not quite a world traveller, but getting closer

Holy Geez, I haven't written since October 10? I am certainly falling down on the job.

So, today I was reading this blog where this guy recounts a tale of something that happened to him at an airport. He was being handed back his change at an airport shop and the cashier told him to "Have a nice flight," to which he responded, "You too."

I laughed out loud because a) it's funny, and b) I did the exact thing when I flew to Louisville, only to the driver of the limo that took me to the airport (and no, I did not spring for a limo for myself - too rich for my blood - the company paid for it). Though the way these guys sometimes drive, maybe I wasn't too far off.

So yeah, Louisville. I was there for several days for a conference a couple weeks ago, and it was ... an experience. I was worried that the conference would be boring and that I wouldn't get to go out and see any of the city since my travelling companion didn't seem the "go out and see the city" type. But I was delightfully surprised. The conference was actually quite engaging (what's the deal with my vocab today??), and I met some folks in my training session who were interested in doing the exact same exploring that I was. So we did. And Louisville is a pretty decent city. A nice little entertainment hub, some fun attractions, NO TRAFFIC! It was nice and enjoyable. I'm not saying I want to spend three weeks there over the summer or anything, but if my travels take me there again, I don't think I'll whine quite as much. And maybe next time I'll get to actually GO ON the tour of the Louisville Slugger factory, instead of having to skip it in order to get back to the hotel and airport shuttle in time to make my flight home.

Ahh, flying. I have flown to three new cities in the past three months, which is a new record for me. Actually, that's not saying much because prior to that, I hadn't flown anywhere (or really even GONE anywhere) in 5 years. Yes, I said 5 years. So it was about time. July 31 - August 1 I was in Baltimore for my first ever business trip. First time I'd ever gotten a hotel room all to myself, too. Mid-August I was in New York (the City for a couple days, then a bit North of there for the rest of the week). Next time I go, I'll have to do some SERIOUS SHOPPING. Seriously. And then this most recent trip to Louisville. And that was the first time I'd boarded a plane by actually going out onto the tarmac (that's the word, right?), and up the stairs onto the plane. That thing was pretty darn little, and not something you'd want to spend any amount of time in if you were claustrophobic. The one on the way back was even smaller. Let's just say that my seat was both a window AND an aisle.

So here's to new travelling experiences, and hoping that there are more to come in the near future. Miami in January perhaps?? :)

wrinkles on my forehead and gray hairs on my head

I am getting OLD! I know this because the wrinkles I noticed on my forehead a few years ago are steadily getting more ... wrinkly. And my gray hairs are multiplying like rabbits. Seriously, rabbits. Really horny gray rabbits are growing out of my head. (Now there's a sentence I never thought I'd type.)

Now let me ask you this question. Is it ever in good taste to tell someone they've got gray hairs? I mean, I'd say that maybe to a very close relative or something. MAYBE. But don't you think it would be kind of rude if, oh, I don't know, a coworker said that to you? Like, they were talking to you, and suddenly paused, looking at your head, and said, "Hey, do you have gray hairs?" Yeah, well, that happened to me. That happened to me in a meeting at work with a bunch of customers from abroad. I believe I handled it appropriately by saying quite cheerfully, "Yes, I do. Thanks for noticing." The perpetrater was a bit embarrassed. As he should be.

heart

I love Target!

Just wanted to throw that out there.

I planned on going to Target after work a couple days ago, and all day, I looked forward to that trip. Oh, the things I'd buy!! I needed an over-the-door shoe organizer to free up some much-needed space in my closet. Found it for $12.99! I needed a new shower curtain liner, this time one of the mildew-resistent ones with the metal grommets. Found it for $9.99!! I also bought some more hangers (desperately needed, though they weren't on my list). 13 for $1.99! And I bought a mat for in front of the kitchen sink, which I've been needing forever, but hadn't found one I liked. Found one for $9.99! AND THEN!!! I bought myself a late birthday present. Scene-It!! Yay!! Games!! Anyone wanna come over and play a game?? I'll totally kick your ass! :D

Oh, and a BIG thanks to the girl who rang me up, 1) for opening up a new register so I could get out of the long-ass line I was in, and 2) for making me move to another line, therefore distracting me from the ever-nearing candy counter, from which I undoubtedly would have picked up another few hundred calories as an impulse buy.

Yay!! Target!!

:)

I have fought my way here to the castle beyond the Goblin City

I made the observation today that my place of work is a lot like the Labyrinth in the movie of the same name. It was kind of like that to begin with, in the sense that all of the hallways look exactly the same, and they're very long and you never seem to be getting anywhere. But lately, it's become even more like David Bowie's little game because everything keeps changing! For example, you used to be able to go into the room where my cube is, and walk through two rooms to get to where my Dad's office is, without going back out into the main hallway. The rooms were all connected. Now, you can only walk into the next room, and you come to a dead end. To get to my Dad's office, I have to go out into the hall, then back through a door into the next room over (which now only has one entrance and MUST be a fire hazard). And somehow they squeezed an entire new room in where there wasn't one before. More recently, an entire program office up and moved into a brand new area (nicknamed Land of the Big Doors). I don't know what was in this area previously - to me it just kind of appeared suddenly out of nowhere. And the people in the offices in their old area keep changing. Makes it kind of hard to find my program managers if I need them. Accounting recently moved out of their area into a new office where all the walls are now in different places. It's like The Powers That Be (Jareth?) move everyone out, shut the doors for a few weeks, then when they open them up again, it's totally different inside. Kinda cool, but very confusing if you already don't know your way around. And then TODAY, I walked past the office where another group I work with sits, and something was ... different. I couldn't put my finger on it at first, and then I realized, "Oh, there used to be a wall there ... and now there isn't." I'm NEVER gonna get my baby brother back if they keep moving the walls!!

And on an unrelated note, do peanut butter Twix still exist?

a kinder, gentler Jeffrey

I didn't get to watch Project Runway on Wednesday, but I taped it and watched it last night, hence the lateness of this recap post. I just know how you all anxiously await these things. :)

I gotta say, I think it's pretty sweet that they took all four of the remaining contestants to the finals. That means that all of my favorites get to compete, and Laura too, one-trick-pony though she is.

As for the designs this week, I thought they were severly lacking. I hate to admit it, but Michael probably should have been eliminated for the boring (and somewhat slutty) dress he came up with. He could have (and has!!) done so much better. And haven't we seen that exact dress from Laura before? Like a million times? Uli's dress was very pretty, and she made a good decision to rework her original idea. She was getting stuck in a rut. And even though the judges didn't care for Jeffrey's dress, I kinda liked it. I think I would have liked it better if it hadn't gathered at the bottom like that (I don't understand that look at all), but I commend him for taking a chance and showing a different side of his personality.

Side note: Don't people wear pants anymore??

Aside from the big surprise at the end, my favorite part of the episode was when Jeffrey watched a video of his son on his phone, that his girlfriend sent him for Father's Day. It really showed a softer side of him, which I think the audience needed to see. He's not such a tough guy after all, as was also evidenced by his design this week.

Gah! I'm glad it's Friday and I'm feeling a little burned out, so pardon me if this entry is a bit choppy. Have a good weekend everyone!

The End.

epeolatry

As I moved widdershins around the room, I tried to make sense of the walla-walla of the tohubohu. I got the fantods when I saw the napiform energumen in the corner. His nothosonomia took me by surprise, and of course the esprit d'escalier ocurred to me much later. The eesome ecdysiast was entertaining, but squiffed. I didn't envy the katzenjammer she'd have, but her hallux and her oxter were mesmerizing. I footled around. The facilities were puckeroo and quisquilious, and were out of bumf, and the latrinalia was raunchy. I met a bibliobibulus who'd forgotten to infucate so I could see all her fernticles. She asked me something nudiustertian and I told her to perendinate. There was a psithurism, and the hebdomedal gathering came to an abrupt end when a snollygoster spanghewed.


http://rinkworks.com/words/funwords.shtml

do you hear what I see?

Something I've come to realize about myself over the years is that I am a very visual person. I discovered in college that I learned best by seeing things written down on paper, as opposed to hearing it spoken aloud. I'd remember reading specific sentences and even know approximately where they were on a page, but I could convince myself that a lecturing professor said the complete opposite of what he actually said. Knowing this, you'd think I'd learn to take really good notes and play to my strengths ... but alas, my laziness usually won out over my desire to be a good student. How I managed to graduate with a decent GPA, I'll never know.

A more recent example of this trait of mine (and the thought that triggered this post), is the way I tend to describe the concerts I go to. I have been going to quite a few of them as of late, and when people ask me how they were, I go into great detail about what the venue was like, who was in the crowd, how the stage was set up, and what the performers looked like, or what they wore. The music itself usually gets a much shorter description. Sometimes as concise and vague as, "It was good." It's not that I don't enjoy the music at a concert. I love music! And that's the reason you go to a concert in the first place. I guess it's just that visual images make more of an impression on me than aural. The experience of going to a concert involves all of the senses, and though the focus is on what you hear, my most trusted sense is my vision, so that's what really sticks with me. It's only in those rare instances when the emotions evoked by the music mesh perfectly with what my other senses are experiencing that the music itself leaves a lasting impression. Or perhaps it's just because I am not as good with descriptions of sounds as I am with images. What's that saying? "Talking about music is like singing about architecture"? I think I may have that wrong. But I believe that statement is very true.

On the topic of how one experiences a concert, I've also realized that my experiences are shaped largely by outside influences. For example, last night, Jillybean and I went to the Sufjan Stevens show at the Riv. The crowd there seemed to be very young - much younger than I would have expected, actually. There were several groups of high school aged kids around the area we were standing, and I realized afterwards that they ended up giving me a slightly lower opinion of the concert than I might have had otherwise. There was a kid to one side of us who was shouting annoying requests between each song. There was a girl next to me who kept bumping me with her purse in the same spot on my shoulder over and over again (though this could have been anyone, not necessarily a teenager). And THEN. Then there was the kid behind us, who will, in my memory, always be known as the "Oh My God!" guy. Let's just say he was VERY EXCITED to see Sufjan. So much so that between every song, he'd shout "Oh My God!" like he just couldn't believe that Sufjan Stevens was right there in front of him. Seriously, you'd have thought he was having an orgasm each time he said it. Oh, and his breathing was erratic and very heavy. I know because I could feel it on the back of my neck through the entire show, whipping my hair into my face, even though he was a couple feet behind me.

And those are the things that I'm going to remember most about that concert. Those people in the crowd, the butterfly costumes that the band was wearing, and the fact that for most of the show, all I could see of Mr. Stevens was the end of his guitar and the tip of his wing (too many tall people).

But the music was very good. :)

kitty update

Well, the kitty had her surgery last Friday, and she seems to be doing well. The roomie brought her back home on Saturday, and she had a new green cast on her arm (leg?) and brand new shaved spots. Her injured arm was shaved all the way to her shoulder, the wrist-area on her other arm was shaved (presumably for an IV), and the previously shaved patch on her side had been re-shaved in order to give her a new pain-reliever patch. Needless to say, she looks a little funny. And she's kinda out of it. We're keeping her in the roomie's large walk-in closet until the vet gives us the okay to let her roam about the apartment again. She's supposed to stay in there for 10 weeks! Not fun for poor kitty. But as a human will stay still and limit movement if you tell them to, a kitty will not, so she must be penned up. Giving her pills is not a fun activity, but it has to be done twice a day. The roommate has enlisted my help for this a couple of times, and we've gotten it done, but not before feeling like animal abusers somehow. Forcing open the mouth of a cat and inducing swallowing is not something I'd like to ever become GOOD AT, but it'll probably happen before this is all over and done with. Yuck.

But yes, she is doing well, and hopefully soon she'll be back to her old kitty ways ... perhaps thinner and a little healthier? Well, thinner anyway. Which will actually be healthier since she's kind of a fatty to begin with. But a cute fatty. :)