Enjablog

Standing up for democracy…by sitting down

Started the weekend off with some loafing around. Then, Saturday was move-in day for Chad. Got up early to do the box thing with my sister. Took a nap. Got up to open the door. Loafed some more while the boys moved heavy things. Waited until they left to get ready for another nap. Went on a book run, which ended up being a wild goose chase. Resorted to getting a gift card for Mindless instead. Missed out on Bracken’s Baltimore extravaganza so I could go volunteer for Event Solutions on Sunday.

Ok, so a convention planned by event planners for event planners. You’d think they would have had everything running smoothly, everyone knows where they need to be and when to be there… Admittedly, I haven’t been to that many conventions. Mostly engineering ones, actually. But even so, I have never seen so many clueless people gathered in one place before. From the attendees who couldn’t figure out which speaker they wanted to see or where they were supposed to be, even though they had a listing of all the lectures and room numbers, to the planners who were excessively inefficient with the number of people they thought they needed and the number of people they had available, to the volunteers who weren’t given sufficient directions or supplies… I know it’s not my job and I’m sure it’s harder than it looks. But you’d think for people who do this for a living and have planned this for other people who do this for a living, they would be better at it. And, possibly, they would even have lectures addressing issues that weren’t so basic any person who has attended a 12-year-old’s birthday party, either as a guest, parent, or clown, would already know it. Maybe that’s just me. In any case, not nearly as fun as a lot of the other events I’ve helped out with, nor were the volunteers treated as well. No lunch or anything. No one even offered me a cookie the entire day. Now that’s a poorly planned event if ever I saw one.

Ate at Hooters for the first time ever. Not all that exciting. They did have a cool system for putting their orders in though. They had cables running at a height of about 6 feet and then had clips hanging off of them. Clip the order in, give it a push, and off it slides to the bar where they make the orders and then yell really loudly when the food is done.

After that, adventures on the metro. I tricked people into thinking I was nice. Heh heh heh… Suckers.

Wandered around after I got off the metro looking for Mindless’s party. Called a few people and caught up on gossip as I wandered about. Arrived for a lively evening of vegetarian cuisine, political banter, and the inevitable segregated group of TJ people hanging out together. ;) Not surprising, of course. Anyway, it was cool. Met a bunch of people and hung out for a few hours before heading home.

That’s about it. Spent today evening doing laundry and miscellaneous chores I put off this weekend. Still have a list of things to do, places to be, and people to see, but tomorrow is Gilmore Girls Guesday. Need to find out when the season starts up again though. I’m off! :) -J.

QOTD: “you have like barbie hair”

LOTD: Word Count

Wow… Beware of google stalkers. My last 20 search referrals each included one of two certain American, male, Olympic swimmers combined with searches of girlfriend, pictures, or married. Ok, girls? (I assume girls.) Don’t be creepy. Try dating someone you know. Or possibly going out and meeting someone new. Don’t stalk someone just because he’s been televised internationally with most of his clothes off. Your odds are so much better of finding someone less famous and completely committed to other things in his life. There are plenty of hot guys available who don’t have girls from various countries throwing themselves at them. Go find one of those. -J.

See? You shouldn’t call pregnant people fat either:

New York: Hi! Love your column! I am about five months pregnant (first time). I have now had two people say to me, “Wow you’re really big!” or “You look really pregnant!” And then act astonished that the baby isn’t due for four more months. I find this incredibly annoying. I have gained about five pounds more than I should (according to the books), but I am trying really hard to eat well and exercise. Any suggestions on how to handle this. Right now I just want to sock them, which I think is probably a bad way to handle it.

Thanks!

Carolyn Hax: You’d make your point, though.

Still, I’m not sure you’d be right. Yes being told you’re really big is somewhat insensitive, considering what society currently thinks of women and largeness, but: you’re PREGNANT. Big is in your belly. Big is good. Big is a compliment. Unless they ask whether you’re carrying a twin in your butt, in which case it’s not a compliment.

Columbia, Md.: Ok, after reading the response from the “really big” pregnant woman, I wonder if I have been horribly rude all these years. When a woman I know is pregnant, and excited about it, typically when I see her around 4-5+ months (especially if I found out the news via phone) I say (excitedly) “Wow! You really look pregnant/are really showing!” or something like that. To me, it’s like admiring shoes she bought and is really psyched about, but am I wrong? I’m a woman, and only do this with people I consider good friends if it matters.

Carolyn Hax: Idunno, said by the right person in the right way, just about anything is okay, and said by the wrong person the wrong way, just about anything is offensive. I don’t want to say, “Yeah, that’s bad,” and end up making you bite your tongue on genuine expressions of admiration.

Suggestions for the stumped: For your good friends, you can’t lose with, “Wow, you look beautiful”– and if they don’t look beautiful or arent’ good friends, “Wow, you look so happy.”

Anywhere: Hi Carolyn,

So here’s a problem I never thought I’d have. An unintentional side effect of a medical issue is that I have lost a lot of weight in the last year. I am eating three square meals a day, taking medicine, and working with my doctor to get back to a healthy weight. In the meantime, co-workers will come up to me and remark, “Gee, you sure are skinny” or something like that. This is really awkward for me because I really don’t know how to respond. I don’t know some of these people well and I don’t feel that I should have to disclose my medical history on demand. Plus, I’m never sure if the remark is intended as a misguided compliment or as an implication that I am purposefully hurting myself. What’s a good response to this? “Mind your own business” seems kind of harsh, but on the other hand, I would never go up to someone and say “Gee, you look pudgy today.”

Thoughts?

Thanks.

Carolyn Hax: I imagine some mean it as a compliment and some are expressing concern. To all I’d try just saying, “Thanks.” Then neither of you will know what you’re thanking them for, and you can use that confusion to change the subject.

Wow. Her chat was really good this week. Stop pointing at people and laughing. Well, unless they’re being angry. Then laugh away! :) -J.

Just a rambling to-do list today. Nothing interesting.

Didn’t do the errands thing yesterday. Got lunch with the roomie, took a nap, hung out some more. Intended to make cookies, but ended up eating cookies instead. Need to be productive today. Put my shelf doober together. Spied on the neighbors. This week: fire trucks. Went to bed at 5. Got up at 10 to put together packages to mail. Took a nap while waiting for the new roomie to move in. Maybe watching the VT-USC game tonight. Need to track down Jackee about house stuff. Need to do the birthday present shopping thing. Holding onto my sanity with my last ounce of strength. Planning yet another weekend when I can hole up and hide from the world, but somehow it just never seems to work out. Maybe mid-September. Need to mark calendar. Bank, groceries, library, bookstore, need more cookies… Tomorrow should be fun. Hope I can stay awake. :) -J.

QOTD: Real Men of Genius. Today we salute you, Mr. Compulsive Away Message Checker. While most people are out actually having a fun life, you are at home reading about it on your computer screen. Right mouse click, Get Buddy Info, or the little Info box at the bottom of the Buddy List. You have people on that list you haven’t talked to in years, but you still loyally read their away messages every day to see what they’re up to. So, crack open an ice cold Bud Light, Marauder of the Mousepad, and don’t wander too far from your computer because you never know when someone’s away message may change.

LOTD: Template generator that I used to make over my blog to make it look like it used to, but different.

Happy birthday, Mindless!
Happy birthday, Bracken! (I’m not sure what day exactly his birthday is on. But that’s ok, because he doesn’t read my blog.)

Ok, so roommates:

If, for instance, your roommate has not been seen in 4 days and you do not know where said roommate is, that might be a good time to knock on their door to check and see if they’re alive/in there/ok.

If you have reason to suspect that your roommate might be ill, you should find out if they’re ok and offer to bring them water/soup/drugs.

If you are acquainted with the roommates of a missing friend, it would not be inappropriate to ask them if the missing person is ok. If they refuse to check, ask if you may visit to check on the missing person.

I find it disconcerting that people would not be concerned when someone they know is acting out of the ordinary. Have a smile. Be a friend. Spy on your neighbors and bring me gossip. :) -J.

LOTD: Things my girlfriend and I have argued about

QOTD: seen on a t-shirt– “got for my girlfriend (awesome trade)”

Ooh look at the pretty make-over. Off to bed I go. :) -J.

LOTD: Blender-phone

QOTD stolen from Tom (the other other Tom):

A herd of buffalo can only move as fast as the slowest buffalo, and when the herd is hunted, it is the slowest and weakest ones at the back that are killed first. This natural selection is good for the herd as a whole, because the general speed and health of the whole is maintained or even improved by the regular culling of the weakest members. In much the same way, the human brain can operate only as fast as the slowest brain cells through which the electrical signals pass. Recent epidemiological studies have shown that while excessive intake of alcohol kills off brain cells, it attacks the slowest and weakest brain cells first. Thus, regular consumption of beer helps eliminate the weaker cells, constantly making the brain a faster and more efficient machine. The result of this in-depth study verifies and validates the causal link between all-weekend parties and job related performance. It also explains why, after a few short years of leaving a university and getting married, most professionals cannot keep up with the performance of the new graduates. Only those few that stick to the strict regimen of voracious alcoholic consumption can maintain the intellectual levels that they achieve during their college years. So, this is a call to arms. As our country is losing its technological edge, we must not shudder in our homes. Get back into the bars. Quaff that pint. Share that handle. Your company and country need you to be at your peak, and you shouldn’t deny yourself the career that you could have. Take life by the bottle and be all that you can be. Forward this to all of your friends, acquaintances and co-workers that may be in danger of losing their edge.

I find it inappropriate for someone in a professional setting to tell another person that they are stupid. Sure there are stupid people. There are stupid people everywhere. Just because you paid a lot of money to get a fancy piece of paper does not make you smarter than someone without a piece of paper or someone with a less shiny piece of paper. Anyway. Regardless, whatever your qualifications or level of intelligence, work is work. It’s a professional setting and you have to be polite, no matter what. You have to be nice to people. You have to act like other people’s opinions matter. You have to act like it’s your job. Be nice.

In other news… I dunno. Writer’s block. Or maybe just private. Started writing again. We’ll see where that takes me. Evenings and weekends are jam-packed. Need to do so many things and run errands and whatnot. We’ll see what I can accomplish. Later. :) -J.

QOTD: “nothing says friendship like getting kicked in the shins”

LOTD: Yay for WINC FM for collecting stuff for care packages! :)

Ok, so I’m being all responsible and taking care of my finances and whatnot (with the help of my savvy sister)… and I just want to give ING Direct a plug. They help me make so much monies just for letting my money sit around. Let me know if you want to open an account with them, so I can send you a referral. That way, you get $25 and I get $10. It’s all very exciting. :) -J.

I do believe I just assisted with the fastest move-in ever. It took me over a day to move 10 feet across the hall. Tommy moved all his stuff in just around 15 minutes. Car full of stuff. And all done. Going to go be lazy now. And contemplate what of my life I want to throw away so I can move too. :) -J.

QOTD: “Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.” -President George W. Bush

LOTD: Centrifugal birth

Heard this weekend that Hitler was behind the idea of having a torch relay to open the Olympic games. Checked… and it’s still possible, but a couple of sources I checked out said it was Carl Diem:

Dr. Carl Diem (born June 24, 1882 in Würzburg - died December 17, 1962 in Cologne) was the originator of the modern tradition of the Olympic torch relay.

The Olympic torch is not a tradition dating to ancient Greece. The relay was invented by Carl Diem, a German who had been planning the 1916 Olympic Games at Berlin when they were canceled because of World War I.

The long-distance torch relay became tradition with the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

Twenty years later, Diem returned, organizing the 1936 summer games under Hitler. Seeking to glamorize the games with an ancient aura, Diem staged the first lighting of the Olympic flame. When the torches were lit at Berlin, ostensibly to signify unity among nations, they carried the logo of the manufacturer, Krupp, the huge munitions company that armed Germany for two world wars. It remains unclear whether Diem had Nazi sympathies.

From friends to family to home, my life is indeed a 3-ring circus. I don’t even know where work gets factored into all that. In any case, spent time with a few 3-lettered men this weekend. It was fun just hanging out again.

Roommates– I moved into Sonny’s room, leaving the two other rooms with bed, lamp, and alarm clock. So much stuff. New roomie moving in tomorrow. Interviewed potential new roomie. To do: Arrange for new roomie and potential new roomie to meet. More moving next weekend.

My mommy got attacked by hornets while mowing the lawn and ended up going into anaphylactic shock. Spent a couple hours at the hospital napping and came home good as new.

Weekend — not enough naps. Not enough reading. Not enough booze. Probably will spend another day arranging/organizing before my room will be in livable order.

Plans — next weekend: Boozin’ it up with Roy, maybe more moving, reading, working an event at the Convention Center, and birthday bash. We’ll see how much of that actually happens. Sleep. -J.

LOTD: Scrabble Championship

QOTD: “what are you..? Some kind of geek moose with coordinate antlers?”

Ok, so my second cousin is in the hospital, and although that is an unfortunate event, I am appalled at this email I was sent:

[He] went for a checkup for a lingering cough Thursday and was sent into the hospital the same afternoon after he was diagnosed with Pneumothorax (collapsed of lung) of the right lung by a pulmonary specialists. A suction tube was inserted into his lung cavity to remove the air and fluid this morning. The tube will stay for a few more days for the lung to heal and stabilized. He is in extreme pain now.

As of Saturday [he] is progressing well, but still extreme pain as he moves (suction tube still in his lung cavity). He may be released Monday.

Please pray for:
Complete healing of the lung to normal capacity.
No infections and complications.
No recurrence.

Thank God that:
The medical procedure went well,
that God has been watching over everything,
that our trip to China was delayed.
That he was diagnosed and treated before school starts.
That he received this as a growing experience in Christ for him and family.

Ok, so I’m all for family updates. And even more than that, I understand that people hold different religious views from me. But really? Praying guidelines? I have to pray for whatever they deem pray-worthy? That’s a bit ridiculous. And if I were God and all of a sudden everyone started bugging me about one kid with the exact same message, that’s a little bit like spam. If they want to say, “Please keep him in your prayers.” Fine. That’s nice. That’s appropriate. But, I demand that you pray for him in the way that I have outlined. That’s absurd. I am not at all inclined to join their religion or pray for their child in the ways they have stated for me. I hope that he gets better and that he will be well. But I will thank no one for making him sick, nor will I act as though this was destined and their presence together was destined. You may not force your beliefs onto me. -E.

Sonny just posted some new pictures up if anyone wants to see. Pictures around the base in Afghanistan on Thursday. The latest: his chess set and his rock pillow. Go on. Click it. You know you want to see. :) -J.

My bro’s chess board in Afghanistan: