Enjablog

Feeling miserable today, so called in sick to work. Pretty glad I made plans to not go anywhere this weekend. No family meals, no socializing, nothing.

Was in a 3-hour meeting yesterday where they discussed U-tubes for about half an hour. The whole time, all I could do was suppress my giggling and try to stop picturing that dog on a skateboard in the iPhone commercials.

QOTD: “”You’re young… Do you know how to use the internet?”

Wow. I just checked my website stats. Far and away, the most hits I have through web searches is for the phrase “Walgreens sucks.” Clearly it’s because they do.

And I just searched for that phrase (without quotes) in google and I’m #10 on the list… out of 244,000 results. Nice.

So, I know that the dimensions were shown on the website, but I didn’t really consider how big that physically was, compared to my stature. This is actually slightly larger than the attache bag I’ve been using for work (~the size of my torso). But for the few minutes I’ve walked around the apartment carrying it, it’s fairly comfortable.

I’ve fit all the things from my old bag, minus the miscellaneous receipts and napkins that were in there:

Main compartment, divided:
- 1″ binder
- laptop
- backup battery

Individual pockets:
- phone
- business cards
- mouse
- pens
- PDA (could also fit a DS in that pocket)

Removable bag:
- pens
- chapstick
- change
- screwdriver
(Am reconsidering the contents of this… might also replace it with one of my other small purses. It only has a magnet snap closure on it, and I’m concerned the change will fall out.)

Easy access side pocket:
- keys
- work badge
- transferred stuff from my “wallet” to the billfold

I had hoped that there might be room for a small umbrella too, but I think I’m about at capacity. Although, I bet I could trade binder space for an umbrella. Hm… Yeah, that could work.

Ok, taking it out for a test run!

What I learned about in class this week:

Flow over a dead bird. Notice the vortices as the flow separates from the body.

… And knowing is half the battle!

I’ve been having this craving for ramen noodles for a couple weeks now, so I finally broke down and cooked a package up. As I was standing around waiting for the water to boil, I had a flashback to college standing in my kitchen waiting for the water to boil. And then I realized that I associate ramen with college. Or maybe the other way around. And I was having the cravings every time I sat down to do homework or watch lectures.

Mm… Noodley.

When I first started working after college, my mom went clothes shopping with me. We tried 3 or 4 different stores and could not find a normal white, button-down dress shirt for me. I finally settled on a white shirt that was made out of material similar to dress shirts, but was a pull-over and had a V-neck instead of buttons. My mom added a button for me.

I am happy to report that the last time I went to NY & Co (maybe a month or so ago), I found white, button-down dress shirts. So, I bought 2. Maybe they’re back in fashion? I hope so. I just don’t understand how they were out of fashion. They’re just plain shirts.

After the movie Saturday night, I stayed up way too late reading The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. I hadn’t heard of it before NewGirl recommended it to me a while back and then a week later, Ian’s mom and brother were both talking about it too. So, I figured it must be good.

It’s a murder mystery investigating the killing of a dog, told from the perspective of an autistic boy. The author does a wonderful job explaining the logic behind why the main character did certain things or did things a certain way and why interacting with people was so confusing to him. I found myself recognizing a lot of the thought processes he goes through trying to understand what people really mean when they don’t clarify the conditions of a statement.

I don’t want to give away the story though, so I’ll leave it at that. It’s a really quick, enjoyable read. And if you read it, don’t read the flap on the book before you start. It gives away part of the story.

Favorite quote from the book: “And I said, “Thank you for supper,” because that is being polite.”

Happy wedding to Crit & Teach! :)

Wow. What an amazing movie. A midwife finds the diary of a Ukranian girl who dies during labor on her shift. She follows it to find out where the girl’s family is so the baby can be raised by them and ends up in the middle of an organized crime ring. It was a bit bloody and violent for my taste, but the storyline was engaging. And Aragorn was fantastic.

I do think I need to start looking around for a new theater though. There’s a very nice theater near us with about 24 screens, but with the nice theater come the morons. Every time Ian and I have seen a movie there, there have been inconsiderate, stupid people. We’ve never gone before 8:30 and have progressively been going later and later. There have been crying babies, restless children, and people walking in and out of the theater throughout the movie. Who does that? And if you’re going to do that, leave through the exit on the side nearest your seat. There’s no reason to cross the screen if there are two exits that lead to the same main exit.

So, last night was the first time without the threat of crying babies. Instead, we were sitting next to this group of three, two girls and a guy. And the two girls would not stop talking. They had some knowledge of the Russian language and were either learning/practicing or disagreeing with the translations. I’m not sure which, but they kept repeating the things they were saying in the movie and making comments. Four times is too many times to have to shush people.

Then, there were the guys behind us who couldn’t keep up with the plot. There is a mildly misleading part in the movie, which you can figure out as it unfolds if you’re watching the movie and thinking like the mafia would. But 10 seconds after the fight scene starts, “Ohh, that’s why they did that…” Yeah, dude. Trickery was involved.

Since I moved into my current domicile 1.5 years ago, I’ve been to my local library 3 times — all to vote. Basically, just in and out before normal library hours in their community meeting room area.

Today, I decided to go check out the library and try to get some homework done. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my headphones so I wasn’t able to listen to lectures and block out the guy learning Arabic across the table, but otherwise, it worked out splendidly! There are about 20 or so double study cubicles (2 desk/cubes facing each other with a divider in between) lining the exterior of the non-fiction, periodicals, and reference sections. There were about a half dozen or so chairs dispersed around with those too. There’s a word processing area, computers with internet access, large tables for groups to work together, and a “teen sanctuary.”

Oh! And free Wi-Fi! :)

It looks like I’ll have to get there much earlier next time to get a primo studying spot at one of the cubbies. Those areas were super-quiet though, so I think it’ll be worth the [minimal] effort. I also got a library card and checked out a couple books that have been sitting on my amazon list that I wasn’t sure if I wanted to buy.

Best thing about the library: Quiet.

Next consideration: getting a bike. I don’t walk around or do outdoorsy stuff like bike much, but I’m thinking that my apartment is close enough to certain places, that I feel wasteful driving there. I could walk, but I always think I’m in too much of a hurry. But a bike would totally make up the difference. Save gas, don’t have to look for parking, and for the places I have in mind, I don’t think it would make a significant difference in time. Metro (1 mile), library (1.5 miles), Giant (0.75 miles), CVS (0.5 miles), Edgardo’s (0.5 miles)… Hm, this sounds like something I should look on Craigslist for. I think I will!

Who wants to name my car? I was discussing car names with a couple coworkers during lunch the other day and it was decided that I would like my car better and feel more attached to it if it had a name. They suggested a bunch of names, but they were so fitting for my car that I can’t remember any of the suggestions.

Having said that, I have a green 2002 Mazda 626. I like puns and nerdy names. But you already know that.

Also, all our plants have names, so that’ll give an example of the kinds of names I’m able to come up with (if Dellilah wasn’t a good enough example).

Harry Palm - palm plant, named after a former coworker who I never actually worked with or met. He just got paged a lot.
Violet - violet.
Gimli - dwarf tree, a present from my cousin.
Basil (short a sound) - basil (long a).
Charlie - the sad looking evergreen type plant that Ian’s mom gave us last Christmas. It’s going to grow up to be a perfect Charlie Brown tree in about 2-3 years.
Slagathore - the miracle amaryllis plant, named after a throw-away joke on Scrubs.

I thought naming plants was weird until I started doing it. It makes perfect sense and now all the plants are still alive. The one plant that never got named died about 6 terribly slow, drawn out deaths. It was bad.

I listed out all the things I would want to carry in this hypothetical laptop bag, grouped by what I would want on a day-to-day basis, what I would have in a purse, and what I would need for a trip.

I then reasoned the following:
1. I would carry a purse without my laptop, but not the other way around.
2. I would carry books and papers with my laptop, but probably not without it.
3. If I traveled, I would probably need all my accessories there, but still wouldn’t carry it around wherever I was traveling, meaning I would still use my regular bag and would need to make sure I can fit all the extras in luggage.

In the end I had narrowed my criteria to a purse that had 4-7 pockets separate from the laptop requirements. Alternatively, I could go with something modular, like chain links, where I could attach or detach pockets as needed. I’ve never heard of or seen anything like that, so I’m going with the first idea.

I still couldn’t decide if I should be looking for a big purse that I could use with or without the laptop, or a messenger bag/tote that would fit a purse in it. Either way, I was resolved to the fact that I just need a more organized purse.

I discussed this with NewGirl and she explained her progression to the acceptance of purses in her lifestyle. She started with the baby purses (i.e. the training bra of purses), which is where I am now. It’s big enough for cell phone, keys, and wallet. And, in fact, my purses aren’t even big enough for those things. They’re big enough for my phone, keys, and a couple of credit cards/ID with a rubber band around them. They hold the things that don’t fit comfortably in my pockets, but aren’t big enough to carry all the things I would want to have to be prepared for the things that might come up in life (e.g. pens, screwdriver, and bandaids).

Anyway, NewGirl has since moved on to pink purses, big purses, and a designer purse. I just want to progress to acceptance and functionality (and stop there). Somehow, I feel that if I can find a purse with sufficient and efficient compartments and pockets, I can stay organized and then my life will be organized like that.

I’m reminded of an episode of Mad About You where Helen Hunt’s character and her sister get their bags swapped. By the end of the episode/day, Helen Hunt is all disheveled, drenched, and late, while her sister is composed, made up, has an umbrella, and is just prepared for life.

That’s what this bag is going to do for me.

So I consulted with Ian (with suggestions from one of his coworkers), Yenny, Squidgey, and NewGirl. At first it was getting a little out of hand. I had half a dozen sites I was actively scoping out for styles, options, and prices. And, oh, there were so many options.

Then, yesterday, after quantifying my criteria, I found it. It was like half an hour after I finished my list. It’s a big purse with 5 interior pockets, a convenient exterior pocket, a big zippered compartment, a laptop compartment, and a removable small bag/billfold. It was literally everything I was looking for and designed for the size screen I have.

It’s scheduled to arrive next week. I really hope this lives up to everything I’m picturing it to be. NewLife 3.0beta is showing a lot of promise.

Ahoy, matey. I hope everyone’s day was filled with pirate-y goodness!

So tired. I don’t know what’s been going on lately, but I’ve added more medication to keep me awake during the day and I’ve been more exhausted than ever. I’m really glad I dropped the other class I was going to take this semester though. Just the one class is much more challenging than I was prepared for. I need to put more time into it than I have been.

Need nap.

In laptop news…
- I love Dellilah (my new laptop) and Walter (her mouse buddy).
- Vista is so different from XP. I just don’t get it. It’s pretty, but the menus are all different and non-intuitive. Why change something as basic as that?
- New Matlab is pretty cool. I’m still not sure I like it better than MathCad though. They’re good in different ways though…
- On the lookout for a good bag. I found a couple really pretty purse-style bags and some trendy messenger bags. The backpacks all look pretty similar and bigger than what I need. I’m thinking laptop, 1″ binder, 1 book, mouse, and extra battery/charger/etc. I’m past the point where I need to carry text books around with me on a day to day basis. But if I’m going with messenger bag, I may as well just get a sleeve and use my regular work bag. So, I need to define my requirements and operational profile and then prioritize my key performance parameters. Then finding a bag will be a cinch!

Omg omg. Google is going to the moon! Google Lunar X-Prize!

I already think my prof this semester has a creepy-sounding voice. But throughout the lecture, he’s talking about Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids. The only example he uses is that blood is a non-Newtonian fluid. So, if you’re trying to mathematically predict the flow of blood, don’t use these equations!

Right. Because I was going to do that. Thanks, man…