The mailroom is 10 steps from the elevator, so if you are quick enough, you can stop in the mailroom and be out in time to catch the elevator before the door closes. Otherwise, you have to press the button again and wait for the elevator to return.

The counter in the mailroom was messier than usual, so I was delayed by the process of finding a clean, safe place for the box to sit.

As I stepped out of the mailroom, I saw that the doors of the elevator had already begun to close.

Five big steps got me to the elevator, and I quickly rammed my hand into the 3-inch opening left between the sliding doors.

Instinctively, I grimaced and inhaled through my teeth, making that strained sucking sound in anticipation of pain.

The seceretary, watching, gasped loudly in horror as the doors closed on my hand.

Like all good elevators, the doors opened immediately after detecting the slight resistance my hand created. Unharmed, I stepped into the elevator and hit the button marked "6".

Mar 31 2000 0 comments

Daily Condition:

on record player: Herb Alpert & TJB, el solo toro

My condition: wishing this Friday was over.

Mar 30 2000 0 comments

The government is looking for Robocop. I quickly drafted a proposal for DARPA. It's a rough draft, but I'll make it cooler before I send it in.

Mar 30 2000 0 comments

Daily Condition:

in CD player: a mix CD I made

my condition: glad I get paid tomorrow!

Mar 30 2000 0 comments

This morning, I stopped at McDonald's for breakfast on my way to work. The Drive-Thru line was long, and the wait to get up to order was unpleasant. Finally, I ordered, and even the high-tech red-LED screen to verify my order was slow; it didn't even change while I waited.

Waiting to get my order was even longer. I had sat for almost 10 minutes there before I got to the window. The girl there took my money as she filled my orange juice and talked to another customer via her headset. she looked tired and ragged.

There, I waited for probably 5 minutes for my food to arrive, and there were two other cars ahead of me who were told to "pull ahead". they had been waiting longer than me.

Finally, the girl handed me my orange juice and the bag of food.

But, just before I had the bag in my hand, the overworked girl snatched it back, felt the contents through the side of the bag, and handed it back. She flashed me a big, honest smile and said "Just making sure it was yours!"

That is a person who is content with her job. The stereotypical fast-food person, when overworked and getting behind, could care less about whether my order was right or not, and they rarely ever smile at a customer. This girl, though under pressure, still had the composure to not let the situation get her down, and took the couple of seconds to think of the customer, too.

Mar 29 2000 0 comments

Do I just try too hard to sound intellectual, or am I really this big of a lamer?

Mar 29 2000 1 comment

NetCity.com intrigues me, although they don't give much info on their website. But, hey, free T-shirt when you sign up!

Mar 29 2000 0 comments

Daily Condition:

in CD player: Soul Coughing, el oso

my condition: Full. Thank you, mine employer, for free carmel rolls!

Mar 26 2000 0 comments

Daily Condition:

in CD player: Crystal Method, Vegas

my condition: regretful that I gave up my life in the theatrical arts.

Mar 24 2000 0 comments

Daily Condition:

in my CD player: Soul Coughing, Ruby Vroom

My condition: very pleased that I got a lot of compliments from the marketing rep at D&H for a project I put a lot of work and thought into.

Mar 23 2000 0 comments

Upon arriving home, between negotiating my keys and carrying my everyday bag, I was forced to carry my new bag of secondhand books in a "hug", across my chest, right under my nose..

The lady at the thrift shop loaded my books into an old, worn paper grocery bag. In the world of recyclable plastic bags (with handles), it's been years since I've been up-close with a brown paper bag.

I would've thought nothing of it, except for the smell. A whiff of that distinctive scent brought back memories of days running around with a paper bag on my head, doctored up with markers & scissors to be a knight's helmet, a monster mask, or a space helmet. Recollections were recovered of helping mom unload groceries, or cutting up sacks to "light-proof" the windows in my basement bedroom.

Then I was home, and the bag sits on the floor for Destiny to play with when she gets home.

Mar 21 2000 0 comments

Daily Condition:

in CD player: Trova, Trova

my condition: annoyed that life isn't easier than it looks on TV.

Mar 21 2000 0 comments

Darn....Trova, who broke up a couple years back, is rejoining for one performance, this Saturday, at 8PM at the Cedar Cultural Center in the Twin Cities (for info call 218.338.2674).

I, however, do not have the money or resources to travel to the Cities to go see the show.

Although, I will always have memories of being in the small audience when Trova played here in Fargo in 1992. I bought their CD and got to chat with Ruth Mackenzie for a bit.

Mar 20 2000 0 comments

Here's a new buzzword for you all to use, and, remember, I invented it:

uberuser: a class of computer user below hacker. An uberuser is versed in the use of high technology, but not the intricasies. They are experts at making technology do what they ask, but they are uneducated in how the work is done. For instance, they have all the hot-key combinations for everything memorized, but they could not write a computer program if their life depended on it.

Mar 20 2000 0 comments

Daily Condition:

on record player: Dave Brubeck quartet, Time Out

my condition: full of regret that I forgot to bring change for the pop machine.

Mar 19 2000 0 comments

Daily Condition:

In CD player: Crystal Method, Vegas

my condition: tired, yet satisfied that this new update plus history CGI works as well as it does.

Mar 16 2000 0 comments

My Meyers-Briggs Type is INTP.

Mar 16 2000 0 comments

It's really nice feeling when you write out a dozen checks, pay all your bills, and find that there's still a couple hundred dollars left in your checking account.

Mar 15 2000 0 comments

Here's a task to help practice being at peace:

When driving someplace, get behind the slowest person on the road. Do not pass them, do not ride on their bumper. Just follow them, match their speed, and watch your attitude closely.

If you're a speedy person like me, you're usually annoyed by slow drivers, and stress levels rise if you're stuck behind one. Even if you're not going anyplace in particular, or even if you aren't under any time constraints, you are conditioned to want to drive at a certain speed, and when that is impeded, you're thrown off guard. I've ridden with many people like this and have seen it in myself.

Use the controlled situation of a voluntary slow-down to learn how to relax yourself when stress appears. Relax, remind yourself that you'll reach your destination, and nobody will notice that you're late. If they do, then you were really late to begin with, and being behind a slowpoke didn't make a difference. Figure out how to induce calm in yourself, and then you will develop a talent which will apply many other places in your life.

Mar 12 2000 0 comments

A freudian slip which shows our society's predisposition:

A radio announcer was reading a news story about a kidnapped girl. He was announcing that her kidnapper released her unharmed, but that she was found DEAD in a local WalMart.

Rather than reading the story as written, he inserted a word in a place in the story where it would normally be assumed to be appropriate -- a kidnapped child never turns up alive.

This story, on the other hand, is the exception to the rule, but the newscaster's mind wasn't ready to accept it in the brief instant as the words were read off the paper and then said out loud.

Mar 8 2000 0 comments

I want a motorcycle.

Mar 6 2000 0 comments

Sitting your child in front of an educational TV show doesn't mean you're teaching them anything.

Mar 6 2000 0 comments

Today, on my way to work, I saw a car with a "Christian" fish decal on it's trunk. However, right above it was one of those mirrored 'naked lady' decals which are normally reservered for semi-truck mudflaps.

Mar 5 2000 0 comments

Here's my first entry...I think it's time to go live. I think I've worked out all the kinks, and gotten everything to look right, all the indenting works and the correct colors are being used.