Ready!

I'm soooooo ready to ditch this popsicle stand!!!!
How I will make it through the next few hours at work I haven't a clue!?!

I'm Ready!

I'm packed and ready to go! I wish I was leaving for China today, because I will be SO anxious the next few days. I have:

Wet wipes
Travel Charmin (apparently public toilets in some places consist of a long trough where you "squat.")
Purell
Immodium AD
Airborne
Three magazines (for the 14-hour flight from San Fran to Beijing)
Journal
Passport
Luggage Locks
Snacks
Money Belt
Clothes, socks, undies, workout shoes, comfy shoes, toiletries


To Do:
Take Kelly to the farm
Get cash at the Bank (lots of 1's for street vendors)
Tidy up house
Drink lots of water
Get lots of rest

Dart Fun!

Too Much Technology

I'm looking at my desk, and I have:

- a digital camera to download photos from yesterday's meeting
- my flash drive
- my new cell phone with text messages popping up from time to time
- a digital recorder my boss lent to me
- the work laptop so I can download some notes from yesterday's meeting that i forgot to save with my flash drive
- my ipod


I have a facebook page, a personal flickr page, a work flickr page, a geni family tree page, a good reads page, a work email address, a hotmail address, a gmail address, unlimited text messaging, an RSS feed, a personal blog, two work blogs, an instant messenger account, a meebo account, a youTube account, an imeem account, a sketchcast account, an iTunes account, I belong to two wiki pages, manage 1 wiki page, I started paying my credit card online, I check bank statements online, I send e-cards online, I read the newspaper online, I book airline flights online, I register for conferences online, I'm dating online and I'd probably eat and go to the bathroom online if I could!
(Now wouldn't that be something! You type in a login and password and out comes a cheeseburger and fries from your cd drive!)

Logins, passwords, check boxes, agreements, uploads, downloads, verifications, memberships, password questions, mother's maiden name, grandfather's name, his grandfather's name, popups, notifications.

And I wonder why my head is constantly spinning??!?!
Enough already. This is getting out of control!

I'm communicating more and more through keys and buttons. I love technology, and I love what it does for us. I love that it makes life easier and more convenient. I love that everything is so readily available. I understand this is the way of the world and it's required. It's required for me and for the work I do.

But it's becoming too much.

I don't want text or instant messaging as the best means to reach me. I don't want to be one of those people who can't go on vacation without checking email. I don't want "my whole life" to be in my cell phone. I found it pathetic that the other day someone asked me for a friend's number, and I had no clue what it was. Of course, I had forgotten my cell at home that day.

"Um...# 4 on speed dial?"
"I can say 'call Tom's cell' and then the number pops up?

Super. I was a big help.

I also don't want to turn into one of those people who forgets what it's like to actually talk to people. I need interaction. I need face time. I think we all do to some extent.

I need a break, and it's up to me to back off, at least a little. I just need to find a happy medium. Whether it's no text messaging on Sundays or no emails on Saturdays, or cutting back on the sites I sign up for....it just has to be done.

I tH!nK s0.
:>)

The (Dumb) Things We Do For Love

I happened to catch a snippet of "Judge Judy" the other day, and she made a comment to one of the female defendants.
"I don't know why you did that, but women do dumb things when they are in love."

Blunt, but true. We do dumb things. I'm sure men do dumb things, too.
So it got me thinking of the dumb things I have done for love. Or was it lust? Or was it a crush? Or was it merely action? It hardly matters at this point. I can laugh about them now. Some things occurred years ago, and others more recently.

- joined a bowling league (I suck at bowling) and often wore a skirt to the games. Oh yeah, that looked stellar with my bowling shoes
- planned a bday party around someone else's work schedule (he never showed)
- bought a fishing license which I used a whopping two times, and never caught a fish
- went to church on a weekly basis to check out the alter man
- stayed out till 2 am after playing vball, on a weeknight
- hung out at Mad Dog's, the meat market in Madison, in the hopes of finding a former flame
- went to Michigan Tech for winter carnival, once again, in the hopes of finding a former flame
- went to some "after bar" while vacationing in Phoenix
- went to "Eric's cabin" on a cruise ship
- let "Eric" visit my cabin after hours, against the ship rules
- drove with Tara to Kansas City so I could meet Tara's cousin who, at the time, had a psycho girlfriend
- alternated my walk home from college classes so I could pass my lustman on the foot bridge

I'm sure there are many more. Ahhh...the (dumb) things we do for love.

Haiku for Brett

Awesome memories.
You made the right decision.
But we'll still miss you.