July 2006 Archives
I think I almost caused some road rage today.
I was in a turn lane to get onto the highway, listening to Rachael Maddow, minding my own business. A car with 3 guys in it pulled up next to me and one of them shouted and pointed. I had no idea what he said and yelled, "What?" Then the light changed and I drove off. In my rearview mirror I could see them trying to get over into the turn lane, and it occurred to me that the guy must have asked if he could get over in front of me. Oh well.. he got on the highway. No big deal, right?
Well, about a mile up the highway he pulls up next to me, honks his horn, and gives me the finger. I just stared at him for a moment, and then just started laughing. The guy looked ridiculous, and honestly, making the effort to catch up and get my attention just struck me as pathetic. As I laughed, he grew more angry shaking his wirey finger at me. It was bad, but the angrier he got, the more stupid he looked, and the more I laughed. Then he moved on about a car length in front of me and just hung there for a bit. For a moment I thought he might swerve at me or something, but it was my exit and goodbye.. Just bizarre.
Blackwell said homosexuality "is a lifestyle, it’s a choice, and that lifestyle can be changed. I think it’s a transgression against God’s law, God’s will."
Being ignorant is a choice. Being a homophobe is a choice. Being full of prejudice and hate is a choice. Being a bigot is a choice.
Being gay - not a choice.
Not voting for Blackwell is a choice. Actively working against his campaign is a choice.
(source: Matchup made in heaven)
Health insurance isn't what it used to be. Well, maybe that's not quite right. Maybe they've always tried to screw you. My health insurance sent my EOB showing that everything was "in-network," but when they processed it they did it as out of network. So then I get outrageous bills from the hospital. When I call, they try to tell me that everything is correct. Then I geek out and tell them I've made a spreadsheet of my healthcare costs, and the numbers don't add up. Oh, they say. Perhaps we'll look at this again. Nice..
Lesson: Don't trust your insurance provider!
Tonight rounded out 4 consecutive closes at work. Tomorrow I go in at 8am - we'll see how awake I am at that point in the day. So this weekend I noticed a trend - people don't read. Occasionally I wonder if they actually can't read. People always seem to ask questions regarding products where the answer is printed right there on the package. "Does this include the ink and the paper?" Well, let's look at the box.. hmm.. right there on the front: Contains ink and paper. Oh dear... Oh and by the way, I am an expert in phone batteries. If you describe your phone to me but don't know the model or even make of the phone - just that it's 2.4GHz - well of course I know what kind of battery it takes!
I know people expect me to know everything about the 250,000 products that we carry, but I expect them to read. I know I know.. take a breath.
Last weekend I went out on a lake in a kayak. It was the coolest experience of the camping trip. I mean that in both senses of the word. It was like 90 (humid) degrees by noon each day - you know the kind where you move your arm and you're sweating already. But I digress.. We paddled all over this lake at the state park. It only took us an hour or so to get about a mile out and then paddle back. Of course it was a very calm lake, but it was exhilarating anyway.
I used to have this inflatable boat that I used to take out on one of the lakes near the house. I always enjoyed it because it was energizing because of the exercise, but also relaxing at the same time. I think my raft is too old to take out - I think it would deflate. But I'm thinking a kayak would be fun. Now I'm reading up on kayaks - who knew there were so many different kinds? We'll see where this goes by the end of the summer...
1 month and not a single puff... Actually starting to feel better. My lungs don't feel as... "full" and my chest doesn't hurt as often. Things taste a little different. I think the three biggest challenges were getting really stressed at work last week, camping (during which I am used to smoking probably more than usual), and today when I forgot to put my patch on this morning. Otherwise all good. I think the Ohio Quit Line thinks I'm not doing so well though because I keep missing their calls.
---
1m 11:09 smoke-free, 551 cigs not smoked, $101.94 saved, 1d 21:55 life saved
Can you spot the craziest headline?
Step one: Find time to think about what you're doing for vacation. This can be difficult when you have more things to do in a day than your have hours for. Hint: Add it to your task list to remind yourself...
Step Two: Schedule an appointment with your significant other to jointly decide what you are doing, where you are going, and for how long.
Step Three: Book your reservations so you cannot reconsider on account of having too much crap to do. Hint: Reading the refund policy will only give you the means to rationalize - don't do it!
Step Four: Frontload the rest of your week so you can get everything done. That way you won't have to worry about it on vacation. You will be exhausted from working so hard all week you'll need the recuperation time anyway.
Step Five: Find out where WiFi is available in case your email withdrawal causes an anxiety attack. Hint: Blackberries may not work out in BFE.
Step Six: Who cares about step six?
Step Seven: Schedule an appointment with your suitcase - be sure you have time to pack all the necessities in case you forgot to do something during the week.
Step Eight: Don't forget your nicotine patches.
Step Nine: Find a good book to read so you can relax. Don't obsess about bringing just the right book with you.
Step Ten: Say goodbye to your children/cats/dogs/fish and whatnot.
Step Eleven: Be sure your significant other is in the car before you leave.
Step Twelve: Your PDA chimes to remind you to chill the heck out and relax. Hint: Don't look ahead at next week and all the stuff you have to do because you were on vacation.
Three smoke free weeks...
---
QuitTime says: 3w 12:08 smoke-free, 395 cigs not smoked, $73.08 saved, 1d 8:55 life saved
Gays Across New York State Protest Marriage Ruling
"... a ruling by the Court of Appeals that criticized same-sex couples and said they had no constitutional right to marriage."
How do you like those activist judges now?
My fortune cookie today says:
If you're always a pessimist, consider just how futile that attitude can be.
I know it's not like it's the first ever shuttle launch, but I listened closely as the shuttle launched today. I'm just always amazed at the complexity of the launch, and the awesome power it takes to lift millions of pounds off the ground so quickly. A great day for the folks at NASA who have no doubt worked very hard to get us back into space. I wish the best of luck to our astronauts who are up there right now.
Two smoke free weeks...
---
QuitTime says: 2w 12:10 smoke-free, 265 cigs not smoked, $49.03 saved, 22:05 life saved
Did you know that there is a controversy about whether or not to keep the penny? Citizen action groups have mobilized on both sides of the issue. Citizens for Retiring the Penny is one group, and the pro-penny group is the Americans for Common Cents. I have to wonder if the two groups ever meet each other in protest and how ugly that gets. I'm thinking maybe they throw pennies at each other when it gets really nasty.
(source: It costs U.S. pretty penny to make cents)
This weekend: the wedding.
No, not my wedding. But I was taking pictures of one. Between the two of us taking photos, we shot over 1000 pictures. Of course they weren't all beautiful ones, but a lot of them turned out quite nice. I think so far my favorite is one from the reception that I took when the maid of honor was dancing with one of the flower girls. The little girl wanted to be spun around so she got spun. She spun until her feet lifted off the ground and that's when I snapped the shot. It was an interesting and different perspective on a wedding because you constantly are watching for something to happen, and keeping your finger on the shutter hoping you don't miss anything too important.
I have to add this - I used my new(er) Nikon D50 to take about 500 shots over a 28 hour period and the battery lasted on full charge the whole time. Also used a Nikon Speedlight flash - didn't have to change the batteries the whole evening. I was impressed. (& yes I realize I'm a big geek for being impressed by such silly things...)
Today my family came down for dinner which I always enjoy. The fireworks were rained out this evening though by a rather sudden storm. Maybe they'll try again tomorrow.
Speaking of tomorrow - a vacation day for me filled with errands, housework, and of course a meeting!
