February 22, 2007
~ leapt from faith ~
Earlier today I was thinking about how I'd really like to go on a hot air balloon ride. There are many adventurous sorts of activites which I consider myself to be much too afraid to attempt - - skydiving, bungee jumping, rockclimbing - - they mainly involve the prospect of my person being high above the ground and the possibility that the mechanism used for safety could fail. This is not to say that I wouldn't be shivering in my booties, but that in spite of my cold sweats and rapid heart rate, I feel that I could really enjoy a hot air balloon ride.
In other news, I have been giving considerable thought to becoming an instructor of something. I've had several opportunities recently to train some people on stuff, and I have found it very rewarding. From these opportunities, I have been requested to train more and more people on stuff, in addition to developing training guides and tools to validate competency. This has given me an excuse to perform literature searches on these subjects and I feel that I am attaining a good grasp on the theory behind knowledge retention. One of my supervisors forwarded me a job description for a program instructor, and while I don't feel qualified at this point in time, I'm thinking about transitioning my work towards something similar.
Right now, however, I'm thinking that it's about time for a raise. Last week, some hooligan decided to depress a knife into one of my car tires. I haven't had an opportunity to have it fixed. Tonight, Josh and I plan to go snowboarding and, since I didn't want to drive up the mountain on my spare tire, Josh offered to spend his day off taking my car to the tire-fix-it place. So, I handed to him my car keys and a blank check, believing that these tools would be all that he would need to complete the mission. Unfortunately, when he tried to start the car, it wouldn't start. Now, I've known for a while that I need a new car battery, but I've always managed to get it started before. I'm not very good at car maintenance stuff. With the help of a friendly neighbor friend, Josh was able to jump start the car and take it to the shop. Of course, the people at the shop noticed that one of my other tires had become particularly bald and needed replacement. So, what was at the beginning of the day an ordeal that I thought would be no biggie, and that my insurance would cover, turned out to be a big deal and has cost me a lot more money. Obviously, I had to have Josh take back the blank check because I don't have the kind of money to cover it (what with the whole "living paycheck to paycheck" thing) and I had to put it all on the credit card. Anyway, I'm in a lame mood but I am glad that I have such a wonderful boyfriend who didn't appear to mind helping me with this on his day off.
What is especially dumb about this is that I am not even a regular car driver! On a daily basis, I walk or ride my bike everywhere, and I only drive about once a week to places that are too far for self-propelled transport. I go through a single tank of gas a month! Yet, I pay $72 a month in insurance, along with expensive yearly maintenance. Earlier today I was contemplating selling my car...but realized that was a stupid idea because I live in a city that has virtually no public transit and I like to do things like going snowboarding that require a vehicle to get up to the mountain.
Also, last night I did something to further facilitate my self-propelled transport. I purchased a pair of Jandd grocery bag panniers that fit perfectly onto the back of my new bicycle and are the exact size of a paper grocery bag. Directly after buying it, I then rode my bicycle over to the grocery store and performed my week's worth of grocery shopping. I did not limit my normal grocery buying, and found that everything fit wonderfully into my new panniers. Riding home from the grocery store, my groceries remained snuggly in their pannier home, even when I was riding up and down curbs.
February 16, 2007
~ the green lantern ~
I'd like to stop what I'm doing for a moment and reflect upon the problems of those around me. In my job, I will occasionally encounter someone who is frustrated about something and who feels inclined to tell me a convoluted summary of the frustration. And it's not that I don't care about the problems of others, or that I view myself as superior to their problems...but that I perceive the source of these problems as originating within the individuals themselves. As much as I hate to admit my own conservative perceptions of an individual's responsibility to themselves, I wish more of these problem-havers would take a little bit more initiative about their own accountability. Perhaps and example would serve me here....
This morning, a female came in who was very frustrated. She provided me with a long story about how some group didn't receive her school transcripts and that now she can't work. This had absolutely nothing to do with me, my job, my department, or my organization. In fact, I have absolutely no idea why she decided to walk into the office and tell me about this. But, given the nature of my employer, the general public does tend to think that we are involved in things that we are not. Thus, it is quite common for a member of the general public to approach me in my function as employee with this huge problem that has nothing to do with anything. As I was listening to her story and the manner in which she was articulating the problem, I came to feel that the source of her problem came from her malunderstanding of the way that bureaucratic processes within the world work. In my experience with people who are frustrated in the manner that she was frustrated, I have come to understand that frustration breeds impatience that keeps them from calmly steppping back from the situation and rationally figuring out what has gone wrong. Instead, their frustration creates this massive hypertensive reaction and they cannot seem capable of rational thought.
At any rate, I provided this person with a computer and helped her to navigate the internet to locate some information. When she had gotten to the website with the information, I returned to my work. A few minutes later, I overheard her making a phone call to the institution where she gave whoever answered the phone the same long, drawn-out, convoluted story she had told me, and then slammed the phone down and said, "These people are making me crazy!" I then went over to see if I could help her, and I discerned that her reading comprehenion skills were either subpar or not being effectively utilized. I directed her attention to some important information contained on the website that effectively null-and-voided her problem. Her frustration was almost making her head explode at this point and she quickly removed herself from the chair and effectively stormed out. Later this afternoon, she returned, having calmed down, and we got her back to the website where she transcribed onto a piece of paper some pertinent information and got everything all sorted out.
It was simply one of those cases where there is a cumbersome administrative process and the user's frustration beceme all-encompasing and placed blame on the staff person rather than stepping back and calmly trying to understand the process for getting something accomplished.
And perhaps it is that I am deeply involved in cumbersome bureaucratic processes that they neither annoy me nor confuse me. I have the basic understanding that anytime I try to do something, I expect to have to jump through several hoops and be led on a seemingly-wild-goose-chase. It has become my standard mode of operation to do everything in my power to follow the standard process (which may or may not be outlined in any discernable way) before getting frustrated, and if I fail to accomplish what I was doing, I figure that I was just not following the process. Which is to say, even if the process makes no intuitive sense, is ridiculously cumbersome, and is not easily-accessible, it's still your own fault if you let it frustrate you, and shame on you if you focus your anger on a staff person who is merely following protocol.
...I just wanted to get that off my chest.
February 15, 2007
~ nicklebee ~
Sometimes I feel like a real moron, you know. In both of my classes, several of my class mates have been working in government for years, and they are always able to discuss the intricacies of bureaucratic processes that I don't have a solid grasp of, citing specific Idaho codes and spontaneously identifying the head of every single agency and department. Despite having read the course textbook, these are things that I haven't been able to pick up on, and my participation in the class discussions is substantially less substantive. Additionally, there seems to be a basic vocabulary that I lack. For example, the other day one of my class mates was monopolizing a large chunk of classtime about some policy she was calling "nicklebee" and I had no idea what she was talking about. She was going on and on, "nicklebee" this "nicklebee" that, and I was feeling increasingly distant from the conversation. Finally, I realized that she was merely sounding out the acronym for No Child Left Behind (NCLB) as "nicklebee". And I felt retarded, as though I'm not a member of this group of people who are so familiar with our eductional policy that they discuss it using weird code words that are not obvious to people who don't live in a world of acronyms. Seriously, "nicklebee", how was I supposed to get that?
In other news, yeesh! I'm so sorry! I am flabbergasted with the concept of "free speech" because not all speech is heard equally. Speaking of No Child Left Behind, I almost wish that there were a law restricting people's speech, especially because I fear that our educational system is going to produce even more inarticulate and malinformed citizens. Last night over sushi, Josh and I discussed the possibility of expatriating. My fear of No Child Left Behind is greater than my fear of war, famine, disease, and terrorism combined. Ignorance terrifies me.
February 13, 2007
~ packing a punch! ~
Last weekend I finished knitting a sweater that I've been working on off and on for over a year. The project was on hold for about eight months because I ran out of yarn and spent some time on a hunt for it. You may assume correctly that by "finished" I mean that I have actually attached both arms and weaved in my ends, which is not evidenced by this photo. A funny thing happened last week when I wore the sweater to work. In the morning (prior to going to work), I had plucked the sweater from my floor where it had been resting, and obviously did not pay too much attention when I pulled it over my torso. After I had arrived to work and was getting coffee, I was bragging about my sweater to Amy, when I looked down to point out the nice cabling work and noticed that the cabling was on the inside of the arm at which I was pointing. I have a tendency to sewing the arms to my sweaters on inside-out, and I instantly became hotflashy frustrated thinking that I had done just that. But no, I merely had the sweater on inside-out. Whew! So yes, the sweater has a nifty mini-cable design, which is not very easily seen because of the yarn I used, and is not visible in this photo. Whatever, it fits well.
Last night in class, one of my classmates, in discussing her disdain for the Bush administration, used the phrase "shove it up my crotch."
And yet again, I need to remember to telephone the police and my insurance because of a tire-slasher running amok in my neighborhood.
Also, I had a dental appointment this morning during which the hygenist voiced what good care I have taken of my teeth.
In other trivialities, my parents need a new clothes dryer. After watching the entirety of the Shaggy Dog movie, during which time my clothes were in their dryer, my clothes exited the dryer being just as soggy as when they entered the dryer. Once I arrived home, I proceeded to drape everything about my apartment, thus creating new and exciting uses for my bicycles.
Now, I'm sure that all of you who lead fabulous lives in big fabulous cities find my discussion of my laundry and dental appointments a tad inconsequential, but beneath them flows an undercurrent of marvelocity and amazingnitude. Take last night, for example, after what was one of the most boring three hours of my recent existence in class, I walked home where I drank a glass of wine by myself, ate some kidney beans, and regretted certain aspects of my school schedule. THEN? Josh called and we had this fantastic conversation about a guy he met that day who proclaimed himself to be a prophet. AND THEN?! I brushed my teeth and slipped myself betwixt my sheets and slept on my mattress on the floor of my kitchen, snoozing to the gentle hum of the fridge and the noises from the alley.
February 11, 2007
~ brevity is not my fortress ~
This whole "school" thing may have been a mistake. I miss my spare time.
I discovered a lovely place in the library this afternoon. It has ergonomic chairs and bean bags.
Okay, fine, perhaps I continue to blow everything out of proportion. I have spare time.
Like this morning, while utilizing my parental units' clothing washer and dryer, I watched "The Shaggy Dog" with them. You know, the old one where the guy looks exactly like Ensign Wesley Crusher In fact, while I was watching the film this morning I distinctly remembered wondering, when I was in my early teen years, if there was a genetic relationship between the two individuals.
In other news, the other day Josh and I purchased plane tickets to New York City.
February 9, 2007
~ flippancy of whips ~
As I am sure that everyone has been waiting with bated breath to hear all about what topic I've selected for the paper that is due in less than two weeks. WELL!, after extensive waffling and prodding through the local news and legislative happenings, I finally decided on our failing and soon-to-be-failing-even-more public transporation system. This article summarizes it nicely. Not only is it something that I feel quite passionate about and have a vested interest in, but it also is an extremely interesting topic. Yesterday, I was talking about my paper with some people at work. One of these persons is a former resident of the large social service state known as Sweden and we have engaged in a variety of interesting discussions about a government providing for its people. Sweden, I am a fan! The direction that my research has led me to contemplate getting involved in one of the groupings of interested citizens on the matter of improving our local public transit.
In other news, I have been having a little difficulty with regards to managing the work, life, school balance. Within my work, I have way too much to do. I am still working all kinds of overtime hours even though that wasn't supposed to happen, and I still don't have enough time to get everything done. Then school comes along and I have all kinds of responsibilities. And at the end of the day, there's life. Within life is a variety of items to which I am very committed, the most time consuming being sleep, in addition to those things which I very much enjoy and have no intention of spending less time on (including my boyfriend, knitting, recreation, and other forms of having fun). In the end, I haven't been willing to cut down on the time I spend on those things that I enjoy and want to do, yet I've got all kinds of things that I "have" to do looming over me. yeesh.
Something that is rather frustrating for me is that there are all kinds of fascinating topics that I have thought about blogging, but I continually forget what they are when I am in front of the computer. I really need to have a recorder on me at all times so that none of my brilliance is lost. I have truly amazing wit and insight when no one is around to experience it.
In more other news, I have a pair of truly wonderful bosses. Never in my entire life have I had such quality mentors and bosses who exhibited such compassion and caring towards me. I'm getting all teary eyed just thinking about it. Anyway, I'm returning from having coffee with one of them, during which we had a conversation about the benefits of homeownership. So now I'm having all kinds of fantasies about being a homeowner. Don't get me wrong, I love renting (you know, 'cause I'm not responsible for anything). But I have been thinking for sometime that the next time I move it will be into my own home - - the idea being that I am getting such a fantastic deal on rent right now that there is little point to move unless it results in a dramatic increase in the quality of my residence. Obviously, this is several years off, but I think it could happen if I continue to save my pennies and dimes in my high interest savings account (which, by the way, earned me a whopping $1.86 in interest last month).
February 7, 2007
~ smelling sweetly ~
Last night in class, my professor eluded to having a blog and I've spent a decent amount of the last ten minutes trying to find it. Also, for some reason that is not understood by me, last night she was talking about the British Parliamentary system and she used the phrase "scare the poop out of your enemies" and I had difficulty containing myself. Call me immature, but I find something intrinsically hysterical about the word "poop". giggle, giggle.
In other news, check out the Boise Bus Blog.
I realized last night that my first paper is due in two weeks. I'm stuck on trying to decide on a topic. Why is that always the hardest part about school? sheesh! And it's not as though I'm starved for ideas, I just can't find anything that really wets my noodle.
So, I have been having a ridiculous amount of difficulty with the front basket on my new bicycle. The first basket that I bought when I bought the bicycle had two major faults: (1) whenever I hit a bump, the contents of the basket would flip out, and (2) somehow the shifting cable on the bicycle would get caught on the baset and make my shifting completely off. I tried to fix this in a variety of ways, all of which didn't work and Josh and I ended up spending a long night at the bike shop changing out the housing. I also got a new basket, a basket which did not capture the cable and yank my shifting around and a basket in which the contents would not randomly flip out of. I felt it was the perfect front basket. Unfortunately, on Monday night while I was riding home from my night class, I was crossing a particularly busy street (the intersection right before it turns into an interstate) when the bracket holding the basket onto the bicycle broke and all of my shit scattered everywhere. I was rather peeved. For the last two days, I have been sans front basket and, while I don't have a convenient basket to throw my stuff into, I almost like the feel of riding the bicycle better.
This weekend, I had the amazing pleasure of going cross country skiing with Amy. I have only been cross country skiing once before in my entire life, when I was a very wee tot, and I had a terrible time. Of course, I now have better control over my own appendages so it wasn't nearly as cumbersome as I remember. I had a fantastic time! I almost wanted to go and purchase for myself a whole slew of cross country skiing equipment, but determined that would be a smidge irresponsible.
Especially because this weekend I purchased for myself a pair of skinny jeans which were about the same price as the equipment for cross country skiing. Don't you loathe vanity? If only high-end jean manufacturers would smear poop all over their jeans, then I wouldn't have to buy them. sigh...
