In need of a four-day June 30, 2005 ~ 12:18 pm
Posted by Julie in : Daily Grind , comments closed
Leonard Bernstein’s grave - Greenwood Cemetery, Brooklyn.
We are just all spoiling for a good fight in my office today. We’ve had grumblings, rumblings, and one shouting match so far, and it’s only 12:30. If it wasn’t for the fact that we’re heading into a four-day weekend, I’d be taking bets on bloodshed by 3:30 because of the following breakdown:
Two of the women I work with aren’t happy unless they’ve got something to bitch about. So far this morning, they have bitched about the labels they use not peeling right (”This is worthless!”), the fact that we are out of toner for the printer and can’t get a new one until next week because the fiscal year starts tomorrow (”Why can’t we order one now anyway?” - because there is no money, dipshit!), and a change in curriculum that they’re refusing to recognize because they keep misreading the Bulletin. I have one whose voice reaches the upper registers when she disagrees with anything, because dammit, she will be heard. I have one (P.A.) who is a lazy fuck, and whose work I had to do yesterday because she was holding everything up. I have two with hot tempers who have been sniping at each other all morning. Let me tell you, life in this office is never boring.
And I just had to have this exchange with P.A.:
Me: P.A., you know when Counter Girl isn’t here, you’re expected to pitch in with the students at the counter.
P.A.: I know!
Me: I’m just reminding you because I haven’t seen it happen yet.
Maybe I’m spoiling for a fight, too…Calgon, take me away!
Dear Asshat in the White House June 29, 2005 ~ 11:57 am
Posted by Julie in : Daily Grind , comments closedAsshat~
Wow, what a speech you gave last night! You must be very proud of yourself - you managed to look serious throughout the whole thing, never once slipping into your trademark “What, me worry?” grin. You stuck to the official White House script and told us you won’t cave to those polls suggesting that maybe, just maybe, the American people don’t agree with your decisions on Iraq. You know, it’s funny…when you won the elections last November with 51% of the vote, you called it a “mandate”. But this week when a Gallup poll says that 53% of Americans disapprove of the job you’re doing, you don’t even acknowledge it. Oh, what a difference 7 months makes, eh, Asshat?
Last night you said that you aren’t going to pull out of Iraq until the job is done. Remind me, what job is that? Liberating a bunch of people who never asked for our help? Bringing them democracy (nevermind about democracy being “by the people, of the people, for the people,” the Iraqis just didn’t know that they wanted one!)? Getting oil? Wait, that’s the job you don’t want to talk about. Getting those Iraqis to “stand up, so we can stand down”? Lots of talk about the Iraqis last night, buddy.
Now, my memory of the days after September 11, 2001 is a little hazy - I was kind of numb after a portion of my city got blown up - but I do seem to recall you pointing the finger at Osama bin Laden in those days. “Osama did it!” But as the years have rolled by, you seem to have forgotten about your buddy Osama. We’re not hearing much about him anymore. You mentioned him briefly last night, but then went on to talk about Saddam Hussein and how evil he was. It’s safer to talk about people we already have in jail than to remind people that the guy you said was behind 9/11 is still at large, I guess.
You talked about the sacrifice our troops are making and said that it was worth it for “progress.” Progress that you admitted was uneven. Well, I’m sorry, but when we’re coming up against more and more insurgents every day, more and more of our troops are dying, and the Iraqi civilian body count is up to a minimum of 22,000, I’m having problems seeing the progress. I think other people are, too. Sometimes the cost is too great, especially when the objective was never clear in the first place.
I’m going to leave you with a little bit of reading, Asshat, which you may or may not find informative. Some of it should sound very familiar to you, since it’s a lot like what’s going on in the Middle East now. Read and learn, Asshat.
Sincerely,
A Thorn in Your Side
Better dead than red June 28, 2005 ~ 9:45 pm
Posted by Julie in : Daily Grind , comments closedIn addition to that being what many of my classmates said to me when I was small (kids are so cruel to redheads), I think this is what my PC has decided. As in, better dead than on DSL. As Vince knows, I’ve been trying to install my NIC for several days now and keep running into walls. Tonight I thought we had the problem solved, but my PC has decided otherwise. As I turned it on to upload the drivers and get everything set up, the damn computer spazzed. It decided it needed my Windows 98 backup CD, and then it wasn’t happy when I put that in. To be fair, it’s a Gateway and I never know which the fuck disk is the backup CD, but there was no need for the PC to get evil about it and suddenly decide it was missing files.
This computer has crashed twice before, but we blamed that on Gateway. It’s getting old, I’ll admit. It’s five years old now, which is ancient in computer years (which are apparently akin to dog years), still running Windows 98, and has suddenly decided that no way in hell will it let me play Sims 2. That was irritating. But I just remembered that it was my friend Tony who got me through the previous crashes. Tony who is now living in Oregon. I’m fucked if this thing blows up again. Reinstalling from Gateway is a nightmare.
New computers are way too expensive for me right now, so I guess I’ll have to make due with the laptop if this one bites the dust. For the record, the laptop doesn’t do Sims 2, either. Fuuuuuuck.
Get with the program June 28, 2005 ~ 2:38 pm
Posted by Julie in : Daily Grind , comments closed
Greenwood Cemetery, Brooklyn
This is one of those weeks where all hell breaks loose in my office. We’re trying to graduate all the good little kids who met their requirements on time and were just waiting for grades to come in, and at the same time make sure all the bad little kids who were slackers and didn’t meet their requirements until now still get out. It’s annoying, it’s confusing, it’s a giant pain in the ass.
I understand this. Probably more than most of the people in my office, since I have to coordinate the whole fucking thing and make sure everything happens. I need to get address labels made for the kids who now have degree notations, but first I have to proof the labels against my list of kids who have graduated, because the guys in ITS generally manage to fuck the labels up somehow. This time, they did not. The labels were perfect. It’s only taken three and a half years of practice to get them right.
I also have to compile the lists of students who are suddenly eligible for graduation so that they can be approved and duly graduated. I then have to make sure the lists are proofed, correct them, format them, and submit them to the Council that approves candidates for graduation. All while people keep begging me, “Can’t we add this one person to the list?”. No, we can’t. If you would have gotten off of your ass and made sure he met the requirements when I told you to, we wouldn’t have this problem right now, would we? It has to end somewhere, and this is where it ends. The buck stops here.
I mean, seriously people, if I have time to do everything I mentioned above and still blog, you should have had plenty of time to get your students on the list. Stop sitting around with your thumbs up your asses and at least put up a good imitation of getting your work done. Don’t make me kick you in the ass, old women!
weekend June 27, 2005 ~ 12:25 pm
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Awful way to go - Greenwood Cemetery, Brooklyn
It was a slow weekend for us. Sloth-like, you might almost say. Got the bitter ends of my stuff moved over to the new place on Saturday morning, not a second too soon as the temperature was rising and the old place had no airconditioning. And then we went to the beach, because isn’t that what you would do when the temperature is supposed to be in the high 90s?
Actually, the beach seemed much cooler with the sea breeze blowing in. It was crowded as hell because of the Mermaid Parade, and I had to wait 30 minutes to place my order for some Nathan’s hot dogs, but in the end everything worked out. I took a ton of pictures, which are on the laptop and just need to be cropped and uploaded. That didn’t happen yesterday because somewhere in the course of the weekend, I wound up with a sore throat. Don’t know what I’m coming down with, but I do know that I spent a lot of time doing nothing but watching TV yesterday.
Two highpoints of the weekend: Lori loved her scarf/sash thingy (pictures on the laptop to be uploaded later), and Rick stayed at my place most of the weekend. This is proof that the new place is good - in the old place the ceiling was so low that Rick had to hunch over while he walked around, and the bedroom was so small that his head and feet touched the wall if he laid down on the bed. The new place has neither drawback, and the additional bonus of good airconditioning, so it’s Rick-habitable. And, it has cookies.
Thanks for that trip to the grocery store in 90 degree heat, baby!
Well suck my toes and call me a jelly donut June 24, 2005 ~ 9:58 am
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Boss Tweed again, different color and focus
I realize the title is disgusting. But you have to admit, it’s also funny.
I got a call from James Earl Jones on my answering machine yesterday telling me that my DSL was ready, but as I tried to install it on my PC, I was told that I was missing something essential - a Network Interface Card. I mean, what the hell is that, and why do I need one? I don’t want to network, I want to plug my damn computer into DSL and start “cruising at lightning-fast speeds”! I found them online at Best Buy, so I’ll be going there this evening. This damn thing better be easy to install. I suppose I could just hook up the laptop, which I know will work with DSL, but the whole idea was for me to be able to use both computers . Damned Network Interface Card.
Tomorrow is one of my favorite things about Brooklyn - the Mermaid Parade. Held every year on the first Saturday after the Summer Solstice, this parade kicks off beach season at Coney Island. We have a celebrity King Neptune and Queen Mermaid, and people dress up in crazy sea-inspired costumes and march down Surf Avenue, and at the end King Neptune officially opens the beach. Tomorrow the temperatures are expected to hit 95, so I can’t think of a better way to spend the afternoon than by watching our little imitation of Mardi Gras, eating some hotdogs and fries from Nathan’s Famous, and taking my first dip of the season in the Atlantic. If we get there in time to get a good viewing spot for the parade, there will be pictures. And with DSL, they’ll go up this weekend.
Oh, and I met Hugh Masekela and his band last night and got them to autograph Hugh’s latest CD. Being a VIP had distinct advantages in addition to the free wine!
I’m going to Hotlanta! June 23, 2005 ~ 10:01 am
Posted by Julie in : Daily Grind , comments closed
Boss Tweed’s family plot - Greenwood Cemetery, Brooklyn
Okay, kids, it’s official. Travelocity was offering round trip tickets to Atlanta last night for $201, non-stop and all taxes included. I couldn’t turn that down. I bought the tickets, and now I am going to visit Leenie in September, and hopefully meet up with our Evil Science Chick while I’m down there as well. I am so incredibly excited about this! Leenie and I have been best friends since we met at high school orientation when we were 14, and it’s been too long since I’ve seen her. I can’t wait!
In other news, my DSL is apparently ready to go. I won’t be able to test it out tonight, though, because I’m going to see Hugh Masekela perform in Prospect Park tonight with Jordana, Thabiso, and a bunch of their friends from South Africa. We’re all bringing picnic foods, and we’re on the list for the VIP tent so the free booze will abound. It just isn’t summer until we’ve been to a concert at the Prospect Park bandshell. I’m expecting the place to be packed - these are free concerts and Hugh Masekela is one of the biggest names in African music - but the great thing about being on the VIP list is that we have VIP seating and don’t have to fight with half of Brooklyn to get a good seat.
So far, this is a pretty damned good day. *knock wood*
Band Loyalty June 22, 2005 ~ 11:54 am
Posted by Julie in : Daily Grind , comments closed
Greenwood Cemetery, Brooklyn.
I am so getting this shirt at the Lep concert on the 3rd. Because let’s face it, you can never have enough Lep apparel. When I was in high school, I had seven Def Leppard shirts. One to wear every day of the week. And I did, oh, I did. I’ve had to get rid of some (too threadbare to wear anymore), but I will have you know that when I moved, I did so in Lep t-shirts from the Slang and Euphoria tours, thankyouverymuch. And I still proudly wear my Lep ballcap and show off my Lep tattoo all summer.
I’m such a Def Leppard geek. Admire my geeky band loyalty, all of you.
A revelation June 21, 2005 ~ 4:36 pm
Posted by Julie in : Daily Grind , comments closedPerhaps the calling card isn’t dead. I mean, I spent all morning reading blogs and commenting (ie, leaving my card), and then people came here and did the same.
We’re high-tech Victorians, people.
Midsummer Madness June 21, 2005 ~ 9:55 am
Posted by Julie in : Daily Grind , comments closed
Horned God above doorway - Upper West Side, Manhattan.
Happy Midsummer to all! I’m back in time for the longest day of the year. I know it’s the longest day of the year, because my apartment was flooded with light at an ungodly hour. I know I’ve been bitching about life in the Bat Cave, but at that moment I would’ve traded my new Gryffindor Tower for my old windowless room in the dungeons. I’ll get over it, though.
The move is about 90-95% complete. Jordana and Rick helped me out by hauling furniture and some boxes, but I’ve had to do most of it myself since my other friends had prior commitments. How dare they? Yesterday alone, I hauled 20 boxes up two and a half flights of stairs. Why did I do this? Because I’m tired of living half in one place, half in the other. The remaining 5-10% can stay in the old place until reinforcements come on Saturday, but dammit, I needed my books, videos, and assorted tchotchkes to make the place seem like home.
DirecTV came yesterday and rigged my TiVo up so that I can watch one channel while recording another. They are Golden Gods, as far as I’m concerned. My DSL should be available on Monday, so that’s good. And I have gotten no calls at my new number for Sultan Kumar, who apparently gave every bank, employment agency, and telemarketer my old number as his own.
On the downside of this move, the cats got out once when we were moving the mattress and Rick forgot to shut the door behind him (and I forgot to remind him, to be fair). This could have been awful because the off-ramp from the Prospect Expressway is right in front of my house. Fortunately, they had only escaped to the back yard, and I got them in quickly. I was also confused and exhausted and didn’t realize I was giving Jesse the wrong dosage of his medicines until Friday. Called the vet, he said all is well and gave me extra medicine for free so I can dose the cat correctly. Still unresolved is the leak in the new shower, which means that I am temporarily taking showers in my old place. It’s a lot like summer camp, when you slept in one place, and had to go to another building to take a shower. But at 27, I’m a little too old for summer camp analogies. The plumber is coming over today to take a look at the situation, so keep your fingers crossed that he finds it, fixes it, and soon I will be able to shower in my new place.
Other than that, not a lot going on. The cats are loving having many windows (on three sides of the apartment!) to look out of and new places to hide. I have DirecTV again, so I can watch the season premiere of Rescue Me tonight, which makes Julie a very happy camper - Denis Leary is hot. And the tickets for the July 3 Def Lep show at Wappingers Falls came in the mail yesterday. Things are shaping up for a kickass summer.
And now I will go read all your blogs and see what I’ve missed in the last three days.
