"Oh, you hate your job? Why didn't you say so? There's a support group for that. It's called everybody, and they meet at the bar."
- Drew Carey
In case you missed this quote from the comments section of my last, overly abrasive rant about jobs, well, here it is. I love it. It reminds me (as does C) that I shouldn't get so negative about it all--or at least, try to be a little more humorous about it. No one wants to read that, just like one doesn't want to be stuck next to the depressing drunk on a buzz-killing tangent on a late night...
Anyways...
Love that quote.
--
Addendum:
Not saying you should take some "b.s." but that it is important to let stuff roll off your back. Dust your shoulders off, suggests Jay-Z. If you like your line of work overall, don't let some prick ruin it for you. Keep on keepin' on. Weigh the pros and cons. If the pros win, just know at the end of a day or week, you get to complain about it to the people who love you--you might even score a beer or foot massage if you have the best story. Amanda, I owe you a beer.
April 29, 2009
April 28, 2009
Work
Busting my ass at work - didn't get home until 11PM last night. I have super mixed feelings about all of it. Beautiful sunny day before a week of expected rain - perfect for planting 530 trees and getting sunburns. Working hard, pulling your weight, and giving extra effort can be rewarding in some ways or demeaning in others. I spent a lot of time agonizing over the tensions that characterize employer-employee relationships: expectations and effort... I thought about all the stupid decisions my boss was making, and focusing on all the things he wasn't doing. I was over-simplifying everything. When I realized late in the day that I was just going to have my ass busted until sundown, I stopped fighting it and relaxed a bit. I decided to stick to it, I also chose to enjoy a sit-down dinner with my coworkers instead of rushing home--it definitely made the day more pleasurable.
Working for someone else is hard, emotionally, especially if your only motivation is money.
--
And I didn't have to experience this, but no one at any job should make you feel like shit, and especially not tear you down in front of anyone else. That's some pointless, hateful, demeaning bullshit. Any person that thinks they can bully someone below them needs to be set straight Unfortunately, people with delusions of grandeur do have the power to abuse and the authority to keep people in check with fear. Is the job worth it?
Working for someone else is hard, emotionally, especially if your only motivation is money.
--
And I didn't have to experience this, but no one at any job should make you feel like shit, and especially not tear you down in front of anyone else. That's some pointless, hateful, demeaning bullshit. Any person that thinks they can bully someone below them needs to be set straight Unfortunately, people with delusions of grandeur do have the power to abuse and the authority to keep people in check with fear. Is the job worth it?
April 24, 2009
Maybe because it's Friday
and the ambient temperature of central Ohio is climbing toward 80-degrees and it's sunny and I had coffee this morning... or maybe because this music is amazing, I feel great. I feel greatness down into my bones it's so great.
In one of my meandering excursions through the world-wide inter-web, I stumbled upon this gem: the debut album of Menahan Street Band of Dunham Records,Make the Road by Walking . I can't wait to buy this album. Jazz/soul/funk/afro-beat... once you hear it, you can't live without it.
I would go buy a turntable just to have the LP.
In one of my meandering excursions through the world-wide inter-web, I stumbled upon this gem: the debut album of Menahan Street Band of Dunham Records,
I would go buy a turntable just to have the LP.
April 23, 2009
April 22, 2009
Re: Labor
Got started into restoring the Fuji into a multi-geared road bike tonight. Bought some gear cables and a new chain from the bike shop... They tried to up-sell me like a mug (new wheels and everything)... Anyways, I have no clue what I'm doing, trying to get the derailleurs set and all that. What a mess...
Now I remember why I was so attracted to fixed gears and single speeds...
Now I remember why I was so attracted to fixed gears and single speeds...
April 20, 2009
Update
This weekend C and I helped my sister and her fiance execute a surprise party for our mom. Family came up from Kentucky and it was a get-together that could have in no way been anticipated by her--though she claims she had her suspicions.
After returning home, I had some opportunity to put in a little more garden work and attempt to build my rain barrel. Here are the results, presented (partly) in list form:
(April 19)
- transplanted 6 tomato plants into bigger containers (Solo cups with holes in bottom)
- planted cilantro, chamomile, more spinach directly into ground
- thinned out sugar snap peas, which still need to be trellised
- weeded our recently mulched beds
- zinnias and basil are starting to emerge from potting soil inside
The rain barrel was partly a success, after several failed attempts at accumulating parts and tools. Currently the faucets are assembled - I used two 3/4" faucets, each with hose-receptive ends (~$4/ea). I wrapped teflon tape (~$1/roll) around each faucet, which were then screwed into 1" holes I drilled into the plastic barrel. I hope to add some caulk to further waterproof the holes.
What I've not yet figured out is where I can find a small basket to place in the top of the barrel to allow water in while keeping mosquitoes out. Also, I need to figure out how to divert any of our gutters for this. I tried for a long time, out in the rain, without any success. Bummer... I took a few pics which will be posted later.
After returning home, I had some opportunity to put in a little more garden work and attempt to build my rain barrel. Here are the results, presented (partly) in list form:
(April 19)
- transplanted 6 tomato plants into bigger containers (Solo cups with holes in bottom)
- planted cilantro, chamomile, more spinach directly into ground
- thinned out sugar snap peas, which still need to be trellised
- weeded our recently mulched beds
- zinnias and basil are starting to emerge from potting soil inside
The rain barrel was partly a success, after several failed attempts at accumulating parts and tools. Currently the faucets are assembled - I used two 3/4" faucets, each with hose-receptive ends (~$4/ea). I wrapped teflon tape (~$1/roll) around each faucet, which were then screwed into 1" holes I drilled into the plastic barrel. I hope to add some caulk to further waterproof the holes.
What I've not yet figured out is where I can find a small basket to place in the top of the barrel to allow water in while keeping mosquitoes out. Also, I need to figure out how to divert any of our gutters for this. I tried for a long time, out in the rain, without any success. Bummer... I took a few pics which will be posted later.
April 15, 2009
Humpday
At work I've been increasingly bored with what I'm doing and because of what I'm not doing. I think the warmer weather is getting me anxious to be outside or at home getting some Spring Cleaning done. The rain has made each day pretty gloomy and I'm frustrated that I haven't figured out what I need to make my rain barrel yet. I hope I can get it done before next year...
This weekend will be a nice, long, relaxing weekend at home
This weekend will be a nice, long, relaxing weekend at home
April 13, 2009
weekend - full
A great weekend with the Love family up north. Indians game on Saturday afternoon, great food afterward; i got drunk playing spoons; church; visit to an eagle nest, great food afterward; egg hunt with the chil'ens
--
[An unrelated note:]
Friday after work I went to the bike shop and bought some Pearl Izumi "Quest" cycling shorts with the padding that pretty much feels like a diaper. I knew I wanted some padded shorts for comfort but had no clue what I should get. I didn't have a chance to test them out before leaving town for the next two days and I spent that time away wondering if I shouldn't have bought them. On Sunday afternoon we returned, and as usual, I found some excuses to ride my bike. I donned my spandex shorts--and some baggy swim trunks to quell my insecurities--and took off.
I felt like I was sitting on a cloud that was sitting on two clouds. It was so comfortable.
I was so stoked about my heightened state of being--the sun was out, I was getting stuff done, and I was more than comfortable. In fact, the wind was at my back on a stretch of particularly straight and flat (if not slightly down-sloped) road. I spinned up to 28.58 MPH.
--
The garden is doing really well. Sugar snap peas are exploding outside; lettuce and spinach seem happy. My transplanted oregano has taken hold. Inside, tomatoes are gigantic and hot peppers popped out this weekend. I replaced one of those butchered Spirea bushes with a hydrangea that needed more attention. I removed a nasty grapevine from my neighbor's crusty chain link fence; I divided a hydrangea planted near my gas meter and spread them out a little bit; I replanted my red-bud tree with hopes that it will get huge this summer... oh and I mowed for the first time this season.
--
[An unrelated note:]
Friday after work I went to the bike shop and bought some Pearl Izumi "Quest" cycling shorts with the padding that pretty much feels like a diaper. I knew I wanted some padded shorts for comfort but had no clue what I should get. I didn't have a chance to test them out before leaving town for the next two days and I spent that time away wondering if I shouldn't have bought them. On Sunday afternoon we returned, and as usual, I found some excuses to ride my bike. I donned my spandex shorts--and some baggy swim trunks to quell my insecurities--and took off.
I felt like I was sitting on a cloud that was sitting on two clouds. It was so comfortable.
I was so stoked about my heightened state of being--the sun was out, I was getting stuff done, and I was more than comfortable. In fact, the wind was at my back on a stretch of particularly straight and flat (if not slightly down-sloped) road. I spinned up to 28.58 MPH.
--
The garden is doing really well. Sugar snap peas are exploding outside; lettuce and spinach seem happy. My transplanted oregano has taken hold. Inside, tomatoes are gigantic and hot peppers popped out this weekend. I replaced one of those butchered Spirea bushes with a hydrangea that needed more attention. I removed a nasty grapevine from my neighbor's crusty chain link fence; I divided a hydrangea planted near my gas meter and spread them out a little bit; I replanted my red-bud tree with hopes that it will get huge this summer... oh and I mowed for the first time this season.
April 10, 2009
Cars v. Bikes: TAKEDOWN!
Holy F-balls: I just wasted a lot of time following this SAGA involving a train wreck op-ed article from a MSU student named Zack Colman that says bikes shouldn't be allowed on the road... plus the gazillion-plus responses that follow and are surely still being added.
The article (Bicyclists Need to Stay on Sidewalk ) was published as early as Wednesday and I'm sure the drama will continue for a while. I was exposed to the article via BikeSnobNYC --who manages to cleverly smear Colman's new reputation across the globe, effectually provoking a billion other obsessed cyclists to respond.
The most hilarious part is that Colman, pictured at the top of the article, begins his piece by describing the car he drives... Sorry guy.
I'll agree, many of the responses are similarly of poor judgment, thoughtlessness, and and violence, but none of them top the pure ignorance of Colman's editorial.
Bikes are traffic
The article (
The most hilarious part is that Colman, pictured at the top of the article, begins his piece by describing the car he drives... Sorry guy.
I'll agree, many of the responses are similarly of poor judgment, thoughtlessness, and and violence, but none of them top the pure ignorance of Colman's editorial.
Bikes are traffic
April 9, 2009
April flowers... and other plants
I keep forgetting to post this but as early as April 2nd (here in Central Ohio) I saw lots of woodland wildflowers emerging from the leafy carpet that lines our local forest floors. This included toad trillium , dutchman's breeches , cutleaf toothwort , and Virginia springbeauty to name a few. I suspect you could find mayapple and troutlily near flower about now in Southern Ohio. To the north I bet those same flowers are starting to peak their first leaves. I'm sure there are plenty others to name. Feel free to post them in the comments section!
That said, gardens are coming alive too. Besides the early and obviously blooming bulbs (tulips, daffodils, and hyacinths...), lots of peonies are stretching out which has really captured my attention. My sugar snap peas are unfolding their cotyledons (first leaves), as well as lettuce and spinach. Hopefully we'll be feasting on these salads in about a month.
Go take a hike in the nearest woods you can find and see what is coming up. Take photos and try to identify them back at home... or bring a field guide. A really user-friendly key to wildflowers is Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (~$20).
That said, gardens are coming alive too. Besides the early and obviously blooming bulbs (tulips, daffodils, and hyacinths...), lots of peonies are stretching out which has really captured my attention. My sugar snap peas are unfolding their cotyledons (first leaves), as well as lettuce and spinach. Hopefully we'll be feasting on these salads in about a month.
Go take a hike in the nearest woods you can find and see what is coming up. Take photos and try to identify them back at home... or bring a field guide. A really user-friendly key to wildflowers is Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (~$20).
April 8, 2009
Quote
If nothing else, one day you can look someone straight in the eyes and say “But I lived through it. And it made me who I am today."
- unknown
- unknown
College
In about an hour and a half I will be giving a presentation about performing wetland delineations to an Advanced Environmental Studies seminar at Otterbein College.
So... I'm pretty much a college professor.
--
In other news, C has been cooking/baking the best food this week. Every day for lunch I've enjoyed leftovers. She's freaking amazing.
So... I'm pretty much a college professor.
--In other news, C has been cooking/baking the best food this week. Every day for lunch I've enjoyed leftovers. She's freaking amazing.
April 7, 2009
reap what you sow
If you plant honesty, you will reap trust
If you plant goodness, you will reap friends
If you plant humility, you will reap greatness
If you plant perseverance, you will reap contentment
If you plant consideration, you will reap perspective
If you plant hard work, you will reap success
If you plant forgiveness, you will reap reconciliation
Be careful what you plant now; it will determine what you will reap later.
If you plant goodness, you will reap friends
If you plant humility, you will reap greatness
If you plant perseverance, you will reap contentment
If you plant consideration, you will reap perspective
If you plant hard work, you will reap success
If you plant forgiveness, you will reap reconciliation
Be careful what you plant now; it will determine what you will reap later.
April 6, 2009
Chaos + Backyard Farming
I have a lot of work to do, but wanted to jot (jought?) some stuff down.
- C is an amazing cook and excels at Italian food. And cookies.
- Chocolate soy milk is freaking wonderful.
- Got a lot of work done in the garden this weekend - back breaking work including breaking up lawn, removing grass (sod?), dividing and moving plants, laying nearly 2 cubic yards of mulch, and making it look BOMB
- Hung out with family yesterday, including a dirt-loving toddler
- I am sort-of involved with a pilot program about sustainable living which involves reading a guide book and doing some activities. Long-explanation omitted, there was a brief section about food. One important point the authors made was about the importance of eating food that looks like food. For example: an apple/orange (fruit), rice (grain), lettuce (veggies)... The more your food looks less like it did when it was born, it's probably not as good for you (relatively speaking)... Interesting thought.
- I've got sugar snap peas and lettuce popping out of the ground--we're supposed to get frost tonight here in Ohio. Meanwhile, I REALLY need to start my basil, cilantro, swiss chard, and parsley inside immediately - hopefully tonight. We're losing time! For anyone interested in starting plants indoors, I've found that putting my flat (which includes a clear plastic top) at a south-facing window is working well. The table it sits on is over a heat register and on cold days & nights, the warmth is probably helping it stay at or above 60 degrees (65-70 is optimal)
- C is an amazing cook and excels at Italian food. And cookies.
- Chocolate soy milk is freaking wonderful.
- Got a lot of work done in the garden this weekend - back breaking work including breaking up lawn, removing grass (sod?), dividing and moving plants, laying nearly 2 cubic yards of mulch, and making it look BOMB
- Hung out with family yesterday, including a dirt-loving toddler
- I am sort-of involved with a pilot program about sustainable living which involves reading a guide book and doing some activities. Long-explanation omitted, there was a brief section about food. One important point the authors made was about the importance of eating food that looks like food. For example: an apple/orange (fruit), rice (grain), lettuce (veggies)... The more your food looks less like it did when it was born, it's probably not as good for you (relatively speaking)... Interesting thought.
- I've got sugar snap peas and lettuce popping out of the ground--we're supposed to get frost tonight here in Ohio. Meanwhile, I REALLY need to start my basil, cilantro, swiss chard, and parsley inside immediately - hopefully tonight. We're losing time! For anyone interested in starting plants indoors, I've found that putting my flat (which includes a clear plastic top) at a south-facing window is working well. The table it sits on is over a heat register and on cold days & nights, the warmth is probably helping it stay at or above 60 degrees (65-70 is optimal)
April 4, 2009
To do
It's Saturday morning and I've got mad stuff to do, but I am sitting on the computer just killing a little time, hoping to get some thoughts out while this peanut butter sandwich in my mouth gets completely out of my mouth parts. Could be a while. So much to do and it makes me just want to slow down a little--I hate being overwhelmed. Plus, Ohio remembered that it was Ohio and went fuckin crazy and is cold again. 70 degrees two days ago. 40 today. Whatever. I've got a lot of gardening to do today and this is about the only weekend I'll have for the rest of the year. At least it's sunny. In a sec I'm gonna bike to the bank--two birds, one stone. Then it's my nose to the grind stone the rest of the day.
Go do something good
Go do something good
April 1, 2009
WTF + Good Stuff
Google is crazy fuckin' crazy. Autopilot? What?
Hopefully this link doesn't allow you to access my email... haha.
Autopilot (not really) Explained
Anyways, the world is crazy.
Happy April first. Here are some things that are keeping me pretty pumped (in a chronologically-correct order):
I bought that 55-gal barrel and realized it was originally used to ship Mountain Dew; in fact, it reeks of the hyper-caffeinated drink and the remnants will hopefully stimulate my vegetable garden into crazy production this summer; I may be single-handedly responsible for landing a big job for my employer; I got paid and was pleasantly surprised at the decrease in federal withholding thanks to the stimulus plan; I was invited to a mid-life crisis themed birthday party this Friday and I just decided that I should try to find leather pants at the thrift store; I biked to Starbucks this morning and got some coffee--bam!
Hopefully this link doesn't allow you to access my email... haha.
Anyways, the world is crazy.
Happy April first. Here are some things that are keeping me pretty pumped (in a chronologically-correct order):
I bought that 55-gal barrel and realized it was originally used to ship Mountain Dew; in fact, it reeks of the hyper-caffeinated drink and the remnants will hopefully stimulate my vegetable garden into crazy production this summer; I may be single-handedly responsible for landing a big job for my employer; I got paid and was pleasantly surprised at the decrease in federal withholding thanks to the stimulus plan; I was invited to a mid-life crisis themed birthday party this Friday and I just decided that I should try to find leather pants at the thrift store; I biked to Starbucks this morning and got some coffee--bam!
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