Bugs. The bane of my existance.
I am deathly afraid of several types of bug.
There's the obvious fears of bees, wasps, hornets, or any other flying bug that stings. If I see one of these fierce predators, I generally either a) freak out and run away or b) go catatonic and say "uhhhhh uhhhhh uhhhhh" while staring at the flying offender. This leads to me not having picnics, or eating outside in general, because wasps tend to really love all the food I generally eat.
The basis of this fear (because I wasn't always afraid of these things -- bumble bees used to intrigue me) is that when I was just about 5, and we were driving from NY to California in the dead of August through some god awfully hot state that I can't remember the name of, though it did look much like Nevada... I was shirtless in the car, and a hornet got into the car without my parents noticing, and it promptly stung me squarely on the belly button. Yes, screaming ensued. Yes, my parents were baffled. Yes, I have never been able to look at a stinging flying creature without freaking out since.
Then there's the not so obvious ones.
Ants. I am afraid of ants. To the degree that if I find them in my house in any quantity, I hyperventillate and must go around spraying every last one with windex until they are all completely and totally dead. And then I can't sleep for a day or two, because of the nightmares. Actually, thats the mild response. As in, the response to only having a very very small trail of the buggers show up somewhere. There was an instance in which I woke up one morning, walked into the kitchen to start breakfast, and found a foot wide seething swath of ants that went from my patio door, up the wall, across the ceiling in the living room, along the wall into the kitchen, and down behind the stove. I panicked (I can never remember how to spell that stupid word, I'm guessing its right, but I'm not entirely certain). I couldn't think straight. I couldn't find my way to the windex. I did however manage to find my phone, which I then used to call my ex, and when he answered all I could say was "Ants... Ants everywhere. Help." and cry. Thankfully, that was enough communication for him to grab some raid on the way to my apt, and mercilessly murder the little bastards while I huddled in the corner of my couch watching to make sure he got every last one, and when he missed one, I'd yell "There! There! Kill it!" and point until it was gone...
And then there was the one time in college when I found ants in my bathroom (no where else) one morning, and had to call in sick to work, and not go to class, just so that I could kill every last single one, go get ant bait so they wouldn't come back, then clean my entire apartment because the thought of even one ant on the edge of the toilet was too much for me to bear... Especially when I had to pee... Frantic checking of all edges of the toilet took place for at least 5 minutes before using the thing (including the lifting of seats, and tank covers) every time I needed to, for an entire week.
Typing this, it all seems quite hilarious... And come to think of it, everyone that's ever witnessed my ant exposure based breakdowns has always laughed at me throughout the entire episode...
Then there's the little bitty flying buzzing bugs, that don't actually hurt you that much... But have an awful tendency to fly in your ears and eyes and nose and mouth when you're least expecting it. Mosquitos in particular. Its not so much the bugs themselves that scare me in that instance... Its the "OMG there's a bug in my ear!" thing that bothers me. I think I've grown up hearing way too many stories of people waking up with cockroaches stuck in their ears... Not to mention that there's something that just really freaks me out about the idea of a bug getting inside me somehow. Maybe I have Aliens to thank for that fear... Who knows.
Strangely enough, I am not afraid of spiders. Sure, sometimes they might startle me, but I am not afraid of them in the least. Actually, I quite appreciate them, as they make a habit of eating all the bugs that freak me out.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Monday, June 25, 2007
I Could Have Done Better With Hypercard
I am officially completely and totally disgusted with my department.
Today I was required to attend a "training" session in regards to our online financial management/purchasing/reimbursements system thing. They're offering these training sessions in the hopes of getting more people to use it, instead of submitting paper documents. Well, let me tell you, no amount of training sessions are going to get more people to use this piece of crap system.
Management thinks people aren't using it because "they're afraid of new ways of doing things." HA! This is a research center that gets its funding specifically because they're one of the best in the world at figuring out how to create new and better ways of doing things. The faculty and students aren't afraid of new things. They make their livings off of new things. They APPRECIATE new and better ways to do things.
The problem here is that this online system isn't better. It's new, yes. But its already an outdated, poorly programmed, unweildly mess of a thing. Personally, I don't want to ever log into it again.
Now... I'm going to preface this next bit by explaining that I am extremely tech savvy. You give me a new program to use, and I don't need a manual. I just sit down with the thing for an hour, and suddenly I'm an expert. I'm no stranger to basic programming either. I understand the ins and outs. I've designed websites. I've written programs in basic. My BF bombards me every day with information about programming and programming languages that I never dreamed I'd ever hear, let alone actually understand -- but I do understand a lot of it.
That being said: I could have done a better job at designing this thing, and I could have done a better job of it using nothing more than hypercard. Do you remember hypercard? That lovely little program Mac had back in the 90's that let you basically write your own computer programs just by dragging and dropping page elements? Eh, if you don't remember it, that's okay. Imagine Frontpage or Dreamweaver, but for writing applications as well as websites, and much more simplistic.
Seriously. I could have done way better.
The GUI on this "intranet" is so counterintuitive that I spent 15 minutes just trying to figure out which menu item I was supposed to click on. Me. Me, who only ever needs an hour to learn a piece of software well enough to give classes on how to use it. I was completely and totally lost in this web app. The menu set up was beyond attrocious. The "instructions" on each page were convoluted and misleading. The functionality is so limited, that I can get things done faster on paper. Not to mention the fact that this thing is entirely laid out using tables. There are no divs on the page. None. Just tables. Tables and tables and tables, within even more tables.
There is no "help" menu either. No FAQ. Just a 20 page user manual that you have to download in .pdf.
If a professor wants to look at his available funding (a simple thing, a common thing) he has to sift through several pages full of overly long links (not buttons or anything), each time clicking the right one to get further along in the process.
If a student wants to make a requisition, they have to figure out that the correct section of the site to go to for that is "services" then they have to figure out which professor they're supposed to be logging in under, and then they have to figure out which type of requisition they want to fill out -- and none of this is labelled clearly and simply. It's all in accounting staff jargon that no one understands (well, no one except us accountants).
And you know what makes this whole situation worse? It's taken the staff they hired to do this YEARS to get it to the point it's at currently. YEARS! The BF probably could have had it done in 6 months, with way more functionality, and have it so streamlined that no one would be confused about anything, and no "training" would be necessary, as you could tell exactly what you were doing just by looking at the thing.
Oh yeah, and did I mention that the guy they hired to do this barely speaks english, and makes about 3 times as much money as I do.
And I could have done better at it using Hypercard.
*screams in frustration*
Today I was required to attend a "training" session in regards to our online financial management/purchasing/reimbursements system thing. They're offering these training sessions in the hopes of getting more people to use it, instead of submitting paper documents. Well, let me tell you, no amount of training sessions are going to get more people to use this piece of crap system.
Management thinks people aren't using it because "they're afraid of new ways of doing things." HA! This is a research center that gets its funding specifically because they're one of the best in the world at figuring out how to create new and better ways of doing things. The faculty and students aren't afraid of new things. They make their livings off of new things. They APPRECIATE new and better ways to do things.
The problem here is that this online system isn't better. It's new, yes. But its already an outdated, poorly programmed, unweildly mess of a thing. Personally, I don't want to ever log into it again.
Now... I'm going to preface this next bit by explaining that I am extremely tech savvy. You give me a new program to use, and I don't need a manual. I just sit down with the thing for an hour, and suddenly I'm an expert. I'm no stranger to basic programming either. I understand the ins and outs. I've designed websites. I've written programs in basic. My BF bombards me every day with information about programming and programming languages that I never dreamed I'd ever hear, let alone actually understand -- but I do understand a lot of it.
That being said: I could have done a better job at designing this thing, and I could have done a better job of it using nothing more than hypercard. Do you remember hypercard? That lovely little program Mac had back in the 90's that let you basically write your own computer programs just by dragging and dropping page elements? Eh, if you don't remember it, that's okay. Imagine Frontpage or Dreamweaver, but for writing applications as well as websites, and much more simplistic.
Seriously. I could have done way better.
The GUI on this "intranet" is so counterintuitive that I spent 15 minutes just trying to figure out which menu item I was supposed to click on. Me. Me, who only ever needs an hour to learn a piece of software well enough to give classes on how to use it. I was completely and totally lost in this web app. The menu set up was beyond attrocious. The "instructions" on each page were convoluted and misleading. The functionality is so limited, that I can get things done faster on paper. Not to mention the fact that this thing is entirely laid out using tables. There are no divs on the page. None. Just tables. Tables and tables and tables, within even more tables.
There is no "help" menu either. No FAQ. Just a 20 page user manual that you have to download in .pdf.
If a professor wants to look at his available funding (a simple thing, a common thing) he has to sift through several pages full of overly long links (not buttons or anything), each time clicking the right one to get further along in the process.
If a student wants to make a requisition, they have to figure out that the correct section of the site to go to for that is "services" then they have to figure out which professor they're supposed to be logging in under, and then they have to figure out which type of requisition they want to fill out -- and none of this is labelled clearly and simply. It's all in accounting staff jargon that no one understands (well, no one except us accountants).
And you know what makes this whole situation worse? It's taken the staff they hired to do this YEARS to get it to the point it's at currently. YEARS! The BF probably could have had it done in 6 months, with way more functionality, and have it so streamlined that no one would be confused about anything, and no "training" would be necessary, as you could tell exactly what you were doing just by looking at the thing.
Oh yeah, and did I mention that the guy they hired to do this barely speaks english, and makes about 3 times as much money as I do.
And I could have done better at it using Hypercard.
*screams in frustration*
Friday, June 22, 2007
Staff Depreciation Day
Wednesday was Staff Depreciation Day.
What? I'm making typos? I should have typed Staff Appreciation Day? Nooooo... I'm not making any typos. I intended it to read exactly that. You see, ever since I've come to work here, "staff appreciation day" has gotten cheaper and cheaper, and more and more insulting.
The first one of these things I ever got to attend, we were encouraged to bring our families with us, and partake of a huge barbeque, and play carnival games, and dance to live music all afternoon. Not to mention, bring home lots of free stuff, like t-shirts and mugs and note pads and pens and, and, and.
The second one was still a huge barbeque with carnival games, live music and loads of free stuff, but we weren't allowed to bring our families.
The third one was a much smaller barbeque (as in, one per person type thing), with carnival games, live music, and a little bit of free stuff.
The fourth one was a small barbeque, really stupid carnival games (as in, I think someone made them in their backyard), live music, and even less free stuff.
The fifth one was a rationed barbeque, for which we were required to show staff ID, the games may have well not existed, the live music was so lame it hurt my ears, and the "free stuff" consisted of a really lame looking t-shirt.
This year, year 6, wasn't even a barbeque. The university cafeteria catered premade sandwiches and bags of something that was supposed to resemble popcorn. There was no live music... At least, if there was, it hadn't shown up by the time I did (and I went late). And the "free stuff" was now not even a lame t-shirt, but was a sports bottle (you know, the OLD kind, made of thick rubbery plastic, that makes the water taste like plastic), and a pen.
Oh yes, we staff are sooo appreciated that they keep cutting the funding used to appreciate us.
What? I'm making typos? I should have typed Staff Appreciation Day? Nooooo... I'm not making any typos. I intended it to read exactly that. You see, ever since I've come to work here, "staff appreciation day" has gotten cheaper and cheaper, and more and more insulting.
The first one of these things I ever got to attend, we were encouraged to bring our families with us, and partake of a huge barbeque, and play carnival games, and dance to live music all afternoon. Not to mention, bring home lots of free stuff, like t-shirts and mugs and note pads and pens and, and, and.
The second one was still a huge barbeque with carnival games, live music and loads of free stuff, but we weren't allowed to bring our families.
The third one was a much smaller barbeque (as in, one per person type thing), with carnival games, live music, and a little bit of free stuff.
The fourth one was a small barbeque, really stupid carnival games (as in, I think someone made them in their backyard), live music, and even less free stuff.
The fifth one was a rationed barbeque, for which we were required to show staff ID, the games may have well not existed, the live music was so lame it hurt my ears, and the "free stuff" consisted of a really lame looking t-shirt.
This year, year 6, wasn't even a barbeque. The university cafeteria catered premade sandwiches and bags of something that was supposed to resemble popcorn. There was no live music... At least, if there was, it hadn't shown up by the time I did (and I went late). And the "free stuff" was now not even a lame t-shirt, but was a sports bottle (you know, the OLD kind, made of thick rubbery plastic, that makes the water taste like plastic), and a pen.
Oh yes, we staff are sooo appreciated that they keep cutting the funding used to appreciate us.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Quirk #4
I can't stand silence.
No really, I hate it. I've constantly got to have some kind of noise going on, preferably music or the TV. I go a little bit nuts if there's no backround noise.
I'm not entirely sure why this is, but it is.
No really, I hate it. I've constantly got to have some kind of noise going on, preferably music or the TV. I go a little bit nuts if there's no backround noise.
I'm not entirely sure why this is, but it is.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Life is weird...
When I was a teenager, and deep into my Christian phase, a friend and I made a local Christian bookstore our hang out of choice. They had a great music selection (as in, rock music, not just your typical gospel stuff), and on Friday nights, they had live performances. They also had a coffee/juice bar, so we could basically hang there until we decided we were hungry enough to go find food somewhere.
In the course of hanging out there, we got to know the owners, who were all really sweet people.
Eventually, my friend got a job there, so we all hung out there even more than before, and became friends with the owners. One of them especially, went out of his way for us, opening up the coffee bar early, or opening it up just for us even when it was supposed to be closed all day. He was the sweetest guy...
I still have fond memories of getting a couple friends together and heading over there on Friday nights to see local Christian performers live, for free. And I remember how the owners were nice enough to sell another friend's band's album without much of a markup, so the band got to keep most of the profits (I still have that album somewhere... They were actually pretty good). And I loved how they didn't mind a group of teenagers hanging out in the store -- they encouraged it in fact. I guess they rathered us hanging out there, in a Christian environment, than going somewhere less... Well, less Christian.
Last week there was a small plane crash not too far from where I live. The names of those involved were not publicized, so I didn't pay too much attention to it. Planes seem to crash every now and again out here... We have a lot of small airports, and a lot of inexperienced people flying Cesnas.
But I just heard from a friend this morning that one of the people killed in this particular crash was one of the owners of this store that we spent so much time at growing up. Her old boss, and our old friend. The one who was extra nice to us.
Life is just so weird sometimes...
In the course of hanging out there, we got to know the owners, who were all really sweet people.
Eventually, my friend got a job there, so we all hung out there even more than before, and became friends with the owners. One of them especially, went out of his way for us, opening up the coffee bar early, or opening it up just for us even when it was supposed to be closed all day. He was the sweetest guy...
I still have fond memories of getting a couple friends together and heading over there on Friday nights to see local Christian performers live, for free. And I remember how the owners were nice enough to sell another friend's band's album without much of a markup, so the band got to keep most of the profits (I still have that album somewhere... They were actually pretty good). And I loved how they didn't mind a group of teenagers hanging out in the store -- they encouraged it in fact. I guess they rathered us hanging out there, in a Christian environment, than going somewhere less... Well, less Christian.
Last week there was a small plane crash not too far from where I live. The names of those involved were not publicized, so I didn't pay too much attention to it. Planes seem to crash every now and again out here... We have a lot of small airports, and a lot of inexperienced people flying Cesnas.
But I just heard from a friend this morning that one of the people killed in this particular crash was one of the owners of this store that we spent so much time at growing up. Her old boss, and our old friend. The one who was extra nice to us.
Life is just so weird sometimes...
Monday, June 18, 2007
Stupid Saying of the Day
I was wandering around the WoW forums, and I came across a poster with the following idiotic saying in his signature field: "Except for ending Slavery, Fascism, Nazism and Communism, war has never solved anything!"
This has got to be the stupidest thing I've ever read... Okay, well maybe not the stupidest, but at least the stupidest thing I've read today.
To my knowledge, all these things are alive and well in the world.
When confronted with this fact, the person with the saying in their signature says to me "The Civil War abolished slavery. WWII got rid of Hitler. The Cold War stopped the spread of Communism."
Being that this was the WoW forums, I wanted to say "lrn2history" but a forum mod stepped in and told us to take the debate elsewhere.
Fine fine. Whatever.
Those of us fluent in world history and current events know that slavery existed (and still exists) in more countries than just the United States. A civil war in just one country does not abolish it world wide, and in fact, didn't even truly succeed in abolishing it in it's own country. It may not be legal in the US anymore, but it still exists here. All the poor teenage Thai and Vietnamese women being kidnapped and imported into the US for use as slave prostitution are proof of that.
And for those of us who know anything about history, WWII may have caused Hitler to kill himself, but he is not the end all be all of nazism. Sure, the current "nazi" groups are not as well organized, but I can guarantee you there are more members now than there were in the 30's.
As for the cold war... That didn't rid the world of communism. China and North Korea are still alive and well. France is fast on it's way to joining them in being communist, though they keep insisting they're only socialists. Whatever guys. Outlawing public displays of religion (even such small ones as wearing a teeny little cross as a necklace) sure sounds like communism to me.
Eh. Politics isn't my vent. I'm not pro-war, I'm not anti-war. Shit happens, and sometimes the only way to deal with it is to blow some people up. I get it. But I would never go so far as to say that war is GOOD. Necessary perhaps. But not good. It doesn't actually solve anything. It may take out the problem temporarily, by way of killing all the people involved in a situation, but that doesn't address the social issues behind whatever was going on. And until you address those social issues, you can never really "solve" a world wide problem.
Anyone who thinks otherwise is a moron, imo.
This has got to be the stupidest thing I've ever read... Okay, well maybe not the stupidest, but at least the stupidest thing I've read today.
To my knowledge, all these things are alive and well in the world.
When confronted with this fact, the person with the saying in their signature says to me "The Civil War abolished slavery. WWII got rid of Hitler. The Cold War stopped the spread of Communism."
Being that this was the WoW forums, I wanted to say "lrn2history" but a forum mod stepped in and told us to take the debate elsewhere.
Fine fine. Whatever.
Those of us fluent in world history and current events know that slavery existed (and still exists) in more countries than just the United States. A civil war in just one country does not abolish it world wide, and in fact, didn't even truly succeed in abolishing it in it's own country. It may not be legal in the US anymore, but it still exists here. All the poor teenage Thai and Vietnamese women being kidnapped and imported into the US for use as slave prostitution are proof of that.
And for those of us who know anything about history, WWII may have caused Hitler to kill himself, but he is not the end all be all of nazism. Sure, the current "nazi" groups are not as well organized, but I can guarantee you there are more members now than there were in the 30's.
As for the cold war... That didn't rid the world of communism. China and North Korea are still alive and well. France is fast on it's way to joining them in being communist, though they keep insisting they're only socialists. Whatever guys. Outlawing public displays of religion (even such small ones as wearing a teeny little cross as a necklace) sure sounds like communism to me.
Eh. Politics isn't my vent. I'm not pro-war, I'm not anti-war. Shit happens, and sometimes the only way to deal with it is to blow some people up. I get it. But I would never go so far as to say that war is GOOD. Necessary perhaps. But not good. It doesn't actually solve anything. It may take out the problem temporarily, by way of killing all the people involved in a situation, but that doesn't address the social issues behind whatever was going on. And until you address those social issues, you can never really "solve" a world wide problem.
Anyone who thinks otherwise is a moron, imo.
Quirk #3
I am a walking encyclopedia/dictionary/thesaurus/grammar reference.
It may not be evident in my posts here, as I tend to be rather laid back about my own personal writing style (this is of course, for my own benefit, and not anyone else's after all), but according to other people, I am a queen of the english language.
I was first dubbed a walking dictionary when I was in middle school (6th grade to be exact), and any time someone needed to know how to spell something, all they had to do was ask me. This trend first started with my close friends, and quickly blossomed outwards to the entire population of the school -- teachers included.
Then, in highschool, it expanded to asking me the meanings and origins of words, as well as what other words mean the same thing.
Then, in college, people started to ask me the entire history of concepts... Which, surprisingly I was able to explain, despite having very little memory of having actually read them (I'm sure I have, but I've read so much, it all gets a little jumbled up).
After college, I became a fount of useless information. You know, silly little trivia facts that don't actually mean anything to society, but its knowledge nonetheless, so I'd absorbed it somewhere. Things like "Mel Gibson's first film was an Australian flick called Tim, in which he played a mentally challenged young man who fell in love with a much older, highly intellectual woman." Or other things like, "it takes more calcium to digest milk than you actually get out of the milk itself, so if you drink milk for the calcium, you're actually operating at a net loss of calcium."
Now, at work, I act as an ESL teacher for one of my co-workers, who is constantly asking me about various words she doesn't understand, and how to properly construct sentences (She's from Algeria, and speaks French and Arabic natively -- not English).
All this is not to say that I know every word out there... I don't. But when I was younger, I would (for the fun of it) read the dictionary, so I know more arcane words than most. (How many of you know what Pusillanimous means? hmmm? Or what word it is in the etymology for that's commonly used today to mean the same thing?)
I did learn a new word the other day... Dearth. I was reading a Canadian's blog, and found this word, and was like "omg! A word I don't know! Need to look it up!"
(for those of you wondering, it means "a severe lack")
I also think I'm one of the only people who considers being able to use the Oxford English Dictionary online a perk of their job... LOL.
It may not be evident in my posts here, as I tend to be rather laid back about my own personal writing style (this is of course, for my own benefit, and not anyone else's after all), but according to other people, I am a queen of the english language.
I was first dubbed a walking dictionary when I was in middle school (6th grade to be exact), and any time someone needed to know how to spell something, all they had to do was ask me. This trend first started with my close friends, and quickly blossomed outwards to the entire population of the school -- teachers included.
Then, in highschool, it expanded to asking me the meanings and origins of words, as well as what other words mean the same thing.
Then, in college, people started to ask me the entire history of concepts... Which, surprisingly I was able to explain, despite having very little memory of having actually read them (I'm sure I have, but I've read so much, it all gets a little jumbled up).
After college, I became a fount of useless information. You know, silly little trivia facts that don't actually mean anything to society, but its knowledge nonetheless, so I'd absorbed it somewhere. Things like "Mel Gibson's first film was an Australian flick called Tim, in which he played a mentally challenged young man who fell in love with a much older, highly intellectual woman." Or other things like, "it takes more calcium to digest milk than you actually get out of the milk itself, so if you drink milk for the calcium, you're actually operating at a net loss of calcium."
Now, at work, I act as an ESL teacher for one of my co-workers, who is constantly asking me about various words she doesn't understand, and how to properly construct sentences (She's from Algeria, and speaks French and Arabic natively -- not English).
All this is not to say that I know every word out there... I don't. But when I was younger, I would (for the fun of it) read the dictionary, so I know more arcane words than most. (How many of you know what Pusillanimous means? hmmm? Or what word it is in the etymology for that's commonly used today to mean the same thing?)
I did learn a new word the other day... Dearth. I was reading a Canadian's blog, and found this word, and was like "omg! A word I don't know! Need to look it up!"
(for those of you wondering, it means "a severe lack")
I also think I'm one of the only people who considers being able to use the Oxford English Dictionary online a perk of their job... LOL.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Misheard Lyrics
For those of you who get a kick out of seeing what people mishear lyrics as...
You have absolutely got to watch this
.
Though, I'd reccomend not doing it at work. Not because there's anything racy about the video. It's not racy in the least. But because if you do watch it at work, you're liable to get in trouble for laughing yourself clean off your chair.
For the record, I hate this song. But this video... omg. I was laughing the entire time.
You have absolutely got to watch this
.
Though, I'd reccomend not doing it at work. Not because there's anything racy about the video. It's not racy in the least. But because if you do watch it at work, you're liable to get in trouble for laughing yourself clean off your chair.
For the record, I hate this song. But this video... omg. I was laughing the entire time.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Quirk #2
I have a chronic oral fixation.
Seriously. I just about always have something in my mouth. If I, by rare chance, don't already have something in my mouth, I'm trying to find something worth putting there.
I have no idea where this fixation comes from, but its ruined many pens, and countless shirt cuffs and collars. Not to mention the pull strings on any hoodies I might happen to own...
It's single handedly responsible for my smoking addiction (I don't think I'm actually addicted to the nicotine -- though I probably am -- I think its just something I do to occupy my lips), and the several pounds of extra weight I carry around.
So far today, I've...
Reduced a Starbucks straw to shreds of plastic.
Chewed on my finger nails (not bitten them off, just kinda chewed on them).
Bitten my fingers.
Chewed on the end of a pen (or three...).
Chewed on the cap to my bottle of iced tea.
Chewed on the cord for my headphones (not hard mind you).
Gone through a good couple ounces of sesame crackers.
Smoked way too many cigarettes.
Gone through 3 pieces of gum, each chewed for so long it made my jaw hurt.
If I were wearing a long sleeve shirt, I'd probably have chewed a hole in the cuff by now, but I'm wearing a tank top, so I haven't eaten any clothing yet today.
It's even bad enough that I grind my teeth in my sleep, and have even broken a tooth that way. Of course, my doctor says thats because of stress, but secretly I think its because I just don't have anything to chew on while I'm sleeping.
I'd like to think there's a cure for this out there somewhere... But I know there isn't, and I'm just a freak. *shrug* Oh well.
It does have it's plus sides though *wink wink, nod nod, blush, giggle*
Seriously. I just about always have something in my mouth. If I, by rare chance, don't already have something in my mouth, I'm trying to find something worth putting there.
I have no idea where this fixation comes from, but its ruined many pens, and countless shirt cuffs and collars. Not to mention the pull strings on any hoodies I might happen to own...
It's single handedly responsible for my smoking addiction (I don't think I'm actually addicted to the nicotine -- though I probably am -- I think its just something I do to occupy my lips), and the several pounds of extra weight I carry around.
So far today, I've...
Reduced a Starbucks straw to shreds of plastic.
Chewed on my finger nails (not bitten them off, just kinda chewed on them).
Bitten my fingers.
Chewed on the end of a pen (or three...).
Chewed on the cap to my bottle of iced tea.
Chewed on the cord for my headphones (not hard mind you).
Gone through a good couple ounces of sesame crackers.
Smoked way too many cigarettes.
Gone through 3 pieces of gum, each chewed for so long it made my jaw hurt.
If I were wearing a long sleeve shirt, I'd probably have chewed a hole in the cuff by now, but I'm wearing a tank top, so I haven't eaten any clothing yet today.
It's even bad enough that I grind my teeth in my sleep, and have even broken a tooth that way. Of course, my doctor says thats because of stress, but secretly I think its because I just don't have anything to chew on while I'm sleeping.
I'd like to think there's a cure for this out there somewhere... But I know there isn't, and I'm just a freak. *shrug* Oh well.
It does have it's plus sides though *wink wink, nod nod, blush, giggle*
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
101 Quirks About Me
This is something that a friend of mine has been doing on her blog, and since I've been short of ideas of things to post about lately, I thought I might take up the habit.
Quirk #1 --
I hate wearing shoes. In fact, the only reason I wear shoes at all is because I hate burning/cutting my feet worse.
When I was growing up, we (my mom, my sister and I) all went barefoot constantly. Shoes were not a requirement for leaving the house -- they were only a requirement if we were going somewhere that would be dangerous for our cute toes. Running around in the back yard, for example, did not require shoes. Playing at the beach, or in the grass at a park, or climbing trees did not require shoes. Heck, going to the grocery store didn't require shoes, as long as we were content to sit in the cart instead of walk around.
At home, we NEVER wore shoes. Or socks for that matter. We had hardwood floors, and even in the dead of winter when it was freezing cold we didn't put anything on our feet.
For a brief period of time I wouldn't even wear shoes when walking to and from school. The only reason I stopped doing that was because of the one time that I actually ended up with serious burns on the soles of my feet from walking across asphalt in 90 degree weather.
If I have to wear shoes, they're usually slip on's of some sort, or sandals, or flip flops that I don't have to wear socks with. And the moment I'm anywhere that I can remove them, I do.
I take my shoes off at my desk at work.
I take my shoes off in the car on long drives.
I take my shoes off while sitting in restaurants.
I take my shoes off the INSTANT I get home.
See, I went barefoot so much as a kid (and I'm sure that partially had to do with the cost of shoes, as well as the fact that my mother is a total batik wearing hippie at heart) that now my feet feel completely and totally trapped in shoes. To the degree that I'd even go so far as to say that my feet get claustrophobic.
As such, I am constantly confused by my BF. He forgets to take his shoes off. And he never takes off his socks. I mean never. Except to shower (Well, and for one other activity... No naked men in socks for me!). He even sleeps in them! I can't comprehend how he can stand to have his feet boxed up all the time like that. Meh.
Quirk #1 --
I hate wearing shoes. In fact, the only reason I wear shoes at all is because I hate burning/cutting my feet worse.
When I was growing up, we (my mom, my sister and I) all went barefoot constantly. Shoes were not a requirement for leaving the house -- they were only a requirement if we were going somewhere that would be dangerous for our cute toes. Running around in the back yard, for example, did not require shoes. Playing at the beach, or in the grass at a park, or climbing trees did not require shoes. Heck, going to the grocery store didn't require shoes, as long as we were content to sit in the cart instead of walk around.
At home, we NEVER wore shoes. Or socks for that matter. We had hardwood floors, and even in the dead of winter when it was freezing cold we didn't put anything on our feet.
For a brief period of time I wouldn't even wear shoes when walking to and from school. The only reason I stopped doing that was because of the one time that I actually ended up with serious burns on the soles of my feet from walking across asphalt in 90 degree weather.
If I have to wear shoes, they're usually slip on's of some sort, or sandals, or flip flops that I don't have to wear socks with. And the moment I'm anywhere that I can remove them, I do.
I take my shoes off at my desk at work.
I take my shoes off in the car on long drives.
I take my shoes off while sitting in restaurants.
I take my shoes off the INSTANT I get home.
See, I went barefoot so much as a kid (and I'm sure that partially had to do with the cost of shoes, as well as the fact that my mother is a total batik wearing hippie at heart) that now my feet feel completely and totally trapped in shoes. To the degree that I'd even go so far as to say that my feet get claustrophobic.
As such, I am constantly confused by my BF. He forgets to take his shoes off. And he never takes off his socks. I mean never. Except to shower (Well, and for one other activity... No naked men in socks for me!). He even sleeps in them! I can't comprehend how he can stand to have his feet boxed up all the time like that. Meh.
Monday, June 11, 2007
And Now For Something Completely Different.
So all last week I was sick. Went home from work on Monday with a fever and stomach cramps... And things just got worse from there. So Thursday I end up in my doctor's office, with her grilling me about what I ate on Sunday and Monday, and how many time's I'd been to the restroom, and what those trips to the restroom consisted of (in great detail... ick), and was anyone else sick, and so on and so on. What was the verdict? Food poisoning. And the treatment? The rest of the week at home doing nothing, lots of gatorade, and the same antibiotic that they give people for Anthrax.
Yeah, you read that right. And yeah, its as bad as it sounds. I spent a good 3 days cursing the stuff and wondering which was worse: The sickness? Or the cure?
In anycase, I'm feeling better now, and am back at work, wasting time between menial tasks.
And now for something completely different...
I'm starting to think that every time I go out for a smoke, a little sign appears over my head that says (in brightly blinking neon, with an arrow pointed down at my head): "Information Kiosk"
Why do I think that, you ask? (Okay, so you didn't ask. Just pretend that you did.) Well, it seems that every time I step outside my building, someone is asking me for directions.
The other day, someone asks me if the building I'm standing in front of is on Haste street.
I give her a funny look and say, "This is Hearst street."
She looks at me deadpan and asks, "Is there a difference?"
Me: "Yes"
What I wanted to say: "Yeah, the difference is that Haste is about a mile south of here. Enjoy your 20 minute walk."
Oy.
I would need to borrow someone else's hands and feet to be able to count on fingers and toes how many times I've been asked in the past 3 weeks: "Can I get to campus from here?"
Note: If you are "here" you are already on campus. Ahem.
I went out for a smoke after lunch today, and was talking with a co worker, when someone comes up to me and asks "is this the civil engineering building?" Of course, it's not... But I don't remember exactly which building is the civil engineering building. There are simply too many engineering buildings on campus to remember them all. So my co worker and I are listing off buildings to eachother, and naming the departments they cover...
"Evans?"
"No, that's math"
"Oh. What about Davis?"
"I don't know what's in Davis, but I don't think it's Civil"
"Well its not the Hearst Mining building..."
"Sibley?"
"That's not even a building. Its just an auditorium."
"Oh right."
"Etcheverry?"
"No, thats Mechanical"
"Um... O'Brien?"
"Chemistry. What's Mc Laughlin?"
"I think that's Civil"
"You sure?"
"Well, its not physics, thats for sure."
(Person asking for directions breaks in, albeit hesitantly): "Mc Laughlin sounds familiar?"
"That must be it then"
(Proceeded to give lengthy and convoluted directions)
Note: Just because someone is standing in the middle of a college campus, having a discussion about the goings on of said college campus, that doesn't necessarily mean they know which department is in what building. They have maps for these things. Use them.
I hope they ended up in the right place...
Yeah, you read that right. And yeah, its as bad as it sounds. I spent a good 3 days cursing the stuff and wondering which was worse: The sickness? Or the cure?
In anycase, I'm feeling better now, and am back at work, wasting time between menial tasks.
And now for something completely different...
I'm starting to think that every time I go out for a smoke, a little sign appears over my head that says (in brightly blinking neon, with an arrow pointed down at my head): "Information Kiosk"
Why do I think that, you ask? (Okay, so you didn't ask. Just pretend that you did.) Well, it seems that every time I step outside my building, someone is asking me for directions.
The other day, someone asks me if the building I'm standing in front of is on Haste street.
I give her a funny look and say, "This is Hearst street."
She looks at me deadpan and asks, "Is there a difference?"
Me: "Yes"
What I wanted to say: "Yeah, the difference is that Haste is about a mile south of here. Enjoy your 20 minute walk."
Oy.
I would need to borrow someone else's hands and feet to be able to count on fingers and toes how many times I've been asked in the past 3 weeks: "Can I get to campus from here?"
Note: If you are "here" you are already on campus. Ahem.
I went out for a smoke after lunch today, and was talking with a co worker, when someone comes up to me and asks "is this the civil engineering building?" Of course, it's not... But I don't remember exactly which building is the civil engineering building. There are simply too many engineering buildings on campus to remember them all. So my co worker and I are listing off buildings to eachother, and naming the departments they cover...
"Evans?"
"No, that's math"
"Oh. What about Davis?"
"I don't know what's in Davis, but I don't think it's Civil"
"Well its not the Hearst Mining building..."
"Sibley?"
"That's not even a building. Its just an auditorium."
"Oh right."
"Etcheverry?"
"No, thats Mechanical"
"Um... O'Brien?"
"Chemistry. What's Mc Laughlin?"
"I think that's Civil"
"You sure?"
"Well, its not physics, thats for sure."
(Person asking for directions breaks in, albeit hesitantly): "Mc Laughlin sounds familiar?"
"That must be it then"
(Proceeded to give lengthy and convoluted directions)
Note: Just because someone is standing in the middle of a college campus, having a discussion about the goings on of said college campus, that doesn't necessarily mean they know which department is in what building. They have maps for these things. Use them.
I hope they ended up in the right place...
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