Wow... I think this is the earliest I've been headed to bed in... months! Oh well... I'll take advantage of it and get a good night's rest, I reckon. Thus, the joys of being without my favorite computer (no offense to the work laptop that I spend every waking moment with). I miss the constant hum of my sweet mack daddy machine. It was QUIET in my office today!!! It threw me off my game, for sure. I miss the tunes, the pictures, the unblocked web (the work VPN blocks (and logs all visits to!) certain web sites including MySpace, YouTube, etc., etc... basically anything fun). I used the time I would usually spend on the big machine tonight to watch a few videos. The only VCR we have has been hooked up to the big computer (although it hasn't actually played video since the ATI driver died several months back). But with the power supply completely kaput on that machine, I figured I might as well unhook the VCR and bring it in to my bedroom TV. There were several video tapes that I hadn't unearthed in a while. After I knocked the dust and spiderwebs off, I enjoyed an evening of reminiscing. I love watching videos (and looking at still pics). Somebody remind me of that the next time I try to hide from the camera. Just go ahead and push me out there in front of it. I'm sure I'll love you for it later.
So, John R. tells us there's a huge gigantic oh-my-gosh-we're-not-gonna-make-it (2 inches predicted!!!) snowstorm on its way to the Southeast (specifically NC, specifically for John R. Charlotte). Hope you found all your must-haves, John (ball cap, especially... lol), and are all strapped in for the wild ride. Hope your home -- and the city -- can dig out when all is said and done. Love your sarcasm, by the way. You're my kind of humorful. ;)
Finally, because I'm out of words and the Internet has so many to choose from, I'll steal a few quotes for you to ponder:
An inch of time cannot be bought with an inch of gold. Chinese Proverb
Nothing is as new as something which has been long forgotten. German proverb
The distinction between the past, present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion. Albert Einstein (1879-1955) German-Swiss-U.S. scientist.
Tomorrow do thy worst, I have lived today. John Dryden (1631-1700) British poet, dramatist and critic.
Okay, I'm only half listening to the commentation for Texas/Texas Tech, and I just heard the commentator say that Texas Tech is #1 in the country in 3-point percentage... at 45%. Carolina improved upon their 37% tonight (with 52% from behind the arc). But even without tonight, 37% is NOT THAT FAR behind 45%! Gosh... Mike P., expect the moon, why don't ya?!
1) A radio commercial today actually said... "It's as easy as tapping a keg." 2) According to Mike Patrick, Carolina is not great behind the arc. At 37% from 3-point-land, I'm pretty pleased with their trifecta skills.
Sometimes you have to ask me 50 times to do something, but I will eventually do it. So found out one of my fave IT guys today... who got tired of me blowing off his automated reminder e-mails. I'd only gotten, what... like 10 of them? Believe me, I can ignore more than 10 requests for action. Anyway, so, he finally e-mails me personally today and says... seriously, you were bugging us for this project for weeks and now you haven't looked at our work on it! Okay, it was more like: "We need to get some stuff off our plates and this is one that we need to move on." Still. Hello... if you'd get the rest of your team off my back (they've been asking for TONS of stuff lately!), I'd DO IT. So I write him back an IM (more casual, less likely to come back & bite me in the butt): "I like you. You're funny. You make me smile. Thanks for the gentle reminder to respond about our project." He didn't think that was cute. I think it's cute. Smile if you think it's cute. Anyway... one thing leads to another; I complain about how the rest of their team is on my back for this, that, and the other (and they need it yesterday, of course); and he says, "Yeah, we're all victims. If you could just give some feedback we'll go back and work while you do your other stuff." Now, that really made me sit back and say huh... you're smart. Or a smart aleck. I relented. Spent the good part of the day working on this "little project". But I got him back... made him do another "little project" for me for the rest of the afternoon. So there, victim-boy.
Anyway, I just got on here tonight to say hi. Still working on playing in the pics... have moved on to some concrete objects (instead of computer files). Here are some of my faves recently. Look familiar to anyone? :) Luv 'n stuff...
Well, never mind... about the old stuff and the luv too. I WAS going to send some files to myself via IM, but NOOOOOO. I'm in hell. My big computer just died. Oh man... if there's really something wrong with it, I quit. I'm going offline and never coming back. So there. See ya... maybe.
Wouldn't it just be fabulous if plants and animals could TELL US what they want/need? My day has been filled with Kona barking at me (for who-knows-what-reason) and me feeling sad about my fern... my fern that was doing so well it elicited a compliment from Dad one of the last times he was down here, my fern that I've had since we moved in here (housewarming gift from my boss), my fern that I was so proud of just a few short months ago. I'm not so proud of it anymore. It's not dead, or maybe even dying. It still looks okay... but not great. And I haven't changed ANYTHING about the way I'm caring for it. So, why does it, all of a sudden, look like this:
And Kona, I swear... the silly cheese dog. She barks for no reason... at nothing. Well, that's not true. She barks at me. But she doesn't seem to WANT or NEED anything. And I'm not doing anything to deserve the auditory assault. I think she just likes to hear herself bark. Wanna see what I mean? (I know, I know... another video... groan!)
Anyway, if Kona could just grow a voice or if my fern could leave me a note, I'd do whatever I needed to to make sure each of them was well-taken-care-of. Can anyone speak Jackimo (cheese dog, specifically) or fern?
Meanwhile... on our walk today, I was trying to play Rorschach with Cooper's & Kona's spots. Do you see what I see? Without actually drawing the pictures of objects I found, these are the best close-ups of my objects. Well, do you see it too?
I am far from perfect when it comes to spelling & grammar... although, I consider myself quite the stickler (and I'm often right even when others think otherwise). Lately, I've noticed I make lots of mistakes (more than I used to, I think); and I often overlook them (skim right over the darn things) in the editing stage. Ironic (is that the proper use of the word???), I think, especially because everyone at work sends me their announcements (et. al.) to review for spelling & grammar prior to sending out. Well, just because I make a lot of mistakes in my own writing doesn't mean I'm not great at catching other people's oopsies. That, I can actually do really well. Bottom line... I think if I were able to read my writing like someone else's, my own spelling & grammar would be better. Of course, that's impossible... because by the time I've finished a paragraph (or a blog post, as the case may be), I've read it so many times, I'm much, much, much, much, much too close to it to be able to read it with a discerning eye.
So, some of my common mistakes lately (that I've noticed myself):
Its/It's & Their/They're/There -- not sure why this one's tripping me up all of a sudden. Duh... I know the difference between the possessive and the contraction.
Embarrassment (and others) -- spelling words with double letters... gets me every time
Judgment & Curiosity -- Where'd the missing letters go (E for judge and U for curious)? No doubt, Kona had something to do with it. (She just looks guilty.)
Sundries/Assundries/Asundries -- Yeah, Dad... this one's for you. Thought you might get another chuckle out of my ignorance. :)
Anyway, because of my tendency to misspell difficult words and my strong desire not to get caught making up my own words (as the-always-humorful Jon enjoys), one of my favorite sites to have open in the background of all blog posts is M-W.com. I believe Haley & I had classmates in high school who professed "reading the dictionary". Well, no need anymore, peeps... the dictionary is electronically searchable.
Now, for grammar classes, I read this past week that there's an excellent podcast now available (just cracked into the Top 10, I believe) from Grammar Girl. (First link when searching Google: http://www.podcastdirectory.com/podcasts/18587. It looks like a pretty useful listing of the lessons.)
Other interesting notes from today:
Sleeping in is hard with two dogs puppies who keep hearing the porch-builders next door. You must be very dedicated in order to achieve success.
Days when Carolina and Oregon both play (at non-competing times) and win are very fun days at my house.
The Zaxby's drive through SUCKS. Prolonged wait times often make one choose to remove oneself from the queue and reposition in the next-door Wendy's line.
My dogs need tennis shoes.
When Cooper doesn't get his nighttime stick exactly when he wants it, he'll go get it himself
Oh yeah, and one more thing I learned (from Paul Sadowski, whoever that is): As of 1/28/2007 12:26:01 AM EST, I am 30 years old; 362 months old; 1,578 weeks old; 11,045 days old; 265,080 hours old; 15,904,826 minutes old; And 954,289,561 seconds old.
Wow... I'm REALLY OLD in seconds. And really bored... because I find that fascinating.
3:40, Friday afternoon... perfect time to take a walk with the dogs. No? Shoot, I don't care what you think. I think it is. I'm going outside to enjoy the sunshine and mid-50s. THEN I'll work. Better late than never, right? I mean, it is the 26th... what else would you expect?! ♥
So, speaking of curves, I've had this story to tell for a really long time. I think of it periodically... but always when I'm away from pen, paper, or electronic means of note-taking. Therefore, I forget about it. Anyway... I hope I can do it justice. It was pretty darn funny (although more-than-a-little dark & just plain weird) at the time. The story is about 6 months old. It was told to me during a sun-worshiping session this past summer while Eve & I were cooling off in the kiddie pool, chatting with our neighbor, Jen. (I am really missing my pool & sun time at the moment; so you can't blame me for conjuring up every memory from then that I can... especially on a day like today when the sun was brilliant but the darn wind woulda kept me shivering in my little bikini.)
Okay, so on this day, Eve and I happened to meet up at the pool. We chatted for a while and eventually got hot enough to go cool off. Jen and the kids happened to be splashing around in the kiddie pool, so we went over to sit in the 2 feet of warmish water and chat. As females often do, we made our way to the subject of weight. (Speaking of... the Sonic guy (the regular one) said to me yesterday, "I just hate that you eat here every day and never gain weight." I was like a) don't hate, b) I don't eat here every day... DO I???, and c) I've really been trying to run more lately!)
Anyway... Jen ended up telling Eve & me about how much she likes Curves ("the gym where women change their lives 30 minutes at a time"). She was really singing its praises. She goes there, her mom went there, all her friends go there, she's really lost weight and sculpted her body, etc., etc. Just making conversation, Eve happened to ask, "How old is your mom?" Jen didn't flinch: "Well, she actually died a few months ago." Both of us go "aww... I'm sorry." Without even pausing, Jen: "Yeah, she actually died at Curves." Wha? But... Huh?
WOW. Okay. Um, thanks for that, Jen. GREAT story.
Couple more things... now that you've heard that fabulous Curves story. One: Dook sucks. How many breaks do they get??? Coach K Court clock operator = definitely on the payroll (well, duh, of course he is... but, still, you know what I mean if you watched that freakin' game. Two: mountain lions kinda suck... although, if you read that whole story, I kinda feel bad for the mountain lions at the end.
In coaching news, Isaiah Thomas is an idiot. And I'm really not the only one who thinks so: http://cbs.sportsline.com/nba/story/9950045. What kind of coach actually SAYS, "There is no strategy for being down 29-3."? What do you mean there's no strategy? Were the Tennessee women not down 19-0 against Dook just the other night (and down by as much as 21) only to come back and tie the game and eventually have a shot at winning? Didn't that stupid 2001 Dook team come back on Maryland... twice in 2001 (once in January, where Maryland gave up a 10-point lead in the last 54 seconds; and again in March, when it counted, as Battier & company staged a 22-point comeback, earning a trip to the final & their 3rd national championship)? And, FYI, in case you didn't know, in the Penn/Princeton game in February '99, Princeton trailed 29-3 (sound familiar?) before coming back to win the game. Anyway, my point is... evidently SOME coaches (two of them, Summit & Krzyzewski, considered the best of the best coaches that perhaps you, Isaiah, should try to learn something from) really DO believe there is a strategy for being down 29-3. And, by the way, it doesn't involve throwing in the towel and asking your players to teach the other team a lesson by going for a hard foul, getting involved in a brawl, blaming the other team and coach (another world-class one, mind you) for said brawl, and basically shirking all responsibility and CLASS in the process.
So, those of you doing what you're doing that is helping keep Carolina in their winning ways, way to go. Keep on doing it. :)
To be continued tomorrow when we pick right back up where we left off... (well, not really this, but another conversation of just-as-paramount importance, I'm sure)!
New readers... who maybe happened to stumble across my little corner of the blogosphere... don't forget to shut the door. ;)
Okay, I won't get up on my soapbox for too long; but you know I can't overlook another opportunity to preach a little Poli Sci from my pulpit here at Pawpads One (kinda like Air Force One, but different).
How many faces did YOU recognize as the camera panned through the room? I'm just curious. How many of our elected officials and other governmental VIPs are recognizeable to the average American? How many are recognizeable to you? I read recently that Fox is going to put together a new show called "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?" Great... yet another demonstration of how pitifully uninformed and unintelligent we are as a whole. News stories about the new game show quoted a Fox exec as saying, "While most game shows measure how smart you are, this is a show that will measure how dumb you are." Awesome.
And why does our government have to be so freakin' politicized? I hate our two-party system. HATE IT. It drives me insane to watch half of the chamber stand up and the other half stay seated in mute rebellion. It drives me insane that the speechwriters provoke this nonsense (and that the speechmakers actually deliver this blatantly politically charged rhetoric). I blame both parties equally, don't get me wrong. Both sides are ridiculously off-their-rockers. Why should I, a regular don't-really-know-that-much-about-it American join one side over the other? You're both FULL OF CRAP. I tried to elect you, even pay taxes so that you may earn a paycheck, to learn about and really debate the issues, surround yourselves with expertise so that you could be better informed than me, make policy decision according to what's best for ME. Yet, you spend all your time playing to "party leadership" (a.k.a., those who can fundraise like the dickens). While it's okay that you don't know me, it really bothers me that you don't care about me. All you seem to care about is winning and proving them wrong. I watched an episode of Sex and the City today that reminded me of what I'd LIKE the State of the Union to be... in it, Samantha is booked to speak at a cancer survivors' luncheon. Smith (her beau) tells her to just be herself and speak from her heart; she says she "knows PR" and she must deliver a polished (and rather run-of-the-mill) speech. The result... no one is inspired by her prepared speech, but her impromptu mini-break-down brings them all to their feet. Bottom line... I don't identify with (and am not moved by) the overly-polished, pompous rhetoric that hijacked my too-good-for-you HDTV tonight. I wish I knew what YOU REALLY THINK.
Finally, a quote from today's New York Times really got my blood boiling this morning. In a piece about the public financing of presidential campaigns and its approaching demise ("Death Knell May Be Near for Public Election Funds"), the Federal Elections Commission chairman said, "We are looking at a $100 million entry fee." Once you read the article, it makes me a little less angry (I'll explain in a sec), but upon first reading of that quote, I was pissed! What is this country coming to when the chairman of the Federal Elections Commission is actually quoted as saying there's a $100 million entry fee to get into the presidential election?! But, hopefully, he was being sarcastic. Hopefully, he's trying to make his own point about how candidates are becoming increasingly bought-and-paid-for by private financiers. Hopefully, he and I agree that the public financing of presidential elections was implemented for a reason... and a good one at that... to avoid bought-and-paid-for politicians who govern for and on behalf of special interests. And, once again, the problem is on both sides. Candidates of both parties have refused public monies in favor of private fundraising. Yet (and I feel like this is the exact same issue... if you disagree, feel free to rebut), in the Democratic rebuttal after tonight's State of the Union, Sen. Jim Webb (from his wow-I-didn't-know-they-grew-them-that-tall high horse) said:
"It falls upon those of us in elected office to take action. Regarding the economic imbalance in our country, I'm reminded of the situation President Theodore Roosevelt faced in the early days of the 20th century. America was then, as now, drifting apart along class lines. The so-called "robber barons" were unapologetically raking in a huge percentage of the national wealth. The dispossessed workers at the bottom were threatening revolt. Roosevelt spoke strongly against these divisions. He told his fellow Republicans that they must set themselves "as resolutely against improper corporate influence, on the one hand, as against demagogy and mob rule, on the other." And he did something about it."
Wow, Sen. Webb... you think we are drifting apart along class lines? You don't say! Not when it takes a mere $100 million to throw your hat into the ring for President. Can I buy a vowel? Well, how about an election? And, in your opinion, Sen. Webb, I wonder just who are today's "robber barons"? Oh, no doubt, we can lob a few word grenades at each other, point fingers across the aisle, and talk about the other party behind its back. Of course, they are the robber barons. COME ON... you're ALL the robber barons! Look at your own W-2s when they finally arrive within the next month (and you better be counting all sources of income, mind you... no tax cheats among us holier-than-thous, right?). Freakin' hypocrites. And please don't tell me that YOU'RE going to be the Theodore Roosevelt of our time by standing up and doing something about it. I dare you to try. Unfortunately, that's one thing both parties agree upon (and that's absolutely vital to the lifeblood of our two-party system). You can talk all you want, invoke the memory of great leaders, spew rhetoric out your... well, you know. But you cannot, under any circumstances, actually change anything.
Oh, how I enjoy getting new gadgets! Friday night, after a yummy dinner at Nikko's (I love eating out... have I mentioned that lately?), Jon & I moseyed on down to the Verizon store. My cell phone (favorite phone EVER) has been being quite ornery since its last plunge to the hard, cold earth/garage floor (I drop it often... the last time -- in the garage, it came apart at the seams). But did I mention that I LOVE it?! Anyway, my contract allows for a new phone at discount pricing (as of 1/10, actually), and despite my affection for the old one, it was probably more-than-a-little time for a new one. My new little best friend is an LG VX8300. Still love those LG phones better than any of the rest. (Wouldn't join you crazy Motorola owners for the world.) My upgrades: VCast (not that I'll use it), camera (with flash), bluetooth, tune-playing capability, 99 speed dial slots (who needs that many?! I only used 2, 3, 4, 5, and 8 on my old phone), a phone that hasn't been dropped a million times (okay, I dropped it the first night I had it... initiation to life-with-Heidi, we'll call it). Negatives: the side down-volume control on my old phone (when held down) switched it to vibrate, with this one I have to press & hold the * key (which means actually opening the phone to switch to vibrate); there's only one work number slot in the contacts; the groups (within contacts) are limited to 10 members. I'm sure I'll come up with lots o' other stuff... both goods and bads... as I get to know (and love, I'm sure) my new phone. For now, I'm just excited to use it! The phone calls, text messages, and voicemails are few and far between since I got it. One text from Verizon (learn about your new phone) and two outgoing calls... one to mom (which was a very productive phone call, thanks Mom!) and one to an IT guy in Connecticut today (who helped me reconnect my PocketPC this afternoon... more about that in a sec). But, I've got all my contacts reloaded. That took damn near forever. I would've asked the Verizon guys to transfer them for me, but I had a line behind me a mile long! And those guys were pit-i-ful. So, I figured it would give me something to do this weekend... and boy, has it!
And in other gadgetry... I've been playing with my new digicam tonight. I wish I could take better photos; but my subjects just won't hold still! Well, that and I don't have a lot of creativity with inanimate objects. My fave recents of both animate and inanimates (just don't tell me if you think they're crap):
And as if actually getting new gadgets isn't enough, I got to pretend like my PocketPC was new... because it decided to completely die at some point over the weekend. I swear I've let the battery run down to dead several times before (and why not, since I basically ignore it over the weekend... and its battery can hardly do three days of standby!), and this has never happened. But, evidently, he/she/it just decided it was time to clear its sweet little brain of every little thing. It lost the pics I had saved on there, cleared its theme, deleted the owner information, and wiped away the connection details (including server info that allowed it to automatically sync to my work e-mail, calendar, etc.). I had to start all over with it today. But... it's not so hard. It was actually kinda fun getting a blank slate with him/her/it again. I guess I was kind of feeling in-a-rut with the same wallpaper, theme, ring, etc. Who knew?!
How you know your house is too big: I've been looking for a couple of notebooks that Jon & I used in 2000 for WEEKS. Weeks, I tell you. Granted, I've merely been casually looking; but yesterday, I actually started really looking. I've looked on bookshelves, in stacks on desks, in piles in corners, in boxes, drawers, under the bed, everywhere. Nothing. I think maybe they're figments of my imagination. I found birthday cards that my mom sent me at college, ticket stubs from movies I went to in high school, letters, pictures, and stuff of all sorts. But no notebooks. Where in the world would those stupid things be? Trouble is... I look where I think they'd be in one room, then I move to the next room to look in the likely places. And, honestly, by the time I make it back to the original room to look in the unlikely places, I've forgotten where I actually looked the first time. Oh well... I'll keep you posted.
So... tomorrow's Friday. Friday is generally department-lunch with the Kines dept. Well, it is for Jon, like, all the time. And every once in a while, he invites me along. Anyway, one week ago tomorrow, we went to this new restaurant, Banderitos, over close to GSU. I hadn't even heard they were opening a new spot over there... but there's this nice new strip mall thingie and they've been working hard to fill it up. McAlister's is over there (and is a regular lunch-spot for the crew, evidently... but I don't particularly enjoy McAlister's... so when Jon invites me to those lunches, I sometimes politely decline). Anyway, so Banderitos, it turns out, is being opened/run/everything by our NEIGHBORS. I walked in (ahead of the crew) last Friday and was greeted personally by a Banderitos employee. I was like... whoa, dude... he knows my NAME. I didn't recognize him. Evidently, it's been a while since we've been to a JoRun gathering... oops! Anyway, so, it's Jeremy (he reminded me of his name). I was like HEY, BUDDY (can't you just see me saying that?!). One thing led to another in the conversation, and he told me he & Jenny (well, Jenny, actually... evidently it's her baby) are running it. (He asked, incredulously, if I didn't read the paper. I guess it was in there. How do you tell an intelligent neighbor (when you're going for respectable) that you don't read the paper because it gets your hands dirty?!) Anyway, it was fun to patronize their opening day. Haven't been back yet... mainly because I haven't had a buddy to go to lunch/dinner with this week. But it was good on Friday, and I'm sure we'll be back.
As an aside, when I asked Jon what kind of food Banderitos was, he said... it's like Moe's... only spelled differently. What a funny, funny boy.
I hope you enjoy your Friday! Haley... safe (and happy) travels! Luv 'n stuff... ♥
Trying to be cute and funny all the time is tiring:
What?! Did you think I was talking about myself?!
So, do any of the rest of you watch "The Class"? I know it's probably below you guys... but it was laugh-out-loud funny this past week. Maybe it'll be the next "Friends". Maybe not... but if it is, you heard it here first. And mostly because I have no other ideas at the moment (and it's what's on my mind), here's the 4-1-1 on the characters... just in case you decide to tune in next week.
There are three "couples" who are so worth watching: 1) First and foremost, the funniest characters on the show: Kat and Ethan. Obviously, they'll be getting together sooner or later, but for now, they're just friends. Kat is cynical as all get-out and Ethan is the eternal optimist, looking for love in all the wrong places. On last week's episode, Ethan (a pediatrician) set Kat up with her stalkee (whose kid happened to be a patient). Kat was upset... since it's always a let-down to get to know the man you're stalking in "real-life". But she ended up liking him... only to be let down by the fact that he didn't call in the next couple of days. So, she took her phone to Ethan... turned him into the girl waiting for the phone call. 2) Duncan and Nicole. The high school sweethearts who broke up way back when and are falling for each other all over again. But, oops... Nicole is married to an ex-NFL football star and Duncan still lives at home with his mom. These two are pretty much the glue that holds everyone together. You can count on at least one sweet moment between them each week, and they're always good for a laugh or two. One of my fave sweet moments... Duncan's "Walking Away From Me" song for Nicole in the episode in the bar (I think it's called "The Class Goes to a Bar" or something like that... unfortunately, though, you won't find the song anywhere on the 'net! Can you believe there's something out there that I CAN'T FIND on the 'net?!). 3) Lina and Richie. Lina is Kat's sister who got run over on the first episode by Richie... after they went out (date-ish) for coffee. They're dating, but Richie is the shy, nervous, never-very-popular guy... which makes for a very funny (and underwhelming) last episode ("The Class Hits It"). 4) The other characters (Kyle & Holly) have their moments, but they haven't really been featured... well, interestingly. Although, Kyle is starting to be funnier as Ethan's friend. We'll see...
Anyway, if you're at all interested, go watch the funniest-yet last episode of "The Class" at http://www.cbs.com/primetime/the_class/. It's silly, but it made me laugh. And I like sharing things that make me laugh.
And while I'm talking about TV... I happened to catch Terri & Bindi Irwin on Dave tonight. Have you seen that little girl?!?! I guess I've just read about her and never actually seen her on any of the shows she's been doing. Bindi blew me away. She is the most articulate, exciteable, energetic, sweet little 8-year-old! If you haven't seen an interview with her, find one on YouTube right away. (Interesting side-note... did you know Terri Irwin is from Oregon?)
It's been a while since I've had a day like today... you know, one in which you don't work... at all. Oops. Didn't mean to do that!
I got up for my 9 am conference call, but my boss wasn't on (she took the day off... I guess I felt like that was permission enough for me to do the same!). After that conf. call, I had two more rapid-succession calls from State College colleagues (both of whom are very-cool colleagues that I enjoy working with and really know their stuff... so both calls were good). But by 11, I had wrapped all my morning tasks, fielded all the phone calls, answered all the e-mails, completed the few to-do's that were waiting on action from me, and checked all the (MANY) RSS feeds on my IE7 (including one very-interesting one from Mr.A-Z). So, I hopped in the shower, stood around staring at Yonkers (I swear, that's not a dirty thought... just another reference to the A-Z blog), and got myself all clean for the day. By the time that was done, it was time to go grab lunch and sit in front of my computer screen for a few fleeting moments.
By about 1, I was pretty much checked out for the day... so I decided to "work" from in front of the TV. Before you judge me, you should know, I haven't watched TV (or Tivo) for about a week now (AND I actually did some work). Jon has a new favorite XBox 360 game, and our regular "TV time" has been dedicated to earning experience points in Rainbox Six Vegas. Which is great because it gets me off the couch in the evenings, reading lots more, getting work-related tasks done in the evening, spending time with my pals via IM, and doing organizational stuff on the big computer (you know the stuff... photo-tagging and iTunes arranging). So, I've been doing that stuff instead of catching up on my Tivo'd goodness... therefore, I had lots of unwatched shows piling up on me. It took pretty much the whole day (from 1 to 1!), but I think I'm almost caught up. No worries... I probably won't do it again for a while.
And since I talked the other night about my Editorial JOMC class, I thought I'd also mention (before I forget about it & the papers have been re-filed for the next time I want to go through them) an actual good piece I wrote for Shu. I won't bore you with the whole piece... but it was about Mike Tyson... and how I didn't think he should be allowed to fight again (when he was reapplying for his license post-earchomp). Shu gave me an A on the assignment and (with very little other critique... throughout the whole piece) wrote "I've seen worse" at the top. LOL. I loved that guy. Even when you pleased him, you felt like you had SO MUCH FURTHER to go!!!
In keeping with my editorial from last night... I took a few more minutes after posting to research it a little further. The date stood out as a little funny to me... why November of '98? I remember, when getting the assignment, that I knew exactly what I wanted to write about. I had the "signed column" half written before leaving the class during which Shu gave us that assignment. So, it was turned in on November 18, but written a week or so before... and rooted in the months before that. What was going on in my life right then? Why did I have those feelings (conflicting, did you notice?) of "seize the day" and "remember where you've been" and "appreciate everyone in your life"? Of course, some of you may remember bits and pieces. A very select few may have even read what I'm going to post next. Not many of you, mind you... because I don't let just anyone read my journal.
I've talked about my journal a lot, I know. It's nothing special... just the random ramblings (kinda like this here blog) of a silly girl. But it's been with me for years. It documents my feelings about a number of people in my life, and it's just plain fun to reread once in a while. I always considered the entry from September 22, 1998, one of my favorites. ("Favorites" in that it's been reread over and over and over again... "favorites" in that I always look for deeper meaning in it to explain why I felt the way I did, why certain things happened, and why my life took the path it did... and "favorites" in that there are certain I-really-said-that? thoughts & phrases that I do feel encapsulate me fairly well.) I feel like it does explain a lot about me (to me, at least), about my confusion in life, and about my love of memories... although, I'm sure some of you would say it says next to nothing.
So, I can't actually believe I'm really going to post an entry from my journal... it's so PRIVATE! But... I put a lot out here that I probably shouldn't. What else is new?! Anyway, in trying to be sensitive to those who didn't actually sign up to be featured in my blog, I'll only use initials. And I'm warning you now, I'm skipping the last two paragraphs. My point will be made by then, and there's just no sense in including those über-personal ruminations that have basically been made irrelevant by time. I was wrong anyway. Go figure. Hmm... which makes me wonder if I'm wrong on other things... well, whatever...
Without further ado:
September 22, 1998
I write some strange stuff in this here journal. I wish I could remember some of it! Instead, I'm stuck here stressing... about life choices and little choices. Next semester is quickly approaching. What will I be doing in January??? I wish I knew! That one's going to be better left to the Man upstairs!
Anyway, I love JOMC & POLI. I've enjoyed the programs... even if I end up in a completely different field!
These years are passing so quickly. I'm reminded every day of people and things from years gone by. I should've enjoyed it more. [Major emphasis... underlining 5 times... has been added to that phrase in subsequent rereadings.] I should've taken advantage of every opportunity for friendship or companionship. But I'm so grateful that I have had as many friends in my life as I have. And I miss a lot of them now: C's at Princeton, C's at NCSU, B's at Asbury, J's at Campbell, J's getting married next summer, H lives with me now but I know even our time is short, K's getting married Oct. 24... so many people have passed through my life! I just miss them.
I've been thinking lately about an "editorial" I wrote years ago. It wasn't exactly an editorial... although it was for my Editorial Writing class (JOMC58) with my fave JOMC prof of all time, the late JimShumaker (man, do I feel blessed to have had him... when he died a few years ago, I felt like I lost a friend and mentor even though I hadn't really kept in touch with him... everything he wrote to me on my assignments was RIGHT ON and his words, while they meant a lot even then b/c of the large amount of respect I had for him, mean so much more since his death). Anyway, the assignment was to write a "signed column". In Shu's opinion (or Shoe's opinion... according to the respelling that some of you may know him by, thanks to the also-late Jeff MacNelly's Chicago Tribune cartoon by the same name... and yes, it's in honor of Prof. Shu) , I missed the boat completely. He gave me a C on the assignment. Rereading it now, I see his point (probably did even then)... but what I wrote then still means something to me now.
I've thought about it again and again over the years, and tonight, I decided to go through those old Carolina notebooks and find the darn thing. I'd write it differently now, for sure... but there's some value to me at this moment in posting it unedited, in reverence perhaps to the person I used to be... to the person Shu critiqued with "this is a mini-sermon, not a signed column fit for a general interest newspaper". I know, Shu. You're right. You were always right. But I write what I write and make no apologies for it. I'm no journalist... just a lowly blogger who used to be on a holier-than-thou high horse.
One fear I face each day of my life is that I'm running out of time. I'm afraid that I won't get another chance to learn something or someone new, to see a good old familiar face or to feel an emotion one last time. I fear not finishing this life.
I'm healthy, though, and happy; and that's more than a lot of people can say. I've not been diagnosed with a terminal illness and I don't have a death sentence. I'm lucky in that, but I know that I'm not promised another day, another hour, another minute. The God I love and worship could take my breath away in a second.
So my goal is to live what time I do have with no delusions. Since I'm not promised tomorrow, I'll live today as if it were my last. As hard as that is, I'll try. Until I draw my last breath, I'll take advantage of every opportunity to get to know someone, to remember someone, to be someone. And I'll never let a person pass out of my life without letting them know what they've meant to me.
I'll turn my fear into an advantage: I'm not running out of time; I'm running into it.
My hope is that each of you can do the same. Don't fall into the trap that leaves you miserable and alone. Remember to thank the people who leave their handprints on your heart. And most of all, don't get stuck in a rut. Keep living each day as a new day. Open your eyes to see new things, new ideas and new people. And remember them. You never know when something you learned or someone you met today will help you tomorrow.
Everything is so simple sitting in a tub of warm water, living life vicariously through Erica’s doppelgänger, Isadora, and Isadora’s doppelgänger, Candida. I read her beautiful poetry that speaks to me, her beautiful, not-suitable-for-general-conversation (or blog-posting) poetry and I know her… more importantly, I know myself. But then the word acrimonious creeps into the text, from real-life older-and-wiser Erica. And I’m confused all over again. Of course, the reality is, she probably wouldn’t change a thing… despite the acrimony. She’d say it couldn’t be avoided… nay, it shouldn’t be avoided… the knowing and the not knowing… the joy and the pain.
Forget it... I'm going to get a Blast. Anywho, maybe I’ll share it with you some day. For tonight, if I don’t see you again before Monday, have a great weekend. xo
First and foremost... whichever of y'all keeps calling me on my home phone... please stop OR leave a freakin' message. I'm screening (most of the time, the only people who call that phone are telemarketers)... AND I'm too lazy to run get the phone when I hear it ringing from any other room in the house. If you don't have my cell number (either of them), e-mail, IM, leave a comment, leave a message on the home machine, call my mom, my sister, something -- I have no problem giving out the number of the phone I'll actually answer almost every time -- but, by all means, please stop calling my unused line.
Speaking of that line, Memaw called me tonight. Mom had told her that I wrote about her e-mail on my blog... and she called to tell me she didn't write that e-mail! Turns out, she did... but she didn't think she sent it. ♥ Sweet computer newbie ♥
Let's see... there were several other things that I wanted to talk about here. I actually meant to include a few of these thoughts last night; but the Coop&Kona story got long and I figured y'all had lots o' real work to do. Anyway, I wanted to give you a taste of a few headlines that caught my attention (not that that's anything big... I'll read anything on the internet!):
Moms Arrested Alongside Brawling Daughters -- No doubt this is something that would've happened to me if I were still teaching. Oh my gosh... I don't think I've ever blogged about the Angela/LaShunda fight in my 11th grade classroom the year I taught high school English! Well... another day... but this story definitely reminded me of the time. What would you do if the MOMS actually got involved, though?! Good gosh.
Teacher Fired For Being Artist -- Again, probably something that would happen to me. I'm not sure I would choose his particular form of art... but I'm sure I'd get in trouble for something I wrote, drew, painted, or otherwise created if I were still teaching. No matter that it's in your spare time/private life. The life of a teacher... severely underpaid and constantly held to what some may call (I'd like to call it that myself) an unreasonable double standard.
UM Quits Affirmative Action, Has Voters To Blame/Credit -- Hasn't the Univ. of Michigan had affirmative action problems in the past? Well... no worries anymore. Now they have voter approval to drop race and gender considerations completely from the admissions process. Hmm... how should we feel about this? In theory, I'm a fan... if we really could stop seeing race and gender. But we can't... so I feel certain UM will be right back in the news soon with another "oops, this didn't work either" story.
MyHeritage.com -- While I was trolling for new tunes & other fun stuff for my space, I ran across a which-celeb-do-you-look-like page. I had (evidently) done this before (since I already had an account there!), but it's always fun to try different pics to see who you might look like in a little bit different light. Kinda like looking in a mirror... only not at all. Some of the funny/interesting ones (1-umm, JT? (Jason/Justin) LOL! Too fitting... like I love [him] and 2-I actually had someone walk up to me in San Fran one time and ask if I was Helen Hunt... SERIOUSLY):
Finally, I am now addicted to taking videos with my new digicam and uploading them to YouTube. Mary, I had to upload one more for you. I just didn't think you'd believe it if you didn't see it with your own eyes. The "indestructable" toy is in the process of being destructed. Oh yeah, and notice the snake-like gray toy beside Coop? Yeah, that's the remnants of the bunny.
And one more W Word vid... then I promise I'll stop. Notice Kona watching his silliness this time. You can almost read her mind! No doubt something like... "Idiot!"
Nighty night, kiddies. Enjoy your Fridays! Sing with me, Haley... finally Friday, free again... ;)
So, you all know how much I talk about him... how cute I think he is... how much he makes me laugh. I thought I'd share a little with you via the magic of the interweb. I've never embedded video on Blogger, but it seems like it's going to work... so we'll give it a try.
Have I mentioned lately that I ♥ HIM?!
You've heard me tell you about it, but now's your chance to see it. Cooper is hyper-excited by the W word. And when Coop is hyper-excited, he tends to jump HIGH and attempt to bite any piece of clothing he can get his teeth on.
You think I've been kidding? This dog does not tolerate stuffing! Parts 1 and 2 of Coop de-stuffing one of his fave toys (luckily, they're only $1.47 apiece at Wal Mart for any of you who just must see it again and again and again!).
And finally, my nightly bathtime has become a nightly sip-from-the-fountain. It makes me giggle when he does this... I thought maybe your fancies would be tickled as well.
Again, I really hope these are viewable. Not sure if Blogger support YouTube videos or not. Anyway, if not... here are some still pics for your enjoyment as well.
Let me tell you about that last one. Cooper doesn't normally hang out on the welcome mat... oh no. Usually, he's all about running around provoking Kona. Today, though, the afternoon ended with him sulking on the welcome mat. Let me just share with you how that came about. (I've already recounted the whole thing once via IM with Jon... so please excuse some of the copying & pasting. Maybe I'll make it seamless so you don't notice... but at the very least, Jon, you've seen this.)
HELLIONS, I Tell You: A Day in the Life of Cooper & Kona There's a big yellow lab who lives down the street from us. He's off-leash sometimes and comes over to visit. He's a very friendly dog. Our two aren't (friendly dogs, that is). Today, the big yellow lab was on his leash, with his owner, walking by our house. This was just after our walk while we were sitting in the yard, practing "stay" (yeah right... first clue that this wasn't going to turn out well... we don't "stay" very well).
We had run into the big yellow dog once before already. He was in his yard playing, which is evidently unacceptable if you're Kona. Kona growled and got all riled, but I'll be danged if I was going to let her get away with that. I made them walk the cul-de-sac three times... just to practice not freaking out. They didn't freak the 2nd or 3rd time! Small victories... but no way were they going to let me win the war. Anyway, they were doing really well when we came back into the yard, walk concluded. I took the leashes off and we practiced staying down until I "broke" them. Then the big yellow dog came along with his owner. Kona was staying really well... Coop, not so much. And Kona was getting anxious, especially because Coop was running around. So, she started whining. Then she just squirted away from me. Both broke through the electric fence. Although they didn't actually have their collars on, they usually at least think twice before breaking the barrier. Today, no second thoughts at all. They quickly caught up with the big yellow dog and owner (who, incidently, had just walked by the house saying "Sorry" -- she was apologizing for getting my dogs excited by simply walking by -- and I said, "no, don't be... we need the practice"... YEAH, WE DO!).
Anyway, so Kona & Cooper both took off down the street, chasing after the big yellow lab. The owner has evidently not had many run-ins with dogs like mine. She started RUNNING. I'm like... please just STOP! 1) I won't catch you to help and 2) they're GONNA chase you! Oh, and by the way, the big yellow dog that was so threatening to Kona? Yeah, Kona bit at his behind at his most threatening moment... he was, um, how can I say this with a bit of decorum... he was "on the pot". Talk about attacking when his guard was down! So, I'm running after the lady who's running away from Kona & Coop with her big yellow lab (half finished, mind you). I'm yelling stop, stop, stop. She's trying to control her dog... who, poor thing, was just trying to take a dump. But, according to her later, she just didn't want him to snap and bite back. I was like... well, I WOULD'VE bitten back. What a rude interruption!
Finally, she gets the big yellow lab down on his back. Coop is still wandering around, but Kona is semi-controlled. At this point, I've placed myself between her and the big yellow lab and she sees I mean business. She goes into "shoot, I'm caught... submit, submit, submit" and seems more afraid of what I'm going to do to her. So, I start backing Kona toward home... and Coop's like, "nope, see ya" and goes BACK to the other dog!
After we're all back inside our electric fence, I go get the shock collar and put it on Kona. It usually only takes a tiny little reminder to make her very cognizant of the boundary for the next few days/weeks. I carried Kona to the edge and let her hear the beeping. Oh, she doesn't like that... she's freaking, trying to get me to let her run away from that mean old boundary. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to me, Coop heard the beeping from several feet away (it's very quiet and usually only the dog wearing the collar would be able to hear it). But Coop, he's attuned to that beep. He HATES the shock treatment and reacts the exact same way every time he hears it. RETREAT! After Kona & I have had our refresher course in underground electric fences, I look around to find Cooper. He is nowhere to be found and will not come when I call him. When I head back towaard the front door, I see that he's assumed the position... the I-heard-the-beep/saw-Kona-get-shocked-so-I'll-be-waiting-to-get-inside-please position on the welcome mat. He won't come back down into the yard AT ALL. Not after he's heard that beep.
Okay, so really long anti-climactic story. Sorry... that's usually what I do best, though. Hope you at least enjoyed the visuals that accompanied the words (more words) tonight! G'night.
Y'all, my Memaw just sent me an e-mail. I'm very proud of her! I sat down at her computer over the weekend and made sure it was still "connectable" to the Internet (something had happened...). It was. She's still on dial-up... but is dial-up really that bad if you have never been on a faster connection? I remember we all used to do it!
In fact, I was re-reading a chat transcript the other day from back in my day of dial-up Internet service. Skipper and I were having problems keeping our modems connected to Al Gore's interweb. Man... remember having to tell Mom to please stay off the phone or hoping that no one called (the call waiting beep seemed to knock us off at Mom & Dad's and at LR) or waiting around (for what seemed like forever) for a page to download!!!
Or how about this one... the silliest of all, I think... e-mail service where your modem calls in to retrieve your messages (and send any you've got in your outbox) and then immediately disconnects. One shot... send and receive. Call again later if you think you'll have more (or if you have another message to send). So funny. Haley & I used to spend hours just waiting around... waiting for an e-mail to send, waiting to receive an e-mail, waiting for my sister to get off the phone or the computer so that I can use the one line. Of course, that did give us hours upon hours to sit around and giggle with each other... and, over the course, become best friends (is that when that happened?!). So, maybe it was all for the best. :)
Sometimes I feel like my current IM (chat programs, Memaw) is slow... like I can't actually have a conversation in a sensible amount of time... but think of where we've been! Ah, the good old days with Skipper and Mr.PM. And we didn't complain... well, too much. Oh wait... YES I DID. I complained constantly. In fact, just about every message I sent was probably ended with some "hurry up" or "send more" directive. But that's just because I'm a complainer. Maybe the rest of y'all didn't complain. You're better peeps, I'm sure.
Sitting in front of Memaw's computer (and 56K modem) on Saturday, I was i-m-p-a-t-i-e-n-t! I live in a world where I have 2 computers... both are powered on, online and running something (even if it's just my little contribution to world peace -- what I really want, too -- or curing incurable diseases -- You too can help change the world!) at all times. My download speed is upwards of 3mbps (can I say mbps or does it have to be 3000kbps?) and upload is right at 2. And I complain about even that! Patience is virtue... and I am not a virtuous person.
My Memaw, on the other hand, is very virtuous... and patient. She's going to be learning more very soon, I'm sure. She's a doer. And nothing, not even a slow connection, will keep her down! Keep up the good work, Memaw. Send lots of messages. We ♥ e-mail. Right Haley? Right Mom? Even Dad enjoys reading some e-luv (if he remembers to check it!).
Speaking of e-luv... Lois, I know I haven't really acknowledged (on the blog or via reply) your e-mail. It's in my Inbox waiting for me to write you back. I got it, I appreciated the heck out of hearing from you, and I love that you're enjoying (I hope that's not too presumptuous) my little eCorner (or in this Apple-crazed world nowadays, maybe it should be iCorner... did you see their iPhone yet?) on Blogspot. Of course, Lois & Memaw (and Mom, who also joined the let's-email-Heidi club today) have let me hear a little bit of what they have to say. Oh, and Haley too... a comment definitely counts. The rest of y'all... silent readers... lurkers... sneaky, sly I'll-read-what-you-have-to-say-but-never-let-you-hear-from-me: shame, shame, everyone (well, no one... no one, that is, but me) knows your name. I love you anyway. Keep reading... but I'd love to hear from you sometime.
Finally... last thing and then I'm out... there was a story on CNN today (here if you're interested) about John Cusack and Jeremy Piven not being friends anymore. I feel like I should write a NYT obit for their friendship. Something with the word "fatum" in it, fo' sure. But really... say it ain't so! They hafta still be friends. You don't just stop being friends. Especially over something as silly as success or fame or jealousy or anything really. You just keep on wanting what's best for your friend. You keep on standing behind, beside, in front of (wherever they need you) them. Am I right? Pssha... probably not. Y'all would all probably leave me in a heartbeat if I got famous too. LOL... what a scary thought... me famous. Lord help us. And on that note, I'm out. Peace, y'all... world peace if it's not too much to ask.
Music is powerful. Period. After spending several evenings banging on the pinaner at Mom & Dad's, I find myself humming, whistling (if I could really whistle), and otherwise belting out hymns and choir medleys. (The belting out has primarily been in the privacy of the car... luckily, for those of you around me today!)
After that one evening (when I first pulled out the hymnal & medley book to mess around on the piano), I found myself unwittingly singing little snippets of songs as I was watching TV, typing e-mails, creating PowerPoint presentations for my boss, etc. Forty percent of the executives' direct reports agree that there is the right amount of open and honest communication between executive team members. I'm bound for that city, God's holy white city, oh yes I am. Fifty-three percent of the execs' direct reports disagree that the execs communicate with employees about what is going on at the company (outside of regular business areas). When you feel a little prayer wheel turning, know a little fire is burning, find a little talk with Jesus makes it right. Seven percent strongly disagree and thirty percent merely disagree that the exec team is held accountable for their commitment to employees. I heard about a mansion He has built for me in glory; I heard about the streets of gold, beyond the crystal sea. Hmm... so, even though those results might not sound all that great... mixed in with the feel-good lyrics of those good-old-days medleys (and other fave hymns), they sound positively glowing!
Speaking of good-old-days medleys and other fave hymns... Mom & I used to love to do those medleys. She & I sang a little (or a lot, depending on if you're Mom or me) on Friday night. We were partially deciding on whether to cook in or eat out, partially enjoying the piano/medleys. Mom (as the choir director) and I (as the pianist) used to always call up the most-fun medleys on a weekly basis... so we had a good time remembering and enjoying those tunes this weekend. But with Mom, she was always easy to please. She enjoys listening to me play (as pitiful as I am even when I struggle through a flat- or sharp-laden piece with a difficulty rating of about 1.2 million) and tells me so. I think Dad would rather the piano have a mute button! :)
Anyway, fave hymns... I always have fun looking through the hymnal and thinking back to which choir director or other church-member-of-importance requested which hymns from week to week. I think it amused Mom to hear me call out... "this was the one Dianne always wanted to sing"... "this one's Haley's fave"... or "Preacher Burchette loved this one". I guess I logged all those faves/old stand-bys during those play-every-Sunday high-school years. That was fun. I miss those days. Anyway, just for those of you who were there & care (and for posterity's sake)... with page numbers... just because I CAN: Dianne always picked "Set My Soul Afire" (402); Bunk's fave was "Love Lifted Me"; Haley always liked it when we sang "My Lord is Near Me All the Time" (209?); Dad's hands-down fave was always "Victory in Jesus" (375); Preacher B loved "He is So Precious to Me" (403?). And my faves? Well, my stand-bys were consistently "Standing on the Promises" (336) and "Heavenly Sunlight" (425 -- perhaps the beginnings of my fascination with sunshine?!).
Great... now having talked about it all again (after having finally gotten them all out of my head during my 6-hour drive with my favorite Gospel & Religious albums -- SCC's Heaven in the Real World (all-time fave) and Signs of Life (with a few other songs from his other albums mixed in), Audio Adrenaline's Bloom, and Jars of Clay's Much Afraid), I'm once again back to:
I'm bound for that city, God's holy white city... oh, yes I am I'll never turn back to this world anymore (anymore) No matter how rough may be the way No matter how oft I stop to pray I'm bound for that city on the evergreen shore
How does a song get so stuck-in-your-head that you can't think around it? Amazing... truly amazing.
M&D - Miss you. Love you. Thanks for putting up with me and putting me up. *hugs*
Finally, what's a blog post these days without a few snapshots. From the trip today (beautiful driving day!), a couple from yesterday (Papa poison-oak-doesn't-affect-me Puffy Eyes himself), and the these-were-our-Christmas-toys view of the TV room (where Coop & Kona have evidently enjoyed most of their destuffing activities this weekend):
I thoroughly enjoy the days when Blogthings gives me ready-made blog postings. C'mon, you know you'd rather skim my results and go take a fun little quiz yourself than read anything I have to say!
You Are Likely a First Born
At your darkest moments, you feel guilty. At work and school, you do best when you're researching.
When you love someone, you tend to agree with them often. In friendship, you are considerate and compromising.
Your ideal careers are: business, research, counseling, promotion, and speaking. You will leave your mark on the world with discoveries, new information, and teaching people to dream.
You have a high level of emotion. This can mean passion, but it can also mean rage. Usually, you don't take these emotions out on others. You just use them as motivation - and it works!
The purpose of your life: embracing all the wonders of the life, lots of travels, and tons of adventures
Famous reds include: Madonna, Marilyn Monroe, Jennifer Lopez
Happy Weekend! I hope all y'all get the opportunity to sleep in tomorrow morning... b/c that's definitely what I'll be doing. I swear, 8:00 am has been REALLY early the past two days! What's up with that?!
Smiles today: - New haircuts - Completing work stuff - Reminiscing... Haley, remember the trip between Jeff Elem and Jackie's?! And DAD actually brought up the Clubhouse (wasn't that it's name?!)... and I reminded him I'd titled the pic of the 4 of us (@ Cal's wedding) "The Clubhouse Crew" (was that really the name?). Dad said he wished he could find a pic of the 4 of us at about the time he finished that little building. I bet we were ADORABLE. You know we were.
And, in the spirit of the Clubhouse Crew (which I'll name us even if that's not correct!), Good night sweetheart... well, it's time to go... go, go, go to bed. :)
Once again, for the umpteenth time, I don't really have anything substantial to say tonight on the blog. Oh whatever, shut up Heidi, and just get to it. Right.
The weather down South these days is just unbelievable, huh? Today was 60+ in our little northwest corner of NC! Unheard of for January 4th. While visiting Doc's office earlier today, they had the windows open and Joy still complained about it being hot! Gran came by to plant some bulbs and she even mentioned that some of her flowers had poked their fragile little heads up to see the sunshine. (She covered 'em... hopefully, they'll make it regardless of what happens for the rest of the "winter".) Today was just beautiful, though. Which makes me wonder how the rest of the country fared. I know last week in Portland was partly gray (some days) and partly sunny (others), but consistently pretty chilly (40s). Tonight, the weather channel is reporting 33 (tonight's low) - 44 (tomorrow's high) & partly cloudy/chance of showers for Vancouver, WA. Meanwhile, on the other end of the spectrum, S'boro is projected to have a high of 77 tomorrow. Seventy-seven!!! On January 5th!!!
Anyway, I can already tell I'm going to be tired again in the morning. I had an extra-hard time waking up and getting going this AM... that is, until an IT colleague called me to RE-ask me stupid questions. I seriously believe in the philosophy that there's never a stupid question... THE FIRST TIME YOU ASK IT. By the third or fourth time, even the best questions are STUPID ONES. And the lame-brain ones like those from today are off-the-charts-ridiculous. Seriously... most of y'all probably know relatively little about payroll software systems; but let's just say you run a business where you have to pay employees in multiple countries. Oh, by the way, you have multiple hundred employees in both countries -- not just a couple of salespeople who would probably be okay with being add-ons to a U.S.-based payroll. Just for example's sake, let's say we're talking about the U.S. and Mexico. And let's just use basic reasoning here... can a payroll software system fulfill the needs of both employee populations (so that you can only run one system, with all your employee data, and pay everyone in the same manner)? Remember, basic reasoning. What are some of the potential pitfalls you might think of? Hmm... well, for one, maybe different currencies? Survey says... Ding, ding, ding. Each country has its own currency. It's difficult enough to figure out how to manage financial transactions without figuring in exchange rates! What else? Employment/payroll laws, you say? Survey says... Ding, ding, ding. You're on a role! The resources that would have to go into keeping up with multi-national payroll rules & regulations are staggering. (The resources required to keep up with federal and state regulations are staggering in and of themselves!)
But, you know, on the other hand (since there are always two sides to everything), maybe I'm being unreasonable and short-sighted. Maybe there ARE actually companies out there that are capable of paying employee populations in multiple countries from one system. I can't possibly think there are, but if any of you know one, I'd love to know about it.
And maybe it just ticks me off so much because we've already had this conversation! Not only that... but you refuse to learn anything from the many conversations we've had. We keep on having the exact same talks. F-r-u-s-t-r-a-t-i-n-g!
Maybe I should be more patient with people. Maybe I shouldn't have called another colleague to commiserate (yet again!) about this guy & our frustrating-as-crap repeat conversations. Patience... something I should probably check into.
Things that made me smile today: - Surprise hellos from old friends - Sydney's "hands" - Marco's blog... "What? I'm pretty sure it's what Jesus would have done." - Family time around the dinner table (which happened to be in a quiet restaurant) - Rumors are swirling that The Police may be reuniting... I'm soooo going to that show. Who's in?
Let's go get some "work" done. Just a little bit more... b/c I can't seem to find my motivation during the days. (Maybe I left it in Oregon... have you seen it, Mary?) Have a great Friday!! X to tha O.
I found a great resolution on 43 Things tonight... while I was perusing for my own resolution-making (which, yes, I haven't done... c'mon, you can make resolutions ANYTIME!). Anyway, the great one that I think is a worthwhile endeavor... given my daily (weekday-ly, at least) posting routine (which I intend to maintain during 2007): Find and record/blog at least one thing each day that makes me smile. Hopefully, since I write for all y'all too (and I'm still interested, no matter what anyone thinks, in making others happy too!), the things that make me smile in a day will also bring a little grin to your faces. Believe me, this page likes to see your smiles!
Let's get this started in the right way. Wednesday, 1/3/07. - Carolina victory (there'll be a) and the fun-to-watch (for me) individual performances of Reyshawn Terry and Brandan Wright - Sharing Mom & Dad's peanut butter fudge from Lois!!! (Lois... it's as great as ever! THANKS for sending some back home with them!) - The "Duke Boy" Jay Bilas/Hubert Davis commercial - Stopping at Chick-fil-A for lunch (oops) - Warm, fuzzy pullovers - In-person hugs from my M&D - The sweet pic of the Clubhouse Crew @ Callie's wedding - the professional version as opposed to my earlier (...um, the word for not professional... um, why can't I think of the word... um, c'mon silly brain... um, geez...) AMATEUR version (my waiting-for-me-when-I-got-here Christmas gift from C&J)
Okay, I'm taking an early bedtime tonight. Hope your evenings (and mornings) are fabulous. And... before I take my leave, I'll add a few pics for your viewing pleasure. Haley, you asked for more Jazzy pics... and the others are a few of my most recents.
