As I'm turning onto 10th street, a couple blocks from home, a car pulls up beside me and honks -- it's the talky college guy from the gas station. I roll down my window.

"Define Apathy for me," he says.

"Not caring," I reply.

"Now, empathy, that's where, that's..."

"That's feeling it yourself," I say.

"That's where you care a whole lot, right?"

"Yes," I reply, "Apathy is sorta the opposite."

He thanks me, and drives on.

Sep 22 2004 3 comments

Just a 'props' for someone linking to one of my crazy things:

Losers Comic is linking to Voices From The Thriftshop today -- hooray!

Also, some radio station morning show is linking to the receipt site -- hooray!

Other than that, I'm fine-tuning the websites that launched on Monday and trying not to go crazy. Crazy is bad, right?

Sep 20 2004 0 comments

Just for fun, forcing myself to update:

Bad Architecture is a site composed of nasty Chinese-originated architectural concepts. Some aren't so bad, but some are downright nasty -- this building looks like it might be designed to keep Godzilla away!

Next, Kitschy Kitschy Coo is up and running! First article is by Laura, Canadian writer (whose site is also hosted here), on the topic of those big-eyed paintings everyone loved so much.

For now, that's it. Trying to keep my spirits up, despite another theft from my car (this time, the portable DVD player usually tied to the back seat). Grrrr.

Sep 18 2004 0 comments

Watch these spaces:

Kitschy-Kitschy-Coo

and

Sex-Kitten *NSFW*

Both launch Monday, and both are Derek-designed/coded/hosted. KKC is a project with Deanna, daily stories about/by/for obsessive collectors. Sex-Kitten belongs to a friend of D & mine, Gracie, and I've been working on creating a self-publishing/content-organization/embedded-discussion site for her (to replace her hand-coded site of old) since this spring and it's almost done. That's my two biggest projects that have been occupying most of my time this summer, so I should be able to get back into writing & creativity (I hope ;)

Also, I've started webhosting - I've got two customers. It's not a retail operation; more of a value-added service for clients/associates/friends. If you think you're a client/associate/friend, email me and I can set you up at a reasonable price.

And I promise to stop using slashes to separate verbs/adjectives/nouns and avoiding proper writing.

Sep 11 2004 0 comments

I listen to the oldies station while I deliver pizzas; it's always happy, bouncy, energetic, and I know pretty much all the words.

Part of me is annoyed by it, because so many old songs have been appropriated for commercial jingles; this one reminds me of Macaroni & Cheese, this one of one car cleaner, this one for clothing. I'll sing along anyways...

And then there's the politically incorrect songs -- I don't mind singing "I get no kick from cocaine" at the top of my lungs, and Ahab the Arab is slightly cute, but this one is disturbingly mysoginistic:

If you wanna be happy for the rest of your life
Never make a pretty woman your wife
So for my personal point of view
Get an ugly girl to marry you

Aw, the olden days were a simple one, where ugly girl == good cook! Well, my love admits she's not a good cook, so I suppose she's a pretty girl!

I'm still obliged to sing along with Jimmy Soul, though; the song is so bouncy, so catchy, how can I resist?

Sep 1 2004 5 comments

I'm a pizzaguy, you know. I've been trying to figure it out, why I like being a pizzaguy. It's not hard work, it doesn't require a lot of thought or skill (although a mindset for navigation helps).

What I've noticed is the instant gratification. People like the pizzaguy. It's not like the pizzaguy comes unannounced, or that the customer waits for their pizza without knowing what they're getting. A customer calls the pizzaplace, makes their order, and then is told that anticipatory statement: The pizza will be there in ## minutes.

So they wait. Some days, I take the order, make all the food, and deliver it myself. On others, I don't even know what's in the heat-safe bag when I head out the door. Either way, I'm the only one the customer actually sees, actually meets in person.

By the time I do arrive, the customer has been waiting. It's been a predefined time, so they're usually not anxious or upset over waiting. They know it's coming, and they know someone will be at their door soon.

Delivery of an order always gets a pleasant 'thank you,' and usually a tip. Each time I deliver, it's an ego boost: the customer was expecing it to happen, and when it does they are grateful.

Their gratitude extends outward as well. The pizza delivery driver can park pretty much wherever they like (without blocking traffic), they can walk into most places unaccosted ('I'm supposed to go to the 4th floor conference room!'), and everyone holds doors open. When you walk into a bar wearing a pizza shirt and carrying an order, you're the most loved person in the place. They might not have been the one to order, but they remember: they remember how they didn't have to do anything but place a call, and their food was brought to them, wherever they happen to be. I've delivered to offices, machine shops, bars, hotels -- the customers count on the fact that their food will find it's way to them, without fail.

Delivering pizza isn't rewarding just because of tips or service to the community. It's because society has an elevated place for delivery drivers: They want something, they ask for it, and it's given to them. What could be better than that? It makes them happy, and they show it to the pizzaguy.