August 2005 Archives
Wow. What a week last week. And this week is shaping up to be even busier. Since all the new health insurance (including vision and dental) is now fully kicked in and active, I've a whole slew of appointments in the coming weeks. YAY! New glasses! YAY! Meeting with shrink! Lots of coming in late or leaving early. Which, would be nice except that I'm working on two big projects and there's lots to do.
Something that I haven't had to deal with a lot before - both of these projects have run into the "PC-Only" problem. I have a Mac. Most of my company uses a Mac. We have 1 company PC, and (as of this morning) one of Lane's old PCs. But we have user testing software that will only run on a PC, and client software that only runs on a PC, and another client site that behaves differently for a PC than a Mac. So, I need to have access to a PC to do the user testing, or the content audit, or the comparative analysis. Gak. Which sucks because it means I can't work at home at all. And when there is another project team who needs to do user testing at the same time, well, let's just say that the project managers have been working their scheduling mojo.
I would much rather be kept busy than sit around idly with nothing to do. But things around here seem to wax and wane with the feast or famine. I suppose that is the nature of consulting. But it seems I'm either overloaded with lots of meetings back to back, or I go all week sitting at my desk with no interaction with anyone. There has to be a way to balance that all out. I do my best work when I can be quiet and focus. But I like to break that up with interactions and meetings with others.
I also find that when my schedule gets packed, I start revving at a different level. I don't know if it's stress or what, but I'm more "on" all the time. Which is good (and required) for getting everything done. But it makes it that much harder to wind-down and relax when I need to. I end up just dropping at the end of the day. Hrm... why is this thing called "balance" so hard to achieve? It'd be so much easier if I could just download and install it between meetings. You know, like a system patch.
I'm usually pretty out of the loop when it comes to upcoming movies. I don't watch TV that much, and I've made it to the theater only once this summer - to see Johnny, of course. But lately it seems like all the commericals are ads for movies. Maybe it's because Hollywood has been having one of the worst summers ever.
Anyway, I decided that I'd make a list of upcoming flicks that have caught my eye. I know I won't see them all on the big screen, but at least I'll remember the titles. And then I can add them to the ever-increasing Netflix queue.
In no particular order:
The Constant Gardner. It's Ralph. He's my secret boyfriend (sorry E). I'm really hoping to see this on on the big screen.
The Brothers Grimm. Love a good fairy tale. Plus it's Terry Gilliam. It's getting a lot of press though (as in ads all over the place), and I've noticed that the more they hype a movie, the less I enjoy it. But here's hoping.
The Exorcism of Emily Rose. I'm not sure why this one interests me. It looks like it would scare my socks off, and I usually don't go in for horror. I much prefer the mind-fuck of a psychological thriller a'la Silence of the Lambs. The fact that it's actually a courtroom drama (even though they aren't promoting it that way) piques my interest even more.
Broken Flowers. I used to avoid Bill Murray movies like the plague. But Lost in Translation and Life Aquatic have really made me rethink that.
The March of the Penguins. I think this will make a good Netflix. I never saw Winged Migration, but I would like to see both of these.
"Taking on one of the most highly charged questions in the abortion debate, a team of doctors has concluded that fetuses probably cannot feel pain in the first six months of gestation and therefore do not need anesthesia during abortions.[snip...]
The finding poses a direct challenge to proposed federal and state laws that would compel doctors to tell women having abortions at 20 weeks or later that their fetuses can feel pain and to offer them anesthesia specifically for the fetus." (my own emphasis added)
GAH! This kind of thing makes me so angry. It's irrational - they aren't proposing that fetusus be given anesthesia during birth. I can't imagine that having your head squeezed through a tiny tube, and your shoulders managled, and then your umbilical cord cut off feels real nice either.
All this is trying to do is scare and put more guilt on those poor women trying to get those later-term abortions. We're talking 1.4% of the total abortions done in the US. These are women into their second trimester. Aren't they going through enough if they realize they can't keep the baby by now? I seem to remember reading studies that said most of the abortions done after week 20 are only medically necessary ones, since it's so much harder on the mother.
Hopefully this finding will make it easier to shoot down this bill. Thank the Gods scientists are still conducting this kind of research.
Now pardon me while I dig out my "US Out of My Uterus" stickers.
I saw the most amazing bike on the train this morning.
The most normal looking woman was sitting next to a bicycle that was covered in orange tiger stripe furry-fleecy fabric. As in the seat, all supporting bars, handles, everything was upholstered in orange and black. And there was orange and black dingle-ball fringe in places. As well as orange and black fur on the wheel spokes.
This photo doens't do it justice. I tried to grab a shot without being too obvious. But, come on. Tiger fringe? WOW!
A friend of mine told me one of the funniest airport security stories I've heard in awhile last night.
Apparently her rather straight-laced, math professor of a brother was traveling with his family a bit ago. They all got pulled out of the security line and subjected to The Search. The security agent reached into the brother's backcpack and was feeling around for contraband when suddenly her hand stopped and she looked at him.
"Would you care to explain, sir?"
"It's my snack."
"Snack?"
The agent pulled out a Ziploc bag with two beets and a corndog, strategically placed, I'm sure. The brother didn't want the beets to go to waste, since they would be on vacation for awhile, so he had cooked them and brought them to eat on the plane. And the corndog? Well, I guess nothing goes with beets like a corndog.
Somehow that phrase just cracks me up. It's the perfect punchline to almost any joke. "Two beets and a corndog." How can you not laugh when you hear that?
I'm outside Chicago right now on a business trip. I had forgotten what summer was like outside CA. Everything is green and lush. It smells like growth. Last night after dinner, the air had that warm, slightly humid feel. That feel from my childhood when we used to stay outside until it got dark, chasing fireflies and not wanting to have to go to bed.
Today we got a real treat - a thunderstorm! The sky turned dark and all of us (except the locals) immediately thought "fog." But then we remembered where we were. And sure enough, about a hour later the thunder started to rumble, there were a few flashes in the sky and then the downpour began. It was glorious hitting against the windows. It was hard to resist the urge to leave the meeting and splash outside in the puddles.
By the time we left a few hours later the sky was blue again, and the pavement was dry. No sign or clue of the downpour, except for the bit of excess moisture in the air. I love summer storms.
Nothing like getting the plug pulled to make it clear just how much you depend upon the Internet.
St. Elmo's Fire
E has been espousing the virtues of Delicious Library (not to be confused with del.icio.us) for awhile now. He even went so far as to get me a CueCat a bit ago, to make the input of data that much easier and more fun. (Is that love and devotion or what?)
Well, it is fun. I just scanned in all of my DVDs and VHS tapes. The headache and shaky hands meant that I had to eat some lunch before starting on the book collection.
Now I just need to figure out the best way to export to the web. E and I have been geeking out, brainstorming additional features. Gotta love the weekend.
The San Jose State University English department has been kind enough to post a list of required readings for English majors. They call it "the guilt list." Indeed.
It's actually quite depressing how many of those titles I have not read. Luckily I have heard of most of them (though there are a number of new titles). And there are a large number I know we read in class, but I can't be sure that I read the entire thing. I know for a fact that we only read certain books of The Illiad, for example. Does that count? I'm not sure.
I really need more time. I need a week to just spend in bed and sleep each hour of everyday until I can sleep no more because I am truly no longer tired. I need another week to finish Gracie's birth announcement (I just dawned on me that she is 1.5 years old now and I really need to get cracking). Then another week, maybe two, to just bum around and take it easy. Work on quilting projects. Work on the geneaology site. Clean my desk at home. Then I'll be ready to come back to work and focus on work projects.
As I was walking to work today, I came upon a crisp 20 dollar bill lying on the walkway. I glanced quickly around, to see if there was anyone nearby who might have dropped it. Surprisingly, there was no one nearby. I looked around some more, thinking perhaps it was a trick. The bill must be attached to a wire and a duo of adolecent boys would snicker loudly as I bent over to pick it up, just to have it jump out of my reach.
But no... there were no wires. I easily snatched up the bill, put it in my pocket, and continued unmolested to BART. Some days I guess you do get lucky.
I swear, some days I just shouldn't get out of bed. I'm in San Diego working on a project. Here's a brief list of things I've forgotten/have gone less then ideally:
1) Checked-in at the airport at 5:20 yesterday for a 5:40 flight. (If you know me at all you will know how much stress this caused me - I'm ALWAYS there a hour ahead. At least.)
2) My bag didn't make it on the plane with me. (Luckily it arrived in the middle of the night.)
3) I forgot to bring any clean bras with me.
4) I forgot the meds I picked up at the pharmacy Sunday afternoon, the thing that made me late to the airport.
5) I slipped in the shower this morning and banged my head against the wall and buggered my foot.
6) I forgot the map to the client's office once we were ready to leave.
7) I got up too late and basically missed breakfast and had to beg the hostess to get me a croissant.
Luckily, I've managed to land on my feet and deal with most all of this. Mostly I just feel stupid. But when you are sitting in front of a client all day the last thing you want to feel is stupid.
Hopefully tonight I'll be able to sleep and will be more with it tomorrow. Yeah. And the sky might turn to yogurt.
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