Beyond the Blog

The Borg of Heaven*


Image found on the Internet and all rights belong to its owner.

Ick! Give me oblivion (Nirvana) any day.

*Thanks to Synaptic Discharge for this interesting link.

Beyond the Blog

Study: Psychopaths in Corporate America

I knew it!

***One of those (work) days***

At work, I noticed the error light on the nearby colour printer is blinking. Being a good temp, I take it upon myself to replace the empty cartridge. I checked with one of the more experienced admin who referred me to Supplies across the parking lot. I mosey over, enjoying the sunshine. No cartridge. So I return to my building and ask him again. He refers me to another person. I contact her and she's able to find the ink for me. Course I have to trudge over to the other building to pick it up.

I replace the cartridge, satisfied my good samaritan deed is over. The printer clicks, then flashes the error light again. I squint to read the message: out of paper. No prob, I think as I go to the nearby copier room where the paper's stored. No paper.

So I trudge over again to the other building, this time not enjoying the weather. I return with the heavy box, my face wet now from the humidity and the fact someone didn't turn the air-conditioner on in our building. I load the paper and am finally reward with junk being spewed out.

Not my issue, I think as, one more act of kindness, I load the other printers around the office and encounter:

• One machine jammed from a prior bodged fax job

• Load too much paper in another machine and have probs opening the drawer to remove the extra paper.

• Another machine's print job starts just as I'm opening the drawer, forcing me to clear the jam.

Grrr. What's that old cliche'? Ah, yes: no good deed goes unpunished. (A settement The Spouse heartily agrees about patients.)

Beyond the Blog

India's low price, high-tech care draw "medical tourists"

Hmmm. Maybe medicine can be outsourced.

Beyond the Blog

guiltbill

Red, hot pink, on black??? I think it's time for an extreme makeover!

***A Day in the Life***

Yesterday was R.'s half-day. After I got home from work, we ate at one of our favorite restaurants. Empty space greeted us; the weather had driven most folks from eating out. We chatted with the servers for quite some time before finally ordering our regular dish.

Preparation for the house remodeling continues. R. spent considerable time that afternoon researching brands for the new stove top, the vent, and the dishwasher. I promised to look at the printouts later. We discussed our weekend and vacation plans. There's an author signing, for example, this weekend.

Drenching rains had bombarded us when we left that evening but had cleared when we arrived at the restaurant. They were still gone when we were finished. We ended the evening watching anime. We can't believe how Hunter X Hunter continues to get better. I read several chapters in the River God's Vengeance. As I finally drifted to sleep, I thought how I needed to start Kavalier and Clay.

Updated Way (Words) and Forge (Weights).

***In a company of friends***

I met GAC and CS last night. CS was training a new volunteer. As the four of us chatted, I reflected on the joy of good company.

My nature embraces both solitude and companionship. I don't mind being alone. I would have no problem attending a movie by myself. Yet I get a pleasure in joining groups and basking in their energies. As a teen I called it "the recharge" and relied on it more than soda to keep my already prodigious energies levels up.

Some of my happiest days as a teen was playing role-playing games. We branched out, though: we'd go to the movies together, swim in the pool, call each other, and many other activities. We never rough-housed, though: looking in retrospect, none of us were of that nature.

Now the faces and subjects have changed. GAC, CS, and the volunteer talked about our histories: schools, former and current jobs, and books. K. works in a local bookstore and loves to read. We immediately struck simpatico as we discussed mutual interest in fantasy and manga.

GAC and I met at our regular feeding hole after CS shift ended. There we chatted about books including the new winner of the Booker prize. (R. got upset this morn when I revealed the winner, wanting that information last night to order the book.
Ah, well.) CS joined us and GAC launched into a fascinating description of his trip to Disneyworld. I now know where R. and I will be heading for vacation in the near future.

A discussion on what would happen if the earth had no moon in the parking lot and I returned home to the waiting (and warm) arms of a spouse. As I drove under the increasingly cloudy sky, I reflected the past and the present but--most of all--another wonderful evening in the company of friends.

Image found on the Internet and all rights belong to its owner.

***Letting go***

Yesterday was one of those lessons about not letting your thoughts become your reality.

Work was going fine until the last hour. Then my boss (the client) handed me something that made me question the assignment's duration. The fear continued to gnaw at me as I drove home. Not even Discovery or the Science Channel could banish the illusion. I called R. and the brief conversation made me realize what was happening: I was being sensitive.

I was hungry. I was very sleepy. And the damned weather was getting cloudy. (Yes, I do suffer that seasonal thingie.) All these combined to make my emotional state one sad puppy.


Suffering arises from attachment to desires


That is the Second Noble Truth in Buddhism. I remembered it after taking the necessary deep breath to let go of my desire for stability in life. Of course it didn't work (I don't have enough jowls to be Buddha or the long dress of Kwannon) but I detached myself enough to gather strength to go to the gym.

The illusion (and my attachment to it) continued to bother me later that evening. Even watching Hunter X Hunter with The Spouse made me realized how much I had allowed it into my psyche.
But as I write this post, I begin to see what the anxiety as it is (fleeting) and--even more importantly--I've taken another step along the Way.

Beyond the Blog

Boy the Bear's Age Gauge

Clever and interesting.

You said your birthday is X / XX / 1969 which means you are 35 years old and about:

52 years 7 months younger than Walter Cronkite, age 87
49 years 0 months younger than Pope John Paul II, age 84
44 years 11 months younger than George Herbert Bush, age 80
37 years 8 months younger than Barbara Walters, age 73
35 years 6 months younger than Larry King, age 70
29 years 4 months younger than Ted Koppel, age 64
25 years 11 months younger than Geraldo Rivera, age 61
22 years 11 months younger than George W. Bush, age 58
17 years 10 months younger than Jesse Ventura, age 53
13 years 7 months younger than Bill Gates, age 48
8 years 9 months younger than Cal Ripken Jr., age 44
2 years 11 months younger than Mike Tyson, age 38
1 year 2 months older than Jennifer Lopez, age 34
6 years 7 months older than Tiger Woods, age 28
13 years 1 month older than Prince William, age 22

and that you were:

32 years old at the time of the 9-11 attack on America
30 years old on the first day of Y2K
28 years old when Princess Diana was killed in a car crash
25 years old at the time of Oklahoma City bombing
25 years old when O. J. Simpson was charged with murder
23 years old at the time of the 93 bombing of the World Trade Center
21 years old when Operation Desert Storm began
20 years old during the fall of the Berlin Wall
16 years old when the space shuttle Challenger exploded
14 years old when Apple introduced the Macintosh
14 years old during Sally Ride's travel in space
11 years old when Pres. Reagan was shot by John Hinckley, Jr.
10 years old at the time the Iran hostage crisis began
7 years old on the U.S.'s bicentennial Fourth of July
5 years old when President Nixon left office
2 years old when Alabama Gov. George C. Wallace was shot
not yet 1 year old at the time the first man stepped on the moon

and

36 years 3 months younger than Yoko Ono, age 71
28 years 0 months younger than Bob Dylan, age 63
25 years 10 months younger than Mick Jagger, age 61
24 years 2 months younger than Eric Clapton, age 59
21 years 0 months younger than Stevie Nicks, age 56
13 years 7 months younger than David Lee Roth, age 49
10 years 9 months younger than Madonna, age 46
7 years 3 months younger than Jon Bon Jovi, age 42
2 years 2 months younger than Billy Corgan, age 37
0 years 10 months older than Mariah Carey, age 34
5 years 0 months older than Alanis Morissette, age 30
12 years 6 months older than Britney Spears, age 22

and when these songs were topping the charts
and these events occurred your age was:

Me and Bobby McGee, Janis Joplin: 1
ABC TV premieres In Concert: 3
Time in a Bottle, Jim Croce: 4
I Shot the Sheriff, Eric Clapton: 5
Silly Love Songs, Wings: 6
Elvis Presley Dies: 8
Do Ya Think I'm Sexy, Rod Stewart: 9
Another Brick in the Wall, Pink Floyd: 10
John Lennon is shot to death: 11
MTV makes its debut: 12
Who Can it be Now, Men at Work: 13
The recording of We Are The World: 15
Walk Like an Egyptian, Bangles: 17
Didn't We Almost have it all, Whitney Houston: 18
Back In The U.S.S.R. is released exclusively in Russia: 19
Nothing Compares 2 U, Sinead O'Connor: 20
Emotions, Mariah Carey: 22
Fleetwood Mac perform at Bill Clinton's inauguration: 23
The Sign, Ace Of Base: 24
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum opens: 26

and

43 years 0 months younger than Andy Griffith, age 78
39 years 6 months younger than Dick Clark, age 74
38 years 2 months younger than Leonard Nimoy, age 73
36 years 1 month younger than Carol Burnett, age 71
33 years 4 months younger than Alan Alda, age 68
31 years 10 months younger than Bill Cosby, age 67
26 years 6 months younger than Linda Evans, age 61
24 years 4 months younger than Tom Selleck, age 59
21 years 5 months younger than Ted Danson, age 56
19 years 1 month younger than Jay Leno, age 54
15 years 4 months younger than Oprah Winfrey, age 50
14 years 3 months younger than Kelsey Grammer, age 49
11 years 0 months younger than Drew Carey, age 46
8 years 0 months younger than Michael J. Fox, age 43
4 years 6 months younger than Calista Flockhart, age 39
0 years 3 months younger than Jennifer Aniston, age 35
3 years 7 months older than Alyssa Milano, age 31
8 years 6 months older than Colin Hanks, age 26
14 years 3 months older than Mila Kunis, age 21
22 years 1 month older than Madylin Sweeten, age 13

and that you were:

1 years old when All in the Family was first shown
3 years old at the time the TV series M*A*S*H began
6 years old when Saturday Night Live first aired
8 years old when CBS introduced Dallas
11 years old during the first airing of Hill Street Blues
13 years old at the time the first Cheers episode was televised
17 years old when L.A. Law was first aired on TV
17 years old at the time the series Married with Children began
21 years old when Seinfeld was first televised
22 years old in the month Home Improvement began
25 years old at the time the TV series Friends began
27 years old when Everybody Loves Raymond first aired
30 years old when Who Wants To Be A Millionaire began in the US

and

50 years 4 months younger than Zsa Zsa Gabor, age 85
39 years 0 months younger than Clint Eastwood, age 74
36 years 3 months younger than Kim Novak, age 71
33 years 3 months younger than Burt Reynolds, age 68
29 years 4 months younger than Nick Nolte, age 64
28 years 1 month younger than Ann-Margret, age 63
22 years 2 months younger than Billy Crystal, age 57
19 years 6 months younger than Whoopi Goldberg, age 54
16 years 10 months younger than Robin Williams, age 52
12 years 11 months younger than Tom Hanks, age 48
10 years 6 months younger than Jamie Lee Curtis, age 45
8 years 2 months younger than Eddie Murphy, age 43
1 year 2 months older than Jennifer Lopez, age 34
9 years 9 months older than Jennifer Love Hewitt, age 25
18 years 11 months older than Haley Joel Osment, age 16

and when these movies were released in the U.S. your age was:

The Godfather: 2
American Graffiti: 4
Jaws: 6
Star Wars: 8
Animal House: 9
Star Trek: The Motion Picture: 10
ET: 13
The Terminator: 15
Top Gun: 16
Planes, Trains & Automobiles: 18
Steel Magnolias: 20
Home Alone: 21
Wayne's World: 22
Jurassic Park: 24
Forrest Gump: 25
Fargo: 26
Saving Private Ryan: 29
Toy Story 2: 30

***Weekend Words***

The entire weekend was shaped by two things: R. was on-call Saturday and I'd be joining my friends to see the play, Laura, that evening.

After R. left for work Saturday morning, I prepped up to hit the gym and attend a step class. I headed out to one of my favorite restaurants, getting there early enough to be the very first patron. I overate, of course, and was forced to nap off the food.

The rest of the afternoon was spent in preparation for NaNoWriMo. The darkening skies hinted of the rains to come. I headed out to Huntington Beach around 1840 to join my friends for the play and was the first to arrive. GAC parked shortly afterwards, then CS, who had been caught up in traffic caused by raindrops. (Yes, us SoCalifornians are not used to wet ground unless it's snow.)

Since the play's a mystery, I really can't go into much depth without spoiling it. I wasn't impressed, though, with the production. Though the set was well done and the actors performed as expected, the entire presentation felt...flat.

We were hungry after it was over. We first checked out Coco's but discovered it was closed. We then drove out to Marie Callendars. The restaurant was open, fortunately, for by this time the rains were drenching the parched streets. And, of course, I couldn't find my umbrella in the car. Wet, I was joined by the others.

GAC discuss in his blog about the other customers in the restaurant. After we moved to a more quiet spot, we went over the play. They both enjoyed it more than I did though understood my opinions.

Topics drifted. One of the best, to me, was what we would each change if we had a chance to redo college. I learned a lot about my friends that evening, especially GAC (whom I've never really felt connected.) Hearing about their lives and their current situations, I sometimes wondered if I settled down too soon at the age of 24. What would I have become had I been single after college? I dismissed such thoughts after getting home and speaking with The Spouse. On-call had been quiet up to that point and we both hoped it would stay that way. Alas, it was not to be: R. got awoken at 0300 Sunday and didn't get back to home and sleep until 0700.

I didn't go to bed until early Sunday myself. I heard the rains when they slammed down throughout the night. I found the sound quite comforting.

I didn't attend the workout class at 0830. I probably would have slept until noon except one of my sister's called. We chatted for quite some time as she filled me in on her upcoming business trip to Florida and the buracracy involved in that fiasco. She also explained why she and my brother-in-law were planning to have another child.

I ran errands. Picked up my med, then deposited my weekly check. Or tried too. To my chagrin, the check was a note indicating that my pay had been directly deposited as I had directed weeks ago. I hadn't been told the process had finally activated and hadn't bother to review the check except the amount.

Got a haircut next. The new stylist was an interesting woman. She's of mixed ancestry: caucasian and filipino. She told me the story of how her father abandoned her after her mother passed away. She later discovered his other children years later through a freak visit to a doctor who turned out to be one of his childhood friends.

Spent the rest of the afternoon at the coffeeshop continuing to prep up for NaNoWriMo.

R. finally joined me; we watched DVDs for the rest of the evening.

Overall, a relaxing evening.