer lies, in simply being kind. You can't wait for other people to take the initiative. Kindness is proactive. I think this whole thing has been a lesson in humility for me.
There's this friend that I'm estranged from. I feel weird saying that, because I'm not the type of person that is typically estranged from anyone. But, anyways, I am estranged from her. It wasn't my choice, it was hers. I tried unsuccessfully for a while to get her to talk to me again but then I figured maybe I was doing more harm than good, so I let her go, thinking eventually it would sort itself out. But it hasn't so far. The way she treated me really hurt for a long time, but it doesn't hurt anymore.
Anyways, so I hadn't really thought about her for awhile. I guess I thought I had more or less written her off. Last night I dreamed I saw her again, and she was bald. She had no eyebrows or lashes. She had gone through chemo. It turns out, she hadn't stopped talking to me because she hated me or anything, it was because she found out she had cancer and she just couldn't deal w/ me. I guess she thought I was too high-maintenance of a friend. Looking back, I think maybe I was. I didn't realize it at the time, but I was pretty depressed during the whole time we were friends. Partly it was due to physiological reasons, which are perfectly evident now, but which at the time, I was totally unaware of. For some reason it seems like we're never aware of these things at the time.
So in this dream, realizing what had happened, I felt pretty terrible. But not so much out of guilt, because I knew it was her choice to push me away, and she realized it, too. Mostly I just felt awful because of knowing that she had gone through so much suffering. And wishing I could have been there to help out in some way. Even if I was a "high-maintenance" friend, no matter how down you are, when somebody else needs help you get over your own issues to come through for them.
In the dream, my mom was with me. This girl asked "How do I look?" and I was about to say "awful" and my mom said "You look GREAT!" in this really sincere, enthusiastic tone, and I realized that she _did_ look great, in spite of it all. And I was like "wow, I'm so glad my mom said that." So I made a mental note when I woke up if anyone who's just been through chemo asks how do I look, I will tell them that they look great, no matter how awful they really look. Because being alive does look great, when you put things in perspective.
I also realized when I woke up how much I still care about this person. I am really worried about her and I hope she's ok. I know it's just a dream, but I can't help worrying somewhat. I'd much rather she stopped talking to me because she does hate me, and not because she has cancer. I want to call her but I don't know if I should. It would probably sound weird to call up and be like "are you ok?... I just wanted to make sure..." I don't know if I'll call her or not. I don't know if the phone number I have for her is even correct anymore. There's a lot of stuff I don't know.
I do know that dreams can have meaning. I don't think this one came out of nowhere.
###
FOLLOWUP:
I did call her. It was a really difficult thing for me to do, I don't know why. But I did call her, and I'm glad I did. I keep thinking about a line from a Kingdom Melody that says something about when difficult problems arise, you often find, the answer lies, in simply being kind. You can't wait for other people to take the initiative. Kindness is proactive. I think this whole thing has been a lesson in humility for me.
Thursday, May 11, 2006
Unusual occurrences
1. While walking at the greenbelt the other day with my friend Jonathan, we saw 4 snakes. One of them was a python (escaped pet?). Tonight I watched several episodes of Monty Python.
2. When I was at DTW on Sunday, at the Ghetto terminal (aka the Smith terminal), I saw my friend James. WHAT ARE THE ODDS?!
3. There was this guy we saw at Potrero last November when we were climbing- a Mexican dude that had these CrAzY zebra-print action pants (capri-length, mind you) and cRaZy hair (almost a pompadour- only it was kind of all-over big, rather than just on top alone). WELL TODAY I SAW HIM AGAIN!!!! in a climbing gym in North Carolina!!! It was HIM, i tell you! I heard his accent and everything- definitely a Mexican. Come on what are the odds there are TWO Mexican dudes w/ the same hair and the same action pants who are both climbers? It's statistically highly unprobable, if not impossible.
What does it all mean?
My guess would be: absolutely nothing.
1. While walking at the greenbelt the other day with my friend Jonathan, we saw 4 snakes. One of them was a python (escaped pet?). Tonight I watched several episodes of Monty Python.
2. When I was at DTW on Sunday, at the Ghetto terminal (aka the Smith terminal), I saw my friend James. WHAT ARE THE ODDS?!
3. There was this guy we saw at Potrero last November when we were climbing- a Mexican dude that had these CrAzY zebra-print action pants (capri-length, mind you) and cRaZy hair (almost a pompadour- only it was kind of all-over big, rather than just on top alone). WELL TODAY I SAW HIM AGAIN!!!! in a climbing gym in North Carolina!!! It was HIM, i tell you! I heard his accent and everything- definitely a Mexican. Come on what are the odds there are TWO Mexican dudes w/ the same hair and the same action pants who are both climbers? It's statistically highly unprobable, if not impossible.
What does it all mean?
My guess would be: absolutely nothing.
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Of doctors and dreams
So, the other day I went to the doctor for a checkup (haven't had one in years). Although I was pleased to find out that I'm taller than I realized (5'5 1/2", w00t!) I also weigh as much as I ever have. So, apparently I'm fat. Well, not really. I just need to keep an eye on it, I guess. *sigh* but I'm hungry all the time!!
=)
In other news, last night I had a dream that the city of Ann Arbor, MI, had created a "virtual overlay" of itself. What they did was digitize a huge amount of photographic data to create a sort of "background" image. Then they took these crazy floating cameras and created a ginormous grid. Thousands of cameras covered the city, capturing real-time info and constantly updating the virtual city.
For people who had an account (I had one), you could basically log into the system and using some kind of direct-neural interface, step inside of the virtual overlay. You could think of a certain place and wah-la, there you were, in the virtual version of the city. The weird thing is, being in the virtual world, it was possible to see the real people in the real city, because of the real-time updates from the cameras. But they couldn't see you. You could also find other people easily in both the real and virtual cities by simply thinking of the person you wanted to find. If the person was in the network, you would instantly be transported to his/her location, in the grid. The stalking possibilities were endless.
So I was floating around in Virtual Ann Arbor and big-brother concerns aside, it was kinda neat.
So, the other day I went to the doctor for a checkup (haven't had one in years). Although I was pleased to find out that I'm taller than I realized (5'5 1/2", w00t!) I also weigh as much as I ever have. So, apparently I'm fat. Well, not really. I just need to keep an eye on it, I guess. *sigh* but I'm hungry all the time!!
=)
In other news, last night I had a dream that the city of Ann Arbor, MI, had created a "virtual overlay" of itself. What they did was digitize a huge amount of photographic data to create a sort of "background" image. Then they took these crazy floating cameras and created a ginormous grid. Thousands of cameras covered the city, capturing real-time info and constantly updating the virtual city.
For people who had an account (I had one), you could basically log into the system and using some kind of direct-neural interface, step inside of the virtual overlay. You could think of a certain place and wah-la, there you were, in the virtual version of the city. The weird thing is, being in the virtual world, it was possible to see the real people in the real city, because of the real-time updates from the cameras. But they couldn't see you. You could also find other people easily in both the real and virtual cities by simply thinking of the person you wanted to find. If the person was in the network, you would instantly be transported to his/her location, in the grid. The stalking possibilities were endless.
So I was floating around in Virtual Ann Arbor and big-brother concerns aside, it was kinda neat.
Sunday, April 09, 2006
Monday, March 20, 2006
Dreams
About 3 or 4 nights ago I had a dream that I went back to Michigan in the fall. I was riding in a car in the back seat and when we arrived we were at my aunt's old house, the one that's next door to my family's old house. When we got there, I looked around and all the trees were red, and covered with red berries. The sunlight streamed down and all I saw around me was the dark bark of the trees, almost black, covered with brilliant red leaves and fruit. It was so beautiful that I started crying. Everybody was trying to get me to stop and saying "what's wrong?" but nothing was wrong and I cried for like 5 minutes straight because it was too beautiful.
On a less poetic note, last night I had a dream that I got my phone bill and I had used 1100 in-network text messages and 200 out-of-network. I have this bad feeling that when I look at this month's bill, it's not going to be far off.
About 3 or 4 nights ago I had a dream that I went back to Michigan in the fall. I was riding in a car in the back seat and when we arrived we were at my aunt's old house, the one that's next door to my family's old house. When we got there, I looked around and all the trees were red, and covered with red berries. The sunlight streamed down and all I saw around me was the dark bark of the trees, almost black, covered with brilliant red leaves and fruit. It was so beautiful that I started crying. Everybody was trying to get me to stop and saying "what's wrong?" but nothing was wrong and I cried for like 5 minutes straight because it was too beautiful.
On a less poetic note, last night I had a dream that I got my phone bill and I had used 1100 in-network text messages and 200 out-of-network. I have this bad feeling that when I look at this month's bill, it's not going to be far off.
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