Facelift
Blog kitt decided around 11:28 on 3 November 2005 to publish this:Ah, I'm not supposed to be this humoured by an ultimate picture, but this one just cracks me up.
Vague enough to be boring
Blog Instead of being asleep at 08:36 on 3 November 2005, kitt created this:One of the great things about keeping a journal is that it provides a nice history of things important to me at a given time. I can look back through the various entries and be entertained, horrified, amused, or puzzled. All perfectly valid responses given the varied posts I make about the events in my life.
The theory goes if I keep this up, I'll have a nice chronology of my life, and will be able to laugh about most of this when I'm a crotchety old lady, sitting on the porch with my Crazy Cousin Kelly, cackling about something or other.
Assuming I'm sane enough to be able to read it.
Well, and that she's still game for that plan. Given she has a kid now, Gadi might think I'm just too crazy for her mom to hang out with. Or she might in 80 years.
The biggest problem with this plan, however, is that I don't write when I'm down. When things get rough, or I get overwhelmed, the first thing that gets chucked off the list is this, the writing, the purging of the thoughts, ideas, fears, feats, accomplishments, or events that humour me. Note the gap just last month, mid-October. I was writing a little bit, but wasn't finishing anything, and several people actually commented to me about it.
So, now, here I am in a similar place. Some of the issues I'm struggling with I'm surely not supposed to talk about, and sometimes I think I'm not supposed to have in the first place. But that reckons back to expectations, of which I have a huge long thought/post about.
Not talking about these issues is hard, because some of them deal directly with people, friends I'd desperately would like to talk to about the situation, but can't seem to do it. Not being able to solve a problem staring me in the face is incredibly frustrating. Not solving is isn't my style. Eh, people aren't my forte either, and those two are going hand-in-hand at the moment.
Ah, well. Vague enough to bore even myself, and accomplish little.
SuperHappyDevHouse5 this weekend
Blog Posted by kitt at 17:45 on 2 November 2005
SuperHappyDevHouse5 is this weekend, and I'm terribly entertained by the thought of this one.
As the last one was my first one, I didn't really know what to expect. I did greet people at the door (is it bad that I seem to enjoy that? It fits just so well with my personality), but that's about all I did except bring whiteboards.
This one, I'm helping David and Jeff a little bit. In the spirit of BarCamp, the last SuperHappyDevHouse (SHDH4, from now on) had presentations. Several people stepped up and presented, with several more people holding back for fear of not having anything "cool enough" to present.
Kid you not. "Not cool enough" was the reason one fellow told me he didn't want to present. I don't recall who he was, but in retrospect, I think he was an idiot for not presenting - it was a huge opportunity to receive really, really good feedback from people who can help.
As in seriously help.
I should have tried to convince him to present.
Oh well. Fire missles!
So, for this SuperHappyDevHouse (yes, SHDH5), we'll be having prizes for presenters. Entertaining prizes. Like Doyle-and-I standing-in-a-trophy-shop mocking-the-figurines prizes. I think one is absolutely hysterical. I hope everyone else does, too.
Worst comes to worst, they'll be funny at 3:00 am.
The trick, I think, is going to be picking one project I want to work on. Picking one! One!
Well, that and actually working on it.
MPH?
Blog Instead of being asleep at 23:12 on 31 October 2005, kitt created this:Returning from an ultimate tournament is always a mini culture-shock. Not the shock of returning from Peru or Curacao or Scotland or Hong Kong, but the return always requires a slight perception adjustment.
On the way to work this morning, I had a rude awakening as, once again, a driver pulled out in front of me at the last. possible. moment and proceeded to drive more slowly than either the speed limit or the road conditions would dictate.
Because, of course, the four blocks of empty space was too small to pull into, and in front of me was clearly the only place to be.
Clearly.
Much different than leaving the driving to Kris the whole week.
Much.
So, while following the doofus for the seven blocks that our commutes overlapped, I looked down to see how slowly we were driving and, what the?, my car was in mph.
MPH? Huh?
Okay, who's been driving my car?
I switched it back to km/h, only to have it switch back to mph when I started it back up 10 minutes later. If I wanted to drive the car in mph, I wouldn't be complaining about the car switching from km/h.
The gas tank level readings were also fluctuating between two bars and eight, so I'm getting concerned about the electrical system. The radio stations hadn't reset, so the battery isn't dead. Apparently a week of not being driven is cause for concern.
At least I ordered a replacement bumper and front right quarterpanel for the car today. Doyle offered to help me switch out the damaged ones, so we have a project for this weekend or next. Tragically, they don't come painted, so I'll have to get them painted after we've replaced them.
Because, of course, the four blocks of empty space was too small to pull into, and in front of me was clearly the only place to be.
Clearly.
Much different than leaving the driving to Kris the whole week.
Much.
So, while following the doofus for the seven blocks that our commutes overlapped, I looked down to see how slowly we were driving and, what the?, my car was in mph.
MPH? Huh?
Okay, who's been driving my car?
I switched it back to km/h, only to have it switch back to mph when I started it back up 10 minutes later. If I wanted to drive the car in mph, I wouldn't be complaining about the car switching from km/h.
The gas tank level readings were also fluctuating between two bars and eight, so I'm getting concerned about the electrical system. The radio stations hadn't reset, so the battery isn't dead. Apparently a week of not being driven is cause for concern.
At least I ordered a replacement bumper and front right quarterpanel for the car today. Doyle offered to help me switch out the damaged ones, so we have a project for this weekend or next. Tragically, they don't come painted, so I'll have to get them painted after we've replaced them.
Letters to My Children: That grass isn't always so green
Book page Written with a loving hand by kitt some time around 21:52 on 31 October 2005The funny thing about grass is that it always seems greener on the other side of the fence. Yet, it isn't always so green.
Yes, kid, I know you won't believe me on this one. You rarely do, until the lesson smacks you upside the head. But know that I will never say I told you so.
I might smirk, though, so don't look.
I know you've heard it a thousand times before. And I know you'll hear it again, if not another thousand times, but here they are again:
The grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence.Yes, it may look greener. Yes, it may look more lush. It may look richer, happier, more fun, prettier, cleaner, newer, or snazzier. But looks can be deceiving, and reality on that side of the fence is remarkably similar to the reality on this side of the fence. Green grass and all. It's often difficult to see how things may be the same here and there, before and after, but think about the various points in your life so far when this has been true. The problems you have now will be the problems you will have on the other side of the fence unless you make the commitment, take the time and put forth the effort to fix the problems, rather than avoiding them or, worse, denying them. Remember when you wanted to move in with your cousins, because they had a happy house, when you thought we didn't? Everything was supposed to be perfect there when it clearly wasn't perfect here. You returned home disappointed: not everything was as rosy as you thought it would be. Remember when you sat at the table and listened to several of us discuss N's engagement? Do you recall how many of us were concerned about the marriage, as we questioned why N was so keen to marry someone she had expressed so many reservations about? She thought the grass was greener, and that marriage was going to fix the problems in her relationship with M. That by simply being married, all their problems would disappear. They didn't, and you know that full story. The problems they had before their wedding were the same problems they had after the wedding; they were just many thousands of dollars less well-off. It's very easy to think that the sitation the next person is in is better than the one you are in. It's natural to think if only this would happen you'll be happier. It's very tempting to think the next new thing will be better than the one you have. Lots of very's there, but none guaranteed to be true. I'm not saying don't strive for a better world, a better situation, a desired goal. What I am saying is look at what you have and know that the situation you're in, the life you have, the world you created may not be as bad as you think. Indeed, it may be pretty darn good, if you stop to look at it. And it may just be quite green.