I was in an odd place emotionally yesterday. I was very blah, having decided on the way home from work that life is, and always will be, mundane. Even with some exciting things coming up (our party, the trip to New York, the Paul McCartney concert, the trip to Scotland), I was bored with life. I felt unfilfilled, and decided that life could never be exciting. That was yesterday.
Today? Great day. Was motivated and energetic at work. Got a lot accomplished. Booked my hotel room for the New York trip. Submitted check request form so I'll have some of the company's cash when I make the trip. Went to lunch and had a good time at Austin Grill. Got the new Elvis CD. Had my request played on the radio. Found I've lost 2 pounds in the last week. Have all my homework to be turned in done. Premieres of Buffy and Smallville tonight. Whee! Life is good again. I guess my optimistic, happy side just reared its head, as it always does.
Current song in my head:
"Stuck on You" by Elvis
I’m being sent on a business trip. I went on one to Miami, but that was different, in that I didn’t have to make any of my own travel arrangements, and was surrounded by people I knew. Well, maybe not surrounded, but there were a lot of people there that I knew. Anyway, now I’m being sent to New York City. My first real trip, and they don’t start me out with some small town—nope, I’m going straight to the big leagues. It’s a conference in Brooklyn, which is an area that I’ve never been in. So I’m nervous. I need to figure out how to get there and back and where to stay. Do I stay in Brooklyn and be close to the conference, or do I stay in Manhattan, an area I’m more familiar with and comfortable in? How much money am I allowed to spend on a hotel room? On transportation to get there? Ack. I’m comforting myself with the prospect of seeing a show. What show, I don’t know. I may just head to TKTS and leave it to chance. Of course, I don’t know exactly what hours I’m supposed to work…gack. And the subway? Scary. Hopefully they’ll give me some comp time in exchange for me working a weekend. Hey, I’m not a salaried employee. I should be getting paid overtime.
Current song in my head:
“I’m Happy Just to Dance With You” by the Beatles
YOU'RE INVITED!!!
Who? You, silly, didn't you see the above line?
What? Par-tay!
Where? The house in Rockville. Well, obviously there's more than one house in Rockville. I mean, the house I live in in Rockville.
When? Saturday, September 28, around 4 or 5 until whenever.
Why? Well, it's right after Carrie's birthday, and a last hurrah for the summer, and because we meant to have a party all summer.
How? If you're interested, drop me an email or an IM or a phone call. If you don't think you'll want to drive home afterward, feel free to stay over here. There's plenty of room!
I was reading the newspaper this morning and there was an article about astronomers having pictures of a star that no longer exists, and in the pictures, you can see that it’s pulsing. I explained that horribly; read the article for actual details. The concept itself is kind of cool, except that it led to me thinking about mortality, which is something that I try to avoid doing. The whole what happens after we die, is there reincarnation?, will I be alive when the sun goes all supernova and we all wind up freezing to death?, is there a heaven?, what happened to everyone I know who has died?, etc., type of thinking. It’s a bad scene, my friends. Particularly at 7:15 in the morning.
Anyway, the Orioles still suck, but I still enjoy going to see them. I’m looking forward to going to a play tomorrow night, and nervous about resuming my duties at the HOSC. I’m apathetic towards my copyediting class (is it wrong that I really just don’t care what my grade in it is?—It won’t affect me getting reimbursed for the class or anything). I’m upset that Jason evicted Amy instead of Lisa in Big Brother (Jason, dear, think strategically). And I’m really looking forward to not having to come back to the office until Monday morning.
Current song in my head:
“Calculus” by 2Gether
Quoted in The Washington Post:
"I'm plowed of the leadership of Chuck Grassley and Greg Ganske and Jim Leach."
-- President Bush, sounding an agricultural theme, perhaps, in Iowa on Monday
"There's an old saying in Tennessee -- I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee -- that says: Fool me once, shame on [pause] shame on you. [Pause] Fool me [long, uncomfortable, agonizing pause] you can't get fooled again."
-- Bush at East Literature Magnet School in Nashville yesterday
My pants are stapled together. My pants are stapled together. The button—you know, the one at the top of the zipper—broke. The zipper stays up well without the button being buttoned, but it still felt like my pants were going to fall down. For the first time, I wished I wore a belt. That would hold my pants on. But no. So I crept around the mailroom, found a slightly-stronger-than-normal stapler, and stapled my pants together. It’s holding pretty well. I even walked to Barnes & Noble at lunch like this. Impressive, huh? Imagine what I could’ve done if I had duct tape.
I hate corporate-speak. Call a spreadsheet a spreadsheet, don’t call it a matrix. Why did our Board of Directors spend time discussing the need to change it from “Strategic Plan Goals” to “Action Plan Priorities”? Argh. Argh! Okay, must stop thinking about it.
In other news, never underestimate the powers of bad, cheesy 80s movies for raising spirits. I now truly appreciate my sister for giving me Girls Just Want to Have Fun for Christmas.
Current song in my head:
“Ballad of John & Yoko” by the Beatles
Can someone explain why my nice, 3-year-old stereo at home balks at playing certain songs on some CDs, but my 8-year-old portable CD player, which has been totally battered around, stills works perfectly?
I’ve hit that point at work where I don’t have much to do, so I’m not motivated and I goof off. I mean, sure, there are some things that yeah, I need to work on. But I don’t have a lot. So I’m not motivated. Even though they need to be done. That’s why college was so good for me. I always had a lot to work on. Ah well.
Current song in my head:
Finale from Crazy for You
It's a good day. Besides only having to work until 4 and getting paid, something really nice happened at lunch.
I needed to get my bangs trimmed. I've needed to for a while. Today I finally got the motivation to walk over to my regular place, and see if anyone was available to trim my bangs. As it happened, the guy who normally cuts my hair was available, so he comes over and, you know, cuts my bangs, and we chat about baseball for a bit. It only took a few minutes, and as we're walking back to the front of the salon, he says, "No charge," and then refuses when I try to give him a couple bucks as tip. It was so nice, totally brightened my day. What a great guy.
Current song in my head:
"Rockin the Suburbs" by Ben Folds
I'm cat-sitting for Krishni today and tomorrow (she's in Pittsburgh). I'm not staying over and her apartment, but I'll be hanging out there tonight and part of tomorrow, spending quality time with her cat Nikki. I'm looking forward to spending a quiet evening by myself. I'll read, watch some tv...mmm, nice. Always being around people yesterday really got to me; I just wanted some peace and quiet. And people around here have been very loud lately. I really really hate having a cube. People standing right outside my cube-entrance talking loudly is driving me up a wall.
Current song in my head:
"You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" by the Beatles
"Why is the path unclear
When we know home is near?
Understand we'll go hand in hand,
But we'll walk alone in fear.
(Tell me) Where do we go from here?"
-Once More, With Feeling
"I'll always love you New York."
-Ryan Adams
How am I supposed to concentrate in class tomorrow night? I can barely concentrate on anything now.
It’s primary elections today in Maryland, and a lot of the schools are closed because they’re being used as polling places. I just want to say that when I was growing up, my schools were polling places, but we still had to go to school that day. We just couldn’t use the gym. And we didn’t get any of these miscellaneous teacher work days off, either. I wonder if they get them off now? Hmmm.
And I want to say happy birthday to Beaker. Hope it's a great day!
Current song in my head:
“I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues” by Elton John
Stupid controversies rage on...the Great Underwear Commercial Debate. Me? I love that commercial. A lot. Always puts a smile on my face.
Ever have one of those days where you just wanted to get away from life? And I don’t just mean not feeling like working, I mean not feeling like dealing with anyone, or work, or even think about dealing with people and work. Ever wish you could completely make your mind go blank? I guess that’s why I like reading, because if I’m reading, I’m not contemplating my own life.
I was very much in that place this morning. Unmotivated and not wanting to deal with the world, or anyone in it. But lunch helped. I got a free burrito from Baja Fresh (I only had to pay $1.55 for the drink—yay for a corporate coupon!), and sat outside and read. The day is gorgeous. And I got away from myself for a while.
This afternoon I’ve been working consistently, and am looking forward to running errands after work, including getting a pencil sharpener, and continuing my quest for a Swiffer WetJet.
Current song in my head:
“Hot Honey Rag” from Chicago
Headline from USA Today: Ashcroft plan to track aliens hits snag.
Sure, it's technically about immigrants, but still. Hee.
I neglected earlier to go on my rant about Nicholas & Alexandra, the last Tsar and Empress of Russia. I’m currently reading a biography of them, and at the eve of the Russian Revolution, and boy am I getting pissed at Alexandra! Nicky (seriously, his friends called him that) went off to the front to handle The Great War and he foolishly let his darling Sunny (what he called her) run the country. I’m not saying that women are unable to run a country; I’m saying that she shouldn’t have been allowed to run a country. She paid no attention to political matters during the first 20 years of her husband’s reign, and, worse, she was totally under Rasputin’s influence. So if Rasputin didn’t like a cabinet member, she begged Nicky to fire him. So she wound up firing this group of talented, smart people in favor of a bunch of incompetent members of the aristocracy. Argh!
Sorry for the rant, but I've gotten emotionally involved in this story, and even though I know how it turns out, it still upsets me. Stupid stupid stupid.
Current song in my head:
“River of Dreams” by Billy Joel
Today’s my two-year anniversary of working here. Very strange. It almost seems like no time has gone by since I celebrated my one-year anniversary. I dragged everyone to Austin Grill, and even got a free dessert out of it. But this year, it doesn’t seem like a big deal at all. This year, I’ll spend my lunch hour happily reading outside in the courtyard. Meghan’s gone, Krishni’s gone. It’s just kind of strange.
I had my first copyediting class last night. I think I’ll learn a lot from it, but the classes? Meh. It didn’t start well, with the teacher giving the little, “You’ll work really hard for the next 8 weeks, so don’t expect to see much of your family, friends, blah blah blah.” Whatever. I guess I remember college too clearly to really buy into all that. I mean, yeah, I looked at the syllabus and it does look like a good deal of work. But we have a week to do it. In college, we had 2 days to do the same amount of work for one class, but we also had 3 or 4 other classes, in addition to any jobs and extracurricular activities. Plus, the teacher is all, “Nope, no breaks [the class is 2½ hours long], I start on time, and I sometimes go over.” She went 10 minutes over last night, and I could’ve easily cut out a bunch of what she said, and come out as smart.
I was awfully cranky when I got home last night. It took 90 minutes from the end of class to get home. Stupid Metro. The ride itself is 55 minutes, not including time waiting, first at West Falls Church, then at Metro Center. So I’m thinking next week I’ll try driving. The parking probably isn’t any more expensive than taking the Metro (which works out to $5.50 each time).
Anyway, I’m not as cranky today. I’m just trying to plow through the news section—I’m only about halfway there. Gack.
Current song in my head:
“The Entertainer” by Billy Joel
For your amusement:
An alternative to The Onion.
Stupid pictures of dogs. The commentary for each picture is quite enjoyable.
Read about one of the many qualified candidates who wants to be the mayor of Washington, D.C.
And if none of that works, try to imagine the reactions of my co-workers if I decided to listen to Bon Jovi's One Wild Night album while writing the news. Heh.
Current song in my head:
"One Wild Night" by Bon Jovi
I went outside a few minutes ago to deposit a couple of checks and get some cash. And man, it is gorgeous outside! It's a lovely temperature, not too humid, and the sun's out. I'm almost upset I'm going out to lunch today, because it means that I can't spend the hour outside reading. Well, after work, I'll be lounging in the hammock. So if you need me, that's where I'll be.
Current song in my head:
"Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" by Elton John
I woke up this morning at 6:27. My alarm had already gone off twice, and I had 3 minutes before it went off again. And when I woke up at 6:27, I was wide awake. Wide awake and bouncy. But I figured, hey, I'll just sleep the next three minutes, then get up when my alarm goes off. Three minutes later, the alarm went off. And I was nowhere close to being wide awake or bouncy. Dang it!
At least yesterday was a good day. I stayed in my pajamas all day and watched mindless television. Mmm.
Current song in my head:
"Don't Let Me Get Me" by Pink