Well, at least I still have a job. (That's a popular refrain these days, isn't it?) However...
Many of my coworkers became ex- today. And I've been working 12-hour days for the past three weeks on a book that might be canceled.
Add to that: The economy's in the toilet, and we've started a war that seems destined to become my generation's Vietnam.
Ugh. I could go on, but... Ugh.
Recently, SciFi has been showing blocks of Buck Rogers episodes. Now, I've been waiting patiently for this to happen for a while now, ever since a Tivo came into my life. I loved this show when I was 10. And about halfway through the first episode, I began to wonder about my 10-year-old self...
Extra cheese with cheese on top, in every way. And I swear, in every scene where Gil Gerard's wearing his white, spandex, Earth Defense Directorate catsuit, he's sucking in his gut. (Although, I guess I would be too.) And why do all of the Council computers look like "futuristic" electric meters? And can Twiki say anything besides "OK, Buck!" and "What a guy!"? Sheesh, give Mel Blanc something to work with here.
Oh, but you know...I still love it.
Excuse me while I grab a wedge of Fontina and watch "Planet of the Slave Girls."
As some of you know, a large part of my job involves improving nonwriters' writing. Now, I usually try to avoid acting like a member of the Grammar Gestapo (cause I ain't perfect neither), but I tend to notice grammar and usage mistakes more often than the average person because, well, it's my job.
One thing I've noticed is that many people don't know the difference between the abbreviations i.e. and e.g. Or, if they do know the difference, they don't use them correctly. To help remedy this problem, I present Language Lesson #1.
I.e. stands for the Latin phrase id est, which means "that is." So, use i.e. when you're clarifying or rewording a preceding piece of text. For example: I like pens with a verdant hue (i.e., green pens). If you're not sure whether i.e. is appropriate, replace it with "in other words" and see if it makes sense.
E.g. stands for exempli gratia, which means "for example." Use it when you're listing examples of the thing/action/phrase that precedes it. For example: I like fruity drinks, e.g., Juicy Juice, Cosmopolitans, and lemonade.
There you go, kids. Remember... Knowing is half the battle!
How can people be such peabrains?
When I went out to my car this evening to head down to the North End, I saw that there was a note on my windshield. I also saw that there was a large space in front of my car (but not enough room for someone to park), so I knew immediately what the note was about. Basically, some anonymous "neighbor" chastised me for not pulling up closer to the car in front of me and told me I should be more "considerate" in the future. Um, yeah. Even more irritating, this is the second time I've received a note like that.
Now, hmmm... Why would there be that much room in front of me? You, dear readers, are certainly intelligent enough to come up with the obvious answer. Unfortunately, this fuckwit wasn't.
Maybe because, when I parked the vievicle, there was a huge-ass Cadillac in the spot, which later was replaced by some rollerskate-sized Geo Metro??
I left a response attached to the street sign to this effect (much more politely, of course), and I encouraged this person to think for a minute before they leave another stupid note on someone's windshield. Sheesh.
I regularly go to a Core Board class on Tuesday nights at my gym, and I affectionately call the instructor "The Perky Nazi." She's constantly chirpy, even when she's yelling "Push it! 50 more squats! Come on!" And she yells "Woohoo!" a lot. Poor, unsuspecting women regularly come into that class and, about 10 minutes into it, get this look on their faces that can only be interpreted as, "What the fuck am I doing here???" It's a tough class, but that's why I go every week.
Last week, however, was disappointingly wimpy. Meaning, I didn't feel like I was going to keel over after the cardio section. (And yes, this was a bad thing.) I was a sad, sad core-boarder, and I was afraid this was the beginning of a terrible trend. But I held out hope that this was an anomaly, attributable to the videotaping the club was doing that night for the instructor's review.
And it seems like I was right. Tonight's class kicked my ass.
Woohoo!
I've been fighting off a cold since Wednesday, and something has to give. I've been in precold limbo for far too long. Stupid scratchy throat and phlegm. I'm super dizzy today, probably because I took some Nyquil last night. I've resorted to squirting zinc gel up my nose and drinking echinacia-infused fruit juice to try to tip the scales toward wellness. I don't want to surrender to the ookiness, but I'd almost prefer just getting sick now and getting it over with. It's like a prolonged germ tease. Bah. Enough already.
Yesterday, I went to the mall. For some people, this is an enjoyable, relaxing activity. Some people delight in going there as often as possible. Not me. For me, the mall is generally an exhausting, cranky-making endeavor. The crowds, the commotion, the crappy music, the dithering over purchases... It's an activity fraught with potential pitfalls. But, when it's Clinique Bonus Time and I'm almost out of moisturizer, it's time to suck it up and go.
I swear, cosmetics saleswomen (they're always impeccably groomed women, except for the delightful, very helpful, totally flaming male Clinique associate I dealt with a few years ago) have a sixth sense about product whores like me. They swoop in immediatedly and, before I know it, I've bought way more than I planned to. It's like they slip some transdermal roofie into the tester products. Everything's a blur, and once you regain your wits, you have no idea how that super-sized tube of purple mascara got in your bag. But I digress. I managed to stick to my guns this time and buy only the things I came for: gentle foaming cleanser, a new supply of moisturizer, and some perfume. OK, I was suckered into buying the mega-bottle of perfume, but it was such a deal! Twice as much for only $12 more! I know, I know, I'm a complete sucker. But it smells great and I will use it all, so... Nyah!
I also purchased a few things at the Body Shop (10% off with the special club card I purchased a while ago in another moment of giddy, product-induced weakness). Then, it was time for Victoria's Secret where I spent forever trying on about 10 different bras. Man, those puppies are expensive, which is why I took my time finding ones that fit well. I haven't bought any new boob-suspenders in about a year, and my ta-tas deserve the best.
We had to go through Best Buy anyway to get back to the car, so we browsed for a bit. As I was looking at the bargain DVDs, some dude materialized from the Action/Adventure aisle and starting hitting on me. This was a first. I mean, men have tried to chat me up before, but never in an electronics superstore. It was pretty weird, really. It didn't seem like he was shopping or anything, just... lurking. As soon as I politely rebuffed him ("Hey, Carlos, nice to meet you. I'm just here shopping with my boyfriend, who's right over there"), he immediately melted back into the aisles. A little creepy.
So, that was my shopping adventure in a nutshell. I'm poorer by a good chunk of change, but my boobs are well-dressed, I smell nice, my face is soft and clean, and, best of all, I won't have to go back to the mall for another couple of months. Yippee!