| Saturday April 5, 2003 -- 8:50pm My boss's wife called me at home on a Saturday night to tell me she got a grant that is going to make my life slightly more challenging. I need a new job. And many other things. All new. New season, new outlook on life, new job. Not that it interrupted my stellar social life or anything. I was watching "Annie Hall." I like Woody Allen movies. For some reason, I feel very shamed by this. Like there are all these mean kids from high school saying, "Well, yeah! Of course you like Woody Allen movies, you big brainy dork!" When, really, I'm not that big. -- 4:10pm Ha. I am the only person I know who can hurt herself with glue. Seriously. I needed a band aid. I've been a bit in the dumps all week and, while I know it is temporary, it is very disagreeable. This, and the cold weather, must end soon. Come to think of it, they are probably related. -- 7:50am The weather man keeps using the expression, "We dodged the bullet." I swear, he has said it 5 times in the last 20 minutes. Somehow, dodging the bullet does not seem synonymous with, "Make sure you leave at least 30 minutes to scrape off your car." Do I really have to go out there in this mess so I can sit in an empty museum all day, catering to the needs of the few other morons stupid enough to leave their houses today? So far, yes. More so than usual, because I am sure none of the other staff will show up. I really do not get paid enough for this shit. And my coffee tastes like varnish. Friday April 4, 2003 -- 6:15pm Shortly after my last entry, I went to go move my car. When I finally chipped the Superoo out of its ice-case, I rushed back home and ran upstairs to grab my camera. Then I skated back out to the park and took these pictures. This is pretty much all I did today. Well, and I cleaned the bathtub. I lead such an exciting life. Now I'm going to mope. -- 10:20am I think I will defect to Iceland - although I am sure they are not much in the market for annoying American defectors, and although I do not speak a word of... hmm... and although I do not even know what language is spoken in Iceland. It involves a lot of consonants. I know that. Random piece of trivial knowledge, useless, except for when deciding which country to defect to: Iceland and Greenland were named to trick people. Whoever it was that named them (Vikings, or somebody) was trying to convince people to settle in the place called "Greenland." It actually isn't all that green or hospitable. "Iceland," on the other hand, is much more condusive to human life, but they (the Vikings, or somebody) already had enough settlers there, so they gave it an unappealing name. There. Maybe someday that will be a Jeopardy question and you will win lots of money because of my amazing ability to retain useless information. Then, perhaps, you will fund my defection to Iceland. I should definitely not go to work today. -- 10:10am Of course, it could always be worse. -- 9:50am I have decided that this weather is un-American and, furthermore, that it presents a serious threat to our national security. Therefor, I feel it is imperative that we eliminate its potential for mass destruction immediately by making a pre-emptive strike against whoever the hell is in charge of these things. Diplomatic efforts have broken down, and I am left with no choice but to order Spring immediately. I just called Doo-Doo Head at work to ask if I could take today as a personal day. It is very challenging for me to find a day that I can take off without disrupting the balance of the Universe. Thus, I have something like 70 hours of personal time, 50 hours of sick time, and 40 hours of vacation time to use up before I quit. He said, "Let me call you back." Apparently, there are about 2 staff people in the building. I don't really have any reason to take the day off, other than the fact that I woke up in a decent mood and I don't want to ruin it. Oh. And there's the fact that the roads resemble the inside of my freezer, and my car doors are almost certainly welded shut by an inch of stupid ice. Thursday April 3, 2003 -- 9:10am Dear Winter: You've made your point. We are all very impressed. Now move on! Wednesday April 2, 2003 -- 7:35pm Tonight I made sushi. Yum. -- 11:15am It may have just been my imagination, but it seemed like this morning's staff meeting was laced with sexual inuendo. Also, it ended with a discussion regarding whether or not we could charge people $1 each to take a baseball bat to the huge, old, dead copier that has been sitting in the back office for a year. We also have a TV to unload which I would very much like to use for research purposes. See, I started a story once in which all of the action is instigated from a kid hitting a baseball into a television. I'd like to see what it really would look like. It'd be in the name of Art, I swear! After the meeting, the director came to me holding a roll of tickets and said, I swear to God, "Do you have any suggestions as to where I should put these?" I simply took them out of his hand and said, "That's a very dangerous question." Tuesday April 1, 2003 -- 5:50pm Interesting. This morning the clock in my computer was nearly 40 minutes slow. Now it is only 4 minutes slow. Strange things have been going on with this here PC, ever since I installed the security software. I think it's a government conspiracy. Driving through Albany is starting to feel a lot like playing a video game... one of those violent ones that probably cause things like high school shoot outs and the detonation of 5,000 pound bombs. Kids run out into the street, so you have to dodge them. Very flashy pimped-out cars are double parked in the middle of the road, and you definitely don't want to hit them. You have to decide whether or not to fear the ganster-looking teens (I tend to smile at them instead, given my line of work.) and then watch out, because an unbelievably slow old person will appear out of nowhere specifically to cross the street in front of your car (especially if maybe your brakes aren't the greatest.) To top it off, you must swerve frantically and skillfully amongst all of this to avoid becoming permanently embedded in one of the many gaping pot holes. Oh. And they still expect you to stop at red lights, by the way. I deserve bonus points today because I was also attacked by two speeding abulances. Monday March 31, 2003 -- 8:35pm On the other hand, maybe I'm just depressed. Leave it to me to leave the house specifically to go take a movie out from the library but not bring my library card. Erg. Also, everyone I have met that lives in my building is odd-looking. Well, Bob isn't odd-looking. He's just odd. Rich is obese, has a pocket protector, and always smells like cat pee. Lloyd looks like he belongs in Arkansas. Joan looks like she might disintegrate at any moment. Bob just can't decide from one day to the next whether he is feeling patriotic or gay as a nectarine. I keep track by what he has hanging on his door - the star spangled heart-shaped dried flower arrangement or the giant pink plush bunny. I like him though. He sings snippets of opera really loudly at random moments and it scares the crap out of Bennett. -- 5:25pm It has just occured to me that perhaps I am not feeling well. That could explain my inability to stay awake today. I think I have spent so many years feeling miserable that I no longer recognize when I am actually physically ill. Also, it is done. I have deposited two resume/cover letter combos into the mailbox on the corner. If my life were a movie, there would have been dramatically sad music in the background. Instead, a car drove by and a woman laughed. Also, it was windy and cold. Is it wrong of me to want a really easy job? I really could deal with working in a book store or coffee shop right now. Just for a few months until I got bored and wanted to do something real. -- 3:45pm I am (finally) trying to hang the curtains in my bedroom, and it is driving me insane!!!! Sunday March 30, 2003 -- 5:45pm Today has a very Sundayish feel to it. I just returned from a visit with Chris and the kids. Always a sure-fire way to bring a smile to my face. It was great. Maddie threw up on me, then Natalie covered me with pillows. It gave me a very human, warm feeling - or maybe that was just the regurgitated milk I felt. -- 11am Good news! Oh forget it. I just got really bad news the second after I wrote that. :( Anyway, the good thing is that I don't have to go to work today, which is a pleasant surprise, to say the least - especially since I consumed many delicious beers last night. I had a really nice visit with a dear old friend. It's interersting to talk to people who "knew you when." You develop a certain picture of yourself from the past, and now and then it's helpful to have someone who was there point out the flaws in your memory. Thursday March 27, 2003 --9:05pm Good news! I don't have to go to work early tomorrow and teach a program I've never taught, seen, or even read before! I found someone else quite willing to do it. I'm still beat though, so I think I'll go to bed and get up early and try to have a productive morning. -- 8pm For some reason, I am completely wiped out tonight. I think I am going to have to get up early and go teach a program tomorrow too. Yick. What I'd really like to do tomorrow is call in sick and go do something fun outdoors. Of course, the weather man used the "s" word in the forecast this morning, so maybe it's just as well I'll be at work. I have felt a little sad all day. I think it's because of a sad dream I had just before waking up. That always seems to do the trick. I'm pretty sure the dream was my notorious brain's attempt to remind me to feel guilty about plotting to quit the museum. The good news is I finally finished my resume and I got my car back (3 days and $460 later). Wednesday March 26, 2003 -- 6:30pm Funny Staff Meeting Moments Today: 1. Stupid Director and Evil Board President declare that the heating system doesn't work because the museum has "backwards controls issues." It was all I could do not to point out the double entrendre. 2. Cherril, with a straight face, advocates for no alcohol at parties occuring in the museum saying, "You think that because they are adults they will be responsible..." In my mind: "Don't look at Jake. Don't look at Jake!" 3. Stupid Director tells us that Elusive Computer Guy has rigged it so we can check our work email from home (thereby dramatically increasing the terrifying potential for me to reply to work-related emails while intoxicated). He tells us, "Next time you see Elusive Computer Guy, make sure you complicate him." Um...what? My car has at last been freed. Of course, now I'm trapped. I'm not walking 30 minutes in the rain in the dark tonight. I guess I'll get up early tomorrow and go get it. I have missed my Blue Baby! Tuesday March 25, 2003 -- 8pm Guess what I still don't have. Howard called me at 4pm today, very anxious, fearing - I suppose - my red-headed fury. The Superoo needs $400 worth of brakes work, and it would have been done, but Howard had been out all day dealing with the fact that a car had been stolen off his lot. Not exactly comforting on any count. I did manage to get to the museum, which turned out to be a huge mistake. My mood is good these days, and I even make a concerted effort to be cheerful at work, but I can't seem to be in the building more than 15 minutes without becoming a cranky-ass bitch. Strep throat is making the rounds though. Maybe I'll get it and be forced to take a day off. I hate strep throat, but it might be worth it. -- 9:30am I'm considering making some major changes to this site. I created a new photo site because the digital camera makes it so easy to put up new pictures. I'd like to do something (like maybe, um, update them) to the poetry and other writing pages too. "Smarmy" is my Word of the Day today. 2 points to anyone who uses it effectively in any communication with me today. I'm sitting here (on my bedroom floor, which is what serves as a computer desk for me these days) all dressed for work, going nowhere. The Soccer Mom Superoo is being held hostage by Howard, my friendly neighborhood mechanic. I'm sure you know how devestated I am that I have to be late for work. The annoying thing is this: I go in to work an hour early on Tuesdays so I can attend these fairly pointless "Management Meetings." I don't leave an hour early to compensate for this, of course. When I called yesterday afternoon to say I'd probably miss the meeting, el jefe told me it was ok, he had canceled it anyway. Is it really asking too much to inform me when I don't actually have to volunteer my time at work? Monday March 24, 2003 -- 5:00pm Hahaha! Sure sign of Spring in Albany: A man sitting on a park bench wearing a wool hat and no shirt. -- 12:20pm There seems to be a problem with my door bell which causes it to ring primarily when I am either in the shower or sound asleep. I am wasting my day off - or at least it seems to be flying away at an alarming rate. I need another. There's a reason weekends are 2 days long. |
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