Dear Winter, TAKE A HIKE!
Scrappy
P.S. on another sad note... I heard that the earthquake that hit Japan actually changed the earth's axis and rate that it spins, therefore shortening the day for all of us a small amount (~4 min)
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Dear Winter, TAKE A HIKE!
Scrappy
P.S. on another sad note... I heard that the earthquake that hit Japan actually changed the earth's axis and rate that it spins, therefore shortening the day for all of us a small amount (~4 min)
dear shefly, We lived in Acton, MA when the last big april fools day ice storm hit, 1990 ish or thereabouts. Fortunately we had a camp stove and a fireplace, and the place I worked and the children's school were on a different power grid which got power back sooner than the 15 days it took us to get power at home. They went into work with me, had a hot chocolate and a warm bagel, walked to school, stayed an hour after school for activities, walked back to where I worked, had a warm snack (it was a coffee/sandwich shop) hung out with me til 5 or 6 pm, we went home, started a fire and slept in sleeping bags in front of the fire.
After the third day, the "adventure" just got old. Good luck and thank your lucky starts it is april and not mid february os it is at least marginally more springlike.
Marni, did you work in west Acton?
Crankin,
I was manager of Philips Coffee shop on the main road (rt.111/Massachusetts Avenue) through West Acton to Boxborough, on Spruce Street sort of kitty corner from the West Acton Post Office. I worked there from 1997-2004.
Why? do I perhaps actually know you? if you ever were in Philips, tell me what your standard order was and I will probably even be able to put a face to the order. I never knew peoples names but recognized them by their daily orders.
Marni, I just edited this, as I re-read your post and saw you worked there 97-2004. You must know my son!!!! Phillips has gone through 2- 3 owners since you worked there, and my oldest son worked there for 3 years (last 2 years of HS and when he came home on break in his first year of college), from maybe 1999-2002. His name is Josh. I still go there all of the time, including a few times on my rides with Hirakukibou. That's where I walked in to get a sandwich in my cycling gear and a bunch of women I know said really loudly,"Oh my God, you rode all the way here from Concord?" (all 7 miles), when I was actually finishing a 50 mile ride.
My son became quite a barista working there, and also came home with all the A-B gossip on a regular basis. He said the "middle aged women" loved to spill their guts to him. He continued working as a barista in Amherst through college.
Anyway, the place was bought by a young woman, the same age as above son, 3 years ago, and it is quite upscale now and very successful. She was written up in the NY Times magazine as an example of a successful business that opened in the recession. But, the food and coffee has not changed that much.
We must have some mutual acquaintances.
Small mocha latte, skim milk
I do remember Josh! although he usually was coming in as I was going out. I got the AB gossip from my children and was occasionally able to add a bit to the chit chat of the afternoon shift that came in after school to close.
There were several small mocha lattes- Were you by chance the skinny fit brunette with reddish tints, sporty short hair?
My youngest daughter Marie left AB her sophomore year 2002- I will confess to having messed up the years. I actually worked there 1996 -2001 until it was sold for the first time and when we moved back to the Netherlands. My oldest son Richard, graduated AB 1996, and my second son Michael graduated AB 2000.
Unfortunately I was not a road biker, or even a rider when I lived in Acton. That was 9 years and 125 pounds ago. I have been road biking since we came back to the states and ended up in Texas in 2004.
I miss the area, and although I don't much miss the snow, I do miss the change of seasons, especially the change from summer to fall, and spring.
Something in there about a lesson on 7 degrees of separation or something I guess.
It was a lovely area, that store, and I am glad that it is still being used and used happily. It was originally an old mill- the base for the grind wheel axle was down in the basement next to the office and people were always tripping on it. Norm Abrahms carpenter shop (this old house) was in the next building which we used one tiny portion of for storage. That's the same building that used to have, and may still have the Acton School of ballet downstairs.
Good memories.
This is fascinating. Shoulda worn a carnation! :DQuote:
Originally Posted by marni
Marni, I'm impressed by your memory.
Marni, I may have been that person. I cut my hair really short around 2000, I think. It's dark blonde/with highlights, but it is a little on the reddish side.
I used to go in to get a coffee on my way to work, sometimes, even though it was totally in the opposite direction (Hudson) of my job, or when I had to drop my kids at school early. Small world.
The ballet school is still there.
to whom it may concern:
what are valid reasons for pulling the plug?
Asking me to increase my commute from 8 miles a day on bike to 40 miles a day on I-5 might just be the straw that breaks the camel's back.
to self: get your butt in gear. Life is much too short.
Dear Federal Government, please pass a budget or, in the very least, a stop gap measure that ends on or after April 30th. Not only am I a federal worker who would like to work and get paid, but I have a trip to two national parks coming up and I would really hate for my plans to get derailed. Not that I don't appreciate the bigger issues at play in the world, but well, thoughts of this trip are the main thing that's gotten me through this horrible winter.
Thanks!
Dear appliance repair people,
I'm trying to give you my money to fix my microwave. This is what you do for a living, right? Why do you insist that it would be better for me to send my microwave to the landfill, and my money to a sweatshop in China, than to keep it in the local economy by employing YOU?
Dear Universe,
Thanks for making demand so high in my field. You made it possible for me to make a conscious decision to refuse work for a month and a half in order to recharge my mental batteries and then nail down a gig on my first day of making myself available again. And not only that, but to get a series of meetings with people who want to talk with me now to get in line for my next available work window.
I know I just spent four days at a professional conference where part of the frustration within my peer group was at the landrush that's taking place in the field, and the resultant mediocre work that's being produced by newcomers who don't have the first clue about what we really do. So, thanks for taking all of our *****ing and moaning with a grain of salt. We really aren't as collectively whiny as we may have come across. Well, not most of us, at least.
While I know I have a tendency toward jaded cynicism about work sometimes, I'm still grateful that finding people who will pay me to solve hairy problems and create new things is rarely an issue. My landlord appreciates it, too. ;)
Thanks!
Me
Wow, ultraviolet, if I may ask, what do you do?
Roxy
I do work that falls under the larger umbrella term User Experience Design. Basically, I try to make the things--software, services, electronic devices, companies--that people have to interact with suck less.Quote:
Originally Posted by channlluv
Dear Headset:
You weren't supposed to fail - you're on the nearly new, bought assembled from a bike shop, bike. The five other bikes in various stages of assembly/disassembly/reassembly have excuses for being unavailable to ride today. But your bike was supposed to be the trustworthy "go to" bike. This is especially galling considering the wonderful weather of the last two days. Oh well, your replacement has been bin upon, won, and paid dearly for.
Dear credit card number thieves:
This is a family website so I will refrain from saying what I think about you. Why do you target bike people? This time you must have gotten my number from either the online purchase of bike panniers, or an in person purchase at an LBS. Previously, you got my number twice in the Nashbar debacle. Luckily I paid for the headset mere hours before your actions froze my account.
Dear cold,
Get lost already! I would very much like to be able to add a few days of vacation with DH onto my work travel next week. If you stick around much longer, we will have no choice but to cancel our plans. And don't even think of hitting DH again...he's already hosted you once :mad:
Thank you for your consideration in this matter.
Sincerely,
Sick and tired of being sick and tired
At home, we've been moving our old stereo components around and making changes. I've got stereo equip. on the brain, so:Quote:
Originally Posted by laura*
At first I thought you were talking about a music earbud/headset gizmo that was somehow installed with your bike, and I thought to myself Jeez, can't she just ride a bike without music for a day or two while it's getting fixed? :eek: :D :D
:eek: The amusing detail is that I never ride while listening to music. I, ... um, ... er, don't even own the necessary equipment.Quote:
Originally Posted by BleeckerSt_Girl
As for the other item, I'm now 99% certain it was the panniers seller that leaked my card number. :mad:
That sounds brilliant. I'd love to hear more about it sometime. Seriously. I'm working on an idea for a book for kids about unusual careers. What did you have to study/work at before to get to what position?Quote:
Originally Posted by ultraviolet
Roxy
Dear Congress,
Come to an agreement, compromise, no sneaky little add-ons, and pass a dang Federal Budget.
And if you can't agree, and decide to shut down the government, I'm assuming that you and all your staffers will go without pay too. It's the only right thing to do. What's good for the goose is good for the gander.
Oh, and the next time I have to drop everything to answer a "Congressional" at work, can I remind you that you deemed me "unnecessary?"
We're in limbo, too. The court where I work will operate for two weeks on reserved funds, but after that, we will likely have a floating furlough. DH and I also have a trip planned beginning on April 23rd to two national parks. We're thinking about a Plan B, as we don't really have any desire to travel to southern Utah if Bryce and Zion are closed.Quote:
Originally Posted by bmccasland
The whole thing is just a PITA. I feel sorry for the people I work with who simply cannot afford any interruption, even slight or short lived, in their income. In past shutdowns, those furloughed got back pay, but we've been told that may not (likely won't) have this time around.
Hear hear!Quote:
Originally Posted by bmccasland
Dear people for whom I am arranging free "bike wrenching for dummies"-sessions - what's up with the badly hidden griping about there being only 3 sessions for 5 people each time? That there "really should be" more sessions for more people? Well, go learn it at home, making all the mistakes yourself, then go spend your own free time teaching everybody else, then. That's what I did, but I also realize that 3 sessions is what I feel like contributing before I get antsy. And it's not my fault I haven't been able to convince anyone else to contribute to this worthy cause just yet.
I actually didn't study anything related to my current field. I was in a dual degree program for music and biology. I just kind of tripped into my field based on personal interest and happening upon a job ad looking for someone with web production skills about a billion years ago--ok, not a billion, more like 14. Working at a tech startup in the late 90s meant doing a lot of different jobs and learning them quickly. Through that, I found what I loved in a field that was only just starting to be named.Quote:
Originally Posted by channlluv
Many people who started doing this back then came from either a human factors/cognitive psych background or the library sciences. There's not a consistent pattern for the rest of the long-time practitioners--some grew out of development backgrounds, some from creative/design, some even from marketing. In the last five or six years, there have been more applicable formal areas of study really gaining ground: human computer interaction (HCI) and information management programs have pretty high representation. Psychology (human factors) and journalism folks (content strategy is a big deal for us now) have also found welcoming arms from UX practitioners, as well.
If you have other questions, I'm always happy to talk about what I do and why I firmly believe it can make life better for people and change the world. Feel free to PM any time! :D
Dear clavicle/sternum thingie bit in my body that moved a few years ago when i had a little bike off...
I thought I reminded you to stay put & not bother me again :mad:. I didn't know that either the side to side push ups, the single side little weight lifting bit or something else bothered you when I did my first private training session would bring you back onto the scene..
I really don't appreciate feeling bones scrape in my neck or chest or whatever part of my body you're situated in :mad:.
Sheep kapoopies I say.
Why haven't they invented some sort of internal super glue to fix these things??
Harumph..
Annoyed human
Dear University,
Thanks for making me spend 8 hours sitting in "reflective sessions" regarding my program today and tomorrow. The weather is finally gong to be nice, of course. I have to sneak out early and brave the subway at rush hour to meet friends and DH in Boston and it's making me feel like a bad teenager. I know, you don't think that students can have a life and be in your program, but it actually happened :). I am tired of you.
Sounds like a 'reflective session' to me! :DQuote:
Originally Posted by Crankin
Oh yeah. I am not the only one with a negative attitude, so I'll have plenty of company. I guess I should be careful as I write, since I am on a university computer! The train I took apparently was an express and after leaving Concord, only made 2 stops before arriving in Cambridge. So now, I am early, even for the breakfast.
Going to read my New Yorker and take a deep breath before going in that room.
So, the session I snuck out of was run by the alumni, who were giving us career information. The professors left the room. However, they were lurking around near the stairs, getting ready for the wine and cheese thing. One of them saw me leaving and looked at her watch! Ack, I don't know her, but she gives you a cold hard stare all of the time. Well, it's a good thing I left when I did. I had to wait a long time for the second train and it was packed like sardines, I thought I wouldn't be able to get out of the door. But DH was there, waiting for me at the appointed meeting place, where he whisked me away to the car driven by our friends. We had an awesome dinner and the play was great.
Off to get ready for today's class.
Dear rad class:
You are all so awesome, for once I don't feel like I'm just 'going to school', I'm hanging out with 30 of my best friends for a few hours every day. I really love being able to feel like that, thank you.
:D
Dear gall bladder. STFU.
Thank you.
Dear Snap's gallbladder. You heard her. STFU.
:D:D
Dear Sick Coworkers: If I'm feeling like my @$$ is draggin because you came in and infected everyone and now I have your flu, I'm gonna beat you down when I get back. If I come up to your cube and your head is on your desk and you are dizzy with fever, wtF did you come in today?
I love how workplaces will give their employees the hairy eyeball for calling in sick, so people work through it assuming they'll get credit from their higher ups and everyone STILL hates them for bringing the plague and spreading it.
^ happened to our entire xray class in waves through flu season, because if you miss ONE day it will STILL crush you.
Dear Dr. Orthodontist,
I'm so over having braces. Please take them off soon. It's been 3 1/2 years already. I know I needed a lot of work and that my refusal to get jaw surgery didn't help, but man do I want my mouth back.
Thank you.
Dear Ad Agency,
Of course I can present work to your clients on your behalf. But really, giving me at least 24-hours notice would have been nice--for both you and me. On my side, structuring my work for a presentation instead of for implementation would have been helpful. On your side, more prep time means a more polished presentation and likely a better outcome. But, OK. I'll get up and present these concepts to the CMO of your Fortune 500 client three hours from now. No problem.
Love,
Me
P.S. The short notice will be reflected when you're invoiced.
dear title company: Thank your for wasting 3 days telling me how hard this project will be, how costly, and that you just don't have the staff to do it and then telling me that it will take 2-3 weeks (after you wasted 3 days going back and forth about how you are so overworked and can't get a simple title commitment prepared.
Duh,isn't that what you do for a living?
Dear prospective xray students:
I remember very well what it was like to be in your shoes. I really hope I was helpful when I answered your questions. I know I might have been scary, but I was as candid and honest as I wish students would have been when *I* was in your shoes. I mean it when I say I wish there was a way you could all get in and not totally crush what little remains of the job market. You all seem like great people. Best of luck to you all, though I know I won't see half of you this fall. If you didn't get in, it doesn't mean we didn't like you. Please reapply.
Dear Self,
It's lookin' like you stirred up a hornets nest unintentionally. Take some deep breaths and collect yourself. Separate your emotionsfrom the situation and handle it like a business issue. Just remember, there are crazies out there, and this one walks, talks, and acts like a crazy (AND has your home address!). If there is a confrontation this afternoon . . . just remember to keep things simple, direct, professional and to maintain your composure.
I'll keep a bottle of wine chilled for you when you get home along with some chocolates.
Hang in there. You can do it. Not everyone needs to be your friend . . . And there's a good reason for that: self-preservation.
Limewave
I have a big day tomorrow. I don't want to screw it up. Please don't let me screw it up. It really means a lot and my sanity, wife, stress levels, etc... will be happier in the end if it works out okay and I get it. *fingers crossed*