Thunder of Wade

I headed to Staples last night to pick up a few things and as I walked in the door I knew something was amiss. The inner doors slowed as I walked through them and stopped so that I had to turn sideways to get in. The interior lights also went off for a moment – then came back on as someone shouted “sorry!”. Some of the lights went out again, but I was still able to find what I was looking for. I went to the registers at the front and got in line – unusual for staples as they usually get people through the checkout quickly. After a few moments, it became clear there was a problem with their computers – as a guy came to the line and asked who was paying by cash or check. After a wait, I got called over to the other register where the clerk started to write down the SKU numbers so he could go and look up the prices in the store. While he was gone, I asked another clerk if they could run a credit or debit card manually. They said no and walked away. I was about to go find the clerk that was helping me to point out he was wasting his time if I couldn’t use some kind of plastic – when he then came back with the prices. I asked about the plastic option again and he went to go find out the process – then discovered that the registers were working again. He rang up the purchases and I paid with my debit card and left.

Things that they did wrong:

A) no sign on the door. If they really couldn’t run plastic, they should have posted a sign or made a general announcement.

B) no backup plan? It was pretty chaotic when they tried to find the prices and get people checked out.

C) poor communication between the staff members. The clerk that was helping me was out of the loop and not prepared for having the system go down.

It all worked out, but it was a near thing.

In other news… I heard about someone who uses their mouse upside down – that is, with the cord pointing towards them. And, apparently, they do this on purpose. I can only imagine the problems this would cause. How could they get anything done? How would they train themselves away from the intuitive motion of the mouse? How would they use the buttons? (poorly, as it turns out) and what the hell would they do with the touch pad of a laptop?

I mean, seriously, give it a try. I had a bad enough time when I switched the mouse to the left hand side of my keyboard as a show of support for my left-handed co-workers. It was the longest day of my computing career.

Madness.

Anyway, that’s it for now. later…

Living in Akron, the sight of the blimp is not really that big of a deal. However, just a few days ago, the blimp flew over my backyard. It executed a not very tight turn – flying very low – and then flew off again. I shouted up at them to throw down some candy or snacks – but they didn’t here me. Or, since it isn’t a parade float, maybe they didn’t have any on board.

And working on a college campus means that talking about parking is a little pointless. In this case, after a return from lunch, I ended up parking a significant distance from the building where I work. And then realized, when I went to leave for the day, that I’d parked in a lot that I shouldn’t have based on my parking permit. Fortunately, I didn’t get a ticket.

Last evening I was in a bad mood – so I went for a walk to figure things out. It was pretty late and very dark – and my route was poorly lit. I was a little sensible about my gear – comfortable shoes, long pants, white shirt for visibility. And a knife – just in case. Not that the area where I walked is dangerous in that way, but you never know. Traffic was a bigger issue since sidewalks or even a level shoulder by the road were not always available. So, I got my head cleared a bit, came home, showered, and went to bed.

In the school news paper this week was a story about a guy who killed 2 of our students back in 1986 and was sentenced to be executed. However, he’s too obese for the lethal ejection – they can’t find his veins. His attorney is arguing that it’s now cruel and unusual and he should be spared. Because he’s too fat.

Now, I’m not going to debate the relative merits of a death-penalty for this case – but human beings have been finding interesting and clever ways of killing each other for thousands of years. And the needle stick is too cruel? Please. I’ve had some rough needle sticks giving blood and I didn’t cry about it.

Anyway, that’s it for now. Going to a party this evening and I’ve got some errands to do. The costume is coming along fine – just about ready for the next phase. I mentioned to someone recently that I was working on my costume and they remarked. “So, getting an early start?”

“Early?!” I replied, “No, I’m way behind schedule,”

Hey, I’ve got a reputation to uphold – and these things don’t build themselves.

later…

I headed up to the student center for lunch in a bad mood – which is never an ideal state of mind to be having when facing crowds of randomly moving college students. The noise, the chaos… it was nearly overwhelming. And in the middle of all of that and with a headache forming, I had a weird sensation come over me. For just an instant, I felt as though my physical being was just barely holding onto reality. As though, if I lost just a tiny bit more focus, I would get swept away in a burst of non-reality and cease to exist.

It was disconcerting to say the least. And a firm indication that I need to get more sleep at night.

Reminds me a bit of a few quotes from Douglas Adams:

From the Long, Dark, Tea-time of the Soul: “nonlinear, catastrophic structural exasperation” and “fundamentally fed up with being where it was.”

From the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: Spontaneous Massive Existence Failure

That last one seems to fit best. The feeling that we’ve got to – at least on some level – put forth some effort to simply exist. And if we stop doing – for even the smallest of instants – we suffer a spontaneous massive existence failure.

And perhaps there’s something deeper here. More psychology than physics. Can we get so lost in the chaos around us that we lose that essential element that makes us who we are? Is our grip on our own fundamental essence so tenuous? Can our “spark” flare up and go out?

I got my pizza and bottle of green tea with honey – which has, so far, failed completely in granting me any degree of calmness. I’m still cranky and now wary that my own atoms may get distracted and betray me into non-existence. It’s been a strange day and I’d really like to go home…

The big windstorm that took out power to a number of areas recently also shut down one of our satellite campuses. And since their web people were without power at home, I got tapped to be “on-call” to make updates to their website this morning. With the call coming in – potentially – between 4 and 6 am.

I woke up at 3:30 to use the bathroom and couldn’t really go back to sleep all the way – anticipating a phone call. That didn’t come until 6:45 – when I was told that the power was back on and no update was needed.

I’m glad I could be there to help out – but mildly cranky that I wasn’t needed and my sleep got hosed for sort of nothing. Eh, at least it doesn’t happen much.

I heard a new song last night on the cable music and I’ve been listening to it today. Amie Miriello: I Came Around Good stuff.

that’s it for now. Time to get back to it.

I ran some errands today – and I was ready for the rain. Flip-flops and a jacket with a hood. My feet got wet, but they dried much faster than if I’d been wearing shoes and socks. Not going to work in the winter-time – obviously – but while the temperature holds…

I got a lot done, even had time to drop $20 in my gas tank. And it went a lot further than if I’d waited a couple of hours – the price jumped $.20 in a couple of hours. Greedy gas companies.

This afternoon, I replaced the light fixture in my basement with one that has an outlet. This let me put in another light where I needed it. Didn’t take long either – though I had to stop and knock out the extra tabs to make it fit and then had to reverse it to get the outlet on the correct side. Still, I was pleased with the result.

I’m going to spend much of tomorrow working on my costume – I think I got all the supplies I needed today. Wish me luck.

That’s it for now… later.

So, I’m in the pool today and I’m doing my laps and there’s a guy getting ready to get in the lane next to mine. And by getting ready, I mean he was folding up his red-tipped white cane. He’s visually impaired. Which is not a big deal in the pool – I’ve seen him before and while he’s not fast, he does okay. Except he didn’t get in the lane next to mine – he got in my lane. I realized this on my way back and just floated there, facing him for a moment while I figured out what to do. I thought I might be able to share the lane, but he does tend to wander and I didn’t think I could avoid him. So, I ducked under the water and moved outside the lanes. I don’t think he realized what was going on at all.

Being outside the lanes meant that, for my last lap, I decided to go diagonally across the rest of the pool. It ended up being about a lap and a half and while I felt like I was breaking some kind of rule or something, I was completely ignored.

that’s about it for now… I’m glad the week is just about done. later…

I noticed on campus today that there were people handing out bibles to passersby. I politely declined to the two people standing about 10 feet away from each other. A little further on my way, I was asked if I was registered to vote. No connection between the two groups, just a little interesting that they were both on campus at the same time. (separation of church and state?)

My doctor’s office has been trying to get a hold of me – they’ve left a couple of messages. I called them today and they said it was about my high blood pressure medicine that my wife Robin called in about. When I expressed some confusion, they figured it must have been put in the wrong chart. It’s a little ironic that I’ve been meaning to schedule an appointment to see my doctor about my migraines, but I didn’t have my calendar available and I’ll need to look at my schedule before I set something up.

While I was running some errands this afternoon, I noticed a guy next to his bike in a grassy area near the road. His bike was laying on it’s side and he had his arm under his head – apparently enjoying the shade on a warm day and resting. I drove on past, thinking he had the right idea. When I came back through, the area was surrounded by ambulances – the sleeping guy had apparently been injured – maybe by a hit and run – and was now being cared for by the paramedics. I felt bad – I should have stopped. But at the same time, he looked like he was sleeping in the shade next to his bike – something I might have done in that same position.

Finally, I got a notice in the that I’d been randomly selected to provide my proof of insurance. Sort of like winning a contest. Except I don’t get anything, it costs me a stamp, and if I don’t do it, my registration is revoked.

that’s it for now – later…

I went to visit my folks for the weekend to celebrate my dad’s birthday and their anniversary. I got them a red coffee pot – which they’ve been looking for – and scored major points. We played some dominoes and hung out a bit. On Sunday afternoon we headed out and went to Jungle Jim’s – a sort of international food mart. In this one store you can buy wasabi crackers, a pig’s head, and every kind of kitchen appliance you could imagine. I found an ice cream scoop that will work great for ice cream cones.

From there, we headed further south to Cincinati for the Riverfest fireworks show. We faced closed roads, distant parking, confused GPS, and 50 degree angle concrete seating. While a bit uncomfortable, the view was pretty good and the fireworks show was excellent. When it was over, we stood up – along with 20,000 other people – and headed for the cars. The group managed to stay together somehow and we made it out of there without too much trouble. It was a long drive home though.

On Monday, my parents and I – along with their dog – headed to Slate Run park for a bit of hiking. We didn’t go to far since the dog was getting tired, but still had a good trip.

I headed back Monday afternoon and was back at work today – and I didn’t enjoy it. Really crazy day. I left a bit early so I could go give blood – which went very smoothly except that the needle site kept bleeding. The tech finally got it under control and I went to Border’s – then Chic-fil-et.

It’s been a pretty quiet evening around here and I’m looking forward to an early bedtime. The weekend has caught up with me and the blood donation has made me tired.

That’s it for me… later.

I was going a little stir crazy last night after a difficult day at work, so, I headed out to target to pick up a few things – nothing critical, just something to get me out of the apartment for a few. As I was getting ready to check out, I discovered something of a truth:

“There’s no such thing as a good line”

As I stood there, patiently waiting my turn, I watched several people attempt to jockey for position. In every case, they ended up in no better position than before.

It’s the human element. Unless you are first in line and actually at the register, there’s a significant chance that a human will do something to disrupt the flow of the system. Check writing with a non functional pen or missing ID. Spills. Forgotten items or price disputes.

In my opinion, the best way through these is to just pick a line and wait it out.

Now, while I believe there is no such thing as a good line – I’ve convinced there is such a thing as a bad line.

And yesterday, I was in one.

The woman in front of me had an “aroma”. And while I could avoid looking at the mass of flesh on the backs of her upper arms after the initial glance, I could not “un-smell” her. She was trying to make small talk with the cashier while being passive aggressive with the bagger about how he was loading her cart incorrectly – something about the heavy items being actually in the cart as opposed to balanced in the child seat area so that she wouldn’t have to lift it out.

I waited quietly. She had to purchase a gift card as well and was chatting with the cashier about how good the orange flavored chocolate was that she was buying.

And then, the problem. She put in the wrong pin number. Completely flustered and helpless she became. It was, clearly, the very end of the world. The cashier had to lean over and walk her through the steps to undo her mistake – all the while she went on and on about how she used the pin from another card.

She looked at me for support, as though expecting I would chime in about a similar incident in my life where I too had entered the wrong pin number.

Instead, I looked through her, then through her very soul and on out the other side. Utterly dismissing her very existence. Because there was no way I was going to get dragged into her life in any way, shape or form.

Pin number correctly entered, she collected her receipt with something akin to reluctance. As she carefully folded it and worked her way through her purse for the correct location to place it, I realized that she was upset that her performance was ending so soon and that the audience – namely me – did not appreciate the show.

When she finally cleared the way and headed for the exit, I moved into position and placed my items on the belt – rotating them so that bar codes were easily accessible. Card swipe, pin entered, receipt gathered, bags collected and out the door. Moments later I was passing her in the parking lot.

Is there a deeper lesson to be learned here? Not really, except that people annoy me. I think even the Buddha would have sworn under his breath.

In other news… I’m still playing through Okami on the second time around. Kicking some butt and finding new areas. I’m going to try and get all of the ultimate weapons this time around.

Finally, I’m a little dressed up today. The team is having a luncheon with the UA president and the boss has asked us to wear the shirts we got for a division-wide award. So, we’re all going to be dressed alike and, perhaps, all looking like complete tools. Should be fun – at least lunch is free.

back to work… later…

My sister and brother-in-law stopped by for a quick visit and some snacks on their way back from a camping trip. They couldn’t stay long, but it was still nice they stopped. I’ll see them again this coming weekend.

Today is the first day of classes for the fall. I expect campus will be very busy – I got here early to secure a parking space and I also brought my lunch. It’ll settle down soon.

I got a new keyboard over the weekend. It only cost me $10 and it’s flexible! I couldn’t pass it up.
I’m using it now and it takes a little getting used to. Expect more typos than usual.

I’ve got a student coming in for an interview in a few minutes – guess I’d better get ready for that.

later…