- It. Really. Is. NOT. All. About. You.
- Thank you.
- One conversation at a time, please.
- If you can't say anything positive, then just shut up.
- Could you lighten up on the perfume and only wear a half bottle every day?
- If you're sick, go home.
- Perhaps you should buy a dog so you have someone to talk to.
- Being around you makes me smile, and you have no idea how much I need that.
- Please slow down; you're making me dizzy.
- You are the most annoying person I know. Go away.
Showing posts with label Conversation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Conversation. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Ten Things I'd Like to Say to Assorted People
One per person. I swiped this idea from Allison, and decided to do it here instead of the memes blog...
Friday, May 09, 2008
Drive Time
Up this morning at 3:20 (yes, a.m.), out of the house by 3:55 on my way to a meeting on the other side of the state.
There are a surprising number of people on the road at that time. Really.
Anyway. Met up with a colleague partway there, in the city where she lives, and then we carpooled the remaining 3 hours, enjoyed most of the time spent at the meeting. Lots of good food for thought--if you like thinking about libraries and technology. Well worth the time. We were done by mid-afternoon, eventually found the car (when we parked we just followed all the other librarian-looking people rather than actually paying attention to where we were going), and drove back to our meeting place and thence home. We only got lost twice. And that was just cuz I missed exits. I'm a dope. All-told, over 8 hours in the car, for a 6-hour meeting.
Weird? Yup. Fun? Bolshoyst da. I have a little crush on one the presenters, but I'll get over that at some point. We cats had a lot of extra-fabu conversation in the car.
And tomorrow, back to the trenches.
Urban Word:
There are a surprising number of people on the road at that time. Really.
Anyway. Met up with a colleague partway there, in the city where she lives, and then we carpooled the remaining 3 hours, enjoyed most of the time spent at the meeting. Lots of good food for thought--if you like thinking about libraries and technology. Well worth the time. We were done by mid-afternoon, eventually found the car (when we parked we just followed all the other librarian-looking people rather than actually paying attention to where we were going), and drove back to our meeting place and thence home. We only got lost twice. And that was just cuz I missed exits. I'm a dope. All-told, over 8 hours in the car, for a 6-hour meeting.
Weird? Yup. Fun? Bolshoyst da. I have a little crush on one the presenters, but I'll get over that at some point. We cats had a lot of extra-fabu conversation in the car.
And tomorrow, back to the trenches.
Urban Word:
googleganger: Similar to that of a doppleganger, it is another individual with the same name as you whose records and/or stories are mixed in with your own when you Google yourself.
The unfortunate thing about having a relatively common name is that when Googling the aforementioned crush-subject, lots of really weird googlegangers showed up along with the person I was trying to stalk online.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Hello, Big Guy
One of the reasons I believe in God is that confluence of events that happens once in awhile where you get the same message from every direction at once. I'm sure it could be argued from another standpoint, but for me that's a clear sign that I need to Pay Attention. Sometimes, unfortunately, I don't get the subtle hints and I need to be whacked upside the head before I notice that there is a message coming through.
The whacking occurred a few weeks ago. I'm not going to track all of the events, conversations, situations...that would be really boring to read. Suffice to say that This Week's Lesson is accountability. I think. Or maybe it's that we all see the world very diffferently, and to assume that the way I see it is universal is wrong. And decidedly unsafe. Selfish? Stupid? Inconsiderate? Do Not Do It.
So it's pretty clear with that intro that I try to hold myself accountable to God. Not everyone does because not everyone believes in God. I also try to hold myself accountable to my family and friends, and to myself. That's a lot of bosses. Sometimes--quite often--not all the bosses agree. That's sucky. In the big stuff, fortunately, all the voices tend to agree, most of the time.
I do think that most people--most non-sociopaths anyway--do try to hold themselves to account at some level. We know when we've followed (or gone against) our principles, we know when our parents, for example, would (or wouldn't) be proud of us. Or at least on the Big Stuff we do.
However, I have a question, a legitimate question that is NOT meant to start a religious flame-war. If you don't believe in God, how do you know when you're really right? Or wrong? Who do you report to in the event of a Situation? Yourself? What about debriefing after a Situation? This may sound flip or studiously silly, but with my background as a lifelong Christian, I just don't know.
And that ties into the second part of what I mentioned above: we all see the world very differently. In the past couple of weeks I've either made assumptions, or had assumptions challenged, that I thought were "what everyone thinks/does/assumes."
In the theoretical sense, of course, this is not news. Even in everyday interactions, if I don't see eye-to-eye with someone I don't know, this doesn't cause me any angst at all. But when it happens--as it has lately--with good friends, with people I respect, with people I like, it's a whole other kettle of fish. [the hell with grammar] It's really a whole NOTHER kettle where I grew up! See what I mean?
These are the sorts of issues, too, that are not generally discussed in public: abortion, religion, ethics in general, homosexuality, ANY sexuality at all!.... I know better than to bring these subjects up unless I'm absolutely positive they aren't going to start a face-to-face confrontation; I bring them up online primarily because 1) it frequently feels like the only place I CAN bring them up, and 2) if I get flamed by people I don't know, I have no problem kicking them out of my "house" online. I could go on about my online behavior differing a great deal from my IRL behavior...suffice to say that there is a difference. A huge difference. Ya'll have NO IDEA!
Just about every day this week, however, someone has managed to (generally unwittingly) two-by-four my assumptions about "what normal people do" or "what everyone thinks." The difficulty is not so much that I disagree with them, it is that they are doing the exact same thing back at me! There we sit, two (or three) people all seeing eye-to-eye, and then suddenly...NOT! Suddenly, I feel like we've slewed off the road and I've been thrown from the vehicle...and they don't know. They've gone rocketing on their way, and I'm rolling down the asphalt trying to figure out what the hell just happened. Or maybe I'm driving and they fell out and haven't realized it. The kicker? I can still hear their voices talking to me even though we're no longer in the vehicle together.
Of course, this has happened before now to me. Several years ago, I was talking to a pastor's wife, someone I liked but didn't know well, when suddenly she was telling that she knows all about the "homosexual agenda" and the trashy and horrible life "all homosexuals" live because of a personal situation she was tangetially involved in... I very calmly said I didn't agree with her and thought we should not pursue this conversation. She pushed...I pushed back. It caused a rift. But, as I said, I didn't know her well so I was able to at least start handling it rationally, even if it ended badly. In any case, it was unexpected but not earth-shattering.
Much more recently, I was speaking to a colleague about the enormous changes that were coming in the way our work situation was going to be done. We were both whining and complaining and generally venting, when all of a sudden my colleague was no longer just whining. The conversation became absolutely vituperative, mean-spirited, and VERY very personal about some other colleagues. That was several months ago, and I think it may be the precipitating event in this cascade of WTF that all came to a head for me this week. I (still) cannot figure out where this person is coming from. I thought that we shared a belief that THIS is the Right Thing, only to find out that she absolutely wanted NOTHING to do with it. I stood there with my mouth gaping like a hooked tuna.
So the second question that I'm faced with, that I'm throwing out to the universe (oh, believe me, God is so hearing about this!) is: what is the right thing to do when this happens? Do I stop everything and listen quietly and carefully? Do I respond with my take on the subject, even if it means saying hard things and possibly alienating someone? Do I hold on to it all and try to see the other person's point of view, sort of let it settle in, and then revisit the subject later? Or is the answer really, truly different in each situation?
Honestly, the response I tend toward is saying hard things, usually without thinking them through. This is the way I was raised, and most of the time I prefer having other people deal with me that way. However, as the years pass I'm getting better at stopping and listening (Beast is now snorting--stop that!). What I seem unable to do is the letting things settle and re-visiting later.
At the church I grew up in, our pastor closed nearly every worship service with the same words. Apparently, I didn't hear them enough, or I haven't heard them recently enough, or something. I guess I still haven't gotten the message: "Be kind to those around you. Remember, everyone you meet is carrying a heavy load."
The whacking occurred a few weeks ago. I'm not going to track all of the events, conversations, situations...that would be really boring to read. Suffice to say that This Week's Lesson is accountability. I think. Or maybe it's that we all see the world very diffferently, and to assume that the way I see it is universal is wrong. And decidedly unsafe. Selfish? Stupid? Inconsiderate? Do Not Do It.
So it's pretty clear with that intro that I try to hold myself accountable to God. Not everyone does because not everyone believes in God. I also try to hold myself accountable to my family and friends, and to myself. That's a lot of bosses. Sometimes--quite often--not all the bosses agree. That's sucky. In the big stuff, fortunately, all the voices tend to agree, most of the time.
I do think that most people--most non-sociopaths anyway--do try to hold themselves to account at some level. We know when we've followed (or gone against) our principles, we know when our parents, for example, would (or wouldn't) be proud of us. Or at least on the Big Stuff we do.
However, I have a question, a legitimate question that is NOT meant to start a religious flame-war. If you don't believe in God, how do you know when you're really right? Or wrong? Who do you report to in the event of a Situation? Yourself? What about debriefing after a Situation? This may sound flip or studiously silly, but with my background as a lifelong Christian, I just don't know.
And that ties into the second part of what I mentioned above: we all see the world very differently. In the past couple of weeks I've either made assumptions, or had assumptions challenged, that I thought were "what everyone thinks/does/assumes."
In the theoretical sense, of course, this is not news. Even in everyday interactions, if I don't see eye-to-eye with someone I don't know, this doesn't cause me any angst at all. But when it happens--as it has lately--with good friends, with people I respect, with people I like, it's a whole other kettle of fish. [the hell with grammar] It's really a whole NOTHER kettle where I grew up! See what I mean?
These are the sorts of issues, too, that are not generally discussed in public: abortion, religion, ethics in general, homosexuality, ANY sexuality at all!.... I know better than to bring these subjects up unless I'm absolutely positive they aren't going to start a face-to-face confrontation; I bring them up online primarily because 1) it frequently feels like the only place I CAN bring them up, and 2) if I get flamed by people I don't know, I have no problem kicking them out of my "house" online. I could go on about my online behavior differing a great deal from my IRL behavior...suffice to say that there is a difference. A huge difference. Ya'll have NO IDEA!
Just about every day this week, however, someone has managed to (generally unwittingly) two-by-four my assumptions about "what normal people do" or "what everyone thinks." The difficulty is not so much that I disagree with them, it is that they are doing the exact same thing back at me! There we sit, two (or three) people all seeing eye-to-eye, and then suddenly...NOT! Suddenly, I feel like we've slewed off the road and I've been thrown from the vehicle...and they don't know. They've gone rocketing on their way, and I'm rolling down the asphalt trying to figure out what the hell just happened. Or maybe I'm driving and they fell out and haven't realized it. The kicker? I can still hear their voices talking to me even though we're no longer in the vehicle together.
Of course, this has happened before now to me. Several years ago, I was talking to a pastor's wife, someone I liked but didn't know well, when suddenly she was telling that she knows all about the "homosexual agenda" and the trashy and horrible life "all homosexuals" live because of a personal situation she was tangetially involved in... I very calmly said I didn't agree with her and thought we should not pursue this conversation. She pushed...I pushed back. It caused a rift. But, as I said, I didn't know her well so I was able to at least start handling it rationally, even if it ended badly. In any case, it was unexpected but not earth-shattering.
Much more recently, I was speaking to a colleague about the enormous changes that were coming in the way our work situation was going to be done. We were both whining and complaining and generally venting, when all of a sudden my colleague was no longer just whining. The conversation became absolutely vituperative, mean-spirited, and VERY very personal about some other colleagues. That was several months ago, and I think it may be the precipitating event in this cascade of WTF that all came to a head for me this week. I (still) cannot figure out where this person is coming from. I thought that we shared a belief that THIS is the Right Thing, only to find out that she absolutely wanted NOTHING to do with it. I stood there with my mouth gaping like a hooked tuna.
So the second question that I'm faced with, that I'm throwing out to the universe (oh, believe me, God is so hearing about this!) is: what is the right thing to do when this happens? Do I stop everything and listen quietly and carefully? Do I respond with my take on the subject, even if it means saying hard things and possibly alienating someone? Do I hold on to it all and try to see the other person's point of view, sort of let it settle in, and then revisit the subject later? Or is the answer really, truly different in each situation?
Honestly, the response I tend toward is saying hard things, usually without thinking them through. This is the way I was raised, and most of the time I prefer having other people deal with me that way. However, as the years pass I'm getting better at stopping and listening (Beast is now snorting--stop that!). What I seem unable to do is the letting things settle and re-visiting later.
At the church I grew up in, our pastor closed nearly every worship service with the same words. Apparently, I didn't hear them enough, or I haven't heard them recently enough, or something. I guess I still haven't gotten the message: "Be kind to those around you. Remember, everyone you meet is carrying a heavy load."
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Morning conversation with my son
Sparky: Moo.
Me: Quack.
Sparky: Banana.
Me: Quackety-quackety-quack!
Sparky: Potato potato potato potato potato....
Me: Quack.
Sparky: Banana.
Me: Quackety-quackety-quack!
Sparky: Potato potato potato potato potato....
Thursday, June 07, 2007
What's on YOUR mind?
Today was one of those days when virtually everything I dealt with came with a heaping helping of double entendre, starting with my arrival at work at noon (when I saw a box with a handwritten label saying NETFLIX, only I thought the LI was a U), all the way until the meme I just finished about wine (which mentions wild meat). Snakes were involved. The number 69 cropped up a couple of times. Book titles seemed much too easily misinterpreted. "I'm a Lumberjack" showed up in Launchcast, along with a crunk-y song that had me running for the Urban Dictionary website to look up Lipton teabags. Is there some kind of astrological alignment happening that I'm not aware of? Or, as was suggested to me, is it all just me? I need my skull opened up and rinsed with soapy water.
Whatever. I sure hope tomorrow I get back to my sweet, clueless self. (hah!)
Whatever. I sure hope tomorrow I get back to my sweet, clueless self. (hah!)
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Chat with my niece
OK, so there is a chance that something in here might be randomly offensive. I'm sure you'll let me know how annoying we are, not to mention un-PC and unfunny, except to ourselves.
You've been warned.
Rosellen: Consider yourself interrupted!
3:08 PM
Cat.: Hey! I couldn't figure out what the noise was in my headphones! Besides Sting, I mean. How are you??
Rosellen: Not too bad, not too bad.
3:09 PM
You?
Cat.: I'm fine. Tired. Ready to go home, but have another hour to go. OK, I should know this, but......have you moved?
Rosellen: Noooo.... not yet! Going to Edinburgh beginning of April -- Guess I should probably make some sort of Family Announcement
3:10 PM
Cat.: I wasn't sure what your mom told us. Just remember that you and Jesse [her brother] are "on the move" at some level. And you and Tom are moving in together? Or do I have that completely wrong??
Rosellen: I think Jesse is staying put for now...? Tom and I are both moving to Edinburgh.
Cat.: I think Jesse's moving was semi-metaphorical
Rosellen: Hah!
3:11 PM
He's having an idealistic phase -- Wants to decide on the one thing that he's going to devote his life to
Cat.: Yeah. I have those. Then I wake up and realize that I need to eat occasionally. :-)
Rosellen: hehehe His one great project
Cat.: One great project : kids (don't tell him I said that!)
Rosellen: I think he wants to be Gandhi or something haha
3:12 PM
Cat.: He's shaving his head? To be Gandhi
Rosellen: He frequently shaves his head! -- I don't think kids figure in the male psyche much at that age do they?
Cat.: No, usually not till guys turn about 50
Rosellen: sigh
Cat.: Then they suddenly realize they're going to die. Must procreate. Hence : trophy wives
Rosellen: Yeah, so Tom and I are going to get separate places in Edin
3:13 PM Haha !
Cat.: Oh. Good thing I asked.
Rosellen: Did I tell you Tom is my toyboy?
Cat.: Uh, no........ ?
Rosellen: Makes me worried... -- the trophy wife thing
Cat.: How old is he? Or am I missing something here?
3:14 PM
Rosellen: Nahhh... it's only a year and a half -- I would just prefer about three times that in the other direction!!
Cat.: Ahhh. OK.
3:15 PM
Does he know he's your toyboy??
Rosellen: Heh, no he thinks I'm 17. :-p
Cat.: At heart :-) [she'll be 28 next month]
Rosellen: Deffo.
Cat.: It's the unicycle thing
3:16 PM
Rosellen:He doesn't like unicycles :-( -- It's his one flaw.
What do you want to be interrupted for anyway?
Cat.: Because I'm doing boring stuff at work. I just need to wake up this time of day.........yawn
He doesn't like the cycle? Why? One flaw--heh that's good
Rosellen: Must be... 3.15 there?
Cat.: Yep. Prime napping time
Rosellen: Naptime! hee
Cat.: .......great minds.......
3:17 PM
Rosellen: ooooohhhhhhhhhh... i just realised I can have this conversation in big [i.e., in a bigger window]
Cat.: So you tell me: what is your job in Scotland going to be? Yeah: Big for old eyes (like mine)
Rosellen: Preschool education [stuff for the government] -- :-o
Cat.: WHHHHHHHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Rosellen: yeah I know.
Cat.: For Scotland, or for the whole UK[?]
3:18 PM
Rosellen: Scotland -- Dunno how long I'll last -- Get to project manage a survey :-)
Cat.: You can fill [her aunt/my sister] Marie in on all the scuttlebutt about childcare in Scotland Rosellen: Oh I never thought of that
Cat.: Oooh, project management. You are moving up!!
Rosellen: I'm slightly worried that they call it education -- Do we need to educate kids that young?
3:19 PM
Cat.: Education = Sit, stay, be quiet, don't stab each other with sticks
Rosellen: Hah -- Guess so then
Cat.: Especially the last one.
Rosellen: It's a hard lesson to learn -- I'm tempted sometimes
Cat.: Kids can be pretty brtal .......... brutal
Rosellen: and brittle -- actually, no, they're more bouncy aren't they
Cat.: Yeah, me too. [hard lesson to learn] Good thing they took my stick away!! :-D
Rosellen: rofl
3:20 PM
Cat.: No fun, no fair.
Rosellen: Anywayz... we'll see. The trouble with the civil service is that the pay is addictive
Cat.: Yeah, govt' pays well. Good benefits all round. It's that eating thing again
Rosellen: Defo
Cat.: So it's what 9:20 there? Or 8:20?
Rosellen: 9.20 -- Just been surfin for accommodation
Cat.: accom where?
3:21 PM
Rosellen: Edinburgh!
Cat.: Ahhh, housing. I was thinking 'hotel' like vacay
Rosellen: No, won't be having one of them for a while. Unless you count staying in a Travelodge whilst househunting
3:22 PM
Cat.: No, I don't think that counts. Is the market that tight in Edinburgh? Or are you that fussy?
Rosellen: We are just going up for a few days beforehand to get things sorted. Don't want to arrive with loads of stuff and nowhere to put it
Cat.: No, that would be...bad.... :-)
3:23 PM
No sense looking desperate -- Madness "Our House" is currently playing on my radio station (online). How appropriate!!
Rosellen: desperate? -- Wahoo! Good old Madness
3:24 PM
Cat.: Desperate: a car full of clothes and stuff and nowhere to put it. "Please, can't I live here??" Rosellen: Hee hee -- I don't think my genetics allow me to do that -- Must. Have. Plan.
Cat.: You'd need to work on the "Poor Me" face ....... Planning is good....unless you go overboard and get too attached to the plan
3:25 PM
Rosellen: Gahhh... more aussies!
Cat.: Aussies?
Rosellen: Aussies are the pitfall. They should be avoided at all costs (Just clicked on a hopeful link and got Aussies)
Cat.: OK......why? Are they contagious?
Rosellen: Kind of.
Cat.: I hear they do a good party, though.
Rosellen: More -- here for a holiday, always drunk, loud, etc...
Cat.: yeah, same wavelength again
3:26 PM
Rosellen: haha -- We're looking for Spaniards really. If we get to choose
Cat.: Spaniards? Quiet, shy and kind?
3:27 PM
Sounds like librarians...librarians minus their cats equals Spaniards? Guess that makes me a Spaniard........;-)
Rosellen: Urm.??? Is that a cultural stereotype we have here or are you just thinking opposites
3:28 PM
Cat.: or not so much
Rosellen: We just want nice food and a change to practice the lingo
Cat.: No, we don't really have any stereotypes of Spaniards, except maybe the one about getting fingers cut off by pickpockets. [But] I'm laughing. You should come to [the town where I work] if you want to practice your Spanish! heh
3:29 PM
Rosellen: [Your town]?
3:30 PM
Cat.: Our schools are currently about 20% Latino kids. LOTS of Spanish-speaking people in the area. Weird, but true.
3:31 PM
Rosellen: Ohhhh... but they do funny things like not use the preterite and say "ustedes" instead of "vosotros"... [she knows Spanish-as-they-speak-in-Spain, not Latin American Spanish] That must be pretty cool though -- Is Sparky learning Spanish?
3:32 PM
Cat.: No, no vosotros here. Though I do have Te Quiero Igual in my headphones now. Funny how our conversation is tracking the music...actually quite weird. Sparky wants to learn German. Failing that, he's decided on Chinese. He's a strange child. I think he'd prefer Japanese, but it's not offered.
3:33 PM
Rosellen: "I love you equally?" Yes v weird -- Chinese eh? Guess you've got another businessman in the family...
3:34 PM
Cat.: Yes, they just started offering it last Sept. He wants it because he says he already knows Spanish because he hears it all the time. Yeah right
Rosellen: Where do they get the teachers?
3:35 PM
Hah, you should refuse to speak English to him for a week!
Cat.: I should only speak Spanish to him for a week. He won't have a clue! The Chinese teacher....she just {poof} was looking for a job and got hired. I guess. Not sure how that worked!
3:36 PM The Te Quiero Igual song is from this: Calamaro Querido!! Cantando Al Salmón, Parte 1 ........... Whatever THAT's about! :-)
Rosellen: Heehee... wow, singing fishes
Cat.: It's done by some guy named Kevin Johansen
3:37 PM
Rosellen: May I ask why you've got that on your headphones?
Cat.: I don't pick this stuff, but that is certainly one odd-sounding group.
Rosellen: Next we get "I like Chinese" from the Monty Python boys, yes?
Cat.: It's Yahoo's Launchcast radio station. Cat Stevens is doing Morning Has Broken now. Quiet eclectic. Again---it's all about keeping me awake!
3:38 PM
Actually, I had some Monty Python earlier, from ....Holy Grail...
Rosellen: We're knights of the round tables / We dance whenever we're able.. -- that one?
Cat.: "On second thought let's not go to Camelot. They're very silly." ..... that one
Rosellen: lol
3:39 PM
Hmmm... have managed to work my way back to all the flats I looked at and rejected last nigh[t].
Cat.: Oops, I need to go teach someone about Bloglines. I'm the only person on staff who knows anything at all about RSS or aggregators. Sad. We need to hire someone under the age of 35!!
Rosellen: haha
Cat.: Good luck with the house hunt!!
Rosellen: Thanks. Nah, people under 35 think everything is done by wizards -- See ya!
Cat.: Bye!!!
You've been warned.
Rosellen: Consider yourself interrupted!
3:08 PM
Cat.: Hey! I couldn't figure out what the noise was in my headphones! Besides Sting, I mean. How are you??
Rosellen: Not too bad, not too bad.
3:09 PM
You?
Cat.: I'm fine. Tired. Ready to go home, but have another hour to go. OK, I should know this, but......have you moved?
Rosellen: Noooo.... not yet! Going to Edinburgh beginning of April -- Guess I should probably make some sort of Family Announcement
3:10 PM
Cat.: I wasn't sure what your mom told us. Just remember that you and Jesse [her brother] are "on the move" at some level. And you and Tom are moving in together? Or do I have that completely wrong??
Rosellen: I think Jesse is staying put for now...? Tom and I are both moving to Edinburgh.
Cat.: I think Jesse's moving was semi-metaphorical
Rosellen: Hah!
3:11 PM
He's having an idealistic phase -- Wants to decide on the one thing that he's going to devote his life to
Cat.: Yeah. I have those. Then I wake up and realize that I need to eat occasionally. :-)
Rosellen: hehehe His one great project
Cat.: One great project : kids (don't tell him I said that!)
Rosellen: I think he wants to be Gandhi or something haha
3:12 PM
Cat.: He's shaving his head? To be Gandhi
Rosellen: He frequently shaves his head! -- I don't think kids figure in the male psyche much at that age do they?
Cat.: No, usually not till guys turn about 50
Rosellen: sigh
Cat.: Then they suddenly realize they're going to die. Must procreate. Hence : trophy wives
Rosellen: Yeah, so Tom and I are going to get separate places in Edin
3:13 PM Haha !
Cat.: Oh. Good thing I asked.
Rosellen: Did I tell you Tom is my toyboy?
Cat.: Uh, no........ ?
Rosellen: Makes me worried... -- the trophy wife thing
Cat.: How old is he? Or am I missing something here?
3:14 PM
Rosellen: Nahhh... it's only a year and a half -- I would just prefer about three times that in the other direction!!
Cat.: Ahhh. OK.
3:15 PM
Does he know he's your toyboy??
Rosellen: Heh, no he thinks I'm 17. :-p
Cat.: At heart :-) [she'll be 28 next month]
Rosellen: Deffo.
Cat.: It's the unicycle thing
3:16 PM
Rosellen:He doesn't like unicycles :-( -- It's his one flaw.
What do you want to be interrupted for anyway?
Cat.: Because I'm doing boring stuff at work. I just need to wake up this time of day.........yawn
He doesn't like the cycle? Why? One flaw--heh that's good
Rosellen: Must be... 3.15 there?
Cat.: Yep. Prime napping time
Rosellen: Naptime! hee
Cat.: .......great minds.......
3:17 PM
Rosellen: ooooohhhhhhhhhh... i just realised I can have this conversation in big [i.e., in a bigger window]
Cat.: So you tell me: what is your job in Scotland going to be? Yeah: Big for old eyes (like mine)
Rosellen: Preschool education [stuff for the government] -- :-o
Cat.: WHHHHHHHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Rosellen: yeah I know.
Cat.: For Scotland, or for the whole UK[?]
3:18 PM
Rosellen: Scotland -- Dunno how long I'll last -- Get to project manage a survey :-)
Cat.: You can fill [her aunt/my sister] Marie in on all the scuttlebutt about childcare in Scotland Rosellen: Oh I never thought of that
Cat.: Oooh, project management. You are moving up!!
Rosellen: I'm slightly worried that they call it education -- Do we need to educate kids that young?
3:19 PM
Cat.: Education = Sit, stay, be quiet, don't stab each other with sticks
Rosellen: Hah -- Guess so then
Cat.: Especially the last one.
Rosellen: It's a hard lesson to learn -- I'm tempted sometimes
Cat.: Kids can be pretty brtal .......... brutal
Rosellen: and brittle -- actually, no, they're more bouncy aren't they
Cat.: Yeah, me too. [hard lesson to learn] Good thing they took my stick away!! :-D
Rosellen: rofl
3:20 PM
Cat.: No fun, no fair.
Rosellen: Anywayz... we'll see. The trouble with the civil service is that the pay is addictive
Cat.: Yeah, govt' pays well. Good benefits all round. It's that eating thing again
Rosellen: Defo
Cat.: So it's what 9:20 there? Or 8:20?
Rosellen: 9.20 -- Just been surfin for accommodation
Cat.: accom where?
3:21 PM
Rosellen: Edinburgh!
Cat.: Ahhh, housing. I was thinking 'hotel' like vacay
Rosellen: No, won't be having one of them for a while. Unless you count staying in a Travelodge whilst househunting
3:22 PM
Cat.: No, I don't think that counts. Is the market that tight in Edinburgh? Or are you that fussy?
Rosellen: We are just going up for a few days beforehand to get things sorted. Don't want to arrive with loads of stuff and nowhere to put it
Cat.: No, that would be...bad.... :-)
3:23 PM
No sense looking desperate -- Madness "Our House" is currently playing on my radio station (online). How appropriate!!
Rosellen: desperate? -- Wahoo! Good old Madness
3:24 PM
Cat.: Desperate: a car full of clothes and stuff and nowhere to put it. "Please, can't I live here??" Rosellen: Hee hee -- I don't think my genetics allow me to do that -- Must. Have. Plan.
Cat.: You'd need to work on the "Poor Me" face ....... Planning is good....unless you go overboard and get too attached to the plan
3:25 PM
Rosellen: Gahhh... more aussies!
Cat.: Aussies?
Rosellen: Aussies are the pitfall. They should be avoided at all costs (Just clicked on a hopeful link and got Aussies)
Cat.: OK......why? Are they contagious?
Rosellen: Kind of.
Cat.: I hear they do a good party, though.
Rosellen: More -- here for a holiday, always drunk, loud, etc...
Cat.: yeah, same wavelength again
3:26 PM
Rosellen: haha -- We're looking for Spaniards really. If we get to choose
Cat.: Spaniards? Quiet, shy and kind?
3:27 PM
Sounds like librarians...librarians minus their cats equals Spaniards? Guess that makes me a Spaniard........;-)
Rosellen: Urm.??? Is that a cultural stereotype we have here or are you just thinking opposites
3:28 PM
Cat.: or not so much
Rosellen: We just want nice food and a change to practice the lingo
Cat.: No, we don't really have any stereotypes of Spaniards, except maybe the one about getting fingers cut off by pickpockets. [But] I'm laughing. You should come to [the town where I work] if you want to practice your Spanish! heh
3:29 PM
Rosellen: [Your town]?
3:30 PM
Cat.: Our schools are currently about 20% Latino kids. LOTS of Spanish-speaking people in the area. Weird, but true.
3:31 PM
Rosellen: Ohhhh... but they do funny things like not use the preterite and say "ustedes" instead of "vosotros"... [she knows Spanish-as-they-speak-in-Spain, not Latin American Spanish] That must be pretty cool though -- Is Sparky learning Spanish?
3:32 PM
Cat.: No, no vosotros here. Though I do have Te Quiero Igual in my headphones now. Funny how our conversation is tracking the music...actually quite weird. Sparky wants to learn German. Failing that, he's decided on Chinese. He's a strange child. I think he'd prefer Japanese, but it's not offered.
3:33 PM
Rosellen: "I love you equally?" Yes v weird -- Chinese eh? Guess you've got another businessman in the family...
3:34 PM
Cat.: Yes, they just started offering it last Sept. He wants it because he says he already knows Spanish because he hears it all the time. Yeah right
Rosellen: Where do they get the teachers?
3:35 PM
Hah, you should refuse to speak English to him for a week!
Cat.: I should only speak Spanish to him for a week. He won't have a clue! The Chinese teacher....she just {poof} was looking for a job and got hired. I guess. Not sure how that worked!
3:36 PM The Te Quiero Igual song is from this: Calamaro Querido!! Cantando Al Salmón, Parte 1 ........... Whatever THAT's about! :-)
Rosellen: Heehee... wow, singing fishes
Cat.: It's done by some guy named Kevin Johansen
3:37 PM
Rosellen: May I ask why you've got that on your headphones?
Cat.: I don't pick this stuff, but that is certainly one odd-sounding group.
Rosellen: Next we get "I like Chinese" from the Monty Python boys, yes?
Cat.: It's Yahoo's Launchcast radio station. Cat Stevens is doing Morning Has Broken now. Quiet eclectic. Again---it's all about keeping me awake!
3:38 PM
Actually, I had some Monty Python earlier, from ....Holy Grail...
Rosellen: We're knights of the round tables / We dance whenever we're able.. -- that one?
Cat.: "On second thought let's not go to Camelot. They're very silly." ..... that one
Rosellen: lol
3:39 PM
Hmmm... have managed to work my way back to all the flats I looked at and rejected last nigh[t].
Cat.: Oops, I need to go teach someone about Bloglines. I'm the only person on staff who knows anything at all about RSS or aggregators. Sad. We need to hire someone under the age of 35!!
Rosellen: haha
Cat.: Good luck with the house hunt!!
Rosellen: Thanks. Nah, people under 35 think everything is done by wizards -- See ya!
Cat.: Bye!!!
180
What a strange day. I seem to be having a lot of them lately.
- My boss was at the PLA symposium last week and (typically) came back all revved up about it. She's hoping to get a couple of the speakers to come here and rev the rest of the staff up too.
- While I was covering the Reference Desk this morning, Miss W was wandering the library with a couple of people. After they left, she came and asked me if I've heard of this author. Of course; even people who don't read SF should recognize his name if we work in libraries! IMHO. Ahem. Well, that's who she had been walking around with: that gentleman and his wife (and by the way, the photo on Wikipedia is o l d!). Miss W is--somewhat distantly--related to him. Who knew? Damn. Why don't people tell us this stuff? We could have been suckering him in to do programs all these years!!
- I finally found someone on staff who wants to know how to use Bloglines...or some kind of RSS aggregator. I've been advocating this four over 3 years now. Sheeesh. Small steps, I guess.
- I spent about 3 good hours of prime cataloging time working on a collection development order for my section (it's just one of the Dewey hundreds, but it's one I really enjoy, so it's perfect. "Normal" people don't have the first idea about that section and it normally gets short shrift; not at my library!!) because I just finished updating the budget and discovered I have $1000 to spend before April. Er, must get started on it, now. So I did.
- Our catalog is still rather messed up from whatever happened over the weekend. Not sure if it means we'll be having trouble for the long term or what.
- My 90-plus-year-old coworker asked today what a Blackberry is. Then she asked whether she should get a Tracfone or a regular cell phone for car emergencies. Holy shit: she's 94!! And she's considering using new technology voluntarily! Please let me be like her when I'm 80, much less 90!
- I had a wonderful 30-minute IM with Rosellen, my oldest overseas niece. Perhaps I'll be tedious and post it later. She makes me laugh, in a very good way.
- Here's the headline from this week's online American Libraries (I know that's an ugly link, but the normal one isn't working) update that just arrived in my mailbox from the director: "Scrotum flap raises ruckus over librarians’ sensibilities." If that doesn't define weird, I don't know what would! Whatever it is, I'm pretty sure I'm glad I don't have to worry about Scrotum Flap.
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Brave New IM
Sparky has discovered chat. I think he doesn't have too many friends using Gmail, however, so we're still relatively safe. That, plus the computer in his room has no net connection, so he has to use the one in the office, or the laptop.
Mostly, his chats are with me, usually when he's sitting 15 feet away from me, or in another room in the house. We talk more chatting than in person, some days! Here's two examples from last night (he on one workroom computer at the library, me at my desk), and this morning (he in the office, I on the laptop).
Last night:
What a goof.
Mostly, his chats are with me, usually when he's sitting 15 feet away from me, or in another room in the house. We talk more chatting than in person, some days! Here's two examples from last night (he on one workroom computer at the library, me at my desk), and this morning (he in the office, I on the laptop).
Last night:
5:05 PM Sparky: hi momToday:
5:06 PM Mom: Hello doodlebug
How's tricks?
Sparky: moo
Mom: What were you doing out in the main part of the library anyway?
5:08 PM Sparky: runscaping
Mom: RUNscaping? RUNEscaping?? :-)
Sparky: run escaping!!!
5:09 PM Mom: Ah, yeah, I forgot that's what you call it sometimes. ;-)
Sparky: tee hee
looking at the site 4 epic movie
Mom: Did you use up your hour?
5:10 PM Sparky: no
is learning about epic movie comedies
Mom: ooooh, sounds exciting....
Sparky: no i mean the actual movie
5:12 PM Mom: What actual movie?
Sparky: the movie epic movie
Mom: Is that one of those satires like "Scary Movie"?
5:13 PM Sparky: the writers of the scary movies filmed a movie on a take off of all the greatest movies of our time
Mom: Is it just brand new? Like barely released? I don't remember hearing about it....
5:14 PM Sparky: never released yet. its had advanced showings in vegas
Mom: And you weren't there. Bummer ;-)
Sparky: nope. dont really care though
5:15 PM Mom: It'll be here eventually, right?
Sparky: looks kinda screwed up though
yeah
Mom: Where are you? What website?
5:16 PM Sparky: www.imbd.com
Mom: Ahhh... Have you ever looked at http://www.rottentomatoes.com ?
Sparky: no but i will once im done here
looking now
Mom: it's just sorta funny
Sparky: yeah looks like is
it not is
5:18 PM Mom: TYPO!!!! hee hee :P
5:19 PM Sparky: yeah
whats with the face?
the little stick-out tongue face?
Mom: Nyah-nyah face
It's a colon with a P (no dash) like this : p only right up next to each other.
Sparky: rotten tomatoes looks weird
:P
Mom: Yeah, well....(trying to be nice) hee
7:22 AM Sparky: hi mom"All righty then"??
Mom: Hey dude
Good thing I was checking email!
Sparky: yeah
quack
Mom: {chuckle}
moo
7:24 AM Sparky: no moo quack potato!
:)
Mom: Oy. You've been talking to [Z] too much again! :-)
Sparky: yep
actaully most of the time i was talking to [Z's older sister]
7:25 AM Mom: Oh. Why? Did she steal the phone from [Z]?
Sparky: no she wanted to bug me
Mom: That's nothing new, right? ;-)
7:26 AM Sparky: she also said she'd get me a monster drink for my b-day
no
Mom: What's a monster drink?
Sparky: its like this energy drink
like vault
hey can you pick me up tonite for the laptops?
Mom: So you can stay awake all night and play with the Gamecube...
Sparky: or are we going to [Katherine]'s?
no
Mom: No, [Katherine] tomorrow
Uhm, yeah, I can.
Sparky: ok
double ok
Mom: 4:00? At the library??
7:29 AM Sparky: yeah
its warm outside compared to yesterday [he had walked to the living room to check the thermometer on the wall 5 feet from me before he typed this]
how do you change your name on the little chat box on the left side of the screen
?
Mom: My name or your own name?
Sparky: mine
Mom: Run the mouse over your name
7:31 AM Sparky: ok
Mom: See where it says "Contact details"?
Click on that
Sparky: yeah
ok
Mom: I think that's they only way you can.
Sparky: all righty then
7:32 AM Mom: "they"="the"
Can't type today.
Sparky: i already changed it
Mom: But that only shows what YOU see, not what I see. I can call you Bob if I want to.
Not sure why I'd want to... ;P
oops :P
Sparky: OK ill open another when i get the chance
gotta leave like now! [he nearly missed the school bus!]
What a goof.
Sunday, January 14, 2007
Real conversation
(I couldn't make this shit up)
Post-funeral, talking to my nephew (-in-law)'s mother, who talks nearly non-stop:
Post-funeral, talking to my nephew (-in-law)'s mother, who talks nearly non-stop:
ME: How are you?Later, at the house, discussing the amount of work he's done to rehab the house:
HER: Tired. We've been in the car a lot the last two weeks.
ME: Yes, lots of hours on wheels lately.
HER: I wasn't sure we'd get here today. Our van...four hoses...alternator...it would have died on the way...if I hadn't thought to take it to the service station...four hoses!...picked it up Thursday...would have had to ask you for a ride...
ME: (breaking in after about 2 minutes) Wow. It's been nuts for us too, with my mom, and then [Beast]'s dad went in the hosptial Friday, and Elizabeth's...
HER: ...mmm...but yeah, all four hoses! Can you believe it? If I hadn't taken it to the garage, it would have stranded us on the highway!! Good thing I thought of it, isn't it?
ME: (short pause) I think [her son] is looking over here; maybe he needs something?
HER: ...so you would have had to drive up to our place and pick us up and then drive all the way....
ME: [walking away to see what my nephew, her son, needs]
MY SISTER: ...he's done so much, all the woodwork, the floors.Still later, saying goodbye to her son:
NEPHEW: It's called Project Creep.
SISTER: Huh?
NEPHEW: You start with one relatively simple project and suddenly it turns into a complete overhaul. All I wanted to do was replace the windows...
ME: ...and then you're tearing out walls in the basement a few years later!...
NEPHEW: ...and redoing the bathroom...
SISTER: It's always like that.
ME: Windows to woodwork to bathroom to basement...yikes!!
[we're all joking around]
SISTER: Don't forget adding a whole new room!
ME: ...for the cats...
FRIEND OF FAMILY: ...the cats own the whole house, really...
ME: Yeah, silly me. See, this is what happens when you buy a house: new hobby. And then you get married!!
[chuckles]
HIS MOM: Oh, but he did most everything before he got married.
[conversation grinds to a halt as we all stare at her]
ME, SISTER, FRIEND: Uh, yeah, we know.
ME: [hugging him] Take care. Be good.We left. Before I smacked her upside the head with a cat toy.
HER: [sitting next to him] Oh, he's always good!
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