Wired Wisdom

Moving!

2008-12-31T14:55:00.000-08:00

I figured it's about time I use my domain for something more than a placeholder. I've created my own WordPress blog on my domain. And re-doing the content to better align with my current life path. Please update your bookmarks and RSS readers to now direct to:

http://saramooney.com

All of the content from here has been imported over there. But please don't mind the dust. I'm still tweaking a number of things as I figure out how they work. Thanks for following!

2009 Predictions

2008-12-29T15:50:00.001-08:00

Well, some of these are not exactly predictions, but it could happen. Besides, they're not that far from reality.

Big box stores fail in rapid succession. Customers run back to the small mom & pop stores surges due to their product quality, customer service, and customization.
Credit Card companies keep raising their APR and minimum payment rates in order to raise funds before the 2010 laws take effect. More banks fail because customers are unable or unwilling to pay the higher rates and declare bankruptcy.
Credit becomes taboo. Cash once again becomes the American consumer's payment method of choice.
A new "Buy American" campaign is launched. Catchy jingle ensues and parodied.
Steampunk becomes mainstream. Goggles will be seen everywhere.
Social media is crowned king of the internet instead of a simple prince.
Web 3.0 becomes a trending topic as Web 2.0 officially takes the internet reigns.
Knowledge Manager becomes a necessary position in every company.
Knowledge Management takes leaps and bounds by exploring crowd-sourcing and social media techniques.
Public libraries find their next Andrew Carnegie and a new public Renaissance begins.
Obama's public infrastructure plans get off to a slow start due to funding the banks and car industries.
Chrysler fails. GM limps along. Ford actually does quite well.
iPhone begins to lose market share. The market is flooded, AT&T's network cannot handle the traffic, and the next big phone is released in the summer by Verizon.
The first major Mac virus hits.
Saddle shoes and 1950's fashions come back into style. Sock hop, anyone?
Cable companies continue to lose TV subscribers due to the sheer amount of video streamed on the internet. A new fight ensues over surcharges on data download amounts.

What are your predictions for 2009?

Tattoo?

2008-12-25T22:09:00.000-08:00

I've been contemplating getting a tattoo for a while, but never really decided upon a design. I think I finally found what I'd like -- an owl. I think I'd like to add the Chinese characters for wisdom as part of the branch the owl sits on. And get rid of that stupid heart in its forehead. But, yeah... Very mod and something that represents a part of me. Now to find a tattoo artist with who I'm comfortable.

Blog Meme #2

2008-12-23T22:53:00.000-08:00

Okay -- so I stole this from Chris Turner who took it from Matt Casarino...who may have taken it from someone else, like Ron Holiday. He's a big fan of this game.

Put your iPod or MP3 player or tape player or 8 track on shuffle and jot down the first lines of the first 15 songs that come up. Then you post it and see who can figure them out.

I did, and of course the the first song came up jazz and sans lyrics by the Minnesota Contemporary Ensemble. Go figure. I didn't count any classical or learn to speak French tracks that came in the mix (which amazingly only happened 3 times). I wrote the answers next to the numbers in white text, so no cheating! I will warn you, though. Only a few are "mainstream."

Anyway here we go:

(Minnesota Contemporary Ensemble-Sofia Gubaidalina: Chaconne)

1. MuteMath-Chaos
Complication's my claim to fame
And I can’t believe there’s another
Constantly just another
can’t avoid what I can’t control
And I’m losing ground
Still I can’t stand down
And I know, yeah I know, yeah

2. Soul Coughing-Lazybones
When all the limbs are numb and clean,
and you're in transit, dream to dream,
I'll drift there to meet you, lazybones.

3. The National-Squalor Victoria
Underline everything, I’m a professional in my beloved white shirt
Underline everything, I’m a professional in my beloved white shirt
I'm going down among the saints

4. Dave Matthews Band-Old Dirt Hill (Bring That Beat Back)
Bring that beat back to me again
Come on take me back, can't catch me can't catch me
Bring that beat back to me again
Come on take me back, can't catch me can't catch me
Can't catch me ride my bike down the old dirt hill,
First time without my training wheels.

5. Marc Cohn-Walk Through The World
I’m writing you this letter from some old hotel
I can feel the distance between us
From the Spanish Steps to the Liberty Bell
I know the angels have seen us... seen us, baby

(Learn to Speak French track)

6. Porcupine Tree-Even Less
A body is washed up on a Norfolk beach
He was a friend that I could not reach
He thought I was cold but I understand
But for the grace of god goes another man

7. Stephen Kellogg & The Sixers-Big Easy
Oh girl
Girl you're real pretty
And a guy like me is getting pretty late
There's no mistakin'
The vows have been taken
But a girl like you should never have to wait

(Yo-Yo Ma, Kathryn Stott Paris-La Belle Epoque)

8. Heirloom Projector-Sweet To Mend
You shut your eyes
I'm only sleeping in my head
I've got the wrong day
Winds against my skin.

9. Isaac Hayes-The Look of Love
The look of love
Is in your eyes
The look your smile can't disguise
The look of love
Is saying so much more
Than just words could ever say
And what my heart has heard
Well it takes my breath away

10. Soul Coughing-Super Bon Bon
Move aside,
and let the man go through.
Let the man go through.

11. Red Hot Chili Peppers-We Believe
The curtain
Is open
A head to
Put dope in
Now we will
Come clean it
The future
We've seen it
No, no, I know, I said, no, no

12. Brett Dennen-Because You Are A Woman
I only wanted to be closer to you
I thought I had something to prove
Instead I fled with my superstition
because you are a woman

13. Mike Doughty-Looks
You say you don't look at me
I say you don't look so good
I went out in the cold
to buy a paper
Pushing every button in the elevator

14. The Dream Academy-One Dream
There's one dream in my life
One that I love more
Than settle down
Fool around
Games that only drag you down.

15. Radiohead-Climbing Up The Walls
I am the key to the lock in your house,
that keeps your toys in the basement
And if you get too far inside,
you'll only see my reflection
It's always best when the light is off,
I am the pick in the ice
Do not cry out or hit the alarm,
you know we're friends till we die

(Really, I don't have all that many Soul Coughing or Mike Doughty songs in my 8300+ songs. Which sets me on a tangent: Why does iTunes when in shuffle always seem to pull artist with upcoming or newly released works? Does anyone else experience this? Does Mike Doughty have a new album out soon?)

Home Made

2008-12-19T22:46:00.000-08:00

As I was driving home tonight from eating at the Havana Grill my mind wandered. Remember back in the 1980's when there was a resurgence for items Made in the U.S.A. and remembering the red, white, and blue star logo plastered all over everything? In rolled the 1990's, where the bottom dollar became ultimate, jobs were shipped overseas, and the U.S.A. became a consumer nation rather than a production nation. That's all coming back to bite us in the ass. Look at the scares from the last 10 years: Mad cow disease, melamine-tainted milk that made it into U.S. bound candy, lead paint on toys, toothpaste with diethylene glycol... the list could go on and on. The nation is at it's highest unemployment rate in 26 years. We're on the verge of another "Buy American" campaign, not only to protect the consumer, but to create jobs. The economy cannot survive another roller coaster ride of fuel costs, or pay to import and then recall goods. Buy American. Save jobs. And you can trace how the product is regulated and tested. Seems like a good plan for me.

Blog memes

2008-12-11T21:47:00.000-08:00

Rarely do I do things like this, but it's a neat social experiment. Thanks for posting this, Mike!

Grab the nearest book.

Open the book to page 56.
Find the fifth sentence.
Post the text of the next seven sentences in your journal along with these instructions.
Don't dig for your favorite book, the cool book, or the intellectual one: pick the CLOSEST.

Here it goes!

Q: If we have been issued a patent, won't that stop a Microsoft from copying us?

A: You cannot enforce a patent unless and until it is issued, and the costs to enforce a patent can be staggering -- literally millions of dollars. Whether someone is infringing your patent usually isn't a one or zero case. The other party may claim it is not infringing your patent or that your patent is invalid -- for example, because it is based on a defective provisional application There may be good arguments on both sides that require a court to make a decision after a lengthy and expensive trial.

Q: Shouldn't prospective investors sign nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) so that they don't rip off our ideas?

A: Venture capitalists won't sign NDAs before hearing your pitch because they see so many companies that may be in the same business segment and overlap in what they are doing.

From Reality Check: The Irreverent Guide to Outsmarting, Outmanaging, and Outmarketing Your Competition by Guy Kawasaki. Which happens to be an awesome book for those of us who want to understand more about how the tech business works. I highly recommend it!

Corporate Social Media

2008-12-10T21:52:00.000-08:00

The online community is enamoured with social media. MySpace. Facebook. Twitter. Linked In. Del.ici.ous. YouTube. Networks exist for a participatory culture, and Gen X/Gen Y are ready to use these methods in their jobs. What if we were able to incorporate these concepts as tools for knowledge management?

Although exact job descriptions differ for knowledge management specialists, their primary job is to keep and disseminate a company's collective information (both recorded and person-to-person). They work to keep the information alive, but cannot replace the engineer, the designer, the analyst, or the programmer. Yet knowledge managers are reliant upon these content creators to gather and encourage the flow of information. Would internal corporate social media give the content specialists a sense of ownership to their documents, and make them more willing to share information critical to their jobs and teams? I believe it would. By providing the person with a tool with which they are familiar, you enable an open communication flow. It encourages relationships and collaborations that may not normally occur due to proximity or time (in a sense crowdsourcing). It also provides a method of communication that the employee has a level of comfort. Some employees are more comfortable speaking and can record a podcast of sorts. Others will blog, preferring the written word, while others will use a slide show or video to demonstrate a method.

All this becomes important for information longevity. Give the employees the tools and responsibility of their recording their information and most people will participate. Especially when it comes with a sense of a job well-done and ease of finding it again in the future.

(This is very off the cuff. I may expand this in the future with some research or sources. Right now it's purely observation and opinion, but the topic is open for discussions.)

People are People

2008-12-08T22:53:00.000-08:00

Working in the entertainment field places me in contact with the famous and superstars on a regular basis. I've been lucky to simply shake hands (Criss Angel), speak with (John Schneider and Warwick Davis), or give a tour of our stage (Anthony Daniels). Some I almost stepped on their head (Michael Jackson), or simply been thanked for holding a flashlight so they could see the steps better (Roy Disney). And I can't begin to count the number of big-name bands that I designed or ran lights for their shows (DJ Skribble, NFG, Eric Benet, the Amazing Bacon Brothers...). Yet I've never asked for an autograph or picture. The reason why? They did their job, I did my job. Sure, they may hold fame and fortune, but they got there by doing their job and doing it well. We all simply work to live. Some simply tend to have more extravagant lifestyles than our own.

Inspirations

2008-11-05T22:58:00.000-08:00

This year I started an inspirations folder on my desktop. Whenever I see an interesting photo, read an interesting article, or watch a video that really catches my eye or speaks to me, I place it in this folder. It's starting slow. I downloaded a few Change This manifestos. There are a number of odd photos, ranging from three teens in a doorway to a flock of plastic flamingos. And a few interesting websites of places to see, including the most alien-looking place on earth. Why? In part, to keep me occupied and sane. I've always had a penchant for the odd. Who knows? Maybe one day I'll use them as an inspiration for writing, or a web design, or a new method of doing something. If not, at least I can open this folder and enjoy the wisdom and smiles it has to offer.

Happy Obama Day!

2008-11-04T23:08:00.000-08:00

While I think Barack being elected is a great thing for the U.S.A., I wonder about the pressure that he now holds on his shoulders. It's not going to be an easy ride, that's for sure. But with so much hope for change, can one person uphold this ideal? I look around at the ballot measures and realize that we -- as a society -- still run scared of differences. Proposition 8 in California looks like it didn't pass. A few states had items banning same-sex couples from adopting on their ballots, while others voted to ban abortion. In many ways, this is completely opposite from what the country voted into the highest office in the U.S.A. If we want change that badly, first it needs to start with tolerance and acceptance that everyone is not the same. Not in looks, in skin color, in sexual preferences, in life choices. We do not live in a one-size-fits-all world. This nation was founded on the escape from religious and societal persecution. Now we persecute women on their decision to keep or abort babies, deny GLBT couples the right to happiness (many of which have more loving relationships than their hetero counterparts), and deny the right to a family. Where have we gone wrong? And who is going to carry the hope once the incoming president can no longer carry it by himself? We are a nation of great individuals. I sincerely hope that we overcome our differences to carry the flame of hope beyond Obama's term in office. Atlas shouldn't have to carry the heavens alone.

Food Budget

2008-11-02T16:09:00.000-08:00

I'm trying an experiment. For the next three months, I'm going to try and get by on $25 a week for grocery shopping. Crazy? Well, probably, but I want to see if it can be done. I'm going to continue my normal routine of allowing one meal at a restaurant a week so that it will not factor into my challenge. Most of my weekly grocery shopping is either done at Smith's or Fresh and Easy.

I started today. Stopped at Smith's and spent $24.96. This included 3 Healthy Choice frozen meals on sale for $2.00 each; red grapes at $.99/lb.; 2 bananas; 3 large bakery rolls at 3/$1.00; a four-pack of Yoplait yogurt; cheddar jack cheese; 3 pre-made salads with meat; and a loaf of cinnamon bread for $.69. Yep. A loaf of bread for $.69. I know where their reduced price bakery section is located, and I get great deals on bread since I don't mind that it can't be sold after that day. I place it in the freezer or fridge until I need it anyway, so it stays fresh longer.

This is not a typical shopping week, though. Normally I wouldn't buy frozen meals or pre-made salads, but travel happens and I don't want the food going bad. I think a normal week is going to take a lot more meal-planning and creativity to fit in the $25 per week food budget.

Life in the Desert

2008-11-01T23:26:00.000-07:00

Great, but blatant advertising.

Life without TV

2008-11-01T22:09:00.000-07:00

I think I made up my mind. I no longer have the want or need for cable television. Took the first step today by returning the digital HD DVR to Cox. The only reason to keep the box was for the digital music channels (yes, I'm that addicted to music). Although, I don't get pricing levels. Price for the HD DVR and 6mb/s internet: $127.58. Price for expanded basic and 6 mb/s internet: $99 and change, or $47.95 for the cable alone. That's really disproportionate. I watch 1 or 2 hours of TV per week -- yes, that little -- but can always catch up on those online. And there are also great services like Netflix for movies, Hulu to catch up on previous seasons, and all the major networks keep the current season streaming on demand. So, why should I pay $50/month for cable?

Vendo-Man-Tic

2008-10-26T17:26:00.000-07:00

Wish we could get one of these in Las Vegas!

I Love Vegetables!

2008-10-21T21:48:00.000-07:00

Here's a funny for the day. Ikimasho!

Web 2.0 thoughts

2008-10-05T23:38:00.000-07:00

A quick thought on Web 2.0 before I retire for the night:

Isn't the internet/web following the same path as all other human-developed technological communications? Take a look at the telephone: First it started of as the telegraph, a one-way communication. The same thing occurred with the 'net -- it was a one way path to get digital information from here to there. Next came the telephone with its party lines. I equate to the early mainstream internet days where college students would huddle in front of terminal screens to MUD or go to computer labs and look at the internet on Mosaic. The technology was still too expensive for the masses so they shared. The telephone eventually became a common form of social interaction (how many times have you been told, "I'll call you"?), just like the internet is now a forum for mass-two way communication. The masses can now afford it. Human conversation is one of the most basic forms of communication. The Internet is simply an extension and a tool for it.

I'm working on it!

2008-09-20T18:18:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm slowly working on my next phase of my Internet presence. The name change is phase one. The new blog card you see to the left is step two. Hopefully by mid- or late December all of it will be implemented. But I'm still working on it, so watch for more updates as I procrastinate on school work over the next few months.

Rodrigo y Gabriella

2008-09-20T02:01:00.000-07:00

Alright, I promised a blog post about this concert in a tweet at the top of the night. Yes, thanks to the wonderful House Seats service, I attended Rodrigo y Gabriella tonight at the Joint in the Hard Rock Casino. The openers were local Las Vegas band named Searchlight. They played a 1/2 hour set, or the equivalent of five songs. It was fairly obvious on the second song that acoustic music is not their first choice of genres. The singer took about half the set to hear himself in the live hall. I'm talking sound-wise with all the reflections going around the room and then back on stage, not the audience. I think most of people were still arriving. His intonation got much better as the set went along. Particularly proud of their "storytelling" (yes, reference to the old MTV acoustic show), they forgot to plug their band name until the fourth song. I don't care that the second song was featured on a Resident Evil: Extinction soundtrack if I don't know your name. The guitar playing wasn't anything spectacular, and the explanation of the songs I could've done without. The singer had the average rock-leaning-towards-metal raspiness which doesn't translate too well in a live performance but would be great for a studio album. Ironically, at the end of the show they handed out free CD's (more of an EP) of their music that currently sits in front of me, unplayed. The sound was average, and the lighting was well-below par due to the bad color changes (s/he was only using 4 lights!) and constant changing of the projected image. If I was rating them on a scale of music notes, they'd be a middle C for willingness to play outside of their comfort zone and commanding stage presence.

Changeover happens. It takes fifteen minutes to swap around the stage, and then we wait for another 15 minutes. It seemed like forever until Rodrigo y Gabriella took the stage. When they did, cheers of excitement from everywhere. From that point on, fingers and arms flew all over the guitars. For those of you who never heard RyG's music... well... it's a bit hard to explain. I'd say its flamenco meets metal with a bit of classic guitar thrown in for good measure. Rod's fingers barely seem to touch the fretboard, while Gab pounded her strings with a hard, percussive sound. In many ways, she used the guitar like a bodhran, capable of producing sounds that I have never heard from a guitar. The music played fast and furious, stopping once to say hello and thanks to the audience. The two musicians seemed to intuitively know where to go next, often challenging each other with a bit of call-and-response fun. Each had five minutes of solo time, and Rod covered Led Zepplin's Stairway to Heaven and then joined by Gab. The entire time they kept the audience involved by using hand claps of different rhythms, singing -- rather mimicking the notes he played, and shouts. Gab seemed to often go into a trance-like state, resting her head on the base of the neck and bobbing to the beat. Technically, the sound was fabulous and only had a few very minor instances of feedback. The tiny cameras on the headstock were used for the projections and complimented the lighting perfectly. This show definitely takes the award for best sustained energy. Even though their set only lasted an hour and a half, it felt like a lot more time had passed due to the sheer speed of their fingers and hands.

For everything that happens on stage, there are always things happening in the audience. And this most certainly is one of my pet peeves. A man is standing behind me, and, as the show progresses, he drinks more and becomes louder and more belligerent. "They're the best EVER!" "Don't you think they're good?" "Why aren't you shouting? Don't you like them?" He starts swinging his arms and hits my head. "You're a poser." C'mon, dude. Although my favorite line out of him for the evening: " You know that Gab is an alcoholic, right? But she's the best kind 'cause she goes where her heart tells her to." Uh... yeah. I think that you're speaking a truth about yourself, Mr. Drunk. Next time hold your liquor better or bring a friend along to shut you up and drag your ass out of the venue. A floating wall of tall former-frat boys stopped in front of me at one point, more concerned about their beer and jabbing each other than watching the show. I'm glad to say they moved on after 10 minutes. There was the guy who danced with his beer like he was dancing with a girl, and then the obligatory tongue-bath couple. Although, what amazed me the most was the fact that Rodrigo y Gabriella's last song caused at least four beers to be dropped in the audience almost simultaneously, creating a lake of beer in the house right section. It's cool to see music still affects people that way.

The SuperHappy Party

2008-09-03T22:29:00.000-07:00

In my search and quest to finish my voter registration in Nevada I decided to double check that the Green Party (go ahead, bring on the hippy taunts...) is recognized in this state. It is, and there's even a state chapter based out of Reno. Well, through this search I also saw that Nevada recognizes the SuperHappy Party. I cannot make this up. Curiosity may kill me one of these days, but I decided to look at their by-laws, and then followed to their home page. They appear to have undergone a metamorphosis of types... the page displayed is for the Robot Party. Apparently they now stand for heterosexual women (We will condition all heterosexual males to like women better...) having wealth and education. In fact, everyone will be wealthy and robots do all the work. And the connection to the nameSuperHappy Party is finally found in item five in their constitution. The best part, however, comes on their SuperHappyStrategies page:

The Robot Party encourages all candidates to dress in Superhappy Costumes while running in elections and after winning elections, they encourage the candidates to always dress in superhappy costumes while in their public office positions.

Uh, yeah. The site makes me smile, but every day as Halloween? I think my sweet tooth would give up after a week. I wish I were making this up... no really... go read it for yourself!

House Seats!

2008-09-03T21:37:00.000-07:00

This service is great! House Seats is available to Las Vegas residents, and it's a fabulous way to see a few shows. Heck, some of their past shows included a few Cirque du Soleil shows, Blue Man Group, Goo Goo Dolls, The Editors, Avenue Q, Carrot Top, Badlands Golf Club, some boxing... and that's just the beginning. It runs the gamut of entertainment from concerts to theatre and sports. You never know what's going to pop up to choose from. Swing by and check it out. Maybe it's for you... :)

Same City, Different Feeling

2008-08-28T20:54:00.000-07:00

Once again, I'm back in Montreal, QC. Needless to say, the past 5 days have been very interesting. First, I'm traveling with a group of people from work. I'm staying in the Opus Hotel that I stayed at in March, but there isn't over a meter of snow on the ground. In fact, the construction of their new restaurant/bar is complete and the doorman/valet even remembers me and is still helping me learn French. But the most interesting thing was the work retreat to Orford. Two days of meeting and team building exercises at Hotel Cheribourg. Normally, I'm the cynic who really does not like these kinds of corporate enemas, but this group of people and the setting made all the difference. We took a school bus up there (yes, it even said "Special" on the front), and enjoyed a wonderful woodsy setting. What made it so good is the fact that we took the time between sitting in the meeting room to go outside and move around. The first day included a "Lost" teambuilding exercise. Broken into 4 teams, we had to build a raft. And have it float. And race it! The coordinators threw in a lot of contingencies to see how each group reacted. I had fun, even though I don't exactly enjoy being in charge of a group. I'll do it if I have to, but it wouldn't be the first choice of role. And the food! Three and four course meals... fish, seafood, pork, chicken... soups (all cream, which I'm not a fan of) and salads... bread... cheesecake, chocolate cakes, fruit... I gained back the 3 pounds I lost last week. Top the first day off with a campfire and toasted or flambéed marshmallows, and you have a good corporate meeting. Then again, I do work for a circus, so why would I expect our meetings to be normal!

Back in Montreal yesterday and today. Saw a guy wearing one black sock and one white sock on a balcony talking on his cell phone. I witnessed a group of students forming the first protest (or extremely large pub crawl) of the school year. Saw a policeman on a Segway-like trike riding in the bike lane. Witnessed a crazy man (or high, or both) wandering around outside of headquarters as I was leaving.

And then I went shopping. Finally got an argyle sweater that I wanted for so long. Nice and thin so that I can wear it in Vegas without roasting. And I even bought socks to match!

All said and done, though. I wish I wasn't leaving tomorrow. I'd be getting that tattoo on Saturday if I was still here.

Customer Service? What's that?

2008-08-01T15:00:00.000-07:00

You know customer service is going downhill when the DMV gives you the best customer service you've had all week. Since last post, two different experiences gave me a sour taste of retail and medical professions.

Scenario #1: RC Willey
I bought a new dining table and chairs from them in April. Delivery was 3 weeks later (my choice since I was away on business), scheduled time between 4 p.m. and 10 p.m. I left work early in case they actually showed up at the top of the time frame. Finally received a call at 4:30 saying they'd deliver after 6. No problem. Then it was 7. Then 8. Phone call at 9 saying new delivery time before 10. At 10:45 they show up without so much as an apology. They rush assembling the table and chairs, missing and stripping hex-head screws. I inspect everything to find flaws in the tabletop. Delivery guys tell me that Customer Service [CS] will call me the next day to arrange a delivery time. Okay. I'm satisfied. Until the next morning when I further inspect the chairs in daylight to find two of the four have major scratches in the metal finish. I immediately call RC Willey to let them know. CS informs me that the chairs are backordered and it would be six to eight weeks. Really? I agree to wait (I did pay full price for them to be delivered new and without scratches). This is May 3rd.

July rolls around without being contacted by the sales person or CS. I call CS again, this time being told that I needed to call my sales person to find out the status. What? So I call her. She doesn't know and tells me to call CS. For the love of... I explain to her that I just off the phone with them. She then says she'll find out what's happening and will get back to me. Come to find out they're being shipped from out of the country to the warehouse without a delivery date. Once again I am told I will receive a call when they arrive. Another month passes. I call my sales person again, explaining that this is now ridiculous and I'd like an estimated date. Says she'll call back, which she does that same day. They have the two chairs (the table top was replaced a week after the initial delivery, at which time I scored extra screws from the delivery guys). Set delivery for this morning, when I received a call to inform me that one of the chairs came extremely damaged and they needed to get one from Salt Lake City warehouse. They can deliver next Tuesday. Well, that doesn't work since I'm once again out of town. So here I am, waiting once again for CS to call and arrange delivery.

Scenario #2: UMC Quick Care
Tuesday I wake up, and notice my neck is stiff and I'm super stuffy. More so than normal. As the morning goes on, my eyes hurt more and more, my nose start to run, and my throat gets scratchy. August. Time for the second sinus infection of the season. It happens every year. Twice. I can feel it coming on days in advance. So I call a few doctors offices, and cannot get in since I'm a new patient. It's my own dumb fault for not selecting and establishing a relationship with a PCP before this happened. Even so, I need to get to a doctor because tomorrow I won't be able to breathe at all and my head may just explode before that time. It even hurt to wear my glasses. I search my provider directory once more, and come across a slew of doctors at a UMC Quick Care center that accept my insurance. Yay! No appointment needed, so I trot myself down to the clinic. At which point I wait. And wait. To find out 45 minutes into it that they only have one doctor. One. And the waiting room is filled.

Smack me with joy.

Knowing that I leave on a plane Sunday night, I continue to sit for the next 2.5 hours. There's a guy sitting there who probably needs stitches in his temple, an old lady who keeps snorting, a handful of families, and your stereotypical casino grandma. In this time, the nurse takes me in to a room, takes the temperature, blood pressure, and history. During this time, I tell her all of the medications I am on, including Xyzal and Flonase for my allergies (this becomes important later). The paperwork also gets processed. I believe the lady is new, since she seems flustered at the smallest thing that goes wrong and really cannot answer my questions all that well. I manage to get satisfactory answers eventually. It just took a lot of rephrasing.

When I am finally seen by the doctor, she says she doesn't see an infection. Listens to my breathing. Barely touches my glands to see if they are swollen (they are, she claims that they aren't), says my ears are clear of infection as well. Doesn't even touch my face to ask me where the pain is coming from. At that point I still know I have a sinus infection, when she says, "It's just a head cold." (or something along those lines) When I try to tell her that I have this twice a year, every year, and it's getting worse, she cuts me off and asks me if I want antibiotics or a decongestant. I tell her yes for both since I know full well green junk will be spewed from my nose tomorrow. She at least asks if I'm allergic to any medications -- yes, did you not look at my history? -- and I tell her along with not taking Zithromax. She does not like that. At this point I'm getting rather irritated with her, but she agrees to write a prescription for Ammoxicillin and a decongestant. Finally. All I wanted her to do was listen to me. I know my body a hell of a lot better than she does. When the prescription comes in with the nurse to complete the visit, I look down to see that for the decongestant she's prescribed Allegra 180 (the D-version). I then ask the nurse if I should be taking Allegra on top of my Xyzal, to which she then asks the doctor. "Oh, I didn't know you were on that," was the reply. What?!? You're kidding! It's written on the top of the sheet you wrote the prescription. At this point, I just want out. I don't ask for another decongestant since I think I have a few left over from the spring. I leave, get the prescription filled and home to find out that it's 5 days worth. In the past, my last doctor has done a minimum of 7-10 days, if not 14. My sinuses are a mess! From the script, I can't tell if she meant 15 days worth, or 15 caplets total. So much for clarity. Oh, yes. I forgot. I even got a take home sheet on what to do for a sinus infection. She really did not listen to me at all.

Wednesday -- you guessed it. Green snot. I have 5 days of low-grade antibiotics to knock this out of me before sitting on a plane. If it isn't gone, I'll be in some pain on my vacation flight. Tonight I have a bit of pain around my eyes, but it's better. I still have a lot of crap in my sinuses, but my throat is scratchy from the drainage. Still forcing the water. Still taking the decongestant and my Xyzal and my Flonase in hopes this goes away quickly. If not, I'll be making an appointment with my doctor in Orlando while I'm there. I will not be going back to UMC Quick Care. Not after that experience.

Yes. I am a legal resident of the state of Nevada. My license is now changed, as well as my plates (when they come in) and registration. In and out within 2 hours there. Better than the doctors office, and a helluva a lot more customer-service oriented, too.
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Now playing: Queens Of The Stone Age - I Never Came
via FoxyTunes

Road Dog

2008-07-30T00:04:00.000-07:00

To say that it's been a bit of an odd trip doesn't do it justice. It rained both weeks except for yesterday. It's raining again. My flight into Newark delayed by 2 hours. I don’t think Newark should even have a license to operate as an airport at this point. It’s certainly not the airlines fault that air traffic control has no control over the non-weather related back-ups. In fact, an Air Canada flight going to Newark was just cancelled (14:30 announcement at the Montreal P. E. Trudeau Airport). I hope the same fate doesn’t happen to this Continental flight. Air travel is definitely getting worse. I would settle for higher (not astronomical) prices for better service at this point. Hell… scrap the whole system and return to the Golden Age of flight where it was a luxury, complete with fine china and a lounge singer for entertainment. If I needed to get dressed up to fly, I would.

Back to the trip. I decided to take a taxi to the Las Vegas airport since I had to be there by 5 a.m. It took 25 minutes for him to get there, and was extremely chatty. Mind you, this is 4:45 a.m. I am not chatty or awake at this time of morning. Do the check in routine and then off to security. The guy who checked my ID and boarding pass asked me if I lived in Cleveland. Uh – what type of question is that? Realized that he was trying to flirt with me when he kept watching me as I put my things on the conveyor belt. I already told you I’m not the most cognizant person at 5 a.m. My first flight to Cleveland was uneventful until I arrived at the airport. Found my connecting gate without problem, and went to the Pizza Hut express to get some lunch. I take it back to the gate where one of our fine, feathered friends decided to try and steal it. Yes. Three chickadees flitting around the terminal were swooping and trying to nibble on everyone’s food. That’s just weird. Birds inside. And that flight was not delayed, so I made it to Montreal to find a long cattle chute of people waiting to go through customs. This hour wait actually worked to my benefit. The Canadian customs official was about my age and didn’t seem to want to deal with a single person there on a business trip. Besides, he shot me a smile that kind of said, “Hey, baby… how you doing?” as I left. Eeehhh. Nice, but geez. You’re working and protecting your country.

Made it to work again. Found out that my desk was moving due to hiring another ATD. Yeah, well. I was too distracted by everyone walking by my desk to the photocopier. Second day I was there, I talked with the creation director. He seemed surprised to find out that I am an American. Which took me aback. It started me thinking on my rush home to avoid the next storm. I guess I’ve always been fascinated by other countries or never really minded traveling. I try to adapt myself to the local culture and learn the language (slowly, but I can at least say please, thank you, hello, how are you, etc.). I respect their traditions and customs. I was fortunate to travel to Europe for three weeks before my freshman year of college and experience Austria, France, Germany, and Switzerland (left one day before the Montreax Jazz Festival – damn!). I lived with a host family twice, once in the country with a nice older lady and another time with a traditional German farm family. Yes, at one point I counted 22 people in the huge farmhouse, not including pets and other livestock or the occasional chicken that would run in. Travel intrigues me. Experiencing cultures intrigues me. My dream to visit Japan, revisit Switzerland, and make it to Thailand will one day come true. The other part of the equation is befriending people from different countries and heritages. My best friend in elementary school was half Japanese. I was a friend to the African American students (all two of them!) and wish Esther, my German exchange student doppelganger, would’ve stayed around a little while longer. That didn’t end in high school. One of the coolest people I knew in college was André who was from Brazil. He shared my love of music production, performance, and Macs, and now runs his own studio back in Brazil. But, yes, I love to travel despite all the difficulties like I am now experiencing.

I haven’t determined if my low energy level the past two weeks is due to the weather or simply needing to decompress for a bit. I haven’t spent more than 3 weeks in one spot since April when I moved. It’s tiring living out of a suitcase. I am single-handedly keeping TSA and travel-sized product manufacturers in business. My cat is not happy and apparently wound and starved for attention. I miss my fuzzy buddy. I am happy to have good friends and a great roommate who watch him while I’m gone. I am eternally grateful to them! Then again, all of this exhaustion could be because there was a ton of ragweed around my flat. It would also explain my semi-clogged ears and lack of energy. I’d like to thank the makers of Xyzal for keeping me sneeze-free for the last two weeks, and the Flonase people for keeping me breathing!

A few other items of note for the week. I’m managing to keep my 4.0 going in grad school so far. I received the grade for my mid-term paper, which was 25/25. Yay! Not bad for procrastinating on it until the last 2 days. Oh, the research was done, but I don’t like writing them. I always wonder what types of papers get turned in if I can write a 10 page paper the night before and ace it. Or maybe I’m one of the lucky ones who just “gets” it. Mom is still always right. When I turned it in, I thought it sucked. She told me I said that last time and got 100% on it as well. Well, she wasn’t home when I called to let her know the news, so I talked with dad for a while instead. Somehow the conversation got turned to finances (go figure), and he said that they have $10K placed aside for my wedding. If I want it, I just need to let them know since they’re not sure if I’ll ever get married. What?!? Yeah, I don’t have a boyfriend, and really haven’t had a relationship of note over 6 months for 2 years or more, but have a little faith! I told him to hold on to it. I don’t need it right now. Besides, I do plan on getting married someday, even if I do plan on eloping.

On to yesterday and today. I found out at noon yesterday that our production meeting was being relocated to The Zone, a pub just up the road from HQ. Yay! I finally got the drink I needed, and the bartender mixed a mean rum & Coke. Well, earlier in the day I decided to trek to La Paryse for a tasty burger and fries. I was craving beef because I didn’t eat any the past two weeks. So, I decided to leave my laptop and supplies at my desk because I didn’t want them at the bar, figuring I’ve got an ID and should be able to access my office at 18:30. Well, of course this didn’t work out as planned. My ID wasn’t coded to let me into the locked office, and the security guard was insistent that only 3 people had access to the studio third floor. Trying to explain to him what production I worked on (in Frenglish), he finally called someone else to let me in. Got my things, walked home, dropped everything off and ran out to catch the bus. Got to the Jean Talon station to catch the bus, and I waited. And waited. And ran across the street to pick up maple syrup in a can for Henri-Jules. And waited. It would’ve been better for me to take the train to Sherbrooke and walked! But it did come, got to La Paryse and waited for another 15 minutes to get a table. Ate my fill, and then headed back home at 23:00. Did a load of laundry, and headed to bed around 2:00 after working with Kevin on some Pack Rat feats.

I did not want to get up this morning. Again. It seems a chronic problem of mine lately. I finally did roll out of bed at 9:30, took a shower, washed the sheets and the towels, took out the trash, finished packing, ate my last Danish, and froze the food that I could. In 2 hours. Left around 12:15 for the airport where there was a bit of a wait to get through customs again. This time, another guy Customs agent around my age. Shaved head. And not bad looking! The guy in front of me in line…well, he questioned him a lot. I don’t know what it was about. Me – Immediately asked how it was going, I replied, and then the obligatory declarations. None. Okay. Have a good day. Wow. Painless for once! Decided to pick up a bit of lunch at Burger King. My appetite wasn’t huge since I ate the Danish and an apple around 11, but chicken tenders were going to do just fine. Got them and a Coke and headed to the gate. When I opened the box the gimmicks of all gimmicks appeared – maple-leaf shaped nuggets. Makes me all gooey just like warm maple syrup. Ugh! Just after finish them, I found out the flight was delayed by a half hour. Then delayed for 2 ½ hours, all forced by Newark. Decided it was time to grab a litre of water and some sugar (another thing I really didn’t eat all that much of while in Montreal). Some gummies and a king-sized Coffee Crisp (slowly making its USA debut) did the trick.

Finally on the plane to Newark, where we ended up in a holding pattern since we weren’t cleared for landing even though the flight left Montreal at the proper wheels up time. We flew through and over some completely amazing thunderheads. I’m still fascinated by meteorological phenomenon. Finally landing, I’m just glad to have enough time to use the loo and then grab some dinner at Sbarro (a few cheese pizza slices and a garden salad). Amazingly, we got off the ground almost on time for the second leg of my journey home. A family of five with 3 children under eight sit beside me. Drillbit Taylor is playing as the in-flight movie, even though frequent flyers such as myself have not seen it at least five times. Now I chase daylight across the U.S.A. Sunsets are always amazing when the clouds are below you.

A parting thought that I saw in this morning’s New York Times:

I have had a very adventurous life, but not because I have an adventurous nature or yearned for a life full of adventure. Fate just wanted it this way.
Vaclav Havel

Continental Fight 268

2008-07-08T16:56:00.000-07:00

Newark to Las Vegas.

Original departure time 5:30.

Boarded plane 6:30.

Current time almost 8:00

Still on tarmac waiting to take off.

On the plane for 1 1/2 hours. Haven't left the ground yet. 20th in line for departure. Newark is the 2nd armpit of airports. Detroit is the 1st.

And the people behind me have happy feet that are dancing with my seat. This is not going to be a good flight.

I need to pee and can't leave my seat. What ever happened to that airline passenger's bill of rights?

Total time late is 2 1/2 hours. And counting!

Currently looking at a Polish Airlines jet. Looks rather old.

This makes me to not want to board a plane again on Sunday.

2008-07-08T10:30:00.000-07:00

"I don't know where I'm going/but I sure know where I've been..."

This trip made me realize a few more things:

The Northeast really isn't that bad of a place to live. There are still farmers and their markets. The job market doesn't suck any more than anywhere else. The roads still are bad, but what do you expect with freezing and hot/humid weather in the same place. Could it be that I'm considering moving here when my contract is finished? We'll see...
Travelling this much does NOT make me happy. I miss cooking for myself, the cat, and - label me a geek - my iMac.
My mood hasn't been the greatest. Probably due to the fact that I haven't gone to the gym in a week and a half and my diet sucked! Too many hot dogs, chips, and fried foods.