Month: September 2009

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Stack Dump

Shelly

In which we are blindsided.

I’ve been playing around on Facebook lately. I am a late adopter, but better late than never, yes? The Venn diagram of family, real life friends, old classmates, and on-line friends is interesting, and watching some of those folks interact is kind of funny.

It has had some odd and unintended consequences, though.

A few days ago, my uncle Paul sent me a Facebook message. I haven’t seen Paul since I was about three years old. I have a foggy memory of him visiting us when we lived in Rushville, right after my brother was born. My mom always said that Paul was a sweet guy, so I was glad that he got in touch with me. What I was not expecting, though, was my reaction when he said he hadn’t heard from my dad since 1986. No one knows where he is, apparently. The thing is, I knew that already, and I wasn’t expecting news about him. I really do just want to get to know Paul and his family. I’ve got aunts and uncles and cousins I’ve never met, and that’s just ridiculous.

I don’t think my uncle Paul thinks I’ve got ulterior motives for contacting him–that he’s just a way to find my dad. After all, Paul contacted me. And he’s been in sporadic touch with my mom over the past few years. I don’t know why I’m worried about it. It’s just weird.

I’m also having a difficult time with the whole “dad” thing. I remember the last time I talked to him. He called, and we spoke on the phone for about five minutes. I was 10 years old, and I distinctly remember feeling conflicted about what to call him. I’d always called him daddy, but I was old enough by that point to feel uncomfortable calling him that. And you know what? I’ve pretty much avoided calling him anything at all since then, because I still haven’t figured it out. What do you call your father when you haven’t called him anything in 30 years?

Anyway, the blindsided part? I suddenly got all weepy while replying to my uncle Paul’s Facebook message.

Music

Mary Travers

Shelly


Puff the Magic Dragon by Peter, Paul and Mary

I woke up this morning to the sad news that Mary Travers had died. Like millions of others, I grew up with Peter, Paul and Mary’s music, and Puff the Magic Dragon was a staple. I have always thought of it as a sad song, and it still makes me weepy whenever I listen to it.

Goodbye, Mary, and thanks for the wonderful music.

Letters to Esther

New Letters to Esther

Shelly

The letters from Warren and Lloyd, Esther’s little brothers, cracked me up. Warren’s letter is very obviously from a little kid, and Lloyd’s closing could not be more underwhelming. I literally laughed out loud when I read it.

October 23, 1921 from Bertha Hiatt
October 23, 1921 from Mamma
October 23, 1921 from Lloyd
October 30, 1921 from Mamma
November 1, 1921 from Warren
November 2, 1921 from Mamma
November 3, 1921 from Clark

Photography

Floor

Shelly

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The freight elevator both interests and frightens me. It’s old, like everything else here, so I worry about getting stuck in it. On the other hand, it’s got an appealing patina of wear. The finish on the floor in front of the control panel is completely worn away and the tiles are cracked. It took a lot of feet standing in that spot to do that.

Photography

Books and Book Trucks

Shelly

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Cataloging Department Reference Books

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Book Truck with Fruit Stickers

Everything where I work is worn out, mismatched, and was probably bought sometime in the 1970s. It’s kind of an eyesore, but on the other hand, we have the freedom to tart up our desks, chairs, and book trucks pretty much however we choose. I’ll take “worn out and personalized” over “brand new and uniform” any day of the week.

Crankypantsing, Pets, Photography

Praying Mantis

Shelly

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The second one is an inverted lens macro.

And now, More Adventures in Driving:

I made three trips to Unionville today, and on each trip, I was behind someone going at least 10mph under the speed limit.

One guy was going 20mph under the limit. And it’s not like the speed limit is 70mph or anything. It’s only 45mph. And it’s not like he was driving an old beater that maybe was incapable of going faster. He was driving a beautiful, brand new Cadillac. Maybe he was out for a nice, relaxing, s-l-o-o-o-w drive in the country, but if so, then hopefully next time he won’t pick the 5pm “rush” hour to do so. There were so many cars backed up behind mine that I couldn’t even count them all.

Oh, and one of those trips was to take the cat I’m sitting for to the vet. While there, I saw two clueless dog owners let their obviously fixin’-to-snark dogs sniff each other. They managed to separate them before an actual fight broke out, but good grief, talk about oblivious.

I also saw a gorgeous Pit Bull puppy with a jerkass owner who kept yanking on on her leash, then telling her “Sit! Sit! Sit!” Way to go, bozo, punishing the dog before you’ve even given the command and given her a chance to obey it. Not to mention, she obviously had no idea what “sit” meant. How about actually teaching the dog the command before you start correcting her for not following it?

I was also entertained by a young girl who asked each of the cat owners if she could pet their cats. She asked each cat’s name, then explained that her cat is named Bells (which I think is a pretty cool name for a kid to come up with), but that her brother’s cat is named Maleboy (I guess he was afraid someone might mistake his cat for a girl?). She declared Maleboy a horrible name, and I had to agree.

Crankypantsing

Kill Me Now

Shelly

Things that pissed me off at work today:

1. When I came in, through the back conference room, I said to Coworker A that the roofers were working right above the conference room, so shutting the doors might help a little with the noise. She said, “NO! The noise doesn’t bother me.” That’s nice for her, but what about the rest of us?!!! Kind of assy, I think, and therefore she has advanced three rungs on my Ladder of Hate.

2. We got an email about the first session in the previously mentioned required computer training workshop series. Paper sign up forms have been posted. I repeat: Paper sign up forms have been posted. Part of the point of these sessions is to get folks to utilize the technology available to them, including using the Outlook Calendar scheduling capabilities. Of which many of us already attended a lengthy and obviously useless training session. Epic fail.

3. When I went to sign up for the aforementioned, Coworker B walked up, said “Sorry,” and barged in front of me. Again, with the assy behavior! Couldn’t she have waited two seconds for me to finish writing my name?! And then she hung around until I was finished–obviously she wasn’t in a hurry–to explain how she wanted to get the training session over with early. Lady, I’m too busy being pissed off at you for being rude to care which session you signed up for! Eff off, okay?!

4. This afternoon, Coworker C came over to my desk to ask me if I’d been able to look at what they were doing on the roof. Like I have a a crystal ball or something, I guess? There are no windows overlooking the section of roof they’re working on, so how on earth could I possibly know what’s going on? Why the hell would he think I had any more information than he did? I swear, sometimes I wonder if some people ever stop for two seconds to think before they open their mouths.

5. The Butterfinger I’ve been craving for three days? It’s still being held hostage by a disgusting granola bar. The vending machine person needs to get a clue. No one wants that horrible granola bar. If he’d remove the granola bar, maybe some of us would purchase Butterfingers. I, for one, am not buying anything out of that machine until the Butterfingers are set free. And I am unanimous in that!