Here I sit simply waiting for work to end.
I found out last Thursday that we’re getting another Office Technician in our office. Why? Because the state has allocated the funds to hire this person and if we don’t use it, we’ll lose it forever, even if our workload doubles!
So, the old new person is getting moved out to an area by the I&A officer. We were both offered that move last week, but the supervisor, the DEU rater, and the PJ (I think it was mostly the supervisor because I asked the rater a question and she hadn’t been told that the decision was made.) decided that it should be him.
Why is it him? Well, during my "interview" (for lack of a better word) on Thursday, I told my supervisor that if I was moved over there that I’d need it clearly stated what my tasks would be as related to the I&A officer. I told her that I’m sick of him treating me like I’m supposed to jump every time he says, "Frog." She said she’d have to discuss it with the PJ. Then I told her that I’d like my duties put down on paper and that the I&A officer be given a copy so that he knows exactly what my duties are and what I am able to do for him. I told her that I’d like a copy to so I could post it in case he tries to overstep his boundaries. Otherwise, I told her that I’d really like the job. I wouldn’t have to answer the phones. Most of my work would come from the DEU. It’d be like being groomed to become a rater, which I think would be great.
Oh, after my supervisor told me and the used-to-be-new guy that he’d be moved over there next Monday, that if he got tired of it, the two of us would trade jobs. I think she’s expecting me to forget that I want stuff in writing because we all know that the used-to-be-new guy really hates doing DEU work.
Who knows, though? Maybe he’s been fooling all of us for the past couple of months and he really does like the work.
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Complaints
The odds are pretty even, and have been for a while, that two of my favorite TV shows will be canceled with the WB/UPN smoosh that'll be happening in the fall. Which makes me disappointed in the viewing habits of the people this world has. Do we really need three nights a week of a white "comedian" who shaves his head asking "Deal or no deal?" Is there really an audience for CSI and its two spin-offs? How about Law and Order and its two spin-offs? But there may not be room for two wonderful shows out there because people will watch any show with CSI or Law and Order in the title.
Then I read that J. J. Abrams will be in charge of the next Star Trek movie. (I know I'm a few days behind on the entertainment stuff, so what.) As I read more, I learned that it'll be based on Kirk at the Academy. Although I think Abrams will do a decent job with this movie, to me it seems like a slap in the face of people who have been watching Star Trek for a long time.
I do understand why the studio would do a young Kirk and Spock movie, it's all about recognizability. When most of the world thinks Star Trek, they still think of that excellent first season and the pretty good second season and the iffy third season from the original series because these episodes are the reason the show thrived after it was canceled. These are the people who successfully moved the television series into movies. These are the characters that people who have never seen a Star Trek episode or movie know the names of. The thought process probably is that if more people recognize the character name, the more likely they'll be willing to go see it.
As a fan, I don't want this movie. Continuity will be ignored. (Which was one of the main problems with the series Enterprise, which deserves a complaint all on its own.) Character will be ignored. Did you check out the link that goes to Ain't It Cool News? In the review of the script, it's made pretty clear that Kirk is a reckless kid at the Academy, I always thought that the show made it clear that at the Academy, Kirk was kind of dull, very much into his studies and after he got on a ship he became the risk taker to help to propel himself through the ranks. This is the Kirk that I'd like to see, however, this isn't the Kirk that, nearly, everyone else wants to see. They want to see Kirk acting rash. They want to hear Spock saying Kirk is acting in an illogical and irrational manner, but back Kirk up anyway. They want McCoy to be Kirks heart to Spock being Kirk's head, even though Kirk and Bones have just met.
Personally, I'd like to see a Trek movie that takes place after Nemesis (a totally lost opportunity) and shows the rebuilding of Cardassia. It could be a science fiction, political thriller, action movie. Start the movie at Deep Space 9, Doctor Bashir receives a letter from Garak filled with Obsidian Order codes that Garak taught the doctor during the Dominion War. Decoded, the letter reveals information about a faction of Cardassians breeding a hybrid Cardassian/Klingon/Jem'Hadar to strike and destroy the fragile new democracy that was once the Cardassian Union. Cut to the Enterprise orbiting Cardassia Prime, with other Federation star ships, shipping humanitarian aid people of the planet. (For the uber-fans, like me, if Gul Macet or Gul Evek were to meet with Picard, creaming of pants may occur at the movie theater. If Garak appears later in the movie, a creaming will occur.) After a time getting to know the situation, Commander Kira (in a Starfleet uniform, to show that Bajor has joined the Federation, things have changed since the end of DS9) contacts Picard with Garak's warning. After the relevant information has been passed along, but before the conversation is over, a couple of ships decloak (they looks like a cross between a Jem'Hadar attack ship and a Cardassian Hideki-class ship, small and maneuverable, good for hit-and-run attacks) and attack and destroy some of the supply ships before the Enterprise and the other escort ships, if there are other escort ships, finish them off. And then the chase, the mystery, and the attempt to keep a fragile relationship begins. In the end, in a perfect world, the "bad guys" should be Gul Madred, the Cardassian who tortured Picard in the excellent episode "Chain of Command, Part II" and a rouge clone of Weyoun, who snuck in from the Gamma Quadrant, two people with a real grudge against the Federation and who would want Cardassia to go back to being the militarily led government it once was.
And there you have my beginning and partial cast to what I'd like to see as the next Trek movie. It's ripe with opportunities for guest appearance from everyone who appeared on TNG, DS9, and Voyager. Of course, I'm really only out to give the fans something fun, something to really reward their years of watching the shows and movies, reading the books, and buying the other stuff that's been put out over the years, but I think that there'd be a way to make it fairly accessible to regular people.
In the end, though, Paramount will get Abrams to do the movie they want, basically a young Star Trek with young Kirk acting like an older Kirk and a young Spock and a young McCoy acting like their older counterparts. The worst part of this, I'll go to and see this movie and probably enjoy it for what it is, but it's not the Star Trek that I grew up with. It's not the Star Trek that was Great. It's not the Star Trek that existed until September of 1999, when DS9 went off the air. (For the record, I thought Voyager lost its way when they gave Kes the boot and made the Borg with boobs their #1 go to girl. Too bad, too, that show had potential, but that's a whole other complaint.)
After getting myself worked up over Star Trek, I read the interview of Amy Sherman-Palladino and Dan Palladino. For those of you who don't watch Gilmore Girls, those two leaving Gilmore Girls is reminiscent of Aaron Sorkin leaving The West Wing. Fortunately, and it's not much, it's unlikely that there will be a nearly two seasons worth of comparative crap (the bad episodes of The West Wing are still pretty good when compared to other shows out there, just not itself, although much of Sorkin’s last season didn't work well either) since next season will probably see the end of Gilmore Girls. That's not really a good thing, but it's nice to think if next season doesn't work there probably won't be another one that doesn't work after it.
The thing that really got me was reading some of the comments that people posted to the story. People called the two who were interviewed arrogant because they had a vision for the show, thought they had done an excellent job for the last six seasons, and thought that they deserved two years worth of job security. Damn. Saying that they were spinning the situation in their favor is probably accurate, but shouldn't be a surprise since all of us try to spin conversations about things that don't work out for us in our favor all the time. Then there are the commenters who jumped all over the rumors about what's going to happen in the last episode of the season as if it has happened. It's just a rumor, people, wait until you see the episode, then bitch, but as you're bitching remember that you weren't forced to watch, you could have changed the channel or left the room. I didn't like how people said they just should have gone for that one year contract again. What's wrong with them wanting a little job security? If the show ended at the end of next season, they'd still be working for the studio, probably doing spec for other shows or maybe creating a new show themselves. The worst thing, in my opinion, were the people complaining that Amy Sherman-Palladino and Dan Palladino wouldn't tell what they had planned for next season because they didn't want to put any pressure on people who are taking over next season. They did the right thing because if they told and it didn't happen next season, people would complain that they didn't get what they were told would happen. If they told and it did happen next season, but fell short, people would complain that the Palladino's never should have left and now the show is ruined. Or if they told and it did happen next season and turned out pretty good people would say that it was only because the new crew was working off of an idea from the Palladinos and they couldn't have succeeded with their own ideas. That looks like a no win situation for the show, the people making the show, and the Palladinos.
In the end, I think the Palladinos made the choice they had to make. Was it the right one? No one can tell until we see what happens to with the show next season and what happens to the Palladinos in the long run. In a few years, we'll know.
One more thing about Gilmore Girls, I like this season and think that the girls have been in character even though they're not quite acting like they have in previous seasons. I'm gonna go through the main complaints and tell why I'm right.
Let's start at the end of last/beginning of this Rory thing:
Rory is told that she can't do the thing she wants to do, the thing she's always wanted to do, the thing she's worked for all her life, by someone she respects. She flips out, tries to steal a boat and drops out of school. Her mom won't support this change, so she runs to her grandparents, who she knows can't say no, and Rory doesn't talk to her mom for a while, but starts to take over the DAR. Eventually, she realizes that she's not going anywhere and decides that she can do what she wants no matter what her boyfriend's asshole father says.
In character because Rory has never been told that she can't do anything. When she started Chilton, she was told that it would be hard, but she was never told that she couldn't do it and should quit, she was told to try harder. That was the first time she was ever told to just give up, she couldn't cut it. It shattered her (it would shatter lots of people) so she decided that maybe quitting was the best move. For only the second time in her life, her mother doesn't support a decision she's made, so she cuts her mother off, just like Lorelai cut her parents off for not supporting her decisions. Rory's just reacting like she's seen her mother react time and time again. She dropped out of school because if she assumed she was good at being a journalist and is told she isn't, what's the point of going to school, of doing anything that lead to what she was absolutely sure she'd do for the rest of her life. After she started doing good for the DAR and her grandmother tried to tell her she was doing it all wrong, but she knew she wasn't, Rory finally realized, on her own, that it doesn't matter what a jackass with an ulterior motive says, they don't care about the work, only tearing you down. She learned that it's only worth listening to the message if the messenger isn't working another angle.
(There's also the whole Logan issue, but I seem to be the only person out there who hates him, but still see the rational behind her going back with him. Ugh.)
The more recent episodes are all about Lorelai:
Right after telling Lorelai that they have to be totally honest with each other, Luke learns he has a daughter and doesn't tell Lorelai about her. Two months later, Lorelai finds out by meeting the daughter, but doesn't say "I'm your father's fiancée." How stupid is that.) She finds out that he's been keeping her a secret for two months and doesn't rip his head off, she lets it go. She continues to let it fester, not bringing up the daughter and when the daughter is brought up Lorelai doesn't ask when she's going to meet her. Luke and Lorelai go to Logan's family's house in Martha's Vineyard and we finally hear them say they love each other and they have a wonderful talk without I-haven't-met-your-daughter awkwardness they'd been having, but the awkwardness reappear when they get back into town. As of last week's episode, the awkwardness is still there and Lorelai hasn't officially met the daughter.
Sure, when we think Lorelai, we like to think feisty and in your face, but she's not really that way unless she's really angry, which is a place she hasn't gotten yet. In the past, she's let her mother walk all over her, inviting boring insurance men to dinner, praising Christopher (who's a jackass), rearranging things in Lorelai's house, Emily regifting a coat rack then asking for it back, and many other little things that Lorelai lets her mother get away with, Lorelai just lets these little things go so she doesn't upset the dangerous balance in her life. But in the moments of monumental Emily stupidity, most notably trying to force Luke out and Christopher in last season, Lorelai finally get's mad and says "No more!" She hasn't gotten to this point with Luke yet. She nearly lost Luke already over something her mother did, she's afraid that if she forces the issue over the daughter that, Luke'll leave. She's never had a good relationship, outside of the one with her daughter and her friendship with Sookie, that's lasted as long as the one she has with Luke. She scared of losing the one that she wants. She didn't want Christopher. She didn't want Max. She didn't want Jason "Digger" Stiles (even though he was really funny). She wants Luke. (We all knew that from their first moment together in the series premier.) Until her sadness over him not sharing his daughter with her turns into anger, she's not going to be meeting the daughter. I, along with everyone else out there, hope that she does something soon, but I think that what she has been doing is true to who she's been throughout the series so far.
And that's what I have to say today. To those of you who made it to the end. Why? Or I must be related to you. Or you must be bored. Thanks, though.
Then I read that J. J. Abrams will be in charge of the next Star Trek movie. (I know I'm a few days behind on the entertainment stuff, so what.) As I read more, I learned that it'll be based on Kirk at the Academy. Although I think Abrams will do a decent job with this movie, to me it seems like a slap in the face of people who have been watching Star Trek for a long time.
I do understand why the studio would do a young Kirk and Spock movie, it's all about recognizability. When most of the world thinks Star Trek, they still think of that excellent first season and the pretty good second season and the iffy third season from the original series because these episodes are the reason the show thrived after it was canceled. These are the people who successfully moved the television series into movies. These are the characters that people who have never seen a Star Trek episode or movie know the names of. The thought process probably is that if more people recognize the character name, the more likely they'll be willing to go see it.
As a fan, I don't want this movie. Continuity will be ignored. (Which was one of the main problems with the series Enterprise, which deserves a complaint all on its own.) Character will be ignored. Did you check out the link that goes to Ain't It Cool News? In the review of the script, it's made pretty clear that Kirk is a reckless kid at the Academy, I always thought that the show made it clear that at the Academy, Kirk was kind of dull, very much into his studies and after he got on a ship he became the risk taker to help to propel himself through the ranks. This is the Kirk that I'd like to see, however, this isn't the Kirk that, nearly, everyone else wants to see. They want to see Kirk acting rash. They want to hear Spock saying Kirk is acting in an illogical and irrational manner, but back Kirk up anyway. They want McCoy to be Kirks heart to Spock being Kirk's head, even though Kirk and Bones have just met.
Personally, I'd like to see a Trek movie that takes place after Nemesis (a totally lost opportunity) and shows the rebuilding of Cardassia. It could be a science fiction, political thriller, action movie. Start the movie at Deep Space 9, Doctor Bashir receives a letter from Garak filled with Obsidian Order codes that Garak taught the doctor during the Dominion War. Decoded, the letter reveals information about a faction of Cardassians breeding a hybrid Cardassian/Klingon/Jem'Hadar to strike and destroy the fragile new democracy that was once the Cardassian Union. Cut to the Enterprise orbiting Cardassia Prime, with other Federation star ships, shipping humanitarian aid people of the planet. (For the uber-fans, like me, if Gul Macet or Gul Evek were to meet with Picard, creaming of pants may occur at the movie theater. If Garak appears later in the movie, a creaming will occur.) After a time getting to know the situation, Commander Kira (in a Starfleet uniform, to show that Bajor has joined the Federation, things have changed since the end of DS9) contacts Picard with Garak's warning. After the relevant information has been passed along, but before the conversation is over, a couple of ships decloak (they looks like a cross between a Jem'Hadar attack ship and a Cardassian Hideki-class ship, small and maneuverable, good for hit-and-run attacks) and attack and destroy some of the supply ships before the Enterprise and the other escort ships, if there are other escort ships, finish them off. And then the chase, the mystery, and the attempt to keep a fragile relationship begins. In the end, in a perfect world, the "bad guys" should be Gul Madred, the Cardassian who tortured Picard in the excellent episode "Chain of Command, Part II" and a rouge clone of Weyoun, who snuck in from the Gamma Quadrant, two people with a real grudge against the Federation and who would want Cardassia to go back to being the militarily led government it once was.
And there you have my beginning and partial cast to what I'd like to see as the next Trek movie. It's ripe with opportunities for guest appearance from everyone who appeared on TNG, DS9, and Voyager. Of course, I'm really only out to give the fans something fun, something to really reward their years of watching the shows and movies, reading the books, and buying the other stuff that's been put out over the years, but I think that there'd be a way to make it fairly accessible to regular people.
In the end, though, Paramount will get Abrams to do the movie they want, basically a young Star Trek with young Kirk acting like an older Kirk and a young Spock and a young McCoy acting like their older counterparts. The worst part of this, I'll go to and see this movie and probably enjoy it for what it is, but it's not the Star Trek that I grew up with. It's not the Star Trek that was Great. It's not the Star Trek that existed until September of 1999, when DS9 went off the air. (For the record, I thought Voyager lost its way when they gave Kes the boot and made the Borg with boobs their #1 go to girl. Too bad, too, that show had potential, but that's a whole other complaint.)
After getting myself worked up over Star Trek, I read the interview of Amy Sherman-Palladino and Dan Palladino. For those of you who don't watch Gilmore Girls, those two leaving Gilmore Girls is reminiscent of Aaron Sorkin leaving The West Wing. Fortunately, and it's not much, it's unlikely that there will be a nearly two seasons worth of comparative crap (the bad episodes of The West Wing are still pretty good when compared to other shows out there, just not itself, although much of Sorkin’s last season didn't work well either) since next season will probably see the end of Gilmore Girls. That's not really a good thing, but it's nice to think if next season doesn't work there probably won't be another one that doesn't work after it.
The thing that really got me was reading some of the comments that people posted to the story. People called the two who were interviewed arrogant because they had a vision for the show, thought they had done an excellent job for the last six seasons, and thought that they deserved two years worth of job security. Damn. Saying that they were spinning the situation in their favor is probably accurate, but shouldn't be a surprise since all of us try to spin conversations about things that don't work out for us in our favor all the time. Then there are the commenters who jumped all over the rumors about what's going to happen in the last episode of the season as if it has happened. It's just a rumor, people, wait until you see the episode, then bitch, but as you're bitching remember that you weren't forced to watch, you could have changed the channel or left the room. I didn't like how people said they just should have gone for that one year contract again. What's wrong with them wanting a little job security? If the show ended at the end of next season, they'd still be working for the studio, probably doing spec for other shows or maybe creating a new show themselves. The worst thing, in my opinion, were the people complaining that Amy Sherman-Palladino and Dan Palladino wouldn't tell what they had planned for next season because they didn't want to put any pressure on people who are taking over next season. They did the right thing because if they told and it didn't happen next season, people would complain that they didn't get what they were told would happen. If they told and it did happen next season, but fell short, people would complain that the Palladino's never should have left and now the show is ruined. Or if they told and it did happen next season and turned out pretty good people would say that it was only because the new crew was working off of an idea from the Palladinos and they couldn't have succeeded with their own ideas. That looks like a no win situation for the show, the people making the show, and the Palladinos.
In the end, I think the Palladinos made the choice they had to make. Was it the right one? No one can tell until we see what happens to with the show next season and what happens to the Palladinos in the long run. In a few years, we'll know.
One more thing about Gilmore Girls, I like this season and think that the girls have been in character even though they're not quite acting like they have in previous seasons. I'm gonna go through the main complaints and tell why I'm right.
Let's start at the end of last/beginning of this Rory thing:
Rory is told that she can't do the thing she wants to do, the thing she's always wanted to do, the thing she's worked for all her life, by someone she respects. She flips out, tries to steal a boat and drops out of school. Her mom won't support this change, so she runs to her grandparents, who she knows can't say no, and Rory doesn't talk to her mom for a while, but starts to take over the DAR. Eventually, she realizes that she's not going anywhere and decides that she can do what she wants no matter what her boyfriend's asshole father says.
In character because Rory has never been told that she can't do anything. When she started Chilton, she was told that it would be hard, but she was never told that she couldn't do it and should quit, she was told to try harder. That was the first time she was ever told to just give up, she couldn't cut it. It shattered her (it would shatter lots of people) so she decided that maybe quitting was the best move. For only the second time in her life, her mother doesn't support a decision she's made, so she cuts her mother off, just like Lorelai cut her parents off for not supporting her decisions. Rory's just reacting like she's seen her mother react time and time again. She dropped out of school because if she assumed she was good at being a journalist and is told she isn't, what's the point of going to school, of doing anything that lead to what she was absolutely sure she'd do for the rest of her life. After she started doing good for the DAR and her grandmother tried to tell her she was doing it all wrong, but she knew she wasn't, Rory finally realized, on her own, that it doesn't matter what a jackass with an ulterior motive says, they don't care about the work, only tearing you down. She learned that it's only worth listening to the message if the messenger isn't working another angle.
(There's also the whole Logan issue, but I seem to be the only person out there who hates him, but still see the rational behind her going back with him. Ugh.)
The more recent episodes are all about Lorelai:
Right after telling Lorelai that they have to be totally honest with each other, Luke learns he has a daughter and doesn't tell Lorelai about her. Two months later, Lorelai finds out by meeting the daughter, but doesn't say "I'm your father's fiancée." How stupid is that.) She finds out that he's been keeping her a secret for two months and doesn't rip his head off, she lets it go. She continues to let it fester, not bringing up the daughter and when the daughter is brought up Lorelai doesn't ask when she's going to meet her. Luke and Lorelai go to Logan's family's house in Martha's Vineyard and we finally hear them say they love each other and they have a wonderful talk without I-haven't-met-your-daughter awkwardness they'd been having, but the awkwardness reappear when they get back into town. As of last week's episode, the awkwardness is still there and Lorelai hasn't officially met the daughter.
Sure, when we think Lorelai, we like to think feisty and in your face, but she's not really that way unless she's really angry, which is a place she hasn't gotten yet. In the past, she's let her mother walk all over her, inviting boring insurance men to dinner, praising Christopher (who's a jackass), rearranging things in Lorelai's house, Emily regifting a coat rack then asking for it back, and many other little things that Lorelai lets her mother get away with, Lorelai just lets these little things go so she doesn't upset the dangerous balance in her life. But in the moments of monumental Emily stupidity, most notably trying to force Luke out and Christopher in last season, Lorelai finally get's mad and says "No more!" She hasn't gotten to this point with Luke yet. She nearly lost Luke already over something her mother did, she's afraid that if she forces the issue over the daughter that, Luke'll leave. She's never had a good relationship, outside of the one with her daughter and her friendship with Sookie, that's lasted as long as the one she has with Luke. She scared of losing the one that she wants. She didn't want Christopher. She didn't want Max. She didn't want Jason "Digger" Stiles (even though he was really funny). She wants Luke. (We all knew that from their first moment together in the series premier.) Until her sadness over him not sharing his daughter with her turns into anger, she's not going to be meeting the daughter. I, along with everyone else out there, hope that she does something soon, but I think that what she has been doing is true to who she's been throughout the series so far.
And that's what I have to say today. To those of you who made it to the end. Why? Or I must be related to you. Or you must be bored. Thanks, though.
Useless Labels:
movies,
over analyzing,
TV
Monday, April 24, 2006
"Oy, me estomago! No me gusta Captain Crunch con Spamberries."
I don't feel so well.
I felt, more or less, fine walking to work this morning. Just tired. Very, very tired. But not sick. Now I feel sick. I've felt this way since about 8:30 this morning.
I keep hoping it's gas. Maybe I'll let out a series of little burps or farts or the ever popular combination and the ache will go away. Alas, the few little burps I've release have done nothing for my tummy and if I've farted since I got to work I can't remember doing it.
Here's to funky stomachs, everyone. Just another thing to remind us that we’re not the superhumans we pretend to be.
I felt, more or less, fine walking to work this morning. Just tired. Very, very tired. But not sick. Now I feel sick. I've felt this way since about 8:30 this morning.
I keep hoping it's gas. Maybe I'll let out a series of little burps or farts or the ever popular combination and the ache will go away. Alas, the few little burps I've release have done nothing for my tummy and if I've farted since I got to work I can't remember doing it.
Here's to funky stomachs, everyone. Just another thing to remind us that we’re not the superhumans we pretend to be.
Friday, April 21, 2006
Thursday, April 20, 2006
A Question
From Dune:
Oddly enough, that song was released the same year my edition of the paperback was.
"A time to get and a time to lose," Jessica thought, quoting to herself from the O.C. Bible. "A time to keep and a time to cast away; a time for love and a time to hate; a time of war and a time of peace."Does anyone else hear The Byrds when they read that?
Oddly enough, that song was released the same year my edition of the paperback was.
Useless Labels:
books
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Humor
At Easter, The Great Uncle said that he thought I should look for the humor in my work.
I’ve been looking for the humor in my work since I got out of college.
I’m a bit burned out on looking for the humor in my work.
Just thought you all should know.
I’ve been looking for the humor in my work since I got out of college.
I’m a bit burned out on looking for the humor in my work.
Just thought you all should know.
Friday, April 14, 2006
From My MySpace Blog
Three
Can I turn off the Bulletins thing here on MySpace? I keep getting crap ones. Things that don't make sense or that I had e-mailed to me four years ago or that I saw as a meme on a blog in the past couple of years. Unless it's actually about some event happening in the future, I've probably already seen it.
(Oh, and I'm not picking on any particular bulleteer. (I made that word up, use it as you please.) I just thought I should say that.)
Today I got one entitled "the hardest thing," which reads:
THE
HARDEST
THING
YOU
WILL
EVER
HAVE
TO
DO
IS
WATCH
THE
ONE
YOU
LOVE,
LOVE
SOMEONE
ELSE.
IF YOU BELIEVE THIS IS
TRUE
RE-POST THIS
I'm here to tell you people, that's not the hardest thing. I've done it. I got over it.
I think something harder would be for me to be tied down and have fire ants slowly eat my honey covered penis while I'm forced to watch (you know, like that thing Alex is put in in A Clockwork Orange).
If you want harder relationship wise thing how about confessing your love to a person, who you thought was your friend, and being shot down, publicly and loudly. Where things like, "Why would I ever consider you, your disgusting." or "I'd rather have my temperature taken up the ass than ever touch you." are said. I'd say that's harder.
There seems to be a lot of relationship "truths" passed around on MySpace, and I guarantee you that they aren't. Check this post at Just Let Me Read. She's female, so I think that makes her a credible source.
I guess it's not just relationship "truths" passed around, but lots of generalizations. People, if we were all those generalizations, we'd suck. We'd be like the Purple Pandas before Lady Elaine showed them how much better it is to be an individual.
PS A good individual doesn't repost something just because the message says to. A good individual should consider whether other good individuals will find the message funny, enlightening, or facinating before reposting. A good individual will think for his or herself and won't let a line at the bottom of the message do his or her thinking for him or her.
Thursday, March 30, 2006
End of the Month
For me at least.
Tomorrow is Cesar Chavez Day in this state. (It's a lot like Columbus Day because people who work for the state get the day off, but schools don't.) I suppose I should thank the Mexican-American lobby who pushed this holiday through so that I don't have to work the last day of March.
Thank you for forcing through a piece of legislature to celebrate the life of a man who accomplished some things in his life but after his death his accomplishments slowly started to disappear and continue to disappear. (Huh, much like a national holiday that schools get to take off in January. Weird, don'cha think?) It's still nice to know that we remember this man by letting me have the day off work, rather than continuing his work and providing a more concrete legacy.
Tomorrow is Cesar Chavez Day in this state. (It's a lot like Columbus Day because people who work for the state get the day off, but schools don't.) I suppose I should thank the Mexican-American lobby who pushed this holiday through so that I don't have to work the last day of March.
Thank you for forcing through a piece of legislature to celebrate the life of a man who accomplished some things in his life but after his death his accomplishments slowly started to disappear and continue to disappear. (Huh, much like a national holiday that schools get to take off in January. Weird, don'cha think?) It's still nice to know that we remember this man by letting me have the day off work, rather than continuing his work and providing a more concrete legacy.
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Robert Jordan fans...
...will want to read this letter.
Sunday, March 19, 2006
Observation
Today marks the end of the third year of this "war" in Iraq. It's nice to know that the people in power can actually finish something that has to do with Iraq, isn't it?
Useless Labels:
Politics
Friday, March 17, 2006
Running Blog
Just some random thoughts throughout the day:
It's been two weeks since I've picked up my phone to speak with someone. Which is okay. (I'm not soliciting phone calls here, people.) It makes me realize, though that it really wouldn't be worth it for me to get a cell phone. $30 a month or more for a device that wouldn't be used. No thanks.
I listened to some Queen on my walk to work today. It seems wrong to me that they didn't really get famous in the US until Wayne's World.
A co-worker just thanked me for wearing my only green shirt to work today. Like I did it for her and all I could think was "Bitch." I told her that I didn't do wear it for her, that I was planning on wearing it for a while; I knew what this day was coming up a while ago. She smiled and said, "I'm just impressed that the men here actually came through." Bitch. And the reason she came to me to say this is because the day before Valentine's she told me to wear red and I said that the only red shirt that I had was dirty and buried under a weeks worth of clothes. She said I should just wash it. I said that I wasn't going to spend that evening doing laundry for one shirt. She said that I was a disappointment. Bitch.
A different co-worker forwarded me an e-mail with a Power Point document that had really wonderful satellite pictures of Earth. The best were composite shots that show the whole planet in darkness. The problem with this thing is the message in the e-mail which says: "You may notice that some are composites (such as the North Pole view of the Earth) that are made of several photographs. Remember, the Earth is a sphere and the sun is always shining on half of the Earth, so some of these photos are made up and couldn't be seen by an astronaut." (I'm the one who bolded the text there.) Who out there who is on the internet and would get this e-mailed to them believes that night falls across the world at the exact same time? How many people out there, in general, can't remember that the world is a sphere? Did the original creator(s) of this document think that people are so stupid that they'll think the pictures were taken during an amazing celestial event that happens only once in a planets existence where the sun goes out and the whole world is bathed in darkness for a short amount of time? I think many people are stupid, but not that stupid. We don't live in an Asimov short story, people.
I just admitted to a co-worker that I didn't do any work yesterday afternoon so that I'd have work this morning so I can look fairly busy for at least four hours out of my work day. While I didn't admit to this part, it's something that I do everyday now. Is it like this at most other office jobs?
Okay, for the past hour, I've screened all the mail I got yesterday afternoon, I put the stuff that goes to a judge in the judge's box, I've put the stuff that goes back to file back to file. I have only five pieces of mail left from yesterday. Four of them need me to pull files, enter stuff in the computer, and then drop the files of where they need to go. One file I need to call a law firm and pester them about sending a notice of representation so I can process the damn paperwork sometime next week instead of today. All the work I have left will take me thirty minutes after my break if I just work on it, an hour at most if I spend time reading stuff on-line. After that, I still have two hours until my lunch and more mail comes.
In the "break room" I saw a plate with some deviled eggs. Someone put relish in them. Yuck.
Whenever I wait for an elevator to arrive at my floor, I stand about five feet away from the door so that if there are people there's plenty of room for them to walk. Other people don't seem to do that. They stand right at the door and then seem surprised to see people in the elevator trying to get off and then seem angry that they have to take a step back from the door to allow the people in the elevator off. Courtesy, people, it's cheap to own, easy to give away, and I'm pretty sure most people appreciate it.
So, the movie that I really wanted to go and see this weekend, Thank You For Smoking, is opening next weekend. I guess I'll have to settle for the other move I want to see, V for Vendetta.
The hour is up and my work is done.
Just had this forwarded to me. I've read it before and don't care if it's actually true because it's funny. Read:
Back from lunch. I've been taking walks on my lunch to get away from the inevitable irritation caused to me by my supervisor's lack of ability to not keep quiet when she's in a room with another person, who seems to be me more often than everyone else. Usually I take a right out of the building, then a right on the first street crossing, then a right several blocks later because I don't want to have to cross the street to cross the cross street to continue on the first street; the next right is taken when I've been on my lunch between 25 and 30 minutes and then a right on the next street; after that it's a straight shot to the street that goes in front of the building I work at, which I turn right on and then right into the building. Yesterday, I did a different walk. I walked back to my apartment because I was hungry.
One thing I like about having my lunch from one to two is that it's only an hour until I get to go on my break. That makes if feel like the second four hours of the work day go by much more quickly than the first four.
Once again, I'm sitting at my desk with a pile of work that I don't plan on doing. If I do it and I complete it, I will be expected to do someone else’s work on Monday, which I think is worse than spending most of the day pretending to do work. One of the secretaries has come through several times in the last two days and said that she thinks we're not getting as many things in the mail as we used to. I think she's right since I only have twelve pieces of work to my left. It seems that my stack used to be larger. Of course, back then there was also one less employee. And another employee was sick (or took off) for six weeks. Who knows what's true.
Just found out that the amazingly funny and smart show "Grosse Pointe" has been released on DVD. This is one I want for my collection. Too bad I don't have the money for it. The way I once heard this show described is that what goes on behind the scenes of a high school tv show is more like high school actually was. That's pretty accurate, if I remember the show correctly. It fits so well with "Popular" (which I still need the second season of, by the way), but I don't think the two shows were ever aired together. They should have, though.
I'm doing my laundry this weekend. I think I'm allergic to the soap I used that last time I did my laundry, so I'm going to go to the store tomorrow and buy the same brand that I used before the last time I did my laundry. I sure hope it's the problem because my armpits itch a lot. And what's worse, they sting if I put deodorant on. I haven't worn deodorant since Tuesday. Lucky thing I don't sit directly next to anyone.
So, I think I'm done here. According to the note I gave myself, I started writing this thing at 7:56AM and I'm finishing at the time on the bottom of this post. Have a decent weekend folks. I know that I'm not aiming for anything greater.
It's been two weeks since I've picked up my phone to speak with someone. Which is okay. (I'm not soliciting phone calls here, people.) It makes me realize, though that it really wouldn't be worth it for me to get a cell phone. $30 a month or more for a device that wouldn't be used. No thanks.
I listened to some Queen on my walk to work today. It seems wrong to me that they didn't really get famous in the US until Wayne's World.
A co-worker just thanked me for wearing my only green shirt to work today. Like I did it for her and all I could think was "Bitch." I told her that I didn't do wear it for her, that I was planning on wearing it for a while; I knew what this day was coming up a while ago. She smiled and said, "I'm just impressed that the men here actually came through." Bitch. And the reason she came to me to say this is because the day before Valentine's she told me to wear red and I said that the only red shirt that I had was dirty and buried under a weeks worth of clothes. She said I should just wash it. I said that I wasn't going to spend that evening doing laundry for one shirt. She said that I was a disappointment. Bitch.
A different co-worker forwarded me an e-mail with a Power Point document that had really wonderful satellite pictures of Earth. The best were composite shots that show the whole planet in darkness. The problem with this thing is the message in the e-mail which says: "You may notice that some are composites (such as the North Pole view of the Earth) that are made of several photographs. Remember, the Earth is a sphere and the sun is always shining on half of the Earth, so some of these photos are made up and couldn't be seen by an astronaut." (I'm the one who bolded the text there.) Who out there who is on the internet and would get this e-mailed to them believes that night falls across the world at the exact same time? How many people out there, in general, can't remember that the world is a sphere? Did the original creator(s) of this document think that people are so stupid that they'll think the pictures were taken during an amazing celestial event that happens only once in a planets existence where the sun goes out and the whole world is bathed in darkness for a short amount of time? I think many people are stupid, but not that stupid. We don't live in an Asimov short story, people.
I just admitted to a co-worker that I didn't do any work yesterday afternoon so that I'd have work this morning so I can look fairly busy for at least four hours out of my work day. While I didn't admit to this part, it's something that I do everyday now. Is it like this at most other office jobs?
Okay, for the past hour, I've screened all the mail I got yesterday afternoon, I put the stuff that goes to a judge in the judge's box, I've put the stuff that goes back to file back to file. I have only five pieces of mail left from yesterday. Four of them need me to pull files, enter stuff in the computer, and then drop the files of where they need to go. One file I need to call a law firm and pester them about sending a notice of representation so I can process the damn paperwork sometime next week instead of today. All the work I have left will take me thirty minutes after my break if I just work on it, an hour at most if I spend time reading stuff on-line. After that, I still have two hours until my lunch and more mail comes.
In the "break room" I saw a plate with some deviled eggs. Someone put relish in them. Yuck.
Whenever I wait for an elevator to arrive at my floor, I stand about five feet away from the door so that if there are people there's plenty of room for them to walk. Other people don't seem to do that. They stand right at the door and then seem surprised to see people in the elevator trying to get off and then seem angry that they have to take a step back from the door to allow the people in the elevator off. Courtesy, people, it's cheap to own, easy to give away, and I'm pretty sure most people appreciate it.
So, the movie that I really wanted to go and see this weekend, Thank You For Smoking, is opening next weekend. I guess I'll have to settle for the other move I want to see, V for Vendetta.
The hour is up and my work is done.
Just had this forwarded to me. I've read it before and don't care if it's actually true because it's funny. Read:
Here's a bizarre tidbit from Wikipedia:Remember it takes a college degree to fly a plane but only a high school diploma to fix one. Reassurance for those of us who fly routinely in our jobs. After every flight, Qantas pilots fill out a form, called a "gripe sheet," which tells mechanics about problems with the aircraft. The mechanics correct the problems, document their repairs on the form, and then pilots review the gripe sheets before the next flight.
Never let it be said that ground crews lack a sense of humor. Here are some actual maintenance complaints submitted by Qantas' pilots (marked with a P) and the solutions recorded (marked with an S) by maintenance engineers. By the way, Qantas is the only major airline that has never, ever, had an accident.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
P: Left inside main tire almost needs replacement.
S: Almost replaced left inside main tire.
P: Test flight OK, except auto-land very rough.
S: Auto-land not installed on this aircraft.
P: Something loose in cockpit.
S: Something tightened in cockpit.
P: Dead bugs on windshield.
S: Live bugs on back-order.
P: Autopilot in altitude-hold mode produces a 200 feet per minute descent.
S: Cannot reproduce problem on ground.
P: Evidence of leak on right main landing gear.
S: Evidence removed.
P: DME volume unbelievably loud.
S: DME volume set to more believable level.
P: Friction locks cause throttle levers to stick.
S: That's what friction locks are for.
P: IFF inoperative in OFF mode.
S: IFF always inoperative in OFF mode.
P: Suspected crack in windshield.
S: Suspect you're right.
P: Number 3 engine missing.
S: Engine found on right wing after brief search.
P: Aircraft handles funny.
S: Aircraft warned to straighten up, fly right, and be serious.
P: Target radar hums.
S: Reprogrammed target radar with lyrics.
P: Mouse in cockpit.
S: Cat installed.
And the best one for last..................
P: Noise coming from under instrument panel. Sounds like a midget pounding on something with a hammer.
S: Took hammer away from midget.
D'Armond Speers and his wife began raising a child bilingually in English and Klingon; Speers spoke in Klingon and his wife in English. A few years into his life, the child began rejecting Klingon and gravitating towards English, as he could use English with many more speakers. The fact that Klingon lacked many words for things that were important in a baby's life, such as "diaper", and "pacifier", was a lesser issue. At the time of Speers' attempt, Klingon even lacked words for many objects common around the house, such as "table". The experiment ultimately failed when the child discovered that his father understood English.I've been working on this thing for nearly five hours and I haven't mentioned that I stuffed my crock pot with corned beef, carrots, and red potatoes. When I get back this evening, in goes the cabbage for another hour or so before I break that mother out and gorge myself and a delicious and fatty traditional meal.
Back from lunch. I've been taking walks on my lunch to get away from the inevitable irritation caused to me by my supervisor's lack of ability to not keep quiet when she's in a room with another person, who seems to be me more often than everyone else. Usually I take a right out of the building, then a right on the first street crossing, then a right several blocks later because I don't want to have to cross the street to cross the cross street to continue on the first street; the next right is taken when I've been on my lunch between 25 and 30 minutes and then a right on the next street; after that it's a straight shot to the street that goes in front of the building I work at, which I turn right on and then right into the building. Yesterday, I did a different walk. I walked back to my apartment because I was hungry.
One thing I like about having my lunch from one to two is that it's only an hour until I get to go on my break. That makes if feel like the second four hours of the work day go by much more quickly than the first four.
Once again, I'm sitting at my desk with a pile of work that I don't plan on doing. If I do it and I complete it, I will be expected to do someone else’s work on Monday, which I think is worse than spending most of the day pretending to do work. One of the secretaries has come through several times in the last two days and said that she thinks we're not getting as many things in the mail as we used to. I think she's right since I only have twelve pieces of work to my left. It seems that my stack used to be larger. Of course, back then there was also one less employee. And another employee was sick (or took off) for six weeks. Who knows what's true.
Just found out that the amazingly funny and smart show "Grosse Pointe" has been released on DVD. This is one I want for my collection. Too bad I don't have the money for it. The way I once heard this show described is that what goes on behind the scenes of a high school tv show is more like high school actually was. That's pretty accurate, if I remember the show correctly. It fits so well with "Popular" (which I still need the second season of, by the way), but I don't think the two shows were ever aired together. They should have, though.
I'm doing my laundry this weekend. I think I'm allergic to the soap I used that last time I did my laundry, so I'm going to go to the store tomorrow and buy the same brand that I used before the last time I did my laundry. I sure hope it's the problem because my armpits itch a lot. And what's worse, they sting if I put deodorant on. I haven't worn deodorant since Tuesday. Lucky thing I don't sit directly next to anyone.
So, I think I'm done here. According to the note I gave myself, I started writing this thing at 7:56AM and I'm finishing at the time on the bottom of this post. Have a decent weekend folks. I know that I'm not aiming for anything greater.
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Go! Now!
Everyone who has lived in Cowtown, been to Cowtown, or wondered what Cowtown is like, visit this site and watch the movie.
I have to offer some thanks to my brother for posting it.
I have to offer some thanks to my brother for posting it.
Monday, March 13, 2006
My Dream Last Night
It starts with me and my youngest brother (henceforth known as #3) on a bus in our home town, which doesn't really have any buses. It's built like your standard natural gas running buses, but has a second story to it. The bus pulls over and my other brother (#2) and his sort-of-fiancée (#1) sneak on through the back door. The four of us head up stairs.
When we sit down, #2 tells us that where we're going is to the hospital that's in the same shopping center as Wal*Mart, Pac 'N Save, and the 'Bucks I used to work at. #1's dad is sick. We're there for moral support.
We get off the bus by parachuting out a window down to the ground while the bus is still moving. We have to cross the parking lot to get to the hospital. It's a ten mile walk, but we can see the Vegas style neon lights flashing in the distance. We take our first step and are at the front door. The door won't slide open for us so we all take off our shoes and walk through the wall into the waiting room.
Before #1 goes up to see her father, we all go for a cup of coffee at the coffee shop. #3 also buys himself a stuffed animal, it's a seal or walrus, he wouldn't show it to me.
#1 goes up to see her father via the human sized pneumatic tube, kind of like the Jetsons use, but first she kicks #2 in the nuts to make sure he stays.
The three of us sit in chairs.
My parent's show up.
Both sets of grandparents show up.
My aunts and uncles and their kids show up. There are hundreds of kids with them. All the kids go play in the hospital's arcade.
#1 suddenly appears and is given a 64 ounce soda by one of my aunts.
Everyone is laughing, having fun. Someone has brought a plate with cream cheese smothered in a pepper raspberry jam and a box of snack crackers.
Then all my aunts and uncles and grandparents start crowding around #1 wishing her well, trying to consol her. My parents and my brothers stand against the wall, trying not to look. I stay sitting, but now I'm sitting on one of those round couch things, it's vinyl and feels sticky.
Heels and Johnny Logic show up with their baby. They wave at me and yell that they're at the hospital for the gourmet sandwiches. I wave back.
#1 bitchslaps all my aunts and uncles and grandparents. The force of the slap knocks me down.
And that's when I woke up wondering where the hell that dream came from.
When we sit down, #2 tells us that where we're going is to the hospital that's in the same shopping center as Wal*Mart, Pac 'N Save, and the 'Bucks I used to work at. #1's dad is sick. We're there for moral support.
We get off the bus by parachuting out a window down to the ground while the bus is still moving. We have to cross the parking lot to get to the hospital. It's a ten mile walk, but we can see the Vegas style neon lights flashing in the distance. We take our first step and are at the front door. The door won't slide open for us so we all take off our shoes and walk through the wall into the waiting room.
Before #1 goes up to see her father, we all go for a cup of coffee at the coffee shop. #3 also buys himself a stuffed animal, it's a seal or walrus, he wouldn't show it to me.
#1 goes up to see her father via the human sized pneumatic tube, kind of like the Jetsons use, but first she kicks #2 in the nuts to make sure he stays.
The three of us sit in chairs.
My parent's show up.
Both sets of grandparents show up.
My aunts and uncles and their kids show up. There are hundreds of kids with them. All the kids go play in the hospital's arcade.
#1 suddenly appears and is given a 64 ounce soda by one of my aunts.
Everyone is laughing, having fun. Someone has brought a plate with cream cheese smothered in a pepper raspberry jam and a box of snack crackers.
Then all my aunts and uncles and grandparents start crowding around #1 wishing her well, trying to consol her. My parents and my brothers stand against the wall, trying not to look. I stay sitting, but now I'm sitting on one of those round couch things, it's vinyl and feels sticky.
Heels and Johnny Logic show up with their baby. They wave at me and yell that they're at the hospital for the gourmet sandwiches. I wave back.
#1 bitchslaps all my aunts and uncles and grandparents. The force of the slap knocks me down.
And that's when I woke up wondering where the hell that dream came from.
Useless Labels:
dream
Friday, March 10, 2006
Interview
A while ago, I conducted and interview with myself. Today, I did it again.
JtI: So, how are things?
JtA: Things are... okay, I guess.
JtI: And work?
JtA: Boring as… well, I don't think I've ever experienced anything as boring as this job, except for maybe my World Cultures class in high school and Geometry and Algebra II and Economics and lots of other things that I didn't choose to do but was stuck doing.
JtI: Isn't boring what you expected when you took the job?
JtA: Sort of. See, I was expecting the work that I do to be very repetitive, but I also expected that I'd be kept busy by the work. I thought that there'd be so much work that I wouldn't have to stop doing it. I thought that no matter how much I completed today there'd be more for me to do tomorrow. I never expected that I'd only be given enough work to, while working at my regular speed, fill two out of my eight hour work day. If I slow down, I can usually stretch my work to fill three or four hours total. Any slower than that and I'm reading crap on the internet more than actually working, which is actually how I spend most of my work day.
JtI: Then why are you working there?
JtA: The money and benefits. To pay off my student loans, mostly. And my credit card.
JtI: And after your loans are paid off?
JtA: To buy some land somewhere and build a decent house on. I'm so sick that I actually drew up a floor plan for the kitchen. I want one of those gas stoves with a big sheet of iron in the middle that can be a skillet and then flipped over to do some grilling, but not have the fat drip into the depths of the stove. Of course by the time I've paid off my loans and saved some money to buy some property, the price of land in California will be so artificially inflated that I'll never be able to afford even a smidge. I don't actually see that happening in my lifetime.
JtI: Then are you still going to be working for the state after your loans get paid off?
JtA: Probably.
JtI: Why?
JtA: I don't care for change?
JtI: Was that a question?
JtA: Yeah. I'm one of those weird people who don't really like to see things change, but I really don't like it when things are always the same, either. Ruts bore me. Alterations scare me. So I guess I'm saying that I'd be really happy if everything was always the same, but in a way that made it completely different. Does that make sense?
JtI: No. Moving on, other than paying off your loans, what would you like to do with the money you're now making?
JtA: Go on a vacation. I haven't been on a real vacation since spring break my last year of college. Sure, I didn't go anywhere exciting, but I also didn't have to think about anything that had to do with anything. Sure, I went and visited some friends in the East in August, but that was only a weekend and a weekend isn't really a vacation. Plus, I had just been hired by the job I have now, so that was on my mind the whole time and even though I didn't have to be back to work for a few days after my trip East I traveled to North Bay to look for a place to live and packed. I didn't really have any time off. I would really like a vacation.
JtI: Where would you go?
JtA: Right now, no where. I can't afford to go anywhere.
JtI: If money were no object?
JtA: Where wouldn't I go? Europe; England, France, and Italy mostly (I'd gorge myself on bread and cheese). Visit my friendish person who's still living in China and force him to show me the sites, but keep me from getting run over by tanks. Australia. Hawaii. Antarctica would be cool. (BOOO! HISSSS!) On a more realistic scale, Disneyworld or Disneyland would be a lot of fun. I want to go to New York and watch a bunch of plays on and off Broadway; it'd be really cool to see RENT on stage. Or maybe spend a week in Washington DC exploring the Smithsonian. I'd be willing to do all this on my own, but it'd be more fun to do them with someone coming along, though.
JtI: So why not just take the time and do something?
JtA: First, not enough money. Second, no one to do things with. Third, no drive or ambition. Fourth, no passion f--
JtI: No passion?
JtA: Not really.
JtI: Isn't there something that you want that drives you forward toward something better in life?
JtA: No.
JtI: Really?
JtA: Well, not that I can think of, at least.
JtI: Then think about it!
JtA: I have thought about it. I've thought about it a lot and the more I think about it the more I keep drawing a blank. There are some things that I like doing, but people don't get paid for doing those things, but I'm not really passionate about those things. Hell, I've tried to remember what I was passionate about when I was a little kid, tried to remember things I dreamed about being that lasted more than a week. I can't remember anything like that. There were times later in my life when I considered thing, but mainly because they seemed the practical thing to do, not because I really wanted to do them or felt any passion toward them. Last weekend, I finally admitted to my dad that I'm not going to go to grad school. I've known ever since I moved away from Cow City that I wasn't going to go back to school for a master's degree, but I continued to tell everyone else that I wanted to. I don't, though. I haven't for almost a year now.
JtI: So, what do you want?
JtA: Well, that's the multimillion, life altering question, isn't it? What the fuck do I want? Is it okay for me to say that I want nothing and I want everything? That I don't know what I want, but what I want is so unrealistic that I try not to think about it? My mom once mentioned giving me something that said “Dare To Dream” on it to help me to free my mind. Ignoring the fact that I think the idea is hokey, I don't think lack of dreaming is my problem, I think it's not having something to dream about that is.
JtI: So, what are you going to do?
JtA: Live my life like I'm living it until I find a way, a thing, or a person to make me want to live it in a different way.
JtI: That's not the happiest thought, is it?
JtA: No, but it's an honest one.
JtI: Thanks for the interview.
JtA: You're welcome.
JtI: So, how are things?
JtA: Things are... okay, I guess.
JtI: And work?
JtA: Boring as… well, I don't think I've ever experienced anything as boring as this job, except for maybe my World Cultures class in high school and Geometry and Algebra II and Economics and lots of other things that I didn't choose to do but was stuck doing.
JtI: Isn't boring what you expected when you took the job?
JtA: Sort of. See, I was expecting the work that I do to be very repetitive, but I also expected that I'd be kept busy by the work. I thought that there'd be so much work that I wouldn't have to stop doing it. I thought that no matter how much I completed today there'd be more for me to do tomorrow. I never expected that I'd only be given enough work to, while working at my regular speed, fill two out of my eight hour work day. If I slow down, I can usually stretch my work to fill three or four hours total. Any slower than that and I'm reading crap on the internet more than actually working, which is actually how I spend most of my work day.
JtI: Then why are you working there?
JtA: The money and benefits. To pay off my student loans, mostly. And my credit card.
JtI: And after your loans are paid off?
JtA: To buy some land somewhere and build a decent house on. I'm so sick that I actually drew up a floor plan for the kitchen. I want one of those gas stoves with a big sheet of iron in the middle that can be a skillet and then flipped over to do some grilling, but not have the fat drip into the depths of the stove. Of course by the time I've paid off my loans and saved some money to buy some property, the price of land in California will be so artificially inflated that I'll never be able to afford even a smidge. I don't actually see that happening in my lifetime.
JtI: Then are you still going to be working for the state after your loans get paid off?
JtA: Probably.
JtI: Why?
JtA: I don't care for change?
JtI: Was that a question?
JtA: Yeah. I'm one of those weird people who don't really like to see things change, but I really don't like it when things are always the same, either. Ruts bore me. Alterations scare me. So I guess I'm saying that I'd be really happy if everything was always the same, but in a way that made it completely different. Does that make sense?
JtI: No. Moving on, other than paying off your loans, what would you like to do with the money you're now making?
JtA: Go on a vacation. I haven't been on a real vacation since spring break my last year of college. Sure, I didn't go anywhere exciting, but I also didn't have to think about anything that had to do with anything. Sure, I went and visited some friends in the East in August, but that was only a weekend and a weekend isn't really a vacation. Plus, I had just been hired by the job I have now, so that was on my mind the whole time and even though I didn't have to be back to work for a few days after my trip East I traveled to North Bay to look for a place to live and packed. I didn't really have any time off. I would really like a vacation.
JtI: Where would you go?
JtA: Right now, no where. I can't afford to go anywhere.
JtI: If money were no object?
JtA: Where wouldn't I go? Europe; England, France, and Italy mostly (I'd gorge myself on bread and cheese). Visit my friendish person who's still living in China and force him to show me the sites, but keep me from getting run over by tanks. Australia. Hawaii. Antarctica would be cool. (BOOO! HISSSS!) On a more realistic scale, Disneyworld or Disneyland would be a lot of fun. I want to go to New York and watch a bunch of plays on and off Broadway; it'd be really cool to see RENT on stage. Or maybe spend a week in Washington DC exploring the Smithsonian. I'd be willing to do all this on my own, but it'd be more fun to do them with someone coming along, though.
JtI: So why not just take the time and do something?
JtA: First, not enough money. Second, no one to do things with. Third, no drive or ambition. Fourth, no passion f--
JtI: No passion?
JtA: Not really.
JtI: Isn't there something that you want that drives you forward toward something better in life?
JtA: No.
JtI: Really?
JtA: Well, not that I can think of, at least.
JtI: Then think about it!
JtA: I have thought about it. I've thought about it a lot and the more I think about it the more I keep drawing a blank. There are some things that I like doing, but people don't get paid for doing those things, but I'm not really passionate about those things. Hell, I've tried to remember what I was passionate about when I was a little kid, tried to remember things I dreamed about being that lasted more than a week. I can't remember anything like that. There were times later in my life when I considered thing, but mainly because they seemed the practical thing to do, not because I really wanted to do them or felt any passion toward them. Last weekend, I finally admitted to my dad that I'm not going to go to grad school. I've known ever since I moved away from Cow City that I wasn't going to go back to school for a master's degree, but I continued to tell everyone else that I wanted to. I don't, though. I haven't for almost a year now.
JtI: So, what do you want?
JtA: Well, that's the multimillion, life altering question, isn't it? What the fuck do I want? Is it okay for me to say that I want nothing and I want everything? That I don't know what I want, but what I want is so unrealistic that I try not to think about it? My mom once mentioned giving me something that said “Dare To Dream” on it to help me to free my mind. Ignoring the fact that I think the idea is hokey, I don't think lack of dreaming is my problem, I think it's not having something to dream about that is.
JtI: So, what are you going to do?
JtA: Live my life like I'm living it until I find a way, a thing, or a person to make me want to live it in a different way.
JtI: That's not the happiest thought, is it?
JtA: No, but it's an honest one.
JtI: Thanks for the interview.
JtA: You're welcome.
Fame
A little later today, I will be exactly the same age John Wilks Booth was when he did what would lead to his... notoriety.
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
Gmail
Just when I saw that I had an e-mail (about an hour ago), Gmail broke.
Sucks.
Sucks.
Monday, March 06, 2006
Lunch
I'm sitting here with a headache not wanting to think or do anything. I'm on my lunch. My supervisor doesn't like it when people take their lunches at their desks because it confuses the people coming in, but I think she doesn't like it because it confuses her and she's not sure who she can toss useless, pointless tasks at. The last time I stayed at my desk for lunch, she came over to me three times in that hour and each time I had to remind her that I was on my lunch. She hasn't bothered me today.
You know, I have nothing new to say here today. I'm gonna stop right now.
You know, I have nothing new to say here today. I'm gonna stop right now.
Friday, March 03, 2006
Monkey Balls?
Here's a comic.
Hope you enjoyed that.
I'm really not sure what to write here today, but I want to write something.
Today, I discovered that it's perfectly acceptable for me to make an "off-color" remark if I'm one upping something already involved. What happened was one of the ladies was putting an application online and discovered that the reason he got injured was because he "jerked off a stack of barrels." Quickly, she showed it to the rest of us and we had a good laugh. Without thinking, I said, "Those must be some really happy barrels." Eruptions of laughter from the ladies. So I wondered aloud if he injured his hand or arm. More laughter. I stopped there, not wanting to push my luck, but at least I know that I can throw out the perversion every now and then.
What else to say...
It snowed at my parent's house today. Enough so that my mom's school closed for the day. She's been hoping for a snow day since school started in August. Everyone congratulate her by visiting her website and voting for it everyday until society crashes in on itself and those of us still living are being hunted for sport and food by the militia nuts up in the hills
I started using that Site Meter thing a few months ago just to see if people who I didn't know personally actually visited this place. Some do. (I don't know if they actually come back, though.) My favorite feature is the By Referrals thing. It's wonderfully weird seeing how people get here. I'll give you a list:
Someone looked up "vouryism" on Yahoo!. I'm the third down because I didn't use spell check that time.
This was a nice one. I wonder if the person read the post and got anything out of it. I still want to go and see Wicked again. (Anyone want to pay for a trip for me to New York and pay for the hotel and pay for the ticket for Wicked and, perhaps, other shows? Maybe I should start one of those PayPal things. Donate to send me to New York so I can spend your money enjoying myself!)
I thought there'd be more people before me on this one. Does this mean I'm popular?
To me, this search doesn't make any sense, but what the hell, right? (I'm at the bottom of the page today.)
Alright, works almost done. Time to pack up what little I bring with me to head out into the sun and rain.
Hope you enjoyed that.
I'm really not sure what to write here today, but I want to write something.
Today, I discovered that it's perfectly acceptable for me to make an "off-color" remark if I'm one upping something already involved. What happened was one of the ladies was putting an application online and discovered that the reason he got injured was because he "jerked off a stack of barrels." Quickly, she showed it to the rest of us and we had a good laugh. Without thinking, I said, "Those must be some really happy barrels." Eruptions of laughter from the ladies. So I wondered aloud if he injured his hand or arm. More laughter. I stopped there, not wanting to push my luck, but at least I know that I can throw out the perversion every now and then.
What else to say...
It snowed at my parent's house today. Enough so that my mom's school closed for the day. She's been hoping for a snow day since school started in August. Everyone congratulate her by visiting her website and voting for it everyday until society crashes in on itself and those of us still living are being hunted for sport and food by the militia nuts up in the hills
I started using that Site Meter thing a few months ago just to see if people who I didn't know personally actually visited this place. Some do. (I don't know if they actually come back, though.) My favorite feature is the By Referrals thing. It's wonderfully weird seeing how people get here. I'll give you a list:
Someone looked up "vouryism" on Yahoo!. I'm the third down because I didn't use spell check that time.
This was a nice one. I wonder if the person read the post and got anything out of it. I still want to go and see Wicked again. (Anyone want to pay for a trip for me to New York and pay for the hotel and pay for the ticket for Wicked and, perhaps, other shows? Maybe I should start one of those PayPal things. Donate to send me to New York so I can spend your money enjoying myself!)
I thought there'd be more people before me on this one. Does this mean I'm popular?
To me, this search doesn't make any sense, but what the hell, right? (I'm at the bottom of the page today.)
Alright, works almost done. Time to pack up what little I bring with me to head out into the sun and rain.
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
A Question
Has someone ever told you something and then seven months later you realize that it was one on the best compliments that you've ever been given?
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