Wednesday, February 25, 2009

New Toy!

My new toy arrived today, a Blackberry 8330! I was kind of surprised it came today since I just ordered it yesterday, but that's one thing Verizon's good at. Guess they want you to get their gadgets fast so you can hurry up and get addicted to them and buy more.

I never really had much of a desire to own a Blackberry though. I was actually looking for something that could send & receive email from deep in the woods when someone suggested a smartphone might be the best answer. So I logged into Verizon (they have the best coverage in this area) just to see what options were available. Lo and behold, I was able to upgrade my current phone to the Blackberry at no charge, beyond a small monthly increase in my calling plan of course. I know that's how they sucker you in, but it's cheaper than the other options I was considering. A few mouse clicks and a FedEx package later, I have a new toy to play with.

And my inner geek is beside himself with glee...so shiny...so many buttons...

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Rainy Day

It was raining when I got home from work tonight. It was a typical mountain storm, one that affects everyone but depending on where you are it can be a drastically different experience. It wasn't doing anything at work beyond being a bit windier than normal. But by the time I arrived home, a mere ten miles distant, the rain was falling in almost sideways sheets of water. And within seconds of parking the car the rain suddenly slowed to barely a light shower.

I love rainy days so I was having fun watching the sudden changes. And that's when I noticed the neighbor's car window was rolled down (technically it was the downstairs neighbor's boyfriend's car, but that's not really important). The important fact here is that I suddenly found myself faced with a dilemma.

Do I tell them the car window is down and their car's innards are getting wet?

~or~

Since it appears the rain is stopping, do I go inside and just forget about it?


My first instinct was to tell them, but almost immediately my Super Hermit Reflexes kicked in and told me not to do anything. After all I've never formally met the downstairs neighbor, even though she's lived there for several months now. Our schedules are completely out of sync so we've never had the awkward "Hi, I live upstairs/downstairs/next door...How about that weather" conversation you have when you run into someone while you're taking out the trash. Better to let it go and not get involved. The rain had almost stopped; maybe it wouldn't be so bad. So I unlocked my door, went inside, and found myself immediately racked with guilt.

How would I feel if it were me and I went out in the morning to find not only frost on the windshield, but a nice layer of ice on the seats too? I've sat on frozen seats back when I had the motorcycle in college. Plopping your junk down on a seat covered in a sheet of ice and driving somewhere is not a fun experience. So I went downstairs and knocked on the door to tell them the situation.

No one answered. They were obviously home since her car and her boyfriend's soggy-seated car were both in the parking lot...they must not have heard me knocking, or perhaps they're "preoccupied" doing something sticky that I'd rather not know about. As I was debating whether to knock again or walk away, I heard the faint metallic sound of the door being slowly locked from the inside. Then I saw the not-as-subtle-as-you-think-from-the-inside bending of the blinds that happens when you try to peek out and see who's there. A few muffled voice sounds from inside after that and then nothing, still no answer.

I was being shunned while trying to do a good deed. My first reaction was anger. Here I was trying to help them out and they were trying to play it off like I wasn't even there.

That's when I flashed back to 12 years ago and saw a similar situation unfold in my mind, only this time I was on the inside. I was the one locking the door and "peeking" through the blinds when there was a knock on the door. It was the deepest, darkest point of my own personal Great Depression and I avoided friends, family, and strangers equally. I lost quite a few relationships permanently during that time of my life. Not that the neighbors were going through anything similar; our situations and reasons were obviously very different but I understood their reasoning. Better to hide and hope whoever it is goes away than open the door and deal with it. After all, that had still been my first reaction today too...don't get involved and let their car get soaked inside.

So instead of knocking again and pushing the point, I went back to my place and wrote "Your car window is rolled down" on a post-it note and stuck it on the door. That way I could satisfy my feeling of doing what's right and letting them know about it and I could also respect the privacy they obviously wanted, for whatever reasons they wanted it. I then went upstairs and started my usual nightly routine.

A few minutes later the boyfriend rushed outside, keys in hand, and rolled up his car window.

Monday, February 16, 2009

Inner Peace

This little list has been around for a while, but I just came across it again recently and I felt the need to pass it along in this small way.

Be on the lookout for symptoms of inner peace. The hearts of a great many have already been exposed to inner peace and it is possible that people everywhere could come down with it in epidemic proportions, this could pose a serious threat to what has, up to now, been a fairly stable condition of conflict in the world.

SOME SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF INNER PEACE

* A tendency to think and act spontaneously rather than on fears based on past experiences.

* An unmistakable ability to enjoy each moment.

* A loss of interest in judging other people.

* A loss of interest in judging self.

* A loss of interest in interpreting the actions of others.

* A loss of interest in conflict.

* A loss of the ability to worry. (This is a very serious symptom.)

* Frequent, overwhelming episodes of appreciation.

* Contented feelings of connectedness with others and nature.

* Frequent attacks of smiling.

* An increasing tendency to let things happen rather than make them happen.

* An increased susceptibility to the love extended by others as well as the uncontrollable urge to extend it.

WARNING:
If you have some or all of the above symptoms, please be advised that your condition of inner peace may be so far advanced as to not be curable. If you are exposed to anyone exhibiting any of these symptoms, remain exposed at your own risk.

© 1984 Saskia Davis

Thursday, February 12, 2009

12 of 12

I’ve apparently fallen to a once per month or so posting…that should be changing in the next few weeks and I’ll be posting a lot more. Maybe.

Time for February’s 12 of 12! Many thanks to Chad for creating this cool idea.

Since today also happens to be Abraham Lincoln’s 200th birthday, I thought I’d share my 12 of 12 with him this month and show how he spent his day.



Feb09_1
7:58am
Abe gets in the car and heads to work.


Feb09_2
9:00am
Abe sends an important fax.


Feb09_3
10:30am
Abe is ready to help out in any way he can, just give him a ring.


Feb09_4
12:10pm
Abe goes to lunch at Marco’s Italian Restaurant.


Feb09_5
12:30pm
Abe finds his soul mate while some weird guy looks on in the background.


Feb09_6
12:40pm
Abe slakes his thirst with some refreshing iced tea.


Feb09_7
12:55pm
Abe looks forward to the cannoli he’s taking home.


Feb09_8
12:56pm
Abe hangs out on some cool artwork at the restaurant.


Feb09_9
3:00pm
Abe visits Ford, with much calmer results this time.


Feb09_10
3:30pm
Abe takes a much needed break outside.


Feb09_11
4:00pm
Abe visits some old friends.


Feb09_12
5:00pm
Abe is anxious to walk out the door and get home.