Category: weirdity

Old habits die hard.

Today as I meandered my way over to the shuttle bus to take me to the train, I picked my way through the parking lot at work. “Picked my way” because there is heavy construction going on at the building next door to mine.

Sitting there, by itself, in the lot, was an empty wooden wire spool. You know the type. Found at most construction areas.

Wanna know my first thought? “Man, should I take that?”

You know, it’s been some fifteen years since I graduated college. While I personally never had a wooden spool table, many friends did. I dated a few guys who did. I think the wooden spool furniture sensation is mainly a guy thing. Along with bookshelves made of cinder blocks and plywood.

It’s the same feeling I get when I see empty milk crates. I used many a purloined milk crate in my collegiate career. Good bookshelves, storage devices, and even a bedside table.

I think I still have some of those indestructible blue plastic things in my basement (all apologies to Price’s Dairy from, you know, fifteen years ago. What is the statute of limitations on absconding with a milk crate?).

Oh, is also happens when I see wooden pallets. Back then they were made from a pretty dense wood and if, say, a friend filled up the back of his pickup with a bunch of stolen pallets, piled them up by the river, poured diesel fuel on them and lit a match, you’d not only have a nice roaring fire, you’d have a long lasting warm, bright fire by which to socialize with friends.

For some reason, this old scrounging habit dies hard. The “making it work” when you have no money, and what little you do have must be saved to buy beer phenomenon still lives deep within me on a cellular level.

Despite the fact that I have a real job now and can buy beer, you know, pretty much whenever, I still have that moment of “I could take that…” and think about how it could be made useful.

I seriously considered how to get that spool out of there.

Then remembered a) I don’t need a table. I have one. A nice one. And 2) even if I didn’t have one, I could go to Ikea and buy a nice one. I don’t have to settle for a splintery wood spool.

So I’m still a scrounger from way back. But I refuse to eat Ramen noodles anymore.

Some habits you just gotta leave behind.

I’m in the wrong profession

David Blaine. Why is this guy news?

And yet he is. His front-page feat was to hold his breath for a real long time. On the Oprah show.

Really?

Shoot, I could hold my breath ’til I’m blue in the face and ain’t no one paying me a freaking cent.

Oh, but “he’s an entertainer”. Yeah. I can really crack ’em up around the coffee maker at work, but that isn’t bringing me any income.

What do I do all day? I sit in a fish bowl of a veal pen cubicle and type little words on a little machine to appease bitchy clients and suppliers.

I need a change of venue. Or maybe I’m just hungry. It is almost lunchtime afterall.

I’ll check back after sustenance. Perhaps my mood will have improved.

Addendum:

Oh hell, and can we talk about changes…how about my beloved San Francisco Giants demoting the multi-million dollar Cy Young Award winning pitcher Barry Zito to the bullpen?

I know that there are *certain people* (ahem…*coff*TheGoodMan*coff*) who predicted this when they signed the deal a year ago, but I have to say, it’s still a total shock to me.

And also…in this “rebuilding” year for the Giants, with a mix of old farts and young pups, they are playing with verve, enthusiasm and winning some close games.

What IS going on? My world is topsy turvy!

I am a Taurus for chrissakes! We don’t *do* change!!!!!

Oooooohm

Once upon a time I took a meditation class. This came at the suggestion of one of my friends (and coworker) who suggested that I was wound a skosh too tight, and could benefit from some “time out”. To her credit, she at least had the decency to take the class with me. We sat on little carpet squares and tried to quiet our minds.

Ok, to be fair, it was a good and useful class, so I can hate on her too much.

Why am I telling you this? Well, as part of the class, the instructor told us to stop reading the newspaper and stop watching the television news.

At first I wasn’t sure I could do it. I’m an avid reader and I like to know what’s going on.

She reasoned that if there was something we needed to know, someone would tell us.

So I heeded that advice and over time found it was true. I was a lot calmer not knowing every little freaky thing that was going on that the media then blows up to epic proportions. There is a LOT of bad news in the world and the media thrives. “If it bleeds, it leads.”

I was content not to know the latest, and yes, folks always find a way to tell you what’s going on. It ended up being pretty good advice.

Lately I’ve been slipping back. I find myself reading the online versions of the local newspapers and scanning the Yahoo headlines frequently. And I can tell, I’m getting a bit bewildered by the world again.

I am a bit frazzled today as I have a LOT of meetings and to add to the fun, our organization is moving locations, so I have to be totally packed by end of today.

I needed a break from the insanity and I tuned in to SFGate.com to see what’s doing.

Here’s the headlines that greet me (actual cut and paste from this afternoon’s page):

Rape Suspect Phones Victim

Boy’s Skull Broken In Schoolyard

Apartment Fire Kills Boy

Europe Copes With Pump Prices

Pizza-Killing Charges Dropped

Woman clung to body to stay alive

This does not put me at ease! This does not help me be calm!

The only somewhat “good news” item is this:

Whale Wanders Into The Bay

Article says, “To the delight of onlookers, a cetacean spent the morning swimming between Fort Baker and the G.G. Bridge.”

I’m sure soon enough everyone will be freaked out that the little guy is lost and he’ll probably ground himself and we’ll get ongoing coverage of a dead and rotting whale.

Sure could use a little good news today…

Oooooooooohm!

Safe in Colorado, Open season in New Mexico

Got an interesting link from The Good Man this morning. “New Mexico fights to protect the lynx” from CNN.com and same story under “U.S. Sued Over Lynx Protection” from the ABQjournal.

My first read was in passing only. Sort of a *snort*, “figures”, : shrug : kind of response you get used to being from New Mexico and being left out.

In a nutshell, a conservation and animal rights group is suing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service “to force it to extend Endangered Species Act protection to the Canada lynx in New Mexico.”

Big deal, right?

“The federal government lists the elusive, furry cats as threatened in 14 states— but not in New Mexico.”

Oh? Ok. Well, fair enough. And then further…

“The Colorado Division of Wildlife, which has released more than 200 lynx in Colorado since 1999, tracked about 60 of the animals into New Mexico’s Taos, Rio Arriba and San Juan counties…”

60 divided by 200 equals THIRTY PERCENT of the released animals aren’t protected.

Ah. So none of those wildlife “experts” at Fish and Wildlife thought that the “elusive, furry cat” would, you know, roam?

Have they MET the western region of the country? You know, wide open spaces, mountains, nice weather, lots of small furry things that a big furry thing might like to eat?

Has the Mexican Gray Wolf taught us NOTHING about how animals will roam when looking for viable food sources?

So what’s kind of head shaking about the story is that if the “elusive, furry cat” is in Colorado, it is totally protected under the Endangered Species Act. Once it crosses over into New Mexico? Open season.

No one tell Neal Trujillo that, ok? Cimarron isn’t all that far from the Colorado border…

Photo source.