Enjablog

Hope everyone’s having a good Arbor Day weekend! :)

Went over to visit the niece yesterday with part of the rest of the family. She’s doing well and is less scary to hold now that she has some control over her neck. The squishy head thing is still kind of weird.

I’ve had a couple rental cars this week while my car is getting fixed up. The first was a Monte Carlo, which was like driving a yacht down 395. *Awesome*. It had features like a display that would inform you when maintenance needed to be done. In the one that I got:
- Check right rear tire pressure.
- Check right front tire pressure.
- Check left front tire pressure.
- Engine oil low. 0 miles remaining.
- Washer fluid low.
- Fuel low.

Then, there was the exclamation mark light that came on on Thursday. I was hoping to get my car back on Friday, so I tried ignoring the warning signs. But that didn’t happen, so I went over to Enterprise and they swapped me out with a Cobalt. Soooo much better. Granted, this one has a strange noise coming from the right front tire when I drive. But Ian and I couldn’t see anything obviously wrong with it, so I’m, again, trying to ignore it and hoping the car doesn’t just fall apart.

While I miss having the car that I’m used to driving, I’ve realized this week that I have no attachment to my car. I’m jealous of people who love their cars. People who have trouble giving up their cars, even with the option of a shiny, new car. People who need to name their car. People who could recognize their own car in a crowded parking lot. It’s sad, but I can’t replace my missing hub cap, or else I’d never be able to find my car.

I want a cute, little car. I get decent mileage in my car, but it’s larger than I need, while being less functional than it could be. The back seats fold down, but there are [structural, I assume] obstructions that prevent large objects from fitting between the trunk and back seat. Kind of defeats the purpose of having the seats fold down. It’s enough space for me to climb through into the trunk and climb out in an emergency though.

I think the Smart Car that the guys in the Wii commercial drive is super cute. I’ve also been hearing good things about the Mazda 3, which, for some reason, I think looks much cooler in person than it does in pictures. And I’m starting to give some thought to scooters. JD (on Scrubs) has one, so it must be cool. Anyway, just some things I’m starting to think about. I got my current car in 2003, so it’d still be another year or two before I start looking seriously. But this time, I’m picking one that’s me.

As of Friday:

Bumper removed, taillights removed, and missing hubcap. Shh… Don’t tell it I’m thinking of getting it replaced.

LOTD: Pi-ano Concerto

Yesterday, when I got bored in the middle of a conversation, I started playing circus music in my head. It was great!

I didn’t realize how effective this was until I was in the middle of a conversation and noticed afterward that there had been circus music in the background. It was just playing inside… Doot doot do-da-do-da doot doot do-daa… It makes everything much more exciting.

QOTD: “Have you ever had to buy tampons for your wife?”
“Uh, no, I don’t think so… but she asked me to buy fertilizer once.”

Happy Earth Day! Go hug a tree today. :)

Got a chance to go to the Naval Academy and be a judge for their senior design projects. It was a fun day and a good learning experience. It was cool to see the projects and interesting that they all chose non-military vessels.

I spoke with one of the profs about the rationale behind choosing small craft, since the VT curriculum always had us designing large ships. He said this gave the students a chance of getting down to the nuts and bolts and actually go around the design spiral multiple times. That you don’t learn that much more from laying out the general arrangements for a carrier vs. a ferry. Some good points.

QOTD: “Are you the only woman?” [checks down the row of 20+ people] “Oh, yeah. You are.”

For those of you who aren’t up to date on the TJ Alumni Association:

Dear TJ Alumni,

Monday’s events at the Virginia Tech campus represent a tragedy of monumental proportions. Many former TJ students currently attend that university. It is possible that people with whom you are acquainted have been affected. We offer our condolences to those who have lost loved ones and hope that those who have been injured will recover.

Our student body has been writing notes to the campus and we will have a ‘maroon and orange effect day’ on Friday in support of Virginia Tech and those who have been affected. You should also see a change to our website.

Virginia Tech has cancelled classes for the remainder of the week and many students are returning home. We would like to extend an open invitation to any TJ alumni to return to TJ and talk with counselors and teachers. You are still part of our family.

Our thoughts are with you.

Sincerely,
Evan Glazer

Evan Glazer, Ph. D.
Principal, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology

-Photographer unknown

I wish I had something else to write about.

I made the mistake today of clicking over on the Washington Post to the comments linked off of the victim profiles. There was an uplifting quote at the top of the page linking to the quotes, so I figured it would be similar to the memorial site VT put up yesterday. But no…

Monday sucked. Understatement, yes. But that’s as best I can say it. Today? Also sucked. Four car bombs in Iraq — 131 dead.

And, yes, something needs to be done. It’s tragic and needs to be prevented in the future.

But how about treating the rest of the people around here like people? The ones who are still alive, the ones who are sad/upset/angry just like you are. I was reading comments blaming the VT Police for not shutting down the campus, how security was lacking, how this proves that we should be allowed to have guns everywhere — wait, wait; this proves we should not be allowed guns anywhere; how this proves that God is angry with us, we should repent, we should shun sinners, and on and on…

I liked Senator Dodd’s quote in response to the bombings, to “seek a surge in diplomacy…” As opposed to Perino, “…I think anybody who thinks that this enemy is tired, they are mistaken. They are a very determined enemy.”

They’re people. Not enemies, not sinners deserving of wrath, not any of this. They’re just people.

I watched The World According to Sesame Street a few weeks ago. I saw Albanians and Serbians work together because all they wanted was for their kids to have an education and grow up in a world better than the one they were in now. That’s all people want. A better world.

Ok, so we’re going to argue about what better means and who gets to choose and what’s right and who’s in charge. But there have to be enough sane people out there who understand that killing random people is not better than agreeing to stop fighting long enough to even consider compromise. There have to be people who can experience loss and somehow get through the stages of grief without letting anger turn to revenge. Seriously, aren’t there?

I’ve had a few discussions recently on religion and it seems like the main theme from most religions is the Golden Rule: Treat others as you would want to be treated. So what happened to being nice to people? Two wrongs don’t make a right. Did your mothers teach you nothing?? (Yes, my mother told my siblings and me to go fight outside, and look how well we turned out…)

I’m told that I have no morals because I don’t believe in God. How can people possibly choose to do right without being fearful of reprimand? How would they even know what was right? …And yet how many people are killed in the name of God every day?

Who cares why people choose to follow laws and function in civilized society? We’re all people. I might be judgmental about religion, politics, or other stereotyped, check-a-box kind of beliefs. But I honestly don’t care where the people in Baghdad or in Blacksburg stood on any of these issues. It’s sad that they died and their deaths shouldn’t be used to capitalize anyone’s agenda.

I don’t even know where I’m going with all this. I’m just really sad today.

Go be nice to someone.

From the National Capital Region (NCR) Chapter of the Virginia Tech Alumni Association:

Orange and Maroon Effect this Friday, April 20

Virginia Tech family members across the country have united to declare this Friday, April 20, an “Orange and Maroon Effect” day to honor those killed in the tragic events on campus Monday and to to show support for VT students, faculty, administrators, staff, alumni, and friends.

We invite everyone across the country to be part of the Virginia Tech family this Friday and wear orange and maroon to support the families of those who were lost and support the school and community we all love so much.

The latest from the Collegiate Times.

Gunman Kills 32 at Virginia Tech In Deadliest Shooting in U.S. History

The sources said police initially focused on the female student’s boyfriend, a student at nearby Radford University, as a suspect. Police questioned the boyfriend, later termed “a person of interest,” and were questioning him when they learned of the subsequent shootings at Norris Hall. A family friend of the boyfriend’s said the boyfriend was stopped by police alongside Route 460 in Blacksburg, handcuffed and interrogated on the side of the road and later released.

So, it’s not the boyfriend… Now who?

EDIT: Might be wrong. Now there’s talk of multiple shooters and the first shooting being unrelated to the second. Still…

33 dead so far, at least 30 injured
2 bomb threats in the last week
an escaped convict on the first day of classes last semester

I have such fond memories of Virginia Tech. What is going on?

For the most part, I’m a functional member of society. I go to work, I take classes, I pay my taxes, I contribute to the community, etc. And most days, I can even dress myself without help. But for some reason, I have the hardest time telling my black socks apart from my navy blue socks.

I think I only have 2 pairs of blue socks, but that means 4 instances where they can get matched up wrong and worn with black socks. This happens at least once a week and I’m always at the office before I notice. Some days, I check with Ian in the morning to confirm that I’m wearing matching socks. Others, I’ll walk around the apartment comparing the socks in different lighting to make sure I’ve made the right decision.

And still… I wear mismatched socks.

I keep thinking about throwing them away, so I set them aside after I finish a load of laundry, but then I always end up wearing them when I start running out of socks at the end of my laundry cycle. Then, they get mixed in again with the dirty laundry.

I have a big meeting this morning to start a new project. I’m wearing my argyle socks today because I only have one pair. I’m certain they match each other. The rest of my outfit, I can’t be sure.

Things that have happened in the past few days:

- Baby Juniorita was baptized on Sunday. (Happy Easter!)
- Ian and I were in a car accident yesterday. Everyone’s fine. My car got rear-ended and bumped into the car in front of us. Mostly damage to the bumpers on all cars involved.
- Baby Juniorita’s one month party was last night. Got to hang out with the family, minus Sonny.
- Won at Mario Kart.
- Got to go to a conference last week for work and collect swag.
- Was introduced to ZooKeeper — Bejeweled with zoo animals who get angry and an awesome story to go with it. Even better because it’s in Japanese!

And all I want to blog about are the things I have Magic Erased today. It got rid of juice stains on the counter, stuff that spilled on the stovetop and got burned on, gross stuff that has been slowly making the kitchen sink less shiny. There were even some scuff marks on the counter that it got out. I have no idea how those got there, but I haven’t been able to get them out with anything else I have around here. I suspect it may have magic erased some of the skin on my hand, but I’ll survive.

Top 10 reasons why my 5:30 telecon took an hour longer than it needed to:

10. 5:35: Oh, everyone’s already here? I thought I was early.
9. Can we add a column to this spreadsheet?
8. Let’s make sure our color-coding is consistent with other documents.
7. Should we concern ourselves with the fuel near the water having a different viscosity due to the difference in temperature?
Seriously? This is a major concern? But, you know, let’s discuss it anyway…
6. We need to make sure these aren’t like pizza boxes.
5. “When you make an update to that drawing, would you send [person in unrelated department] an email notice?”
4. When referring to these tanks, let’s use an asterisk with a comment in the “Remarks” column.
3. Would you start a new document that tracks each change?
They’re already documented in the “Remarks” column.
No, I mean a new document to track each weight change that might occur.
That’s also documented in the weight report.
2. Let’s clarify. When are you using “TBD” and when are you using “N/A”?
1. Who will be in charge of deleting these lines from the spreadsheet? Currently, they are highlighted in red to indicate they are to be deleted. Who will do the actual deleting?

QOTD: “Hi Australia, this is NewGirl. May I speak with Bill please?”