Online Personas

I've got a bone to pick!  Why do people feel the need to make snarky asinine comments then hide behind their computer screens?  Would they really say that to someones face?  Doubtful, because they'd get their asses kicked, or get a swift punch in the face.  So why do they feel that anonymity gives them the god-given right to say it online?

Sometimes humanity disappoints me.  For instance, today I read a really nice article about a friend of a friend who did a really great thing and what do I read in the comments below the article??  This: "Jeez this a long story about some yuppies geting free coffee.just send me the money, i drink at least 60 bucks worth of coffee evrey day ! "  Come on people!  Really?!  You have nothing better to do with your day then to louse up something so nice?  If you've got that much time the least you could do would be to spell things correctly, and use punctuation appropriately!

It shakes my faith in the world that we're living in that there are these kinds of cowardly jerks out there who can't just man up and keep their lips zipped, or their fingers away from the keyboard.

Along a similar vein, another act of anonymous aggression is driving.  You know who I'm talking about: that jerk who decides that he can't just wait in the long line of cars all turning the same direction; no, he decides to race ahead and cut someone off; causing the line to go slower, which causes more jerks to race ahead and cut someone off.  It's a vicious cycle, STOP THE MADNESS!!!  I liken it to this: would you do that at the post office?  Would you cut in line because you felt impatient?  Hell no, you wouldn't!  Someone would pull out a gun and blow your face clean off!  So chill, peeps!  Just because you're in the drivers seat, doesn't give you the right to line jump!

Gah!  People annoy me!

NaNoWriMo Day 28

Word Count: 44,544

The end of NaNoWriMo '10 is drawing near.  I am so near a win!  I cannot believe this.  I have really picked up my game this year with my new lease on life.

What really motivated me this year (to lose weight, to train for a 5K, to finally win NaNoWriMo) was something someone told me in December last year: "You have no motivation, you never finish anything you start.  Every year you start NaNoWriMo and never finish; you always complain about being over weight, but you never do anything about it."

Those words hit home, they stung but they were true.  That's who I have always been.  It's a miracle I actually followed through with my master's degree, to be honest.  I even considered quitting on that!  But seriously, I constantly start things that I don't finish; it's a huge character flaw of mine.  I really do have trouble with motivation.  This new Kathy that got created in June is the person that I've always wanted to be.  I've never been happier with myself, and that's really all that matters.  I didn't start out on this journey to prove the person wrong who told me I have no motivation (though that's a sweet bonus), because they made me see that it was true.  I've really done all of this to show myself that I CAN.

Who needs New Year's Resolutions when you can create your own New Life Resolutions anytime you want!?

I'll see you all at the finish line!  (I'm hoping that'll be later today ;) )

Observation Deck

When you work with a very specific population of people you may begin to notice a common personality trait, which is probably what drew these individuals to pursue the same profession.

It's no secret that I work at a university, and if I haven't already, I wont divulge what department I advise for to avoid giving out too much about my whereabouts.

I have noticed, though, in the nearly two years I've worked in this department, this common personality trait: no social skills, to the point of rudeness on occasion.  These students that I work with either don't understand that they speak so bluntly, or just don't care.  I think it's usually a mixture of both.  They just don't have the practice conversing with human beings to know that demanding something be taken care of or handled will get them nowhere fast, and will probably even hurt feelings!

I really have to work at myself to distance my feelings about being spoken to this way to avoid breaking down in tears.  This happens (at best) once a week.  My own personality lends itself to why I joined the profession I did, counseling, but counseling and advising these students needs a much tougher skin than I could have imagined.

I'm sure that if anyone reading this has ever encountered anyone from this particular field they would be able to pinpoint who I'm describing with an eerie accuracy.  Please feel free to take guesses!  Keep in mind that I work with 5 different majors, and this personality trait tends to only show itself in one.  Everyone else I work with is (for the most part) very workable and even appreciative of any help they receive.

It doesn't make me dislike my job, but it does make some days much harder to handle than others!

Getting home is hard to do

You know those horrible nightmares we all have where you're stuck in some situation and can't get out of it? Mine is always my childhood self riding the bus home from school, when the bus stops at my house I can't move until the driver starts to pull away, then he stops, and I'm stuck again, this goes on until I finally wake myself up.

My point is that I had one of those frustrating days yesterday where I just couldn't seem to make it home. The cosmos was teaming up to prevent me from relaxing on the couch! It started out that I had to stay late at work to deliver a survey to a late class. That delayed my departure a half hour. I then had to make an emergency trip to Costco after realizing that I had no stockpile of breakfasts or lunches. I get off the freeway, and am no farther than a block, when the railroad crossing arms start coming down. Naturally the extremely long train was slowing down to a crawl, so that a second (and thankfully not so long) train could pass in the opposite direction. This took another 15 minutes. I finally pull into Costco, proceed to gather my few groceries and inevitably get into the line where the checker is moving so slow he could be unscanning the items!

My time in line was made even better by a child of no more than 4 standing in the cart next to me screaming her head off. The parents were just staring at said child with their mouths hanging open. I prayed to God to give me strength and not commit a justifiable homicide. Upon reaching the checker (10 minutes later), I notice a to do coming from the line where the kid is. A few looks of disgust from the Costco checkers, and the puddle coming from under the kiddo, told me that she had just sat down in the cart and peed herself. The parents were standing by looking not the least bit embarrassed.

Only one of two scenarios could have caused this situation: 1) the kid had been screaming her head off because she had to pee, yet the parents refused to take her to the restroom and told her to hold it; or 2) the kid threw a temper tantrum and decided to show them all by peeing herself. Either way, I'm disgusted.

I ran to my car, anxious to get away. Once I get home, I'm pulling the junk out of the trunk (sorry, just had to do that! :) ) and drop a heavy container of Lean Pockets (the Costco sized 12 pack) on my pinky toe. I stifled an urge to scream an expletive and limp up the stairs.

I found, after starting down for my next trip, that I heard a familiar bird call.....coming from none other than....The Birds (cue Psycho music). The Birds and I have had a hate-hate relationship since I was around 12. The Birds are actually cliff swallows who invade every spring. They build their nests out of mud in the eves of any structure they can find. They particularly enjoyed our home, and they loved attacking us as we ran from the garage to the back door to safety. So I have come to despise these birds.

Well, they've now moved into my apartment complex, and I'm considering making my exit as quickly as possible. I don't need to be hassled any more than necessary when I get home!

Allergies Abound

So everyone has had a long week right? The kind of week that just crawls by, making you feel down and desolate. Guh, I hate those kind of weeks. Add on top of that the fact that a strong (and I do mean strong) wind blew through the area last weekend and kicked up all sorts of allergies in my system.

I've been spending my days dealing with a nasty sore throat, runny nose and general fatigue. By night I take a Claritin, and sleep like I haven't slept in months. I wake up feeling like crap and begin the cycle again. Joy.

My goal for this weekend is to do away with these allergies that have taken away my feeling of goodness. I will dip them in cement and then toss them to the bottom of...well, of something. There aren't many places with water around here. Perhaps I'll just flush them down the toilet. But alas, I fear they will come back, the wind is a-blowin' out there as we speak and the little buggers are waiting to invade again. Curse you San Joaquin Valley with your bad air and dustiness!