ARGH…It is and will continue to be one of those days!

here’s a little poem to explain..

Argh to the client who wants more for less

Argh to the client’s son who is being a pest

Argh to the supplier who lied about this…and then that

Argh to the colleague who’s off work because they’re still pissed

Argh to my laptop which is refusing to work

Argh to the parking attendant for going to work

Argh to the printer which keeps drinking all the ink

Argh to my mobile provider whose coverage is not as good as they think

Argh to the mobile salesman who said I should also buy this…

Argh to the newsdesk who didn’t print this

Argh to fellow twitters who can come up with better that this

Argh to the postman for going on strike

Argh to the receptionist who thinks she’s the boss

Argh to the civil servant who couldn’t give a toss

Argh to the MP who spent public money on a bird house and so did his boss

Argh to the birds who keep crapping on my car

Argh to cold callers who think they know what I need

Argh to stupid people who continue to breed

Argh to the shop assistants who act like they are better than that

Argh to consumers who have forgotten their manners

Argh to the store detective who thinks I’m the one

Argh to the police who think they are above the law

Argh to the tax man who cannot read

Argh to the person who scratched my car

Argh to the public sector worker who looks distant and far

Argh to women who can’t put the seat up when they are finished

Yes I know, I’m no poet…argh!

a day early, yes.

I guess it is.

Then we have one tomorrow.

Then a church potluck on Sunday…

What fun.

I think it’s funny, though, that the whole table is filled with brown and …pink food. Shades of brown and shades of red…kind of.

There’s eggrolls, shrimp balls, a huge, huge chunk of ham, some cake, some cookies, fried noodles, chicken wings, and some sort of chicken, I think.

Yup, no vegetables, yup, no turkey.

haha. Oh, and the adults are all drinking beer and wine. >.< Or something like that.

lolz.

And here I am, sitting in front of the computer, and being an antisocial little teenager.

Hm.

~~~

I can’t sew at all. This is going to be a disaster. And I tried knitting the shirt, but the edges are separated, which looks completely wrong.

~~~

Imagine…something that can be borrowed. (lolz) It can also talk. It is now lent to someone almost everyday, and the day you finally get to borrow it, the previous “owner” keeps on calling to check on how it’s doing…ok, bad scenario. It makes no sense.

Let’s talk about seashells.

…never mind then.

Oh yeah, I managed to bake cookies and cake, and my mom actually likes them for once. Hip Hip Hurray.

For Nov. 25

ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Okay, popped the nose one because.. I couldn’t stand it. The cheek one is like un-poppable. It sounds weird and gross, but it felts like raised body tissue, if that makes any sense.

UGHHHH and my moisturizer = not working. DRYNNESSSSSSSSSSS. It’s everywhere, but you can’t really SEE it except on like the area around my mouth/lower cheeks.

Sigh. Feel very ugly right now. Don’t get me wrong, skinID does seem to be working. However, the two blemishes in very inconvenient spots = horrible.

I added ARGH as a tag because I’m very frustrated right now lol.

Two blemishes, go away quickly please.

OMG tomorrow is Thanksgiving!

FML.

Sigh.

And.. and dryness please leave! I’ll have to get the fracking moisturizer now sigh.

Yeah, yeah, having a little breakdown right now.

Ok, let me yield up front…  LOL.  As I get older… I can honestly say that my tendency is to become more cynical.  I don’t like it… but it is happening.  I am no longer the little boy being driven to my grandparents house for Christmas Eve.  My brother is not sitting next to me… just as excited as I am… and my parents are not there in the front seat driving us there.  I still remember those Christmases past.  My brother and I, as my Dad’s parents only grandchildren, were spoiled this time of year.  I have always stated that Ghengis Khan never saw such a “golden hoard”.  In my family, I was always the first one who wanted to put up the Christmas tree (much to my brother’s embarrassment)  and I was always glued to the TV set to watch Rudolph, Frosty, and whatever other Christmas show was on.  If all this is true…. then why am I warning you off of office Christmas parties?

Well, first… let me remind you of the Seven Deadly Sins.  Do you remember them?  Wrath, Greed, Sloth, Pride, Lust, Envy, and Gluttony are they.  Well, just because Jesus came over 2000 years ago to save us from Sin… does not mean that these Cardinal Sins / Capital Vices have gone away.  If you don’t believe me… go to your office holiday party!

Over the last few years… I have seen many horrible things go on at office holiday parties.  After seeing it all do down, as it were, I realize that these parties more closely favor “Festival”… from the Star Trek Original Series episode entitled “Return of the Archons”, than a true Christmas holiday party.  In case you missed the Star Trek reference… these modern parties more resemble orgiastic revelry than a celebration of Christmas.  I know that a lot of that has to do with the presence of sweet treats… and the whole secularization of the feast of Christ Mass….  but I wonder if a few Christmas carols wouldn’t be all that bad.

I submit to you…. that there is no place more favored for an office bully to manifest themselves… than at the office holiday party.  Why?  Because, they see this as a prime opportunity to seize control of the plans and make their co-workers pay dearly.  Kind of sad… but often seems true.  They can rule the holiday committee with an iron fist…. telling the rest of the poor mortals what to do, how to do it, and when it must be done.  Add to the party… the much maligned “chinese gift exchange”… and you have a control freak’s dream… and the average quiet person’s worst nightmare!

I got a notice today about my office party… and I just deleted it as soon as it came.  I got another e-mail asking about my preferences on another holiday party… I just deleted that too.  Not very into seeing the 7 Capital Vices appear before me in the flesh!  Greed, Envy, Lust, gluttony, and envy didn’t have anything on that party last year.  even though there was a $15 limit on gift to be exchanged via the Chinese gift exchange, people went all out!  [PRIDE].  They bought multi-bottle alcohol gift sets… which got stolen, restolen, and stolen again!  [GREED, ENVY, LUST].  Everybody was so wrapped up in the food and the sport of the gift exchange [GLUTTONY] that things got out of hand.  Comments were said… and in spite of the laughter… I am sure that feelings were hurt.

I choose to see Jesus Christ in the season that carries his name… and to remember “The Reason for the Season”.  I don’t want to focus on the base emotions that ‘orginal sin’ fans the flames of our destruction.  Instead… I want to concentrate on “the Light of the World” coming to us… illuminating our path to salvation!

A subset of the holiday party… is the Thanksgiving pot-luck lunch.  that is where you bring in a part of the meal to contribute to a bounty… where we should be thankful for all that we have.  we all sit around… have a serving of what everybody has prepared… and appreciate out coworkers, and the many blessings that we enjoy.  unfortunately, these parties have a dark side as well.  I experienced a dark side of this phenomenon.  I brought food in to a holiday party…. and people made rude comments about what I brought in.  (In this case, pumpkin bread)  Instead of passing it over, many people present had to tell everybody and carry on how they were sure it was ‘nasty’.  It must be I guess, because a loser like me made it!  LOL.  Anyway… when they were packing up the food to put in the office refrigerator so that they could have it in the next days that followed, I marveled at how delicious it looked, how wonderful it smelled, and lamented that I was the only one who ate any.  Oh well, I just picked the plate up… and went to the garbage can and dumped the plate clean.  After I accomplished the “necessary” deed,  people started chastising me (as people are prone to do).  They demanded to know what I was doing… throwing away food?  I told them that all of you were telling me how gross the pumpkin bread was… and how you would not touch it, let alone consume any…. so I thought I was doing a favor for my coworkers… by throwing it out”.

Many stood there looking at me…. mouths gaping wide open and eyes startled.  I just simply took my plate, and left.  Ever since that moment… I have been more critical of these types of events… and the overall pettiness of the people who attend them.  I am saddened by the lack of manners that people show these days.  It is tough enough in this world to keep a positive outlook in this world… without actively seeking out situations where this task is made even harder.

So, be warned… of the evil that lurks in the hearts of those blinded by greed (and the chinese gift exchange).  In the immortal words of Scrooge… “You keep Christmas in your own way, and I will keep it in mine!”.   Joy to the World, the Lord has come!

[Dedicated to V]

]]> http://theturquoisesky.wordpress.com/2009/11/24/lolz-fun-day/ Tue, 24 Nov 2009 07:52:50 +0000 twigfur http://theturquoisesky.wordpress.com/2009/11/24/lolz-fun-day/

It was fun…We flipped coins and so decided not to watch New Moon. It was cool. Everyone flipped heads…i think, which was “to not watch.” lolz.

I think I ate too much….

sorta awkward though. I wonder why…

~~~

I wonder how to make clothes for a doll. It seems hard…

I feel like I’m suffocating. blah.

Pottery is such a calming, meditative experience. Except when it’s not.

Today it was decidedly not.

The Small Comforts, which I wanted to have in the gallery’s Christmas show, and which were already a few days behind deadline for submission *anyways*, but which were going to be fired over the weekend and snuck in at the last minute before jurying started for the show… didn’t get fired. I’m kinda crushed. This is the… what, second? third?… group show I’ve had plans for but didn’t get into thanks to technical issues.

I loaded and started the kiln Saturday evening, partly with my stuff and partly with general studio stuff. Heather was going to come in Sunday and turn it up, and there was going to be happy fresh pottery to unload Monday morning, ready for jurying. But the kiln sitter[1] went off prematurely (it looks like it cracked or shifted somehow, after only an hour or two), and the kiln didn’t get any warmer than about heat-up-the-leftover-potatoes temperature. I wiggled in a new bar and turned on the kiln on my lunch break. I’m home now, making spaghetti for supper[2]. I’ll head back to the studio in an hour or two, and make teacups and sit up with the kiln until Oh Gawd O’Clock tonight. Guess the Small Comforts won’t make it into the show, but they might get into that Gallery Shop thing they’re planning for this Christmas. We’ll see.

[1] Safety feature on most kilns. Basically, there’s a lever held up by a little bar of material that is engineered to melt at a certain temperature. So, when the kiln hits the right temperature, the bar melts and sags, the lever comes down, and the kiln switches off. It’s supposed to make it impossible to forget about the kiln/overfire your work/burn down your studio. They’re wonderful, useful things, except when they don’t work, which is an annoyingly frequent occurence.

[2] Spaghetti is my father’s favourite meal, and a favourite of mine and my brothers’ now.[3] It’s my comfort (ha!) food, and I really, really wanted some after looking in the kiln this morning…

[3] My mom got pretty damn sick of it after the first ten or twelve years, though.

Wie man sich vielleicht denken kann, wird – angesichts der Überschrift – dieser Eintrag eher etwas negativer geprägt sein. Natürlich nicht ohne Grund, ist mein Geschichtslehrer doch nun einmal komplett unfähig.

Ich mein, mal ganz im Ernst: Was soll das denn? Momentan befinden wir uns ja eigentlich bei der industriellen Revolution (nicht umbedingt mein Lieblingsthema, aber na ja). Blöd nur, dass wir zu dieser seit der letzten Kursarbeit NICHTS so wirklich besprochen haben. Nächste Woche wird zwar über eben jenes Thema geschrieben aber das ist meinem Lehrer anscheinend echt egal, hat er doch heute mit dem Wiener Kongress begonnen, der ja dann auch noch Thema der Kursarbeit wird. Als wir dann mal nachgefragt haben, was denn so alles drankommt war die Antwort – wie leider zu erwarten war – : “Ja, ich erwarte, dass ihr wisst, was in den Verfassertexten steht, außerdem bekommt ihr von mir noch Materialien, um euch das ganz selbst zu erarbeiten.”

BREAK! Was soll denn die Scheiße jetz? Wir sprechen seit geschlagenen 2 Monaten über unwichtigen Kleinkram (okay, wir haben gestern mal einen Ausschnitt aus “Das Kapital” gelesen, wow!) und jetzt, eine Woche vor der Kursarbeit (er wusste nicht mal, dass wir schon nächste Woche schreiben -.-), fällt ihm auf, dass sogar noch ein Thema fehlt. Nur als kurze Zwischeninfo: Der andere Geschichtskurs ist schon bei Bismarck.
Außerdem hat er eigentlich gar kein Konzept. Ich mein, er blättert am Ende jeder Stunde nochmal verzweifelt in seinem Buch, nur um uns irgenwelche Aufgaben aufzugeben, nur damit wir was aufham.
Ich hasse solche Trottel.

Gut, dass das Wetter mich die Tage auch noch im Stich lässt und dafür sorgt, dass ich eigentlich permanent Kopfschmerzen hab -.- .

Glück 2 würd ich mal sagen…

I’ve had zero proper nights of sleep this week, compounded by yet another 12 hour day today. I’m now reaching the limits of human consciousness.

Program on the radio this week about thinking positive. People say it’s important to think positive but also that it’s ok to be sad, and that’s important too. Basically life now must consist of a fraught psychological battle to maintain a delicate emotional equilibrium between ecstasy and depression.

I say fuck it. I’m only happy when I’m listening to a gentle Radio 4 comedy and playing street fighter. Everything else can chew my special set.

watching lily winters-ashby makes me want to punch a cat. 

i honestly can’t stand this character; she’s even surpassed the dull as dishwater mackenzie as THE WORST on Y&R. 

each time she’s on my tv, i find myself actively rooting for the cancer just so the viewers can get a break from the non-stop whining!  goooooooooo cancer!

Another bad day. I mean, not that yesterday was bad, just that this adds to the count of bad days I’ve ranted about here.

I don’t know why. I just get irritable when I see someone. I don’t know why. And then it messes the rest of my day up.

Bleh.

I didn’t even run the mile…well, walk it with Mina today. Blah.

Oh well, whatever, I probably bother her enough as it is.

sighs.

I feel entitled to complain and have people listen to me and be sympathetic. Which, I shouldn’t, because I’m not entitled to it.

lolz.

And I’m a morbid cynic.

Apparently.

Whatever, it fits for now.

~~~

Life sucks when you’re unhappy and you know you shouldn’t be.

while lightening doesn’t often strike twice in daytime, i think TPTB missed the boat in writing sandy-agnes and whip as cousins because sarah joy brown and rick hearst have smoking hot chemistry…what were they thinking?

Yayyy. Children in need tomorrow, and if your kind then you might do something to raise money for it. If not then ohh well. Mean people. I am with my friend, we are being tied together all day so somehow we have to walk together and we’re going to the same lessons. We have raised around £20 so far, its not much but it’s something, and it’s going to people who need it.

I hate my family atm. :@
For the last three or four months now it’s just been arguing and fighting 24/7. I get really fed up of it and whereas my mum, sister and my mums boyfriend can deal with it,  i can’t. So i’ve gotta go stay with my dad for a couple of weeks =/

“Wir” sind jetzt auch dabei. Typisch Schweizer natürlich ein bisschen später als alle anderen, aber immerhin – auch wir können jetzt revolutionieren, juhui! Was haben wir doch immer gespannt den Geschichten unserer Eltern zugehört, wow, besetzte Unis, wow, Streiks und Strassenschlachten und freie Liebe, wow. Jetzt können wir das auch! Wahnsinn. Echem.

Dank meinen Kommilitonen hatte ich heute also fast den ganzen Tag frei, 400 Studenten kann man halt nicht einfach so in einen anderen Raum einteilen. Da hätte ich ja richtig ausschlafen und in aller Ruhe brunchen, ein langes Bad am Mittag nehmen und gemütlich Zeitung lesen, mich so gegen 14.00 Uhr gemächlich im Seminar einfinden und in all dieser Zeit ein schönes Musikstück für Sie auswählen können. Aber nein. Pünktlich um Zehn dagestanden. Für nix. War auch zu spät um wieder nach Hause zu gehen und sich nochmals ins Bett zu legen. Bücher auch keine dabei, lernen fiel aus. Den ganzen Vormittag in Cafés rumgehangen und Zeit vertrödelt. Am Schluss ausgesehen wie ein Lastesel, weil blöde Dinge gekauft und dabei nicht überlegt, dass die noch den ganzen Tag herumgetragen werden müssen. Deshalb auch total verschwitzt überall angekommen. War fertig wie nach acht Stunden Vorlesung. Aber hey, dafür haben wir jetzt eine besetzte Uni. Ich kann die Begeisterung leider nicht richtig zeigen, die würde den Rahmen total sprengen. Soooo begeistert bin ich. Toll macht ihr das. Echem. Nein nein, das ist kein Sarkasmus, ich hab’s grade ein bisschen mit dem Hals. Also, Danke, liebe Kommilitonen. Arbeitet doch bitte noch ein bisschen an der Informationsverbreitung, zwecks Tagesplanung und so. Vielleicht komm’ ich dann trotzdem mal vorbei, vielleicht.

Nachtrag: kann man eigentlich auch gegen Proteste protestieren?

Right or Left? Seriously, I need some rest. Tooth number four is violently coming out, sleep has been of dubious quality, poor Bresho is in pain so he complains all.day.long.non.stop. His complaining is the soundtrack of my life right now.

My to-do list is bossing me around and instructing me to do a million things including the following:

Finish marking my student’s term paper

Finish the Save the Dates and send them out one month ago

Translate my thesis proposal into Spanish so I can send it to Colombia for the field research part of my research

Some of these things require, you know, thinking which I am not sure I can do right now. What’s worse, I have to think in two languages at the same time and with this teething soundtrack on repeat at the back, I am not sure it will happen.

Sorry for complaining and making your eyes bleed as a result of random, unexpected and unnecessary grumbling, whining, and nagging. I am sure some people have real problems in their lives, but I’m just a bit stressed out. Only 20 more miles… my mind defaults to kilometers, so I don’t even know if 20 miles is a lot… I hope I make it!

There’s a restless feelin’ in my bones an’ I know,
That at times, it just won’t go away.
But the one thing I know: that when I, I turn out the light,

Visions of you, dear, dance in the night.
I’ve been put down, pushed around, apprehended and led downtown.

Can’t help it if I’m full of fire.
An’ I can’t help it if I’m out of sight,
‘Cause I’m restless tonight.

Sometimes lyrics just fit you to a T and right now, these paint the best picture.  I’m full of fire in a city that’s fired up…and more times than not I’m pushed to the point of punches.
Maybe it’s because everyone is struggling and everyone is having a hard time….we’re like bees in a hive without honey and we’re stinging mad.  But, I just can’t live like this.  I need to be calm.  I need to be collected.  I need peace. 

Peaces comes from within, but maybe I’m all out.

Just ate a SERIOUS amount of Poppycock.

SERIOUS amount.

Just ate a SERIOUS amount of Poppycock.

SERIOUS amount.

They told us that we could let ourselves process the day’s events here at work how we wanted to.  A couple of options thrown out were “walk outside for a few minutes” and “stare at the screen for 10 minutes.”

I think blogging counts, right?

I won’t go into details, but suffice it to say, the recession sucks, and bureaucracy sucks mullets.  I’m so thankful I’m a contract worker.  I could have never dreamed how thankful I’d be.  My job is safe for its brief remainder, but others haven’t been so lucky.

At the same time, I realized today how emotionally attached I’ve become to my coworkers.  I really have, despite my complaining.  I’ve been blessed with some weird work situations in my life, but I almost always have been concurrently blessed with some great people to accompany me in said situations.  This was definitely one of them.

I totes need a hug today.

I think Tuesdays are proving to be the roughest in this new workandschool existence thing I’m doing.  Mondays, I’m a little more rested.  Thursdays, I’m worthless mentally by that evening’s class, but at least I know the next day’s Friday.  Tuesdays, I’m worn out from Monday, but the week has still just begun.

I wanted to see Leonid last night, but it was too cloudy.  Plus I’d have given up some of the few precious hours of sleep I got last night.

I apologize to the few people I communicated with today.  I was a bummer.

Wah wah wah, whatever.  I will say that some budgeting I did last night gave way to brief despair which gave way to outreaching, and it looks like at least a couple of things are on the horizon that will be improving quality of life (and maybe quality of blogging?) around these parts.  Stay tuned.