Making It Up As I Go Along #257

MONDAY...
— Slow day. I do Partial Purges (a task I didn’t much enjoy the last time I did it... a year ago). A meeting ends the day.
— Supper with Sheila and a quick trip back to the office to pick up info I meant to bring home in the first place.

TUESDAY...
— Work at home. It’s a long day... evaluation writing is slow and tiring and it’s taking about two hours per. Another day at home will be needed for me to get it all done.

WEDNESDAY...
— Another day working at home. Got the evaluations all done anyway and it’s a good day to be home as there’s snow falling today. Not as much came down as called for but still not a nice day outside.
— Valentine’s Day is basically ignored by me. I e-mailed a group of co-workers to joke with, and recognize them a bit... but that’s it.

THURSDAY...
— Busy day with discussing evaluation work with other supervisors. It’s so cold today (-36 with the wind... -33 F) that a few of us order in for a rare 11:30 round of take out... rather than go to HQ for the cafeteria.
— Get the call, my laptop is ready to be picked up. Going tomorrow after work.

FRIDAY...
— Longish day in the office. Just too tired for it to go by fast.
— Get the computer with Shannon. Get his new TV too... drop it off and go for supper... then my place for computer setup. It takes most of the night. Tiring more so.

SATURDAY...
— Quiet day around the house. Some napping and some work on the laptop.


Rambling Thoughts
I don’t know what to write today. I can’t say I’m in a story telling mood and serious minded rants can only go on so long without sounding preachy and overly caught up in your own importance. So, it’s a mixed bag of stuff... no notes, just things that have recently gone on or have been thought about... or maybe wondered about is a better way to put it.

1... I have a new computer now. The latest I’ve gone before actually holding a Christmas gift but it’s now here in my house. A fine laptop that’ll take over from my old Dell home computer. Of course, going by the logic of such events, I’m typing this week’s writing on the old computer. There is logic to this. The fact is, I can’t find the disk with my copy of WordPerfect on it. And the laptop is without that program for now. Since the rest of the writing had been done on WordPerfect, I figure I’ll stick with it here. Fascinating I know. Still, I now have two computers and a wireless connection to the internet. I’ve become a computer geek who doesn’t know anything about computers.

2... My car, the little red Toyota Echo Hatchback, again shows it’s might. When Shannon and I go for my laptop, we also pick up his widescreen TV. Despite the warnings from the staff at the store... and doubts from Shannon, the massive TV slid right along into my back seat. The little car that could, did... although the view through the back mirror was nothing more than cardboard.

Despite this, I think that car will be hitting the road without me in the fall. The lease runs out then and I feel I must make a change. Little red cars in the hands of single guys don’t do much for the macho image. No wonder I’m alone!

3... Working from home is great. Two days last week had me writing evaluations from home rather than heading in to the office. Sure it isn’t very social to be locked away in the house, but sometimes a lack of social contact does a body good. Especially when it’s freezing and snowy outside and people in this city drive like morons when the weather isn’t ideal.

4... I recently heard how people who own blogs are more likely to be alone and depressed. So maybe it isn’t the little red car causing my single lifestyle after all? And maybe buying a new computer won’t help my life in the love department either? I think I’ll hurry up, post this on my blog, read through some of my previous wallowings, and then go cry in bed.

That’s our society for you... strike fear into the hearts of those who may sit and contemplate. If you think about things, and keep some form of a journal, you’ll die alone and depressed. As far as society is concerned, we’re all better off running out to a monster truck rally with a bunch of yokels and getting so drunk that the only benefit of home is to find a place to pass out.

5... Barack Obama’s middle name is... Hussein! And this guy could be the next president of the United States! Run away, run away!!!

What’s actually funny, in a very sad way, is that there are really people that won’t vote for Obama because of his middle name. And there are important, and supposedly intelligent people of influence in America, who are trying to damage Obama’s reputation by using his full name. I find it most scary that some, from the most powerful nation on earth, could be swayed in their beliefs by something so trivial.

6... Prime Minister Stephen Harper has already started running attack adds on Liberal leader Stephane Dion. He claims that Dion is no leader and he shows clips of Dion appearing to whine immaturely, like a little boy about to be given a time out. I don’t think Harper should point out anything negative about other people’s leadership. The first time I saw footage of Harper, after winning the vote for Prime Minister, he was on his way to a swearing in ceremony. We see him get out of a car, smile and wave, and then turn and start walking in the wrong direction. His handlers had to go round him up and point him towards the door. Plus the guy was shown walking his kid to school and parting ways with a pleasant hand shake!

He who casts stones at an opponent’s image better make sure his own image is in good shape.

7... Is Valentine’s Day the biggest waste of money event in North American calender event history? I can’t even call it a holiday, because it isn’t one! It’s more superficialness in a society that thinks all that really matters is the image that’s publicly shown. So ignore your wife or husband for 90% of the year... as long as you buy lots of flowers or buy him tickets for the big game, you’re showing the world that you both really do love each other.

Not that I’m against showing affection for others. I think people should be more open to those that they care about. I just bristle at the commercialism surrounding this day. Love may be shown in much more meaningful fashion without a cent being spent. But there are too many out there that feel you can only show love by blowing a paycheck.

8... Why NASCAR isn’t a real sport. Race teams see the crew chief getting suspended because of cheating with the type of fuel being put in the car. But the driver is fine and the team is still permitted to race in the Daytona 500. It’s like a sprinter getting caught with steroids in his system but only the trainer gets disciplined.

Professional sports, as a whole, have become corrupted by cash. Fair play is no longer the goal in any pro sport. If a star player is caught cheating, it’s brushed under the rug. Those who are punished are the people that nobody would pay money to go and see. It’s the worry of lost ticket revenues or sponsorship that sports leagues are concerned with... not a fair playing field.

9... Ottawa winter stinks! When I moved here I was glad to get away from the strong winds, wet cold, ice... and who knows what else... of Newfoundland winter. And yes, Ottawa winters come more or less storm free and, if you bundle up, you can go outside without getting too uncomfortable. But getting up at 5:30 in the morning and hearing that it’s -25 outside without the wind and close to -40 with it... that’s just not right! I want the rain of home.

10... Spam e-mails are driving me crazy! I just got an e-mail from Katrina Reeder... and she tells me that porn stars recommend ‘our’ drugs. Then she ends it with a nice smiley face... one of those computer ones that are sideways... :-)

90% of the e-mails I get are spam. Most of them don’t even make sense. Their subject headings say things like ‘of do sheik’ and ‘Re: f bistable’. Who are the people that open these e-mails? Someone must if spammers feel it’s worth their time to send them. Anytime I get this stuff I think about the great computers of Sci-fi TV or movies. Those of Star Trek or Star Wars that can gather and share any information in the history of any civilization in all the galaxy. And then I think of us today... getting adds for sex drugs and university degrees. We’ve got a long way to go. I think it’s time we declare war, not on terror, but upon those loser geeks in their parent’s basements... who’ve got nothing better to do than annoy the rest of us.